For the Blood Demon Empress Wusha, she had to walk out of the Snowy Wasteland, she had to find Li Lanhao and kill him. As the dignified Tiger Demon Queen, she would never tolerate the only man in the world who had ever spanked her backside remaining alive; as long as Li Lanhao lived, it was the greatest insult to her.
Dragging her heavily injured body, starving and exhausted, Wusha gripped her spear, a lonely and weary figure. She lost count of how many times she had nearly passed out. Yet, it had to be said that the Tiger Demon Queen possessed tenacious vitality and astonishing perseverance; her unyielding obsession kept her conscious, driving her forward step by step.
Strangely enough, even amidst the blinding snow and biting cold wind, Wusha's alluring, bright red lips remained remarkably rosy, showing no signs of bruising or chapping.
Along the way, Wusha muttered through those alluring, bright red lips over and over again:
"Li Lanhao, even if the stars shift and the seas run dry, this Empress will hunt you down. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you won't escape the clutches of the Blood Demon Empress!"
Wusha's sturdy legs trembled violently. She took a difficult, shivering step forward, each movement testing the absolute limits of her life.
...
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Li Lanhao, who had been laughing merrily with Han Yue, suddenly sneezed twice. He rubbed his nose and muttered:
"Strange, why on earth am I sneezing out of nowhere?"
"Heh, little Lanhao, you're so handsome. Who knows, maybe some young maiden is missing you."
"No way, Sister Han Yue, stop joking. Which maiden would..."
Before Li Lanhao could finish, for some reason, his heart felt as though it had been struck by lightning. An inexplicable wave of worry and longing welled up within him.
Suddenly, Li Lanhao's thoughts drifted back to half a month ago—to the scene where he had wildly spanked the fierce beauty's large backside, and to the lingering pain and unease when he had resolutely abandoned that fierce beast that day. It felt as though he had missed out on and lost the most important person in the world.
"Heh, did I hit the nail on the head?"
Seeing his reaction, Han Yue grew even more certain of her own guess. Her heart fluttered anxiously, and once she spoke, she felt a ripple of loss for the very first time.
"Sister Han Yue, stop teasing me. It's really not what you think. In this world, apart from my parents and my younger brother, who else would care about me?"
"Well... I'm sorry, Brother Lanhao. There are countless beauties in the world, and there's bound to be one who fancies you. For instance..."
Li Lanhao and Han Yue suddenly sank deep into their own thoughts, unable to pull themselves away. The previously cheerful atmosphere grew heavy, turning the scene somewhat bizarre.
Suddenly...
"Leader, the food is all prepared. Should we bring it in, or..."
Fortunately, just in time, Lin Chong and a few others reported from outside the tent with trays of lavish meat dishes.
*Gulp, gulp.*
Hearing that there was food, Li Lanhao couldn't help swallowing hard, and with a somewhat sheepish expression, he said:
"Sister Han Yue, please excuse my lack of manners. I haven't eaten for days. For over two months, I've had to chew on steamed flatbreads as hard as rocks every day, I simply couldn't hold back."
"Heh, you're so cute, little brother. Don't worry, eat your fill today."
Han Yue paused, glanced at the tent flap, and urged sharply:
"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and bring it in!"
Lin Chong and the others hurriedly dove into the tent, and with a flurry of clattering, a table laden with all sorts of meat dishes was set before them. Li Lanhao's eyes lit up and his mouth watered. Disregarding Han Yue entirely, he grabbed a roast chicken and tore into it.
This sight left Lin Chong and the others dumbfounded. All of them worried whether Han Yue would fly into a rage, and Lin Chong stepped forward to remind Li Lanhao to mind his manners.
At that moment, Han Yue shook her head and spoke:
"Lin Chong, take your men and get out."
"Yes, Leader!"
Lin Chong and the guards scattered instantly, though they all lingered outside the tent to eavesdrop on the movements inside, breaking out in cold sweat for Li Lanhao.
