Just then, Dugu Bo saw a flash of icy blue light flicker from Ice Empress's fingertips. Turning his head, he saw that the poison clouds in the sky had been blasted open by a massive hole nearly a hundred meters in diameter. Sunlight streamed through the opening and shone on Dugu Bo, making his heart feel cold and hollow.
Mechanically turning his head to look at the Ice Empress, he was now completely convinced—this girl had to be some ancient monster with god-like cultivation who had altered her appearance due to some bizarre hobby.
"I–Ice Empress, please spare me! I didn't know who you were… I—I'll be on my way and not bother you any further!" Dugu Bo, quick-witted as ever, immediately admitted defeat and tried to quietly slip away.
Whoosh—
A beam of blue light shot out, striking the ground just a foot in front of Dugu Bo, forming a sharp ice spike. He froze on the spot, unable to move forward or back.
"Did I say you could leave?" Ice Empress's voice was flat, void of emotion, yet it pressed down on Dugu Bo like a mountain. He was now certain—this seemingly young girl was far more terrifying than any Title Douluo.
"Hand over all your money. Then you can leave."
Dugu Bo: "???"
Cheng Ying: "I knew it…"
"That's it?" Dugu Bo's face was full of disbelief. He had just provoked a monster-level being, and all he had to do was pay to avoid death? Since when did the heavens hand out blessings like this?
"What, do you want to die? I can't be bothered to kill you! That big bug said if you kill someone, you have to deal with the corpse properly, or it could cause a plague or something. So annoying!" Ice Empress waved her hand impatiently.
Dugu Bo didn't know whether to feel more relieved or humiliated. His life had been spared simply because dealing with his corpse would've been too troublesome. No matter how you looked at it, it didn't feel good.
"Wait a second—you're a poison user, right? Then don't go. Come with me," Cheng Ying suddenly said, startling Dugu Bo all over again.
"Hey! Who said you could make decisions on your own!" Ice Empress snapped. "Why are we taking in some punk?"
"Because I think he's talented. He has the potential to become a Title Douluo," Cheng Ying replied calmly. It wasn't just a wild guess—after all, Dugu Bo would eventually become Poison Douluo.
"So what if he becomes a Title Douluo? Those weaklings who haven't even reached level 95—I could beat ten of them with one hand!" Ice Empress scoffed with a look that said, Why are you wasting our time on this trash?
But this time, Cheng Ying's expression grew uncharacteristically serious. "This is my personal decision. As per our agreement, I've proven I can find hidden treasures across the continent. So trust that I also know the location of the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Essence."
Ice Empress paused, tilting her head. "Then tell me where the Profound Ice Essence is."
"I won't tell you until your life expectancy is nearing its end. Because once I reveal it, I'll no longer have value to you—and you could eat me at any time."
"Hey! Don't think I won't eat you right now!" Ice Empress bared her teeth threateningly.
"What difference does it make? Ten thousand years from now, when your time is almost up, I'll tell you where the Ice Essence is. That way, you'll survive your tribulation. And if I lie, you can eat me anyway.
All I want… is ten thousand years of freedom. That's not much to ask, is it? So please, don't interfere with me taking Dugu Bo in." Cheng Ying was firm for once. At least now, he had leverage. Unless absolutely necessary, Ice Empress wouldn't kill him.
And ten thousand years—for a human whose lifespan barely reached a hundred—was more than enough. Even if he were eaten in the end, it wouldn't be a life with regrets.
To Cheng Ying's surprise, however, Ice Empress didn't get angry. Instead, her eyes turned red, and she looked utterly wronged.
"So in the end, you just want to abandon me! What's so great about you anyway?! Just a piece of food! You think I care about you? Go away! Don't ever let me see you again! Even if you tell me where the Profound Ice Essence is, I'll still eat you in ten thousand years!"
Off to the side, Dugu Bo desperately wanted to dig his own eyes out. What the hell did I just witness? These top-tier powerhouses have some seriously messy relationships! If I know too much, are they gonna silence me?!
Cheng Ying was stunned by her outburst. He wasn't very experienced with emotional cues, but even he could tell this was textbook tsundere. He let out a helpless sigh and cursed himself a hundred times in his head: Damn it, I really am a masochist.
He reached out and messed up Ice Empress's blue-green twin tails. "I didn't mean it like that. If you don't keep thinking about eating me, living together for ten thousand years doesn't sound so bad."
Ice Empress immediately looked up, eyes locked on him. "You can't take it back!"
Cheng Ying nodded.
"Even if I eat you after ten thousand years, you're not allowed to regret it!"
"Uh…" Cheng Ying paused. In the original timeline, Skydream's life really was ending around then anyway, so it likely wouldn't matter. He nodded again. "Even if you break the deal, I won't be able to resist."
"Good! I, Ice Empress, swear to the heavens—I won't eat you before the end of my lifespan. And until then, you're not allowed to run away!" As she spoke, she yanked Cheng Ying's arm and hugged it tightly, as if afraid he might bolt.
Cheng Ying sighed once more. "I'm such a sucker… Alright, stop covering your eyes already. You heard all that—no one's going to kill you just to shut you up."
He waved at Dugu Bo, who was still shielding his face.
Dugu Bo had no choice but to walk over, though he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If they were going to silence me, they wouldn't be this casual about it. Looks like I'm safe.
"Here, I want you to document every poison and medicinal herb you recognize in this area. Best if you can draw them too." As he spoke, Cheng Ying pulled some paper and a handmade pencil from his bag.
He quickly sketched a simple herbal plant using basic perspective techniques and explained them to Dugu Bo, who was immediately awestruck.
If only they'd had drawing methods like this earlier, toxicology and medicine wouldn't have been so hard to pass down. As for the illustrations in most medical books…
Let's just say, they were completely incomprehensible. Most people couldn't tell whether they were looking at medicine or poison.
Once Dugu Bo had been sent off to work, Ice Empress finally puffed her cheeks and asked, "Now can you tell me why you want to take him in? You promised you wouldn't run away!"
"Teach me how to fly first, and then I'll tell you," Cheng Ying bargained.
"I knew you were planning to run!" Ice Empress pinched a bit of soft flesh at his waist—but it didn't hurt.
"That's not it," Cheng Ying replied honestly. "It's just… I've never flown before!"
He really meant it. What boy hadn't dreamed of flying when they were young? Even as an adult, people still sometimes fantasized about how amazing it would be to soar through the sky.
"Fine then! Judging by how clumsy you are, I doubt you'd fly very fast anyway. Come here I'll show you how it's done…" Ice Empress began to explain, patiently teaching him the steps hand-in-hand.