Free Web NovelThe Fourth Seat kept silent, as if testing her.
And Tang Sohwa was used to silence.
Having seen enough people who tested others, she also knew well how to break an impolite hush.
“A Central Plains person who entered the Northern Sea Ice Palace decades ago named the palace an Outland Branch. Do Central Plains people still remain even now?”
Tang Sohwa carelessly raised words that were sensitive.
“I heard the Blood Demon bred the Ice Palace bloodline like beasts and raised them like livestock on a farm.”
The Fourth Seat did not react, but the aura of the martial artists pressed to the floor sharpened.
“The Blood Demon’s goal was a constitution that held extreme yin, so he must have taught ice arts to everyone in order to blossom the Ice Palace bloodline’s Extreme Yin Body. But there is something strange. The Northern Sea Ice Palace’s secret manuals could not have been written in the Central Plains tongue, so if they were raised as molds, there would be no need to learn the Central Plains language, would there? They should have been made to devote even one more hour to martial arts and to build up delicious yin.”
It was insulting speech.
At least, if one knew what happened inside, it was something one could not dare to utter.
The breathing of the young martial artists held humiliation and anger.
Even so, the martial artist called the Fourth Seat only wore an expressionless face and revealed no emotion. He did not even show the slightest ripple of qi.
“My guess is that the Blood Demon had sufficient internal energy stored in his own body and planned to absorb that strength later. And until then, he would use the unbelievers elsewhere.”
A calm voice cut into the cold.
“To the Blood Demon, the Outland is already his domain, so the bastard would turn all his attention to the Central Plains. Likely he studied the Central Plains in excitement, thinking to select Central Plains martial artists’ bodies and build farms.”
Even the chiefs of Red Blood Hall and Blue Blood Hall whom the Blood Demon cherished spoke the Central Plains tongue with fluency.
She spoke as if it were a supposition, yet Tang Sohwa knew everything was reality.
“Relationships and ranks in Central Plains martial society change moment by moment, so he would have needed people to deliver that information quickly. So perhaps he left alone the Central Plains person who spoke that absurd nonsense about an ‘Outland Branch,’ and let the Outland acquire the Central Plains language and culture. Later, when sending unbelievers and cultists into the Central Plains to grasp the terrain of the martial world, it would prove helpful.”
The Blood Demon had collected vast records in the Black Pavilion. Even before he devoured the Outland, it was said he sought and gathered information on the Outland Five Palaces; he would have made the same preparations when aiming at the Central Plains.
It is impossible to survey a vast Central Plains with only a single force unit. Perhaps because of that, the bastard sent unbelievers raised in the Outland into the Central Plains, lumped them together under the name Hidden Pavilion, and exploited their entire lives.
She could not gauge how large that invisible body called the Hidden Pavilion was.
There was only one thing she knew.
That it was impossible to recognize a Hidden Pavilion cultist as an Outlander.
They were perfect Central Plains people.
The Ice Palace bloodline she had seen on Mount Emei; the agents, including Yunjin, who had been in the Sichuan Tang Clan.
And even Namgung Hyun, who had discussed opinions with the Namgung Clan and the Martial Alliance.
A Hidden Pavilion cultist could not be distinguished by appearance or cultural difference.
By now, Hidden Pavilion cultists alone could fully teach the Central Plains language and culture.
Thus the help of Central Plains people who had settled in the Outland was no longer needed.
Would the Blood Demon keep at his side Central Plains people who were useless to him?
It occurs to one that that mad monster would never have done so.
From the monster’s point of view called the Blood Demon, Central Plains people would not have been people, but pouches containing the martial arts of the Central Plains.
He must have been curious what the internal energy of the Central Plains—specifically, of members of the Martial Alliance—would be like in temperament.
Tang Sohwa asked in a chilly voice,
“The Central Plains people who lived in the Outland long ago finished their use and were absorbed by the Blood Demon, and the remaining Blood Cultists are the ones who, even imitating the Martial Alliance, requested an exchange with the headquarters—is that not so?”
No answer of any kind was heard.
Silence once more gave her certainty.
“Is it not an insult to the Martial Alliance to kill Alliance warriors and, imitating them, send an official letter to the headquarters?”
“......”
“At present, due to the Blood Cult’s rampage, the atmosphere of the Martial Alliance is grim, so the warlike Alliance warriors may cross to the North Sea and attempt to fight.”
Sohwa’s voice was not hopeful. If anything, it was dark. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
“Of course, there is no guarantee of victory. It could become a great battle in which the Martial Alliance disappears. As a result, if the Martial Alliance’s power weakens, another alliance will arise, or perhaps the unorthodox will gain ascendancy and the terrain of the martial world will be completely overturned.”
