Extreme North

Su Xuan shook his head, signaling Emma not to worry too much.

"It's fine, Emma. Just think about it a little. This was only a spur-of-the-moment decision of mine, and it might not necessarily be right. Right now, what we need to do is find Nanbei and Xue'er."

Emma nodded. That was indeed the case. The matters at hand certainly took priority over matters in the future.

"Master, follow me. My old database has a map of the Spirit Hall here stored in it. I just don't know whether the original map is still accurate after all these years."

"Alright."

When it came to finding the way, Emma, with an entire database at her disposal, was naturally more capable than Su Xuan, who only had one brain.

Su Xuan slowly followed behind his petite secretary. Watching Emma look around here and there, he suddenly felt very reassured. For a "lazy bum" like Su Xuan, Emma's presence had practically become indispensable.

Emma, chief secretary edition—you were worth having.

Cat Nanbei looked at the obviously somewhat dilapidated Spirit Hall before her and was at a loss for words. What was going on? Why was it so run-down? Had the hall master here run off?

"Grandpa Ju, help us check the situation inside."

Cat Nanbei spoke softly to Ju Yueguan, who had once been Su Xuan's most loyal subordinate.

The old man with a young, feminine face revealed a "kindly" smile and said with narrowed eyes, "No problem, Nanbei. Stay put and behave yourself. I'll be back in a moment."

During the long journey, Ju Yueguan had grown very fond of this cat-eared, cat-tailed girl who spoke so softly. He already treated her as his own granddaughter. But after all, she belonged to His Highness Su Xuan. Going by His Highness Su Xuan's usual style, this was called... raising?

But Ju Yueguan could not be bothered with such things. In any case, according to his beliefs, as long as he remained loyal and followed in His Highness Su Xuan's footsteps, even ascending to godhood in the future would not be difficult.

Ju Yueguan left. The remaining two Douluo were both hiding in the shadows, and for a moment, Cat Nanbei did not know what to do.

So Cat Nanbei shook the little Snow Girl in her arms and said softly, "Xue'er, we're here."

Snow Girl rubbed her large white eyes, but she did not mind Cat Nanbei disturbing her sleep. Instead, she forcefully sniffed the surrounding air, as though she had discovered something.

"Xue'er, what's wrong?"

Cat Nanbei became a little worried, afraid that the little Snow Girl disliked her bad behavior of interrupting her sweet dream.

However, Snow Girl still ignored Cat Nanbei and sniffed the air even harder. Finally, her eyes lit up, and she immediately flapped her wings and flew toward a certain direction, as though something was there.

Cat Nanbei did not react in time. It was not until Snow Girl had flown nearly three or four meters away from her arms that she realized that the well-behaved little Snow Girl had actually... actually run away!?

Cat Nanbei immediately panicked.

"Hey, Xue'er, don't run..."

Cat Nanbei desperately chased after her, but Snow Girl flew faster and faster, and her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

At the corner fifty meters ahead of Snow Girl.

"Master, turn left ahead. About fifty meters further on should be the branch hall of our Spirit Hall here."

The white-clothed Su Xuan nodded, then shook his head again.

"Sigh, this place really... is run-down."

Su Xuan's mouth twitched. The mottled walls, which looked as though they had not been repaired in decades, kept shedding dust, and there was not a trace of life here. Su Xuan truly suspected that the hall master had run off.

Still, there was no better place to stay in this poor, dilapidated place. They would just have to make do. They would not be staying for more than a few days anyway.

But as Su Xuan rounded the corner, there was no warning of danger. There were no enemies here, so there was no need for him to activate his Spiritual Power—it would be a pure waste. Thus, Su Xuan was directly struck by a high-speed flying "white cannonball."

His face hurt like hell.

Su Xuan was in so much pain his features nearly twisted. After all, although his strength was decent, that was only with all kinds of enhancements. Su Xuan's actual body, honestly speaking, was still quite fragile.

"So, Snow Girl caught my scent and came straight to find me. But I happened to be unguarded, and she had no intelligence, so we crashed into each other directly? Is that it?"

"Abba abba."

Snow Girl nodded, seemingly admitting it.

"That should be what happened..."

Cat Nanbei spoke very softly. She always felt as though she had done something wrong. But when she saw Su Xuan's face, now wrapped in bandages, she could not help wanting to laugh.

"Alright, Master. The two of them are only children. Why bother with them?"

Emma stepped in at the right moment to smooth things over. After all, her position made her well suited to being a mediator.

"Sigh, how could I possibly get angry with them? Let's call it my own fault."

"Abba abba."

Snow Girl flapped her wings and flew onto Su Xuan's head. Grabbing two handfuls of his hair as handles, she swayed left and right, having the time of her life.

Su Xuan remained expressionless. For the sake of an elder's dignity and magnanimity, I'll endure it.

However, Cat Nanbei's mentality was still closer to that of a child. She did not have so many complicated thoughts. Seeing the once-dignified elder Su Xuan being treated like a "mount" by a little brat like Snow Girl, she found it rather funny. Afraid that she could not hold it in, Snow Girl even thoughtfully covered her mouth, though with Su Xuan's hearing, he could still hear everything clearly.

He was being laughed at by a little brat...

Su Xuan felt exhausted. Taking care of children was so tiring. I don't want to take care of children anymore.

But Su Xuan had no choice at this time. After all, here, he was the person Snow Girl was closest to.

After all, the Heavenly Snow Woman had been incredibly weak at first. She had only gradually recovered after drinking medicine brewed with his blood. Perhaps that was a form of acknowledgment as well. Su Xuan silently consoled himself.

"Right, Brother Xuan."

As though she had remembered something, Cat Nanbei raised her little hand, a trace of urgency on her small face.

"What is it, Nanbei?"

Su Xuan looked curiously at the catlike girl. Nanbei had always been the model of obedience. What could have happened this time?

"Snowy said she wants us to find some things for her. Maybe... she'll need them to recover her cultivation."

"What things?"

The prospect of restoring the Heavenly Snow Woman's true cultivation immediately energized Su Xuan. How could he possibly pass up such a powerful helper?

"Um... let me think."

Cat Nanbei rubbed her head. Her memory was not particularly outstanding.

"I think it was Mysterious Ice Marrow. The older it is, the better. And she also needs some kind of lotus."

Su Xuan muttered inwardly, Damn, the place I'm looking for happens to have those things. Is heaven helping me?