Chapter 1819 — Old Matters of the Past

"Let me think it over... may I?" Tang Yun no longer knew which way to choose, and could only decide to steady herself first and discuss it with Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu.

"You may, but you have only one day to consider it," said the Grand Elder.

"Why is that?" Tang Yun was slightly taken aback.

"Your young man can hold out two days at most, I fear. If he is not treated soon, then even the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit will likely be of no use," said the Grand Elder.

"Then... can't we just give him the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit first?" Tang Yun said anxiously upon hearing this.

"The Art of Heartlessness is, by nature, heartless," the Grand Elder said faintly. "In my dictionary there is no such word as affection. If you will not join the Snow Valley, then there is nothing to discuss."

"..." Tang Yun felt a pang of sorrow. She wondered whether, after cultivating the Art of Heartlessness, she too would become like the Grand Elder. And then—would even Wei Zhao, seeing her, no longer care for her?

After all, who could love a cold, heartless person? And the Grand Elder was a living example: around her clung a powerful chill that made people keep their distance, that made one want to shrink away the moment one saw her, to flee far off.

Yet Elder Zhang, who had likewise cultivated another water-attribute art, was nothing like that—warm and kindly, utterly different from the Grand Elder and Xueli.

"Tomorrow morning... I will give you my answer. That should be all right, shouldn't it?" Tang Yun asked after a moment's hesitation.

"It is all right!" said the Grand Elder. "That is no obstacle. To set your mind at ease, I can first channel a strand of chill into his body to suppress the fire-poison of his qi deviation. It will be enough to last until tomorrow evening!"

"Thank you, Grand Elder!" Hearing this, Tang Yun's heart instantly eased, and gratitude lit her face.

"Do not thank me. This is merely a transaction," the Grand Elder said faintly.

Tang Yun opened her mouth, then said nothing more. The Grand Elder was simply that sort of person; she had said as much before—she was heartless.

The Grand Elder rose, came before Wei Zhao, laid a hand upon his meridians, and channeled a strand of chill into them. At once Wei Zhao's body temperature plummeted—which left Tang Yun marveling, while Little Shu breathed a sigh of relief. At last she no longer had to help Wei Zhao cool down.

"There. Before tomorrow night, there should be no problem!" With that, the Grand Elder turned and instructed Elder Zhang: "Elder Zhang, take them to the guest rooms to rest!"

"Yes!" Elder Zhang said, clasping his fists.

Tang Yun, Gu Mengyao, and Shen Yushu, bringing Wei Zhao along, followed Elder Zhang back to the guest rooms they had used before. Elder Zhang gave them a courteous bow of the fists and was about to leave when Tang Yun called him back: "Elder Zhang..."

"Miss Tang, is there something else?" Though Elder Zhang had treated Tang Yun and the others well before, now there was plainly a note of ingratiation about him—and small wonder. If Tang Yun truly stayed in the Snow Valley, she would become an existence on par with the Grand Elder, one of the three great figures of the Snow Valley. How could Elder Zhang not be courteous?

"Elder Zhang, I would like to ask—must the Art of Heartlessness really be heartless?" Tang Yun had not dared to ask the Grand Elder too much before, but she had grown far more familiar with Elder Zhang.

"It has always... been so..." Elder Zhang thought for a moment, then nodded. "Down through the ages, all who cultivated the Art of Heartlessness have grown old alone, devoting the whole passion of their lives to the Snow Valley. Not one of them ever married or bore children..."

"Ah..." Though Tang Yun had long guessed as much, hearing Elder Zhang's confirmation still left her somewhat disappointed. "Who on earth founded this Art of Heartlessness? What a wretched trap..."

"Miss Tang, hush..." Elder Zhang was startled, and said with a bitter smile, "Miss Tang, the Art of Heartlessness is the heart-art oral formula created by our founding patriarch. It is the supreme treasure of our Snow Valley. Though you are one whom the Grand Elder holds in esteem, speaking so recklessly will inevitably invite punishment..."

"The founding patriarch?" Tang Yun was startled. "You mean... the one with the same constitution as mine?"

"Yes!" Elder Zhang nodded. "The founding patriarch came to enlightenment here and received the inheritance; she discovered the ancient ruins, and combining the heart-art oral formulas left behind in those ruins, she created the Art of Heartlessness herself. It must be said, the founding patriarch was a formidable person—with only early Yellow-rank strength, she actually founded an ancient sect..."

"Truly extraordinary!" Hearing of this great deed, Tang Yun could not help but admire her. She asked herself: though she had the same constitution, in a foreign place she could never have created such a formidable heart-art formula. Yet one thing puzzled her: "The founding patriarch was so formidable—why create an Art of Heartlessness? Though I am no cultivator, from what I know, there are many powerful water-attribute and ice-attribute arts, are there not? Sister Bingtang cultivates a formidable art too, yet it does not hinder marriage... only, before receiving the inheritance, one may not lose one's chastity..."

"Alas!" Elder Zhang sighed. "That must begin with a legend... Though it is not recorded in detail in the Snow Valley's journals, according to what the elders of every generation have passed down by word of mouth, there lies within it a poignant love story..."

"A love story?" Tang Yun was surprised. She had not expected that the founding patriarch, a heartless person, should have had a love affair.

"Indeed. Since you are about to become a disciple of the Snow Valley—and the future Grand Elder—there is no harm in your knowing these things, for the elders of every generation know them!" Elder Zhang did not hold back, but said directly: "You should know that our Snow Valley and the Ice Palace belong to the same lineage. The Snow Valley cultivates a mist-attribute art derived from the water attribute; the Ice Palace cultivates an ice-attribute art derived from the water attribute. The founding patriarchs of these two sects were in fact a pair of sworn sisters..."

"Ah!" At Elder Zhang's words, Tang Yun and the others all widened their eyes. They had never imagined that the Snow Valley and the Ice Palace shared such a connection!

"Though they were sworn sisters and on most intimate terms, they fell in love with the same man—and so a happy thing turned into a bitter one..." Elder Zhang smiled bitterly. "Thus the Ice Palace and the Snow Valley share a common origin, supporting each other yet also vying and suppressing each other. That is the situation the two founding patriarchs created in those years..."

"Then they could both have married that man—one as the senior wife, one as the junior wife, and everything would have been just fine! So silly!" said Shen Yushu.

For the fastest updates, read without pop-ups, please.