Chapter 107: Your Bald Head is Frozen Red
As it turned out, Ning Ke had absolutely no way of dealing with the current Lou Yunxiao.
His dead heart was stirred time and time again by the other.
He slapped away the hand Lou Yunxiao was using to press down on his head. “I’m not cold.”
“Really not cold?”
“No.”
“Then why are you shivering?”
“…”
Lou Yunxiao poked his bald head. “And this head of yours is frozen so red, it looks just like a peeled watermelon.”
“!” Ning Ke couldn’t help but glare at him.
Lou Yunxiao laughed even more happily. “A-Ke, you finally have some emotion.”
“…”
Ning Ke realized that even if he remained cold, this person would not stop harrassing him. Thus, after a moment of silence, he performed a hand seal and transformed back into the likeness of A-Ke.
What made him feel both annoyed and amused was that long hair really was much warmer than a bald head…
His loose long hair fell to his waist. The flame-patterned seal on his forehead remained, forming a sharp contrast with his pale cheeks.
“A-Ke…”
Once the transformation was complete, Ning Ke heard Lou Yunxiao softly whisper his name.
A droplet of water hit the back of Ning Ke’s hand, turning into an ice crystal and sliding off due to the extreme cold.
Ning Ke froze slightly. He looked up to see Lou Yunxiao crying.
Tears rolled from his eyes, turning into ice beads that clattered down.
In those eyes blurred by tears, Ning Ke’s shadow was clearly reflected. It was as if in this entire world, only this one person could enter his sight.
Since waking up, Ning Ke had said many harsh things to Lou Yunxiao. He hadn’t seen this man truly cry.
Now, seeing Lou Yunxiao weeping, Ning Ke was suddenly at a loss. He didn’t know how to respond.
Until… Lou Yunxiao touched his face and said to him:
“It’s so good that you’re still alive.”
Ning Ke was dazed.
Facing a Lou Yunxiao like this, he suddenly remembered how many times he had watched this person from afar after Lou Yunxiao’s reincarnation, and how many times he had felt lucky that Lou Yunxiao was still alive.
The current Lou Yunxiao was likely feeling the same as he did back then. It was no wonder… he would cry.
In this moment, Ning Ke had an urge to reach out and wipe away Lou Yunxiao’s tears.
But his reason suppressed that urge.
“Let me tie up your hair for you.”
Lou Yunxiao finally let go of Ning Ke’s hand and moved behind him. He took the osmanthus hairpin he had bought for A-Ke during the Sect Competition from his spatial bag and gently helped him tie his hair.
The hand that had been released was exposed to the air. It quickly lost its warmth to the freezing wind, causing Ning Ke to instinctively shrink.
“There.” Lou Yunxiao was afraid Ning Ke would refuse the hair-tying. He didn’t dare delay. After inserting the hairpin into the bun, he grasped Ning Ke’s hand again and said, “Since we can’t find the Mo, let’s head down the mountain first. If we keep standing here, we’ll both freeze into blocks of ice.”
Ning Ke’s fingers were once again gripped by Lou Yunxiao taking an inch when given a mile. This time, Ning Ke said nothing.
…
As they headed down the mountain, it began to snow. Large flakes drifted between heaven and earth, and the wind was unnervingly cold, biting into their cheeks.
What was even stranger was that fire could not be used in this space. There was a natural suppression of the fire element here.
The two found a cave and stepped inside.
Ning Ke had Yaoli to protect his body, but his perceived temperature was still extremely low. He frowned, sending out his spiritual sense to investigate this vast snowfield.
It continued to extend. There were living things, but they were all small Yao beasts; there were no traces of humans, let alone Nan Lou.
Where exactly was this place? Where had Nan Lou gone?
Ning Ke couldn’t figure it out, but one thing was very clear: Nan Lou was after Lou Yunxiao. In the Demon Realm, Nan Lou’s intentional provocations had made that obvious.
Memories surfaced. Ning Ke recalled that back at the Liuyun Sect, Nan Lou had said he couldn’t defeat Lou Yunxiao, so he would take Lou Yunxiao’s body for himself.
And currently, Lou Yunxiao indeed possessed a uniquely gifted constitution. He could restrain the Great Mo, see through the attacks of humans and Yao, and was even blessed by the Tiandao.
