He murmured, "Qingyu."

"Qingyu is my uncle. My mother died shortly after I was born, so he raised me. But I don't like calling him uncle. He's only thirteen years older than me. I want to marry him."

He smiled faintly, a smile even purer than the snow and ice here. "Aren't you ashamed?"

"Why be shy?" She blinked her bright eyes. "You don't know how handsome Qingyu is. There are so many women who like him. Plus, with his reserved personality, he would have run away long ago if I didn't take the initiative."

He then suddenly asked, "Do you often say people are good-looking?"

"No, I only said two people are good-looking, one is Qingyu, and the other is you." She sat down on the ice bed with a smile, next to him. "But although you are also very good-looking, I still think Qingyu is the most beautiful."

He lowered his eyes slightly, "She often says I'm good-looking too."

"Her? Is she this pretty lady? Who is she to you?"

His eyes were like the stars. "She is my wife."

"Then you must love her very much."

like?

He still doesn't understand what this word means; he just needs to keep her by his side to survive. Is this love?

He asked her, "Do you want to live forever?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to."

Why?

"Immortality is good, but once you achieve immortality, the people around you will gradually grow old, and in the end you will be all alone. That would be very painful. Birth, aging, sickness and death are the natural course of life. In your youth, you have friends by your side and a lover by your side. In your old age, you have a spouse to rely on and children and grandchildren to surround you. Isn't that better than immortality, which is destined to be lonely?"

A faint glint appeared in his eyes. If someone had said these words to him before, he would never have been able to imagine the scene of his wife and children surrounding him. But now, he could actually imagine a little bit of it.

Seeing his silence, the girl named Xiaoxiao shyly touched her head. "Actually, these words are just my ramblings... I just heard Aunt Mu tell me a story many years ago about a great demon who killed many people in order to refine an elixir of immortality, and I just felt compelled to say them."

“A murderous fiend…ha.” He smiled slightly, his gentle demeanor masking a carefree and unrestrained air.

Thinking he didn't believe her, she added, "Aunt Mu is now the head of Qianjin Pavilion, so everything she says must be true. And let me tell you a secret, I also know the leader of the Demonic Sect."

"Yeah?"

His nonchalant attitude ignited the little girl's competitive spirit. "I'm not lying to you. The previous leader of the Demonic Sect was Uncle Nangong. He was in poor health. It's said that his collarbone was broken by a very, very bad person. Aunt Guan took him all over the country to find suitable medicinal herbs to cure him. So Uncle Nangong passed the position of leader to his son, Nangong Mo. But I don't like Nangong Mo."

"Why don't you like him?" He seemed a little interested.

"He's so narcissistic! You know what? Xiaoyu'er... Xiaoyu'er is Uncle Shanya and Aunt Mu's daughter. She doesn't like that brat Nangong Mo at all, but Nangong Mo actually kidnapped her and took her back to the Demonic Sect. In the end, it was Uncle Shanya who fought against the Demonic Sect and rescued Xiaoyu'er. For those few days, Xiaoyu'er was so scared that she was afraid to sleep alone. She asked me to go to Qianjin Pavilion to keep her company every day. Uncle, don't you think Nangong Mo is really annoying?" She said a long paragraph, desperately needing someone to agree with her.

He curled his lips into a smile, exuding elegance and nobility. "He is indeed detestable. How about I kill him for you?"

"Huh?" She was startled by his nonchalant tone. She quickly waved her hand, "No, no, no matter how annoying Nangong Mo is, he is still Aunt Guan's son. Aunt Guan is very good to me, and I don't want to make her sad."

"She's very good to you?"

"Hmm, Qingyu said that Aunt Guan is only nice to me because she feels guilty towards my mother, but they won't tell me what Aunt Guan did to wrong my mother. I think Qingyu is definitely lying to me, after all, when I was little, I quite liked teasing that little brat Nangong Mo." She excitedly concluded, "Qingyu must be jealous. He doesn't want me and Nangong Mo to be together, that's why he said that. Sure enough, saying he wanted to treat me like a niece was all a lie. After all, I'm so cute, how could he not fall for me when he sees me every day?"

"You're right." His gaze shifted from her smiling face to the person lying on the bed. His icy hand gently caressed the red-clad woman's cold face, a gesture he had made most often over the years.

She's so adorable, how could he not be moved?

Xiaoxiao watched quietly for a long time. She was very well-behaved and knew that she shouldn't disturb him when he was being so affectionate.

In the quiet atmosphere, he spoke up: "Why do we need to find the Ice Crystal Fruit?"

Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "Qingyu often suffers from angina. Grandpa Sun told me it was because his heart was missing a piece. Qingyu didn't think it was a big deal, but I wanted to cure him. I heard that the Ice Crystal Fruit from the Northern Region has regenerative effects, so I came here."