Chapter 61: Innocent Youth

Dugu Yan's pale green eyes curiously stared at the ten-thousand-year Bilin Snake.

The Bilin Snake was long, about ten meters, but not very thick due to its reliance on venom for hunting. Its slender body was roughly as wide as a young woman's waist, making it appear both delicate and elegant.

Its scales were jade green on the back, gradually lightening to a milky white near the belly.

At the moment, the Bilin Snake was affectionately brushing its soft, milky-white belly scales against Meng Bei. It even rested its chin on his shoulder while hissing softly.

Meng Bei grabbed Dugu Yan's arm and pulled her close to his other shoulder.

"Sister Yan, try mimicking what the snake is doing, and you'll understand!"

Dugu Yan, still skeptical, hesitated before resting her chin on Meng Bei's shoulder and lightly pressing her stomach against his back.

"W-what is this feeling…"

Dugu Yan's face instantly flushed crimson. She quickly jerked away, stepping back in a panic.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?!"

Dugu Yan accused him furiously.

Meng Bei waved his hand with an innocent expression.

"On purpose? What are you talking about?"

As he spoke, he casually reached out to stroke the Bilin Snake beside him and added nonchalantly,

"It's completely normal for a female snake to go into heat, right?"

Dugu Yan's face turned redder than a ripe tomato. Furious, she grabbed a random object and hurled it at Meng Bei.

"You! I'm telling Grandpa about this!"

With that, she stormed off angrily.

She soon found Dugu Bo and recounted Meng Bei's "misdeeds."

However, as expected, Dugu Bo took Meng Bei's side without hesitation. Instead, he scolded Dugu Yan for being "too dramatic" and "making a fuss over nothing."

In his mind, he thought he was helping Meng Bei, but to Meng Bei, Dugu Bo's meddling was utterly terrible.

While Meng Bei considered himself an innocent young man, even he knew that romance didn't work like this.

If Dugu Bo's matchmaking skills were evaluated using Douluo Continent rankings, he'd probably be at best a Grandmaster-level matchmaker—barely passable.

Meng Bei even began to suspect: Has this old man ever been in love at all?

Left with no choice, Meng Bei decided to speak to Dugu Bo directly and lay out his own "plot."

After hearing Meng Bei's plan, Dugu Bo was stunned.

"Kid, are you serious? Will this really work?"

"Of course! You're hopeless, old man—just follow my instructions!"

"You brat—"

"Enough complaining. If you delay any longer, we'll run out of time!"

Without waiting for Dugu Bo's response, Meng Bei turned and left the room.

Dugu Bo was left fuming, repeatedly slamming the table.

"This kid's turning the world upside down! Completely upside down!"

After a pause, Dugu Bo muttered to himself,

"Something doesn't feel right… Why is this boy more eager about this than I am?"

For a moment, Dugu Bo wondered,

"Could it be that this kid really likes Yan Yan?"

The thought pleased him. If Meng Bei truly cared for Dugu Yan, that would be a good thing.

But what Dugu Bo failed to realize was that the most skilled hunter often disguises himself as prey. This time, he might end up losing both his granddaughter and his pride.

Meanwhile, in Tian Dou City, the investigation led by the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan was finally making progress.

The critical clue came from Xue Qinghe, the crown prince of the Tian Dou Empire and Ning Fengzhi's disciple. Though he had never met Meng Bei personally, Meng Bei was essentially his "brother-in-law" through Ning Rongrong.

Concerned about Meng Bei's disappearance, Xue Qinghe contributed significant efforts to the investigation.

Within days, Xue Qinghe uncovered a key lead:

The Tian Dou imperial palace maintained a group of soul masters with unique but peculiar martial souls. These individuals had mediocre strength and talent, but each possessed strange abilities.

For instance, one could summon rain, another could detect underground minerals, and one could… enhance romantic activities.

Among them was Liu Qi, a man whose martial soul was a pen capable of replicating any handwriting.

Through Xue Qinghe's inquiries, it was discovered that on the day of Meng Bei's disappearance, someone had brought Ning Fengzhi's letter to Liu Qi and asked him to forge a document.

With this revelation, Liu Qi became the prime suspect and was promptly captured for interrogation.

Unfortunately, Liu Qi proved surprisingly stubborn. Despite enduring two days of torture, he refused to reveal anything.

Fearing for Meng Bei's safety with every passing day, Ning Fengzhi grew furious. The situation escalated to the point where Emperor Xue Ye himself intervened. Ning Fengzhi even hired a Spirit Saint skilled in illusions from the Spirit Hall to hypnotize Liu Qi and extract the truth.

This move, however, finally forced Prince Xue Xing to act.

Realizing that he could no longer conceal the truth, Prince Xue Xing doubled down. He argued that Liu Qi, as a palace official, held sensitive knowledge about royal affairs and could not be subjected to hypnosis.

While this might have convinced ordinary people, Ning Fengzhi wasn't buying it.

"What royal secrets could possibly matter to me?" Ning Fengzhi scoffed, dismissing Prince Xue Xing's excuses.

Ignoring Xue Xing entirely, Ning Fengzhi took the matter straight to Emperor Xue Ye.

Emperor Xue Ye, understanding the situation, immediately approved the hypnosis request. He even reprimanded Prince Xue Xing for his interference.

Realizing that his cover was about to be blown, Prince Xue Xing panicked.

That night, he resorted to desperate measures, dispatching a Soul Douluo-level assassin from his household to eliminate Liu Qi.

The assassination was carried out hastily and sloppily. The assassin stormed into the prison, slaughtered all the guards, and executed Liu Qi in plain sight.

Though the assassin wore a black cloak, his martial soul and abilities were unmistakably revealed during the escape.

By the time Ning Fengzhi and his team arrived, the trail led directly to Prince Xue Xing's mansion.

Ning Fengzhi, outraged, personally led his people to storm the prince's residence.

Yet Prince Xue Xing remained defiant.

As the most powerful prince in the Tian Dou Empire, he stood his ground. With Liu Qi dead and no witnesses remaining, he believed the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan could do nothing to him.

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