"Grandpa, what... what are you saying?" Dugu Yan blushed.
"Yanyan, you're not getting any younger."
"Leaving everything else aside, I think that Beiming Yuan is outstanding. He's handsome, highly talented, and has a Peerless Douluo backing him."
"You couldn't find a husband as ideal as that even if you searched with a lantern. If you're interested, you should make an effort. Don't let him slip away."
Dugu Bo's eyes glinted as he spoke with a chuckle.
As long as Beiming Yuan became his grandson-in-law, how could anyone call it stealing his herb garden? It would clearly be a dowry he had prepared for his granddaughter.
"Grandpa!"
Dugu Yan's face turned scarlet, and she was mortified.
"Then it's settled. If you run into Beiming Yuan again, you must make an effort... Come to think of it, meeting him twice is a kind of fate." Dugu Bo continued.
The more Dugu Bo said, the more embarrassed Dugu Yan became.
But she couldn't help letting her thoughts drift in that direction.
He is rather handsome... Dugu Yan muttered inwardly. Whatever she thought of next made her lower her head shyly.
Dugu Bo nodded, his face full of satisfaction. But then he suddenly remembered something. His expression turned serious, and his voice grew slightly cold. "Yanyan, keep your distance from that Yu Tianheng. His little scheme can't escape your grandpa's eyes."
He knew that Yu Tianheng was pursuing Dugu Yan.
To be honest, whether or not Beiming Yuan was in the picture, he didn't think much of Yu Tianheng, because he knew Yu Tianheng was pursuing Dugu Yan because of him.
If not for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan behind him, Dugu Bo would have slapped someone like him to death long ago.
"I know, Grandpa."
Dugu Yan nodded.
She had considered Yu Tianheng's pursuit, but ever since Beiming Yuan had defeated Royal Combat single-handedly, Yu Tianheng's behavior in certain respects had been hard to comment on.
Besides, she had often seen Yu Tianheng fly into a rage for no apparent reason lately because he had lost to Beiming Yuan.
Everyone had been somewhat upset that their team had lost to one person.
But Yu Tianheng's kind of "upset" had made the other teammates even more upset.
So it was better to keep her distance from Yu Tianheng.
"Mm."
Dugu Bo nodded, his expression softening.
The Far North.
The core region.
Sunset Forest wasn't very far from the Far North, so it hadn't taken Beiming Yuan and the other two long to return.
A little over a month had passed, but the Far North had changed very little.
The Snow Empress and the Ice Empress had chosen a place near the ice and snow palace to undergo their Heavenly Tribulations. With the Ice Bear clan guarding the edge of the core region, they didn't need to worry about other beings entering.
"Xue'er, Bing'er, discuss it between yourselves. Which of you will face the Heavenly Tribulation first?"
To be on the safe side, Beiming Yuan had suggested they face their Heavenly Tribulations one after the other. It would be safer for one to undergo the tribulation while the other stood guard.
"Bing'er, your Heavenly Tribulation is weaker. You go first," the Snow Empress said.
"All right."
The Ice Empress nodded and quickly took out fifteen pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, setting them around herself as she prepared to absorb the Profound Ice Marrow's energy in one go.
Beiming Yuan had also prepared an Immortal Herb. He handed it to the Ice Empress. "Bing'er, this is the Lovesick Heartbreak Red. In terms of quality, it's a divine treasure even among immortal-grade herbs. It has the miraculous power to bring the dead back to life and put flesh on bare bones."
"Also, after you consume and refine it, it can conceal your Soul Beast scent. From now on, when you're in the human world, you won't have to constantly hide your Soul Beast scent yourself."
"It's just a little difficult to pick. You have to think of the person you love and water it with your heart's blood. Only if it accepts you can you pick it."
"That's difficult? It's far too easy." The Ice Empress chuckled, promptly took it, and watered it with her heart's blood as Beiming Yuan had instructed.
