The Autumn Eve Invitation of the Ice Lump

In the firewood shed of the tavern.

"Hehehe..."

"I'm going to meet the god..."

From afar, Li Mo could hear Chang Bolong's hoarse cries. The man not only looked wretched but also seemed mentally disturbed, muttering devoutly with a fanatical expression.

"The martial arts of the Demon-summoning Sect really do no good to one's mind."

Li Mo sighed softly.

Chang Bolong was already mentally unstable, and when he saw Li Mo—the one who had brought him to this state—enter the shed with Ying Bing, his agitation grew even more intense. His demeanor turned utterly deranged, his voice dripping with venom:

"You will die! Stealing the god’s child, you will die a wretched death!"

Xue Jing said helplessly,

"Little Mo, even I can’t fix this kind of thing."

"He wasn’t very bright to begin with, and then you smashed the back of his head with a hammer."

"Well, I should’ve held back a little."

Li Mo nodded.

The others felt something was off, but they couldn’t quite put their finger on it.

Holding back during a divine battle in the inner realm?

Yet, coming from Li Mo, it somehow didn’t seem out of place.

"How about we just close the door and let Shang Wu handle him?" Qian Bufan suggested.

"Ahem, he doesn’t quite deserve that..."

Li Mo coughed lightly, and a wisp of moonlight shimmered behind him. With a casual flick of his finger, it drifted toward Chang Bolong.

The information from the Divine Eye of Fate was sometimes incomplete.

Right now, he only knew Chang Bolong’s basic details.

But he had no idea what the Demon-summoning Sect was truly scheming.

Since Chang Bolong was babbling nonsense, it was best to calm him down first and get some answers.

As the serene moonlight enveloped Chang Bolong, he abruptly quieted down. The vicious curses he had been about to spew suddenly died in his throat.

His eyes even seemed a little clearer.

"Heh."

Chang Bolong was no longer raving, but the hatred and murderous intent in his eyes remained undiminished.

The Moonlight’s Tranquility could soothe emotions and bring peace of mind, but it couldn’t erase deep-seated hatred or the will to kill.

"What is this 'god' you speak of?"

Li Mo asked.

"How dare you call the god a 'thing'!"

"So the god isn’t a thing?"

"You’re the one who’s not a thing!"

Chang Bolong’s eyelids twitched violently, his expression turning fearful.

"The god is an omnipotent existence. He knows all things under heaven. One day, he will descend upon this world and lead his faithful to the celestial realm..."

The others frowned.

Martial artists cultivated their own strength, yet Chang Bolong had clearly lost himself, worshipping some unknown entity as a deity.

No wonder his spirit was so scattered.

"Then why did you take Murong Xiao? What use is he to you?"

Li Mo glanced at the "statue" nearby.

Murong Xiao seemed to be in a state akin to hibernation. Combined with his mastery of the Golden Bell Shield technique, shaving his head and dressing him up made him look eerily like a Buddha statue...

"He is to serve as the vessel for the god’s descent."

"The divine will is about to descend... When it does, you will surely..."

Chang Bolong’s voice grew weaker.

Li Mo was curious—were there truly godlike beings in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?

"You say this god is omniscient and omnipotent?"

"Naturally." Chang Bolong sneered weakly in his dying moments.

"Then is there anything he cannot lift?"

"Even stars, the sun, the moon, the heavens and earth—all rest in the palm of his hand..."

"Then can he create something he cannot lift?"

"He can... Wait, no..."

Chang Bolong’s eyes widened slightly, a sudden flicker of confusion passing through them.

He suddenly felt his head itch.

And so, when he breathed his last, his eyes remained open.

"He was already stupid, and you just had to mess with him."

Xue Jing sighed in exasperation.

Li Mo scratched his head sheepishly. He had only asked on a whim.

Truthfully, Li Mo wasn’t all that curious about what the Demon-summoning Sect was planning or what would happen in the southern borderlands.

