Chương 383: Chapter 327: Is it so Hard to Believe?

~~~ Night fell many hours ago, yet some people still loiter outside the Divine Frozen Palace's estate. Pathetic though it may be, they hope to catch a glimpse of the women who live there. Such is nothing unusual. Many people camp at the bottom of the frozen peaks where the Divine Frozen Palace is located. Sometimes, they will stay there for several months. One person even stayed multiple years there. Some say he ended up marrying a woman of the Divine Frozen Palace. Others say he died in the cold.

Regardless, compared to braving the cold, it is far safer to watch the Crimson Cloud Tournament. For most, watching the ladies of the Divine Frozen Palace from afar is more than enough. However, there are always some who wish to go further. They will write letters. They will send exorbitant gifts. They will sing and make impassioned declarations at their door. It is all useless, of course. The gates will remain closed no matter what. Tonight, someone goes over the walls.

The person hides their presence well, but that does not mean they go unnoticed. Meng Yue frowns but ultimately decides that spending time with her disciple is more important. Shao Zhilan looks to the east and smirks. However, that is as far as her reaction goes. There is no need for her to do more. Bai Lianshi is already there. The first among the Five Fairies stands alone in the courtyard. A veil covers her face, and a beam of moonlight falls over her body, bathing her in ethereal light.

Harsh blue eyes inspect her surroundings as her face twists with casual disdain.

"I did not expect this from you," Bai Lianshi says, her voice cold.

"Then again, there are many things I never expected from you, Feng Shang." The air shimmers, and previously empty space twists to reveal Lord Feng Shang of the Eternal Flame Clan. Bai Lianshi can tell it is not the real Feng Shang at a glance. Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly Lord Feng Shang's soul fragment in front of her. There is no way she, of all people, could fail to recognize it.

"Many things have happened. Many things have changed," Feng Shang of the Eternal Flame Clan says. His golden eyes meet Bai Lianshi's blue ones for a second that stretches into eternity. Bai Lianshi looks away.

"Have things changed so much that you'd intrude where you are not wanted like a common thief?" Bai Lianshi asks harshly.

"This is not the Eternal Flame Clan."

"If my presence offends you, then dismiss me. One wave of your hand is all it would take to do away with this soul fragment. However, you have not done so," Feng Shang points out.

"Forgive my temerity, but I will assume that means you approve of my visit."

"Approve?" Bai Lianshi scoffs. Frost appears over the grass.

"What about you is worth approving? You are a failure who could not become Patriarch despite your many advantages, a traitor who deceived his wife and sired a child with another woman. The great and honorable Feng Shang? What a joke that was!"

"As usual, you are completely right, Lady Bai Lianshi," Feng Shang says. Despite the insults thrown at him, he speaks softly.

"However, you already knew I was someone willing to betray his wife." Bai Lianshi flinches. Despite her best wishes, her mind looks back to a much simpler time many years ago. She and Meng Yue had been in the Dead Plains when they encountered Feng Shang and his brother. An incident involving a relic ended with Feng Shang and her trapped in a different spatial realm. Feng Gui and Meng Yue tried their best to free them, but their efforts were in vain.

All anyone could do was wait until the technique ran its course, leaving Feng Shang and Bai Lianshi as each other's only company for many months. It would not have been unusual if anything had happened between them. Most would expect it to. Yet, despite being alone with one of the most beautiful women on the continent, the honorable Feng Shang never thought about betraying his betrothed. That is how the story is told among the upper echelons of the Eternal Flame Clan and the Divine Frozen Palace.

That story is a lie. Lord Feng Shang considered it. He wanted it. They both wanted it. How could they not? They were young, attractive, and talented beyond comparison. A more perfect match could not exist. They had been so very close to it. And at the very last moment, Feng Shang stepped back. He forever regretted it.

"Yes, I suppose I know that," Bai Lianshi says, crossing her arms.

"However, now I look back on my memories and wonder how much I can trust them. You said so many sweet words, yet they were nothing but lies." Feng Shang looks at her sharply.

"Is that what you think?"

"Am I supposed to think differently after your actions? You gave a child to someone no better than a common whore," Bai Lianshi retorts.

"Am I supposed to be glad you hold me in the same esteem?"

"You never came," Feng Shang says.

"I waited for you, and you never came." For a moment, Bai Lianshi looks taken aback. She remembers Feng Shang's words as the spatial realm unraveled, a last desperate attempt to hold on to a bond that was already breaking.

"Meet me at the Seven-Colored Valley as the third month dies. I'll be waiting!"

"I… I admired you too much. I did not want to be the reason you betrayed your vows." Her soft words are immediately covered by a scoff.

"What a fool I was!"

"I kept waiting for you," Lord Feng Shang says.

"Every year, I waited for you."

"What? No, that cannot be possible," Bai Lianshi says, her voice quivering slightly.

