Although Dugu Yan had ignored him, Dugu Bo said nothing. He fell silent for a while, comforting himself countless times and reminding himself that he had to spoil his own granddaughter. Once his wounded old heart had finally recovered, he hurried after Dugu Yan and Qian Renyue.
Along the way, Dugu Bo noticed that someone seemed to be following the two girls from the shadows. Since he hadn't offended anyone lately, he doubted they were following Dugu Yan, so he turned his attention to Qian Renyue. He wasn't too clear about her background, but anyone who could enter the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was probably the young lady of some prominent family. At that thought, he called out to Dugu Yan, "Yanyan, slow down. Grandpa has something to ask you and this little Yue."
"Hmm? What is it, Grandpa?" Dugu Yan stopped, and Qian Renyue turned around beside her. Both girls looked at Dugu Bo in confusion as he asked, "Have you two caused any trouble lately?"
Trouble?
Dugu Yan and Qian Renyue exchanged a look. "No!" they answered in unison.
How could people who spent all day at the academy have time to cause trouble? Qian Renyue didn't quite understand why Dugu Bo was asking.
She glanced at Dugu Yan, who indicated that she didn't understand either. "Grandpa, why are you suddenly asking this?"
She asked.
Seeing that neither girl seemed to be lying, Dugu Bo dismissed the idea that they had caused trouble. "Nothing. I'm just looking out for you."
Since they hadn't caused trouble, he wouldn't drag whoever was hiding in the shadows out into the open.
Still...
He thought for a moment, then asked, "By the way, little Yue, where are you from?"
"You mean where I was born?" Qian Renyue asked.
"Yes."
"Holy Soul Village, I suppose," Qian Renyue answered. She wasn't entirely certain herself, but this body's memories did begin in Holy Soul Village, so she had subconsciously assumed she had been born there.
Holy Soul Village?
Where was that?
Dugu Bo frowned slightly. Clearly, he had never heard of the village.
Qian Renyue explained, "It's a small, poor, rather backward village."
Her tone brimmed with disdain.
A small, poor, rather backward village?
Upon hearing that, Dugu Bo suddenly dreamed up an entire drama about real and impostor heiresses returning to an aristocratic family and scheming against each other.
A girl with Qian Renyue's bearing hardly seemed like someone a small, poor, backward village could have raised. The elegance of her every gesture and action surpassed even that of children raised in great aristocratic families.
Dugu Bo found it difficult to believe she came from a humble background.
"Grandpa, what exactly are you trying to ask?" As Dugu Bo's granddaughter, Dugu Yan also noticed that something was off about him. She frowned slightly, looking a little annoyed. Dugu Bo shook his head and immediately snapped out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat. "I just wanted to ask who this little Yue is!"
He wanted to know her identity?
Qian Renyue and Dugu Yan exchanged a glance. With a hint of scorn, Dugu Yan said, "Then just ask. Why beat around the bush?"
"Oh, never mind whether Grandpa is beating around anything. That's all I wanted to know!"
"Oh." Dugu Yan answered blandly. "Little Yue is Crown Prince Qinghe's sworn younger sister."
"Oh, Crown Prince Qinghe's sworn younger sister..." Dugu Bo replied calmly. He repeated the words a few times, then suddenly seemed to remember something. Silence hung in the air for several seconds before he paused. "Who?! Whose sworn younger sister?!"
Knowing perfectly well that Dugu Bo would react like this, Dugu Yan was already used to it. She repeated, "Crown Prince Qinghe's sworn younger sister!"
"???"
Xue Qinghe's sworn younger sister?!
Dugu Bo's brows knitted tightly. He looked at Qian Renyue, then at Dugu Yan. Once he confirmed that he hadn't misheard, he suddenly addressed Qian Renyue earnestly. "Little Yue, your sworn older brother might not be what he appears to be. Members of the imperial family never have simple intentions. You..."
But with the words on the tip of his tongue, Dugu Bo suddenly couldn't continue. His expression grew complicated. Although Xue Qinghe certainly wasn't a good man, perhaps he treated Qian Renyue well. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to speak ill of him in front of her?
"..."
Looking at Dugu Bo's expression, Qian Renyue guessed what he wanted to say. She remained silent, unwilling to take up the conversation herself.
