Xue Qinghe stopped arguing with him. He glanced at the several members of the education committee who had already left in the distance, then at Dugu Yan, who had been following behind Dugu Bo the whole time.
"Miss Dugu Yan, would you like to go in and take a look too?"
"Mm."
Dugu Yan nodded. This time, Dugu Bo didn't continue stopping his granddaughter.
Because if it was true, as Dugu Yan had told him, that the boy named Lin Yan had crippled Yu Tianheng in just three moves, then there was definitely something unusual about him.
It was impossible for such a monster to be born into the imperial family. What exactly was this boy's background? How had he met Xue Qinghe? What was their relationship?
With countless questions in mind, Dugu Bo gazed at Xue Qinghe, his eyes deep and unreadable.
Xue Qinghe smiled faintly without saying much, then pushed open the door.
Creak...
The wooden door swung open, and light from outside flooded into the room.
Standing behind Xue Qinghe, Dugu Bo immediately spotted the boy sitting cross-legged on the open floor, cultivating.
The boy had fair skin and handsome features. His tousled purple hair gave him an obedient air, yet there was also something strangely bewitching about his beauty.
It had to be said, Lin Yan was among the most handsome students in all of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
No wonder his granddaughter was so protective of him...
"Your Highness."
At the sound of his voice, Lin Yan opened his eyes. Unconcealed delight shone in his purple pupils, as if he were a child in kindergarten spotting a parent just before the school day ended.
That reaction warmed Xue Qinghe's heart.
The feeling of being needed, of being someone another person relied on, made him, who had been lonely for so long, very happy.
Xue Qinghe smiled and gave a soft nod. Then he stepped aside, allowing Dugu Bo and his granddaughter to enter.
"This is Dugu Yan's grandfather, Senior Poison Douluo. Come over and greet him."
Dugu Bo?
Lin Yan paused briefly. Once he understood, delight surged through his heart.
He hadn't expected Dugu Bo to come along too, even though Yu Tianheng hadn't been completely crippled. What a wonderful surprise!
That was right. Crippling Yu Tianheng hadn't been merely a spur-of-the-moment decision to nip future trouble in the bud.
Part of the reason was that he wanted to use this opportunity to draw Dugu Bo out and establish in his mind that he was very close to Dugu Yan—that Dugu Yan even liked him a lot.
That way, when he later brought up the poison in her Martial Soul and tried to get close to the medicinal garden, even if Dugu Bo grew suspicious, he would still give him a chance to explain.
Otherwise, if he made no preparations at all and appeared in Dugu Bo's sight under the pretense of curing the poison, the other man would surely become suspicious and might even kill him without a word.
"Whew..."
"Now that I have Dugu Yan as a connection, I don't need to rely on Spirit Hall to get to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well."
"I still hadn't figured out how to explain this to Qian Renxue. What perfect timing."
Lin Yan bowed slightly to Dugu Bo.
"Greetings, Senior Poison Douluo."
Dugu Bo glanced at Lin Yan, then at his granddaughter, who looked as though she wanted to rush over and check on him but didn't dare act with Xue Qinghe present. He let out a cold snort.
"Hmph!"
"You cause trouble, then make other people clean up after you."
Clearly, Dugu Bo didn't have a good impression of Lin Yan.
Perhaps it was because Lin Yan had injured Yu Tianheng and damaged his relationship with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Perhaps he was jealous on behalf of his granddaughter.
In any case, Dugu Bo's attitude was cold.
However... Xue Qinghe wasn't pleased to see this.
"Senior, Lin Yan has only just awakened his Martial Soul. There are many things whose significance he doesn't understand."
Xue Qinghe's expression was very serious as he spoke. He was plainly protecting Lin Yan.
Lin Yan was his person. Even if he had made a mistake, it wasn't anyone else's place to criticize him.
Seeing an opening, Lin Yan put on a wronged expression and said to Xue Qinghe,
"Your Highness, I only sat with Senior Sister Dugu Yan for one class. Yu Tianheng was the one who provoked me first."
He deliberately mentioned Dugu Yan as he spoke because he wanted Xue Qinghe to bring Dugu Bo along when dealing with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Xue Qinghe smiled with approval.
"I've learned the whole story. You weren't chiefly to blame for this."
"But... why did you use fire to destroy his meridians?"
At that, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan also turned their gazes to Lin Yan. They wanted to hear how the boy would answer.
Lin Yan lowered his eyes slightly.
"I... I don't know. I can't fully control my flames."
"Heh!"
Hearing this answer, Dugu Bo immediately gave a scornful laugh, then said,
"I'm a Titled Douluo. You might get away with that excuse in front of other people, but you dare lie to me to my face?"
"You reached level 16 in just four months. How could you still be unable to control your Martial Soul?"
"Senior! You seem to have a great deal of hostility toward Lin Yan."
Before Lin Yan could respond, Xue Qinghe spoke up first.
"Lin Yan's Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Demon Dragon, a powerful fire-type Mutated Martial Soul. Is it really so unreasonable that he can't fully control it at this stage?"
"What's done is done. We should be thinking about how to face the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
His attitude was utterly resolute, something that had never happened before.
In the past, Xue Qinghe never spoke too absolutely to anyone. Even when speaking to a commoner, he always left himself some room.
But today, he had made his position clear: he was going to protect Lin Yan. He truly looked like a parent cleaning up after a misbehaving child.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo pursed his lips.
"This brat is your person. How you face the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is your business. What does it have to do with me?"
Xue Qinghe's expression stiffened.
The situation was already so clear, yet Dugu Bo still refused to take sides. Just how afraid was this man of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan...?
This was ridiculous!
In fact, Dugu Bo couldn't be blamed for refusing to take sides. The old man was still thinking about how to secure a way forward for Dugu Yan.
From his perspective, Yu Tianheng's talent had now been ruined. If he married his granddaughter into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan at this point, he could secure her position once and for all.
That way, after he passed away, Dugu Yan at least wouldn't be bullied.
All he could say was that Dugu Bo had too little confidence in his own future and worried too much about Dugu Yan's prospects.
"If that's the case, Qinghe will have to ask Father to step in."
"Lin Yan, come back to the palace with me."
Seeing that Dugu Bo still wouldn't budge, Xue Qinghe simply gave up on trying to drag him into it.
After all, Yu Tianheng had only suffered some injuries. The imperial family's backing alone was more than enough to settle the matter.
He stepped forward, took Lin Yan's small hand, and started to lead him away.
But just then, Dugu Bo spoke again.
"Wait!"
"Let this old man take a look at your Martial Soul."