"It has been…"

"Every year," Feng Shang repeats, his voice thick with emotion.

"Waiting to catch a glimpse of you. I knew there was no reason for you to think of showing, yet I kept making a fool of myself beyond reason, hoping against hope. Every year, I kept doing it." He sighs.

"One time, when I was returning from that trip, I stopped at a branch of the Eternal Flame Clan. That woman was there," Feng Shang says.

"She offered, and I sought to fill myself. It was a mistake, obviously, yet it gave me a daughter."

"That's why?!" Bai Lianshi asks.

"You mean to tell me all these years you have been…No, you cannot expect me to believe that!" Feng Shang smiles sadly.

"Is it so hard to believe that I am a bigger fool than my brother?" Feng Shang asks. He shakes his head.

"No matter, the time for this is long past. I did not come here to discuss my countless mistakes. I am here for my daughter. She will fight your disciple in the round of four."

"What of it?"

"Do not have her killed," Feng Shang says.

"Anyone can see Xiao Shuang of the Divine Frozen Palace is stronger, so that is all I ask. Do not kill her." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"The girl is not my disciple. She is Meng Yue's. You are speaking to the wrong person…" Bai Lianshi trails off. Her eyes are wide behind her veil. Feng Shang is kowtowing. His knees and forehead are both touching the floor. Bai Lianshi tells herself this is just a soul fragment, but it does not make the sight before her any less significant. The proud and dignified Feng Shang, who allowed the disciples under his watch to die in the previous Crimson Cloud Tournament, is bowing for the sake of someone else.

"I have made many mistakes and wronged several people. However, I beg you for my daughter's sake, Lady Bai Lianshi of the Divine Frozen Palace-""Stand up!" Bai Lianshi interrupts him, angry.

"Stand up right away, you foolish, foolish man! Someone like you does not belong on his knees!" Feng Shang does not move. Bai Lianshi grits her teeth.

"Do you really think I'd be so low?! Your daughter will not die! Is that what you wish to hear? Fine! I swear by my name. Your daughter will not be killed in this tournament!" Feng Shang finally lifts his head. There is a smile there.

"Thank you. Though the years have passed, I once again see that your outward beauty is only surpassed by the beauty of your soul." For all the times Bai Lianshi has complained about Meng Yue's violent tendencies, there is nothing she wants more at that moment than to kick Feng Shang's face. And yet, to her utmost shame, she cannot help how her heart skips a beat at his words.

"Damn you." ~~~ Morning has arrived. Only eight participants remain in the tournament, and not a single member of the Xiao Sect is among them. This comes as a surprise to absolutely no one. That Young Master Xiao Fang managed to advance to the second round of the final tournament is already a historic event that will be told to future generations of the Xiao Sect.

He may have lost to the son of Doctor Liu—Li Boqin is still having a hard time coming to terms with that—but no one can deny that Young Xiao Fang has accomplished everything he needed to. No one may be saying it aloud, but the Branch Masters, the Elders, and even total strangers already understand that if the Xiao Sect is to flourish, Young Master Xiao Fang must be the one to lead it. It is a magnificent outcome, and Li Boqin could not be happier.

How he wishes he were at Young Master Xiao Fang's side, celebrating with his brother. Unfortunately, he is not. Matriarch Xiao Yifan put him in charge of the Xiao Sect's delegation and, in doing so, put him in her eyes. If he disappears, he runs the risk of her trying to find him just so she can punish him. If she starts looking too much into his affairs, she might even piece everything together and locate Xiao Fang.

Thus, for the sake of the Xiao Sect, Li Boqin must remain within Matriarch Xiao Yifan's sphere of influence. Even if it terrifies him. Already, he has caught several people who'd usually scoff at him for his usual debauchery giving looks of sympathy. It does not matter that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the Xiao Sect's performance at the tournament. It does not matter that Xiao Yifan's expectations were completely out of the realm of possibility.

What matters is that the Xiao Sect failed under his supervision. Unreasonable as it would be for Xiao Yifan to hold him responsible for it, high-level cultivators are nothing if not very unreasonable people. As he walks through the halls of the Xiao Sect, Li Boqin wishes he could be in his favorite brothel, preferably with and in his favorite courtesan. Alas, that might attract negative attention to the place. He would never forgive himself if such sweet flowers were harmed.

"Li Boqin." The voice that calls out to him is not that of the sweet Plum in his fantasies but that of Matriarch Xiao Yifan in the cruel reality instead. It does not matter that Li Boqin was on the other side of the estate, or that he never felt her leave her room. He can blink as much as he wants, but that will not change the identity of the woman in front of him. One step or one hundred miles. For Emperors, they are the same thing.

"M-Matriarch," Li Boqin says, barely able to will his tongue to move and nearly stumbling over himself as he kneels down.

"I-I was not expecting you to grace me with your presence."

