Even

[Dugu Yan watched the two men, who had been at daggers drawn only moments ago, chatting merrily in the blink of an eye. Her emerald eyes filled with confusion. She could not help tugging at Dugu Bo's sleeve, tilting her head as she asked curiously, "Grandpa, what... is going on with you two?"]

[Dugu Bo merely lifted his cup of emerald tea and took a leisurely sip, one brow slightly raised. He showed no intention of answering, plainly wearing a look that said, "Guess for yourself."]

[Seeing him deliberately keep her in suspense, Dugu Yan puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. She simply ignored him and turned her gaze to you instead.]

[At this, you lightly tapped the jade wine cup with your fingertip. Wisps of poisonous mist still clung to its rim as you explained gently, "Senior's cup of wine is not poison, but a tonic that gently nourishes the meridians. It can relax the meridians, promote circulation, strengthen the foundation, and replenish vitality. It is quite beneficial to cultivation."]

["A tonic?" Dugu Yan froze, then leaned toward the rim and sniffed lightly. Her brows only knitted more tightly. "But I clearly smell the fishy sweetness unique to jade phosphorous serpent poison..."]

["The scent is real, but the poison is not." You withdrew your finger as a trail of moisture slowly slid down the cup. "Senior used jade phosphorous serpent gallbladder as the base, supplemented it with earth milk spirit marrow and several gently nourishing spirit herbs to produce a fishy sweetness resembling the serpent's venom, then used soul power to simulate the Serpent Emperor's pressure. That was how he created this frightening appearance."]

[After a pause, you added, "Without minute control over the aura of one's own martial soul, it would be all but impossible to make the false seem so real."]

[A trace of barely concealed satisfaction flashed through Dugu Bo's eyes. Stroking his white beard, he smiled. "You do have some discernment, boy."]

[Understanding dawned on Dugu Yan. She stamped her foot in annoyance and complained, "Grandpa! You were scaring people again!"]

[You smoothly picked up the conversation and looked at Dugu Bo. "In that case, Senior, I presume your martial soul's backlash has been completely resolved."]

[Dugu Bo nodded slightly. He lifted the teapot and poured another cup, but did not drink, merely lowering his eyes to watch the green liquid swirl inside. "Speaking of that, I owe it to the methods you left behind all those years ago."]

["Some years back, I happened upon a treasure land deep within Sunset Forest. Only by relying on that strange spring with its twin waters was I barely able to suppress the virulent poison within me."]

[He rubbed the rim of his cup, his emerald eyes half closed. "I regarded that place as my forbidden preserve. I only ever took Yanyan there once. I even set a ring of jade phosphorous poison barriers around its perimeter. Ordinary soul masters who approached so much as half a step would have their sinews and bones dissolve and their flesh rot. Even Soul Douluo experts dared not cross that forbidden line lightly."]

["When I returned that year, I saw from a distance that the herbs had been rummaged through and scattered everywhere, leaving the whole garden in shambles. Fury flared in my heart, and my first thought then-was to kill."]

[At this point, his lips curled into something between a smile and a sneer, his emerald pupils fixing you with a sinister stare.]

[Your expression remained unchanged. You lifted the plain water before you and took a sip, averting your gaze, too guilty to meet his eyes.]

[Only then did Dugu Bo withdraw his gaze. After a pause, he continued, "But after carefully inspecting the herb garden, I discovered that not a single poisonous herb I used in my daily cultivation had been touched. Everything stolen was some exotic flower or herb I could neither fully identify nor use."]

["That took away half my anger."]

["Later, while putting things back in order, I happened to find the inscribed stone tablet you left behind." As Dugu Bo spoke, a mocking smile curled his lips. "At first, I thought some blind little thief had stolen my things and still dared leave a message to make himself look good."]

[He snorted coldly. "I have lived more than seventy years, and I had never seen such an arrogant thief."]

[At his words, you rubbed your nose sheepishly and offered a feeble defense. "At the time, I only thought that even a thief... should conduct himself with some dignity."]

["Dignity?" Dugu Bo froze for a moment, then could not help laughing, as though he had heard the most absurd joke imaginable. "Well, that is an interesting way to put it."]

[After a pause, he continued, "I only glanced at it before smashing that stone tablet with a single slap."]

[Your brows rose slightly. "Then... how did you cure the poison afterward, Senior?"]

[At the question, Dugu Bo's aged face warmed slightly, a trace of discomfort passing over it. His voice dropped as he mumbled, "The feeling of poison seeping into my organs was truly unbearable, so... I had no choice but to piece the tablet back together."]

[Beside him, Dugu Yan covered her mouth and burst out laughing.]

[Dugu Bo stiffened his face and glared at her, forcing a gruff explanation to salvage the situation. "I was merely treating a dead horse as though it were still alive."]

