The sect leader invites you.

How could she describe this feeling in her heart, which was like drinking bitter coffee?

It was indescribable.

When she came before, she had asked the jailer for the key and told him to step away.

She opened the lock.

The hard bluestone floor, the cold stone pillars, and the young man bound tightly, covered in blood.

Chu Changqing looked at her with a detached gaze.

To be honest.

Chang Wan had lived for a long time.

Besides the special effects and ketchup she had seen in movies, she had never seen so much blood.

Even the scabbed blood.

She tried hard not to show any reaction, squatted down, and slowly tore at the clothes on the young man’s body. The clothes were tattered from the whipping, revealing not only scabbed skin but also gashes deep enough to expose the bone.

It made her face twitch repeatedly.

Fortunately, she was close and had her head down, so he couldn’t see her horrified expression.

Thinking of this, Chang Wan couldn’t help but look up at him.

The young man wasn’t looking at her.

He appeared arrogant, gazing at the flickering flames in the corridor. His narrow peach blossom eyes were filled with the light of the white candle, shimmering and rippling, yet cold and ruthless.

Though he was a youth, he seemed to have experienced all the hardships and injustices of the world.

When she was an observer of the book, her heart was filled with “Holy crap, this character design is so cool, the author can actually write someone this dashing—awesome, awesome—”

Now that he was someone beside her.

Chang Wan’s inner state felt utterly awful.

She carefully peeled away a piece of cloth stuck to a wound.

The young man remained motionless, as if he felt no pain, or perhaps was already numb. She diligently cleaned his wounds before applying the medicine.

But this was the first time she had done such detailed work, and even though she was very careful, she was still a bit clumsy.

At first, Chu Changqing didn’t look at the woman fussing with his wounds beside him, assuming she was thinking of some new method to torture him.

A person’s gaze might change, but their desires would not.

Chu Changqing’s gaze turned slightly gloomy.

However… he just needed to wait for a chance to retaliate.

If there was even a sliver of opportunity, he would seize her throat, ensuring she wouldn’t have the slightest chance to struggle, and repay every bit of harm and pain she had inflicted on him tenfold—

But after a short while.

A cooling sensation came from the wound.

Chu Changqing subconsciously lowered his head.

The young woman had tied up her hair in a soft, dangling style, and some soft strands fell near her fair ear. She didn’t notice, occasionally pushing them back casually.

His bloodstains smeared her fair cheek, creating a beauty of doomed destruction.

Like a fallen fairy, a soul-stealing demon.

Chu Changqing’s breath hitched.

She was somewhat clumsily cleaning the shredded cloth from his wounds, a small jar of Jinchuangyao placed at her feet.

From his angle, he could see her long, butterfly-wing-like eyelashes, and beneath them, a pair of focused, gentle, light chestnut-colored eyes.

They were not black.

They were a beautiful… light chestnut color.

Suddenly.

An incomparably clear thought, like a bolt of lightning, pierced through his mind.

—This is a beauty.

Like a vase, like the ancient artifacts he loved—all beautiful.

But ancient relics that had been passed down often carried the still beauty of grave dirt; he knew clearly that they were dead.

Dead, so they would have no ugly desires, and no betrayal; what belonged to him would belong to him forever.

…But this person was beautiful.

Beautiful in a way that made him want to touch, want to possess.

This was his… desire.

[Ding! Male Lead Blackening Value +10%!]

The system’s notification was so sudden that Chang Wan’s hand trembled, causing her to tear the small piece of cloth a bit too forcefully. The young man’s body instantly stiffened.

Chang Wan’s first reaction: “Sorry!”

After saying it, she wished she could smash her own head to see if it was filled with the sea, and if shaking it would make a sound like ocean waves.

Would Chang Wan, who was so averse to evil, say sorry to that little demon Chu Changqing?!

System: [It’s fine, I’ll help you.]

So, she heard herself say stiffly, “Sorry, the cut wasn’t deep enough. If it were deeper, I could see if your bones were really that hard, hehe.”

[Male Lead Blackening Value +10%]

Chang Wan: ‘…Damn it.’

“Heh.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Changqing let out a low chuckle.

Chang Wan looked up and met the young man’s gaze.

In that instant.

Goosebumps covered her from her arms to her neck.

It was a gaze far more unsettling than his indifferent stare.

It was as if he had come alive from his solitary world, quietly opening a crack in his door, revealing a pair of eyes filled with desire and possessiveness, spying on her, as if wanting to take something from her and hide it in his world before closing the door tight again.

Thick, gloomy, like a venomous snake, it slid over every inch of her skin.

Chang Wan was genuinely on the verge of tears from fright this time.

And so, under the incredibly stiff and cold atmosphere, she hastily finished applying the remaining medicine to the male lead, like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves.

Now that she was certain the male lead wouldn’t unexpectedly die from a wound infection, she truly wanted to leave this troublesome place immediately.

Immediately, right now.

Before she could leave, however, she heard the system say: [I think you need to get him out.]

She and the system could communicate telepathically.

Chang Wan was speechless: “Are you kidding me?”

