Douluo: Starting Out by Confronting the Grandmaster

Only when he got closer did Hua Yuan see clearly.

It was a middle-aged man. Judging by his aura, he was likely a Soul Saint as well.

The other man had noticed him long ago, yet made no unusual movements. He simply stood where he was and waited for Hua Yuan to approach.

From that alone, the man did not seem hostile, and Hua Yuan had not sensed any killing intent from him either.

Still, Hua Yuan stared at him sharply and asked coldly, "Who are you? Why were you lurking around outside our door?"

"Yang Hui of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family!"

Hearing that, Hua Yuan immediately frowned.

Why had someone from the Heaven Dou Imperial Family come here?

Could it be because of Lu Yu and Lu Fei?

Yang Hui glanced at the two brothers in the distance before looking back at Hua Yuan. "I came on the Crown Prince's orders. He has a few words he wishes to discuss with Nine Absolutes and Lu Yu."

As expected.

But upon hearing that he was one of Xue Qinghe's men, Hua Yuan immediately became wary.

Ning Fengzhi was the Crown Prince's teacher.

Perhaps Ning Fengzhi and the others had noticed Snake Lance Douluo's presence and wanted to use the Crown Prince to get rid of Lu Yu and Lu Fei.

As the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe would probably be more than willing to eliminate a genius from Spirit Hall.

Especially if it was his teacher's request.

"What's going on?" Seeing that the two had not started fighting, Lu Yu brought Lu Fei over as well.

Hua Yuan came to Lu Yu's side and said softly, "He's one of the Crown Prince's men."

"Huh?" Lu Yu looked at Yang Hui with a baffled expression.

Perhaps worried that Lu Yu did not understand the stakes involved, Hua Yuan added quietly, "Ning Fengzhi is the Crown Prince's teacher."

However.

Lu Yu did not take his words in at all.

How could he not know the Crown Prince's identity?

What use was some damn teacher?

The question was, why had Xue Qinghe's people come looking for him? They had no dealings with one another. Could they be trying to recruit him?

But that did not make sense either.

Chapter 64: Our Own People Poaching Our Own People

As the Crown Prince of a nation, would she not investigate someone's background before trying to recruit them? Lu Yu's relationship with Spirit Hall was no secret. A simple check would reveal it.

If so, why was she still approaching him?

If it were the original Xue Qinghe, Lu Yu could understand such behavior. Poaching talent was possible anywhere.

But the key was that she was Qian Renxue.

Knowing full well that he belonged to Spirit Hall, she still came to recruit him.

What was that supposed to mean?

Was one of their own trying to poach one of their own?

Did she want him to be a spy by Bibi Dong's side?

He was not that important, was he?

Lu Yu looked at Yang Hui and asked, "What is it?"

No matter what her purpose was, he would find out by hearing what the other side had to say.

Yang Hui glanced at Hua Yuan. "Could we speak somewhere else? The Crown Prince instructed me to tell you about this matter alone."

"No!"

Before Lu Yu could speak, Hua Yuan rejected him without even thinking.

Speak somewhere else? What a joke.

If the other party had designs on Lu Yu, Hua Yuan might not even have time to save him if they went too far away.

"Are you sure you're one of the Crown Prince's men?" Lu Yu looked at Yang Hui suspiciously.

If he truly was Qian Renxue's man, Lu Yu had nothing to worry about. What he feared was that Yang Hui was not, but rather an assassin posing as one.

Yang Hui did not get angry. Instead, he took out a token and asked, "Can this prove it?"

Lu Yu could not make heads or tails of a token, so he could only turn to Hua Yuan.

Hua Yuan took the token, examined it back and forth, then nodded at Lu Yu to indicate that it was genuine.

Lu Yu looked at Hua Yuan. "Then wait here for me."

Since his identity had been confirmed, there was nothing to worry about. Even if an assassin had stolen the token, Snake Lance Douluo was still watching in secret.

There was nothing to fear.

"Lu—"

Hua Yuan still wanted to say something, but Lu Yu raised a hand to interrupt him. "Don't worry. The Crown Prince isn't that stupid. Even if he really wanted to make a move against me, he wouldn't do it so openly."

After thinking it over carefully, Hua Yuan felt that was true.

Besides, Snake Lance Douluo was watching in secret.

A mere Soul Saint could not stir up much trouble.

So he said nothing more.

"Brother Yu, be careful." Lu Fei looked at him worriedly.

Lu Yu smiled and patted his shoulder, then turned and walked toward a spot some distance away. Yang Hui followed closely behind.

"Looking at your attitudes, what? Has someone been watching you lately?" Once they reached an empty area, Yang Hui spoke first.

