Chapter 16: The Broken Master and the Cold Palace
After figuring out the key points of the situation, Bibi Dong was in a rare good mood.
She calmly dealt with the backlog of official duties that had piled up over the past few days. It wasn't until the cold moon hung in the western sky and the Milky Way shone above that she finally finished her work.
Rubbing her brow, Bibi Dong walked out of the grand and solemn Pope's Palace.
A palace knight stepped forward and asked softly,
"Your Holiness, are you returning to the main palace?"
Bibi Dong's body trembled ever so slightly. As she gazed up at the deepening night sky, a blankness clouded her heart—she didn't know where to go.
"Your Holiness, you haven't rested in several days," the palace knight reminded gently.
But the warmth that had just risen in Bibi Dong's chest faded quickly, replaced by an aching sense of loss.
Where else could she go?
The palace… was too vast, and far too cold.
It was so big that, even with every soul guide lamp turned on that night, she couldn't feel a trace of warmth.
She couldn't understand it.
Why was it… that with just one man and one dim lamp, Qin Chuan had made her feel warmth?
At that moment, loneliness crept over her like a winter frost.
She missed Qin Chuan.
She missed him very much.
Missed him terribly!
"Your Holiness?" the voice of the palace guard sounded again, gently urging,
"Are you returning to the palace?"
"…No."
Bibi Dong shook off her daze, glanced at the knight, and answered plainly,
"Take me to the West Wing."
The West Wing.
Halfway up Wuhun Mountain stood a row of high-standard guest rooms, used to receive visiting nobles and dignitaries. The sanitation, privacy, and facilities here were top-tier.
Yu Xiaogang, crippled by Qin Chuan, had been placed here by Bibi Dong for recovery.
Since his arrival, this was the first time Bibi Dong had personally come to see him.
Even before entering, she spotted a healing spirit master exiting the room.
"Greetings, Your Holiness," the healer quickly stepped forward and saluted with respect.
"How is the master?" Bibi Dong asked softly.
The spirit master's expression grew grave as he responded,
"Reporting to Your Holiness. I just finished circulating spirit power to soothe his meridians. Although there are no life-threatening issues, I'm afraid… he'll spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair."
He paused before delivering the final blow,
"Moreover, the master's dantian was completely shattered. He will never be able to cultivate again. From now on, he will be no different from an ordinary man."
Bibi Dong's expression didn't change.
She simply nodded and said,
"This Pope understands."
Then she pushed open the door and entered.
Crash!
No sooner had she stepped into the room than a teacup flew toward her face.
"Get out!" came a furious, hoarse roar.
"I want to see Bibi Dong! Let her come to see me!"
Spirit power surged from Bibi Dong's body. In an instant, it formed invisible ripples that froze the teacup midair.
Time seemed to stand still for a second.
Then, crack!
The teacup dropped to the ground and shattered into porcelain shards.
Unfazed, Bibi Dong stepped into the room.
The man on the bed turned his head.
"So, Bibi Dong… you're finally willing to come see me?"
Yu Xiaogang let out a bitter laugh, his eyes full of resentment and grief.
Bibi Dong came to a stop beside the bed, looking down quietly.
Yu Xiaogang was a shadow of his former self.
His dantian was shattered. His legs were crippled. Repeated blows had left him on the brink of despair.
His face was sallow and unshaven, skin loose and aged. His sunken eyes looked decades older, and his once-dark hair was now completely gray.
Gone was the man of pride and arrogance. What remained was a defeated, decaying husk—unrecognizable even to Bibi Dong.
"You shouldn't have come to the Spirit Hall," she said softly, heart aching slightly at the sight of him.
"Of course I shouldn't have!"
Yu Xiaogang roared in anguish.
He kept slapping his useless legs, but felt nothing. The lack of sensation only deepened his despair.
"I knew you were cold and heartless, but I never imagined you were this cruel!"
"Bibi Dong—you wretched woman!"
"You destroyed me! You ruined my life!"
He clawed at the edge of the bed, veins bulging, hands trembling with fury—yet utterly powerless.
He was a cripple now.
"I didn't want to hurt you," Bibi Dong exhaled, trying to remain composed. "But you shouldn't have come here. You brought this upon yourself."
She really hadn't wanted to hurt him.
But she couldn't deny it—her heart was full of complex emotions. Anger. Disappointment. Bitterness.
It was precisely why she hadn't visited until now.
"You brought this upon yourself…"
Yu Xiaogang echoed, laughing miserably.
"Haha, yes, I did! Bibi Dong, I should never have met you. I should never have fallen in love with you."
"Everything is my fault."
"Now get out!"
"Get out!"
He pointed furiously at the door.
But Bibi Dong remained unmoved.
Instead, she dragged a chair over and sat beside the bed, lowering her head slightly to look at his crippled legs beneath the fur blanket.
The healing spirit master had done a decent job. Although his bones had fused, he'd never walk again.
"I'll leave," she said softly. "But not yet."
"There are things I need to say. Things that still must be done."
Yu Xiaogang growled hoarsely,
"What is there left to say? You want to sit here and laugh at me?"
"Get out, Bibi Dong! I don't want to see you!"
"Leave!"
He had already forgotten that just hours earlier, he'd been begging to see her.
"The one who crippled you…" Bibi Dong said calmly, "was the Grand Elder of my Pope's Palace."
"I know."
Yu Xiaogang raised his head and laughed bitterly.
"But don't be smug. Someone will come to avenge me."
He thought of his proudest disciple—Tang San.
A genius with twin martial spirits. Loyal. Righteous.
One day, when Tang San became a Titled Douluo, he would return and seek justice.
Wait, Bibi Dong.
Heaven never turns a blind eye.
You will suffer, just like I did.
"…He is also my husband."
Those were Bibi Dong's next words.
Yu Xiaogang froze completely.
His eyes glazed over. His expression turned numb.
A long silence passed before he managed to speak.
"H-He…"
"He's your husband…?"
"Yes," Bibi Dong replied. A faint, unreadable smile curled on her lips.
"F**k…"
Yu Xiaogang could no longer contain himself.
He lunged forward, trying to attack her—but his body collapsed to the ground, legs useless.
He lay there, face twisted in rage and humiliation.
"Bibi Dong… you slut!"
"Bitch!"
"Damn you! Damn all of you!"
"Ahhhhhh!"
Like a madman, he screamed and cursed, unleashing every vile word he could think of.
He had believed, up until now, that it was merely the Grand Elder's personal hatred for him.
As bitter as it was, he'd accepted it as a man-to-man conflict.
But now…
He found out the one who destroyed him was Bibi Dong's husband!
Adulterer!
Adulterer!
Hatred and resentment flooded Yu Xiaogang's heart like a tidal wave.
He wanted to kill the man.
But he couldn't.
Because now…
He was truly, completely useless.