Chapter 219: Spoils of War (2)
“Phew. Now I finally feel alive again.”
My arm no longer ached when I moved it. I tried rotating my shoulder in circles as a test, then gripped my sword hand to perform a few basic forms.
There were no issues with ordinary movement. As long as I didn’t overdo it, I could swing my sword just fine.
“So it’s already been a month, huh.”
It had been about twenty days since I received that familiar gift from Seol Lihyang—the same one she had given me before her regression. In other words, nearly a full month had passed since we defeated the Azure Cold Serpent.
Naturally, all the messy business had long been settled. Although Seol Lihyang had suffered serious internal injuries, thanks to being stuffed full of all kinds of tonics in the North Sea Ice Palace, she actually recovered faster than I did.
Most of the tonics weren’t for boosting internal energy but for recovering from internal wounds and strengthening the body. Still...
I wouldn’t be surprised if an ordinary person who’d never trained in martial arts could live without a single illness for a hundred years after taking that much.
“Pretty sure I’ll never witness anything like that again.”
“Eh? What are you referring to all of a sudden?” Tang Sowol, who had diligently tended to my broken bones like a personal physician while my arm was injured, tilted her head in confusion as she exhaled a sigh of relief upon seeing me fully healed.
“It’s nothing. Just remembered what happened two days ago.”
“Ah... that really was surprising.”
Around the time Seol Lihyang had recovered enough to leave her bed for short walks, a swarm of clan heads—known for their prestigious names—had come rushing in to request meetings with her.
Each carried packs of expensive medicinal tonics they claimed were good for her health.
They spoke obliquely about wanting her to stay in the North Sea Ice Palace, saying she’d be a reliable right arm, and so on...
“But Hyang turned them all down flat. Told them to buzz off because they were annoying.”
“Yeah. Though she accepted all the tonics.”
No matter how mid-grade they were, medicine was still medicine. With that many offerings, you'd think she'd at least listen to their pitch.
But Seol Lihyang didn’t care. They had interrupted her time spent hanging out with me, and with her, that was reason enough.
“Still, you must’ve felt relieved, right?”
“A little.”
The reason the North Sea Ice Palace suddenly started throwing themselves at Seol Lihyang wasn’t simply because we defeated the Azure Cold Serpent.
It was because of what she showed them in the final moment—the true essence of Glacial True Qi.
Yes, several conditions had coincidentally aligned to make it possible. And yes, she had consumed the Ice Essence, which the palace treated as a sacred treasure.
But as I later heard, Seol Lihyang had used her own cold energy as a core to gather the surrounding cold, and even drew upon the internal energy of the Ice Palace warriors.
With that snowballing mass of energy, she had struck down the flood dragon.
What mattered wasn’t how amazing that feat was. The key point was: she united the internal energy of the Ice Palace warriors with nothing but a single verse of song.
Most large sects have methods to combine multiple forces into one. Formation techniques like the Coordinated Attack Formation are a prime example.
But even for those, you need shared training, deeply aligned thoughts, and a strong bond, even if you’re using similar martial arts.
Yet Seol Lihyang managed it all alone. Perhaps because of the nature of Glacial True Qi—and perhaps only with the warriors of the North Sea Ice Palace—but still.
It’s no wonder everyone, even those who had disliked her as an outsider, became obsessed with the idea of making her the next palace lord.
Of course, she refused so intensely that they had no choice but to back off in tears.
Just as I nodded with a small sense of pride—
I saw a small figure hopping toward us from the entrance of the training field.
“Sowol! There you are. Come see what I’ve brought—Hiick!”
As soon as she noticed me, Seo Mun-Hwarin yelped, jumped in place, and ducked behind the door.
“You do know that won’t hide you, right, Senior Seo Mun-Hwarin?”
“T-The Lady is not here...!”
Amazingly, it had been over twenty days since Seo Mun-Hwarin witnessed Seol Lihyang and me kiss—and she was still like this.
She’d hide every time our eyes met, but she didn’t completely avoid me. At meals and during official business, she’d act like her usual self. It was... odd.
I’d let it slide until now, but it had gone on long enough. With our departure from the Tang Clan drawing near, it was time to address it.
“Senior Seo Mun-Hwarin, you seem awfully happy. What did you bring?”
“Fufu. This is a Heart-Guarding Armor made from the hide of the Azure Cold Serpent! They used its hardest scales!”
“Wait... did only you receive one, Senior?”
“Of course not. There are ones for you, Sowol, and Hyang as well. They said they were going to hand them over later, but since I was with Hyang, they gave them to us early!”
“She’s been really cooperative lately. Senior, would you be so kind as to come out and talk properly instead of hiding over there?”
“The Lady is not here...!”
“That’s enough now.”
After a moment of silence, Seo Mun-Hwarin’s shadow hesitantly peeked out.
She looked the same as ever—short and slight. In her hand was the very armor she’d just mentioned.
Clean, icy white-blue, reminiscent of frost. It had been covered in black patches due to Serpent Poison, but once Tang Sowol purified the toxins, it returned to its original form.
Tung tung.
