Killing Two Birds with One Stone, Resolving Grudges

Bai Shu froze when he heard the old man's words, then instinctively looked at Dugu Bo in confusion.

Dugu Bo had not expected that before he could even take revenge, the blame would be dumped on him first. He hurriedly said, "Young Master, I don't know anything! After I came back from the Auction House, I've been waiting for you the whole time. I didn't see anyone in between!"

Bai Shu thought about it and found that was true. Dugu Bo had no reason whatsoever to collude with people from the Star Luo Empire, and he would never have had the nerve to use him either. There was nothing in it for him.

So he looked back at the old man on the ground and asked again, "Did you misunderstand something? Who set a trap for you?"

The old man was also somewhat bewildered at this point. Could it really be that he had overthought things? If that was truly the case, then perhaps he still had a chance to survive today. And so, he laid out his own conjecture in full detail.

Bai Shu was speechless after listening. All he could say was: as expected of a former emperor, perhaps. His paranoia was truly something else.

"Enough. Tell me why you came to ambush Dugu Bo instead." Bai Shu waved a hand and brought the topic back on track.

"This..." The old man clearly hesitated, but when he met Bai Shu's gaze and sensed the four undisguised waves of killing intent around him, he knew that if even half a word of his was a lie, he would be dead and gone in the next instant.

In the end, he could only bite the bullet and say with difficulty:

"It was me... I grew greedy. I suspected that Dugu Bo still had other heaven-defying treasures similar to the Ninth-Grade Purple Ganoderma. And the intelligence I received showed that his Soul Power was only rank ninety-one, putting him at the bottom among Title Douluo... That was why I wanted to come kill him and seize the treasure."

When Dugu Bo heard this, his already gloomy expression instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. This man had truly taken him for a soft persimmon, something to pinch whenever he pleased.

After hearing the old man's words, Bai Shu had more or less sorted out what had happened. However, another problem was now giving him a headache.

The system mission only needed one more Title Douluo to be completed. Logically speaking, taking this guy who had delivered himself to the door under his command would be the best choice. Not only would it save him a precious Immortal Herb, but this man's strength was also far above that of an ordinary Soul Douluo.

Although Dugu Bo had a grudge with Yue Guan of Spirit Hall, Bai Shu had already mentioned recruiting Yue Guan back when they were at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Dugu Bo had been mentally prepared for it, so he had not reacted too strongly upon seeing Yue Guan.

But this fellow before them was different! Just now, he had used Dugu Yan's life to threaten Dugu Bo. That had already touched Dugu Bo's reverse scale. Between the two of them, it could be said that a death feud had been formed.

If Bai Shu forcibly chose to accept this old fellow for the sake of the mission now, even if Dugu Bo did not dare raise any objections on the surface, a thorn would inevitably be planted in his heart.

As for the feelings of his subordinates, Bai Shu felt they were still worth taking care of. What he wanted was a group of united companions, not a bunch of subordinates harboring grudges.

Wait... Dugu Yan? Threat?

Thinking up to this point, a flash of inspiration suddenly sparked in Bai Shu's mind, and an excellent idea quietly surfaced.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He looked at the old man, whose face was growing increasingly corpse-like from excessive blood loss, and asked indifferently:

"Since today's events were entirely caused by your greed and stupidity, then if I kill you, you shouldn't have any objections, right?"

The question was spoken lightly, but to the old man's ears, it was no less than a thunderclap, frightening him so badly that he instantly rallied with the last burst of strength before death!

He had originally thought that after he confessed his identity, the other party would feel some scruples. He had never expected this youth to be so utterly unrestrained, still intent on killing him! His survival instinct made him shout desperately:

"Wait! Please spare my life, Your Excellency! I'm willing to exchange resources for it! No matter what you want, as long as it exists on Douluo Continent, my Star Luo Empire will absolutely spare no cost to find it for you! And Gold Soul Coins too. I'm willing to offer one hundred million Gold Soul Coins! As long as you don't kill me, I'll have someone deliver them immediately!"

Bai Shu, however, seemed to have heard some joke. Looking completely unconcerned, he said casually:

"Do you think I'm short on money? If I want money, I have plenty of ways to get it. Besides, when it comes to things like Gold Soul Coins, once there are too many, they're not much different from a pile of scrap metal."

At this point, his tone abruptly turned cold. "More importantly, you already threatened Dugu Bo with his granddaughter. And now you still want to solve this with money? Do you think that's possible?"

When the old man heard this, his whole body trembled. He instantly understood what Bai Shu meant—whether he lived or died today was no longer in Bai Shu's hands, but in the hands of Dugu Bo, whom he had just thoroughly offended!

And so, he could no longer care about the dignity of a powerful expert. He hurriedly turned his head and used every ounce of strength in his body to speak to Dugu Bo:

"Your Eminence Dugu! Your Eminence! I really was only momentarily muddleheaded then. I said it offhandedly, just to force you to negotiate! I absolutely had no intention of harming your granddaughter! And I never expected you... that you would ask nothing at all and directly go for the kill!"

Dugu Bo's mouth twitched hard when he heard this. He had indeed been somewhat impulsive at the time, but that was no reason to spare the man.

But on second thought, Dugu Bo remembered what Bai Shu had instructed him earlier. The Young Master was currently worrying about recruiting Soul Douluo and then cultivating them into Title Douluo.

And right now, was this not a ready-made Title Douluo, and one whose strength was not weak at all? If he insisted on killing him, would the Young Master become dissatisfied and think he lacked awareness of the bigger picture?

In an instant, countless thoughts raced through Dugu Bo's mind. In the end, he still cupped his hands slightly toward Bai Shu and said in a deep voice:

"Young Master, I think this man is not entirely without value. Isn't Young Master currently looking to recruit Title Douluo? Since this man is from the Dai Family, his identity is special. The benefits of recruiting him may be greater than those of an ordinary Title Douluo."

After hearing Dugu Bo's words, Bai Shu gave him an approving look, but did not immediately nod. Instead, he rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment, as if weighing the pros and cons. This posture made the old man on the ground's heart leap into his throat.

At last, Bai Shu spoke. He said to the old man on the ground:

"How about this? Since even Dugu Bo has pleaded for you, I'll give you a chance to live. Join my command."

"From now on, you'll be responsible for personally protecting Dugu Yan's safety. If anything at all happens to Dugu Yan, even if it's only losing a single hair, I don't care what the reason is—I'll hold you solely accountable. How about it?"

When the old man heard this condition, he instinctively wanted to refuse!

He was the dignified Grand Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, a rank ninety-four Title Douluo, yet he was supposed to be a personal bodyguard for some little girl? And under unlimited liability on top of that? This was no longer simply being a guard. This was practically inviting an ancestor back to be worshipped!

But when he thought of how his life was now held in someone else's hands, he had no choice but to agree.

Humiliation and the desire to survive, those two thoughts waged a frantic war in his mind, causing him to sink into painful hesitation.