“Uh—right. The ‘sister’ you mean… is it Xiao Nuo?”
That thought hit like a lantern flickering in fog: only Xinuo could make FrostyLily Dream spare the old ancestor. I blurted the question before I could stop myself.
“Mhm, Sister Xinuo! …Eh?”
Her words froze mid-breath. FrostyLily Dream locked her gaze on me, eyes like shards of winter glass—then snapped:
“Xiao-xiao-xiao Nuo?! You can call Sister that intimately?!”
She lunged, excitement like a blizzard. Her hands grabbed my collar, shaking me like a pine in storm wind. “Spill it! What’s your relationship with Sister?!”
Panic spiked, breath tangled like a fish in a net. “W-wait—Luo Meng, stop! I can’t breathe!”
She only shook harder; the world blurred like rain on ink.
“Fine. And listen—lady and you aren’t close. Don’t call me ‘Luo Meng’ like we’re besties. Got it!”
She let go, then rapped my head—sharp as a hailstone. Pain bloomed, a ringing bell inside my skull.
“Uuu… I’m sorry.”
I hugged my head, eyes stinging like mist over cold water. “Then what should I call you?”
“What else? ‘Lady FrostyLily Dream,’ of course. Say it.”
Her tone was obvious as a sunbeam on ice.
“Uuu… fine. Lady FrostyLily Dream.”
Her tyrannical aura pressed like winter air; I could only bend like bamboo. Tragic, really.
“Mhm, good.” Her mood smoothed like calm snow. She patted my head, strangely pleased. “Now tell me plainly—what’s your relationship with Sister?”
Resignation settled, soft as ash. “Got it. It’s not really a big deal, it’s just…”
I told her everything about the day I entered the Illusory Sword Realm, every step like footprints on fresh frost.
“…So, to become a Sword Wielder, I agreed to be Xiao Nuo’s exclusive maid.”
“I see.”
Understanding lit her eyes like moonlight on a lake. “So Sister likes feminine boys. You’re lucky—born with a woman’s face. Even Yugou Sage never got that treatment.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
Confusion tilted my head like a sparrow eyeing a seed. The ancestor didn’t get that? What?
“Forget it; it’s not a big secret. I’ll tell you.” She paused, words dropping like slow snow. “Don’t be fooled by how long Yugou Sage stayed near Sister. In truth, Sister raised him to pass time. She wasn’t interested. She wouldn’t even allow him within three meters—closer was forbidden, never mind anything else. So now you know how lucky you are. Honestly, if Sister allowed it, I’d love to be her exclusive maid!”
She looked up with starry longing, then sighed, clouds drifting over her face—she knew it was impossible. Xinuo had already called her a pervert.
“Oh… so that’s it.”
A sly warmth fluttered inside my chest, like a bird freed from a cage. Relief loosened my shoulders.
“Right—besides becoming Sister’s exclusive maid, have you done anything else?” FrostyLily Dream’s voice drifted like frost smoke.
“Uh… anything else? Not really. Except… we sleep together.”
“Hold it! By ‘sleep together,’ you mean the same bed, right?!”
My words barely landed before she tensed. Her stare pinned me like a spear to a board.
“Yeah. Is that a problem?” I nodded, dull as a stone—no sense of danger at all.
“You—!”
Her roar cracked like ice on a river. In an instant, countless ice swords whirled into being, all their tips aimed at me, killing intent sharp as winter wind.
The ground and the space for a thousand miles shuddered, a glacier groaning under her anger.
Terrifying. I felt her strength again—emotions alone bending heaven and earth. How is that not frightening?
“Whoa—Lady FrostyLily Dream, what are you doing?! Careful—don’t lose control!”
With death hovering like a hawk’s shadow, urgency flooded me. I shouted to rein her in.
“You’re unforgivable!! Sharing Sister’s bed—an act that makes gods and mortals jealous!” Her voice blasted like sleet. “We’ve no personal grudge, but I demand you die to quench my fire!”
She was gone to the tide called jealousy—words couldn’t reach her shore.
In that moment, I had three choices—
(A) Block with sword skills or Sword Aura. Impossible—Xinuo’s casual Sword Aura already overwhelms me. What about these countless ice swords?
(B) Flee at full speed. Even more impossible. I’d be a honeycomb the moment I moved.
(C) Try to talk her down. The only path that looks real.
I sucked a breath, voice ringing like a bell through frost. “Lady FrostyLily Dream! I only slept on the same bed with Xiao Nuo. We never did anything weird! Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t dare! It’s Xinuo—we both know she wouldn’t allow anything improper, right?!”
“Mmm… true. Sister’s pure as untouched ice and jade. She’d never let a man touch her. Boy, you’re lucky—keep your life.”
Her words fell, and heaven and earth calmed, like wind dying after a storm. All those ice swords vanished like snow in sunlight.
I exhaled, lungs burning like coals quenched in water. Cold sweat soaked me—my heart stuttered, close to failure.
“So—why did you come to me? Speak fast.”
No apology in her tone; her attitude stayed sharp as a blade.
I didn’t dare show a flicker of complaint. I started again, steady as a drumbeat. “Here’s the thing…” I told her how Hill got injured saving me, every detail laid out like tiles.
“…So Xinuo told me to challenge the Nine Cold Labyrinth, get the Ice Dream Lotus to heal Hill.”
“Ahahahahaha!”
She burst out laughing, clutching her sides; mirth rolled like thunder over ice. “You let a woman get gravely hurt saving you. As a man, you don’t feel shame? Hahaha—too good! I’m dying here!”
“…”
Her schadenfreude stung like sleet, but I didn’t get angry. Shame flooded me, hot and raw. Her words were truth; I’d failed as a man.
Minutes drifted by, slow as drifting snow.
Laughing done, FrostyLily Dream stepped close. Her small, pale hand lifted my chin, a touch cool as porcelain. “Up close, you’re actually pretty. What’s your name?”
“M-my name’s Yumigawa Sumeragi.”
Too close. Heat rushed to my face, a blush blooming like peach petals—I didn’t dare meet her beautiful eyes.
“Shy? How pure.” She smiled, then tilted her head, sly as a fox. “Fine, Yumigawa Sumeragi—do you dare make a bet with me?”
“A bet? On what?”
A bad premonition crawled like ants under my skin. Her smile unfurled, dazzling as a sunrise on snow.
“Simple. If you clear the Nine Cold Labyrinth, I’ll give you the Ice Dream Lotus. I’ll also grant you one wish—anything.”
Gulp. My throat worked like a dry reed. “And if I fail?”
“If you fail, Yumigawa Sumeragi—you’ll become my toy. You’ll spend your whole life pleasing me.”
“…”
