"Hoo. Now I can finally breathe."
An arm that no longer felt pain no matter how I moved it. I tested it by rotating my shoulder in circles, then clenched my sword fingers and ran through a few techniques.
There was no problem at all with ordinary movement. As long as I didn't push myself too hard, a moderate swing of the sword should be fine.
"So a month has passed after all."
About twenty days had gone by since Seol Ri-hyang gave me the same gift she had before the regression. In other words, nearly a month had passed since I brought down the Azure-White Flood Dragon.
Naturally, all sorts of complicated and trivial matters had long since been settled. Seol Ri-hyang's internal injuries had been serious, but with the North Sea Ice Palace feeding her every kind of spiritual medicine, she actually recovered faster than I did.
Most of them were mid-low grade elixirs meant not to enhance internal energy but to heal internal injuries and strengthen the body, though…
Even an ordinary citizen who had never learned martial arts would, after eating that much, likely live a hundred years without so much as a minor ailment.
"…I don't think I'll ever see a sight like that again in my lifetime."
"Hmm? What do you mean by that, all of a sudden?"
Tang So-wol, who had been tending to my broken arm with the devotion of a personal physician while I was injured.
She let out a sigh of relief at seeing me fully recovered, then tilted her head in confusion.
"It's nothing. I was just reminded of something that happened two days ago."
"Ah… I suppose that was quite a shock for me as well."
It was around the time Seol Ri-hyang had recovered enough to leave her sickbed and take light walks.
The clan heads of families with a good reputation in the North Sea Ice Palace had all come flocking in, requesting a meeting.
They had brought bundles of Spiritual Medicine that was said to be good for the body.
And then they had subtly hinted that if they were allowed to stay at the North Sea Ice Palace, they would become a reliable right arm, and so on and so forth.
"Hyang-i refused them all and told them to get lost since they were being a nuisance."
"Mm. And she even accepted all the Spiritual Medicine at that."
No matter how mid-low grade they were, Spiritual Medicine was Spiritual Medicine. It wasn't as if she had only accepted one or two, so by common sense, it would have been reasonable to at least hear them out.
…But common sense didn't apply to Seol Ri-hyang, who had been annoyed that those guests kept interrupting the time she spent idling around with me.
"Still, honestly, you were relieved, weren't you?"
"A little?"
The reason the North Sea Ice Palace suddenly started acting as if they'd give Seol Ri-hyang their very hearts and livers wasn't simply because we had taken down the Azure-White Flood Dragon.
It was that final moment. The essence of Glacier True Energy that Seol Ri-hyang had displayed.
It had been possible because several conditions aligned, and she had also devoured the Ice Crystal that the North Sea Ice Palace cherished so dearly.
But as I heard later, at that time Seol Ri-hyang had used her own cold energy as a central axis to draw in the surrounding cold energy and the internal energy of the North Sea Ice Palace's martial artists.
It was with that immense power, grown like a snowball, that she had charged into the Azure-White Flood Dragon.
The important thing here isn't how remarkable a feat Seol Ri-hyang accomplished. It's that, though consent had been given, she was able to unite the internal energy of the North Sea Ice Palace's martial artists with a single verse of a song.
Any major sect has a means of combining the strength of many into one. The Unity Formation is exactly such a case, isn't it?
However, whether it's the Unity Formation or something else, even if one has trained in the same school of martial arts, combining the power of others requires long training and a deep bond that allows one to see into each other's thoughts.
Yet Seol Ri-hyang can do this all by herself. Whether it's due to the Glacier True Energy or not, it's limited to the martial artists of the North Sea Ice Palace.
It's no wonder that everyone—from those who wanted to make Seol Ri-hyang the Young Palace Mistress to those who disapproved of her as an outsider—was completely captivated.
Of course, since Seol Ri-hyang vehemently refused, they all had to back off with tears in their eyes.
My moment of smugly nodding my head in satisfaction lasted only a brief while.
