“Of all the versions of you I’ve seen, you look the coolest right now.”
Chwima was the sort to take such words with a flourish.
“We simply haven’t met enough yet. Considering all the cool sides of me you’ve yet to see, we’re practically meeting for the first time. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Young Cult Leader.”
He liked joking around like this, and he was good at laying his feelings bare. That was why, at times, Chwima seemed like a weak person.
But he was not. Chwima was stronger than anyone. I thought he was stronger precisely because he was someone who wavered. His wavering was the kind that came from trying to find his proper place.
And he was lonelier than anyone. Whenever I saw him, the first image that came to mind was always of him sitting alone in a small boat, drinking.
I looked down at Ian, who was standing beside the carriage, and said,
“Brother will take care of everything for us. This time, let’s just relax and enjoy the snow. Find us a place that cooks well. Since we came all this way, we should try everything before we leave.”
Ian smiled and said,
“First, let’s eat these noodles.”
She sprang lightly upward with the noodles in hand.
We sat side by side on the carriage roof and ate the noodles.
“Oh? These are good. Why are they so good?”
I added my own fuss to Chwima’s admiration.
“Right? I was shocked too. I thought the chef from the Heavenly Demon Hall had secretly stopped by.”
Ian laughed, pleased.
“Next time, I’ll make you something even better.”
And so, sitting on the carriage roof, we emptied even the broth completely.
“Now then, since our bellies are full, shall we go?”
“I’ll drive the carriage.”
Ian hopped down and sat in the driver’s seat.
“We’re departing.”
Chwima and I simply remained on the carriage roof. If we rode inside, those unpleasant fellows would be sleeping there anyway. This was cooler and better.
As the carriage sped on, Chwima said,
“Perhaps this matter with the North Blood Sect and the lord’s death are connected.”
I nodded. They might be separate incidents that happened by chance, or they might not be. One thing was certain: the Blood King was behind this affair. That very Blood King, an opponent exceedingly troublesome and perilous to face.
“In the end, we’ll come to know the whole truth. The North Blood Sect and the Northern Sea Ice Palace—we’ll resolve both matters before we return.”
Seeing Chwima nod at my words, I added with a flourish,
“Ah, my mistake. Not we. Brother will resolve them before we return.”
The carriage swiftly crossed the snowfield, where endless snow stretched out toward the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
* * *
Geom Mugeuk, Ian, and Chwima ascended to the Palace Lord’s Hall under Han Seol’s guidance.
Since the Northern Sea Ice Palace had accepted the deal, they were going to formally greet the Ice Palace Lord.
Ian, who had said she was extremely nervous about meeting the Ice Palace Lord for the first time, marveled at the circular staircase whose color changed with the light.
“It was built so beautifully.”
Unlike her, Geom Mugeuk sensed a faint killing intent from the staircase. It was not killing intent produced by a person.
‘A mechanism.’
Since everything was transparent and visible within, it seemed impossible for there to be mechanisms anywhere. He could not even imagine how these beautiful ice walls, stairs, and pillars would deal with intruders.
This was not a mechanism, but art.
That was precisely why he had a premonition that it would be more dangerous than any mechanism he had experienced before. Ian, for one, had reached the ninth stage of the Flying Heaven Sword Art, and yet she could not sense the existence of this mechanism at all.
Thus, the three followed Han Seol up to the Palace Lord’s Hall.
“I pay my respects to the Palace Lord.”
Geom Mugeuk was the first to greet her courteously.
The Ice Palace Lord, too, observed the courtesy due to the Young Cult Leader.
“Welcome, Young Cult Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk had met her once in his life before returning to the past. Though it had been much later than now.
At that time, this cold woman had been shedding hot tears.
Before her daughter’s death.
By contrast, the Ice Palace Lord was meeting Geom Mugeuk for the first time today. It was the moment she finally met the person who had endlessly surprised her through the reports of her spies.
The Ice Palace Lord slowly examined Geom Mugeuk’s gaze and bearing. He truly accomplished all those things? This young man?
Geom Mugeuk did not completely conceal himself, nor did he reveal himself excessively. He had reached a realm of returning to simplicity and truth that was more natural, more perfect than completely hiding oneself.
Her daughter had spoken of Geom Mugeuk as though she distrusted him. She had said she wanted to observe him longer and confirm things. Naturally, the Ice Palace Lord thought. Even she found him difficult to read.
“Is the Cult Leader well?”
When the Ice Palace Lord asked after his father, Geom Mugeuk smiled and asked in return,
“Have you met my father before?”
“I met him long ago.”
She had seen him only once, but he was not an easy person to forget. Perhaps it was because his gaze had been so intense.
“He is well.”
“I hear you handled a great affair recently. I heard you were the one who led it.”
The summit between the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic factions had not been held in strict secrecy; it had taken place in Maga Village. It was only natural that the Ice Palace Lord knew of it.
“Since I have met you today, Palace Lord, why not attend the next summit as well? I intend to invite Cult Leader Pungcheon then too.”
It was impossible to tell whether he was joking or serious, but the Ice Palace Lord calmly nodded.
