Entering the Palace

Xun Xue led Lu Qiancha into the side hall of the royal palace—the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The hall was warm and cozy, insulating them from the severe cold outside.

A middle-aged man, dressed in a deep blue, frost-patterned wolf emperor’s robe, with a majestic and profound aura, was sitting behind a large desk, reviewing a mountain of memorials.

Several maids in palace attire were carefully adding incense, grinding ink, and serving warm spirit tea for the emperor.

“Xun Xue.”

The man didn’t lift his head, but the stroke of his brush paused slightly.
His steady voice echoed in the hall: “You’ve come.”

He put down his vermilion brush, his gaze first precisely sweeping over the “youth” beside Xun Xue.

His line of sight paused for half a breath without any emotional ripple, then steadily returned to Xun Xue.

“Ling Ze, where are the things I want?”

Xun Xue asked directly.

“In the secret realm of the back mountain, the earth’s core frost vein has already shown abnormal movements.
The Shapeshifting Stones you want should be condensed and mature in no more than half a month.”

Ling Ze paused, his voice carrying an iron-like majesty: “You know the rules.
You go and get the things yourself.
I will dispatch a team of elites from the Martial Might Camp to enter the secret realm with you.”

Xun Xue’s expression was faint.
She nodded slightly.
There was no need for more words.

Only then did Ling Ze truly turn his gaze to Lu Qiancha, with a scrutinizing look: “By the way, this little friend… is?”

“My son, Lu Qiancha.”

Xun Xue’s reply was crisp and clean.
Then, as if casually, she added languidly, “His cultivation is about the same as yours.”

“…!”

The air in the entire Hall of Mental Cultivation instantly froze for a moment.

The knuckles of Ling Ze’s hand, which was gripping the armrest of his chair… silently tightened.

That deep, imperial aura was choked back.

He took a deep breath, his chest visibly heaving.

After several breaths, the calm on his face re-condensed.

Only, there seemed to be a hint of helplessness in his voice: “That last sentence…

“…was quite unnecessary.”

He skipped over the topic that had left him feeling suffocated, his voice returning to its steady tone: “I have already arranged a place for you to stay.
If you have any needs, just tell the servants, and they will arrange everything properly.”

With that, he waved his hand casually, as if to shake off some invisible embarrassment.

The two maids standing by his side immediately understood and stepped forward respectfully and quickly.

“Esteemed guests, please follow me…” The maid’s voice was soft and thin, but Lu Qiancha and the other could hear it clearly.

Passing through the luxurious, cold, and exquisitely carved corridors of the deep palace.

The maid led the two to the East Palace area and stopped respectfully in front of a magnificent palace.

The plaque on the palace clearly read the three characters: Shuixian Palace.

“His Majesty has instructed that this palace is quiet and secluded.
The esteemed guests may choose a room to live in at will.” The maid lowered her head and whispered, her posture extremely humble.

Xun Xue nodded and, leading Lu Qiancha, pushed open the heavy palace doors.

The space inside suddenly opened up.

Carved railings and jade inlays, a warm stove emitting smoke.
Several huge glass windows brought in the vast, snowy scenery, making the palace seem even more spacious.

Lu Qiancha looked around curiously, her little ears twitching flexibly with her gaze.
It was the first time she had lived in such a big house.
Even her breathing felt a little novel.

After a short rest and putting down their simple luggage.

Xun Xue smiled warmly and took her daughter’s little paw, her eyes sparkling with a coquettish light: “Little Qiancha, this is a rare opportunity.
How about Mama takes you for a stroll outside?”

“Mm.”

Lu Qiancha nodded.
She happened to want to buy some spirit medicines and spirit herbs in this city.

Xun Xue was in a great mood, her footsteps light as she led the way out of the palace doors.

The two of them once again set foot on the main street of the royal city.
Fine snow, like catkins, fell silently, covering the bluestone slabs on the ground with a thin, white blanket like a veil.

The streets were bustling with noise, and the cries of vendors rose and fell:

“Freshly baked meat-filled steamed buns—”

“Top-grade snow ginseng—frost-bitten nine times—nourishes qi and beautifies the face—”

Wolves of various shapes, in human or beast form, rubbed shoulders.
The overall atmosphere was not much different from a prosperous human city.

