Nearly ten days had already passed since we left the Murim Alliance under the guidance of Bing Yerin and her party.
We were still far from the North Sea Ice Palace, but it was true that we had already passed through Shaanxi Province and stepped slightly beyond the Central Plains.
Naturally, the climate had begun to differ little by little from what I knew.
"No matter how much it's winter, I didn't expect it to be this cold even during the day when the sun is out."
"Sichuan Province is relatively warm even by Central Plains standards. How was Zhejiang Province, young hero Cheon?"
"Zhejiang wasn't that cold either. …But Hebei Province was certainly cold."
When winter came, there were occasionally people who froze to death because they couldn't find food to eat, lacked the money to buy firewood, and lacked the strength to go cut it themselves—but that was all.
But before the regression—back when we were all pushed into Hebei Province, righteous and unorthodox alike, fleeing the Demonic Cult's offensive.
With so many people and so few supplies, martial artists of lower realms couldn't even get enough firewood… and that winter saw a truly terrible number of deaths from the cold.
If even martial artists froze to death, common folk had no chance at all of surviving.
And yet, this winter feels colder than that one did.
"Even so, we still have a long way to go before we reach the North Sea Ice Palace."
"Why do you and So-wol keep sighing like that? With your realms as high as they are, this level of cold shouldn't feel so harsh."
Seomun Hwa-rin was right.
In my case, and in hers, we'd undergone Bone-Exchange Rebirth and reached the state of being impervious to heat and cold. And Tang So-wol, standing at the Transcendent Peak, wouldn't feel the chill much either.
So when we kept saying we were cold, it wasn't the fuss of someone truly freezing and at a loss.
It was because there were people whose energy surged all the more as it got colder, and I was curious how things would turn out.
I tilted my head slightly and pointed toward where Seol Ri-hyang and Bing Yerin were.
"Finally, I can breathe a little. How is it, Miss Seol? This cold energy filling nature! Something you can't taste in the Central Plains, isn't it?"
"Hah… it really is good. What was it. Do you have more of that thing we ate last time? The cold something."
"Ah! You mean the cold-herb?"
"Yeah, that one, that one."
"Heh heh. In the North Sea it grows as common as a weed, so of course I brought plenty. Would you like another one?"
"What… even if it's low-grade, it's still a spiritual herb, isn't it? You have that many?"
"That's true, but to the people of the North Sea Ice Palace, it's like a chicken rib—useless but a pity to discard. It's true that it carries cold energy, but at this level, you can just substitute it by absorbing Natural Qi, and since it has no notable medicinal effects, it's not even used as an ingredient. On top of that, its taste and scent are so peculiar that it's hard to put in tea or food."
"I think it's nice—a little sweet, and it clears your nose…"
"I think so too! But there are quite a few who dislike that sensation. They say you can only pick one or the other. …Those people really don't know what's good. Don't you agree, Young Palace Mistress?!"
"I'm not the Young Palace Mistress. But it's true that they don't know how to eat."
Seol Ri-hyang nodded, sharing the leaves—light green with black spots—one by one with Bing Yerin.
In the past ten days, the two of them had grown remarkably close.
Considering their first meeting, when she instinctively hid behind Seomun Hwa-rin, it was a tremendous leap forward.
Well, no matter how I look at it, it feels like Bing Yerin is just going along with whatever Seol Ri-hyang says.
Ever since she saw Seol Ri-hyang's martial arts at the Murim Alliance, she's been completely smitten.
I'd bet that if Seol Ri-hyang told her to hand over every Spiritual Medicine she had, she'd nod without hesitation.
And Seol Ri-hyang, for her part, seems to like having Bing Yerin around—someone who affirms her endlessly without any hidden agenda.
Of course, Seol Ri-hyang isn't stupid, so she wouldn't just let it slide on the sole basis of being treated well.
…Right?
After briefly excusing myself to Tang So-wol and Seomun Hwa-rin, I headed over to where Seol Ri-hyang was.
Seol Ri-hyang, who had been loudly discussing a topic as radical as how the cold-herb should be used when cooking rice, flinched when she spotted me.
After pondering with an extremely serious expression, she eventually cut the spotted light-green leaf she was holding in half and handed it to me.
Her hand was trembling as if she had a tremor.
"Ugh. Cheon Hwi, if it's you, about half should be…"
"I didn't come here to mooch off you, so you can eat the whole thing yourself."
"Really?!"
Beaming with a wide smile, she tossed the halved cold-herb leaf into her mouth in one go.
Right… if she's happy, then I'm happy too…
Letting out a hollow laugh, I wiped the crumbs from the corner of Seol Ri-hyang's mouth.
"Ah."
Seol Ri-hyang shrank back for a moment as if embarrassed, but perhaps it was because the cold energy filling the surroundings kept her in a good mood all day long.
Unlike usual, she subtly tilted her chin up as if asking for more.
I playfully tugged at her cheek, and when she let out an "Ow!" I looked toward Bing Yerin and asked.
"We should be getting close to the North Sea Ice Palace soon, so there are a few things I'd like to ask… if you don't mind?"
"Of course. As long as you treat the Young Palace Mistress a little better, I'll answer anything."
"It's not Young Palace Mistress. …And Cheon Hwi is right."
"…?"
At the sight of Seol Ri-hyang stroking her own cheek with a satisfied expression, Bing Yerin blinked in confusion… but what could be done? That was just the kind of person she was.
Seol Ri-hyang enjoyed lightly patting others, and she equally enjoyed being on the receiving end of the same treatment.
To be precise, she liked relationships that were that informal.
Well, this wasn't something one could understand just by being accommodating—it was something you could only learn by spending a long time with Seol Ri-hyang.
