Emperor Snow

"Yuhao, thank goodness you're all right."

As soon as the door opened, Xu Jiujiu threw herself into Huo Yuhao's arms. Her voice caught as she said,

"I'm so glad you're safe. If anything had happened to you, I wouldn't have known what to tell Auntie Huo."

Faced with her reddened eyes and trembling voice, Huo Yuhao could only hug her back. "Jiujiu, I'm fine, see? Don't worry!"

"Yuhao, you're back!"

Huo Yun'er's voice came from behind them.

Her words jolted Xu Jiujiu awake like a bolt of lightning. She let go of Huo Yuhao as though she'd been shocked.

"Oh! Yuhao, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Auntie just finished cooking. Come in and eat with us!"

Huo Yun'er smiled knowingly at Xu Jiujiu's flushed face and abrupt change of subject. Behind Huo Yuhao, the Snow Empress raised an eyebrow.

Is she the Auspicious One's lover? She looks quite a bit older than him.

Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul was an Auspicious Beast, and he happened to be human, so in private she called him the Auspicious One.

"And who is this young lady?" Huo Yun'er asked, looking curiously at the tall Snow Empress.

Standing beside them, Huo Yuhao introduced her to his mother and Xu Jiujiu.

"Mom, Jiujiu, this is a senior I met in the Extreme North. Her name is Emperor Snow."

They had settled on Emperor Snow's identity on the way back. They would tell outsiders that the Snow Empress came from a reclusive family in the Extreme North that had worshipped the Ice God for generations, and that she was its grand elder.

The story was that they had saved Huo Yuhao because his Martial Soul possessed Ultimate Ice, the strongest form of ice. With the Ice God Family in decline, they hoped to recruit talented ice-type soul masters from the outside world.

Everyone sat in the courtyard pavilion and listened as Huo Yuhao explained the Snow Empress's background. Huo Yun'er was the first to step forward. She took the Snow Empress's hand and thanked her sincerely.

"Miss Di, thank you for saving my Yuhao. If not for you, I don't know what I would have done without him!"

The Snow Empress instinctively frowned at the warmth of Huo Yun'er's hand. As an ice-type Soul Beast, she disliked having warm things touch her. But faced with Huo Yun'er's earnest gaze, she could hardly pull away.

"It was nothing. I merely happened upon him."

Xu Jiujiu ventured a question from the side. "Senior Di, do you intend to take Yuhao back to the Extreme North?"

According to Huo Yuhao's account, this senior had come out to find recruits because her family was in decline. Huo Yuhao's Second Martial Soul happened to have the Ice Attribute. Was she going to take him away?

The Snow Empress remained silent for so long that Xu Jiujiu grew uneasy. She truly did not want Huo Yuhao to leave the Star Luo Empire.

For one thing, he was the Empire's best card against the Duke's Estate. Beyond that, she personally did not want him to leave.

"That depends on what he wants. I won't force him to return to the Extreme North with me."

Xu Jiujiu breathed a sigh of relief, and her violet eyes lit up.

If the Snow Empress did not intend to take Huo Yuhao away, that meant she planned to stay.

Huo Yuhao spoke up as well. "Jiujiu, I'm not leaving. The Empire has given me so many resources. I'm not someone who forgets a kindness."

"Besides..."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao looked toward the Duke's Estate beyond Star Luo City.

"I still haven't settled my score with the Duke's Estate!"

His hatred was impossible to hide. Though he had left the Duke's Estate over two years ago, the ugly faces of those people remained vivid in his memory.

Xu Jiujiu took the opportunity to speak.

"Senior Di, since Yuhao won't be going to the Extreme North with you, why not stay in the Star Luo Empire for now? We'd be honored to host you."

The Snow Empress turned toward Huo Yuhao. Without a word, she gave a slight nod.

"Really? Senior Di, please stay here for now. I'll go ask Imperial Brother to find you a residence."

"Jiujiu! Aren't you staying for dinner?"

But before Huo Yuhao had even finished speaking, Xu Jiujiu had hurried out of the courtyard.

"No, I'll go see Imperial Brother first. Otherwise, he'll be gathering several Consecrated Elders to search for you."

Her words moved Huo Yuhao. He hadn't expected Xu Jiujiu and the emperor to consider sending several Consecrated Elders after him because he had gone missing.

"You're saying a powerful expert rescued the young man on the way back?"

In the Imperial Study, Xu Jiawei frowned as he listened to Li Jun's report. Li Jun, now fully clearheaded, stood respectfully before him.

"Yes, Your Majesty. By the time I woke up, we were already outside the Extreme North. Only Young Master Huo and Senior Emperor Snow were there."

"All right, I understand. You may go."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After Li Jun left, Xu Jiawei sat alone in the study.

Tap, tap, tap.

He drummed a finger on the desk, his brow furrowed in thought, and muttered to himself.

"The Ice God Family? I've never heard of them."

Could they be descendants of a God, like the Angel Family?

Then why has no one heard of them in ten thousand years? Not even our Star Crown Family?

Just as he struggled to make sense of it—

Knock, knock, knock!

A sudden, forceful knock came from outside the Imperial Study.

"Imperial Brother, it's me! Open the door!"

The knock broke Xu Jiawei's train of thought. Xu Jiujiu must have received word of Huo Yuhao's return.

Jiujiu usually seems so composed. Why does she become a different person whenever Huo Yuhao is involved?

It had been the same when she asked someone to deal with Yipu. She had even used her connections to go after Yi Yin, simply because he had set his sights on Huo Yuhao.

"Come in."

Xu Jiujiu hurried through the door.

"Brother, Yuhao's back. He's safe."

"Yes, I know. Li Jun reported it to me."

"Uncle Li? The Sleep King?"

Xu Jiawei struggled not to laugh at her nickname for Li Jun.

"Why did you give him a nickname like that?"

"Because every time he takes Yuhao out, he fails to protect him!" Xu Jiujiu said indignantly. "The moment danger appears, he falls asleep. If Senior Emperor Snow hadn't been there this time, Yuhao might not have survived."

At the mention of the Snow Empress, Xu Jiawei's expression grew serious. "What did she say? Does she intend to take the young man away?"

"No! She plans to stay in the Empire for a while."

Xu Jiawei's eyes brightened. This was good news twice over.

Not only had the Empire's young talent returned safely from his Soul Hunt, but he had brought back an expert who could move freely through the Extreme North's Core Zone. It could hardly have gone better.

"Good! Excellent! Huo Yuhao truly is the Empire's lucky star. Jiujiu, have someone prepare the estate our family uses to escape the summer heat. Offer it to Senior Emperor Snow as a residence."

"Yes."

"And I'd like to meet the young man."