Yet, uncharacteristically, Han Yue did not fly into a rage. Instead, she grabbed a roast chicken of her own and began to eat.
"Little brother, eat slowly. There's more if that's not enough."
"Mmm, delicious, simply delicious! Sister Han Yue, I... won't be polite. It's truly been months since I've had such wonderful food, let alone meat. Seeing chicken makes me... a little unable to hold back."
Li Lanhao mumbled between mouthfuls, his mouth never resting for a single second as he gorged himself. Seeing this, Han Yue stopped talking to him, lest she distract him from eating and risk him choking—which was a very real possibility.
...
A while later, the table was piled high with bones. Both Li Lanhao and Han Yue cradled their round bellies, exchanging smiles as sister and brother.
"So full... ugh, ugh..."
Li Lanhao burched as he spoke. Han Yue, not wanting to be outdone, had been influenced by him and had likewise eaten an enormous amount.
After the meal, Lin Chong and his men cleared the table. Li Lanhao resumed telling Han Yue the rest of his unfinished story, and neither of them left the table all afternoon. Once Li Lanhao started talking, he simply couldn't stop, and Han Yue was utterly spellbound by his bizarre tales of the Snowy Wasteland.
In fact, the two of even went to the outhouse together. Even when they used separate outhouses, they kept yelling back and forth through the walls without stopping.
Inside the outhouse, Han Yue squatted down intently to listen, while outside, Li Lanhao raised his voice slightly:
"Sister Han Yue, let me tell you, the giant white fish in Frigid Ice Lake are absolute delicacies when made into sashimi! They're ice-cold and naturally fragrant, so fresh it's indescribable. It's just a pity we won't have the chance..."
Han Yue listened attentively from inside the outhouse, making the place seem not nearly as smelly.
"And then?"
"And then, the avalanches in the mountains are quite a sight..."
Mid-sentence, Han Yue came out to stand guard, and Li Lanhao went in to take his turn. Of course, squatting in the outhouse didn't hinder their lively exchange of tall tales in the slightest.
However, Li Lanhao shared a great deal while omitting a single word about the extraordinarily beautiful fierce beast.
Until after dinner, Li Lanhao was still recounting his heroic exploits in Han Yue's tent. Han Yue proved to be quite a character; far from growing weary, she became even more engrossed. Had she been a man, she undoubtedly would have been Li Lanhao's sworn brother. There was no telling how late they would chat.
Of course, judging by the state of these two, they could probably chat until the end of time without ever sparking any romantic feelings.
...
As dusk fell, the staggering Blood Demon Empress once again heard strange noises. This time, she deliberately refrained from looking back. Shifting the Blood Demon Spear from her left hand to her right and gripping it tightly, she murmured:
"Hmph, finally couldn't help it, did you?"
If there was one thing the Blood Demon Empress could trust, it was her intuition. Though she hadn't seen the source of danger behind her the entire way, she knew a massive beast had been tailing her for a very long time.
Sure enough, on the slope opposite, a gigantic long-haired Snow Ape had its head buried in a snowdrift. Its pure white, translucent fur was as long as a horse's tail.
Once the Snow Ape pressed itself into the thick snow, it blended in completely with its surroundings, making it extremely difficult to spot even with the naked eye—which was why Wusha hadn't been able to locate it until now.
The Snow Ape wasn't tailing Wusha for food; rather, the creature had been lonely in the snow mountains for far too many years, and countless seasons had passed since its last mating.
Wusha was the absolute peak of female beauty, and she was exceptionally tall as well. For the Snow Ape, finally encountering a female creature ignited an intense blaze of desire within it.
From afar, the white-furred Snow Ape watched Wusha's swaying hips as she slowly walked away, drool streaming down its fur and beard. It was no exaggeration to say the drool had frozen into icicles on its chin.
As a high-level Spiritual Beast, the Snow Ape keenly sensed that the woman possessed terrifying strength, but it also perceived that this female creature was suffering from severe exhaustion. Otherwise, the beast would have launched an attack long ago.