“...Hm?”
“Address it to Gun Mugeol, or to the currently vacant Deputy Alliance Leader position. If there is something you wish to extract from the Murim Alliance, lightly mention what happened during the Murim Alliance incident, then write what you want and send it. They will give it to you on their own.”
“...So the third is a gift.”
“Yes.”
“...Why?”
Judging by the tone alone, it could have been understood as an invitation to fight, but now that matters had come to this, Man Seokcheong was instead bewildered.
They had hidden blades in their words, provoked each other, and provoked each other again. And now, all of a sudden, he was giving him a gift?
“Windwall is harsh. It is land of the snowy mountains, and its environment is poor. I simply cannot ignore the sincerity with which you have helped Commander Ma Suhyeok, both materially and emotionally.”
“...”
“That is all.”
Man Seokcheong thought.
This bastard truly is impossible to understand.
“...I will accept it.”
“Then please give me what you are to give me.”
Man Seokcheong sat in place for a moment, staring at Unhwi, then slowly rose.
“Follow me.”
Man Seokcheong guided Unhwi to the study.
A vast room.
Books filled the walls.
There were ordinary books as well, but most were records.
From among them, Man Seokcheong pulled out three volumes and handed them to Unhwi.
“These are the earliest records concerning the Chaotic Heaven Gate.”
Unhwi accepted them, opened one, and immediately began reading.
Five hundred years ago.
Chaotic Heaven Region, north of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain.
The ground suddenly shook.
Then black light emerged from the center of the clearing.
The light exploded, and a hole opened.
Monsters poured out from that hole.
Several thousand of them.
They had human forms, but they were not human.
They had no reason and knew only slaughter.
On-guk collapsed under those thousands, and the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace annihilated them.
Unhwi turned the page.
He kept reading.
After that, the Chaotic Heaven Gate opened periodically.
Once every ten years.
The number of monsters also increased.
And they grew stronger.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace, having built Windwall, named them Chaotic Heaven Ones.
They named the Five Godly Realms-grade Chaotic Heaven Ones Chaotic Heaven Kings.
And they began calling the gate from which they appeared the Chaotic Heaven Gate.
Though it is uncertain whether such beings exist, according to the internal opinion of the Seolcheon Guard that there may be beings above the Chaotic Heaven Kings, a hypothetical enemy called a Chaotic Heaven Lord was established, and they were tracked.
However, there were no gains.
Aside from that, there was nothing special.
Thinking so, he opened the final volume and swiftly read through it.
And there, Unhwi found a strange sentence.
In the fourth month of the Wood Snake year, a martial artist of the Seolcheon Guard confirmed that five Chaotic Heaven Kings were moving together.
Even though they discovered the martial artist of the Seolcheon Guard, they did not rush at him and instead simply passed by.
That part bothered him slightly.
Unhwi silently closed the book.
Man Seokcheong asked,
“Did you gain anything?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“I thought as much.”
Man Seokcheong continued.
“Chaotic Heaven Ones appear in the Chaotic Heaven Region, we fight them, kill them, and clean things up. That has been the entire history of the last several hundred years. All of that is written there, and aside from it, there is nothing else worth consulting.”
“Shouldn’t the fundamental cause be removed?”
“How would one identify that cause?”
“...”
“Do you perhaps think that has not been attempted until now?”
“Have you tried?”
“We have. Formations, arts, everything was mobilized to understand it again and again, but nothing could be grasped. That is why no one knows. That is the conclusion reached over several hundred years by not only Snow Palace, but also Windwall.”
“I see.”
Unhwi nodded.
He had not expected much.
How could Man Seokcheong be any different?
Unhwi handed the book in his hand back to Man Seokcheong.
“Thank you, Manor Lord.”
“...You are an incomprehensible one.”
“Even so, it was a great help.”
“...”
“I will take my leave.”
As Unhwi turned around, Man Seokcheong stopped him.
“Mysterious Snow Palace Lord.”
Unhwi turned his head.
“Thank you for saving Yeonhwa.”
“It was something I naturally had to do.”
“...”
“Do you have more to say?”
Man Seokcheong closed his eyes for a moment.
Unhwi’s childhood.
How could he not know that past?
He had simply considered him a competitor. Not Man Seokcheong’s competitor, but the competitor of Seol Muryun or Seol Yeonhwa.
In the end, why had he sent his daughter to the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace?
To bear children and make them successors of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace.
That had been the greatest purpose, and after that came the growth of Seolhwa Mountain Manor.
Though the first had failed, the second had succeeded greatly.
Of course, Man Seokcheong had not created Unhwi’s unfortunate childhood.
Nor had he led it.
Yeonhwa, of course, and Muryun as well had firmly told him not to do so, and he had listened.
He had merely looked away.
Man Seokcheong performed a formal salute toward Unhwi.
“For your past, I am sorry.”
“Is that an apology?”
“It is. A sincere one.”
Unhwi nodded.
“I can feel it.”
“...”
“But you need not apologize. My past is something I made myself, and I acted that way, and I failed to overcome it. However.”
Unhwi’s eyes were serious.
“If it is to ease your own heart, then yes. I accept it. So please do not concern yourself with it any longer. I cast off that past long ago as well.”
“...”
“I will take my leave.”
Unhwi moved his steps. As Man Seokcheong watched Unhwi’s back slowly disappear, he exhaled the breath he had been holding.
It was astonishing.
No, he was nearly speechless.
That child from the past had grown like that?
Even if the sky split in two, he would not have thought such a thing possible, yet the result stood before his eyes.
Good heavens.
“...It was wise not to make him an enemy.”
