“What is all this noise about?”
As the voice fell, the great demons who were still rolling in the snow instantly froze. They even swallowed their screams back into their bellies, their massive bodies trembling violently as if they had just witnessed the most terrifying entity in the world.
The teasing smile on Zhang Mingyuan's face also froze.
Well, I'm screwed.
He subconsciously straightened his back, preparing himself for a tempestuous storm.
This stupid fox had called her guardian way too quickly; he hadn't even finished his cool lines yet!
In the void, ripples gently vibrated.
A red-clothed figure appeared out of thin air, her feet bare.
She quietly hovered in midair. Her crimson dress was the sole splash of color in this pale world, more brilliant than raging fire and more vibrant than the blazing sun.
Her long black hair fell loosely around her shoulders. Her skin was fairer than snow, and her face possessed peerless beauty.
The newcomer was none other than the master of the Myriad Snow Palace, Su Jinxue.
First, she swept her gaze over Zhang Mingyuan, and then she looked at the Snow Moon Fox, the spiritual pet she had captured and brought back not long ago.
“Lord Immortal Lord!”
The moment she saw Su Jinxue, Su Li's massive fox body instantly shrank, transforming into a fluffy, foot-long, nine-tailed little fox.
The distinct slap mark on her cheek looked exceptionally glaring.
“Waaah—”
Wailing, Su Li leapt and threw herself into Su Jinxue's embrace. Eight of her tails wrapped tightly around Su Jinxue's arm, leaving only one tail to point aggrievedly at Zhang Mingyuan.
“Lord Immortal Lord, you have to stand up for Su Li! This human bullied me! Not only did he hit me, but he... he also humiliated me!”
She buried her little head in Su Jinxue's chest, rubbing against her pitifully. Her tears fell like cheap water, quickly wetting a patch of Su Jinxue's robe.
Zhang Mingyuan's heart skipped a beat.
This is bad!
This vixen was far better at snitching than she was at fighting!
Judging by Su Jinxue's demeanor, she must usually treasure this fox immensely.
Today, he had slapped her precious darling's face until it was swollen. How could this end well?
Five thousand years of experience told him that this icy woman protected her own with zero logic and held grudges like no other.
Sure enough, cradling the fox, Su Jinxue slowly turned her cool, unperturbed red eyes toward him.
There was no anger in her gaze, only a deep, bottomless pool of ice.
“Lord Immortal Lord, kill him! Slice him into a thousand pieces!”
Emboldened by her backer, Su Li grew arrogant again and clamored from Su Jinxue's embrace.
Su Jinxue gently stroked Su Li's soft fur, comforting the little creature in her arms, before she finally spoke. Her voice remained cold and clear.
“Zhang Mingyuan, what do you have to say for yourself?”
Seeing Su Jinxue's cold face, alarm bells rang wildly in Zhang Mingyuan's head.
No, he couldn't just stand there and take a beating!
He had to seize the initiative!
His mind spun rapidly. Instantly wiping all the playfulness from his face, he replaced it with an expression of righteous indignation and profound grief.
“Immortal Lord Su, you've arrived at the perfect time!”
Zhang Mingyuan took a step forward, speaking with deep pain and sorrow,
“I was originally performing the task you assigned to me in the Spirit Beast Garden. I unexpectedly learned from the garden director that this new spiritual pet of yours is arrogant, domineering, and completely lawless!”
He pointed his finger at Su Li, looking like a disappointed elder.
“Not only has she made a complete mess of the entire Spirit Beast Garden, but she also demanded that all the on-duty Myriad Snow Palace disciples cast aside their cultivation to serve her around the clock!
If the disciples made even the slightest mistake, they would be beaten and scolded by her!
I simply couldn't bear to watch any longer, so I came here to reason with her and guide her back to the path of goodness!
But who would have thought!
The moment I arrived and offered gentle advice, she called me a ‘lowly human’!
She even said I was only fit to be her servant and demanded that I kneel down and serve her!”
Su Li froze in Su Jinxue's arms. How could this human twist black and white like this?
Just as she was about to retort, she saw Su Jinxue's cold eyes flicker slightly, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
Zhang Mingyuan continued with tragic indignation, “I refused to comply, and she flew into a rage out of humiliation! Immortal Lord, look!”
