After a short while, Yang Yunhai let go of Zhu Zhuqing, held her hand, and turned to look at Dugu Yan with a smile.
"Sister Yan, Grandfather Dugu has gone to the dorm to look for you. But I suspect he'll come straight here shortly."
"So, Sister Yan, you might as well wait here."
"Come on, you and Zhuqing just finished training, you're both covered in sweat. Go inside and wash up first."
"Alright." Dugu Yan snapped back to her senses and nodded with a smile.
As if remembering something, she quickly added, "Xiaohai, don't worry. These days of training I've had here with Zhuqing,before I get your permission, I won't reveal any of it to anyone."
It's probably already been leaked, Yunhai thought silently. The place he lived in was flanked on both sides by towering stone mountains,perfect for hiding people. If the academy or other forces outside wanted to, they could easily sneak in and observe these outdoor training sessions.
But so what? He knew far more than just this.
Besides, immortal herbs were the real key to creating a gap in strength; ordinary training was merely the icing on the cake.
"It's fine. Just some things I thought up on the spot,not really any big secret," Yunhai said casually with a smile.
"Let's go, Sister Yan." He pulled Zhu Zhuqing and walked toward the wooden house.
Things made up on the spot… not so simple if shown outside, Dugu Yan thought silently, following behind.
Soon, the three entered the house. Each of the two girls chose a bedroom and went inside to wash in the attached bathroom.
Before they came out, Dugu Bo stepped into the valley.
"Yun, Grandfather Dugu is here." In the valley full of Blue Silver Grass, Yiner's perception was sharp, and she immediately warned him.
"Mm." Yunhai nodded and got up to go out.
As expected of the reincarnated soul of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast,the Blue Silver Emperor,even without her memories, she could still establish a spiritual link with the surrounding Blue Silver Grass to gather information.
Her sensing range was far greater than his own. It was like having a radar by his side,very useful indeed.
To be safe, he had told Yiner not to use any abilities in Dugu Bo's presence to avoid being detected by spiritual fluctuations.
So, on their way back, Yiner had behaved obediently, not even daring to transmit messages to him.
But as soon as Dugu Bo left after returning to the academy, Yiner became restless again. Out of curiosity, and almost instinctively, she connected with the nearby Blue Silver Grass to observe everything around, then excitedly told him all about it.
That was how he confirmed that Yiner still retained this sensing ability.
He didn't know whether Yiner still had other innate abilities, but it seemed that whenever she needed to use something, she could naturally do so without explanation. For now, he could only make use of the abundant Blue Silver Grass in the valley and slowly guide her to test abilities mentioned in the original story.
Fortunately, he had told Yiner about Zhuqing in advance. And even more fortunately, she had lost her memories,making her simple and pure in matters of feelings,otherwise, things could have gotten complicated.
Thinking this, he strode out of the wooden house.
"Xiaohai, Grandpa's here!" Dugu Bo's hearty voice rang out as soon as he stepped outside.
Yunhai quickly went forward to greet him with a smile. "Grandfather Dugu, Sister Yan is here. I knew you'd come in person."
"You brat, you're like the worm in my stomach now." Dugu Bo shot him a glance.
At such a young age, he was far ahead of Yu Tianheng when it came to reading people.
Yunhai smiled. "Grandfather Dugu, please come in and sit. Sister Yan and Zhuqing just finished training and are washing up in their rooms."
"Mm." Dugu Bo nodded and strode inside.
After sitting down and chatting over tea for a while, Dugu Yan gracefully stepped out of her bedroom.
"Yan, let's go. We'll head back to the residence," Dugu Bo said immediately, standing up.
The young couple hadn't seen each other for days,he had no intention of being a third wheel.
Besides, absorbing the soul bone would take time, and there was also the matter of taking detoxification medicine and transferring poison. He also had things to tell his granddaughter about keeping certain matters regarding Yunhai a secret.
"Alright." Dugu Yan nodded slightly.
She knew Yunhai and Zhuqing had been apart for days and would surely want to talk. Staying here would be inappropriate. And judging by things, the detoxification medicine was ready, and the soul bones had been gathered. Her grandfather was eager to take her back likely for detoxification.
Under Yunhai's gaze, the grandfather and granddaughter left the valley.
Having just finished washing, Zhu Zhuqing came quietly to Yunhai's side, gently holding his arm as they watched them go.
"Let's go, Zhuqing. Back to the room." As the two figures receded, Yunhai turned to Zhu Zhuqing, slipped an arm around her waist, and, while speaking, discreetly took out a slip of paper from his soul guide, giving her a subtle look as he handed it over.
Although Yiner, inside the soul bone, could see outside, her vision had blind spots. She could only view the outside from the soul bone's position, and obstacles at a certain distance could block her sight. This was one reason she liked to come out often.
Since the soul bone was in his leg, anything above the thigh could only be seen from a low angle, which limited visibility.
That was one drawback of inhabiting a soul bone. If she resided in a soul ring instead, there would be no such problem.
Because of this flaw, Yunhai had arranged for Yiner to stay in a cave by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well temporarily, writing this note to avoid her overhearing his conversation with Zhu Zhuqing later.
Now, with Dugu Bo still in sight, Yiner in his right leg bone wouldn't dare act recklessly.
And without using her sensing ability, she couldn't see them exchanging the note from that low angle.
For now, he thought it best not to let Yiner know about his true identity.
Zhu Zhuqing understood that this was something inconvenient to say aloud, and she carefully took the note to read.
"Zhuqing, the truth is, when my soul power rose quickly from level 21 to level 30 and my martial soul evolved, it wasn't because I ate any bamboo shoot nectar. That was just a cover. The real reason was that I entered a cave and found a Golden-veined Blue Silver Grass planted there. Inside the cave, I also found a lead box containing a hundred-thousand-year soul bone."
After quickly reading the explanation, Zhu Zhuqing's expression became serious.
She wasn't angry that Yunhai had only told her now,matters involving a hundred-thousand-year soul beast and soul bone were better known by as few people as possible. No matter how well one covered it, there was always a risk of exposure.
Not telling her earlier was, in fact, the safest choice.
And telling her now showed his complete trust in her.
What truly worried her was the existence of Yiner.
After all, Yiner was the soul of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, whose power was surely far beyond Yunhai's. Even if she could control her soul power to avoid harming him, if Yiner ever wished to, could they stop her? Even if Yunhai reached Soul Sect, Soul King, or higher, the gap with a hundred-thousand-year soul beast was still vast.
Even if Yiner had lost her memories and most of her abilities, making her almost like a newborn, her foundations were still there.
They couldn't destroy her, nor could they drive her away without risking provoking her. Asking others for help would expose the soul bone.
After thinking it over, Zhu Zhuqing realized they could only maintain a good relationship with Yiner,perhaps even pushing it toward a partner or companion bond,to bind her closely and minimize any risk she might pose to Yunhai in the future.
Though reluctant, there seemed to be no other option.
And she had to admit, Yiner's retained abilities were indeed useful to Yunhai.
Besides, the situation wasn't entirely Yunhai's fault. Who wouldn't want their martial soul to evolve?
Thinking this, she quickly put the note into her soul guide, looked at Yunhai's slightly helpless expression, patted his arm lightly, and smiled.
Seeing this, Yunhai quietly let out a breath of relief, squeezed out a small smile, and led Zhu Zhuqing into the room.
Soon, the two entered the bedroom and closed the door.