The faint crackling of charcoal in the bronze basin dispelled the chill outside the tent.
Ying Bing sat quietly by Li Mo's bedside, her legs crossed, her gaze lowered as she read words invisible to others.
[Southern Border's Top 50 Geniuses: Zhu Ningze]
[Southern Border's Top 49 Geniuses: Qiu Lianyu]
[Southern Border's Top 48 Geniuses: Hei Yu]
...
The Southern Border was far larger than the Eastern Wasteland Domain, yet the portion belonging to humans was even smaller.
Hei?
That seed to be a branch of the Great Shang Royal Clan—their totem was that very sa vicious turtle Li Mo had smashed to pieces. If so, this tribe must have participated in the attack on Greenwood City.
Many of the nas above were like this.
Those remnants of the Great Shang still thrived deep in the Southern Border, influencing this land with their beliefs.
Ying Bing's expression remained indifferent as she morized each na and the tribes behind them.
[Southern Border's Top 10 Geniuses: Zhong Ling.]
[Southern Border's Top 9 Geniuses: Huang Donglai.]
...
[Southern Border's Top 4 Geniuses: Zhong Zhenyue.]
[Southern Border's Top 3 Geniuses: Shang Qi.]
[Southern Border's Top 2 Geniuses: Shang Yusu.]
[Southern Border's Top 1 Genius...]
Her eyes lingered on the system's final line.
Ying Bing.
At last, she saw her own na at the very top of the rankings—the coveted first place she had longed for so long.
Yet, she realized she didn’t feel the joy she had expected. Perhaps it was because that familiar na was missing. Without it, these fifty nas felt hollow, as if sothing was lacking.
[Congratulations, Host! For the first ti, you have achieved the top rank in the system's rankings!]
The annoying system had deliberately enlarged the text this ti, even adding special effects.
[After this upgrade, the system now includes celebratory effects for reaching first place. Would you like a celebratory cannon salute for the birth of the new champion?]
"No need."
Ying Bing tied up her hair again and secured it with a jade hairpin.
[But this ti, the Host doesn’t have to endure any system punishnt. Isn’t that worth celebrating?]
Worth celebrating...?
The punishnt was gone.
"But I promised him a gift."
"I shouldn’t break my word."
Ying Bing stood up.
The Phoenix Heavenly Empress, Mistress of the Cassia Palace—how could she go back on her word?
But he hadn’t woken yet...
The system was announcing the rewards for first place, but her mind had wandered, and she didn’t even hear what they were.
She couldn’t help but recall a story Li Mo had once told casually after a al.
A sleeping princess awakened by a prince’s kiss.
At the ti, she had thought the tale far too childish. But now, she wondered—if things unfolded as they did in children’s stories, then perhaps...
Ying Bing glanced at the still-sleeping Li Mo before moving to the bronze brazier to brew a second batch of dicine.
A while later.
Li Mo awoke.
The bitter scent of dicine was the first thing to greet him, making him frown involuntarily.
When he opened his eyes, he froze.
By the brazier, an ethereal figure—one untouched by mortal concerns—was tending to the flas, carefully adjusting the heat beneath the dicine pot. Her delicate hands held a fan, gently coaxing the fire to lick the bottom of the pot.
The firelight softened her jade-like features, casting a glow that made her impossible to look away from.
"Ice block..."
Li Mo gazed at the cold fairy, yet warmth blood in his chest.
"You’re awake? Perfect timing."
Ying Bing poured the dicine into a bowl and approached.
"The dicine’s ready. Drink it while it’s hot."
"!"
Li Mo’s expression turned complicated.
Waking up to see Ice Block brewing dicine for him was undeniably heartwarming.
But this was Ice Block’s dicinal concoction.
Made by her own hands.
Li Mo had never forgotten that stir-fried pork with chili peppers.
Ying Bing lowered her face slightly, her eyes still carrying the warmth of the brazier’s glow.
"Li Mo, be good."
"I’ll drink!"
Li Mo reassured himself that his immortal physique could withstand any poison—what was a little of Ice Block’s brew?
He tried to raise his hand to take the bowl and down it in one go.
But his arms felt numb, completely unresponsive—likely a side effect of channeling the world’s power for too long.
Fortunately, Ice Block’s spoon was already at his lips.
"Too hot?" Ying Bing asked.
"No, but..."
Li Mo’s face twisted like a suffering cartoon character, his words stuck in his throat.
It wasn’t just bitter.
What had she put in this bowl? It tasted downright spiteful...
"Really? It shouldn’t be..."
Ying Bing frowned and took a sip herself, visibly shuddering.
After a mont of silence, she said,
"Good dicine tastes bitter. Drink it, and you’ll recover faster."
"Actually, a slow recovery wouldn’t be so bad... cough!"
Under Ice Block’s gaze, Li Mo chose to pinch his nose and take two more sips.
But the dicine was unbearably bitter.
After just two mouthfuls, he couldn’t suppress a cough.
"Ice Block, got anything sweet? Not saying I’ve earned it, but I’ve suffered enough bitterness—I deserve a little sweetness."
"Sweetness..."
Ying Bing pressed her lips together.
After a mont’s thought, she set the dicine aside and retrieved a piece of malt candy from her pouch.
Li Mo assud she’d drop it into the dicine to temper its acrid taste...
Then he saw the candy touch her lips instead.
"?"
Li Mo blinked.
Wasn’t this supposed to be his sweet reward?
But the next second, a delicate fragrance reached his nose as she leaned closer. He could see the soft glow on her lashes.
The warmth in her eyes grew more pronounced as she looked at him.
Suddenly, Li Mo understood the unspoken words in her gaze:
"Is Bingtang sweet enough for you?"
What kind of person did the world see Ying Bing as?
Cold, sacred, mysterious—her title, the Frost Fairy, spoke volus about how unattainable she seed.
Yet here she was, a piece of candy between her lips, closer than ever.
She didn’t say a word.
But when her eyes t his, it was enough to steal his breath, making the rest of the world fade away.
That wasn’t just a gaze.
It was an arrow piercing straight through the heart!
Li Mo had never understood how legends spoke of beauties who could topple cities and kingdoms—how could re looks bring ruin? Weren’t such tales just excuses to bla won for n’s follies?
Now, he wanted to say: King Zhou, I get it now.
So this was the gift Ice Block had promised...
"I’ll take it."
"Mhm..."
The ever-righteous Li Mo leaned in—only for the candy to retreat slightly.
He leaned closer again...
And it moved farther away.
"?"
When he raised his eyes, he saw the faint tremble in hers.
The candy between her lips had begun to lt, leaving a thin, glistening layer of syrup.
"Ice Block, you..."
Li Mo spoke with utmost seriousness.
But the mont his lips parted, a slender hand pinched his nose shut.
Outside the tent, the snowstorm seed to grow fiercer.
So Grandpa Huzi wasn’t exaggerating when he said their candy could sweeten the soul.
No wonder there was a saying—sweet as malt.
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