Asura's Reply

Asura remained silent for a long time, unsure of how to reply. With each passing moment, Su Lin's heart grew more tense. She wanted to hear Asura's response, but she was also prepared for the possibility that he might not reply, fearing that his words could shatter her heart.

After a prolonged silence, Asura finally opened his mouth, but what he said left Su Lin dumbfounded. He asked, "Can you pinch me?"

Su Lin responded with confusion, "Uunnn....". Asura repeated himself, saying, "Can you pinch me?" Su Lin complied and pinched Asura at the waist.

Asura screamed, "Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch...." and then said, "It's not a dream."

When Su Lin heard Asura's thoughts about it being a dream, her heart eased a bit because she now knew that Asura had feelings for her, which was why he had initially thought it was just a dream.

Asura said, "Su Lin, actually, I also like you, but I didn't have the courage to tell you. You know, you are so popular, and so many high nobles are willing to die for you if you say yes to them. Even the third royal prince is after you. So, I don't have that much confidence to tell you that I love you because I thought you would start to dislike me and think of me as one of those people who pester you so much."

Su Lin replied, "How can I ever think of you as one of those unlikable people?"

Asura's confirmation brought an indescribable mix of relief and joy to Su Lin's heart. Her eyes began to shimmer with tears of happiness as she gazed at him, feeling her love for him intensify.

With newfound confidence, Su Lin took a step closer to Asura, her voice gentle but resolute. "Asura, I meant every word I just said. I love you, and I have for a long time. You mean the world to me."

Asura's initial shock gave way to a warm smile. He reached out and gently touched Su Lin's cheek, his thumb brushing away a tear that had escaped her eye. "Su Lin, I... I've been carrying this feeling in my heart too, but I was afraid to admit it. I didn't want to risk our friendship."

Su Lin placed her hand over Asura's, savoring the warmth of his touch. "Asura, our friendship is strong, and I believe our love can be even stronger. We can face anything together."

Asura nodded, his eyes locked onto Su Lin's. "You're right, Su Lin. I love you too, more than I can put into words."

With their feelings laid bare, Asura and Su Lin drew closer, their lips meeting in a gentle and passionate kiss. It was a kiss filled with the promise of a future together, a future where their love would continue to grow and flourish.

After a long time, their lips detached. Su Lin bowed her head with embarrassment and didn't dare to look at Asura. She thought in her mind, "I really kissed Asura." Her heart was beating like a racing horse. Asura was also not any better; for the first time in his life, his cheeks and earlobe were slightly red, and the reason was not anger, but something else [you guys can understand].

After a few moments of silence, Asura said, "I have to get ready for everything from now on because the number one beauty of the Xiao Sect is going to be my girlfriend. I don't know how many people will want me dead."

Su Lin nodded, still not directly facing Asura. She already knew all of this, which is why in the early days she was not paying too much attention to Asura to avoid creating problems for him.

But now, she could do what she wanted for the following reasons- First, her master's strength was formidable, and she still didn't know what her master's cultivation level was. Second, Asura had learned to tap into his hidden strength; he still couldn't fully control it, but he could use some part of it. If anyone wanted to make trouble for Asura, it wasn't going to be easy.

Asura then asked, "Do you want to go home with me? I want to introduce you to my mother and sister. You probably know my sister, but I'm thinking about what she'll think if I go home with you. As for my mother, I'm sure she'll be surprised."

Su Lin was surprised to hear that Asura wanted to introduce her to his family. She thought she might not be ready for this, but when the words came out of her mouth, she said, "Okay," still bowing her head.

Asura was happy to see Su Lin agreed. He then gently grasped her jade-like soft hand and invited her to walk with him, Their hands joined, and  he said, "Let's go."

Su Lin finally raised her head and smiled at Asura. Asura was dumbfounded by her smile. It wasn't because he hadn't seen her smile before; on the contrary, he had seen many smiles from Su Lin in recent months. He was dumbfounded because when Su Lin smiled with a little redness on her face and a shy expression, it was truly beautiful. He couldn't describe how incredibly beautiful she looked at that moment. He thought to himself that he would remember this scene forever.

Su Lin then looked into Asura's eyes and said, "Let's go."

Asura snapped out of his daze, nodded, and they started walking towards Asura's home.