"…I wished you a safe journey and success in all that lies ahead."
As if she had never been on the floor begging Seol Ri-hyang to make her the Young Palace Mistress, the Ice Palace Lord rose with perfect composure and offered her well-wishes.
The shift in attitude was so swift it was almost absurd. As I let out a hollow laugh, the Ice Palace Lord seated across from me spoke with a forced smile.
"I hear you'll be leaving soon."
"That's right. I've stayed longer than planned, so it's about time I headed back."
At first, I had clearly left home saying I wanted to see the swords of the Diancang Sect.
Now that my body had recovered, she must have assumed I was going back to prove that the rumors of my reaching the Harmony Realm had spread.
To be honest, I did have that intention to some extent.
And after sending off his daughter and son-in-law like that, it wouldn't have been long before he heard from the Murim Alliance that we had resolved the Heavenly Killing Star issue for the Diancang Sect.
Unable to make heads or tails of it all, he could only wait for the day we returned home… but what flew in instead was a letter that was closer to a notice that we were heading to the North Sea Ice Palace.
He sent a frantic letter in response, but nearly two months have passed without any reply.
For the record, I still don't know the contents of the letter Tang Jincheon sent. That's because Tang So-wol has kept it stored away without even bothering to unfold it.
"Hoo…"
"If there's some reason you need to stay, you're welcome to remain as long as you'd like."
Not sure what he made of my sigh, the Ice Palace Lord took the opportunity to subtly urge me to stay.
But I couldn't stay. I needed to return as soon as possible. If I didn't… wouldn't Tang Jincheon come all the way here looking for me? He was exactly the type to do so.
"It's fine. I've already made up my mind to return. I'm grateful, but please don't press me further."
"…Understood. Then let me speak of something else for a moment."
The Ice Palace Lord cleared his throat a couple of times before speaking.
"Ahem. As promised earlier, I've had everything related to the Azure-White Flood Dragon sorted and organized. You may take it all as is."
"The inner core is one thing, but the bones and hide alone must be an enormous amount. How do you plan to move it all?"
"For now, the only option is to load it onto carts and have people pull them directly. It's too heavy for livestock, and the remaining aura of the Azure-White Flood Dragon keeps frightening the animals."
"I've discussed that part with the others. There's no need to bring everything at once, is there? We've agreed to maintain frequent exchanges with the Tang Clan anyway."
"Ah! Then let's hand it over gradually, and for now, you'll take the most precious parts first?"
"That would be best. What would the most precious parts be?"
"First, of course, the inner core. Even the Ice Crystal, which had lost most of its power over time, was immense—but the inner core from the Azure-White Flood Dragon, combined with the inner cores of the Azure-White Cold Serpents, is even greater than that."
That made sense. The Spirit Beast that the founder of the North Sea Ice Palace had supposedly captured—I didn't know how strong the mother of the Azure-White Flood Dragon had been, but the Azure-White Flood Dragon itself wouldn't have fallen far behind.
In fact, though not as much as the Central Plains, the North Sea Ice Palace also had its fair share of precious cold iron. Even when sealed in a box made entirely of the stuff, the chill still seeped out.
In the end, they'd resolved it by placing the cold iron box inside an even larger cold iron box, double-layering it.
Seol Ri-hyang, who had been listening to the conversation, poked her head out from Tang So-wol's arms and spoke.
"Hmm. I don't plan to swallow the inner core directly, but rather use the power that flows from it for my training…"
"A wise decision. In that case, it would be best to send a skilled technician along with the people you're dispatching this time."
"Ah! Thank you. Anyway, since it seems it'll be installed somewhere for a while, I was thinking of giving the inner core a name… I thought of calling it the Millennium Ice Crystal. Would that be alright?"
"The name Ice Crystal has become a symbol of the North Sea Ice Palace, but given the inner core's origins, and considering the exchange between the Ice Palace and the Tang Clan that we'll be building from now on, this is actually something I'd like to request of you. Feel free to call it whatever you like."