Dugu Bo thought for a long while. Since Qian Renyue was Xue Qinghe's sworn younger sister, it was perfectly normal for someone to follow her in secret. As for the disparaging things he had intended to say, he ultimately swallowed them to avoid stirring up needless conflict and making things difficult.
After accompanying the two girls a little longer, Dugu Bo received an unexpected invitation from Prince Xue Xing. He had wanted to decline and spend the rest of the day with Dugu Yan, but seeing that he had business to attend to, she insisted on being "considerate" and telling him to go. He had planned to use her as his reason for refusing, but who could have expected his granddaughter to be so filial and thoughtful? The imperial family's people had heard her loud and clear. Even if he didn't want to go, he had no choice.
Once Dugu Bo left, Dugu Yan and Qian Renyue relaxed considerably. Still, Qian Renyue kept feeling that someone was following her. Whenever she turned around, she saw no one. Noticing this, Dugu Yan couldn't help finding it strange. "Yueyue, what are you looking at?"
Turning around with Qian Renyue, Dugu Yan saw only the bustling, endless stream of people.
Is someone in the crowd?
Dugu Yan wondered.
"I keep feeling that someone is following us," Qian Renyue voiced her thoughts.
Whoever they were, she would drag them out into the open today!
Someone was following them?
Dugu Yan frowned slightly. She hadn't sensed anything at all.
Although both girls were Soul Elders, Qian Renyue had a divine test, which made her far more perceptive than ordinary people. She could easily sense things that Dugu Yan usually couldn't.
"There's no one, is there?" Dugu Yan said. "Could you be a little too sensitive?"
She asked with concern.
"No, I can clearly sense someone following us," Qian Renyue denied, blinking slightly. Since Dugu Yan couldn't sense their pursuers at all, their soul power level had to be at least that of a Soul Saint. Otherwise, they couldn't have followed the girls for so long without Dugu Yan noticing anything.
Seeing how certain Qian Renyue was, Dugu Yan decided to trust her. "Do you need me to do anything?"
She asked.
Whether they were friends or foes would become clear through certain actions. Qian Renyue nodded and leaned toward Dugu Yan's ear. "You do this... I'll do that... Then you do this again... ...I'll draw them out."
Listening to Qian Renyue's plan, Dugu Yan felt it was a little unreliable. She frowned slightly. "That isn't very safe for you. If you're really uncomfortable, let's go back to the academy. Teacher Qin Ming and the others are there. They'll protect you."
"No." Qian Renyue refused outright. "I'm determined to drag them out today. They've been following me for a long time. They watch me every day, and it's really getting on my nerves."
"But..." Dugu Yan wanted to keep persuading her, but seeing how determined Qian Renyue was, she could only swallow her words.
Following Qian Renyue's plan, the girls went their separate ways. Qian Renyue headed north, while Dugu Yan went south. Before long, the small figure of Qian Renyue suddenly crouched down on the bustling street. A long time passed, but she never stood back up.
The two Soul Douluos protecting Qian Renyue from the shadows hurried out to check the spot where she had disappeared. Qian Renyue was no longer there. The auras throughout the street were hopelessly jumbled, making it impossible to locate her by them.
"She's disappeared. What do we do?" one of the black-clad men asked.
This was their second young lady, whom the Worship Hall had specifically sent them to protect.
Two Soul Douluos had actually lost track of a Soul Elder. If word got back, wouldn't people laugh their teeth out at the two brothers?
The other black-clad man frowned. Clearly, Qian Renyue had discovered their presence and was deliberately avoiding them. "We'll wait outside the academy. The second young lady has to return there eventually."
He had no idea where they had slipped up. It had only been a few days, yet Qian Renyue had already discovered them. How strange.
"All right."
They exchanged a look and nodded, then vanished into the crowd.
Meanwhile, after shaking off those two tails, Qian Renyue felt much better. She had originally planned to catch them like turtles in a jar, but neither had followed her, leaving her plan in ruins. Now she could only wander around outside.
Heaven Dou City was enormous, and its streets grew especially lively at night. Qian Renyue wove through the crowd. Her petite figure was remarkably nimble as she dodged left and right through the throng, stopping at one stall to inspect its wares, then another to look at jewelry. Humming a little tune as she browsed, she couldn't have felt more carefree!
