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The privous chapter has been fixed.

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"...?"

"...???"

In that instant, Yino froze, locking eyes with Liu Ruoning.

His face twitched as he recognized his childhood friend. But instead of feeling happy about this unexpected reunion, all he felt was dread.

Liu Ruoning was the classic "rejected fiancée" heroine in destiny-driven stories, and Yino had every reason to fear her. He still remembered that day ten years ago when he publicly humiliated her during a sparring match, knowing she was about to leave Luo City.

There was a reason for what he did back then.

First, Liu Ruoning had grown increasingly rebellious, treating him with no respect as her big brother.

Second, in the game, she was a predestined heroine like Yuyan. He, on the other hand, was just a disposable supporting character. Their engagement was doomed to be annulled by the Liu family eventually.

Since their relationship was never going to work out, why should he tolerate her attitude?

He treated Yuyan and Yunjin well because he saw a chance to win their favor. But ten years ago, with Liu Ruoning? There was no hope.

If being nice to her wouldn't lead to marriage, why not just beat her up to vent his frustrations?

And so, ten years ago, Yino delivered a kick on the sparring stage that ended their summer on a high note—for him, at least.

Though it offended Ruoning, it felt so damn satisfying.

After that, he stopped paying attention to the Liu family. He figured she'd cultivate in Jiangnan, awaken her

Innate Mystical Sound Holy Physique

, and ascend to greatness. There was no way she'd ever look back at someone like him, a washed-up childhood friend in the Wuji Sect.

But who would've thought...

That grudge from ten years ago would drive Ruoning to chase him all the way to the Azure Forest!

"YINO—!"

"I've finally found you!!!"

The blue-haired girl shouted from across the crowd, her usual ladylike demeanor completely gone.

As the onlookers turned to stare at him in shock, Yino felt his head start to ache. He quickly pulled up his hood to hide his face.

"Damn it, this forest is cursed! Not a single person here is normal!"

While Ruoning was still frozen in shock, Yino grabbed Yunjin's hand and slipped into the crowd, trying to make a quick escape.

But Jinyue, standing not far away, immediately noticed.

Ever since Yino left her behind in the snowy northern village, she'd developed a fear of being abandoned. Panicking, she sprinted after him and latched onto him like a barnacle.

"Yino, you ungrateful bastard! Don't you dare ditch me again!"

Her face flushed with anger, and before he could stop her, she bit down on his arm.

"Are you serious right now? Can't you see some crazy woman is coming after me for revenge?!"

"Crazy woman? Are you calling me crazy?!"

"No! I wasn't talking about you!"

"You absolutely were! Why are you so nice to Yunjin and so cold to me? I even let you touch my legs the whole flight here! My stockings are literally soaked in your sweat, but you still treat me like garbage! You left me stranded in the middle of nowhere before, and now you're trying to ditch me again in the Azure Forest!"

Jinyue's anger grew as she puffed out her cheeks and bit down harder on his arm to vent her frustration.

Yino was completely at a loss. Stay updated via empire

The two of them bickered and clung to each other, making such a scene that passersby thought they were just a quarrelsome couple.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the crowd, Ruoning stood frozen, staring in disbelief.

"Yino, you heartless jerk!!!"

"I still have that marriage contract from back then! Just ten years apart, and you've already forgotten your obligations? Now you're out here hugging random girls left and right, huh?"

Ruoning couldn't hold back anymore. With a wave of her hand, she summoned her Mystical Sound artifact, leaped into the air, and chased after Yino.

As Ruoning stormed off in a fury, a black-robed young man who had just squeezed through the crowd, raising his hand to greet her, stood there dumbfounded.

"Heartless man...? Marriage contract...?"

Xumo froze on the spot, his words stuck in his throat. He stared at the stunning girl flying off in anger, feeling utterly lost.

He had just spent the past few minutes preparing a perfect opening line to talk to the Liu family's young lady, but before he could even say a word, she had been drawn away by some other man.

"Master, what... what the hell is going on here?"

Xumo muttered to himself, feeling the judgmental stares of everyone around him. He suddenly felt like a complete fool.

From the platinum ring on his finger, the Nine-Tailed White Fox sat up abruptly, her lazy demeanor replaced by sharp focus as she stared at the black-haired boy entangled with the red foxgirl in the distance.

[That Ruoning called a heartless man... there's something off about him!]

[Xumo, follow them and keep an eye on him!]

Remembering what the Celestial Master had instructed a month ago, the fox spirit dropped her playful attitude, her enchanting gaze turning serious. Xumo nodded immediately, disappearing into the shadows as a black blur, retreating from the crowd to follow them.

"Yino! Stop right there!"

Up in the air, Ruoning was a vision of elegance and fury. Her left hand strummed the strings of her guqin, while her right hand wielded a slender purple-gold sword.

She used the sword as a bow against the guqin strings, plucking a single note. Instantly, several translucent soundwaves rippled forth, swirling around her before amplifying into a sharp, piercing melody. With another strum, the soundwaves shot toward the white-robed boy running below, smashing into the ground in a series of explosive bursts.

"Yino, I'm not the weak, naive little girl you toyed with ten years ago!"

Ruoning smirked in midair, her confidence radiating.

As the shockwaves kicked up a cloud of dust, she let out a soft grunt, her figure transforming into a rainbow-like blur as she dove straight toward Yino's silhouette in the haze.

BOOM!

The dust cloud churned violently as two figures clashed in a brief struggle.

In the end, Ruoning managed to grab Yino's wrist. With her other hand, she raised her slender purple-gold sword and pressed it firmly against his chin.

"Yino!"

"Stop messing around in this desolate place! Come back to Jiangnan and marry me!"

Standing atop a stone platform with the confidence of someone who had the upper hand, Ruoning looked down at Yino. Her martial skirt swayed slightly as she glared at him in triumph, her voice carrying through the crowd of onlookers.

The gathered cultivators collectively gasped. None of them had ever seen anything like this—Liu family's noble daughter publicly dragging a man home to marry him.

As the murmurs and whispers spread through the crowd, Yino, with the sword still lightly pressed under his chin, calmly stood up. He dusted off his shoulder, his expression utterly unfazed. Then, with a defiant smirk, he looked her in the eye and said:

"Ruoning, before you demand that I fulfill my promise, shouldn't you first honor the bet you made ten years ago?"

"You—!!!"

Her eyes widened, and her face flushed with anger, unable to come up with a retort.