You Are Ugly!

The alley was deep and narrow, as if countless secrets were hidden on every smooth, gleaming bluestone slab.

Behind the vermilion-lacquered door was a courtyard that looked somewhat dilapidated.

In the center of the courtyard stood a stone mill, with an iron bucket placed on the millstone.

The bucket was filled with ice, a whole bucket of ice cubes.

The ice cubes, scorched by the blazing sun, emitted large gusts of cold air.

A man in black sat meditating nearby. Smoke curled around him, and sweat poured down his forehead. He looked as if he were in a sauna.

His hands moved through the air, his ten fingers rapidly forming dozens of intricate and strange hand seals.

Whoosh—

Brilliant white light erupted!

On the bluestone floor, a dark, deep black hole suddenly appeared.

The black hole emitted a sinister aura, making anyone who looked at it tremble as if it were a death passage leading to the Asura hell.

There was a brief silence, then a rustling sound.

A crow emerged from the black hole and lunged towards the man in black.

More crows flew out, converging on the man in black.

They densely enveloped him, opening their beaks to devour the dark energy emanating from his body.

Caw caw caw—

Countless crows had countless mouths, and countless mouths were constantly opening and closing. The sight sent shivers down one's spine.

When the crows dispersed and the black smoke vanished, the man in black finally revealed his true face.

He poured the ice cubes and icy water from the bucket over his head, and his body sizzled. It was as if his body were a burning furnace, and the ice and water were being poured onto the flames, being roasted and incinerated.

Only then was the light energy from the crows truly expelled.

Since ancient times, light and darkness have been difficult to merge. The crow walked a path of darkness and evil, and the birds he raised were also refined from impure substances. The young lady from the Cui Family's bodyguard used a move called 'Myriad Homes' Living Buddha' when he was injured. This was an authentic Buddhist technique, a high-level exorcism within Buddhism.

With the light energy entering his body, the crow, heavily injured, fled.

He infiltrated this alley, killed an old woman who had been widowed for many years, and this courtyard became his place of recuperation.

Specializing in his craft, the crow had always been confident in his skills.

He was a proud person, a proud killer.

However, a foolproof plan failing was like being slapped in the face—

He could imagine how the bloodthirsty and murderous members of the Assassin's Guild would mock and ridicule him when they heard about his failure.

"Unforgivable." The crow struck out with his palm, and the stone mill, weighing over a thousand pounds, shattered into several pieces.

During his recovery, the crow carefully recalled the events.

When he sensed that Cui Mingyue had left the school, he had already ambushed himself in the Beast-Faced Pavilion. As expected, his gamble paid off. Cui Xiaoxin and her classmate were indeed walking towards the Beast-Faced Pavilion.

And just as he had thought, the Cui Family's guard did not follow them in but stood guard at the entrance of the Beast-Faced Pavilion, warily observing the guests coming and going.

When the Cui Family's guard didn't enter, he knew his assassination attempt had a ninety-nine percent chance of success. The one percent chance of failure was if Cui Xiaoxin could transform into a star cultivator in an instant.

But, was that possible?

Cui Xiaoxin did not transform, and she was indeed not a star cultivator.

A princess must maintain her elegance and cannot transform casually. But the useless young man beside her did.

Otherwise, why could he so accurately block his 'Cherry Blossom Fall' every time?

Why was he, after using a powerful killing move like 'One Qi Cleaves Mount Hua', blasted away by a single punch?

If that wasn't a transformation, what was it?

Therefore, in the final analysis, the culprit responsible for this failure was that black-haired youth.

"I'm going to kill him," the crow thought to himself.

He reached into his pocket with his right hand and took out a coin, then placed it in his left hand.

"This is the bounty," the crow said to himself. He didn't do business for free.

Flap flap—

A black bird flew into the courtyard, flapping its wings.

The crow beckoned, and the black bird landed in his palm.

He untied a bamboo tube from the bird's leg and pulled out a slip of paper from the tube.

The paper was small, with little content.

The crow finished reading it quickly.

He rubbed the paper between his thumb and forefinger, and it ignited.

"Li Mu Yang," the crow uttered the name with a sinister tone, his eyes filled with killing intent. "True to your name, you are already a lamb waiting to be slaughtered."

