A biting wind, carrying tiny ice crystals, swept across the vast snowfield. Deep within the ancient, unyielding glaciers of the Far North, two figures exuding a chilling aura stood suspended in mid-air.
Ripples appeared in the ice-blue and emerald-green eyes of the Twin Emperors of Ice and Snow. Their keen senses allowed them to capture that familiar yet unfamiliar aura the moment Huo Yuhao stepped into this world—like a flickering but inextinguishable starlight in the cold night, carrying a heart-warming warmth.
As he stepped through the crunching snow, Huo Yuhao looked up at the majestic ice peaks, memories surging like a tide. Every inch of this snow-covered land bore the marks of his past life.
As he passed through the outer perimeter and finally arrived at the core area, two tall figures appeared and disappeared in the swirling snow, as if they had been waiting for a long time.
" Xue'er, is that the human you've been dreaming of? He doesn't seem particularly special." The Ice Empress leaned against an ice pillar, her voice as cold as frost, her fingertips lightly touching the black ice, causing tiny ice flowers to scatter.
The Snow Empress, her long, silver-white dress billowing without wind, softened the icy mist surrounding her. She shook her head slightly, her eyes filled with tenderness. "Alright, Bing'er, Yuhao is a very, very good person."
She gently brushed the snowflakes from her temple, a faint smile curving her lips. "Let's go."
Huo Yuhao abruptly stopped as two figures, one in white and one in green, slowly approached. The Snow Empress radiated a holy light, like a fairy formed from ice and snow;
Ice Empress, with its cold and sharp edge, resembled a blade forged under the cold moon, a scene strangely similar to Xiao Bai and Xiaoqing from the Legend of the White Snake. And now, standing at the crossroads of fate, he seemed to have become, in a fleeting moment, Xu Xian in this icy world.
There were no dramatic reunions, no lost and found tokens, only the pure emotions flowing in the air, like the oldest ballads, quietly playing on this silent snowfield.
As Snow Empress moved with light, graceful steps, the hem of her skirt swept across the once-hard ice, which seemed to melt into soft clouds.
Huo Yuhao stood there, stunned, his breathing becoming rapid. Snow Empress was breathtakingly beautiful; her face, sculpted like ice crystals, was even more ethereal against the backdrop of the wind and snow, more captivating than he remembered.
Her beauty was unique, as if she had condensed all the icy and snowy spirit of the Far North into her body. He had repeatedly planned what to say when they met on the way here, but at this moment all the excuses he had prepared had vanished, leaving only a heart full of shock and excitement.
When the two were finally close enough to look into each other's eyes, Snow Empress suddenly spoke softly, " Yuhao, you've come." Her voice was like heavenly music, carrying a familiarity that transcended time and space.
Huo Yuhao was completely dumbfounded. He had never met the Snow Empress in this life before, so why did she speak so naturally, as if they had known each other for a long time?
" Yuhao, I still remember you." Snow Empress raised her hand, her fingertips gently touching Huo Yuhao's cheek, her eyes filled with a longing that transcended reincarnation. "No matter how time flows, I will always remember you."
The howling wind swept past Huo Yuhao's ears, and the Snow Empress's parting words still seemed to linger in his heart. " Yuhao, see you in the next life. May the Goddess of Ice and Snow bless you." This promise burned like a ghostly blue flame blooming on a thousand-year-old iceberg, burning eternally deep in Huo Yuhao's memory.
"What is love in this world that makes people willing to die for it?" Yuan Haowen's timeless lament has now become the most fitting reflection of his own heart.
When his gaze met that of the Snow Empress once more, the entire Far North seemed to hold its breath. The ice crystals suspended in the air stopped falling, and time seemed to be gently slowed down by an invisible giant hand. There were no words spoken, and only their gazing figures remained in the world.
Huo Yuhao's heart pounded. In truth, nothing had changed. Those questions that had been repeatedly pondered in his mind—why did the Snow Empress remember him?
Could it be that the so-called Goddess of Ice and Snow truly exists in this world, returning here with her memories and longing? -- At this moment, none of that matters. The smiling eyes before me, that familiar feeling that transcends time and space, already surpass a thousand answers.
On Snow Empress's exquisitely beautiful face, a gentle smile, rarely seen in millennia, blossomed. Throughout the long years, she endured the torment of waiting and longing alone, wandering in the lonely river of time.
But the moment Huo Yuhao appeared in his sight, all the pain vanished, and all the waiting became meaningful.
(She had long forgotten how painful the millennia of waiting and longing had been; at this moment, everything seemed worthwhile.)
Some emotions are like Core Flame buried deep underground; no matter how time passes, a gentle breeze upon reunion will ignite them into a raging fire.
A rare smile appeared on that stunningly beautiful face.
(She knew he would come. Some memories were painful, but others lingered in her mind. She was happy. Some emotions don't change with time, no matter the era.)
(Whenever you appear before me, my heart recognizes you instantly. Your presence makes it beat faster, your presence warms this cold place. Even the hardest ice will melt into the warm waters of spring.)
She clearly sensed that her heart awakened the moment she saw him; the throbbing that had been encased in ice transformed into melting snow in spring, warming the entire Far North.
As Machado wrote in "Childhood Dreams," "All roses spread their fragrance, and all love blossoms." Love, like a mysterious magic, arrives quietly and changes everything unexpectedly.
It can make people soar on the clouds of happiness, or it can make them lose their way in blindness; the seeds it plants in the heart grow wildly under the nourishment of time, and by the time one realizes it, the heart has already lost its composure.
(Love can bring happiness, that's undeniable. Love can blind people; it can make them lose sight of the road ahead, drive them mad in the darkness, and plant seeds in their hearts that grow unnoticed until they realize love exists, at which point their hearts are thrown into chaos.)
