If You're Willing

At that, Xue Mingqing nodded, seeming to agree.

Zhang Lexuan, who knew nothing about the local customs, blinked her dark eyes and looked at Xue Mingqing, hoping for an explanation.

Noticing her curious gaze, Xue Mingqing chuckled and kept her guessing.

"Come on, you'll find out when the time comes. Let's go for now, Sister Lexuan."

Having lived in the Far North for six whole years, Xue Mingqing knew exactly what Blizzard City's so-called specialty was: setting off fireworks once a year.

If he had to compare it to something, it was no different from setting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve in his previous life.

Only, here on Douluo Continent, Blizzard City seemed to be the only place with this once-a-year tradition. That was what people meant by "Blizzard City's specialty."

As he spoke, Xue Mingqing stepped forward. Just as he had when they first arrived, he gently took hold of Zhang Lexuan's sleeve and smiled.

"Before then..."

"I'll show you around Blizzard City, so you can get familiar with the place."

At the sight of Xue Mingqing's even more handsome face, Zhang Lexuan's ears flushed faintly pink.

She kept her face lowered and said nothing, only nodding before following Xue Mingqing away.

Watching the two of them leave, one after the other, Xue Ningxian raised an eyebrow. A teasing smile tugged at her lips.

"Looks like I don't need to go to any trouble finding this kid a wife..."

Xue Ningxian's chuckle naturally went unheard by Xue Mingqing and Zhang Lexuan, who had already left.

She watched their figures recede into the distance until they disappeared from sight, then turned around.

She began cleaning up the mess left in the hall by herself.

They said they were taking a break to come home and enjoy themselves, but in reality, as far as Xue Mingqing was concerned...

Honestly, there wasn't much to do in Blizzard City.

After all, this was still Douluo Continent, where entertainment options were limited.

There were things they could do, like building snowmen.

But once you'd tried them, they quickly lost their appeal. And the activities that didn't get old weren't really suited to the two of them.

So after spending a few days building snowmen with Zhang Lexuan, Xue Mingqing took her shopping.

After three days of wandering around, the two of them had covered nearly all of Blizzard City.

As for whether anyone had come looking for trouble because some small fry was lusting after Zhang Lexuan's beauty...

Of course they had. Our old friend, the chubby little Ling Gui, was one of them.

But this time, he seemed to have learned his lesson. Knowing Xue Mingqing was not to be trifled with, he immediately turned and left as soon as he saw him beside Zhang Lexuan.

There was no melodramatic fight or challenge.

Xue Mingqing was perfectly happy to have a peaceful time. At his current level of cultivation, unless he was fighting someone above his rank, honestly, he wasn't all that interested.

A real man wanted a fight against a stronger opponent—the kind of feverish battle where you could crush me in an instant, but I could still wear you down with a thousand tiny cuts.

Xue Mingqing had no interest whatsoever in bullying someone his own level.

Time slipped by amid Zhang Lexuan's laughter and the nightly medicinal baths that never let up.

Only, well...

After that day's medicinal bath, Lu Xiaoxiao's attitude toward Xue Mingqing improved quite a bit.

At least she wasn't so icy anymore, and she was willing to let him take days off.

Half a month passed in a flash, and another night arrived with the moon hanging high.

That was the day Blizzard City's Fireworks Festival began. It was also the day Xue Mingqing used his once-a-month leave, meaning he could finally skip the medicinal bath.

At that moment, he was sitting with Zhang Lexuan on the roof of his little courtyard, gazing up at the bright moon and stars.

He glanced at the quiet Zhang Lexuan beside him. Just thinking about what was about to happen made the corners of his mouth curl up.

"Sister Lexuan, weren't you curious about what the fireworks would be like?"

Zhang Lexuan paused, then gently nodded. Her gaze lowered as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

She turned to look at Xue Mingqing beside her, thinking back on how he had kept her company over the past half month. In her dark, peach-blossom eyes, it was as if tiny stars were embedded there.

"Mm. Does that mean you finally invited me out today to reveal the secret?"

Xue Mingqing didn't notice that Zhang Lexuan was looking at him differently. He rubbed his nose and gave a cheeky grin.

He raised a hand and stretched all five fingers toward the stars scattered across the sky, as though he wanted to grasp them—or perhaps as though he had something else in mind.

"Ah, Sister Lexuan, you guessed it after all. Well, it's time to reveal the secret."

As he spoke, Xue Mingqing turned his hand, a glimmer of light flashing at his fingertips before he clenched it into a fist.

The next moment, with a gesture of his hand, sharp whistles cut through the air from all around his little courtyard, from the City Lord's Mansion, and...

from across Blizzard City!

Hearing the sounds, Zhang Lexuan's eyes narrowed. Instinctively thinking they were under attack by Hidden Weapons, she turned to look.

She looked toward the direction the sounds had come from.

But...

At the very moment she turned, the things that had pierced the night and shot into the sky suddenly burst above Blizzard City!

Bang—!

Amid a crisp, sharp report,

one translucent firework after another bloomed in the sky, bright enough to light up the darkness around them.

Ice-blue blooms, shaped like snowflakes, blossomed and tore through the night, their brilliance and splendor etched deeply into Zhang Lexuan's dark eyes...

Watching the brilliant flowers bloom overhead in a riot of colors, Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes seemed to gleam, flickering in time with the fireworks...

Taking in Zhang Lexuan's reaction, Xue Mingqing's lips curled into a playful smile.

Just as he'd expected, Zhang Lexuan had never seen fireworks before. This was exactly how anyone would react the first time.

It wasn't that there were no fireworks on Douluo Continent, but chances to see them were few and far between.

Ordinary people could usually catch a glimpse only during major events, holidays, and celebrations.

Zhang Lexuan's family wasn't exactly ordinary, but Xue Mingqing had asked her about it.

By her own account, she had never seen fireworks.

And so, once he learned that, Xue Mingqing decided to arrange the most perfect fireworks display Zhang Lexuan had ever seen.

That's right. Xue Mingqing had planned the entire Blizzard City fireworks show, from where they would be set off to when.

Only after everything was arranged and checked did he invite Zhang Lexuan to watch with him.

The planning hadn't been easy.

But—

Watching the beautiful light shimmer in Zhang Lexuan's dark eyes, Xue Mingqing couldn't help smiling.

That was enough... wasn't it?

Sitting quietly beside Zhang Lexuan, Xue Mingqing looked up as brilliant ice-blue fireworks burst across the night sky.

Why were they all ice-blue?

Because the people of Douluo hadn't even invented gunpowder, and Xue Mingqing had no idea how to make it either.

These so-called fireworks were made by ice-attribute Soul Masters using special Soul Tools.

And ice-attribute Soul Power naturally made them ice-blue.

As Xue Mingqing watched the fireworks bloom across the sky, lost in the beauty and quiet of the moment, Zhang Lexuan's voice sounded beside him.

"How wonderful... If only... it could be like this every year..."

As she spoke, Zhang Lexuan slowly lowered her head. The scene stirred her emotions, and as she took in the beauty of the moment, thoughts of her parents came to mind.

Her father had died when she was very young, and her mother had passed away half a year ago. Now Zhang Lexuan was all alone, hardly any different from an orphan.

But just as she began to feel out of place and sink into sorrow, Xue Mingqing's voice rang out beside her, like a beam of light cutting through the gloom.

"Come on, if you're willing, I can put on a fireworks festival like this for you every year."

"...!"