"Xu Xiaoyan, since you've decided to get engaged to me, you're not allowed to get too close to other girls from now on. Otherwise... the consequences will be very serious."
Meow?
This was a threat. Definitely a threat!
Ye Yan looked at her sinister smile and immediately agreed on the surface, while inwardly wondering where this yandere had come from.
A true man's ambitions reach across the world. There are still so many poor souls waiting for me to save them. How could I hang myself from a single tree? Just wait, I'll find you a sister with an even stronger background later.
Fortunately, Dugu Yan couldn't hear his thoughts. Otherwise, she would surely have strangled this womanizing scoundrel right then and there.
Sadly, she wasn't Sea Douluo and couldn't read minds. Instead, seeing how obedient Ye Yan was, she took out a gold card and pressed it into his hand.
"There are twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins in here. It's my pocket money, so spend it freely. If you run out, just tell me, and I'll have Grandpa get you more. As a court guardian of the Heaven Dou Empire, he can have as many Gold Soul Coins as he wants."
Ye Yan looked at the Gold Soul Coin card in his hand, a little surprised. Was she already starting to support him as her kept man?
Every last one of them uses either beauty or money. Not a shred of originality. His hands, however, honestly tucked the gold card into his belt.
He couldn't help it. Poverty had really scared him that badly. X﹏X
When Dugu Bo returned and saw the affectionate pair, he wore a doting, auntie-like smile and called the three of them to the main hall for the engagement ceremony.
Everything about today's engagement was kept simple. After all, Ye Yan was still young and had no parents. Calling him a live-in son-in-law wouldn't have been far off.
Once the engagement was complete, Ye Yan prepared to enter the gift pack redemption code. After all, Ye Lingling was no outsider. Taking her along later would also give her affection for him a hefty boost.
"Grandpa Dugu, if I'm not mistaken, both you and Yanzi have been poisoned, haven't you?"
Dugu Bo's expression turned icy as he stared fixedly at him.
"My dear grandson-in-law, you can eat carelessly, but you can't speak carelessly. I am Poison Douluo, whose poison reigns supreme beneath the heavens. How could I possibly be poisoned?"
"Heh."
Ye Yan gave a soft chuckle.
"I imagine that whenever the weather turns overcast and rainy, you feel numbness and itching along both sides of your ribs. It flares up once at noon and once at midnight, lasting more than two hours each time.
"Also, deep in the night, you feel needle-like stabbing pains at the crown of your head and the soles of your feet. Am I right?"
Dugu Bo's expression remained unchanged, but towering waves surged through his heart. The boy had described it without the slightest error!
"You understand poison too?"
Ye Yan clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at the distant sky.
"Naturally, I don't. But I do know how to cure your poison and Yanyan's. Have you ever considered how your Martial Soul differs from the Jade Phosphor Snakes in the wild?"
The corner of Dugu Bo's mouth twitched at the sight of this little brat posing as a secluded master. Still, now that he thought about it, he really hadn't studied wild Jade Phosphor Snakes.
When Ye Yan saw that he didn't answer, he knew the old man definitely hadn't researched them. Now he could safely make things up.
"Let me tell you. The reason wild Jade Phosphor Snakes aren't harmed by their own venom is that they have venom sacs specifically for storing it.
"Unfortunately, when they became Martial Souls, they lost this vital organ. That's why your Jade Phosphor lineage has suffered for generations."
Hearing this was like having enlightenment poured straight into Dugu Bo's head. He finally understood the problem that had plagued him his entire life.
"So that's it... so that's it! I've been researching in the wrong direction all these years! Hahaha! Xu Xiaoyan, you're truly a lucky star sent to us by heaven!"
Yanyan, meanwhile, was rather bewildered. She had been perfectly fine, so how was she poisoned? Yet her grandfather's reaction didn't look fake. Seeing this, Ye Lingling took her hand and gently reassured her that there was no need to be afraid; she was right there.
"I don't know what exactly you've been researching for all these decades, but that doesn't matter anymore. I've discovered that Soul Bones can replace venom sacs to store the toxins.
"Each Soul Bone has a storage limit, though, so it's best to use ones over ten thousand years old. Once you have all six Soul Bones, there shouldn't be any problems."
