Dugu Yan, Getting Acquainted

The noble boy stood with his hands on his hips, chin held high, his face full of arrogance.

The girl in the white dress kept her head bowed, her expression hidden, but her shoulders trembled slightly; she was clearly terrified.

Two lackeys blocked her left and right, refusing to let her pass.

Wang Xian said nothing and walked straight over.

He stepped behind the noble boy and tapped him on the shoulder.

The noble boy, in the middle of a boastful rant, turned around with a face full of impatience at being interrupted.

Then, he saw Wang Xian's face.

In that instant, the expression on his face looked as if someone had splashed a bucket of ice water over him.

The arrogance, annoyance, and impatience vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by pure, unadulterated fear.

His face turned deathly pale, his legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground, scrambling backward.

"You... you..."

The two lackeys also recognized the newcomer, their faces looking no better than their master's. They scrambled over to pull him up from the ground, their hands shaking uncontrollably.

Wang Xian looked at the three of them and spat out a single word.

"Scram."

The noble boy's lips quivered, and he didn't dare utter a single word. Supported by his two lackeys, he scrambled away, tripping over his own feet in his haste, looking utterly pathetic.

The girl in the white dress looked up, revealing a delicate, beautiful face with slightly reddened eyes. She looked at Wang Xian and whispered, "Thank you."

Wang Xian looked at the girl before him and asked softly, "What is your name, and where is your home?"

The girl in the white dress looked up, revealing a delicate, beautiful face with slightly reddened eyes, and whispered, "My name is Ye Lingling."

Wang Xian was momentarily stunned.

Ye Lingling—he had certainly heard that name before.

A future member of the Heaven Dou Royal Team and the wielder of the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul.

The Nine-Heart Begonia was the premier healing Martial Soul on the Douluo Continent; with her around, her teammates would find it difficult to die even if they wanted to.

However, the inheritance conditions for this Martial Soul were incredibly harsh: only two Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Masters could exist at any given time, and the successor could only awaken their power after the previous generation had passed away.

He hadn't expected that the girl he had helped on a whim would be Ye Lingling.

The Ye Lingling before him looked to be at most ten years old; her features had yet to fully mature, but one could already see the outline of that cold, ethereal beauty she would possess in the future.

She wore a white dress stained with dust, her hair was slightly disheveled, and she huddled there like a frightened kitten.

Compared to the cold, taciturn Ye Lingling who kept others at a distance in the future, the current her was clearly much more timid. She didn't dare to make a sound even when being bullied, her eyes red and on the verge of tears.

Wang Xian stared at her for a moment, coming to a realization. If Ye Lingling's personality was like this as a child, combined with the unique nature of the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul, her future coldness made perfect sense.

Ye Lingling felt uncomfortable under his direct gaze; her face flushed slightly, and she buried her head even lower.

Wang Xian snapped back to reality and asked, "Do you need me to take you home?"

Ye Lingling shook her head like a rattle, hurriedly explaining, "No, no, I'm actually waiting for a friend here. She should be here soon."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a sharp, clear voice rang out from a distance.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

A purple figure rushed over at high speed, and a girl stepped directly in front of Ye Lingling, shielding her behind her back.

The girl looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old, with short, deep purple hair that flicked upward at the ends, looking clean and sharp.

Her features weren't breathtakingly beautiful, but there was a heroic spirit in her expression and her eyes were bright and piercing. Most striking of all were her eyes, which were a pale green.

It wasn't a murky yellow-green, but a clear, light green, like the tender leaves of early spring, carrying a hint of wildness and vitality.

She wore a purple combat outfit cinched with a matching belt, standing there like an unsheathed short sword—sharp and eye-catching.

"Lingling, did he bully you?" The girl glared at Wang Xian with unfriendly eyes, her tone filled with obvious hostility.

Ye Lingling quickly poked her head out from behind her, explaining repeatedly, "No, no, Sister Yan, he just chased away the people who were bullying me."

Hearing this, the girl's vigilance faded slightly, and she turned to look at Wang Xian.

Wang Xian's expression was calm, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He was wearing a simple, plain-colored robe today; while the fabric wasn't particularly fine, it was clean and neat.

Coupled with his naturally handsome features, he certainly didn't look like a bad person when he smiled.

The girl looked him up and down, then glanced back at Ye Lingling's expression to confirm she wasn't lying, and finally relaxed.

A look of embarrassment appeared on her face, and her tone softened.

"Sorry about that, I misunderstood. Thank you for helping Lingling." She paused, then extended her hand openly. "My name is Dugu Yan, I'm Lingling's friend. What's your name?"

Dugu Yan.

Wang Xian felt a slight stir in his heart. From the moment she appeared, he had already been making guesses.

Short, deep purple hair, pale green eyes, and an air of heroism that didn't lose to any boy, combined with the name "Yan," it was nine times out of ten that she was the granddaughter of Dugu Bo.

On the Douluo Continent, people with green eyes were a rare sight.

However, the color of her eyes right now wasn't as deep as in the original work; it was just a faint layer of green, which he assumed was because her cultivation wasn't high enough and the Poison hadn't taken deep root yet.

At her age, she was likely only at the level of a Soul Grand Master.

Ye Lingling also poked her head out from behind Dugu Yan, looking at Wang Xian with curiosity.

Just a moment ago, she had been too busy being afraid to even ask for her benefactor's name.

"My name is Wang Xian." He smiled slightly, his tone calm.

Dugu Yan nodded, silently repeating the name Wang Xian in her mind, then smiled and said, "Wang Xian, I've remembered it. Thank you for helping Lingling. We have things to attend to, so we'll be going now."

After saying this, she took Ye Lingling's hand and turned to walk in another direction.

Ye Lingling walked a few steps, then looked back at Wang Xian once more, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something.

But in the end, she simply gave a slight bow before following Dugu Yan and disappearing into the crowd.

Wang Xian stood where he was, watching the backs of the two girls fade into the distance, the smile on his face slowly fading away.

"Dugu Yan... Ye Lingling..."

He repeated these two names in his heart, didn't dwell on it further, and turned to continue walking toward the Treasure Pavilion.

"I wonder which intermediate academy these two are attending. It's a pity we only just met; I can't challenge them yet."

"Otherwise, a powerful Martial Soul like the Nine-Heart Begonia must have a very high quality, and the traits it could yield would definitely be extraordinary."

"Forget it, there will surely be opportunities in the future." Wang Xian put the matter aside for the time being.