Return to Blizzard City

Hearing this, Zhang Lexuan was taken aback.

She glanced at Xue Mingqing, a hint of hesitation appearing on her face: "Er... is that really okay? After all... that is your home, isn't it?"

Seeing this, Xue Mingqing smiled. Having lived two lifetimes and experienced so much, how could he fail to see Zhang Lexuan's concerns?

It was nothing more than a fear of imposing on him.

With a soft chuckle, Xue Mingqing stepped forward, gently took hold of Zhang Lexuan's delicate hand, and said warmly.

"Alright, don't overthink it. Just come home with me. We've spent so much time together; what difference is there between us and real siblings?"

As he said this, Xue Mingqing gave Zhang Lexuan a playful wink.

Looking at the cunning, boyish charm of Xue Mingqing, Zhang Lexuan fell silent for a moment. She gazed at the youth before her, a warmth spreading through her heart, and then she nodded slowly.

"Alright... since you insist, then I won't stand on ceremony."

"Ha, don't worry about it. As long as you don't mind how cold the place is..."

Several days later, Xue Mingqing and his companions stepped off the carriage before Blizzard City.

For this return trip, he had originally intended to hire a carriage or something similar.

However, no sooner had he stepped out of Shrek Academy with Zhang Lexuan and Lu Xiaoxiao than he saw Wang Chao and the others, whom he hadn't seen in half a year. Indeed, it was them.

Just as the six of them had escorted him when he arrived, Xue Ningxian had calculated the timing perfectly and arranged for Wang Chao's six-man squad to come and meet him for his return from Shrek Academy.

In short, whether coming or going, Xue Mingqing's every move was meticulously arranged by his mother, Xue Ningxian.

Now, stepping back onto this long-missed frozen earth, a strange, indescribable sense of emotion stirred within Xue Mingqing.

He looked up, taking a deep look at the towering walls of Blizzard City standing firm against the wind and snow, feeling a profound sense of intimacy.

With a light laugh, Xue Mingqing spread his arms, offering a grand embrace to the entire city.

"Blizzard City, I'm back!"

"Yes, yes, I know you're back. What, do you want me to set off a couple of firecrackers to celebrate?"

A familiar yet slightly distant, ethereal voice sounded from not far away. Xue Mingqing froze and turned to look.

There, his opportunistic mother, Xue Ningxian, had appeared beneath the city gate at some point.

She stood amidst the fine, swirling snow, letting her white hair and simple green lotus robes sway in the wind.

Having not seen her for half a year, she was as elegant as ever, still the same cold, fairy-like figure.

At this moment, she was standing with her arms crossed, her beautiful, cold face wearing a slight, playful smirk, her emerald eyes examining Xue Mingqing with a look that was half-smile, half-tease.

Seeing this expression on Xue Ningxian, Xue Mingqing's face flushed red; he knew his cringeworthy display had been seen in its entirety.

Coughing awkwardly, Xue Mingqing changed the subject.

"Firecrackers won't be necessary... cough, Mother, let me introduce you..."

As he spoke, Xue Mingqing turned to the two people slowly stepping out from the carriage behind him.

"Zhang Lexuan, my senior sister, and, well... someone I consider a sister."

Hearing this, Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly, a trace of unease and embarrassment appearing on her soft, beautiful face as she offered a shy smile to Xue Ningxian.

Seeing this, Xue Ningxian raised an eyebrow and gave Zhang Lexuan an up-and-down look.

She had long known that Xue Mingqing's looks and talent would inevitably attract the hearts of many young girls. To have brought back a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl after only half a year away was well within her expectations.

However...

Shifting her gaze, Xue Ningxian looked behind Zhang Lexuan, where another woman stood.

She was a head taller than Zhang Lexuan, with a curvaceous, graceful figure and an exceptionally beautiful face.

She clearly looked like a mature woman in her early thirties, and her cultivation seemed to be at the Soul Saint level. Could her own opportunistic son have managed to attract someone like this too?

"I am Lu Xiaoxiao, the nutritionist assigned by the Academy to this little monster, responsible for his diet and medicinal baths. Hello, City Lord Xue."

Seeming to sense the depth of Xue Ningxian's gaze, Lu Xiaoxiao turned her head and explained calmly.

Hearing this, the corner of Xue Ningxian's eye twitched. She turned back to look at Xue Mingqing.

She didn't speak, but Xue Mingqing read the deep meaning in her eyes.

"Care to explain?"

Coughing awkwardly, Xue Mingqing rubbed his nose.

"Let's talk about it when we get home. This matter is a bit too complicated..."

Xue Ningxian said no more. After giving Xue Mingqing one last deep look, she turned and walked quietly into Blizzard City.

Seeing this, Xue Mingqing shook his head helplessly. He glanced at the two women behind him—different in appearance, but both undeniably stunning beauties.

"Let's go... let's head home first..."

The two women said nothing, falling in on either side of Xue Mingqing as they entered Blizzard City together.

Entering Blizzard City, it was, to some extent, half the home turf of Xue Mingqing, the Young City Lord.

After first arranging for Lu Xiaoxiao and Zhang Lexuan to rest in the guest rooms of the City Lord's Mansion, he followed Xue Ningxian into the main hall, where he honestly explained everything he had experienced over the past six months.

"So, that is how it happened, Mother."

In the main hall of the City Lord's Mansion, Xue Mingqing stood respectfully, recounting everything candidly from the moment he left Blizzard City to his experiences at Shrek Academy.

Upon hearing Xue Mingqing's account, Xue Ningxian, who was half-reclined on the City Lord's throne with her chin resting in her hand and her eyes closed, raised an eyebrow.

Slowly opening a pair of beautiful emerald eyes, she cast a complex look at Xue Mingqing.

Why... the more she listened to her cheap son's description, the more wrong it felt...?

Mu En, the true leader of Shrek, was someone Xue Ningxian knew a little about, having once been a student of Shrek Academy herself.

Yet, this very leader of Shrek had personally trained this brat Xue Mingqing every single day for half a year, rain or shine, without fail.

He had even arranged for all sorts of rare treasures to be fed to him like daily meals, and had even sent Lu Xiaoxiao, a Soul Saint-level food-type support Soul Master, to Xue Mingqing's side.

Xue Mingqing was still too inexperienced to see it, but how could she not?

This wasn't Shrek Academy valuing Xue Mingqing; it was practically treating him like an ancestor to be worshipped.

Rare treasures as meals, the strongest old man in Shrek as a teacher, and even a single, beautiful Soul Saint-level woman sent to him as a secretary-like figure.

Wasn't it obvious? They were showering him with resources and women, practically desperate to tie Xue Mingqing to Shrek.

Giving Xue Mingqing a deep look, Xue Ningxian closed her eyes, feeling the exhaustion of a parent whose prized cabbage was about to be snatched away by someone else.

She raised a fair, jade-like hand to rub her brow, while waving the other impatiently at Xue Mingqing.

"Go on, go on... If Shrek wants to give you resources, just take them. It's not a bad thing for you, anyway."

Hearing this, Xue Mingqing nodded and turned to leave without hesitation.

Watching Xue Mingqing's retreating figure, Xue Ningxian rubbed her temples helplessly.

"Sigh... forget it. Anyway... being a leader at Shrek has more of a future than staying here in Blizzard City as a minor City Lord..."

"Let him do as he pleases..."

Closing her eyes, Xue Ningxian stood up and began to arrange the other matters that needed to be handled now that Xue Mingqing had returned.