Meng Yiran's Determination to Follow, Dugu Yan's Sleeping Drug

Was this really Meng Yiran?

He almost did not recognize her.

If he had not been able to perceive Meng Yiran's aura, he truly would not have recognized her.

Could she have padded them? Meng Yiran shouldn't be this spectacularly endowed.

Then again, she might be wearing something that pushed them together.

Gu Linyuan muttered inwardly.

Clothes made the person.

A woman with a pretty face and a fine figure only needed a little dressing up to radiate extraordinary charm.

"Hehe... Gu Linyuan, do you want a girlfriend?"

"If you do, just nod."

Holding Meng Yiran's hand, Dugu Yan spoke playfully.

"Why would I want a girlfriend for no reason?"

Gu Linyuan found it utterly baffling.

"Young Master Gu Linyuan, may we speak alone?"

Not daring to let Dugu Yan continue, Meng Yiran took the initiative to speak.

Even if it was a woman pursuing a man, who would be as blunt as Dugu Yan?

This was far too direct. What if he rejected her? Wouldn't she lose her chance forever?

"Sure."

Gu Linyuan opened his mouth, then nodded in agreement.

He knew that he had probably been recognized.

Although his External Soul Bone had been taken from Tang San, Gu Linyuan was a man with a conscience and always felt that he owed the Meng Family something.

More importantly, that External Soul Bone truly was a priceless treasure.

Even for someone like Gu Linyuan, the son of a God King, its value could not be ignored.

"Yan, go out first."

"Fine. Yiran, I'll wait for you outside."

Dugu Yan folded her arms over her chest and looked Meng Yiran up and down.

This best friend of hers was not planning to throw herself at him right now, was she?

"Young Master Long Yuan, there should be no problem with me addressing you that way, right?"

Meng Yiran gave a soft laugh.

"I didn't expect you to recognize me."

Gu Linyuan shrugged.

Even Ning Rongrong had not recognized his identity. Yet Meng Yiran, who had only met him once, had noticed such details.

What Gu Linyuan did not know was that Ning Rongrong had nearly recognized him several times. It was only because Gu Linyuan was a good-for-nothing in her mind that she subconsciously refused to believe Long Yuan was Gu Linyuan.

"Your aura is very special. It's different from everyone else's."

Meng Yiran stared at the young man before her as she spoke.

"Speaking of what happened last time... after taking the External Soul Bone, I left without saying goodbye. That seems rather unfair to the Meng Family."

"That External Soul Bone was something you won through your own strength, Young Master. Yiran did not come here because of that matter." Meng Yiran shook her head.

Gu Linyuan was surprised.

This woman was quite open-minded, far broader in spirit than Tang San.

"Yiran wishes to follow you, Young Master."

Meng Yiran placed a hand over her heaving chest and spoke seriously.

"Follow me? What is there about me worth following?"

"Because you are the greatest genius in this world, Young Master. That alone makes you worth following."

The girl's gaze fell upon Gu Linyuan, filled with gentleness.

"But I don't lack followers. I am short on a few maidservants to wash clothes and cook. If you are willing, you can give it a try." Gu Linyuan smiled, intending to make the girl before him back down.

"I can."

"What did you say?"

"I said I can. I am willing to be your maidservant, Young Master."

Meng Yiran gathered her courage and spoke.

She did not care about status. Following a monster like Gu Linyuan would be worth it even if she had to become a maidservant.

"Your talent is quite good. If you become my maidservant, you will have much less time to cultivate, and many trivial matters will interfere with your cultivation. Can you accept that?" Gu Linyuan's expression turned solemn.

"Yiran can accept it." Meng Yiran thought for a moment, then nodded.

She had already made up her mind. As long as she could follow Gu Linyuan, paying some price would be worth it.

She understood very clearly.

For women, choices were sometimes more important than effort.

"Are you sure? You won't regret it?"

This is bad. She really is after me.

"I'm sure. I won't regret it."

"Fine, then. Shouldn't my little maidservant go prepare my breakfast?"

Gu Linyuan teased.

Meng Yiran froze for a moment. Then her eyes lit up as though stars had exploded within them.

"I'll go right away!"

She turned and headed for the kitchen, her steps as light as a little deer bounding through the woods.

Since Meng Yiran insisted on following him, why would he refuse her?

