The young lady sat with serene elegance, like a noble miss leisurely toying with her slender fingers, a faint, ambiguous smile on her face as she made her difficult demand.
“But today, I want to drink Vita Lemon Tea. Without any added water.”
Doma Chitose didn’t care what Weilin wanted; he wasn’t the one who had to figure it out. He promptly slammed the table again. “Someone come here! Did you hear that? The honored guest wants Vita Lemon Tea without water, fetch it immediately! If I see a single drop of water, I’ll hold you all responsible!”
“Isn’t it a bit much to always trouble the students?”
“Nonsense. The young need more hard work.”
“…Right, didn’t you just say I have quite the knack for luring lolis?”
“What? Did I say that? Ah, I’m old, my memory fails me. At least for now, I feel that you, my friend, have dispelled Huan Moxi’s inner demon and untied the knot that has plagued the Illusory Snow Queen for three years. It truly is a blessing for the Snow Kingdom! For that girl Moxi to meet you is also her fortune and luck.”
Damn, why didn’t you say that earlier?
Weilin could only accept it. Getting used to it was the only way. To get things done more smoothly, she didn’t hold back and directly tossed the four hundred thousand gold coins to the shameless Elder Doma.
“Let’s get to the point. There seems to be a competition this afternoon to decide the Dean’s personal disciple? We don’t want the spot, but I need Huan Moxi to win… I’m not trying to bribe the referee. Huan Moxi’s strength is beyond question, but she’s not suited for multiple consecutive battles. You know what I mean, right?”
“The competition…? That’s completely unnecessary now.” Doma Chitose waved his hand dismissively.
“Why?”
“That girl, even when she was only using less than ten percent of her demonic power, was already enough to trounce ninety percent of the participants. Though not completely unbeatable…”
The Grand Elder paused, a long sigh escaping him.
“…Now that you’ve shattered the girl’s mental barrier, the commotion caused by that world-ending dark force melting a whole building has spread throughout the entire academy. Just moments ago, everyone who signed up for this competition came crying and begging me to let them withdraw early. They said they were still young, with bright futures ahead, and didn’t want to die in this fight. This includes several rising stars from the elite class who have reached the rank of ‘Advanced Mage’… In short, only Huan Moxi will be participating in the afternoon competition. It would be harder to get second place than first…”
Weilin was speechless. “…”
Though quite dramatic, the outcome was essentially set in stone now…
“One more thing. I’d like to use your academy’s library. I’ll be taking a few low-tier magic books. No problem, right?”
The Grand Elder held the two gleaming gold coin cards up to the sunlight streaming through the window, inspecting them while waving his hand generously.
“Hehe, no problem. You may take any magic below 4th-tier. For 5th and 6th-tier magic, just let me know in advance; it’s not like I can’t gift them to you.”
Weilin nodded, not intending to wait for the waterless lemon tea, and stood up to leave.
Her figure reached the doorway but stopped abruptly because of a sudden thought. “One more thing…” Weilin spun around, a cold glint in her eyes. “…The Grand Elder has lived for a thousand years and must be vastly knowledgeable. Have you, by any chance, heard of the Ice Soul Lotus?!”
She clearly saw Doma Chitose’s withered old body tremble violently in the sunlight, then freeze solid.
“…This old man has never heard of it.”
Never heard of it, but such a big reaction? Do you take me for a fool?
Weilin’s gaze turned icy, her voice dropping. “This matter concerns the fate of the entire Snow Kingdom. Moreover, the fact that the Illusory Snow Queen entrusted Xi’s matters to me—this honored trust should be enough for the Grand Elder to believe in my allegiance! …I’ll ask again. Do you know of the Ice Soul Lotus?!”
“…The trip to the Island of Illusory Snow and Flowing Ice just ended recently. Did something happen on the island?”
“Yes!” Weilin said sincerely. “This is of paramount importance. I implore the Grand Elder to share what he knows. If it’s a matter of money…”
“No, it has nothing to do with money.” Doma Chitose interrupted slowly.
Weilin frowned, waiting for him to continue.
The old man’s thin, withered frame turned its back to Weilin. He was silent for a moment, then turned halfway around.
“No one knows the reason I’ve lived a thousand years, not even the Illusory Snow Queen. Some say I was born by heaven’s decree, a monster sent to witness the entire history of the Snow Kingdom over a millennium, from its founding, its rise, to its eventual fall… But how could such a monster exist? The descendants I’ve buried with my own hands outnumber the ancestors you all worship…”
“Let’s skip this part, it’s too tragic…” Weilin sighed, holding her forehead.
“In truth, I was a close friend of the First King. Back then, I was an unmatched warrior. I once single-handedly cleared all demonic beasts from the snowy plains within a radius of three hundred miles, earning great merit for carving out the Snow Kingdom. But during a great battle with the Ice Demon King, my fate was unlucky, and I was gravely wounded and on the verge of death…”
“It was the First King who plucked a flower from the heart of the Island of Illusory Snow and Flowing Ice, a flower that felt very powerful, to extend my life… I later learned that flower was called the ‘Ice Soul Life-Transferring Flower’.”
“…Ice Soul Life-Transferring Flower…” Weilin murmured the name she had never even heard in the game, struggling to recall the events of a few days ago.
“Do you think I’m still considered human?”
A self-deprecating, aged laugh echoed. Before Weilin’s eyes, Doma Chitose lifted his overly long sleeve, revealing a withered old arm. Then… this arm, illuminated by the sunlight, decayed before Weilin’s astonished, wide-eyed gaze into a handful of loose, bluish soil that scattered onto the table…
“Half of my soul and this complete, ruined life have been transferred into the Divine Soil of Eden. Otherwise, did you think I was born with the name Doma Chitose? …Alas, judging by the color of this soil, I won’t live much longer… probably just about two thousand more years, then I will return to the western heavens…”
Zhang Jiao couldn’t even borrow five hundred years, yet you can keep on playing safe for another 2000? …Fine, you’re amazing.
Besides…
“Ice Soul Life-Transferring Flower…!” Weilin finally understood the sense of incongruity she’d felt that day.
She had seen that flower!
It was just that she’d only glanced at the small flower in the corner of the stone platform that day, and all her subsequent attention had been drawn to the ice lotus.
Damn, it’s all a setup.
“…But what does Wu Gu want that thing for? Is everyone planning on not being human anymore?”
Weilin’s expression turned frosty.
The moment she turned, her figure vanished directly into thin air. Grand Elder Doma was a bit dumbfounded but still shouted into the empty air, “Miss! This old man told you everything, so you must keep my secret!”
Though she didn’t hear him, Weilin had no interest in spreading his secret.
Her current top priority was learning skills. Even dealing with the Second Prince, Wu Gu, would have to wait. Weilin used Spatial Warp repeatedly, and within seconds, the scene shifted to the library of Frostwinter Magic Academy.
