Chapter 406

nsidethemovingcarriage,SeolUnhwigazedoutthewindow.

Seatedacrossfromhim,ChiefSeongcarefullyopenedhismouth.

“YoungMaster.”

“Mm.”

“sthis...evenpossible?”

Withouttakinghiseyesoffthewindow,SeolUnhwireplied,

“Whattroublesyousomuch?”

“o...it’sjust...”

ChiefSeongstudiedhimclosely.

“Fromwhatsaw,thosewereabsolutelynotinjuriesthatcouldhealinsuchashorttime.”

“...”

“Butrightnow,YoungMaster,you...”

ChiefSeongshookhishead.

“YoulookevenhealthierthanbeforeyourfightwithSeolCheonhwa.”

AfaintsmirkformedonSeolUnhwi’slips.

“henyousawcorrectly.”

ChiefSeong’seyeswidened.

“DidthePalaceordperhapsgiveyounnaterueQi—”

“o.”

SeolUnhwipaused.

“egavemesomethingfarmorevaluable.”

“Whatisit?”

“hefuture.”

“...Pardon?”

ChiefSeongaskedagain.

SeolUnhwispokequietly,stilllookingoutside.

“receivedatreasurethatexistsonlyonceinthisworld.”

BeforeChiefSeongcouldaskfurther—

“en-housand-YearceCrystal.”

“Ugh—!”

hesuddenwordsnearlymadeChiefSeongjumpoutofhisseat.

“Wh...whatdidyousay?”

“en-housand-YearceCrystal.”

AtSeolUnhwi’scalmrepetition,ChiefSeongcouldnotclosehismouth.

“...sthat...somethingahumancanevenconsume?”

“Whocouldeasilyenduretenthousandyearsofessence?venwouldstruggle.”

“hen...?”

“Myfatherrefinedit.”

“...a...”

ChiefSeongexhaledindisbelief.

“egaveittomeandleft.oldmetosaynothingandjustconsumeit.”

“...”

“Withsomethinglikethat,howcouldpossiblyrest?”

SeolUnhwiletoutabittersmile.

ChiefSeong’sexpressiongrewcomplicated.

esimplycouldnotunderstand.

his...wasdifficult.

SeolUnhwiwasundoubtedlyextraordinary.

Buttogivehimtheen-housand-YearceCrystal?

WhentheYoungPalaceord,Seoloryeong,alreadyexisted?

Andyet,SeolUnhwiwasnotsomeonewhowouldstandinoppositiontoSeoloryeong.

Afteramoment’shesitation,ChiefSeongasked,

“You...aren’t,areyou?”

eunderstoodwhatthatmeant.

ButSeolUnhwididnotanswer.

“...Understood.”

ChiefSeongnodded.

“omatterwhathappens,followyou.Youknowthat,right?”

“fcourse.”

“henthat’sarelief—”

iswordswerecutoff.

hecarriagecametoanabrupthalt.

Crunch—

hen,fromthedriver’sseat,JuSoa’svoicerangout.

“Commander...?thinkyoushouldcomeoutforamoment.”

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—

stillremembered.

hosemomentsfromthepastwhenshehadtormentedhim.

neofthecausesthathaddrivenhimtofleetheSnowPalace.

fcourse,nomatterhowbitterthatpastwas,hehadnodesiretodragitintothepresent.

ewasnotsoidleastosettleeverytrivialgrievance.

But—

Sakryeongspoke.

“Donotcrosstheline.”

ehadnotexpectedthosewords.

“heline...?”

SeolUnhwislowlyraisedhishead.

iseyeslockedontohers.

“Firstady.”

“Speak—”

“heonecrossingtheline...appearstobeyou.”

“...Whatdidyousay?”

ergazeturnedicy.

SeolUnhwisteppedforward.

nestep.

wo.

estoppeddirectlybeforeher.

Atthatmoment—

Shing—!

twasnotSeolUnhwiwhomoved—

butChiefSeong.

ottowardhim—

buttowardthewomanstandingbehindSakryeong.

Beforeanyonerealized,ChiefSeong’sswordwasalreadyatherthroat.

ereyeswidened.

Anceuardnvoy.

achofthethreewivesoftheSnowPalacewasassignedaguard.

heircultivationwasatleasttheDivineransformationrealm.

heywerecalledceuardnvoys.

heoneprotectingtheFirstady—

theFirstceuardnvoy.

