Interlude: Divine Frozen Palace

    ~~~

    The Grand Mountain Range once divided the lands of what will come to be called the Crimson Cloud Empire. However, many awe-inspiring battles rearranged the land and necessitated new maps to be drawn. Many cities were founded in the area which once used to be full of mountains but was left as nothing but valleys and plains, the capital of the Crimson Cloud Empire not the least among them.

    As for the Grand Mountain Range, it was split in two. Down south, one would find the Grand Infinite Mountains, home of the Infinite Mountain and the sect which is named after it.

    Up north, one would find the One Hundred Frozen Peaks.

    As the name implies, it is a land covered by ice and snow. Vegetation is scarce, and many dangerous Spirit Beasts dwell there, eager to attack any passing travelers.

    One would have to be a fool to venture into these lands.

    And yet, a great many people, usually men of skill and valor, brave the cold weather and harsh terrain. They fight their way to the foot of the Divine Frozen Peak, the tallest mountain in the area, and attempt to climb it.

    They do this because at the very top, miles above even the clouds, lies the Divine Frozen Palace.

    The Divine Frozen Palace is made of ice and white jade. It is a beautiful structure, perfectly symmetrical and brimming with elegance. Those who dwell there are no less impressive. Indeed, the men who make the journey to the gates of the Divine Frozen Palace do so, not to admire the architecture, but to lay eyes on the beauties inside. Many poems and songs have been written of the women of the Divine Frozen Palace. It is said once a man has laid eyes on them, no other woman in the world will possibly be able to compare.

    How could these men fail to be attracted by their reputation?

    It is for naught, of course. Almost all are turned away, and they make the journey knowing that is the most likely outcome. No matter how small, the possibility of seeing the women of the Divine Frozen Palace is too tempting for them to resist.

    Women like Dai Jie, one of the Five Fairies of the Divine Frozen Palace.

    Dai Jies beauty is that of a lone flower blooming in the middle of a snowy fielddelicate, lonely, almost ephemeral, and made all the more valuable because of it. Those who have had the fortune of seeing her even once can never forget her. When Dai Jie speaks, her voice never fails to be melodious. When she listens, her face never fails to be kind and understanding.

    Except now.

    Right now, Dai Jie is frowning, and quite severely at that.

    It is a beautiful frown to be sure, but it is a frown nonetheless. There is nothing kind or understanding about it.

    My dear sister, Dai Jie says, a vein above her forehead throbbing in a most ungraceful way. You encountered a girl with a Body of Extreme Yin.

    That is so, Meng Yue answers with the utmost calmness, either unaware or uncaring of the many emotions brewing inside her sister.

    The two members of the Five Fairies are in one of the palaces upper rooms, where regular members are not allowed. Colorful rugs and furniture decorate the room, and pink fire merrily burns in the ceiling.

    The temperature of the room, however, is rapidly cooling as Dai Jies temper grows short.

    And instead of coming to us, you decided to handle things on your own.

    Correct.

    You negotiated with the Xiao Sect in our name, decided on the terms, and upon acquiring the girl, you decided the best course of action was to take this young girl to the Forest of Frozen Phantoms, where you have spent the past nine months. You did this instead of bringing the girl here.

    I understand, sister. I missed you as well and truly wished to introduce Xiao Shuang to the rest of you as soon as possible. However, the Forest of Frozen Phantoms was exactly what a girl of Xiao Shuangs constitution needed.

    Meng Yues expression radiates nothing but patience and understanding.

    Dai Jie wants to punch her.

    In the first place, the Forest of Frozen Phantoms is a nightmarish land of frost and illusion where only their most capable disciples are allowed. It is not a place where one should take a young girl, especially not one so valuable. Besides...

    And throughout it all, it never once occurred to you to contact us?

    Well, of course I couldnt contact you. I wanted Xiao Shuang to be a surprise.

    No shame.

    There is not a single trace of shame on Meng Yues face. Her sister just looks at her with a pleased smile on her face, as if she were waiting to be praised.

