After Ye Yuan'er and Gu Wuchen left the Star Dou Great Forest,
Dugu Bo began taking Dugu Yan to hunt Soul Beasts.
"Grandpa, why do you think Young Master Gu is so handsome? I really want to touch him."
Dugu Yan looked utterly infatuated. That face, that body-he would surely feel wonderful in her arms. Hehehe.
Dugu Bo glanced at his infatuated granddaughter and chuckled.
"He was born that way. Just look at his parents. Shen Suwei was known as the greatest beauty among support-type Soul Masters, and his father, Gu Linchuan, was handsome and dashing. When the two of them got together, everyone else was green with envy."
"Even the Great Enshrined invited Shen Suwei and Gu Linchuan to join the Spirit Hall back then."
"On top of that, Young Master Gu is extraordinarily gifted. He far surpasses Gu Linchuan-no, he far surpasses every Soul Master, without exception."
To be honest, he was envious too, but his own Martial Soul had already evolved, and he was satisfied.
"Grandpa, I haven't met Young Master Gu's parents yet. I really want to meet them!" Dugu Yan was full of anticipation.
"You'll have a chance. Besides, Young Master Gu's condition for helping us get rid of the poison was that we join the Gu Clan. If there's anything you want later, Yanyan, the Gu Clan will provide it right away."
At that, Dugu Yan's heart stirred. "Really, Grandpa?"
"Of course it's true, the genuine article!" Dugu Bo threw back his head and laughed. "Young Master Gu promised it himself."
"That's wonderful! I won't have to wait in those long lines every day anymore."
Dugu Yan beamed.
Meanwhile, Ye Yuan'er and Gu Wuchen had returned to the residence, and Ye Yuan'er had already gone to the market to buy ingredients for a proper celebration.
"That's taken care of. I can finally breathe easy!" Gu Wuchen lay back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest.
Warm sunlight streamed down, making it very comfortable, but Gu Wuchen felt an itch in his nose. Unable to hold it back, he sat bolt upright and sneezed.
Right afterward, pleasant laughter rang out beside his ear.
"Hahaha, Little Wuchen, so you have days like this too."
Gu Wuchen opened his eyes and looked at the laughing Snow Empress in front of him, thoroughly displeased. "Sister Xue, you're playing tricks on me again!"
Damn it, this is so infuriating.
"How can you call that playing tricks? Sister Xue is showing you affection~"
The Snow Empress stepped right in front of Gu Wuchen, leaving only a fist's width between them. Her presence, warm and gentle as jade, left Gu Wuchen quite unaccustomed to it.
He tried to put some distance between them, but the Snow Empress reached out and pulled him straight into her arms.
"Ah, Sister Xue, that's cheating! You always use your cultivation to bully me!" Gu Wuchen struggled.
"How is this bullying? Little Wuchen still doesn't understand how his big sister feels. When you do understand one day, you'll savor the memory of how this felt."
The Snow Empress spoke with a perfectly serious expression.
Gu Wuchen froze. "I'll miss this? You must be joking!"
What kind of joke is that? I've set my heart on becoming a god, becoming the Sword God, and I'm supposed to miss this?
"Little Wuchen, look how charming you are. Why don't you just become a god like this? That would be nice too. Then Sister Xue could have you in the palm of her hand every day."
The Snow Empress raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Her mischievous thoughts were written all over her face; she might as well have said them aloud.
She's full of wicked schemes.
Gu Wuchen's teeth itched with anger. He condensed the Dustless Sword, intending to force the Snow Empress back, but she grabbed his Dustless Sword.
"Huh? Give my sword back!" Gu Wuchen froze, then hurried to snatch it back.
The Snow Empress held the Dustless Sword high and said with a smile, "No, I won't. Little Wuchen, you didn't really think a Dustless Sword alone could threaten Sister Xue, did you?"
"You're really not well-behaved at all."
The Snow Empress gave Gu Wuchen a light flick on the forehead.
At the crisp sound, Gu Wuchen clutched his forehead and complained, "Sister Xue, you're bullying me! If you dare, let's fight at the same cultivation level. I don't believe I'd lose!"
The Snow Empress burst out laughing. "A fight at the same cultivation level? In your dreams."
The Snow Empress was pinching Gu Wuchen's cheeks and having the time of her life when her expression suddenly changed. She had keenly picked up the sound of footsteps outside the courtyard gate.
She immediately stuffed the Dustless Sword she had been holding high back into Gu Wuchen's hand, then quickly pinched his reddened cheek again. Smiling, she left him with the words, "Big sister's going to hide now," before turning into a streak of blue light and darting into the center of his forehead.
The moment the Snow Empress vanished, the courtyard gate was gently pushed open.
Ye Yuan'er walked in, carrying a load of ingredients.
She looked up and saw Gu Wuchen standing on the chair, still holding the Dustless Sword, frozen in an awkward pose.
Ye Yuan'er paused in surprise and asked in some puzzlement, "Young Master, what kind of unusual sword practice pose is that?"
Gu Wuchen hurriedly jumped down from the chair and fumbled to put away the Dustless Sword. He cleared his throat and explained as if nothing had happened:
"Sister Yuan'er, it's nothing. I suddenly gained a little insight while practicing the sword, so I was just trying out a pose."
Ye Yuan'er saw that the tips of his ears were slightly red, but she didn't press him. She merely smiled and waved the ingredients in her hand.
"Then have a rest, Young Master. I'm going to the kitchen to prepare a proper celebration for your physique breakthrough this time."
With that, she turned and carried the ingredients into the kitchen. Before long, the soft sounds of washing and chopping vegetables came from within.
Gu Wuchen breathed a sigh of relief and shouted through gritted teeth in his mind:
Sister Xue! This is all your fault! We were almost discovered!
The Snow Empress's voice rang out in his head, tinged with laughter. "But we weren't discovered, were we? Little Wuchen, you're far too timid. That was enough to make you panic?"
"Looks to me like you were the one who was scared, Sister Xue. You were obviously scared out of your wits just now."
Gu Wuchen pursed his lips and shot back at once. The sight of the Snow Empress fleeing in a panic just now had really been amusing.
He had thought the Snow Empress wouldn't get angry.
To his surprise, the Snow Empress immediately protested, unwilling to let it go. "What do you mean, I was scared? I was trying not to get discovered! What do you mean, I was scared?"
Stinky Wuchen, how dare you say that about me? I'm furious!
When no one's around, I'll use you as my punching bag.
Seeing his chance, Gu Wuchen continued to provoke her. "Wasn't it just that you were scared, Sister Xue? Am I not allowed to say it?"
"You-stinky Wuchen, don't say it! Shouldn't Sister Xue be the most perfect person in your heart?"
The Snow Empress sounded extremely dissatisfied.
How old is he? He's not even ten, and he's already looking for a chance to talk back to his Sister Snow Empress. He really needs to be taught a lesson.
Gu Wuchen didn't care what the Snow Empress said. As long as he'd scored one back, that was enough, so he immediately blocked out the voices from the Sea of Consciousness.
The Snow Empress sent him more than a dozen messages, then realized Gu Wuchen was paying her no attention at all. She sulked in the Sea of Consciousness.
She, the dignified ruler of the Far North, had actually been angered by a little fellow of seven or eight, yet she had no way to strike back now.
She could only wait until evening to deal with him, but right now she was deeply dissatisfied.
About another quarter of an hour later, Ye Yuan'er finished cooking and brought the bowls and chopsticks over to the wooden table.
Gu Wuchen needed only one look to conclude that Ye Yuan'er had the potential to be a housewife.
Her cooking was excellent, and the meal was nutritionally balanced. Very good.