The tall figure of the demonized Chu Tian vanished from the spot, leaving behind only a faint ripple in space.
It was only after the spatial fluctuations completely settled that he belatedly realized something.
This wasn’t right.
He was supposed to be the master—how had he ended up being ordered around by this little girl to go make barbecue?
His handsome, sharp brows furrowed slightly as a hint of absurdity flashed through his mind.
‘Fine.’
Just this once—for the sake of the girl who had fought to the death and ended up severely injured and unconscious.
Though that was what he told himself, when the tall figure of the demonized Chu Tian appeared in the manor kitchen, his movements as he searched for ingredients and spices were exceptionally swift and practiced.
He retrieved the freshest magic beast leg meat from the storage room and deftly removed the sinew and membranes.
On that handsome face usually covered in a layer of frost, a faint, almost imperceptible smile quietly curved up—a smile even he himself hadn’t noticed.
He recalled the girl’s invincible, proud stance atop the dragon’s head, looking down upon the world.
Then he thought of her now, in the dungeon, hugging her knees and making a small request of him.
This contrast stirred an indescribable feeling in his heart.
At the same time, deep in the cold, damp dungeon of Shadowmoon Manor, Su Nian lay sprawled on the soft large bed.
Her slender fingers swiped open the screen of her magic phone.
On the screen were dozens of messages from Amy and Lise, every line filled with anxiety and worry, all asking where she was and whether she was safe.
A few of the messages subtly mentioned that countless “dangerous-looking” big shots were now pouring into Academy City from every direction, frantically searching for her whereabouts.
Envoys from the Red Maple Kingdom, red-robed cardinals from the Holy See, even people from the Rhein Empire had arrived.
Reading these messages, Su Nian’s mood lifted considerably.
Her guess had been correct.
The horned demon lord had placed her in this sunless dungeon precisely to protect her safety.
‘(#^.^#) Hehe.’
The moment that thought crossed her mind, a sly gleam sparkled in her sky-blue eyes.
A brand-new plan quietly began to take shape in the girl’s clever little head.
Next… how should she deal with that horned demon…?
Was she really going to do as that fleeting thought earlier suggested—play the role of the horned demon master’s “wife” or something similar?
The idea made Su Nian’s cheeks heat up again.
But she quickly suppressed the embarrassment.
This was just a strategy…
Playing the “wife” would let her gain humiliation value, make her life more comfortable, and allow her to reasonably make all kinds of requests—reversing the power dynamic so the horned demon would run around doing things for her.
It would count as a kind of “win.”
Three birds with one stone.
Before, the horned demon had said he would “punish” and “train” her.
But if she proactively exuded feminine charm, completely captivated him, and made the horned demon listen to her instead—that would be a form of reverse training!
‘Yes, that was the plan!’
Su Nian clenched her little fist, making up her mind.
If this were the old her, she would have chosen death over submitting—no matter what, she never would have considered a “wife” strategy.
But now, the situation seemed a little different.
She had personally confirmed that this man was not on the same side as those demon race members who were bent on destroying humanity.
Although this guy had bullied her terribly, tracing it back to the beginning, it was she who had first come looking for him, intending to take his life.
Hmph.
In that case, until she accumulated one hundred million humiliation value, she would temporarily let this horned demon bastard off the hook.
It definitely wasn’t because, under the effects of all those negative statuses, she simply couldn’t beat him and lacked the courage to resist!
‘Yes, that was it!’
Su Nian nodded heavily in her heart, extremely satisfied with her own “far-sighted planning.”
As for when she finally reached one hundred million humiliation value, became a true deity, and removed all negative statuses…
She absolutely!
Absolutely would beat this horned demon bastard into a big potato!
She would let him experience what it felt like to be imprisoned and humiliated!
She would make him wear a collar too, force him to kneel on the ground and bark like a dog!
However, by the time Su Nian actually reached one hundred million humiliation value and became a deity, the outcome would be completely different…
For Su Nian, the generous rewards from this world mission had caused her total humiliation value to skyrocket to a shocking sixteen million plus.
That once-distant goal of one hundred million suddenly felt within reach, filling her once again with motivation and hope.
While her little head was busy fantasizing about all the ways she would humiliate the horned demon after becoming a deity—her lips even unconsciously curving upward— a slight spatial fluctuation arrived.
Immediately after, a rich, domineering aroma—blending spices and meat—invaded her nostrils without warning.
A flash of white light appeared, and that familiar tall figure materialized once more.
Because it was already late at night and the manor cooks had long retired, he had directly brought a small, compact magic grill along with several plates of fresh, tender meat slices that had been cut and marinated in secret sauce.
The grill was engraved with intricate runes, emitting a soft orange glow, while the meat slices, soaked in sauce, displayed an enticing color that made one’s mouth water at the mere sight.
He actually intended to grill meat for her himself.
Su Nian naturally saw everything clearly and instantly understood the horned demon master’s intentions.
A trace of irrepressible amusement appeared in her beautiful sky-blue starry eyes—like a little cat that had stolen a piece of dried fish.
