“Where is Father?”

“…He’s not here.”

“You didn’t tell him?”

“I didn’t. He made it clear—anyone else hearing about it is fine, but absolutely do not let Father find out. Said if we do, he’d just die. Bastard’s insane.”

If you knew even a little about the man called Seol Muryeon, that much was perfectly understandable.

How had this whole situation started?

It all began with Seol Muryeon’s mistake—smuggling away the Thousand-Year Serpent in secret.

If that mistake were to become public knowledge, his dignity as a Polar Descendant would inevitably be damaged.

So, resolving the issue before it spread was the ideal course of action.

“Youngest… He’s not going to die like this, is he?”

Among the Polar Descendants, the one who cared most about family was Seol Yeonhwa. That was undeniable.

Her worry seeped from her every movement and word—there was no hiding it.

“Don’t worry.”

At Unwi’s firm reply, Seol Yeonhwa looked up.

“Second Brother’s pride—and his life—will not be harmed today.”

She stared blankly at Unwi, steady and reliable as ever, then slowly smiled.

Truly—

No matter how often she saw him, she still couldn’t get used to it.

“Please rest.”

Unwi walked into the chamber, leaving only Seol Yeonhwa and Cheonpung in the courtyard.

Seol Yeonhwa turned her head.

<!–

–>

Cheonpung grinned sheepishly.

“You are truly beautiful.”

“…Thank you.”

***

The moment he stepped into the chamber, Unwi’s brow furrowed.

The stench of rotting blood and pus hit him with overwhelming force.

He looked ahead.

Second Brother lay in the center, surrounded by three physicians.

Everywhere—piles of used medicinal ingredients, shattered elixirs, and blood-soaked, discolored cloths littered the floor.

It was a grotesque scene.

Unwi narrowed his eyes.

His brother’s face was deathly pale, and with every breath, his chest heaved violently.

No doubt—he had swallowed the inner core of the Thousand-Year Serpent.

Unwi approached in silence and spoke.

“Physicians. Please step out.”

“…But…”

“I say this with full respect. I know Second Brother didn’t want word of this to reach Father’s ears. Surely, he trusted you enough to allow your presence. But time is of the essence. Please.”

It was the man lying in bed who responded.

With great effort, he opened his eyes and said to the physicians:

“…All of you. Leave.”

“…C-Commander…!”

“…Kugh… I said leave.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, the physicians exited. The room was now silent, containing only Unwi and his brother.

Unwi moved straight to his brother’s side and took his pulse.

His internal energy was in utter chaos, and his pulse wildly irregular. Worst of all—his blood had turned dark and murky.

His meridians, and even his blood itself, were contaminated.

If Unwi had arrived even a day later, the meridians would’ve rotted beyond salvation.

“You’ve pushed yourself far too hard.”

“…Can you… treat me?”

“I can.”

“…Then… please.”

It was the first time.

He and Second Brother had never shared many conversations.

Not in childhood. Not even at the moment of his death in the original timeline.

Honestly, Unwi knew almost nothing about Second Brother.

That was the extent of it.

But he didn’t want to bury another corpse. So he would heal him.

In silence, he drew up his Hollow Qi and gently flowed it into his brother’s meridians.

“There’s something you need to know first. The Thousand-Year Serpent isn’t just any spirit beast. It’s a crystallization of heaven-and-earth that took a thousand years to form.”

White mist began to rise from his brother’s body.

This was part of the transformation—his Hollow Qi was shifting into Ice-Snow Qi.

Unwi was freezing his brother’s meridians.

“Swallowing its inner core without any refinement is something only those at the level of Martial God Five Scriptures should attempt.”

“…I’m at the Harmonization Realm… That’s not enough?”

“No. Natural qi and heaven-and-earth qi are different. Though they share the same origin.”

The pain had subsided. His brother’s eyes opened, now clear and sharp.

“All things in the world stem from a single principle. Right now, I’m transforming the Thousand-Year Serpent’s qi lodged in your meridians into something between natural and heaven-and-earth qi. Naturally, the result will lie somewhere between Poison-Immunity and Absolute Poison-Immunity…”

“…You mean… it can be done?”

“Yes. It can. I’m guessing you called me instead of Father because you believed the one who first exposed the infiltration at Viper Valley would also offer a solution. Am I right?”

“…You are.”

“Then I’ve given you your answer. Calling me instead of Father was the right decision—but still a deeply foolish one.”

His brother closed his eyes, as if not denying it.

His expression was peaceful—clear of all pain.

That was how it should be.

Every point of potential pain had been frozen. If there were still pain, it would mean there was an error in Unwi’s flow of qi—and his control wasn’t so lacking as to allow that.

And then—

“Now comes the most important part.”

“…”

“If you had only swallowed the Thousand-Year Serpent’s inner core, I could have melted it down without pain. But you… chewed the serpent raw.”

My brother opened his eyes and let out a painful laugh.

