Chapter 179: Small in Stature, Big in Ideas
Afterward, Bai Yu focused on recording the spirit power routes, while Ice Empress chatted aimlessly with Snow Empress.
To be honest, Snow Empress wasn't much of a talker herself; in the past, when Ice Empress came to find her, she would always listen quietly, rarely responding.
But this time was different; essentially, for every sentence Ice Empress spoke, Snow Empress would reply.
Because she had eaten Bai Yu's food yesterday, she felt a sense of indebtedness, so to keep Ice Empress content, Snow Empress almost emptied her brain of its vocabulary.
By the time Snow Empress was completely unable to speak, only able to hum and nod, Bai Yu finally stretched and jumped off Ice Empress's back.
"Done. Thank you for your hard work, big scorpion!"
Hearing that Bai Yu had finally finished, Snow Empress let out a long breath. Having lived for so many years, it was the first time she felt such difficulty, and that time passed so slowly.
"Hey, human, can you speak properly? What 'big scorpion'? I am an Ice Jade Scorpion, and the king of Ice Jade Scorpions, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion!"
"You should address me as Ice Empress, understand? If you call me names again, I'll let you taste my Ice Empress's Wrath. With your small frame, I could probably shatter you in one go!"
Snow Empress raised her hand and patted Ice Empress's front pincers, saying to her:
"Bing'er, don't be rude!"
"It's fine, it's fine. Ice Empress is already quite good. I know someone with an even more abstract personality; a normal intellect simply cannot comprehend her!"
Bai Yu waved his hand, signaling Snow Empress not to worry, and then, seeing Snow Empress about to say something, he quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, Snow Empress, do you want to eat something today? We had barbecue yesterday; let's try a different way of eating today, hotpot."
Snow Empress's lips moved slightly. Did she want to eat? Of course she did! She hadn't had enough barbecue yet, let alone a different way of eating.
After thinking for a moment, Snow Empress nodded slightly. Bai Yu had offered to treat her to food, and she herself wanted to eat, so she had to eat.
At most, when Bai Yu left, she would give him more ice marrow. Anyway, he said that thing was very valuable in the human world.
The conversation between Bai Yu and Snow Empress completely confused Ice Empress; her already small eyes widened a circle.
"Eat? Xue'er, you actually eat? Didn't you used to not eat food? How have you changed now? Moreover, you're eating this human's food?"
"Xue'er, I'm unhappy! I used to bring my favorite food to you, and you ignored me. Now you actually eat a human's food!"
Watching Ice Empress wail, Bai Yu's mouth twitched. This Ice Empress wasn't very bright. What was her favorite food? Ice silkworms!
And they were eaten raw. One bite, full of protein, it's just that he didn't know if it tasted like chicken.
So, in this situation, how could you expect Snow Empress to eat? You should at least get some oil and fry them until golden!
"Hehe, Ice Empress, would you like to try human food too? Snow Empress tried it yesterday and seemed to like it. Besides, human food has a wide variety, so there's always something for you."
Ice Empress saw that she had wailed for a long time and Snow Empress still ignored her. Hearing Bai Yu invite her to try it too, she immediately took the bait.
"Hmm… alright. Since Xue'er likes it, I should like it too. Then I'll go try the food you make."
Bai Yu chuckled, turned, and walked towards the ice house not far away, saying as he walked:
"Hehe, then Ice Empress, you'll have to transform into human form. Do you see that ice house? We need to go there, and your main body can't fit in there."
Snow Empress looked in the direction Bai Yu pointed and muttered softly.
"Ice house? How is this better than a snow cave? It's so small, and you have to transform into human form to go in. It's so troublesome, I really don't want to change!"
But there was no other way. Ice Empress saw that Snow Empress had already walked far with Bai Yu, and immediately, spirit power surged, transforming her into a green-dressed girl who quickly chased after the two.
"Xue'er, wait for me!"
After a while, Bai Yu and the two empresses each sat on a stool, gathered around a small stove in the middle, on which rested a copper pot, surrounded by various ingredients.
"Here, one bowl for each of you. This is the dipping sauce. When the food is cooked, use your chopsticks to pick it out of the pot, dip it in the bowl, and then you can eat it."
Bai Yu distributed the prepared dipping sauce to Ice Empress and Snow Empress, and informed them how to use it, lest they drink it directly.
"Oh, I know. Bai Yu, can you see if the food in the pot is cooked? I can already smell it!"
Ice Empress's pair of emerald green eyes stared directly at the food in the pot, her small nose twitching from time to time.
She had never eaten human food either. According to her understanding, the most delicious food in the world was nothing more than ice silkworms; nothing else could compare.
But she wasn't so firm now. Although she hadn't eaten yet, this hotpot smelled really good, didn't it?
Bai Yu's mouth curved slightly upward as he looked at the somewhat anxious Ice Empress and said:
"Hmm, it's ready to eat. Come on, both of you try it. Speaking of which, I was the one who developed this."
"Later, after it spread from Spirit City, most cities on the continent had it. And those greedy merchants actually didn't pay me royalties, how infuriating!"
Bai Yu said a lot, but Ice Empress only heard the first sentence: It's ready to eat!
Then she immediately extended the chopsticks she had just learned to use, picked out a lot of food from the pot, haphazardly dipped some sauce, and began to eat.
Snow Empress, already having the experience of eating barbecue yesterday, was able to maintain her composure. She symbolically nodded to Bai Yu and also began to eat.
"Not bad, you human are very good! I didn't expect your human food to have such diverse flavors. I like it!"
"Why don't you stay in the Extreme North Land? Don't worry, I'll guarantee your safety. Here, besides Xue'er, I am the strongest!"
After all the food was swept clean, Ice Empress wiped her mouth, still wanting more, and looked up at Bai Yu, saying.
Bai Yu waved his hand. This Ice Empress, small in stature, had big ideas. She still wanted him to stay in the Extreme North Land; how could that be possible?
If he were truly left behind, putting everything else aside, Spirit Hall would definitely erupt in a major war with the Extreme North Land, unless he himself was willing.
But wasn't life outside better? Why stay in this godforsaken place?
"Staying is impossible. There are still many things outside that I need to do. However, if you truly like it, you can also learn to make it yourself."
Ice Empress was a bit conflicted. She only wanted to eat, but she didn't want to learn. Going out to find some ice silkworms for a snack already felt troublesome to her, let alone something that looked difficult to learn.
"Forget it, I can't learn that. If I really want to eat it in the future, I'll just make a trip to your human world. There are also cities on the edge of the Extreme North Land."
Ice Empress thought for a while and finally gave up. Learning was out of the question. At most, she would run a bit further and visit a human city.