Cold, Scalding

"We're back." The maid's short leather boots and white socks dissolved into rippling flames as her bare feet stepped onto the carpet. Yaxiu, on the other hand, had to take off his boots at a leisurely pace. Daedalose stepped forward to help him with his coat, saying, "The bath is ready. Would you two like to bathe again?" "No rush," Vichy said. "A group of sorcerers provoked us just now. Although Yaxiu already punished them, I don't think it was quite enough. You and Felix go scout them out. If there are backers behind them, teach them a little lesson." Daedalose nodded and asked, "Leave none alive?" "Too cruel. You'll make Yaxiu hate you if you do that," Vichy smiled. "At least the children are innocent." "Understood. Felix, let's head out." "Huh?" The pajama-clad young woman applying nail polish looked up, thoroughly bewildered. "This late? And it's raining outside..." "No need to go." Yaxiu pinched Vichy's cheek, speaking with exasperation. "Don't listen to Vichy's nonsense." Daedalose asked, "Then should Felix and I go rest?" "Up to you, but I suggest you join our meeting first," Yaxiu said. "Even though it concerns our matters, since you're in the group, you probably won't be able to stay uninvolved anyway." Both Daedalose and Vichy knew that 'punishing sorcerers' was merely a pretext; Vichy's real intent was to temporarily usher the two 'outsiders' away. Daedalose had also understood they needed a private conversation, so she had accepted the assignment cleanly without question, planning to take Felix out for a few hours and return with bloodied hands to show for it. Yet Yaxiu felt there was no such need. It wasn't that he fully trusted Daedalose and Felix, but Daedalose had the Four Pillar Gods behind her, and Felix had Fanxing—how could the Four Pillar Gods and Fanxing not know about the Six-Wing Trial before ascending to the Kingdom of Heaven? The moment Yaxiu and the others claimed the world secret realms, Fanxing, the God-Leaders, and the Four Pillar Gods would surely know that they would encounter the Dramatic Poet next, because the Dramatic Poet appeared before every sorcerer about to undergo the Six-Wing Trial! Since everyone already knew, what was the point of hiding it? Moreover, unless he drove the two of them away, the secret would inevitably come out during the trial anyway; there was zero point in secrecy. But Daedalose was a feeler of the Four Pillar Gods, and Felix had betrayed Fanxing; if he drove them away, the former would surely wreak havoc upon the mortal world, while the latter would be left to drift alone... On top of that, after spending these past few months together, even if Yaxiu didn't trust them completely, he still considered them friends to varying degrees. Weighing it over and over, he felt it best to keep them close. Just then, the Witch shifted from small to large and pounced over, clinging to Yaxiu like a koala as she chattered, "Why did you come back so late!? And you came back with Vichy!" "We ran into a special situation just now..." As Yaxiu spoke, he noticed the Witch sniffing him, and after finishing with him, she grabbed Vichy to sniff her as well—focusing intently on the scent around Vichy's lips—giving Vichy a face full of dark lines. "Mm, only a very faint scent," Diya said with satisfaction. "At least the maid didn't sneak any late-night snacks." Vichy remarked faintly, "When I walked over, I saw Yaxiu having a late-night snack with a young girl, you know." "What!?" The Witch was shocked, and Felix turned to look as well. "That was a sorcerer trading a Sun-Seeking sorcery spirit!" Yaxiu handed the sorcery spirit box to Vichy, saying exasperatedly, "She looked hungry, so I just had a bowl of noodles with her in passing." "And broke a maiden's heart in passing, too," Vichy teased with a grin. "That girl kept begging to follow Yaxiu, and she almost cried from heartbreak when he turned her down." "On purpose, or by accident?" Diya interrogated. "Don't listen to Vichy trying to drive a wedge between us." Yaxiu pulled the Witch over, activated a spectacle to inspect her soul body, and mimicked her by leaning down to sniff her scent. Diya's face flushed with a faint pink, and she stammered, "I-I didn't reward