    A strangled sound, completely ill-fitting for a refined lady such as herself, comes out of the back of Dai Jies throat.

    Not for the first time since the day began, Dai Jie curses her dearest Elder Sister, Bai Lianshi. Upon learning Meng Yue had reappeared after her long absence and finding her at the gates with a child gifted with a Body Extreme Yin, their Elder Sister had turned away and entrusted the situation to Dai Jie.CHeCk for new stories on no/v/el/bin(.)c0m

    How wise.

    How annoying.

    Listen here, you

    Now, now, little Jie. Do not make that face. Anger ill-suits you, my daughter.

    Great Mother, Meng Yue and Dai Jie greet as one. Less than a second ago, they were sitting in front of each other. Now, they kneel before the door as it opens.

    The woman who comes into the room is old. Her face is wrinkled and weathered, yet she still retains vestiges of beauty. She wears simple white and black robes and uses a cane to walk. Her long white hair is arranged into a neat bun. Her face has a kind smile that makes her wrinkles more pronounced yet, paradoxically, makes her look younger.

    She is the Great Mother, the strongest person in the Divine Frozen Palace. Once, she was the leader of the Sect, but she has since retired and spends most of her time cultivating in peace, removed from the rest of the world. It is the Five who rule the Divine Frozen Palace now.

    Little Yue, Great Mother says, my dear and most troublesome daughter. It seems you have acquired an interesting disciple.

    Meng Yue smiles and nods like the proud daughter that she is.

    That is so, mother.

    I am happy for you, my daughter. She looks like a lovely girl, and her husband is quite interesting as well.

    Dai Jie would take some satisfaction at the shock on Meng Yues face if she werent shocked as well.

    You can see him? She cant help but ask.

    At my age, you can see all sorts of things, Great Mother says, waving away the feat as though it wasnt impressive. She hums. Oh dear, it seems you have met a distinguished gentleman, yet he hides his face from me. I dont suppose you can tell me about him.

    Meng Yue looks down. I am sorry, Great Mother.

    Meng Yue! Dai Jie cries out sharply. To deny Great Mother is the height of rudeness.

    Little Jie, my dear and most diligent daughter, do not grow angry at your sister, Great Mother says with a smile that instantly puts out the flames of Dai Jies anger. You know as well as I do that your sister always means well, awkward though her manner may be.

    Her cane taps the floor once.

    The girl will stay. Her marriage will be respected. Meng Yue will teach her. Of course, I am counting on the rest of you to help her.

    Great Mother no longer has any say on the Sects affairs. She has given up her duties. Any of the Five could easily reject her orders.

    As you command, Great Mother!

    Not a single one of them will dare to ever think of something like that.

    Great Mother smiles. Good. I am counting on you to tell the others. It should be just a matter of moments now.

    Dai Jie blinks in confusion as she follows Great Mothers gaze. A second later, all molecules of water in the air stop as space itself is shifted.

    Meng Yue! A woman cries out as she enters the room, her Qi glowing around her, forming a crown of ice and snow. You thundering oaf of a woman, I have had enough of you!

    Her beauty is the very harshness of winterdistant, cold, and impossibly exquisite. Unlike Dai Jie, whose frail beauty will never fail to draw people to her, the beauty of this woman is such that people will be inexplicably scared of her.

    She is Bai Lianshi, First among the Five.

    To anger her is to court death.

    Meng Yue is already on her feet, a smile on her face and a bounce on her step.

    How joyous, I was getting worried Elder Sister wouldnt greet me properly.

    Meng Yue is still smiling even as shes violently blasted through the walls.

    I do wish theyd wait until the others gathered, Great Mother says, suddenly at Dai Jies side. They would benefit much from watching their spars.

    Bai Lianshi and Meng Yue. The First and the Second.

    They have sparred four hundred and seventy-three times.

    Each has only won one hundred and five times. The rest of their matches have always ended in ties.

    Dai Jie sighs as she sits beside Great Mother to watch her sisters fight.

    It is yet another day in the Divine Frozen Palace.

    ~~~