"So that's how it is!" Xu Yang finally understood, realizing just how severe Dugu Yan's condition truly was. Then, he smiled, taking out the two jade boxes Lady Ning had given him from his storage ring and handing them to Dugu Bo.
"Senior, take a look at this!"
"Hmm..." Dugu Bo took the boxes with some hesitation and opened them. His pupils shrank immediately—inside were two poison-attributed soul bones, both at the ten-thousand-year level. One of them, in particular, had reached twenty thousand years and radiated with exceptional quality.
These were ten-thousand-year soul bones!
As someone who possessed a fifty-thousand-year Medusa Head Bone, Dugu Bo was no stranger to the rarity and value of soul bones. Even as a titled Douluo, he had only one himself.
"That's right," Xuyang smiled. "These were entrusted to me by my master's wife before I returned to school. They're the only two poison-type soul bones in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's reserves. She said that immortal herbs alone aren't enough to repay your kindness. So she wanted to offer these soul bones—as a token of friendship."
He pointed to each box. "The twenty-thousand-year one is the Poison Storage Left Arm Bone. Its innate soul skill allows the user to store an immense amount of poison—more than some fifty-thousand-year soul bones. The ten-thousand-year one is the Boundless Poison Right Arm Bone, which passively doubles the user's poison strength. They're tailor-made for poison-type soul masters."
Of course, none of this was actually said by his masters's wife—but to win over Dugu Bo, Xuyang was more than willing to bend the truth a little. After all, there was no way the old man would go verify the story with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan wants to recruit me..." Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes. These soul bones, despite their age, were too perfectly suited for him and his granddaughter. Given what he knew of Ning Fengzhi's cunning, he couldn't help but be suspicious.
He would've preferred to exchange them for immortal herbs, not favors.
"No, no!" Xuyang quickly waved his hands. Having read the original story, he knew Dugu Bo valued his freedom above all. Pressuring him would backfire. So he doubled down on the lie: "Senior, you misunderstand. These truly are gifts. I already explained your situation to my master and his wife. They promised not to ask anything of you. They simply admire your strength and want to be friends. Nothing about your life has to change."
"You little brat—can you say a single honest thing?" Dugu Bo snorted and glared at him. But after a pause, he picked up both soul bones and placed them into his own storage ring. "Fine. I'll accept them. When Ning Fengzhi returns from his soul hunt, tell him I want to have a talk."
There was no helping it—poison-type soul bones were just too rare. If he let these two slip by, he might never find better ones.
"Of course, I'll tell him!" Xuyang replied with a bright smile.
Once someone's willing to talk, there's room to build a relationship. Xuyang believed that even if Ning Fengzhi couldn't win Dugu Bo over completely, he could at least maintain peaceful ties.
"Alright, you handle your own business. I'm going to help Yan'er absorb the soul bones."
"Go ahead, Senior! Sister Yan's health comes first."
Xuyang waved him off, and Dugu Bo nodded before heading into Dugu Yan's room. Xuyang, meanwhile, returned to the table to continue studying his soul tools.
Inside the room, Dugu Yan sat nervously on the sofa. The Land Dragon Golden Melon hadn't completely resolved her poison inheritance, and fear gnawed at her. She was just a ten-year-old girl—she didn't want to die.
As soon as she saw her grandfather walk in, she jumped up anxiously. "Grandpa, how is it?!"
"Don't worry, Yan'er." Dugu Bo smiled and handed her the two soul bones. "That rascal must've foreseen this. He brought these just in case—two ten-thousand-year poison-type soul bones. One of them can completely solve your condition."
"Really?!" Dugu Yan's eyes lit up.
"Of course!" Dugu Bo nodded. "Absorb them now. I'll help guide the poison into the soul bones afterward."
"Okay!"
Dugu Yan quickly sat cross-legged on the bed. She first placed the Poison Storage Left Arm Bone against her arm and began the absorption process.
Compared to soul rings, soul bones were much easier to absorb. In less than an hour, she had refined both. Her soul power even rose by two ranks as a result.
Dugu Bo then stepped in, using his vast experience to draw the accumulated toxins from her body and guide them into the newly absorbed soul bones.
Fortunately, Dugu Yan was only at the thirty-something rank. For Dugu Bo, a lifetime expert in poisons, this was a trivial matter.
As the final traces of poison were drawn out, Dugu Yan's originally violet hair faded to a glossy black. Her emerald eyes turned a warm brown, and even the faint acidic scent that clung to her was gone.
The symptoms of poisoning had vanished—her condition had finally been cured!
"I'm better! I'm really better!"
"It's true! I'm completely cured!"
Dugu Yan cried out joyfully as she stared into the mirror. Dugu Bo smiled softly as he watched—years of worry had finally lifted from his heart.
Her transformation startled the rest of the team. No one had expected such a dramatic change. Not just her hair and eyes—her complexion and figure had subtly improved too. She looked more radiant and beautiful than ever.
"Yan Zi, what did you do over break?! You look totally different!" Ye Lingling ran over and held her hand, full of envy.
After all, what girl doesn't love being beautiful—even someone as cool and aloof as Ye Lingling?
Dugu Yan glanced shyly at Xuyang sitting nearby, then smiled. "It was my grandfather. During our break, he discovered the cause of my martial soul's flaw—and helped me fix it."
She recited the explanation Dugu Bo had given her.
"Your martial soul had a flaw? How come none of us knew?" Ye Lingling asked in concern.
Xuyang rolled his eyes. Of course they didn't know. Who in their right mind would expose a flaw in their martial soul? In the original story, Tang San nearly got killed for saying it out loud.
Only now that the issue was resolved could Dugu Yan speak about it so openly.
"It was just a small issue," she said vaguely. "But it's all been taken care of now."
The others didn't press further and simply listened quietly.