Let me explain, it's not what you think.

Lu Chen opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Because he didn't know how to ask, perhaps it was just hearsay from Tantai Qingxue when she was confined to her quarters, and the information wasn't accurate enough.

They must both be under house arrest.

Yue Qinglan also saw the confusion in Lu Chen's eyes. Her lips moved as if she wanted to explain something, but she swallowed her words back.

She wasn't sure how much Tantai Qingxue had told him, so she decided to keep quiet and stick to the main points.

Then, she lowered her eyes, her fingers gripping her cuffs, and hesitated for a long time.

After a moment of silence, when she looked up again, her eyes were red, and she looked pitiful.

"Lu Chen, you just arrived, you probably don't know yet, right?"

"Know what?"

"It's my master, he... he forced me to marry Dan Chenzi. I told him I didn't want to marry him, I said it many times, but... it was no use!"

She lowered her head and looked at her fingers gripping her sleeve.

"He said I was not young anymore, and that Dan Chenzi had waited for me for many years, and that the Li Huo Sect needed an alchemist to oversee it. He said a lot, and every word he said was for the sake of the sect, and I couldn't refute any of it."

"But must I, the sect leader, have to sacrifice myself? The Li Huo Sect is thriving under my leadership; it's far from needing to sacrifice my own happiness!"

She looked up at Lu Chen, her eyes red-rimmed, the tears welling up in them, almost condensing into droplets.

"I absolutely refused, so he sealed my cultivation. You should be able to sense that I am now only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm."

Lu Chen's pupils contracted slightly.

Yue Qinglan loosened her sleeves, raised her hand, palm facing up.

A faint wisp of spiritual energy seeped from his fingertips, as thin as a spider's thread, and floated tremblingly for a moment before dissipating.

She lowered her hands, letting them hang at her sides.

"You see, even though I'm sealed at the Nascent Soul stage, I still find it very difficult to even activate my spiritual power. In the eyes of great cultivators, I'm no different from ordinary people."

Her voice was a little hoarse, and the last syllable trembled slightly.

"My master wants me to marry someone, and I don't even have the strength to resist. I don't want to marry Lu Chen, I don't want to! The person I want to marry is..."

She hesitated.

"Can't we discuss it? I heard from Qingxue that the clerk cares about her quite a bit, he wouldn't do something like that, would he?"

"You, you don't believe me?" Yue Qinglan's voice trembled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"No, I just..."

"His concern for Qingxue doesn't mean he won't let me marry someone else!"

Yue Qinglan lowered her head, her voice even softer.

"You don't know, he raised me since I was a child. He is my master and the sect leader. I have never disobeyed his wishes, not even once."

"But this time, I don't want to get married. I really don't want to get married. I want to pursue my own happiness!"

Tears slid down her cheeks and dripped onto her clothes.

She didn't wipe it; instead, she let it flow.

Lu Chen looked at the pitiful girl in front of him, watching a tear slide down her cheek to her chin, then fall and shatter.

His chest felt like it had been hit hard by something, a dull pain.

He stepped forward, reached out his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then gently grasped her shoulder.

Yue Qinglan looked up at him, her eyes blurry with tears.

"Lu Chen, I really don't know what to do."

Looking into those eyes, glistening with tears, and seeing the helplessness and fear within them, Lu Chen felt a chord snap in his heart.

"Don't worry. I won't let you marry him."

His voice wasn't loud, but he emphasized each word.

"If you don't want to marry, no one can force you. The Li Huo Sect won't keep you, so come with me. We can't stay in the human realm, so we'll go to the demon realm. I have territory there, and we'll be safe! Then, no one will be able to find you, and no one will be able to force you."

"Really? You really want to take me with you?"

"Since I've said it, I will absolutely not go back on my word!" Lu Chen said firmly.

"Yes, I believe you, Lu Chen. I believe you can take me away from here! Then, we'll run away together! Wherever you go, I'll follow!"

Lu Chen released her hand, took a step back, took a deep breath, and suppressed his surging emotions.

"Actually, I can take you away right now. We can just sneak away!"

For some reason, Lu Chen felt a great sense of relief upon learning that Yue Qinglan did not want to get married.

"Huh?! What do you mean?" Yue Qinglan was a little confused and flustered. She didn't expect Lu Chen to have a solution now!

"I can take you away, and no one can find out! I... possess an inner world!"

"!!!"

A hint of shock and panic flashed in Yue Qinglan's eyes, but she quickly rejected Lu Chen.

"No, I don't want to leave like this, so pathetic. I've been obedient my whole life, and now that I have this opportunity, I want you to steal my bride... Is that alright?"

"Don't worry, Su Ningxin will be there too. The royal family will be there, and with my connections, no one will dare to touch you!"

She looked at him, her eyes full of pleading.

"May I……"

"Well... alright!!" Lu Chen nodded in agreement.

"That's great! Lu Chen, you're the best!"

As Yue Qinglan spoke, she happily stepped forward and kissed Lu Chen, then blushed and ran away.

Lu Chen smiled and shook his head.

The hall was quiet for a while.

Sunlight streamed in from outside the door, falling on the two people and casting long shadows on them.

Yue Qinglan stood at the boundary between light and shadow, half of her face shining in the sunlight, the other half hidden in the shadow.

She looked at Lu Chen, a gentle smile curving her lips.

"You...you should leave. If you stay here any longer, people will become suspicious."

Lu Chen looked at her and nodded.

"You must, you absolutely must remember our promise, otherwise... I will hate you for the rest of my life!" Yue Qinglan said.

"Don't worry, I won't let you marry him!"

Lu Chen repeated it again, as if making a promise, or as if trying to convince himself.

Then he left.

Watching Lu Chen's retreating figure, she stood in the wind, her bare feet on the jade ground, her toes slightly curled.

She looked down at her hand that Lu Chen had held, her fingers slowly closing, clenching into a fist, and then relaxing.

The curve of her lips slowly changed.

It wasn't the gentle smile from before; it was a more complex scheme that had succeeded.

The tears in her eyes had not yet dried, but a hint of gray flashed deep in her pupils.