Master once told me.
If I became Snow Wind Palace’s Young Palace Lord, I would be able to carve a path even through a snowstorm.
And that was exactly what was unfolding before my eyes.
If I could stop the snowstorm, traveling would become much easier.
But the same would also be true for the Spirit Beasts living in the North Sea.
That was why creating only a passage like this, while leaving the surrounding snowstorm untouched, allowed us to travel safely and swiftly without being attacked by Spirit Beasts.
In truth, using the Path-Revealing Map would let us travel safely.
The problem was that it did not guarantee speed.
I said to the group,
“Then let’s go.”
“Yes.”
And so, we moved at a swift pace, and before long, we arrived at the Ice Palace Inn near the entrance of North Sea Ice Palace.
“We greet the Young Palace Lord and honored guests.”
“Welcome.”
“Please leave the horses to us.”
“Will you be staying the night?”
The twin servers still spoke in turns.
It could feel a little dizzying, but in its own way, that had become part of Ice Palace Inn’s identity.
I said to them,
“The others will rest here. Only I, Deputy Gwak here, and the Young Palace Lord will be entering for now.”
The others could not enter North Sea Ice Palace, after all.
“Understood.”
“We’ll prepare rooms for them.”
They would remain here and join us when we headed for Zhurong Palace.
“So make sure you all rest properly at this inn. We don’t know what might happen from here on.”
I continued,
“And don’t go overworking yourselves just because you want to train.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.”
After warning the group like that, I took only Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin and Young Lady Seohyang with me through the Mist Gate toward North Sea Ice Palace.
Once we passed through the Mist Gate, a building with white tiled roofs rose beautifully before us.
It was North Sea Ice Palace.
As we approached, the disciples guarding the gate quickly lowered their heads and cupped their fists.
“We greet the Young Palace Lord.”
“I’ve brought guests with me.”
At that, they cupped their fists toward me and Young Lady Seohyang as well.
“Welcome.”
“Welcome to North Sea Ice Palace.”
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin said to us,
“Then let’s go inside.”
And so, we all entered North Sea Ice Palace together.
Since I had come here often, I had grown fairly familiar with its layout.
Enough that I would not get lost even if I wandered around alone.
We headed straight for the Palace Lord’s residence.
“Welcome.”
The Palace Lord, who had been lying languidly on her side, straightened herself and greeted us.
“This humble merchant Eun Seo-ho greets the Palace Lord.”
“Gwak Seohyang greets the Palace Lord.”
The Palace Lord accepted our greetings and said,
“Thank you for agreeing to our request.”
“Master was also pleased that I would be attending the Ice-Fire Conference.”
“Is that so?”
In truth, this Ice-Fire Conference had a purpose.
They were the ones suspected of annihilating Snow Wind Palace. And the whetstone Merchant Lord Bok of the Gwangjun Merchant Group had given me as evidence also pointed toward them.
In other words, we intended to confirm whether they truly were the ones who had destroyed Snow Wind Palace.
“We’re planning to depart in about three days. Before then, there are various things you’ll need to be taught.”
“When you say taught?”
“You should know what not to do at the Ice-Fire Conference, as well as the history of the conference itself. The Young Palace Lord will be the one to instruct you on that.”
“Understood.”
I nodded and continued,
“Is the security here reliable?”
At my question, the Palace Lord asked in return,
“Why do you ask?”
“There is something confidential I need to tell you.”
At that, the Palace Lord spoke toward the empty air.
“Withdraw for a moment.”
Swish!
Immediately, the presence of those nearby vanished.
“So, what is it you wish to discuss?”
I took the whetstone Merchant Lord Bok had given me from my robe and held it out to her.
“Could you take a look at this?”
“Isn’t this a whetstone?”
“It is evidence that will reveal the secret behind Snow Wind Palace’s destruction.”
“…!”
Her eyes widened at my words.
“This… is?”
“Yes.”
The Palace Lord examined the whetstone for a moment, then nodded.
“Now that you mention it, neither Snow Wind Palace nor our Ice Palace uses whetstones. Even if someone did, there would be no whetstone this worn down and this widely grooved.”
The Palace Lord asked me,
“How did you come by this?”
I explained everything to her from beginning to end.
At that, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin let out a sigh.
“I went to the Gwangjun Merchant Group so many times! Why didn’t he tell me?”
As Snow Wind Palace’s only survivor, she seemed unable to hide her disappointment.
“Perhaps… he could not bring himself to trust anyone.”