I flicked it lightly with my fingers. The solid, reliable sound was reassuring.
“This really is good quality. It might not block energy strikes, but it’ll hold up against most attacks. Though for us, Protective Energy is still more efficient.”
“Mmm. But in moments of absolute danger, when even Protective Energy fails, this will come in handy. Unlike Protective Energy, we can also lend it to someone else if needed.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
The reason I injured my arm during the fight with the Azure Cold Serpent was simple.
The battle was so intense and prolonged that I ran out of the internal energy and willpower needed to activate Protective Energy.
While I’m proficient in controlling sword energy, I still haven’t fully mastered Protective Energy. It broke in the middle of combat.
“In the end, the armor is meant as a last-resort safeguard. It’ll be more than enough. But Senior... is there a reason you’re covering your face now?”
“Ugh!”
Though she’d come out, Seo Mun-Hwarin now hid behind the armor as soon as the topic shifted to it.
She sighed deeply and spoke in a slightly aggrieved tone.
“Haa... but it couldn’t be helped!”
“What couldn’t?”
“You and Hyang are much closer now. If I stayed around, I’d only get in the way...”
A strangely downcast response. Well, if everyone but her was in a romantic relationship, she probably did feel awkward. Though she might be overthinking it.
“To be so old and still mixing with kids... it just felt a bit wrong. That’s all.”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Yes. Like Cheon Hwi said, if that’s your concern, then it’s really no big deal.”
“???”
Seo Mun-Hwarin blinked at our instant responses.
Tang Sowol smiled warmly and said,
“Sister Hwarin, you’ve never really seemed like a grown-up to begin with.”
“Huurk!”
“And if you suddenly started acting distant from Hyang—who sees you like a sister because of your similar mental age—don’t you think she’d be hurt?”
“Gyaaah!”
Seo Mun-Hwarin clutched her ears and twisted her body as if she were witnessing a truth she desperately wanted to deny.
But covering her ears wouldn’t change reality. Like how no one questioned her when she once tried to hide her age.
Rejuvenation was a technique that defied the natural order of time. In that sense, this side effect was relatively minor.
Trying to think positively, I added,
“Well, please don’t worry about it. We enjoy spending time with you, Senior. If things got awkward now, that would be more disappointing.”
“Thank you for saying that... but did you just say ‘spending time with’?”
“That’s what we say when we’re humoring elders.”
“E-Elders?!”
Seo Mun-Hwarin’s expression was devastatingly sullen.
Now we were in trouble—she pouted when we called her young, and now again when we called her old.
Usually in these situations, it’s best to calm someone with something sweet... but this was the North Sea. Sweets were rare, and snacks hadn’t developed like in the Central Plains.
So I pulled out some dried fruit I had saved for the trip to Sichuan.
Sha-shak.
“Hooh!”
With the reflexes of a Flowering Stage master, Seo Mun-Hwarin snatched the dried fruit instantly.
She munched it down in seconds, and finally, her expression softened. Relieved, I asked,
“Since the bandages are off, we were about to go see Seol Lihyang. Would you like to come?”
“Mmm? Let’s go. I was just with Hyang a little while ago, so I know where she is.”
With a confident nod, Seo Mun-Hwarin stepped between me and Tang Sowol, took our hands, and led the way.
Like a child returning home hand-in-hand with her parents in the evening market.
“This is…”
“Shh. Just don’t say anything, Cheon Hwi.”
...I was suddenly a little terrified of Rejuvenation.
She was so reliable when fighting the Azure Cold Serpent, and now…
I barely swallowed a sigh that was about to escape.
Still, Seo Mun-Hwarin looked happy. That was enough. Probably.
Surprisingly, Seol Lihyang wasn’t in her room or the training ground—she was meeting with the Palace Lord in the reception hall.
Though, things were going… oddly.
“Just once. Please, just reconsider one more time. If you’re willing, we could pass on the title of Palace Lord immediately with a little preparation.”
“Ah—why are you saying that too?! I told you, I’m not doing it!”
“If not Lady Seol, then who else is worthy of becoming Palace Lord?!”
“Bing Yerin’s right there! I’ve already taught her Glacial True Qi, and she seems to be getting the hang of it lately, so train her up!”
This wasn’t figurative—they were literally half-collapsed on the floor, with the Palace Lord pleading, while Seol Lihyang panicked and waved her arms in refusal.
And off to the side, calmly sipping tea, was Bing Yerin.
I stood frozen in confusion, unable to grasp what was going on, until Seol Lihyang noticed me and beamed.
“Perfect timing, Cheon Hwi! Bing Yerin packed everything into the carriage already, so let’s leave now!”
“Wait, shouldn’t we at least say proper farewells instead of running away like fugitives?”
I handed her over to Tang Sowol, who took her flailing form, and I sat where she’d been a moment ago.
“I didn’t quite catch what was being said. Would you mind repeating it for me?”
“…I was just saying, may your journey be safe and all your future endeavors go well.”
The Palace Lord—who had become notably more polite after witnessing me fight the Azure Cold Serpent—stood up as if nothing had happened.