212: Is it winter now?

"Hmph."

A cold snort was accompanied by another drop in the surrounding temperature.

Mu Qingxue casually dispersed the Ice Sword in her hand, turning it into specks of crystalline powder.

She didn't chase after the Third Senior Sister who had fled in panic; instead, she turned around, her emotionless pale blue eyes locking onto Su Lin, who was still sneezing.

"Revered Master."

She walked over slowly, each step forming an Ice Lotus on the ground.

"Now that the fly has been driven away... it's time for a thorough cleanup."

Su Lin's heart skipped a beat.

He instinctively wrapped his soaked and frozen robe tighter around himself and shrank back.

"Um... Qingxue, I can just use a fire-element Spell to dry myself off..."

"No."

Mu Qingxue's refusal was decisive.

She walked up to Su Lin and reached out a hand as white as jade that radiated a bone-chilling cold, her fingertip lightly touching the lapel of his robe.

"This clothing is stained with the Third Senior Sister's poisonous gas, the stench of that medicinal oil, and other unclean things."

She frowned slightly, as if looking at something extremely filthy.

"Fire cannot burn it clean."

"It must be replaced."

*Rip!*

There was no room for negotiation.

With a swipe of her finger, Su Lin's pitiful robe instantly turned into countless ice shards, scattering into the air.

Su Lin: "..."

He stood there stark naked in the cold wind.

Although with his current cultivation and Physical Body strength, he wasn't afraid of the cold at all, and could even be indifferent to worldly concepts like shame.

But it was broad daylight!

And standing before him was his Seventh Disciple, the one who usually adhered most strictly to the rules and was the most aloof!

"You..."

Just as Su Lin was about to speak, a snow-white robe carrying a cold fragrance was thrown over his head.

It was a dharma robe Mu Qingxue had personally woven from Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Silkworm Silk. Both its defensive power and material were top-notch; its only drawback was that it was cold.

Wearing it felt like being wrapped in a thin layer of ice.

"Put it on properly."

Mu Qingxue stood opposite him, showing not a hint of shyness at seeing her Revered Master's body. Instead, she scrutinized every inch of Su Lin's skin with an extremely critical gaze.

It was as if she were inspecting a piece of art that belonged to her, checking for any marks left by others.

"It's alright."

She reached out and helped Su Lin tie his belt, her movements meticulous, even rigid.

"Those red marks have mostly faded."

"That bite mark has also lightened."

Her fingertip brushed across Su Lin's neck, lingering for a moment on the bite mark. A flash of killing intent crossed her eyes, but it was quickly suppressed.

"From now on, you are not allowed to let them bite you again."

"And you must not let them bite you."

She looked up, staring directly into Su Lin's eyes, her tone as serious as if she were reading an imperial edict.

"If there is a next time, I will pull out all their teeth."

"..."

Su Lin sighed and let her have her way.

"Let's go."

After tidying his clothes, Mu Qingxue did not let him go.

She naturally took Su Lin's hand—interlocking their fingers, of course—with a grip so firm it seemed she feared he would run away the next second.

"Where are we going?" Su Lin asked.

"It's too dirty here."

Mu Qingxue looked with disdain at the ruins of the medicine hut, which still smelled of medicine and Devilish Qi... the ice palace she had previously constructed with Spells.

Because of Luo Ximei's Demonic Fire and Su Hongling's brute force, it had already partially collapsed.

But under Mu Qingxue's terrifying Mahayana Stage cultivation, it was refreshed in the blink of an eye.

However, the style was even more extreme.

The floor was ice, the walls were ice, the pillars were ice—even the tables, chairs, teapots, and cups were all ice.

The entire hall was like a giant cold storage room; aside from white and blue, no other colors could be seen.

As soon as Su Lin walked in, he felt like he had become a piece of frozen meat.

"Qingxue..."

Sitting on the ice chair that was emitting white mist, Su Lin felt like his buttocks were about to freeze solid.

"Can we add some warm colors? Like, maybe lighting a fire?"

"No."

Mu Qingxue was fiddling with a tea set on a nearby ice table.

"Fire brings the aura of the mundane world; it's dirty."

"Only being frozen in ice is eternally clean."

She walked over carrying a cup of tea.

The teacup was carved from Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice, and the tea inside wasn't hot water, but... a mixture of ice and water.

Two translucent snow lotus petals floated on top.

"Revered Master, please have some tea."

She held the cup to Su Lin's lips, her eyes full of expectation.

