[The host has been afflicted by Alcohol for a very long time!]
[You have gained the skill, Alcohol Resistance!]
[Mental clarity restored.]
Nie Yong groaned, blinking up at the splintered canopy of the merchant stall he had crashed into. His whole body ached, but it was his mind that cleared first.
"Huh...? Where am I?" he muttered, sitting up amidst a pile of broken wood and scattered vegetables. "Didn't Su Mu just invite me to—"
And then it hit him.
The screaming.
The very public scene.
The love confession.
The marriage proposal...
"Oh fuck!"
His face turned red as blood. Mortification poured over him like a wave. "Did I actually tell her I wanted fifty kids!?" he whispered in horror. "And—and I said all that about Hu Mei'er... Oh my god, I went insane..."
'I swear I'll never drink again—'
Fwooosh!
Sharp frost whistled through the air. Nie Yong's eyes widened as glittering ice projectiles hurtled toward him from across the square.
"Fuck!" he cursed, rolling to the side as a frozen shard narrowly missed his head, impaling itself in a wooden beam behind him. He flipped onto his feet and kept moving—dodging left, right, sliding under a stall table—his instincts taking over.
"Senior sister Su!" he called out breathlessly, narrowly evading another blast. "I'm sorry, I wasn't myself!"
Another icy spear grazed his shoulder. Nie Yong winced but kept moving.
"You weren't yourself?" Su Yan's voice rang out sharp and clear above the chaos, carried on a biting wind. From across the square, she stepped forward slowly, her robes fluttering, her calm expression twisted into a mischievous smile. "Then who were you?"
"Please, senior sister Su!" Nie Yong said, ducking behind another stand as another barrage came. "If you keep going like this, you'll hurt someone!"
As he said it, another flurry of icicles sprayed through the market—but none of them hit bystanders. Strangely, whenever they missed Nie Yong, they dissolved midair or curved away harmlessly.
The crowd that had gathered was speechless.
"Did you see that?" one merchant whispered.
"She's not even aiming randomly…" a Storm Manor disciple murmured, wide-eyed. "Every single shard disappears if it misses him."
"That's a High Heaven Pavilion disciple for you."
Su Yan's cold voice broke through the crowd's hushed awe. "Then come here and receive your punishment."
She raised her hand, and the temperature dropped instantly. A massive spectral hand formed from pure condensed ice—a jagged construct of glowing frost and bladed fingers.
Nie Yong barely had time to gasp before it launched forward.
Crack!
The frozen hand zipped across the square, moving faster than anything before. Nie Yong tried to leap away, but the construct expanded mid-flight, the fingers curling around him like a vice. In a flash, he was lifted off his feet.
"Ack—! I said I'm sorry!" he shouted as he was yanked through the air, limbs flailing.
Gasps and cheers broke out as the icy hand dragged him back toward Su Yan like a misbehaving child being returned to their furious mother.
Su Mu watched with a pale face from the cabin's doorway. "…Yup. He's dead."
The massive icy hand crashed into the already broken wooden wall of Su Yan's cabin, shattering it even more and sending Nie Yong tumbling through the air like a ragdoll. With a grunt, he slammed against one of the other wall.
Crackling frost immediately spread from where the broken wall, filling the huge hole with an opaque sheet of ice—hiding them from view.
'Fuck! She really wants to kill me!' Nie Yong coughed, struggling to get up. His back ached, his breath frosted with the chill, and frostbite crept up his arms.
But then something ignited inside him.
He grit his teeth, placing a trembling hand against the icy floor.
Activate—True Yang Essence Art!
A spark of scorching light erupted from within him.
His Qi surged, golden and pure, radiant with the essence of true Yang. Heat burst out in a wave, melting the frost on his skin.
Su Yan's eyes widened as she stepped back slightly, genuinely startled. "What?"
Nie Yong stood amidst the mist, steam rising from his shoulders. His breathing was rough, and his robes torn, but the heat pouring from his body was unmistakable.
He melted my ice...?
She could hardly believe it. She was a True Element Realm cultivator—her Ice Qi was refined and powerful. Nie Yong hadn't even stepped into the Initial Element Realm; his Qi hadn't transformed into Yuan Qi. And yet, it was burning away her frost as if it were paper.
'He… melted Su Yan's ice?' Su Mu and the rest of his group stared in disbelief.
'How is this possible?' Su Mu's jaw tightened. 'Senior Brother Nie is strong… but not to this extent!'
Su Yan's fierce expression softened, a glimmer of amusement reaching her eyes.
"You're strong, junior brother," she said, stepping closer.
Nie Yong blinked. 'Didn't she just want to kill me a second ago?'
Her tone had changed completely. Gone was the wrathful ice queen, replaced by a serene, slightly teasing woman. "You've got a lot of talent…" Su Yan murmured, almost to herself.
Su Mu and his group all exchanged baffled looks.
'Eh? What's happening?' one of them muttered.
Then Su Yan's eyes drifted to Su Mu—cold and sharp like winter glass. "I can see you've been putting a lot of effort into cultivation, unlike someone else..."
Su Mu flinched. "Uhh…"
'Wait... is she comparing us now?' Su Mu thought, feeling a bead of sweat roll down his temple. 'Don't tell me—could she have taken a liking to him?'
Then he shook his head, dismissing the ridiculous idea. 'Impossible. Su Yan has a heart of stone. She barely shows me affection, how could she fall for someone that easily?'
Nie Yong, now slightly blushing from the compliment, bowed awkwardly. "T-Thanks, senior sister Su."
But the chill returned instantly.
Su Yan's aura dropped again like a blade. Her smile vanished. "I'll let you off this time," she said calmly.
Then the pressure increased.
"But if something like this ever happens again… I'll freeze your entire spinal cord and cut it into pieces. Understood?"
"Y-Yes, senior sister Su!" Nie Yong yelped, bowing repeatedly.
She nodded once, then turned her back.
"I have to cultivate now. Su Mu, take this junior brother and your group and leave."
The icy pressure redirected immediately—now pressing down on Su Mu and his friends.
"Y-Yes, sister!" Su Mu said quickly, grabbing Nie Yong by the arm and practically dragging him out.
The door closed behind them with a gentle click.
Inside, Su Yan stood still for a long moment, her hands folding behind her back.
Then her lips curled slightly.
'That guy...' she thought, a rare glint of warmth in her eyes.
'He was kinda cute.'
To be continued...
***
***
How was this chapter? Was it to your liking guys?