" A human baby?"
Snow Empress stepped forward and looked down at Lan in the snow, a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"He's strange, not an ordinary person. He can actually withstand the ice and snow of the Far North, and even turn them to his advantage."
She paused, then added,
"Even a Soul King wouldn't last long in this environment."
Ice Empress came closer, her emerald eyes studying Lan curiously, as if he were some rare treasure.
"Xue'er, look how well-behaved he is. He hasn't cried at all."
She cautiously poked Lan's cheek with one finger.
It was soft and warm.
Ice Empress's eyes gleamed even brighter.
She suddenly turned to Snow Empress, her face full of mischief and expectation.
"Xue'er, why don't we... adopt this child, like a human couple?"
Snow Empress was slightly taken aback.
She lowered her head and looked at Lan again.
As luck would have it, Lan was looking right back at her with a pair of bright, inky-black eyes. His gaze was clear as a spring, yet so deep it seemed capable of seeing through everything.
There was none of the cluelessness one would expect from a baby, only calm.
Snow Empress's heart was inexplicably stirred.
In this land of nothing but cold and loneliness, perhaps such a special little life could bring a touch of color.
She was silent for a moment, then gently nodded.
"All right."
Ice and Snow Residence.
This was the home of Snow Empress and Ice Empress, a vast cavern naturally formed from Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice.
Ice Empress rushed inside excitedly, holding the swaddled baby.
"Little one, you're home!"
Snow Empress followed behind and watched Ice Empress acting like such a silly fool. She shook her head helplessly.
She stepped forward, took Lan from Ice Empress, and rocked him gently.
"Let me hold him! Come on, let me hold him!"
Ice Empress couldn't wait, like a child begging for candy.
Snow Empress gave her a sidelong glance, but still passed Lan over.
Ice Empress cradled Lan with satisfaction, her face glowing with maternal warmth, though she might not even have noticed it herself.
"Gurgle... gurgle..."
Just then, an untimely sound came from the swaddling.
Lan's stomach was rumbling.
He was hungry.
The smile froze on Ice Empress's face.
"He... he seems hungry."
She looked down at her chest, as flat as an ice sheet, then instinctively lifted her head to look at Snow Empress beside her, whose figure was graceful and full.
Ice Empress's eyes were full of meaning as she ventured,
"Xue'er, why don't... you feed him instead?"
Snow Empress's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. Her cool voice carried a hint of embarrassment.
"I'm a spirit of ice and snow. How could I have something like that?"
Ice Empress suddenly understood, then found herself at a loss too.
"Then what do we do?"
Snow Empress pondered for a moment, her gaze falling on Lan again, a hint of tenderness in her eyes.
"Go catch an Ice Bear. It can nurse him."
As soon as she spoke, Ice Empress's dark green eyes lit up.
"On it!"
She answered, and with a flicker of her figure, transformed into a streak of emerald light and vanished into the blizzard.
Her efficiency was astonishing.
Snow Empress watched the direction she had gone, a helpless smile appearing on her cool face. Then she lowered her head to look at Lan in her arms.
The little one gazed quietly back at her with his inky-black eyes, without the slightest hint of crying.
"You're quite good at keeping your composure."
Snow Empress extended a slender finger and gently tapped Lan's nose. Her fingertip felt cold, yet carried the warmth of life.
Lan blinked, not flinching.
He wasn't afraid of this woman, who looked like a goddess of ice and snow. Instead, he felt an inexplicable affinity for her.
Before long.
"I'm back!"
Ice Empress's loud voice drew closer.
She came into view carrying an enormous Ice Bear in one hand, as casually as if it were a little chick.
The Ice Bear had at least ten thousand years of cultivation, yet now its body hung limp, all four limbs dangling weakly. Its eyes were filled with fear and despair.
It had just been sleeping on its own turf. How had it ended up abducted by the two Heavenly Kings of the Far North?
Its bear life was hopeless.
"Thud."
Ice Empress tossed the Ice Bear onto the ground. Even the ice shook beneath it.
She clapped her hands and eagerly sidled up to Snow Empress.
"Xue'er, look, I caught the fattest one. It's bound to have plenty of milk!"
Then she rubbed her hands together and circled the trembling Ice Bear twice, seemingly trying to figure out where to start.
"Um... how do I milk it?"
Ice Empress was stumped. She poked the Ice Bear's belly, her face plainly saying, "I have no idea what I'm doing."
Snow Empress watched without a word, the corners of her lips lifting into the faintest smile.
Ice Empress seemed to think of something. Her eyes darted, and she giggled.
A flash of light passed over her, and her tall, heroic figure instantly transformed into a little girl with dark green hair, barely reaching Snow Empress's waist.
The little girl was as cute as a doll, her big emerald eyes blinking. She was adorable, but her mischievous nature hadn't changed one bit.
In a sweet, childish voice, she said to the Ice Bear, which was so terrified it was nearly scared out of its wits,
"Be a good bear, okay? Big Sis is going to give you a checkup."
As she spoke, she reached out with both little hands and began feeling around the Ice Bear.
The scene was utterly ridiculous.
Lying in Snow Empress's arms, Lan watched this unfold. Deep in his dark eyes, the faintest trace of amusement flickered.
These two Soul Beasts were rather interesting.
After a long while, Ice Empress finally figured out how to do it, only to be stumped by another problem.
"Xue'er, what should I put it in?"
She looked up at Snow Empress with a pitiful expression.
Snow Empress finally chuckled, her voice as sweet as the chime of ice bells.
She extended her pale hand and gently closed it around the air.
In an instant, countless ice crystals gathered out of thin air, spinning rapidly in her palm and taking shape until they became a translucent cup carved with exquisite snowflake patterns.
The cup seemed no ordinary object. It gave off a faint chill, yet was so delicately crafted it looked like a peerless work of art.
Ice Empress stared at it, wide-eyed.
"Wow!"
Snow Empress handed her the ice cup. Her tone remained cool, but carried a hint of indulgence.
"Go on."
"On it!"
In her little-girl form, Ice Empress took the cup and filled it with warm beast milk in no time at all, then ran back as if proudly presenting a treasure.
"Xue'er, hurry! Don't let the little one go hungry."
Snow Empress nodded, took the ice cup, then adjusted her position and held Lan more securely in her arms.
She lowered her head, carefully supporting the back of Lan's neck with her free hand, and brought the rim of the cup to his lips.
A warm liquid flowed slowly over the rim and into Lan's mouth.
It was faintly sweet and gamey, yet full of the breath of life.
Lan drank quietly.
He could feel that the body holding him gave off an icy aura and felt cool to the touch, yet the embrace itself carried a warmth he had never experienced before, warm enough to melt his soul.
In his previous life, he had been a cold blade.
In this life, he was lying in the warm embrace of an "iceberg."
It was a strange feeling.
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