Cao Xing was of course lying. [Ice Armor] was one of the basic skills available to mages in the early game. Although it was somewhat lackluster, it was still worth a fair amount.
Cao Xing replied bluntly, "Believe it or not. Suit yourself."
After hearing that, Mai Le Se said helplessly, "Forget it. Three pieces of Snake Meat it is. If I ration them, it'll be enough for my family to hold on for another day."
At the last sentence, Cao Xing's eyes flickered.
After thinking for a moment, he sent a message: "How about this? Change it to 20 food, and I'll add another 5 pieces of bread."
Mai Le Se was taken aback when he heard that, but still said, "All right."
Cao Xing said, "Then go change the trade listing on the market. I'll buy it right away."
Soon, the price of the skill book on the market changed to [Food] * 20.
Cao Xing bought it immediately.
[Trade successful. You received Ice Armor Skill Book * 1. You lost Fresh Snake Meat * 3. You lost Bread * 5.]
[Ice Armor: Consumes a certain amount of spirit to increase your or an ally's armor by (Spirit * 0.6). The effect lasts 30 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.]
Cao Xing's eyes lit up with delight. This was exactly what he wanted.
His Spirit was currently 5. With the bonus from the [Believer's Staff], it was 8.
That meant Cao Xing could permanently increase his armor by another 5 points!
He clicked to learn it immediately.
[Successfully learned [Ice Armor]...]
After the system notification ended, Cao Xing felt secretly pleased.
Then he cast Ice Armor on himself first.
"Stack armor! Go!"
[Successfully cast [Ice Armor]. Armor +5. Talent [Eternal Power] activated. This skill has become permanent.]
The next moment, Cao Xing felt an invisible layer of frost armor envelop him.
A sense of security welled up from within.
The effect of [Ice Armor] was similar to that of [Scale Armor]. Both provided invisible defense, which only appeared when he was attacked.
His armor was now up to 15 points. Attacks from monsters below level 3 could not even hurt him!
In simple terms, they couldn't penetrate his defense!
Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.
After waiting 60 seconds, Cao Xing added a layer of Ice Armor to Liu Muxue as well.
As the team's tank, her defense naturally had to be raised as high as possible.
At that moment, the two of them were alone in the room.
Through the chat channel, Liu Muxue had also learned about the situation of the other survivors.
Only now did she understand that not everyone was like her, already living in a warm Lord's Hut.
Most of the other survivors were still going hungry and freezing.
If she hadn't been with Cao Xing, then Liu Muxue might well have suffered the same fate, or even worse.
And then, at night, she would have faced the freezing, bone-chilling hell of ice and snow.
Liu Muxue looked at Cao Xing with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, A Xing. If it weren't for you, I might have frozen to death outside."
Cao Xing shook his head. "It's fine, sister-in-law. Since we were assigned to the same group, we should work together and survive better in this world."
"By helping you, I'm helping myself too."
Liu Muxue nodded solemnly. "I'll adapt to this world as soon as I can. I won't hold you back!"
Cao Xing nodded.
Then the two fell into relative silence.
The atmosphere seemed a little awkward.
Just then, Liu Muxue seemed to think of something. Her pretty face suddenly turned red, and even her body trembled slightly.
After a moment, she took off her Snow Boots and curled up on the small wooden bed.
Wrapped in her wolf-pelt coat, Liu Muxue buried her flushed head deep inside it, leaving only her small, fair feet exposed.
Between the two of them was a warm stove.
After a moment, Cao Xing said, "Go to sleep, sister-in-law."
Night fell.
The coals in the stove burned brightly.
Through the Lord's Hut, they could hear the wind blowing outside.
At that moment, both of them were wrapped in wolf pelts, using them as blankets.
Liu Muxue looked at Cao Xing's back, wondering what he was thinking.
Just then, Liu Muxue received a video call.
When she saw the caller's name, Bi Yunlan, she recognized it as her mother.
A trace of gravity passed over Liu Muxue's face.
After thinking for a moment, she still answered.
"Xiaoxue, how are things going over there?"
As soon as the video connected, a woman's voice came from the other end.
Liu Muxue was a little surprised that the other party was actually concerned about her.
However, before Liu Muxue could say anything, Bi Yunlan continued, "Oh, Xiaoxue! Our whole family suddenly ended up in this world. We've really had terrible luck!"
"You have no idea how miserable your father, your two younger brothers, and I are!"
"There was only a little food in that box. It wasn't even enough for Dabao and Xiaobao to eat one meal."
"We're almost out of food now. Your father and I didn't even eat tonight. We're cold and hungry."
