“Young Master! I’m coming in.”
At the voice from outside, I quickly shut the secret vault and slipped the inkstone back into my pocket.
Clack.
The door opened and Palgap stepped in.
“…”
Palgap stared at me and asked.
“Young Master, did you eat something behind my back?”
“What are you talking about.”
“It feels like you’re hiding something.”
Yeah, I’m hiding a lot.
Like the fact that I’m living a second life.
And that it’s all part of the Patriarch of the Snow Wind Palace’s arrangement.
But I couldn’t tell Palgap that.
He’d definitely call for a physician with a worried face.
Man, he’s really sharp.
I pride myself on keeping a straight face, but he still noticed.
Is this one of the King of Assassins’ talents too?
I chuckled and said.
“No such thing.”
We headed down to the first floor.
“Would you like to order?”
“Do you have any recommendations?”
“If you’ve come to the North Sea, you should try a dish made with the North Sea’s frozen tofu.”
“Then we’ll have that, and…”
We ordered a few dishes, and as we sat in the inn, guests continued to arrive.
Since there were young girls among them, it was clear they had come to join the North Sea Ice Palace.
After a short wait, the food was brought out.
The female disciple who served us smiled and asked.
“I thought you’d already left, but you’re back?”
“Yes, we just had some business to take care of.”
I brushed it off and changed the subject.
“By the way, how long does the North Sea Ice Palace keep its gate open?”
“There are only a few days left now. Once autumn comes, the snow wind makes it hard to reach this place.”
“Then do you only operate this place until then?”
She smiled and shook her head.
“No, this place is always open. For those who manage to pierce through the snow wind, this is the only rest stop.”
“That makes sense.”
I nodded.
“Do the guides set out every dawn? They left at dawn before too.”
“That’s right. There are things to do once we arrive, so we leave early to keep to schedule.”
Just then, another guest called her, and the conversation was cut off.
“Let’s eat.”
“Yes.”
As we began to eat, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am asked.
“By the way, was that rock we saw earlier the one you were looking for?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Wasn’t it just a lone rock?”
The others looked confused.
I hesitated on how to answer, and Escort Guard Seo Wu spoke.
“I think maybe some kind of grand method was used to deliver something to my lord.”
I was a little surprised and looked at Escort Guard Seo Wu.
That guess was close to the truth.
“Why do you think that?”
“If not, I can’t explain your reaction back then, my lord.”
Escort Guard Jin Yu nodded in agreement.
I smiled, and seeing my expression, Palgap asked.
“So it’s as Escort Guard Seo Wu said?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
I continued.
“But I can’t speak of it carelessly, so please understand.”
Escort Guard Jin Yu nodded.
“Such matters aren’t meant to be spoken of lightly.”
“Let’s eat. This is pretty good.”
The frozen tofu dish recommended by the inn was indeed delicious.
The texture in particular stood out.
We finished the meal and went up to our rooms.
That night, I went to bed early.
Honestly, I was exhausted.
Both my body and mind were worn out from the long period of martial arts training in the cavern.
When I get home, I should prepare a restorative decoction.
Thinking that, I drifted off to sleep.
.
.
.
“…!”
I jolted awake at a sudden surge of murderous intent.
What?
I was shaken. I had never felt such intense killing intent before.
But there was no time to panic. I immediately grabbed my sword and shook Palgap awake.
“Palgap! Up! Palgap!”
“Huh? W-what’s going on?”
Seeing me with a sword in hand, Palgap asked in alarm.
Even though he has the King of Assassins’s talent, his realm isn’t high enough yet to sense this level of killing intent.
Bang–!
The door burst open and Escort Guard Seo Wu rushed in.
“My lord! Ah, you’re already up.”
“Yes. You came because of the killing intent.”
“That’s right. We need to get outside, quickly.”
We grabbed our weapons and hurried to the first floor.
“Honored guests, what’s going on?”
A disciple at the reception desk looked at us in surprise.
“An attack. A group is about to assault this inn.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
She opened a window to look outside, then gasped and quickly shut it.
“H-how could the spirit beasts…”
“Go alert the others. Quickly.”
“Ah! Yes!”
She immediately rang the bell.
Clang clang clang clang clang!
As the loud bell rang through the building, disciples of the North Sea Ice Palace began gathering one by one.
“What’s going on?”
The disciple who rang the bell replied.
“A spirit beast raid.”
“What? Why would spirit beasts attack this inn?”
I asked her.
“That’s not important. Do spirit beasts usually launch raids?”
“Yes. They roam in packs and sometimes attack travelers, but this is the first time they’ve come for the inn itself.”
So there was a reason they showed up now, like this.
Just then.
“They’re coming!”
At someone’s shout, a spirit beast resembling a giant bear charged and slammed into the door.
Bang–! Bang–! Bang–!
At this rate, the door would break soon.
And more would come through the windows.
“My lord, how shall we proceed?”
At Escort Guard Jin Yu’s question, I answered.
“Everyone, do your utmost in your positions. Our top priority is survival. If you just stay alive, I’ll take care of the rest. So survive. No matter what.”
“Yes!”
Crunch!
The door splintered, and spirit beasts surged through the gap.
Grrraar–!
“Block the ones charging straight at you.”
“Yes.”
One of the North Sea Ice Palace disciples shouted, and they calmly blocked the spirit beasts charging at them.
The window in front of me shattered soon after, and spirit beasts poured in that way too.
I raised my sword.
A perfect chance to use the swordsmanship I learned through the Patriarch’s one-on-one instruction.
