After a moment, Yang Yunhai released Zhu Zhuqing, held her hand, then turned to Dugu Yan with a smile.
"Sister Yan, Grandpa Dugu already went to your dorm to look for you. But I think he'll probably come straight here afterward."
"So, Sister Yan, just wait here for him."
"Come on, you and Zhuqing just finished training, you're both sweaty. Go wash up inside first."
"Alright." Dugu Yan quickly came back to herself, smiling as she nodded.
As if remembering something, she added, "Xiao Hai, don't worry. These days, all the training I went through here with Zhuqing, I'll never pass it on without your permission."
'It's probably already leaked.' Yang Yunhai sighed inwardly. His place was surrounded on two sides by high cliffs, easy to hide people. If the academy or another faction wanted to, spying from the shadows on these outdoor training sessions wouldn't be hard.
But so what? He knew far more than just this.
Besides, immortal herbs were the real difference-maker. Regular training was only icing on the cake.
"It's fine. These are just things I thought of on the spot, nothing secret." Yang Yunhai smiled casually.
"Let's go, Sister Yan." With that, he led Zhu Zhuqing toward the wooden house.
'Even if improvised, those methods aren't simple at all.' Dugu Yan thought, following behind.
Soon, the three of them were inside. Each girl chose a room to bathe in.
Before they even came out, Dugu Bo arrived in the valley.
"Yun, Grandpa Dugu is here." Yiner's soft reminder came first — her senses sharp as always among the Blue Silver Grass.
"Mm." Yang Yunhai nodded and stood up to go outside.
'As expected of the reborn soul of the 100,000-year Blue Yinermperor. Even with her memory gone, she can still link spiritually with the surrounding Blue Silver Grass to gather information.'
'And her perception range is beyond mine. Like having a radar at my side… pretty useful.' He mused inwardly.
To be safe, he had warned Yiner never to use her powers when Dugu Bo was around, so as not to let any psychic fluctuation be sensed. On the road back, she had behaved, not even daring to speak into his mind.
But once they returned to the academy, the moment Dugu Bo left, Yiner couldn't sit still. Out of curiosity, she instinctively linked with the grass around her, reporting excitedly everything she sensed. That was how he discovered she had retained this perception ability.
'Who knows what other talents she still has? It's like she doesn't even know until the moment she needs them, and then they just appear naturally. Well, I'll just have to use this valley of Blue Silver Grass to slowly guide her into trying abilities mentioned in the original Blue Silver Emperor's records.'
'And luckily, I told her about Zhuqing beforehand. With her memory gone, she's still pure about relationships. Otherwise, there'd be trouble…'
Thinking this, Yang Yunhai stepped out of the house.
"Xiao Hai, Grandpa's here!" Dugu Bo's hearty voice rang out even before his figure landed.
Yang Yunhai quickly went up to greet him with a smile. "Grandpa Dugu, Sister Yan's here. I knew you'd come personally."
"You little brat, it's like you're the worm in my gut." Dugu Bo shot him a look.
So young, yet in social dealings he was leagues ahead of Yu Tianheng.
Yang Yunhai chuckled. "Grandpa Dugu, please come sit inside. Sister Yan and Zhuqing just finished training and are washing up."
"Mm." Dugu Bo nodded and strode inside.
They sat, chatting idly over tea until Dugu Yan emerged first from her room.
"Yan Yan, let's head back to the estate," Dugu Bo immediately stood up.
The young couple had been apart long enough. He wasn't going to stick around as a third wheel. Besides, absorbing the soul bone would take time, and he had to guide her in using the detoxification medicine to transfer the poison.
There were also things he had to speak with his granddaughter about — such as keeping certain matters about Xiao Hai secret.
"Alright." Dugu Yan nodded.
She knew very well that Yang Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing had much to say to each other after so many days apart. Staying here wasn't proper. And clearly, her grandfather wanted to start her detox treatment immediately.
So under Yang Yunhai's watch, grandfather and granddaughter left the valley together.
Just then Zhu Zhuqing stepped out from her room, freshened up. Quietly she walked to Yang Yunhai's side, looping her arm around his as they watched the pair depart.
"Come on, Zhuqing, let's go back to our room." As the two figures faded into the distance, Yang Yunhai turned to her, slipping an arm around her waist. While speaking, his fingers brushed his chest, drawing out a folded slip of paper from his Soul Tool. With a subtle glance, he passed it into her hand discreetly.
Yiner, though able to see outside from within the soul bone, still had blind spots. She could only observe from the vantage point of the soul bone itself. Anything blocked beyond a certain range became invisible — one of the reasons she liked coming out so often.
After all, being stuck in a leg bone meant she could only look upward. It wasn't a good view.
This was the flaw of a soul bone vessel. If she were housed in a soul ring instead, there would be no such issue.
Because of that limitation, Yang Yunhai had hidden her back in the cave at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well earlier, while he wrote this note to Zhu Zhuqing — so Yiner wouldn't overhear.
Now, with Dugu Bo still in sight, Yiner dared not stir. And without her perception ability, from her low vantage she couldn't see them hand off the note.
For now, he decided it was best not to let Yiner know his true identity.
On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing immediately understood. This wasn't something he could say aloud. Carefully, she unfolded the note.
"Zhuqing, the truth is… when my soul power rose from rank 21 straight to rank 30, when my martial soul evolved — it wasn't because of any so-called Bamboo Shoot Nectar. That was just a cover. The real reason is that I found a cave, and inside it grew a Golden-Pattern Blue Silver Grass. In that same cave was a lead box, and inside… a 100,000-year soul bone."
Finishing the short account, Zhu Zhuqing's expression turned grave.
But she didn't blame Yang Yunhai for only now revealing this. After all, matters involving a 100,000-year soul beast and soul bone were too dangerous. The fewer who knew, the safer. No matter how well it was hidden, there was always risk.
Not telling her before, letting her remain unaware, was in fact the safest path.
And now that he did tell her — wasn't this also a mark of his absolute trust?
What truly weighed on her heart wasn't that, but Yiner's existence.
Even stripped of memory and most abilities, the soul of a 100,000-year soul beast was still terrifying. No matter how much Yang Yunhai believed he could control her, could he really stop her if she decided to harm him?
Even if he reached Soul Ancestor, Soul King, or beyond, the gap was vast.
Yet they couldn't kill her, couldn't drive her away without risk, and couldn't seek help without exposing the soul bone.
After thinking it through, Zhu Zhuqing realized the only choice was to maintain and deepen the relationship — treat Yiner as a companion, even a partner. Only in that way could they bind her closely, lowering the chance she might hurt Yunhai in the future.
Unwilling as she felt, there was no better option.
And she had to admit, Yiner's gifts were indeed useful to him.
'Besides, it's not all Yunhai's fault. Who wouldn't want their martial soul to evolve?' she thought.
She quickly tucked the note into her Soul Tool. Turning to Yang Yunhai, she saw the faint helplessness on his face. Gently, she patted his arm and smiled softly.
Seeing this, Yang Yunhai breathed a sigh of relief, forced a smile, and led Zhu Zhuqing back inside.
Soon, the two of them entered the bedroom and closed the door.
(End of Chapter)
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