nsidethemovingcarriage,SeolUnhwigazedoutthewindow.
Seatedacrossfromhim,ChiefSeongcarefullyopenedhismouth.
“YoungMaster.”
“Mm.”
“sthis...evenpossible?”
Withouttakinghiseyesoffthewindow,SeolUnhwireplied,
“Whattroublesyousomuch?”
“o...it’sjust...”
ChiefSeongstudiedhimclosely.
“Fromwhatsaw,thosewereabsolutelynotinjuriesthatcouldhealinsuchashortti.”
“...”
“Butrightnow,YoungMaster,you...”
ChiefSeongshookhishead.
“YoulookevenhealthierthanbeforeyourfightwithSeolCheonhwa.”
AfaintsmirkfordonSeolUnhwi’slips.
“henyousawcorrectly.”
ChiefSeong’seyeswidened.
“DidthePalaceordperhapsgiveyounnaterueQi—”
“o.”
SeolUnhwipaused.
“egavesothingfarmorevaluable.”
“Whatisit?”
“hefuture.”
“...Pardon?”
ChiefSeongaskedagain.
SeolUnhwispokequietly,stilllookingoutside.
“receivedatreasurethatexistsonlyonceinthisworld.”
BeforeChiefSeongcouldaskfurther—
“en-housand-YearceCrystal.”
“Ugh—!”
hesuddenwordsnearlymadeChiefSeongjumpoutofhisseat.
“Wh...whatdidyousay?”
“en-housand-YearceCrystal.”
AtSeolUnhwi’scalmrepetition,ChiefSeongcouldnotclosehismouth.
“...sthat...sothingahumancanevenconsu?”
“Whocouldeasilyenduretenthousandyearsofessence?venwouldstruggle.”
“hen...?”
“Myfatherrefinedit.”
“...a...”
ChiefSeongexhaledindisbelief.
“egaveittoandleft.oldtosaynothingandjustconsuit.”
“...”
“Withsothinglikethat,howcouldpossiblyrest?”
SeolUnhwiletoutabittersmile.
ChiefSeong’sexpressiongrewcomplicated.
esimplycouldnotunderstand.
his...wasdifficult.
SeolUnhwiwasundoubtedlyextraordinary.
Buttogivehimtheen-housand-YearceCrystal?
WhentheYoungPalaceord,Seoloryeong,alreadyexisted?
Andyet,SeolUnhwiwasnotsoonewhowouldstandinoppositiontoSeoloryeong.
Afteramont’shesitation,ChiefSeongasked,
“You...aren’t,areyou?”
eunderstoodwhatthatant.
ButSeolUnhwididnotanswer.
“...Understood.”
ChiefSeongnodded.
“omatterwhathappens,followyou.Youknowthat,right?”
“fcourse.”
“henthat’sarelief—”
iswordswerecutoff.
hecarriagecatoanabrupthalt.
Crunch—
hen,fromthedriver’sseat,JuSoa’svoicerangout.
“Commander...?thinkyoushouldcooutforamont.”
SeolUnhwiandChiefSeongexchangedaglance.
hentheysteppedoutside.
Andsawwhostoodblockingthecarriage.
ChiefSeongspokeinalowvoice.
“YoungMaster...alreadyknowyou’reextraordinary,but...didyouforeseethisaswell?”
SeolUnhwishookhishead.
ehadnot.
Silently,hesteppedforward.
owardthewomanstandingbeforethecarriage.
SeolUnhwicuppedhisfists.
“SeolUnhwioftheMysteriousSnowPalacegreetstheFirstady.”
FirstadySakryeong.
hemotherofSeoloryeong—
andthedaughterofSaCheonuk,theSectMasteroftheeavenlySnowSect,theircurrentdestination.
Sheappearedtobeinhermid-forties.
Yetsheremainedbeautiful.
Coldeyes.
Perfectposture.
Shespoke.
“Whereareyougoing?”
“owheremustgo.”
Sakryeong’sgazeshiftedtothewagonbehindthecarriage.