Seol Ri-hyang bowed her head toward the Ice Palace Lord, who had readily given his permission, then hid behind Tang So-wol once more.
She wasn't usually like that… She must have been through quite an ordeal.
At that, the Ice Palace Lord scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.
"Ahem. Anyway, as for the next precious item, you've likely already received it."
"Are you perhaps referring to this Heart Protection Armor?"
"I made it using a few scales where the energy was especially concentrated—whether because of the poisoning or the surging cold, I couldn't say. I only hope that one day it might prove useful to you, my benefactors."
"Well, it'd be best if that day never came."
"Haha! That's true enough."
The Ice Palace Lord nodded and laughed aloud—but only for a moment. With a slightly uncertain expression, he hesitated before continuing.
"As for the last one… one might say it's a bit ill-omened."
"What is it?"
"The boy's remaining eye."
"His eye?"
"It wasn't like a Qi Deviation, where the energy runs wild and the eyes turn red."
That was true. No matter how extraordinary a Spirit Beast the creature was, it shouldn't have been beyond the grasp of two Harmony Realm Martial Artists. Especially not while it was poisoned with Killing Net Poison.
It had been possible only because it had devoured the cores of countless Azure-White Cold Serpents and let that energy run rampant.
The fact that its originally scale-like, transparent blue eyes had turned red was also a side effect of that.
"When the flow of one's original energy is severed, any temporary changes are supposed to revert to normal."
"Indeed. No matter how great one's achievement in the External Arts, even reaching the Indestructible Vajra Body, once life is cut off, the body does not maintain that Vajra-like hardness."
"However, that creature's eyes are different. I don't know the reason, but the Azure-White Flood Dragon's energy that had settled in its eyes remains there. And it still churns violently within, stained red."
"It's one thing for the energy to remain, but you're saying it's still moving violently? If so, the energy should have drained away long ago."
"That's what makes it so peculiar—it's perfectly intact. I don't know by what principle it's possible, nor where this massive eye should be put to use, but that's precisely why it's one of the most precious things we've obtained."
"Indeed. Hearing that, it makes sense. Then what about the other eye? I recall it was badly cut and couldn't function properly, but it was still attached nonetheless."
"That one was nothing special. As part of a Spirit Beast, it held considerable internal energy, but… it was no different from any other piece of flesh."
That made sense. Perhaps because only one eye remained, all the energy had concentrated into it.
After that, the Ice Palace Lord gave me a brief rundown of what we'd gathered from the Azure-White Flood Dragon's corpse.
Aside from the three most precious items we'd be taking, there were also the hide, scales, bones, blood, and so on. They'd roughly gathered the finest parts from among the various pieces, enough to fill two carts' worth.
The Millennium Ice Crystal and the Heart Protection Armor could be carried by hand, but the eyeball had to be loaded onto a separate wagon, so we'd need at least three carts to haul everything to Sichuan Province.
Of course, we wouldn't be pulling them ourselves—the North Sea Ice Palace said they'd provide people to help, so there was no need to worry.
Guides, porters, an agent to continue negotiations with the Tang Clan, and craftsmen to build Seol Ri-hyang's training hall.
It was practically a full diplomatic envoy. The work would certainly become a huge hassle, but… a capable Chief Steward would manage somehow.
Just in case, I set aside some Azure-White Flood Dragon meat for the Chief Steward. After tasting it, I understood—this stuff was really good for the body.
As the conversation was wrapping up, I carefully brought up a topic I'd been putting off.
"This is just a simple question out of curiosity…"
"What is it?"
"What do you plan to do with the North Sea Ice Palace from now on?"
"Haha! I was wondering what grand thing you were about to ask, and it's just that?"
"It feels a bit off to use Seol Ri-hyang as bait, take everything we wanted, and then end up taking her along anyway. More than anything, it seems like we're probing another sect's movements."
