Chapter 3333 — Enemies Meet

And what the man had said was, an envoy of the Five Luminaries Sect—an envoy of the Five Luminaries Sect—what was he doing here?

But whatever the man had come for, Bingtang could no longer pretend he was not there. The Five Luminaries Sect's great name was displayed right out in the open, and the Ice Palace and the Five Luminaries Sect shared a bond too tangled to explain. Moreover, Bingtang had a vague sense of who was backing the Mystic Core Sect in its arrogance. So this was a man she had no choice but to receive.

At that thought, Bingtang did not hesitate. She rose straight from her room, swept out, and drifted lightly toward the Ice Palace gates.

"The Palace Master of the Ice Palace puts on quite the airs, making this old man wait so long before you deign to appear! Could it be that you hold our Five Luminaries Sect in no regard at all?" the Five Luminaries envoy outside the gate demanded haughtily.

"An envoy of the Five Luminaries Sect? Might I ask what business brings you to our Ice Palace?" Bingtang glanced at the newcomer's strength and saw that he was merely a skilled hand at the peak of the late Heaven rank, equal to her own. Naturally she would not be overly courteous. After all, she was, at the very least, the head of an ancient sect; coming out to receive him in person was already generous. And he still thought she had been slow?

"Hmph! Bingtang, let me spare us both the blather. The marriage matter with the Mystic Core Sect—have you thought it over? Will you agree, or will you not?" the Five Luminaries envoy barked. He had come here to settle this very business. Patriarch Xuanchen had been balked by Wei Zhao and was in a foul mood; suddenly recalling the affair on the Ice Palace side, he had sent his disciple Little Six to the Five Luminaries Sect on an errand.

That was right—this Little Six was the same Old Six who had once blocked Wei Zhao in the Urankhot Mountains! Old Twelve had been killed off, but Old Six had come through unscathed; only, because the business back then had failed, Patriarch Xuanchen had made him shut himself away in penitence for a time. Now that Little Three, Little Four, and Little Five had all perished, and Taganlong had fully recovered, Little Six was at last able to return to the world. This was the first errand he had run since his comeback. Cooped up in his room for so long, his mood was naturally none too pleasant, and so he vented it all on Bingtang.

One had to understand that this marriage contract was the thing Patriarch Xuanchen valued most, the thing of vital importance! For that plan to be carried out, these inheritors had to agree to the marriage contract. Otherwise there was no guaranteeing they would not harbor private motives when the time came—and then all would be lost beyond redemption.

The matter on Bingtang's side had already dragged on far too long. Patriarch Xuanchen had sent Little Six this time, first, to give the Ice Palace a dressing-down and vent some of the spleen he had swallowed over Wei Zhao, and second and most importantly, to sound out Bingtang and see whether the inheritor was, in the end, Feng Xiaoxiao or Bingtang.

At the mention of the marriage contract, Bingtang's expression changed at once! A flash of fury rose on her face. "So it really was you Five Luminaries people pulling the strings! I wondered what this marriage contract was about, and why the Mystic Core Sect was so overbearing—so it was you backing them all along!"

"Backing them? And what of it? Bingtang, who do you think you are? Nothing but the Palace Master of the Ice Palace. Do you imagine that if your Ice Palace were not a branch vassal of our Five Luminaries Sect, you would enjoy your present ancient standing? That others would fear you? Give you face? Dream on! Cross our Five Luminaries Sect, and I promise you, the Ice Palace will be wiped out root and branch!" Little Six had come to vent his anger—his own, first, and Patriarch Xuanchen's, second—and so he was strutting and swaggering, utterly without care.

Just then, Feng Xiaoxiao arrived as well. If Bingtang could hear Little Six's shouting, Feng Xiaoxiao naturally could too. As vice palace master of the Ice Palace, when a guest came calling, courtesy demanded that she put in an appearance.

Only, she had just recently advanced to the early Heaven rank, and her strength was not yet a match for Bingtang's, so she was a step behind.

She had assumed it was some friendly guest, but no sooner had she arrived than she heard Little Six's clamorous words, and her expression changed at once! And who was Feng Xiaoxiao? She had once been one of the four great delinquents of Songshan City's No. 1 Senior High! Her temper could well be imagined. Someone shouting abuse at the Ice Palace gates—of course she was not pleased!

As vice palace master of the Ice Palace, if she did not strike back, where would the Ice Palace's face be? Besides, there were many times when Bingtang could not well speak up, and she had to step forward. The honor of the Ice Palace was at stake.

If Bingtang spoke, it might well come to blows; but if Feng Xiaoxiao spoke, there was still room to maneuver. Such was the difference between the palace master and her deputy—one could advance to attack, the other hold back to defend.

"Who is this old geezer? Senior Sister Bingtang is my husband's designated littlest-littlest-littlest-littlest wife. What marriage contract? You doddering old fool, are you sick in the head?" Feng Xiaoxiao demanded with a frown.

"Your husband?" Little Six was taken aback. He did not know Feng Xiaoxiao, but seeing that she was merely a skilled hand of the early Heaven rank, he naturally did not take her seriously—she could hardly be anyone of consequence! And Bingtang was someone's littlest-littlest-littlest-littlest wife? How was it that he knew nothing of this? It must be nothing but a pretext to refuse the marriage contract! At that thought, Little Six felt no fear. He dared not strike Bingtang, but he did dare strike this elder Feng Xiaoxiao—yes, in his eyes he took Feng Xiaoxiao for no more than an ordinary Ice Palace elder! After all, who had ever heard that Feng Xiaoxiao was Bingtang's junior sister? Bingtang's master had left the Ice Palace long ago, had he not? Where would he have gone to take on a disciple? So the woman before him could certainly not be Feng Xiaoxiao.

So Little Six glared, reached out, and swung a slap at Feng Xiaoxiao's face. Of course, he did not mean to kill—only to teach Feng Xiaoxiao a lesson. "Little wretch, daring to shout at this old man—I will slap you to death!"

"You dare!" Bingtang was startled and hastily pulled Feng Xiaoxiao aside. But Little Six was, after all, a skilled hand at the peak of the late Heaven rank, and his palm was already swinging. Though Feng Xiaoxiao dodged it thanks to Bingtang, the edge of the palm wind still grazed Bingtang, tearing several gashes in the white robes on her arm...

Even so, Bingtang dared not speak her anger aloud. Were a man of the Mystic Core Sect standing here, Bingtang would have dared trade blows with him; but before a man of the Five Luminaries Sect, Bingtang truly did not dare. Her face flushed red as she glared furiously at Little Six.

"Well, well? Old Six, you have grown mighty, have you? Seems it was a mistake not to finish you off before. You dare strike even my littlest-littlest-littlest-littlest wife—I think today you had best stay right here." Wei Zhao had finally recognized who this visitor was. This man was the very Old Six he had encountered in the Urankhot Mountains! RS

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