"I'm still little. I can't handle a fright!"
"You're still little? Don't make me laugh."
The Snow Empress gave a sweet laugh.
He claimed he couldn't handle a fright, yet here he was putting on an act.
Though she hadn't spent ten years with Gu Wuchen, she had come to understand his personality during their time together.
"Also, if you run into something you can't handle, don't try to tough it out. Sister Xue will take care of it for you!"
"Even a Titled Douluo is no match for Sister Xue."
The Snow Empress spoke with great pride.
When it came to protecting her own, she was an expert.
"Stop boasting, Sister Xue. You're the ruler of the Far North, yet you're showing off in front of me. Aren't you ashamed?"
"Little Wuchen, your skin must be itching. You need a good lesson!" the Snow Empress chided coquettishly, then said nothing more.
In a palace in the Far North, her true body had sensed the Ice Empress approaching, leaving her no choice but to cut off the connection.
When Gu Wuchen received no reply from the Snow Empress, he didn't continue speaking. Instead, he watched the cooking smoke rising from the kitchen.
Could Ye Yuan'er cook?
He hadn't paid attention before, and this time he could also use Martial Soul Evolution on Ye Yuan'er and help her break through to Titled Douluo in one fell swoop.
Ye Yuan'er had assisted him for a year and a half, helping him resolve quite a few matters, big and small.
"Young Master, it's ready!"
Ye Yuan'er pushed open the door. She was wearing an apron, with traces of cooking grease still on her face, and carrying a bowl of stir-fried chili chicken.
Ye Yuan'er had actually learned to make this dish?
"Bishop Ye, you really can cook!"
Gu Wuchen was astonished.
As he stood there in a daze, Ye Yuan'er carried the stir-fried chili chicken over to the wooden table beneath the osmanthus tree.
"Young Master, you underestimate me. As a Platinum Bishop, besides beauty and strength, cooking skills are indispensable too."
Ye Yuan'er placed a pair of bamboo chopsticks in front of the dish. "Young Master, start eating. I'll go serve the rice!"
Gu Wuchen came back to his senses. Everything before him felt rather dreamlike: even after leaving the Far North, he could still taste food he liked.
He went over to the wooden table, picked up the bamboo chopsticks, and put a piece of meat in his mouth. He chewed slowly. The meat was firm, not overcooked at all, with just the right texture, and it wasn't too spicy either.
When Ye Yuan'er came out of the kitchen again, she had taken off her apron and was carrying two bowls of rice, each grain distinct.
"Bishop Ye, I have to say, your cooking is pretty good!"
Gu Wuchen praised her, then picked up his rice and began to eat.
The praise gave Ye Yuan'er a little confidence, and she said, "I'm glad you like it, Young Master. Actually, you don't have to call me Bishop Ye. We've known each other for almost two years, so just call me Yuan'er!"
Calling her Bishop Ye all the time made them seem distant.
A different form of address would be a little better.
Gu Wuchen paused and looked at Ye Yuan'er, whose movements had also stopped. He smiled faintly. "You're right. Then I'll call you Sister Yuan'er. After all, you're older than me."
"Young Master, whichever you like is fine!" Ye Yuan'er said with a smile.
The two chatted and laughed as they ate dinner.
Time passed quickly. Early the next morning, not long after Ye Yuan'er and Gu Wuchen finished breakfast, Dugu Bo brought his granddaughter Dugu Yan to the residence.
"Young Master Gu, I've brought Yanyan!"
A tall, graceful girl with a delicate, lovely face followed at Dugu Bo's side.
"Yanyan, this is Young Master Gu, the eldest son of the Gu Clan!"
Dugu Yan nodded slightly, her beautiful eyes turning to Gu Wuchen, who was sitting in a chair. The boy had a handsome, refined face, with a touch of charm between his brows that drew people in.
"What a cute little brother!" Dugu Yan said instinctively.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Dugu Bo's smile stiffened. He coughed lightly twice. "Yanyan, don't be so rude!"