"If it's about the position of Young Palace Mistress, even at this very moment I still earnestly hope that Lady Seol will succeed me… but it's not as if I can force someone who doesn't want it to stay. And rather than merely delaying the root of the problem, you've gone and resolved it entirely, so this much is fine."
The Ice Palace Lord shrugged lightly and continued.
"The Ice Crystal is gone, but our immediate enemies are gone as well, so I plan to first shore up our internal strength. The Azure-White Flood Dragon and the Azure-White Cold Serpents are gone too, so the surrounding cold won't diminish as it did before."
"But as time passes, this time it won't be Spirit Beasts but the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace's own people that could weaken the surrounding energy."
"And so, Lady Seol taught the Glacier True Energy to the shrine maiden."
As her words came out, Seol Ri-hyang, who had been leaning against Tang So-wol, opened her mouth in her half-slouched posture.
"Right. Glacier True Energy is a martial art that moves not only your own internal energy but also the surrounding cold, you know? And this place has plenty of land. It's just that there isn't much land fit for people to live on."
"Ah-ha. So you draw the cold from places where people still can't live, where the terrain is harsh and Natural Qi is abundant? That doesn't sound like an easy task."
At that, Bing Yerin, who had been quietly sipping tea beside the Ice Palace Lord, replied.
"It won't be easy. But it's not impossible either. …Above all, I gained a bit of Enlightenment after seeing Lady Seol the other day."
"Enlightenment? From seeing me?"
Seol Ri-hyang blinked her eyes, but soon nodded with a look of realization.
"That explains it. I was wondering how you were so smoothly learning a martial art you'd never managed before — I even thought I might have talent as a martial arts instructor. So that was the reason."
"The teachings Lady Seol bestowed were also excellent. Since I haven't trained in a Yin Art, it was difficult to accept them as they were… but combined with the original text of the Glacier True Energy, they were certainly helpful."
"Hmm. Well, anyway — you've reached the point where you can train on your own without me now, so things will work out somehow. Do your best."
Was it because she had always been the one receiving teachings, and this was the first time she had taught someone else?
Seol Ri-hyang said this in a tone that seemed oddly smug, yet at the same time genuinely encouraging Bing Yerin.
At the encouragement of Seol Ri-hyang, who was far younger than herself, Bing Yerin giggled and nodded.
"Yes. I shall do so, Master."
"Master…!"
Though her attitude had been playful, Seol Ri-hyang seemed slightly moved, murmuring the word to herself.
There had originally been two purposes for heading to the North Sea Ice Palace. The first was, of course, to help Seol Ri-hyang with her martial arts training.
The second was to create a connection she could rely on to flee the Central Plains and escape to the North Sea Ice Palace if things ever went wrong.
The first of these had, needless to say, yielded results beyond expectations, so it was the second that I had meant to ask about…
Judging by the looks of Bing Yerin and Seol Ri-hyang, this side had also exceeded its original purpose.
With a lighter heart, I rose from my seat.
"Then I'll be on my way."
"If the opportunity arises again, I hope it will be for better things."
After exchanging brief farewells with the Ice Palace Lord, we were finally able to return to Sichuan Province.
***
A distance so far it would be hard to make out even with the naked eye of a Harmony Realm martial artist.
Already waiting at the gate. No—standing guard at the front door with his arms crossed and eyes wide open, Tang Jincheon. The sight of him, reminiscent of the guardian king statue I'd seen at Shaolin Temple, made my lightened heart begin to feel heavier than a thousand pounds.
"What should I say to Father-in-law…?"
"I know this well because I was scolded a lot when I was young—in times like this, apologizing first is the best course. Of course, with a bit of charm mixed in."
"…I'll just apologize."
"Tsk. How disappointing."
I flinched at the sight of Tang So-wol wiping her mouth, genuinely disappointed.
I think about it sometimes, but Tang So-wol really is no ordinary person.