Free Web NovelBecause of the falling snow, the surface was covered in white.
It felt strange, as if walking upon the sea.
Then, approaching footsteps were heard.
"Seems this is the first time I’m seeing your face in person."
Sohwa turned her head toward the voice.
It was not spoken to her.
The Black Tortoise Pavilion Lord, who had been walking ahead, came up to Namgung Jin.
With a smile, Namgung Jin responded to the Pavilion Lord’s words.
"It is an honor to meet the Pavilion Lord like this."
The Black Tortoise Pavilion Lord gave a laugh, and yet, for some reason, his face looked pained. He hesitated, then spoke.
"Since Cheonghae always praised the Young Clan Head, I thought that fellow was just a man crazed for the family—but it seems he was simply saying what was."
Namgung Jin’s face hardened.
Namgung Cheonghae was Namgung Jin’s cousin. He was also the reason Namgung Jin had come to pursue the Blood Cult. Now that he thought of it, Namgung Cheonghae had belonged to the Black Tortoise Pavilion.
Quietly turning her head forward, Sohwa pretended not to have heard.
But for all the effort of averting her gaze, the sound of the two men’s conversation continued to reach her.
"What kind of person was Brother Cheonghae?"
"Would you not know better than I?"
"I am curious what sort of person Brother looked like from the outside."
"Cheonghae was... capable and diligent. To the point that even someone like me, who cannot trust people, could entrust him with work without hesitation."
With a bitter smile, the Black Tortoise Pavilion Lord added,
"He also had the nerve to ignore a superior’s words."
Namgung Jin asked back in surprise.
"Brother once ignored the Pavilion Lord’s order?"
It seemed he could not imagine Namgung Cheonghae going against a superior’s command.
"It was the sort of affair one might. No—let me say, there must have been a reason. If Cheonghae chose so..."
"Pavilion Lord."
At the Administrator’s call, the Pavilion Lord returned to his place at once.
Perhaps because the conversation had been cut off suddenly, an awkward air flowed.
Namgung Jin suddenly opened his mouth.
"Brother Cheonghae belonged to the Black Tortoise Pavilion of the Four-Directions Hall."
"Yes, I know."
After a brief silence, Namgung Jin asked in a small voice,
"Could Brother Cheonghae’s death be related to the Four-Directions Hall?"
Sohwa answered frankly.
"I do not know."
"If we ask the Pavilion Lord, will he tell us?"
Looking at the Administrator and the Pavilion Lord walking ahead, Sohwa answered,
"If you are going to ask anyway, it seems better to ask the Administrator."
The Administrator had called to the Black Tortoise Pavilion Lord and said nothing.
Perhaps she had sent a sound transmission, but it could also be that she had given a warning to keep his mouth shut.
The Administrator was being careful with her words.
She was so even now. Though Namgung Jin’s voice should have been audible, she gave no response.
Sohwa did not suspect that the Administrator had killed Namgung Cheonghae. If she was hiding something, Sohwa thought there would be reason for it.
However, if Namgung Cheonghae’s death was truly connected to the Four-Directions Hall, they had to learn the circumstances.
Less for Namgung Jin’s sake than because it concerned the Blood Cult and could not be ignored.
Crunch.
Before they knew it, the party reached the island.
Seen up close, the black cliffs were stranger than expected. The way they wrapped the island like a flower bud—only, rather than soft, they were rough and sharp.
"Where is the entrance?"
Unwittingly, the Black Tortoise Pavilion Lord muttered to himself.
He had heard there was a gate in the cliff that led to the palace, but there was no gap in the jagged rock wall.
Then, a sound like heaven and earth rumbling was heard.
Rumble.
The middle of the cliff slid sideways and revealed an entrance. Through the open gate came people in yellow clothing, marching in a line.
About twenty martial people and two carriages could be seen.
In one carriage sat a middle-aged man; the other carriage was empty.
The man was around fifty to sixty; perhaps because he kept smiling pleasantly, he looked light for his age.
No one tensed at the sight.
Soon the carriage drew up right before them.
Looking down at the party from the carriage, the man asked,
"Have you come from the Central Plains?"
To that question, the Administrator gave a short answer.
"That is so. Are you people of the Northern Sea Branch?"
The Administrator did not go out of her way to be polite. She replied as that man in yellow, who had come to receive them, did.
The Administrator also did not seem to regard the man before her as someone high.
