Dugu Yan, Master of Psychological Counseling

Having been cooped up for several days, Dugu Yan felt incredibly bored without Ye Lingling around.

Feeling that enough time had passed, she ran straight over here.

Looking at the uninvited guest before him, Fang Xuan really wanted to show her the door; she lacked any sense of tact.

Besides, after detoxifying Dugu Bo yesterday, given the old man's reputation as a doting grandfather, shouldn't he have been busy arranging things for Dugu Yan? How could he have let her out so soon?

"Yanyan, what brings you here today? How are things going with you and Yu Tianheng?"

Facing the visit of her dear best friend, Ye Lingling was quite happy; after all, she was one of the few friends she had.

Furthermore, her mood had been affected by yesterday's events, and even though Fang Xuan had done his best to counsel her, she still hadn't fully moved past it.

Fang Xuan understood this well; after all, no matter who it happened to, such a thing could not be accepted overnight.

"You two chat, I'm going to check on Mother."

Ye Qinru's current state was not much better than Ye Lingling's, and his son-in-law had clearly become the only person in the household who hadn't been too deeply affected.

"Go, go, don't disturb me and Lingling while we have our private talk."

Dugu Yan didn't give Fang Xuan any face at all, shooing him away as if he were the outsider.

Fang Xuan didn't hold it against her; perhaps Dugu Yan's straightforward personality could help Ye Lingling move on sooner.

Seeing Fang Xuan leave, Dugu Yan stuck her tongue out at his back, looking playful and cute, which made Ye Lingling cover her mouth and giggle.

"Stinky man, stealing my best friend. If only I weren't a girl; if I were a man, would it even be your turn to pick up such a bargain?"

"Alright, alright, I know you're the best, Yanyan, but you still haven't answered my question from earlier."

Ye Lingling knew Dugu Yan's personality well enough; she was just venting, and if she were truly dissatisfied with Fang Xuan, she would have acted long ago.

"Tch, you really have forgotten your best friend for a man. Go ahead and protect him then."

Tapping Ye Lingling's smooth forehead, Dugu Yan looked indignant.

Then, her expression shifted, and she sighed.

"Grandfather still hasn't agreed, but he doesn't seem as opposed as he was before."

"Did you know? I almost ended up sharing a husband with you."

When Dugu Yan learned that Dugu Bo had almost made her marry Fang Xuan as well, it had given her quite a scare; after all, someone like Fang Xuan wasn't her type.

Besides, who marries someone they've only known for a few days? A case like Ye Lingling's was a one-in-a-million exception.

It was fortunate that she had met someone with good character like Fang Xuan; otherwise, she would have felt guilty for the rest of her life.

Ye Lingling felt embarrassed hearing this; she had actually known about that, and it had terrified her at the time.

"It's a good thing Aunt Ye refused, otherwise I'd probably be living in your house by now."

Of course, she was joking; if she hadn't agreed, Dugu Bo wouldn't have forced her to choose Fang Xuan.

"Grandfather went to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan today. I don't know what he's going to do, but I suspect Tianheng is going to suffer again."

Dugu Yan said with a laugh, seemingly unconcerned about Yu Tianheng getting the short end of the stick; her grandfather wouldn't actually beat him to death, anyway.

"But that guy finally showed some backbone and called his grandfather out. Otherwise, I really would have doubted whether he truly wanted to marry me."

"Forget it, let's not talk about him. Tell me about yourself."

Dugu Yan turned to look at Ye Lingling and asked.

"How have you been these past few days? You look a bit unhappy. Did that guy bully you?"

The moment she walked in, Dugu Yan had sensed that Ye Lingling's mood was off, but with Fang Xuan present, she hadn't wanted to bring it up and cause a misunderstanding.

Now that Fang Xuan was gone, she couldn't hold it in any longer and simply asked.

"No, he's very good to me, it's just..."

Ye Lingling bit her lip, unsure of how to begin.

But after a brief moment of thought, she told Dugu Yan everything. She needed someone to vent to, and Fang Xuan clearly wasn't the right person for this; Dugu Yan was a much better fit.

However, after hearing the whole story, Dugu Yan's expression was unusually flat, even bordering on sleepy.

"You're distressed over this?"

"Please, that guy is a piece of trash. Stabbing him to death with a sword would be letting him off easy. If I were Aunt Ye, I would have had him shredded to pieces."

As she spoke, she tapped Ye Lingling on the head.

"Are you stupid? Why are you agonizing over a piece of trash? What, are you going to avenge him and do the same to your mother?"

"He was the one who abandoned your mother first, and he used underhanded methods to do it. I'm not referring to Fang Xuan, don't mind me."

Dugu Yan quickly cleared Fang Xuan of any suspicion. Although he always annoyed her, she acknowledged his character, and most importantly, he was generous, so she had to put in a good word for him.

"Let's assume, for a moment, that Fang Xuan was a heartless scoundrel who used underhanded means to take your body, and then pulled up his pants and refused to acknowledge it. Would you want to kill him?"

Hearing this, Ye Lingling thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"He wouldn't do that."

"I said assume! I'm talking about a hypothetical!"

Dugu Yan was on the verge of a breakdown; how did she end up with such an incredibly stubborn best friend?

"Let's put it this way: as my best friend, if Yu Tianheng did that to me and then pulled up his pants and refused to acknowledge it, would you be angry if you found out?"

"Of course I'd be angry! How could he do such a thing!"

As soon as those words left her lips, Ye Lingling stood up immediately, a trace of fury on her face, as if Yu Tianheng had actually committed the act.

"Hey, hey, sit down. I said it was a hypothetical, not that he actually did it."

"If he really did that, the grass on his grave would be two meters high by now."

She was joking; if Yu Tianheng actually had the guts to do that, she would have to admire his courage.

"So you see, if you would be this angry knowing something like that happened to me, what do you think your mother would feel?"

"There is absolutely no need for you to add to your own troubles for the sake of a scumbag. If I had a father like that, I wouldn't even need my mother to act—I'd go up and stab him twice myself."

It was fortunate that Dugu Bo wasn't here; otherwise, hearing that, he might have been "filially" scared to death by her.

Although Dugu Yan's words were a bit outrageous, they were quite effective, and the look of sorrow on Ye Lingling's face diminished significantly after hearing them.

"Yanyan, thank you. Hearing you say that, I feel much better."

"Oh, it's nothing. You just tend to get stuck in a rut; in reality, this kind of thing is no big deal at all."

"But how is Auntie Ye doing? Do you want me to go over and help talk her through it too?"

Dugu Yan was brimming with confidence now, thinking she might as well go and provide some psychological counseling to Ye Qinru as well.

"No... no need. My mom is doing quite well, so it's better not to disturb her."

Ye Lingling broke into a cold sweat. After all, her mother wasn't like her; if she let Dugu Yan go and ramble on in front of her, it would likely backfire.

"Alright then, let's leave it at that. But you mentioned earlier that your Martial Soul Evolution happened? What did it turn into? Let me see."

She had been so focused on soothing Ye Lingling's emotions earlier that she had almost overlooked the matter of her Martial Soul.

Martial Soul Evolution—such a rare occurrence was quite interesting to Dugu Yan.

She wondered, did those weeds in her grandfather's herb garden really have such an effect?