Emperor Snow

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

As soon as the door opened, Xu Jiujiu rushed forward and hugged Huo Yuhao, her voice choked with emotion.

"Thank goodness you're all right. If anything had happened to you, I wouldn't have known what to tell Auntie Huo."

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

"Yuhao, you're back!"

Just then, Huo Yun'er's voice came from behind them.

Huo Yun'er's words jolted Xu Jiujiu like a bolt of lightning. She let go of Huo Yuhao at once, as though she had been electrocuted.

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

Seeing Xu Jiujiu change the subject with her face flushed red, Huo Yun'er smiled knowingly. Behind Huo Yuhao, the Snow Empress raised an eyebrow slightly.

So this is the Auspicious One's lover? She looks quite a bit older than him.

Because Huo Yuhao's martial soul was an Auspicious Beast, and he happened to be human, she privately called him the Auspicious One.

"And who might this young lady be?"

Huo Yun'er looked at the tall Snow Empress and asked in puzzlement.

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

"Mom, Sister Jiujiu, let me introduce you. This is a senior I met in the Extreme North. Her name is Emperor Snow."

They had devised the identity of Emperor Snow on their way back. Publicly, they would say that the Snow Empress came from a secluded family in the Extreme North that had worshipped the Ice God for generations, and that she was the family's grand elder.

Their reason for rescuing Huo Yuhao was that his martial soul possessed ultimate ice, the strongest form of ice martial soul. With the Ice God Family dwindling, they hoped to recruit talented ice Soul Masters from the outside world.

Everyone sat in the courtyard pavilion and listened as Huo Yuhao explained the Snow Empress's origins. Huo Yun'er was the first to step forward and take her hand, thanking her sincerely.

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

As Huo Yun'er's rather warm hand clasped hers, the Snow Empress instinctively frowned. As an ice-attribute Soul Beast, she disliked warm things touching her. Yet the sincerity in Huo Yun'er's eyes made her reluctant to simply pull her hand away.

"It was nothing. I merely happened to come across him."

Beside them, Xu Jiujiu asked tentatively, "Then, Senior Di, are you planning to take Yuhao back to the Extreme North?"

According to Huo Yuhao's account, this Senior Di had come out to recruit people because her family was dwindling. Huo Yuhao's second martial soul happened to have an ice attribute, too. Could this senior be planning to take him away?

As the Snow Empress remained silent, Xu Jiujiu grew uneasy. She truly did not want Huo Yuhao to leave the Star Luo Empire.

For one thing, Huo Yuhao was the Empire's best trump card against the Duke's Estate. For another, she personally did not want him to leave the Star Luo Empire either.

"That will depend on his wishes. I won't force him to return to the Far North with me."

Hearing the Snow Empress's answer, Xu Jiujiu breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, her purple eyes suddenly lit up.

If she did not intend to have Huo Yuhao leave the Empire, that meant she planned to stay.

Huo Yuhao spoke up as well. "Well, Sister Jiujiu, I'm not leaving. The Empire has given me so many resources. I'm not the sort to forget kindness and betray those who helped me."

"Besides..."

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

"I still haven't settled my grudge against the Duke's Estate!"

There was no hiding the hatred in Huo Yuhao's voice, even though he had left the Duke's Estate more than two years ago. The ugly faces of those people remained vivid in his mind.

Xu Jiujiu took the opportunity to interject.

"Then, Senior Di, since Yuhao won't be going to the Extreme North with you, why not stay here in our Star Luo Empire for now? We would gladly sweep the couch clean to welcome you."

The Snow Empress turned to look at Huo Yuhao. Without speaking, she gave a slight nod.

"Really? Senior Di, please stay here for now. I'll go find my Imperial Brother right away and have him arrange a residence for you."

"Sister Jiujiu! Aren't you going to eat?"

Huo Yuhao had barely spoken before Xu Jiujiu rushed out of the courtyard.

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

Hearing her words, Huo Yuhao was touched. He had never expected Xu Jiujiu and His Majesty to send several Consecrated Elders to look for him because he had gone missing.

"You're saying that a powerful expert rescued that little fellow along the way?"

Inside the Imperial Study, Xu Jiawei frowned as he listened to Li Jun's report on the journey. Having fully regained his senses, Li Jun stood respectfully before him and reported.

"Yes, Your Majesty! When I woke up, I was already on the outskirts of the Extreme North. Only Young Master Huo and Senior Emperor Snow were nearby."

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

"Yes."

After Li Jun left the study, Xu Jiawei remained seated inside alone.

Tap, tap, tap.

Xu Jiawei tapped a finger against his desk, his brows tightly knitted in thought. He kept muttering to himself.

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

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

"But why has no one heard of them in ten thousand years? Even our Star Crown Family has never heard of them."

Just as he found himself unable to make heads or tails of it—

Knock, knock, knock.

A fierce knocking suddenly sounded outside the Imperial Study.

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

The sudden knocking disrupted Xu Jiawei's train of thought. Xu Jiujiu must have received word that Huo Yuhao had returned.

"That girl Jiujiu usually seems so composed. Why does she become an entirely different person whenever Huo Yuhao is involved?"

It had been the same when she sent someone to deal with Yipu. Xu Jiujiu had even used her connections to make trouble for Yi Yin, all because that fellow had designs on Huo Yuhao.

"Come in."

Xu Jiujiu hurriedly pushed open the door to the Imperial Study.

"Brother, Yuhao's back. He's all right."

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

"Uncle Li? That Sleep King?"

Hearing the nickname Xu Jiujiu had given Li Jun, Xu Jiawei could not help chuckling.

"How did you come up with a nickname like that for him?"

Xu Jiujiu said indignantly, "Because every time he takes Yuhao out, he fails to protect him! Whenever danger appears, he drops off to sleep. If they hadn't met Senior Emperor Snow this time, Yuhao really would have faced more peril than hope."

When Xu Jiujiu mentioned the Snow Empress, Xu Jiawei's expression grew a little more serious. "What did she say? Is she planning to take the little fellow away?"

"No! She's planning to stay in the Empire for a while."

Xu Jiawei's eyes brightened slightly at her words. This truly was a double blessing.

Not only had the Empire's genius returned safely from this Soul Hunt, but he had also brought back an expert who could come and go freely in the Core Zone of the Extreme North. This was wonderful.

"Good! Wonderful! Huo Yuhao truly is the Empire's lucky star. Jiujiu, hurry and have someone clean up the manor our family normally uses as a summer retreat. Give it to Senior Emperor Snow as her residence."

"Yes."

"Also, I'd like to meet that little fellow."