5화
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“To witness the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace in person—this is the honor of a lifetime!”
The middle-aged man who had identified the Six Swords of the Willow Tiger was breathing heavily, overcome with excitement.
“The Ice Palace? Are you serious? From that reclusive place… I’ve wandered the Central Plains since my youth, but this is my first time seeing someone from the North Sea!”
The leader who had actually questioned me turned pale at the mention of the North Sea Ice Palace and fled, while the commoners approached with bright faces to strike up a conversation.
“You know of the Ice Palace?”
“Of course! Isn’t it that mysterious sect built of ice, said to be a thousand days’ journey to the north?”
But the answer I received was truly beyond my imagination.
A thousand days? Nearly three years? No, it’s not that far.
And there is no ice castle.
Does that even make sense? Even in the North Sea, the snow melts in the summer.
Ice Moon Lake doesn’t even freeze until November.
“It is also famous that the North Pole Saint Emperor beheaded the Blood-Bearded Demon Emperor during the last uprising of the Demonic Cult! To think I would see the golden branch and jade leaf of the Palace Master himself…!”
“Oh.”
Well, that part was true.
Even if most of the information about the North Sea Ice Palace was wrong.
Some people knew my father’s title, and their reactions were quite favorable.
Are they just gossip-mongers who love rumors of the Murim?
“That beautiful young lady defeated the Six Swords of the Willow Tiger?”
“What happened?”
“She just gave a light tap like this….”
“They say if a martial artist from the Ice Palace touches something, it freezes solid. Didn’t she use that?”
Haha, I do have similar techniques.
But I’m not a mage, you know.
“Gasp!”
Even if they didn’t chatter like the middle-aged man, many people lingered around the inn just to catch a glimpse of my face.
This is the northern part of the Central Plains, a village where Ice Palace disciples might stop by whenever they travel to and from the region.
It seems my father and other disciples never bothered to reveal their identities.
“E-excuse me, Great Hero….”
Meanwhile, the man who had been scrubbing the floor clean fidgeted with his hands.
He couldn’t find a place to rest his gaze and trembled all over.
“Hmm.”
I crouched down to check if he had cleaned it well, swiping my finger across the floor.
“Eek!”
“I didn’t intend to reprimand you over the dust.”
The man let out a scream that shook the inn.
“He must have been startled, thinking you were about to use that martial art from before.”
The gossip-monger whispered.
Now that I heard it, that seemed to be the case.
“That’s enough. Come closer.”
“H-h-h-h-h.”
I was trying to show some mercy, but the man had lost his ability to speak.
Still, perhaps his survival instinct remained, as he crawled toward me.
As promised, I withdrew the Yin-Cold Qi from him and gave him permission to go home.
“Here, this is for the broken table.”
“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!”
When I handed the money to the inn proprietor, he bowed at a perfect right angle.
I paid for the damages with the money I had confiscated from the warriors, and I gave him an entire money pouch, intending for him to cover the meals of the guests who had watched the swordplay today.
“Oh, right, you must not have eaten properly either, right?”
The commotion was mostly resolved, and I was about to head back up to the second floor when I noticed the boy with the bruised face.
Pushed aside by the people trying to get a look at me, he was still clutching his luggage and standing awkwardly.
“I’ll add one bowl of thin noodles for this child.”
Sigh, he must have been terrified.
I ordered a meal for the boy and invited him to our table.
He had been staring at me with a dazed expression, but he snapped to his attention and followed me.
“Ah! Thank you, truly, thank you so much…!”
I hope he doesn’t have any lasting effects from the beating.
The boy bowed his head repeatedly, a beat late, to express his gratitude.
“I was caught three days after running away, and I thought for sure I was going to be beaten to death.”
“They were nothing special, anyway.”
I shrugged lightly and gestured for him to sit and eat comfortably.
Even if Great Hall Master Baek-woong looks a bit intimidating, people from the North Sea are generally kind to children.
He personally placed the utensils in front of the boy.
