A corridor leading to the inner hall of the Leader's Hall.
Bang Gitae and a strange man were walking there.
"..."
The attire of the man following behind Bang Gitae could be said to be quite peculiar.
He was wearing clothes made of fur on the outside, and his appearance also had a strong exotic feel.
No matter how chilly the weather had beco recently, it was an attire that was hard to see in Xinjiang or the Central Plains.
That was only natural. Because the man was from the distant North Sea.
'Why is a person from the North Sea Ice Palace here at this ti?'
The North Sea Ice Palace.
It was one of the representative forces of the Outer Martial World.
It was located in the North Sea, a distant northern land from the Central Plains, and just as the Demonic Cult dominated the Xinjiang region, it was safe to say that the North Sea was the sphere of influence of the Ice Palace.
"..."
Basically, the Ice Palace rarely interfered with the Central Plains.
Although there were various reasons, the biggest reason was that the distance between the Central Plains and the North Sea was very far.
Therefore, not much was known about the Ice Palace in the Central Plains, and there were quite a few people who did not even know of its existence.
However, that was only when based on ordinary people.
Those who were sowhat involved in the martial world knew well that the place called the Ice Palace was by no ans a place that could be ignored.
*Gulp-*
Even for Bang Gitae, he couldn't help but be nervous at this mont.
Because if he were to make a mistake with the man behind him, he didn't know what kind of friction might arise between the Demonic Cult and the Ice Palace.
Of course, although the Demonic Cult and the Ice Palace were currently in an alliance, it could be said that that relationship had weakened a lot compared to the past.
Therefore, it was also very surprising that a guest had co from the Ice Palace after several years, and Bang Gitae was already beginning to worry about what kind of reaction Cheon Jin would show when he t this man.
'I hope the Leader will just let it pass smoothly...'
If he had his way, he wanted to send the man back as he was, but he could not send back a guest from the Ice Palace on his own accord.
His anxiety grew more and more as he got closer to the inner hall, and in the end, Bang Gitae arrived in front of the door leading to the inner hall.
'It feels similar to when Young Master Cheon Myeong first returned to the Heavenly Mountains...'
Bang Gitae thought so in his mind and turned to the man behind him and said.
"...The Leader is inside, so you can go in."
"Thank you."
Answering Bang Gitae, the man walked closer to the door.
Bang Gitae could only watch him silently from outside the inner hall, and finally, the door opened and the man went inside.
"..."
In the inner hall, as always, Cheon Jin was sitting on the grand master's chair.
However, unlike usual, his face was sohow subtly different.
Although he looked expressionless on the outside, anyone who had frequently encountered Cheon Jin would have been able to tell that Cheon Jin's mood was quite displeased now.
*Creak- thud.*
The door of the inner hall closed.
At the sa ti, the man slowly moved his steps towards Cheon Jin, and after getting sowhat close, he stopped and showed his courtesy to Cheon Jin.
"I greet the Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."
The man, Daeyeoksan, said to Cheon Jin.
However, even though Daeyeoksan bowed his head and gave a courteous greeting, there was no answer from the front.
"...What business do you have from the Ice Palace?"
After a long silence, Cheon Jin asked.
Then, Daeyeoksan answered while still bowing his head.
"My na is Daeyeoksan."
"..."
"It is a great honor to co to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which is related to our palace by marriage..."
"I asked what your business is."
Cheon Jin cut off Daeyeoksan's words in the middle.
Then, Daeyeoksan could not continue the words he was saying earlier, and he slowly raised his head, looked at Cheon Jin, and opened his mouth again.
"I have sothing to ask of you, Leader."
"..."
"Also, everything I am about to say from now on is also the will of the Palace Lord."
Daeyeoksan said, looking at Cheon Jin with a serious gaze.
Since Daeyeoksan had heard about Cheon Jin to so extent in advance, he had skipped the unnecessary greetings and had gone straight to the main point.
"...Speak."
"Our palace needs the help of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult now."
"..."
"Please send the head of the Demonic Infirmary to our palace."
Daeyeoksan was now demanding that Jong Seojun be sent to the Ice Palace.
