Please Explain What You Did

"Ye Qing! Get out here!"

In the Core Area of the Extreme North, Ice Empress's furious voice rang out once again.

"Oh, isn't this Xiao Bingbing? Is your butt itchy again? You came pretty early today."

Ye Qing walked out of the snow cave and stood at its entrance, looking at the Ice Empress who had arrived. This was not the first time. Several months had passed since Snow Empress's Heavenly Tribulation ended, and during those months, Ice Empress would occasionally come looking for trouble with Ye Qing. After all, in nearly three hundred thousand years, Ye Qing was the first person who had dared treat her like that.

Ye Qing's face had been deeply imprinted in Ice Empress's mind, impossible to erase. When she learned that Ye Qing was staying in the Core Area, an inexplicable resentment rose in her heart, and she recklessly went to trouble him again. Of course, she was far from being Ye Qing's match. Her being crushed would not change just because of her attitude.

So Ye Qing took the opportunity to teach her another lesson, using the exact same method—he even made the same movements. But that seemed to trigger something in Ice Empress. From then on, she came looking for trouble every few days. Naturally, the result never changed: she was taught a lesson by Ye Qing every single time.

To Ye Qing, Ice Empress was just a huge tsundere. It was the first time in all these years that he had encountered someone with such a personality, and it seemed like a form of entertainment to him. Besides, the feel was pretty good.

However, things began to ease somewhat after Snow Empress tried to mediate. At the very least, Ice Empress went from getting beaten every day to getting beaten once every few days.

"Cut the crap! Explain yourself to me! How did you become Snow Empress's consort? I may not be able to beat you, but I'm the one who truly loves Xue'er! What kind of scheme did you use?"

"Wait... what do you mean, Snow Empress's consort? Explain yourself."

"You don't know? The news has practically spread throughout the entire Extreme North. They say that recently, the Core Area gained a kind Spirit Beast who rides a Woolly Pig around every day, delivering food and herbs, helping treat injuries, and even building snow caves for weak Spirit Beasts. In the entire Extreme North, no one but you would ride a Polar Woolly Pig everywhere!"

"That's me, but what does that have to do with being Snow Empress's consort?"

"What does it have to do with it? Everyone says that after Snow Empress passed her Heavenly Tribulation, she felt that life was hard for everyone, so she found someone to help them. That person looks like some pretty boy, so he must be Snow Empress's consort. And isn't that pretty boy you?"

"So that's what it was..." Ye Qing finally understood something. Over the past few months, his progress bar had remained at zero. Because he had been learning from Bi Ji, he had wanted to turn himself into a great benefactor of the Extreme North. Every time he helped Spirit Beasts in need, they were indeed deeply grateful to him, yet the progress bar never rose.

He had thought every Spirit Beast in the Extreme North was an incredible actor, thanking him on the surface while secretly harboring who knew what thoughts about him. Now it seemed that was not the case. Everything he did had been credited to Snow Empress instead.

Several more months passed after that. Ye Qing had not expected that, through Ice Empress's efforts, his mission would be completed. The method of completion was something he had never imagined. It was neither because he was strong enough nor because he had helped many Spirit Beasts. Rather, he had somehow become the universally known pretty boy among the Spirit Beasts of the Northland.

That day, when Ice Empress came over, Snow Empress happened to arrive as well. Since Ye Qing's energy could not replenish Snow Empress all at once, it had to be done in several installments. One time, Snow Empress came while Ye Qing was eating. After that, an extra set of bowls and chopsticks appeared on Ye Qing's table. When Ice Empress discovered that Snow Empress and Ye Qing had been secretly meeting several times, she became furious. The result was that another set of bowls and chopsticks appeared.

For some reason, the rumors later changed even more drastically. There were even claims that Ice Empress and Snow Empress were fighting over the same mate. According to the rumors, the two strongest figures of the Northland had even waged a battle over him. Then, for mysterious reasons, the two somehow ended up sharing the same mate. As the central figure, Ye Qing became well known among the Spirit Beasts of the Northland. But as far as Ye Qing was concerned, forget it. The Northland instance was cleared, and he could return to the Star Dou Great Forest.

"You're leaving?" After hearing Ye Qing say goodbye, Snow Empress could not help asking. In this nearly one year, she felt that these had been the happiest months of her life, more interesting than the previous hundreds of thousands of years. Especially since she felt that the heart formed from ice crystal within her seemed to have gained some warmth.

"Yeah. There are still people waiting for me at home. I've been out for more than a year now. Since my business is finished, it's time to go back. Xiao Bingbing, thanks. Without you, I might not have finished this so quickly."

"What did you say? How could I possibly have helped you? If your cooking weren't so good, I would've turned you into an ice sculpture long ago."

"Haha, even with me sitting right here, you still couldn't do it." He had finally understood that this scorpion was a huge tsundere. He immediately began bickering with her again. That was one of his pleasures, too.

"Home... what is a home?" Snow Empress asked from the side. As a being born of heaven and earth, Snow Empress had no sense of what home meant. Moreover, the Heavenly Snow Woman feared neither wind nor snow, so she could settle anywhere in the Extreme North and live wherever she pleased.

"Home... there are many ways to explain it. It can be where you live, where you spend your days, a place with people you love, a place with people who love you. In short, the place that first comes to mind, that gives you warmth and puts your heart at ease—that is your home."

But Ye Qing had not expected that when he prepared to leave the next day, the group had grown larger.

"No, what exactly do all of you mean by this?"

"Heh, Boss, I'm the smartest Polar Woolly Pig there is. My wisdom tells me that even if I become clan chief, it won't be as beneficial as following you. I've decided to keep following you. You have such a long journey home, so you'll need a mount, right?" Gang Zong's pig face wore an extremely ingratiating expression.

"I won't say anything about Gang Zong, but what's going on with you two?"

"I should be asking you that! What kind of love potion did you feed my Xue'er? She actually wants to follow you to find the feeling of home? I'm keeping an eye on you. Who knows what a pervert like you might do to Xue'er? I'm telling you, stay away from Xue'er! A man with a family shouldn't seduce my woman!" Ice Empress waved her fist at Ye Qing.

"Hey, hey, hey, I think you're itchy again. It's not like I'm forcibly taking her away... You want to come with me to find the feeling of home?" Ye Qing turned to look at the expressionless Snow Empress.

"Didn't you say it yourself? A place that puts one at ease and gives one warmth. The feeling I have when I'm around you is very strange, so I want to verify some things."

"Then what about the Extreme North? Is it really fine for all of you to leave?"

"A Tai is still here. Besides, before I became empress, this place was the same—ice and snow, empty and desolate. One individual will not affect it. Born from heaven and earth as I was, I understand the might of nature better than anyone."

"..."

Thanks to Mr. Monthly Ticket for the donation, and thanks to Ghost Child Maru gtw for the donation. The bonus chapter and the other chapter will both be posted tonight.

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