Unconcerned, the man smiled.
"No. I am not a man of the Northern Sea Branch, but the Family Head of the Eom family, one of the three great houses of the Northern Sea. My name is Eom Gyoga. I personally came to receive our guests."
"So you are the Family Head of the Eom family. I am Pang Shihyeon, Administrator of the Martial Alliance’s Four-Directions Hall."
Pang Shihyeon put her hands together and gave a brief greeting.
"We have brought a carriage to carry the Administrator; let us sit and speak as we go."
"Were you expecting us?"
"There are from time to time those who deliver the Central Plains’ news even to the Northern Sea. If it is news of the Martial Alliance, naturally one should know it."
The Eom Family Head laughed heartily.
Pang Shihyeon also smiled, but her eyes were dark.
At the Eom Family Head’s suggestion, she boarded the carriage, and the party followed the Eom family into the island.
Sohwa pricked her ears to the conversation between the Family Head and the Administrator, but because of the sound of footsteps and wheels rolling, she could hear nothing.
Then the Eom Family Head turned his head back to check the party’s expressions. His face was full of smiles.
"It is a more livable island than you would think, is it not?"
Turning his head forward again, he resumed speaking with the Administrator.
The instant the view opened up, Sohwa understood the Family Head’s words.
White cloud-mist encircling the city drew the eye.
Through the fog rose high pavilions.
That hazy, snowy-white city was ringed by snow mountains.
A subtle warmth circulated over the island.
Taking in the surroundings, Sohwa observed the city.
From the stream that cut through the city rose milky steam. The true nature of the cloud-mist was water vapor.
Also, the pavilions were built of stone. Whether by stacking small stones, where the paint had peeled, brick showed.
'It must have taken much labor to make the city.'
Seeing that hot-spring water had been supplied artificially, it was a city someone had planned and made.
They had said the Northern Sea Ice Palace had brought in outsiders and settled them, but it seemed they had not accepted just anyone.
The hot-spring water appeared to flow into the pavilions. Through open windows, one could at times see inside, and people’s clothing was thin. In the Northern Sea, where trees did not grow well, it was a more efficient method of keeping warm than procuring firewood.
Also, there were many people in the streets. Carts going back and forth without rest were full of goods, and there were stalls displaying silk or crafts.
It was the opposite of the scene seen in the gorge.
The ice mountain drew closer and closer. A low wall encircling the mountain came into view.
Rolling her eyes, Sohwa gauged the wall’s length. Only, the wall stretched on endlessly like a fence.
"This is the Northern Sea Branch. Please first go and meet the Branch Lord."
At the Eom Family Head’s words, the Administrator got down from the carriage. Then the Eom Family Head added, as if remembering,
"Ah, as for where the Four-Directions Hall will stay, we have prepared it at our Eom family. As you see, the palace is not a good place for honored guests to stay, so we have emptied the hot spring we operate. We will be waiting here, so please take your time coming out."
"Thank you. Then we will trouble you."
Smiling pleasantly again, the Eom Family Head said, freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"By the way, is what’s in that carriage the Four-Directions Hall’s baggage? Or gifts to give the Branch Lord?"
"There is baggage and there are gifts."
"Mm. I was going to say we could have it carried instead to the hot spring, but if there are gifts, you will have to bring them in. To go to the palace, you will likely have to cross a mountain range or two—hard work, I imagine."
Narrowing his eyes, the Eom Family Head said,
"From the palace, beasts now and then come down from the mountain, so it could be dangerous to bring horses in... but if you will not be staying long, it may be all right. In any case, be careful."
"Yes, then we will see you again."
No sooner had Pang Shihyeon finished speaking than she went into the Ice Palace. The Black Tortoise Pavilion Lord hastily followed behind.
Creak.
Though it was the gate of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, its security was so lax it could be pushed with one hand.
Entering the Ice Palace, Sohwa quietly watched the Administrator’s back.
Perhaps it was only a feeling, but she felt as if the Administrator were angry.
Though the Eom family had shown favor, her demeanor was cold.
Beside her, Namgung Jin spoke in a small voice.
"Something is odd."
Sohwa thought he meant to point out the Administrator’s attitude, but Namgung Jin said something else.
"They said beasts come down from the mountains, yet the wall is excessively low."
Sohwa’s gaze moved to the wall. Beyond the low wall, the snug city could be seen. But the voice that pierced the eardrum was chilly.
