Chapter 351: The White Lady
In an unexpected turn of events, the group found themselves joined by the leaders of the So-Sang Pavilion and the Dae-Byuk Pavilion.
A subtle tension hung in the air between the newcomers and the original party.
As is customary in such situations, introductions were in order.
“I am Tang—”
“Hold on.”
Just as Tang Mujin was about to step forward, Hyun Gong smoothly interjected, taking the lead.
After a quick glance at Seolhwa, who stood behind him, Hyun Gong straightened his shoulders and flashed a confident smile.
He addressed the pavilion leaders with ease.
“I’m Hyun Gong. The three behind me are my friends: Namgung Myung, Hong Jusan, and Tang Mujin. As you might have guessed, we’re here to capture Baek Hyang-a and help Seolhwa retrieve the secret manual and elixirs.”
His words were straightforward, devoid of any deceit.
But not every strategy requires lies.
Hyun Gong’s approach was more about his demeanor and gestures than the content of his words.
By stepping forward and introducing the group, while casting a glance at Seolhwa, he aimed to project a certain image to the pavilion leaders.
The leaders would likely perceive Hyun Gong as the head of the group, perhaps even a young man trying to impress a lady.
By openly stating their purpose, Hyun Gong intended to appear naive and lacking in cunning.
People’s thoughts often reveal themselves through their gaze. As soon as Hyun Gong finished speaking, he observed the pavilion leaders’ eyes.
The So-Sang Pavilion leader’s eyes quickly scanned Hyun Gong, finally resting near his nose.
‘A gaze that seems to make eye contact without imposing. The So-Sang leader has a knack for this.’
In contrast, the Dae-Byuk Pavilion leader stared intently at Hyun Gong before subtly shifting his gaze to gauge the So-Sang leader’s reaction.
‘Is the Dae-Byuk leader inexperienced in social interactions? Or is he just pretending? I must remain cautious.’
The So-Sang leader smiled warmly and greeted Hyun Gong.
“My name might sound unfamiliar in the language of the Central Plains, so just call me the So-Sang Pavilion Leader, as the lady suggested. This is the Dae-Byuk Pavilion Leader.”
“Understood. What brings you both to these distant lands?”
“We’re trying to clear our names and return to the Northern Sea Ice Palace. We were falsely accused due to Baek Hyang-a’s actions. If we can retrieve the stolen manual and elixirs and return, the palace lord will recognize our innocence. As will the lady.”
The story seemed plausible, but Tang Mujin’s group, except for Hong Geolgae, didn’t believe it.
They suspected the claim that Baek Hyang-a had acted alone was a lie.
Feigning ignorance, Hyun Gong asked, “So Baek Hyang-a hasn’t used the elixirs?”
“Not as far as I know.”
The So-Sang leader’s voice was slightly unnatural.
‘He’s lying. The tone is faint, and there’s too much emphasis at the end. Baek Hyang-a must have already taken the elixirs. The question now is whether she’s still alive… Judging by the state of the bodies affected by the ice arts, it seems likely she is.’
At that moment, Hong Geolgae interjected, asking the So-Sang leader, “I heard Baek Hyang-a went to the Demon Sect. Did you follow her there?”
The Dae-Byuk leader flinched, clearly not expecting Hong Geolgae to know this.
The So-Sang leader smoothly replied, “Oh, how do you know that? You’re half right. Baek Hyang-a went alone.”
“And you?”
“We stayed near the Demon Sect. Baek Hyang-a sought refuge there due to her crimes, but we had no reason to enter. Fortunately, she was expelled soon after, allowing us to continue tracking her.”
Hong Geolgae pressed further, “How are you tracking Baek Hyang-a?”
“She often leaves bodies in her wake. By following the trail of corpses, we can deduce her direction. The help of Baekmocho has also been invaluable.”
“Baekmocho?”
“Let me show you.”
The So-Sang leader pulled a small flute from his sleeve and played it, though no sound was heard.
“What is that?”
“Just wait. It’s a flute that emits sounds beyond human hearing.”
Whether such sounds exist or not, the So-Sang leader’s claim wasn’t false, as a small animal soon appeared in the distance.
It was a white-furred marten, its eyes gleaming like black beads.
The marten circled the group cautiously.
“That’s Baekmocho. It can detect a special scent, the Tracking Scent, from miles away. Since Baek Hyang-a is marked with it, we can use Baekmocho to find her.”
Tang Mujin and Hyun Gong exchanged glances with Seolhwa, who seemed unfamiliar with Baekmocho and the Tracking Scent. It wasn’t a common method in the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
“If Baekmocho can find Baek Hyang-a, why haven’t you captured her and returned to the palace?”
Hong Geolgae’s question made the So-Sang leader look slightly embarrassed.
“Baekmocho’s sense of smell is too keen. It can track a faint scent from afar, but once close, it can’t pinpoint the direction. We can only know Baek Hyang-a is within a certain range.”
