"I'll be fourteen in a few months." Fang Lin did the math in his head. He had already been at Heaven Dou Academy for nearly six years.
"The age is about right." Dugu Bo stroked his beard and muttered to himself.
Fang Lin felt his scalp tingle as an inexplicable sense of tension rose within him.
Searching his heart, Fang Lin had no feelings for Dugu Yan. If he did, it could only be lust at first sight.
Fang Lin didn't have a powerful backer like Tang San, and Dugu Yan wasn't with Yu Tianheng at this point. If he rejected Dugu Bo outright...
Looking at the old man before him, whom he had spent two months placating, Fang Lin found himself in a dilemma.
Dugu Bo looked Fang Lin up and down, then finally seemed to reach a decision:
"I have a grandniece with lovely looks. Your background is a little lacking, but your talent and temperament are first-rate. You're good enough to marry my grandniece."
"Senior, as for Dugu Yan, I..."
Fang Lin steeled himself and began to speak, only to get stuck halfway through. "Grandniece?"
Dugu Bo's expression froze as well, and the air seemed to solidify for a moment.
Fang Lin sprang to his feet and cupped his hands.
"Senior, I just remembered I need to go cultivate, so I won't disturb you any longer."
The moment the words left his mouth, Fang Lin darted back into the herb garden and plunged into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
From above, Dugu Bo's voice came wrapped in surging force, sweeping away the damp white mist over the spring and penetrating straight to the bottom.
"Brat, get out here! You dare set your sights on my granddaughter? I'll see what you're really made of!"
Hiding at the bottom, Fang Lin inwardly groaned. He had meant to say they weren't suited for each other, but now, telling the truth would probably make things worse.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Dugu Bo doted on his granddaughter.
Yu Tianheng had Thunder Douluo behind him, and Tang San had Clear Sky Douluo. Only those two could make Dugu Bo obediently give up his family's precious cabbage.
Fang Lin had nothing but the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The spring contained two forces of yin and yang Qi, one of extreme cold and the other of extreme heat. Approach it, and the violently opposed energies would scour the body and damage its foundation. Even a Titled Douluo couldn't enter.
Sensing that the commotion above had died down, Fang Lin slowly poked his head out.
Dugu Bo had merely lost his temper and hadn't truly intended to kill him, but their relationship had entered an awkward phase.
Fang Lin glanced at the swaying golden chrysanthemum in the distance and let out a long sigh.
"I'm afraid it'll be hard to come back again..."
The sun and moon wheeled through the sky; autumn gave way to winter.
The valley where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well lay had unusual terrain. Influenced by the twin springs of yin and yang, its climate never changed, whether it was cold or hot.
Fang Lin gazed at the dense forest beyond the valley and saw snow settling on the branches. Only then did he realize that half a year had nearly passed.
There were no years in the mountains; when the cold ended, one knew not what year it was. The saying applied just as well to the valley where Dugu Bo lived alone.
A month earlier, Fang Lin's Soul Power had reached level thirty. He had eaten clusters of Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flowers here and there at the valley entrance, leaving no continuous patch behind. The poisonous mist at the entrance had visibly thinned, and he estimated it would take another year to recover.
In turn, Fang Lin had refined more than seventy percent of the medicinal power from the two Immortal Herbs, the Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. The 160 jin of weights he wore for his daily saber practice had become almost unnoticeable.
"Once I'm back, I'll need to buy more iron essence to reforge my equipment. I've been on leave for half a year; I wonder if Teacher Qin is still paying my allowance."
Standing at the valley entrance, Fang Lin muttered to himself, then casually picked the most luxuriant Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower from a corner and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it down in a few bites.
The green leaves were crisp and slightly sour, while the petals were supple and left a sweet aftertaste.
More importantly, the poison in its sap stimulated the absorption of the ice and fire herbs' medicinal power in Fang Lin's meridians.
Back in the herb garden, Fang Lin sat down to meditate. Less than a quarter of an hour after he entered his trance, a dull thud came from ahead and to his right, like something heavy hitting the ground.
Dugu Bo shook out his robes. Beside him lay a Soul Beast that resembled both a deer and a sheep, with two sharp horns standing atop its head like spears.
