Half City Of Love - Chapter 12
Chapter 12
The Bingxue Hall sank into silence once more.
Xuanyi lazily finished the Nine-Nine Guiyuan Tea in her cup, gathered up a handful of white snow, and leisurely began crafting little snowmen again.
The one with ribbons tied in his hair was Fucang, the meticulous one was Guting, the one wearing a jade crown was Taiyao, and the one with the gem dangling on his forehead was Shaoyi. The tall and slender one was Fuluo, the one with a red flower by her ear was Zhixi, and the one with dimples on her face was Yanxia.
On her very first day, she had met all seven of Emperor Baize’s disciples.
With great interest, Xuanyi placed Guting next to Fuluo. After thinking for a moment, she placed Shaoyi beside Fuluo as well. Next was Yanxia, whom she placed beside Shaoyi. Fucang and Guting were of the same stripe, so they should be closer together; Zhixi seemed to be on good terms with Guting, so she put her next to Guting too.
Mm, Taiyao was the peacemaker, so he went at the very end.
She stared at the seven snowmen for a long while, then picked up a piece of white jade cake and took a bite.
The relationships here were truly intricate and complex.
Xuanyi kept arranging and rearranging the little snowmen, enjoying herself immensely.
Suddenly, she accidentally snapped off the head of the Fucang snowman, and she couldn’t help but softy burst into laughter.
“What is so funny?”
Emperor Baize’s voice appeared behind her without warning.
Xuanyi shuddered slightly, and the little snowmen on the ice table instantly crumbled into snow dust.
Xuanyi looked regretfully at the table covered in snow dust.
“Ah, I spent so much effort shaping those.”
Emperor Baize cleared his throat and said calmly, “You don’t pay respects when your teacher arrives, yet you only feel regret for a few snowmen?”
Xuanyi bowed gracefully, her voice respectful.
“Disciple Xuanyi greets Teacher.”
Emperor Baize nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping around the area, a slight smile appearing on his youthful face.
“You certainly have quite a bit of nerve.”
It was impossible to tell whether his tone held good will or malice.
Xuanyi looked at him innocently.
“Disciple disliking the name ‘Tongjing Hall’ in her heart, and the paulownia trees making disciple feel flustered and unsettled, disciple had no choice but to cover the place in ice and snow. I hope Teacher will forgive me.”
Emperor Baize let out a laugh.
“Forgive or not, you’ve already done it. This bold and reckless nature of yours is quite unlike your father’s.”
Seeing how crystal-clear and unique the ice chair was, he couldn’t help sitting down on it.
He reached out to shake the teapot on the ice table, but the tea inside was already finished, so he put it back with regret.
Xuanyi pretended not to notice his actions and asked curiously, “Has Teacher met my father before?”
What a petty, vengeful little kid.
Emperor Baize shook his head inwardly.
“This Seat has seen him, but he never saw This Seat. When he was about your age, This Seat caught sight of him once from afar—he was bashful yet romantic, busy chatting with the divine maidens he had just met.”
Xuanyi raised an eyebrow, staying silent.
“This Seat has also heard about what happened to your mother.”
He suddenly brought up her mother, and the smile on Xuanyi’s face gradually faded away.
“Such a tragic event cannot be separated from your father’s romantic nature,” Emperor Baize poked his finger gently into the snow dust on the table.
“This Seat heard that when the divine clan of Mount Tong stabbed your mother, you were right there beside her?”
Xuanyi looked at him quietly, her voice growing cold and distant,
“Whatever Teacher’s intention may be, please speak plainly.”
Emperor Baize offered a reassuring smile,
“This Seat merely feels that this matter is rather suspicious. The clan of Mount Tong is merely a minor divine clan—how could they have the audacity to oppose the Zhuyin Clan? No matter what, your mother was the consort of Emperor Zhongshan; when something happened to her, how could the Emperor let it slide?”
Xuanyi answered half-heartedly, “Perhaps they were possessed by madness.”
Seeing that she did not wish to discuss this, Emperor Baize fell silent for a moment before speaking gently again.
“You met many of your senior brothers today. What was your impression?”
Xuanyi tilted her head and thought for a bit.
“The senior brothers and sisters are all very amiable. They truly live up to being disciples under Teacher’s lineage.”
Emperor Baize smiled.
“Since everyone is so amiable, why stay all by yourself in this world of ice and snow instead of joining them in the lively fun?”
