A Woman with an Innate Frost Aura

On the way, Ma Feifei noticed that the unfamiliar woman had been following them. At first, he did not think much of it, assuming she was also leaving Nine Heavens Mountain. But after they returned to Dubian Town and parted ways with Yang Chengzhi, Ma Feifei headed back to the Bookstore—only to find that the unfamiliar woman was still following behind him.

Something was definitely wrong here.

Could this woman be trying to kill me? Ma Feifei's imagination ran wild. He truly could not figure out how he had offended her badly enough for her to keep following him.

Strangely enough, once that thought entered his mind, Ma Feifei actually did not dare turn around and question her. Instead, he pretended not to notice and kept walking slowly ahead.

Still, Ma Feifei remained cautious. When he passed his own Bookstore, he pretended not to recognize it and continued onward.

As he walked, Ma Feifei looked up and saw that the sun had already begun to dip westward. Looking back, the unfamiliar woman was still following him. Then, turning to the side, he saw that Zhou Manor was right before his eyes!

"Why have you been following me?" Unable to bear it any longer, Ma Feifei stepped forward and asked.

The moment the words left his mouth, Ma Feifei felt a bone-piercing chill wash over him, making him shudder from the cold.

Getting close to the unfamiliar woman truly required courage. Even with his ninth-stage Spirit Master cultivation, Ma Feifei could not withstand the icy aura radiating from her body when he approached.

The unfamiliar woman did not answer. She simply held her sword in her arms and silently watched Ma Feifei.

They had known each other for nearly a day now, and Ma Feifei had to admire this woman. She had not said a single word. Could she be mute?

"I'm going to a banquet now. If you don't have anything else to do, then please stop following me." Ma Feifei pointed at the gates of Zhou Manor beside them.

The unfamiliar woman still said nothing, merely watching Ma Feifei.

Yet a faint ripple appeared in those colorless eyes.

"I really can't communicate with someone like you! Farewell!" Ma Feifei flung his sleeve in annoyance and walked away.

The unfamiliar woman continued to follow.

Ma Feifei had been keeping an eye on her all along. Seeing her follow again, he was rendered speechless.

He stopped, turned around, and looked at the unfamiliar woman.

The two stood there in the middle of the street, staring at one another. Neither was willing to move, nor willing to speak.

After a while, the unfamiliar woman finally lowered her head and spoke for the first time. "I have nowhere to go."

Her voice was cold—so cold that it was the coldest voice Ma Feifei had heard in all his life. It felt like a biting gale blowing through a frigid winter, while you stood completely naked in it.

Yet within that icy voice, Ma Feifei heard loneliness.

Faced with those few simple words, Ma Feifei did not know how to respond.

In the end, utterly muddle-headed, Ma Feifei brought a strange woman he did not know with him to Zhou Manor for the banquet.

The moment they arrived at the gates of Zhou Manor, Ma Feifei saw Zhou Zhuling standing beneath the eaves. Upon seeing him, she broke into a delighted smile and hurried over.

"Shopkeeper."

Zhou Zhuling had clearly dressed up carefully today. She wore a long purple dress and white embroidered shoes, her entire appearance fashioned into that of a particularly refined young lady, with exquisite ornaments adorning her outfit. She had also applied a light touch of makeup, giving her usually pale face a rare rosy glow.

Ma Feifei was nearly entranced. A classical beauty like this was something he could never have seen in his previous life!

"Did I come a little too early?" The sun had not even set yet. This was usually around the time the Bookstore closed, so it was still a little early for dinner.

Zhou Zhuling shyly shook her head. Just as she was about to speak, her gaze inadvertently fell upon the unfamiliar woman behind Ma Feifei. The smile on her face froze as she asked with a trace of inquiry in her voice, "Shopkeeper, who is this?"

"Oh." Ma Feifei gave the unfamiliar woman a perfunctory introduction. "She's a new guard I hired. Don't mind her."

"Oh..." Zhou Zhuling nodded unconsciously and smiled at the unfamiliar woman, receiving no response. She did not mind it, though. Recovering herself, she said to Ma Feifei, "Shopkeeper, please come in."

Only, more than half the delight had vanished from Zhou Zhuling's tone this time. Ma Feifei did not notice, however, and simply nodded before following her into Zhou Manor.

The instant he stepped into Zhou Manor, Ma Feifei felt that something was off, though he could not put his finger on it.

Zhou Manor was enormous. Ma Feifei had no idea exactly how enormous, but he knew that from the moment he entered, he just kept passing through gate after gate after gate.

After walking for a full ten-odd minutes, they finally arrived at a small courtyard—their destination.

But no matter how Ma Feifei looked around, this did not seem like a place for entertaining guests!

The courtyard was planted everywhere with brilliant red and pink flowers and exotic grasses, its air suffused with a delicate fragrance. There were pavilions and towers, clear lake water, and fish of every color. One look told him this was where a young woman lived!

Was this how wealthy families entertained guests? It was Ma Feifei's first time visiting the home of a prominent family in this other world, and he was rather curious.

Though he did not understand, Ma Feifei knew one thing: when faced with this sort of situation, if you did not understand, then do not speak. Just watch and listen quietly.

It was called a small courtyard, but it was not small at all. By Ma Feifei's rough estimate, it covered over a thousand square meters. A residence like this could only belong to the truly rich and noble in ancient times.

