No Longer Waiting

At the foot of the Kong Yuan Divine Mountain Four Cities of Wind, Frost, Rain, and Snow City, which is the western pass leading up the mountain.

The towering city gates of Frost City loomed in the twilight, while the walls, forged from black iron, gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light, resembling a colossal beast lurking in the wind and snow.

Standing on the ridge, You Su looked down at the two rows of meticulously arranged cultivators and city guards at the city gate, and the Magic Array embedded in the bricks and stones on the city wall that still emitted a chilling light. All of this told visitors that entering this gate was by no means easy.

Even the Archimedes Venerable couldn't fly over Frost City, You Su naturally didn't harbor such a wishful thought.

However, given his status as a wanted criminal across the five continents, without the assistance of the Archimedes Venerable, he was truly at a loss as to how to enter the sacred mountain.

In the distance A Jiu and her brother huddled together, shivering. Beside them, Bai Ze's breath was as light as falling snow. Noticing that You Su was watching him, Bai Ze raised his clear deer eyes and stared at You Su, as if playing a childish game where whoever looked away first would lose.

You Su, preoccupied with something, gave up and softly asked, "Pearl, could you do me a favor?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Ze stuck out his delicate tongue, the tip of which curled around the lustrous pearl, and his breath condensed into a tangible mist.

"Just say it if you want to." The girl's tongue-twisting gesture made her seem a little slurred. It seemed she mistakenly thought You Su needed the precious pearl to heal the damage from controlling the shuttle along the way, but was too embarrassed to say it directly.

You Su slightly averted her gaze, tapped Bai Ze on the forehead, and the girl, in pain, indeed withdrew her tongue and cried out in annoyance.

"Don't be so presumptuous."

Bai Ze puffed out his cheeks, "You've taken my kindness for granted! What kind of help do you want? Just tell me!"

You Su glanced back at the pretty girl, pursed his lips, and said, "Our biggest problem right now is how to get into the city. I can't think of a solution right now, but the situation is urgent. If it's convenient, I'd like to ask her to come out and give us some advice."

Bai Ze paused, seemingly wanting to argue, but ultimately fell silent and lowered his head slightly. "It seems she's far more useful than I am..."

You Su hesitated because she was worried about this situation. Bai Ze clearly disliked the 'other person' living in her body, so she never wanted to relinquish control to the Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace. You Su tried to make her understand that she and the Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace were essentially the same person, but it was still too difficult.

"How could that be? While I was resting, you were always the one controlling the shuttle and taking care of A Jiu A Ying. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I wouldn't even have time to close my eyes."

While it was said that he was in charge of controlling the flying shuttle, in reality he only needed to keep an eye on it to prevent it from crashing into towering mountains; and while it was said that he was looking after A Jiu and her brother, the two children were still too terrified by the magical experience of flying to keep up, so they wouldn't cause any trouble. However, even if he didn't do anything special, he still put in the effort, You Su wasn't just trying to fool the silly cat.

"Alright, I'll think about it some more. You shouldn't force yourself. Go back to the shuttle and get some sleep."

Bai Ze snorted softly, "No, I want to sleep in your arms."

You Su shook his head helplessly, but did not refuse. Instead, he opened his arms to her. The girl, like a swallow returning to its nest, wrapped her arms around You Su's waist and pressed her face against the boy's chest, just like a sulking kitten. You Su stroked her soft pigtails, his eyes soft and doting.

"Let go." The Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace's tone was like a knife chilled to the bone.

You Su froze, about to explain, when the person in his arms suddenly grabbed his arm around his shoulder. When he looked up again, the clear innocence in the girl's eyes had turned into a cold, still pool, and even the white mist she exhaled seemed to be covered with frost.

You Su recoiled as if electrocuted, while Bai Ze—or Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace— stumbled half a step due to the sudden loss of support. She steadied herself with a flick of her wide sleeve, her gaze sweeping over You Su's panicked eyes. "You knew she would definitely sleep in your arms, so you said that on purpose?"