[Dugu Yan muttered beside him, "I wonder who crouched on the ground piecing it together for three days and nights, then treasured it beyond measure once he finished."]

["You little brat!" Dugu Bo bristled and slapped the armrest. With a creak, the refined-iron armrest was forcibly bent at an angle.]

[He drew a deep breath and forcibly dragged the conversation back. "At first, I did not believe a single word of those three methods. But I truly could not endure that bone-corroding torment, so I decided to give it a try and tested the soul bone method first."]

[His tone shifted, and the corners of his mouth rose involuntarily before he quickly pressed them down. "Heh, to think it actually worked quite well..."]

["Following the method you left, I sealed all the poison in my body inside my left leg soul bone, then used an Antidote Pill to nourish myself gradually. That agonizing pain that gnawed at my bones and pierced my heart truly diminished day by day. Even the old poison accumulated in my meridians over many years dispersed by more than half."]

[He rubbed the fresh dent in the armrest. "Since the soul bone method proved effective, I thought the other two methods probably were not arrows shot without a target, either."]

["Seeing that, I grew a little bolder."]

["However, that soul core method sounded far too uncanny. Condensing all my poison into my dantian would mean exploding and dying at the slightest mistake. I did not dare try it lightly."]

["As for those two earth dragon golden melons, I immediately returned to my residence, found a secluded chamber, chose the smaller one, and swallowed it whole."]

[As he spoke, he opened his palm. A mass of emerald soul power swirled above it, no longer murky and dim as it had been in the past. Instead, it was rich and translucent, with the faint phantom of a dragon roaming within, brimming with vitality.]

["After refining it, my Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor transformed directly into a jade phosphorous serpent dragon. My soul power also broke through its bottleneck in one stroke and settled firmly at rank ninety-three."]

["Grandpa was so happy then that he nearly tore the courtyard apart," Dugu Yan interjected, a playful smile on her lips.]

[Dugu Bo glared at her, but could not hide the affection in his eyes.]

["I gave the remaining one to Yanyan. Her martial soul evolved as well, transforming from a Jade Phosphorous Serpent into a jade phosphorous poison dragon. Its poison became fiercer, yet it would never again turn against her own body. At last, she could cultivate with peace of mind."]

[Dugu Yan immediately puffed out her small chest, a touch of pride flashing in her emerald eyes. "I am a rank sixty-seven Soul Emperor now!"]

[You smiled at her words and cupped your hands. "Congratulations, Senior, and congratulations to you as well, Miss Dugu."]

[Dugu Bo waved a hand, then flicked his finger, sending the External Soul Bone sliding across the table toward you. "Take this soul bone back."]

["Let what happened that year be wiped clean."]

[You smiled, your fingertips hovering against the edge of the table. Rather than accept it, you gently pushed the soul bone back half an inch. "Please keep it, Senior."]

[Dugu Bo looked over in confusion.]

[You explained, "In terms of true value, those few passages fall far short of that garden full of immortal herbs. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is one of the three great treasure basins formed by the wonders of heaven and earth. Every exotic flower and herb within is a rare treasure of the world. Any single one finding its way outside would be enough to stir up the entire Soul Master World."]

["I was young and reckless then, and swept away an entire garden of immortal herbs. That debt cannot simply be brushed aside with a few words."]

["Furthermore," you paused slightly, your gaze falling on Dugu Yan beside him, "although the martial soul poison within you and Miss Dugu has been cured, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's bloodline is passed down from generation to generation, rooted deep within your flesh and bones."]

["There is no guarantee that none of your descendants will repeat the same mistake and suffer this serpent poison's backlash again. Please keep this soul bone, Senior. Should an unexpected need arise someday, you will at least be prepared."]

[Dugu Bo had already made up his mind to refuse, but your words left him hesitating-]

[He could refuse it himself, but he could not neglect to plan for his descendants.]

[He lightly tapped the soul bone with his fingertip, raised his eyes to you, and asked gravely, "Do you know the value of this soul bone?"]

["Of course." Your expression did not change. "External Soul Bones are known as the 'blood river treasures' of the Douluo Continent. They are as rare as Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings and soul bones, and can evolve as their hosts grow. Moreover, this soul bone is the tailbone of a dragon-attribute soul beast. To most beast martial soul masters, its value would multiply several times over."]

["Since you know its value, why insist on giving it away?"]

["What happened that year was my fault. Your decision not to pursue it was your generosity. Since I agreed to come here today to repay that karmic debt, failing to offer compensation would be another fault of mine."]

[Your gaze was clear. "Kindness is kindness, and wrongdoing is wrongdoing. I do not want to remain forever in debt."]

[Dugu Bo froze briefly at your words, then burst into hearty laughter. "Good! Good! In all my years, I have seen the greedy and the hypocritical, but rarely someone as... stubborn and openhearted as you."]

