Mary’s lips trembled. She wanted to scold him again, but her throat was too tight, and she couldn’t speak.
Instead, she reached out, grabbed his arm firmly, and dragged him back toward the entrance.
The two of them moved slowly, step by step, like people walking through a nightmare. Behind them, the ice world remained silent and glittering, beautiful and deadly, like a frozen trap waiting for its next victim.
When they finally reached the edge of the ice field, Mary sucked in a deep breath as if she had escaped from drowning.
Her face was pale, and her voice ca out rough.
"It’s too cold," she muttered. "This isn’t normal cold. This is the energy stone’s power."
She turned to Ryan, her eyes fierce despite the exhaustion. "We’re going back to the mindscape. We’ll eat first, warm up, and then discuss how to break the ice. We’ll ask Peregrine and Aurelius, too. Soone has to have a better thod."
Ryan nodded, his expression grim.
He had already thought of countless ways, but in front of such terrifying cold, every plan beca laughable.
Fire? The ice would refreeze instantly.
Digging? Their hands would freeze before reaching half a ter.
Brute force? The collapse risk was too high.
It was a deadlock.
Mary looked at Cleo and Caron, who were also shivering so badly they could barely speak. She didn’t waste another second.
With a wave of her hand, she pulled everyone into the mindscape.
In the next instant, the warm spiritual energy washed over them like spring sunlight. The numbness vanished. The cold pain faded. Their bodies finally rembered what it felt like to breathe.
Mary’s shoulders loosened, but her eyes remained dark.
"Master! I can finally speak!" Cleo shuddered as she peeled off the thick outer coat, her face still pale from the mory. "Just now outside, it was so cold that my whole body was shaking. I’ve never been frozen like that before. What kind of monster energy stone is that?"
Even Caron, who usually acted fearless, rubbed his arms with a miserable expression, as if the cold had seeped into his bones.
Mary watched them take off their bulky clothes one by one. With a wave of her hand, she neatly folded and stacked everything to the side. She did not dare to put them away completely. Sothing told her they would be wearing them again soon.
"Enough talking," Mary said, her tone calm but decisive. "First, we warm up. Then we discuss."
She walked straight to the kitchen area of the mindscape, pulled out a large chunk of ginger, and then took out beef from storage. Her hands moved quickly, practiced and efficient, like a soldier preparing supplies before a battle. The sound of the knife hitting the chopping board echoed crisply in the quiet space.
Very soon, a large pot was placed over the fire.
The ginger went in first, then the beef, then the seasoning. The fragrance rose almost imdiately, thick and comforting, filling the air with warmth. It was the kind of sll that could make even the most exhausted person feel alive again.
Ryan, however, did not go over to help.
He sat in silence at the side, his brows knitted tightly, his eyes deep as water. His fingers rested on his knees, but his mind was far away. He had already closed off the outside world and was using his divine sense to contact Aurelius Von Obsidian.
A mont later, Aurelius Von Obsidian’s voice sounded in his mind.
"I don’t have a perfect thod either," Aurelius Von Obsidian said, his tone unusually serious. "But you can try fire. That ice is abnormal; it’s being maintained by the stone’s power. If the lass has natal fire, especially a heavenly fla, it might break through."
"Break the ice first," Aurelius Von Obsidian added. "Only after seeing what’s underneath can you decide the next step."
Ryan narrowed his eyes.
Heavenly fla...
It might actually work.
By the ti he finished speaking with Aurelius Von Obsidian, Mary had already prepared the soup. The beef was tender, the broth thick, and the ginger scent was strong enough to chase away the cold lingering in their bodies.
She lifted the lid, and steam surged upward like a warm cloud.
"Everyone," Mary called out, "co drink soup. Drink more. We need to force the cold out of our bodies first."
Cleo’s eyes lit up imdiately. Caron’s stomach practically made noise before he even moved.
Mary scooped the soup into bowls, her movents quick and generous. The broth poured out like liquid comfort.
Caron stared at the beef inside as if it was treasure. His mouth watered shalessly.
"Caron," Mary said while scooping, "go ask your father how he’s doing. If he’s fine, tell him to co drink soup."
Caron nodded, but his eyes never left the pot.
"I already asked him just now," he said impatiently. "He said he’ll co later. Master, don’t wait for him. We should eat first!"
His tone was so eager it was almost tragic.
Mary sighed, then filled his bowl to the brim. "Eat."
Caron hugged the heavy bowl with his short arms, walking carefully like he was carrying sacred water. His steps were wobbly, and he looked like he might spill everything at any second.
Cleo imdiately protested, her cheeks puffing. "Master! You gave him so much! I want a big bowl too. You can’t be biased!"
Mary rolled her eyes and scooped an equally large bowl for Cleo.
The mont Cleo tasted the soup, her whole body relaxed. Warmth spread from her stomach outward, and her stiff fingers finally loosened.
Mary watched her eat and suddenly rembered sothing.
"Cleo," Mary said, "I never asked you before... why do you look so much like ?"
Cleo paused mid-bite. She swallowed the beef with effort, then answered casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Because I wanted to look like you," she said. "So in the illusion, I thought of your appearance."
Mary froze.
For a second, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "You really are sothing," she muttered.
Cleo grinned shalessly and continued eating.
Mary scooped two more bowls of beef soup and carried them over to Ryan. He was still sitting in the sa place, his posture stiff, his expression heavy, as if the cold from the ice cave had followed him back into the mindscape.
She placed the bowls down in front of him.
Ryan lifted his head, and only then did he seem to return to the present. When the rich sll of beef hit him, his stomach growled loudly, betraying his calm expression.
He smiled awkwardly. "Wife... your beef soup slls amazing. I’ll drink two more bowls later. Outside, when it was freezing, the only thing I could think about was hot soup."
Mary did not smile.
Instead, she sat across from him, her gaze sharp and direct.
"What were you thinking just now?" she asked in a low voice. "You were so absorbed that you didn’t even notice everyone eating. Even when I called you, you didn’t move."
Ryan didn’t get angry at all from his wife’s scolding. Instead, he smiled faintly, his gaze steady and calm as he explained, "I was just talking to Aurelius."
He paused for a mont, then continued in a low voice, "He suggested using the heavenly fla to break through the ice layer first, and only then take out the energy stone underneath."
His eyes narrowed slightly as if he were already calculating in his head again. "Wife, do you think this thod is feasible? I estimated the distance. If we choose a point in the middle and strike accurately, it should work."
Mary raised her eyebrows, but she didn’t imdiately answer. Instead, she pushed the steaming bowl of soup closer to him with a firm expression. "Drink first. Then talk."
Her tone was not negotiable. "If you don’t force the cold out of your body properly, it will leave hidden damage. Later, when you get older, it will co back to bite you."
Ryan chuckled softly, completely obedient. He picked up the bowl and drank without another word.
The soup slid down his throat like fire, warming him from the inside. The beef was stewed until it was so soft it barely needed chewing. He swallowed mouthful after mouthful, and the numbness in his limbs finally began to fade.
Mary watched him drink, and only then did her expression soften.
She also lowered her head and began drinking her own soup. While her lips moved, her mind was already spinning quickly.
Heavenly fla...
Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier?
If they could lt even a corner of the ice layer and confirm the exact location of the stone, then she could directly store the energy stone into the mindscape. Once the energy stone was taken away, the abnormal cold would disappear, and the ice layer would lose its support.
The problem would solve itself.
The more she thought about it, the more her mood stabilized, and the tension in her chest loosened.
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