Zhang Mingyuan held up his right hand for Su Jinxue to see.
“She actually used her face to hit my hand! My hand still hurts even now!”
Hiding in the snowbank, the Heaven-Shaking Mastiff's dog face twitched violently.
It had seen shameless people before, but never anyone this shameless!
Zhang Mingyuan continued his tearful accusation.
“I was so angry that I chided her with a few words, but she then demanded that I kneel and apologize, and even threatened to chop off my hand! Lord Immortal Lord, look at this again!”
With a grand wave of his hand, he pointed at the one hundred and eight great demons wailing all over the ground.
“She even gathered so many fierce beasts and set up some ‘Myriad Demons Heaven-Prison Array’ to gang up on me! Immortal Lord! I am merely a weak, pitiful, and helpless Mahayana Stage cultivator! How could I possibly beat over a hundred of them?!”
As he spoke, he even squeezed out two non-existent tears, clutching his chest as if he had suffered severe internal injuries.
“If they hadn't thrown themselves into my sword intent one after another, I'm afraid I would have lost my life here today!”
His words were incredibly stirring, enough to make any listener weep in sorrow.
Of course, this only applied to himself.
The great demons who were still able to move all stared at him as if looking at a monster.
They had seen people act before, but never anyone who could act this well.
And those lines? Were those things a human could even say?!
A bizarre silence fell over the mountain peak.
Cradling the fox, Su Jinxue quietly listened to him finish, her expression still unchanging.
After a long pause, her vermilion lips parted slightly, and she said softly, “Are you finished?”
Zhang Mingyuan's heart skipped a beat.
Uh-oh, did I overact?
This icy woman doesn't buy it at all? Does she really love this smelly fox that much?
Come on, foxes have a natural musk!
You're an Immortal Lord with a cleanliness obsession, yet you hold a fox all day long. Does that make any sense?
Right then, Su Li poked her little head out from Su Jinxue's arm, casting an incredibly humanlike, smug, and provocative look at Zhang Mingyuan.
Her foxy eyes were filled with the message: You are dead meat.
“Lord Immortal Lord, don't listen to his nonsense! He's slandering me! He's the one who hit me! Hurry up and kill this arrogant human who doesn't know his place!”
Su Li cooed loudly, urging her on.
Zhang Mingyuan had already prepared himself to be sent flying by a palm strike from Su Jinxue.
However...
Su Jinxue didn't even spare Su Li a glance.
She merely raised a hand, curled her finger, and gave Su Li's fluffy forehead a hard flick.
“Shut up. If you dare utter another word, this seat will seal you beneath this mountain range for a hundred years.”
Her voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.
Su Li's clamoring stopped instantly. Following that, an expression of utter shock and grievance appeared on her foxy face.
She couldn't understand why the Lord Immortal Lord would take that man's side!
As for Zhang Mingyuan, he was even more bewildered.
What's going on?
This isn't the script!
According to the custom of the past five thousand years, shouldn't she have already started beating him by now?
What left him even more stunned was what came next.
Su Jinxue's gaze fell back upon him. On her cold face...
...there actually appeared a trace of... an extremely unnatural, stiff expression, as if she were trying to appear "fair and just."
“As this seat's spiritual pet, she was indeed arrogant and impolite. She deserved to be disciplined.”
She paused, seemingly weighing her words, and added another sentence.
“You... did well.”
Boom!
Zhang Mingyuan felt as though a bolt of heavenly lightning had struck his brain, leaving it buzzing.
Did... did he hear her correctly?
Su Jinxue, the woman who had opposed him for five thousand years and went against him in everything, actually... praised him?
She even said he did nothing wrong?!
This was more ridiculous than the sun rising from the west!
Zhang Mingyuan stood frozen on the spot, completely dumbfounded.
After saying this, Su Jinxue also seemed to find it a bit awkward.
She avoided Zhang Mingyuan's look—which was as if he had seen a ghost—and let her gaze fall upon his hand.
Specifically, the very hand he had just claimed was "hurt" by the fox's face.
Her cool voice rang out once more, breaking the silence.
“Does your hand... hurt a lot?”
Rate on N.U.
