~~~

"How could this happen?!"

The look on Bai Lianshi's face as she paces back and forth around the chamber is positively stormy. Frost creeps over the floor and windows like spider webs. It is a credit to her stalwart will that the drop in temperature is the only sign of her emotional state. As someone in the Ninth Level of the Emperor Realm, Bai Lianshi is a force of nature. She is the First among the Five. Her wrath unleashed could devastate a nation.

"An entire city! How could we not notice? Why did we not notice?"

The answer is, of course, because Great Mother is currently in isolation. If she were not so focused on her own cultivation, she'd have noticed the attack on Eastern Port City without fail. That would have allowed them to respond to the situation in mere hours at most.

However, that is not an answer that can satisfy Bai Lianshi.

The Divine Frozen Palace should not still be relying on Great Mother. That they find themselves in a situation like this is evidence of how much they have been doing so for the past centuries.

“Is it really so surprising?”

Bai Lianshi glares at her sister. Unlike her, Meng Yue is neither angry nor shocked. Her thoughts lay not on her own inadequacy or in the city they failed to save. She merely looks at the Go board in front of her, a thoughtful frown on her face and a black stone held in her hand.

While Bai Lianshi has been considering the ramifications of the attack on Eastern Port City, Meng Yue has been considering her next move.

“Think about it, sister. It is not as if we keep an eye on every single city of the Empire. Such a thing is simply beyond our capacity. That being the case, is it not natural for us to miss something like this?”

“This is not some random city we are speaking of, Meng Yue!” A window cracks as Bai Lianshi’s voice rises. “Eastern Port City is the home of the Xiao Sect, which, as I am sure you recall, are our allies!”

Without them noticing, the Xiao Sect was attacked.

Without them noticing, Eastern Port City fell.

"Not only did we fail in protecting an allied Sect, but we also did not even notice we had failed until someone from the Five Blessings Group knocked on our door to inform us of our blunder!"

To say the current situation is an embarrassment is putting it mildly.

When a representative from the Five Blessings Group had shown up at their doorstep, Bai Liashi had been surprised. Upon learning the representative was a daughter of the Song Family, she had been curious. However, nothing could have prepared her for the news she had received.

As much as she had wanted to doubt, all it took to confirm Song Daiyu's words was a simple, if large scale, scrying technique.

What a colossal blunder.

Putting aside the loss of lives, news of the event had undoubtedly spread by now. The Divine Frozen Palace was unable to protect one of its allies. They are probably saying that right now. Their rivals would make sure of it. To think something so embarrassing had been allowed to happen.

How mortifying!

"Sister, do not take me for an idiot," Meng Yue says, still looking at the board. She impatiently taps her black stone against the table. "I understand the situation. Do you not realize that out of the entire Divine Frozen Palace, it is my disciple who is most affected by this event?!"

Yet another aspect that further complicates the situation.

The Xiao Sect had given them a Body of Extreme Yin. They had repaid them by letting their main headquarters be destroyed. That is doubtlessly how it looks like. Worse still, Xiao Shuang is a promising disciple of theirs, and now that promising disciple has been dealt a huge mental blow.

Bai Lianshi sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose to stave off a headache.

"Your disciple… How is she?"

This time, Meng Yue does take her eyes off the board. "Obviously not well, sister. Her husband and brother may have survived, but it is only them. She has lost everything else. It is a good thing she seems to be bonding with the messenger from the Five Blessings Group."

Bai Lianshi raises an eyebrow. "They're still talking?"

"I deemed it for the best. Friends and connections. Both are important. If they can be the same, that is even better," Meng Yue replies, echoing words Great Mother had taught them once upon a time. "Regardless, sister, you cannot tell me you did not see something like this coming. You're the one who knows better than anyone. We have been focusing all our efforts inward. Is it any surprise we forgot how to look outward?"

Bai Lianshi's lips form a thin line. It is so easy to think of Meng Yue as a fool, yet, every now and then, she reminds everyone just how insightful she can be.

"We neglected to pay attention to the Storm Dragon Empire even though they're merely on the other side of the border. Instead, we focused our efforts on solidifying our hold on the Crimson Cloud Empire. I will not say it hasn't yielded results. After all, the Crown Prince is hopelessly in love with Shao's girl."

