The Sun Moon Empire, Kong Family Chamber of Commerce, in a quiet reception room.
Wang Dong'er finished sending the message and withdrew her attention from the Spiritual Pivot Network.
Qiu'er, standing nearby, couldn't help but ask softly, 'Was the message sent?'
Wang Dong'er nodded: 'Mhm, the President should return as soon as he sees it.'
Hearing this, Qiu'er calmed down slightly, but still instinctively looked toward the black-haired, black-eyed girl with a cold demeanor not far away.
There, Gu Yue had her eyes closed, resting her spirit, as if she were deaf to the surrounding conversation, and the atmosphere was somewhat stagnant.
Looking at Gu Yue like this, Qiu'er felt deep down that something was very wrong.
Admittedly, her Young Miss has always had a cold personality and usually doesn't speak much.
But this state—being completely silent, as if suppressing all her emotions deep inside—was something she had never seen before.
A strange sense of unease washed over her. She really wanted to do something to break the strange atmosphere, but she had no idea how.
Time slowly passed. At a certain moment, familiar ripples appeared in the space within the room.
Two figures stepped out, one after the other: Kong Mingan and the Ice Empress.
Wang Dong'er sighed in relief and said respectfully, 'President.'
Qiu'er instinctively took half a step back, her golden eyes filled with wariness, especially when looking at Kong Mingan.
In the distance, Gu Yue, who had kept her eyes closed, now opened them. Her gaze swept over, and when it landed on Kong Mingan, she paused slightly, involuntarily.
He is stronger.
Gu Yue quickly reached a conclusion.
This young man had improved again, and it was not a slight improvement, but a qualitative transformation.
But... how much time had passed? It had only been a few months, right? And yet he had improved again?
Gu Yue's mood was slightly heavy. Her gaze swept over the Ice Empress beside Kong Mingan, and her eyes paused again.
There was no doubt that even the Ice Empress's aura was much stronger than before. Now, in the entire Star Dou Great Forest, besides herself, perhaps only Di Tian could suppress her opponent.
If she were excluded, the opponent's apparent combat power seemed capable of sweeping clean the entire Star Dou Great Forest.
As Gu Yue's thoughts flashed, Kong Mingan and the Ice Empress had already naturally sat down together across from Gu Yue. He then went straight to the point:
'Young MissGu Yue has made up her mind?'
Gu Yue was silent for a moment, then looked directly into Kong Mingan's eyes, her voice cold: 'I want to talk to you... alone.'
Kong Mingan was slightly surprised but still nodded, looking at Wang Dong'er nearby: 'Dong'er, please step outside first.'
Wang Dong'er nodded and immediately complied, leaving the room.
But then, Gu Yue's gaze turned toward the Ice Empress:'She needs to leave too.'
The Ice Empress frowned and retorted impolitely, 'Why should I?'
Gu Yue did not look at the Ice Empress; she only stared at Kong Mingan, her attitude exceptionally clear.
Kong Mingan's expression was calm, yet he suddenly reached out a hand, very naturally wrapping it around the Ice Empress's slender, soft waist beside him. He exerted a slight force, gently pulling her close until she was practically leaning against him.
Afterward, he looked at Gu Yue, his tone calm:'She doesn't need to leave.'
Gu Yue watched the two embracing figures, involuntarily frowning slightly as she fell into a kind of silence.
The Ice Empress did not speak. Feeling the hand wrapped around her waist, her body unconsciously stiffened slightly.
What exactly is this guy doing?! Is he really not letting go of any opportunity to take advantage of her?!
The Ice Empress felt inexplicably uncomfortable, instinctively wanting to move that slightly restless hand away. However, sensing Gu Yue's gaze in front of her, the Ice Empress ultimately did not move.
If it were just her and this scoundrel, it would be fine; they could mess around however they wanted. But there was someone else here.
The Ice Empress's mind was a mess, but her expression remained cold. She allowed Kong Mingan to hold her without moving, looking completely unconcerned and as if it were only natural.