Coveredwithacanopy.
“You’retransportingthecorpsesofmartialartistsfromtheeavenlySnowSect?”
SeolUnhwi’sexpressionturnedcold.
SeolJungcheonhadthreewives.
hroughpoliticalmarriage,allthreewereformallyrecognizedasprincipalwives.
Amongthem,Sakryeongstoodatthehighestposition.
WithintheterritoryoftheSnowPalace,therewasnotasinglepersonwhotreatedherlightly.
Forgoodreason.
eronlysonwastheYoungPalaceord.
AndherfatherwastheSectMasteroftheeavenlySnowSect.
AndSeolUnhwi—
stillrembered.
hosemontsfromthepastwhenshehadtorntedhim.
neofthecausesthathaddrivenhimtofleetheSnowPalace.
fcourse,nomatterhowbitterthatpastwas,hehadnodesiretodragitintothepresent.
ewasnotsoidleastosettleeverytrivialgrievance.
But—
Sakryeongspoke.
“Donotcrosstheline.”
ehadnotexpectedthosewords.
“heline...?”
SeolUnhwislowlyraisedhishead.
iseyeslockedontohers.
“Firstady.”
“Speak—”
“heonecrossingtheline...appearstobeyou.”
“...Whatdidyousay?”
ergazeturnedicy.
SeolUnhwisteppedforward.
nestep.
wo.
estoppeddirectlybeforeher.
Atthatmont—
Shing—!
twasnotSeolUnhwiwhomoved—
butChiefSeong.
ottowardhim—
buttowardthewomanstandingbehindSakryeong.
Beforeanyonerealized,ChiefSeong’sswordwasalreadyatherthroat.
ereyeswidened.
Anceuardnvoy.
achofthethreewivesoftheSnowPalacewasassignedaguard.
heircultivationwasatleasttheDivineransformationrealm.
heywerecalledceuardnvoys.
heoneprotectingtheFirstady—
theFirstceuardnvoy.
ChiefSeonghadseenit.
erhandmovingtowardthehiltofhersword.
“owinsolent.owdareareceuardnvoydrawabladebeforeaPolareir.”
iscoldwordswerenotonlydirectedattheenvoy—
butatSakryeongaswell.
Formally,withinthehierarchyoftheen-housand-YearSnowPalace,
belowthePalaceordstoodthePolareirs.
hedirectbloodline.
hewives,boundbymarriage,stoodbeloweventhedeputypalacepositions.
fcourse,thatwasonlyinform.
nreality,evenPolareirstreatedthemwithrespect.
Afterall—theywerethewivesofthePalaceord.
Butthishadtobemadeclear.
heywerenotblood.
Andtheywerenotsovereigns.
hecolordrainedfromSakryeong’sface.
SeolUnhwilookeddownather.
“experiencedasimilarsituationhalfayearago.”
“...”
“twasthehirdadythen.”
isvoicewascold.
“letitpass.venthoughshehadcreatedthosemoriesoftorntinmychildhood—letitpass.”
“...”
“Becausestillremberedthatsheoncegaveasinglewounddicinewhenhadnowheretoturn.”
Sakryeong’seyestrembled.
“Butwhatdidyoudo?”
“hatis—”
“Youonlygaveorders.”
isvoicegrewcolder.
“Donotentertheapothecary.Donotstepontothetraininggrounds...”
epaused.
“hereismore.Doyourember?”
Shestaggeredback.
Killingintentfilledhiseyes.
“Doyouthink...”
esteppedforward.
“...thatcannotkillyou?”
Sakryeongswallowed.
“MyattachnttotheSnowPalaceisdeep.”
SeolUnhwispokeslowly.
“Butyouarenotpartofthat‘SnowPalace.’”
“...!”
“nmySnowPalace,thereisonlymyfatherandthePolareirs.”
iskillingintentthickened.
“fyoucrosstheline—ifyouoverreach—kill.Allofyou.”
erbodybegantotremble.