"How do you even know about that?" Bai Lianshi blurts out.

Meng Yue had not attended an official meeting in years!

"Sister." Meng Yue, of all people, has the gall to give her a patient stare. "I am not blind. I know you, and I know Shao Zhilan. It is obvious."

"If you find it so obvious," Bai Lianshi says through gritted teeth, "then you know why we prioritized the royal bloodline. Of the four major sects, we are the only ones who cannot trace their ancestry back to the One Hundred and Eight."

"Other than Great Mother, you mean."

"We may be Great Mother's daughters, but our relationship is not one defined by blood. We cannot depend on her forever. Thus, since she has not left any ancestry-"

"As far as we know."

"Meng Yue!"

"What?" Meng Yue shrugs innocently. "Dual cultivation happens. Sometimes often, thoroughly, and vigorously. Great Mother has had a very long life. You cannot possibly think Great Mother has never-"

"Meng Yue!" Bai Lianshi exclaims once more, her voice rising an octave, her pale cheeks noticeably flushed. "Whatever… hypothetical descendants Great Mother may or may not have are not relevant to this conversation. We lack the blood of one of the One Hundred and Eight. Securing the royal bloodline will fix this. That is why we prioritized the imperial court."

"True, but you cannot deny that is the reason we failed to recognize the forces at work in the Storm Dragon Empire." Meng Yue toys with one of her stones. Her hand hovers over the board as she keeps changing her mind as to where to place it. "We were content to stay out of it as it descended into anarchy. Now, someone has risen from that place and dared to bare its fangs against us."

Bai Lianshi stays silent. There is nothing she can say to that. On this matter, Meng Yue is right. They had not been vigilant, and as a result, they had been blindsided. At the very least, the existence of an Emperor as volatile as this Murong Bang seemed to be is something they should have known already. Someone like that undoubtedly represents a threat to the stability of the Empire.

It is not because of his power. If she were to fight him, based on the information they had received, Bai Lianshi would undoubtedly win. It would not even be a contest. Compared to the strongest of the Crimson Cloud Empire, Murong Bang is not that impressive. His raw might is not what makes him a threat.

His willingness to act does.

In theory, Bai Lianshi could march into the capital right now and start killing everyone who is a potential threat to the Divine Frozen Palace. However, doing such a thing is unthinkable. The fallout from something like that would be… messy. Even if the Divine Frozen Palace prevailed over all the other factions within the empire, the cost of said victory would be too high. Open warfare is simply not worth it.

All the major players in the Crimson Cloud Empire understand and accept this. This is why most conflicts tend to be solved over the negotiation table as opposed to the battlefield.

However, as a result of that, the Crimson Cloud Empire is a land of tense enmities and even tenser alliances. The resentment from those at the bottom. The envy between rivals Sects. The anger behind fake smiles. The Crimson Cloud Empire is a land of centuries-old grudges just waiting to be unleashed.

All it'd take would be a single spark at just the right time.

Murong Bang is no longer in the Crimson Cloud Empire. He likely retreated back into the Storm Dragon Empire. However, if he attacked their borders once, he could do so again. Worse still, who is to say there are no more people like Murong Bang in the Storm Dragon Empire?

No, they cannot allow this situation to grow beyond their control. Action is required.

"Regardless of how or why it happened, action is required right now.”

“Good! I completely agree, sister! That is why the best choice right now is-"

"I am not sending you into the Storm Dragon Empire."

"Why!?" Meng Yue stands up abruptly. "This is exactly what this sort of situation calls for!"

"You have no tact or delicacy."

"This situation doesn't call for those things! Violence, sister! The situation calls for violence! You say I am a brute. Then let me be one! Send me, and I'll tear that country asunder. Send me, and I will bring you Murong Bang's head!"

The stone in Meng Yue's hand is nothing more than dust by the time she finishes her plea. There is no boast in her voice, no deceit in her eyes. Her offer comes from the bottom of her heart.

And yet, Bai Lianshi must deny her sister.

"Violence is needed, yes. Some measure of self-control is required as well. If I let you go, you will rampage as you please because your disciple has been hurt. Is that not so?"