“This child is….”
“Ah, my name is So-woon.”
I had heard it vaguely from the Six Swords of the Willow Tiger earlier, but the boy introduced himself formally.
His name was So-woon.
His mother had passed away giving birth to him, and his father was a servant working at the Yu Family Manor.
So-woon’s father had cherished his son in his own way and was a diligent worker.
But a few years ago, he had met with an accident in a foreign land while running an errand for the Manor Master.
Fortunately, the Yu Family Manor hadn’t cast So-woon out, so he had been living as a servant to the First Young Master.
The root of his trouble was meeting a master known as the Sword of Radiant Light by chance last year.
“He said I had potential and gave me a plaque, but the Manor Master found out and took it away.”
“No, to steal the liver from a flea! A man who is a Manor Master, at that… you must have suffered so much.”
Wow, what kind of people are they?
They follow a Manor Master who robs a child, yet they talk about morality just because the child stole it back?
“Should I have beaten them up a bit more?”
“O-oh, no, I’m fine!”
When I muttered that, feeling it was a pity I had resolved it so peacefully, So-woon waved his hands, insisting he was truly fine.
“Young Lady, are you not going to wipe out the Yu Family Manor?”
Even Great Hall Master Baek-woong, who had been listening silently to So-woon’s story, chimed in with something even more extreme.
“No, what are we, the Demonic Cult?”
Look at the shocked expression on So-woon’s face.
One must joke in moderation.
There already seem to be so many strange rumors about the North Sea Ice Palace; if an outsider heard that, they wouldn’t even know it was a joke.
“Haha.”
“We need to get to Luoyang quickly; where would we find the time for that?”
“Since you ride so well, Young Lady, we have plenty of time to spare.”
Even so. It didn’t happen in our territory, the North Sea, so why would I go that far for an incident encountered on the road?
I reassured So-woon that Great Hall Master Baek-woong was only joking and that he didn’t need to be afraid.
“Tsk. I finally got to serve you this time, but the opponent was so weak that I couldn’t even properly witness your skills, Young Lady. It’s a pity.”
Even though they are much stronger than me, the Ice Palace disciples always liked to praise me like this.
I scolded him not to say such strange things, but Great Hall Master Baek-woong smacked his lips as if he were genuinely disappointed.
“I wish they had attacked at least once more… well, since it’s come to this, I shall accompany you to the Heavenly Martial Academy. I am Han Yang-hwi, Hall Master of the Baek-woong Hall of the North Sea Ice Palace.”
He finally stopped talking nonsense and offered a greeting.
“Pardon?”
“Hmm?”
The content of what he had said earlier was strange.
“So-woon, are you going to the Heavenly Martial Academy too?”
I had heard it was an academy, but in the vast Central Plains, the Heavenly Martial Academy is not the only one.
I had naturally assumed it would be somewhere else.
“Are you going to the Heavenly Martial Academy as well, Young Lady?”
Is that right?
Great Hall Master Baek-woong’s eyes widened, asking if I had helped him without even knowing that.
“Didn’t So-woon mention the Sword of Radiant Light earlier? The Sword of Radiant Light, Kwak Do-cheon, is one of the Five Swords of Diancang and a martial arts instructor at the Heavenly Martial Academy.”
I couldn’t have known that much…
How would I know the names of the professors before even entering?
Great Hall Master Baek-woong pointed his finger at So-woon’s bundle.
“The plaque you received from the Sword of Radiant Light must be an entrance plaque for the Heavenly Martial Academy, right?”
“……Yes.”
So-woon hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Everything fell into place once I realized the stolen item was an entrance plaque.
The Heavenly Martial Academy selects a large number of people every year through recommendations from major sects or martial arts instructors.
In other words, it’s a structure where if you go to the academy with the plaque, you are granted immediate admission, bypassing the grueling exams.
I also had a plaque given to me by my father, as I was planning to enter that way.
Wait, that aside.