[As his laughter faded, the look he gave you grew increasingly complicated.]

[He had lived more than seventy years and had seen his fill of human warmth and coldness, of the fickleness of the world. There was no shortage of people who came to his door seeking connections and speaking of favors. Every one of them spoke of gratitude and righteousness, but what their eyes fixed upon was invariably his terrifying mastery of poison and the tangled web of connections and influence behind him.]

[Even the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's efforts to court him were merely an attempt to grasp him, the world's foremost poisoned blade, and make him their claw and fang.]

[Yet this young man before him harbored not the slightest thought of personal gain. Instead, he was genuinely making plans for the future descendants of his Dugu Family.]

[If Yanyan had children someday, and those children had descendants in turn, with the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's bloodline passed down through the generations, who could guarantee that no one's bloodline would regress and subject them again to backlash that corroded the bones and burned the heart?]

[Leaving this soul bone here meant leaving the Dugu Family a way out, a chance at life.]

[People in this world mostly pursued the profits before their eyes and weighed the disadvantages of the moment. Who would willingly plan for what your family might face three generations hence?]

[Outside the simulator, Su Yi watched the words on the panel, his expression also deeply moved.]

[He could not help recalling Ma Xiaotao from the Peerless Tang Sect era in the original storyline. Precisely because her bloodline had reverted to its ancestral form, she had awakened the evil fire phoenix martial soul. Yet without a permanent cure, she had spent half her life suffering the evil fire burning her body, ultimately losing control and becoming an Evil Soul Master.]

["If the Tang Divine King had spared a little more thought for Dugu Bo's descendants..." Leaning back, he pillowed his head on his arms and sighed softly. "Then perhaps, ten thousand years later, the jade phosphorous serpent martial soul would not have vanished without a trace."]

[At this thought, an indescribable emotion suddenly welled up within Dugu Bo, like a pebble falling into a dried-up well. Though its ripples were faint, they lingered for a long time.]

[Only after a long silence did he speak again, a measure of emotion in his voice. "My poison reigns supreme beneath the heavens. Any soul master with some knowledge turns pale at its mention. Yet who would have thought that after dealing with poison all my life, I would spend that entire life trapped by it as well?"]

[He lowered his gaze to his hands, which gleamed with a ghostly green sheen, and a bitter curve tugged at his lips. "To my Dugu Family, jade phosphorous serpent poison is both a gift... and a curse."]

[His voice grew increasingly hoarse, carrying a melancholy he could not conceal. "I struggled through half my life. My wife, my son, my daughter-in-law... none of them made it through."]

[At this, his emerald eyes lowered further, like two dried-up wells into which withered leaves had fallen. "In the end, only Yanyan was left, and she, too, carried a body full of poison."]

["Grandpa!" Dugu Yan's heart ached. She hurriedly took his sleeve, her eyes reddening slightly as her voice softened.]

[Dugu Bo patted the back of her hand, his tone gentler still. "It is all right. Those are old matters now."]

[He looked at you again, sincerity surfacing in his emerald eyes. "Perhaps those three methods truly were not as valuable as that garden full of immortal herbs, but-you genuinely saved both our lives."]

["Besides, I could not recognize those herbs anyway. Keeping them would have done me little good."]

["As far as I am concerned, we were already even."]

[Thinking he still intended to refuse, you were about to persuade him again, only to see him curl a finger and draw the soul bone into his palm. "As you said, I must consider my descendants. I will accept this soul bone. But not because of that old debt-"]

[He raised his eyes to you. The cold scrutiny in his emerald gaze had diminished, replaced by a measure of sincere warmth. "It is because of this friendship."]

["You are worth befriending, boy."]

[At this point, he considered for a moment before speaking again. "Boy, I owe you a favor."]

["Here in Heaven Dou City, my strength may not amount to much, but my foul reputation certainly does." He raised his eyes to you, his voice hoarse and steady. "That you came today means you trusted me. I will remember that openness."]

["From now on, within Heaven Dou City's bounds, anyone who dares touch you will be making an enemy of my jade phosphorous serpent dragon." He paused, his voice lowering slightly. "If anything happens, just give them my name."]

[Beside him, Dugu Yan raised her brows, surprise flashing through her emerald eyes. Having grown up with her grandfather, she knew his temperament well. He was solitary by nature and never made promises lightly.]

[Yet today he had made an exception for a young man he had known for barely half a day. That recognition surprised her more than the External Soul Bone.]

[She studied you anew. The faint reserve in her emerald eyes gradually faded, replaced by an undisguised sense of closeness.]

[You rose and bowed solemnly. "Then... it would be discourteous of me to refuse."]

[After a little more idle conversation, the night deepened. You rose, bade farewell, and left.]