With one hand holding the precious external spirit bone, Dugu Bo placed the other hand on Fang Ling's shoulder.
His eyes reflected a mix of complicated emotions. He handed the spirit bone back to Fang Ling and then helped him tend to the wound on his foot.
It was a simple treatment,applying precious medicine and then wrapping it up.
"Fang Ling, rest well for a while," Dugu Bo said heavily. "Keep this spirit bone for now. I'll go bring Yan Yan and that girl from the Ye family."
There was no rush for Dugu Yan to absorb the spirit bone. The most important thing was to let Fang Ling recover first.
Although the medicine was rare, it was nothing compared to the miraculous healing power of the Nine-Hearted Begonia.
And besides Ye Lingling, Dugu Yan was also at the academy.
To detoxify the poison this time, it seemed she would need to take a long leave of absence.
Returning the spirit bone wasn't a rejection but a sign that Fang Ling had to personally give it.
Since he had already shown steely determination, enduring immense pain and fear to extract the external spirit bone, he would never take it back.
That would be an insult to Fang Ling's painful efforts.
External spirit bones were extremely rare, and his sacrifice should not be in vain.
It was also necessary for Yan Yan to see for herself what Fang Ling had gone through.
Dugu Bo gently carried Fang Ling to the bed and propped him against the pillow. Fang Ling smiled slightly.
"Teacher, go ahead. I'm tough. I've taken celestial herbs, after all."
Dugu Bo nodded slightly, a trace of heaviness still in his heart, and quickly left.
Because of the bright red blood on the ground, a sweet and metallic scent still lingered in the air.
Some servants wanted to clean it up but were waved off by Fang Ling with the excuse of "don't disturb my sleep."
Why clean it?
This was a badge of honor,a visible display for others to see.
An essential step to win Dugu Yan's favor quickly.
Resting quietly on the bed, Fang Ling looked a bit sleepy.
He had lost quite a bit of blood. His face was pale, and he felt slightly dizzy.
He could fight it off, but again,why bother?
Passing out might actually work in his favor.
Following the pull of drowsiness, his eyes slowly closed, and his breathing became steady. In the blink of an eye, he fell asleep.
When Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling arrived with Dugu Bo, the first thing they saw was the now-darkening pool of blood on the floor.
A strong metallic scent filled the air,something both girls were familiar with from the Great Spirit Arena, where they had seen Fang Ling's life-and-death battles.
It smelled just like fresh blood.
Ye Lingling's heart skipped a beat. Looking at Fang Ling's pale face on the bed, she hurried forward with a worried look.
"Fang Ling, are you alright?"
Didn't wake up?
Ye Lingling was surprised and moved quickly closer.
Even in the Spirit Arena, Fang Ling had never looked this bad.
"He's fine. Aside from some blood loss and a foot injury, there's no major issue," Dugu Bo reassured her.
"I brought you here in such a rush to heal the wound on his foot."
Ye Lingling quickly lifted the thin blanket and was shocked to see the well-wrapped right foot.
"Senior, what exactly happened? Fang Ling is your disciple, and this is the Dugu residence. How could something like this…"
"Yeah, Grandpa. Who would dare make trouble here?" Dugu Yan asked.
She felt grateful to Fang Ling for finding a way to detoxify her and had a good relationship with him since he was her grandfather's disciple.
Seeing this scene now filled her with suspicion.
Other than that fool Yu Tianheng, who would dare step into the Dugu residence and cause trouble?
Even he would act respectfully, not daring to overstep.
So who dared harm the infamous Poison Douluo's disciple here?
Dugu Yan's eyes showed a hint of anger as she prepared to demand answers so her grandfather could avenge Fang Ling.
Just then,
"Ah!"
Ye Lingling let out a gasp.
She carefully unwrapped the gauze, scraped off the applied medicine, and rinsed the area clean. What she revealed made everyone tense up.
The wound looked like a blooming, blood-red rose,vivid and terrifying.
Once the medicine was washed away, the pale bone and separated flesh were clearly visible.
A chilling sight.
Ye Lingling bit her lip tightly and quickly summoned her martial soul,the pink-and-white Nine-Hearted Begonia bloomed in her hand.
She began returning the flesh to its proper place, quickly activating her soul rings. Petal after petal infused with healing energy fell onto Fang Ling's foot.
The familiar scene played out again. Blood and flesh began to grow on the exposed bone, pink tissues rapidly squirmed and reconnected, and the bloody wound started to close at an amazing speed.
Healing energy coursed through his body, activating blood regeneration.
A warm sensation awakened Fang Ling.
With a faint smile, he opened his eyes. "Lingling-jie, Yan-jie, and teacher are all back?"
"Fang Ling, who did this to you?" Ye Lingling's voice was full of concern and burning anger, her soul power still flowing.
"Yeah, Fang Ling, how did you get this badly hurt?" Dugu Yan followed up quickly.
They both knew about Fang Ling's new spirit ability.
The Silver Sovereign Flash,an extremely powerful teleportation-type skill that could be used repeatedly.
It was also excellent for escaping.
"No one hurt me. I did it myself."
Fang Ling raised his hand to stop Ye Lingling's questioning and pulled out a dark gray goat hoof bone with red-and-white patterns from his Frost-Snow Ring.
Blood was still dripping from it.
He smiled at Dugu Yan. "Yan-jie, here,an external spirit bone perfect for transferring poison."
Both girls' pupils contracted. Their faces were filled with astonishment.
A blood-dripping external spirit bone…
They were shocked not only by the legendary treasure that was second only to a 100,000-year spirit ring but also by the fresh blood on it.
Combined with the unusual injury on his foot…
The two finally realized,the spirit bone had come from Fang Ling himself!
"You took out your own external spirit bone?" Dugu Yan asked in a trembling voice, clearly shaken.
Ye Lingling's eyes instantly reddened.
Fang Ling gently wiped away the tears from this little crybaby's eyes and casually said,
"I used a dagger to carefully cut it out. I've killed many, but this is the first time I've done such delicate work. Bled a bit too much."
Though he said it simply, both girls understood the horror of what he had done.
To take a knife to yourself,how could one bear that?
"Didn't it hurt?" Ye Lingling's eyes shone with pity.
"Not too bad. My will is strong enough to keep my hand steady," Fang Ling replied, making her speechless.
"Why would you do this?" Dugu Yan clutched the intact spirit bone, glancing at Dugu Bo.
She thought her grandfather had forced him.
Ye Lingling also looked toward Dugu Bo.
Fang Ling was dumbfounded,this old man's reputation was so bad even his granddaughter thought it was his fault. Like the Danzo of Douluo!
He quickly explained, "Don't blame Teacher. I tried to take it out last night and got scolded. He almost disowned me. I did it secretly this morning."
Dugu Yan relaxed a bit. Her grandfather was still her grandfather,he hadn't forced it.
"Why would you do this?" She still didn't understand.
Looking down at the spirit bone in her hand, she bit her lip, a strange feeling rising in her heart.
What could be so important to Fang Ling… that he'd do this?
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