Chapter 1905 — Perhaps There Is Still a Chance

But to Bing Tang's ears those words were mockery. She gave a soft snort. "Then congratulations... congratulations to your Snow Valley, which will soon be a guest of honor there as well—all of you bound for Cloud Terrace Island together..."

"Heh, well, speaking of it, I really ought to thank you for this. From now on, Snow Valley and the Ice Palace will be even closer—kin upon kin!" Xue Li said.

"What do you mean?" Bing Tang frowned, not quite following.

Snow Valley and the Ice Palace had been one family a thousand years ago, both sprung from that same place; but between the two sects there had been strife as well as support, so to speak of being kin upon kin was rather baffling.

"Snow Valley's future Grand Elder will be your sister—your cousin twice over, on your father's side and your mother's, which is near enough to a full sister. Wouldn't you call that kin upon kin?" Xue Li said smugly. Snow Valley finally had its chance to even the score, and Xue Li was not about to let it slip.

"You mean... Tang Zhi?" Bing Tang was momentarily taken aback; Tang Zhi came to mind at once, but she was puzzled—how had Tang Zhi become an inheritor? That constitution of hers?

"The very same. And for that we have the Ice Palace to thank—for leaving such a talent to Snow Valley!" Xue Li said with a laugh.

"As far as I know, there is nothing special about her constitution..." Bing Tang stopped short as something struck her. "Could it be... the legendary hidden ice-heart jade-bone constitution?"

"Heh heh, exactly!" Xue Li said. "The hidden ice-heart jade-bone constitution, unseen for a thousand years—the same as our founding ancestor's. She opened the inheritance right there in Snow Valley..."

"How did she end up in Snow Valley?" Bing Tang found it strange. The Ice Palace had its own channels of information, but they had certainly never discovered that Tang Zhi had stayed in Snow Valley. That matter was, of course, rather secret; after Wei Zhao returned, no one had brought Tang Zhi up again, so naturally the Ice Palace had no way of knowing the true reason she had gone to Snow Valley.

"As for the particulars, let Sister Tang tell you herself." Having said her piece, Xue Li had vented her satisfaction and was in no mood to explain further; better to let Tang Zhi speak plainly. With that, she handed the phone to Tang Zhi.

"Sister Bing Tang..." Tang Zhi took the receiver.

"Yunyun, it really is you..." Bing Tang drew a deep breath. She could scarcely believe it, but the facts lay before her and left no room for doubt: Tang Zhi had the hidden ice-heart jade-bone constitution! Stronger even than her own false ice-heart jade-bone constitution. Yet it could only ever have been discovered in a place like Snow Valley; in the Ice Palace she would likely have gone her whole life without awakening it, let alone receiving the inheritance.

"Yes, Sister Bing Tang, I have stayed in Snow Valley..." And Tang Zhi recounted everything that had happened in the days since.

"So that is how it was... no wonder you received the inheritance through such a twist of fate," Bing Tang said. "But Wei Zhao... never mind, better you tell Xiaoxiao yourself."

Of the matter between Wei Zhao and Tang Zhi, Bing Tang did not wish to speak. She had never imagined Tang Zhi would give so much—giving Wei Zhao the Forget-Love Herb elixir to drink and taking the agony of yearning entirely upon herself. That was not something ordinary people could do.

Hearing from Xiao Qing that Tang Zhi was on the line, Feng Xiaoxiao came dashing over pell-mell, snatched the phone from Bing Tang's hand, and cried excitedly, "Sister Tang Zhi!"

"Xiaoxiao..." That familiar voice warmed Tang Zhi's heart. "To hear your voice with my own ears again—it feels wonderful."

"Yes, yes! Sister Tang Zhi, I am doing really well now. Once I become a Heaven-rank fighter, we will go back and have a threesome with hubby Wei Zhao..." Feng Xiaoxiao said excitedly.

Beside her, Bing Tang's face fell into a mask of black lines; Xiao Qing merely smiled and said nothing. As for Tang Zhi, at those words her tears came despite herself. In the past, hearing Feng Xiaoxiao say such a thing would have left her mortified; but now... Feng Xiaoxiao's proposal had become a dream beyond reach. Even if Tang Zhi wished it, even if she agreed to it, it could never come to pass.

"Xiaoxiao, listen to me. I may... never be able to be with you all again..." Tang Zhi said, a note of sorrow in her voice.

"Ah! Sister Tang Zhi, what is wrong?" Feng Xiaoxiao asked, startled.

"I..." Tang Zhi smiled bitterly and told Feng Xiaoxiao what she had told Bing Tang.

"Ah!" Feng Xiaoxiao shrieked when she heard. "You gave hubby Wei Zhao the Forget-Love Herb elixir? Then he will not remember you anymore? Then how are we supposed to have a threesome after this?"

"Heh... you can have your fun with Yaoyao and Xiaoshu and the others... I am afraid that once I have cultivated the Heartless Art to its utmost perfection, none of you will like me anymore..." Tang Zhi said, helpless and sad.

For who could love someone whose whole body radiated cold, so icy that a single glance made people shrink away?

"Sister Tang Zhi, is there really no way..." Hearing this, Feng Xiaoxiao grew sorrowful as well.

"None... unless... by then my heart is unchanged, and Wei Zhao... does not dislike me—or rather, is not afraid of this bone-deep chill in me that drives people away. Then perhaps there might still be a chance..." Tang Zhi was only speaking offhandedly, for she knew as well as anyone how slim that possibility was.

"Then... does that not mean I am out of luck too? The art I cultivate is of the ice-cold school as well!" Feng Xiaoxiao was alarmed and asked at once.

"We are not the same. The Heartless Art... can make a person heartless—not only Wei Zhao, but perhaps myself as well," Tang Zhi said with a bitter smile. "They say that in the later stages of cultivation one must not harbor love, or the art breaks and all of it comes to nothing..."

"I see..." Feng Xiaoxiao was thoroughly dejected and full of pity. "Then... what should I do now?"

"Xiaoxiao, what you must do now is work with me—help Wei Zhao forget me. That would be the greatest help and comfort you could give me!" Tang Zhi said. "If... Wei Zhao were to remember me, I truly do not know whether he would come to Snow Valley again and carry me off by force... That would do neither him nor me any good. He still cannot stand against the ancient sects, and I do not want to break my word—this is something I agreed to of my own will with Snow Valley..."

Hearing Tang Zhi's words, the Grand Elder and Xue Li felt their hearts ease at last. These past days Tang Zhi's mother had frightened them half to death; they had lived in dread that the woman might in a fit of temper simply take Tang Zhi and leave, and then Snow Valley would have lost everything. But now, knowing Tang Zhi's own wishes, they were reassured.