What situation could there be in the Ice Palace that would require Jong Seojun?
Cheon Jin could imdiately tell that there was a patient in the Ice Palace now. And a patient that could not be treated with the dical skills of the Ice Palace.
After quickly finishing those thoughts in his head, Cheon Jin said.
"The order is wrong."
"...?"
"In order to ask soone for a favor, shouldn't you explain the situation first? Moreover, sending the head of the Demonic Infirmary all the way to the North Sea is by no ans a matter that can be decided lightly."
Has it finally co to this?
Daeyeoksan did not want to speak of the current situation of the Ice Palace to the outside if possible.
Especially since the Ice Palace was usually a closed place, it was an unwritten rule not to speak of any matter to the outside carelessly.
"..."
However, if he did not speak of the situation the Ice Palace was currently in, the words that he would send Jong Seojun would never co out of Cheon Jin's mouth.
Since this part had been discussed with the Palace Lord in advance, Daeyeoksan finally opened his mouth.
"...The Young Palace Lord of our palace is currently suffering from an incurable disease."
"..."
"We have already gathered all the competent physicians in the North Sea and have had him diagnosed, but in the end, there was no one who said that a cure was possible."
The Young Palace Lord had an incurable disease.
The number of people who knew this fact in the Ice Palace, including Daeyeoksan, was only a few.
Since this was a fact that they were desperately trying to hide even within the Ice Palace, it was really absurd to talk about it to soone from the outside like this, but that was proof of how serious the situation the Ice Palace was currently in.
"At that ti, we heard about the physician, Jong Seojun, in our palace."
"..."
"If it's him, who is called the 'Curing Hand, Leaving Words', he might be able to cure the Young Palace Lord's incurable disease."
The dical skills of the North Sea could not cure the Young Palace Lord's incurable disease.
As the situation beca like that, the Ice Palace naturally turned its eyes to the outside, and among them, they had heard of Jong Seojun's reputation.
Especially since the Demonic Cult and the Ice Palace had been in an alliance for a long ti, wouldn't it be relatively easy to receive help compared to other places?
The Palace Lord of the Ice Palace had sent Daeyeoksan to the Heavenly Mountains with the feeling of grasping at straws, thinking that.
"Please help us!"
Daeyeoksan said that and bowed his head to Cheon Jin again.
"An incurable disease... what is the na of that incurable disease that the Young Palace Lord has?"
At that mont, Cheon Jin asked with a aningful voice.
At that mont, Daeyeoksan's figure flinched with a slight movent. And as if he had no choice, Daeyeoksan answered Cheon Jin's question.
"...It is the White Disease."
*Flinch-*
The mont he heard the na of the incurable disease, a change occurred in Cheon Jin's expression.
Cheon Jin, whose eyes had beco so sharp that it could no longer be called expressionless.
A slight tremor was even occurring in his sharpened eyes.
"The White Disease..."
That mutter ca out of Cheon Jin's mouth.
The White Disease. Cheon Jin knew very well about that disease.
Seol Suhwa, who was now dead and was also Cheon Myeong's mother.
The direct cause of her death was the White Disease.
"..."
As its na suggests, if one gets the disease, the patient's body turns white.
Body hair, skin, even the pupils.
It was the sa when Cheon Jin had first t Seol Suhwa.
More than the exotic appearance of a North Sea woman, Seol Suhwa's hair and pure white pupils had caught his eye more.
"The White Disease... you said?"
The first eting with Seol Suhwa. Leaving that mory behind, Cheon Jin asked.
"Yes, that's right."
"...Why have you co to and asked to cure the Young Palace Lord who has the White Disease?"
"..."
"The Ice Palace should know well that the White Disease could not be cured even with the dical skills of our cult."
They would have no choice but to know.
The alliance between the Demonic Cult and the Ice Palace. The thod used by both sides to establish that relationship was marriage.
From the Demonic Cult's side, the leader, Cheon Jin, was chosen, and from the Ice Palace's side, Seol Suhwa, who was the daughter of the Palace Lord at that ti, was chosen.
"My wife already had the White Disease before she ca to our cult."
"..."