"Little bird says early, early, early, why are you carrying gunpowder? I'm going to blow up the school, the teacher doesn't know, I'll run as soon as I light it—" Li Sinian hummed a song as she pushed open the courtyard gate. Seeing the mess inside, she was startled and shouted, "Li Mu Yang, Li Mu Yang—"

Li Mu Yang came out from the inner room and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What happened to the table in the courtyard?" Li Sinian pointed to the lapis lazuli table, which was missing several corners, and asked, "How did a perfectly good table end up like this?"

"I don't know either." Li Mu Yang walked outside, pretended to examine it, and said, "How could this happen? Was the table struck by lightning?"

"How is that possible?" Li Sinian said impatiently, "How could a perfectly good table be struck by lightning?"

"Even perfectly good people can be struck by lightning, let alone a table," Li Mu Yang retorted.

Li Sinian's eyes widened, and she stared at Li Mu Yang for a while, asking, "Do you really not know?"

Li Mu Yang grinned and said, "Alright, alright, I confess. I broke it with my hands— I was leaning on the table writing, and I don't know what happened—"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Li Sinian interrupted Li Mu Yang's explanation. "I'd rather believe it was struck by lightning."

"—"

Of course, Li Sinian didn't take a table seriously. She glanced around and asked, "Cui Xiaoxin didn't come today?"

"No," Li Mu Yang said with a smile, unwilling to tell his sister that Yan Xiangma had visited. Otherwise, it would only cause the little girl unnecessary worry.

She was already in her second year of high school, and her studies were very demanding. Although her grades were excellent, Li Mu Yang didn't want her to bear burdens that shouldn't be hers at this age. "Cui Xiaoxin said yesterday that she wouldn't come today. She's going to the temple with her elders to burn incense."

Li Sinian's dark eyes darted around. "We should go and make a wish for you too—"

"I don't believe in that," Li Mu Yang refused. "If burning incense and praying to Buddha could guarantee admission to university, would there be any students who fail?"

"It's not about wishing for that—" Li Sinian rolled her eyes. "You won't get in no matter what. Even Buddha can't help you with this."

"Then what do you want to wish for?"

"I wish Cui Xiaoxin also doesn't get in. That way, you'll both fail, suffer the same fate, and return to school to repeat the year— Then the three of us will be in the same school, the same class, studying diligently, going all out. A year later, all three of us will pass the exam, enter Xifeng University hand in hand, and become a beautiful story in Jiangnan City. What do you think?"

Li Mu Yang walked over and pinched Li Sinian's soft, tender little face, looking at her with great concern. "Li Sinian, are you sick?"

"You're the one who's sick," Li Sinian slapped her brother's mischievous hand away. "I've thought about it seriously today. For you and Cui Xiaoxin to be together, you either have to get into Xifeng University, or Cui Xiaoxin has to fail and review with you—"

"Then we can be together?"

"No," Li Sinian shook her head. "But at least you'll have a chance to compete with someone. Right?"

"—"

Although it was harsh, Li Mu Yang knew Li Sinian was stating a fact.

If he couldn't perform exceptionally well in this exam, he would be separated from Cui Xiaoxin in the future, and he wouldn't even have a chance to compete—

"I don't necessarily have to pursue Cui Xiaoxin," Li Mu Yang said stubbornly. "I'm still young, and who knows what the future holds. Maybe I'll find someone better?"

"Brother—"

"What?"

"You're ugly."

"I know. Do you have to be so blunt?"

"But not every girl is as blind as Cui Xiaoxin."

"—"

—

Cui Xiaoxin put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, please enjoy your meal. I'm going out."

Uncle Yan put down the newspaper he was reading and looked at Cui Xiaoxin. "Xiaoxin, are you done eating so soon? The written exam is approaching, you need to pay attention to your diet."

"I've finished. Thank you for your concern, Uncle." Cui Xiaoxin bowed gratefully.

"Xiaoxin, where are you going?" her aunt asked. "Are you going to tutor your classmate again? The exam is near, you can't help others and affect your own grades. Although our family doesn't need this, people will still judge you based on your grades— You know, when you return to Tiandu this time, how many eyes will be on you."

"Aunt, don't worry, I'm ready," Cui Xiaoxin's expression was gentle yet firm as she looked at her aunt. "Whether it's the exam or Tiandu."

Yan Xiangma chuckled. "Don't worry so much. Don't you trust our Xiaoxin? Xiaoxin is more careful and cautious than anyone."

After Cui Xiaoxin left, Uncle Yan looked sharply at Yan Xiangma and asked, "Which classmate is so fortunate to have Xiaoxin personally tutor them?"