“I see…”
Hong Geolgae seemed to accept the explanation, but Hyun Gong thought otherwise.
‘That can’t be true. Baek Hyang-a escaped the palace nearly two years ago. With that much time, they should have found her multiple times, even by chance.’
‘There must be a reason they’re not approaching her.’
‘The possibilities are twofold: they’re either in cahoots with Baek Hyang-a, working separately for some reason, or they’ve had a falling out. Which is it?’
‘No need to rush to conclusions. There will be plenty of opportunities to learn more.’
Hyun Gong kept his thoughts to himself.
Instead, he put on a slightly clueless expression and said, “It’s fortunate to meet others with the same goal. Let’s work together to capture Baek Hyang-a.”
“Of course.”
The So-Sang leader and Hyun Gong exchanged satisfied smiles.
“It seems Baekmocho is showing interest in this direction. Let’s hope this time it leads us to her.”
“Understood.”
The So-Sang and Dae-Byuk leaders took the lead, guiding Tang Mujin’s group.
The group’s cooperative demeanor and lack of hostility seemed to have eased the pavilion leaders’ suspicions.
However, Tang Mujin was mentally mapping their route.
‘There’s definitely a pattern.’
Though it appeared they were wandering aimlessly, their movements had a clear direction.
The claim that Baekmocho couldn’t find the path when close was likely a lie.
On the sixth day, the So-Sang leader began making excuses to delay their journey.
“Oh dear, my twisted ankle… Can we rest a bit earlier today?”
“Of course. You should have mentioned if you were in pain.”
“Thank you for your concern. But we can’t afford too many delays.”
Yet, this pretense only confirmed Tang Mujin’s suspicions.
A change in behavior indicated a change in circumstances.
‘We’re getting close to encountering Baek Hyang-a.’
The group had a simple dinner and retired early.
Initially, the pavilion leaders stayed vigilant, but by the fifth day, they succumbed to exhaustion.
Once the leaders were sound asleep, Tang Mujin sent a silent message to Namgung Myung.
Namgung Myung didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he silently rose and vanished into the night.
Namgung Myung moved with purpose, trying to gauge Baek Hyang-a’s location.
As the night wore on, he spotted a lone woman walking along the path.
Her attire was elaborate, with wide sleeves and a flowing robe. She wore an expensive black hat, her face obscured by a veil.
She resembled a high-class courtesan, but her attire was ill-suited for traversing deserted paths between villages.
‘Is that Baek Hyang-a?’
Yet, Namgung Myung couldn’t assess her martial prowess. Her extravagant clothing concealed her movements, and the veil prevented any eye contact.
As Namgung Myung kept his distance from the woman, he noticed two men approaching from the opposite direction.
One was dressed in white, the other in gray. Both wore clothes of fine quality, and swords hung at their waists. They seemed to be martial artists.
Namgung Myung moved a little closer to the woman and the two men.
The men, noticing the woman belatedly, approached her and spoke with a semblance of politeness.
“Miss, where are you headed alone on such a deep night?”
Judging by their demeanor, it seemed this was their first meeting.
The woman didn’t respond, merely lowering her head slightly, clearly wary of them.
The man in white spoke again.
“Don’t be afraid. We mean no harm. We approached because we were worried someone might take advantage of you under the cover of night.”
It wasn’t a particularly convincing story. Good men might say such things, but so do those with ill intentions.
Yet the woman answered naively.
“Really?”
Namgung Myung was still some distance away, far enough that the men’s voices were slightly muffled. But the woman’s voice was strangely clear, not ordinary at all.
Unlike Namgung Myung, who sensed something amiss, the two men beside the woman didn’t notice anything unusual. They simply thought her voice was extraordinarily beautiful.
“Of course. Do we look like the kind of people who would lie?”
“Miss, would you care to join us?”
As the two men vied for her attention, the woman nodded.
“I’d be happy to, if you’ll accompany me.”
At that moment, the man in gray grinned and grabbed the woman’s shoulder.
“Ha, I knew it! Just a flirtatious girl!”
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“You said you’d come with us, right? Should we take you to Luoyang? Or maybe show you around Chang’an?”
The two men began to harass the woman in a crude, outdated manner.
Namgung Myung continued to watch from a distance, not intervening.
“Let go!”
Finally, the woman twisted her body to shake off their hands. As she did, the veil hanging under her black hat swayed, revealing her lower face. Her skin was exceptionally pale.
Of all the people Namgung Myung had seen, Mok Wana had the whitest skin.
But this woman’s skin was even whiter.
No, it wasn’t just about how white it seemed.
Mok Wana’s skin was pale but had a healthy, rosy hue. Naturally, as blood flowed beneath it. But this woman’s skin lacked that rosy tint.
It was a pale white, more akin to porcelain or polished stone than human skin.