“…”
After all, even I had suspected North Sea Ice Palace before, back when I had not yet heard why they had been unable to help Snow Wind Palace at the time of its destruction.
“That may be true.”
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin nodded, seeming to understand.
“But Palace Lord, when you brought the Young Palace Lord away, did you not see this whetstone?”
“At the time, saving the Young Palace Lord was the more urgent matter, so I had no chance to examine the surroundings.”
“I see.”
Then it seemed the Palace Lord had arrived shortly after the incident at Snow Wind Palace, and not long after that, the previous Merchant Lord Bok had come as well.
I explained what I had discovered about the whetstone. To be precise, it was what Escort Guard Seo Wu had told me.
“There is certainly a trace of Blazing Fire Art Qi coming from this whetstone.”
“You can sense that?”
“I can. I am the master of North Sea Ice Palace.”
Ah…
I think I understood what she meant.
North Sea Ice Palace and Zhurong Palace had been enemies for a very long time, so they were sensitive to each other’s Qi.
“You intend to use this conference to confirm whether they are the culprits who destroyed Snow Wind Palace.”
“That’s right.”
I asked her,
“If Zhurong Palace truly is the culprit behind Snow Wind Palace’s destruction, what do you intend to do?”
At my question, the Palace Lord smiled and said,
“The ceasefire will obviously collapse.”
“Pardon?”
“Snow Wind Palace is the place that protects North Sea Ice Palace. If they annihilated it, that means their ultimate target is our North Sea Ice Palace. We are not so weak that we would simply stand by and watch that happen.”
.
.
.
After leaving the Palace Lord, we were shown to our rooms.
Young Lady Seohyang’s room was prepared right next to mine, because that was what she had requested.
After I washed and came out, I heard Young Lady Seohyang’s voice from outside.
“Deputy Merchant Lord, may I come in?”
“Ah, of course.”
The door opened, and Young Lady Seohyang entered.
“What brings you here? Shouldn’t you rest a little before dinner?”
“Well… it feels a bit overwhelming.”
“Pardon?”
“They keep calling me Divine Maiden and taking care of every little thing for me… How should I put it? They’re excessively kind.”
She let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t complain when they’re treating me well.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“It’s completely understandable for you to feel that way.”
Just from the way the Young Palace Lord referred to her as Divine Maiden, I could tell how extraordinarily they cherished her.
But excessive kindness and consideration could become its own kind of violence.
“They’re worse than my brothers.”
“Hahahaha.”
I could not help but laugh at that.
After all, her brothers were the sort of men who would throw themselves into fire and water for Young Lady Seohyang without a second thought.
“Sometimes, when I look at the Palace Lord and the Young Palace Lord, I feel like they might devour me whole.”
In other words, she felt as if they might keep her here.
“Is that why you asked for the room next to mine?”
“Yes.”
At that, I smiled softly.
“You don’t need to worry.”
The reason the Palace Lord and the Young Palace Lord wanted Young Lady Seohyang so badly yet could not reach out and seize her was probably because of my existence.
They knew all too well that if they truly tried something like that, I would not just stand by and watch.
.
.
.
The next day.
Young Lady Seohyang and I began studying about the Ice-Fire Conference.
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin personally conducted the lesson, and she was a fairly decent Instructor in her own way.
“We call it the Ice-Fire Conference, but they call it the Fire-Ice Conference.”
“Even the name of the conference feels like a power struggle.”
“That’s exactly what it is. There is an official name, the Ceasefire Conference, but honestly, it has no style. And Ice-Fire Conference is more direct.”
“That is true.”
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin explained everything to us, from the conference’s history to information about those attending and the order in which things would proceed.
“Zhurong Palace has a Young Palace Lord, and that bastard is a truly insufferable bastard.”
“Is that so?”
Though half the lesson was just her cursing Zhurong Palace.
“For the Ice-Fire Conference, both sides take turns providing the venue. This time, it’s our turn to go to Zhurong Palace.”
“Then Snow Wind Palace’s role is all the more important.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
She nodded.
“To be honest, it’s also a form of display. It shows confidence. It tells them, I have my guardian with me, so no matter what cowardly schemes you try, I can break through you and escape.”
She continued,
“That’s why I do feel somewhat sorry.”
“Not at all.”
I waved my hand and said,
“Isn’t that Snow Wind Palace’s role? I am Snow Wind Palace’s Young Palace Lord, so I should fulfill that role properly.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
Preparations continued steadily like that, and at last, the day of departure arrived.
There were a hundred people moving for the conference alone.
