Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun laughed heartily and elaborated.
“I can lend you the whistle anytime. But you won’t need it this time.”
“…?”
“To the grassland tribes, North Sea Ice Palace is itself an object of terror and awe.”
He leaned his upper body closer to me and continued.
“I heard this from a friendly tribe before… apparently, a tribe once targeted North Sea Ice Palace’s disciples in the past.”
“…”
“And they sent a letter to North Sea Ice Palace. Demanding that if they wanted their precious disciples back, they should provide appropriate compensation.”
“How dare they!”
“To resolve this, the North Sea Ice Palace Lord personally stepped forward, and they said half of the grasslands froze at that time.”
“…”
Half of those vast grasslands froze!
I could truly feel the North Sea Ice Palace Lord’s power anew.
“And even that was only because the Murong Clan intervened to mediate. Anyway, after that, one unwritten rule formed among the grassland tribes. Never touch North Sea Ice Palace’s disciples.”
In other words, their lives were precious to them too.
“Moreover, the Young Palace Lord is North Sea Ice Palace’s next successor. How would they dare block her path?”
“I see. I didn’t realize how reassuring it would be to journey with the Young Palace Lord.”
At my words, Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun smiled and said.
“Actually, even if you weren’t traveling with the Young Palace Lord, you wouldn’t have needed the whistle.”
“What?”
“The rumor’s still widespread among the grassland tribes. If you see a handsome youth moving like the wind and his subordinates, run away.”
At those words, I blinked.
Could that… mean me?
“Seems you caused quite a ruckus when passing through the grasslands last time.”
“Hahaha. It just happened that way…”
I scratched the back of my neck, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
.
.
.
The next day.
We departed again as soon as we finished breakfast.
Thanks to Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun’s help, we could stock up on supplies abundantly.
Yesterday, while delivering Father’s letter to Merchant Lord Gwangjun, I also personally conveyed my thanks.
Now the remaining task is to stop by the merchant group’s branch located in the hunter tribe to deliver Father’s letter and funds.
When we entered the grassland region, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin manipulated the bracelet on her wrist.
Then the character for ice (氷), North Sea Ice Palace’s symbol, was inscribed in blue in midair.
“When they see this, no grassland tribe will dare approach.”
“So it’s a kind of marker.”
“Yes.”
Thanks to that, we could pass through the grasslands quickly without any interference.
“I’ll guide you to the Eunhae Merchant Group branch.”
When we arrived near the North Sea’s border, Escort Guard Jin Yu stepped forward as guide.
He had stayed to guard the hunter tribe until the branch was established.
That’s also why we didn’t bring a separate guide.
When we entered the Eunhae Merchant Group branch in the North Sea, we saw people moving busily.
“Hey, handle that leather carefully! That’s expensive!”
“Whoa, you can’t leave that there!”
Just then, those who saw us stopped what they were doing and quickly bowed their heads.
“Huh? Deputy Merchant Lord!”
“What brings you all the way here?”
Their reaction was natural. Two Deputy Merchant Lords had come to what could be called the frontier.
That also meant Father made this decision after much deliberation.
“I have business in the North Sea for a moment, so I stopped by on the way.”
“Where is the Branch Manager?”
“He’s currently at Hunter Village.”
At those words, we unpacked our luggage there and headed to Hunter Village.
“Come, drink.”
“Hahaha! So this is the famous liquor from Eunhae Merchant Group!”
“My word! It tastes excellent!”
As soon as we entered Hunter Village, what we saw was the Branch Manager and hunters drinking with a table spread out outside.
“Next time I visit, I should gift you our Eunhae Merchant Group’s liquor.”
At my words, those drinking were startled and sprang up from their seats.
“Gasp! Deputy Merchant Lord! Second Deputy Merchant Lord is also here.”
“We stopped by on our way to the North Sea.”
Even though it’s work hours, I didn’t scold them for drinking.
Because I knew the purpose of their drinking was to build camaraderie.
In other words, this is also part of their work.
“Ah, let me introduce you. This is my second sister-in-law.”
“I heard the news from those who came to collect leather before. I apologize for not attending the wedding.”
