A visit in the dead of night

"Sir, your candied hawthorns."

The vendor handed over two skewers coated in sugar.

"Thank you."

Yu Xiaogang took them and passed one to Liu Erlong.

Dugu Bo also took one and handed it to Dugu Yan.

"Thank you, Grandpa!"

"Hehe, what a good girl you are, Yanyan."

"Oh, come on, I'm not little anymore."

"Hahahaha, you'll always be a child in Grandpa's eyes."

Yu Xiaogang smiled and bit into a hawthorn. As though something had suddenly occurred to him, he said casually, "Have you been feeling well lately, Senior? If you have no other way, you could try forcing the toxins into a Soul Bone."

Dugu Bo's expression changed abruptly, his pupils contracting slightly. "What did you say?"

The temperature around them seemed to drop several degrees in an instant, and Liu Erlong instinctively shifted half a step forward.

Yu Xiaogang's expression remained unchanged. He merely smiled and raised a hand. "Don't get worked up, Senior. You can try it later before saying anything more. I'll be at Blue Tyrant Academy for the time being. You can find me there if anything comes up."

He lowered his head and waved to Dugu Yan.

"Goodbye, Yanyan."

"Goodbye!"

Dugu Yan waved back at him, then looked at Dugu Bo beside her.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

Dugu Bo came back to his senses, his expression returning to normal. He looked down and smiled. "Hehe, nothing. Come on, Yanyan. It's time we went home."

"Okay."

Dugu Bo took his granddaughter's hand and turned to leave, towering waves already surging through his heart.

What did that kid mean? Could he have seen my problem?

Impossible! How could a young man who looked barely over thirty see through his poison at a glance?

Force it into a Soul Bone... force it into a Soul Bone...

A sudden flash crossed his mind, and he felt as though lightning had struck him.

That's right!

The reason wielders of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul suffered from poisoning was that, during Martial Soul Possession, the toxins also seeped into their bodies, accumulating in their internal organs over the years.

But if all the toxins were forced into a Soul Bone, letting the Soul Bone bear the deadly poison instead of the flesh...

Wouldn't the problem come apart like bamboo beneath a blade?

Dugu Bo's steps faltered, and an irrepressible excitement surged in his heart.

He had been stuck on this problem for decades, seeking out renowned physicians and scouring ancient texts without finding a solution. Now, a stranger's casual remark had actually shown him the first light of dawn!

Just who was that white-haired young man?

He could see through his poison at a glance and reveal a solution in a single sentence. This man was anything but ordinary!

Blue Tyrant Academy, was it...

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes and quickened his pace, still holding Dugu Yan's hand. He already had a plan in mind.

Only after Dugu Bo left did Liu Erlong let out a long breath and pat her chest.

"Xiaogang, you've got far too much nerve! That was Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo! That old poison fiend's temper changes like the weather. He turns hostile faster than turning a page. If he'd just..."

"Don't worry, Erlong."

Yu Xiaogang gently squeezed her hand.

"I'm here. I know what I'm doing."

Liu Erlong looked into his calm eyes.

Xiaogang had been like this in the past, too-calm and composed, as though he had a fully formed plan no matter what he did.

Since Xiaogang said so, everything would surely be fine.

The two strolled through the streets a while longer, buying a few little things for Liu Erlong. Only as the night deepened did they retrace their path to Blue Tyrant Academy.

After returning to the small villa and washing up, Liu Erlong took Yu Xiaogang's hand and led him a couple of steps toward the bedroom.

But Yu Xiaogang stopped and gently withdrew his hand, smiling at her. "You go and rest first. I'll sit in the living room for a while."

Liu Erlong turned back to look at him, reluctance written all over her face. "You came all this way, and you're not going to rest?"

"You sleep first. I'll turn in later."

Liu Erlong watched him for two seconds. Seeing that he was firm, she could only pout, give him a resentful look, and turn to enter the bedroom.

The corner of Yu Xiaogang's mouth twitched.

It really wasn't that he wanted to refuse her. The trouble was, barring any surprises, there would probably be a guest tonight.

It wouldn't be very appropriate...

He sat alone at the tea table in the living room, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it leisurely.

Moonlight spilled through the window lattice, spreading a sheet of silvery white across the wooden floor.

Time ticked by, and all was silent.

Until the dead of night.

The faintest whisper of robes cutting through the air swept over the courtyard wall. A dark green figure landed soundlessly in the corridor outside the window and stepped into the living room a moment later.

His blackish-green robes stirred without wind. Dugu Bo stood in the doorway, his brown eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light as he studied Yu Xiaogang, who sat upright at the tea table, with keen interest.

As though he had expected this, Yu Xiaogang pushed the other cup of tea, which he had long since poured, toward the seat opposite him.

"An honor to have you visit, Senior Dugu. Please, take a seat."

Dugu Bo stared at him for several breaths, then flicked his sleeve, strode over, and sat opposite him. He picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"You knew I would come?"

Yu Xiaogang smiled. "What did you think of that method, Senior?"

Dugu Bo fell silent for a moment, but ultimately nodded. "Not bad. I'm not a man who likes owing favors. If you ever need anything, you can come to me. As long as it's within my power, I'll do it for you."

"Hehe, you truly are a man of genuine feeling, Senior."

Yu Xiaogang lifted his own tea and took a sip.

"But there was something I forgot to remind you of, Senior."

"Oh?"

"The Soul Bone method I mentioned can indeed resolve the poison in your body, and even Yanyan's poison. But..."

Yu Xiaogang set down his teacup and looked at Dugu Bo seriously.

"In the end, it treats the symptoms, not the root."

Dugu Bo frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

He had come tonight intending to sound Yu Xiaogang out and repay the favor along the way.

To him, this method of storing poison in a Soul Bone was already nearly perfect. It could completely solve the deadly poison that had plagued the Dugu Family for generations. How could it only treat the symptoms rather than the root?

Yu Xiaogang shook his head, then explained, "You may have forgotten, Senior, that a Soul Bone has a storage limit. The higher its quality, the more toxins it can bear, but every Soul Bone has a limit in the end. Once the poison stored inside exceeds that limit, the consequences will be unimaginable. I'm afraid even you wouldn't be able to suppress it then."

Dugu Bo jolted at these words, a bead of cold sweat seeping out on his forehead.

That's right! That was exactly it!

No matter how good a Soul Bone was, it still had a capacity limit. In his excitement, he had actually forgotten this most obvious principle!

Once the poison filled the Soul Bone, the backlash would only surge even more fiercely, leaving no room to maneuver.

He gritted his teeth, his fists tightening slightly. "Is there... really no other way?"

"Hehe."

"Of course there is."

Dugu Bo's head snapped up.

"You know one!"

Yu Xiaogang smiled without answering.

Dugu Bo could only feel that the man before him was unfathomable. He had seen his problem at a glance, proposed a solution, then turned around and pointed out its flaw. Now he actually had another move held in reserve.

He drew a deep breath, then solemnly cupped his hands. "Please tell me, sir. If you can resolve the scourge of deadly poison passed down through countless generations of my Dugu Family, my gratitude will know no bounds. I would even... agree to any condition you set."

"Hehe, you're being too solemn, Senior. There's no need for that."

Yu Xiaogang waved a hand.

"Come to think of it, Senior Dugu, there is something of a fated connection between us. I can see that young Yanyan has exceptional talent, and I cannot bear to see her die young. How about this? If you have no objection, Senior, would you be willing to let young Yanyan become my disciple?"