“Wasn’t the Heavenly Martial Academy only open to those fifteen and older?”
Since the academy can’t provide childcare, there is a minimum age limit for admission.
That was why my father had waited until this year to bring it up.
If So-woon goes now, wouldn’t he be ineligible for admission?
So-woon blinked, then smiled awkwardly and said.
“I… I am sixteen….”
What?
— — —
* * *
— — —
Where did the Sword of Radiant Light see martial potential in So-woon?
Even considering that children from the North Sea are more developed, So-woon’s height was below average, and he didn’t have a particularly sturdy build.
I had thought he was thirteen or fourteen when I first saw him, so that says it all.
“Gasp, oh, no… I couldn’t possibly speak informally to you, Young Lady….”
“At least stop calling me Young Lady.”
He didn’t seem to have a bold or spirited personality, either.
He even declined my permission to speak informally, saying we would soon be peers.
“You ride a horse better than I thought, too.”
“Ah, is that so? I just have to sit still, so I don’t really know if it’s difficult.”
Of course, his physical ability didn’t seem bad.
He maintained his balance quite well for someone riding a horse for the first time.
Even though we were traveling at a fast pace and spending ten hours a day on horseback, he was keeping up reasonably well.
“It’s acorn noodles!”
But So-woon’s true value lay elsewhere.
“What is this? Why is it so delicious?”
“I’ve never eaten anything like this either.”
He had ground up acorns he’d picked up in the mountains and created an incredible dish.
“Hehe, there were times when I couldn’t eat at the Yu Family Manor, so I’m quite confident in my cooking.”
They let a child go hungry like this?
No, he is older than me, but still.
Could it be that he didn’t grow because he wasn’t fed properly?
“That is….”
Hearing such a pitiful story, I couldn’t help but think that even if I didn’t wipe out the manor, I should have gone and given them a piece of my mind.
“I’m glad it suits your taste, Young Lady. If the opportunity arises at the academy, I’ll make it for you often.”
The food was truly… truly delicious.
With a little exaggeration, it was a taste that would make it believable if the Sword of Radiant Light had tasted So-woon’s cooking and given him the plaque to hire him as a personal chef.
I nodded with a grateful heart.
A few days later.
“That light over there is Luoyang.”
Having crossed the Central Plains in one breath, Great Hall Master Baek-woong felt a subtle sense of regret.
He seemed to have hoped that the warriors of the Yu Family Manor would follow So-woon and ambush us… but would they be crazy enough to chase us?
From the day we left the village, they hadn’t shown their faces at all.
In any case, our party had somehow arrived in Luoyang.
The roads were better paved and the villages were closer together the further south we went, but the journey hadn’t been entirely easy.
I had boasted that I would visit the Ice Palace during the break, but at this rate, I might just finish the trip by the time I go up and come back down. I had heard that the North Sea was far from the Central Plains, but seeing it for myself, it was truly further than I had imagined.
"I am Seol Sool-ryeo, recommended by Seol Baek-young, Palace Master of the North Sea Ice Palace."
The Heavenly Martial Academy was located south of Luoyang, slightly removed from the city center. The students' living quarters were designed to be hidden behind a central gate and stone walls, but the two pavilions visible from the outside and the long, sprawling training grounds were already incredibly magnificent.
I found an administrator in the white pavilion, where people were coming and going, and presented my token.
"The North Sea Ice Palace?"
The man sitting there flipped through the roster with an expressionless face, but when he looked at my face, he jumped in surprise. He didn't look like a martial arts instructor; was he a senior student? Or an assistant?
"You are the daughter of the North Pole Sage?"
"Yes."
"Good heavens!"
My father must have notified the academy. The assistant, perhaps having heard nothing of it, blinked in utter astonishment. He scanned the documents at an incredible speed, and upon confirming my name written in three characters, he clapped his hands.
"My goodness! To think the North Sea Ice Palace would send someone through the official path! Welcome, young lady!"
