Chapter 1647 — Bing Tang's Boyfriend

"No..." The moment Tang Yun heard Xiao Ming's words, a surge of heartache swept through her. This woman was her own biological mother. After all these years apart, and now that they had finally met, if she turned her away outright, how bitterly would she be hurt?

Of course, Tang Yun also believed that Xiao Ming and Bing Tang would not deceive her over this. There was nothing to be gained by lying; science was so advanced nowadays, with DNA testing and all, and any fabrication would show through at once.

So, almost before she knew it, Tang Yun had blurted out, "No." She did in truth feel a certain warmth toward Xiao Ming; it was only that she could not yet bring herself to accept the reality.

"This whole affair is tangled enough as it is." Wei Zhao smiled ruefully. The matter itself was simple; what made it complicated were the feelings running between everyone involved.

"Sister Tang Yun, you mustn't worry. My senior sister is a wonderful person, and she has only come this time to look upon your parents — that is, her own biological father and mother. Once she has seen them, she will return to the Ice Palace; she won't disturb your lives in the least!" Feng Xiaoxiao spoke up in Bing Tang's defense. "But if you are unwilling to acknowledge her, that is perfectly all right too..."

"It isn't that — it isn't that I'm unwilling. It's only that it's all so sudden, and I can't take it in at once..." Tang Yun shook her head. Anyone at all would find such a thing hard to swallow. Even Wei Zhao, had two strangers suddenly appeared claiming to be his parents, would have stood gaping for a good long while — let alone a girl like Tang Yun.

"Then... take your time and think it over. There is no rush. Once you have made up your mind, we can speak of everything else," Bing Tang said softly. "Little sister Tang Yun, let Xiaoxiao keep you company. My aunt and I will wait for you in the living room!"

Bing Tang shot Feng Xiaoxiao a meaningful glance, silently bidding her lend a hand, do some persuading. At this moment, she was the only one who could.

"Sister Tang Yun, it has been so long since we last saw each other. Shall we go somewhere and have a proper chat?" So saying, Feng Xiaoxiao took Tang Yun by the hand and drew her upstairs together. She knew the villa's layout inside out, for she had once been one of its inhabitants herself.

Wei Zhao did not follow them. Instead he said to the eldest young lady and Xiao Shu: "Yaoyao, Xiao Shu, you go up as well and help talk Yunyun round. She has never run into anything on this scale before; she is sure to be at a complete loss."

"All right!" Without a moment's hesitation, Gu Mengyao took Shen Yushu's hand and swept up the stairs. In the living room, only Wei Zhao, Bing Tang, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Ming were left.

"Wei Zhao, you certainly live a carefree life — four beauties for company..." Only once all four women had gone upstairs did Bing Tang speak, and her words were barbed. She was no stranger to a man keeping a household of wives; many an ancient sect and ancient family was built that way. But they had the strength to do it, whereas Wei Zhao was a mere unaffiliated cultivator of no account, and a weak one at that — yet he had won the favor of so many lovely women, one of them the future Palace Master of the Ice Palace, another her own cousin on both her father's and her mother's side. It left the girl Bing Tang feeling decidedly ill at ease.

Had Wei Zhao been some Heaven-stage master, she could have accepted it. Or had he been a high-ranking alchemist — now that was an even more coveted profession, and a hundred wives would have raised no eyebrows. But no: Wei Zhao was neither the one nor the other.

"It's all right, I suppose." Wei Zhao seemed not to have caught her sarcasm, answering only in an offhand tone: "Isn't it simply that you think my strength falls below yours, and so you have always looked down on me?"

At Wei Zhao's blunt candor, Bing Tang was caught rather awkwardly. In the old days it would not have mattered; why should she ever have cared what Wei Zhao thought? But things were different now. With her junior sister Feng Xiaoxiao present, Bing Tang at least owed Feng Xiaoxiao some face. And now, with Tang Yun added to the reckoning, Wei Zhao was effectively her brother-in-law twice over — with such a standing, Bing Tang really could not afford to belittle him too freely.

"And what if it is? To tell you the plain truth, as things stand, your strength is not good enough for Xiaoxiao." But Bing Tang was a proud woman, and with Feng Xiaoxiao and Tang Yun both out of earshot, she saw no reason to hold her tongue.

"Then, by your standards, what sort of man would be worthy of Xiaoxiao?" Wei Zhao asked, laughing rather than taking offense.

"The peak of the late Heaven stage — or an alchemist of the third rank or above in the Yellow stage," Bing Tang said.

"Oh? And what sort of person would be worthy of you?" Wei Zhao could not let Bing Tang needle him without answer; at the right moment he would needle her in return.

"Someone who surpasses me in strength, and who is a first-rank alchemist of the Profound stage," Bing Tang said.

At this, Wei Zhao could not help but find it faintly amusing. Bing Tang was already a master standing at the very peak of the late Heaven stage; to surpass her would mean stepping into the legendary Heavenly Dao — and whether any grades existed beyond that, even Wei Zhao was not quite certain. As for a first-rank alchemist of the Profound stage, that too was the stuff of legend; whether such a creature had ever existed in the real world was anyone's guess.

"Heh heh..." Wei Zhao smiled faintly.

"Is it funny?" Bing Tang had only meant to ruffle his feathers a little. She knew perfectly well herself that a person like that was virtually impossible to find. But she had no thought of taking a partner at present; her ultimate aim was the pursuit of the Heavenly Dao. Once she crossed into the Dao, her lifespan would be lengthened — and even then, any companion she took would have to be of the same grade, or they could not hope to share her life to the end.

"By my reckoning, I'm the only one who can reach that level. You had better start praying — if I can't, you'll be a widow for the rest of your days," Wei Zhao said, looking faintly troubled.

"Pfft..." Bing Tang all but choked with laughter at what she had heard: "Ha ha ha... Wei Zhao, you really are insufferably conceited, aren't you?"

"What about me?" Wei Zhao said, with perfect gravity.

"And you mean to take every last one of the sisters, do you? Senior sisters and junior sisters, paternal cousins and maternal cousins — quite the catalogue you're compiling..." Bing Tang curled her lip.

"I keep this household ranked by the order in which each one entered the door. Senior sister or cousin on either side — I don't care. Once you're through the door, you're little-little-little-little-little wife," Wei Zhao said.

"Good... very good..." Bing Tang was so enraged by Wei Zhao that she burst out laughing instead: "Then I shall simply wait for the day I become little-little-little-little-little wife!"

"Actually, you are rather pretty when you smile. The rest of the time you are nothing but ice — no fun at all." Wei Zhao was gazing at the little dimples that had appeared on Bing Tang's face.

Bing Tang's smile vanished. She said coolly, "The joking is over. Wei Zhao, remember what I have told you — Xiaoxiao cannot wait for you forever. And the Ice-Heart Jade-Bone Pill you promised me: if you cannot produce it, then the only choice left is for Xiaoxiao to serve as the inheritor!"

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