Tang So-wol covered Seol Ri-hyang's mouth with her hand and pulled her back, then stood in front of her and shook her head firmly.
"Hyang-i can't be handed over."
"…?"
That phrasing… isn't it a bit off?
Given the current situation, doesn't it look like we're holding Seol Ri-hyang hostage?
I tilted my head, wondering if this was right, and so did Seol Ri-hyang, who was in my grasp.
Meanwhile, Bing Yerin and the martial artists of the North Sea Ice Palace began jumping around and making a fuss.
"P-please calm down! Who exactly are you, to be suppressing the future Young Palace Mistress of our North Sea Ice Palace like this?"
"Suppressing? That's not a pleasant way to put it. I am Tang So-wol of the Sichuan Tang Clan. And this one here is my betrothed."
When her gaze turned toward me, I hesitated for a moment before nodding my head while still holding Seol Ri-hyang.
"My name is Cheon Hwi."
"Cheon Hwi… the Blood Flower Sword Demon?!"
Bing Yerin jumped again, shouting my alias. She must have picked it up from somewhere, since news of me had been spreading around lately.
…Still, these people have amusing reactions.
I'd heard that martial artists of the North Sea Ice Palace were usually cold and taciturn, but that didn't seem to be the case here.
Well, it wasn't as if I'd personally met every martial artist of the North Sea Ice Palace—I'd only skimmed the records of those who had visited the Central Plains over the years.
Still, it wouldn't hurt to play along for a moment.
I curled up one corner of my mouth in a grin, then reached over and pinched Seol Ri-hyang's cheek with the hand that had been covering her mouth.
"Yeah, I'm the Blood Flower Sword Demon. Did you just say you were taking Seol Ri-hyang away?"
"T-taking her away? I'm inviting her!"
"Same thing. From what I hear, you'd be going back empty-handed without her."
"That's… true, but I'm sure the Young Palace Mistress feels the same way!"
"Hmph. Then why don't we ask her yourself."
I nodded and took my hand away from Seol Ri-hyang's mouth.
She rubbed her cheek and shot me a glare, but then let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
"You called me Lady Bing, didn't you? I appreciate the offer, but I must decline."
"Why?! I told you I'd support everything—martial arts, spiritual medicine, training environment—until you reach the Harmony Realm!"
"Well, I don't know much about the North Sea Ice Palace, but if even half of what I've heard is true, then yes, that would be the case. I'm not doubting that part."
"Then…"
"But if I become the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace, I'd have to live there, wouldn't I?"
"That's true. The master can't be away from their post."
"So that's why I can't accept it."
"?"
Bing Yerin blinked in confusion at Seol Ri-hyang's answer.
Seol Ri-hyang shrugged her shoulders calmly as she looked at her.
"I plan to live together with Sister Tang and Cheon Hwi, so I can't stay far away all by myself."
"…What? I was under the impression that the daughter of the Tang Clan and the Blood Flower Sword Demon were betrothed to each other."
Bing Yerin's eyes, which had been alternating between me, Tang So-wol, and Seol Ri-hyang, slowly began to widen.
"Surely not!"
"That's right."
Seol Ri-hyang, as if to show the startled Bing Yerin, took my hand and Tang So-wol's and placed them on her own shoulders.
The fact that she'd done it with her own hands made me want to laugh a little, but there was no clearer way to show it.
Unless Seol Ri-hyang herself wanted it, I had no intention of sending her to the North Sea Ice Palace.
No matter how different the efficiency of martial arts training might be, this was one thing that would never change.
After all, the reason I'd worked so hard to raise my realm, to become a bridge between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects, and to lead the Jeongsan Yeonmaeng—it was all for my people.
If I lost even one of them, what would be the point?
…Still, refusing too coldly wouldn't be good either.
If I could take down the Heavenly Demon, there would be no problem at all, but if I failed, wouldn't I need to at least run?
Before my regression, the Heavenly Demon had been relentless in breaking down the sects of the Central Plains, but he'd been indifferent to the Outer Murim.
Perhaps after I died, once he'd unified the Central Plains martial world, he might have turned his gaze to the Outer Murim, but at least as far as I remembered, he was a bastard who focused only on the Central Plains.
That was probably why, seizing the opportunity while the Central Plains was in chaos, he'd been quietly pulling strings in the Outer Murim too.
