Early the next morning, after settling Du Gu Yan, Dugu Bo set off toward the Balak Kingdom. Although Oscar had told him the location of Shrek Academy, Dugu Bo had never been there himself, so he would need some time to find it. Naturally, he had to leave early.
Still, Dugu Bo couldn't help but feel bitter. Yesterday morning, Oscar had been perfectly fine—yet by the afternoon, he was gone?
And worse, Ge Yue and Shao Xin had only left that very morning; they likely hadn't even returned to the academy yet. If he ran into them halfway and they asked about Oscar, what was he supposed to say?
Tell them he had planned to retreat into seclusion to study Oscar's method of refining spirit bones more efficiently, and then… Oscar had vanished that very afternoon?
Dugu Bo felt that with Ge Yue's fiery personality, the man might just draw his sword on him right there.
Normally, Dugu Bo would never put up with Ge Yue's temper. But now, since it was his own oversight that had led to Oscar's disappearance, he had no grounds to lash out.
Depressed and irritable, the mighty Poison Douluo found himself sighing along the road. When had he, exalted as he was, ever been forced to worry over matters like this?
Yet just as Dugu Bo's front foot had barely left, at the edge of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Du Gu Yan—who had come again to grieve and think of Oscar—suddenly witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Oscar opened his eyes and carefully examined the state of his body. Satisfied with what he felt, a charming smile spread across his face.
Then, leaping directly from the spring, Oscar—completely unclothed—landed on the bank. He prepared to pull out clothes from his soul tool before doing anything else; after all, he still had to start concocting antidotes for Dugu Bo and Du Gu Yan.
But after searching around the bank, Oscar froze. His soul tool was gone!
Looking more carefully, he noticed a messy set of footprints—size forty-five—by the edge of the spring. Those were clearly Dugu Bo's! Oscar himself wore size forty-two, and his soles had no pattern.
Why would Dugu Bo take his soul tool? Was this some kind of prank? Didn't that old man have better things to do—like testing the refinement method Oscar had told him about—rather than wasting time with childish tricks?
Shaking his head, Oscar gave up on puzzling it out. Naked as he was, he had no choice but to leave the Ice and Fire Well and track down his missing soul tool so he could dress.
He could never have guessed what had happened while he was inside, nor that the extreme cold and heat of the Well had completely masked his aura, leading Dugu Bo to assume he had perished instantly.
Just as Oscar stepped out of the Well's perimeter, he ran straight into Du Gu Yan.
The two locked eyes.
Du Gu Yan let out an ear-piercing scream.
Oscar then watched as she clapped her hands over her face—but oddly enough, her fingers were spread wide, her emerald-green eyes peeking right through, darting up and down his body.
Confused, Oscar thought, Why cover your face if you're just going to stare straight through your fingers?
After a long moment, Du Gu Yan stammered in disbelief:
"You… you… Are you a man or a ghost?"
Oscar quickly covered his "capital" with his hands, embarrassed as he realized Du Gu Yan had already seen everything.
He wasn't normally shy—he'd already had some less-than-pure thoughts about Du Gu Yan before. And honestly, letting her see his capital, enough to make men across the whole continent feel inadequate, might even help him win her favor.
Still, having her stare like this didn't sit right. What if that old man Dugu Bo showed up and saw this? He'd probably skin him alive!
Shielding himself, Oscar gave a wry smile.
"Elder sister, of course I'm alive! Just a day apart and you've already forgotten me?"
Du Gu Yan, however, could not believe it. Her grandfather, a Title Douluo no less, had personally said Oscar was gone. If even he could not sense Oscar, how could the boy still be standing here?
"How is this possible? Yesterday afternoon, Grandpa clearly said you disappeared!" she said, her green eyes fixed on him as if trying to see through his very soul.
Oscar blinked, then understood. He must have already taken the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Fiery Apricot when Dugu Bo came searching. Immersed in the Well, his aura completely hidden, the old man had failed to notice him.
And then… had taken his soul tool.
Glancing down at her hand, Oscar suddenly noticed the silver rings on Du Gu Yan's right index and middle fingers.
They were his!
So it was her all along… He almost choked. I thought it was that old man! She… she must really be interested in me.
It felt just like those stories where a mischievous boy snatched a girl's clothes while she bathed, only to later return them and gain her affection. Except this time, the roles were reversed…
Still, something seemed off. Though Du Gu Yan's eyes were locked on him, there was a strange nervousness in her expression.
Oscar explained anyway—he had never meant to keep secrets from her or Dugu Bo:
"I wasn't gone. I entered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Yesterday I ate two immortal herbs, and I needed the Well's power to refine their medicinal strength. Your grandfather just didn't notice me at the time."
He then gestured pointedly at her hand.
"See? My soul tool was lying right by the bank! And now it's on your fingers."
Du Gu Yan froze, then realization dawned. So Oscar wasn't dead. He had really been in the Well, refining the power of some immortal herbs. Even her grandfather had been fooled!
Which meant… what she had just seen with her own eyes was absolutely real.
Her heart skipped wildly. He was only eleven years old—how could that already be so large? His height, his build, and now this… what on earth had he been eating to grow like that?
Fifteen years old herself, Du Gu Yan had never had friends, never interacted closely with boys. But because of her loneliness, she had indulged in countless romance stories and thus wasn't ignorant of such matters.
And now, she had seen with her own eyes a capital she would never forget in her life. Shock, nervousness, joy, excitement—all of it tangled inside her.
She was thrilled Oscar was alive. Overjoyed, even. Yet also terribly nervous—she had just seen everything. Should she, like the heroines in her novels, promise to take responsibility? Otherwise, what if Oscar despaired over losing his dignity and sought death?
But… he wasn't some ordinary boy. He was brilliant, handsome, and had extraordinary talent. Someone like him should be proud and aloof. And yet, before her, he stood with no secrets…
As Du Gu Yan's imagination spiraled into dramatic scenarios straight from her novels, Oscar's timid voice cut in:
Um… elder sister… could you maybe return my soul tool first? I really need to put on some clothes…