Sleeping Together, the Three of Them

Ling Xiao lowered his head and spoke.

After hearing this, Snow Emperor slowly reached out and stroked Ling Xiao's head, as gentle as ever.

"Foolish child."

"Even if we truly encounter danger, Mommy will never let you get hurt."

"That's right."

Ice Empress leaned closer as well, placing one hand directly on Ling Xiao's shoulder.

"If anyone wants to hurt you, they'll have to get past your little aunt first."

Ice Empress's tone was extremely serious.

There was none of her usual pride or stubbornness, only pure, wholehearted protectiveness.

The atmosphere within the Ice Crystal Palace became lively again, no longer as tense as before.

Feeling the warmth of the two women, a faint smile appeared on Ling Xiao's lips.

He reached out and ruffled Ice Empress's head, just as Snow Emperor ruffled his.

Ice Empress's twin ponytails instantly bristled.

"You!"

Ling Xiao teased Ice Empress.

"Little Aunt, my cultivation is even higher than yours. So who exactly is protecting whom?"

Ice Empress's face instantly flushed red. This time, Ling Xiao had truly angered her.

"Haah!"

She sharply slapped Ling Xiao's hand away.

"You little burden! You're not allowed to bring up your little aunt's cultivation!"

Ice Empress immediately stood up from the bed, her twin ponytails spinning furiously from anger.

She began cracking her knuckles, determined to ruffle Ling Xiao's head in return.

Unfortunately, Ling Xiao merely dodged backward and easily avoided her hand.

Ling Xiao smiled. "If I can't bring up Little Aunt's cultivation, can I bring up Little Aunt's height instead?"

"..."

Ice Empress froze.

She looked down at herself, then looked up at Ling Xiao. He was a full head taller than her.

The Ling Xiao she had once been able to look at simply by lowering her head now stood before her, forcing her to look up at him.

"No!"

Her voice suddenly rose several pitches.

"Little Aunt's height is off-limits too!"

Ice Empress flew into a rage from Ling Xiao's teasing and reached out to grab his hair.

To keep Ice Empress from catching him, Ling Xiao could only dodge left and right. Thus, the two began chasing each other around beside the ice bed.

"Stop right there!"

"Little Aunt, you can't catch me."

"Stinky Ling Xiao, stop running!"

Watching the two troublemakers run around, Snow Emperor sighed helplessly.

A trace of weariness rose in her heart. These two never gave her a moment of peace.

"Enough, you two."

Snow Emperor's voice was not loud, yet it reached both of their ears with perfect clarity.

They stopped moving at the same time.

Snow Emperor's tone allowed no argument.

"We'll rest early tonight. Tomorrow morning, we'll set off immediately."

Though Ice Empress was still somewhat unwilling, she obediently sat back down.

Ling Xiao did the same.

"Oh, right, Bing'er."

Snow Emperor suddenly said, "Stay here tonight. The three of us will sleep together."

Ice Empress immediately perked up at those words.

"Okay, okay!"

Ice Empress was so happy she nearly jumped up. Sleeping with Snow Emperor was something she had always dreamed of.

In the past, Snow Emperor's arms had always been occupied by that little burden. No matter how much she tried to squeeze in, she could never fit.

Now that Snow Emperor had personally invited her, of course she would not refuse.

However.

Ice Empress pretended to be surprised. "No way! Xue'er, you still sleep with little Ling Xiao?"

Since Ice Empress had said it on purpose, there was a touch of exaggeration in her tone.

Snow Emperor merely nodded nonchalantly at Ice Empress's question.

"Mm."

Snow Emperor's calm expression made it seem as though she were answering something entirely ordinary.

In Snow Emperor's eyes, there was nothing wrong with it. Although Ling Xiao had grown up, ever since she had taken him in, he had always fallen asleep in her arms.

It was simply a normal habit between them, so there was nothing to make a fuss over.

But Ice Empress clearly did not see it that way.

After receiving Snow Emperor's answer, Ice Empress looked at Ling Xiao with a smug expression.

"Little Ling Xiao..."

Ice Empress deliberately drew out her words.

"You're already this grown up, yet you still cling to Mommy when you sleep?"

"Aren't you ashamed... aren't you ashamed..."

Ling Xiao's face instantly turned red.

"L-Little Aunt! Mommy is the one who insists on holding me when I sleep! It's not me clinging to her..."

"Oh~?"

Ice Empress sounded even more smug. "So you're saying Xue'er can't bear to be apart from you?"

"That's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I..."

Ling Xiao was so embarrassed by her words that he wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

Snow Emperor once again felt helpless.

She had only just gotten the two of them to stop, yet they had started bickering again.

It seemed she had no choice but to get angry.

"You two!"

A trace of anger flashed through her eyes. This time, Snow Emperor was truly angry.

"Don't make me say it again. Both of you, get into bed and go to sleep right now!"

Realizing that Snow Emperor was genuinely angry, Ling Xiao and Ice Empress both stiffened.

They exchanged a glance and saw the guilt in each other's eyes.

They hurriedly lay back down on the bed.

Ling Xiao lay on the left, Ice Empress lay on the right, leaving a spot in the middle for Snow Emperor.

The three lay in a neat row, behaving themselves, and none of them dared make another sound.

Snow Emperor tilted her head slightly. She looked at Ling Xiao first, then at Ice Empress.

Both had their eyes tightly shut, pretending to already be asleep.

The Ice Crystal Palace was quiet for a while.

Just as Ling Xiao thought things had finally settled down, Ice Empress beside him suddenly opened her eyes.

Ice Empress lowered her voice, as though whispering a secret.

"Xue'er, haven't you noticed that little Ling Xiao seems kind of strange?"

Snow Emperor tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Mm? Why do you say that?"

Ice Empress turned over to face Snow Emperor, her expression extremely serious.

"Think about it. Little Ling Xiao is like someone giving us quests."

Although Ice Empress kept her voice low, everyone could hear every word clearly.

"Last time, it was finding the Myriad-Year Profound Ice Marrow. This time, it's going to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."

"What will it be next time? He won't take us to explore some secret realm, will he?"

When Ling Xiao heard that, he smiled helplessly to himself.

Ice Empress, this little aunt of his... did she see him as some quest-giving NPC?

Still, thinking about it, Ice Empress's comparison did make a bit of sense.

Even Snow Emperor could only smile helplessly at Ice Empress's unusual train of thought.

"Alright, alright. Stop overthinking it. We still have to travel tomorrow."

Ice Empress pouted.

"Fine, fine. Sleep, sleep."

After Ice Empress ended the conversation, the Ice Crystal Palace fell silent once more.

The night gradually deepened.

The three of them slowly drifted off to sleep.

However...

Due to the habit he had formed before, Ling Xiao unconsciously snuggled into Snow Emperor's arms in his sleep.

Although Snow Emperor was already asleep, out of habit, she directly pulled Ling Xiao into her embrace while half-awake.

Ling Xiao buried his head in the hollow of Snow Emperor's neck, and his breathing gradually became steadier.

Feeling that familiar dependence, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Snow Emperor's lips.

The two of them seemed to have returned to the past.

Ling Xiao was still that child, still needing her to hold him in order to sleep peacefully.