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"Yino!"

"Come back to Jiangnan with me and get married!"

The girl's voice rang out far and wide, drawing the attention of countless cultivators nearby, all eager to watch the drama unfold.

Elsewhere, Yunjin and Jinyue, who had been bickering the entire journey, suddenly found common ground in their shared love of gossip. They perched themselves on a stone block, their eyes glued to the commotion at the center of the crowd, where a pair of soon-to-be-wed individuals stood. Continue reading at empire

Under the gleaming Purple-Gold Liuli Sword, Yino was clearly irritated by Ruoning's aggressive antics. He smirked coldly and his tone dripping with sarcasm:

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

His words caused a ripple of confusion among the onlookers, though they didn't fully grasp the meaning. Ruoning, however, instantly turned red. Her eyes, glaring fiercely at Yino, couldn't hide the mix of anger and embarrassment bubbling inside her.

[If you lose the duel, you have to say in front of everyone—]

["My dear husband~ Little Rourou knows she was wrong~ Little Rourou will warm her dear husband's bed for the rest of her life."]

The long-buried memory suddenly resurfaced, hitting Ruoning like a freight train. Her lips trembled as she tried to speak, but the shame was too overwhelming to form a coherent sentence.

After a long moment of trembling, Ruoning finally exploded in frustration, shouting:

"Yino! That bet from ten years ago doesn't count! If you've got the guts, duel me again!"

"If you win, I'll admit defeat. But if I win, you'll come back to Jiangnan with me and get married!"

Her declaration made Yino chuckle. Watching her act so willful and unreasonable, he shrugged with disinterest.

"And why would I bother betting with you again?"

"Honestly, this is boring. Seeing how hard you've been chasing me, I thought you'd finally come to your senses after ten years and decided to honor your promise. But clearly, I overestimated you..."

"After all these years, Ruoning, you're still as childish as ever… you can't handle losing."

Yino's voice was laced with disdain, and he didn't even try to hide how uninterested he was in humoring her tantrum.

Truth be told, he couldn't even figure out what was going on.

He had assumed Ruoning had tracked him down for revenge, but her first words were about marriage, which had completely thrown him off.

By the original game's timeline, the Liu family should've sent someone to the He family to break off their engagement long ago. Yino had accepted that as a given for years.

So what was happening now?

Did Ruoning lose her mind? Why would she abandon her bright future as the destined heroine of Jiangnan, only to travel all the way to the Western Region to marry a good-for-nothing like me?

Thinking about it, Yino felt a strange pang of emotion, almost as if he were touched.

After all, back in his previous life while playing Fallen Immortal, he'd grinded endlessly for levels, yet not a single female lead had ever come to him willingly. Instead, they all treated him like an outsider, speaking in cryptic riddles as if terrified he'd figure out the plot.

Damn it, there really was such a thing as a heroine who'd throw herself at you!

"Who said I can't handle losing?"

In the center of the crowd, the blue-haired girl puffed up her cheeks in defiance. She held her sword with one hand, her silver hairpins coming loose as her dignified updo unraveled in the wind, giving her a strikingly heroic aura.

Even Yino was momentarily stunned by her presence.

As kids, he never thought much of Ruoning, who used to cling to a stuffed doll and trail after him, calling him

Onichan

in a sugary voice. Who would've guessed that the same little girl could grow up to have such a commanding presence?

And she was only sixteen! Yet her chest already... well, let's just say it was more than enough to outshine both Yunjin and Jinyue combined.

For a moment, Yino found himself staring, lost in thought.

Maybe marrying Ruoning, spending the rest of his life lounging at home and living off my wife, wouldn't

be so bad after all.

But that thought lasted only a second. The instant he noticed a black-robed figure lurking at the edge of the crowd, his fleeting fantasies vanished.

Because...

Ruoning was the destined heroine of Jiangnan. She was bound to join the Liuli Sect and cultivate the Mystical Sound Technique, and the Liuli Sect would later become another protagonist's domain.

Yino had just managed to establish a foothold in the Wuji Sect. Why would he abandon Yuyan and Yunjin, who were growing closer to him, only to head to Jiangnan and start from scratch as a useless bum?

With that thought, Yino's expression turned cold again.

He reached up and lightly flicked the blade Ruoning had pressed to his chin, pushing it aside. Then, in a mocking tone, he said:

"If you can handle losing, then go ahead and say it."

"I... I-I-I..."

Ruoning stammered, utterly flustered. Every time she tried to confront her failure from ten years ago, the memory of those mortifying lines would rob her of her voice. She hesitated for what felt like an eternity before finally changing the subject:

"I'll say it! I promised, didn't I? But I'll only say it after we enter the Azure Forest!"

"Nope. Once we're inside, everyone will be scattered. The deal was to say it in front of everyone."

Yino didn't back down, instantly seeing through her attempt to weasel out of it.

On the other hand, the mention of

in front of everyone

made Ruoning's already embarrassed face burn even hotter, as if it were on fire.

[Warm my dear husband's bed...]

Just thinking about those words made Ruoning's heart itch uncomfortably. For ten years, every time she recalled that scene, she'd toss and turn all night, unable to sleep.

Even saying it in private would take all her courage, yet now Yino was insisting she announce it in front of a crowd!