Chapter 198
Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
Miho and I began to traverse the area known as the Great Prairie. We had previously heard from the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace about a large lake to the north, which could be considered a water source, so we headed straight in that direction. About half a day later, a huge lake came into view.
“Hmmm… this must be it.”
It was the location known as Hangka Lake, and this area wasn’t completely frozen ground; sunlight filtered through, and there was quite a bit of greenery in the form of grass and trees. Also, probably because it was a lake, I could see nomadic tribes wandering nearby. While this place currently belonged to Goryeo, it was said that since they couldn’t exert full control over the Liaodong territory, they had entrusted some local tribes with a degree of autonomy.
I thought the size of Hangka Lake was considerably vast. It wasn’t just a matter of being one or two li across; it seemed nearly comparable to Dongting Lake. With its width and the distant ends not easily seen, it was a vast oasis unlike a typical lake.
‘Well, I suppose it’s all right to stop here.’
In exploration, water was incredibly important. Especially in the case of a lake, it was easy to find abundant ingredients and places to rest. Naturally, I intended to make a stop at Jinrang Valley, but in urgent situations, we could think about starting again from Hangka Lake. Miho dipped her feet into the lake and joked around.
“Whee! Let’s play in the water for a bit!”
“We can do that later. It’s more important to save time and rush to the territory of Arasa.”