“Hmph, don’t misunderstand. I just don’t want my little slave to starve to death.”
Seeing her secretly delighted expression, the demonized Chu Tian immediately put on a stern face and spoke in a deliberately proud tone, trying to maintain his dignity as “master.”
“Oh…”
Su Nian’s long lashes lowered, concealing the laughter that was nearly spilling out of her eyes.
Hehe, this guy clearly liked her but was stubbornly refusing to admit it with his tsundere mouth.
‘Keep being stubborn, you horned demon bastard!’
Just watch her use her “charming little tricks” to toy with him in the palm of her hand.
However, she secretly lifted her gaze and quickly swept it over him.
The man stood calmly under the dim yellow light, trying hard to suppress all wicked thoughts.
The shadows outlined his tall, upright figure.
In this moment, he actually looked somewhat like a “restrained, abstinent” male god.
“Ding! Affection +1.”
What kind of messy terms had she even learned from Amy?
Just as Su Nian was letting her mind wander wildly, a sudden burnt smell abruptly invaded her nose.
She snapped back to reality and looked toward the small magic grill.
One piece of meat had already turned slightly black at the edges, sending up a wisp of green smoke.
“This dungeon is completely airtight. If you grill meat here, won’t we suffocate and get poisoned from the smoke?”
Su Nian furrowed her brows slightly, looking at him with a skeptical expression.
She felt that this guy, despite all his power, had zero common sense in daily life.
The demonized Chu Tian felt somewhat uncomfortable under her gaze—which carried a trace of genuine disdain.
He gave a light cough and casually waved a hand above the grill.
An invisible spatial barrier instantly formed.
All the rising oil smoke was swallowed the moment it touched the barrier, teleported to some unknown space, vanishing without a trace.
The dungeon returned to silence, leaving only the increasingly rich aroma of meat.
Su Nian was stunned.
Her sky-blue eyes widened, her mouth slightly open, unable to close for a long moment.
‘Using… using spatial magic to deal with barbecue smoke… That was way too extravagant!’
‘What exactly did this guy think spatial magic was for!’
“Sizzle—”
Golden oil continuously seeped from the meat, sizzling enticingly on the scorching grill plate.
The thick meaty fragrance, blended with over a dozen spices, crazily filled the small dungeon space.
The smell instantly made Su Nian’s mouth water, and the hunger in her stomach grew even stronger.
Soon, the first piece of meat was done.
The surface was crisped to a fragrant golden brown, while the inside remained tender and juicy, glistening temptingly.
“Here.”
The demonized Chu Tian skewered the perfectly grilled piece—crispy outside, tender inside—on an elegant silver skewer and handed it to her with feigned calm.
There was a slight, almost imperceptible stiffness in his movements.
Su Nian didn’t take it right away.
She blinked, her sky-blue eyes seeming to mist over with water, looking pitiful and fragile.
“Mmm… I just woke up, and my whole body has no strength…” she said in a soft, watery voice, deliberately acting weak.
Her voice was light and gentle, carrying a hint of coquettishness—like a feather lightly tickling one’s eardrums.
In truth, after advancing to demigod, her life level had already transformed.
Although she hadn’t fully recovered, there was no way she lacked the strength to hold a piece of grilled meat…
Right now, she even felt like she could punch a lava drakesaur to death with one hit.
“So what do you want?” the demonized Chu Tian asked, raising an eyebrow.
‘What new trick was this woman pulling now?’
“How about… Master feeds me the grilled meat?” After saying this, Su Nian looked at the man before her with full expectation.
‘Hehe.’
She had made another request.
If the horned demon agreed, then she would truly have won this round.
Before, it had always been the horned demon making her wear maid outfits, serve tea, feed him fruit… and satisfy… cough.
Now, if she could make the horned demon feed her grilled meat, she could at least regain some ground.
Although… being fed by this man in front of her was still a little shameful.
But those details didn’t matter.
“Hmph, women are so troublesome.”
The demonized Chu Tian muttered again under his breath, his tone full of impatience.
He seemed to be trying to mask the fluctuations in his heart with those words.
Yet his actions were completely honest—he moved closer to the girl.
His tall frame leaned slightly forward, steadily bringing the fragrant skewer of grilled meat to her slightly parted cherry lips.
At this moment, he could smell the scent coming from the girl.
Fragrant… fresh, holy scent…
Even though he had smelled it many times, he never got tired of it.
Originally, his plan had been to capture this proud, untamed little wildcat and completely conquer her— to make her provide him with endless annoyance value through humiliation and despair, so he could grow stronger.
Yet now, facing the girl’s slightly coquettish request, he found himself instinctively wanting to fulfill it.
This feeling was unfamiliar and dangerous but… he didn’t hate it.
At the same time, a system notification sounded in Su Nian’s mind.
“Ding! The host has proactively planned the ‘become a wife’ strategy. If today the host takes the initiative to address the horned demon master as [Husband], an additional five million humiliation value reward will be granted.”
‘(*/w\*) Huh?’
So soon—to the point of calling him husband already?
She… she wasn’t ready yet!