Just then, a rather frivolous male voice suddenly reached Qian Renyue's ears amid the clamor of the crowd-
"Little Sword! This one's nice! Buy this! Fengzhi will definitely like it!"
"..."
"Really! Look how nice it is. Wearing it on your wrist makes you look so distinguished!"
"..."
"Oh, come on! Take a look! Look! If it looks this good on my wrist, imagine it on Fengzhi's. Let's buy this one, Little Sword. You pay, my treat!"
"..."
The man's endless chatter washed over Qian Renyue's ears like a mighty, surging river.
If she wasn't mistaken, the speaker was Gu Rong, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Bone Douluo.
And the man he called Little Sword was the sect's other guardian Douluo, Chen Xin, whose title was Sword Douluo.
Following the voice, she saw a smiling man dressed in black robes. He wasn't burly with bulging muscles, but his frame was astonishingly large. His voice was somewhat hoarse, like wind rustling fallen leaves, yet he looked a little childish as he held a bracelet and kept calling out "Little Sword."
This was Bone Douluo, Gu Rong.
Beside Gu Rong stood a man in blue robes with long silver hair, classical features, and skin as soft as a baby's. His expression was indifferent, and his eyes seemed oblivious to everything around him. He simply stood there quietly without speaking, looking even colder than Guang Ling, who possessed the ice attribute.
When Chen Xin ignored him, Gu Rong lost interest. He took off the bracelet and shoved it into Chen Xin's hand, grumbling, "We finally get to go shopping for once, and there you are, putting on airs. Asking you to spend a cent is like asking for your life..."
"Uncles, that bracelet is so pretty. Can I have it?"
Before Gu Rong finished, an adorable voice reached his and Chen Xin's ears. Perhaps because he had a natural fondness for little girls, a hint of warmth entered Chen Xin's indifferent gaze when he looked at Qian Renyue. Holding the bracelet Gu Rong had forced on him, he glanced down at it. He didn't think it looked particularly nice, so he said, "This bracelet is of mediocre quality. It isn't suitable for a child. Choose another one."
"???"
The person who had selected the bracelet protested indignantly, "What do you mean, mediocre quality? It's obviously very nice. Even a child has better taste than you!"
"She simply doesn't know how to judge it. You, on the other hand, truly don't understand it."
Chen Xin glanced at Gu Rong and spoke expressionlessly.
Gu Rong: "..."
Wonderful. Now even a child knew he couldn't judge bracelets.
"..."
The relationship between Bone Douluo and Sword Douluo was rather subtle. Looking at them, Qian Renyue kept thinking of Yue Guan and Gui Mei. All four had met somewhat unsatisfying ends in the original story, especially Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo. They had died so unceremoniously, without even leaving their bones behind.
Back when she had watched the show, Qian Renyue had sighed again and again. Rather than attaching itself to the imperial family, wouldn't the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect have been better off joining forces with Spirit Hall and conquering the realm together?
Qian Renyue didn't believe that Ning Fengzhi, such an old, calculating fox, couldn't see the situation clearly. She could only say that everything had been destined by unseen forces. Once they stepped onto this road, there was no return.
"Little girl, are you alone?"
While Qian Renyue was thinking, Chen Xin had already thoroughly examined her aura. As a Titled Douluo, his instincts told him that the little girl before him was anything but ordinary. She carried an aura that made people feel at ease. Finding such an aura in a girl who looked even younger than Ning Rongrong struck Chen Xin as strange, but that was also why he had taken an interest in this little squirt.
"Yes, yes, I'm alone!"
Qian Renyue nodded obediently. Cuteness was her specialty. She hadn't yet lost her baby fat, so she naturally looked much more endearing than others.
"Are you a Soul Master?"
Chen Xin crouched down and asked gently.
He had always been straightforward and never beat around the bush. Whatever he wanted to ask, he asked.
"Yes, yes, I am!" Qian Renyue answered truthfully, thinking, Surely Sword Douluo isn't trying to kidnap me?
"Hmm..."
After receiving Qian Renyue's confirmation, Chen Xin fell silent for a while.
Watching from the side, Gu Rong felt that Chen Xin was behaving rather unusually.
He's not thinking of kidnapping this adorable little girl, is he?
Before you continue