Female lead: No, it's me again??

"The most beautiful? Indeed."

The little girl nodded in deep agreement.

"So, would you like to become its mistress?"

Xuan Li was about to refuse when she saw Hong Yue's hopeful eyes, which made her speechless.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as your agreement."

Hongyue grabbed the little girl's soft finger and forcefully made a cut at the tip of her index finger, a drop of red blood falling onto the ring.

A faint purple light shimmered as the man slipped a ring inlaid with a purple cypress flower onto his index finger.

To prevent her from refusing, he even put her bleeding index finger in his mouth.

Xuan Li froze on the spot, the warm touch on her fingertips making her face flush red, and she said weakly,

"This is... forcing a sale..."

She tried to pull her hand away, but the strong grip on her wrist was like shackles, preventing her from withdrawing.

"Would Ali be willing?"

The hope was even stronger in the man's eyes.

The little girl was speechless.

She didn't dare refuse; what if this person went to the ancient battlefield to die?

Is Chaoyang Holy Palace really not going to cause her any trouble?

Xuan Li had no idea that she had been fooled by the old man's superb acting skills.

The man lowered his hands and wrapped them around the girl's waist, pulling her into his arms again. "Ah Li, so you've agreed to be my wife? Hmm?"

His soft voice rang in my ears, making them tingle.

She shrank back uncomfortably, trying to avoid him. "Who is your wife? I don't know anything about her."

She tried to push against the man's chest, but couldn't.

The man seemed to understand something, and exclaimed in sudden realization, "Ah~ I really can't call you 'Madam' before we're married. Is Ah Li reminding me to prepare the betrothal gifts?"

Hongyue's deliberately low voice continued to reach Xuanli's ears, especially when she said the word "Madam," as if it had been infused with some kind of magic, making her head spin while also making her feel that the air around her was sweet.

Xuan Li suddenly realized that this man was seducing her!

Is she someone whose resolve in the path is so wavering?

Xuan Li subconsciously raised his voice.

"Get out of here! I'm not marrying you!"

What she didn't know was that, in Hongyue's eyes, when the blushing girl tried to raise her voice, which was as weak as a mosquito's buzz, it was no different from her coquettishly complaining to him.

The man's heart softened completely. He gently pinched her cheek and chuckled, "You."

The little girl felt the atmosphere was too ambiguous, so she looked up and complained, "Don't pinch my face! If you break my sacred artifact, you'll have to pay me back!"

The man touched her warm skin and began to praise her without reservation, "Speaking of this mask... my Ali is so clever, she even knows how to hide herself."

Xuan Li raised his head triumphantly, "Of course! Isn't it realistic? Even those old men from the Bai family couldn't tell we were wearing masks!"

Hongyue chuckled, then her tone turned dangerous, "So, the Bai family said that the person afflicted with the Soul-Devouring Curse is Feng Siyue? And you're going to the Sword Saint's Secret Realm with her in a month?"

Xuan Li hadn't realized anything was wrong and kept nodding, "Yeah, yeah, why do they tell you everything?"

The girl's chin was lifted, and she met the man's ambiguous smile. "Then tell me, Ali, with so many talented young men vying for supremacy, how do you protect yourself from getting hurt?"

She blinked, belatedly realizing...

"They're just some... trump cards."

"Oh? Tell me."

"Forehead……"

How do you say this?

She chose to cover it up.

The little girl buried her face in Hongyue's arms, "Oh dear, I can't tell you now, but don't worry, I'll definitely come back alive and kicking!"

Is Hongyue worried about her?

"I won't let you in unless you tell me."

What if his Ah Li gets hurt, since she's so delicate?

Feng Siyue couldn't protect her at all.

Just thinking about it made Hongyue's inner violence uncontrollable.

Xuan Li had heard similar concerns from the two old men in the Bai family before, but hearing them from Hong Yue's mouth made her feel inexplicably guilty.

"Red Moon, I need to enter the Sword Saint's Secret Realm. It's related to the Soul Devouring Curse. I'll help if I can."

Although she didn't do this favor herself.

But she has to at least be there, right? If she doesn't go in, how can Ya Ya get in?

To his surprise, the man scoffed twice, "You only think of her and not me, you're being biased..."

Xuan Li frowned, wondering why he was acting like a child, jealous of Feng Siyue.

"Not considering you? Then tell me where this ring came from?"

She held out her left hand and confronted the man, questioning him.

Hongyue raised an eyebrow, his mood suddenly improving. He extended his right hand, and the identical cypress rings were placed on his index finger, one large and one small, yet strangely well-matched.

"Okay, I knew Ali cared about me."

Xuan Li proudly raised her chin.

Seeing how sincere he was, I'll reluctantly pay him some attention.

Hongyue led Xuanli around the secret realm and even played with the unicorn.

Slowly, the little girl yawned, turned her head and said, "Hongyue, I'm sleepy."

Hongyue picked him up and said softly, "Okay, I'll take you to rest."

"Ah."

The little girl wrapped her arms around the man's neck, snuggled against his shoulder, and closed her eyes to fall asleep.

Although he was a bit annoying, he was still a good person, and Xuan Li thought that it wasn't a bad thing for him to be a little unruly.