The moment Oscar laid eyes on the girl, he was briefly stunned then a sense of disbelief settled in.
Snake tail Spirit Possession. Green hair and pupils. In the Sunset Forest, of all places?
All the signs pointed to a single person: Dugu Yan.
Could his luck really be that ridiculous? To randomly run into her?
No wait. He had just slain the very soul beast she was hunting. And this Dugu Yan… didn't seem nearly as cold or aloof as in her original appearance in the canon.
A stream of thoughts rapidly passed through Oscar's mind, but now wasn't the time to get lost in them.
As the girl questioned him with slight irritation, Oscar's handsome young face remained impassive. He immediately decided to feign ignorance of her identity to play a character.
After all, based on what he knew from the source material, Dugu Bo doted on Dugu Yan to an extreme degree. There was no way he would allow her to venture out alone to hunt a soul beast. He was almost certainly lurking in the shadows nearby.
Oscar's suspicion stemmed from the wound pattern on the purple poison viper's body it clearly hadn't been inflicted by Dugu Yan. More likely, Dugu Bo had weakened the beast for her to finish off and grow through the experience.
This was exactly the same tactic that Zhao Wuji had used on Oscar during their own training. With Oscar's intelligence, it wasn't hard to draw a parallel.
Even if he wasn't perfectly correct, he wouldn't be far off.
Thus, Oscar calmly replied, "Miss, no need to get upset."
Dugu Yan narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not upset. But why did you kill my soul beast?"
Oscar responded coolly, "First, I wasn't aware this beast was your target. Second, it intruded into our camp, and I struck it down purely in self defense."
His explanation, delivered with a calm expression on his striking face, clearly softened Dugu Yan's anger.
True, her grandfather had deliberately injured the viper for her to finish but her own speed had fallen short. She had chased it this far, only to have it escape her again.
Oscar then added, "But since we were the cause of your loss, if you need another soul beast, we'll help you hunt one whatever you require."
Dugu Yan was taken aback. "How did you know it was supposed to be my third soul ring?"
Oscar smiled faintly. "It wasn't hard to guess. Judging from the wound marks, this was a setup an elder injured the beast to train you. But it seems you weren't strong enough to finish the job in time, and it reached our camp."
Dugu Yan was clearly startled. He had read the situation with pinpoint accuracy.
"I…" She wanted to argue but found she really had no ground to stand on. It was her own mistake.
But Dugu Yan wasn't so easily convinced. She glanced at Oscar, then at the forming spirit ring from the slain viper.
"No matter what, you've promised to help me find a suitable replacement, right? You're not going back on that?"
As she spoke, her serpentine tail vanished, replaced by a pair of long, shapely legs. She stepped forward barefoot, crystalline toes gleaming, a seductive aura naturally exuding from her.
Only now did Oscar notice her figure.
Though just eleven, Oscar's newly enhanced body after acquiring his third ring had already reached 1.88 meters. Dugu Yan wasn't short either roughly 1.7 meters, and with her matured curves, she looked more like a 20yearold woman from his past life.
Despite nearly being captivated at first sight, Oscar quickly restrained himself. He looked away from her eyes and replied steadily, "Of course."
Then he asked with seeming innocence, "What brings you here alone? This is the inner region of Sunset Forest. The beasts here are all at least ten thousand year class. You shouldn't be here unprotected. Were you separated from your elders?"
Dugu Yan hesitated. She glanced between Oscar and Shao Xin, then slowly answered, "I came here with my grandfather. But I got separated from him while chasing the viper."
Just as she finished, a shadowy figure watching her from a distance paused. A pair of dark green eyes flickered briefly before a wry smile appeared and the figure vanished back into hiding.
Oscar was momentarily confused. With Dugu Bo's strength and protective nature, there was no way he would "accidentally" lose track of Dugu Yan.
But Oscar quickly realized the truth: Dugu Yan wasn't talking to him she was speaking to her hidden grandfather. She deliberately created an excuse for staying behind.
But why? Why would she hide Dugu Bo's presence and linger with strangers?
Didn't she fear danger?
In truth, Dugu Yan had deliberated before making her decision. But the logic was simple.
First: Oscar clearly outclassed her in power.
Second: this was the first time in her fifteen years that she had encountered a boy of her age with such striking looks and strength. A clear genius.
So she acted on impulse and curiosity. With her grandfather nearby, she wasn't afraid even if Oscar turned out to have bad intentions.
Oscar, seeing through it all, chose not to expose her. He simply nodded in understanding. "I see. Then you can stay here for now. When my teacher returns, we'll help you locate your grandfather and find you a suitable soul beast."
Dugu Yan nodded. Then, slightly apologetically, said, "Sorry about earlier. I was a bit worked up."
Oscar smiled gently. "No worries. Perfectly understandable. I'm Oscar, student of Shrek Academy. And you?"
He intentionally named his academy soul master students were usually seen as upright and trustworthy. It would help build rapport.
Dugu Yan responded, "I'm Dugu Yan. I… haven't enrolled in an academy yet."
Oscar blinked. That didn't make sense. At her age, she should've already joined Tian Dou Royal Academy. Why claim otherwise?
Before he could pursue the matter, he stepped forward and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Dugu Yan."
She instinctively reached out but stopped halfway, withdrawing her hand with a hint of guilt.
"Sorry… for personal reasons, I can't shake hands."
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