131: Chapter 131: Look at you, so anxious. I didn't say it couldn't be cured.

However, upon hearing Dugu Bo dare to insult Lu Jing with such crude language, Wang Donger, who had been standing quietly to the side, felt a flash of cold light instantly appear in her azure eyes, and a layer of frost covered her stunningly beautiful face.

She took a step forward, her aura becoming piercing once again. Although her spirit rings were not revealed, that cold killing intent locked onto Dugu Bo as if it were tangible.

Lu Jing was her man, the husband she had chosen; how could she allow others to insult him so?

Was this old poison-user tired of living?

Feeling Wang Donger's undisguised, icy killing intent, Dugu Bo felt a shiver in his heart. He finally remembered her terrifying spirit ring configuration and unfathomable strength. The anger that had just risen was instantly extinguished for the most part, and a cold sweat seeped out on his back.

Yet he still stiffened his neck, stubbornly refusing to admit it, though the shock and suspicion in his eyes, along with a trace of deeply hidden fear, betrayed his true inner thoughts.

Lu Jing, however, seemed completely indifferent to Dugu Bo's insults. He still wore that calm and composed smile, and even raised a hand to gently press down on Wang Donger's arm, signaling her to stay calm.

He understood the mindset of someone like Dugu Bo all too well.

As a master of poisons who was himself afflicted by a strange poison he could not cure, this was undoubtedly the greatest irony and secret—a scar that could never be spoken of to outsiders.

Dugu Bo's reaction proved precisely that he had poked at the other man's sore spot.

"Why be angry, senior?"

Lu Jing's tone was peaceful, as if stating a simple fact: "Those who use poison are eventually consumed by it; that is the natural order. You have lived with deadly poisons for years, testing them on your own body and cultivating poison arts. While this achieved the prestige of Poison Douluo, the toxins have accumulated over time, infiltrating your internal organs, meridians, and bone marrow, and have even formed a strange symbiosis with your Jade Phosphor Serpent Spirit. You appear fine on the surface, and can even unleash greater power because of it, but in reality, you are strong on the outside and weak on the inside—the poison has reached your vital organs. If my guess is correct, every rainy night, or whenever your Soul Power is over-expended, you must feel a piercing pain in your bone marrow, stiffness in all your joints, and the agony of the Jade Phosphor Serpent venom backlashing, making life feel worse than death, right? And…"

Lu Jing paused, his gaze like a torch, looking straight into Dugu Bo's dark green eyes, which had begun to flicker violently. He lowered his voice, yet it carried a piercing power that seemed to see through everything:

"The poison in your body does not only affect you. The Jade Phosphor Serpent Spirit is passed down through bloodlines. Your poison has long since permeated your bloodline and been passed down. Your son… I fear he passed away because of this, didn't he? As for that granddaughter of yours left in Heaven Dou City, whom you treasure as your life and who is as beautiful as a flower—Dugu Yan…"

"Shut up!!" Dugu Bo suddenly let out a shrill roar, interrupting Lu Jing.

His whole body trembled violently. The face that had been flushed red with anger was now deathly pale, blue veins bulging on his forehead, and his dark green eyes were bloodshot. That gaze was a mixture of extreme fear, pain, regret, and a trace of… desperate pleading.

Lu Jing's last sentence was like the sharpest dagger, piercing precisely through the most fragile and untouchable scar deep in his heart!

The death of his son had always been an eternal pain in his heart. And his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, was the only remaining, most precious bloodline he had in this world, his entire hope and sustenance!

The reason he had lived in seclusion near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well all these years, besides the fact that this place was suitable for his cultivation and suppressing the toxins, was also because he hoped to use the spiritual energy here to find a way to detoxify and extend his granddaughter's life.

Now, this secret—this nightmare he had hidden for decades, one he hadn't even fully told his granddaughter—had been laid bare by the youth before him!

"Look at you, so impatient; I never said there was no way to cure it!"

"Thump!"

Under Lu Jing's calm gaze and Wang Donger's icy stare, and under the impact of the immense fear in his heart and extreme worry for his granddaughter's future, all of Dugu Bo's pride, reserve, and forced composure instantly collapsed!

His knees went soft, and he actually knelt directly before Lu Jing!

This Poison Douluo, who had roamed the continent for many years, was capricious and feared by all, now looked like a desperate old man with nowhere left to turn. He looked up, and with a trembling voice choked with sobs, he pleaded most humbly: "J-just now, this old man was blind and offended you with my words; I spoke too loudly! Please… please forgive me, young friend! I beg you… no, I beg you, Young Master! Please save me! Save my poor granddaughter Yanyan! As long as you can save the two of us, this old man… this old man is willing to pay any price! Any price at all!!"

Watching Dugu Bo kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down his face, appearing like a completely different person from before, the coldness in Wang Donger's eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a trace of complexity.

She hadn't expected that this old man, who appeared sinister and ruthless, actually harbored such deep pain and vulnerability in his heart.

However, she was even more impressed by Lu Jing's methods; with just a few words, he had grasped the lifeline of this old poison-user.

Lu Jing was not surprised by Dugu Bo's kneeling, nor did he immediately step forward to help him up.

He remained standing where he was, looking down at the Poison Douluo kneeling on the ground, his smile vanished, replaced by a calm and serious expression.

"Please rise, senior. I can naturally save you."

Lu Jing's voice was unhurried as he asked in return: "However, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Senior just said you were willing to pay any price. So, I wonder, senior… what can you use to exchange for this life-saving grace, and… the future peace of your granddaughter?"

Upon hearing that he could be saved, a strong light of hope instantly erupted in Dugu Bo's ashen eyes!

He spoke almost without hesitation, blurting out: "The herb garden! This old man is willing to gift this entire herb garden to you, Young Master! All the precious treasures here, including this miraculous spring, shall belong to you from now on! As long as you can save us, grandfather and granddaughter!"

Dugu Bo felt that this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was his greatest reliance and wealth, and also his greatest sincerity.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than he felt two icy gazes fall upon him.

He saw the calmness on Lu Jing's face instantly vanish, replaced by a look that was half-smile, half-mockery, with a hint of "are you kidding me?"

And beside him, Wang Donger's pretty face darkened, her willow-leaf eyebrows arched, and flames of anger reignited in her azure eyes as she said in an unfriendly tone: "Old poison-user, has your brain been poisoned? When did this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well become yours? 'Gift it'? Do you have any shame left?!"

Lu Jing also chuckled softly and shook his head: "Senior, that is not very kind of you. You lost this herb garden to us six years ago. Now, we are merely returning to the rightful owner to check on our own property. You are trying to trade our own things with us? The sound of your abacus calculating this is so loud I could hear it all the way from Sea God Island."