As expected, she picked it without trouble.
"Bing'er, it seems you love Xiao Yuan more, deep down," the Snow Empress said with a meaningful smile.
"N-no, I don't. The one I've always loved is Xue'er." The Ice Empress's little face flushed, and her eyes darted away, not daring to meet the Snow Empress's gaze.
"Oh? Then you weren't thinking of Xiao Yuan just now? You were thinking of me?" the Snow Empress teased.
"No, no!" The Ice Empress jumped in fright and hurriedly looked at Beiming Yuan. "Xiao Yuan, I was thinking of you, you..." she said in a panic.
Halfway through, she suddenly noticed that both Beiming Yuan and the Snow Empress were looking at her with smiles on their faces.
"Ah! You're both bullying me!"
The Ice Empress's little face fell, and she was thoroughly vexed.
"All right, hurry up and refine it." Beiming Yuan patted the Ice Empress's little head, his smile carrying a hint of doting affection.
The Lovesick Heartbreak Red tested who one's beloved was.
Now, he was more like the Ice Empress's beloved, while the Snow Empress was more like a partner through life and death, a family member.
Perhaps it was precisely because of him that the Ice Empress had come to understand how she felt about the Snow Empress, though she simply refused to admit it to herself.
"All right." The Ice Empress composed herself, sat down cross-legged, and began refining the Lovesick Heartbreak Red.
"Xue'er, this Lovesick Heartbreak Red is yours. Take this chance to pick it too." Beiming Yuan took out another Lovesick Heartbreak Red.
There had been three Lovesick Heartbreak Reds in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Two were older, while one was younger, though it had also matured.
The Snow Empress held the Lovesick Heartbreak Red in both hands and chuckled. "You trust me that much? What if I really do love Bing'er and can't pick it in the end?"
"Then we'll use a different Immortal Herb."
"...You wouldn't be angry?"
"What is there to be angry about? Bing'er is mine, and you're mine too," Beiming Yuan said with a smile.
"What a greedy scoundrel." The Snow Empress gave him a playful scold, then took a deep breath. Beiming Yuan's image appeared in her mind, and she watered the herb with her heart's blood.
The Lovesick Heartbreak Red glimmered, and with a crisp crack, the Snow Empress successfully picked it.
"Xiao Yuan, I did it." The Snow Empress looked at Beiming Yuan with a smile, the last trace of tension in her heart completely gone.
"Mm." Beiming Yuan smiled faintly, reached out to draw the Snow Empress into his arms, and gently kissed her delicate, cool lips.
The Snow Empress didn't resist. She leaned against Beiming Yuan's chest, her smile growing softer and softer, endless affection hidden in her sky-blue eyes.
The freshly picked Lovesick Heartbreak Red glimmered between them with a vivid, blood-red light.
Rumble!
A thunderclap suddenly rang out. High above the Far North's core region, dark clouds suddenly gathered thickly, thunder rolled, and lightning flashed.
Beiming Yuan and the Snow Empress came back to their senses. Still embracing, they watched the Ice Empress.
"I didn't expect Bing'er's four-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation to arrive early. It seems the Lovesick Heartbreak Red's medicinal power is astonishing," the Snow Empress said, slightly surprised.
"A divine treasure doesn't earn its reputation for nothing," Beiming Yuan said.
"Xiao Yuan, isn't there still one left? Would you like to try?" the Snow Empress asked with a beaming smile.
"Ahem, I don't need it." Beiming Yuan cleared his throat and said calmly, "Though I could pick it too, I prefer other Immortal Herbs."
"Is that so..." The Snow Empress smiled, the amusement in her eyes growing more pronounced.
"Look at Bing'er. Her Heavenly Tribulation is here..." Beiming Yuan quickly changed the subject.
"You lecher." The Snow Empress spat softly. She didn't tease him any further, instead turning her gaze to the Ice Empress, her expression gradually growing serious.