Magic Farm 138

Chapter 138: Only a Big Hug Can Make It Better

When Dan Xingyu returned, Qi Yu was already dressed in his down jacket, waiting for him.

Dan Xingyu was holding a black down jacket, with a pale yellow scarf draped over his arm.

He glanced at Qi Yu, not even pausing to admire his new look, and urged, “Come on, come on, let’s hurry outside. It’s so hot, so hot.”

He was just about to ask Qi Yu, “Aren’t you hot?”

When suddenly, a chill wrapped around him.

Dan Xingyu blinked in surprise and saw delicate pale blue ice crystals drifting down before his eyes.

He turned to look at Qi Yu, who was bundled up in a fluffy white down jacket, looking like a little feathered bird. The mage grinned at him, “Not hot anymore, right? I just learned this ice and snow magic—pretty useful, isn’t it?”

Dan Xingyu exclaimed in delight, “Do it again! Do it again!”

His joy was so obvious that Qi Yu, pleased, obliged him, magic surging forth, this time covering a wider area.

A small flurry of snowflakes swirled down over their heads, softly brushing away the last trace of heat from Dan Xingyu’s heart.

“Making snow with your bare hands? How are you any different from an immortal?” Dan Xingyu sidled up to Qi Yu, circling him and marveling, “We’re all just ordinary people, so why are you so exceptional?”

Qi Yu basked in the praise and told him, “Stop dawdling and put your coat on. Let’s go out.”

With a mage who could cool the air at his side, Dan Xingyu no longer feared the heat. He quickly put on the down jacket, saying as he did, “I wonder which unlucky soul managed to get a down jacket and scarf in District 88.”

He searched the trading page, and when he bought them, the seller even took the time to message him a thank you.

That’s when he saw the seller’s ID: God Has No Form.

Dan Xingyu was busy heading this way and didn’t have time to read the long-winded message the player sent.

But he had no doubt that, at this very moment, back in District 88, people were probably trying to figure out why he would buy cold-weather clothes in this sweltering heat.

He had deliberately not made the purchase anonymously.

When he brought the martial arts technique back to District 88, he would make it clear who had truly benefited the players—Lord Qi Yu, with his benevolent heart.

And all that ice and snow, and even the swiftlet meat from before.

Even if he said nothing, no one could force him to reveal the source.

But then, why not say it?

He thought of something and let out a pleased laugh.

Qi Yu looked at him curiously. “What are you laughing at?”

Dan Xingyu asked, “If someone asks me where the martial arts and all this ice and snow came from, can I mention your name?”

Qi Yu replied, “Of course you can.”

He said it as if it were obvious, “Didn’t we both take part in the Racing Carnival? Now everyone knows we’re good friends, right?”

Dan Xingyu savored that sentence—“everyone knows we’re good friends”—and, for some reason, it made him feel wonderful.

“You’re right!” he said cheerfully. “Everyone knows we’re good friends, and we took first place together. It’s only natural we’d share things.”

Just thinking about what people would say in District 88’s regional channel made him feel comfortable all over:

“They’ll be green with envy.”

As they spoke, the two stepped out of the territory.

A howling wind, laden with snow, slapped against their faces.

“Whoa!”

Qi Yu was about to ask if he should set up a simple wind barrier for him, when Dan Xingyu shouted, “So cool, so comfortable!”

He threw himself forward, plunging headfirst into a snowdrift.

Qi Yu: “……”

Silently, he equipped himself with the Guardian Mage Robe from his backpack, then crouched down, waiting for Dan Xingyu to dig himself out of the snow pit.

Fortunately, Dan Xingyu hadn’t forgotten he had serious business to attend to. He wriggled up, took a deep breath, and said, “This feels amazing. After rolling in sand every day, to suddenly see this vast world of ice and snow—it’s pure happiness.”

It was only because he’d spent a month in the survival game and was now a level three warrior, with high physical stats and resilience, that he could handle it. Otherwise, switching in an instant from a fifty-degree desert to the minus-twenty-degree Star Forest would have been too much for his body.

He stood up and found the snow already above his thighs.

Dan Xingyu wondered aloud, “With such low temperatures, why hasn’t the snow turned to ice? Is the climate in the survival game different from ours?”

He was a southern boy with little experience, so he didn’t really know.

Qi Yu didn’t know either.

But Dan Xingyu’s attention quickly shifted.

He looked at his lower body buried in the snow, then at Qi Yu, who was squatting lightly on the snow’s surface, and showed a puzzled expression.

“Qi Yu, my friend,” he said, deeply shocked, pointing at Qi Yu’s feet, “are you made of paper or is there some strange principle at work here? How can you stand on this fluffy snow without leaving a single footprint?”

Qi Yu glanced down and said casually, “Maybe it’s because my agility stat is pretty high.”

He told Dan Xingyu, “It’s going to be hard for you to even walk like this, let alone do anything else. Want me to help you?”

Dan Xingyu replied, “No need.”

He pulled himself out of the snowdrift, channeling his inner strength.

Qi Yu saw a fiery red glow flash across him, lifting him up so that, like Qi Yu, he could walk atop the soft snow without sinking.

