“City Lord Qin already knows, doesn’t he? What other motives could I have?” Xu Zimo said with a smile and shook his head. “But what about you, City Lord? What’s the purpose behind your marriage proposal?”
“You went to the sealed cave, didn’t you?” Qin Feng asked coldly.
“So what if I did?” Xu Zimo replied.
“Tell me the truth. What did you see? If you lie even once, I’ll suppress you right here,” Qin Feng said with a powerful aura pressing down on Xu Zimo.
“With your Empyrean Meridian Realm strength, I’m afraid that’s not enough to suppress me,” Xu Zimo replied calmly and shook his head.
“Father, what are you doing?” Qin Shuang quickly stepped in to stop them. “Can’t we talk this through properly?”
“Shuang’er, where is the token I gave you?” Qin Feng asked.
Qin Shuang took out the token. Since Xu Zimo had already obtained the Thunder-God Pearl, the token no longer held much significance.
“You two, come with me,” Qin Feng said as he took the token and walked out of the Thundercloud Cave.
Xu Zimo waved his hand and followed him out.
They arrived at the rear mountain of the Qin estate.
“Hand over the Thunder-God Pearl, and I’ll let you leave unharmed,” Qin Feng said with his back turned.
“No,” Xu Zimo shook his head.
Qin Feng’s gaze grew sharp, and he reached toward Xu Zimo with his right hand.
In the next moment, Qin Shuang suddenly stepped forward and blocked him.
“Shuang’er, what are you doing?” Qin Feng quickly withdrew his hand and asked in surprise.
“He saved my life. I won’t let you hurt him,” Qin Shuang shook her head.
“You don’t understand. He came to the Qin Clan with ulterior motives. He only wanted the Thunder-God Pearl,” Qin Feng explained.
“That pearl’s been sealed away for years and served no purpose. So what if he takes it?” Qin Shuang replied.
“That’s an ancestral item with great importance. Move aside now,” Qin Feng scolded.
“I won’t. We already became husband and wife in the thunder pool. Father, please forgive him,” Qin Shuang pleaded.
“If you truly became husband and wife, would he still be alive? Could he resist your Underworld Ice Physique?” Qin Feng said coldly.
“In that case, if you want to kill him, you’ll have to kill me too,” Qin Shuang said, still standing in front of Xu Zimo.
“You...” Qin Feng stared at her for a long while before sighing heavily and turning to leave. “He cannot leave the Qin Clan for now.”
...
After Qin Feng left, Qin Shuang finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you alright?” she asked Xu Zimo. “My father isn’t usually like this.”
“He seems to care about you a lot,” Xu Zimo smiled.
“These years, because of my body, he’s worried sick,” Qin Shuang said with a hint of sadness.
The two walked out of the rear mountain and returned to the Qin residence.
Although Qin Feng was gone, Xu Zimo still felt many eyes secretly watching him.
Clearly, they were afraid he might run away.
“Let’s go to my courtyard. I’ll examine your body,” Xu Zimo said.
“Huh? What are you planning to do?” Qin Shuang instantly blushed like a red apple.
“Check your physique. What else did you think?” Xu Zimo replied helplessly. “If I wanted to do something, I would've done it in the thunder pool earlier.”
Following behind Xu Zimo, Qin Shuang lowered her head and quietly glanced at his back.
There’s no such thing as an unsolvable problem in this world.
Since the Underworld Ice Physique exists, there must be a way to resolve it.
Qin Feng’s method required too many sacrifices, had too much uncertainty, and went against the natural order. It was a last resort at best.
After arriving at Xu Zimo’s room, he had Qin Shuang lie on the bed.
He placed his hand on her forehead and wrist, slowly probing inside her body.
The moment he made contact, Xu Zimo’s spirit sense was met with a wave of cold air.
He discovered that Qin Shuang’s meridians, and even her organs like the heart, lungs, and stomach, were different from ordinary people.
Her meridians and organs were snow white, as if covered in a layer of frost.
The deeper he probed, the more he realized her body was being consumed by ice. This wasn’t something that could be fixed by simply removing the cold energy.
Her body constantly generated cold air. Once it reached a critical point, it would flare up, like what happened earlier in the garden pavilion.
“She’s basically a snowman,” Xu Zimo sighed after finishing the examination.
Qin Shuang’s condition was severe. Her entire body was almost covered in ice. It wouldn’t be long before the cold could no longer be suppressed, and she would lose all vitality.
“How is it?” Qin Shuang asked.
“Very bad,” Xu Zimo shook his head.
“I already knew that...” Qin Shuang said with a sad smile. Then she looked at Xu Zimo and said, “In the final days of my life, can you stay beside me...?”
“Don’t be so pessimistic. I’ll figure something out,” Xu Zimo waved his hand.
He hadn’t encountered an innate physique like this before. It was indeed tricky. His only option was to check the records at the True Martial Sacred Ground or ask someone knowledgeable.
That evening, Qin Shuang returned to her room.
Xu Zimo entered the God World while asleep.
He asked Paimon and the other two about the Underworld Ice Physique, but none of them had heard of it.
It was probably an extremely rare physique, or perhaps it hadn’t existed yet during the Blessed Epoch, which is why they weren’t familiar with it.
...
The Qin residence was eerily quiet at night.
In the council hall, Qin Shuang knelt on the floor.
At the head of the room, Qin Feng held his forehead, looking deeply troubled.
“Father, please let him go,” Qin Shuang said.
“If it were anything else, I wouldn’t care. But the Thunder-God Pearl is non-negotiable,” Qin Feng said wearily.
“So even in the last days of my life, must you let me live in sorrow and isolation?” Qin Shuang pleaded.
“Just because he saved you, you’re protecting him like this? Foolish,” Qin Feng said.
Qin Shuang remained silent with her head lowered.
Her mind was filled with images of Xu Zimo saving her. Though they hadn’t known each other long, she didn’t understand it herself,
It felt like she had already fallen for him.
“Go back first. Let me think this over,” Qin Feng waved his hand.
“If he dies, your daughter will not live either,” Qin Shuang said before leaving.
Watching her walk away, Qin Feng could only sigh heavily in the end.
...
The next morning, as soon as Xu Zimo got up, Qin Shuang came to his courtyard.
“You’re up early,” Xu Zimo smiled.
Qin Shuang had the servants bring breakfast and set it on the table.
“There’s an important guest today. Father went to greet him, so I got up early too,” she replied.
“What kind of important guest?” Xu Zimo asked after washing up.
“Apparently it’s the Holy Son of the Imperial Throne Sacred Ground. He asked Father to help him find someone,” Qin Shuang replied.
“Father’s taking it seriously, the visitor’s status isn’t ordinary.”