The Ye Family had hidden far too much!
"Brother Mo Lin!"
At the city gates, Ye Lingling poked her head out of the carriage and waved at Mo Lin in the distance.
Once the carriage drew close, she jumped straight down and threw herself into his arms.
"All right, how old are you now? You're still just like when you were little. Aren't you afraid people will laugh if they see you like this?"
Mo Lin gently rubbed Ye Lingling's head, his face full of affection.
Ye Lingling had loved clinging to him like this since she was little, and she was still the same now that she had grown up. It seemed nothing had changed.
"Bleh! I don't care. Let them laugh if they want. I want a hug anyway."
Ye Lingling playfully stuck out her cute little tongue. She did not care about any of that.
Being laughed at would not cost her a piece of flesh. Besides, after being away for so long, she had long since started missing him.
Dugu Yan and the others from Heaven Dou Royal Academy also got out of the carriage one after another.
At the sight, different shades of meaning appeared in their eyes.
Yu Tianheng in particular looked at Mo Lin with intense wariness at that moment.
After sounding Dugu Yan out over the past few days, he had finally learned that the Heaven-Defying Sword God, who had slain Tang Hao in Suotuo City, was actually connected to the obscure live-in son-in-law of the Ye Family before him. Their relationship even seemed quite good.
After all, Mo Lin had learned the news early on and specifically asked the Heaven-Defying Sword God to look after Ye Lingling.
He had even specially rounded up several Soul Saints and Soul Emperors to escort them on their return journey...
To escort Ye Lingling home.
Anyone who was not an idiot could read something into that kind of treatment.
Ye Lingling likewise had a bellyful of questions.
"Brother Mo Lin, do you know someone named Mo Lin?"
Compared with the others, Ye Lingling had far fewer reservations and simply asked him outright.
This was how she had always interacted with Mo Lin, ever since they were little.
That was also what Mo Lin had taught her: if something was on her mind, she should not bottle it up. She could just tell him.
"I do. From the looks of it, you've met him? He didn't scare you, did he?"
Mo Lin answered very directly, but struck exactly the right balance.
It was as though he had no idea what had happened in Suotuo City.
"No, he was pretty nice. Just a little strange."
Was he not strange? It felt as though he was approaching her, whether deliberately or otherwise, and she kept sensing something extremely familiar about him.
As though the two of them had met more than just that once.
Yet she clearly did not remember meeting him. His attitude, however, plainly showed that he knew her, and knew her well.
"Strange?"
He had not expected Ye Lingling to give his Evil Face such an assessment. He wondered whether Evil Face would be heartbroken if he heard it.
He had become a creepy uncle.
"Yes, very strange. He felt familiar, but I couldn't remember who he was. Isn't that strange?"
Beside them, Dugu Yan grew terribly anxious when Ye Lingling started chatting about other things.
She thought to herself.
"Talk about something else already! Can you stop acting spoiled with your Brother Mo Lin? I'm begging you."
Dugu Yan was truly speechless. How did her best friend have two different faces?
She acted one way in front of Mo Lin and another way around everyone else. Was she putting on a double act?
Before, Dugu Yan would have stepped forward and interrupted long ago.
Now, however, she felt a little afraid just looking at Mo Lin.
There was no helping it. Mo Lin had left rather a large shadow over her.
"Oh, I got sidetracked. Brother Mo Lin, you still haven't answered me. Who is he, and how did you two meet?"
The others beside them almost burst into tears when they heard that question.
She had finally gotten to the point. It had been far too difficult.
"That? You'll have to ask Aunt Ye."
Mo Lin smiled without giving an answer.
After all, certain things would produce different results depending on whether they came from his mouth or Ye Xingmeng's.
"Huh? Mom knows him too!"
Ye Lingling was startled, and the others beside her were equally shocked.
Damn! The Ye Family had hidden so much!
In an instant, everyone began imagining all sorts of bizarre things.
At the same time, they raised the Ye Family's standing in their minds by more than just one level.
Could a family connected to a Titled Douluo possibly be ordinary?
Of course, the Ye Family itself was no minor presence either. They simply preferred keeping a low profile.
"She does, of course she does. Aunt Ye even called him a freeloader before."
"Huh?"
Holy shit!
That single remark from Mo Lin sent Ye Xingmeng's standing straight up into the clouds.
She had outright called a top-tier Titled Douluo a freeloader. Just what kind of relationship did they have?
Come to think of it, the Ye Family seemed to be in the medicinal herb business. Could they have saved his life?
That was not impossible. Ye Xingmeng was actually quite well known in Heaven Dou City.
After all, she was often charitable and helped ordinary people who had nowhere left to turn. She was very well liked in Heaven Dou City.
Come to think of it, had she not also picked Mo Lin up and brought him home? Looking at it that way, the possibility seemed to be rising without limit.
"No! I have to report this to the sect as soon as possible. We must build a good relationship with the Ye Family."
Compared with Dugu Bo, who stood behind Dugu Yan, the Heaven-Defying Sword God clearly carried more weight.
Yu Tianheng thought so, and the others thought the same.
Only Ye Lingling was still pondering what Mo Lin truly meant by "freeloader."
"Let's stop talking about these unimportant things. Aunt Ye is still waiting for you to come home for dinner."
"By the way, do you need to go back to the academy first? To report in or something?"
Mo Lin was easygoing as he looked toward Qin Ming and the others standing a short distance away.
Qin Ming was leaning on a crutch, with Flender, Zhao Wuji, and the other Shrek instructors standing beside him.
Following Evil Face's instructions, Flender had broken one of Qin Ming's legs.
There had been no choice. If he refused, the consequence might not have been a broken leg, but death.
The explanation given to outsiders, however, was that he had fallen. As for how he had fallen, that was unknown.
"No, no. The academy has no such rule."
Hearing this, Qin Ming hurriedly waved his hand, indicating that Ye Lingling could leave directly.
With things already put that way, how could he dare stop her?
That Heaven-Defying Sword God was petty. Who knew whether he might find an excuse to break his other leg?
He really was unlucky. How had one trip away landed him in such a rotten mess?
"Oh, I see. But Teacher, how did you break your leg? Was this training trip that dangerous?"
He truly had picked the one sore spot to bring up. Mo Lin drove a knife straight into Qin Ming's wound.
"It's... it's nothing. I accidentally fell."
The others beside him all cast sidelong looks at him upon hearing that.
A Soul Emperor breaking his leg in a fall? Did that sound like something a person could say?
Anyone with eyes could tell someone had broken it. As for why, that was a little harder to say.
"Oh, then you can visit the Ye Family's medicine shop, Teacher. They also have medicine for broken bones. Since you're Lingling's teacher, I'll give you twenty percent off."
Mo Lin was all smiles, but now even hearing the word "off" made Qin Ming shudder.
The injury where his leg had been broken also began to ache faintly.
"Th... thank you."
Qin Ming gave Mo Lin a rather unsightly smile.
He did not know why, but although everything the other man said was pleasant, it all sounded so grating to his ears.
"Hm? Lingling, how did your teacher develop a stutter after one trip away? I don't remember a broken leg causing people to stutter."
Looking at Mo Lin's sincere expression, Ye Lingling also found it a little hard to keep from laughing.
"I don't know. Maybe he's homesick."