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She cried harder and harder, and when she saw the man walking towards her, she steeled herself, looked up and shouted, "Kill me!"

Upon hearing this, the man smiled and indeed drew his knife, slashing it down towards her head.

Yun Chan quickly covered her head and rolled away, shouting, "Wait!"

"Didn't you want me to kill you?" Although the man's voice had changed slightly, his tone was still just as hateful and despicable.

Yun Chan silently recited twice that her body and hair were gifts from her parents, then wiped away her tears: "Can I change back?"

"It depends on my mood."

"..." Fine, the enemy is strong and I am weak, you're the boss. Poor Yun Chan clenched her fists, deciding to live a life of ignominy for now.

Is this person called a lackey?

Yun Chan, who had been completely transformed, was once again picked up by that person and carried away at high speed.

It must be said that this person's lightness skill was truly excellent; he could move so fast yet remain perfectly steady. Yun Chan remained motionless, obediently being carried by him, and soon her eyelids began to droop again. In her dazed state, she seemed to sense that the person had changed the way he was carrying her to a horizontal position.

"Hug," she mumbled a curse under her breath, then turned her head and leaned completely into the man's arms, falling back into a deep sleep.

When Yun Chan woke up again, the scene had changed to a dilapidated room, which looked like an inn. She was placed on the inside of the bed, while the man who had kidnapped her was on the outside of the bed, meditating with his back to her.

Bright sunlight streamed in through the window, indicating that it was already broad daylight. She huddled inside, afraid to make a sound, her eyes darting back and forth across the man's back. Suddenly, she noticed a thin, bluish mark on his neck.

"So you were poisoned by my mother's Detoxifying Powder!" Yun Chan immediately jumped up, pointing at the thin mark with a joyful expression.

The man slowly opened his eyes and sneered, "What, you don't want your index finger anymore?"

Yun Chan shuddered, then mustered her courage again: "Stop trying to fool me. You've been poisoned by the Dissolving Power Powder, and that blue mark is proof of it! You've completely lost your power right now, how could you possibly have the strength to break my finger?"

The man gave her a seductive smile: "Want to give it a try?"

He's definitely bluffing! Don't let him intimidate you!

Without thinking twice, Yun Chan turned and ran. However, just two steps away from the door, a fierce hidden weapon whistled through the air from behind her.

With a "ding," a chopstick grazed her cheek and slammed into the door panel, disappearing completely into the end of the chopstick.

Yun Chan turned around stiffly: "Impossible, you were clearly poisoned by the Dissolving Power Powder, how could you still have such internal strength?"

The man beckoned to her with his finger: "Come here."

Yun Chan remained motionless, standing by the door in a final act of defiance: "You...you...don't think you're safe just because you've temporarily suppressed my mother's 'Power-Dissolving Powder.' Unless there's a specially made antidote, relying on your internal energy to forcefully suppress it like this will result in paralysis of your limbs and loss of consciousness within a month."

Finally, he died from all his meridians being severed. "You'd better release me now, and I promise you, I'll have my mother give you the antidote when we get back..."

She was still rambling on when the man strode up to her. Yun Chan stared at the unshaven face that loomed larger before her, and was so terrified she couldn't utter a single word.

The man put his arm around her waist and smiled gently: "It's alright, you've been poisoned by me anyway. If your mother doesn't give me the antidote, we'll die together in a month."

Yun Chan was shocked: "What? What kind of poison did you give me?"

The man was in high spirits: "My poison is far superior to your mother's Dissolving Power Poison. This poison is called Flower Face. Do you know why it's called that?"

"Why...?"

"Because when this poison takes effect, pustules will grow all over your head and toes, as if your whole body is blooming. In the end, your skin will rot away little by little. Tsk tsk, the way you die is as spectacular as it gets."

Yun Chan almost burst into tears: "You...you think I'm easily scared? I'm not afraid at all! My mother is a peerless healer; there's no poison she can't cure. You villain, once my family rescues me, I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"

He smiled and took her hand: "Oh? It seems you've become quite brave after your nap."