After a long time, Gu Yue seemed to snap back to reality. She took a deep breath and spoke again:
'She must leave.'
The tone was absolute. Kong Mingan frowned slightly.
This attitude...
Kong Mingan had no desire to continue the discussion; after all, he wasn't the one who was anxious.
Just as he was about to get up and leave, the Ice Empress suddenly stood up, breaking free from his arm.
Then, with a cold face, she didn't even look at Kong Mingan and dropped a stiff sentence:
'I'll go out.'
Following that, she moved quickly and immediately left the room.
Kong Mingan: '...'
He suddenly felt that he needed to find an opportunity to corner the Ice Empress in a room and not give her a single chance to escape.
After a slight pause, Kong Mingan looked back at Gu Yue: 'Now can you talk?'
Gu Yue's gaze turned to Qiu'er, who was still in the room, and she said, 'Qiu'er, you leave too.'
Qiu'er blinked, pointing at herself in surprise: 'Me?'
Gu Yue's expression was calm as she repeated, 'You leave too.'
Qiu'er opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but under Gu Yue's unquestionable gaze, she ultimately swallowed her words.
She nodded silently, gave Gu Yue one last worried look, and then turned and left the room.
At this moment, only Kong Mingan and Gu Yue remained in the room.
Kong Mingan looked at Gu Yue, his tone slightly helpless:'So, now you can talk, right?'
As if having made some kind of decision, Gu Yue took a deep breath and spoke calmly: 'I want to know why you were able to reach that level of cooperation with the Extreme North Land? What transaction did you and the Extreme North Land ultimately reach?'
Kong Mingan was slightly surprised, but he did not conceal anything, answering directly: 'In short, I initially signed a contract with the Snow Empress. She paid a price in exchange for my future protection of the citizens of the Extreme North Land.'
Gu Yue pressed: 'Only one contract was signed?'
Kong Mingan nodded: 'Only one was signed.'
'What price?'
'Everything she possesses.' Kong Mingan's tone was flat.
Gu Yue was slightly stunned, her gaze freezing: '...What do you mean?'
'It means exactly what it says.' Kong Mingan's eyes were calm as he clearly explained:
'The Snow Empress handed everything about herself over to me—whether it was her body, her Soul, her power, or everything else she possessed.'
'She exchanged this for my future protection of the Extreme North Land.'
Gu Yue was completely dumbfounded, instantly recalling the words the Snow Empress had spoken before leaving last time.
'Everything I possess already belongs to him.'
So that was what she meant?
An indescribable emotion surged in her heart. That Lord of the Extreme North could go to such lengths for her people?
Comparing this to her own past lukewarm attitude toward the Spirit Beast race, Gu Yue fell into a deep silence.
Kong Mingan watched her calmly, not rushing, waiting silently.
Following the appearance of the Divine Kingdom of Order and the tree of billions of silver radiance, the threat posed by the Young Miss Dragon King had been greatly reduced, and he was not worried about her threats.
In short, he had her cornered.
Time slowly passed. At a certain moment, Gu Yue suddenly raised her head, a hint of determination flashing in her ink-jade eyes.
'I want to sign a contract, the contents of which are the same as the Snow Empress's.'
Her voice was cold, her words resolute, an all-or-nothing gamble.
I must apologize for something: I originally planned to write a storyline about Wang Dong'er being a fallen noble, but suddenly realized it didn't quite fit. Then I discovered, hey! The Young Miss Dragon King is a much better fit! Furthermore, compared to Dong'er, teasing the Young Miss Dragon King is much more interesting, so I'll write her plot alongside Qiu'er's.
The cold Young Miss Dragon King actively sells herself for the sake of her clan, agreeing to all the protagonist's demands, and eventually gradually falls.
Qiu'er sees her Young Miss sacrificing herself for the clan, so she proactively seeks out the protagonist, wanting to pay the price in place of her Young Miss.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +40 Extra Chapters on - P@tr3on "RinBlaze"]
[Every 15 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]