Doppelgänger (The author stayed up all night just to earn a few cents)

Five days later.

Evening.

The setting sun sank in the west, and the afterglow of dusk spilled across the entire room.

Musigang closed the thick basic soul master textbook and looked up at the child before the desk.

"Young Master Fang Yuan, I have taught you all the basic knowledge of soul masters."

"I heard from your mother that you'll be going to East Sea City Academy tomorrow."

"It just so happens that I'll be teaching there recently. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come and ask me."

Fang Yuan sat with his back straight, his tone courteous and measured, carrying just the right amount of politeness.

"Thank you for your instruction these past few days, teacher. Your learning is profound, and I truly feel I'll benefit from it for the rest of my life."

Musigang raised a hand and slowly pushed the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, his expression modest.

"Young master, you flatter me. You're gifted and exceptionally bright. Even if you studied on your own, you would learn very well."

The two of them traded remarks back and forth, praising each other while humbling themselves in turn.

Musigang lowered his eyes, muttering inwardly.

Could this child have been possessed by some adult?

He even knows this sort of mutual flattery. His words and conduct leave nothing to criticize.

He has none of the restless innocence a six-year-old child should have.

The hand of the soul device clock on the wall swept past six.

Outside the study, two soft knocks sounded against the door, and Gu Yuena's clear, gentle voice came in.

"Will teacher be staying here for dinner tonight?"

Musigang raised his voice and replied toward the door.

"No, I need to go back and prepare my lessons."

Fang Yuan stood up from the wooden chair, leaned forward slightly, and bowed.

"Take care, teacher. I won't see you out."

"Young Master Fang Yuan, in these days I've been teaching you, you're the most polite child I've ever met since I became a private tutor."

"So, as a graduation gift, I intend to give you a present."

Musigang raised his hand to the storage soul device at his waist, preparing to take something out.

Fang Yuan quickly lifted his hands and waved them, saying sincerely:

"There's no need, teacher. Earning money isn't easy. You were originally a teacher Aunt Zi Ji paid to hire, so it was only right for you to teach me."

"I know that wealthy people like you may look down on my things, but this is a small token of my regard, so please accept it."

Musigang's fingertips lit up, and he took out an exquisite gift box, handing it to Fang Yuan.

Seeing that his attitude was firm and that he insisted on giving it, Fang Yuan knew refusing again would be rude, so he could only raise his hands and accept the gift box.

"Since teacher is being so courteous, if I don't accept it, then I would be the one lacking manners."

"All right, it's getting late. I should be heading home. We'll meet again if fate allows." Musigang waved casually, pulled open the study's wooden door, turned, and strode away.

"Take care, teacher. I won't see you out. We'll meet again when there's a chance." Fang Yuan bent at the waist once more, raising a hand to wave goodbye.

The door closed, cutting off the sounds outside.

Fang Yuan lowered his head and looked at the gift box in his palm, letting out a soft sigh.

That guy finally left.

Over these past few days, this man called Musigang had always been probing indirectly about his family background, as well as what his martial soul was.

He had always answered vaguely, saying that he had an ordinary dragon-type martial soul, and that his parents were in the business of selling soul spirits, muddling through that way.

He didn't understand why a teacher would ask him these things. Could it be that he wanted to latch onto a rich family or something?

Unfortunately, he wasn't Xiao Nan's mother and didn't like older uncles.

Just then, Gu Yuena's voice called from outside the door again.

"Little one, dinner's ready. Come out and eat!"

"All right, coming."

Fang Yuan casually put the gift box into the drawer at the side of the desk, closed the drawer, then turned and walked out of the study.

The dining room lights were warm and bright. The long dining table was filled with steaming dishes, wisps of white vapor curling upward.

Braised lion's head meatballs, fried chicken popcorn, clear-stewed spirit fish soup, milk-fragrant steamed corn, and refreshing cold-dressed spirit vegetables—every one of them was a dish he usually loved.

Bi Ji, Zi Ji, and the others had already taken their seats by the dining table. The seat beside the main place had specifically been left empty for him.

Bi Ji rested her elbow lightly against the edge of the table and looked at Fang Yuan as he sat down, her eyes smiling.

"Little Fang Yuan, tomorrow will be your first day at school. Are you mentally prepared?"

"Mm. I'm mentally prepared." Fang Yuan nodded slightly, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"You'd better be. Don't start crying at school and yelling that you want to go home to see your mother!" Bi Ji teased.

"Auntie Bi Ji..."

Fang Yuan's cheeks flushed faintly. He pressed his lips together, at a loss for words and not knowing how to answer.

"Young Master has been obedient and sensible since he was little. He's so strong—how could he cry and call for his mother?" Zi Ji chimed in on his behalf.

"No matter how obedient and sensible he is, he's still a child. And children should properly enjoy their mother's love, shouldn't they?" Bi Ji said with a light smile.

"All right, stop teasing him. Hurry up and eat!" Gu Yuena picked up her chopsticks, took some food from the plate, and steadily placed it into Fang Yuan's bowl.