"You're here."
Without needing Dugu Bo to prompt him, Fang Lin got up and deftly skinned and butchered the beast, skewering the meat in large chunks. Fat sizzled from it over the boiling, lava-like water of the Yang Spring. Two months earlier, Dugu Bo had agreed to let Fang Lin barbecue in the herb garden. After that, Fang Lin had done as he pleased, and it had continued to this day.
They sprinkled on the seasonings and ate heartily.
During the meal, Dugu Bo looked up. "Brat, after we finish eating, I'll take you back to Heaven Dou Academy."
Most of the poison in Dugu Bo's body had already been purged. A week earlier, the effect of using Fang Lin's blood as medicine had noticeably weakened, and it was the same even when he drank it directly.
Fang Lin paused and glanced at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well behind him.
"Senior, how about I stay a little longer? I should at least get rid of all the poison in your body."
Truthfully, Fang Lin was somewhat reluctant to leave this natural treasure land for cultivation. Every few days, Dugu Bo also supplied him with meat from thousand-year-old or even ten-thousand-year-old Soul Beasts.
Dugu Bo laughed in exasperation. "If you don't leave soon, you'll eat every last one of my Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flowers. If I don't say anything, you don't even know to hold back.
"Besides, you've already refined most of the ice and fire Immortal Herbs. Their medicinal power has fused into your foundation and Martial Soul, so using your blood as medicine is hardly any use. Would you be willing to let me crack your bones and suck out the marrow?"
As he spoke, a faint smile played on Dugu Bo's face, and a cold light flickered in his eyes.
"I just remembered, Teacher Qin assigned me to form a Soul Fighting team. I really should go back."
Fang Lin's expression abruptly turned solemn, all trace of reluctance gone.
Dugu Bo gave a soft snort. "Brat Fang, I've given it some thought. If you can break through to level forty-five before you turn twenty, I could consider letting you and Yanyan be together."
The age of twenty and level forty were two dividing lines in a Soul Master's cultivation. After twenty, the advantages of growth and development diminished, and cultivation slowed. After level forty, the difficulty of compressing Soul Power rose sharply. To advance further, a Soul Master needed not only arduous cultivation but also the tempering of battle.
Reaching level forty-five before twenty meant one had a good chance of becoming a Soul Douluo.
Dugu Bo had previously offered his grandniece in marriage, but Fang Lin had refused.
After learning that Fang Lin could eat the Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flowers, Dugu Bo had once again entertained the idea of taking him as a grandson-in-law. He would grow old and pass away one day, and the descendants of the Dugu line couldn't always obtain Soul Bones.
Fang Lin's bloodline, which feared no Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, had instead become the key to successfully passing down the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul.
The children born to the two of them might one day retain the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's poison without suffering its backlash.
"Senior, I told you, those two Immortal Herbs will have a chance to grow back after a hundred years. Please stop setting your sights on me." Fang Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Beauty was something Fang Lin desired, but being saddled with such a domineering father-in-law was far less appealing, unless Fang Lin could match him in strength. Besides, when it came to beauty, he already had someone he liked better in mind.
"Besides, it seems to me that Yu Tianheng is quite fond of your granddaughter. They might already be together."
"Really? Why hasn't Yanyan mentioned it to me?" Dugu Bo looked skeptical.
"She's a girl. It's normal for her to be shy." Fang Lin spoke with ringing conviction.
Fang Lin didn't know which of Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan had pursued the other. If he told Dugu Bo that Dugu Yan had thrown herself at Yu Tianheng, the old man would fly off the handle again.
Dugu Bo's expression gave nothing away. He didn't seem entirely convinced, but he didn't want to continue the subject either.
Whether it was true or not, he could find out by asking later. If his granddaughter wouldn't tell him, couldn't he ask Yu Tianheng?
"Let's go."
Dugu Bo picked Fang Lin up and rose from the valley, treading through the air as he headed straight for Heaven Dou Academy.
Fang Lin took one last look at the Immortal Herbs swaying around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, his gaze flickering.
Besides Tang San, there might be a few others who recognized these Immortal Herbs and knew how to harvest them.