“What the heck is this?!”
Hua Hong had evaded the Nine-Tailed Fox across eighteen mountain ranges, trudged through heavy snow back to Hao Yue Hall, only to nearly trip and fall face-first at the hall’s entrance. Glancing down, she saw a dumb wooden mule frozen in the ice by the stone steps. Snowflakes fell like bombs, piercing through the ice layer and landing precisely on the mule’s head, each one hitting hard enough to make it see stars.
Hua Hong circled the frozen mule, stroking her chin. “Who’s got such a mean streak?”
“Who else would it be?” came a yawn from Long Yi on the stone steps, who motioned inside the hall.
“Well, well, the dumb mule got caught stealing spiritual energy, did he?” Hua Hong whistled mockingly, clearly pleased at the mule’s misfortune.
The dizzy-eyed Long Er, the mule, glared at Hua Hong in astonishment.
“What are you staring at? Did you really think you could fool the Hall Master with those petty tricks?” Hua Hong shrugged. “The hall’s sparsely populated, and the Hall Master gets bored. He’s been watching your antics every day. If not, he would’ve turned you into firewood ages ago.”
Long Er shivered, his ears drooping as his legs buckled slightly.
“Relax; until we find the last piece of the Bodhi tree, you won’t die,” Hua Hong yawned and glanced at Long Yi. “Strange though, that this dumb mule’s been up to his tricks for ages, and the Hall Master never cared. Why throw him out today?”
Long Yi replied coolly, “The dumb mule got caught by Bai Shuo stealing spiritual energy. He promised to make that girl the Third Consort of Cold Spring Palace.”
Hua Hong looked at the heavy snowfall around them. “No wonder the snow is so intense; it’s because the Hall Master’s in a foul mood.” She nudged the ice-covered mule, making the snow pile on it even higher. “That girl’s been at Hao Yue Hall for a year, has blown up seven or eight solitary halls of gold and glass, and stripped every rare treasure off the mountain tops. Have you ever seen the Hall Master frown even once? She really thinks she was brought back to be used in alchemy, huh? What on earth did she eat to make her this dense?”
With an irritated click of her tongue, Hua Hong dragged Long Yi inside, leaving the wide-eyed wooden mule looking up at the heavens in despair.
Inside the hall, Bai Shuo had lit three braziers, trying to shake off the pervasive cold. For some reason, tonight the northern realm was unreasonably freezing, to the point that even a lofty immortal like her was shivering.
After the dumb mule played dead and was kicked out by the great demon, Bai Shuo found herself alone, as if invisible. Even after standing long enough for her legs to go numb, no one paid her any heed. With a helpless sigh, the small-time immortal retrieved a steaming bowl of peach blossom porridge from her magical pouch and placed it in front of Fan Yue with an ingratiating smile.
“Hall Master, it’s cold outside. Have some peach blossom porridge to warm up.”
Fan Yue didn’t seem to hear, leisurely flipping through his book without so much as a glance in her direction.
“I only snuck into your hall for alchemy; I have absolutely no disloyalty toward you,” she added earnestly.
The corner of the Hao Yue Hall Master’s forehead twitched as he restrained the urge to kick her out.
What a joke! She had free access to all of Hao Yue Hall’s rare treasures—what elixirs could she possibly need to sneak in here for?
“Really!” Bai Shuo raised her hand in a solemn pledge, “I’ve already stripped the Spirit Herbs from West Mountain bare. I just thought that since this mule is made from the Bodhi tree, maybe if I could scrape off a piece…”
“Mutual dependence till death?”
Fan Yue, tired of her nonsense, stopped turning pages and spoke in a calm tone.
Huh? What nonsense was this? Bai Shuo was dumbfounded, utterly clueless.
Fan Yue continued with another words, “Sweet as honey?”
Bai Shuo scratched her chin, finding those words vaguely familiar. Hadn’t someone just said this to her recently?
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