I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 662 It's warmer when there are more people! (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)
The following day, the raging blizzard showed no signs of abating. The world was a vast expanse of white, and the howling wind whipped up piles of snow, burying most of the entrance to the ice cave.

Li Chen and his group had no choice but to remain trapped in the cramped shelter.

Fortunately, the snow camels carried ample supplies, especially durable dried meat, milk bricks, and a type of tuber native to the north, enough to sustain them for a while.

The beautiful woman Dalia awoke from her cold sleep, feeling as if her whole body had been frozen stiff.

My legs were so cold they were almost numb, my cheeks were purple from the cold, and my fingers were so stiff they wouldn't obey me.

She crawled out of the tent, shivering. Each breath she exhaled turned into a puff of white mist, and she felt as if the relentless cold was hollowing her out.

However, when she reached the center of the ice cave to get something to eat, she was surprised to find Anastasia looking radiant, chatting and laughing with Master Urg, her face flushed and showing no signs of being cold.

A question arose in Dalia's mind: "Katrian grew up in the North and is resistant to the cold, which is fine, but Anastasia, who is usually more afraid of the cold than me, is acting like nothing's wrong. And Ekaterina is also looking unusually healthy."

Trembling, she cautiously approached the fire (barely lit with the last of its fuel) and the crowd, immediately sensing something was amiss.

The closer you get to Master Urg, the warmer the air becomes! It's as if the master naturally radiates an invisible heat source, dispelling the biting chill.

Dalia instantly understood that the reason Anastasia and Ekaterina were "not afraid of the cold" was because they were right next to this "human furnace"!
However, her relationship with the master was far less intimate than that of her two older sisters, so she naturally dared not get too close to him as naturally as they did.

I could only stand a little distance away, greedily absorbing the little bit of warmth that was spreading over me, feeling both envious and aggrieved.

However, the good times didn't last long. After eating a simple meal, Li Chen got up and returned to his tent, and the warm source he longed for disappeared.

Dalia suddenly felt the chill around her surge back like a tide, making her shiver involuntarily.

The atmosphere among the remaining three women became somewhat awkward and subtle.

Anastasia and Ekaterina exchanged a glance, both seeing the same thought in each other's eyes.

During the day, under the watchful eyes of everyone, they simply couldn't bring themselves to sneak into the master's tent like they had the night before.

Moreover, with Dalia and Kathryn watching, it would be too blatant and embarrassing.

However, the ice cave was too cold, and without the warm presence of the master, it was impossible to stay there.

Catherine's eyes darted around, and a plan formed in her mind.

She walked over to Dalia, who was still shivering from the cold, and said with concern, "Dalia, look how cold you are. You look so pale. It's too cold here. Why don't we squeeze into your tent? I still have a 'Warm Jade Bead' that I got before. Although it doesn't have much energy left, it's still warmer for three people to squeeze together than for one person."

As she spoke, she took out a bead from her bosom that emitted a faint, warm glow.

Anastasia immediately understood and cooperated with a "surprised" expression: "Oh my! Sister Ekaterina, you have such a good thing! Why didn't you take it out sooner? I'm freezing too, you have to count me in!"

As she spoke, she affectionately took Dalia's cold arm.

Dalia was feeling terribly cold, and when she heard about the baby to keep her warm, she was naturally overjoyed and quickly nodded in agreement: "That's great, thank you both!"

The three women then invited Katril, who was quietly eating nearby, "Katril, would you like to join us? It's warmer with more people." Katril raised her cool eyes, shook her head slightly, and said in a distant tone, "No need. I'm used to being alone. I can handle this chill."

After saying that, she got up and went back to her small tent, seemingly unconcerned about the cold outside and the little bit of warmth.

Ekaterina, Anastasia, and Dalia then went into Dalia's tent together.

The tent was not very big to begin with, and with three adult women crammed inside, there was hardly any room to turn around.

Their so-called "warmth" was actually just wrapping themselves tightly in fur coats, leaning against the increasingly dim jade bead, and chatting aimlessly about aristocratic gossip and everyday matters, trying to distract themselves from the cold.

But as they chatted, drowsiness and fatigue crept in, and the faint warmth from the warm jade beads was barely enough to keep them warm. Eventually, all three of them curled up in their sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep.

Dalia didn't sleep soundly; in her half-awake state, she felt increasingly cold.

When she finally woke up from the cold, she found herself all alone in the tent; the places where Ekaterina and Anastasia had been sitting were now empty.

She rubbed her eyes, looked at the light coming through the tent, and judged that it was already afternoon.

"My two older sisters have probably gone back to their own tents," Dalia thought to herself, while also feeling very hungry.

She struggled to climb out of her sleeping bag, intending to call them to help prepare some food.

However, when she arrived at Catherine's tent first, it was empty.

They went to Anastasia's tent again, and found the same thing. Dalia's doubts deepened: "Where could they go in this cold weather?" The ice cave was only so big, and besides a few tents, there were three snow camels lying at the entrance.

Just then, her gaze involuntarily fell upon the tent belonging to Master Urg at the very back of the ice cave.

She vaguely saw that the thick animal hide tent seemed to be shaking.

An ominous premonition came to mind.

As if possessed, Dalia tiptoed over and quietly pressed her ear close to the fur curtain of the tent.

The wind and snow were still very loud, but she could still clearly hear the sounds coming from inside, which were deliberately suppressed but could not be completely concealed, as well as the subtle sounds of friction caused by deep communication.

Dalia's face flushed bright red in an instant, then turned pale with anger and grievance.

She was shy again, never expecting that they would do this in broad daylight, and under circumstances where they might be discovered by others.

She was filled with resentment: "Fine! You two! You kept saying you'd keep warm together, but while I was asleep, you sneaked over to the master's place to 'eat alone'! Leaving me all alone in the cold tent!"

She looked down at her full figure, shivering from the cold, her curves almost crumbling, and a surge of despair mixed with an intense longing for warmth welled up inside her.

(End of this chapter)