At the entrance to the training ground, a small figure approached with a bouncing, skipping gait.
"Tang So-wol! So you were here. Take a look at what I've brought… Eek!"
Upon confirming my presence, she stopped mid-approach, leaped into the air, and hid herself behind the door.
"Do you think hiding like that will work, Senior Seomun Hwa-rin?"
"I, I am not hiding."
"…"
That's right. Surprisingly, Seomun Hwa-rin had been acting like this for about twenty days ever since she witnessed me and Seol Ri-hyang kissing.
She would hide whenever our eyes met, but she wouldn't completely avoid me—a strange attitude where she'd return to normal during meals or official matters.
Until now, I had let it slide, but… she'd been doing this for longer than I expected, and since it was almost time to return to the Tang Clan, I should probably address it now.
"Senior Seomun Hwa-rin. What exactly did you bring that has you in such a good mood?"
"Hehe. It's a Heart Protection Armor made from the hide of the Azure-White Flood Dragon I caught this time. They say it was made using the hardest scales whole."
"So only Senior Seomun Hwa-rin got something like that?"
"Of course not. You and So-wol have yours too. And there's one for Hyang-i as well. I was originally planning to give them a bit later, but… since you were heading off with Hyang-i, I just handed them over!"
"I have been listening to Seol Ri-hyang quite well lately. Senior Seomun Hwa-rin, would you listen to me for once? Stop hiding over there and come out here."
"I am not here…!"
"That's enough of that."
When I said that firmly, after a brief silence, Seomun Hwa-rin's shadow cautiously peeked out.
She was the same small and flat Seomun Hwa-rin as always, but in her hands was the Heart Protection Armor she had just mentioned.
A clean azure-white color that brought ice to mind. Originally, it had been stained with black spots here and there from being poisoned by the Killing Net Poison.
Once Tang So-wol withdrew her poison energy, the armor returned to its original appearance.
Thump, thump.
A reassuring sound came as I lightly flicked it with my finger.
"This one is definitely fine. It might not be able to block Aura, but it should hold up well against most attacks. …Of course, Protective Qi would still be more efficient for us."
"Hmm. It will be useful in that dire moment when we can no longer even spread Protective Qi. Besides, unlike Protective Qi, you can put it on someone else if needed, can't you?"
"Ah. That is certainly true."
The reason I injured one arm while fighting the Azure-White Flood Dragon this time was simple.
Because the fight was so intense, as it dragged on, I ran short on the internal energy and Intent needed to draw out Protective Qi.
I could wield Sword Force skillfully, but Protective Qi was still unfamiliar to me, which was why it broke midway.
"Well, the Heart Protection Armor was meant for emergencies anyway, so that should be sufficient. …But why cover your face now that we've come this far?"
"Ugh!"
To my surprise, she had been hesitating, but the moment the Heart Protection Armor came up, Seomun Hwa-rin hid her face with her teeth.
She continued with a deep sigh. In a slightly aggrieved tone.
"H-However, there's nothing I can do about it!"
"What do you mean?"
"Now that you and Hyang-i have grown closer, my presence would only be a hindrance, wouldn't it…"
A strangely sullen reaction. Well, that made sense. From Seomun Hwa-rin's perspective, if everyone except her was either betrothed or in a relationship, she'd naturally feel a bit cautious. It seemed a little excessive, though.
"I'm getting old, squeezing myself in among the children like this—what am I even doing… Anyway, it's just a bit awkward."
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that part."
"Yes. If that's the reason, as young hero Cheon says, it's really fine."
"???"
At the immediate reactions from me and Tang So-wol, Seomun Hwa-rin blinked her eyes in puzzlement.
Toward her, Tang So-wol spoke with a gentle smile.
"Sister Hwa-rin has never been all that mature, you see…"
"Ugh!"