He just wanted to stay within his little corner of the Qingyuan Sect, collecting rewards.

The southern border had the Southern Suppressing King—it wasn’t the concern of someone in the Observation Divine Realm like him.

At least Murong Xiao had been recovered. Though he remained in a deep slumber due to his bloodline, he would wake eventually.

To Li Mo, this whole affair paled in comparison to the upcoming Autumn Eve Festival.

......

Several days later.

The courtyard was strewn with more fallen leaves than before.

The festive atmosphere grew thicker, with the entire tavern adorned in lanterns and decorations.

After some discussion, everyone agreed to stay and celebrate the Autumn Eve Festival before returning to Purple Sun Prefecture.

A young woman swept the courtyard, her dark hair tied into a ponytail resting on her shoulder.

Every now and then, she would glance toward the tavern’s kitchen.

What would he cook today?

Once they left for the southern border, it would be a long time before she tasted his familiar dishes again.

The journey couldn’t be delayed...

For her, solitude had always been the norm. In her past life, she had always been alone.

Yet for some reason...

The thought of traveling to the southern border by herself felt strangely unfamiliar.

"Ice Block."

Suddenly, a voice called out from nearby.

Ying Bing looked up to see the young man standing at the kitchen door, bathed in the warm glow of lantern light.

"Hm?"

"Come see my latest creation!"

Li Mo beckoned mysteriously.

Ying Bing stepped into the kitchen and saw an array of mooncakes on the table. Raising an eyebrow, she picked one up.

On its round surface was an engraved caricature of Li Mo.

"Your great achievement... is imprinting your face on a mooncake?"

"Ahem, of course not!"

Li Mo grinned proudly.

"As everyone knows, you can never tell what’s inside a mooncake until you take a bite."

"That’s why so many mooncakes are deceptive!"

"But if you mark them with the right design, it’s much easier to tell."

So why not just write the flavor?

Ying Bing smirked. "Then what flavor are you?"

"Try it and find out."

Li Mo picked up a snowskin mooncake with Ying Bing’s likeness on it—arguably the most unnecessary design, yet exquisitely detailed.

He took a bite, devouring the Q-version Ying Bing’s legs, then grinned at her.

Ying Bing frowned slightly, glanced down, then decisively bit off the head of the Li Mo mooncake.

Lotus seed paste?

"Good?"

Li Mo watched as she took another big bite.

"Mhm."

"Then try the others."

And so,

Ying Bing picked up each mooncake, sampling them one by one, her cheeks moving delicately as she savored each flavor.

The lantern light was warm and dim, much like the glow in any ordinary household at night.

Li Mo studied Ying Bing’s jade-like face.

Maybe it was just his imagination,

but lately, she seemed different—more down-to-earth, less icy.

The once cold and domineering Phoenix Empress now felt more like a childhood friend.

If not for how accustomed he was to calling her "Ice Block," he might’ve changed the nickname.

And...

She seemed preoccupied lately?

As Ying Bing finished the last mooncake, Li Mo asked casually,

"Ice Block, which one’s your favorite?"

"Li Mo."

"Eh?"

"The mooncake."

Li Mo was momentarily stunned.

The mooncake he had used as a pattern was filled with lotus seed paste—he could’ve just said "lotus seed paste."

But before he could react, the girl suddenly called his name...

Then, her gaze shifted toward him, the flickering lamplight dancing in her eyes like fireflies.

"I’ve heard the streets of Yunzhou are lively during the Autumn Eve Festival. Not that I’m particularly curious, but..."

"I’m extremely interested!"

"If I miss it, I think I’d regret it for the rest of my life."

At this moment, Li Mo had no brilliant ideas—only earnest sincerity.

"Mm."

Ying Bing twirled a strand of her hair around her pale, jade-like fingers and murmured softly, "If you insist on going... I suppose I could accompany you for a look."

...