Chapter 471: Ice Jade Palace
"Teacher, long time no see!"
Gu Ze heard a familiar voice and instinctively looked up.
When he saw Li Wei, he froze for a long moment, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
Gu Ze had never imagined he would see Li Wei here.
Over half a year ago, Gu Ze had followed Bas’s merchant caravan to the Icefield, returning to his former home.
But the place where he had once lived was gone, buried by blizzards. The surrounding villages had vanished as well.
Gu Ze wandered the Icefield, searching for any remnants of his past.
He passed many tribes and villages and later learned of a great city in the Extreme North Icefield where many people had gathered.
Perhaps the people from his old village had moved to the Ice and Snow City.
And so, Gu Ze undertook the arduous journey to the Ice and Snow City in search of his past.
After some twists and turns, he was surprised to discover that his younger sister had become the Saintess of the Ice and Snow City.
He had originally wanted to write a letter to Li Wei to share the good news of finding his sister.
Unfortunately, the Ice and Snow City was cut off from the rest of the world. Not even a traveling merchant like Bas would come here.
Gu Ze had no way to contact the outside world, so he had been out of touch ever since.
He had planned to wait a few years until he was strong enough to safely cross the Icefield and make a trip back to Maple City.
He never expected Li Wei to come here.
"Li Wei," Gu Ze cried out, overjoyed.
Hearing this, Gu Sewei stared at Li Wei and Gu Ze in utter astonishment.
Gu Ze had told her about Li Wei, so Gu Sewei knew her brother had a genius disciple of whom he was very proud.
But according to Gu Ze’s descriptions, Li Wei had only been a Tier One Mage a year ago.
’How could it be this person?’
’This rate of improvement is just too absurd.’
"Lady Saintess, please get behind me. Be wary of the enemy."
The Valkyrie Leader interrupted Li Wei and Gu Ze’s reunion. She stared grimly at Li Wei and reminded Gu Sewei.
At her words, Gu Sewei remembered what she was supposed to do.
She quickly said, "Monice, don’t worry. He’s already agreed to come with me to see Her Majesty the Queen."
Monice heard her, but didn’t lower her guard in the slightest. Her riding spear quivered, shaking loose the snowflakes that had settled upon it.
Her sharp gaze locked onto Li Wei through the slit of her helmet. "This man publicly abducted the Lady Saintess within the city," she said coldly. "He has violated the laws of the Ice and Snow City. I will take him into custody and bring him before Her Majesty the Queen for judgment."
Gu Sewei gave Monice a helpless look. With the way Monice had phrased it, the matter was no longer about whether Li Wei was willing to see the Ice Queen.
Monice had to uphold the sanctity of the laws of the Ice and Snow City, the majesty of the Ice Queen, and the honor of the Saintess.
The issue had escalated to another level entirely.
Hearing this, Li Wei looked at Monice, feeling her gaze, which was as bone-chilling as a frigid wind.
He let out a short laugh, his expression turning cold. "Then by all means, try me," he said.
At his words, Monice raised the long spear in her hand, pointed it at Li Wei, and prepared to attack.
Gu Sewei stepped forward, placing herself between Li Wei and Monice.
She didn’t want the situation to become so hostile.
It had been difficult enough to get Li Wei to agree to see Her Majesty the Queen.
Monice was powerful, but even if she defeated Li Wei and brought him back to Her Majesty the Queen, it wouldn’t be a good outcome.
After all, the Queen needed Li Wei’s help.
Monice’s expression suddenly shifted. The Queen’s voice was ringing in her ears.
A moment later, she lowered her weapon and replied in a low voice, "Understood, Her Majesty the Queen."
She shot Li Wei a look, then pulled on the reins to turn her Snow Steed. "Escort the Saintess back to the palace," she ordered.
CLATTER!
Hearing the order, the numerous Valkyries surrounding Li Wei sheathed their weapons and reformed into an escort formation.
Seeing this, Gu Sewei breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she wasn’t sure why Monice had suddenly changed her mind.
As the Saintess’s brother, Gu Ze wasn’t blocked by the escorting Valkyries. He walked over to Li Wei and Gu Sewei.
He looked at Li Wei and Gu Sewei with a puzzled expression. "What’s going on with you two?"
Gu Ze was completely bewildered.
’Li Wei came to the Ice and Snow City but didn’t come to see me. Instead, he met my sister first.’
’What’s all this about?’
Gu Sewei, looking a little embarrassed, pushed Gu Ze’s back to get him to turn and walk forward.
"We’ll talk about it when we get back."
Under the Valkyries’ escort, the three of them arrived at the Ice Jade Palace.
The Ice Jade Palace was situated atop the snowy mountain of the Ice and Snow City, a considerable distance from the city proper at the mountain’s foot.
The Valkyrie squad escorted the trio to the entrance of the Ice Jade Palace. Monice then dismissed the others to return to the city, personally leading Li Wei and his companions inside.
The Ice Jade Palace was like a colossal work of art carved from ice-blue crystal.
Every corner was filled with the ingenious craftsmanship of its sculptors.
All sorts of beautiful patterns and carvings were visible everywhere.
As Li Wei stepped into the Ice Jade Palace, he saw many trees made of Ice Crystal, yet he felt no chill.
He glanced around and saw no sign of any vegetation.
The Ice Jade Palace seemed to contain only trees, flowers, and grasses made of Ice Crystal, with no plants in the traditional sense.
The Ice Crystal trees, flowers, and grasses swayed in the breeze, looking remarkably lifelike.
"Mage Gu Ze, please stop here."
Monice held out a hand to stop Gu Ze.
Gu Ze nodded, looked at Li Wei and Gu Sewei, and said, "You two go on ahead. I’ll wait for you here."
He knew that the chamber ahead was where they would meet the Ice Queen.
The Ice Queen and Li Wei probably had important matters to discuss, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to be present.
Gu Ze himself had only been summoned by the Ice Queen once, right after he was reunited with Gu Sewei.
He hadn’t even been able to see the Ice Queen’s face clearly. At the time, she had been standing behind a curtain of Ice Crystal beads, and all he could see was a blurred silhouette.
He had not seen the Ice Queen since.
Li Wei nodded. "Mm."
For some reason, Gu Sewei was the one who felt a pang of nervousness.
She was partly afraid that Li Wei would disappoint the Ice Queen, and partly afraid that some misfortune would befall him once he went inside.
It wasn’t that she was worried for Li Wei’s safety. It was simply that he had come because he trusted her. If anything were to happen, she would be partly responsible and would have betrayed his trust.
Gu Sewei took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and walked inside.
Li Wei followed her through the doorway.
The moment he stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind him with a THUD.
He glanced back but paid it no mind, turning his gaze forward.
The vast room contained only eight massive Ice Crystal pillars. At the far end, a flight of smooth, ice-blue Ice Crystal steps led up to a Crystal throne.
A figure was seated upon it.
From dozens of meters away, Li Wei’s gaze met that of the person on the throne.
Both were scrutinizing each other.
’So, she’s the Ice Queen?’
’This is the person wanted by the Light Divine Sect?’
Gu Sewei broke the silence. As she walked forward, the heels of her shoes made a CLICK-CLACK sound against the floor.
The sound, though not loud, seemed especially conspicuous in the vast, quiet room.
It was like a drumbeat against Li Wei’s heart.