myself while you were away!" Yaxiu chopped her on the head. "Lisi isn't asleep yet. Mind your influence!" The Witch immediately shrank back down to her little form and puffed out her cheeks, grumbling, "Why do you all avoid me whenever you chat, always playing games while I'm asleep! Why do all the big sisters get to play with Daddy, and only I can't?" Yaxiu squatted down to hug Lisi, smiling. "How about I play games with you tomorrow? We haven't played *Sorcerer Duel 14* in quite a while." "Ugh..." A troubled look crossed Lisi's face. "Daddy, you always use cheap moves... It's no fun playing with you... But a new game came out recently called *Two-Player Slackers*. Let's play that instead!" "Sure," Yaxiu said. "Where is Sword Princess right now?" The Witch instantly stuck her lips out so far you could hang a kettle from them. "The moment you get back, you only look for Sword Princess! If you came back and saw only Sword Princess and no Witch, would you ask Sword Princess where Witch went?" Yaxiu found it amusing. "Is Lisi asking, or is Diya asking?" "What if Lisi is asking?" "Then of course I'd be terribly worried about where Lisi went. Lisi is my most important family—what if bad guys kidnapped her?" "And what if Diya is asking?" "I'd be anxious out of my mind," Yaxiu said, gently pinching her nose. "After all, even if Lisi gets lost, she knows the way back home. Only Diya gets lost and needs someone to come pick her up!" "I would never get lost!" The Witch burst into laughter, pinched Yaxiu's cheek firmly, and said with satisfaction, "Sword Princess is over in the library." "Holding the meeting there works too. Come over in a bit." As Yaxiu passed the sofa, he hugged Weise from behind while she was reading. Weise asked, "Is it an emergency?" Yaxiu whispered into her ear, "No, we should have enough time to prepare." "All right." Weise raised a finger, brushed it across Yaxiu's lips, and then used it to turn the page. "Go let Sword Princess know." After the previous amnesia incident, the moment Yaxiu had regained his senses and found himself kissing Weise, he had immediately known the person before him was the beloved he had forgotten. Later, after fainting and waking up, he had obtained information about Weise as quickly as possible and done his best to pretend he hadn't lost his memories. Even so, Yaxiu sensed that Weise had probably guessed at his amnesia; she was always subtly guiding him toward the proper interactions. Yaxiu pushed open the library door and saw Sonia lounging lazily on the sofa. She appeared to have just bathed, steam still rising from her crimson hair. Instead of holding a book, she had opened a light screen to watch a show. Yaxiu walked over, gestured for her to shift slightly, and then sat down to pull the Sword Princess into his arms. He glanced at the screen. "What show is this?" "Last year's Weaving Ceremony," Sonia said. "It's actually pretty interesting. Because two of your friends were forgotten by the world, everything from the *Scheme Leaderboard* and the *Family Leaderboard* got pinned entirely on you. Conspiracist Yaxiu and Necromancer Yaxiu... pfft." Yaxiu asked, "Why are you watching videos in the library?" "It's quiet here," Sonia said, glancing back at him. "Plus, watching videos surrounded by all these books gives you a wonderful feeling of slacking off. Just rebel like that." "I get it." Yaxiu smiled, wrapped an arm around her neck, and pressed his forehead against hers to feel her warmth. Sonia blinked, leaned in to peck his lips, her curved brows and eyes brimming with charm. She cuddled against him, giggling softly. "Why the sudden physical checkup?" "Vichy and I ran into the Dramatic Poet just now." Yaxiu looked at everyone walking into the library and said, "Because you hold world secret realms, the Void Realm is about to send down the Six-Wing Trial upon you..." Aside from the prophecy card, Yaxiu concealed virtually none of the trial's details. "...While we don't know the exact format yet, since the Dramatic Poet said I can help you, it's clearly not an isolated trial. So no matter what happens, you must inform me immediately. Understood?" At that moment, the Witch squeezed beside Yaxiu, hugged his arm, let out a yawn, and