The sect master of the Ice Mist Palace looked at the man for a moment and thought as to what she would have to go through to fight against this madman just to take away the girl.
She would most likely survive, and it was a doubt that he would truly hurt Taizhen too. But what about the other girls that were here? She had brought the older ones with more experience, but even then… she couldn't risk anything in here.
She looked toward her sister who was glaring at her husband and wanted to curse her for marrying this crazy man when she told her not to so many times. In the end, she married him and there was nothing she could do.
It wasn't like nothing good had come out of the marriage. Little Shumi had been born to her sister thanks to the marriage, and that had been one of the greatest occasions in the Ice Mist Palace.
What's more, the man had agreed to let her be the disciple there without any conditions. He had changed for the better at that time.
Now, however, seeing his daughter in the condition she was in, she could understand why he would go back to being the same eccentric maniac as he previously was.
"I will allow you a 1-month duration where you can stay in the Ice Mist Palace to look after your daughter," Bing Zheshuang spoke out loud. "After the months's end, if you find that little Shumi has been healed and she had no more problems, you will have to leave. Do you agree?"
The man looked at her in a bit of surprise as he never thought she would compromise. Since she did, he took up the deal. "I agree," he said. "But what if she doesn't wake up at that time? What do I do then?"
"Then…" the woman thought for a moment and answered. "Then, I'll increase the days by 2 weeks each time, until Shumi is healed. Also, I will let you be in charge of healing her if she isn't healed by then."
The younger twin looked up in surprise. "Sister…" she spoke softly.
The sect master gave a look of grimace. "We followed the rules as much as we can, and ended up allowing a father to not care for his daughter in her moment of illness. This is the least we can do," she said.
She quickly turned back around and spoke, "You will either have to live in the main palace and never leave until it is time, or you will have to find a place outside of the sect. Your choice," the sect master said.
"Whatever you want," the man said. He simply didn't care. "I will be staying next to my daughter until she's healed anyway."
"Good, it's a deal then," she said. "Don't you dare go back on it, Changying!"
"I won't," the man said.
The sect master nodded. "Then I will take back Shumi with me. Will you be staying here or will you be coming with me?" she asked.
"I will go wherever my daughter is, obviously," he said.
"Let us go then," the sect master started moving while the young girl was taken out by the mother. The man followed behind them, quickly running after her daughter while remaining a step behind them all.
Alex felt a little weird watching them leave. What should he do here? Should he stop them until she's healed? Should he use his authority to make them stop?
He wanted to learn about whether or not the girl was his master even more than whether or not she had the Moon Goddess's body. Somehow, what should have been more important felt less so than the other to him.
By the time he moved, they had all left and gathered up at the courtyard, ready to leave.
The young alchemist wanted to leave with them too, but seeing the ladies from the Ice Mist Palace who were used to staying by themselves, he hesitated.
Would they kill him if he tried to go with them? It was probably better if he stayed behind and left on his own. Less chance of him being murdered in the middle of nowhere because one of the ladies thought he looked her wrong.
The man walked back from the courtyard and the young man saw hope. Maybe he would take him with him.
"Sir Alchemist," the man spoke.
"" YES?"" Both Alex and the young man spoke at once, and the young man realized instantly that it wasn't him that was being called. He looked away and stepped to the side, while the man looked to speak toward him.
"I was about to ask you for payment when we got sidetracked," he said. "So… about the payment, how should I pay you? Do you want spirit stones, or should I pay you in other forms?"
"I don't need your payment," Alex said. The Yin he acquired from the girl had been payment enough. But of course, he wouldn't tell that to them.
"That can't be," he said. "Not only did you spend your precious free days at the valley here instead to heal my daughter. Surely you must want something in return."
Alex chuckled a bit. "Can you give me something if I ask for it?" he asked.
"I… I can try," the man said.
Alex chuckled. "No, I do not want anything," he said. "Well, if anything, I do want to want to meet with your daughter once she's been healed. I might have some business with her."
"Business? What sort of business?" the man asked.
"I don't know just yet," Alex said. "I'll know when she's awake. For now, you can leave."
"Sir Alchemist," the sect master walked forward. "The Ice Mist Palace cannot let a debt remain unpaid. Please tell us what you wish in return for removing little Shumi's yin and we shall pay it."
"As I just told him, I do not want any payment. If anything, I wish to meet her when the young girl is awake. That's all," he said.
The sect master hesitated a bit. "May I ask why you wish to meet her? What this business of yours that you mentioned might be," she asked.
"I cannot tell you," Alex said. "I'll just have to ask you to keep the gates open when I do come sometime in the future."
The sect master didn't know what to say. "We might have opened our gates for him, but sir Alchemist, we cannot do the same for you, a man. Even as the sect master, I must follow the rules too."
"I understand," Alex said. "I also understand that there are exceptions. How about this? I will arrive at your gates sometime in the future. Then, you can choose to let me in or pay me what you think is worth the service I provided. Is that alright?"
"O-okay," the sect master said, a little weirded out. "May we know your name then?"
"You can call me... Yu Ming," Alex said.
"Alchemist Yu, thank you again for treating my niece," the sect master said. "I shall wait for you to come to our sect in the future. I will repay you then."
After bowing once, the sect master turned around and flew away with the rest of the women from the sect, with the man flying at the front, along with his daughter and wife.