But there was still a difference: as they walked side by side, only one set of footprints trailed behind them.

Dan Xingyu dug at the snow with his sword, then couldn’t help but glance back at Qi Yu’s feet.

“Are you sure you haven’t awakened some kind of elven bloodline?” he asked, quite seriously.

Qi Yu couldn’t be bothered to answer.

He remembered the task the steward had given him, took the matured trash can from his backpack, and set it in the snow.

He wanted to see if the trash can would eat the snow on its own.

Unfortunately, it sat there quietly, unmoving.

It seemed it didn’t recognize the snow all around as trash.

But if Qi Yu scooped up a handful of snow and fed it to the can, it would eat.

Qi Yu immediately understood: just like with leftover food, the trash can wouldn’t take the initiative to treat it as “trash,” but if you really couldn’t finish it and gave it to the can, it would eat it.

Of course, today’s breakfast was not for the trash can.

Qi Yu and Dan Xingyu had already polished off most of it themselves, and Qi Yu had put away the remaining bread and desserts.

He couldn’t bear to give such good food to the trash can.

In the blink of an eye, Dan Xingyu had a new idea and called out loudly, “Master Mage.”

Qi Yu was used to the ever-changing titles Dan Xingyu gave him.

He heard Dan Xingyu say, “Since you know ice and snow magic, can you gather up this snow and use magic to build a snowman?”

Qi Yu thought for a moment and said, “I’ll try.”

He raised a hand, brilliant magic blooming from his palm. The surrounding ice and snow seemed to heed his call, gathering before him.

Magic became his “hand,” and he began to sculpt a “snowman” as he wished.

A touch here, and a round, plump body appeared.

A touch there, and two chubby arms were formed.

He was like a novice artist, with magic as his brush and ice and snow as his canvas, happily playing in this frozen world.

At some point, Dan Xingyu had stopped digging in the snow. He watched, focused and amazed, at the scene before him.

This local boy was a genius. He’d known it from the start.

But this was the first time he’d watched Qi Yu fully immersed in his magic.

It was different from the Racing Carnival, where his overwhelming power had seemed like a display of skill.

Now, he was simply lost in the world of magic, casually finding a new toy for himself, like a child discovering a new playground.

Yet this playground, built for play, looked to bystanders like the birth of a miracle.

“Dan Xingyu, does this look like you?” Qi Yu called out.

He had sculpted a large snowman with magic, detailed enough to even capture the down jacket Dan Xingyu wore.

Dan Xingyu pulled himself out of that strange mood and walked over lightly.

The snowman wasn’t quite what he’d imagined; in those features—neither finely detailed nor rough—there was actually a hint of his own likeness.

Dan Xingyu laughed and asked, “Your first snowman, and you made it look like me? Why not make one of yourself?”

Qi Yu was taken aback; he really hadn’t thought about it.

He answered honestly, “I don’t know, I didn’t think about it. Maybe because you’re beside me, I just instinctively made you.”

He sounded cheerful, “This is my first time playing with snow. It’s really fun.”

Dan Xingyu said, “I’m the first snowman you ever made? That’s such an honor!”

Qi Yu replied, “Mm!”

He studied the snowman for a couple of seconds, then asked Dan Xingyu, “Are you cold?”

Dan Xingyu shook his head. “Not at all.”

As a swordsman, he’d always trained his body, and the sword energy he cultivated was fire-based—he really wasn’t afraid of the cold.

So, with a body tinged with the chill of ice and snow, Qi Yu leaned in.

He came very close, their clothes brushing together.

Dan Xingyu: ??

He suddenly felt a little nervous, instinctively holding his breath as Qi Yu drew closer and then raised both hands, looping them around his neck.

!

In an instant, all the messy thoughts in his mind seemed to boil into a pot of porridge, yet when he tried to focus, he couldn’t recall a single coherent idea.

He wondered blankly, What is this local boy doing? Is he going to hug me?

Should I hug him back?

He had just started to lift his hands when suddenly his neck felt bare, the cold air biting at his exposed skin, making him shiver.

It also managed to snap his mind back to reality.

The body that had leaned in was gone, leaving him standing alone in the snow.

His pale yellow scarf had been taken away.

“Perfect,” he heard Qi Yu say. “A white snowman doesn’t stand out enough. With a scarf, not only does it look more like you, but it’s easy to spot from far away.”

Dan Xingyu: “…Oh.”

For some reason, his friend’s tone sounded a bit aggrieved.

Qi Yu looked at him in puzzlement. “What’s wrong, Dan Xingyu?”

Dan Xingyu wiped his face. “Nothing, I just feel a bit silly.”

Qi Yu: ???

He earnestly protested, “You’re not silly at all. Don’t say that about yourself.”

Ah… this local boy was still so earnest, so much fun.

Whatever strange frustration Dan Xingyu had felt vanished instantly, and he even found himself wanting to push his luck a little.

It’s just a hug, isn’t it?

If I want one, I’ll ask for one.

“Qi Yu,” he said boldly, “I thought you were going to hug me just now, but it turns out you only wanted my scarf.”

“I’m a little unhappy now. Only a big hug can make it better.”