mumbled, "If I went back to the imperial palace, I could use the entire country's power to clear the trial..." "The risk is too great. Law Angels could cross over from Fanxing to Gospel at any moment," Weise mused. "Though it isn't entirely impossible. For instance, if we only need Gospel to assist in a single large-scale operation nationwide, and we leave Gospel immediately afterward, we could let the Witch appear once as the Empress—" "Ugh—" The Witch slumped dejectedly. "We still have to leave Gospel?" Yaxiu asked, "How many Sun-Seeking sorcery spirits are we still missing?" "Progress is around ninety percent," Vichy said lazily, leaning against the desk. "We're only short a few before meeting the minimum operating threshold for the Blasphemy Movement." "Then it's only a matter of days. Hopefully the trial begins after the Blasphemy Movement is ready. After all, our injuries haven't fully healed yet..." Yaxiu poked his chest where his heart lay. It still felt hollow inside; the wound left behind when the Supreme Lord of the Blood Moon pierced his chest had yet to heal completely. They had originally possessed their ultimate healing weapon, the 'False Promise,' but when Yaxiu had woken and checked it, he found that the False Promise had somehow severely overloaded. The only silver lining was that it remained intact and hadn't collapsed; the bad news was that no one knew when it would resume normal function, making it unusable in the near term. Because of this, they were forced to gather Sun-Seeking sorcery spirits to construct a new healing spectacle and resolve everyone's wounds. Unhealed injuries, an impending trial, traces that still needed to be collected, and the Supreme Fanxing watching covetously... Just thinking about it gave Yaxiu a headache. He said, "That's basically the situation. Everyone head back and digest it. I'm going to take a bath first." He tried to stand up, but failed. The Sword Princess and the Witch hugged him from left and right, their eyelids drooping uncontrollably as they treated him like a sleep bolster. Yaxiu found it amusing. "If you're sleepy, go back to your rooms. Do you need me to carry you to bed?" The Witch made a soft, kittenish whimpering sound and gripped his arm tightly, as if trying to squeeze herself into his chest. "I want to sleep with you tonight." Before Yaxiu could answer, the Sword Princess pulled him even tighter, resting her head on his shoulder. With sleepy eyes, she declared in a sweet, drowsy voice, "Me too!" Huh? Seriously? Yaxiu was utterly dazed by this sudden wave of fortune. Although multiple people had shared a bed before, that had strictly adhered to propriety; everyone had squeezed together decently. After all, anyone who stepped out of line would be sternly disciplined by a vigilant Sword Princess, as if Yaxiu were some rare treasure that no one was allowed to taste until fully ripe. Yet Sonia's current state clearly showed she was willing to embrace him to sleep alongside the Witch. While it was merely a small step in sleeping arrangements, it was a giant leap toward future bliss. If they could already hold each other like this in bed, Yaxiu didn't even dare imagine what might happen down the road! "All right, let me bathe first, and then—" Just as Yaxiu moved to stand, Sonia pulled him back down again. Whimpering softly, she hugged him tighter, her body trembling slightly as she whispered, "Cold..." There was a towel blanket on the sofa, so Yaxiu pulled it over to cover them, chuckling. "Of course it's cold sleeping here. I'll carry you inside first—" Yaxiu's voice cut off abruptly. Cold? A sword demi-god... felt cold? *Thud.* Vichy, who had been resting on the desk, suddenly slid downward. Had Weise not caught her in time, the Spectre Prophet would have crashed straight onto the floor. Yaxiu looked down at the Sword Princess and the Witch. Their breathing was rapid and shallow, their faces flushed red, clinging to him as though he were the only heater they could find in a snowy night, refusing to let go even on the verge of sleep... He gathered them into his arms and reached out to touch their foreheads. On this sultry, rainy summer night, Yaxiu's hand and heart were both scalded at the very same time.