"This is Snow-Top Cold Lotus steeped in ice water condensed from morning dew; it is best for clearing the heart and diminishing desires."

Su Lin looked at the "tea" that was still emitting cold air, his lips twitching.

How was this tea?

This was clearly ice water meant to extinguish all his worldly desires!

"I... my stomach isn't doing so well, I want something hot."

Su Lin tried to struggle a bit.

"Hot?"

But since it was her Revered Master's request... "Alright."

She nodded reluctantly.

She didn't light a fire, nor did she use spiritual power to heat it.

Instead, she reached out both hands and cupped the ice teacup in her palms.

Then, she closed her eyes and circulated her Cultivation Technique, attempting to use her body temperature to warm the tea.

But this was clearly a paradox.

She was a Mahayana Stage Cultivator with an Ice Spiritual Root; her body temperature was perennially below zero. No matter how hard she tried, the tea only went from "extremely cold" to "very cold."

After a long while.

She opened her eyes and looked at the still-chilly teacup in her hands with some frustration, a rare hint of embarrassment appearing on her cold face.

"It... it won't get hot."

She pursed her lips like a child who had done something wrong.

"Revered Master... do you dislike me because I'm not warm enough?"

"Not passionate like Fifth Senior Sister? Nor soft and clingy like Third Senior Sister?"

Seeing her face instantly darken, looking as if she were about to freeze herself into an ice sculpture in social withdrawal, Su Lin's urge to complain vanished instantly.

How was she an iceberg?

She was clearly just a clumsy child trying to please an adult.

"I don't dislike you."

Su Lin sighed, reached out, and took the ice tea.

"Cold is fine too, it'll help cool me down."

He tilted his head back and drained it in one gulp.

Chilled to the bone, heart soaring.

That cold liquid sliding down his throat indeed dissipated much of his previous heat.

Seeing her Revered Master finish the tea, Mu Qingxue's eyes instantly lit up.

It was a pure joy from being acknowledged.

"Do you want more?" she asked immediately. "There's more in the pot."

"No need!"

Su Lin quickly waved his hand. "One cup is enough; drinking too much will make me too cold."

"Oh."

Mu Qingxue nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

She set down the teacup and didn't leave; instead, she circled behind Su Lin.

"Since you've had your tea, next... it's time for a cleanup."

"Cleanup?"

Su Lin was stunned. "Didn't I just change my clothes?"

"Not just the clothes."

Mu Qingxue reached out and gently untied Su Lin's hair crown.

His ink-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

"The hair needs cleaning too."

She took out a comb polished from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade and began combing Su Lin's long hair with extremely gentle movements.

"Revered Master's hair is stained with dust from outside."

"And... the scent of others."

With every stroke, a wisp of extremely fine cold Qi would seep from her fingertips, freezing and shaking off the microscopic dust and foreign scents from the hair strands.

This "dry cleaning" method, though a bit strange, was unexpectedly comfortable.

Su Lin closed his eyes, feeling the tingling sensation on his scalp, and his tense nerves slowly relaxed.

This girl might be a bit cold, but her service was truly impeccable.

As long as she didn't go crazy... "Revered Master."

Just then, Mu Qingxue's voice suddenly sounded in his ear, carrying an unusual deepness.

"Hmm?"

"Your hair... one has turned white."

"White?"

Su Lin was startled.

Cultivators have ways to maintain their appearance. At his Realm, with such a long Lifespan, how could he have white hair?

Could it be a side effect from burning his Origin earlier?

"Where? Just pull it out," Su Lin said casually.

"No."

Mu Qingxue refused.

She pinched that silver strand, which was extremely conspicuous among the ink-black hair, her gaze as focused as if she were looking at some miracle.

"It's beautiful."

"Like snow falling in the night."

She lowered her head and gave the white hair a light kiss.

"Everything of Revered Master's... whether black hair or white hair, whether young or old..."

"...are all Qingxue's treasures."

"I want to... keep it forever."

As soon as she finished speaking.

*Crack.*

Su Lin suddenly felt the surrounding air solidify.

He opened his eyes and discovered with horror that the chair he sat on, the table in front of him, and even the ground beneath his feet were being covered by a thick layer of solid ice at a speed visible to the naked eye.

And this layer of ice was spreading onto his body!

"Qingxue! What are you doing?!"

Su Lin wanted to stand up but found that his legs were already frozen to the chair.

"Don't move, Revered Master."

