Lothar finished, "Right now, the priority is to get help for Ciril. I''ve sent for Abel Loggins from the capital


    —he''ll be here soon."


    At those words, Yed released Ned''s cor while growling, "You''re lucky this time!"


    Ned stumbled backward, his brows knitted in frustration.


    "Oh, you have nothing to worry about," Lothar suddenly said, looking between everyone pointedly.


    "Ciril is Ascendant rank—once he regains consciousness, who and how he was poisoned would be


    revealed. He''d know better than anyone. If any of you are present, I will not hold back. This is an


    attempt on my brother''s life, and it entails a summary execution!"


    Pa''s fingers twitched at Lothar''s threat, her expression unnatural as she sneaked a look at Yed.


    Yed nodded at her in turn, assuring her to stay calm since they would never be exposed.


    After all, they knew better than anyone that Ciril had been poisoned with the Taut Snow Tree.


    The Taut Snow Tree sounded like a tree, but it was anything but—it was the one of most potent


    poisons that Hundred Bane Sect had in their disposal. It was meant for use against Ascendant ranks


    and named for the symptoms the victims exhibited.


    If the poison was not cleared in a day, the ice-type poison would permeate their body, disabling their


    ability to regte their body temperature.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    At that point, they would die frozen stiff, like a tree in the snow.


    There was actually a simple cure to it—one just had to cover themselves in the golden sands of the


    northwest and charge oneself with pure vigor to clear out the poison.


    However, two factors worked against that. The first was that the poison acted quickly and confounded


    the mind.


    The second was that even if martial elites recognized the poison, golden sand was not easily avable.


    In other words, there was just no stopping the Taut Snow Tree in time, and one could only watch as the


    victim became a ''snow tree'' themselves.


    Soon, Abel Loggins rushed to the scene, led inside by the men Lothar sent.


    Abel''s hair and beard was white, and he stood aside as he studied Ciril for a long while.


    Eventually, he shook his head and sighed. "It''s toote...!"


    Lothar hurried to him and asked, "What''s the problem, Mr. Loggins? What has my brother been


    poisoned with? Can''t it be treated?"


    Abel shook his head helplessly. "This poison is called the Taut Snow Tree. It''s a poison that Hundred


    Bane Sect wields—virtually undetectable, it''s almost toote when it''s finally discovered. It''s ice-type,


    and only the golden sand of the northwest is needed to treat it in a day... judging the time since the


    poison took effect, it''s been almost a day now. You should arrange for his funeral matters."


    Abel sighed again and started to leave.


    "Wait, what?!" Lothar hurried to stop him, pleading, "Please, Mr. Loggins! You have to do something.


    My brother has led a grand life, and he really doesn''t deserve such a horrible death! Just help him. I''ll


    agree to anything you might ask!"


    Nearby, Ned could see the sincerity in Lothar''s gaze and sighed lengthily.


    As biological brothers, the bond between Lothar and Ned''s father Ciril was genuinely fire forged.


    In contrast, Yed was ready to frame him or even kill him just to seed their father as head of the


    family.


    Talk aboutmentable.


    That was when Ned suddenly touched his pocket and found a yellow pill, and he did a double take.


    "Ice-type poison. Right!" He abruptly remembered the pill that Frank passed to him at the bar, calling it


    a Yellow Shrive or something, that would temporarily stop the poison and buy time.


    With that in mind, he quickly took the pill out of his pocket.