Chapter 1041: Chapter 1041: Cold Sweat in the Depth of Winter
It’s snowing. It snowed all night, and by the time morning made it known, the snow hadn’t stopped. Looking out the window, all you could see was a world of silver and white. Nature effortlessly covered the human world’s vibrant colors with just one hue. I heard Qianqian and some little ones cheering with joy from the courtyard, seemingly full of energy. Well, let’s not mock Qianqian’s recovery ability, even though she fully recovered just after a nap despite suppressing an Abyss Gate all by herself…
This is the third snow of the winter, but if we’re talking about real snow, this is the first — the previous two were pitifully small. Out of respect for meteorologists, I hesitate to even call them snowfall. Winters in the city always seem to come a bit late; rather, every season in the city is habitually tardy. Human activities create an invisible net, repeatedly delaying the march of the seasons. The heating in populous areas turned the first two snows into muddy aftermaths of rain, where it almost didn’t look like snow at all. But last night’s unexpectedly large snow gave everyone a pleasant surprise: it really snowed.
Pushing open the window in the morning, seeing the outside wrapped in silver garb, instantly put me in a good mood. The endless troubles scattered over the past few days were momentarily shelved. I took a greedy deep breath of the fresh cold air, which shook my mind once, then again, and again…
“Little Light, can you stop knocking?” I grabbed the little doll off my shoulder to stop her from continuing to knock on my head. This doll was getting more and more audacious, really not taking her foster father seriously.
“You’re the one to talk,” Mercury Lamp swung her arms, trying to crack open the hand stuck under her ribs: she didn’t like being held up high, “Why’d you open the window on such a cold day! I still want to sleep in!”
“Do dolls even sleep in?” I ruffled the hair of the doll girl, turned around, and tucked her into the quilt, “Then you keep sleeping, I’m going to see Little Baobao build a snowman — there’s plenty of snow in the courtyard.”
The little doll kicked away the quilt and shouted loudly: “I can’t sleep now! I’m going to the courtyard too!”
Before I could say anything, this little rascal had already flapped her wings and flew out the open window. Soon after, I heard even more lively shouting from the outside, and with a helpless shrug, I thought: running out without even combing her hair or washing her face to play in the snow, she’s just an ordinary kid.
“Master, I’ll tidy up the room.” Anwina’s head suddenly stuck out from the nightstand next to the bed and said stiffly. I was taken aback and pushed her head back along the route: “Can’t you just learn to come through the door?”
A few seconds later, Anwina’s head half-pierced through the door panel: “Master, I’ll tidy up the room. This time through the door.”
Oh well, she’s after all a Dead Soul used to passing through walls…
Breakfast was already on the table, and it seemed I was the last one to come down for food today. Of course, that little doll Mercury Lamp should also be included; she flew out the window without breakfast. Today’s breakfast was as rich in variety as ever: youtiao, tofu pudding, fruit salad, small biscuits, freshly ground coffee, and cabbage stewed noodles, along with a cup of rich chocolate mixed spicy soup…
Looking at this strange combination in front of me, I sighed in sadness for a while. I looked up and asked my sister: “Sis, what did I do wrong? Just say it…”
Sister seemed surprised when she saw my breakfast, then awkwardly explained: “Um, this was prepared by Qianqian for you.”
Sure enough, only that girl could be so original, combining everything edible within her sight like this. Each of them, taken apart, could count as human food, but put together like this, I bet even she wouldn’t eat it. After hesitating for a while, I picked out the more normally combined things to finish my breakfast, then casually called out: “Sandora, help me eat these.”
Suddenly, a blue figure flashed by, and I didn’t know from which corner a Sandora beast sprang out, swept away all the food in front of me like a whirlwind, then wiped its mouth contentedly, nuzzled my face, and gracefully went back to drink its tea.
…This is a usual occurrence. Qianqian makes a bunch of ready-made food, creates all sorts of strange meals, and then I painstakingly pick out what I can eat, while everything left is handed over to the household’s “trash can,” which is Sandora beast…
Why do I suddenly feel like Sandora is so pitiful…
“Ah Jun, in a good mood today?” Sister took a casual glance and could guess my mood instantly, then smiled.
“You know, I’ve loved snow since I was a kid,” I chuckled, “Why put on a face full of grievances all the time?”
While saying this, I glanced toward the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows, not sure how heavy the snow really was yesterday. Anyway, it snowed all night, and Qianqian was out with a bunch of little ones, going wild with play. Cheers rang out one after another: in the world of “play,” Qianqian indeed holds an undisputed leadership position. After all, many times the games she comes up with are beyond what ordinary people can endure — such as bundling people in a one-meter radius snowball and tossing it off the roof…
Unexpectedly, I discovered Pandora’s figure in the snow outside. She, who normally wouldn’t mix with other little ones, was deeply engrossed in making an ice sculpture — yes, making an ice sculpture, not just a snowman, something that at first glance appeared highly sophisticated. Visca was assisting her sister from the side. These two little girls could occasionally be very harmonious.
“If you enjoy the snow so much, wouldn’t it be better to take everyone to Northrend?” Sister smiled gently, “Then Qianqian could lead a bunch of Atlantians in a snowball fight with the Vikings there.”
