Little San, Go Gather the Herbs

Dugu Yan had taken only two steps closer when she saw who was standing beside Ling Yun.

"Tang San?"

Her expression immediately darkened.

She still hadn't forgotten that Soul Fighting match in Suotuo City. Tang San had broken through the Jade Phosphor Purple Poison she was so proud of, and the Imperial Fighting Team had lost to the Shrek Seven Devils. She hadn't expected to run into him again while visiting her grandfather today.

Tang San recognized Dugu Yan too, but before he could speak, Dugu Bo waved a hand. "Put the past aside for now. Yanyan, Grandpa called you here because of the poison in your body."

Dugu Yan froze. "What's wrong with my poison?"

As a Jade Phosphorous Serpent Soul Master, she had handled poison since childhood. Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison had practically become part of her body. She could believe someone else had been poisoned, but if someone suddenly told her she was poisoned too, of course she wouldn't believe it.

Ling Yun didn't rush to explain. He simply asked Dugu Yan to hold out her hand. Though the young woman looked doubtful, Dugu Bo didn't object, so she eventually offered her right hand.

Ling Yun took her wrist and sent Soul Power probing along her meridians. After a moment, he let go. "It's a little worse than I thought, but there's still time. Lately, after cultivating, your fingers sometimes get cold and numb, right? After using Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison repeatedly, your chest feels a little tight. And when you meditate at night, you sometimes feel a needle-like pain near your dantian."

Dugu Yan had looked impatient at first, but by the time he finished, her expression had changed completely.

None of the symptoms was severe, and they rarely appeared. She had always thought they were a normal reaction to cultivating her Poison Skill. It had never occurred to her that she might be poisoned.

One look at his granddaughter's face told Dugu Bo that Ling Yun was right again. His expression sank. "Why didn't you ever tell Grandpa?"

"I thought it was nothing," Dugu Yan explained softly. Then she finally looked at Ling Yun in earnest. "Can you really fix it?"

"You're much easier to treat than your grandfather. Poison has nearly taken over his whole house. Yours has only just moved in and hasn't even unpacked." Ling Yun turned to Tang San. "Little San, don't just stand there. Give me a hand."

Tang San had been studying Dugu Yan's complexion and breathing. At that, he asked without thinking, "Doing what?"

"Gathering herbs."

Ling Yun pointed to the other side of the Medicine Garden. "The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison has already sunk into her meridians, so the medicine can't be too harsh. Find two herbs that protect the meridians and temper the poison, then a gentle detoxifying herb. They don't need to be too old."

Tang San had no objection.

He might not know as much as Yu Xiaogang about Martial Souls and Soul Beasts, but medicine and poisons were a Tang Sect disciple's bread and butter. Besides, rare herbs grew everywhere here, and he wanted to find out just how far the poison in Dugu Yan's body had progressed.

Before long, Tang San returned with three herbs. Ling Yun examined them and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, Little San. You're quite the professional herb assistant. If I open a clinic someday, I'll consider saving you a position."

Tang San's face darkened. "I just thought the formula would work."

"Same difference. Anyone who gets the job done is a good comrade."

Dugu Yan watched them trade remarks, at a loss for words. She had known Tang San had plenty of ways to fight. Only now did she discover that, beside Ling Yun, the fellow had somehow ended up gathering herbs.

Ling Yun stopped joking. He took out a small bottle of diluted water from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, prepared the three herbs, and mixed them together. The medicine itself wasn't the difficult part. The problem was forcing out the poison that had already sunk into her meridians after she took it.

"Once you drink this, circulate your Soul Power, but don't use Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison. Wherever the medicine reaches, slowly push the poison there toward your arm. Don't try to force it all out at once."

Dugu Yan sounded skeptical. "It's that simple?"

"It is for you now. Wait another twenty years, and it won't be." Ling Yun handed her the medicine. "Get it fixed while you're young and it's still easy to fix. If you end up like your grandfather, reworking the whole thing will be a pain."

A vein twitched on Dugu Bo's forehead.

Even standing right there, he couldn't escape a jab.

Suppressing a laugh, Dugu Yan drank the medicine and sat cross-legged as Ling Yun had instructed. In less than fifteen minutes, faint green lines appeared on her bare arm. Guided by her Soul Power, the green slowly gathered in her palm.

At last, a wisp of deep-green poisonous mist seeped from her fingertips.

Dugu Bo's gaze changed completely.

He could tell it wasn't Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison Dugu Yan had released deliberately. It was poison that had truly accumulated in her meridians.

Half an hour later, Dugu Yan opened her eyes. She flexed her fingers, then discovered in surprise that much of the slight stiffness she had always felt after cultivating was gone.

"I feel much better."

That one sentence did more than any guarantee could.

Dugu Bo's last doubts vanished. He looked at Ling Yun, his tone markedly more solemn. "So from now on, we treat Yanyan's poison the way you described?"

"First, clear out what's already built up. After that, don't let any new poison sink into her body. Once she has a suitable Soul Bone, she can use your method to store the poison she actually needs to keep." Ling Yun paused, then added, "As long as she doesn't do anything reckless, she basically won't follow in your footsteps."

Dugu Bo let out a long breath.

All these years, it had never been his own life weighing on his heart. It had been Dugu Yan.

Now that he finally saw hope of a solution, the sting of having promised Ling Yun access to the Medicine Garden no longer seemed so important.

Standing nearby, Tang San couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

He had picked the herbs, and he understood the formula too.

Yet somehow, Ling Yun had looked like the miracle doctor from start to finish.

Especially now that Dugu Bo was looking at Ling Yun as though the fellow were already one of his own.

After all that work, Tang San seemed to have helped Ling Yun out again.

Ling Yun seemed to read his mind and patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "Don't look at me like that. You took part in the consultation today. You can report the practical results to your teacher when you get back."

Tang San's mouth twitched. He decided not to answer.

In an excellent mood, Dugu Bo suddenly remembered something else. "You've reached Level 40, but you still don't have your fourth Soul Ring?"

Ling Yun nodded. "Teacher Erlong was going to take me Soul Hunting in a few days. Looks like I won't need to trouble her now."

Dugu Bo knew exactly what he was getting at. He gave a cold laugh. "You cured Yanyan, and now you want this old man to serve as your guard too? You really don't hold back, kid."

"With a Titled Douluo standing right in front of me, I'd be looking down on you if I went out of my way to ask someone else."

It sounded like flattery, but Dugu Bo happened to enjoy it.

"Go on, then. What kind of Soul Beast are you looking for?"

Ling Yun thought it over. Greninja already had clones, ranged attacks, and a speed boost in water. Its fourth Soul Skill would be best used to strengthen what it did best.

Speed, concealment, or true explosive power.

As for its age...

Ling Yun raised his head, a hint of a smile on his face.

"We can take our time finding the right kind."

"But for my fourth Soul Ring, I'm aiming for a ten-thousand-year one."

Tang San's relatively calm expression finally changed.

For the first time, Dugu Bo didn't agree at once.

They both knew that the difference between a thousand-year fourth Soul Ring and a ten-thousand-year one was far more than a few thousand years of cultivation.