Trickery, Once Again

"Thank you, Senior, for showing mercy." Zuzong propped himself up with both hands, bounced off the ground, and leaped in front of Dugu Bo.

At first, Zuzong thought that Dugu Bo really intended to kill him, but then he realized that the poison injected into his body was only a tiny amount.

Of course, Zuzong also wanted to give Dugu Bo a way out. Dugu Bo had three things he valued: his granddaughter, his strength, and his pride. Since this old man cared so much about his pride, Zuzong decided to give him that.

Dugu Bo, realizing his own outburst, cleared his throat and said seriously, "Hmm! Not bad. Today, let's say you've passed my test. Now, tell me how you plan to cure the poison in my and my granddaughter's bodies."

Zuzong didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned around and touched the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.

Zuzong said, "Yan's poison is actually easy to resolve, but Senior, your poison is deeply rooted in your bones. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you a 'poison man'."

"Kid, stop playing games with me. It seems like you want to negotiate terms with me, don't you?" Dugu Bo frowned, his tone icy. "Stop beating around the bush. If you can truly resolve the poison backlash in both me and Yan Yan, I will agree to three reasonable conditions of yours."

"Uh..." Zuzong rolled his eyes at Dugu Bo. This old man wouldn't even let him show off a bit?

Zuzong replied, "Fine! Let's keep it simple. To show my sincerity, I can first tell you how to cure Yan's poison."

Dugu Bo, clearly impatient, urged, "Spit it out."

Zuzong nodded and said, "If you both had tool martial souls, you wouldn't have to worry about poison backlash at all. But since you have beast martial souls, you need to be careful. Because your martial souls merge with your bodies when activated, it means that the poison infiltrates your bodies when you practice poison techniques. If you can find a suitable spirit bone for Yan and guide the poison into it during her training, then there won't be any problems. For example, while I also have poison in my body, it's contained within my 'Mutated Blue Silver Grass' and the external spirit bone, Eight Spider Lances, so I don't face any issues."

Dugu Bo's eyes lit up. "Right! Why didn't I think of that? If I had, my son wouldn't have—"

As he spoke, a rare look of weariness appeared on Dugu Bo's face.

Then, with a change in tone, Dugu Bo frowned and said, "What about me, though? Don't tell me you plan to use the same method on me! Yan's poison skills are shallow, so that method is feasible for her. But I've been practicing poison techniques for seventy years—my body is soaked in poison. As you said earlier, calling me a 'poison man' isn't an exaggeration. One wrong move, and it's over for me."

Zuzong calmly replied, "That's why I need to set conditions with you."

"The first condition is that I need to use the rare herbs in your medicinal garden to prepare a special medicinal solution for you. Being a Title Douluo, you surely possess a spirit bone. With the solution, you can guide part of the poison into the spirit bone. This way, you'll no longer suffer from the poison backlash, keep your poison abilities intact, and might even see further progress."

Dugu Bo's eyebrows relaxed a bit. He was starting to believe Zuzong's words. "That's not an issue. You can use anything from this garden, but do you even recognize the herbs?"

Zuzong smiled confidently. He only recognized a few famous ones from the original story, but he had a system that could read information about herbs, spirit beasts, and even texts. Using this information to craft a medicinal solution would be easy.

Zuzong, pretending to be regretful, said, "I've had a photographic memory since I was young and loved reading. I once came across an ancient book called The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, which contained information about many rare herbs. But, unfortunately, that book was later stolen."

Dugu Bo said, "No wonder you're so capable, having a photographic memory is a huge advantage. You can easily learn others' combat techniques. Now, what's your second condition?"

"My second condition is that I've recently broken through to level 40, and I need your help to hunt a spirit beast for my fourth spirit ring."

Even before meeting Dugu Bo, Zuzong had sensed a ten-thousand-year-old spirit beast deep within the Sunset Forest through his Blue Silver Domain. Its aura was extremely powerful, and based on the information transmitted by the Blue Silver Grass, it seemed to be a dragon. 

While Zuzong could handle ordinary ten-thousand-year spirit beasts, this was a dragon. The Sky Blue Bull Python was already fierce with just a trace of dragon bloodline. This spirit beast might have an even purer bloodline than the Sky Blue Bull Python, making it a formidable opponent that Zuzong couldn't handle alone.

Dugu Bo was stunned for a moment. He thought Zuzong might ask for something strange, like marrying his granddaughter. If he did, old man Dugu would have gladly played matchmaker, pushing that brat Yu Tianheng aside. But instead, Zuzong asked for this.

Dugu Bo said, "No problem. Now, stop beating around the bush and tell me the third one."

Dugu Bo thought: Kid, just say you like my Yan Yan. As long as you speak up, I'll arrange the wedding right away.

Zuzong rolled his eyes. "I haven't thought of a third condition yet. So for now, I'll just go prepare the medicinal solution."

Before Zuzong could turn around, Dugu Bo's slightly hoarse voice came again, "Wait."

Zuzong smiled wryly, realizing that the old man still didn't fully trust him and probably wanted to give him that disgusting poison pill from the original story.

Zuzong said, "Senior Dugu, is there anything else?"

Dugu Bo thought for a moment and asked, "Aren't you afraid that I might kill you after you detoxify me?"

Zuzong froze and thought to himself, "Even if you want to kill me, by then I'll have achieved my goals. I can just activate my system's teleportation and escape."

Of course, Zuzong couldn't say that out loud; otherwise, Dugu Bo might just chop him down on the spot.

Zuzong responded seriously, "Although Senior Dugu isn't exactly a kind person, you've never been known to break promises or repay kindness with treachery. And most importantly, I trust my teammate Yan. She wouldn't harm me."

Zuzong's words made a hint of appreciation appear in Dugu Bo's eyes. With a companion like this, what more could Yan want?

Dugu Bo praised, "Good kid, I'm starting to like you."

Then, with a shift in tone, Dugu Bo continued, "But, for my and my granddaughter's safety, I still need to take precautions."

As he spoke, Dugu Bo opened his mouth, and a green light emerged—a jade-green pearl slowly floated towards Zuzong, who extended his right hand, allowing it to settle in his palm.

Looking at the sticky pearl, Zuzong smiled bitterly. Seems like my heartfelt words weren't enough; the old man still wants me to swallow this thing.

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