“thasn’tevenbeenadaysincethatfoolSeolCheonhwadied.”
“...You—”
“Wouldanythingchangeifplacedyoubesidehiminthegrave?”
Sheswallowedhard.
“oday,myfathermadeitpublic.hatamtobeexiledtotheChaoticeavenRegion.”
SeolUnhwiletoutafaintlaugh.
“Andyet,ifcauseonemoreincidentbeforego...whowoulddaresayanything?”
eraisedhishandslightly.
Sakryeongcollapsedwhereshestood.
erlegshadgivenout.
Becauseinhereyes—
SeolUnhwiwastrulysoonewhowoulddoit.
eloweredhishand.
henclaspedhishandsbehindhisbackandlookeddownather.
“nthepast,beforemymotherdied,theSnowPalaceattemptedtodispatchphysicians.”
erface⊛оvеlιght⊛(Readthefullstory)turnedpale.
“Butyoublockeditbeforehand.sthatcorrect?”
“...no...that’snot...”
“Myfathernevertolddirectly.”
SeolUnhwilookedupatthesky.
“Buthaveears.Andeyes.”
“...”
“venwhendidnotwishtohear,heard.”
Silence.
“fcourse,eveniftheyhadco,nothingwouldhavechanged.”
elookedbackather.
“Butthefactthatithappenedatall...”
isgazefrozelikeice.
“...isenoughtomakeapersonangry.”
“...”
“havenodesiretodragpasttiesintothepresent.”
einhaleddeeply.
xhaled.
“Butwantedyoutounderstandthatmuch.”
elookedather.
“fweretofollowmyheart—wouldkillyou.”
“...M...?amoftheSnowPalace—”
erwordsdied.
“wouldtearyouapartintoathousand,tenthousandpieces—andkillyou.”
isvoicewascoldbeyondasure.
“donotparticularlyenjoykilling.Butyou—wouldliketo.”
veryonewatchedhim.
JuSoa.
amgungWonyang.
ChiefSeong.
heceuardnvoy.
AndSakryeong.
“Butwillnot.”
“...”
“fdo,myfatherwillbedisappointed.Andmyelderbrotherwilltrulygrieve.”
elookeddownather.
“emayevenstopeatingandcollapseentirely.”
“...”
“knowheisstrong.Butifhismotherweretobecolikethat...”
isvoicetrembledslightly.
“Andifitwerebythehandsoftheyoungerbrotherhetrusted—”
eclosedhiseyes.
“heshockwouldbedoubled.”
Silencelingered.
“Asforthematterofthephysicians.”
eopenedhiseyes.
“Myfatherdoesnotknowthatknow.”
“...”
“Youshouldkeepitthatway.Andensureyourenvoykeepssilentaswell.hatmuch,youarecapableof,aren’tyou?Youoncesilencedasachild.”
esteppedback.
“Soletuseachdowhatwemust.”
isvoicewascold.
“hisiswhereweendit.Betweenyouand.Understood?”
“...”
“Answer.”
“...Understood.”
ervoicetrembled.
SeolUnhwiextendedhishand.
Shehesitated—
thentookit.
erbodystillshaking.
epulledhertoherfeet.
henspokequietly.
“fyoubelieve...”
ishandcatorestonhershoulder.
“...thatthisSnowPalacebelongstoyou—”
isgriptightened.
Shegrabbedhiswristwithbothhands.
tdidnotmove.
“Abandonthatthought.ow.”
“......”
“Youarerelythemotherofmyelderbrother.hisSnowPalacewillneverbelongtoyou,nortotheeavenlySnowSect.Knowyourplace.”
ereleasedher.
hencontinued,
“willsaythisclearly.fyouthreatenthestabilityoftheSnowPalace,disruptitsorder,orusepowerforpersonalgreed—”
iskillinggazepiercedher.
“Youwilldie.Withoutexception.”
“...Ah...”
“Andifanyoneattemptstostopinthatprocess—”
isvoicefelllikeablade.
“heywilldieaswell.”
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