"If beasts come down from the mountains, then the dwellings should be far from the palace, or there should be guards on the wall, but neither is the case."
"Perhaps the days when beasts come down are not frequent."
"Well."
In a low voice, Namgung Jin said,
"It may simply be that there are often affairs for which one must put the blame on beasts."
Was it a martial person’s sense? Namgung Jin, seeming to feel something off-putting, gazed at the snow mountains with dark eyes.
The higher they climbed the snowy mountain, the more the city’s noise faded.
Crunch.
After crossing two mountains, a single stone building revealed itself.
It was not a building made by stacking small stones, but a palace hewn from a massive rock.
Looking down at the building, the Administrator said,
"The two of you will guard the carriage here. Our Four-Directions Hall will go to the palace."
Looking around, perhaps feeling no presences, she added an explanation.
"If the palace knew our Four-Directions Hall would come, they may have checked numbers and appearances. We will draw a line so that you two are regarded as outsiders who joined midway."
Sohwa and Namgung Jin assented to the Administrator’s words.
Giving a caution, the Administrator went straight down the mountain.
After confirming the Four-Directions Hall entering the palace, Namgung Jin went to the wagon. Leaning his body against the wooden wall, he muttered as if to himself,
"They said there is a passage in the palace, too—will you find it today?"
As if in response to the voice, the carriage’s shadow shifted.
Though the sun had not completely set, because of the thick trees the surroundings were dark. Thanks to that, their figures were well concealed.
From the carriage—no, from above in the trees—came Baek Unhyeon’s voice.
"As we must go deep inside, I cannot be sure we will find it today."
Namgung Jin lifted his gaze.
"Perhaps it is only a feeling, but I sense something off-putting."
"What sort of feeling?"
"I do not know that well."
Baek Unhyeon quietly stared at the mountain range.
"Do not worry overmuch. I will find and close the three passages inside the palace as quickly as possible."
They had said there were six passages on the island. The vertices of a hexagram formed by laying a triangle and an inverted triangle one over the other were the passage positions. Thus, if one found two passage positions, one could naturally learn the positions of the remaining passages as well.
Having seen them depart, Namgung Jin gave no further warnings and wrapped up the conversation.
"Please be careful."
All the while he waited for the Four-Directions Hall to return, Namgung Jin showed a strange reaction. He looked down upon the palace below the mountain, then looked up at the ice mountain that spread endlessly, and repeated it. Then, as if he felt a gaze upon him, he cleared his throat.
"Pay it no mind. Being on guard is a habit."
Calmly, Sohwa asked,
"What is it that troubles you?"
After hesitating, Namgung Jin said,
"The Ice Palace, as the Eom Family Head said, gives off a feeling similar to the habitat of mountain beasts. As if fleeing from predators, not even the sign of insects can be felt—and yet the trees bear marks of damage."
Following his fingertips with her eyes, Sohwa stared at the coniferous forest.
"There are a few whose branches have been cut and trunks hewn; some look as if torn by claws, and yet some marks are clean as cut by a sword."
Namgung Jin’s gaze was dark.
"In any case, something is off-putting."
Namgung Jin was not as usual. Sharply setting his momentum, he reacted sensitively to the environment. It was distinctly different from when they had gone about searching for the Ice Palace blood kin.
Watching Namgung Jin, Sohwa asked,
"Do you often feel this sort of wariness?"
"No. It is rare."
"What is the probability that the Young Clan Head’s sense is right?"
After a brief silence, Namgung Jin answered.
"Until now, I have never once been wrong."
A cold wind brushed his ear.
A chilly, heavy energy drifted.
Crunch.
Then, footsteps were heard. The Four-Directions Hall warriors, who had at some point left the palace, were coming up the mountain.
Only then did Sohwa reply,
"This time, let us hope that sense is not right."
"Yes, it is about time it was wrong once."
Forcing a smile, Namgung Jin straightened the body he had been resting against the wagon.
Having returned, the Administrator looked at the two and asked,
"Did they go?"
"Yes."
Though the subject was omitted, Namgung Jin understood the Administrator’s question. At his answer, she nodded.
"Now let us go and do our part as well."
Without a sound, the two inclined their heads and assented to her intent.
While the Northern Sea Ice Palace blood kin sought the passages, the Central Plains people went outside the palace to draw attention.