"I used all sorts of ans to cure my wife. But I still couldn't save her. But now, to ask to save the Young Palace Lord, don't you think that's absurd?"
Unlike usual, Cheon Jin said with a raised voice.
Seol Suhwa had already been suffering from the White Disease before she ca to the Demonic Cult.
To send such a Seol Suhwa to this distant land under the pretext of an alliance was no different from aning that they would just use her as a political tool.
Of course, although that had beco the occasion for Cheon Jin and Seol Suhwa to et, Cheon Jin did not like the Ice Palace, which had regarded his wife as nothing more than a political tool.
"...I know well that she eventually passed away due to the White Disease."
Daeyeoksan, who opened his mouth after a rather long silence.
Cheon Jin silently looked at Daeyeoksan as if to tell him to continue speaking.
"Certainly, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult could not save her."
"..."
"But I have heard that even after her death, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult continued to research a cure for the White Disease."
Now, the cure for the White Disease would surely have been developed more than in the past.
And that was not all.
At that ti, when the Ice Palace had sent Seol Suhwa to the Demonic Cult, they had expected that her lifespan would not be even three years.
However, in reality, Seol Suhwa had lived for more than ten years even after being sent to the Demonic Cult, and the Ice Palace had thought that the reason that was possible was because of the dical skills of the Demonic Cult.
In other words, even from that point of view, it could be said that the dical skills of the Demonic Cult were superior to those of the Ice Palace.
'It's fine if it can't be cured.'
It's fine as long as the Young Palace Lord's life can be prolonged, just as Seol Suhwa's was.
Of course, if it could be completely cured, there would be nothing better, but even if it were just prolonged, they would be able to buy ti to make future plans.
Since the Young Palace Lord's life was now like a lamp that could go out at any mont, the Ice Palace wanted to receive the help of the Demonic Cult at least in that part.
"...How shaless."
At that mont, those words ca out of Cheon Jin's mouth.
He could not listen any longer.
They had so easily thrown away Seol Suhwa's life, but they couldn't easily give up on the Young Palace Lord's life?
A faint aura was already flowing from Cheon Jin's body.
*Thud-*
At that mont, Daeyeoksan suddenly knelt down.
And he slamd his forehead hard on the floor and said.
"You are right, Leader!"
"..."
"But... there is no other place to ask for help."
The White Disease was a rare disease that only occurred in the North Sea, and only to those who handled the Ice Art.
Since the Ice Art itself was a very rare martial art, there would probably be no physician in the Central Plains with professional knowledge of the White Disease.
So the Ice Palace had no choice but to rely on the Demonic Cult.
The dical skills of the Demonic Cult that had prolonged Seol Suhwa's life, the Ice Palace needed that more than anything else now.
"If you help us this ti, the Ice Palace will forever rember that grace!"
"..."
"On behalf of the Palace Lord, I ask you again like this!"
*Thump-*
Daeyeoksan slamd his forehead on the floor once more.
Cheon Jin, who was watching him silently.
A ki full of anger was still flowing from Cheon Jin's body.
"..."
If he had his way, he didn't want to help.
No matter how much they had an alliance with the Ice Palace, wasn't that alliance almost broken from the mont Seol Suhwa had died?
Since it was an alliance ford by marriage from the beginning, Cheon Jin had been thinking that way from the mont Seol Suhwa had died.
However.
"Please... don't hate the Ice Palace."
Cheon Jin rembered the last words Seol Suhwa had left him before she died.
Her last will, telling him not to hate the Ice Palace.
Seol Suhwa had known better than anyone else that if she died, Cheon Jin would co to hate the Ice Palace.
And Cheon Jin still vividly rembered Seol Suhwa's last voice and expression.
"...Fine."
In the end, Cheon Jin, who said that, withdrawing his ki.
Everything was to keep his promise with Seol Suhwa.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Daeyeoksan said that and bowed his head repeatedly.
At that mont, a familiar voice was heard in Cheon Jin's ear.
"Thank you."
A nostalgic voice. But a voice he didn't want to rember.
At that voice coming from sowhere, Cheon Jin could not answer.
(End of Chapter)
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