"Mm!" Fang Yuan picked up his porcelain bowl and ate in big mouthfuls.

"Oh, right. To keep you from being bullied at school, Mother thought about it for a long time..." Gu Yuena lowered her eyes slightly, her expression serious.

Fang Yuan immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks, tilting his head as he looked at her.

"What is it, Mother?"

"This is one of my avatars. From now on, she'll accompany you to and from school!"

Gu Yuena gently clapped her hands.

The wooden door of the bathroom on one side of the living room opened soundlessly.

A petite figure slowly walked out.

Her body was young and small, and she looked extremely young.

But her brows, eyes, features, and bearing were almost exactly the same as Gu Yuena's.

The same cool, otherworldly brows and eyes, the same calm and quiet temperament.

Only her figure had shrunk several times over, losing some of that mature distance and gaining a bit more clean, youthful innocence.

She was practically a miniature Gu Yuena.

When Fang Yuan saw this avatar, his throat tightened, and the food in his mouth sprayed straight out.

The scene he feared most had still appeared in the end.

If Mother followed him to and from school, then if she ran into Tang Wulin, the two of them would inevitably face each other in the very next second.

Even if Mother did not attack Tang Wulin, he still resisted from the bottom of his heart letting his mother have even the slightest connection with Tang Wulin.

"Mother, I can protect myself. You should take this avatar back!" Fang Yuan hurriedly tried to persuade her.

"No. You possess the pure Dragon God bloodline. It isn't safe for you to go out alone. No matter what you say, I will have her go to school with you." Gu Yuena's expression was incomparably grave, her tone brooking no argument.

"Fine..." Fang Yuan lowered his eyes and stopped arguing.

In his heart, he quietly calculated. He had originally wanted to simply say he would not go to school and would just stay home to cultivate.

But if he said that, it would definitely hurt Gu Yuena's feelings.

He might as well compromise.

In any case, the Dragon God bloodline inside Tang Wulin had not been unsealed yet, so Mother would not attack him for the time being.

"Moreover, her memories are shared with mine, and she has one-tenth of my cultivation. She is comparable to a Titled Douluo. Across the entire Douluo Continent, there are few people who can touch you," Gu Yuena said with certainty.

"Mm..." Fang Yuan answered in a low voice.

"Little Fang Yuan, your bloodline hasn't awakened yet, so you can't transform into dragon form..."

Gu Yuena looked at him, her brows knitting slightly.

"I think that to awaken the bloodline within your body, it may be that you need to raise your cultivation above Titled Douluo, or it may require some special condition..."

"Oh..." Fang Yuan nodded slightly.

"Young Master, if you awaken the bloodline of the otherworldly Dragon God within your body, perhaps you'll be able to become an existence far surpassing the original Dragon God!"

Di Tian spoke in a deep voice from the side.

"Uh... I'll do it."

Fang Yuan agreed casually.

He felt somewhat speechless inside.

If he did not have the Dragon God bloodline, Di Tian probably would not be treating him so respectfully right now.

There was an eighty percent chance he would find an opportunity to secretly kill him.

That way, Gu Yuena could properly focus on her grand cause.

"All right, My Lord, don't discuss cultivation during meals. It isn't good for little Fang Yuan's growth."

Seeing Fang Yuan being lectured one after another, Bi Ji quickly spoke up to smooth things over.

Gu Yuena nodded slightly and said nothing more. Her chopsticks did not stop moving as she silently picked up food for Fang Yuan.

In the blink of an eye, the food in Fang Yuan's bowl had piled up into a small mountain.

He picked up his bowl and chopsticks, sped up, and ate all the food in his bowl in big mouthfuls.

"Mom, I'm full... I'll go back to my room first," Fang Yuan said, setting down his bowl and chopsticks.

"Aren't you going to eat a little more?" Gu Yuena lowered her eyes, her tone gentle.

"No." Fang Yuan shook his head.

"Then I'll take you to bathe with me," Gu Yuena said.

"No... I can wash by myself."

The moment she heard that, Gu Yuena's eyes reddened.

"Little Fang Yuan, do you... not like Mommy anymore?"

"Uh..." Fang Yuan froze slightly, stiffening on the spot.

"I knew it. You hate me now... Mommy shouldn't have forced you.

Mommy just wanted to stay by your side forever, protect you, and watch you grow up. If you really hate this avatar, then you can just stay home and cultivate!"

Gu Yuena's eyes brimmed with tears, her voice choking.

"Mom, don't cry... It's my fault." Fang Yuan was completely at a loss.

"Don't say that. It's Mommy's fault..."

Fang Yuan stood there, so panicked he had no idea how to comfort her.

"I'll bathe with you, okay?"

Gu Yuena lowered her head and said nothing.

"I won't sleep in the study tonight. I'll sleep with you, Mom, okay?"

The mist in Gu Yuena's eyes faded, her expression easing as she spoke softly.

"That's more like it..."