Are Your Eyes Dry?

Everyone turned to look at the newcomer.

A handsome youth had arrived with a group of powerful figures whose breathing was deep and steady.

He had barely finished speaking when he saw Man Xiong, slain by Lin Hao. His pupils contracted sharply, and a shadow crossed his eyes, but he quickly hid it.

He looked around at the bandits and roared, "How dare you! You tried to kill the Begonia Marquis's daughter. You have no regard for the Empire's Law! Uncle Lin, leave none of them alive."

"As you command, young master!"

A middle-aged man stepped out from behind the youth. Six Soul Rings—two yellow, three purple, and one black—shone around him. He was a Soul Emperor.

The men struck without mercy. Before long, every remaining bandit lay dead in a pool of blood.

Once it was over, the youth walked to Ye Lingling with a concerned smile. "Lingling, are you all right? Did those bandits hurt you?"

"I'm fine. Thank you, classmate Yu Feng."

"And please call me Ye Lingling, or classmate Ye."

Ye Lingling took a step back, putting some distance between herself and Yu Feng. Her voice was neither warm nor cold.

"Haha... No need to be so distant, Lingling. I promised your father I'd take good care of you. Luckily, I happened to pass by. Otherwise, you'd have been in danger."

Yu Feng gave an awkward laugh, concealed the displeasure in his eyes, and spoke with a broad smile.

Ye Lingling did not linger with him. She nodded, then, under his gaze, took a few graceful steps toward Lin Hao.

"Brother Tie Lei, I raised my sword and brought it down—one bandit with every strike. I sent them tumbling left and right without blinking once..." Lin Hao was busy boasting to Tie Lei about his exploits.

To Tie Lei, though, Lin Hao's behavior was a little strange.

He was clearly powerful, yet here he was pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger. Tie Lei had read about protagonists doing that in storybooks, but he did not look much like a supporting character himself.

Supporting characters at least got a moment to shine. His life had never had one. He was a background extra through and through.

Still, he played along and asked a question.

"Brother Lin Hao, aren't your eyes dry?"

As if a cue had been triggered, Lin Hao abruptly sat up straight and widened his eyes. "You're not curious why my swordsmanship is so good, or why I don't blink when I kill people. You're curious whether my eyes are dry?"

"Young Master Lin!"

Ye Lingling's cool voice interrupted their conversation.

Both men returned to normal in an instant. Tie Lei greeted Ye Lingling respectfully. "Miss."

Then he waggled his brows at Lin Hao and quietly went off to pack their things.

"Miss Lingling, just call me Lin Hao. I'm still one of the Ye Family's guards."

Lin Hao pointed to the cargo wagon he had ridden in all this way and smiled.

Ye Lingling readily nodded and began chatting with Lin Hao as though they had known each other for years.

That side of her surprised him. He had expected her to be as cool and withdrawn as she was in the original story.

Now, she did not seem that way at all.

Ye Lingling simply did not like talking to people. That did not mean she could not do it.

For a support-type Soul Master, nothing mattered more than building good relationships with Power Attack System Soul Masters. Otherwise, making a place for oneself in the Soul Master World was difficult.

Even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had to cling tightly to Chen Xin and Gu Rong, two Titled Douluo, to maintain its standing among the Upper Three Sects.

If even the world's foremost support faction needed that, the Nine Heart Begonia, with only two members in each generation, needed it all the more.

While Ye Lingling chatted with Lin Hao, Yu Feng's expression darkened.

He had planned everything so carefully, only to hand Lin Hao the prize. Resentment filled his heart.

After beckoning someone over and giving him a few quiet instructions, Yu Feng put his warm smile back on and approached with an air of easy familiarity.

"What should I call you, brother? It's thanks to you that Lingling and the others were saved. Who knows what would have happened otherwise? When we return to Heaven Dou City, come find me at the Wind Chime Marquis Manor. I must thank you properly."

With those words, Yu Feng not only implied that he and Ye Lingling were close, but casually showed off his family background as well.

His eagerness struck Lin Hao as rather funny.

Especially after noticing the chill in Ye Lingling's eyes. Lin Hao patted Yu Feng on the shoulder and silently mourned for him.

That's not how you pursue a girl.

"My name is Lin Hao. I'm currently one of the Ye Family's guards. I'm paid to keep trouble away. It's part of the job."

"Besides, even without me, I'm sure Young Master Yu Feng would have arrived in time with his guards. Miss Lingling wouldn't have been in danger."

"Brother Tie Lei looks like he needs help. I'll go over there."

With that, Lin Hao turned and walked toward Tie Lei in the distance, ignoring Yu Feng's evasive gaze and Ye Lingling's thoughtful look.

Yu Feng watched Lin Hao's retreating figure, a dark look flashing through his eyes.

"Brother Lin Hao, why have you come over here? Why not talk with Miss Lingling a little longer?" Tie Lei asked, puzzled.

"Your young lady is too alluring. Too many people have their eyes on her. That means trouble."

Tie Lei thought Lin Hao meant people like Yu Feng and was feeling pressured. He tried to reassure him. "Even a rough fellow like me can see what those people are after. The family head must know too. I think you've got more going for you than they do."

On one side stood a talented young man with no faction behind him and a clean background. On the other stood heirs of great families.

The former was undoubtedly a better match for Ye Lingling.

Otherwise, if her husband's family was too powerful, sooner or later they would swallow the Ye Family's modest holdings without leaving so much as a scrap of bone.

Such was the sorrow of support-type Soul Masters.

No matter how powerful they became, they struggled to truly control their own fates.

"I'm still young. I can wait a few years before finding a wife," Lin Hao said with a smile at the well-meaning Tie Lei.

"Young? What's young about you? You look nearly twenty, Brother Lin Hao. Back in our village, some people have children at twelve. At your age, you could be a grandfather in another two years."

Lin Hao could only sigh. Once again, he marveled at how early people matured on the Douluo Continent.

In his previous life, every last one of them could have been hauled off for "acute iron poisoning."

As Tie Lei chattered on, everyone finished packing the goods and set out once more for Heaven Dou City.

This time they encountered no more bandits. After two days on the road, they arrived in Heaven Dou City without incident.

Heaven Dou City.

The capital of the Heaven Dou Empire lay slightly northeast of the empire's center. It was the heart of the empire's political power and one of the two largest cities on the continent.

On the Douluo Continent, only the imperial capital of the Star Luo Empire could rival it.

Spirit City fell far short of Heaven Dou City in size, let alone the cities on Sea God Island.

It was Lin Hao's first time seeing a vast city capable of holding a million people.