He meant it.
***
After leaving Seolhwa Mountain Manor, Unhwi stopped in place when he saw the two people waiting outside the gate.
Seol Muryun.
And a woman.
Mid-twenties.
Beautiful.
But what stood out more than that beauty was her gaze.
The cold, sharp eyes of a martial artist.
And hair shining white.
Snow Spirit Seol Yeonhwa.
The third Polar Heir.
Unhwi looked at them.
Seol Muryun gave a faint laugh.
“Yeonhwa was waiting.”
Seol Yeonhwa looked at Unhwi.
“Youngest.”
“Yes, elder sister.”
“It’s only been a few days, but somehow it feels like it’s been a very long time.”
Many things had happened in those few days.
For Seol Yeonhwa, and for Unhwi as well.
Especially in Seol Yeonhwa’s case, the events at the Murim Alliance must have kept weighing on her mind.
In the end, it came down to one thing.
Weakness.
It had happened because she had been weak.
“I feel as though even thanking you over and over would not be enough.”
Unhwi shook his head.
“There is no need. I merely did what I naturally had to do. And it was not someone else.”
Unhwi smiled faintly.
“It was you, elder sister.”
Seol Yeonhwa’s eyes wavered.
“You’ve grown up. Our youngest.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m glad. But it seems our youngest’s habit of not listening cannot be fixed no matter what.”
“Is that so?”
“I told you not to overdo it, yet I heard you caught a Chaotic Heaven King?”
“I did catch one.”
Yeonhwa pointed at Seol Muryun beside her.
“He probably didn’t show it, but he was terribly restless.”
When Unhwi looked at Seol Muryun with strange eyes, he gave a false cough.
Seol Yeonhwa smiled faintly.
“I don’t listen either, but you really seem even worse.”
Unhwi smiled as well.
“I suppose so.”
Seol Muryun approached.
“When we are alone, you call me elder brother and use polite speech, but whenever someone else is present, you speak casually.”
Seol Yeonhwa turned her head, pretending not to hear.
The three naturally smiled and walked together.
They moved away from Seolhwa Mountain Manor.
As they silently walked along the snow-covered road, Seol Yeonhwa opened her mouth.
“Youngest.”
“Yes, elder sister.”
“Both I and that one over there have roughly guessed it.”
“What are you referring to?”
“You intend to leave Snow Palace, don’t you?”
Unhwi’s steps stopped abruptly.
Naturally, Seol Muryun and Seol Yeonhwa stopped as well.
“You dealt with the Elder Council, and as punishment for that, you headed to the Chaotic Heaven Region. But youngest, it’s not as if we don’t know Father’s personality. He did not punish you. He gave you justification, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“Because you truly wanted to investigate the Chaotic Heaven Region?”
“Yes.”
“Both I and that one may think we are moving quickly in our own way, but when we look at you, we become slow, sluggish turtles.”
At Seol Yeonhwa’s words, Seol Muryun shrugged. It was not wrong. Whether he was before the Divine Transformation realm, or before the Harmony realm, putting all that aside, Unhwi’s growth speed was beyond overwhelming. It was wondrous.
They had cast aside the idea of competing from the beginning.
“Do you think only we see it that way?”
“...”
“Eldest brother will probably be similar. And he will gradually begin to think. Is it right for me to sit in the Young Palace Lord seat?”
Seol Muryun tried to stop her, but Seol Yeonhwa raised a hand and blocked him.
With a click of his tongue, Seol Muryun crossed his arms.
“And with your personality, you would never deliberately do something that would place eldest brother or Snow Palace in difficulty. Right?”
“Yes.”
“Then there is only one option. Other than leaving Snow Palace.”
Unhwi smiled gently and said,
“You have grown greatly.”
Seol Yeonhwa and Seol Muryun’s eyes widened.
He had no intention of denying it.
“I intend to leave Snow Palace.”
“...So it really was true.”
“Yes. But please do not worry. My heart will always face the snowy mountains.”
“Does Father... know?”
“Yes. He knows.”
The two siblings looked at each other, then let out sighs.
“Then there is nothing to be done. Surely, you must have made the best choice.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Unhwi looked at the two of them.
Seol Muryun and Seol Yeonhwa.
His second elder brother and third elder sister.
Family.
In his previous life, he had failed to protect them. Nor had he become this close to them.
But at every moment, he had wanted to become closer. Like the fool who had only run away.
What he regretted most was betraying his father’s expectations and fleeing, but the next thing he regretted most was failing to protect the only family he had in this world.
When he learned that his own talent was at least above that of a talented man.
He had truly regretted it. Regretted it, and regretted it again.
Now, he no longer regretted.
Because he had achieved and gained so much.
Unhwi performed a formal salute.
“To my elder brother and elder sister, this youngest offers his thanks.”
The two siblings’ eyes widened.
“I always wished to tell you. That I was grateful.”
“...”
“Every day, until the moment I die, I will think of you with gratitude.”
“...But we are the ones who received grace...”
“You gave to me first, and so I gave in return. In the end, those acts of grace were created by you, elder brother and elder sister.”
“...”
“Thank you.”
After lowering his salute, Unhwi could see Seol Muryun smiling.
“Isn’t that only natural? You are our younger brother.”
Seol Yeonhwa smiled as well.
“Yes. It is only natural.”
“...”
“So be sure to come back. Understand?”
“I understand.”
Unhwi turned around.
He walked toward Windwall.
He did not look back.
From behind him came Seol Yeonhwa’s voice.
“...Go well, youngest.”
Seol Muryun’s voice also came.
“Return alive.”
Unhwi raised his hand.