“Please don’t say such things.”
This place is so far from the main branch that attendance was naturally impossible.
And precisely because of such great independent authority, we made Chief Supervisor Seok this branch’s manager.
He was someone who remained loyal to the merchant group until the end in my previous life, and a person whom the merchant group members trusted deeply.
Young Lady Bing Hae-rin didn’t come here with us.
It was because she felt burdened by how the hunters treated her.
The reactions from Gwangjun Merchant Group and the grassland tribes were already burdensome—how much more would the hunters’ reactions be?
We smoothly wrapped up that occasion and returned to the North Sea branch.
And I delivered Father’s letter and encouragement fund to the Branch Manager together. Along with the gifts I brought.
“This is ginseng. Father sent it for you to nourish your body.”
“Oh my! Thank you!”
Like that, I finished all the tasks Father commanded.
.
.
.
That evening.
Our party borrowed the branch’s spacious hall, and everyone gathered there.
Because we were about to enter the North Sea—that is, the snowfield region—preparations were necessary.
“Young Palace Lord. When would be the best time to depart for North Sea Ice Palace?”
Now that we’ve entered the fifth month, the Snow Wind supposedly blows regularly, but since we don’t know its cycle, I asked someone knowledgeable.
“We can depart tomorrow. There doesn’t seem to be any sign of Snow Wind blowing for a while.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“Well, if I’m with you, it doesn’t matter when we move.”
“What?”
At my question, Young Palace Lord acted as if she hadn’t said anything and changed the subject.
“Anyway, the reason the North Sea is dangerous isn’t just because of the cold. It’s because of the blood-craving spirit beasts’ existence.”
At her words, I nodded.
Because memories of the Snow Leopard I met when I came to the North Sea before came to mind.
“And the North Sea’s spirit beasts are strong.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve even dealt with a Blood Claw Tiger with this spear.”
At Jin-ho’s confidence, Young Palace Lord shook her head and warned.
“The North Sea’s spirit beasts are stronger and craftier than Central Plains spirit beasts.”
“…”
“Since it’s not just Young Hero Eun and I moving but everyone here, there will also be many blood-craving spirit beasts approaching to target us. Those creatures are always hungry.”
“Gulp.”
At her words, the sound of someone swallowing could be heard from somewhere.
“That’s why I arranged this gathering in advance.”
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin explained to us what to do when facing danger in the North Sea.
And we also discussed response methods when encountering spirit beasts.
“If you encounter a spirit beast and its pupils are blue, don’t try to fight—just quietly back away. Then it’ll go its own way.”
“Yes.”
“If the pupils are red, it’s a blood-craving spirit beast. Dangerous. So it’s better to move in formation.”
The sword formation she taught us was the Wheel Formation, but it was a rather unique style of Wheel Formation.
Because it was a format where we simultaneously protected horses and those needing protection while three people rotated in coordinated attacks.
Like that, we completed all preparations for heading to the North Sea.
The next morning.
We crossed over to the North Sea.
Finally, the end of our journey was in sight.
A snowy wind blew, but compared to Snow Wind, this level was nothing.
“Huh… it’s really snowing.”
To Jin-ho, seeing snow in summer seemed fascinating.
“Well, it’s real snow. Would it be fake?”
“It feels somehow beautiful.”
“Don’t space out and keep your wits about you. As you heard yesterday, most spirit beasts here are white, so they’re hard to spot.”
“I know.”
I glanced at Sister-in-law beside Jin-ho.
She looked slightly excited, perhaps because she’d finally meet her mother.
I remembered when Yangyang Martial Hall’s hall master brought his daughter Hyeon-i before. She said daughters born to North Sea Ice Palace women must become North Sea Ice Palace disciples.
But when we met in Hangzhou afterward, his words changed.
He said the daughters also had a choice.
Something’s a bit strange?
Is there an exception?
I asked Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin about this casually.
“Both are correct.”
“What?”
“Originally, children have a choice. But some don’t have that choice.”
“?”
She continued.
“For instance, daughters born before age thirty by those who received the Snow surname must become North Sea Ice Palace disciples.”
