Chapter 2169 Cold Palace
“Knife Queen is allowing Han Sen to become a Cold Palace Guardian. That will obviously help him gain the profits he wants.” Night River King’s icy voice filled an office in Full Moon.
“Knife Queen is the Cold Palace Guardian. She has been summoned to the Extreme King. It is only expected that her student should take her place,” Black Moon King responded evenly.
“Only the best of the Rebate has been given the mantle of a Cold Palace Guardian. If Knife Queen is no longer able to do it, another King should be selected to replace her. A Marquise like Han Sen should be out of the question.” Night River King looked at their boss, Moon Weel King. “Mister Moon Wheel, do you think we should select a King to replace Han Sen in Cold Palace?”
Moon Wheel King quietly said, “Right now, Knife is still in charge of its guardians.h.i.+p. It would be poor form to overrule her decision now.”
“Why shouldn’t we? The guardian should be a King. Han Sen is just a Marquise. What if something happens? To safeguard the future of our entire race, no one of low rank should take that responsibility,” Night River King said.
“That does make sense,” Shadow King said.
Flower King did not say anything. He had receded into thought, and that was where he remained.
Black Moon King laughed coldly. “Night River, you are in too much of a rush. Han Sen is temporarily filling in for Knife Queen. If you force a change now, and she returns, how will you explain the switch?”
“I am Night River. I am not scared of anyone. I only focus on what’s best for the Rebate. Even if Knife was here right now, I’d be trumpeting the same thing.” Night River King boasted.
“Really? Then why did you not object when Knife first made the suggestion?” Black Moon King bared his teeth in a grin. ‘You really think Knife will never return from those chaotic systems? Is that why you are talking so boldly right now?
Do not forget that there is every chance she will not be killed. If she returns, she will return deified. And if she returns deified and sees that you have again mistreated her student, you know what her fiery personality will spur her to do. You will be well and truly doomed.”
“I only care about the matters themselves, not the people involved. Black Moon King, do not speak to me so condescendingly.” Night River King continued to argue, but he sounded a lot weaker now.
“If Han Sen is Knife’s replacement, the least we can do is let him try. If he does a bad job, then one of you can swap with him. What do you think?” Moon Wheel King looked at Flower King and the others.
Flower King smiled and said, “I don’t have an opinion. If Han Sen fails as a guardian, I’m not letting it be my fault.”
“Good,” Shadow King said.
Black Moon King did not have an opinion, either.
Night River King looked gloomy, but he didn’t say anything.
Two days after Yisha left, Han Sen arrived on Planet Blade. s...o...b..rd Duke was in charge of the place with Yisha absent, and she had been instructed to serve him.
When Han Sen saw s...o...b..rd Duke, he was shocked. s...o...b..rd Duke looked almost exactly like Icebird Duke, right down to her cold expression.
Icebird Duke was still locked up in Purgatory Heaven where Han Sen had left her. He kept her there to prevent his ident.i.ty from being leaked and to stop the secrets surrounding Purgatory Heaven from getting out. So, he had no choice but to leave her imprisoned.
Seeing s...o...b..rd Duke standing before him now was very strange.
s...o...b..rd Duke was very sensitive to such emotions, and she immediately noticed Han Sen’s discomfiture. But she misunderstood what was making him uncomfortable. “Stop wondering. Icebird Duke is my little sister.”
“I see. That is why you two look so similar.” Han Sen then went on to ask, “How come I’ve never seen you before?”
“Before Knife Queen accepted you as a student, I was sent away for work. I returned only a little while ago, so of course we haven’t met.” s...o...b..rd Duke didn’t seem too interested in talking with Han Sen. She simply stood up and said, “Follow me. Queen told me to escort you to Cold Palace.”
Han Sen, noticing her brusqueness, did not respond. He simply followed s...o...b..rd Duke to the backdoor of Cold Palace.
“Cold Palace is not in the palace?” Han Sen asked.
“No,” s...o...b..rd Duke answered emotionlessly.
The question had been rhetorical. Han Sen sighed and continued following s...o...b..rd Duke until they reached a mountain behind the palace.
Han Sen was wondering where Cold Palace was when s...o...b..rd Duke stopped just short of the mountain slopes.
“That is where you need to go. I do not have permission, so my guidance must stop here.” s...o...b..rd Duke pointed up the mountain to a waterfall. Nestled beside it was a small stone house. It looked to have been built from rocks, and it was surprisingly short, probably two meters tall at its highest point.
Looking at the stone door, it seemed that Han Sen would have to bend double just to avoid b.u.mping his head.
The old stone house made Han Sen confused, though. “Is that Cold Palace?”
Han Sen thought that this little shack surely couldn’t be the palace he was supposed to guard, but there was a sign over the door frame that read Cold Palace.
“Queen said that you must come here on the first and fifteenth of the month to guard the entrance of Cold Palace. You must protect it for a whole twenty-four hours. Aside from those times, you may do whatever you please. But do not be tardy when you are expected to guard here.” After that, s...o...b..rd Duke turned and left.
Han Sen had no choice but to hike up to the waterfall alone. The waterfall was pretty, and it was very wide. It felt as if an entire galaxy was descending from the s.p.a.ce high above. The sound of surging water was deafeningly loud, but despite that, it carried the wonderful fragrance of trimmed gra.s.s.
When he neared the stone house, however, Han Sen noticed the temperature drop. It didn’t affect him, but it did seem fitting for the t.i.tle of Cold Palace. It was a sharp contrast to the humidity and heat of the rest of Planet Blade.
Han Sen looked at the stone house, but he did not see anything too strange about it. Aside from the lower temperature, it looked like a fairly ordinary house. It looked old and rarely-visited, but other than that, it was unremarkable.
“Why was a stone house like this built here with not even a fence around it? What could it contain that’s actually worth protecting?” Han Sen wondered.
But today was neither the first day nor the fifteenth, so there was no point in him being there. He looked back over the way he had come to memorize it, then turned to leave.
But just as Han Sen was about to walk back down the mountain, his heart jumped. His body tensed as he looked down the mountain path.
Someone was coming up that path, and while he seemed to be meandering along, the power he carried was like a tsunami. Every step he took felt intimidating. It felt like the ground was rumbling beneath him.