Chapter 59: The Lifeline
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 59: The Lifeline
The attack by the masked men was dismissed as a minor disturbance before the start of the engagement ceremony.
"Status report?"
"The situation has been resolved."
Seol Su-hyeok, the Chief Officer, answered the question from the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, Seol Baek-ho.
"This is already the second time."
"My apologies. I will ensure that security is tightened."
"How do you think they managed to sneak in?"
"Since there was a month's time leading up to the engagement ceremony, it seems they infiltrated the Ice Palace gradually, one by one, over the course of that month."
"To think they slipped past the outer palace and made it all the way here without anyone noticing... it is an embarrassment to face the Demonic Cult and the people of the Central Plains."
"I am deeply sorry."
He could understand it happening once. Last time, there had been a traitor within the Council of Elders, so he could let it slide.
But this time, I’ll have to put some pressure on the Five Great Families.
They were far too lax. It seemed the rumor that the Ice Palace and the Demonic Cult were joining hands had spread far and wide across the Central Plains. The moment the blood alliance was finalized through this engagement ceremony...
The time will come to proclaim to the entire Jianghu that the Ice Palace is no longer the Ice Palace of old.
To achieve that...
"Hmm?"
"Where did the Family Head of the Yayul Demon Family go?"
"It appears he went toward the Captain of the Little Snow Unit and the Young Palace Lady."
The engagement ceremony had been delayed because the venue had turned into a scene of chaos. Since Hyeok Ryeon-yeom would be protecting his daughter’s safety, Seol Baek-ho had intended to share a few words with the various figures of the martial world.
"If you stay here and speak with the Moyong Merchant Group Leader, I will go and bring them back."
"I don't see the Young Palace Lord of Potala Palace either."
"It seems everyone has moved."
It appeared that only Seol Baek-ho and Seol Su-hyeok had remained steadfastly in their spots.
"...Should we have moved as well?"
"Because you remained here, Palace Lord, the venue was spared from further destruction."
"Children always seem to be a source of trouble."
Someone approached Seol Baek-ho as he spoke.
"You can say that again."
It was Moyong Jae, the Head of the Moyong Merchant Group.
"And where is Young Master Moyong?"
"You have taken in a fine matrilocal son-in-law. My son left his father behind, saying he had to protect the Young Palace Lady and Young Master Hyeok Ryeon."
"I see. Young Master Moyong is reaching marriageable age himself; shouldn't you be holding a ceremony for him soon?"
"There are no suitable matches. He says he still prefers work over women."
"That must be a heavy burden on your heart."
"Well, I believe he’ll figure things out on his own."
Moyong Jae displayed absolute trust and faith in Moyong Geum. Seol Baek-ho nodded at those words. He, too, possessed a steadfast belief that Seol Yerin would handle things well on her own.
"But... why are they taking so long? I thought you said all the masked men were repelled?"
"I will go and find out immediately."
Seol Su-hyeok left the ceremony grounds and began to gather information from his subordinates as to why they were unable to return from the distance.
A short while later.
"P-Palace Lord!"
A startled Seol Su-hyeok called out to Seol Baek-ho.
"What is it!"
"The—the Young Palace Lady!"
At those words, Seol Baek-ho’s figure vanished from the engagement hall in an instant.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
The fatal mistake was judging that there were no more threats after completely dealing with the masked men.
Thud.
Seol Yerin, who was about to walk back toward the engagement hall, collapsed.
"My Lady—!"
What had happened?
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom quickly scanned the surroundings. The masked men had been turned into ice statues. They were corpses that could never rise again. Among them, the only person who could be a threat was—
Snap!
He whipped his head around and glared at the Soft Jade Poison Demon. No, to be precise...
"Huff, huff!"
He looked at Yayul Jin, the Young Family Head of the Yayul Demon Family, who stood beside the Soft Jade Poison Demon, Yayul Cheon-woong, with his palm wide open.
"Just what... do you think you're doing?"
"That is exactly what I want to ask."
Yayul Cheon-woong was also staring at Yayul Jin. It seemed even he hadn't expected Yayul Jin, who had been infatuated with Seol Yerin’s beauty, to suddenly use poison.
"I asked... what you are doing!"
—It looks like he was manipulated.