If you’re a true merchant, even when facing a tiger, you should still sell rice cakes to the tiger, right?
Hm?
Something felt strange.
The spirit beasts looked at me, then veered away and charged elsewhere.
As if they feared me.
Come to think of it, the Red-Eyed Snow Leopard from before ran in panic when it saw me too.
The difference now was that they didn’t run, they just avoided me and attacked others.
I moved toward the ones dashing around me.
Since they were all quick, I used Snow Wind, the fourth form of the True Snow Twelve Form Sword.
‘Snow Wind’ was a swift sword form, but not merely about speed.
It was a fierce wind, the kind feared even by veteran hunters of the North Sea and disciples of the North Sea Ice Palace.
When I relearned Snow Wind directly from the Patriarch, I grasped its true power.
I swept my sword horizontally, and the sharp wind cut a spirit beast’s neck.
I immediately followed with a downward slash and finished it off.
Then I swept horizontally again at another beast and took it down in the same way.
Just then.
“The spirit beasts are entering the mist gate!”
“Damn it! How are we supposed to…!”
The North Sea Ice Palace disciples began to panic.
The mist gate meant the wall of fog we’d seen earlier that blocked men from entering.
They hurried to chase after the spirit beasts, but many had already slipped inside.
“What do we do? The ones entering the palace left just ban shichen ago.”
“Damn. Those in good shape, follow them inside now. The rest, get ready here.”
If it had been a little earlier, they could’ve been caught before reaching the palace.
The attackers clearly planned the timing.
As far as I knew, only two disciples had guided the group. Probably because the path inside wasn’t considered dangerous.
But the condition of the remaining disciples wasn’t great either. Even if a few pursued, they’d be outmatched or arrive too late.
If this continued, the young girls who entered to become disciples would be slaughtered by the spirit beasts. It was just a matter of time.
I bit my lip.
What do I do?
The Snow Wind Palace sees protecting the North Sea Ice Palace as part of its mission.
I recalled the letter the Patriarch had left in the cavern I’d entered through his trace.
He said he had created the martial arts of both the Snow Wind Palace and the North Sea Ice Palace.
If that was true, then as someone who had learned the Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts, my path was clear.
I told my escort guards to defend the inn, then quietly slipped out.
I passed into the mist without resistance and kicked off the ground.
I ran through the fog for about one shikgyeong.
The mist was so thick I couldn’t see a hair ahead, yet I felt as if I knew where to go.
Soon I reached a place with no mist and saw footprints in the snow.
This way.
I used No-Trace Step at full speed and soon felt fierce killing intent.
“Kyahhh!”
I heard the screams of women.
Without hesitation, I rushed forward and saw a spirit beast pressing down on a blood-soaked disciple.
“Haaat.”
Maintaining peak footwork, I slashed the beast from head to crotch.
The disciple looked up at me, dazed and grateful.
“Th-thank you for saving me.”
“I’ll take care of this. Protect the girls hoping to enter the palace.”
“Ah, yes!”
I raised my sword and charged toward the red-eyed spirit beasts.
A large number of Red-Eyed Snow Rabbits.
Individually weak, but dangerous in a pack.
Against enemies like this, Snowslide was the perfect choice.
As I swung, sword Qi swept out.
Like an avalanche.
And once caught in an avalanche, there’s no escape.
As I cut them down without pause, a thought crossed my mind.
Maybe I was called to the North Sea and taught directly by the Patriarch for this very moment.
Is that too far-fetched?
“…!”
I quickly turned from the beasts and looked toward the girls seeking to join the palace.
Because I suddenly felt killing intent from that direction.
Tap–!
Without hesitation, I dashed forward.
When I focused my senses, I felt a faint trace of killing intent from one girl.
At the same time, I sensed the vile Qi of the Unorthodox Sect.
My sword shot toward her.
“Kyahhh!”
“Huuk.”
“Eek.”
The girls screamed and fell back in terror.
The disciples of the North Sea Ice Palace tried to stop me, but their swords didn’t reach.
I was too fast.
And just before my blade touched one of them—
Cheng–!
She parried my strike.
A sharp counterattack.
“So it was you. You’re the one behind this.”
She asked me.
“How did you know?”
“I just did.”
“Ridiculous.”
Her eyes turned purple, and she rang the bell on her wrist.
At the sound, the spirit beasts’ attacks became even more frenzied.
That confirmed it.
She was the one controlling them.
But as long as I was here, they weren’t a major threat.
They feared me for some reason and avoided me.
Maybe realizing she stood no chance with the beasts alone, she began attacking me directly.
Clang–!
“Ugh.”
I blocked her attack.
“You’re finally getting serious.”
“It seemed I should kill you first.”
“That won’t be easy.”
This is the second life the Patriarch gave me at the cost of his remaining lifespan.
I won’t die so easily.
“Die.”
“Who says?”
I replied calmly, but her martial arts were intense.
If not for the training I received from the Patriarch, I might have died here.
It seemed his foresight was right.
In any case, dragging this out was pointless. I had others to protect.
I had to end it quickly.
I raised my sword.
White Night.
A white night that freezes even the sun unfolded.
.
.
.
Chuk–!
My blade touched her neck.
“I… I lost.”
She dropped her weapon and declared surrender, but the disgust I felt from her told me not to let my guard down.
Members of the Unorthodox Sect rarely surrender without playing a trick.
“Spare me. There’s a story behind this. So…”
I cut her off with a faint smile.
“I’m not interested in your sob story. Just tell me your objective. Nothing else.”
–TL Notes–
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