patreon.com/StarMoon10
for Advance Chapter
Chapter 10: Forging the Toxic Body with Ice and Fire
Three days later, Dugu Bo arrived.
He came very suddenly, like a dark green wind, silently appearing at the door of the small building. Zhu Zhuqing was practicing her footwork in the courtyard when her vision blurred; an old man dressed in dark green robes, with hair and beard that were entirely dark green, was already standing before her.
His eyes were a murky yellow, like two pieces of aged amber. Just by standing there, the surrounding flowers and grass withered, blackened, and turned to flying ash at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
Zhu Zhuqing's hair stood on end. It was her body's instinctive reaction to extreme danger—like a rabbit seeing a hawk, or a mouse seeing a snake. She didn't even dare to breathe, for fear of inhaling a single trace of the poisonous gas emanating from him.
"Is Yanyan here?" Dugu Bo spoke, his voice as raspy as sandpaper rubbing together.
Before Zhu Zhuqing could answer, Mo Bai had already walked out from inside the house.
He walked at a steady, unhurried pace. Seeing Dugu Bo, his face showed no surprise; he simply nodded slightly: "Senior Dugu."
Dugu Bo stared at him, a sharp glint flashing in his murky eyes. "You are Mo Bai? The one who treated my granddaughter?"
"A temporary suppression; I wouldn't call it a cure."
"Take me to see her."
Mo Bai stepped aside: "Please."
Dugu Bo entered the building. Zhu Zhuqing wanted to follow, but Mo Bai raised a hand to stop her: "Wait outside."
The door closed.
Zhu Zhuqing stood in the courtyard, her palms soaked with sweat. She could feel two powerful soul powers inside the building colliding and testing each other—Dugu Bo's venomous ruthlessness and Mo Bai's abyss-like depth. Though it lasted only an instant before each retracted, the momentary pressure nearly suffocated her.
Inside the building.
Dugu Yan sat on the sofa in the living room. Her face looked much better than it had three days ago, but she was still pale. Seeing Dugu Bo enter, she tried to stand up, but her body swayed.
"Sit." Dugu Bo walked over quickly and grasped her wrist. A stream of dark green soul power probed in, circulating through his granddaughter's body.
His brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
"The toxin... is stabilized?" He looked at Mo Bai, his gaze full of disbelief. "How did you do it?"
"A bit of a clever trick," Mo Bai said. "Miss Dugu's poison dan has a congenital defect; I temporarily patched the leak for her. But it treats the symptoms, not the root. The next time the poison breaks out, it will still rupture."
Dugu Bo went silent. He held his granddaughter's hand; those hands capable of poisoning all things were trembling slightly. After a long while, he looked up: "What do you want?"
The question was direct. A Titled Douluo's time was precious, and a debt of gratitude was even harder to repay.
Mo Bai didn't beat around the bush either: "I want a place."
"Speak."
"Deep in the Sunset Forest, there is a place called the Well of Ice and Fire." Mo Bai looked into Dugu Bo's eyes. "I want to use it for three months."
Dugu Bo's pupils contracted suddenly.
"You know what kind of place that is."
"I know. That's why I need it."
"Are you going to save Yanyan?"
"Not just that," Mo Bai said. "I want to completely reshape her martial soul—to turn the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison from a curse into true power."
Dugu Bo stared at him, as if trying to see through his soul. The mental pressure of a Titled Douluo spread silently, making the air in the room turn viscous.
Mo Bai's expression remained unchanged.
"You can do it?" Dugu Bo asked.
"Seventy percent certainty."
"And the other thirty percent?"
"Death from poison breakout, with not even a bone left behind."
Dugu Bo's hand clenched. Dugu Yan gripped her grandfather's hand in return and said softly, "Grandfather, let me try."
"Yanyan—"
"I don't want to feel like I'm dying once every month," Dugu Yan said, her dark green eyes burning with a certain resolve. "I also don't want to turn into a pile of rotten meat by thirty. Grandfather, I've had enough of these past ten-plus years."
Dugu Bo closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his murky yellow eyes held only exhaustion.
"...When do we set out?"
"Now," Mo Bai said.