“Be sure to invite me.”
She had answered as a joke, but Geom Mugeuk confirmed it once more.
“If a five-party summit truly opens, will you attend?”
The leaders of the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic factions, who had gathered once, would gather again? And Cult Leader Pungcheon as well? Would such a thing even be possible?
“Send word.”
“I will look forward to that day.”
After exchanging greetings with Geom Mugeuk in that way, she greeted Chwima next.
“You have come a long way, Demon Venerable.”
“It has been a long time since I last saw you.”
“You remember.”
“Of course.”
Chwima had met the Ice Palace Lord a very long time ago. It was before he had become a Demon Venerable, and before she had become Palace Lord.
Back then, she had not felt like this. Now she felt like an ice statue whose depths could not be known at all, but the Ice Palace Lord of that time had been a pure woman who suited pure white clothes.
What had frozen her like this? The cold winds of the Northern Sea? The difficult life she had lived, striving to protect the Ice Palace as a woman?
“Time flows so swiftly. Life truly is fleeting.”
At Chwima’s words, the Ice Palace Lord nodded.
Lastly, Geom Mugeuk introduced Ian.
“This is my subordinate.”
The Ice Palace Lord had already received reports that Geom Mugeuk had brought the subordinate who had caused this incident. At first, she could not understand it. Even hiding her would not have been enough, yet he deliberately revealed her like this?
“I pay my respects to the Palace Lord.”
At Ian’s greeting, the Ice Palace Lord once again slowly studied her.
Was it because her beauty was excessive? Ian drew the Ice Palace Lord’s gaze more than necessary.
“Why would someone so beautiful cause such an incident?”
“I apologize. I still lack experience, so my handling of matters in the martial world was immature.”
She had much she could say, but Ian apologized courteously. After all, this was not something for which she could hold the Ice Palace Lord responsible.
The one who spoke on Ian’s behalf was Geom Mugeuk.
“She was cautious precisely because she was immature. She brought back those she kidnapped unharmed.”
Geom Mugeuk stared straight at the Ice Palace Lord and added,
“Conversely, the North Blood Sect, with all its experience and skill, did not handle matters that way. I wonder why they all regard human lives so lightly.”
As he said so, Geom Mugeuk observed the Ice Palace Lord’s expression. Did the Ice Palace Lord know what the North Blood Sect had been doing? He had brought it up deliberately to find out.
“I am not sure what you mean.”
From her expression alone, she truly seemed to know nothing.
“Something like that happened. I will tell you in detail next time.”
Geom Mugeuk did not press further. Now was not the time to provoke the Ice Palace Lord, but to investigate the lord’s death.
As important as dealing with the Blood King was, easing Chwima’s heart was important as well. No, that was even more important.
He would handle Chwima’s matter, and deal with the Blood King as a side issue. Even if the Northern Sea sank into blood, Geom Mugeuk resolved to face this matter with that mindset. Because evil was trivial, and life was important.
The Ice Palace Lord asked Han Seol,
“Is Young Master Yang safe?”
“Yes.”
“Bring Young Master Yang here, and guide the three of them to their lodgings.”
“Understood.”
Lastly, the Ice Palace Lord said to Chwima,
“You said you wished to look into the death of the lord of Baekju Snowfield?”
“That is correct.”
“His death is regrettable, but I cannot give you much time for that investigation.”
It meant an order for them to leave could be issued at any time.
“I will hurry as much as possible.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Thus ended their first meeting, a silent probing match that moved between past and present.
* * *
Yang Jung, the second son of the North Blood Sect Lord, woke from sleep feeling a chill.
He was sitting in a chair. Looking around, he saw that the walls, pillars, everything was made of ice.
“Are you awake?”
A woman stood ahead of him with her back turned.
“Who are you?”
The woman turned and walked toward him. She was none other than the Palace Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
“Palace Lord?”
Yang Jung was startled when he recognized her. Astonishingly, this place was the Palace Lord’s Hall of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
“How is your body?”
“I am all right. But why am I here?”
Wonderful news was delivered to him.
“We made a deal with the Demonic Cult and brought you out, Young Master Yang.”
Realizing that he had survived, Yang Jung’s expression brightened.
“Thank you, Palace Lord! I thought I would be killed by that Demonic Cult bastard.”
He was blurting out careless words that did not need to be spoken in this place, but the Ice Palace Lord’s expression did not change.
“I am glad you are safe.”
Yang Jung could not understand it. Why had the Ice Palace saved him?
Just then, a middle-aged man entered. With sharp eyes like a beast’s, a square jaw, and a powerful build, he was a martial artist who looked strong at a glance.
Yang Jung’s face stiffened when he confirmed who it was. The one who had entered was his father, the North Blood Sect Lord Yang Sin (楊愼).
The reason he had been able to raise the North Blood Sect into one of the three great powers of the Northern Sea was not only because of his martial prowess in mastering the Twelve Northern Fist Forms. He looked like a bear, but he possessed a mind sharper than anyone’s, and he was a man of great ambition.
“Father!”