I thought about it and quickly shook my head: “Bubbles would definitely follow, and Arthas doesn’t have enough wealth to be plundered again.”
Sister laughed out loud, suddenly leaned on my back, arms wrapping around my shoulders, lazily clasping them together, and let out a comforting breath: “Only such a brother is normal, always being on edge makes sister very worried.”
I was just about to say something when Xiao Xue burst through the door, bringing in the chill from the outside, her head covered in snowflakes: “Dad! Dad! Come play with us — oh, what are you two doing?”
Oh goodness, this troublesome kid, Xiao Xue’s knack for stirring up trouble must be inherited from her mother. I stepped forward to brush the snow off Xiao Xue, pinching her now beet-red cheeks, either from the cold or excitement (it should be the latter, as a creature capable of surviving in outer space wouldn’t freeze in this environment), feeling very much like a weary father caring for his lively and whimsical daughter. Xiao Xue giggled, put her hands inside my clothes to warm them, leaned in clingingly: “Dad, are you finally planning to find me a fourth mom?” I sullenly knocked this kid on her head: “You troublesome kid, say something reasonable!”
“Psh, it’s just mother complex, only you have a sister complex… Hey, Dad, I’m sorry! Don’t pinch my face! Don’t twist my ears! Don’t… oh, now you won’t even use these two moves. By the way, Dad, come see the snowman Mom and I made! It’s huge!”
Xiao Xue dragged me out with a flurry, leaving a puzzled sister behind. On the way, I thought about how chaotic and disorganized this kid is in everything she does, but when we got to the courtyard, I didn’t have the mood to joke anymore.
There were quite a few snowmen in the yard — Xiao Xue suggested organizing a snowman-building competition and dragged me over to be the judge.
The first snowman was very traditional, even appeared slightly clumsy, the kind that’s made by piling two big snowballs into a head and a body, using sticks and bricks for facial features and limbs, something everyone should be familiar with. This snowman likely represented the lowest level of capability among the family of naughty kids and the never-growing King of Kids: that they could produce something so mundane was truly unbelievable. After asking around, I found out this plain snow pile was Little Baobao’s work; that child didn’t quite understand what it meant to build a snowman, but she asked her mother, and under Bubbles’ guidance, she decided to follow what books taught: an in-precise manner of a Xyrin Host. This child totally replicated the snowman depicted in a picture book with a model error of no more than six quintillionths, creating the “humble version” snowman you see here.
I was wrong; this group of naughty kids and big kids at home can never be associated with ordinary. Little Baobao is the hidden tech enthusiast!
Compared to the first seemingly simple snowman, the second creation instantly amazed me enough to describe it as stunning: it’s simply not a snowman but a delicate snow sculpture! It’s the image of a little girl, slightly over a meter tall, and has vividly realistic limbs, body shape, and features; you can even see the hairstyle! I think this thing is worth being an artwork, isn’t it?
“Hey, who’s the master behind this impressive snowman?” I exclaimed in amazement, gingerly touching the little snowman’s…snow sculpture’s head, afraid of damaging this lifelike masterpiece. “It looks just like a real person.”
“Lilina.” Xiao Xue said casually.
“Ha, that girl is a real talent,” I praised, “Where is she? I have to commend her.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Lilina’s muffled voice came from inside the little snowman: “I…I’m here… Boss, this snowman…is a creative…creative piece, cough cough, Boss, hurry up and rate it, I can’t take it anymore… Wow, the snow melted…flowed into my neck! Boss, this snowman is very creative… Wow! My clothes are all soaked! Waa waa…”
The little snowman suddenly burst into pieces with a bang, and Lilina jumped out from inside, covered in half-melted snowflakes, hopping and skipping on the spot: “So cold, so cold, hiss ha—someone help me! Wow, my clothes inside are all wet!” Then the girl suddenly jumped onto me and burrowed into my clothes: “Boss, lend me some warmth—Ah…resurrected…”
Only then did I react, the corners of my mouth twitching, my first thought was to throw this girl out, but suddenly remembered something else, so I just pressed my coat, allowing Lilina to hang onto me. Then I looked at the other snowmen, discovering that each one was more creative than the last. Xiao Xue made a Transformer with Chiruno’s help to enhance the snow blocks’ sturdiness, so it could actually transform, although it still fell apart when transforming; Qianqian made a snowman floating in mid-air, named the Flying Dutchman—using Time Freeze in this way is quite wasteful. The most creative should be Mercury Lamp; she made two snow-form words over a meter high: “snowman.” These two words stood upright and counted as her snowman—this girl couldn’t make a snowman, so she decided to show off the Chinese characters she just learned to write. Later, I thought I should give the award to Little Baobao, even though her creation was the simplest, since all the other bizarre creations really had nothing to do with snowmen anymore…
Pandora and Visca’s ice sculpture project is approaching its end, just as I predicted; they’re making a warship model, an intricately scaled Eternal-class Mother Ship, with every building facility and anti-aircraft gun carefully crafted. Pandora looks serious while adding antennas to the spaceship, and Visca helps her sister polish the spaceship model’s base. The two little girls are so absorbed that they didn’t even notice my approach: they really look like two ordinary little girls engrossed in toys. Chiruno is also helping these two sisters, and in this weather, the Ice Fairy’s role is greatly prominent; she’s busy providing ice blocks to everyone who needs them in the courtyard.
