Dugu Yan's Straight Shot?

"Hello, student Dugu! Are you waiting for me here? Was there something in class I didn't explain clearly?"

The sunlight turned bright once more.

Chu Men took out his lesson plan, making a show of preparing to give Dugu Yan some private tutoring.

"Teacher Chu, your lecture was excellent! I was just curious about that Golden Snake Dancing Wildly. Is such a powerful Soul-Guided Device something you crafted yourself?"

Chu Men was slightly taken aback.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered that the Tesla Coil would attract prying eyes and covetous hearts.

But he never imagined that the first person to ask would be Dugu Yan, and that she would ask so openly and honestly!

"The sun is getting a bit strong; let's talk as we walk."

"Mm!"

Following the dappled light and shadows along the stone path, Chu Men deliberately slowed his pace, walking side-by-side with Dugu Yan.

A few strands of the young girl's short purple hair were lifted by the breeze, and her fair neck looked dazzling under the sunlight.

Chu Men steadied his mind before saying, "Logically speaking, with your talent... may I ask, what is your innate soul power level?"

"Level nine!"

Dugu Yan's answer came without a moment's hesitation.

Chu Men nodded. "That's very high talent! A soul master with such high talent as yourself should be putting all your energy into cultivation; when did you start getting interested in these side-path distractions?"

As he spoke, Chu Men couldn't help but chuckle.

"Cultivation and all that, it's so annoying!"

Dugu Yan's sudden complaint caught Chu Men off guard.

"I thought you would be more fun, Teacher Chu. I didn't expect you to start talking about cultivation the moment you opened your mouth!"

Chu Men glanced at Dugu Yan in surprise.

He remembered that in the original work, this girl had a cold and haughty personality as the combat core of the Imperial Fighting Team. How was she acting like such a spoiled, willful young girl now?

He quickly sorted through the timeline and logic, and suddenly realized:

The girl was still young, and with Poison Douluo shielding her from above, wasn't this just a PLUS version of Ning Rongrong?

Watching Dugu Yan kick pebbles along the path, a warm smile rose on Chu Men's face.

"Alright then, let's not talk about cultivation. Let's talk about something else."

"For example, do you have any hobbies? Besides cultivation, what do you usually do for fun?"

Dugu Yan kicked a pebble far into the distance, a gleam of excitement appearing in her eyes.

A faint green phosphorescence suddenly flashed across her left fingertips.

A small, emerald-green snake, as thick as a little finger, slid out from her sleeve and coiled around her snow-white wrist, flicking its tongue incessantly.

"Does playing with snakes count?"

Her right hand gently stroked the snake's head. The little creature rubbed against the back of her hand docilely, yet its vertical pupils stared fixedly at Chu Men, as if it were about to pounce the next second.

This scene didn't just leave Chu Men stunned; even the viewers in the live stream crashed.

[Holy crap, literal snake-playing!]

[Isn't that the Nine-Section Jade?]

[Host, take it easy! It's not too late to surrender!]

Chu Men subconsciously took half a step back, the Inversion Pen already appearing in his palm.

"Cough, cough... I suppose that counts! But your snake... it isn't poisonous, is it?"

"It's not poisonous!" Dugu Yan said, full of smiles. "No one who has been bitten by this little guy has ever said it was poisonous!"

She said it lightly, but Chu Men felt a chill run down his back.

This wasn't some little witch; she was clearly a big demon king!

Chu Men secretly poked himself with the Inversion Pen first, which finally gave him some peace of mind.

He usually used poisons as supplements; unless this little thing could kill him instantly, then—

It was a great tonic!

Of course, he couldn't show the slightest bit of that on his face.

Chu Men straightened his collar and looked at Dugu Yan again.

Perhaps out of professional habit, Chu Men looked at the empty-handed Dugu Yan, and his mind automatically matched her with a suitable weapon—

The Red Refined Soft Sword!

Then Chu Men shook his head. Dugu Yan had Dugu Bo behind her; it wasn't his place to worry about such things.

"What are you looking at? Do you know me?"

"Indeed, Dugu Bo's granddaughter, right? There are few in the Heaven Dou City soul master circle who don't know you," Chu Men said casually.

