You Should Read More Books

After Murong finished telling her story, Zhou Hao sighed from the bottom of his heart. "Your experiences really are legendary."

They were also heartbreaking and pitiful. He did not say that aloud, but that was what he thought.

Murong smiled. "My experiences are far from limited to that. If you want to know more, I can tell you about them when I have time later."

Even she found her own experiences legendary when she looked back on them.

Zhou Hao nodded lightly. "Mm, alright. I like listening."

But with more than seventy thousand years of experiences, he might not finish hearing them even in a lifetime!

Thinking back on Murong's story, Zhou Hao suddenly looked up at her. Then, under her startled gaze, he rose from the Ice Chair, walked over to her, and wrapped his arms around her.

Murong's body stiffened. His sudden action left her momentarily bewildered.

This was the first time her mind had gone blank.

Zhou Hao spoke gently. "You've suffered. You went through so much hardship at such a young age."

Hearing that, Murong suddenly understood. So he was feeling sorry for her.

She hesitated over whether to push Zhou Hao away. She was not used to this sort of atmosphere, but then a line Song Tianling had once said surfaced in her mind:

"When he takes the initiative, you need to cooperate to a certain extent. It will help nurture your feelings."

Murong thought about it. Cooperate? How was she supposed to cooperate? What reaction should she give in this situation?

After pondering for a moment, she suddenly rested her head against Zhou Hao's chest. Since Zhou Hao was standing while she was sitting, she could only bury her head in his arms.

Zhou Hao paused. He sensed Murong's unusual response.

Uh... if her body had not been so stiff, he would not have been able to tell that she was pretending.

Zhou Hao could clearly feel that everything below Murong's head was rigid.

Amid his helplessness, he also found it a little amusing.

"If you feel uncomfortable, you can push me away," Zhou Hao said with a smile.

Murong smiled awkwardly and explained, "It's not that I'm uncomfortable. I'm just not used to it."

The two of them continued talking while holding each other.

Zhou Hao said sincerely, "This hug is wholehearted."

"I could feel it," Murong replied softly.

"Heh~" Zhou Hao still could not help laughing. Murong's body had remained stiff the entire time. He truly had not expected the dignified Empress to have such a side to her.

"What is it?" Murong frowned slightly.

"Nothing." Zhou Hao shook his head, let go of her, and looked into her eyes. "You have quite the gap-moe."

Murong paused slightly and asked, "What does gap-moe mean?"

Zhou Hao smiled as he explained, "It means you usually give people a cold and aloof impression, but after getting along with you, you actually seem quite cute."

It was an internet term from Blue Star. It would have been strange if Murong had known it.

The moment Murong heard that, she immediately returned to her cold demeanor. The word she least wanted others to use to describe her was "cute"; it damaged the dignity of an Empress.

Zhou Hao clearly sensed the change in her. Yet seeing this sudden transformation, why did he still find her a little cute?

Murong did not want to continue this topic and changed the subject. "If there is anything you do not understand about cultivation in the future, you can ask me."

She had made up her mind to nurture Zhou Hao.

"I will," Zhou Hao said with a beaming smile.

Where else could he find such ready-made resources? How many detours could a good master spare him? Naturally, he would not refuse such a benefit.

"Mm." Murong nodded slightly.

Seeing that the time was about right, Zhou Hao hurriedly reminded her, "Let's go down first!"

Otherwise, he would be left up here again later.

Murong did not think much of it. She nodded and took Zhou Hao back down.

The moment they returned to the "ice cellar," Zhou Hao shuddered all over, goosebumps rising instantly. He hurried over to the fire to warm himself.

Seeing this, Murong rubbed her nose somewhat awkwardly, her eyes darting guiltily from side to side. She had forgotten to melt all this ice. No wonder Zhou Hao had been inside the ring of fire when she first arrived.

At the time, she had not given it much thought. The moment she arrived, she had "caught" Zhou Hao and taken him upstairs to handle business.

Only after the fire had warmed his whole body did Zhou Hao have the mind to say to Murong, "Can you melt this ice for me?"

As he spoke, the ice had actually already begun to recede. Before long, it all vanished.

The sudden disappearance caught Zhou Hao off guard. He was still warming himself by the fire! The moment the ice vanished, he felt hot.

With an "Ah!" he leaped away from the pile of fire.

Zhou Hao felt the temperature in the secret chamber rising rapidly and hurriedly shouted, "Jinyin, put away your fire!"

Mu Jinyin flew over and gave her wings a slight flap. The bonfire immediately went out.

"Whew~" Zhou Hao wiped away the sweat brought on by the heat.

Murong watched him with amusement, silently standing to one side.

Sometimes, she found Zhou Hao's frantic, chickens-flying-and-dogs-jumping appearance rather entertaining.

Zhou Hao took two deep breaths, feeling as though even the oxygen in the secret chamber had thinned considerably.

"Are you taking this coffin with you? It is decent material, and it would be convenient if you need to forge any weapons in the future." Murong walked to the coffin, placed her hand on its edge, and asked.

Zhou Hao shook his head. "What would I bring a coffin for?"

To sleep in? Was he sick?

Murong nodded slightly and smiled. "True. Carrying a coffin around is indeed rather unlucky. Besides, this small Teleportation Array relies on this coffin. It would be somewhat troublesome to dismantle it."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze toward the formation on the ceiling.

Following her line of sight, Zhou Hao looked up and asked curiously, "You recognize this small Teleportation Array?"

He did not even know what the thing was. He only knew that following its operation would let him leave this place.

Murong withdrew her gaze and smiled. "Your cultivation knowledge is still lacking. You should read more books in the future. Shall I bring you some books the next time I come?"

Zhou Hao felt embarrassed. Although he quite liked reading, cultivation had already left him with no spare time.

He gave an awkward laugh. "Let's talk about it when I have time! I've been too busy cultivating lately."

Murong nodded understandingly. "Your path of cultivation has only just begun. You truly need to focus your mind on cultivation. But I will still bring you some books. You can study them when you have time."

Zhou Hao smiled helplessly. "Alright, then."

He felt as though he had returned to his student days.

"What kinds of books do you like?" Murong asked about Zhou Hao's reading preferences.

Zhou Hao thought carefully, then waved his hand. "Anything is fine. It would be best if you brought some common knowledge about the cultivation world. I happen to need to learn about that."

Murong nodded, silently committing it to memory, then asked, "Anything else?"

Zhou Hao shook his head. "You can decide the rest."

Murong smiled faintly, then waved goodbye. "Alright, let us part ways here. See you in three days."

"See you in three days." Zhou Hao smiled as well and waved, watching Murong's figure disappear.

Their interactions were becoming more harmonious, and increasingly... they carried just a little of the feeling of a married couple.

After Murong left, Zhou Hao slowly lowered his hand, a faint smile lingering at the corner of his mouth. Then he looked up at the Teleportation Array on the ceiling and murmured, "This time, I'm really leaving."

If Du Tianhong tricked him again this time, then the next time he met Du Tianhong, he would not waste a word—he would beat the hell out of him.