The group came to a pavilion, where a stone table stood. The maids had already begun bringing over wine and fine dishes one after another. Tonight's banquet would be held here.

Zhou Zhuling raised her clasped hands and gave a slight bow. "Shopkeeper, please take your seat."

Ma Feifei sat down as instructed. Seeing no one else around apart from them, he could not help asking, "May I ask where Uncle Zhou is?"

Hadn't Zhou Zhuling's father invited him to dinner? Why had he not seen hide nor hair of the man? And where was that little fellow Zhou Guanyu?

Hearing this, Zhou Zhuling replied, "News came this morning that Qin State's army clashed with Great Chu's army last night. My father rushed to the front lines early this morning and has yet to return."

"What a pity. I wasn't able to meet Uncle Zhou in person." Ma Feifei sighed. He knew Zhou Wuji's identity and was quite curious about this Limitless Spirit Emperor.

But could this war even keep going? When exactly would it end? Don't tell me it's going to last until the final chapter?

Zhou Zhuling remained silent, while the blush on her cheeks became even more pronounced.

In truth, this dinner had never been invited by Zhou Wuji at all! The man did not even know that Ma Feifei existed. Zhou Zhuling had simply used her father's name to invite Ma Feifei to the manor for dinner.

It had to be said, Zhou Zhuling's little schemes were quite lively.

"It's just a bit of a pity." Thinking of this, Zhou Zhuling glanced at the unfamiliar woman standing behind Ma Feifei, and her mood soured somewhat.

Naturally, Ma Feifei could never understand the subtle mysteries involved. After lamenting that he had failed to behold the Limitless Spirit Emperor's august visage, he turned around and forgot all about her completely.

"Sit down and eat with us too!" At this moment, Ma Feifei seemed to remember something. He turned back to look at the unfamiliar woman behind him and asked.

The unfamiliar woman shook her head without answering.

Ma Feifei shook his head as well. He truly had no way to deal with this woman, so he could only let her be and begin enjoying this wonderful dinner with Zhou Zhuling.

During the meal, the two talked about countless topics and drank an awful lot of wine. By all rights, after three rounds of wine, with a beauty at his side, the slightly tipsy Ma Feifei ought to have had his blood running hot.

Yet for some reason, tonight's weather seemed exceptionally chilly. The more Ma Feifei drank, the colder he felt. Even Zhou Zhuling across from him noticed it.

The atmosphere did not grow warmer because of this pleasant banquet. Instead, it gradually turned cold.

Because—the wine in the jug had frozen solid and could no longer be poured out!

"Strange!" Zhou Zhuling took the wine jug from the Maids's hand, opened the lid, and frowned at the wine that had already turned to ice inside.

Perhaps because she had been drinking, Zhou Zhuling looked even more alluring. Under normal circumstances, Ma Feifei would definitely have taken advantage of his drunkenness to make a few moves, but his mind was crystal clear now, without the slightest trace of intoxication. Beneath the table, he rubbed his hands together again and again.

Could that have been her doing? Ma Feifei lowered his head and cast a glance back at the unfamiliar woman standing not far away.

Ever since encountering this unfamiliar woman, Ma Feifei had never felt warm. All day long, he had felt as if he were living at the North Pole; especially when he got closer to her, the feeling became even stronger.

"Miss, it looks like the lake has frozen over."

At that moment, the Maids standing nearby pointed at the surrounding lake water and cried out softly.

Ma Feifei raised his head and looked outside as well. He discovered that the lake, once rippling with emerald waves, had now frozen into ice, glittering beneath the moonlight. Ma Feifei had sharp eyes, and he even spotted an unlucky goldfish frozen into the ice on the lake's surface like a specimen.

Damn, sis, you're impressive. If Ma Feifei still did not know this was man-made, then his two months in this other world would have been for nothing.

Yet from beginning to end, he had not sensed the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power, as though these strange phenomena had formed naturally.

Freezing such a vast expanse of lake water was not something an ordinary person could accomplish. At the very least, Ma Feifei could not do it yet.

The only people present were him, Zhou Zhuling, and a group of Maids. He could not do it himself; Zhou Zhuling was ill, so she could not possibly have done something like this; and as for those Maids, that was even more impossible. That left only the unfamiliar woman behind him. More importantly, this unfamiliar woman seemed born with an icy aura. If someone said she had frozen the lake over, Ma Feifei would not doubt her ability in the slightest.

But freezing the lake was one thing. Freezing the wine too was going too far. After that, could they still drink it?

Zhou Zhuling seemed to have guessed the reason as well. She stared at the unfamiliar woman behind Ma Feifei for quite a while, but the unfamiliar woman was not intimidated in the least and stared right back at Zhou Zhuling.

At once, the atmosphere became rather awkward.

Women truly were mysterious creatures. For no apparent reason, the two of them had locked horns, leaving Ma Feifei utterly baffled.

The banquet ended in this uniquely distinctive fashion. When Ma Feifei left, he could practically see the words "unhappy" written across Zhou Zhuling's face.

Ma Feifei had wanted to explain on behalf of his "guard," but just as they walked out of the courtyard, they heard the sound of ice breaking from inside. That completely killed his desire to explain.

On the way back, Ma Feifei kept pondering one question: if he had not brought the unfamiliar woman to Zhou Manor today, would the Bookstore have gained a lady boss tomorrow?