The Poison Demon, who'd invaded deep into the Central Plains to capture Tang So-wol, was one such case; the South Man Beast Palace, which had swallowed up Guizhou after crossing Yunnan, was another; and the Potala Palace, which had appeared offering to take in fleeing refugees, only to use them for human sacrifice, was yet another.
As if they'd formed an alliance beforehand, they avoided each other's territory while quietly taking what they could take.
Among the powerful factions of the Outer Murim, only the North Sea Ice Palace showed no interest in the chaotic Central Plains.
The Demonic Cult and the other Outer Murim forces likewise never touched the North Sea Ice Palace.
Well, to attack the North Sea Ice Palace, which had holed up in its stronghold, one would have to travel a great distance and fight in the cold North Sea.
Even if one fought there, there wasn't much to gain besides martial arts and people, so the cost-benefit calculation didn't add up.
Anyway, that was how it was before the regression, so if I ever needed to flee, the North Sea Ice Palace would be a good choice.
At least it would be better than heading toward Haidong or Dongying. After all, at least the language would be understandable.
So rather than cutting ties completely, it would be better to maintain a loose connection.
Having sorted out my thoughts, I opened my mouth.
"But I'm not saying you should just go back to the North Sea Ice Palace."
"…Yes?"
A thread of hope rose in Bing Yerin's sagging expression, brightening her face.
In contrast, Seol Ri-hyang's gaze began to fill with curiosity, so I smirked and spoke.
"I have no intention of sending Seol Ri-hyang as the Young Palace Mistress. She doesn't want it, and neither do I. However, your situation is what it is, so I wouldn't tell you to leave either. Am I wrong?"
"You're right. If only I hadn't met the Young Palace Mistress…"
"I told you, she's not the Young Palace Mistress."
At Seol Ri-hyang's sharp retort, Bing Yerin quickly changed her words.
"If I hadn't known of Lady Seol's existence, I would have returned quietly, bitter at the moment the Murim Alliance Leader rejected my proposal. But now, I can't."
"Wait, aren't you saying the North Sea Ice Palace is strong? Shouldn't you manage somehow even without me?"
"That's true now. But what about thirty years from now, fifty years from now? …The future of the North Sea Ice Palace is at stake."
"The future…"
Seol Ri-hyang muttered blankly.
She was right. As Bing Yerin said, the North Sea Ice Palace was still strong for now. It would remain so for a while.
The current Ice Palace Lord had not yet reached the Harmony Realm, but he had risen to that position with everyone's support, so he was surely an outstanding leader.
He might have been the strongest martial artist among the remaining candidates, or the most popular, the most capable, or the one with the most legitimate bloodline.
What was certain was that whichever he was, he was capable enough that no major noise leaked out.
However, there was no guarantee that the next Ice Palace Lord would be the same.
What Bing Yerin and the current Ice Palace Lord who sent her worried about was precisely this kind of future.
Coming all the way down to the Central Plains to find a successor was, in a way, part of their flailing to keep the North Sea Ice Palace from ending on their watch.
And in the midst of all that, they had learned of Seol Ri-hyang's existence—someone who could reliably illuminate the uncertain future of the North Sea Ice Palace for a while.
They wouldn't push so stubbornly as to become a nuisance, but they wouldn't give up after a single rejection either.
"So how about this—later, you catch me and we pay a visit together. If Seol Ri-hyang's resolve doesn't change even after seeing the North Sea Ice Palace with her own eyes, then you'll be convinced and back off. How does that sound?"
"…Very well. We'll likely be staying at the Murim Alliance for a while longer, so how about we set a separate date and coordinate our schedules?"
"Good. Let's do that, and for now, would you mind giving us the room? I have separate business to discuss with the Murim Alliance Leader."
"Understood. …And I apologize."
Bing Yerin bowed her head. Following her lead, the other martial artists of the North Sea Ice Palace offered their apologies to our group and the Murim Alliance Leader before leaving the office.
Only then did Seol Ri-hyang let out a deep sigh and poke me in the side.
"It's a bit much to make promises on my behalf, but… thank you. I have no intention of living at the North Sea Ice Palace, but I was curious about their martial arts."
"I figured as much."
Hadn't we just been talking about how my training had hit a plateau, and how I needed a place brimming with Yin Energy, a Spiritual Medicine, or another Yin-Cold Energy Cultivation technique to reference?