"Xiaoxue, do you have any food to spare? Could you send us some?"
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Liu Muxue's mouth.
So it was just as she thought.
They hadn't even said a word before revealing their true nature.
They didn't care whether she was all right and had gone straight to asking her for food.
Liu Muxue thought back to how things had been on Blue Star. It seemed it had been the same then.
They had always made strict demands of her, controlled all her income, and even interfered in her personal life.
In the end, she had even been forced to marry the man she disliked.
Liu Muxue took a deep breath, as if summoning up some kind of courage.
She shook her head. "Mom, I don't have any food to spare either."
After hearing that, Liu Muxue's mother immediately asked in confusion, "You really don't have any at all? Xiaoxue, your two younger brothers have been hungry all day!"
"You know how much Dabao and Xiaobao can eat. They used to eat four or five meals a day. Now that we're in this world, they've only had one meal, while your father and I have only had half a piece of bread each."
As Liu Muxue's mother spoke, her eyes darted around, as if she were checking out the situation on Liu Muxue's end.
Liu Muxue said firmly, "I don't have any."
Just then, the image of a middle-aged man appeared in the video.
He looked at the background behind Liu Muxue and asked in confusion, "Xiaoxue, are you lying to us?"
"You've already moved into a house, and you're still saying you don't have food?"
"And where did you get that fur coat you're wearing?"
Two children's voices sounded beside him. They pointed at the screen and said, "Mom, Dad, I recognize the fur on my sister's coat. That's wolf fur!"
"Sister's already killed a wolf. She has meat over there!"
Hearing that, Liu Muxue's mother immediately snapped, "You wretched girl! You dare lie to your own mother!"
"So you have meat and still won't share it with your family? You ungrateful wretch. I raised you all these years for nothing!"
At that moment, Liu Muxue's father joined in, scolding her, while the two children made a racket beside him.
"Xiaoxue, what are you trying to do? Your mother and I are practically starving to death, and you won't share even a little food. Has a dog eaten your conscience?"
Faced with her family's accusations, Liu Muxue bit her lower lip, tears welling in her eyes. For a moment, she seemed at a loss.
Liu Muxue's mother only pushed harder. "Now you're acting like you're the one being wronged?"
"We've been hungry all day and we're not acting like victims. Liu Muxue, I think you've really grown too big for your boots!"
Liu Muxue's eyes were red, and she was on the verge of tears.
Just then, a figure pushed into the frame.
"You two old fools, what are you yapping about over there?"
At the insult, the voices on the other end immediately fell silent.
Then they saw a young man appear beside Liu Muxue.
Seeing Cao Xing on the screen, Liu Muxue's father demanded, "Xiaoxue, who are you with? Who is this man?"
Before Liu Muxue could speak, Cao Xing replied first, "You don't need to know who I am."
"If you want food, go find some in the snow yourselves."
The middle-aged man on the other end heard him out. "I'm talking to my daughter. What gives you the right to butt in?"
Cao Xing laughed. "What gives me the right?"
"Because I killed the wolf, and the meat is mine too. How about that?"
The middle-aged man snapped, "Then I'm not asking you. I'm asking Xiaoxue. She's my daughter!"
Cao Xing sneered. "You can ask her all you want, but it won't do you any good. I'm in charge of the food, and as long as I'm here, you won't get so much as a crumb."
"You've got two working hands and two working feet. You don't know how to go out and get food yourself, so you come to your daughter to leech off her. Have you no shame?"
"You!"
"What do you mean, 'you'? You're old enough to know better, yet you're still shamelessly clinging to her. You're worse than a woman. You useless piece of trash."
After Cao Xing let loose a thorough scolding, the middle-aged man's face on the other end turned bright red.
Nearby, two children also began wailing.
Liu Muxue's mother seemed to want to help her husband, verbally attacking Cao Xing.
However, at Cao Xing's signal, Liu Muxue hung up the video call.
Beep-
The world fell silent.
Liu Muxue curled up on the bed, her shoulders trembling constantly. She seemed unable to control her emotions.
A faint sob reached Cao Xing's ears.
A moment later, the sobbing stopped.
Cao Xing comforted her. "It's all right now, Sister-in-law."
Liu Muxue lifted her head and looked at Cao Xing with swollen, red eyes. "A Xing, thank you for standing up for me."
Cao Xing shook his head. "It's nothing. Those people want to get something for nothing and take supplies from me? No way!"
"You need to remember this too: no matter who asks you for food or other resources, you must never give them any."
"Give them something once, and they'll ask again. After that, they'll keep taking from you endlessly. Understand?"
A bitter smile flashed in Liu Muxue's eyes.
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