Xuanyi covered her face, saying timidly, “Actually, disciple is also naturally bashful and embarrassed to chat and joke with the senior brothers.”
Emperor Baize laughed aloud, stood up, and took a few steps outside.
He suddenly said, “For the past several thousand years, Shaoyi was the one who checked in and struck the bell at the bell tower. Now that you are the youngest in seniority, starting tomorrow, you will be the one checking in and striking the bell every day. Do not forget, or you will be punished.”
“Disciple obeys Teacher’s command.”
Her answer was crisp and straightforward.
Emperor Baize paused for a moment, then let out a low sigh.
“What a headache-inducing little fellow. This Seat is old and wanted to spend a few quiet days—I shouldn’t have taken you in…”
Before Xuanyi could answer, his figure flickered and vanished into the ice and snow.
Xuanyi tapped her finger lightly on the ice table, and the scattered snow dust instantly gathered together into one spot as she began to leisurely sculpt flowers again.
From far away, bursts of laughter occasionally drifted over, though they were muffled and fragmentary, until finally, everything sank into silence.
It was so quiet that even the sound of the wind was clear. Sitting all alone in the depths of ice and snow, she used her fingernails to finely carve a bellflower—its bell-like buds, its slender veins.
Once the flower was made, she tossed it down gently, as if doing so could block out the pervasive, crimson bloodstains.
Emperor Baize did that on purpose, didn’t he? Making her live in Tongjing Hall, then coming over to blabber on about nonsense just to test her reaction? Or perhaps simply to satisfy his desire to pry into others’ privacy?
Whatever his reason was, it no longer mattered—he had already succeeded in making her unhappy.
No one knew how much time had passed, but the white ice bellflowers had piled up to half a person’s height.
Xuanyi blew a soft breath, and they instantly turned back into snow dust, scattering across the ground.
From the distance, the sound of chatting and laughing slowly approached. It vaguely sounded like the voice of the divine maiden Zhixi, “Teacher loves hydrangeas the most, which is why they are the most widely planted flowers across the three hundred courtyards of Mingxing Hall. Growing on both sides of the paths, they even make it much easier to find one’s way. Here at the corner where the two clumps of green bamboo point east, the path leads to the bell tower, while over there is Tongjing Hall… Huh?”
Accompanied by a surprised gasp, a group of celestial deities glowing with auspicious light stopped outside Tongjing Hall, which was currently covered in thick ice and snow, peering inside in astonishment and suspicion.
“How did Tongjing Hall become like this?” Divine Lord Guting was utterly bewildered.
“Is there a disciple living here?”
Yanxia smiled.
“Yes, the new junior sister was arranged by Teacher to live in Tongjing Hall. I heard she is a descendant of the Zhuyin Clan—is that why she covered Tongjing Hall in ice and snow? It looks so beautiful!”
Zhixi gazed quietly into the ice-covered Tongjing Hall for a moment.
Seeing the little princess of the Zhuyin Clan sitting alone in the frozen world as if lost in thought, while their own group was chatting and laughing in vibrant high spirits—and considering that she had sent Yanxia to invite her earlier, only for her not to come—Zhixi suddenly felt a touch of guilty reluctance in her heart.
It made it seem as though they were truly ostracizing their fellow disciple.
She stepped forward and spoke aloud.
“Princess Xuanyi, we are giving Junior Brother Fucang a tour of Mingxing Hall’s three hundred courtyards. Would you like to join us?”
Xuanyi gave them a cool glance, then slowly stood up and spoke.
“If you want me to go, that’s fine—as long as he leaves, I’ll come along.”
Her gaze rested on Fucang next to Guting.
His brows raised slightly as he looked back at her expressionlessly.
Zhixi frowned.
“What is the meaning of that? We are all fellow disciples—how can there be room for showing favor to one while snubbing another?”
Xuanyi said indifferently, “Then please continue to favor him and snub me, senior brothers. I am going to rest. Have a good day, everyone.”
With a wave of her long sleeves, the two doors of ice and snow slammed shut with a boom, shutting the group of auspicious-light-emitting celestial deities outside.
How annoying—just when she was in a bad mood, they insisted on coming over to bring bad luck.
The disciples were stunned by her arrogance and impoliteness.
It took quite a while before Guting said angrily, “What kind of attitude is that! No need to pay her any mind, let’s go!”
He turned around and walked away briskly, and the other disciples could only follow after a short discussion.