On top of that, their presence was so sharp and keen that it seemed as though they would pierce through any enemy standing before them.
A hundred carefully chosen elites. I could tell just how seriously North Sea Ice Palace was taking this conference.
“Young Palace Lord, Bing Hae-rin. I will be on my way.”
“Have a safe trip, Young Palace Lord.”
“Yes.”
“I will also be on my way, Palace Lord.”
“Young Palace Lord Eun Seo-ho and Divine Maiden, please return safely as well. I leave this matter in your hands.”
And so, we departed North Sea Ice Palace.
A short while later, we arrived in front of the Ice Palace Inn, where our group was already waiting, prepared to leave.
I had sent word through Geumryeong in advance, telling them to be ready.
“Young Master!”
“Let’s depart!”
“Yes!”
They immediately mounted their horses and joined the procession.
Zhurong Palace was in Yunnan.
To be precise, it was near the border between Yunnan and Tibet.
Yunnan, huh…
The Springview Fortress incident last time had been in autumn…
Then was I going there again after almost half a year?
I wondered whether Springview Fortress’s Fortress Lord and Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun were doing well.
It would not be bad to visit them once if time allowed.
I was a merchant, and to a merchant, connections were invisible assets. The richer they were, the better.
Still, I was Springview Fortress’s benefactor. Surely they would not pretend not to know me.
When North Sea Ice Palace’s gates opened, it meant one of two things.
Either they were accepting people in, or people were coming out.
Of course, I was talking about large groups.
No one said “the gates opened” just because one or two people came and went.
In the martial world, even fifty people from North Sea Ice Palace emerging was enough to put everyone on edge. If it was a hundred elites, then all eyes would be fixed on them.
Because of that, North Sea Ice Palace also chose a route with as few people as possible to avoid needless clashes.
They would deliberately pass through the grasslands to the north, reach the foot of the Qilian Mountains, head straight down from there, then slightly alter course to board a ship near the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and travel to Yunnan.
For ordinary people, just crossing the grasslands would come with considerable loss.
But for the people of North Sea Ice Palace, it was an entirely different story.
The tribesmen of the grasslands kept their distance on their own.
“Aren’t the Qilian Mountains in Gansu?”
Palgap asked me while we were traveling.
“That’s right.”
And at the Sword Tomb on Yanzhi Mountain in Gansu, we had discovered Blood Staff Star Monk’s Sacred Body.
Thinking about it that way, there were hardly any places across the empire I had not visited.
.
.
.
After riding for days on end, we arrived at the Qilian Mountains.
Still, this was impressive.
They should have been exhausted from riding at such speed, yet none of them showed even the slightest sign of fatigue.
“Why are you looking at them like that?”
“Ah. Young Palace Lord.”
I told Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin what I had been thinking, and she smiled as she replied,
“They probably find it easier to breathe here than in the North Sea. Since the North Sea is so cold, breathing there is difficult.”
“Ah, I see.”
“And most people of North Sea Ice Palace spent their childhoods outside, so they must be excited to see the wider world again after so long.”
“That makes sense.”
From there, we changed direction and headed downward, arriving at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in Qinghai.
There, we boarded a ship.
Now it was time to leave the travel to the ship and rest.
“I thought my ass was gonna fall off and die.”
At Palgap’s words, I smiled.
“At least you can rest a bit from now on. If your ass hurts that much, do you want me to cool it down for you?”
I asked as I gathered cold Qi in my hand.
“Eek!”
Palgap recoiled in horror at my words.
“What kind of perverted thing is that to say?”
“Why?”
“Tsk! You don’t get to say things like that with a face like yours!”
No, why was I suddenly being scolded?
After spending such a comfortable stretch of time, we eventually arrived in the Yunnan region.
“Then let’s look for an open clearing nearby.”
“Understood.”
The reason we were looking for a clearing was that finding an inn capable of housing over a hundred people at once would be difficult.
Just then, someone approached us.
Huh? That person is…
“Well, it has been a long time! Aren’t you the Handsome Young Hero?”
“Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun?”
He was Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun, the eldest son of Springview Fortress’s Fortress Lord.
“Yes! You remember me!”
He looked extremely glad to see me as he asked,
“But what brings you here?”
Instead of answering right away, I sent a Voice Transmission to Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin, and she nodded.
After receiving her permission, I briefly explained the situation to Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun.
Then Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun smiled and nodded.
“So that is what happened. In that case, please follow me. I will guide you to a place where you can stay for the night.”
A person really should live virtuously.
Looks like I would be able to sleep comfortably tonight.
–TL Notes–
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