You Need to Read More Books

Murong's past had been fully recounted, and Zhou Hao sincerely exclaimed, "Your experiences are truly legendary."

They were also heartbreaking and pitiable, though he didn't voice this thought, it was what he felt in his heart.

Murong smiled, "My experiences are more than just this. If you want to know more, I can tell you when I have time later."

Her own experiences felt legendary even to her when she recalled them.

Zhou Hao nodded gently, "Mm, okay, I like listening."

With over seventy thousand years of experience, he might not finish listening even if he listened his whole life!

He recalled Murong's story from earlier, suddenly looked up at Murong, and then, under Murong's bewildered gaze, stood up from the ice chair, walked in front of her, and hugged her.

Murong's body stiffened, momentarily stunned by his sudden action.

This was the first time her mind had gone blank.

Zhou Hao spoke gently, "You've worked hard, to endure so much hardship at such a young age."

Murong suddenly understood upon hearing this; he was feeling sorry for her.

She hesitated whether to push Zhou Hao away, as she wasn't accustomed to this atmosphere, but a piece of advice from Song Tianling surfaced in her mind:

"When he makes a move, you need to cooperate to some extent; this is beneficial for fostering affection."

Murong thought for a moment, cooperate? How should I cooperate? What kind of reaction should I give in this situation?

She pondered for a moment, then suddenly rested her head in Zhou Hao's embrace. Since Zhou Hao was standing and she was sitting, her head could only be buried in his chest.

Zhou Hao's movements paused; he felt a different kind of response from Murong.

Ugh... if her body wasn't so stiff, he wouldn't be able to tell she was faking it.

Zhou Hao could clearly feel that Murong's body was rigid from her head down.

He felt a sense of helplessness, yet also found it a bit amusing.

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

Murong gave an embarrassed laugh and explained, "It's not that I'm uncomfortable, just unaccustomed to it."

The two continued to talk while hugging.

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

"I feel it," Murong replied softly.

"Tsk~" Zhou Hao couldn't help but laugh. Murong's body remained stiff, and he truly couldn't imagine that the dignified Empress had such a side to her.

"What is it?" Murong frowned slightly.

"Nothing," Zhou Hao shook his head, released her, and looked into her eyes, saying, "You have quite the 'contrast moe'."

Murong was slightly taken aback and asked, "What does 'contrast cute' mean?"

Zhou Hao explained with a smile, "It means someone who usually seems aloof but is actually quite cute once you get to know them."

This kind of term was internet slang from Earth, so it would be strange if Murong knew it.

Upon hearing this, Murong immediately reverted to her aloof demeanor. She least wanted to be described with the word "cute," as it would undermine her imperial majesty.

Zhou Hao clearly noticed her change, but in his eyes, this sudden shift still felt somewhat cute.

Murong didn't want to continue this topic and changed the subject, "If you have any questions about cultivation in the future, you can ask me."

She had made up her mind to mentor Zhou Hao.

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

Where else could he find such readily available resources? How many detours could a good mentor save him from? Of course, he wouldn't refuse such a benefit.

"Mm," Murong nodded slightly.

Zhou Hao saw that the time was getting late and quickly reminded her, "Let's go down first!"

Otherwise, he'd be stuck up here again.

Murong didn't think much of it, nodded, and then led Zhou Hao down.

Upon returning to the "ice cellar," Zhou Hao immediately shivered, goosebumps erupting all over him. He quickly ran to the fire to warm himself.

Seeing this, Murong touched her nose with a hint of embarrassment, her eyes darting around guiltily; she had forgotten to melt the ice. No wonder Zhou Hao was in the circle of fire when she first arrived.

At the time, she hadn't thought much of it and had immediately "grabbed" Zhou Hao to handle matters upstairs.

Zhou Hao's body was warmed by the fire, and only then did he have the presence of mind to say to Murong, "Can you melt this ice for me?"

As he spoke, the ice had already begun to dissipate, disappearing completely in a short while.

This sudden disappearance caught Zhou Hao off guard; he was still warming himself by the fire. Once the ice vanished, he felt the heat.

With a yelp, he jumped away from the fire.

Zhou Hao felt the temperature in the secret chamber rising rapidly and quickly shouted, "Jinyin, quickly put out your fire."

Mu Jinyin flew over and fanned its wings slightly, instantly extinguishing the fire.

"Sigh~" Zhou Hao wiped the sweat that had broken out from the heat.

Murong watched him with amusement, remaining silent beside him.

Sometimes she found Zhou Hao's flustered antics quite entertaining.

Zhou Hao took two deep breaths, feeling as if the oxygen in the secret room had become much thinner.

"Are you taking this coffin with you? It's made of decent material, which could be useful if you need to forge weapons later," Murong said, approaching the coffin and placing her hand on its side.

Zhou Hao shook his head. "Why would I take a coffin?"

Sleep in it? Was he out of his mind?

Murong nodded slightly and chuckled, "That's true, taking a coffin is indeed rather inauspicious. Besides, this small teleportation array relies on this coffin, so dismantling it would be a bit troublesome."

As she spoke, she cast her gaze toward the array on the ceiling.

Zhou Hao followed her line of sight and looked up, asking curiously, "Do you recognize this small teleportation array?"

He had no idea what it was; he just knew that following the instructions would get him out of here.

Murong withdrew her gaze and smiled, "Your knowledge of cultivation is lacking. You should read more in the future. Perhaps I can bring you some books next time!"

Zhou Hao felt embarrassed. Although he enjoyed reading, cultivation had left him with no free time.

He said with a sheepish grin, "We'll talk about it when I have time! I've been too busy with cultivation lately."

Murong nodded understandingly. "Your cultivation journey has just begun, so it's natural that you need to focus on it. However, I'll still bring you some books! You can study them when you have time."

Zhou Hao smiled helplessly. "Alright!"

He felt like he was back in his student days.

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

Zhou Hao thought for a moment, then waved his hand. "Anything is fine, but it would be best if you could bring some common knowledge about the cultivation world. I need to understand it."

Murong nodded and silently made a note, then asked, "Anything else?"

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

Murong smiled slightly, then waved goodbye. "Alright, we'll part ways here. See you in three days."

"See you in three days," Zhou Hao replied, also waving with a smile as he watched Murong's figure disappear.

Their interactions were becoming more harmonious, and… there was a hint of a couple's feeling between them.

After Murong left, Zhou Hao slowly lowered his hand, a faint smile on his lips. He then looked up at the teleportation array on the ceiling and murmured, "This time, I'm really leaving."

If Du Tianhong tricked him again, next time he encountered Du Tianhong, he wouldn't say a word and would just beat him up.