As Hyeok Ryeon-yeom barked at Yayul Jin, the Sword Venerable examined the boy's condition and spoke.
—His eyes turned red for a moment and then went back to normal. I think he was hexed.
By whom?
Before he could even ponder that question—
Whoosh!
"I asked what you just did!"
Yayul Cheon-woong grabbed Yayul Jin by the collar and hoisted him up.
"Gah—F-Father... why are you suddenly doing th—"
Yayul Jin looked terrified, his expression genuinely confused. Seeing that face, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom bit his lip.
He knew about the Young Family Head of the Yayul Demon Family from his past life. He was a fool with a timid personality who took forever just to work up the nerve to poison someone. There was no way a guy like that had the mental fortitude to launch a sneak attack on Seol Yerin.
In other words, he really had been manipulated.
Whew.
He took a deep breath. He had to stay calm. The most important thing right now was Seol Yerin’s safety. He approached her and checked her pulse.
It’s slow, but the poison is spreading through her entire body.
He turned his head.
"Family Head, can you detoxify this?"
"I need to identify what kind of poison he had on him, but..."
Perhaps also concluding that Yayul Jin had been controlled, Yayul Cheon-woong set the boy down and began to examine Seol Yerin’s condition.
"No..."
"What is it?"
"This is the worst-case scenario. I am sorry, but this poison... cannot be detoxified right now."
"Why not?"
For the man known as the Soft Jade Poison Demon to say he couldn't detoxify it...
"I apologize. I don't know when he managed to bring it along... but it seems he used the Seven Steps Soul Severing Poison."
The Seven Steps Soul Severing Poison.
An extreme poison said to kill the victim before they can even take seven steps. More than anything, it was one of the worst possible poisons for someone from the Ice Palace. Once afflicted, the victim's Yin Qi begins to freeze their body, starting from the smallest joints.
For the Young Palace Lady, who practiced ice arts and possessed the Extreme Yin Body, it was the most incompatible poison imaginable.
"Then her life should be in immediate danger..."
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom suddenly realized why Seol Yerin’s condition wasn't as dire as expected. It was the Extreme Yang Qi he had injected into her earlier.
It burned away the poison, even if only a small amount.
Thank goodness. The Extreme Yang Qi he had shared, which was permeated throughout her body, was occupying the junctions of her energy flow. This made the poison's movement incredibly slow, and some of it had even been incinerated.
However, he could see Seol Yerin shivering, her face turning pale blue. With a hardened expression, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom asked.
"Is there any way to cure her?"
"To detoxify the Seven Steps Soul Severing Poison... several ingredients are required..."
"Wait... would you mind if this old man takes her pulse?"
Just then, an old man with a long, snow-white beard that contrasted with his bronzed skin appeared.
Flinch—
When did he...
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom hadn't noticed his approach at all. If this old man had intended to assassinate Seol Yerin and himself, they might have lost their lives in an instant.
—Ho-oh, an old man using a mysterious movement technique.
—Unlike his skin color, his eyes are full of vitality. I think it’s okay to let him try.
Hearing the words of the Sword Venerable and the Demon Empress, he didn't feel any ill intent from the man. Still...
"Who are you?"
He had to verify the man's identity. He couldn't just let anyone check Seol Yerin’s pulse.
"Just a passing physician."
A physician?
A bronzed-skinned physician. Something about it felt familiar, as if the memory was right on the tip of his tongue.
"Ugh—"
Seol Yerin let out a groan.
"Young Master, what shall we do?"
"I will allow it."
"Thank you."
The moment Hyeok Ryeon-yeom gave his permission, the old man’s figure vanished from before his eyes.
Puk— puk— puk—
Instantly grabbing Seol Yerin’s wrist to check her pulse, the old man pulled out needles and began to pierce her vital points.
"..."
If he had aimed for any lethal points, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom would have stopped him by any means necessary. But the old man was accurately piercing non-lethal acupoints.
"...Incredible hand-eye coordination."
Even the Soft Jade Poison Demon let out a gasp of admiration.
"Wait, that needle technique..."
As he continued to watch the old man’s work, the Soft Jade Poison Demon exclaimed.
"Why... are you here at the Ice Palace?"
"Ah, have I been caught? It’s been a long time, Cheon-woong."