My name was there, but it seemed the recommender hadn't been noted on the documents. Even if my father had increased his exchanges with the Murim Alliance, it must have been a fascinating sight for a mere student to behold. His eyes sparkled with no small amount of curiosity.
"The entrance ceremony is on the first day of the third month; please come here then!"
I gave appropriate answers to the questions he threw at me and stepped aside slightly for So-woon, who was next in line.
"Um, the Sword of Radiant Light gave me this token. I am So-woon..."
"Hmm?"
Unlike me, whose name was already on the list, it seemed there had been no word regarding So-woon.
"Hmm... Hmmm~ Hmm, ah! You should wait at the Black Rock Pavilion."
The assistant pondered for a moment while looking through the roster, then pointed toward a pavilion with black roof tiles, saying he needed to go through a verification process. Would a martial arts instructor come to verify it personally? If the First Young Master of the Yu Family Manor had brought the token, he might have suffered a great humiliation.
"Will it take long?"
"Perhaps? I have to look into it, and I'm not sure if they are currently in Luoyang."
What, if they aren't in Luoyang right now, do I have to keep waiting until they return? They would appear before the entrance ceremony, at least... but judging by his tone, it didn't seem like it would be over within an hour or two.
"So-woon, do you have enough money?"
"Yes, yes. Of course."
"If it gets late, I'll see you at the entrance ceremony. We will be staying at the Hwang-young Inn, so come find me if you need help."
So-woon looked a bit flustered, but he bowed his head readily.
"Yes, thank you! Thank you so much for accompanying me...!"
Since I couldn't just wait with him indefinitely, I informed him of our destination and left the academy with Great Hall Master Baek-woong.
"It seems they are holding exams?"
On our way out, Great Hall Master Baek-woong pointed toward the training grounds. Because we had arrived in Luoyang early with time to spare, it appeared the entrance exams were still in full swing.
'The recommendation token really is a good thing.'
The place was quite packed; would I have been able to pass if I had taken the exam formally? Great Hall Master Baek-woong had said that most of those taking the exam were mediocre, but they were still children who had flocked here from all over the Central Plains.
Hmm. The successors of the Namgung Clan or the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace that my father mentioned—they must be entering through recommendations just like me, right? Given that they have an enormous number of branch family members, the competition within their clans must have been fierce. I suddenly worried about how well I would be able to keep up with them.
'Well, I have no choice but to do my best.'
I took a good look at those I would be competing against for medicinal herbs and left the Heavenly Martial Academy. I had heard that leaving the academy would not be easy after enrollment, so I needed to eat plenty of delicious food while I still could.
We checked into the Hwang-young Inn, where we would stay until the entrance ceremony, and sat in a corner on the first floor to order a fish dish.
"It will take a little time; would that be alright?"
"That is fine."
I nodded readily to the waiter and looked around. Perhaps because the Murim Alliance branch and the Heavenly Martial Academy were located here, there were more martial artists in Luoyang than in any village I had visited so far. Yet, the fact that no fights were breaking out at all gave the distinct impression that order was well-maintained.
"Young lady, the stirrup is broken, so I will go to the blacksmith for a moment."
Was it that the Head of the Heavenly Martial Academy, the Great Monk Seon-gak, absolutely detested martial artists causing disturbances and harming commoners? Great Hall Master Baek-woong, who hadn't left my side at all on the way here claiming there was no danger, finally relaxed his guard upon arriving in Luoyang.
I sat in the inn, observing the appearances of those present and gauging their martial prowess while waiting for the food to arrive.
"Um, young lady."
"Yes?"
But not even a quarter of an hour had passed when the waiter returned, trembling and empty-handed.
"Why, are you out of ingredients? Then it's fine if I have another dish."
"No, that's not it... someone is looking for you, young lady..."
Who in Luoyang would be looking for me? Thinking he might have mistaken me for someone else, I stood up.
A giant of a man, standing at least six feet tall and draped in a tiger skin, was striding toward me.
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