ChiefSeonghadseenit.

erhandmovingtowardthehiltofhersword.

“owinsolent.owdareamereceuardnvoydrawabladebeforeaPolareir.”

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.venthoughshehadcreatedthosememoriesoftormentinmychildhood—letitpass.”

“...”

“Becausestillrememberedthatsheoncegavemeasinglewoundmedicinewhenhadnowheretoturn.”

Sakryeong’seyestrembled.

“Butwhatdidyoudo?”

“hatis—”

“Youonlygaveorders.”

isvoicegrewcolder.

“Donotentertheapothecary.Donotstepontothetraininggrounds...”

epaused.

“hereismore.Doyouremember?”

Shestaggeredback.

Killingintentfilledhiseyes.

“Doyouthink...”

esteppedforward.

“...thatcannotkillyou?”

Sakryeongswallowed.

“MyattachmenttotheSnowPalaceisdeep.”

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—

SeolUnhwiwastrulysomeonewhowoulddoit.

eloweredhishand.

henclaspedhishandsbehindhisbackandlookeddownather.

“nthepast,beforemymotherdied,theSnowPalaceattemptedtodispatchphysicians.”

erface⊛оvеlιght⊛(Readthefullstory)turnedpale.

“Butyoublockeditbeforehand.sthatcorrect?”

“...no...that’snot...”

“Myfathernevertoldmedirectly.”

SeolUnhwilookedupatthesky.

“Buthaveears.Andeyes.”

“...”

“venwhendidnotwishtohear,heard.”

Silence.

“fcourse,eveniftheyhadcome,nothingwouldhavechanged.”

elookedbackather.

“Butthefactthatithappenedatall...”

isgazefrozelikeice.

“...isenoughtomakeapersonangry.”

“...”

“havenodesiretodragpasttiesintothepresent.”

einhaleddeeply.

xhaled.

“Butwantedyoutounderstandthatmuch.”

elookedather.

“fweretofollowmyheart—wouldkillyou.”

“...M...me?amoftheSnowPalace—”

erwordsdied.

“wouldtearyouapartintoathousand,tenthousandpieces—andkillyou.”

isvoicewascoldbeyondmeasure.

“donotparticularlyenjoykilling.Butyou—wouldliketo.”

veryonewatchedhim.

JuSoa.

amgungWonyang.

ChiefSeong.

heceuardnvoy.

AndSakryeong.

“Butwillnot.”

“...”

“fdo,myfatherwillbedisappointed.Andmyelderbrotherwilltrulygrieve.”

elookeddownather.

“emayevenstopeatingandcollapseentirely.”

“...”

“knowheisstrong.Butifhismotherweretobecomelikethat...”

isvoicetrembledslightly.

“Andifitwerebythehandsoftheyoungerbrotherhetrusted—”

eclosedhiseyes.

“heshockwouldbedoubled.”

Silencelingered.

“Asforthematterofthephysicians.”

eopenedhiseyes.

“Myfatherdoesnotknowthatknow.”

“...”

“Youshouldkeepitthatway.Andensureyourenvoykeepssilentaswell.hatmuch,youarecapableof,aren’tyou?Youoncesilencedmeasachild.”

esteppedback.

“Soletuseachdowhatwemust.”

isvoicewascold.

“hisiswhereweendit.Betweenyouandme.Understood?”

“...”

“Answer.”

“...Understood.”

ervoicetrembled.

SeolUnhwiextendedhishand.

Shehesitated—

thentookit.

erbodystillshaking.

epulledhertoherfeet.

henspokequietly.

“fyoubelieve...”

ishandcametorestonhershoulder.

“...thatthisSnowPalacebelongstoyou—”

isgriptightened.

Shegrabbedhiswristwithbothhands.

tdidnotmove.

“Abandonthatthought.ow.”

“......”

“Youaremerelythemotherofmyelderbrother.hisSnowPalacewillneverbelongtoyou,nortotheeavenlySnowSect.Knowyourplace.”

ereleasedher.

hencontinued,

“willsaythisclearly.fyouthreatenthestabilityoftheSnowPalace,disruptitsorder,orusepowerforpersonalgreed—”

iskillinggazepiercedher.

“Youwilldie.Withoutexception.”

“...Ah...”

“Andifanyoneattemptstostopmeinthatprocess—”

isvoicefelllikeablade.

“heywilldieaswell.”