"That's right!"
At that point, Dugu Bo suddenly changed the subject.
"Qingxin, your father and I were the closest of friends. Before he died, he entrusted you and your daughter to my care."
"But I've already agreed to join the Star Luo Empire. I'm afraid I won't be able to be in two places at once."
Hearing this, Ye Qingxin's expression changed slightly.
She was no fool. Naturally, she knew that she and her daughter owed their peaceful lives these past few years to Dugu Bo's protection.
Once they left Dugu Bo, no one knew what might happen.
The major powers indeed wouldn't do anything to them!
But the smaller powers and those disgusting nobles were another matter.
Although Ye Qingxin was a Seven-Ring Soul Sage, she was ultimately just a healing-type Soul Master with no combat ability whatsoever.
If he hadn't died, there truly would have been nothing to worry about!
But the problem was that he was dead!
"Qingxin, join the Star Luo Empire!"
Dugu Bo stopped beating around the bush and spoke directly.
"Uncle Dugu, you should know that the foundation of our Nine Heart Begonia bloodline's survival has always been our neutrality. We don't get involved in disputes between powers."
Ye Qingxin's slender brows knitted slightly, and she hesitated.
"Things are different now. After all, you..."
Dugu Bo seemed to want to say more, but held back.
"Uncle Dugu, there's nothing you can't say."
Ye Qingxin shook her head, her voice tinged with wistfulness. "He died. He had only his bad luck to blame!"
Hearing this, Ye Lingling's gaze dimmed.
There was no doubt that the man her mother spoke of was her father.
"..."
A thoughtful look appeared on Dai Tianfeng's face.
It seemed Ye Lingling's father must have died a long time ago.
Though it was somewhat inappropriate to say so, this was clearly good news for him.
That wasn't to say Dai Tianfeng had designs on Ye Qingxin.
Of course, given Ye Qingxin's looks and figure, if the system designated her as a conquest target, he really wouldn't mind being a Cao thief for once.
Back to the point: Ye Lingling had lost her father at a young age and had depended on her mother ever since.
Children from single-parent families like hers longed desperately for care and attention deep down.
The same was true of Dugu Yan.
It was just that Dugu Yan had become willful and aloof to protect herself, keeping strangers at a distance.
Ye Lingling, on the other hand, was quiet and spoke little. Her eyes revealed no emotion, and all one seemed to feel from her was loneliness and desolation.
According to the original story, even when she was with teammates she knew well, she would choose to stand in the darkest corner of the room.
The two stood in stark contrast.
With girls like these, prescribing the right medicine produced surprisingly good results.
There was no need for any special skill.
Otherwise, so many girls from single-parent families wouldn't have embarked on a road of no return in his previous life.
"Qingxin, I won't force you. Think it over carefully, all right?" Dugu Bo sighed.
In a sense, the Nine Heart Begonia bloodline had it worse than their Jade Phosphorous Serpent bloodline.
At worst, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent had a Martial Soul defect. As long as they didn't cultivate, it really wasn't much of a problem.
The inheritance of the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, however, was more like a curse.
Unless they never awakened their Martial Souls.
But in a world where Martial Souls reigned supreme, how could they possibly go without awakening them?
"Uncle Dugu, this is a matter of great importance to our Nine Heart Begonia bloodline. Let me think it over carefully!"
Ye Qingxin didn't give an answer right away.
"Auntie Ye, have you ever heard of Immortal Herbs?" Dai Tianfeng suddenly asked.
He had just remembered that the Nine Heart Begonia bloodline might have some knowledge of Immortal Herbs.
"Immortal Herbs?"
Ye Qingxin shook her head. "I've never heard of them. What are they?"
"Immortal Herbs seize the fortune of heaven and earth. When a Soul Master takes one, it can defy the heavens and change their fate!"
Dai Tianfeng spoke pointedly. "Perhaps one could break your Nine Heart Begonia bloodline's curse!"
"Break the Nine Heart Begonia Curse?"
Ye Qingxin's whole body jolted, and her breathing stopped for half a second without her realizing it.
This had been her father's lifelong obsession, as well as the greatest pursuit of generations of the Nine Heart Begonia bloodline over the past thousand years.
"Speaking of the Nine Heart Begonia Curse, I just remembered something."
"One of our ancestors broke the Nine Heart Begonia Curse. Even after two more Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters appeared, he still lived to the end of his natural lifespan."
As she spoke, Ye Qingxin took a yellowed, timeworn manual with slightly frayed corners from her Storage Soul Tool.
"This was left behind by that ancestor. It mentions a strange flower. I wonder if it's one of the Immortal Herbs you mentioned?"
The pages turned, and an account appeared before them.
[I, Ye Changqing, happened to discover a strange flower beneath a cliff somewhere on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.]
[This strange flower was a large, pale pink blossom without leaves. Its stem was about three feet long, and the flower could reach a foot in diameter. Its petals were as clear and translucent as crystal, while its stamens were pale purple and shaped like purple diamonds. It gave off a faint, delicate fragrance.]
[Through experimentation, I discovered that its pollen could keep out all poisons, so I carried it with me day and night.]
[Once, I was gravely poisoned. In my desperation, I could only take the strange flower out of my Storage Soul Tool and consume it.]
[Yet the strange flower had no effect whatsoever that time. Fortunately, a good friend arrived in time, and I managed to keep my life.]
[Blessing came from misfortune: I discovered that my Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul had undergone a peculiar change. This should have been what is called Martial Soul Evolution.]
[At first, I paid it no mind. After all, the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul's healing ability was already formidable.]
[This Martial Soul Evolution gave me no combat power. It merely added other support abilities and greatly enhanced my existing healing ability.]
[It is no exaggeration to say that as long as a person has a single breath left, I can save them!]
[Only when my son and grandson awakened their Martial Souls and I remained safe and sound did I belatedly realize that my Nine Heart Begonia Curse had ceased to work. Our Nine Heart Begonia bloodline was finally saved!]
[I originally thought the curse on the Nine Heart Begonia bloodline would end there, but reality slapped me hard across the face. After my great-granddaughter awakened her Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, my son dropped dead on the spot!]
[The only thing I can do is record this matter!]
[To my descendants: I hope you can find that strange flower again and change your own fates!]
A peculiar look appeared on Dai Tianfeng's face.
Why does this story feel a bit like a protagonist template?
Falling off a cliff and obtaining a treasure, then stumbling upon its true use while at death's door, thereby defying the heavens and changing one's fate.
And that strange flower was probably Aromatic Silk Beauty.
It was just that Aromatic Silk Beauty was known as the nemesis of all poisons and had the effect of neutralizing every kind of toxin.
But it could only counter poison, not directly cure it.
Why, then, could it lift the Nine Heart Begonia bloodline's curse?
Still, since the Nine Heart Begonia bloodline's ancestor had written as much, it was probably true.
In the original story, no one had actually consumed Aromatic Silk Beauty. Perhaps it really did have such a peculiar effect.