At dawn the next day, the carriage carrying Geom Mugeuk and his party departed from the Ice Palace.
Ian, who had said she would continue the mission she had put on hold rather than returning to the main cult, had decided to travel with them at least until they left the North Sea.
As the carriage passed through the entrance of the Ice Palace, one person was waiting.
It was Han Seol, the Young Palace Lady.
“I came out because I wanted to say goodbye.”
Geom Mugeuk and Chwima exchanged light glances from the carriage, and Ian stepped down on their behalf. The two of them had things they needed to say.
“I heard from Mother.”
Han Seol called her not Palace Lord but Mother. It was partly because she had grown closer to the Ice Palace Lord recently, but also because what they were discussing now was family matters.
Ian quietly gazed at Han Seol. They were now cousins.
“Were you surprised? I was surprised to hear it from the Palace Lord yesterday as well.”
“You are my elder sister, so please speak comfortably.”
It was the first time in her life Han Seol had ever called someone “sister.” In the past, those words would not have come out so easily.
Recently, as her relationship with her mother had changed, there had been some inexplicable shift in her feelings. That was likely why. Why this meeting was not as uncomfortable as she had expected.
“I thought I was the younger one.”
“…….”
“I’m joking.”
“It’s still not funny.”
It was the same Han Seol who had said Ian’s joke was not funny the other day. But today, contrary to her words, a smile hovered at her lips.
“And this.”
Han Seol held out a small box.
“Mother told me to give this to you. She said to open it later.”
The box was tightly sealed so it could not be opened right away. She did not know what was inside, but she should still express her gratitude.
“Please tell my aunt that I am grateful.”
Just as it was Han Seol’s first time calling someone “sister,” it was Ian’s first time saying “aunt.” It was very awkward, but she had done so out of courtesy, thinking of the Ice Palace Lord who had been so delighted to learn that Ian was her niece.
“Then safe travels.”
Ian, who had been about to turn away, looked back at Han Seol and spoke.
“Seol, take care.”
When Han Seol’s expression turned surprised, Ian quickly said.
“Is it too soon?”
“No. A sister is a sister.”
Ian was the type to be bold at times like this.
“If you come to the Central Plains next time, I’ll show you around.”
Han Seol nodded. It was an awkward, unfamiliar feeling. But this feeling was not so bad, either.
Ian climbed back into the carriage.
Geom Mugeuk poked his face out the window and bade farewell to Han Seol.
“When all the junior disciples have gathered, I shall invite you. Let us meet then.”
Han Seol did not yet know that this very gathering was such a special occasion where the status of the Young Palace Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace would be nothing special at all.
And so the carriage carrying Geom Mugeuk, Chwima, and Ian departed from that place.
Han Seol stood in place, watching the carriage leave. The three of them had truly come like the wind and left like the wind.
The Ice Palace Lord approached her side. She had been watching from afar and now revealed herself.
“Mother, have you ever been to the Central Plains?”
The Ice Palace Lord was startled by the word “Mother.” When had Han Seol ever called her that? Since Han Seol was still looking at the carriage disappearing in the distance, she could not tell whether it had been intentional or had slipped out unintentionally.
“A few times.”
“What kind of place is the Central Plains?”
Han Seol knew of the Central Plains only from the stories of others and from books. She wanted to hear what the Central Plains meant to her mother.
The carriage was growing distant, but it was the moment when curiosity about the Central Plains sprouted in her heart for the first time.
The Ice Palace Lord walked slowly and brushed a snow-covered tree. The snow on the branches fell away as if fluttering.
“In my youth, the Central Plains was such a place to me. A place you want to return from when you go, yet want to go back to as soon as you return.”
And as the years passed, those feelings gradually faded. Now the longing for the Central Plains was no longer as great as it had been in her youth.
She loved the North Sea.
Neither the scattering spring blossoms, the scorching heat of summer days, nor the beautifully embroidered autumn leaves could surpass the beauty of this snowy landscape.
But that was merely her own life.
The Ice Palace Lord’s gentle gaze, clearly changed from before, turned toward her daughter.
“Your Central Plains will be different.”
* * *
The carriage sped southward.
Since it was a carriage dispatched by the North Sea Branch of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the martial artist in the driver’s seat was extremely nervous.
To think he would be driving a carriage carrying the Young Cult Leader and Chwima. Moreover, they were traveling without a single escort.
So perhaps they could avoid ambushes? No one would believe the Young Cult Leader was in this carriage.
Contrary to the anxiety of the driver, inside the carriage was peaceful.
Chwima, who had not yet fully recovered from his injuries, occupied one side and lay down. Of course, he did not forget to exaggerate his condition.