You Su raised an eyebrow, surprised that the palace master had seen through his plan at a glance. However, he had no intention of admitting it openly, after all, he had just embraced not only Bai Ze, but also this powerful figure.

"It's more accurate to say that you've disturbed our sibling bond."

"A deep bond between siblings?" The Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace repeated the statement, his tone calm, yet You Su detected a hint of mockery. "What do you want with me?"

You Su truly didn't understand where such a small body could exert such a strong sense of oppression, so she could only point to the majestic Frost City gate, "My identity is inconvenient, and the defenses are now very tight. Do you know of any other way to reach the Divine Mountain?"

"Only these four cities are safe to enter."

Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace with her hands behind her back, glancing at the heavily guarded city gate below the mountain, a mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips, "Even the gatekeepers of Frost City have been replaced, she's certainly taking precautions very well."

"You can't get in either?" You Su frowned.

Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace did not answer, he conjured an ice shard at his fingertip, reflecting the image of the patrolling guards on the city tower.

As the icy light swept past the third crenellation, her pupils suddenly contracted—there stood a commander with a face full of scars, his armor covered in frost patterns, but the token at his waist was engraved with a faded character for "frost".

"Chen Dafu," she murmured the name, as if chewing on a moldy cake, "Was sentenced to death fifty years ago for raping and murdering his younger sister."

As she said this, she turned her head and glanced sideways at You Su.

You Su was baffled, but after thinking about it carefully, he immediately realized that the other party was using this heinous crime to implicate him.

He was about to retort Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace turn his head and continue speaking to himself, "But before his execution, the Frost City Lord found a scapegoat and bestowed upon him the surname Frost, thus changing his name to Shuang Chu and becoming the city's personal guard. It took him fifty years to rise to the position of city guard commander, so I doubt anyone takes his Frost surname seriously."

You Su clenched his fist. "Why did the Frost City Lord save him?"

The palace master glanced at him again, "We Northern Ao Continent are not as despicable as those from the south; we don't have any perverts who would covet their own younger sister. The murderer is someone else."

You Su was furious at being called a despicable southerner, but he hesitated and decided not to argue with a child. Instead, he pondered who the real culprit was. After a moment's thought, the answer became clear: even if it wasn't the Frost City Lord himself, he was probably involved.

"Is this Frost City Lord the same one from fifty years ago?"

"Venerable Ningshuang, he has been the city lord for over a hundred years."

You Su frowned as she gazed at the myriad lights of the city, and after a long while, she said, "Since you know he is guilty, how could you allow him to remain in a high position?"

"When did I say he was guilty?" the palace master retorted, raising her eyes, then sighed softly, "The problem isn't with him, it's with this land. If they weren't so poor they had to risk their lives for a better life, who would offer their own sister to this place? When he learned of his sister's death, perhaps his joy outweighed his sorrow..."

You Su suddenly felt a lump in his throat and couldn't say a word.

"Chen Xiaoyou, call his sister's name, and he definitely won't dare to stop us anymore." The Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace remained indifferent.

How do you know all this so clearly?

The girl turned back and smiled, "Because we share the same goal; we both want Northern Ao Continent to get better."

Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace swept her sleeves toward the city gate. Her skirt swept across the snow without leaving a trace, as if she were a ghost arriving under the moonlight.

You Su remained silent, then waved to A Jiu and his sister, who were hiding in a sheltered spot, urging them to follow.

As the group approached the city gate, the low hum of tense armor echoed from below the city walls, Shuang Chu's furious shout, carried by the wind and snow, slammed down. "Halt! Frost City is under martial law! No entry!"

As soon as he shouted, swords and weapons were drawn from their sheaths and pointed directly at the young man standing in front of the crowd.

The young man remained calm in the face of danger. His hair danced in the wind, and he lowered his head slightly, his collar covering most of his face, like a wild beast that had been holding back its anger.

"Commander Chen, don't you even recognize me?" the young man asked softly.

The city guards stepped forward, one of them shouting, "There is no Commander Chen here! Stand back! Otherwise, swords will have no eyes!"

