The next morning.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows at the cave entrance.
The sharp outlines of his face had softened considerably.
It was only natural—she had grown to like this life.
The man who sheltered her from the rain, her strong and domineering horned demon master, was actually someone who shielded her from the wind and rain.
Su Nian slowly woke to the sound of birdsong.
She knew she was resting on Chu Tian’s arm.
Chu Tian was lying with his eyes closed, leaning against the cave wall, morning light spilling across his profile.
The unique scent lingered in her nose—warm and reassuring.
A warm surge flowed through Su Nian’s heart.
“Awake?”
Chu Tian opened his eyes, a smile in his dark gaze.
“Mm.” Su Nian nodded, her cheeks slightly warm.
“How did you sleep last night?”
“Very well.” Her voice was soft but exceptionally sincere.
Chu Tian reached out, his fingertip gently stroking her hair, his movements as tender as if handling a treasure.
“Good.”
Just then, Chu Tian’s magic phone vibrated.
He frowned slightly.
Ordinary messages wouldn’t trigger this kind of alert.
[Shadowmoon Manor Emergency Report]
He quickly scanned the content.
Su Nian sat up, sensing his change in mood.
“Master, what’s wrong?”
Chu Tian didn’t speak; he handed her the magic phone.
The content on it was so heavy it made her breath catch.
The Red Maple King issued a nationwide announcement.
On one hand, he bestowed the highest honor upon “Star-Moon Saintess” Su Nian, calling her the “Kingdom’s Guardian.”
On the other hand, he blamed all the responsibility for the plague in Bai Shui Town and the rampage of demons and undead on “Mo Yuan Sir.”
He declared him a dangerous person threatening the kingdom’s safety and issued a high bounty.
What was even more surprising was that Duke Morson, who had always been at odds with the royal family, actually came forward to testify, confirming that Mo Yuan was the mastermind.
“Those bastards!” Su Nian’s sky-blue eyes burned with fury.
“How can they twist black into white like this! We were the ones who saved the people of Bai Shui Town!”
Chu Tian looked at her fuming expression, a hint of a smile curving his lips.
“What, are you more angry than I am?”
Su Nian froze, her face instantly flushing red.
“I… I just think they’ve gone too far! You know, as a saintess, I can’t stand these bad people.”
She said stubbornly, but didn’t dare meet Chu Tian’s eyes.
Chu Tian reached out and pinched her cheek.
“Sweet-talking little cat,” he said teasingly.
“So, what do you plan to do? Go to the royal capital and be the hero, or follow me, this ‘dangerous person,’ on the run?”
Su Nian quickly calculated the current situation in her mind.
‘Should I leave Master?’
The thought had just emerged when she herself snuffed it out.
‘What a joke! My humiliation value has been painstakingly accumulated to nearly eighty million. The one hundred million mark is right in sight, and the path to godhood is only a step away. If I withdraw now, won’t all the suffering I endured be wasted? That would be a huge loss.’
‘But if I follow Chu Tian openly… that doesn’t seem good either.’
‘I’m now the revered Star-Moon Saintess, the kingdom’s guardian. If people found out I had an ambiguous relationship with “Mo Yuan Sir”—”Saintess goes mad for love, elopes with wanted criminal”—if that got out, I’d lose face!’
‘As for charging straight into the royal capital and beating up that Red Maple King who twisted the truth…’
Su Nian shook her head.
No.
The Human Allied Army had just been formed.
As one of its initiators, falling out with the Red Maple royal family over a man right now would have too bad an influence.
Moreover, the Demon Race was watching eagerly.
Losing the Allied Forces’ support, just her and Chu Tian alone against the entire Demon Empire would be too much.
Besides, she didn’t want to fight innocent human soldiers.
So the top priority was to accumulate one hundred million humiliation value—that was the safest choice.
Only with absolute power could she completely suppress the Demon Race’s threat, and at the same time… make the Red Maple Kingdom dare not harm her master.
Wait.
Su Nian’s train of thought suddenly halted.
Her previous goal of accumulating one hundred million humiliation value was to take revenge on that damn horned demon, right?
How had it unknowingly turned into “becoming a god to help him solve his problems”?
‘Probably because master and I share the same enemy—the Demon Race.’
‘Hmm… So first, take down the Demon Race together. Nothing wrong with that.’
Su Nian forced herself a way out.
‘I’ll deal with that damn horned demon slowly! First, eliminate the biggest threat—the Demon Race—then come back to him—yes, that’s the order!’
Having figured this out, Su Nian felt much more at ease.
Now, it seemed that leaving the Red Maple Kingdom with her master was the best choice.
That guy had multiple hideouts anyway—besides Shadowmoon Manor, didn’t he have an even larger secret castle?
Living there… didn’t seem impossible.
But the problem circled back.
How could a radiant saintess just vanish without a word with a wanted criminal?
In others’ eyes, wouldn’t it look like she was fooled by the big villain’s sweet talk and then eloped on a whim?
Thoughts raced through her mind, and a bold, outrageous idea—one that seemed like the only solution—slowly took shape.
Su Nian took a deep breath, a strange light flashing in her sky-blue eyes.
“I… I have an idea.”
She looked up at Chu Tian’s composed face, her cheeks uncontrollably heating up.
Chu Tian raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.
Su Nian’s voice suddenly shrank to a mosquito’s whisper, and her gaze started drifting.
“Master, you’re now… the kingdom’s number one wanted criminal. So… and I, I’m the kingdom’s hero.”
She paused, then said quietly: “If you, as the big villain, suddenly appeared and kidnapped the saintess on the spot… right when I was blessing the people, before a huge crowd…”
The moment she finished, the entire cave fell silent.
The playful expression on Chu Tian’s face froze for an instant, then amusement almost overflowed from his eyes.
“Kidnap the saintess?” His tone carried a hint of playfulness.
He really hadn’t expected this sweet-talking little wildcat to voluntarily propose such an idea.
“Are you sure?”
Su Nian’s face was as red as a ripe apple, but her sky-blue eyes were unusually bright, even carrying a resolute determination to go all out.
“Yes!”
She tried to make her voice sound steady, as if explaining a perfect battle plan.
“Think about it—the kingdom has already labeled you as a dangerous person. If I keep staying by your side, they’ll definitely say I’m deceived by you, and might even question my stance and ability as a saintess.”
“But if you force me to be kidnapped, the situation becomes completely different.”
Su Nian’s fingers unconsciously gripped the hem of her skirt.
“This way, I’m the victim. My reputation as a saintess won’t be damaged at all. For my safety, the kingdom won’t dare act rashly.”
She looked up, staring straight into Chu Tian’s eyes.
“And you… can use me as a ‘hostage’ to openly restrain the kingdom’s actions.”
“Then, during this time, we can slowly gather evidence from Bai Shui Town to prove your innocence. Or achieve great merits in fighting the Demon Race, forcing them to lift the warrant.”
Chu Tian raised an eyebrow and asked, “Oh? You’re willing to be my hostage for your master’s sake?”
“When did you become so obedient?”
“I… I’m only pretending to be kidnapped by you for the sake of my reputation… It’s not, it’s not for you…”
Her voice grew softer and softer, and her gaze began to evade.
Even she felt her argument lacked conviction.
“Ding! Host proactively proposed a humiliating plan of ‘being kidnapped by Master’ to ensure Master’s safety. The humiliation reveals absolute obedience. Rewarding 10 million Humiliation Value!”