Xuan Ming raised his head. "So you never thought I could neutralize the poison myself in the first place?"
"Of course," Dugu Bo said.
The Nine-Section Jade's deadly poison spread extremely quickly. Even a Soul Saint could not forcibly expel it while suppressing it!
"Then what are you trying to do?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Kill me?"
"Of course not." Dugu Bo stood up.
"No matter what, you did save this old man tonight. I've always kept gratitude and grudges distinct. Since you saved me, I naturally won't harm you."
"Oh? Poison me, then cure me, so you'll have saved my life too, and we can call it even?" Xuan Ming said.
Dugu Bo looked somewhat embarrassed. "That's not what I meant."
He was indeed curious about just how much this brat's domain could do. Faced with lethal poison, the brat could not possibly keep anything hidden.
If the brat could not suppress the snake venom, he would definitely beg him to cure it. When that happened...
"You truly do keep gratitude and grudges distinct, Senior," Xuan Ming said quietly.
"This junior is impressed."
"Enough. You don't have to mock me like that," Dugu Bo said.
"You saved me tonight. This old man will naturally repay that kindness."
"How about this? I'll take you as my disciple. From now on..."
"Repay my kindness by taking me as your disciple?" Xuan Ming could not help looking at him as though he were an idiot.
"This junior lacks talent and is unworthy of being your disciple, Senior."
"Hmph! You think you're getting the short end of the stick?" Dugu Bo was somewhat displeased.
"This old man is a Titled Douluo, supreme among poison users!"
"Becoming my disciple is something countless people can only dream of."
"What, you feel wronged?"
Chapter 11: The Knee-Jerk Reflex
Spirit City.
"Xue Xing? Why would he interfere in this matter?"
After failing to assassinate Dugu Bo, Yue Guan and Gui Mei soon returned to Spirit City and reported the entire incident from beginning to end.
"A guest elder of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family? Interesting." Bibi Dong rested her chin on her hand, considering her next move.
"Since Dugu Bo has become a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, we can't touch him for now."
"At least not openly... Forget it. Leave that old poisoner alone for now."
"Tell me about that child with the strange domain. Is it really an Innate Domain that can affect even Titled Douluos?"
"Your Holiness, it is absolutely true!" Yue Guan said.
"Old Ghost and I experienced that strange domain more than once. Although we could quickly break free with a burst of Soul Power, as long as the domain activated first, we would be affected for an instant, no matter how prepared we were."
"Whether it was our Soul Power or our bodies, even our vision and breathing felt suppressed for an instant. It was extremely unpleasant."
"That overbearing?" Bibi Dong raised her eyebrows, quite surprised.
An Innate Domain did indeed give a Soul Master greater dominance over others of the same rank, but a child who was not even a Soul Master could actually affect Titled Douluos?
Even the Angel Domain of the Qian Family's Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul could not do such a thing.
"Then why didn't you bring him back?" Bibi Dong asked.
"You couldn't kill Dugu Bo, and you couldn't even capture a child?"
"Your Holiness, it wasn't that we wouldn't capture him. That brat had already thrown in with Dugu Bo," Yue Guan said nervously.
"With the sort of man Dugu Bo is, how close could he possibly be to a child who has only just awakened his Martial Soul?" Bibi Dong said.
"What if that old poisoner poisoned the child and threatened him?"
"Well..." Yue Guan was momentarily at a loss for words and instinctively looked at Gui Mei.
Gui Mei recalled what had happened. "That brat... was acting a little strangely. He did want to leave with us at first, but halfway over, he suddenly stopped, as though something was holding him back."
"Given Dugu Bo's character, poisoning him... is very possible."
Faced with that situation, a six-year-old child could never have made such a decision unless something had left him no choice!
"Since that old poisoner has become a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, he will certainly keep the child in Heaven Dou City," Bibi Dong said.
"Yue Guan, go take a look. If an opportunity presents itself, bring him back."
"What if that brat really has thrown in with Dugu Bo?" Yue Guan asked.
"Do you need me to teach you how to handle something like that?" Bibi Dong said.
He was not even a Soul Master yet, and his domain was already so overbearing. If he truly grew to maturity, he would certainly be trouble!
Meanwhile, after resting for a few days at the Heaven Dou Empire's military camp, Dugu Bo took Xuan Ming back to his residence in Heaven Dou City.
It was a very quiet courtyard residence, far from the bustling streets.
"Grandpa!"
As soon as they entered the courtyard, a little girl who looked less than ten years old, with long green hair, ran over and leaped into Dugu Bo's arms.
"Grandpa, where did you go? Why haven't I heard from you for so long?" Dugu Yan asked.
"I had something to take care of outside and was delayed for a few days." Wearing a kindly smile, Dugu Bo set Dugu Yan down.
"Come, let Grandpa introduce you to a friend."