Her voice now, premising the worst, sounded rather more hopeful.
The Fourth Seat listened to the words of the sly Central Plains person.
“If it becomes so, would the Blood Demon not regret it? He has, over a long time, ascertained the lay of the Central Plains martial world, deployed those fellows called the Hidden Pavilion or whatever, and even planted a careful agent inside the Martial Alliance. If the terrain of the martial world changes, he will have to do that work all over again from the beginning.”
Sohwa smiled.
“Therefore, if Martial Alliance warriors now come to the North Sea seeking exchange, the island will not be able to handle them recklessly. They will want to send them back quietly, without incident.”
Tang Sohwa in her previous life had not belonged to the Martial Alliance, so she could not know whether, at this time, the Four-Directions Hall had visited the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
However, seeing that the Alliance Leader permitted the Four-Directions Hall Administrator to go to the North Sea, the probability was high that in her past life as well the Four-Directions Hall had gone to the Northern Sea Ice Palace. The Alliance Leader was striving not to create variables different from her previous life.
As she remembered it, the Four-Directions Hall Administrator had lived to old age. Pang Shihyeon, as an elder, pressured Namgung Hyun, and lived longer even than Tang Sohwa, who annihilated Namgung’s forces.
One could infer that even in her previous life, the Blood Cult bastards of the North Sea had not touched her.
‘It could be that the Four-Directions Hall that came to the North Sea was unable to enter the island and simply returned, but...’
What was certain was that in her previous life, the Four-Directions Hall returned alive from the North Sea, a den of the Blood Cult.
In this life, the Four-Directions Hall set out for the North Sea to obtain Binggeukjicho. That was because, under Tang Sohwa’s influence, yin-natured elixirs had become scarce in the Central Plains.
‘What, then, did she come here seeking in my previous life?’
Was there also, in her previous life, some story for which the Martial Alliance needed a yin-natured elixir?
Whatever it was, Tang Sohwa planned to make use of the Four-Directions Hall to go to that island and return.
The Fourth Seat, who had been gazing at Sohwa for quite some time, let out a sneer.
“So you mean you two will go to that island?”
It was a sound laughing at a preposterous conclusion, yet Sohwa smiled.
“No. What problem would arise from killing two small fry like us?”
Sohwa spoke in a composed voice.
“If the Four-Directions Hall Administrator of the Martial Alliance knocks at the gate, the Blood Cult bastards on the island will not be able to harm Alliance warriors. Rather, they will want to treat them well and send them back, to finish matters peacefully.”
Tang Sohwa’s gaze briefly swept the surroundings.
“The people on the island have failed to capture the Northern Sea Ice Palace bloodline for over three years and will be watching the Blood Demon’s mood, so they will not think to hinder his plans any further. If they possess anything like thought.”
One corner of the Fourth Seat’s mouth lifted.
The ash of a hundred ghosts asked, with a voice that held a hollow laugh,
“So you say the Martial Alliance’s Four-Directions Hall Administrator has come to the North Sea?”
“Yes. To obtain a yin-natured elixir, they are coming to request exchange with the North Sea Branch. I do not know the exact date, but they will arrive within a few days.”
“They will arrive within a day.”
The First Seat, who had been quiet, cut in.
For the first time, the Fourth Seat turned his head to the First Seat. Tang Sohwa did likewise.
Perhaps feeling that the gaze had fallen on him, the First Seat spoke while still crouched.
“The Four-Directions Hall crossed the border. As the physician said, they seemed to be heading toward the island.”
“Physician? Unhyeon, do you still regard this person as a physician?”
The Fourth Seat gave a small laugh.
The old man turned his head again and fixed his gaze on the two Central Plains people.
“This Young Lady—does her body have a problem? I feel no qi at all. But judging from her bones and posture, she is a martial artist who has, in her own way, trained external arts with diligence. And the young hero behind her has qi that exceeds his age. It is neither a sinister qi nor the qi of generous measure. It seems not something gathered over time by the Tonap method but the absorption of the strength of medicine—he must have taken an elixir.”
The ash of a hundred ghosts let his gaze sweep Namgung Jin.
“Though he is not yet at an age to exercise his ability and have his martial skill recognized, seeing him rewarded so excessively, he must be a precious one, perhaps a Little Clan Head of a martial noble family. Whether martial noble family or sect, the bestowal of an unusual elixir is not a common matter. Seeing that someone could force through such an absurd reward for him, he must be a direct line of a martial noble family whose Clan Head’s power is strong and whose finances are sound.”
Sohwa was somewhat surprised that the Fourth Seat had quickly seen through the two of them, but she considered it fortunate. It seemed unnecessary to give a long explanation of her identity. free𝑤ebnovel.com
“As you say, we are members of the Martial Alliance. I am sorry.”
