When Xue Chen felt Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual power sweep over him, it was as if he'd been seen through completely. The feeling left him terribly uncomfortable.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's dramatic antics—talking to itself, then reassuring itself—left Xue Chen even more bewildered. He couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Brother Sky Dream... a-are you all right?"
Xue Chen asked tentatively, watching the expressive, plump worm with great care.
"I'm fine! What could possibly be wrong?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm puffed out its round, chubby white body, doing its best to strike the pose of a venerable senior.
It cleared its throat, its voice carrying a hint of the authority it had only just regained:
"Human brat, now it's your turn to come clean!"
It fired off a barrage of questions in one breath:
"What's your name?
Why did you come to the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave?
How do you know my name is Tian Meng?
Why did you wake me up?
And one more thing! Who's this Bingbing you mentioned just now?!
And what's this about a Xue Chen who wants to steal Bingbing away?!"
Its eyes fixed on Xue Chen, full of menace. Especially when it mentioned the Ice Empress, its tone unconsciously grew harsher:
"Explain everything to me, from beginning to end!
Otherwise... heh heh, brat, don't let my friendly looks fool you. I've got plenty of ways to make you suffer!"
Its fighting strength was a complete joke, but with its vast spiritual power, making a little Soul Grandmaster suffer was still a piece of cake.
It planned to scare this human brat into telling the truth first.
The barrage of questions left Xue Chen a little dazed, but he quickly calmed down.
He knew the crucial moment of negotiation had arrived.
Whether he could leave safely—or even forge a closer relationship with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm—depended on how he answered now.
Xue Chen quickly composed himself. His thoughts raced as he arranged his face into the most guileless, harmless smile he could manage:
"Brother Sky Dream, don't get worked up. Just hear me out!"
He cleared his throat and began to explain, mixing truth with lies:
"First of all, I fell down from the snowy plains by accident.
It's a long story, and I can't explain it all in a moment, so let's leave that aside.
As for... Bing—"
Before he could finish, Sky Dream cut him off.
"Stop, stop, stop! Hold it!"
Sky Dream waved one short, pudgy forelimb, its eyes brimming with suspicion:
"Brat, do you think you can fool your big brother?
It took me thousands of years to find this treasure trove, using my unparalleled spiritual power to scour the continent!
And you just happened to fall in here? You expect me to believe that?!"
It thought the explanation was practically an insult to its intelligence.
What kind of secret, heavenly treasure was the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave? Could someone really just fall into it by accident?
Sky Dream's agitated reaction left Xue Chen feeling a little helpless. But what he'd said really was the truth.
He spread his hands, his expression growing even more sincere, with a hint of grievance:
"Brother Sky Dream, why would I lie to you?
Just look at how weak I am. I'm not even a Soul Elder yet. Could I really sense where the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave was on my own?
I was swept down here by some inexplicable avalanche. Who knew there'd be another world beneath this ice crevice?"
As Sky Dream Ice Silkworm listened, its spiritual power swept over Xue Chen again, almost unconsciously, confirming that his Soul Power was indeed only a little over twenty levels.
It cocked its plump head. The suspicion in its eyes gradually gave way to a sense of sheer disbelief.
"What this kid's saying... kind of makes sense..."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm muttered to itself.
"With his cultivation, there's no way he could've found this place... Could it really be..."
An idea so ridiculous even it found it hard to believe surfaced in its mind:
"This is insane!
Did this kid really just get the luck of a lifetime, fall into some random ice crevice, and end up straight in the treasure vault I've kept hidden for thousands of years?!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stared at Xue Chen's innocent, helpless expression. After a long moment, it squeezed a sentence through gritted teeth:
"Damn it... fate... could it really have been that damn coincidental?!"
For the time being, it accepted Xue Chen's explanation, though it still felt as uncomfortable as if it had swallowed a fly.
"Fine, fine." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm waved a paw in annoyance. "I'll say you've got some ridiculous luck!
Now, keep going. How do you know my name is Tian Meng? And what's this about Bingbing?!
And who's this Xue Chen you mentioned?!"
It circled back to the most important questions, its gaze fixed on Xue Chen. When it came to its Bingbing, it couldn't afford to be careless.
Xue Chen answered Sky Dream's questions one by one, mixing truth with lies.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm listened with a deeply furrowed brow, its wormlike face growing ever more expressive.
"Hold on, brat. Let me get this straight..."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rubbed its head with one forelimb, trying to untangle the complicated relationships:
"So you're a human orphan who was abandoned in the Far North, then Snow Empress adopted you and raised you as her son?
Then... by that logic, the Ice Empress is your... little aunt?"
Xue Chen nodded obediently and confirmed, "That's right. Aunt Ice has always treated me very well."
"Brat!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice rose sharply, its eyes wide with disbelief:
"Are you making all this up?!
Snow Empress, ruler of the Far North, the Heavenly Snow Woman with seven hundred thousand years of cultivation, adopted a human child?"
The story seemed far too fantastical. It was just like those unrealistic dreams it sometimes had while asleep.
Facing the skepticism, Xue Chen remained calm and offered up his most crucial piece of evidence:
"Brother Sky Dream, why would I lie to you?
If Aunt Ice hadn't occasionally mentioned you, how could I possibly know your name is Tian Meng?
Or that you're from the Ice Silkworm Clan and have such deep cultivation?"
Those words struck like a finishing blow, hitting Sky Dream Ice Silkworm right where it was most vulnerable!
"Bingbing... Bingbing mentioned me?!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice shot up eight octaves. All its suspicions, interrogations, and logical reasoning flew straight out the window!
Its eyes bulged, blazing with dazzling light, and its whole body trembled with excitement.
It suddenly leaned right up to Xue Chen, their faces nearly touching, its voice urgent:
"What did she say?
Quick! Tell your big brother! Every detail—don't leave out a single word!
Bingbing, she... what did she say about me?! She really mentioned me?!"
Watching Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's near-manic excitement and hearing it call her Bingbing over and over gave Xue Chen goosebumps. He fought down the wave of embarrassment.
His thoughts raced, but he did his best to keep his expression sincere as he started making things up on the spot:
"Well..." He deliberately drew out the word, whetting Sky Dream's appetite. "Aunt Ice occasionally tells me about some of the Far North's curious stories and anecdotes.
She said... out on these vast ice plains, there was a very special Ice Silkworm in the Ice Silkworm Clan. His name, I think, was Tian Meng."
As he spoke, he watched Sky Dream's reaction. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm held its breath, eyes unblinking, afraid to miss a single word.
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