"'Dugu Bo's granddaughter'? You have quite the nerve, Teacher Chu, addressing my grandfather by his full name so casually."

Chu Men spread his hands. "Miss Dugu wouldn't go and report me, would she?"

"That's not necessarily true, Tea~cher~ Chu~"

"Fine, fine. Just name your terms! You little~ witch~"

"Hmph! At least you know when to be sensible! Now, give an honest account: how old are you? What's your rank? What is your martial soul? How many people are in your family? Do you have a girlfriend?"

Dugu Yan stood with her hands on her hips, looking exactly like a nosy little housekeeper checking up on someone.

The livestream chat exploded instantly.

[Holy crap! This progress is faster than a rocket! They just met and she's already checking his background and asking if he has a girlfriend!]

[Old Poison, get over here! Your granddaughter is about to snatch someone away!]

[Sister Erlong is on her way with a blade in hand!]

"You... are you conducting a background check?"

Chu Men couldn't quite get a read on Dugu Yan; he had no idea why this crazy girl was acting so erratically.

He raised an eyebrow, reached back, and pulled out a small notebook.

"What a coincidence, I was just about to ask you the same. How old are you this year? What are your height, weight, and measurements? Are you betrothed to anyone?"

"Tell me everything about your family, and don't leave anything out!"

"You!" Dugu Yan's cheeks puffed up in anger. "Who asked you about that?"

"You were the one who asked me first." Chu Men closed the notebook and replied with a straight face.

"Sixteen years old, Soul Ancestor, my martial soul is just an ordinary pen. I have a younger sister, and I currently serve as a lecturer at Blue Tyrant Academy."

Chu Men fully utilized his talent for spouting nonsense. "I live in Heaven Dou City, have a house but no carriage, my salary is classified, I'm currently single, and my suitors could line up from Heaven Dou City all the way to the Star Dou Great Forest!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a barrage of "Pah, pah, pah!" comments flooded the livestream!

[I thought Dugu Yan was already invincible, but it turns out there's an even bigger expert here!]

[The streamer's shamelessness really makes him harem-protagonist material!]

[Look at this dynamic; are they going to get together in record time?]

Chu Men continued to rattle off his story, his words flowing like a waterfall, leaving Dugu Yan completely stunned.

"...I'm just drifting through life with no real ambition. That's about it."

Although Chu Men was interested in Dugu Yan, now was clearly not the time to get tangled in a romantic subplot.

Besides, this girl was deep water; he couldn't afford to ignore the cautionary tale of Brother Cheng.

Taking advantage of her dazed state, he decided to make his escape!

"Wait, where are you going?"

Seeing Chu Men try to bolt as soon as he stepped out of the school gate, Dugu Yan quickly asked.

"Where else? Home! You should head back early too; Poison Douluo must be getting impatient."

Chu Men finished his sentence and quickened his pace.

But Dugu Yan chased right after him!

Chu Men had no choice but to slow down. While greeting the students he recognized nearby, he asked Dugu Yan helplessly:

"Tell me, Student Dugu, is there something else you need?"

"You mentioned earlier that you opened a small shop. I want to go buy some things. What? Are you going to forbid it?"

Chu Men remained expressionless, like a cold-blooded judge. "The shop is closed to visitors today! Please make an appointment if you have any requests."

Dugu Yan let out a cold snort and crossed her arms. "And what if I want to buy your Soul-Guided Device shop instead?"

Chu Men fell silent.

Why was this Dugu Yan storyline so strange?

It was their first time meeting today; even if his lecture had been good, it shouldn't have reached this point.

And for someone from the Jade Phosphor Snake family, how was she even more overbearing than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

Chu Men suppressed his misgivings for the moment and countered, "Aren't you a student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy? Shouldn't you be back at school for class?"

"It's only because you held that public lecture that the academy canceled today's classes, treating it as an academic exchange with a sister academy."

Dugu Yan complained, but she couldn't hide the joy in her heart.

Chu Men felt a bit bewildered. "So you're exchanging with me?"

"Then... why don't you come over to my place for a visit?"