She apologized quickly.
And she hoped the Fourth Seat would take no further interest in Namgung Jin.
In the end, the Northern Sea bloodline had been escorted to the Martial Alliance and then killed—by Namgung, at that. The Northern Sea bloodline seemed unaware of their own death, but if they heard the story, they might bear a grudge against Namgung; she had to be careful.
Sohwa turned their attention to the Four-Directions Hall.
“I intend to persuade the Four-Directions Hall Administrator personally and enter the island. While the Administrator holds the attention on the island, I will quietly locate the Passage and break the formation.”
“Can you destroy the Passage?”
“If I can only find the location, I can.”
It was said the sorcery of the Passage was finicky: even a single wrong character would shift the location and block the flow. One need only hack to pieces the engraving on which the sorcery was written. It was impossible to kill every Blood Cultist inside the island, but for Tang Sohwa, who could poison hundreds, it was possible to put those around to sleep and move for one night.
And the bloodline before her eyes would know the Passage’s location well.
Those raised as molds had crossed the Passage into the Central Plains.
“Judging from how you take a boat at half-day intervals and break the ice, it seems the time the ice takes to form is short. If you are even a little late, it will become a thickness difficult to break by boat. Please hold the boats for about a day. That will be enough.”
The Fourth Seat stared at Sohwa, then turned his head back.
“Unhyeon.”
“Yes.”
“You show them the way.”
The First Seat hesitated a moment before answering.
“...Yes.”
Perhaps sensing something odd in the answer, the Fourth Seat tilted his head.
“Surely you are not afraid?”
“No.”
After some thought, the First Seat answered.
“In truth, I have a connection with the Four-Directions Hall Administrator.”
“Ah.”
The Fourth Seat let out a laugh.
“Was your epithet in the Central Plains White Wind Cloud Adept? Since you lived as a black-path outlaw in Hubei and even gained an epithet, it is natural you would be acquainted with the Four-Directions Hall Administrator.”
At those words, Sohwa’s brow creased.
White Wind Cloud Adept?
With a feeling of “surely not,” she studied the face of the martial artist called the First Seat.
Having married the Namgung Clan Head’s illegitimate son, she had heard a few of Namgung’s taboos.
One of those was the Four-Directions Hall Administrator, Pang Shihyeon.
Namgung An, who had been Clan Head of the Namgung Clan, and Pang Shihyeon had once been lovers, but it was said Pang Shihyeon set eyes on a black-path outlaw ten years younger than herself and insulted Namgung An.
Sohwa swallowed dryly.
The end of that tale was not good.
That black-path outlaw had approached Pang Shihyeon, who at the time was a member of the Four-Directions Hall, to steal something from her; in great anger at the betrayal, Pang Shihyeon personally executed him and his comrades.
The epithet of the black-path outlaw who died then was White Wind Cloud Adept.
‘...And yet, you say he lived?’
Suddenly catching the scent of pine resin drifting from behind, Sohwa looked back. Namgung Jin, mouth agape, was staring at the White Wind Cloud Adept.
‘Ah, he is Namgung as well.’
On second thought, this side had even more cause to be shocked.
‘My father’s...’
With a complicated mind, Sohwa stopped thinking.
In any case, she fully understood why that Northern Sea martial artist had shown a troubled face at the Fourth Seat’s order. The Four-Directions Hall Administrator, too, would be reluctant to face that man.
Sohwa, who habitually gauged what lay ahead, started.
‘...Wait a moment. Does this not mean I must take those two people and enter the island?’
Sohwa opened her mouth in haste.
“A map alone would be sufficient. We are Central Plains people, so perhaps the island will open the gate for us, but as for you, First Seat, you will be bound at once.”
“Do not worry. The children here know the island’s topography better than you do. If we hide you and take you inside, you will be able to move unseen.”
The Fourth Seat shook his head.
“Moreover, you do not know what the Northern Sea Ice Palace is like. Even if we tell you the location of the Passage, it is impossible for you to destroy that Passage from within. Less than half is fit for human habitation; most of the Ice Palace is mountainous.”
Sohwa frowned, not understanding, but the Fourth Seat did not kindly explain.
“We will hold the boats for over three days; you go, inform the Central Plains people of the Passage’s location, and come out.”
“Yes.”
Northern Sea martial artists obeyed the Fourth Seat unconditionally. None added a cavil.
Judging the conversation ended, the Fourth Seat sat on a chair and spoke.
“While we wait for the bastards to bring out the boat, I shall also eat. The smell is hard to endure.”
Sohwa gazed blankly at the Fourth Seat, who had ended the conversation, then lowered her head.
“Please wait just a moment.”