“Ha… haha… I figured you’d know.”

“That wasn’t just foolish—it was insanity. Even your blood is tainted. I’ll have to purify every last drop.”

“…Is that… even possible?”

“It is. And there’s only one reason I’ve said this much.”

Just one.

“What’s coming will be excruciating. So painful, you’ll wish you were dead. You’ll feel the urge to bite off your own tongue, gouge out your own eyes. But you must endure it. Can you do that?”

“I am… a Polar Descendant. I can endure.”

“Understood.”

I didn’t bother sealing his pressure points.

A fool should pay the price for his own mistake.

I wanted to see my brother’s will for myself.

Why?

Why did Father consider the second brother—not the eldest—the heir apparent of the palace?

Today, I intended to find out.

“I’ll begin.”

The Ice-Snow Qi penetrated his body.

Because the Thousand-Year Serpent’s spiritual energy had already seeped deeply into his blood, freezing the meridians alone wouldn’t suffice.

The blood itself had to be replaced.

It was like diverting a river.

Purify the blood tainted by the serpent’s energy, and transform it into a new type of qi.

Most people couldn’t even conceive of such a method. Only a divine healer of peerless skill—or one of Viper Valley’s poison masters—might attempt something like this.

Naturally, the difficulty was extreme.

As the Ice-Snow Qi burrowed into his blood vessels—

“Urgh… Uuuugh…!”

His screams echoed throughout the chamber, and his body began to tremble violently.

I watched his condition closely.

Beneath his skin, darkened veins were visible.

They slowly began to turn white.

The white mist that had previously shrouded the chamber now thickened, growing denser with each passing moment.

“GAAAH!”

The screams grew louder.

His back arched like a bow.

Dark blood poured from his mouth.

He clenched his teeth until they nearly shattered, but even that couldn’t stop the blood from leaking out.

And yet—

He didn’t bite his tongue. He didn’t mutilate himself.

It surprised me.

My brother’s willpower was beyond expectation.

To remain conscious under such pain meant this went beyond simple pride as a Polar Descendant.

“Brother.”

He looked at me with bloodshot, burst vessels in his eyes—no, not glared. Looked.

“Half of the serpent’s energy has been transformed. But the worst is still ahead.”

“…I can take it. Keep going.”

His voice trembled, but the will in it was firm.

“You’re enduring even this pain without losing consciousness…”

He clenched his jaw silently.

If he kept this up much longer, I worried his teeth might actually crack.

I had to accelerate, if only to spare him that.

The Ice-Snow Qi pushed deeper.

The dark-blue currents flowing through his blood vessels began to change one by one. It was like poison flowing through a river being replaced by clear spring water.

“Grrgh…!”

He gripped the floor. Blood seeped from beneath his fingernails, but still—he didn’t black out.

“Right now, the Thousand-Year Serpent’s energy and the Ice-Snow Qi are colliding inside your body.”

“…Don’t speak!”

He cut me off.

“To collapse from this level of pain…! That would be a disgrace!”

I reflected on his words.

The heir apparent—the position he so desperately sought.

I used to think it was just about power or prestige, but… maybe it wasn’t.

Soon, the tainted qi had completely disappeared from his meridians.

The dark veins under his skin had faded, and his breathing had stabilized.

A faint, pure light glowed over his body—like fresh snow just fallen.

I felt his pulse.

Stable.

Only after /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ confirming that did I slowly withdraw my hand.

“You should be alright now.”

“…What exactly did you do?”

He opened his pain-clouded eyes slowly. His voice was exhausted, but clear.

“I transformed the Thousand-Year Serpent’s energy. It’s part of you now—but how much of it you refine, how you repair the meridians it damaged… that’s up to you.”

“…Part of me…”

Lying down, he lifted his hand.

Veins faintly tinged with blue bulged along his arm. It looked grotesque, but for now, it was stable.

I was curious.

“Why did you make that choice?”

“…”

“The Apothecaries of the Ice-Cold Medicine Hall are highly skilled. Among them, Chief Apothecary Manryang is especially exceptional—worthy of overseeing the entire hall.”

“…I heard you don’t get along with him.”

“True. But I’ve never doubted his skill. If you’d gone to Manryang, he could’ve helped you absorb the serpent’s inner core safely—without nearing death.”

“…But I’d have to give up the blood.”

The serpent’s blood holds one singular benefit—

It strengthens the meridians.

By any measure, the Thousand-Year Serpent was an extraordinary spirit beast.

“…Seol Unwi.”

“Yes, Second Brother.”

“You think I covet the heir’s seat?”

His voice was deep—like a ravine in a frozen mountain range.

I grew serious as well.

Why did Father consider him the next Palace Lord, but never declare it?

I couldn’t say for sure what the eldest brother’s thoughts were, but at this moment, there was one thing I felt certain of.

“No. I don’t believe you seek the position of heir.”

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