Please join my patreon channel for advance chapters, I also uploaded images of Mu Ningxue and Ye xinxia there, which is different from original versatile Mage.
patreon.com/Divineart238
*******************
The next morning, the summer heat of Bo City was already beginning to shimmer over the pavement. I was sitting in the courtyard, nursing a cup of tea, when the heavy gates of the Li estate groaned open.
A sleek, black vehicle pulled in, but I didn't need to see the crest on the door to know who it was. The air in the courtyard suddenly turned crisp, the humidity vanishing as a familiar, chilling aura settled over the stones.
Mu Ningxue stepped out of the car.
Her silver hair fell like a frozen waterfall over her shoulders, and her skin was as pale and flawless as winter's first snow. She looked toward me, her icy blue eyes softening the moment they met mine. It had been four months since she had to leave for her training at the Imperial Institute, and those four months felt like a lifetime.
"Yuzi," she said softly. Her voice wasn't the cold, distant tone the rest of the world heard; it was warm, carrying a hint of a tremor she only ever showed to me.
I stood up, and before I could even say her name, she was crossing the courtyard with uncharacteristic haste. I met her halfway, catching her in my arms. She felt like a block of ice against the summer heat, but as I pulled her close, she melted into the embrace, resting her head against my chest.
"You're back," I murmured, breathing in the faint, snowy scent that always followed her.
"I missed you," she whispered, her breath hitching. She pulled back just enough to look up at me, her fingers tracing the line of my jaw as if making sure I was real. "Four months was too long. Every time I closed my eyes in the capital, I just wanted to be back here. With you."
"I know," I said, reaching out to brush a stray silver strand from her face. "The city felt a lot quieter without you. Even with all the exam chaos, it felt like something was missing."
A rare, beautiful smile touched her lips—a smile that could stop the heart of any mage in Bo City. She reached up, her cool hands cupping my face, and pulled me down into a kiss.
It was a deep, lingering kiss that tasted of winter and longing. The contrast was sharp—the heat of the Bo City sun on my back and the freezing chill of her touch—but it felt perfect. In that moment, the power of the Mu family, the Li family's rising status, and the upcoming Awakening Ceremony didn't matter. It was just us.
When she finally pulled away, her cheeks had a faint, rosy tint—a stark contrast to her usual pale complexion. She didn't let go of my hands, her fingers intertwining with mine.
"I don't want to go back to the manor yet," she admitted, her gaze dropping to our joined hands. "My father, Mu He... they already have a dozen meetings planned for me. Can I stay here for a while? Just for this morning?"
"You can stay as long as you want, Ningxue," I said, leading her toward the stone bench under the shade of the trees. "The Li estate is the one place in Bo City where the Mu family can't dictate your schedule."
She leaned her head on my shoulder, letting out a long, contented sigh. For the first time in months, the tension seemed to leave her frame.
"Thank you, Yuzi," she whispered, closing her eyes. "For a moment, let's just pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist."
"Ningxue, How is your cultivation, did that ice crystle bow flared up again." When she first awakened, I gave her a white spiritual petal which helped her with bow's backlash. At the same time I also gave her Sacred grade stardust and cultivation magic tool, later I gave her a cultivation masking magic tool.
Ningxue leaned into me, her cold aura softening as she looked at the silver ring on her finger—the masking tool I had given her to keep the prying eyes of the Mu Clan away from her true potential.
"No, every time that bow flares up, it doesn't affect me because of that petal," she said, her voice carrying a rare note of peace. "It can hold for one more year. As for cultivation, my Ice element has reached Intermediate level 1, and I can now cast Intermediate level 1 magic. My Wind element is at Basic level 3."
"That's a relief," I said, my hand instinctively tightening around hers. "That petal was meant to stabilize the soul, but the Bow is a greedy thing. If it can hold for another year, that gives us time to find a more permanent solution. I don't want you paying its price with your life force."
She let out a long sigh of relief, the weight of her secrets finally having a safe place to land. "The Mu Clan still doesn't know. They think I've just reached Basic level 2 in Ice magic. If they knew the truth... if they knew I was already an Intermediate Mage with a second element at its peak, they would never let me out of their sight."
I smiled, pulling her closer so her head rested firmly on my shoulder. The Sacred-grade stardust and the cultivation tools I'd provided were doing their job, pushing her far beyond the "prodigy" status the world expected of her and level beyond what she achieved in original story at this point.
"Let them keep their illusions," I murmured, watching a stray leaf drift through the air. "The Mu Clan 'loves' their 'Heavenly Daughter,' but they only love the version of you they can control. By the time they realize you've already surpassed their expectations, you'll be beyond their reach."
Ningxue looked up at me, her icy blue eyes shimmering with a mixture of gratitude and something much deeper. "I couldn't have done it without you, Yuzi. Thank you for telling me the truth behind my mother's death."
She reached up, her cool fingers tracing the line of my neck before she pulled me down for another kiss, this one slower and more lingering than the first. It wasn't about the power we held or the elements we commanded; in the quiet of the Li estate, she wasn't the Ice Goddess of the Mu family, and I wasn't the strategist of the Li family.
"Stay like this for a while, I can't even express my troubles to my father because of people from Mu Clan who came with me
" she whispered against my lips, her breath hitching slightly. "Just a little longer before I have to go back to being their perfect daughter."
"As long as you need," I promised, holding her tight against the morning heat.
To Be Continue....
Enjoying the ride? Help us rank up by dropping your Power Stones!
I'm always looking for suggestions, so don't be shy in the comments. We only have two reviews so far—your feedback would mean the world to me and helps others find the story.
I'm loving writing this story, but reviews are the 'mana' that helps the algorithm show this to more people. If you've enjoyed the journey up to now then please consider leaving a quick rating. It takes 10 seconds but helps me more than you know.
Thank you for your time