Dugu Bo gave a bitter smile. Six Soul Bones for his entire body-easy enough to say, but even as a Titled Douluo, he only had a single Head Soul Bone. Still, at least it was a solution.
After thinking it over, Ye Yan looked at Dugu Yan's short purple hair and decided not to delay any longer. It wasn't as though they could guess he had transmigrated anyway.
"Grandpa Dugu, Yanzi doesn't have a Soul Bone yet, does she? I happen to have heard that Shi Nian, an instructor at Blue Sunshine Academy, has a Head Soul Bone over ten thousand years old. How about going to discuss it with him?"
Dugu Bo's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected the boy to know about Soul Bones as well.
"My dear grandson-in-law, you three stay here. I'll go borrow that Soul Bone from Shi Nian right now."
"Hey, hey, hey! Wait, wait!"
Ye Yan hurriedly stopped him. Blue Sunshine Academy was so far away that there was no telling how long the round trip would take. He winked at Dugu Yan beside him.
"Grandpa Dugu, I heard from Yanyan that you have a medicinal garden in the Sunset Forest. I'm very interested in those things. Could you take us there first?"
Dugu Bo naturally noticed his little gesture, but it didn't matter. Whatever his grandson-in-law wanted, he would give it to him. He casually unfastened the storage bag at his waist.
"Since you like medicinal herbs, here. This is my treasured Wishful Treasure Bag. Unlike ordinary Storage Soul Tools, it can store living things."
Ye Yan solemnly accepted the Wishful Treasure Bag. Wasn't this grandfather he'd gained a little too generous? He hadn't even asked, and the old man had already given it to him. Now that was magnanimity.
Then Dugu Bo took the three of them and sped toward the Sunset Forest.
After passing through a dusky green poison formation, they reached the ring-shaped mountain hollow containing the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Looking at the deep pool below, where extreme cold and extreme heat intertwined, Ye Yan preferred to call it the Ice and Fire Mandarin Duck Pot~
After warning them that they must not touch the spring water below, Dugu Bo left. Yanyan no longer hid her suspicions and reached out to pinch the soft flesh at Ye Yan's waist.
"Well, well. Why don't I remember telling you about the medicinal garden? Looks like this was your real goal all along, huh?"
Ye Yan hurriedly raised both hands. I surrender, meow! I surrender, meow!
"Sister Yanyan, let me make excuses, meow! I had no choice! X﹏X"
"Oh? No choice, huh~"
Dugu Yan immediately gave him a death twist, twisting his flesh like a braided dough stick. Did he really think she was that easy to fool?
"Hiss!"
The pain nearly made him jump. Are these wicked women born knowing this move?
Lingling not only made no attempt to stop her, but even cheered Dugu Yan on, saying she should teach this bad man a proper lesson. Otherwise, she couldn't imagine how bad he would become in the future.
Finally, after Ye Yan agreed to a series of unequal treaties, Yanyan released her delicate hand and warned him never to lie to her again, or she would make him pay. (・`ω´・)
Seeing the dark purple pinch mark on his waist, he immediately used Everlasting Vitality to heal himself. He had no taste for suffering.
With Dugu Yan appeased, it was time for a blood-pumping treasure hunt~
Let me see:
The one wreathed in frosty mist was the octagonal mysterious ice grass;
The one as translucent as colored glass was the Forgetfulness Autumn Water Dew;
The one radiating billowing waves of heat was the infernal delicate apricot;
The one gleaming brilliant gold was the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum;
The one shimmering with flowing light was the narcissus jade muscle bone;
The one with a noble aura was the aromatic silk beauty;
The one with understated, tranquil elegance was the eight-petal immortal orchid;
The one blazing scarlet as fire was the cockscomb phoenix sunflower;
The one with blood-red petals growing on a black stone was the Lovesick Heartbreak Red;
Besides these, there were many other immortal medicinal herbs, including the Blood Swan Kiss, aromatic silk beauty, primordial immortal herb, ink jade divine bamboo, and Holy Radiant Flamefeather Orchid.
A bumper harvest! A bumper harvest~
Before you continue