"The disciples of the Xiao Sect lost," she says, making Li Boqin flinch.

"They did."

"You couldn't get a single one of them to make it to the final round," she says, not even bothering to pretend Ruan Dafeng was ever part of the Xiao Sect.

"I can only offer my deepest and most sincere apologies for my incompetence," Li Boqin says in a manner that is most assuredly deep, but not at all sincere.

"I am willing to accept any punishment you might deal upon me, Matriarch."

"No, there is no need for it."

"... I beg your pardon?" It occurs to him, belatedly, that he should have remained silent. The last thing he wants is for Matriarch Xiao Yifan to change his mind, but rather than growing angry at him for daring to speak up, the Matriarch just waves a hand.

"I said there is no need for it," Xiao Yifan says in a calm tone.

"I gave the task to you, but that does not mean I ever expected anything of you. To be frank, even if you were a hundred times better than you are now, you still would not have been able to do a thing for the delegation. You are a fairly incompetent prodigy."

"I cannot disagree with that assessment, Matriarch," Li Boqin says, bowing his head even lower.

"Exactly," Xiao Yifan says.

"That is why there is no need for you to worry about it. It was my error in assigning such an important task to you. That is all. Continue as you were." Li Boqin stays rooted to the spot as Xiao Yifan walks past him. Even after she has turned around the hallway, he does not dare raise his head, afraid that if he does, she would suddenly appear and reveal all of this to be a cruel joke. Perhaps that is why it takes him so long to notice it.

Xiao Yifan's Qi, that terrifying energy that has caused no end of discomfort to everyone in the Xiao Sect… All throughout their talk, her Qi had been completely calm. ~~~ The seats are filled. The participants are ready. The round of eight is about to begin. In the first match, Xiao Shuang of the Divine Frozen Palace will face off against Li Daichun of the Infinite Mountain Sect. It is a fight with many eyes on it, but for all the wrong reasons. Not a single person believes Xiao Shuang will lose.

Instead, the bets revolve around how long her opponent will last and whether he will make her reveal her cultivation or not. The second fight will be between Lu Mei and Su Daji. Many arguments have already ensued between various people regarding the outcome. By contrast, significantly fewer people are talking about Chen Guo's match with Rui Naiwei of the Divine Frozen Palace. Much like Xiao Shuang, no one expects him to lose, though they expect Chen Guo to be significantly more courteous to his opponent.

That just leaves the final match. Feng Zhi of the Eternal Flame Clan against Emperor Qing Jin of the Eternal Flame Clan. The odds are not in favor of the Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan, but the audience has already seen Qing Jin bleed. Would it really be such an upset if Feng Zhi won? Even experienced masters spend the night debating the merits of both fighters. However, the time for speculation is long past.

"Xiao Shuang of the Divine Frozen Palace vs. Li Daichun of the Infinite Mountain Sect." Like all disciples of the Infinite Mountain Sect, Li Daichun is physically imposing. Tall and broad-shouldered, the young man is nearly four heads taller than Xiao Shuang. Of course, such things matter little in a battle between cultivators, and Li Daichun is not unaware of this. Before the tournament official has given the signal to begin, the young man raises his hand.

"I would like to surrender," he says. For a moment, there is silence. Multiple sets of wide eyes all over the stadium look at Li Daichun, unable to believe what they just heard. The booing starts soon after.

"You coward! I put money in you!"

"How shameless! Shouldn't you at least try to do your Sect proud?!"

"What is that big body of yours for if you hide from a woman? This guy is no mountain. He's just a pile of dirt!"

"Are you sure?" Xiao Shuang asks him. Her voice is significantly less loud than the yells from the audience, but it is the only one that Li Daichun pays any attention to.

"I expected you to fight for the sake of your Senior Brother." No one is expecting Li Daichun to win. Nevertheless, people expected him to fight so he might make Chen Guo's path easier. Any wound he might inflict. Any technique he might force Xiao Shuang to use. Any information at all that could be glimpsed from their fight. All those things could be converted into advantages for Chen Guo should he make it to the final. However, Li Daichun shakes his head.

"Senior Brother Chen Guo is the strongest," he says with full confidence.

"He does not need my help." Xiao Shuang raises an eyebrow, yet says nothing. However, her mind is hard at work. It occurs to her that it is possible that the Infinite Mountain Sect is not thinking about Chen Guo's fight with her at all. After all, Chen Guo will fight Liu Jin before her. To even think of defeating him, Chen Guo will need to bring forth all he can muster. As long as he wins, the fate of the tournament does not matter.

Thus, there is no need to plan for a scenario in which Chen Guo will ever reach the finals in any condition to fight her. Xiao Shuang's hands clench into fists. At the same time, the tournament official makes his announcement.

"Winner! Xiao Shuang of the Divine Frozen Palace!" ~~~