Chapter Ninety-Five: The Most Important Person in This World

"Miss Xu, why?" Junior Sister Yan smiled stiffly. "Your joke isn't funny at all."

Just as Xu Nuo was about to respond, the system suddenly sounded an alert: [Danger detected! Host, beware!]

Under normal circumstances, 007 rarely used such an urgent tone. Xu Nuo sensed trouble and, without hesitation, grabbed Junior Sister Yan and leapt out the window.

"What happened?" Junior Sister Yan quickly regained her composure, then reversed her grip to seize Xu Nuo's wrist, pulling her into her arms. They fell from several stories in a blink; before Xu Nuo could steady herself, she was scooped up again, the wind whistling past her ears.

"Stop right there!"

"Catch them!"

The familiar voices and commotion signaled that the people from the Celestial Cave Sect had arrived. Junior Sister Yan ran without turning her head, carrying Xu Nuo with her. The pursuers followed relentlessly, but remained a few steps behind.

Xu Nuo regretted that she couldn't experience the exhilaration of this chase herself. Held tightly in Junior Sister Yan's arms, her view was limited to the broad chest before her... Wait a minute.

Was Junior Sister Yan always this flat?

The feel of the embrace was odd too.

Xu Nuo tried to lift her head for a better look, only to be pinned securely in Junior Sister Yan's embrace, unable to move.

"Don't cause trouble." Junior Sister Yan’s voice was low and husky, like an electric current running straight to the core of Xu Nuo’s heart. Xu Nuo took a deep breath, unusually obedient as she curled up meekly.

After an indeterminate time, they finally shook off the pursuers. The first thing Xu Nuo did was look at the person before her—Junior Sister Yan, petite and inconspicuous in her attire, her face unchanged from before but lacking its previous bashfulness.

Now Junior Sister Yan seemed a bit uneasy under Xu Nuo’s gaze, twisting her fingers and lowering her head.

"Miss Xu, they've entered the Demon Realm to look for you now."

Xu Nuo’s eyes did not stray, still fixed on Junior Sister Yan. "Mm."

Seeing that changing the subject wouldn’t work, Junior Sister Yan tried again, "Miss Xu, what are your plans now?"

Xu Nuo replied, "I plan to continue competing for the position of City Lord in the Demon Realm's main city." She still had a few matches left today.

Having just escaped an assassination attempt and now striding confidently onto the tournament platform—only Xu Nuo could pull off such a feat.

007 sighed and quietly activated the automatic alert.

Xu Nuo, resplendent in her vivid red attire and sporting a silver-gray mask, stood calmly before a towering demon, her presence undiminished.

Only 007 knew how skilled an actress she was.

Xu Nuo muttered, "Help, help, I don't think I can beat this thing." With Fang Yu absent, she had been called in to fill the gap at the last minute, which was hardly ideal. Xu Nuo weighed the items in her backpack, braced herself.

007: [You can do it!]

The barrage of comments had never ceased these days; the tournaments were the audience's favorite moments. Watching the streamer duel demons as a mere mortal kept their hands busy with comments and gifts.

[Fish That Eats Cats gifted ten packs of Devil’s Chili Powder.]

[...gifted a pack of Crispy Dates.]

Modern firearms barely harmed these demon creatures, so the audience's gifts had changed accordingly. Xu Nuo received items like pepper spray and fermented gold elixir—biochemical weapons.

The hulking demon looked at the delicate figure before him, clearly disregarding her, and launched a kick.

Compared to the demon, Xu Nuo’s figure was slight, the shadow nearly engulfing her entire position.

Seeing that Xu Nuo was surely doomed, Junior Sister Yan clenched her fists below the stage, her ears spared the usual demon cheers for such bloody scenes.

"Ahhh!" The scream came from the demon himself. He clutched his foot in agony, tumbling to the ground in a ludicrous pose. "Boom—" A thunderous crash, like a mountain collapsing.

Xu Nuo disdainfully flicked the mixture of blood, chili powder, and gold elixir from her sword tip. After all, flesh and blood could not withstand such concoctions; being stabbed and contaminated by those substances would elicit wails even if it didn’t kill.

Xu Nuo demanded, "Do you yield?" Her sword pointed directly at the demon’s eye.

"Despicable and cunning!" The demon, as massive as a mountain, refused to yield, waving her sword aside with his hand, only to have his palm sliced open, the familiar pain surging anew.

"Ow, ow!"

With Xu Nuo’s strength, killing the demon was nearly impossible, but incapacitating him was effortless. She tormented him with her poisoned blade, ultimately winning the match.

The audience of demons below had grown accustomed to such tactics. This mysterious figure in red fought with unpredictable, ingenious methods, adept at all sorts of sorcery and voodoo. Since the day she stepped onto the stage, she had never been defeated.

Junior Sister Yan sighed in relief at the easy victory. She looked up to find Xu Nuo grinning at her from the platform.

Upon leaving the stage, Xu Nuo’s composure vanished, replaced by a grimace of pain—far from her calm demeanor on the platform. As a mortal, it was impossible to avoid all harm.