But the boy neither dodged nor retreated; his eyes remained fixed on the burly man behind the city guard.

Just as one of the city guards was about to teach You Su a lesson, a large hand grabbed his shoulder. The guard turned around in surprise and realized that it was his boss.

"I see over a thousand people every day, and I truly cannot remember everyone's faces. I hope you will not be offended. Please tell me your name again, and I will remember it this time and never forget it again."

"You don't recognize me?" You Su chuckled and shook her head. "But your sister..."

"Lord Mei! It's Lord Mei!" Shuang Chu suddenly shouted, drowning out all other voices. He brushed the snow off his sleeves and warmly approached, "It's been so many years! I almost forgot about Lord Mei! Damn it!"

You Su thought to himself that this guy really didn't dare to talk about the past, otherwise his illegitimate origins would be exposed, and he would once again become that lowly person who traded his sister for his future.

"It's alright, it's just that I haven't been back to the mountain for a long time. It's hard on Commander Shuang, having to guard the city gate so late."

You Su changed his address very quickly, as if he had always called him Commander Shuang.

Shuang Chu chuckled heartily, waving his hand to dismiss the city guards behind him and make way for them. "It's just my duty, why talk about hardship? Please, Lord Mei."

Seeing their leader's polite demeanor, the city guards genuinely assumed he was some mysterious powerful figure stationed elsewhere, and they all lowered their heads, no longer daring to stop him. After all, You Su's aura was undeniable.

You Su nodded in acknowledgment and then waved to Bai Ze and the others behind him.

Bai Ze was exquisitely beautiful and possessed an extraordinary air. Shuang Chu's eyes sparkled and his thick eyebrows furrowed slightly. There was a sense of familiarity about this girl, so he dared not ask any more questions. After all, the man in the lead was able to recount what happened back then, so he must be a person with extraordinary abilities. His secrets, which he had kept hidden for many years, were probably not even worth talking about in the eyes of these people.

The black iron gate rumbled and rose, but as A Jiu A Ying walked by, Shuang Chu couldn't help but speak up, "Lord Mei, these two refugees..."

Shuang Chu pointed nervously at A Jiu and his sister, but before she could finish speaking, You Su cut her off with a sharp look.

"Venerable Ningshuang is benevolent and charitable, but is Frost City so vast that it cannot even accommodate two children?"

Shuang Chu trembled upon hearing this, but still couldn't bear to give in, "Lord Mei, you may not know, but these two children have no cultivation..."

"No cultivation level, no entry into the city? Who made this rule?!" You Su shouted.

"We were just following orders; I had no idea..."

You Su snorted coldly and flicked an Ice Talisman from his sleeve. Frost flowers outlined dragon patterns on the talisman paper, exactly matching the totem on the city gate relief. This was Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace had quietly handed to him before he entered.

"You dare to question the person Your Sovereign Lord?!"

Upon hearing this, Shuang Chu's knees buckled, and he practically crawled to make way. Having served as a gatekeeper on this sacred mountain for so long, even the title "Venerable" didn't seem so awe-inspiring anymore. The title "Sovereign Lord" differed from "Venerable" by only one character, yet among all the Venerables on the mountain, only one could be called "Sovereign Lord"...

As You Su stepped over the threshold, he heard the villain plead in a low voice, "Please, sir, do not report the past... to the Sovereign Lord..."

His response was a cold laugh from You Su.

Even the Sovereign Lord himself could not condemn them, so how could You Su possibly do so? The fault lies not with any one person, but with this frozen land, which is even more barren than a desert.

But You Su had no intention of letting Shuang Chu off the hook. He sneered, wanting Shuang Chu to understand that there were still people in this world who knew about his dirty deeds. He wanted Shuang Chu to engrave this guilt into his bones and remember it for the rest of his life.

As the group stepped into Frost City, they found themselves in a completely different world.

Along the cobblestone-paved street, weeping crabapple blossoms were in full bloom, and a warm breeze carrying their sweet fragrance brushed against You Su Sumo's dark clothes. Everyone on their faces wore happy smiles, as if they were celebrating some kind of festival.