Meng Yue says nothing. She suddenly finds renewed interest in the Go board.

Bai Lianshi shakes her head.

"Your disciple has been hurt. I understand your feelings. However, you are responsible for that girl. Instead of taking out your anger on whoever crosses your path, it would serve you better to learn how to console her. Remember that."

Meng Yue frowns, unhappy yet without a spark of rebellion in her eyes.

"Besides, there is clearly much we don't know about the Storm Dragon Empire. We must not rush in recklessly."

"So what? You will send a strongly worded statement through the Crown Prince to the Storm Dragon?" Meng Yue snorts and crosses her arms. "Is that supposed to be the wrath of the Divine Frozen Palace made manifest?"

"That will certainly happen at some point. Some appearances must be kept, but it is not a priority. We need information. It is as you say. We allowed our gaze to drift away from the Storm Dragon Empire. That must change." She fixes Meng Yue with an even stare. "I will send someone to the Storm Dragon Empire, someone I can trust to collect all the information we need to know. Their strongest fighters. Their factions. Their hierarchy. All of it."

"Who will that be? Dai Jie?"

"No. Any of us would call too much attention. I will send my disciple instead. It is time for her to take greater responsibilities. "

Meng Yue blinks. "You trust her that much?"

"I have trained her for two decades. I should at least trust her this much. She will perform well. I am sure of it." Bai Lianshi frowns. "Now, for the other matter…"

Meng Yue tilts her head to the side. "What other matter?"

Bai Lianshi sighs and places a hand on her forehead. Trust Meng Yue only to focus on the physical threat. "The Xiao Sect, sister. The Xiao Sect. We have failed to protect them. Now, their leadership is uncertain, and so is our alliance with them. They could very well decide to cut ties with us."

After all, they allied themselves with the Divine Frozen Place only for it to fail them.

It is not that losing their alliance would hamper them much, if at all. However, the public perception of such an event would be a significant blow against them. Such a thing cannot be allowed to happen.

"Right now, the best course of action is to help your disciple's brother secure his place within the Xiao Sect."

"Hmm." Meng Yue brings a finger to her lips as she considers this. "So we just need to send someone strong enough then?"

"Strong, but not too strong. That would be counterproductive."

Certainly, they could send one of their strongest members to back the claim of Xiao Shuang's brother, but if they did so, the sentiment against the Divine Frozen Palace would only increase. They would see Xiao Shuang's brother as a puppet ruler and accuse the Divine Frozen Palace of trying to take them over.

That is why they need to send someone strong enough to help Xiao Shuang's brother but not so strong that she'd overshadow him.

"We are not sending my disciple," Meng Yue says right away. "Xiao Shuang is in a crucial state of her training. Sending her away would do more harm than good."

"Do not worry. I was not planning on asking."

Whoever they send would likely fight against rebel factions within the Xiao Sect. For Xiao Shuang to fight against her former Sect after having lost her hometown would be too cruel. That is probably how Meng Yue sees it. There is no way she’d want to subject her disciple to that.

There is no way Bai Lianshi can ask her to.

“I will leave the task of selecting a disciple to Dai Jie. Now, as for your disciple’s husband-”

“There is no need to do anything.”

Bai Lianshi blinks at the suddenness of the reply.

“I cannot really explain it, but if Great Mother were here, she’d say something like ‘That seed was planted by someone else. It’d be rude to interfere with its growth.’” Meng Yue nods as she says this, confident in her words. “Yes, it’d be something like that. Leaving him be until his path crosses with Xiao Shuang’s once more is probably for the best.”

Until.

Not if. Until.

The implication is clear. Meng Yue fully expects her disciple’s husband to cross paths with them in the future.

“Very well,” Bai Lianshi says. “We shall leave that matter be for now.”

“You have my thanks, sister,” Meng Yue says as she grabs a new stone and finally makes her move, capturing one of Bai Lianshi’s pieces.

Bai Lianshi looks at the board, picks a white stone, and places it with barely a second thought. With that one move, she turns the entire board against Meng Yue.

Meng Yue stares at the board for ten full breaths before throwing it out the window.

~~~