“Ah, you all may rise now.”
At the Fourth Seat’s permission, the Northern Sea martial artists set their postures right and went to find their places.
The Fourth Seat seemed to feel something amiss and narrowed one eye.
“Why are those who are uninjured climbing onto the sickbeds?”
Namgung Jin answered in her stead.
“Those sitting on the sickbeds are the patients.”
The Fourth Seat looked back and forth between the sickbeds and the floor as if it were hard to believe. That those with oil pouring down their faces were patients, and those so parched they seemed about to faint were the sturdy—one would be flustered.
In an instant, the Fourth Seat understood the situation.
Those who were uninjured, having starved long, were no better than the patients.
“...It was not a time to focus on training.”
Seeing the martial artists who kept silent at the Fourth Seat’s words, Sohwa also kept her own mouth shut. Only, Namgung Jin did not.
“Does the Northern Sea Ice Palace also do closed-door training?”
As a martial artist, he seemed to have had his curiosity stirred by the North Sea’s sword cultivation.
At the pure question, the Fourth Seat let out a laugh.
“When you go onto the island you will see, but the Northern Sea Ice Palace itself is an isolated place. There is no particular need to dig a cave in the mountain and seek enlightenment. Claiming a snow mountain alone and keeping company with death yields more enlightenment.”
“Ah, that reminds me—I saw traces in the gorge of a sword art that had cleanly carved away a rock face. Might that be the Bloodless Full Moon Sword?”
“Do you wield the sword, then? You seem to have much interest in the Ice Palace’s sword arts.”
“Yes.”
Namgung Jin did not hide his favor.
Perhaps liking that attitude, the Fourth Seat nodded and answered.
Hardly had one curiosity been satisfied when Namgung Jin asked another question.
“As I know it, the Bloodless Full Moon Sword is one of the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s Five Peerless Arts; even after perfecting the Bloodless Full Moon Sword, why do you hide instead of fighting the Blood Cult?”
“To fight with one’s life and die is also an honorable thing. Only, the Northern Sea Ice Palace places greater weight on using strength to protect the bloodline.”
The Fourth Seat began to speak, then waved his hand.
“Ah, this is not what one would call speech of a council. It is simply that, in the long term, it is better to have many who have perfected the Five Peerless Arts than to have one. All regulations of the North Sea are, in the end, for the cultivation of the North Sea’s Seven Seats; those of us who are older become weak before the young ones.”
For a brief moment, Najin’s gaze flowed turbidly. It seemed the standard for “becoming weak before a child” differed from person to person.
Namgung Jin pretended not to see that soundless insubordination.
“Fourth Seat, you seem to remember the regulations of the Ice Palace; perhaps you lived in the Ice Palace before it fell?”
“The last Ice Palace Lord was my grandfather. I am about here.”
The Fourth Seat tapped, with his hand, the first page of the genealogy Tang Sohwa had given him. It was the upper part of the paper.
Considering how they had, to increase the Northern Sea bloodline’s numbers, made them breed indiscriminately, one could regard him as a first generation who had been subjugated by the Blood Demon. And over a long time, he was one who had sired many children.
Tang Sohwa had struggled to put the Northern Sea Ice Palace genealogy in order. That was because there was one who had sired children over a very long time.
It was not because that one lusted after women. On the contrary, the Blood Demon used him like a breeding stallion.
In truth, the majority of those who received his blood were born with the Extreme Yin Body.
However, from a certain point, his children no longer possessed the Extreme Yin Body. Thereafter, the Blood Demon used him no more.
Tang Sohwa realized that this one called the Fourth Seat was the man the Blood Demon had used as a breeding stallion. Her gaze fixed on the Fourth Seat. She strove not to put sympathy in it.
To survive and prepare revenge was several times harder than to die.
Her family in the Tang Clan had chosen death instead of the survival they wished for.
Looking at the grandson of the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord, who had endured hell for decades, she felt an emotion she could not describe.
Then, the Fourth Seat, who had been taking in the genealogy with his eyes, spoke.
“It is arranged very meticulously, but those here are not all of our bloodline. On occasion, there were those whom the Blood Demon took as he fancied. The children chosen by the Blood Demon were moved to his genealogy. The Blood Demon managed separately the molds that bore his blood. A madman who believes his own blood to be the most superior in the world.”
Tang Sohwa deeply agreed with the last remark.
Seeing that their gaze toward the madman was the same, she felt a faint favor toward the Fourth Seat.
“Fortunately, I am still alive and remember them, so I will be able to fill the empty names here.”
“Has the Blood Demon taken many over the years?”
“It is a rare thing, but the bastard has done his dog’s work for so long that their number is not small. My younger sister, too, was dragged away by the Blood Demon.”