"Hiss... be gentle."

Xu Nuo pouted, begging Junior Sister Yan for mercy, but the seemingly gentle girl tightened the bandages even more.

"Ow!"

Junior Sister Yan asked, "Why do you fight so desperately?"

Xu Nuo replied, "Because I love that adrenaline rush."

"Is that true?" Junior Sister Yan looked up, her eyes brimming with inquiry and determination. "So you've been wracking your brain on the stage, fighting demons and enduring injuries all just because you enjoy it?"

"Um..." Xu Nuo felt inexplicably guilty under that gaze.

After a long pause, Junior Sister Yan’s voice grew soft. "Forget it. I’m not your friend anyway, so I have no right to interfere with your thoughts."

Xu Nuo nodded, "Indeed, you are not my friend."

Junior Sister Yan couldn’t help but glance at Xu Nuo, her look full of grievance, as if accusing Xu Nuo of heartlessness.

"You are the most important person to me in this world." Xu Nuo cupped Junior Sister Yan’s cheeks, her expression earnest. "The word 'friend' cannot express how much you mean to me."

Junior Sister Yan’s spirit soared, her eyes instantly brightening. "Really?"

Xu Nuo gazed seriously at Junior Sister Yan’s face, while she quietly argued with the system, "Why can’t I find any traces of disguise?"

007: [Are you so certain, Host?]

"I trust my judgment." Yet, as Xu Nuo examined Junior Sister Yan’s face from every angle, she found no evidence—it was just the face of a teenage girl.

"Miss Xu." Junior Sister Yan excitedly grasped Xu Nuo’s hand, happily rubbing her head against it, then cautiously looked up to see if Xu Nuo showed any impatience.

Xu Nuo let Junior Sister Yan be, until after a while, Junior Sister Yan asked quietly, "Miss Xu, didn’t you defect because of that demon hiding in the sect? Why do you say I’m the most important person?"

Looking at Junior Sister Yan’s adorable expression, Xu Nuo couldn’t resist teasing, "Because you’re more obedient and cute."

"Is that so?" Junior Sister Yan, without a hint of suspicion, gleefully hugged Xu Nuo. "I’m willing to defect from the sect for you, Miss Xu!"

Xu Nuo said, "Yes, so now you’ll be wanted as well."

"I’m not afraid." Junior Sister Yan’s face was earnest. "As long as I can stay by your side, that’s all that matters."

Before her was Junior Sister Yan’s sweet smile, while in her mind the system’s notifications echoed relentlessly: [Affection +10]

[Affection +11]

[Affection +13]

Even amid her joy, Junior Sister Yan considered, "But, that demon brother won’t mind me staying with you, will he?"

"Why would he mind?" Xu Nuo displayed a generous smile. "He’s been unconscious for ages, can’t bother us at all. From now on, it’s just our world."

Junior Sister Yan twisted her sleeves. "But isn’t that bad? Did Miss Xu dislike Brother Lu because of me?"

"Of course not," Xu Nuo replied with feigned gravity. "I just gave my feelings to you—there’s none left for him."

Junior Sister Yan’s happy expression shifted to a troubled one, and she asked cautiously, "Did he do something to disappoint you?"

Xu Nuo answered, "Not really. He simply disappeared without a word, leaving behind an empty shell. Who knows when he’ll return? I truly don’t mind at all."

Junior Sister Yan’s joy faded completely. "If he comes back, what will you do, Miss Xu?"

Xu Nuo looked helpless yet tolerant. "What else can I do? I’ll have to forgive him."

Junior Sister Yan was left speechless.

The two found a secluded spot and built a small courtyard, from Xu Nuo’s hand-drawn plans to the finished structure in under seven days. Junior Sister Yan watched as the building took shape.

The plans resembled Xu Nuo’s old courtyard in the Celestial Cave Sect’s mountains, but it was markedly different in many places. Xu Nuo planted some fruit trees and seedlings, dug a pond, and built several pens for poultry. The elegant courtyard now had these rustic touches, which seemed a bit out of place.

But Xu Nuo insisted she liked it.

"I once had a home I built bit by bit, but I barely got to enjoy it." The melons in the field hadn’t been eaten, the fish in the pond hadn’t been made into fish balls by Gu Xingze, and the chickens were nearly ready for market.

Junior Sister Yan asked, "Was that when you and Brother Lu were in the Jade Book Illusion?"

Xu Nuo shook her head, then nodded, realizing it wasn’t quite the same, but upon reflection, it seemed similar. In that little village, she and Lu Ciyuan also planted vegetables, raised chickens and ducks, and had a river full of fish. After wandering the world, the illusion shattered abruptly.

Xu Nuo told 007, "I know you think I disregard the plot and character settings, always acting out of line. But actually, I’m diligently pursuing the healing, pastoral route—wherever I go, I never forget to farm."

"And I’m quite efficient at pursuing Lu Ciyuan. His affection score is now at ninety-eight percent."

007, distracted until now, snapped to attention and checked the data. Sure enough, beside Lu Ciyuan’s name, the progress bar was nearly full.

[Huh?!]