The stagnation of his thoughts was inevitable; he was not his own "Spiritual Pivot" and would not stop his deductions due to any external influences.
For certain influences, or rather, certain people, his resistance was quite low.
Lowering his gaze, he looked at the Snow Empress, who was so close that he could taste her cool touch again with just a slight lean. His voice softened a little:
"Snow Empress?"
"I am confirming some things," the Snow Empress said, her voice still cool, but with an undeniable declarative tone: "Earlier, you were not satisfied."
She was referring to the kiss that had started and ended abruptly. Kong Mingan quickly understood, paused slightly, then regained his composure:
"Perhaps I didn't react?"
The Snow Empress's gaze showed no fluctuation. Her exquisite and beautiful face remained expressionless, but she leaned closer to him again, her cool aura almost enveloping him:
"At that time, Bing'er was there."
"So?" Kong Mingan retorted.
"Continue."
It was not a question, but a direct statement. At this moment, the Snow Empress made her decision without hesitation.
She leaned closer again, and the distance between them almost vanished.
Kong Mingan's thoughts paused for a moment. He looked at her cold, ice-blue eyes, which at this moment reflected only his own image.
Then, in the next moment, a piece of cool, cold jade was in his arms.
A pair of hands gently hooked his neck, pulling his head down slightly. Immediately, a cool touch again pressed against his lips.
But this time, that cool touch quickly disappeared, gradually replaced by warmth under clumsy technique.
Time stretched on.
Kong Mingan naturally wrapped one arm around the Snow Empress's waist, preventing her from slipping from his embrace, until at a certain moment, she let go of him.
He lowered his gaze, looking at the Snow Empress in his arms, whose breathing was slightly uneven, eyelashes trembling, and whose cool demeanor carried a hint of tenderness. His gaze darkened, carrying a trace of inquiry.
The Snow Empress, however, seemed to have already understood his unspoken question. She lifted her face, her ice-blue eyes looking directly at him, her voice clear and calm:
"I once left a mark on you. It can protect you on my behalf, and it can also record the Qi of those you come into contact with."
Kong Mingan's expression stiffened slightly, but a hint of understanding flashed in his heart.
He had thought the Snow Empress would easily see through his situation, but he hadn't expected it to be so easy. Perhaps he had been exposed the moment they met?
Remaining silent, he posed a question:
"Then why..."
"...Because everything about me already belongs to you, doesn't it?"
Her tone was so matter-of-fact, as if everything had always been this way. Without waiting for Kong Mingan's response, she leaned in again.
"Mm."
The sweet stickiness flowing between their lips completely blocked the unspoken words.
The Snow Empress closed her eyes, but one hand casually lifted and gently waved backward.
In the next moment, a thick ice wall of Extreme Ice silently rose from the ground, completely sealing the entrance to the ice cave.
Inside the ice cave, light and shadow were dim, with only the two of them... Outside the ice cave, the Ice Empress, having informed the Spirit Beasts of the Far North about the situation, was slowly returning.
She was currently in a particularly conflicted state.
In short, she didn't know how to confront her own emotions.
Initially, what she cared about was undoubtedly the Snow Empress. They had spent tens of thousands of years together, sleeping together, acting as each other's Protectors, with only each other throughout the long years.
But ever since the Snow Empress became that guy's guard, everything changed!
That scoundrel undoubtedly snatched the Snow Empress away from her side, which made her incredibly angry, so much so that she couldn't help but follow the Snow Empress and confront him.
Then she found things becoming strange.
From first witnessing his power, then being tricked into signing a contract, and finally being dragged onto the pirate ship by this guy little by little.
By the time she came to her senses, she was already firmly trapped, with no chance of escape.
And looking back, she realized she had almost been played by this scoundrel, completely powerless to resist, even somewhat actively approaching him to be manipulated.
This strange, incomprehensible emotion made her incredibly conflicted.
The Ice Empress thought again and again, and unknowingly, she arrived at the entrance of the ice cave. However, as soon as she looked up, her steps involuntarily paused.
She saw a thick ice wall, emitting a familiar cold Qi, completely blocking the entrance.
"Hmm?" The Ice Empress was full of doubts.
What were that guy and the Snow Empress doing inside? Why did they seal the entrance?
The Ice Empress frowned, but didn't think much of it. She instinctively reached out her hand.
This ice wall was made of the Snow Empress's Extreme Ice, and for her, it posed no obstruction. Very easily, her consciousness and perception effortlessly passed through it.
She was about to transmit a message to inquire about what was happening inside, but the moment her perception passed through the ice wall and touched the scene within...
Like an electric shock, the Ice Empress suddenly withdrew her hand!
"...Eh?"
The Ice Empress's brain momentarily froze, her expression stiffened slightly, her throat involuntarily swallowed, and her pupils trembled slightly from shock.
She hesitated briefly, as if doubting whether she had misperceived earlier, and carefully placed her palm on the cold wall again, trying to confirm more "clearly."
And this time, clearer sounds and blurry fragments of images flooded into her mind.
The Ice Empress's breathing suddenly stopped.
This time, her hand stayed on the wall for a full ten seconds before she suddenly snapped back to reality and withdrew it!
She gasped for air, her eyes slightly dazed, as if she had just witnessed something terrifying. Her fair cheeks rapidly turned crimson at a visible speed.
"He... they... they are..." The Ice Empress murmured softly, incoherently, her mind in a mess.
All her thoughts stopped at this moment, yet her brain uncontrollably filled in incredibly clear images based on those sounds and blurry perceptions!
"They... how can they... now... how..."
The Ice Empress stammered, her mind growing more chaotic with the self-imagined scenes.
She stared at the ice wall that blocked everything, but it was as if she saw something terrifying. She instinctively took a step back, but her legs were a bit weak, and she directly fell to the ground.
She looked at the ice wall, her lips moving, but she couldn't utter a single word.
However, at a certain moment, an indescribable sensation, a mix of intense curiosity, sourness, and a kind of throbbing that she herself couldn't understand, compelled her to unconsciously...
Lean closer again.
Her hand trembled as she slowly lifted it again, pressing it against the icy cold wall.
Instantly, even clearer sounds directly entered her mind than before.
And this time, the Ice Empress did not immediately let go.
Her eyes trembled slightly.
At a certain moment, the hand pressed against the ice wall remained still, but her other hand, as if pulled by invisible threads,
Trembling, hesitating, she reached for the hem of her white-green dress.
(End of Chapter)
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