Gu Qiaoqiao stood in front of Dongfang Yu at this moment. It was clear without guessing that Gu Qiaoqiao had brought Shang Qing. Dongfang Yu no longer had the strength to think about how Gu Qiaoqiao saw him. His lips trembled, wanting to say something, yet not a single syllable came out.

He gave up.

He closed his eyes in embarrassment.

Gu Qiaoqiao wanted to say something, but unfortunately, in such a situation, nothing she could say would matter.

It was better to be straightforward.

She deftly opened her satchel and took out the Snow Spirit Ball. If Dongfang Yu were Qin Yize, she would have the best and fastest solution.

But this person was Dongfang Yu.

Gu Qiaoqiao didn’t know if the Snow Spirit Ball could save him, but Dongfang Yu was smart. If he understood the value of this thing, he would seize the opportunity.

Gu Qiaoqiao thought for a moment and calmed the slightly dissatisfied Snow Spirit Ball, placing it over Dongfang Yu’s head. She said to Shang Qing, who was staring at her blankly, "I’m not sure if this method will work, but let’s try it with the mentality of a last resort. We have nothing to lose..."

"Qiaoqiao..." Shang Qing didn’t know what to say.

She moved her lips, swallowing the meaningless words she was going to say.

"There is a Peach Grove outside, full of peaches. I’m taking Xiao Bai to eat. Are you coming?" Gu Qiaoqiao casually asked Shang Qing.

Shang Qing glanced at Dongfang Yu, whose eyes were tightly shut.

She felt a deep sigh of emotion in her heart. Clearly a strong person, someone who always treated her like a child, yet in front of her, when he should be vulnerable, he was not ambiguous at all.

She really didn’t know what to say.

But for the sake of Dongfang Yu’s pride, she couldn’t bring it up, but it didn’t stop her from watching how frozen Dongfang Yu could get.

Moreover, frankly speaking, she was still worried.

"Qiaoqiao, you go ahead. I’ll stay here with him." Shang Qing made her decision.

Gu Qiaoqiao pouted, realizing that this was the expected outcome. She was just asking as a formality after all.

Seeing Xiao Bai, the loyal little creature, still lying there to keep Dongfang Yu warm, it seemed it was a habitual action from the past.

Gu Qiaoqiao spoke within her mind, "Let’s go, Xiao Bai. I’ll take you to eat peaches. Leave this place to Shang Qing."

Xiao Bai howled, only then realizing that the Snow Spirit Ball was already slowly emitting spiritual energy above Dongfang Yu’s head, the aura identical to the spiritual energy of Gu Qiaoqiao’s fingers. For Dongfang Yu, this was definitely a blessing in disguise.

If he used it well, he might never have to endure this icy pain again.

Xiao Bai felt reassured.

But Dongfang Yu’s consciousness was a bit scattered now, and it couldn’t communicate with him. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Moreover, given Dongfang Yu’s skills, there was no need for an explanation.

So Xiao Bai quickly darted out from the thick quilt and took a deep breath, as it was indeed quite stuffy inside.

It would rather go eat peaches with Qiaoqiao.

It had been many years since it last ate peaches from here.

Gu Qiaoqiao patted Shang Qing on the shoulder and headed downstairs with Xiao Bai.

Outside, the sun was still shining. A breeze blew, spreading the fragrance of peaches all around, and Gu Qiaoqiao genuinely felt a bit hungry.

The human and the cat briskly ran towards the Peach Grove.

Neither had to worry about the other. Gu Qiaoqiao specifically picked the ripest peaches, which were clean and free of fuzz, making them ready to eat directly.

Gu Qiaoqiao squatted under a tree, eating without any regard for her image.

After she and Xiao Bai were full, it was only an hour later.

Gu Qiaoqiao didn’t want to return to the wooden building or wander around as she had been walking all morning and was really tired.

Xiao Bai took Gu Qiaoqiao to a small wooden house deep within the Peach Grove.

Although the house was small, it was fully furnished with everything necessary.

Also, strangely, time seemed to pass slowly here, and nothing inside seemed damp or moldy.

According to Xiao Bai, it had been over twenty years since its last visit.

Gu Qiaoqiao thought this might be related to the feng shui and formation here.

The bedroom in the small wooden house faced the rising sun, and the air circulated freely. Gu Qiaoqiao didn’t bother to understand its secrets since she might not come here again in the future.

She figured it was enough to know that there was no danger.

And Gu Qiaoqiao, having eaten and drank her fill, was indeed exhausted.

So she told Xiao Bai she would rest for a while, asking it to wake her if anything happened at the wooden building; otherwise, not to disturb her.

Xiao Bai obediently listened.

Lying on the windowsill, it watched Gu Qiaoqiao fall asleep before happily running around.

Thus, the Peach Grove, silent for decades, suddenly became lively.

Xiao Bai knew there was rice here, and outside the grove was a vegetable field, where the vegetables were clever enough that except for not being able to cook themselves, they required no attention from their owner.

So the only thing missing was meat.

Delighted, Xiao Bai headed to the distant mountains, crying out a few times.

This place was seldom visited by humans, and there were plenty of animals with meat on them.

After playing to its heart’s content and noticing that it was getting late, Xiao Bai returned with a plump rabbit in its mouth.

Meanwhile, Gu Qiaoqiao had slept for a full three hours.

The bedding here was quite soft too.

Lying on it, she really didn’t want to get up.

However, if she lay down any longer, she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

Gu Qiaoqiao gritted her teeth and sat up.

After stretching a bit, she walked out of the wooden house.

On the clearing outside, Xiao Bai had already used its sharp claws to skin the rabbit, handling it perfectly except for washing and cutting.

Gu Qiaoqiao’s eyes lit up, and she quickly praised, "Xiao Bai, you’re getting more and more capable."

"That’s a must," Xiao Bai replied with no modesty at all, then pointed in the direction of the wooden building, "There’s a kitchen behind the wooden building with everything you need. There’s also a vegetable field outside the Peach Grove. Why don’t we go check what vegetables are available first?"

Gu Qiaoqiao pointed at the rabbit placed on a large leaf, "What about this? It needs washing..."

"There’s a stream next to the vegetable field where we can wash it." Xiao Bai had everything planned out.

Gu Qiaoqiao laughed, realizing Xiao Bai lived quite well here, with even a vegetable field.

Holding the large leaf, she followed Xiao Bai out of the Peach Grove.

It was five o’clock in the afternoon.

The sun still hung over the treetops to the west, but the clouds in the west had turned into spectacular sunset colors.

At this time, Xiao Bai had already led Gu Qiaoqiao to the stream. Gu Qiaoqiao took a look; the stream was so clear, its source and destination a mystery, but the babbling water sounded gentle and pleasant.

Gu Qiaoqiao placed the rabbit in the stream, blocking it with two large stones to let the flowing water wash it automatically, just like a tap.

Even without Shang Qing, Gu Qiaoqiao still needed to eat.

So, after setting the rabbit there, she let Xiao Bai take her to the vegetable field to have a look.