After infiltrating the main characters' group, I became the most beautiful woman in the world.

Before Lin Ci could speak, she watched as the girl pushed her way through the crowd and squeezed into the group selling candied hawthorns.

Surrounded by children, Su Ning stood out conspicuously among them.

He looked at the dough figurine in his hand, tracing its outline with his fingertips. He felt that this soft dough figurine was even more warm and smooth than the ancient jade treasured in the temple.

The girl seemed to be still debating which candied hawthorn was the sweetest, so Lin Ci turned his attention to the stall next to him, which displayed all sorts of exquisite jewelry.

His hands had only ever held swords and talismans; the most common things he had ever seen were the various cold, hard objects in the temple.

But the hairpins, ornaments, and jewels on this stall were as soft as the clouds at the edge of the sky—silver hairpins were entwined with begonia flowers, hair ornaments were adorned with broken pearls, and even the earrings were carved into tiny jasmine flowers.

Lin Ci stood in front of the stall, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the dough figurine in her hand.

He had never chosen jewelry for a woman before, nor did he know what was considered beautiful. He only felt that each piece was so exquisite that it was dazzling, just like his heart, which was now in disarray.

The young Taoist priest's gaze swept over the dazzling array of jewelry, his fingertips finally resting on a plain white jade hairpin. The hairpin head was carved with half a magnolia bud, its lines simple and clean, like an impressionistic painting on rice paper, the blank spaces exuding tranquility.

He remembered the stray hairs that fell when she tied her hair up, the curve of her eyes when she smiled, and her cheerful laughter under the moon. Suddenly, he was certain that this hairpin was the perfect match for her.

The stall owner, a gentle and refined woman, smiled and asked, "Master, is this for your sweetheart? This hairpin is exceptionally elegant; it would surely look beautiful on a young lady."

The words "my beloved" seemed to linger between Lin Ci's lips, but when someone pointed it out, her ears turned red.

He looked at the jade hairpin in his hand, his voice clear yet carrying a subtle hint of certainty: "How much?"

After paying, the stall owner wrapped the hairpin in a wooden box and handed it to Lin Ci with a gentle smile, "Daoist Master has good taste; your beloved will surely be delighted."

Lin Ci took the wooden box in her hand, nodded slightly, and did not deny the title of "beloved".

But when I turned around, the familiar figure was nowhere to be seen at the candied hawthorn stall.

My heart, which had just been warming, now felt as if it were frozen solid.

He clutched the wooden box in his arms, his knuckles turning white, his gaze sweeping anxiously across the crowd.

The candied hawthorn stall that was just crowded with children is gone, and even the sweet aroma has faded a bit.

"A-Ning?" he called softly, his voice carrying a panic he himself was unaware of.

The surrounding noise continued—the vendors' shouts and the children's laughter—but at this moment, it acted like a thick barrier, separating him from the everyday life of the people.

He recalled the stall owner saying, "Your sweetheart will be delighted," and the image of her smiling eyes with the jade hairpin in her hair. The ice in his heart sank even deeper.

He strode quickly through the crowd, his fingertips almost digging into the grain of the wooden box, the hem of his Taoist robe sweeping across the ground, creating a gust of wind.

His gaze swept eagerly across the throng of people, each unfamiliar face adding to his growing anxiety.

He even forgot that he was the chief of the Taihang Temple, forgot the teachings of "remaining calm in the face of adversity," and only knew that he had lost her.

Until I saw the broken sugar coating on the ground, and the hawthorns trampled beyond recognition.

Lin Ci suddenly stopped in his tracks. He forced himself to calm down and then searched for the candied hawthorn vendor in the vast crowd.

In a short while, he spotted the person who was frantically fleeing in the crowd.

Lin Ci lightly touched the ground with her toes, her robes flowing like clouds, and in the next second she landed in front of the vendor. Shao Gu was drawn from its sheath, the sword light as sharp as a blade, directly across the vendor's neck.

"Where's the girl who bought candied hawthorns from your stall just now?" Lin Ci's voice was as cold as ice, and she even forgot that Su Ning was wearing men's clothing.

Shao Gu never drew his sword lightly, let alone to an ordinary person with no martial arts skills.

The people around were so shocked by this sudden event that they scattered in surprise.

The peddler's legs went weak at the sight of the sword, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud, scrambling and begging for mercy: "Taoist priest, spare my life! Taoist priest, spare my life! A group of drunken rich young men just came and kidnapped that young master."

"What did those people look like?" Lin Ci's sword was almost pressed against the vendor's throat. "Where did they go?"

"It was...it was a few people dressed in fine clothes!" The vendor was terrified, barely able to speak. "They...they seemed to know martial arts. They snatched the young master away in no time and headed down that alley over there!"

Lin Ci's gaze darkened further. He sheathed his sword, tapped his toes, and headed straight in the direction the man had pointed.

The alley was dark, and a jade hairpin that Su Ning used to tie her hair lay on the ground. His heart tightened, and he quickened his pace.

Turning the corner of the alley, one could see Su Ning surrounded by several people, her black hair cascading down like a waterfall, her face pale.

The leader was grinning maliciously, seemingly wanting to touch her face. "Such a beautiful young lady, why dress as a man?"

"Let her go."

Lin Ci's voice came from the alley entrance, and the moonlight made his shadow appear even longer.

He walked slowly closer, and the Shao Gu sword was drawn again. The sword light reflected the ferocity in his eyes, and even the surrounding air seemed to cool down.

The men turned around and saw him, paused for a moment, then sneered: "Where did this stinking Taoist priest come from, daring to meddle in our business?"

Before he finished speaking, Lin Ci had already made his move.

His swordsmanship was sharp and precise, without the slightest unnecessary movement, and he accurately pierced the man's throat.

Warm blood splattered on his Taoist robe, like a strange flower, instantly staining the pure white robe red.

The remaining few tried to run, but how could they outrun the young orphan who had already drawn his sword?

However, he collapsed to the ground instantly, twitched twice, and then fell silent.

Blood splattered on his eyebrows and eyes, like a few specks of cinnabar. Blood droplets on his eyelashes slowly slid down the corners of his eyes, spreading a glaring red across his pale cheeks.

The devastating killing intent that had just been there gradually faded away, leaving only a deathly stillness.

Lin Ci gripped the sword, his fingertips warm from the blood. Looking at his hands, he realized for the first time that those so-called "Dao Hearts" were utterly insignificant in the face of her safety.

Su Ning looked at the person in front of her, stained with blood. He could have avoided killing.

However, Su Ning was quite satisfied with the Taoist priests of Taihang Temple who killed for her. It was worth it for her to have specially chosen these villains. It was a good thing for them to die under Lin Ci's sword.