"Because in my heart, you're like the pretty yet mysterious princess living in a castle. Not many people would have the chance to run away with a princess, just like a fairy tale. I thought many things would happen when we were on the run. Unfortunately, we were caught and brought back fairly quickly."

Mu Ningxue fell silent.

A moment later, she spoke, "You're strange, just like them."

"I think so, too." Mo Fan shrugged. The smile on his face remained the same. It was hard to tell if he were being serious, or fooling around.

"Then there's no need to say this now." Mu Ningxue was more concerned about the current situation.

"But I'll always keep the promise I made."

"Is there any meaning to it? You know that it's naive, just like a fairy tale. The Mu Family is no longer the same. Don't make it harder for yourself. Besides, I'm no longer interested in you," Mu Ningxue said frankly.

It had been many years ago. Mu Ningxue totally ignored her past, since she was so focused on her cultivation. She was only feeling guilty for causing trouble to Mo Fan in the past, nothing else. She did not want Mo Fan to misunderstand her.

"That's because you haven't really discovered my charm under my sloppy appearance!" Mo Fan said shamelessly.

"You're strange. I mean it. But, maybe it really is something you want to say in your heart. I'll give you the answer, too. They've already arranged a fiancé for me. Even though I don't have any feelings for him, romance isn't really that important in my heart. Therefore, you should stop assuming that I'm feeling troubled because of the arrangement. It's just that I don't really care, that's all," Mu Ningxue told him.

Even Mu Ningxue felt strange when she finished her sentence. She would never reveal her inner thoughts to anyone. On second thought, maybe she was just trying to have Mo Fan give up on her. He had Innate Double Elements, which guaranteed he'd have a brilliant future. He did not need to go against such a formidable power just because of some promise he made in the past.

Mo Fan subconsciously smacked his lips.

With Mu Ningxue's mindset, she would definitely be the perfect candidate to cultivate some merciless martial arts, or it would be a waste to her peerless beauty and her inviolable aura!

That being said, at least she was being honest with him.

Isn't she similar to the femme fatale in ancient times? Only the one that conquers the entire nation is able to win her heart in the end?

Mo Fan suddenly felt like he had found a challenging life goal.

As a matter of fact, Mu Ningxue was like his first love. If he were asked if he could let it go, his answer would surely be yes, but...

The question was, why would he let it go?

The reason a man worked hard was to become stronger, have more money and power, just so he would have more freedom when making choices. He would not need to follow orders just to put food on the table. He would not have to struggle making a decision if he should give up on his job when he met his true love and was considering to move to the city she lived in. He would not have to give up on something that he really liked, and end up comforting himself by saying, "Maybe I'm not that fond of it after all."

Would it matter if Mu Ningxue had a marriage agreement with someone else? With enough power, he could decide to intervene or not, instead of being forced to give up, then hide in a little corner and feel emotional.

At least, she had already made it clear. It did not matter who she was with, so either whether it was with someone arranged to her, or someone that had stolen her away, it would make no difference!

As a man, he should be like a tyrannical CEO!

A toad that did not dream of eating swan meat would never be a good toad. Besides, he was not a toad, but a handsome...

----

The atmosphere in the church was abnormal throughout the night.

As Mo Fan was about to hide his ambitious plan deep inside his heart, a soft ripple appeared from the pendant on his neck.

The soft ripple slowly traveled into Mo Fan's mind.

The ripple contained a magical mental force, which suddenly calmed Mo Fan's thoughts, as if he had been placed inside a tub of cold water. It felt like he had just woken up from a strange status.

His gaze became clear as he woke up..

He looked at Mu Ningxue's departing figure. It turned out that his stubbornness had prevented the conversation from going on.

"Ningxue, wait," Mo Fan called out.

Mu Ningxue turned around and glanced at him. She realized that Mo Fan was extremely different from his previous impudent behavior. It felt like he had just woken up from a nightmare.

"What else are you trying to say?" Mu Ningxue probed, as she was uncertain too.

"Something is strange." Mo Fan said sternly in a deep voice.

Mu Ningxue nodded as she realized that Mo Fan had become rational, "Looks like you were the same as them."

"We'll talk about that later. It feels like some kind of bewitching spell. I'm wearing something called a Focus Magic Tool on my neck, which is able to keep myself focused. It managed to protect my mind with its power, which helped me to wake up from its effect," Mo Fan said grimly.

Mu Ningxue's expression turned serious too. She was having similar speculations. Since Mo Fan's Focus Magic Tool had shown a reaction, it had proved that the group was under some bewitching effect.

"Ming Cong has forced himself upon Bai Tingting because he was fond of her at the start. It provoked him to put his lewd thoughts into action. Liao Mingxuan is jealous of you, and is not satisfied with Lu Zhenghe, so he lost control and scolded him too. Bai Tingting has a good impression of you. After experiencing a great fear, she subconsciously feels like you're the only one she can rely on.

"And you… Well, you know it yourself." Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan felt extremely awkward. The secret that he had hidden in his heart was just exposed like that, even though he had pretended as if it no longer bothered him.

He sighed and forgot it for now. He should focus on resolving the difficult situation the group was in now.

"Ming Cong was the first person to act strangely. I'll ask Bai Tingting where he went before it all happened," Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan walked toward Bai Tingting. The latter seemed to be staring at Mu Ningxue with a hint of hostility. For some reason, Bai Tingting was still hostile to Mu Ningxue in her heart.

Mo Fan walked up to Bai Tingting and placed the Focus Magic Tool in her hand.

The same ripple was emitted, and Bai Tingting shuddered. As her pupils regained focus, her eyes had a much clearer look.

Bai Tingting blushed when she recalled what she had done. She did not even dare to look Mo Fan in the eyes.

"It's alright. Don't worry. I kind of know what's happening. I just want to ask you, do you know where Ming Cong went to before? The church should be tightly sealed, and I don't see any signs of demon beasts nearby..." Mo Fan asked her.