He truly lacked someone close by to take care of his daily needs.

Back at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, maidservants had attended to him. These days, he either casually ate some dry rations himself or went to a tavern to drink alone.

If a table full of food and wine awaited him after every day of cultivation, that did not seem so bad.

Any maid or housekeeper he found outside would certainly not be as pleasing to the eye as Meng Yiran.

As for Meng Yiran's cultivation progress... if she truly became his maidservant, could he really let her suffer?

At the dining table.

Dugu Yan sat to one side, her purple eyes moving from Meng Yiran to Gu Linyuan, then from Gu Linyuan back to Meng Yiran.

She reached out and gave Meng Yiran's thigh a hard pinch.

"Hey."

Dugu Yan lowered her voice, her purple eyes widening roundly.

"You're not seriously going to become his maidservant, are you?"

"Why not?"

Meng Yiran asked as though it were only natural.

"I think it's great."

Dugu Yan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but when she saw Meng Yiran's slightly flushed face, reddened with joy, all her words caught in her throat.

She wanted to say, you are the direct descendant of the Exotic Beast Family. What would your grandfather think if he found out you had become someone's maidservant?

She wanted to say, he tells you to become a maidservant and you just do it? Where is your backbone? Where is your pride?

Or was there some secret about Gu Linyuan that she did not know? A secret that must be highly appealing to women.

Even if Meng Yiran did not say it, Dugu Yan could guess as much.

Because she suddenly noticed a light on Meng Yiran's face that she had never seen before.

That light was not from receiving a precious gift, nor was it from winning an important match. It was a purer, more instinctive happiness.

Dugu Yan fell silent for a long time.

Just what secret did Gu Linyuan possess that made Meng Yiran willing to be a maidservant just to remain by his side?

Then she turned her head and looked at Gu Linyuan.

Gu Linyuan sat beside the dining table. Morning light streamed in through the window and fell across his profile, making his sharply defined features especially clear. Sword-like brows, starry eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips pressed lightly together.

Dugu Yan looked at that face, and a faint smile slowly formed in her purple eyes.

The smile was shallow and light.

But if anyone looked closely, they would discover something indescribable hidden within it.

It was not goodwill.

She stood, walked over to the dining table, and sat down across from Gu Linyuan.

She took a celadon wine flask from her sleeve. It was not large, and there were no patterns on it, simple as though it had been casually bought as some cheap item from a marketplace.

Yet she held the flask with great solemnity, as though she were holding a precious treasure.

"This is wine I brewed myself. Ordinary people do not get to drink it."

She removed the stopper, and a rich fragrance of wine immediately drifted from the flask.

The scent was very unique, unlike any wine sold on the market—there was floral fragrance, fruity fragrance, and a faint, indescribable sweetness.

She poured a cup and pushed it before Gu Linyuan, her purple eyes curving into two crescents.

"I offer you a toast."

Gu Linyuan lifted the cup and brought it to his nose for a sniff.

The wine smelled rich, carrying a faint sweetness, like honeyed water steeped with flower petals.

"Yiran, have a little with me too."

"Oh." Meng Yiran nodded.

Dugu Yan turned her head and smiled at Gu Linyuan. A trace of barely perceptible anticipation flashed through her purple eyes.

"Please."

Gu Linyuan glanced at her without speaking, then tipped his head back and drained the wine in a single gulp. It was sweet and crisp as it slid down his throat, carrying a faint warmth into his stomach.

He knew Dugu Yan was skilled in poison, so this wine was certainly not simple. But he was not even afraid of Tang San's poison. Why would he fear Dugu Yan?

Watching him drink the cup of wine, Dugu Yan's smile deepened.

Her purple eyes held the satisfaction of a scheme succeeding.

The wine had been mixed with the Dugu Family's exclusive sleeping drug.

After drinking it, without her exclusive antidote, Gu Linyuan would fall into a deep sleep. Once he was asleep, she could investigate his secrets properly, slowly, and thoroughly.

"Hmph. Even if you have secrets, haven't you still fallen into my hands?" Dugu Yan murmured with a smiling expression.

Sure enough, after drinking the wine, Meng Yiran soon fell into a groggy sleep.

"What is this woman trying to do?"

Gu Linyuan pretended to yawn, then fell into a deep sleep as well.