A species like the Mo had a fatal limitation: they had to consume the flesh and blood of other races to increase their strength. And even if they reached the peak of the Dujie stage, they could not ascend to the God Realm. They could only be trapped in this small world, unable to achieve higher accomplishments.
Therefore, if Nan Lou’s target was Lou Yunxiao, it was very likely he wanted to use Lou Yunxiao’s body to control the entire continent, then cultivate to the extreme and ascend to the God Realm without being bound by the Tiandao. And now he even had a way to destroy seals…
Ning Ke frowned. Things were becoming problematic.
And even more problematic was…
Ning Ke opened his eyes and faced Lou Yunxiao’s magnified face. His expression broke for a second.
“What are you doing so close?”
Lou Yunxiao replied righteously, “Counting how many eyelashes you have.”
He had imagined A-Ke’s appearance far too many times while holding a corpse in the past. Now that he could finally see him, he couldn’t help but lean in close. He only wanted to carve this person’s likeness into his heart forever.
“…”
Ning Ke was speechless and reached out to push him. “Stay away.”
Instead, his hand was caught, and the two were pulled even closer.
“A-Ke, I’m cold,” Lou Yunxiao said piteously. “Getting closer helps keep us warm.”
“You have an ice spiritual root. Why are you afraid of the cold?”
Lou Yunxiao touched Ning Ke’s eyelashes, which were covered in frost and snow, and said, “I’m afraid you are cold.”
As he said this, Ning Ke indeed noticed that although they were circulating Yaoli and spiritual power to resist the cold, ice flowers had formed not only on their eyebrows and hair but even on their clothes. This natural force was powerful to an abnormal degree.
He exhaled, and the heat turned into tiny ice crystals that fell. Ning Ke could only admit, “It is indeed… a bit cold.”
As if he had been waiting for these words, Ning Ke found himself in Lou Yunxiao’s embrace in the next instant. The youth held him tightly, blocking the freezing wind from outside the cave, while his spiritual power flowed into Ning Ke’s body through their contact.
“I’ve reached the Heti stage. My spiritual power is thicker; it can help keep you warm.”
In this freezing world, spiritual power was consumed every second, and fire couldn’t be used for warmth. This was the only clumsy method Lou Yunxiao could think of.
Most importantly, he could get close to A-Ke legitimately!
“…” Ning Ke, a ten-thousand-year-old fox with the Yaoli of a Dujie stage Great Yao, was essentially twice as “tanky” as Lou Yunxiao. How could he possibly need this tiny bit of spiritual power?
He reached out to push Lou Yunxiao. “Keep your spiritual power for yourself. I don’t need it.”
“Also, let me go.”
“I won’t.” Lou Yunxiao’s head rested on Ning Ke’s shoulder, nuzzling him. “Unless you chop off both my hands.”
After saying this, he added, “I know you can’t bear to.”
“…”
Ning Ke lowered his eyes and eventually let him be.
The wind and snow outside did not stop, and the temperature inside the cave grew colder and colder. When night fell, it became pitch black.
The two embraced in silence. Ning Ke had long been used to loneliness. Those ten thousand years might be a blink of an eye in reality, but for him, he had endured them day by day.
He built the Yao Palace and gathered treasures. He suppressed Great Yao and unified the Yao realm. He raised small Yao and lived a life of luxury. On the surface, he was unrestrained and carefree, but in reality, he was accompanied by loneliness every night.
He had never let anyone hold him like this, hiding his ten-thousand-year secret, carrying endless pressure, and enduring day after day.
In the beginning, Yin Feng would often ask him: “Yao Lord, if you have something on your mind, you might as well tell your subordinate. I can help ease your worries.” After being rejected by Ning Ke time and time again, he stopped asking.
Ning Ke knew that telling others might make him feel better. But he couldn’t get over that hurdle. Everything in this world started because of him, and all its hardships were born from him.
He was the greatest bug in this world. Therefore, he did not need anyone’s understanding or sympathy. He only sought to return to his own world without any lingering attachments after completing all his missions.
And never return.
“A-Ke.”
In the darkness, Lou Yunxiao’s voice rang out. It was low, raspy, and gentle, as if calling for his most intimate lover.
“…Mm?” Ning Ke snapped out of his thoughts.
He heard Lou Yunxiao continue.
“Could you tell me something about your home?”
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