She had no contextual plot details, nor had she figured out the social circle of this body. Rescuing him rashly would be courting death.

She finished applying the medicine, stood up somewhat stiffly, patted her arm, and muttered to herself, “…If you die, it’ll be troublesome.”

“…”

But the sound behind her instantly ceased.

The quiet breathing sound became shallower.

Chang Wan had originally planned to finish applying the medicine and leave quickly. Who knew that as soon as she stepped out of the prison, she almost died of fright when she looked back.

The young man who had been staring at her with a strange gaze was now bowing his head, his short hair covering his eyes. The skin on his neck, which wasn’t injured, had a dense, frightening blue color.

When applying the medicine, Chang Wan’s attention was entirely on his wounds, and she hadn’t noticed anything. Only when she turned back now did she realize he seemed to have been poisoned!!

She went back and found the young man’s eyes tightly shut; he had already lost consciousness.

“Hey! Wake up!” Chang Wan slapped his face, feeling like she was about to cry. What kind of messed-up plot was this!

“You can’t die here!”

System voice calmly stated: [Press the philtrum.]

Chang Wan paused her hand pressing the philtrum, breaking down: “This isn’t heatstroke, why press the philtrum!”

System innocently replied: [That’s what they do in TV dramas.]

Chang Wan: ‘…’

[System Mission: Rescue the male lead from the dungeon. Reward: Storage Bracelet Unlocked]

Chang Wan looked at the young man lying on her bed.

The young man wore a translucent double-fish jade pendant around his neck. His entire body was covered in wounds; except for the area above his neck, there wasn’t an inch of skin visible. She had covered the vital parts, but he was so badly injured that Chang Wan didn’t even dare to cover him with a blanket.

Even so, quite a bit of blood seeped out from the wounds.

Moving him from the mountain prison was extremely strenuous, but fortunately, the system wasn’t entirely useless, as it had reminded her in advance about the existence of a storage bracelet and taught her how to use it.

She moved him into the storage bracelet, then spent 10 points to buy an inflatable mannequin from the system, dressed it in the male lead’s dirty clothes, and tied it up in his original spot.

A crude switch of the tiger cub for the crown prince, she had swapped the poor male lead onto her bed.

“How long do you think it will take them to notice?” Chang Wan held her forehead, feeling that the jailers weren’t fools, and the news of the male lead escaping would likely spread soon. Moreover, the male lead was poisoned right now…

System: [You need to trust the inflatable mannequin’s ability.]

“They’ll notice soon enough,” Chang Wan ignored it, looking melancholically at the storage ring in her hand. “How many points do I have left? You said his Blackening Value increased earlier.”

[The male lead’s Blackening Value has increased by a total of 20%. You have earned a total of 30 points. Points increase by double for every subsequent 10% increase in Blackening Value. Since you just purchased the mannequin, your current point balance is 40.]

Chang Wan vaguely understood: “…So, the first 10% gives 10 points, and the next 10% gives 20 points?”

System: [Yes.]

Just as Chang Wan was contemplating whether to buy plot details, the young man on the bed let out a groan, pulling her from her musings about the future back to reality.

“No, the male lead must have good fortune to survive, right…” Chang Wan held her head, “He would have survived without me saving him, right?”

System: [If you don’t go tonight, he will die from infection due to severe wounds compounded by the poison.]

Chang Wan: ‘…’

The System tactfully added: [You applied the medicine, so the wounds haven’t become inflamed.]

Oh, so you mean if she didn’t do something, he would still die, right?

“So I have to find an antidote??”

“Where am I supposed to find an antidote for him?”

[Main Mission: Detoxify the male lead. Reward: 30 points, Official access to the System Store.]

Chang Wan: ‘…’

Before Chang Wan could even figure out how to find an antidote, she heard a commotion outside, faintly catching words—

“The Young Master of the Demonic Cult has escaped from the dungeon!”

“Quickly inform the Sect Leader!!”

It was discovered indeed!

Before Chang Wan could decide how to hide the male lead, someone knocked on her door shortly after, their voice sounding extremely urgent: “Elder! Something terrible has happened! That little scoundrel has escaped!!”

Chang Wan instinctively glanced at the little scoundrel on her bed.

The little scoundrel didn’t realize he was being cursed. His brows were tightly furrowed, the poison was spreading, and his expression was faintly painful.

But it didn’t diminish his ferocity in the slightest.

Chang Wan’s heart twinged slightly, and she forced herself to remain calm, “I know, you may leave.”

Where on earth was she supposed to find an antidote?

Who knew, the person outside hesitated, and their voice became cautious, “Elder Chang, there is one more thing to report…”

“What is it?”

“The Sect Leader requests your presence.”

Now Chang Wan couldn’t remain calm.

The Sect Leader requests her presence?

Chang Wan felt a bit desperate. How could she hide him now? The storage bracelet had no air; she could only put him inside temporarily for transport, but if he stayed too long, he would definitely be done for!

Chang Wan’s gaze slowly shifted towards the wardrobe.

“I understand… I’ll get ready and come at once.”