Dugu Yan came to her senses and immediately corrected herself. "Sorry, Young Master Gu. That was rude of me!"
It was mainly because he was too cute, cuter than any boy she had ever seen.
"It's all right, Senior Dugu. It's not the first time someone's said that about me!"
At that moment, the Snow Empress's sweet laughter rang out in Gu Wuchen's mind.
"Of course not. I, Sister Xue, say it every day."
The corner of Gu Wuchen's mouth twitched, but he ignored the Snow Empress.
"Now that you're here, Senior Dugu, let's set off!"
Gu Wuchen didn't want to waste time.
"By the way, who is this?"
Dugu Bo was taken aback when he saw Ye Yuan'er. He didn't seem to have seen her yesterday.
"Ye Yuan'er, a Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall!"
"Spirit Hall?" Dugu Bo frowned, clearly sensitive to any mention of Spirit Hall.
"Don't worry, Senior Dugu. I've known Sister Yuan'er for some time. I vouch for her with my standing as the Gu Clan's eldest son!" Gu Wuchen said hastily.
His words dispelled Dugu Bo's misgivings.
"Since you say so, Young Master Gu, I, Dugu, naturally believe you."
The four then left the residence one after another and headed for the Sunset Forest.
Ye Yuan'er hadn't expected Gu Wuchen to trust her so much!
In less than half a day, the four arrived outside the Sunset Forest.
"The Sunset Forest?" Ye Yuan'er asked in puzzlement. "Could there be some treasure inside?"
"Much more than just treasure. You'll know once you go in, Bishop Ye," Dugu Bo said with a smile.
They continued deeper into the Sunset Forest and came to a bank of poisonous gas. Dugu Bo waved a hand, opening a passage through it.
They passed through the poisonous mist and traveled across a valley. The view before them suddenly opened up.
Inside the valley, a field of Immortal Herbs in all manner of colors shimmered with different lights, making Ye Yuan'er's eyes light up.
"How beautiful!"
"The air here feels much better than outside, too!"
Dugu Bo smiled proudly. "Of course. This place is my blessed land."
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!" Gu Wuchen walked to the edge of a lake where milky white and vivid red waters met. "One of the Douluo Continent's three great treasure basins, nurturing countless Immortal Herbs!"
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?"
Dugu Bo was startled. "You recognized it at a glance, Young Master Gu."
"That's right, this is it. The poison in your body can also be alleviated here, Senior Dugu, and this place was also what gave you the opportunity to break through to Titled Douluo."
"You're right, Young Master Gu. But I didn't expect this place to be so extraordinary. I can't make sense of these Immortal Herbs, and I don't dare swallow them recklessly, so I can only tend them carefully," Dugu Bo said with a sigh.
There were so many Immortal Herbs, and he didn't recognize them either. If he swallowed one improperly and his body exploded, killing him, that would be the worst possible outcome.
"Take those two plants, for example. If you swallow the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot together, then jump into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, you can improve your constitution and become impervious to ice, fire, and all poisons."
Dugu Bo drew a sharp breath. Impervious to ice, fire, and all poisons.
With that effect, wouldn't he have no need to fear poison at all?
"You actually know so much about it, Young Master Gu."
Gu Wuchen nodded. "Naturally. If I didn't know it clearly, I wouldn't dare claim I could treat the Jade Phosphorus Snake Venom in Dugu Bo's body."
"Jade Phosphorus Snake Venom?"
Dugu Yan, who was listening beside them, felt a sudden panic in her heart when she heard those words.
"Grandpa, does our Dugu Family's Jade Phosphorus Snake come with poison?"
At this point, Dugu Bo no longer concealed it and admitted openly, "Yanyan, Young Master Gu is right. Our Dugu Family's Jade Phosphorus Snake is born with poison. The higher our cultivation, the more the poison spreads throughout our bodies."
"Then doesn't that mean my father and mother..."