The courtyard of Dugu Mansion was unusually quiet. The faint tang of herbs and venom seeped from jars and casks lying around, a constant reminder that poison here was both life and inheritance.
But the hush was shattered when Dugu Yan's trembling voice pressed forward, her eyes wide and filled with disbelief.
"Grandpa… so it's true? I—I really am poisoned?"
Dugu Bo, the notorious poison Douluo feared across the continent, dropped his gaze. His wrinkles deepened with regret, his voice heavy.
"…Yes. Yanyan, you… you were born with it."
Her lips parted soundlessly. She took a shaky step backward.
"Why?" Her throat tightened. "Grandpa, why are we poisoned? Why would our bloodline… be cursed this way?"
Dugu Bo lowered himself to a seat heavily, the weight of decades in his shoulders. Loneliness colored his tone.
"It began with me. My martial soul—the Jade Phosphorus Snake—mutated in my youth, evolved into the Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor. To the world, that was power ascending. But strength does not come without price. Its venom grew far more toxic, so much that I myself cannot perfectly control it. My veins drip with poison.
"And worst of all—the poison became hereditary. The taint soaked into my marrow, my seed, my heirs. From my body… it seeped into my children. Your father… your mother…"
His breath faltered; his eyes moistened with sorrow rarely shown. Tears traced down the face of the dreaded Poison Douluo.
"Your father died young because of it. Your mother suffered complications, poisoned to her death giving birth. All because of me."
His hand trembled as he gripped his knees. "Yanyan… it is Grandpa's fault. This burden… this curse… I gave it to you."
The girl's heart clenched, her fury evaporating into grief at the sight of his tears. She bit her lip until it bled. "Grandpa…"
Compared to the loss of parents, the truth did not make her hate him. It made her ache deeper. He too carried this torment; he too had watched loved ones die, powerless to stop it.
Her eyes reddened. "Grandpa… then what about you? What of your own body?"
Dugu Bo wiped his tears roughly away, forcing a crooked smile. "Me? Heh. Rest assured, I am still a Titled Douluo. With sheer cultivation I can suppress my poison. The little toxins gnaw at me, yes, but I can endure. For decades, I have endured."
He reached and patted her hand with warmth. Then, voice sharpening, he asked, "But Yanyan—who told you? Who saw it? How did you discover this secret today, when I've hidden it all your life?"
Her heart skipped. Xiao Tian.
It was he who whispered the truth. He who had looked at her once and pierced straight through.
So she told him—how Xiao Tian had come, how in Soto City his words exposed her hidden affliction, how he was now entering Tiandou Academy.
Dugu Bo's brow furrowed as he listened. His murmur was half question, half awe.
"A twelve‑year‑old boy… already Soul Sect? Sword genius spoken in the same breath as Chen Xin? Valued by the Seven Treasures Sect themselves?"
He fell silent, poison‑green eyes gleaming. Could such a child truly see what no one else had? Even me, the Poison Douluo?
Dugu Yan gripped his sleeve tightly. "Grandpa… perhaps Xiao Tian has a way. Otherwise, how could he see at a glance? Couldn't you at least ask him? Maybe… maybe he can help us!"
Dugu Bo's heart softened. He stroked her hair gently, though irony twisted his mouth. "Leave it to Grandpa. If there is one who can help, I will find a way. But listen, Yanyan—there is another matter far more immediate."
His eyes darkened. "From today, you must distance yourself from Yu Tianheng."
Dugu Yan jerked. "What? Why? Grandpa, what are you saying?"
Dugu Bo sighed, voice returning to icy pragmatism.
"With my poison destined to worsen, I once thought: when I die, someone must care for you. Tianheng was best student of Royal Academy, pride of Blue Lightning Clan. I tolerated his closeness. If he could cherish you in my stead, perhaps… I could pass content."
"Grandpa, don't say that!" She choked, hugging his arm, refusing to hear his resignation.
Yet he raised his hand, tone like hammered steel.
"No, listen. That boy… he is not what you think. He does not love you for yourself. He approached with purpose."
Her body stiffened. "Purpose…?"
His eyes narrowed. "Think back to Soto. Did you not see? Similar in arrogance, yet where you endured setback, you grew sharper. Yu Tianheng—he cannot accept loss. His pride cracked instantly. And why did he fight so hard against Xiao Tian's entry? Do you think it was for petty uncle Yu Xiaogang? Nonsense. Yu Xiaogang still has ties of blood to the Blue Lightning Clan. Expelled in name, but forgiveness lingered. Yu Tianheng seeks alliance with that uncle—for his own claim to power."
Dugu Bo chuckled grimly. "He is greenhouse flower. In defeat—weak. In victory—scheming."
Dugu Yan froze. In her memory, Tianheng's stubbornness at the arena, his refusal to let Xiao Tian join, flickered uncomfortably true.
"And Yanyan—did you never ask yourself: why did he enroll at Tiandou Royal Academy instead of Thunder Academy, the true arm of his Clan?"
The thought punched her. One she had never considered.
She whispered, "Because… of me? No—because of you, Grandpa."
Her own lips answered before she meant them to.
Dugu Bo nodded grim.
"You see it. From the moment he arrived at the Academy, he courted you. His aim—a Titled Douluo's support. With me behind him, he outflanks his rival cousin Yu Tianxin of Thunder Academy. Two heirs exist. Whichever garners more powerful allies seizes the throne."
He paused. "Half the reason is that. The other… because he cannot face Yu Tianxin directly. Tianxin is older, steadier. Even if his raw talent is less, he surpasses Tianheng in cultivation by years. So Tianheng seeks shortcuts—alliances. My alliance."
Each word struck nails into her heart.
Could it be true, that Tianheng's affection had always been calculation? That he sought her not as Yanyan… but as the granddaughter of Poison Douluo?
Her chest rose and fell sharply, breaths ragged.
Her grandfather's sigh was almost kind. "Before, I let it pass. I thought—if he keeps you safe after I'm gone, better him than no one. But now, after this trip… you've seen. His pride shattered, fear bared. That is not a boy who can protect you."
She clenched her fists, nails biting skin. "Grandpa… why didn't you tell me sooner? Why only now?"
Dugu Bo's laughter was dry, bitter.
"Because if earlier, you would not have listened. You adored him then. You would have argued day and night with me. And I was tired, Yanyan. Tired, sick, hopeless. So I thought why not? Let him have you. Let Blue Lightning shield you when I was gone."
He leaned back, eyes half‑lidded. "But today, after Soto, after Xiao Tian struck pride into dust—I see the truth clear."
Dugu Yan's nails trembled in her palm. Memories of Tianheng's arrogance, his fear, his quick demand that Xiao Tian not join Royal Academy all replayed.
Her face hardened.
The veil of first love had cracked.
"Grandpa… I understand now."
She whispered, voice hot with anger. "So all along… I was just his stepping stone."
Her gaze dimmed briefly, then steeled. "Very well. From now on, let Yu Tianheng stand alone. If he sees me again—I will not answer."
Dugu Bo's ancient face eased faintly with relief. He touched her shoulder, eyes sad but proud.
"Good child. Remember—family first. Not people who seek advantage."
But in his poisonous heart, another thought sparked curiosity.
Xiao Tian… boy of swords. You saw my Yanyan's poisoned hair when I could not. Perhaps one day, this curse… may be ended through you.
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