Chapter 1470 — Xiaoning's Brother

He had no wish to bicker with Yu Shan over such trifles, and in truth there was nothing worth saying between them. Since childhood Yu Shan had made a point of thwarting him and his sister at every turn; had Yu Bing not held the family's greater interests in mind, they would have come to blows long ago.

And yet, look at it from the other side: Yu Shan's provocations, again and again, had only one purpose — to make him fight. If Yu Bing won, Yu Shan could say he had used his greater age to bully a lesser; if Yu Bing lost, Yu Shan could say he was not even the equal of his younger brother. Either way it was Yu Bing who came off the loser. So why would Yu Bing ever take the bait?

"You are the legitimate son, the legitimate grandson. This little brother would not dare lodge in the same room as the future head of the Yu family — if word of it got out, people would think I don't know my place!" Yu Shan said, neither warm nor cold. "I'll open a room of my own."

"As you like." Yu Bing wasted no further words on him and strode into the inn, taking a room of his own — Room 203, right next to Wei Zhao's. Few guests had checked in as yet, so he had his pick of room numbers.

By this time Zhao Qitan and Zhao Qijiu had heard the clamor from below as well. The two of them stepped out of their rooms and made for the head of the stairs, pretending they were just on their way out.

The first to come up was Yu Bing, who had been quickest to finish the registration and get his room card.

The Yus and the Zhaos were bound by marriage, so the younger generations of both families naturally knew one another. When Zhao Qitan saw that the man coming up was Yu Bing, he could not help but knit his brows. He and Yu Bing were men of different roads. If it were his own younger brother — Zhao Guangyin's son — who had come in person to take part in the trial, he would surely have formed a team with Yu Bing; but Yu Bing was a man he could probably never win over.

"So it's Yu Bing. Where's Yu Shan?" Outwardly Zhao Qitan gave nothing away, greeting Yu Bing with all warmth.

"Yu Shan's downstairs. He'll be up in a moment." Yu Bing understood well enough what Zhao Qitan was driving at. He had guessed at once that Zhao Qitan would throw in his lot with Yu Shan — the two of them were birds of a feather, each a non-direct-line power within his own family, each nursing ambitions for the young heir's succession.

"Tonight it's on me. Shall we brothers get together?" Zhao Qitan knew perfectly well that Yu Bing would never agree, but he played the part of courtesy to the hilt.

"No need. I've already made plans with a friend." Yu Bing smiled. "You and Yu Shan go ahead — he should have the time."

"Fine, then. We'll get together another day." Zhao Qitan had known all along that Yu Bing would say exactly that, and felt not the slightest surprise. Only, when he saw Yu Bing go upstairs and knock on the door of Room 201, he could not help but frown.

Could the friend Yu Bing spoke of be Ling Yi? If so, matters had just turned rather difficult. These past two days he had only just built up a decent friendship with Ling Yi; if Ling Yi truly was Yu Bing's friend, then he would certainly never join Zhao Qitan's team and become his ally.

Yu Shan and Yu Bing plainly could not coexist.

"Young Master Tan, Yu Bing knows Ling Yi?" Zhao Qijiu had seen it too, and it sat ill with him.

"So it would seem." Zhao Qitan's expression was sour as well. "All that effort courting him for nothing. Who would have thought he knew Yu Bing!"

"Never mind. A thing like this can't be forced, and no one blames you, Young Master Tan. Who can help it if the Yu brothers don't get along?" Zhao Qijiu consoled him.

"True enough. Come, let's go down together and see Yu Shan." Zhao Qitan nodded, put his displeasure behind him, and went downstairs with Zhao Qijiu.

Just then Yu Shan happened to come up. Catching sight of Zhao Qitan, he waved to him with great warmth at once: "Cousin Qitan, so you got here first!"

"That's right. I saw Yu Bing arrive earlier, so I knew you'd be along behind him, and came out to welcome you!" Zhao Qitan was markedly warmer toward Yu Shan. Here was a man who might be won over — quite unlike Yu Bing.

"No, really? Cousin Qitan welcoming me in person? This little brother is flattered beyond measure!" Yu Shan said, false to the bone.

The next to come up were members of the hidden Pi family, the hidden You family, and some sect disciples. These people were not well acquainted with Zhao Qitan, nor Yu Shan much either; they had merely happened to meet near the little town and were traveling together. There was no hurry now to court them.

Wei Zhao opened the door and found Yu Bing at the threshold. "Here so soon? All settled in?"

"There's nothing to settle. No one's here on holiday, and none of us has luggage." Yu Bing laughed. "May I come in?"

"Of course." Wei Zhao gestured him in, and Yu Bing entered the room.

Whether or not Zhao Qitan saw this, Wei Zhao hardly cared. If they could build connections, why shouldn't he? Openness was only natural; skulking about would have been the strange thing.

"I never imagined you'd come to the trial too. Had I known, I would have spoken to my father and brought Xiaoning along to take part as well!" Yu Bing said, a little regretfully.

"She's no cultivator. What would she come here for?" Wei Zhao said flatly, without expression. "Never mind that. You're here for the trial as well?"

"That's an odd question. Isn't everyone here for the trial?" Yu Bing blinked, somewhat puzzled.

"I'm not." Wei Zhao made no secret of it to Yu Bing. "I came here by pure chance. I have other business in these parts — only it seems I've been drawn into the Ice Palace's trial..."

"By pure chance? What do you mean?" Yu Bing was rather curious. "Truly? You didn't come here for the trial?"

"I came seeking a spirit herb, to save a friend of mine..." Wei Zhao felt reasonably at ease with Yu Bing, and so he told him the purpose of his journey.

"So you've come looking for the Fire Spirit Holy Fruit! But all this region belongs to the Ice Palace's sphere, and what you seek has almost certainly long been under the Ice Palace's control." Yu Bing pondered a moment after hearing Wei Zhao out. "Everything north of this little town falls within the Ice Palace's domain. Enter without their leave, and you'll likely bring a good deal of unnecessary trouble down on your head."

"That thought had occurred to me. It's precisely why I've been staying in the inn and making no rash moves." Wei Zhao smiled bitterly. "If I take part in this trial, is there any chance I might find the Fire Spirit Holy Fruit?"

"Hard to say..." Yu Bing frowned. "If the Fire Spirit Holy Fruit truly grows on the snow mountain where the trial is held, then you may pick it. But the whole process will be recorded by the Ice Mountain Jade and used to score the trial. In the end, all such heaven-and-earth treasures must be handed over to the Ice Palace in full; they do not become personal property."

"What does that mean?" Wei Zhao blinked. From the look of it, Yu Bing knew far more about the trial than Zhao Qitan did, so he pressed him at once: "How much do you know about this trial? Tell me everything."

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