Chapter 10

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The erroneous answer caught Li Shuang off guard, and she forgot her own question, so startled that she couldn't even muster a fierce expression. "What... What did you say?"

The usually composed Li Shuang felt a bit flustered.

"Marry me," the dark-masked man repeated calmly as if he didn't think his words were frightening at all.

"Absurd!" Li Shuang finally reacted, snapping at him and releasing his collar as if it were burning her hands.

"Absurd?" He continued to gaze at her earnestly. "Why absurd? I understand. To marry means to entrust yourself to another person, to be together with them until death do you part." He stared into her eyes, and slowly, her figure reflected in his crimson pupils. "You can entrust yourself to me. I will protect you and want to be with you always, until death do us part."

These vows of love, spoken so casually by him, seemed as ordinary as salt and pepper, yet for some reason, Li Shuang felt a twinge of... emotion behind her exasperation?

Was this person a fool? Who else besides someone mentally deficient or deranged would speak such words to someone they've only met twice?

Or perhaps... did he have an ulterior motive?

"Stop with this nonsense," Li Shuang's expression turned cold as she refuted him. "I'm asking you, how do you know these things? Tell me the truth, otherwise..."

"Otherwise... you'll capture me and interrogate me?" He looked at her, his expression innocent, tinged with a hint of hurt, as if silently asking her why she was always so harsh with him.

For the first time, Li Shuang felt her hands tremble when dealing with someone close to a spy.

"Don't you want to marry me?" The dark-masked man leaned closer to her.

The short distance caused immense psychological pressure on Li Shuang. Unconsciously, she took a step back, maintaining a cold expression as she reprimanded, "Marriage is not arranged by my parents, nor dictated by matchmakers. Moreover, your identity is unknown, your origins are a mystery, and you have yet to reveal your true face, yet you dare to discuss marriage with me... Don't come so close."

Unable to bear it any longer, Li Shuang pushed him away.

He complied and stepped back, but his hand brushed against the spot on his shoulder where Li Shuang had touched him earlier. Though it was just a light touch, it seemed to retain her warmth, causing him to lower his eyes with a warm and tender gaze, as if genuinely harboring deep affection for her.

Wasn't it like this the last time... when he looked at her like this while they were escaping from that cave, rescuing Li Ting?

This affectionate gaze made Li Shuang once again start to wonder if she had inadvertently lost some memories and if she really had a lover in the north.

"If I show you my face, will you marry me?" he asked Li Shuang.

Every word he spoke seemed so natural and sincere, that even words she would readily reject from others left her at a loss for how to respond.

"You..."

"General?"

Suddenly, Qin Lan's inquiry came from outside the grove. Li Shuang turned to look, and in that instant, a gust of wind passed by. When she turned back, the dark-masked man who had been beside her was nowhere to be seen.

Surprised, Li Shuang marveled at the man's speed. If it came to lightness skills, she might be more than a step behind him.

Outside the grove, Qin Lan didn't receive an answer, and his voice sounded slightly more urgent than before. "General?"

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