Chapter 50: A Harmonious Morning, The Plan Begins!
"You… I…"
Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, yet found herself at a loss for words.
She vaguely remembered last night's madness, that indescribable sensation, and how she had clung to him like an octopus…
But for some reason, she had the strange feeling that all the words Bai Lu was saying now were originally supposed to be hers.
Her expression turned complicated.
"Last night, I…"
"Last night, you were refining the ten-thousand-year whale rubber and nearly lost control," Bai Lu said lightly. "I helped you guide the energy, and incidentally… took a bath. That's all."
"You're sure it was just a bath?"
Zhu Zhuqing forced herself to ask despite the blush creeping up her face.
"Of course. You were covered in sweat. How could you sleep without washing up?"
Bai Lu looked utterly innocent. "Relax. I kept my eyes closed and focused on washing. I didn't see a thing."
"…"
She would believe that only if she were a fool.
"Alright, enough teasing. Pull the blanket over me."
Bai Lu chuckled and drew her back into his arms.
"Try your left hand."
"My left hand"
Startled, Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head to look at it.
Her left hand had already returned to its normal size, with skin that was fair and delicate.
Aside from the joints appearing slightly more defined, there was no visible difference from her right hand.
But when her thoughts shifted—
"Buzz!"
A dark golden radiance burst from her left hand. The entire palm rapidly expanded, enlarging proportionally in an instant.
With another thought, dark golden fur sprouted across it, transforming into a thick, powerful bear's paw.
Even more astonishing was the faint tendency for the transformation to extend up her left arm, as if assimilating it.
"This is…"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes widened.
"An external soul bone not only grows but gradually integrates with the body during the growth process," Bai Lu explained, taking her transformed paw into his hand and sensing it carefully.
"The palm bone connects to the left arm bone, and their compatibility is high. Gradual fusion is perfectly normal."
"But if it fully fuses in the future… will it become impossible to remove?"
A trace of worry surfaced in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes.
"Don't worry. It's not that easy for an external soul bone to perfectly merge with the main body."
"If it ever gets close to full fusion, I'll sever the connection from within for you."
He gave her a reassuring look before continuing.
"This is the second evolution of the Vigorous Vajra Palm."
"Besides the normal increase in left-hand strength, the Gravity Force Pressure soul skill has also improved again."
"After activating the soul skill, the overall strength of the left hand increases by 1.5 times, and both the range and suppressive force of Gravity Force Pressure have been enhanced."
"If my calculations are correct, it should undergo another transformation before long."
"That's wonderful!"
Feeling the terrifying power contained within her left hand, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes sparkled with excitement.
The improvement was enormous.
In an actual fight, who would anticipate that a full-force punch from her left hand could unleash more than five times the power of her right hand?
"Next, it's time to get down to business."
Bai Lu lightly pinched her chest to pull her attention back.
"It's time to begin planning for the immortal herbs."
"How are we going to plan it?"
Zhu Zhuqing paused, her expression conflicted.
"Are we really going to make a move against Dugu Yan and kidnap her?"
Though she had steeled herself before, the thought still left her uneasy.
"No. It's not at that stage yet."
Bai Lu shook his head slowly.
"Using Dugu Yan as leverage is simply to create an opportunity to obtain the immortal herbs."
"But if there's another opportunity, that would naturally be better."
"Besides… who said using her means we must kidnap the girl?"
Zhu Zhuqing blinked. "You mean… we're not kidnapping her?"
"I don't recall ever saying we would," Bai Lu replied, casting her a curious glance. "Are you that eager to make a move on her?"
"Of course not!"
She shook her head immediately.
"Any thief with a functioning brain wouldn't kidnap the target's child just to lure them away for a theft, right?"
She shook her head again. "No, they wouldn't."
"Exactly." Bai Lu nodded. "We gather information first, understand the situation thoroughly, then formulate a plan and wait for the right moment."
"Oh… alright."
Zhu Zhuqing let out a breath of relief.
And yet, strangely enough, she also felt a faint… disappointment?
Her expression resembled that of a mischievous kitten caught by its owner just before committing a naughty act, left with a tiny sense of grievance.
"Heh."
Bai Lu glanced at her, the corner of his lips curling upward.
Deep down, this little kitty truly did have a restless streak.
——
Over the following days, Zhu Zhuqing consolidated her cultivation while secretly observing Dugu Bo's daily habits alongside Bai Lu.
When he left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where he went, what he did, how long he stayed away before returning…
With deliberate observation against an unsuspecting target, and Bai Lu helping conceal her aura, Dugu Bo remained completely unaware that the little kitty was spying on him.
Time flowed steadily. In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.
On this day, Zhu Zhuqing happened to overhear an important piece of news—
Three days later, the Heaven Dou imperial family would hold its annual royal celebration within the palace.
All prominent figures would attend.
As a royal guest elder, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo would, without question, be required to appear as well.
"This might be the best opportunity in the coming months," Bai Lu said seriously.
If they missed this window, the next ideal chance might not come until four or five months later, when Tang San and the others arrived at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
"What do we do? Wait until he attends the celebration and then infiltrate directly?"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes gleamed with contemplation.
Based on their observations over the past days, whenever Dugu Bo left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he rarely returned immediately.
After all, the Yin Yang Well was merely his medicinal garden, not his residence.
Once he finished his business, he would usually visit his granddaughter Dugu Yan at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, then return to his own residence in Heaven Dou City to rest or handle external affairs.
Only if he had no matters to attend to or had already visited Dugu Yan would he head back to the Yin Yang Well earlier.
"If Dugu Bo attends the celebration, there's a high probability he'll remain at his residence in Heaven Dou City that day."
"From the start of the celebration until he returns to the Yin Yang Well the next day, we should have roughly twenty hours."
As Bai Lu calculated, a gleam shone in his eyes.
"That amount of time should be more than enough for us to act."
"You're certain?"
Zhu Zhuqing voiced her doubts at the right moment. "What if the time isn't enough? Or if he returns earlier than expected?"
"In this world, nothing is ever one hundred percent certain," Bai Lu said calmly.
"Sometimes, all we can do is prepare as thoroughly as possible, then stake everything on a decisive gamble."
"Of course… that means making multiple layers of preparation."
"What kind of preparation?"
A mysterious smile curved his lips.
"Don't forget. We still have the White Tiger clone."
End of Chapter