The garden's quiet was soon gently broken by the night breeze.
The three of them found a bamboo pavilion and sat down. Moonlight poured like water over the pavilion's upturned eaves and their breathtaking profiles.
Ice Empress was clearly still riding the excitement of her sudden surge in power, chattering nonstop.
"Snow, do you think I'm strong enough now to take on Di Tian?"
"He always looked down on our Ice Jade Empress Scorpion clan, just because he's the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King. Hmph!"
"If I run into him in the Star Dou Great Forest, I'll show him what a punch backed by four hundred thousand years of power can do!"
Snow Empress listened quietly, occasionally lifting the tea from the stone table for a small sip. A faint smile played in her icy-blue eyes.
Lan didn't join their conversation.
He leaned back on the bamboo bench in the pavilion, folded his arms behind his head, and gazed up at the bright full moon.
Leaving the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, reuniting with Aunt Xue and Aunt Bing, then his brief clash with Qian Renxue...
One thing after another had happened over the past few days, like a string pulled taut.
At last, it could loosen a little.
Beside him sat the two people closest to him. Their familiar, comforting scents lingered at the tip of his nose, and a heavy drowsiness washed over him like a rising tide.
His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
"...Then I'll go like this, 'Di Tian, take my Wrath of the Ice Emperor!' And then—boom!"
Ice Empress grew more excited with every word. She even stood up to demonstrate the move, her voice rising without her noticing.
"Keep your voice down."
Snow Empress's cool voice rang out, touched with tenderness.
She raised a slender