“What’s the rush, dragging a dying brother along like this?”
“When work is done, we have to go. I want to see Father, and the Demon Lords too. I want to see you too, brother, and Daeryong and Lord Jang.”
“And me, again……”
He had been about to say that he would be treated like cold rice, but stopped. With Ian riding along, he could not easily make such a joke.
Of course, he probably could have. Ian had been staring blankly out the window all this time.
Chwima signaled with his eyes for someone to look after Ian, then closed his eyes to sleep.
Geom Mugeuk looked out at the same window Ian was watching.
Feeling that Geom Mugeuk was concerned about her, Ian brought up what she had wanted to say.
“Actually, I could not sleep a wink last night.”
Geom Mugeuk had thought that she probably had not.
“The Palace Lord likely did not either.”
Then Ian turned to Geom Mugeuk and asked with a worried expression.
“Should I have gone to see her at dawn and bid her a separate farewell?”
She had agonized over whether to do so many times, but in the end had not.
“Earlier, the Palace Lord was watching us from afar.”
“Really?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded.
He knew well what it meant to watch from afar because you did not want to burden someone.
Hearing that the Ice Palace Lord had watched over her, Ian felt even more apologetic.
Her gaze turned to the box given by the Ice Palace Lord.
“Open it.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Ian carefully broke the seal and opened the box.
Inside was another small box. She saw a book underneath as well, but she opened the inner box first.
When she opened it, a unique fragrance spread through the carriage.
It was so intense that Chwima, who had been trying to sleep, opened his eyes wide.
Inside was a pure white fruit. Just by looking at it, one could tell it was extraordinary from the spiritual energy emanating from it.
“What is this?”
Geom Mugeuk recognized it at once.
“It is a Bingseolcho fruit.”
Geom Mugeuk had once joked with Seo Daeryong that if they went to the North Sea, the Snow People cultivated Bingseolcho. To think he would see it here.
“Is it precious?”
Earlier, when the Ice Palace Lord had asked if she would truly choose a wine cup when there were spiritual medicines even better than ten-thousand-year snow ginseng, she had been referring to this very Bingseolcho.
Geom Mugeuk immediately spoke to the driver.
“Stop the carriage for a moment.”
The carriage came to a halt.
Geom Mugeuk took the box containing the Bingseolcho fruit and had Ian get out as well.
He had her sit beside the carriage and held out the Bingseolcho fruit.
“You want me to consume it here?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded.
“Receiving a spiritual medicine as a gift while I am with you must also be your good fortune.”
When consuming a spiritual medicine, someone trustworthy must watch over you. Even setting aside the fact that one could not respond to external attacks, one might suffer severe internal injuries or fall into qi deviation if unable to withstand the medicinal effects.
Where could one find someone as reliable as Geom Mugeuk when considering such dangers?
“Is it acceptable for me to eat something so precious? You should take it instead, Young Master.”
“Are you trying to start a war between the main cult and the Ice Palace?”
Ian smiled faintly at Geom Mugeuk’s joke.
Once her life had changed, everything was changing in a dizzying whirl. She felt swept away by the fierce currents of fate regardless of her own will. Yet the reason she could remain brave and steadfast was surely because when she turned her head, there was always someone watching over her.
“Then I will take it with gratitude.”
Ian carefully consumed the Bingseolcho fruit.
The fruit melted in her mouth instantly and spread through her body.
In that instant, a shudder ran through Ian’s body. The energy spreading through her meridians was cold. So cold that she wondered if it was allowed to be this cold.
But the cold was momentary. Like someone who catches a cold from the chill and develops a fever, her body became burning hot.
Passing between cold and heat, the energy of the Bingseolcho fruit rampaged wildly through her body.
Ian was bewildered by this intense energy. She had prepared herself mentally, but she had not known it would be this strong.
‘Can I refine this?’
She circulated her true qi through her circuit, trying somehow to make the energy her own.
Thanks to her efforts, the energy rampaging like a wild horse was somewhat subdued, but the energy began to scatter and leak out.
‘No!’
However, Ian’s current internal energy and skill were insufficient to absorb all of the medicinal effects.
It was then.
Geom Mugeuk’s hand touched her back. A stream of internal force entered her body through his palm. Geom Mugeuk’s internal force helped her, beginning to pull the scattered energy back into her meridians. Though it was but a single thread of energy, it helped more than a mighty army.
Even though he was helping, Geom Mugeuk had not assisted from the beginning.
He had let her gain sufficient experience in refining the spiritual medicine before helping her at the last moment. This was the good fortune Geom Mugeuk had spoken of earlier.
