Xu Xiaoshuang was seized and bound to the execution platform before the crowd, and the outcome was precisely as Xue Jianming had foreseen: when Leng Leng heard that her master had fallen into danger, she who had vanished without a trace duly appeared before nightfall.

"I'm here. You can release my master now," Leng Leng said, looking straight up at Xue Jianming on the raised platform.

"Heh heh, the bond between master and disciple really is moving. But when did I ever say that I would release your master once you showed up?" Xue Jianming wore a leering smile.

"What do you want?" Leng Leng was not surprised in the least.

"Nothing much. Even if I told you to submit to me right now, I doubt you'd be willing. But that's all right—I have patience. Once Wei Zhao meets his misfortune, you'll naturally come around, and I won't even need to say a word. It's simple enough: stand over there with your master. If Bing Wushuang still remembers the task Wei Zhao gave him, I imagine he'll show himself."

Compared with Leng Leng, Xue Jianming now valued Bing Wushuang far more—after all, this was the one man who could truly pose a fatal threat to him. Now that he had finally managed to wound him gravely, this was the moment to strike at the root and leave nothing behind. Next to that, Leng Leng hardly counted for anything.

That said, Xue Jianming had no real confidence that Bing Wushuang would actually appear. He knew well what an utterly rational and pragmatic man this was; since the fellow knew full well that returning meant certain death, the odds of him showing himself of his own accord were hardly great.

The result far exceeded Xue Jianming's expectations—his patience had not even begun to wear thin before Bing Wushuang appeared.

"Remarkable, truly remarkable. I never imagined a cold-faced creature like you could be so loyal to Wei Zhao. For the sake of one of his women, you'd actually run back here to die. Should I call that nobility, or should I call it stupidity?" Xue Jianming was beside himself with delight at the sight.

Leng Leng was just as astonished. Though she now knew Bing Wushuang was on their side, the two of them had never really spoken at any length, and she had never known that his loyalty to Wei Zhao ran this deep. It truly commanded respect.

"I am neither noble nor stupid," Bing Wushuang answered.

"Oh? Then why come back for something that's plainly a death sentence? Surely you're not about to tell me you think you can still fight your way out alive?" Xue Jianming made no attempt to conceal his murderous intent. Bing Wushuang was already gravely wounded, and no one else in the Snow Sword Sect dared stand in his way. Today would be Bing Wushuang's last.

"I can." Bing Wushuang's answer was short and forceful.

"Interesting. Then let's see you try." The corners of Xue Jianming's mouth split into a grin. It was true that he had been bluffed before, but he had long since seen through the fellow's bravado—and Bing Wushuang was badly wounded besides. If he couldn't kill a man in that state, he might as well go dash his brains out on a block of tofu.

"All right. Then let's see you try." Someone answered, but it was not Bing Wushuang's voice.

At the sound, Xue Jianming's expression changed at once, and beside him Leng Leng's face shifted too—only the former's turned exceedingly ugly, while the latter's lit up with joyous surprise.

No one could have guessed that Wei Zhao would choose this moment to appear on Middle Island.

It was pure coincidence. Wei Zhao had come here simply because the situation at North Island Cangwu Sect was more or less under control, and he had come to Middle Island to look in on Leng Leng. He had never expected to stumble into this.

"I never thought that after only a few months apart, your wings would already be this stiff. Not bad at all." Wei Zhao regarded Xue Jianming standing atop the raised platform, his expression neither pleased nor grieved, leaving everyone else utterly unable to guess his thoughts.

Because the memory of the last lesson was still so fresh, even though Xue Jianming was now a peak expert at the early Nascent Soul stage, a far cry from what he had once been, under Wei Zhao's gaze he still felt his heart quail out of sheer reflex. Yet that instinctive, inexplicable unease was quickly suppressed by Xue Jianming.

He was at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage now—if he still feared a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like Wei Zhao, word of it would make him the laughingstock of the world.

"Hahahaha! What kind of auspicious day is this? To think there'd be such an unexpected delight! Bing Wushuang, you've done well—you truly are a fellow who knows which way the wind blows, and you turn your sails deftly indeed!" Xue Jianming laughed and lavished praise on Bing Wushuang, giving the impression that Bing Wushuang had acted on his instructions and deliberately lured Wei Zhao here to die.

The immense humiliation Wei Zhao had dealt him before was something he remembered every waking moment. He had assumed he would have to go all the way to North Island for a chance to wipe out that shame—and now the man had delivered himself to his door.

That said, when it came to actually killing Wei Zhao here in broad daylight, Xue Jianming did not yet have the nerve. The stakes were too great; not only could he not bear the consequences, neither could Dr. Glasses above him. But so long as no life was taken, surely a proper lesson could do no harm.

Bing Wushuang paid him no mind. For such a crude and laughable attempt at sowing discord, he had not the slightest interest in even replying. If Wei Zhao could be hooked so easily, that would only prove he was blind as a bat—and Bing Wushuang had never considered himself so visually impaired.

Wei Zhao ignored it as well and simply strode toward his opponent. Bing Wushuang moved to follow, but Wei Zhao waved him back: "Just stand back and enjoy the show. There's no need to get so tense over trash like this."

Xue Jianming, far from angered, laughed at that, then snorted coldly: "What a mighty tone! A stranger would think you were some veteran Nascent Soul monster. Heh heh, there's really no one else who puts on airs the way you do!"

"Let me be honest with you—I'm really not a man who likes putting on airs. Most of the time I'm just doing perfectly ordinary things, like crushing an ant under my thumb, and in the eyes of people like you it becomes putting on airs. Tell me, isn't that unfair?" Wei Zhao said with a smile as he walked.

"Crush an ant under your thumb? Who's the ant? Are you saying that I, a peak expert at the early Nascent Soul stage, am an ant in your eyes? Hahahaha!" Xue Jianming threw back his head and laughed like a madman, laughing until he could barely catch his breath. It was a long while before he straightened up, bared his teeth, and mocked: "Seems I was right all along—putting on airs doesn't even begin to cover it. You've puffed yourself up so much you're about to burst!"

"Say what you like. Now—you may kneel." There was not a trace of hostility in Wei Zhao's tone; it was flat and ordinary, as though this were simply the natural order of things.

"What?" Xue Jianming nearly thought his ears were playing tricks on him! (To be continued.)