Mu Qingxue stood behind him, her arms around his neck and her cheek pressed against his.

That icy touch made him shiver.

"I've thought of a brilliant idea."

Her voice carried a sickly excitement.

"If I just freeze Revered Master in this moment..."

"You won't age, you won't die, and you won't get hurt."

"And you won't... be taken away by others."

"You can stay in this Moon Palace forever and ever, belonging only to me."

"Just like this white hair... eternal and unchanging."

The ice had already reached Su Lin's waist.

That extreme cold was eroding his protective golden light.

This girl was serious!

She really wanted to turn him into a figurine!!

"Mu Qingxue! Wake up!"

Su Lin shouted, and the Myriad Heavens Star Chart inside him surged, Star Power erupting in an attempt to shatter the ice.

But this was the life-bound Divine Ability [Eternal Permafrost] of a Middle Stage Mahayana ice Cultivator; how could it be so easily broken?

The ice only developed a few cracks before repairing itself and spreading even faster.

"It's useless, Revered Master."

Mu Qingxue whispered in his ear, like a demon's murmur.

"Here, I am the rule."

"Just be good and... go to sleep."

"When you wake up, there will only be the two of us left in this world..."

The ice had reached his chest.

Su Lin felt it difficult to breathe.

At this critical moment.

Su Lin took a deep breath and stopped struggling to break the ice.

Instead, he relaxed his body and even voluntarily dispersed the defense of his [Immovable Wisdom King Body].

Then.

He reached back and grasped Mu Qingxue's cold hand.

"Qingxue."

His voice became incredibly gentle, carrying a hint of helpless indulgence.

"If you freeze me... who will comb your hair in the future?"

"Who will cook for you?"

"Who will listen to you play the zither?"

Mu Qingxue's movements paused.

The frantically spreading ice layer also came to a halt.

"Comb hair... cook... play the zither..."

She murmured to herself, the madness in her eyes receding slightly to reveal a hint of confusion.

"But... only freezing is eternal..."

"Silly girl."

Su Lin squeezed her hand firmly, transferring the warmth from his palm.

He turned his head; although he couldn't move below the neck, his gaze remained clear and warm.

"What is eternal is not ice."

"It is memory."

"It is the warmth of our palms connecting at this very moment."

"If you freeze me, this warmth... will be gone."

"Can you bear that?"

Mu Qingxue was stunned.

She felt the slight warmth on the back of her hand.

It was her Revered Master's body temperature.

It was the proof of being alive, pulsing, and warm.

If he became an ice sculpture... then only cold stone would remain.

"No... I don't want that..."

She suddenly pulled her hand back as if she had been burned.

"I don't want cold..."

"I want warmth... I want Revered Master to be warm..."

As her resolve wavered, the indestructible ice layer began to make cracking sounds.

Countless cracks spread.

Finally.

*Crash!*

The ice collapsed, turning into a floor of shattered ice.

Su Lin regained his freedom.

He gasped for breath, feeling like he had just returned from the gates of hell.

Before he could even steady himself, a cold figure lunged into his arms.

"Revered Master!!"

Mu Qingxue hugged his waist tightly, burying her face in his chest, her whole body trembling.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"I almost... almost killed you..."

"I didn't want to, I was just so afraid of losing you..."

Feeling the fear and self-reproach of the girl in his arms, the anger in Su Lin's heart completely vanished.

He raised his hand and gently patted her back, just like he used to coax her to sleep when she was little.

"It's alright now."

"I am here."

"As long as you don't freeze me into a popsicle... I'm not going anywhere."

Mu Qingxue nuzzled against him, her tears wetting his lapel.

After a long time.

She looked up, her eyes red but strikingly bright.

"Revered Master."

"Hmm?"

"Although I can't freeze you up..."

She bit her lip, a blush suddenly blooming on her cheeks, her voice becoming as soft as a mosquito's hum.

"But can I be your body pillow?"

"The kind of cool body pillow you can hold while sleeping at night."

"It's very comfortable in the summer."

Su Lin: "..."

He glanced at the heavy snow falling outside the window (it would snow whenever Mu Qingxue was in a bad mood).

Then he looked at this "humanoid air conditioner" with her expectant gaze.

"Um... Qingxue."

"It's winter now, isn't it??"

Mu Qingxue broke into a smile through her tears and snapped her fingers.

The heavy snow outside the window instantly stopped, and the clouds dispersed to reveal the bright sun.