Lan's expression remained blank as he backhanded her again, harder than any of the blows before.
"Quiet."
His voice was soft, yet it was like a basin of ice water poured over Dugu Yan's head, dousing all the fire she had just found.
"Mm..."
Dugu Yan's body stiffened. All her smugness vanished in an instant, replaced by an even deeper, indescribable humiliation.
Her tears burst forth once more, but this time she couldn't utter a single threat.
On the shore, Scorpion Girl silently watched it all.
Her small hands clenched at her sides.
There was not a trace of delight in her purple eyes.
She stared at Dugu Yan crying in her master's lap, silently crying out in her heart.
Master...
Why are you rewarding her!
"Yan Yan!"
Lan lifted his eyes and looked toward the sky.
A tall, gaunt figure in a dark green robe hovered in midair. A pair of sinister eyes fixed on him as if ready to devour him whole.
The real deal had arrived.
Lan looked away and glanced at Dugu Yan, who was sprawled across his lap, her whole body trembling from sobbing.
He let go.
Splash!
Completely unprepared, Dugu Yan slid off his lap and fell awkwardly into the lake.
"Cough, cough... Grandpa!"
Dugu Yan splashed about in the water, swallowed a few mouthfuls, then looked up and saw the familiar figure in the sky. All the grievances she had bottled up burst forth at once.
The figure in the air slowly descended, stopping three feet above the ground with his hands clasped behind his back.
Dugu Bo.
His title was Poison.
His gaze shifted from his granddaughter and settled once more on the young man who had sat by the water from beginning to end, his expression never changing.
"Boy."
Dugu Bo's voice was cold. "You actually dared to bully my granddaughter."
Yan Yan was the apple of his eye, his everything.
And now someone had pinned her to his lap like that, as if disciplining a disobedient child... and spanked her.
He couldn't endure such humiliation.
But before Lan could speak,
a petite figure rushed forward from the shore, spreading her arms and firmly stepping in front of him.
It was Scorpion Girl.
She raised her head and faced the legendary Titled Douluo without the slightest fear.
"Your granddaughter tried to kill my master for no reason!"
Scorpion Girl's voice rang clear. "What's wrong with my master teaching your granddaughter a lesson?"
"What?"
Hearing that from the lake, Dugu Yan couldn't help but freeze.
She stared at the purple-haired girl standing in front of Lan, her face full of disbelief. "You're his master? Wasn't he forcing you?"
In Dugu Yan's eyes, this girl was clearly another victim abducted by the villain.
"Forcing me?"
Scorpion Girl looked as if she'd just heard the biggest joke in the world.
"My master never forced me!"
She puffed out her chest. "He's a true gentleman, the best person in the world! I'd be more than happy to be cherished by my master!"
Then her tone changed, and a flash of hostility crossed her purple eyes as she stared straight at Dugu Yan.
"You're the vixen here! I bet you've fallen for my master!"
"You deliberately picked a fight just to get my master's attention!"
"Fox spirit!"
"You...!"
Dugu Yan was so furious she nearly swallowed another mouthful of water.
What do you mean, I... I've fallen for him?
And that I'm trying to get his attention?
This was her first time being so intimate with a man. Even now, her body still retained that tingling, helpless sensation that filled her with unbearable shame, and her pretty face was red enough to drip blood.
And now this little girl was slandering her like this!
Dugu Yan laughed in fury.
"What? I'm a fox spirit? And I'm trying to get your master's attention?"
Her already ample chest heaved with her ragged breathing.
"Listen up!"
Dugu Yan pointed at Lan, who stood by the water with an expressionless face, and shouted with all her strength:
"Even if every man in the world died, I'd never like him!"
Dugu Yan's resolute words still echoed over the lake.
But Scorpion Girl refused to let it go. She thrust her little body forward and raised her chin.
"You're a fox spirit!"
To her, Dugu Yan's behavior was nothing but a ploy to play hard to get.
"You say you don't want him, but who knows how badly you want my master's attention!"
"Bad woman!" Scorpion Girl added silently.
On the shore, Ye Lingling, who had remained quiet all along, watched with shining eyes.
She looked at the purple-haired girl who had fearlessly stepped in front of Lan, then at Lan, whose expression hadn't changed once from beginning to end.
She knew she had misjudged him.
This young man named Lan might... really be a true gentleman.
Ye Lingling couldn't help feeling a little shaken.
If she'd acted on impulse and joined Yan Yan in attacking him just now...
Then she might be getting spanked in his lap too.
At the thought of that scene, Ye Lingling's legs nearly gave way, and her whole body felt weak.
"You... you're talking nonsense!"
Dugu Yan was so angry in the water that she couldn't speak. She could only point at Scorpion Girl, her chest rising and falling violently.
Then the burning pain from behind made her suck in a sharp breath.
She had no time to argue with Scorpion Girl. Clutching her bottom, she turned toward her friend on the shore and called for help.
"Lingling, what are you waiting for? Heal me already!"
"Huh? Oh!"
Ye Lingling finally snapped out of it and hurried forward a few steps.
A crystal-clear begonia flower, shimmering with nine-colored light, slowly appeared in her pale palm.
A gentle healing glow poured over Dugu Yan like flowing water.
The injuries on Dugu Yan's body healed at a visible pace, and the burning pain gradually faded.
But in its place came an even more humiliating, tingling sensation, as if the warmth and force of that hand still lingered.
Her clothes were soaked through, and her hair clung messily to her cheeks. She looked utterly disheveled.
Though she understood that she had been the one to misunderstand him in the first place,
how could he... how could he hit her there!
The more Dugu Yan thought about it, the angrier and more aggrieved she became. She looked up at Dugu Bo in the air and pointed at Lan by the water, shouting through her tears:
"Grandpa, kill him for me!"
But the moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them a little.
Dugu Yan lifted her snow-white chin proudly, pursed her lips, and changed her mind.
"Forget it."
"Today, I'm feeling merciful. Grandpa, just let him live."
Dugu Bo took in every bit of his granddaughter's girlish behavior.
He knew perfectly well that his granddaughter could be lawless at times.
But he couldn't stand to see her suffer the slightest grievance.
Dugu Bo's gaze, like two tangible swords, locked onto Lan once more.
"Boy."
His voice held not a trace of warmth.
"Whatever the reason, you shouldn't have spanked my granddaughter."
"Today, I'll teach you a lesson and show you how vast the heavens and how deep the earth are."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dugu Bo seemed to think of something. A playful curve lifted the corner of his mouth.
He looked at Lan's excessively handsome yet impossibly calm face, then changed the subject.
"Of course, I'm not unreasonable."
"As long as you can withstand three moves from me,"
Dugu Bo paused, glancing between his granddaughter and Lan.
"I'll decide that my precious granddaughter is to marry you."
"That might not be so bad."
Before you continue