After returning to the small town, Yin Zhang chose to stay for another day or two together with Qiangu Yuan.
That evening, Yin Zhang went back to the same restaurant. Just as he was ordering, Dugu Xin arrived again—alone, just like the day before.
The two froze for a moment when they saw each other. Yin Zhang was the first to speak.
"Uncle Dugu—"
Before he could finish, Dugu Xin waved his hand with a bitter smile, cutting him off.
"Xiao Zhang, you should still call me Brother Xin. Since you're the disciple of Senior Golden Crocodile, based on my understanding of my father, once he truly gets to know you, he'll definitely treat you like a brother. But before that, we can still address each other as brothers."
Yin Zhang didn't refuse. He nodded slightly and accepted.
Judging from Dugu Bo's personality in the original work, that outcome was indeed very likely.
Looking at Dugu Xin's pale face and frail body, Yin Zhang wanted to say something but hesitated. After they ordered their food, Dugu Xin began talking—more accurately, he began introducing himself to Yin Zhang.
He spoke of a fairly happy childhood. But after his Spirit Awakening at the age of six, his health began to deteriorate. At first it wasn't obvious, yet as his spirit power continued to increase, the poison within his body kept accumulating, turning into a ticking countdown to his life.
Now, he didn't even dare to cultivate anymore, afraid that the day he died would come sooner than the day he reached Spirit Emperor.
He also had a daughter—lively and adorable—named Dugu Yan.
Later, while eating roast duck, Dugu Xin said quietly,
"I wonder how Father is doing on this trip… did he manage to get the poison pill…"
Yin Zhang sighed inwardly.
That poison pill was either not obtained—or completely useless.
When the critical moment came, he would have to step in himself.
Once Dugu Bo returned, this matter would naturally be resolved.
After finishing the meal with Dugu Xin, Yin Zhang prepared to leave. After paying, he walked down to the first floor and heard a customer arguing with a waiter.
Yin Zhang looked over.
The customer looked arrogant, with a woman seated beside him. It seemed the conflict had arisen precisely because of her.
"Isn't the food at your restaurant getting more and more expensive?"
"Expensive? Where is it expensive?" the waiter snapped. "It's been this price for years! Don't talk nonsense with your eyes wide open. Our Hanyan City restaurant has it hard enough already—where is it expensive?"
"Besides, our restaurant isn't some place that just buys ingredients and cooks them. I've worked here for so many years—I know better than anyone how it grew up!"
"This dish, Huaxizi, has cost seventy-nine bronze coins for years. Where is it expensive? Buy one plate and we even give you two side dishes! Where is it expensive?"
The waiter looked down at the customers with his nostrils practically pointing at the ceiling, speaking without the slightest courtesy.
"Sometimes you should look for the reasons within yourself, alright? After so many years, has your salary increased? Have you worked hard?"
"It's been this price for years. You're a regular customer—why are you acting like this today? I'm really going crazy!"
Yin Zhang was stunned after hearing this.
He hadn't expected the waiter to have such an attitude. Just yesterday, in front of him, the man had been polite and respectful.
A trace of dislike rose in Yin Zhang's heart.
After returning to his lodging, he smiled and told Qiangu Yuan about what had happened.
"That restaurant grew slowly thanks to the regular customers around here. And now they treat those same regulars like this. I doubt it'll be long before that waiter gets kicked out."
Sure enough, when Yin Zhang went out again later, he saw that the waiter had already been fired.
Early the next morning, Yin Zhang finally saw Dugu Bo.
However, Dugu Bo's mood was clearly foul, and Dugu Xin beside him looked even more dispirited—almost desperate.
Yin Zhang asked cautiously, and with a complicated expression, Dugu Bo explained what had happened when he found the poison pool where the Poison Flood Dragon lived.
They had found the Poison Flood Dragon.
But the poison pill within its body had no effect on Dugu Xin at all.
Dugu Bo had originally intended to use that poison pill to draw out the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison from Dugu Xin's body. Even if it couldn't be completely eradicated, it would at least suppress the poison and buy time to find another solution.
But now, it seemed that even that hope had vanished.
Dugu Xin's complexion was even paler than before, sickly to the extreme, and faint purple spots had begun to appear on his cheeks.
This is the prelude to death by poison, Yin Zhang thought.
After glancing around and confirming no one else was nearby, Yin Zhang spoke.
"Senior Poison Douluo, to be honest, I actually know a detoxification method."
His voice was calm, but his words were explosive.
"It can not only help Brother Xin remove the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison from his body—it can also help Senior Poison Douluo, and even Senior Poison Douluo's granddaughter, eliminate the poison from their bodies."
The moment those words fell, Dugu Bo's pupils shrank violently, as if an earthquake had struck his mind.
But only for an instant.
He simply could not believe that a ten-year-old child had a way to solve the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison that had plagued the Dugu Family since birth.
He turned to look at Dugu Xin.
"Xin'er… did you tell him?"
Tell him what?
Nothing more than whether Dugu Xin had told Yin Zhang that Dugu Bo himself was also poisoned.
Dugu Xin was clearly startled. Seeing his father look at him, he hurriedly said,
"Father, I didn't tell Xiao Zhang that you're poisoned. I only talked about Yan Yan's situation."
"Ah? Then…"
Dugu Bo looked at Yin Zhang with suspicion.
Yin Zhang merely smiled faintly.
When he first met Dugu Bo, he had already thought through how to convince him.
It was nothing more than borrowing the same reasoning Tang San had used in the original story.
After all—Dugu Bo had believed it then, hadn't he?
Yin Zhang chuckled softly and said,
"Actually, I wanted to tell Senior Poison Douluo the day before yesterday. But at the time, you were focused on the Poison Flood Dragon and the poison pill, so I decided to wait until today. I just hope Senior Poison Douluo won't blame me."
At that moment, Dugu Bo was overjoyed.
He didn't care whether Yin Zhang's words were true or false.
Right now, he and Dugu Xin were like drowning men—if there was even a straw, they would seize it with everything they had.
"Xiao Zhang, I don't blame you," Dugu Bo said urgently. "Just tell me—what is this method?"
Seeing how anxious they were, Yin Zhang didn't waste any time.
"Senior Poison Douluo, isn't it true that whenever it's cloudy or raining, you feel numbness and itching on both sides of your ribs, gradually worsening?"
"It flares up once at noon and once at midnight. With your current condition, each episode lasts at least an hour."
"And every night, around the third watch, you feel a needle-like stabbing pain at the top of your head and in your heart, followed by full-body spasms lasting no less than half an hour."
Yin Zhang looked straight at him.
"I don't need to describe that pain, do I?"
"You are not just poisoned—the poison has already seeped into your bone marrow."