She shrugged her shoulders once and opened her mouth.
"Bing Yerin. From what I've heard little by little, the Eom, Dong, Seol, Baek, and Bing families of the North Sea Ice Palace are prestigious clans comparable to the Five Great Families of the Central Plains, and most Ice Palace Lords have come from these five families…"
"That's correct. The Ice Heaven Lord, the previous Ice Palace Lord, was my grandfather."
"Since you're from the Bing family, I figured one of your ancestors must have been an Ice Palace Lord, but I didn't know it was that close."
"Thanks to that, I was able to become a member of the envoy heading to the Central Plains."
"Hmm. Your family's influence certainly plays a part, but I don't think that's all there is to it."
Bing Yerin looked to be around Tang So-wol's age, or perhaps a little older. Yet her martial level was only around the mid-stage of the Peak Realm.
The Peak Realm was hardly a low level, but…
Considering the wealth and Spiritual Medicines she had prepared to carry out the original plan while leading the envoy representing the North Sea Ice Palace, it was clear she fell far short of what the task demanded.
In fact, among the North Sea Ice Palace martial artists accompanying her, many appeared stronger than Bing Yerin, and one of them was even close to the Transcendent Peak.
Yet no one objected to Bing Yerin taking the lead, and they all followed her as if it were only natural… which could only mean there was something more to her.
I fixed her with a steady gaze, silently urging her to speak if she had more hidden cards to reveal. Bing Yerin raised both hands lightly in a gesture of surrender.
"People with extraordinary talent usually aren't so perceptive. It seems the Blood Flower Sword Demon excels at both."
"That's just how it is after living a while. Above all, there are things only visible when you step back and watch from a distance."
"Huh? Huh?"
Seol Ri-hyang tilted her head, as if she couldn't follow the exchange between me and Bing Yerin.
Seeing her confusion, I explained in simpler terms so she could understand.
"The North Sea Ice Palace is ultimately a group bound together by martial arts, and the Outer Murim is still the Murim. In the end, martial might is the greatest value."
But Bing Yerin's martial level was subtle compared to the responsibility she bore.
That could only mean one of two things.
Whether finding someone to serve as the Young Palace Mistress in the Central Plains wasn't all that important… or Bing Yerin possessed something beyond martial arts.
"Isn't it fair to say that while we haven't fully boarded the same boat, at least one foot is in the water? I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me whatever you've been hiding. Of course, as I said a moment ago, we haven't fully boarded the same boat, so I can't force you."
"Ah."
Seol Ri-hyang nodded as if she finally understood, then silently looked at Bing Yerin.
In response, Bing Yerin, still wearing a smile, slowly shook her head.
"You don't have to look at me like that—I was planning to tell you everything anyway. After all, it's something you'd naturally learn once we arrive at the North Sea Ice Palace."
Having said that, Bing Yerin gazed into the empty air with her ice-transparent eyes. As if she were trying to draw something invisible.
"Have you ever heard the name Ice Crystal?"
"Of course I know it. Isn't it the sacred relic of the North Sea Ice Palace?"
"I've heard of it. It's that special ice that constantly emits tremendous cold energy even when left alone, right?"
"Yes. You all know it well. The Ice Crystal was the sacred relic of the North Sea Ice Palace and, at the same time, a treasure among treasures that endlessly emitted cold energy. …Not anymore, though."
Bing Yerin said that in a heavy voice. Snowflakes began to drift down gently above her head.
It was probably because the closer they got to the North Sea, the more often it snowed.
Bing Yerin quietly watched a single snowflake melting in her hand, then continued speaking.
"Nothing in this world lasts forever. Didn't someone say that everything changes and changes again? A famous Taoist master from the Central Plains who visited the North Sea Ice Palace long ago said those words. And they are true."
The Ice Crystal was the ultimate vessel of cold energy, endlessly spewing forth frigid air… but it could not last forever.
As time passed and the Ice Crystal's cold energy weakened, the people of the North Sea Ice Palace in ages past began to worry.
Thanks to the Ice Crystal, every generation of Ice Palace Lords had always possessed overwhelming power, and with that power they had been able to protect their people from foreign invaders and the harsh environment of the North Sea.
Without the Ice Crystal, the North Sea Ice Palace would either crumble into disarray or perish together.
Having reached that conclusion, there was one who stepped forward, offering to sacrifice herself.
"She gave her life and poured all the cold energy she had accumulated into the Ice Crystal. And it actually worked. It worked remarkably well."
No matter how great a master, she was still just one person. But the Ice Crystal, having drunk that one person's blood, began to emit cold energy far more fierce than before.
As if it had been feeding on blood and nurturing its cold energy all along.
"After that, roughly once every thirty years, someone would volunteer and give their life to the Ice Crystal. They were mostly women, as they could more easily master Yin-Cold Energy Cultivation… and that is why they were called the Divine Maidens."
"Divine Maiden… is that what you are?"
"Yes. Divine Maidens are chosen only from among those who volunteer, and for as long as they live, they are treated with the highest honor second only to the Palace Lord."
"…"
Somehow, I was beginning to get a rough idea.
"Bing Yerin, so you are the current Divine Maiden of the North Sea Ice Palace."
"That is correct."
"Then coming all the way to the Central Plains yourself…"
"The Young Palace Mistress is someone who will one day ascend to the position of Palace Lord. And the Palace Lord is the only one who can draw upon the power of the Ice Crystal. I wanted to know who I would be dying for. And if I could choose for myself, all the better."
A look of serene acceptance settled on Bing Yerin's face as she spoke.
"…I don't like it."
Seol Ri-hyang's expression, on the other hand, was hard and rigid.