'Child Groom'

Heaven Dou City.

Beside a street with relatively few passersby, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling stood outside a shop, looking in puzzlement at the sign beside it that read "Soul Tools Bought Exclusively."

"Soul Tools?"

Dugu Yan tilted her head and looked at Ye Lingling beside her.

"These are the interesting things you mentioned? Since when did you get interested in antiques?"

It made no sense however she looked at it, until Dugu Yan noticed the shop's name and realization dawned.

"Mo Lin Workshop... Oh, I see! I was wondering why you dragged me here. So you're boosting sales for your man."

There was not a trace of anger in her voice, only teasing.

But her words seemed a little too brazen, bringing a faint blush to Ye Lingling's face.

"Dugu Yan, you... what nonsense are you talking about...?"

Her voice was soft and delicate, without the slightest hint of resistance.

Dugu Yan rolled her eyes at Ye Lingling.

"Still pretending? Who at the academy doesn't know your mother found you a Child Bridegroom?"

"And you didn't even put up a fight. There are so many talented young men pursuing you at the academy. Why did you have to fall for this guy?"

She could not understand it, truly could not. Given Ye Lingling's circumstances, if she wanted to land a golden husband, throngs of suitors would come knocking.

The sole inheritor of Nine Heart Begonia, the world's foremost healing element martial soul-that alone was enough to make many great families try to win her over.

Besides, Ye Lingling was quite pretty. Even if her beauty could not topple cities and kingdoms, it was at least a rare sight in this world.

Yet a fresh flower had been planted in cow dung, a white swan had fallen for a toad. Dugu Yan had been utterly speechless when she found out.

"Don't tell me that guy has something on you?!"

As though a possibility had occurred to her, Dugu Yan's dark brows furrowed slightly.

"What are you imagining? Mo Lin isn't the kind of person you think he is."

Ye Lingling shot Dugu Yan a reproachful look. Her imagination really did run wild.

Knock, knock, knock-

Just then, a crisp knocking sound came from beside them, successfully drawing both their attention.

Turning their heads, they saw a youth in a simple short-sleeved shirt standing a short distance away, watching them with a smile.

The youth had short, neatly trimmed black hair and eyes like black jade, bright and clear. The muscles on his exposed arms bulged slightly, giving him a rather strong appearance.

His features were clean-cut, not particularly handsome, but he gave off a very easygoing air.

"Miss Dugu Yan, isn't it a little inappropriate to speak ill of someone right outside his shop?"

He wore a smile and did not seem angry at Dugu Yan's somewhat offensive remarks.

"Mo Lin!"

Seeing the youth suddenly appear before her, Ye Lingling first startled, then a little panic appeared on her lovely face.

"Dugu Yan was only joking. I..."

Ye Lingling wanted to explain further, but Mo Lin raised a hand to stop her.

"Don't worry, I'm not angry. But since you're already here, why not come in and sit?"

Mo Lin smiled calmly, looked toward Dugu Yan, and raised his hand slightly in an inviting gesture.

Dugu Yan folded her arms and gave a light snort. Without refusing, she took Ye Lingling's hand and walked inside.

Her chin was slightly raised, and she did not even greet Mo Lin as she passed him, looking haughty in the extreme.

Mo Lin did not think much of it.

This was not his first time dealing with Dugu Yan, and he knew she disliked him.

As for the reason, it naturally lay with Ye Lingling.

He had carried the title of "the Ye Family's Child Bridegroom" for a full fourteen years now.

Back then, he had nearly frozen to death in the snow. Ye Lingling's mother had happened to pass by and rescued him.

From that day onward, he had become part of the Ye Family.

However, he had not had the title of Child Bridegroom at first.

To pinpoint when he had acquired that title, he would have to shave two years off that total-to twelve years ago.

He had been six that year, awakening the Lone Wolf martial soul with level-five innate soul power.

Among ordinary people, that talent could be considered quite good. Though it fell short of the very best geniuses, it was still relatively rare.

But this was Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Most of the imperial capital's finest geniuses gathered here, and someone like him really was rather inconspicuous among them.

Dugu Yan herself was among the very best of those geniuses, and her status was illustrious. Without her connection to Ye Lingling, she probably would never have paid much attention to his existence, let alone had any friction with him.

"Dugu Yan, don't go too far. If you keep this up, I won't talk to you anymore."

Seeing Dugu Yan's attitude, Ye Lingling was somewhat displeased. She shook off the hand holding hers and looked at her with some anger.

Both stopped walking. Dugu Yan lowered her previously raised chin slightly, looking utterly helpless at the sight of Ye Lingling protecting him like her own cub.

"Fine, fine, my fault. I apologize. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Happy now?"

Her tone was perfunctory, making it obvious she was not sincere.

"What good does saying it to me do? You..."

Ye Lingling puffed out her cheeks and looked at the reluctant Dugu Yan. Just as she was about to say something more, she felt a large hand gently settle on her head, cutting off her unfinished words.

"All right, Miss Dugu Yan was only joking. I'm not that petty."

She turned her head and saw Mo Lin looking at her with a smile.

His expression was gentle, and he did not seem the least bit angry about what had just happened.

"But..."

"It's fine. Don't you understand Miss Dugu Yan's personality better than I do?"

As Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's granddaughter, showered with his boundless affection and even indulgence, she naturally sometimes did things that disregarded other people's feelings.

To her, such behavior might be perfectly normal. More precisely, most noble children shared this fault.

Dugu Yan's case could even be considered relatively mild. At least she was not acting out of pure malice, but concern for her friend.

To Mo Lin, a transmigrator, this was just a child's temper. There was no need for him to get angry with her.

"All right, my shop only opened today. As my first customers, what might you two beautiful ladies need?"

Mo Lin raised his head and shifted his gaze from Ye Lingling to Dugu Yan standing beside her. That signature smile remained on his face, as though he had no expression other than a smile.

But as the saying went, you did not strike a smiling face.

Dugu Yan did not particularly like Mo Lin, but since he was giving her so much face, she had to respond in kind.

Otherwise, how would she be any different from those scum nobles who knew only how to bully men and tyrannize women?

She was somewhat spoiled and willful, but that did not mean she was unreasonable. Otherwise, she could never have become friends with an innocent little flower like Ye Lingling.

"Ahem, so, what do you have here?"

Looking around, Dugu Yan was surprised to discover that this place was completely different from the shops buying and selling soul tools that she had visited before.

On the present-day Douluo Continent, most soul tool craftsmanship had been lost. Only a tiny portion had survived, and its uses were not particularly significant.

As for the rest, they were basically antiques, generally bought only by nobles to decorate their homes.

Very few could actually serve a practical purpose. Dugu Yan had originally thought Mo Lin's shop would be the same.

Yet she discovered that this place was very different from the old objects she had imagined.

She could not quite explain exactly what was different. It was just that, as she looked at the soul tools displayed one by one in counters made of transparent glass, she seemed able to feel the vitality contained within them.

That was right. She felt vitality within an implement made entirely of metal.

Honestly, even she found it absurd.

The shock was no less than what she had felt upon first hearing that Ye Lingling had a Child Bridegroom at home.

She walked up to the nearest display counter and looked through the glass at a metal disc inside.

Exquisitely intricate soul tool runes were engraved on it, shining with a faint glow. It looked like a beautiful work of art and instantly held Dugu Yan's gaze captive.

"What is this?"