The Snow Empress's fingertips trembled slightly as she gazed at Snow's Tear, a dim blue halo flowing around it. Something seemed to be sealed inside the crystalline ice. "Snow's Tear is a Heavenly Snow Woman's most precious natal treasure. She can only condense one in her lifetime."
Her voice grew softer without her realizing it, and a ripple of complicated emotions appeared in her eyes. "Giving it away is the same as surrendering one's whole heart, treating one's destined person as more precious than one's own divine soul. (Snow's Tear is essentially a token of love.)"
The instant the Snow Empress's divine sense entered Snow's Tear, a power of ice and snow that was both familiar and strange burst forth with a roar. Countless fragments of memory streaked through her mind like meteors. Deep within that vast power, a figure slowly emerged, identical to her in appearance but utterly different in bearing.
"Hello, my past self." The future Snow Empress's voice carried a tenderness born of countless hardships. "If you're seeing Snow's Tear, it means Yuhao has already appeared before you."
The Snow Empress shuddered, shock and realization rising in her sky-blue eyes. The illusory figure continued, "He... is my beloved. In my previous life, I never managed to tell him how I felt. I know I'm in no position to tell you these things now, because you've never experienced any of what I have, but I still hope you can help him. That's the last thing I can say."
The illusory figure seemed to sense something and suddenly looked toward the unconscious Huo Yuhao, her eyes full of longing. "Lastly, please tell him for me... I love him."
As her voice faded, a vast flood of memories surged into the Snow Empress's divine soul. From the stirring of her heart when she first met Huo Yuhao, to the understanding they had found fighting side by side, to the pain of parting in life and death, every experience appeared clearly before her in that moment.
"Yuhao..." The Snow Empress's voice trembled, her eyes full of disbelief and complicated emotions. Her memories melted like ice and snow, and every moment of the past reappeared in her mind. Those forgotten feelings surged forth like spring waters released by melting ice and snow.
A crystalline mist welled in her eyes, yet a tender smile rose to her lips. "We were one and the same to begin with. There's no need to do anything for each other." She reached out and gently stroked Huo Yuhao's pale face, murmuring, "Yuhao, I'm back. In this life, I'll never let you leave my side again."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze in midair, his platinum antennae curling and uncurling uneasily, his voice filled with confusion and shock. "Elder Yi! What... what on earth is going on? How did the Snow Empress's Snow's Tear end up with Yuhao?" His body trembled slightly beyond his control, and his once-bright compound eyes were now full of confusion.
Electrolux gazed at the ice crystal shimmering in the Snow Empress's palm. He stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, "I'm afraid it's a contingency the future Snow Woman left behind. She foresaw that this meeting might lead to a misunderstanding, so she sealed her memories and her request in Snow's Tear, just in case." There was a touch of emotion in Electrolux's voice, and a trace of relief flashed in his eyes.
"So that's it!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly understood and twisted his body in excitement. "Yuhao really struck it lucky! Even a peerless expert like the Snow Empress has fallen for him! Unlike my Bingbing, who still hasn't..."
"Ah, never mind that." Tian Meng couldn't help chuckling as he teased, "I wonder who it was just now who so righteously asked, 'Why help a human?' Reality gave you a good hard slap in the face, didn't it?"
A tender but subtly dangerous smile curved the Snow Empress's lips as she walked slowly toward the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. The chill around her condensed into tiny blades of ice that gleamed coldly in the sunlight. "Tian Meng, what did you just say? Why don't you say it a little more clearly?"
Tian Meng's voice abruptly died, and he froze the instant the Snow Empress turned her gaze on him.
To the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, that smile was more terrifying than the bitterest wind in the Far North. With a yowl, he darted behind Electrolux like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Peeking out with only half his head showing, he stammered, "N-nothing! I didn't say anything! You misheard!"
Electrolux looked at the unconscious Huo Yuhao, whose brows were tightly furrowed, and spoke in a hoarse voice. "Snow Woman, through a chance encounter, Yuhao gained the power to travel through time. That's how he came back ten thousand years into the past. The flames on him are also his new power. To fight a Titled Douluo, he went so far as to use that power and finally drove him back, but he also paid a tremendous price. I can do nothing about these burning flames. Only your Ultimate Ice can suppress them."
The Snow Empress's pupils contracted sharply, stormy waves rising in her sky-blue eyes. Her voice trembled. "A Titled Douluo? But Yuhao is only a rank thirty Soul Elder now! With such an enormous gap in strength, how could he..." Her voice cut off. She abruptly raised her head to look at Electrolux, the chill around her condensing into ice needles. "Senior Elder Yi, with your strength, why didn't you help him?"
Hearing this, Electrolux was also somewhat emotional. He raised a hand to press against his heaving chest, gray-white mist churning around his fingertips. "Yuhao insisted on stopping me. He wouldn't let me act in this time. If I exposed myself, I might be in danger ten thousand years from now. No one can guarantee whether the gods in the heavens would discover this secret. Ten thousand years from now, he might fall into a land of eternal damnation because of this exposure."
The Snow Empress was silent for a long time, her long white hair stirring without wind. She stepped forward and brushed her slender hand over the boy's bloodstained face, feeling the scorching heat beneath his skin. As she gently gathered Huo Yuhao into her arms, a brilliant ice-blue light erupted around her, the presence of Ultimate Ice becoming countless ice butterflies that fluttered around them. "Yuhao, you'll be all right..."
With a gentle wave of her jade hand, heaven and earth seemed to freeze. Countless hexagonal ice crystals formed in the air, enveloping Huo Yuhao like the Milky Way hanging upside down. The wildly raging flames were temporarily suppressed the moment they met the chill, and under the pressure of the Snow Empress's original power, they gradually dwindled into scattered sparks, sealed within his body. The Snow Empress pressed her cheek to the boy's chest, feeling his heartbeat gradually steady, crystalline tears glimmering in her eyes.
Sensing Electrolux's gaze on her, the Snow Empress unconsciously straightened her back, a rare trace of awkwardness appearing on her face. She knew full well how much the man before her meant to Huo Yuhao: he was like a father to him.
She slowly dipped into a curtsy, her white dress like a snow lotus in bloom. Her voice was gentle, though she could scarcely conceal her respect and apprehension. "Senior Elder Yi, I was terribly discourteous just now. I was anxious and spoke offensively. I hope you can forgive me..." Her gaze fell on the unconscious Huo Yuhao, her eyes full of heartache and self-reproach.
Electrolux looked at the nervous Snow Empress as though he were meeting his daughter-in-law, and a rare, gentle smile appeared on his aged face. He waved a hand lightly, his voice low and hoarse. "There's no need. I understand that you care about Yuhao. You're right; I shouldn't have let Yuhao take such a risk."
His gaze turned to Huo Yuhao, his eyes full of guilt and worry. "This child is stubborn and always takes danger upon himself..."
P.S. Thank you to Lu Chen_dA for the monthly ticket, and thank you for the support.