It was far away, but fundamentally no different from me visiting the Zhongnan Sect, the Namgung Clan, or this time the Diancang Sect to broaden my knowledge of the sword.
Besides, we'd also said that if we were to go somewhere next, it should be a place someone else wanted to go, not just where I wanted to go.
"Well, if Hyang-i is satisfied, that's enough for me. But if I have a place I'd like to visit on my own, would the young hero Cheon accompany me?"
"Of course. Just say the word whenever."
We nodded and exchanged warm smiles, but only for a moment.
Not only Cheon Hwi and I, but Seomun Hwa-rin, who had been standing on her tiptoes and craning her neck because she was hidden behind the noticeably grown Seol Ri-hyang, finally squeezed her way between us and poked her head in.
"Hmph."
Then, with a somehow dissatisfied expression, she glared at the hand that had been covering Seol Ri-hyang's mouth just moments ago.
"What is it?"
"I'm only saying this now, but is there nothing for me?"
"…"
Was it really just a side effect of the Rejuvenation? Or was Seomun Hwa-rin actually suffering from dementia?
With that slightly irreverent thought, I covered her eyes with my hand.
I figured she'd prefer a little variation over the same old mouth-covering trick.
As expected, she flinched at first, but soon she was grinning contentedly and opened her mouth.
"Murim Alliance Leader. There was a bit of a commotion, but something more important than that has come up, so I've come to visit."
"…I-Is that so."
With my hand covering her eyes, the Murim Alliance Leader stammered awkwardly, as if he didn't know how to react to the sight of Seomun Hwa-rin.
He shot me a look that asked what on earth was going on, but… I had no idea either.
After all, Seomun Hwa-rin often did things that were hard to understand. This was probably one of those times.
I brushed off the Murim Alliance Leader's gaze and pulled out the letter I had received from Great Master Jeonghyeon from my bosom.
"As Seomun Hwa-rin said, I came urgently because there was an important matter. It has already been resolved, but it concerns the Heavenly Killing Star."
"…Did you just say the Heavenly Killing Star?"
The Murim Alliance Leader, who had been sitting comfortably like the former Beggars' Sect Leader he was, straightened his posture in an instant and took the letter with a serious expression.
He began reading the letter, but he read it from the beginning several times over, as if he couldn't believe his own eyes, before speaking with a hollow expression.
"Is this true? The Blood Flower Sword Demon. I only saw your martial art briefly at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, but… your killing intent was enough to make people say you were a Heavenly Killing Star. I'm curious about your opinion."
"As you said, there are few people in the current martial world as sensitive to killing intent as me. And in my eyes, Miss Heo… seemed to have completely surpassed the killing intent of the Heavenly Killing Star."
"I see. So the calamity of slaughter of the Heavenly Killing Star has finally become a problem that can be resolved."
Perhaps it was because he had lived in the same era as the Great Master Gakjeong that he had ties with him.
The Murim Alliance Leader, who had closed his eyes for a moment and been lost in reminiscence, slowly opened his mouth.
"For working to resolve a long-standing wish of the martial world, and for choosing the harder but right path until the very end rather than the easy one—as Alliance Leader, I am truly grateful. Thanks to you two, our descendants will be safe from the rampage of the Heavenly Killing Star, and those born with the Heavenly Killing Star will also be freed from their fated deaths and persecution."
"It was simply what had to be done, and what I happened to be able to do."
"That may be so, but is it not always what one actually does that matters? The Murim Alliance will not forget your righteous deed."
As expected, the Murim Alliance Leader was the Murim Alliance Leader. He had noticed that I, who had just reached the Harmony Realm, sought to raise my reputation and influence within the Orthodox Sects, and he had offered his help in roundabout words.
…Still, I was deliberately keeping my eyes away from Seomun Hwa-rin's direction.
"Well, you've had a long journey getting here. I'll have a room prepared for you—rest as much as you like."
"I am grateful for your kindness."
I bowed my head and left the office.
***
The Murim Alliance's guest quarters were still as fine as ever.
"Ah~ Bingcheon Baegoksu is such a wonderful martial art~ It would pair so well with Glacier True Energy~"
"…"
There was just the small problem of the North Sea Ice Palace martial artists staying in the room next door.