Xingli’s expression froze slightly: “We should be meeting for the first time!”
“First time?” Luo Tangtang didn’t believe it for a second. Meeting for the first time and immediately wanting to travel together? Although she did run off later.
“It is the first time.” Xingli nodded, replying with certainty.
Luo Tangtang stared closely at the other’s expression, as if trying to see into her heart. After a long time, she said lightly, “Oh, if you say it’s the first time, then it’s the first time.”
“Tangtang.” The Little Qilin clawed at Luo Tangtang’s leg, trembling all over.
Luo Tangtang glanced at it, then pulled out a few spirit beast inner cores from her storage ring and gave them to it.
The wind and snow were biting cold. Luo Tangtang’s voice was fractured by the snow, almost inaudible, but Xingli still heard it. She said, “I need to find something very important to me, but you are not obligated to come with me. You are free to leave.”
Xingli lowered her eyes, saying nothing, just silently following behind Luo Tangtang, not too close, not too far.
This mountain peak wasn’t high, but Luo Tangtang still climbed for an entire day. During this time, sounds of fighting and spirit beast roars constantly came from the peak above, which was covered in colorful auspicious clouds, indicating fierce battle.
Until Luo Tangtang reached the highest point of the small snowy mountain, she still found nothing.
Was her luck really this bad?
Xingli looked at Luo Tangtang’s somewhat gloomy profile. This person was always the most afraid of the cold. Now, a layer of crystalline snow covered her long eyelashes, and her lips were frozen white, completely devoid of color.
If it were before, she would have already cried out about the cold in a spoiled manner.
“How about we find a place to rest first?” Xingli couldn’t help but suggest.
Luo Tangtang lifted her eyes to look at Xingli. Her eyelashes fluttered. She mumbled, “Okay.”
Xingli’s expression became even more complex. She held back for a moment, but still subconsciously rubbed the top of Luo Tangtang’s head.
Luo Tangtang was obedient too; she didn’t resist. Instead, she meekly rubbed against Xingli’s palm, behaving very familiarly and docilely.
Seeing this, Xingli’s eyes suddenly softened, but then she seemed to think of something and quickly pulled her hand back as if burned.
Luo Tangtang didn’t mind either. She walked a few steps forward and looked around. Everything was white and vast; finding a place to rest would likely be difficult.
She glanced at the horizon. It was already starting to dim. They had to find a place before dark.
“Let’s go.” Just as Luo Tangtang spoke, the Little Qilin beside her seemed to step on something. Its little paws weren’t slip-resistant, and its whole small body slid straight down.
“Little Qilin!” Luo Tangtang exclaimed in surprise, instinctively wanting to grab it, but the Little Qilin rolled into a ball and flew off into the distance.
That little troublemaker! Luo Tangtang almost let out a heavy sigh, then resignedly chased after it.
The place where the Little Qilin rolled down was a very steep slope. So Luo Tangtang couldn’t catch it in time and could only watch as the white ball plummeted straight down another slope that was practically vertical.
“Ow ow!” A cry of pain came from below. Luo Tangtang closed her eyes, wincing, but her lips couldn’t help but curve upwards.
Serves it right!
“We should still go down and check on it,” Xingli said, looking at Luo Tangtang’s slightly gloating expression. There was a hint of barely perceptible fondness in her tone.
“Let’s go.” Luo Tangtang quickly composed her expression, putting on an anxious facade.
Below the slope seemed to be an ice field, filled with icy branches and jade-like trees, like a world of ice and snow. Being in it, one could feel a sense of ethereal peace and tranquility.
It’s still a bit cold though! Luo Tangtang thought she was lucky to be in human form. If she had turned into her white tiger form, her fur would probably be bristling from the cold.
Just as she was shivering and craning her neck, looking around for the Little Qilin, a subtle fragrance reached her nose. It was cool and refreshing, and smelled very comforting.
Subconsciously, she leaned back and was wrapped in a warm embrace. Something soft and fuzzy tickled her neck.
“You’ll be warmer wearing this,” the person behind her said.
Luo Tangtang nodded, “Thank you.”
It was a cloak made of some unknown material. It was very light, but seemed to have an automatic heating function. Wrapped in it, Luo Tangtang actually found that this white world she usually disliked wasn’t so unbearable after all.
“Tangtang.” A weak voice suddenly came from ahead.
The Little Qilin lay on the ground, looking very weak.
“Oh dear, are you alright?” Luo Tangtang hurried forward a few steps, extending her little fingertip to scratch the Little Qilin’s chin.
“Are you okay? Can you get up?”
“If I can’t get up, can you carry me?” the Little Qilin weakly countered.
“Hehe!” Luo Tangtang let out a few dry laughs. “No.”
“Then I can get up.” The Little Qilin silently climbed to its feet, saying nothing more.
Luo Tangtang patted its head with satisfaction, wearing a benevolent expression.
“Stop fooling around. Let’s go look ahead,” Xingli said, patting Luo Tangtang’s shoulder, signaling her to get moving.
Luo Tangtang immediately poked the Little Qilin with her toe. “Quick, scout ahead.”
The Little Qilin immediately rolled its eyes at Luo Tangtang, rolled a circle on the ground to put some distance between them, and then slowly moved forward.
It had to be said, the Qilin’s ability to scout and find treasures was unparalleled.
Luo Tangtang looked at the misty ice river before her, feeling her entire body’s blood boil with excitement.
