Chapter 4094 — Meeting Xueli Again

Wei Zhao's steps faltered for just an instant, his mind churning over what on earth Sima Qian was playing at. No matter how he looked at it, this whole business today was far too strange, far too sinister.

Either Sima Qian had some shady task she wanted him to perform, and was therefore giving her maidservant to him first as a taste of sweetness to come.

Or else there was something uncanny inside this bedchamber, or the so-called maidservant was in truth some kind of monster, and he was merely being used as a sacrifice—otherwise there would have been no need at all to make him drink that potion.

Guarding himself inwardly, Wei Zhao showed no hesitation on the surface; under the guards' watchful eyes, he pushed open the door and stepped straight inside.

Yet the moment he entered, the scene before him was the very opposite of the terrifying, perilous vision he had expected. Within that secluded bedchamber there was no danger at all—rather, seated upright at its very center was a woman of stunning beauty, dressed all in white.

One glance was all it took for Wei Zhao to freeze in place. This woman in white—he actually knew her!

"Xueli?" Wei Zhao was dazed for a moment before he finally spoke, his voice thick with disbelief.

Back in the mundane world, strictly speaking, there had been little contact between Wei Zhao and Xueli, and their relationship had never clearly developed. But on the road to Cloud Terrace Island, by a strange twist of fate, the two of them had indeed become bound to one another.

Even if their bond at the time had not been as intimate as those he shared with his other women, now, after more than half a year, meeting her so suddenly again, Wei Zhao could not help but feel as though a lifetime had passed between them—just as he had felt upon seeing Tianchan on the Far North Island. In his heart now rippled the rare, tender warmth of reunion after long parting.

Yet at this moment Xueli had not noticed Wei Zhao's call at all. She merely tilted her head back, her eyes hollow, staring blankly at the ceiling, alone and lost in her own desolate thoughts.

Back then, she had come to Cloud Terrace Island full of hope, believing this place would be a paradise on earth, a cultivator's heaven. She had never imagined that the law of the jungle here was even crueler and more heartless than in the mundane world. And worse still, she—a consummate Heaven-Rank master who could walk the mundane world with impunity—had upon arriving here become the very weakest of beings.

After being teleported to the Middle Island, she looked around and saw that practically everyone was far stronger than she was, while the few she counted as acquaintances—Tianchan, the Patriarch Xuanchen, and the others—were taken away one after another by different parties.

In the end, she was received at a place called the Snowsword Sect. She had thought she would become a disciple there and start over from the bottom, step by step; she had steeled herself for that. But reality proved crueler still—she was not even the equal of the lowliest ordinary disciple. Instead, she was taken as a maidservant by the granddaughter of one of the Snowsword Sect's elders!

The illustrious Valley Lord of Snow Valley, once a figure of such lofty station in the mundane world, had now become a maidservant whose sole purpose was to wait upon another. Forced each day to perform the meanest, coarsest chores—the caprice of fate was truly enough to make one laugh in speechless mockery.

But faced with such brutal reality, Xueli had no means of resistance, nor the strength to resist. That elder's granddaughter had even then already been a lofty master at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage. For someone as utterly insignificant as her—a mere Heaven-Rank consummate, beneath notice—to dream of escaping that person's shadow was nothing but a fool's fantasy.

For the past half year, Xueli had done the menial labor of a servant in endless repetition. Her only hope each day was to pin her hopes on serving this Miss Sima well, so that the other might teach her some methods for assailing the Foundation Establishment stage.

Unfortunately, this Miss Sima had never regarded her as anything at all. Not only did she fail to treat her kindly on that account, but because of Xueli's looks and bearing, she found her utterly objectionable and repeatedly seized upon any pretext to inflict corporal punishment. Several times Xueli was beaten black and blue and left bedridden, yet still had to grit her teeth and rise to keep working. The bitterness of it all was simply too painful to look back upon.

Struggling on in such a daze, Xueli endured a full half year. She had thought her wretched fate would continue on and on forever—but never expected that a secret tryst between Sima Qian and her lover would become the turning point in her life. Only, that turning point was not a turn for the better...

The man Sima Qian called Senior Brother Wei discovered her existence by chance and was instantly thunderstruck, smitten at first sight. What was more, he soon discovered that Xueli's constitution was an innate ice-cold body, extraordinarily suited to cultivating the Snowsword Sect's core techniques.

This Senior Brother Wei wished to become her dual-cultivation partner and decided on the spot to take her as his wife. To Sima Qian this turn of events was a thunderbolt from a clear sky, yet given Senior Brother Wei's status and strength, she had no recourse whatsoever, however unwilling she was. She could only agree to keep Xueli confined and prepare to hold the wedding on a chosen day.

From Sima Qian's lowly maidservant to Senior Brother Wei's dual-cultivation partner—neither was the outcome Xueli wanted. But locked away in this secluded bedchamber, unable even to step beyond the door, how could she ever lay claim to her own fate?

"Xueli? You don't remember me?" Seeing no reaction from her, Wei Zhao was startled, thinking she, like Tianchan, was deliberately refusing to acknowledge him. He hurried forward at once, reaching out to take her hand.

At that moment Xueli was still sunk in bitter, helpless bewilderment. Only when Wei Zhao rushed up before her did she suddenly realize someone had entered the room. Her heart gave a violent start, and instinctively she assumed the newcomer was that Senior Brother Wei.

Xueli quickly rose and retreated several steps. A closer look, however, showed that it was not Senior Brother Wei at all, but a rugged, rough-hewn martial man she had never seen before—and this man actually knew her name. Who had let him in?

Seeing Xueli's alarmed expression, Wei Zhao was briefly taken aback. Only then did he realize he was still wearing the Thousand-Silk Mask and had not even changed back his deliberately assumed voice. He at once reverted to his own voice: "Don't be afraid, Xueli. It's me, Wei Zhao."

"Ah!!!" At these words Xueli was thunderstruck, her face flooded with disbelief. "You're Wei Zhao? You really are Wei Zhao?"

"Truly, the genuine article." Wei Zhao smiled and opened his arms. He had still not figured out exactly what was going on, but it was not hard to guess that Sima Qian might burst in at any moment, so he did not remove the Thousand-Silk Mask. Even so, it was enough for Xueli to recognize him.

The familiar voice, the familiar frame, the familiar scent—Xueli did not know why Wei Zhao had taken on another appearance, but she could indeed recognize him. This was the very Wei Zhao she had thought of day and night.

Between her and Wei Zhao there had, in truth, never been much of a bond. Yet perhaps it was simply that during that leg of the journey on Cloud Terrace Island, by some twist of fate she had felt Wei Zhao's care, and it had made this valley lord—who had never once lost her heart to a man—grow attached to him. Especially after coming to Cloud Terrace Island, she had missed those days all the more... (To be continued.) R752