He called the Soft Jade Poison Demon by his name?
"Family Head, if it’s not an intrusion, could you tell me who he is?"
"He is the Saintly Water Divine Physician, Seong Yi-han."
At Yayul Cheon-woong’s words, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s eyes widened like saucers.
The Saintly Water Divine Physician, Seong Yi-han.
He was the greatest Divine Physician in the Central Plains, known for treating any patient regardless of whether they were from the Orthodox, Unorthodox, or Demonic factions.
"...What happened to your skin color?"
It was hard to believe that an old man with skin shining like polished bronze was a physician with god-like medical skills.
"By the looks of it, it seems you’ve been to Nanman."
"You have a sharp eye. I was traveling through the Outlands because I was tired of the Jianghu, and I ended up looking like this after stopping by Nanman."
"What brings you all the way to the North Sea?"
"It was simply too hot, so I came up here to escape the heat. The North Sea is nice and cool."
As the Divine Physician stood up while holding his lower back, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom asked.
"What did that needle technique just now do?"
"It slowed the spread of the poison. It was fortunate that a small amount of fire energy remained in her body."
"Could you not have guided the poison out of her body entirely?"
"If it were any other poison, perhaps, but the Seven Steps Soul Severing Poison is difficult. One wrong move and she’d be on her way to the yellow springs immediately."
It seemed the only way to treat her was to obtain the medicinal ingredients to detoxify the poison.
"......Please tell me which ingredients I need to find."
"Hmm, as for herbs that can be found in the North Sea..."
Just as he was about to speak about the herbs.
"Yerin!"
His father-in-law made his appearance.
Whoosh—!
Without a word, his father-in-law reached out toward Seol Yerin.
"Not so fast."
Phut—
"Ugh."
A fine needle embedded itself into the back of his father-in-law’s hand.
"She is a patient. Calm yourself first."
Seol Baek-ho’s expression hardened as he looked at the needle in his hand.
"You are..."
"It’s been a long time, Ice Palace Lord."
"...You quack!"
Swish!
Seol Baek-ho’s fist flew toward the Divine Physician.
Boom!
However, that fist failed to reach the physician.
"...Captain of the Little Snow Unit?"
"A quack? Do you two know each other, Father-in-law?"
Throwing punches was just a waste of time. Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, who wanted to see Seol Yerin recover as quickly as possible, had blocked Seol Baek-ho’s fist despite the rudeness.
"Do not stop me! Do you have any idea how much that quack doctor squeezed out of me in the past using Yerin as an excuse?!"
It seemed the Divine Physician had examined Seol Yerin in the past. And apparently, he had taken a lot of money without showing any significant results.
When Hyeok Ryeon-yeom turned his head to look at the Divine Physician...
"Ahem, that’s all in the past! It’s a miracle the Extreme Yin Body is even still alive!"
"So, is what you said just now the truth, or a lie?"
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s expression contorted into something truly demonic.
"Ho-ho, it looks like you’re ready to clear away a corpse if I say it’s a lie. Didn't the Poison Demon say it? Medicinal ingredients are needed to treat the Seven Steps Soul Severing Poison. There isn't a single penny's worth of a lie mixed in. This poison grows by feeding on Yin Qi, but ironically, it can be washed away and circulated out of the body by extremely pure Yin Qi that has aged over many years. If done correctly, it can even become an elixir that strengthens the body. However, the problem is that you need medicinal plants that have harbored pure Yin Qi for a very long time."
"What are those ingredients?"
"The Dark Yin Myriad Year Herb and the Clear Brightness Water."
They were both ingredients he had never heard of before.
"Where can I find them?"
"That is..."
"Those are herbs that are passed down like legends even in the North Sea! If they could be found, I would have found them and fed them to Yerin long ago!"
His father-in-law poured out his sorrow. Past events didn't matter to Hyeok Ryeon-yeom. The present was more important.
"So, are you saying you don't know where to find them?"
Then what about Seol Yerin? Was he supposed to just let her die like that? He could never allow that.
Just then.
—Ahem.
The Sword Venerable cleared his throat.
Snap!
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s head whipped around.
—Elder?
—...What a quick-witted fellow. Those two ingredients. I believe I know where to find them.
A lifeline known as the Snow Wind Sword Venerable descended toward Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.