Chapter Ten: Let’s Just Be Siblings
When the Snow Empress was transforming, Mu Yang ceased his cultivation, yet the seventy-two spheres of light in his qi sea continued to digest themselves automatically.
Mu Yang remained vigilant during the transformation, wary of those who had previously attempted to capture the Snow Empress. Since Huo Yuhao had snatched away his Tang Blade, the lines were clearly drawn—they were now adversaries, and he could not allow Huo Yuhao to reap any benefits.
The same held true for the Snow Empress. It was not because she looked too beautiful that his body instinctively sought to protect her—certainly not! Yet, even after the transformation was complete, Mu Yang still had not encountered the group intending to seize the Snow Empress.
The Snow Empress's human form appeared to be the same age as Mu Yang's current body, but the icy chill that penetrated her very bones left him with a sense of dread. Though he felt fear, he sensed no danger.
"Xiao Mu, have you figured out the intricacies of the human world?" The Snow Empress glanced at Mu Yang as she spoke.
"Your Majesty, though I have not mastered it completely, I have researched about seventy percent," Mu Yang replied, bowing his head.
His relationship with the Snow Empress was much like that of a subordinate to a superior, his voice devoid of emotion. (Note: The lack of emotion is limited to the previous few lines; the rest of their dialogue is simply cold and distant, as though they are friends on the verge of severing ties.)
"However, Your Majesty, entering the human world requires an identity. We could walk in as we are, but it would inevitably arouse suspicion," Mu Yang continued, still bowing.
Though his head was lowered, excitement stirred within him. Finally, he was going somewhere populated. Life in the Snow Empress’s Ice Palace had been stiflingly dull; she told no cold jokes, and after a month, he had yet to see her smile. The closest was the faintest twitch at the corner of her lips.
"Oh? Xiao Mu, what identity do you wish for me to assume in the human world?"
"Your Majesty, we could enter as nobles from the coastal regions, and I would be your servant."
"Xiao Mu, let’s follow your plan. But you are not my servant—you are my younger brother," the Snow Empress said.
"My Lady…" Mu Yang’s face was tinged with astonishment.
The Snow Empress wanted to be his elder sister. Though the identity was fabricated, it was the Snow Empress herself!
"No need for surprise. Consider it a reward for your research on the human world these past days. Surely you cannot be toiling endlessly without compensation," she said with a gentle smile.
In truth, the Snow Empress’s calculations surpassed Mu Yang’s by far, and she had considered him in her schemes. Having just completed her transformation, if Mu Yang turned against her now, even if she possessed the power to resist, her body would not withstand the overwhelming energy and her transformation would end prematurely.
Moreover, it was Mu Yang who had researched the human rules, not the Snow Empress herself. It would be extremely difficult for her to reach the rank of Soul Saint without using her powers, whereas Mu Yang could protect her. This was why she had nurtured him.
A month later.
In a city of the Douling Empire, a nine-year-old boy with white hair led a nine-year-old girl along the street.
"Mm—where are we this time?"
Mu Yang was lost. After leaving the extreme north, he arrived in the territory of the Tianhun Empire, first finding a city to buy some clothes and a map of the continent.
His plan was to head first to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in the Sunset Forest, for a simple reason.
With the Snow Empress accompanying him, why not be a bit reckless and "take" a few treasures of heaven and earth from there? Wouldn’t that help the Snow Empress grow faster?
Once she had grown, she would be his backing—what would he have to fear then?
The secondary gods could not descend, and could only grant him subtle rewards, all while being monitored. Why not absorb the benefits directly?
At last, Mu Yang lay with a bitter expression upon the branch of a tree and fell asleep.
Mm—not comfortable.
He wished he could sleep in the Snow Empress’s sleeping bag…
The author is heading out tonight, so the update is posted early.