Feeling this familiar gesture, Yun Chan froze, so annoyed she wanted to bite off her own tongue. Why did you have to be so quick-witted! She hurriedly tried to beg for mercy and submit, but the man simply stroked the wooden piece on her right hand.

Huh? Why does she have wood chips in her hand?

Yun Chan looked at her right hand in confusion, only to find that her little finger and ring finger had been covered with medicine and gauze, and the broken bone had been fixed with a small piece of wood.

"It's already noon, let's go downstairs for lunch." Before she could react, the man took her hand and led her out the door.

This was indeed a run-down, shabby little inn, which suited their current attire quite well. Finding a table by the window, Yun Chan wiped herself down for a while before slowly sitting down. She wasn't actually very hungry, but she felt comfortable sitting next to the person beside her.

Feeling really uneasy being together, she stared at the wooden piece in her right hand for a while before finally tentatively asking in a low voice, "Actually, you've already gotten what you wanted. How long are you going to keep me hostage?"

The man quietly drank his tea without answering.

Yun Chan thought for a moment, then asked a different question: "So what's your name?"

The man turned to look at her upon hearing this.

Yun Chan quickly explained, "Since you won't let me go, you'll have to take me with you for a while. So I need to know how to address you, right? Should I call you a villain?"

"Lou Lou".

"What?" Yun Chan was stunned for a moment.

“Lou Lou, that’s my name,” the man repeated patiently.

...

"Hahahaha—" Yun Chan suddenly burst into laughter, almost overturning the table. "You call yourself a lackey? How can someone in the martial arts world have such a name? Haha, lackey, I'm a petty scoundrel."

Lou Lou glanced at her maniacal laughter, thought for a moment, and then continued drinking his tea.

The people in the inn were all drawn to Yun Chan's loud laughter. They turned around to look, only to find that it was just an ugly old woman with a pockmarked face going crazy. They then turned back to their own chatter with little interest.

Yun Chan finally managed to laugh enough before she remembered to check on Lou Lou's reaction with a sense of unease. Just then, she overheard some casual conversation at the next table.

"Have you heard? Miss Yun of Feiyun Fortress was whipped by Master Xia a few days ago!"

"I've heard about it. On the day of the Heroes' Gathering at Xiaming Manor, Miss Yun, relying on being the fiancée of Master Xia, publicly harassed the youngest daughter of the Yuanqing Sect's Sect Leader Tan, which is why she received that whip from Young Master Xia."

"Feiyun Fort has long since declined, and each generation is worse than the last. I don't know what kind of opportunity they had to get married into the number one manor in the world. It's just a pity that Miss Yun is arrogant and domineering and doesn't know what's good for her."

"Exactly. I've heard that Miss Yun is of average appearance and martial arts skills, but she has the worst temper. On the other hand, I've personally seen Miss Tan from the Yuanqing Sect. Not only is she beautiful and gentle, but her Yuanqing swordsmanship is also superb. She truly deserves to be called Jiang..."

The Lakers call her "Hibiscus Fairy."

"I see. No wonder Young Master Xia felt sorry for Miss Tan and decided to play the hero. Haha."

While the people at that table were still engaged in a heated discussion, Yun Chan, who was listening on the other side, was so angry that her mouth almost twisted in disbelief. She couldn't help but slam her hand on the table and interrupt, "Hmph, I've heard that this so-called Young Master Xia is also arrogant and rude. He actually beat someone for a woman from another family!"

His fiancée wasn't any better.

Because she was angry, she spoke loudly and clearly. In an instant, the entire inn fell silent.

Someone at the next table quickly became indignant: "This... ma'am, are you also a member of the martial arts world? How dare you speak such disrespectful words to Master Xia?"

Yun Chan sneered, "So what if I'm disrespectful to Master Xia?"

"To disrespect Young Master Xia is to disrespect Xia Ming Manor! To disrespect the number one manor in the world is to disrespect the entire righteous path of the martial arts world!"

"That's right! Fifty years ago, if Xia Ming Manor hadn't led the martial arts world to wipe out the evil Qingtu Sect, how could the martial arts world be as peaceful as it is today?!"