"A friend?" Dugu Yan turned her gaze toward the handsome little boy standing behind Dugu Bo. He had long, snow-white hair and wore a simple black robe, with a pair of strange, legless black dragons growing from his back. His entire body gave off a keep-your-distance air.
"His name is..." Dugu Bo paused and turned to Xuan Ming.
"What was your name again?"
"Xuan Ming."
"Oh, right, Xuan Ming." Dugu Bo nodded.
"Yanyan, Grandpa still has something to take care of. I'll leave him with you for the time being. Get along with each other."
Dugu Yan's expression turned strange. "Grandpa, you didn't kidnap him from somewhere, did you?"
You don't even know his name, and you call him a friend?
"I didn't kidnap him. I picked him up," Dugu Bo said.
"You can ask him about the details. Grandpa's business is rather urgent, so I'll be leaving first."
With that, before Dugu Yan could say anything else, he turned and flew away.
"Hey!" Dugu Yan was about to call out, but Dugu Bo had already vanished completely from her sight.
"What could be so urgent...?"
Dugu Yan stared in confusion in the direction Dugu Bo had disappeared. Only after a good while did she withdraw her gaze and study the little boy before her, who was only about six years old. "Xuan Ming?"
Xuan Ming glanced at Dugu Yan and responded indifferently, "Mm."
Dugu Yan looked curiously at the two black dragons behind Xuan Ming. "What's going on with those two dragons on your back?"
"Martial Soul Mutation," Xuan Ming said.
"Mutation?" Dugu Yan walked behind Xuan Ming and lifted the black robe covering him.
"They really grow out of your body?"
The twin dragons grew from below Xuan Ming's shoulder blades. At first glance, they looked as though they had burrowed straight out of his body.
If humans had wings, they would probably grow from there too.
"This Martial Soul Mutation of yours really is... Ah!"
Before she could finish, Dugu Yan, who had been about to reach out and touch a black dragon, abruptly stumbled backward, nearly falling to the ground.
"What are you doing?!" Dugu Yan glared angrily at Xuan Ming.
If she had not dodged quickly enough, that dragon would have bitten her!
Xuan Ming turned his head and looked at Dugu Yan in confusion. "What happened?"
"You!" Seeing Xuan Ming looking so utterly unaware made Dugu Yan even angrier.
"I was only going to touch it! Did you have to bite me?"
"Touch it?" Xuan Ming looked at the black dragon on his left and saw it staring fixedly at Dugu Yan.
"Sorry. When these two dragons encounter certain stimuli, they move on their own. They aren't completely under my control."
"Move on their own?" Dugu Yan looked skeptical.
"Didn't you say this was your Martial Soul? How could it move on its own?"
"They are my Martial Soul, but they aren't completely under my control," Xuan Ming said.
"You can think of it as an instinctive reaction to being touched. Never mind you-sometimes they even hit me."
"Really?" Dugu Yan was still somewhat doubtful.
What Soul Master couldn't even control their own Martial Soul?
Xuan Ming thought for a moment. "Do you know about the knee-jerk reflex?"
"The knee-jerk... reflex?" Dugu Yan looked puzzled.
"What's that?"
"Sit down and cross either leg over the other. I'll show you," Xuan Ming said.
Still doubtful, Dugu Yan sat on a stone stool. "If you can't explain it properly, just wait for a beating."
Xuan Ming walked to Dugu Yan's side and reached out to tap the ligament below her right kneecap.
"Hm?" Dugu Yan looked in confusion at her lower leg, which had kicked up beyond her control. She reached out and tapped it herself, and her lower leg sprang up again.
When she forcibly held her lower leg still, the reaction became very slight, but she could still feel it wanting to spring upward.
Chapter 12: How Much Do You Think I'm Worth?
"What's going on?" Dugu Yan asked curiously.
"That's the knee-jerk reflex. When certain parts of your body receive certain external stimuli, they react on their own without your conscious judgment. The two dragons on my back are a similar case," Xuan Ming said.
"If you reach out and touch them without me knowing, they'll automatically strike back."
"Oh, I see..." Dugu Yan nodded, seemingly accepting Xuan Ming's explanation.
"So that means you can stop them from biting people at random?"
Xuan Ming hesitated. "Yes."
"Good. Keep them under control now. Don't let them move," Dugu Yan said.
Xuan Ming looked at Dugu Yan, somewhat speechless. "Men and women shouldn't touch so freely."
"You're just a little brat. What do you mean, men and women shouldn't touch?" Dugu Yan's face hardened.
"Hurry up and keep them under control. If they dare bite me again, heh heh!"
"This young lady's Jade Phosphorous Serpent is no vegetarian!"
Xuan Ming took a deep breath and chose to comply after all.
Dugu Bo placed considerable importance on Dugu Yan. If she disliked him, then even with that supposed debt of gratitude, the old poisoner would not treat him kindly. For all he knew, the man might be in a bad mood one day and slap him dead.