“Does the Snow surname have special meaning?”
“They’re those who’ve reached the Peak realm. Since they’re children born to them, they likely have outstanding talent.”
“In other words, you won’t let talent leak out.”
“You may think of it that way.”
Anyway, Sister-in-law is walking the escort guard’s path, and her mother came to the wedding very briefly and left quickly to avoid causing her trouble.
She’s working hard to avoid her daughter getting entangled in incidents by association.
If Jin-ho’s mother-in-law learns that her daughter and son-in-law crossed this treacherous land to meet her, she might deliberately react coldly.
Even if that happens, I hope they don’t get hurt…
With those thoughts, I looked at Jin-ho and soon smiled.
That guy isn’t someone who’d yield to such things.
While walking the snowy path like that, I stopped. Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin seemed to have noticed something too.
“Stop! Everyone dismount. It’s a spirit beast.”
At her command, we dismounted.
Horses are extremely sensitive, so if startled by a spirit beast, we could fall and be seriously injured.
“Prepare for combat.”
As everyone gripped their weapons and formed up, white things rushing toward us came into view.
It was a pack of white wolves. Seeing this, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin sighed.
“Snow Wolves right from the start…”
“Seems we looked delicious to them.”
At my words, she chuckled.
“Seems so.”
Soon the Snow Wolves approached us, eyes gleaming blood-red from bloodlust.
We calmly fought against them.
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin and my escort guards were expected, but the Eunpoong Division Sixth Squad guards also fought quite well.
And Sister-in-law fought better than expected too.
Well, Meridian Severance Syndrome originally visited those with outstanding talent.
And she had learned well from Escort Chief Ha.
The sword technique she used looked familiar.
Snow Blossom Sword Technique.
Though I hadn’t learned it, it was the first sword technique one learned upon becoming a Snow Wind Palace disciple.
When I first learned about that sword technique, I wondered why Master hadn’t taught it to me, but I learned later.
That sword technique was already integrated into the True Snow Twelve Form Sword I learned, so there was no need to learn it.
Like that, one by one, the number of Snow Wolves began to decrease.
Geumryeong was a great help this time too.
Perhaps because of Geumryeong’s aura, the spirit beasts hesitated when they approached me.
I should give it a silver tael or something next time.
“…!”
Just then.
A sudden tingle ran down my spine, making me flinch involuntarily.
What is this? What on earth…
“Fall back!”
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin’s sharp cry rang out.
Everyone hastily retreated, and soon a massive beast approaching us came into view.
An overwhelming size like two thatched houses combined.
“It’s the Snow Wolf pack leader.”
The growling sound made my hair stand on end. It was no easy opponent.
Of course, it wasn’t an opponent we couldn’t handle, but neither was it one we could repel without casualties.
Since we’re still at the North Sea’s entrance, we can’t afford to take damage already.
We need to repel it with minimal damage…
As I desperately racked my brain.
“Kui-!”
Geumryeong burst out from my sleeve and stood firm before the Snow Wolf pack leader.
A battle of wills unfolded between the two spirit beasts.
Red energy rose from the Snow Wolf pack leader, and golden energy rose from Geumryeong.
The fact that the energy manifested visibly meant it was that strong.
How long did that standoff continue?
“Whine…”
In the end, the one who backed down was the Snow Wolf pack leader.
It tucked its tail between its legs and quietly turned around.
The other Snow Wolves also scrambled to flee following it.
“Phew…”
“Hah…”
We breathed sighs of relief. I lifted Geumryeong with both hands and said.
“Thanks. We survived because of you.”
“Kui!”
Geumryeong proudly lifted its head.
Right, right, you have every right to.
By the way, to make even that Snow Wolf pack leader flee—you’re truly amazing!
But, I don’t think I saw that golden tangible energy before…
Did this creature grow?
Just then, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin’s voice came from beside me.
Eyes filled with shock and a trembling voice.
“Could that be… an Ice Guardian Beast?”
As expected, I knew she’d recognize Geumryeong. Clumsy excuses won’t work.
“Well…”
“Please be honest with me, Young Hero. What exactly is your identity?”
–TL Notes–
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