“Wow!”
“How lucky!”
Yet the two men still didn’t sense anything wrong.
Perhaps it was the dark night, or maybe they were simply awestruck by her unexpectedly pale skin. Perhaps they’d never seen such whiteness in their lives.
The men tried to push or trip the woman.
Their intentions were obvious without needing much thought. The only variable was whether their plans included robbery or murder. To Namgung Myung, it made little difference.
The woman managed to keep her balance, barely avoiding a fall, but eventually wobbled and flailed her arms.
As her wide sleeves fluttered, a hand emerged, grabbing the wrist of the man in gray. Namgung Myung’s eyebrows twitched at the sight of her hand.
It wasn’t a normal human hand. It was so white it appeared almost blue.
It had an eerie sheen and was even slightly translucent.
It seemed as if the bones beneath should be visible.
The men harassing the woman finally sensed something was wrong.
The odd color of her hand was one thing, but they couldn’t move their arms once she had them in her grip.
The man in gray, whose wrist was caught, froze stiff, prompting the man in white to shout.
“What are you doing? Stop fooling around!”
“I can’t move! This damn, she’s not an ordinary woman—”
The man in gray couldn’t finish his sentence. The woman’s equally blue left hand flew up and clamped over his face.
Her hand wasn’t particularly large.
To grasp something, one must first cover it with their hand, so it should have been impossible for her small hand to grip the man’s face.
Yet she did.
More precisely, she gripped half of his face.
As a result, half of the man’s face was effortlessly torn away.
The woman then dragged her left arm downward. The man’s body was ripped vertically along with her hand, spewing blood.
It was an instant death, needing no further explanation. The woman’s body was drenched in the man’s red blood.
What happened next was even more bizarre.
The woman embraced the man’s corpse tightly, preventing it from falling. If not for the blood, it might have looked like a lover’s embrace, savoring each other’s warmth.
Then, her hands burrowed into the man’s back.
Her hands slowly rummaged through the still-warm corpse, as if savoring the sensation.
“Ah, ugh!”
The man in white, witnessing his friend’s gruesome death, panicked and tried to flee. But his legs wouldn’t move, paralyzed by the shock.
He opted for a desperate measure. With trembling hands, he drew his sword and swung it at the woman. He believed he had a chance since she seemed unaware of him.
To Namgung Myung, the man’s martial skills weren’t particularly impressive. At best, he was first-rate.
But when faced with death, people can exhibit superhuman strength.
Perhaps due to the dire situation, the man’s sword strike carried power beyond his usual ability.
He chose the simplest and most powerful downward slash, the Taesanapjeong. It was the best choice in many ways.
But the strike had no effect.
The woman pulled her left arm from the corpse and blocked the sword. It wasn’t the usual method of deflecting force at an angle.
She stopped the sword with her palm, as if blocking a sword with another sword.
The blade should have cut deeply, blood should have splattered, but no blood was shed. The sword left no mark on her hand.
The woman removed her black hat with the veil and looked at the man.
She was indeed a stunning beauty, if one overlooked the fact that she was covered in blood.
Namgung Myung thought to himself.
’…It’s Baek Hyang-a.’
Baek Hyang-a gently pushed the corpse of the man in gray, which she had been holding. The body fell to the ground with a stiff, stone-like motion.
Then it shattered. As if it had never been a person, but ice shaped like one. Even the gray clothes shattered along with the skin.
“Ah, ugh…”
The man in white, unsure if this was a dream or reality, made incoherent sounds as he stared at Baek Hyang-a. He tried to drop his sword and run, but he couldn’t let go.
His hand was stuck to the sword’s hilt, now covered in a white frost.
“Huh, huh…”
The man couldn’t speak, tears streaming down his face as he looked at Baek Hyang-a. He had assaulted women before, but never imagined such a consequence.
Baek Hyang-a, with a faint smile, slowly walked behind the man. She didn’t look angry.
Then she embraced him from behind, as if savoring the warmth of another.
Her hand pierced the center of his chest, beneath his ribs, and caressed his heart, which was beating vigorously. The heart’s movement gradually slowed.
Finally, Baek Hyang-a clenched the man’s heart. Blood, not yet fully frozen, flowed from the heart, covering her hand.
She shook her hand.
Strangely, her hand wasn’t stained with blood. It remained white, blue, and eerily glossy.
As if nothing had happened.
Baek Hyang-a lightly pushed the man in white. Like the man in gray, he too fell over, stiff and rigid.
And his body shattered into pieces.
Baek Hyang-a discarded her blood-soaked clothes.
She took a clean set of clothes from her bag, put them on, and donned the black hat she had tossed aside.
Baek Hyang-a disappeared into the darkness once more.
Only then could Namgung Myung breathe easily.
’…This is serious.’
He quietly made his way back to his friends.
Thinking that Baek Hyang-a’s steps seemed somehow forlorn.