“Was it the Dali Garden Effect or the Aladdin Effect?”
Li Mo couldn’t quite remember.
In any case, the light before his eyes had taken shape—and it was blinding him.
What effect?
Did it have something to do with the martial arts he had just taught her?
A genius’s mind was always buzzing with little question marks.
The icy teacher heard her young disciple’s confusion, but even she couldn’t answer such a bizarre-sounding question.
Besides, she had her own, even more inexplicable doubts weighing on her.
The system’s words appeared before her eyes:
【Tsk tsk tsk, as expected, Host is doubting this system’s authority again. But this system’s duels all come with battle records.】
【To ensure accuracy, we arranged ten virtual sparring matches between you two lovebirds.】
“How many did I win?” Ying Bing asked silently in her heart.
【One match...】
Ying Bing: “?”
【...you didn’t win any.】
The Phoenix Heavenly Empress froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the equally dazed Li Mo, who seemed stunned as if he’d seen something irresistibly delicious. Her crimson lips pressed together.
“How is that possible...?”
Even if Li Mo’s inner world was one of a kind, her Moon Divine Intent was originally part of that very cosmos—it shouldn’t lose all its divine properties.
Moreover, the starry sky within his inner world had been woven by her own hands. While it might trap others, it shouldn’t be able to fully restrain her.
Even if she were at a disadvantage, losing all ten matches without a single victory was unthinkable.
“Do you have records of these sparring sessions?” The ice-cold beauty questioned the system’s accuracy with an aloof expression.
【Yes.】
【First match: Li Mo opened with ‘Big Sis’ and ended the fight.】
The system’s summary was brutally straightforward.
After a moment of silence, Ying Bing asked again in her mind, “I’d learn from my mistakes. The later matches wouldn’t give him a chance to cheat.”
【Indeed, Host is quite skilled at playing to her strengths.】
【Second match: Host learned her lesson and struck first before Li Mo could speak. At the time, Li Mo was staring at you in a daze. Fortunately, Host held back in time—you ended up in his arms and lost the ability to resist.】
Ying Bing: “?”
She had held back—shouldn’t that count as her victory?
How did ‘losing the ability to resist’ come into play?
【System duels aren’t mere sparring. External factors are also part of one’s strength. Only the final outcome matters—absolute fairness and justice. If Host doubts this, you can test it now by hugging him.】
“...”
Ying Bing exhaled softly, recalling the dress that still hadn’t been washed.
Whenever Li Mo embraced her, even the unshakable empress seemed powerless to resist.
【Third match: Host accidentally lost her boot during the fight...】
【Fifth match...】
【Seventh match...】
【Tenth match: After consecutive losses, Host was furious and pounced on Li Mo, biting him. He caught her in retaliation. The battle was intense—two hours later, Li Mo was still raring to go, while Host passed out, though her mouth remained stubborn.】
Ying Bing stared at the battle records, momentarily stunned.
Aside from her martial talent, her greatest strength was her willpower—forged through years of enduring bitter cold.
She had withstood over a decade of suffering—how could she faint after just two hours?
The battle-hardened empress had stumbled upon a gap in her knowledge.
She turned to look at him, only to find Li Mo still frozen in the same pose, gazing intently at the moon with a dazed expression, as if utterly shocked.
Oh.
Ying Bing suddenly realized something and quickly sank back into the hot spring.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Just... suddenly feeling a bit hungry.”
Li Mo snapped out of his trance and casually wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Ying Bing shrank back slightly, maintaining her icy demeanor as she muttered, “There’s still some fruit left.”
“Oh, right.”
Li Mo reached for it—then ‘accidentally’ knocked over the floating tray. All the fruit drowned in the hot spring. He gasped in mock horror:
“Ying Bing, the fruit’s gone!”
“......”
Her eyes flickered. “Then there’s nothing to eat now. We’ll get something later.”
“There is. I love eating ice.”
Li Mo glanced at her ‘moon’ and shamelessly eyed the ‘toes.’
“I told you yesterday—Uncle Li and Aunt Gu are here. If you eat now, they’ll see.”
“Hmm, then how about eating somewhere they can’t see?”
Li Mo raised a finger, his eyes gleaming with wisdom.
“Somewhere they can’t see...?”
The ice-cold beauty froze, finally understanding how she had lost all ten matches.
The way Li Mo looked at her was ravenous. There were tales of wolf demons who disguised themselves as humans, transforming under the full moon. Tonight’s moon was indeed round—but no fur had sprouted on him.
Was it because she had teased him earlier?
The empress found herself in a predicament. She had clearly underestimated the situation.
“Somewhere unseen...”
Ying Bing covered her ‘moon,’ pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised her snow-white foot and pressed it against his shoulder. With an air of indifference, she said:
“Then eat.”
Li Mo: “T-this isn’t appropriate...”
The young disciple was visibly flustered.
Ying Bing let out a quiet sigh of relief and turned her head away nonchalantly.
“It’s your own fault for not daring to... Ah...!”
Her neck instinctively retracted, her usual composure shattered as she stared blankly at Li Mo, who sat there innocently as if nothing had happened.
There’s a saying: the mouth speaks what the heart feels.
As everyone knew, Li Mo was a straightforward, upright gentleman.
But sometimes, his mouth seemed to have a mind of its own—and just now, it had been particularly opinionated.
He knew full well that mouths were meant for eating and speaking—not for tasting strange, forbidden things.
Was this right? No, it wasn’t.
But when the ever-elegant, untouchable beauty placed her delicate foot on his shoulder and challenged him with a ‘you wouldn’t dare’ look—who could resist?
Everyone had midnight cravings they couldn’t control. Who could claim self-restraint in such a moment?
“Ying Bing.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m still hungry. Big Sis wouldn’t let me starve, right?”
Li Mo rubbed his stomach, shifting closer until his scorching breath brushed against her ear—hotter than the spring itself.
Perhaps hunger only grew worse after the first bite.
Denied a full meal, the craving only intensified.
The spring bubbled, the mist thickened. For the first time, Ying Bing felt the situation slipping entirely from her grasp, her mind adrift like a kite with a severed string.
She didn’t even hear the system’s reminder: 【Host, you’re supposed to punish him, not reward him.】
Where had she gone wrong?
Wasn’t this brat supposed to be obedient and easy to manipulate? Why did he suddenly seem like a ravenous beast? Before, a single cold glare from her would make him back down—so why was it different this time?
Was it because the ‘ice pop’ came without packaging, ready to eat straight away?
“Li Mo.”
“Hmm?”
“That’s for babies.”
“Aren’t I just a brat? Who’s not a baby at heart?”
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