Cultivation Array Disk

"What's your relationship with the crown prince?"

Dugu Bo's eyes were fixed on Mo Lin before him, as though he wanted to find some clue on his face.

But the result left him somewhat disappointed. Mo Lin was like an emotionless puppet, utterly unruffled.

"The crown prince? So that's it."

He had been wondering why Dugu Bo would show up here. So Qian Renxue had drawn him over.

He just didn't know whether it was a coincidence or deliberate.

"Senior Dugu, have you misunderstood something? How would a commoner like me have the standing to know the crown prince?"

Qian Renxue had disguised herself before coming. She hadn't worn any Imperial Family attire and, at most, had looked like an ordinary noble.

With his status, he would essentially never have a chance to meet the crown prince, even living in the same city.

"You've never met the crown prince?"

Somewhat uncertain, Dugu Bo pressed further.

"I don't know him."

He would deny it to the death. That sort of thing was nothing but asking for trouble.

Especially when the person asking the question was Dugu Bo.

Dugu Yan had most likely learned her unruly temperament from him.

Dealing with Dugu Yan was manageable, but going up against Dugu Bo was a little troublesome.

After all, he still couldn't let his "good-for-nothing" persona fall apart.

"Then where are you going?"

Seeing that he couldn't make anything of it, Dugu Bo simply changed the subject.

A shopkeeper closing up at noon really was a little unusual.

"Home to eat. I'm the only one in the shop. I can't leave it open while I go home, can I?"

"..."

That single remark left Dugu Bo speechless.

Going home to eat... that did seem perfectly reasonable.

Still, something just felt off to him.

"Senior Dugu, did you need anything else? If not, I'll be going."

Damn it, of all the times Dugu Bo could have come, he just had to show up at mealtime.

If he really makes me miss my meal, I'll have to give him a good 'thumping' tonight.

Mo Lin's expression didn't change, but he was already plotting how to mess with him.

Though he was the good side, that didn't mean he had no temper at all.

On the contrary, his temper was even worse than the evil side's.

The evil side settled grudges on the spot, while he settled them over and over.

Simply put, he didn't kill; he only tormented.

At that moment, Dugu Bo still didn't know he had landed himself in serious trouble. He remained standing there, pondering something.

He thought until his head hurt, but still couldn't make any sense of it.

"Go on, go on. Don't tell anyone you saw me."

He hadn't come for Xue Qinghe in the first place.

He had merely happened to pass by while looking for his precious granddaughter, then happened to see Xue Qinghe coming out of here.

But he hadn't paid much attention at the time. How could the crown prince matter more than his granddaughter?

Yet when he found Dugu Yan, she was studying the Soul Tool she had just gotten from Mo Lin.

She didn't really know how to use it, though, and after fiddling with it for ages, she still hadn't figured it out.

She wanted to go back and ask, but couldn't swallow her pride, so she had asked Dugu Bo to run the errand for her.

No conspiracy, no scheming, just pure coincidence.

"Wait!"

Just as Mo Lin was about to leave, Dugu Bo finally remembered the actual matter and hurriedly called him back.

"How do you use that thing Yanyan got from you?"

Mo Lin was speechless. This damn doting grandfather-so this was what it had been about all along.

Couldn't he have just said so from the start, instead of going around in such a huge circle?

Just you wait. You'd better sleep with your eyes open tonight.

Mo Lin made up his mind. No matter what, he had to give Dugu Bo a surprise today.

"That's a Cultivation Array Disk. Just keep it on you while cultivating. It can increase your cultivation speed."

Its effect was simple and direct, suitable for all Soul Masters.

"Assisting cultivation? Soul Tools can do that too? You're not selling fakes to swindle people, are you, brat?"

It wasn't as though he had never seen Soul Tools before. He had simply never heard of one with a function like this.

Besides, anything that could accelerate cultivation was a rarity anywhere, let alone something put up for sale.

"Senior Dugu, I'm running a business here. How could I sell fakes?"

"Besides, Miss Dugu Yan is friends with my Lingling. Even if I swindled anyone else, I could never swindle her. And I gave her that array disk; I didn't sell it."

Mo Lin was utterly at a loss. He had only given it to her for Ye Lingling's sake.

Had it been anyone else, he wouldn't have given it to them even if they wanted it.

There was no other reason. It purely depended on his mood.

"That won't do. I can't just take your word for it. Come with me. I want to inspect the goods."

As he spoke, Dugu Bo moved to drag Mo Lin away without allowing any argument.

At that, Mo Lin was utterly speechless and wished he could give Dugu Bo a couple of blows right then.

Doesn't he know that however vast heaven and earth are, eating comes first?

"Senior Dugu, how about a little later? I'll come after I've eaten."

Forcing down his feelings, Mo Lin spoke pleasantly.

But Dugu Bo paid no heed to any of that. To him, this was simply an attempt to dodge the issue.

How could eating matter more than his granddaughter? Besides, was he the sort of person who wouldn't provide a meal?

Ignoring Mo Lin's resistance, Dugu Bo simply dragged him away.

Meanwhile, Dugu Yan was in her family's courtyard, fiddling with the disk she had gotten from Mo Lin.

"Why isn't Grandpa back yet? Does asking a question take this long?"

Dugu Yan muttered, then saw a dark figure appear silently before her.

"Yanyan, I brought him back for you."

She looked at Dugu Bo standing before her, then followed the direction of his finger and saw the helpless-looking Mo Lin.

"Grandpa, why did you bring him back here?!"

Dugu Yan sprang to her feet, looking somewhat agitated.

What kind of joke is this? I sent you to ask a question. What do you mean by bringing him back?

And who is this man?

He's my close friend's future husband. What do you mean by grabbing her man behind her back and bringing him to our house?

She's only just left, and you've already brought him home.

If word gets out, who knows what this will turn into?

"This brat isn't honest. I suspect he sold you a fake, so..."

"He gave it to me! He didn't take any money!"

Before Dugu Bo could finish, Dugu Yan cut him off.

She felt so embarrassed now. Just how did her grandfather's mind work?

"He... he really gave it to you?"

Dugu Bo scratched his head, his face full of embarrassment.

He had thought Mo Lin was fooling him earlier.

As for the exchange between grandfather and granddaughter, Mo Lin was equally speechless.

They really are grandfather and granddaughter. Neither of them is normal.

"Miss Dugu Yan, this is used to assist cultivation. You only need to keep it on you while cultivating. It operates on its own, so you don't need to control it actively. Its effect should increase your existing cultivation speed by roughly thirty percent."

Since he was already here, he might as well settle the matter first.

"It's that simple?"

"What else would there be? Why don't you try it first?"

The way things were going, Dugu Bo definitely wouldn't let him leave until this was cleared up.

Hearing that, Dugu Yan was dubious, but she did as he said anyway.

As her Soul Power circulated, the disk lit up, an eerie green glow spilling out of it. It looked extremely strange.

At the sight, Dugu Bo merely stood quietly to one side, his gaze fixed firmly on Dugu Yan, as though terrified that anything might go wrong with her.

A few minutes later, Dugu Yan opened her eyes again, but a trace of astonishment appeared in them.

"It really can speed it up!"

The test had succeeded, but before this, Dugu Yan hadn't believed it either.

Still, it had been a gift, and trying it wouldn't hurt.

Yet the result was exactly as Mo Lin had said: her cultivation speed had increased by thirty percent over its original rate.

Thirty percent might not seem like much, but accumulated over months and years, the results would be considerable.

"This is too valuable. I can't accept it."

As she spoke, Dugu Yan looked at Dugu Bo beside her and said quite naturally,

"Grandpa, hand over the money."