I saw Lin under the big tree in the courtyard’s center, playing chess with Lin Xue. Somehow, these two had gathered together. In this snowy, freezing weather, sitting in the snow playing hopscotch, this world is truly colorful.
“I remember reading a few ancient texts,” Lin Xue tossed a chess piece and started explaining to me, “It talked about literati and scholars going out together during winter to play chess around a small heater in a pavilion. Since I’m idle now, I’ll simulate a bit.”
I looked at the hopscotch board in front of the two of them, my eye twitching slight: “How’s the simulation?”
“The ancients are bluffing,” Lin Xue reached into my clothes to warm her hands, “Freezing like grandsons while playing chess, I refuse to believe that physical laws were different in ancient times. Could they actually play chess in a pavilion with a heater when it’s open and breezy? That ancient text is likely written by some inexperienced rich kid dreaming life indoors, resulting in an anti-scientific fantasy spreading for a thousand years now considered a legacy classic—the textbook writers either didn’t think it through or haven’t experienced the difficulty of grabbing chess pieces at minus twelve degrees…”
I glanced at the Dragon God Girl tidying up the chessboard: “What do you think of this snow?”
“Not as big as the snow at home,” Lin honestly said, “The snow scene on the Frozen Continent is more spectacular than here; you didn’t stay on the Frozen Continent for long last time. If there’s a chance next time, I’ll take you to the place near where I grew up; it has a Crystalized Jungle, where everything is frozen into everlasting ice for billions of years; it’s stunning.”
I really shouldn’t have talked about snow scenes with Lin: the Dragon God Clan lives on the Frozen Continent, a place where the scene of endless snow has persisted for billions of years without ceasing! That’s really living. It’s said that the land of the Dragon Gods is shrouded by ice power, with fish born drilling forward in ice blocks…
I looked up, and what greeted my eyes was an exceptionally incongruous scene: the tree in the courtyard, under the Life Divine Power, stays green all year round, yet it’s still covered with a thick layer of snow on the outside, only inside is lush green. Winter and summer, these two utterly opposite seasons, are so awkwardly fused together, and the couple of crows are completely bewildered by such a distorted landscape.
This is a courtyard that can remain lush at minus twelve degrees, where every plant is becoming increasingly peculiar, and right beneath our feet, thick snow is a thriving verdant lawn. I suddenly thought of Dingdang, and another matter came to mind; so I rummaged in my pocket a bit and pulled out the Little Goddess. Dingdang was holding a walnut with a frown, and now she immediately raised the walnut to me: “Ah Jun! Dingdang wants to eat this! How to eat this one!?”
I immediately noticed the walnut shell had been nibbled away a thin layer by Dingdang, her face covered in brownish fragments, and was dumbfounded: “You can’t eat walnuts?”
“Dingdang hasn’t eaten it before!” the Little One justified confidently, “But there’s a follower who used it as an offering, so it should be something tasty—only Dingdang feels it isn’t very good, the texture’s pretty bad…”
WTF, having been on Earth for over three years, nearly four, and hasn’t seen a walnut—what is this strong sense of sadness?
I casually helped Dingdang open the walnut, poked the little one’s head: “Let me ask you something, where did you plant your leaf then?”
Had I not reminded Dingdang, she probably would’ve forgotten about this altogether; she now has no leaves on her head, with only two very tiny, adorable green buds left where they used to be, resembling another pair of ears. They’re said to wait a few hundred years before new leaves grow. Back then, she entrusted one fallen leaf to Lilina and planted another in the courtyard. Initially, she took an interest in personally watering and fertilizing, and frequently urged Lilina not to forget checking the leaf. But lately, this little thing seemed to have entirely forgotten it, let alone watering her own leaf; she probably doesn’t even remember she once had leaves at all!
“Well…um…”
Dingdang suddenly stammered and then busily flew a circle around the big tree: “Wait a moment, Dingdang remembers it was planted by this tree… Dingdang was taking care of the leaf quite seriously, but Father God later said once the leaf is planted, it doesn’t need care, and it would take a thousand years to grow out, so Dingdang got a bit careless… Oh, weird, why isn’t it there… Dingdang remembers it was around here…” I originally just asked casually seeing the lush tree in the courtyard reminded me of Dingdang, then thinking she planted something astonishing in the yard, I never expected Dingdang would truly be unable to find it!
The Little One flew back and forth in the air, shouting: “Leaf! Leaf! Where are you! Dingdang is looking for you!”
After calling out for quite a while to no avail, she fell dejected onto my shoulder: “Gone…there ought to be a sense if the leaf and Dingdang are close enough, but now there’s no sense at all…”
I suddenly felt cold sweat in this icy-cold month: that thing absolutely can’t be lost!
At this moment, Anwina rushed over chaotically, filled with anxiety:
“Master, have you seen Medivh?” (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to vote for it on , your support is my biggest motivation.)