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

Su Ning found Lou Xianyue in the grass.

Not far away was the place where they had just come out, with the corpses of those black-robed men lying haphazardly along the way.

The stench of blood emanating from him intensified, a few strands of dark hair clung to his pale forehead, his lips were bloodless, and his breathing was so light it seemed as if it might stop at any moment.

Su Ning squatted down and gently brushed away the grass clippings on his face with her fingertips. The skin she touched was frighteningly cold.

Without the slightest hesitation, she raised her hand and gently patted his cheek twice, the force neither too light nor too heavy, yet carrying an undeniable strength:

"The moon hangs over the tower, wake up."

His eyelashes trembled, as if he had struggled for a long time in endless darkness, and finally slowly lifted his eyelashes.

Those usually haughty eyes were now misty, and it took them a while to focus before they could see the person in front of them clearly.

"Are you... alright?"

Lou Xianyue slowly sat up with Su Ning's help. Even though he was in worse condition himself, he was concerned about her first.

Su Ning showed him the bundle in her hand, "Don't worry, nothing happened."

The boy, unsuspecting, slowly stood up after a moment. "Let's go back quickly; this place is not safe to stay any longer."

"It's unclear how many people they left inside the manor, and we also don't know what happened to the disciples who remained at the Sword Forging Manor."

Su Ning tried to help him up, but the boy unusually refused.

Su Ning raised an eyebrow, only to see the other person take out a handkerchief from their sleeve and carefully wipe the still-wet bloodstains from their hands before taking Su Ning's hand in a natural manner.

"Your hands are dirty, how can you soil them?"

"You are very polite."

Su Ning did not refuse his offer to hold her hand, after all, the two were allies at this moment.

Lou Xianyue smiled faintly, a smile that was fleeting but softened his former sharp edges, making him more approachable.

The two returned to the secret passage.

The appearance of the men in black blocking the way was not a coincidence. It must be that Xue Shazi had placed some people in various parts of the manor. Lou Xianyue had just prevented those people from sending out the signal, but it wouldn't last long. She had to run away as soon as possible.

The dark, secret passage was filled with the stench of rust and dampness.

Only the faint light seeping from the cracks in the wall could barely outline the two people's clasped hands.

The boy's palms were warm and dry as he held the girl's hand firmly, his fingertips occasionally stroking the back of her hand as if to soothe her silently.

The return journey was different from the journey there; both of them were much calmer.

"Su Ning," he suddenly spoke, his voice echoing softly in the narrow passage, "After defeating the Demonic Sect, it won't be long before I return."

Su Ning paused, but didn't answer, waiting for him to continue.

"I still remember the first time we met. You were wearing a veil, floating lightly into my arms. At that time, I thought you were just one of those scheming women."

"It wasn't until I saw your face that I realized you didn't need to resort to such scheming..."

Just your presence alone moves me deeply.

"What do you want to say?" Su Ning stood still.

"I... I think there might be some misunderstanding between us."

In the dim light, he could clearly see that the girl's gaze was fixed on his face.

He steeled himself, tightened his grip on the other person's hand, and his soft voice echoed throughout the tunnel, "You slapped me last time, but I don't care."

"You don't need to repay that life-saving grace. What I want to say is, could you go and take a look at Dongjian? It's very prosperous there, no less so than Lingzhou City."

"And there's the purple tassel flower that can save our lives today. I know a valley where purple tassel flowers grow in abundance. When the wind blows, the blossoms fall softly, covering the entire valley—it's very beautiful."

It was clear that the boy in front of me was very nervous.

He speaks haltingly and incoherently.

Perhaps it was because of the severity of his injury today, but he even bent over.

This is probably the first time this proud and arrogant young master has ever humbled himself before.

Su Ning remained silent for a long time, so long that Lou Xianyue's breathing almost stopped.

"Can."

"You don't need to rush to reject me, I was just saying it casually—" He gave a self-deprecating laugh, but his words suddenly stopped, and he looked up in disbelief, "What...did you say?"

Su Ning looked at his eyes, which were slightly widened in shock, still filled with lingering tension and unease, like a small animal whose disguise had been exposed.

She gently withdrew her hand, only to place it back on his the next second, her fingertips slightly cool: "I said, I promise you."

The air in the secret passage seemed to freeze instantly, and even breathing became clearly audible.

Lou Xianyue froze on the spot, and it took her a long time to find her voice, which trembled slightly: "Really? You...you're not just kidding me, are you?"

"I never lie to people." Su Ning's voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable seriousness. "Once all this is over, I'll go with you to Dongjian to see the prosperity you described, and to see the mountains covered in purple tassel flowers."

She paused, then added, "But before that, we have to get out of this secret passage alive, and... wipe out those demons and monsters."

Lou Xianyue suddenly gripped her hand tightly, as if afraid that all of this was just a fragile dream.

A spark rekindled in his eyes, a light brighter than ever before: "Okay, let's do it together."

Lou Xianyue was used to doing things her own way and didn't know what it meant to yield.

Perhaps it was because the secret passage was too dark that he could no longer see his own heart clearly.

Surprisingly, it felt pretty good.

No, I should say it was extremely enjoyable.

He even stopped caring much about the unremarkable servant, the Taoist priest from Taihang Temple, and even that poor wretch Yue Zijin.

The boy's gaze then fell upon the two clasped hands.

The secret passage, which had been so damp and unbearable before, now seemed to him longer than he ever imagined.

Compared to Lou Xianyue's excited and overjoyed mood, Su Ning silently lit a candle for him from behind.

Who says she can't coax people? She's incredibly good at it.

After the two emerged from the secret passage, they quietly crept back to the mountaintop training ground.

With Lin Ci and Yu Xinglai working together, those small fry were naturally no match for them.

Even Xue Shazi and Chen Wujin suffered losses.

After handing the flowers to Song Hengxue, Lou Xianyue was also pulled away by the disciples of Hundred Flowers Valley to receive treatment.

After all, the flower was contributed by the other party. If it really cured everyone's poison, his achievement would be even more remarkable than winning the Dragon Sparrow Blade.

Just when Su Ning thought nothing would happen.

But then they saw Cheng Yefu, the leader of the Heavenly Sword Hall, rushing in from the mountain gate, his breathing heavy. "It's terrible, Master! Lingzhou City... has fallen!"