At that moment, Lu Qiancha saw a rather familiar figure with short, gray-blue hair, wrapped in a thick, snow-white cloak—the eldest princess, Ling Muxue.

Lu Qiancha couldn’t even be bothered to lift her eyelids.
She looked straight ahead, preparing to bypass her from the side.

Unexpectedly.

Ling Muxue suddenly took a step forward.

“Swoosh!”

She precisely blocked Lu Qiancha’s path.

“Are you looking for trouble again?”

Lu Qiancha’s brows furrowed, her voice turning cold.
Xun Xue, at her side, her originally smiling face instantly frozen, her gaze icy.

“No, no…”

Ling Muxue waved her hands eagerly, her face showing a bit of panic and a forced friendliness.
She lowered her voice and said quickly, “I-I just wanted to ask… that medicine of yours… is there an antidote? I… I can buy it with a high price of spirit stones!”

“No.”

Lu Qiancha was decisive and directly rolled her eyes at her.
‘It’s just a non-lethal anesthetic, not even a poison.
It’ll metabolize out on its own after two days of sleep.
What’s the need for an antidote?’

‘So dramatic.’

A flame of anger instantly rose on Ling Muxue’s face, and she clenched her fists.

But the next second, when the corner of her eye caught sight of Xun Xue’s eyes, which were crossed over her chest and as cold as ten-thousand-year-old black ice.

That faint flame of anger was completely extinguished with a “pfft.”

Ling Muxue could only lower her head dejectedly and drag her heavy, lead-filled feet, stumbling towards the medical hall next to her.

Her back was filled with a huge sense of grievance and unwillingness.

Skipping over this insignificant episode.

Lu Qiancha followed the vendor’s directions and bought many good-quality spirit herbs at the largest merchant guild.

Then, Xun Xue took Lu Qiancha’s wrist and excitedly shuttled between the various exquisite snack and pastry stalls.

Fragrant roasted meat skewers, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside frost-sugar glutinous rice balls, and sweet, warm wine with wisps of sweet, white steam… Lu Qiancha didn’t touch the last one.
After New Year’s Eve, she had already learned how poor her alcohol tolerance was now.

The two of them soon had their hands full of various paper-wrapped snacks.

They returned, having enjoyed themselves to the fullest.

Returning to the warm and quiet Shuixian Palace bedroom.

With no outsiders, Lu Qiancha completely relaxed her tense disguise.
With a flash of light from the Myriad Phantoms Mirage Art, a little wolf cub, sitting on a wooden chair and tightly hugging a half-arm-high sugar sculpture, instantly appeared in the hall.

The little creature stuck out its pink, tender little tongue, revealing a tiny, bright red tip, and licked the sugar sculpture in front of her, one lick at a time.

The malt sugar gradually melted in her mouth, and a sweet taste gradually filled her oral cavity.

“Ngh… so delicious…”

She mumbled incoherently, her eyes narrowing in satisfaction.

However, because she was holding the sugar sculpture to her chest with both paws, her head had to be tilted outwards with effort to lick the middle section of the sculpture.

‘Sweet, I like it.’

Lu Qiancha licked it a couple more times.

“Clack!” With an extremely faint, crisp sound.

The sugar sculpture broke.
The upper half of the sculpture, without deviation, happened to fall onto the hem of Lu Qiancha’s crossed-collar ruqun.

Lu Qiancha was just about to reach out her paw to pick it up.

“Don’t!” In the nick of time, Xun Xue’s hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the paw Lu Qiancha had extended and pulling it back to her side.

Her voice was tinged with helplessness: “You can’t eat what has fallen on the floor! It’s very dirty.”

“It didn’t fall on the floor.”

Lu Qiancha pointed at the small half of the sugar sculpture on her dress.

“You can’t pick that up either.”

Xun Xue took out a soft silk handkerchief and very precisely picked up the sugar sculpture.

“Whoosh!” A precise parabola—it was thrown deep into the bronze spittoon carved with an exquisite wolf-head pattern in the corner.

“Oh…”

Lu Qiancha was a little dejected, her little ears drooping.

‘I paid three copper coins and only got to eat half of it.
A huge loss.’

‘Not happy.’