Chapter 61

Entering the mansion, Gu Xuan followed Du Gu Yan around; as it was his first time, Gu Xuan was not familiar.

The only impression is simplicity; frankly, as a Titled Douluo's mansion, this is really too plain, basically lacking any decorative greenery, everywhere swept clean.

One could say that any aristocrat with some means would have a compound far better than Dugu Bo's residence.

From this one can see that Dugu Bo indeed dislikes fame and profit, leading a plain, simple life with his precious granddaughter.

There are few servants in the residence; aside from Fu Bo, only seven elderly women in their fifties remain, who usually attend to Dugu Bo's daily needs but spend most of their time cleaning, as Dugu Bo seldom requires their service.

Du Gu Yan is also quite familiar with them, putting on no airs of a young lady, perhaps because they have grown up together.

As they walked, Du Gu Yan introduced Gu Xuan to the layout and situation inside, already treating him as one of her own.

After wandering through the residence for about fifteen minutes, Du Gu Yan and Gu Xuan stopped at a tranquil courtyard, which was where Dugu Bo usually concocted medicines.

Gu Xuan and Du Gu Yan stopped; Du Gu Yan said to Gu Xuan, "My grandfather often prepares poison here, you'd better not go in—I'll go call him."

Gu Xuan did not refuse, not because he feared the poisons, but to let Du Gu Yan go in first and explain the situation to Dugu Bo, giving him a mental heads‑up.

Gu Xuan waited outside the courtyard; Du Gu Yan entered and after about fifteen minutes, Gu Xuan suddenly felt as if a primeval beast had locked its gaze on him, and in an instant he bristled like a startled wildcat, his two yellow and one purple Soul Rings flaring up.

His martial soul manifested, and Gu Xuan's hands turned into silver‑white bone claws that lunged at his own back.

A straight arm shot forward, easily gripping Gu Xuan's bone claw, and a slightly hoarse voice sounded gently: "Your reflexes are not bad."

Gu Xuan looked up and saw the man's appearance: about two meters tall, like a straight spear, wearing a plain green robe, his beard and hair green, his eyes likewise dark green, regarding him with a gentle expression.

Gu Xuan instantly recognized him—who else could it be but Dugu Bo?

Gu Xuan quickly retracted his bone claws, his martial soul withdrew, his Soul Rings retracted, and he bowed to Dugu Bo: "Junior Gu Xuan of the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, I pay my respects, Senior Dugu."

Seeing Gu Xuan's respectful bow, Dugu Bo nodded in satisfaction; although he never cared for empty formalities, it did not mean he could not feel the respect others showed him.

"No need for so much ceremony, kid; I heard you're together with my Yan Yan?" Dugu Bo waved his hand, his words instantly turning sharp.

At that moment, Du Gu Yan walked out of the courtyard and glared at Dugu Bo: "Grandfather! You promised you wouldn't make things difficult for Xiao Xuan!"

Du Gu Yan pouted; Dugu Bo's stern expression froze, then he quickly put on a smile and approached her: "Yan Yan, where have I been hard on him? I'm just asking normally."

Du Gu Yan gave her grandfather a white look and said, "I haven't been clear enough—I haven't even told you the color of Xiao Xuan's underpants, and you still need to ask?"

Hearing that, Dugu Bo couldn't help but pause his expression—what kind of talk is this?

Gu Xuan beside them also stared blankly—what kind of tiger‑wolf words are these?

"Cough, cough, all right, Yan Yan, Grandfather won't ask further." Dugu Bo affectionately rubbed her head and spoke softly.

Watching this, Gu Xuan's fondness for Dugu Bo rose again; the old man may be harsh toward outsiders, but toward his own he is truly without equal.

As seen in the original work, after Dugu Bo became friends with Tang San, even though Tang San had squandered the Binghuo Liangyi Yan on him, during the incident when Tang San was ambushed in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, Dugu Bo alone bore the pressure and faced two opponents to protect Tang San, which sufficiently proves this old man's sentiment and temperament.