"For decades, Xia Ming Manor has upheld the righteous path of the martial world, taking it upon itself to eradicate evil and heretics. Each successive master of the manor has been a hero among men. I, Zhao Sandao, admire no one in the martial world, except for the number one manor in the world, whom I truly respect from the bottom of my heart! Who dares to speak ill of Master Xia?"

"I, Zhao Sandao, was the first to pull out his tongue!"

"Speaking of which, the current head of Xiaming Manor is a young hero, and the only heir of the Xia family. Naturally, he possesses extraordinary martial arts skills and is incredibly handsome. You ugly woman, spouting nonsense here, hehe, are you also jealous of Miss Tan? Looking at you like this, and..."

The young lady of Feiyun Fortress is no different from him.

Yun Chan, who was already red-faced and furious from everyone's accusations, finally went completely insane after hearing this sentence.

"Jealous of that Tan guy?! Looks like I'm going to give you all a good talking to today, or you won't even know what death means!" Miss Yun slammed her right hand on the table. She was furious; this strike carried all her power, originally intended to...

She wanted to smash the table to make a show of it. However, as soon as her palm touched the tabletop, a piercing pain shot through her. Only then did the silly Yun Chan remember her two poor, broken fingers, and her strength instantly vanished.

Upon seeing this ugly woman's rudimentary skills, yet she dared to spout such arrogant nonsense, no one dared to be polite to her. With a whoosh, everyone drew their weapons. The man who called himself Zhao Sandao was the first to raise his knife and slash: "Ugly woman, you..."

"That arrogant tone! If you don't apologize to Master Xia today, I'll rip your tongue out!"

Yun Chan was both in pain and angry. She covered her hand and hurriedly tried to dodge, but there was a windowsill behind her with nowhere to retreat. Just as the knife was about to strike, a chopstick flew out and knocked the knife out of Zhao Sandao's hand.

Lou Lou twirled the cup in his hand and slowly said, "Who dares to touch my people? They're asking for trouble."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but glance at Yun Chan's pockmarked face again, and they all felt ashamed: "Brother, you're really strong, you even want someone like this."

Zhao Sandao felt humiliated for losing his knife. Seeing that Lou Lou looked like a country bumpkin and was not to be feared, he immediately tried to draw his knife again to attack. But when his hand touched the hilt, he cried out "Ah!" and started rolling on the ground, clutching his arm.

It turned out that his arm had been broken by the chopsticks that Lou Lou had thrown earlier.

Seeing this, Zhao Sandao's companions were filled with shock and anger, and immediately surrounded Loulou. Yun Chan, who couldn't see what was happening inside from the outside, was considering whether to take this opportunity to escape when she heard screams all around her. In a flash, her vision blurred, and the people who had surrounded her...

The group of people flew out like rags.

Lou Lou calmly stood up and walked towards her, stepping over the pile of people who had fallen flat on their backs.

Yun Chan huddled in the corner, stunned and bewildered.

This man was dressed in coarse cloth clothes, with a scruffy beard, looking exactly like a villager. But why did he exude an otherworldly beauty between his brows at this moment, making her feel as if he were a celestial being?

While she was still lost in thought, Lou Lou had already scooped her up and left the inn. Reaching a dark alley, he threw her to the ground, staring at her with displeasure: "Naughty? Hmm?"

Yun Chan instinctively put her hands behind her back and hurriedly begged for forgiveness, "I was wrong, I promise I will never cause trouble again."

Lou Lou smiled when he saw her frightened rabbit-like appearance: "If you make any more noise, next time it won't just be your finger that gets broken."

This man always kept his promises, so Yun Chan swallowed hard and immediately nodded obediently.

For the next few days, Yun Chan was as obedient as a lamb, following Lou Lou closely through several towns. Occasionally, when she heard people from the martial arts world gossiping about her, she dared not throw a tantrum like a spoiled young lady.

As the sun set, Yun Chan reluctantly followed him to yet another town. With darkness falling, Lou Lou led her to a magnificent and luxurious building. She glanced up at the building's sign and was immediately horrified.