Ian persevered until the very end. She repeatedly controlled her true qi and refined the medicinal energy.
In the end, the energy of the Bingseolcho fruit transformed into vast internal energy and gathered in Ian’s dantian. The feeling of her dantian filling to the brim was truly an unforgettable pleasure. Especially since this spiritual medicine suited her constitution so well, her internal energy became even more pure and tranquil.
As a result, Ian’s eyes grew clearer and more intense.
“The energy felt from my dantian is completely different. Young Cult Leader, have you been living in such a wonderful world all this time?”
Then Chwima said, poking his head through the carriage window.
“Is the world of your Young Cult Leader truly only to that extent?”
“Right? If I am a puddle, the Young Master is the ocean, is he not?”
At her words implying the difference in internal energy was that great, Geom Mugeuk waved his hand.
“The difference is not that great.”
As if practicing modesty.
“If it were a stream and the ocean, perhaps.”
The two smiled at each other.
Ian bowed her head respectfully.
“Thank you for helping me become a stream.”
“Save that greeting for when you meet the Palace Lord later.”
He spoke those words, but Ian knew. She knew how great Geom Mugeuk’s help had been in refining the Bingseolcho. If not for him, she would have lost at least a third of the energy.
The two climbed back into the carriage.
Removing the small box that had contained the Bingseolcho fruit from inside the box, they found a letter and a secret manual underneath.
Ice Condensation Divine Art.
It was not the Palace Lord’s personal martial art, but it was a family martial art of the Ice Palace, ranking among the finest ice arts. The relationship was comparable to that between Geom Mugeuk’s Bicheon Swordsmanship and Guhwa Demonic Art.
“The secret manual is a copy, so she said to memorize it and burn it.”
No other words were written in the letter. She had not written anything at all, worried that Ian might feel burdened.
“Is it truly acceptable to receive all of this? Merely because we are blood relatives?”
Geom Mugeuk gave a ready answer.
“You can tell just from this gift how much the Palace Lord missed your mother. I believe accepting it gladly is the right heart for both of you.”
Ian said nothing more and began memorizing the secret manual.
Chwima, who had been watching her, sent a telepathic message to Geom Mugeuk.
—Call someone your heart and treat them like your heart, and they truly become your heart.
This was Chwima’s impression upon seeing Geom Mugeuk and Ian.
—If you can feel that, then it is time for you to take care of your own heart too, Hyung.
He said this while thinking of Yeobin, who had feelings for Chwima, but Chwima spoke evasively.
—When we get back, I should start by checking the wine stores. Let’s see if anything’s gone rotten somewhere!
Geom Mugeuk smiled and spoke loudly to the driver.
“Let us depart again!”
* * *
Of course, no matter how much stronger the heart had grown, it was still a baby’s heart left by the water’s edge.
When they reached the point where they had to leave the North Sea and part with Ian, Geom Mugeuk spoke to Chwima.
“Keep going straight like this. I’ll see Ian off for a moment and come back.”
Though Ian said there was no need, Geom Mugeuk sent the carriage ahead.
“Get on.”
“Why?”
“Hurry.”
Without explanation, Geom Mugeuk carried Ian on his back.
And he began to run. The swift movement technique that had reached the Twelve Constellations truly split the air like light.
The fact that it was comfortable despite running so fast—Geom Mugeuk’s true skill and realm lay not in speed, but in that comfort.
‘But where is he going?’
Ian was puzzled the entire time she was on his back.
After running without rest for nearly two hours, Geom Mugeuk finally stopped.
“Where is this?”
“I do not know, either.”
Ian made an expression asking what kind of joke this was, but Geom Mugeuk had truly run wherever his feet took him. And the reason was something Ian had never expected.
“Just in case someone was watching us.”
Ian asked in surprise.
“Was there someone watching?”
Geom Mugeuk shook his head. He had sensed that there were no watchers around, but just in case, a master of concealment could have been watching. Therefore, that person might have pursued Ian with malicious intent.
But if they ran like this with a swift movement technique for two hours, no watcher would be able to track Ian’s whereabouts.
“Are you not being too careful?”
“I am merely preparing for the slightest possibility. No excuse about letting your guard down just once will work for something that cannot be undone.”
Ian was always moved by and grateful to Geom Mugeuk, but never more so than at this moment. Hiding her emotion, she asked playfully.
“If you worry about me this much, how did you send me away before?”
The situation was different now. Because this was after he had just killed the Blood King.
“If something happens despite all this effort, then it cannot be helped.”
She could understand that this meant he would not regret the outcome once he had done his best.
Ian engraved Geom Mugeuk’s teaching into her heart. She too would live this way from now on.
“This narrow stream shall return as a river.”