The cause has been found, and it seems not entirely without passing...

"Frosty block..."

Little Li suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

At least our Autumn Water Pavilion still had one reliable person.

He lifted his foot, intending to jog over, but after a moment's thought, he trudged forward with great effort, moving slowly before plopping heavily into a chair by the table. His body relaxed as if he had just shed a thousand-pound burden.

"Huh? This kid was practically sprinting earlier—what's wrong now?"

"Did his condition worsen?"

Shang Wu and Qin Yuzhi exchanged awkward glances.

They had assumed Li Mo wasn’t in serious trouble. Had they known, they wouldn’t have teased him.

"Let’s check his temperature first."

Ying Bing unscrewed the head of a doll-shaped container and pulled out a bronze object covered in tiny holes, resembling a feather shaft stripped of its plumage.

It was a little trinket she had acquired as spoils during her demon-slaying exploits in the southern borderlands.

The moment Li Mo gripped it, frost began spreading across its surface, transforming it into an icy feather—proof that his body temperature was dangerously low.

"Hold it in your mouth," Ying Bing instructed.

Li Mo obeyed, only for the feather to instantly turn red, flames flickering from the bronze shaft—now proof of an alarmingly high internal temperature.

"So... he’s caught in an ice-and-fire paradox?" Shang Wu blinked.

"Like cures like..." Qin Yuzhi smacked her forehead. "You did sneak those Snow Spirit Ginseng roots yesterday, didn’t you?!"

"......"

Li Mo ignored them, stealing a glance at Frosty Block’s expression instead.

"How do you feel now?" Ying Bing asked softly, lowering her gaze.

"I... I’ll manage."

Li Mo—the so-called "Hammer Tyrant" whose physique rivaled that of a calamity beast—forced a frail smile. "Maybe it’s just a minor cultivation misstep. I know my own body best."

"Wuwu, my precious disciple, don’t you dare collapse on me!" Shang Wu panicked.

Qin Yuzhi raised a finger, finally offering something sensible:

"Given his current state—internal heat raging while externally frostbitten—treatment should follow the principle of 'inside out.' So, we tackle the yang energy first?"

"But how...?"

She blinked, turning to Frosty Block for answers.

Li Mo’s eyes widened slightly. Since when had Qin Yuzhi become so... perceptive? Or rather, so enlightened?

This was downright terrifying.

Not to be outdone, the inaugural Best Actor of the Golden Statue Awards refused to fall behind.

Li Mo shook his head and sighed. "Maybe I just need to sleep it off. I’ll recover on my own."

"?"

Ying Bing remained expressionless, gathering a wisp of inner energy at her fingertip to probe his meridians and diagnose the issue properly.

But before her hand could reach him, Li Mo intercepted it, clasping her palm weakly.

Little Li seemed utterly drained, his gaze dimming slightly.

"If... just if... something really is wrong, promise me you’ll take care of Hammer Baby. I swore I’d find it a pretty little companion..."

"Disciple dear, take a swig of firewater! Whenever I’m sick, sweating it out always does the trick."

Shang Wu hastily poured him a cup of liquor.

Giving a patient strong alcohol? To "sweat it out"? Well, coming from his master, this was somehow perfectly logical...

Cough!

The moment the liquor touched his lips, Li Mo erupted into coughs.

The spilled drink hit the ground—first freezing into frost, then... bursting into flames?!

What kind of flammable ice was this?!

Honestly?

The Golden Statue Awards’ Best Actor was slipping today. His performance felt over-the-top, almost... guilty.

Even a child faking a cold to skip school could’ve done better.

But there’s a saying: "Fear breeds blindness."

"Let Xiao Yue play with it then..."

Frosty Block suspected Little Li was faking—he had tricked her into feeding him for three days back in the southern borderlands, after all.

Yet, seeing him so listless, her usually calm eyes flickered with unease.

What if it was real?

He had been forging in lava veins daily, wearing that indestructible pure-yang robe (because nothing else survived the heat).

Even an Inner Landscape Realm cultivator would struggle without proper protection...

"What in the world... is this performance?"

Xue Jing strode into the courtyard, medical kit in hand, and froze at the sight of Autumn Water Pavilion transformed into an emergency ward.

He turned to Elder Hanhe and Elder Zeng, baffled.

"What’s going on here?"

Elder Zeng paused. "Huh? He was like this when we carried him over."

Elder Hanhe nodded. "Doesn’t seem any worse than before..."

"Old Xue, thank heavens you’re here! Quick, examine him!"

Shang Wu hurriedly vacated her seat.

Li Mo: "!"

Oh no. The actually competent one had arrived.

Elder Hanhe and Elder Zeng... so they hadn’t fled? They’d gone to Dan Ding Peak to fetch backup?

Did they have to be this reliable?!

"Hmm... These symptoms... peculiar."

After a thorough inspection, Xue Jing frowned.

"Logically, with yang energy this rampant, external frost shouldn’t form. How can he be freezing outside while burning inside...?"

"Oh, that! Almost forgot."

Elder Zeng smacked his forehead, suddenly remembering.

He reached into Little Li’s pocket and pulled out a frigid, intricately patterned ore—ten concentric rings marked its surface.

Xue Jing stared. "Millennium Frost Silver Ore? Why in the world did you two put this on him?!"

This stone, found in the icy depths of lava veins where extreme yang birthed yin, was a rare forging material—used in weapons like the Heavenfrost Sword. Its counterpart was Blazing Copper Ore.

"The kid was scalding us!"

Elder Hanhe grumbled, showing his slightly reddened palms. "Carrying him burned my hands! Had to cool him down somehow."

"...So his 'external frost' was manually induced...? Seriously?"

Mystery solved: Li Mo’s icy condition was the result of literal ice therapy.

Silence engulfed Autumn Water Pavilion.

Dead leaves rustled in the cold wind. A stray crow flew overhead, its grating caws almost like mocking laughter...

The atmosphere couldn’t have been more awkward.

"Oh... so that’s it... I’m fine, haha! Told you..."

Without the frost ore suppressing him, Li Mo’s body temperature skyrocketed again, yang energy radiating heat.

Yet somehow, he now felt an inexplicable chill.

He turned stiffly—only to meet Frosty Block’s serene, utterly expressionless face.

Not good.

"It’s good that you’re alright."

Ying Bing spoke softly, then turned and walked upstairs.

"It’s over..."

Little Li muttered. Maybe he wasn’t completely unharmed after all...

Xue Jing scribbled a prescription. "Here, take some cooling herbs. You’ve been overindulging, and your yang is out of control. Rest properly for a few days, understood?"

"Right. I still have a weapon to forge—gotta go."

"Take two days off."

Elder Hanhe and Elder Zeng chimed in.

"Thank you for your concern, Elders."

"Ah, no need for thanks. Just doing our duty."

The two elders tactfully retreated from the scene of the crime.

"Hmph." Even though Shang Wu wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, she could tell her disciple had been faking it earlier. With a disgruntled snort, she retreated to her room.

"Tsk."

Qin Yuzhi glanced at him and shook her head—looks like the young lad had crashed and burned.

In the end, only Little Li was left standing there, frozen like a statue, utterly alone.

A song involuntarily rose in his heart:

"Snowflakes drift~ the north wind howls~~"