Lu Yu said flatly, "The Crown Prince probably didn't send you here to talk nonsense."

Rolling his eyes, Yang Hui finally said, "Tomorrow at noon, at Strange Flavor Restaurant, His Highness has prepared a banquet and wishes to make friends with you."

Lu Yu: ???

Lu Yu looked at Yang Hui in confusion. He truly could not understand what Qian Renxue was doing.

Did she really want to poach him?

That made no sense.

Lu Yu asked, "Didn't you investigate my identity before coming here?"

Yang Hui said calmly, "We did."

Lu Yu was even more confused now. You investigated me, yet you still came to recruit me? Could it be that they did not recognize Hua Yuan and therefore did not know he was from Spirit Hall?

After thinking for a moment, Lu Yu pointed at Hua Yuan in the distance and asked tentatively, "Do you know him?"

Yang Hui replied, "Hua Yuan, a deacon of Spirit Hall's Heaven Dou Holy Temple. Of course I know him."

"No..." Lu Yu said gloomily. "Since you know him, why are you still inviting me to dinner? Do you think you can offer me better terms?"

Yang Hui smiled faintly. "His Highness makes friends without looking at status or background. He only looks at the person. If he thinks you are worthy, that is enough."

Heh...

If Lu Yu did not know her true identity, he might actually have believed that.

"Fine. I'll attend the banquet on time tomorrow." Lu Yu also wanted to see what Qian Renxue was really up to.

Yang Hui said, "Then His Highness will await your arrival at Strange Flavor Restaurant tomorrow."

"Oh, right." After speaking, Yang Hui seemed to remember something and added, "To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, His Highness hopes that only you and the Food God will come."

"Of course, if you are worried about your safety, I can come pick you up then. Or, if you do not trust me, you can choose not to go."

Perhaps afraid that Lu Yu would refuse, Yang Hui simply used a provocation. Any other little kid might really have fallen for it.

But Lu Yu was not buying it.

"Then fine, I won't go."

Although he knew Qian Renxue's identity, he was a proud transmigrator. If he let a guard manipulate him with just a few words—

How embarrassing would that be?

"Huh?" Yang Hui stared at Lu Yu in bewilderment.

That reaction had truly caught him off guard.

Lu Yu asked with a half-smile, "What? Is there a problem? Didn't you say I could choose not to go?"

"I..." Yang Hui suddenly felt as sick as if he had eaten shit.

What was this called?

Lifting a rock only to smash his own foot?

Bringing disaster upon himself?

"Well..."

Yang Hui had just wanted to explain when Lu Yu raised a hand and cut him off. "Enough. I'll go. I just hope you'll put away those little tricks of yours. A provocation? I don't fall for that."

He was definitely going. He had only refused just now because he did not want to play along with Yang Hui's bait.

He was still interested in meeting Qian Renxue.

And Qian Renxue was a little strange. Lu Yu wanted to see what exactly she intended to do.

Yang Hui immediately felt his old face redden.

Damn it, he had been completely played by a little kid.

Were kids these days really maturing this early?

"Anything else?" Seeing that Yang Hui was silent, Lu Yu asked with his chin raised.

"Uh... nothing else." Yang Hui waved a hand.

Lu Yu could not be bothered with him and turned to leave.

Watching Lu Yu's retreating back, Yang Hui's expression shifted from green to purple.

Damn it.

He had really lost face today.

"Brother Yu, what happened?" Lu Fei hurried over at once, speaking while secretly glancing at Yang Hui as he walked farther and farther away.

Lu Yu said, "Let's go inside and talk."

With that, he led the two of them through the courtyard gate and into the living room.

Once they entered the living room, Hua Yuan and Lu Fei both turned their eyes toward Lu Yu, waiting for him to continue.

Lu Yu said, "The Crown Prince invited me to a banquet tomorrow at noon."

There was nothing to hide about this. Qian Renxue probably had not expected him to keep it from Hua Yuan. In the end, it had merely been an act for Yang Hui to see.

"What?" Hua Yuan exclaimed. "The Crown Prince? Invited you to dinner?"

Lu Yu nodded.

"No..." Hua Yuan asked in confusion, "Didn't they investigate your identity before coming? Or does that Yang Hui not know who I am?"

Lu Yu smiled. "They naturally investigated. I guess they want to poach me."

He could not explain the exact reason, and even if he knew, he could not tell Hua Yuan. Only a few people knew about Qian Renxue's situation.

If he told Hua Yuan, Bibi Dong would probably chop him to pieces.

Hua Yuan frowned. "Could this be a trap? They know you've already joined Spirit Hall, yet they still want to poach you. That doesn't add up."