Snowball's eyes darkened in an instant. The shine from his pupils transformed into a menacing glint. 'This vermin dared to harm my wife?' he thought, itching to scratch Shu Qianqian's face off. His small claws began to elongate, and his tail whipped back and forth in agitation. It was only when he felt his wife shift slightly in discomfort that he suppressed his ire, exerting the necessary control to retract his claws.

The fox spirit sank back against Li Meirong's softness, but maintained a scalding glare at Shu Qianqian, making no further move. 'A dutiful husband must wait for his wife to make decisions.' he mused.

All the while, Li Meirong seemed pleased with Feng Huang's proposal. She rubbed her chin in contemplation and spoke in a clear and pleasant voice. "Maybe I should."

"Your threats are useless. You can't scare me!" Shu Qianqian whispered angrily.

Despite her bold words, Shu Qianqian kept her trembling fingers under the table. She wouldn't admit to it, but she was afraid now. After fidgeting all morning, she realized that the plan had failed when Liang Rou Yan hadn't returned from the island to meet up with her as promised. Instead, it was the vixen, Li Meirong, who came back without even a scratch on her.

She wasn't so scared of Li Meirong herself as she was of losing face in the sect, of besmirching her good name. Worse yet, she knew that Mo Cheng had a soft spot for the temptress and had always defended Li Meirong's honour whenever anyone called it into question.

What would Mo Cheng think of her if he found out that she had plotted to kill Li Meirong?

'It won't happen. It must never happen!' Shu Qianqian thought, pleased with herself for dispatching loyal servants early on, ensuring there was no evidence left in the island to back up any claim Li Meirong might consider coming up with.

"Who's threatening?" Li Meirong suddenly asked, "I'm merely curious about your opinion. What do you think, should I drain you of all your powers, or not?"

The absurd question snapped Shu Qianqian back to the present situation. Li Meirong had asked her such a terrible thing in such a nonchalant manner, that it seemed as though she was discussing the weather instead of threatening to cripple her cultivation.

Flared by Li Meirong's arrogant display, Shu Qianqian could no longer control her temper. She slammed a trembling fist on the table. "Li Meirong, who do you think you are?! You're nothing more than a discarded maid, a peasant! Do you really believe you have the means to harm someone in my position? Do you think that the few measly Spirit Beasts you have collected scare me?" she snorted. "How ridiculous. Don't forget your position, slut!"

Li Meirong rubbed her temple and sighed. "Slut this, slut that... Don't you grow tired of calling other people such names? What would Brother Cheng think if he saw your uncouth behaviour, no better than that of a fishwife?"

"I'm only speaking the truth! Everybody knows you slept with the Bestiary Division Grandmaster's son in order to acquire your position in the sect. Otherwise, you would have just stayed a servant!"

The instant Li Meirong heard Shu Qianqian's shrill words, she lost all of her composure. Her pale cheeks flushed red, unable to refute the claim. What could she possibly say? She had indeed slept with Zhu Qingyue, and she'd be a fool to think that her elevated status in the division had nothing to do with him. Before his arrival, she was treated no better than a piece of trash that could be bullied without repercussion and easily discarded by her fellow seniors.

Alas, there wasn't even an opportunity for Li Meirong to reply due to Mo Cheng's abrupt re-appearance. She spun around as her attention was seized by the tea-set tray in his hands clattering to the floor. Hot tea spilled out of scattered, broken pieces of porcelain cups, scalding anything they splattered.