Even though Yang Jung knew full well that his father had abandoned him, he was still glad to see him. Had the Ice Palace moved because his father had requested it? Had his father actually had some grand purpose all along? That hope lasted only a moment before Yang Sin said bluntly,
“I will be leaving shortly, so go down first.”
Yang Jung’s chest tightened. Not even a word asking if his body was all right to the son who had returned after being kidnapped? It was the moment when the sliver of hope that perhaps his father had saved him vanished like foam.
‘Yes, Father abandoned me. The moment he refused the hostage exchange, that woman could have killed me on the spot.’
Resentment and hatred mingled in Yang Jung’s heart. Both the North Blood Sect Lord and the Ice Palace Lord sensed the emotions he felt, but they pretended not to notice.
Leaving his father and the Ice Palace Lord behind, Yang Jung turned and descended the ice stairs. He glanced upward, but all he could see was the faint sight of the two standing side by side and talking; he could not hear what they were saying.
‘What in the world are you plotting, to the point of abandoning even your son? What kind of deal did you make that made the Ice Palace save me from the Demonic Cult?’
When Yang Jung descended to the entrance of the Palace Lord’s Hall, a man stood there with his back turned. Naturally assuming him to be a subordinate, he said to him,
“Where is the carriage?”
The man did not answer and merely looked up at the sky.
“I asked where the carriage is!”
The sparks of the fierce emotions that had surged up because of his father were flying toward an innocent person.
“Even if you return alive, it isn’t the same as before, is it?”
The moment he heard the voice, Yang Jung flinched in surprise. The man standing with his back turned was none other than Geom Mugeuk.
“I promised that when you opened your eyes, you’d be in your room, but I couldn’t keep that. Still, you saw your father, so that should be enough, right?”
Yang Jung’s head told him this: You were barely released. There is no need to provoke this man again.
But he was a man who lived more by his heart than his head. Especially when his father was mentioned, his anger flared even more.
“I will not forget the humiliation I suffered this time!”
Behind his bold words lay a certain belief. Since they had made a deal with the Ice Palace, there was no way this man would seize him here.
“If you are a martial artist, then of course you should not. Be sure to come for revenge next time.”
As if I wouldn’t come just because you told me to!
Because he could not shout that aloud, Yang Jung was infuriated. The only thing that came to mind was this.
“Those who have been captured shall never be released.”
He was referring to the ones your subordinates had attempted to rescue by kidnapping even him.
“It seems you haven’t heard yet? You killed all of them. Barely one was saved.”
In that moment, Yangjung felt the air around him grow as cold as Geommugeuk’s gaze.
“If only one of you survives as well, that would be fair, wouldn’t it?”
Would it be you? Or your father?
He did not speak, but Geommugeuk was asking that very question with his eyes.
He had spent his whole life threatening others, never once being threatened himself. And now, he was on the receiving end of a truly proper threat for the very first time.
Just then, the Lord of the Northern Blood Gate came down after finishing his conversation with the Ice Palace Lord.
He recognized Geommugeuk and greeted him respectfully.
“It is an honor to meet you.”
Yangjung was startled by how respectful the greeting was. No matter that he was the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, wasn’t Father one of the top three figures in the North Sea?
Geommugeuk returned the greeting with cupped fists.
“I have long heard of the Lord’s illustrious reputation.”
“It is nothing compared to yours, Young Cult Leader.”
While seeming to treat him with special regard, he was as calm and composed as if he were dealing with just anyone else. Geommugeuk knew well how difficult such a balance was.
Unlike his son, he was not a man swayed by emotion. The moment Geommugeuk laid eyes on him, he could tell. This was a man who would never pass his position to this second son.
“We shall formally welcome the Young Cult Leader at our main sect before long.”
“I shall await it.”
The Lord of the Northern Blood Gate walked away first, and Yangjung followed after him.
A transmission from Geommugeuk flew to him.
—If only one person survives, I daresay it will be your father.
It was a remark that poured oil on the flames of hatred for his father. These words would remain in his heart, making things uncomfortable between the two and driving a wedge between them. Geommugeuk had no intention of letting them be at ease.
Yangjung glared at Geommugeuk with an angry face, then strode away from that place.
Geommugeuk, watching that retreating figure coldly, abruptly spoke.
“Why are you not curious?”
Then Hanseol walked out from behind the building in the rear. She had been there since earlier. She hadn’t deliberately hidden, but had failed to find an opportunity to step forward.
“What do you mean?”
“About what schemes they are plotting.”
“Why are you so certain I am not curious?”
Geommugeuk turned to look at her and asked.
“Are you curious?”
“Of course I am curious.”
It was a lie. In truth, she was not curious. She thought their ulterior motives were obvious. They wanted to become stronger. And thereby maintain and expand the hegemony of the North Sea.
Because she thought it was something her mother would resolve anyway. Her mother would know everything. In this North Sea, it was impossible to hatch a plot while evading her mother’s eyes.
But Geommugeuk’s thoughts were different.
“This time, I feel your mother will be in dire need of her daughter’s help.”