A Ying woke up with a start from her brother's back, staring blankly at the well-dressed child in front of the sugar painting stall—the child took a bite of the candied fruit and casually threw the rest to the roadside, whereupon a fat, strong black dog immediately came up to snatch the food.

"So snow... can melt." A Jiu grabbed a handful of the remaining snow that hadn't been swept away from the ditch and watched it melt into warm water in her palm.

You Su's knuckles turned white from clenching his fists.

Along the way, he had seen mothers use their body heat to melt ice for their babies, and old men huddled on the corpses of their companions for warmth. But here, this struggle for survival was being used as charity for dogs.

He had been to Snow City, located at the north gate of the sacred mountain. It was warmer and more prosperous than other cities, but it was not as unrestrained as Frost City.

He looked down at the girl and got the answer from the Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace's astonished gaze: Frost City had not always been so extravagant.

"The underground fire arrays of the Four Cities of Wind, Frost, Rain, and Snow, burn away one-seventh of the sacred mountain's total tax revenue every year, but to become this warm, even one-fifth wouldn't be enough to burn. Yet, no matter how warm it gets, such flowers will never grow again."

She gently lifted the delicate weeping crabapple blossom with her fingertips, but there was no trace of appreciation in her eyes.

"Was it her who ordered the fire array to be pulled to its maximum?"

You Su gritted his teeth. One-fifth of the entire continent's tax revenue was being focused on providing warmth to the wealthy and powerful people at the foot of the sacred mountain. How absurd!

"We are the stingiest people in the entire Divine Mountain." The Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace's tone was quite smug, as if he was not ashamed but rather proud.

You Su raced, and he exhaled a long breath, squeezing out the words through clenched teeth:

"I'm afraid the city guards of Hong City are right. Someone has bypassed her and decided to sacrifice those who are far from the sacred mountain. Archimedes Venerable once told me that the taxes paid by most cities in the Northern Ao Continent are far less than the relief funds allocated to them by the sacred mountain. Now that they've abandoned them, a lot of money can be saved to be used for the enjoyment of these people. Isn't that a wonderful thing..."

After You Su finished speaking, she didn't say another word, but just walked silently ahead. A Jiu and A Ying followed closely behind, afraid of losing her.

You Su's destination turned out to be the rarely visited former residence of the Archimedes Venerable – the Arithmancy Pavilion.

The dust was even heavier here. You Su wanted to help the two children clean up, but A Jiu snatched the broom first.

You Su didn't try to take it back, but instead instructed, "You'll live here from now on. This is the home of that Flower Daoist. If he returns, I'll have him take your sister as his disciple. He's very capable, not a fraud."

A Jiu and A Ying's eyes lit up immediately, and their gaze towards the cold, quiet house changed.

Remembering something, You Su took out some loose silver from his pocket and handed it over. He really only had this much silver left, and giving Spirit Stone to these two poor-looking, untrained children would only make them guilty of possessing valuable treasures.

"I don't have much money left. If you want to take good care of your sister, you'll have to find a way yourself."

"Is Brother You leaving?" A Ying asked timidly, vaguely sensing the impending separation.

"Um."

"Are we going to rescue Northern Ao Continent?" A Ying asked again.

"Do you think this area needs saving?" You Su asked with a smile.

A Ying nodded blankly, "This is the place where the illness is most severe."

You Su was stunned and speechless, but A Jiu picked up the broom, patted her chest and said, "Then Brother You, you should go ahead and do it. My sister and I can clean up here!"

Looking at the boy who was so determined, You Su patted his head with satisfaction.

He stepped outside and Palace Lord of Dragon Seeing Palace silently following behind him.

"The gate to the sacred mountain won't open at night," she said.

A warm breeze blew away the stray hairs on You Su's forehead, revealing a pair of eyes as black as ink—within them surging an anger more subtle than a whirlpool at the bottom of the sea.

"But I can't wait any longer."