"Wouldn't Hyang-i feel hurt if her older sister, who she'd been close to like a friend because their hearts just clicked—wait, no, I mean her mental age—suddenly started keeping her distance?"
"Ah!"
Seomun Hwa-rin covered her ears and twisted her body at every word Tang So-wol said.
She looked like someone forced to witness a truth she desperately wanted to deny.
But covering her ears didn't make the truth disappear. For instance… the fact that no one had ever suspected anything when Seomun Hwa-rin hid her true age.
Rejuvenation defied the natural order of time itself. Thinking of it that way, the current side effects were relatively mild.
Trying to look on the bright side, I added my own words.
"Oh, please, don't worry about it. We actually quite enjoy playing along with Senior Seomun Hwa-rin, so if you were to become distant now, that would be even more upsetting."
"I'm grateful to hear you say that. …But what do you mean, playing along?"
"…That's how they put it when they humor the elders too."
"Elders?!"
Seomun Hwa-rin made a deeply aggrieved expression. This was trouble. She had entered a state where calling her young made her sulk, and calling her an elder made her sulk as well.
In times like this, the best approach was to soothe her with some sweet snack… but this was the North Sea. Sweet foods were scarce here, so they hadn't developed the variety of treats found in the Central Plains.
In a hurry, I pulled out the dried fruit I'd packed to eat on the way to Sichuan Province.
Shashak.
"Heh."
Seomun Hwa-rin displayed the superhuman reflexes of a Harmony Realm martial artist to snatch the dried fruit.
She munched through it in an instant, and only then did her expression soften somewhat. I let out a silent sigh of relief and asked,
"Since the bandages are off, we were about to head to where Seol Ri-hyang is. Would you like to come along?"
"Mmm? Very well. I happened to be with Hyang-i until just a moment ago, so I know where she is."
Seomun Hwa-rin nodded confidently, then slipped between me and Tang So-wol, took each of us by the hand, and began walking ahead.
So there we were, in the same arrangement as a child being led home by the hand of a parent on the evening Market Street.
"This is…"
"Shh. Just don't say anything, young hero Cheon."
For a moment—just a moment—Rejuvenation became a little frightening.
She had been such a reliable adult when we fought the Azure-White Flood Dragon, and yet…
I barely managed to swallow the sigh that tried to escape me.
Well, whatever the case, Seomun Hwa-rin looked happy. That was enough. Probably.
***
Seol Ri-hyang, surprisingly, was meeting the Ice Palace Lord in the reception room rather than her own quarters or the training ground.
However, the situation seemed to be taking a rather strange turn.
"Just once. Won't you reconsider just one last time? If you wish, I'll finish the necessary preparations and immediately hand over the position of Palace Lord to you."
"Aish! Even you, Palace Lord? I said no, so it's no!"
"If not you, Lady Seol, then who on earth is worthy of the Palace Lord's seat!"
"There's Bing Yerin right there! I personally taught her the Glacier True Energy, and recently she seems to have gotten a feel for it, so try raising her well!"
It wasn't a figure of speech—the Ice Palace Lord was truly half-prostrated on the floor, begging, while Seol Ri-hyang, startled, waved her hands as if to shoo him away.
And a little further off, Bing Yerin sat quietly sipping her tea.
At a loss, I stood frozen, unable to make sense of the scene, until Seol Ri-hyang spotted me and broke into a bright smile.
"Perfect timing, Cheon Hwi! Bing Yerin's already loaded everything onto the carriage, so let's head out right away!"
"Still, rather than slipping away like this, shouldn't we at least take our leave properly?"
I handed Seol Ri-hyang, who was pressing insistently against my chest, over to Tang So-wol, then took the seat she had occupied just moments before.
"I didn't catch what you were discussing. Would you mind telling me again?"
"…I was saying that I hope your journey is safe, and that everything you do from now on goes well."
After witnessing my fight with the Azure-White Flood Dragon, the Ice Palace Lord, now far more deferential, rose from the floor as if nothing had happened.