The Snow Empress's memories unfolded slowly before his eyes like a snow and ice painting. Every detail from ten thousand years ago—the thrill of their first encounter, the warmth of their companionship, and the final farewell and promises—replayed repeatedly in his mind.
Those cherished memories now feel like the sweetest burden, making her even more certain that this love that transcends time will never be erased by the years.
Beneath the low-hanging leaden clouds, fine snowflakes fell like stardust cascading from the Milky Way, adding a touch of lingering, poetic beauty to this already snow-covered Far North.
The Snow Empress tilted her head back, letting the glistening snowflakes fall on her eyelashes, a gentle smile curving her lips, "'If we can share the snow someday, then we'll have grown old together in this life.' Although in this vast world, we may not be able to truly walk hand in hand until our hair turns white, as long as I can stand shoulder to shoulder with you..."
Her voice trailed off, tinged with girlish shyness and anticipation, "Wouldn't this count as 'growing old together' in another sense?"
Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat. The affection flowing in Snow Empress's words was like melting snow water flooding his parched heart. The longings he couldn't reciprocate in his past life, the regrets that were blocked by fate, all turned into a surge of heat in his chest.
He suddenly remembered Snow Empress's tearful parting words, and the last look she gave him before she vanished—a look filled with reluctance and expectation that had pierced his soul countless times.
In this life, he secretly vowed that he would never again let this deep affection be misplaced. Love should be bravely expressed; hesitation and wavering will only allow precious people to slip through one's fingers. He understood this heart-wrenching realization better than anyone else.
The Ice Empress frowned, her eyes filled with disbelief. She had never seen the Snow Empress so passionate—the usually aloof and distant spirit of ice and snow, Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, now revealing her deep affection for humanity without any pretense.
The way Snow Empress looked at Huo Yuhao seemed to encapsulate the entire world in those loving eyes. Her longing was like a tidal wave, and her love was like a raging fire, completely overturning Ice Empress's perception of her.
Huo Yuhao's breathing became rapid. Snow Empress's words were like a fuse igniting a fire in his heart, completely detonating his long-suppressed emotions. He involuntarily took a step forward, his eyes filled with a mixture of longing, guilt, and determination.
The shackles in his heart shattered, all his worries were thrown to the back of his mind, and he wrapped his long arms around Snow Empress's soft body and held her tightly in his embrace.
The coolness of her hair reached his palm, and the familiar scent of snow lingered around his nose. At this moment, reason was completely overwhelmed by emotion. He gently cradled the Snow Empress's head, and amidst her surprised gasp, he leaned down and kissed those lips that haunted his dreams.
The world seemed to freeze at that moment; the howling north wind quietly ceased, and the swirling snowflakes hovered in the air, becoming a silent witness to this passionate embrace.
Snow Empress was taken aback at first, then closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around Huo Yuhao's neck, and all her longing and waiting turned into a gentle response between her lips. After an unknown amount of time, the two slowly separated, their foreheads touching, the love in their eyes almost overflowing.
Ice Empress's nails dug deeply into her palms as she gazed at the two embracing before her. A soft whisper escaped her throat, " Xue'er..." Her voice carried a bittersweetness and melancholy that she herself was unaware of. Complex emotions surged in her emerald eyes, a mixture of blessing and unspeakable loss.
Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness rippled with light, like a lake surface touched by a spring breeze.
Electrolux floated in a deep blue vortex of spiritual energy, his silver-white robes swaying gently with an invisible rhythm. The smile on his lips rippled outwards like waves, and no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, he couldn't stop the overflowing joy and happiness in his eyes.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's amethyst-like eyes widened, and its plump body sprang into the air, startling a string of tiny spiritual light points. "My god! When did Yuhao become so daring? That's the Snow Empress, the leader of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North!"
It waved its tentacles, staring incredulously at the scene outside. "Seriously, is Snow Empress really that shy? This iceberg that has never melted for ten thousand years has really been warmed up by Yuhao!" Tian Meng's voice was full of amazement, mixed with a hint of "my young master has grown up."
The word "love" is as mysterious as a flower in the mist or the moon in the water, and no one has been able to understand it for thousands of years. Huo Yuhao and Snow Empress smiled at each other, and in the moment their fingers intertwined, it was as if they had grasped eternity.
Their intertwined figures in the wind and snow resembled two stars that had finally met across time and space. Even as the world changes and Stars Shift and Constellations Move, their tenderness at that moment was enough to solidify into eternity—and of course, this enduring love will continue to unfold in the years to come...
Just as Huo Yuhao was about to speak, Snow Empress's fair, jade-like fingertips gently touched his lips. She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting butterfly-wing-like shadows on her cheeks, and a faint blush rose on her icy face. " Yuhao, call me Xue'er."
Her voice was as soft as newly melted snow, carrying the coquettishness and anticipation unique to a young girl, following Huo Yuhao's auditory nerves and reaching the softest corner of his heart.
Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat, a warm smile curved his lips, and his gaze was so tender it could melt water. "Yes, Xue'er." A single word, yet it carried a thousand unspoken words.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly wriggled its body and grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Hey! Yuhao, you haven't forgotten the important reason we traveled all the way to the Far North, have you?" Its tentacles thrashed irritably, "We came here to... abandon our third Martial Soul?"
"You noisy big bug!"
Electrolux smiled and waved his hand, an invisible spiritual force transforming into a soft barrier that gently silenced Tian Meng's incessant chatter. " Yuhao and Snow Woman have only been able to meet once in their lifetimes, so don't spoil the mood. Some destinies are more precious than anything else."
He gazed at the two embracing outside, his eyes filled with the loving kindness and blessings of an elder, "Let them enjoy this moment."