She bent down and picked up the Little Qilin, burying her face in its fur and taking a deep sniff. “You’re really amazing!” Luo Tangtang praised sincerely.
“Really?” The Little Qilin’s face actually turned red upon hearing Luo Tangtang’s praise.
“Of course.” Luo Tangtang smiled and rubbed her face against the Little Qilin’s smooth head a few more times.
“Junior Sister, it’s better not to hug it.” Xingli, who had appeared before them at some point, solemnly scooped the Little Qilin out of Luo Tangtang’s arms.
Seeing the question marks on Luo Tangtang’s and the Little Qilin’s faces, Xingli’s dark eyes flickered slightly. “It hasn’t had a bath in who knows how long. It’s not clean.”
Instantly, Luo Tangtang’s hands, which had been holding the Little Qilin, trembled. She snapped her head towards the Little Qilin, her voice urgent. “How long haven’t you had a bath?”
The Little Qilin looked at Luo Tangtang’s somewhat panicked expression, swallowed, and lightly licked its own paw with its tongue. Its voice was a little wronged. “I clean myself every day.”
Damn it! Luo Tangtang’s face instantly went completely dark. With a sweep of her hand, she tossed the Little Qilin onto the ground.
The Little Qilin huddled up, looking very wronged. Didn’t they know that newborn young qilins were very weak? And it was born in a cave; how could it have the conditions for a bath?
They’re really a bunch of heartless people. The Little Qilin smacked its lips and didn’t want to talk.
“Ahem ahem.” Luo Tangtang seemed to realize her actions were a bit extreme and felt a little embarrassed. She let out a few dry coughs, her eyes darting around.
“Once I take you back, I’ll give you a proper bath. I promise you’ll smell wonderful.”
The Little Qilin glanced at her and mumbled, “A few Dust Cleansing Spells would be enough.”
“In the end, you’re still disgusted with me.”
“Uh…” Luo Tangtang fell silent. This Little Qilin was quite smart.
“Let’s still go look ahead,” Xingli said.
“Right, right.” Luo Tangtang went along with it.
She awkwardly bent down to pick up the Little Qilin. The Little Qilin immediately scraped its two little paws on the ground a few times, then squinted at Luo Tangtang with an expression that said, ‘If you don’t pick me up, you’re dead meat.’
Luo Tangtang’s hand paused. She extended it resignedly, but someone was faster than her and picked the Little Qilin up.
“This is better,” Xingli said lightly.
The Little Qilin instantly drew its neck in, not daring to make a sound.
“Let’s go.” Xingli looked at Luo Tangtang, and the Little Qilin also stared at her with wide eyes.
Luo Tangtang pursed her lips, then shrugged. This is pretty good.
The two people and one beast continued on their way. The surrounding spiritual energy was very dense, but the cold was biting. This small world seemed to have some kind of restriction, as Luo Tangtang felt the spiritual energy circulating within her body was sluggish.
Deeper in, Luo Tangtang found that she couldn’t even use her spiritual energy at all.
She immediately turned to look at Xingli and found the other woman was also looking back at her with a serious expression.
“This place is very strange. Be careful in everything.”
“Okay.” Luo Tangtang nodded.
Fortunately, they hadn’t gone much further when a thickening mist began to rise. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, only the sounds of their footsteps and faint breathing.
Suddenly, someone’s breathing grew heavier, even becoming rapid.
Luo Tangtang’s gaze, sharp as a torch, was fixed on a small pool ahead. It was like an oasis in a desert, looking incredibly small in the vast ice field, yet it was so eye-catching, radiating intoxicating colors.
On the icy pool, there unexpectedly bloomed a Snow Jade Flower, emitting a sacred aura.
The original novel described it with great care: its petals seemed carved from ice and jade, crystal clear and pure white.
[It’s an extremely beautiful flower. Yun Shayi lowered her eyes and thought, It’s very clean, unlike me.]
A scene like this suddenly flashed through her mind. Luo Tangtang’s heart sank slightly, and her expression as she looked at the Snow Jade Flower became increasingly determined to obtain it.
“This is what you’re looking for?” Xingli asked, looking at Luo Tangtang. Her face seemed somewhat stunned and disbelieving.
“Yes.” Luo Tangtang’s eyes were bright, as if sparkling with starlight.
“I want to give it to my senior sister.”
Luo Tangtang’s eyes held a smile. “Wait for me.”
After speaking, Luo Tangtang confidently walked forward.
It was said that in the original novel, that disciple obtained it very easily and didn’t encounter any difficulties.
Luo Tangtang was therefore very reassured. She practically ran forward in excitement.
So when the sound of ice cracking came from under her feet, her face was full of disbelief.
“Tangtang, come back!”
Xingli’s somewhat anxious voice came from behind her.
Luo Tangtang immediately gathered spiritual energy, wanting to retreat, but her spiritual energy seemed frozen by the cold ice, completely immobile.
It’s over! Luo Tangtang thought despairingly as she fell into the icy pool.
In an instant, the biting cold ice was painful, like being scraped by knives. Luo Tangtang involuntarily swallowed a few mouthfuls of icy water. It felt like there were ice shards in her stomach and intestines; it was incredibly uncomfortable.
She struggled, trying to move her limbs, and felt a little grateful that she knew how to swim.
However, the next moment, this world fully showed her with facts: when you’re unlucky, don’t expect good fortune.
The Snow Jade Flower, whose petals were originally closed, began to bloom. Spiritual energy overflowed, and the cold became even more intense.
So intense that Luo Tangtang’s blood felt like it was freezing.