Afterwards the Sword Douluo also joined to help, but before that this old man was alone—without courage and righteousness, who would dare act so recklessly?

After soothing Du Gu Yan, Dugu Bo whispered to his precious granddaughter: "Yan Yan, I want to have a few words alone with this kid; why don't you go play for a while?"

Hearing that, Du Gu Yan felt helpless but, after all, she was not an unreasonable child; she gave Dugu Bo a few reminders, then came to Gu Xuan's side.

Du Gu Yan whispered: "Xiao Xuan, my grandfather is cold outside but warm inside—don't be afraid."

Seeing Du Gu Yan coax him like a child, Gu Xuan also smiled helplessly; he had wanted to tweak her nose, but with Dugu Bo present he restrained himself, for later when only the two of them remained, the old man might lose face if he teased his granddaughter.

Gu Xuan smiled gently, nodded, and replied: "Don't worry, I have nothing else but the ability to read faces; Senior Dugu won't forget to make things difficult for me."

Upon hearing that, Du Gu Yan relaxed, nodded, and let Gu Xuan follow Dugu Bo inside.

Dugu Bo glanced at Gu Xuan, smiled at Du Gu Yan, then told Gu Xuan: "Let's go."

The two men entered the courtyard one after the other, while Du Gu Yan did not leave but waited at the gate.

Entering the courtyard, Gu Xuan saw a small medicinal garden with over a dozen herbs, all of which he recognized.

These herbs are all poisons, each potent, and they are rare to find on the market.

Without lingering, Gu Xuan followed Dugu Bo into one of the rooms, which contained nothing but a table and two futons, with a tea set placed on the table.

Dugu Bo plopped down on one futon and said to Gu Xuan: "Have a seat, old man—I have many questions for you!"

Dugu Bo's attitude toward Gu Xuan was fine; he had shown no trace of coldness or suspicion beforehand.

Indeed, as long as Du Gu Yan explains everything about him point by point, not only would Dugu Bo find no doubts, but no one else could either, since it all seems naturally flawless, without any trace of artifice.

Because every step Gu Xuan takes is carefully considered, his aim is naturally to make everything appear natural.

Gu Xuan sat without restraint on the futon opposite Dugu Bo and replied: "Thank you, Senior Dugu, for the seat."

Dugu Bo waved his hand at the words, saying: "Cut the flattery, old man doesn't like empty formalities; although I don't know what tricks you used to deceive my precious granddaughter, if you dare take advantage of Yan Yan before earning my approval, I'll make you regret it—whether your grandfather is Gu Rong or the Heavenly King himself."

As soon as Gu Xuan sat down, Dugu Bo launched a power move; Gu Xuan bore no grudge, for Dugu Bo did this solely for Du Gu Yan—better to know his stance now than to have Yan Yan bullied later, which would truly hurt.

If it were Gu Xuan's daughter bringing home a boy she'd only known for a month and claiming he was her boyfriend, Gu Xuan would be far harsher than Dugu Bo.

Still want to sit? There's not even room to stand.

But if Dugu Bo knew that Gu Xuan had slept embracing Du Gu Yan last night, were it not for Gu Xuan's iron will, the two might have gone further, and I wonder what Dugu Bo would think.

Gu Xuan dare not even think of it; if the old man really lost his temper, he would surely suffer.

As for the worry that Dugu Bo might plot Gu Xuan's death, that is completely unfounded; even aside from his relationship with Du Gu Yan, the fact that Gu Xuan is a descendant of Gu Rong from the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect makes his life untouchable.

Dugu Bo may be mad, but with Du Gu Yan as his soft spot, his madness has limits.

Inside the room, the exchange between the two men thus began.

ps: Typos will be corrected later.

I'm exhausted; this chapter was revised over and over, revised again and again. Finally I managed to post it, only to change a title and have it blocked—I'm completely drained.

I never imagined that writing a fanfic would attract the censors' attention—it makes me want to vomit blood!

(End of chapter)