Chapter 353: A Quiet Splendor
In the distant northern lands, there exists a peculiar custom known as “Wind Greeting.”
The practice is simple yet harsh. When a child is about a month old, they are wrapped tightly in a cloth and placed in a basket on the roof for an entire day.
The north is a land of bitter cold.
It’s not the kind of chill that can be warded off by pulling your coat tighter, as those from the south might imagine.
It’s a cold that turns fingers and toes black with frostbite, a cold that can make them fall off.
Even adults struggle to endure such cold, so how could a newborn possibly survive it?
Some children do survive the ordeal, but many more are carried away by the northern winds, never to return.
When the winds blew particularly fiercely, parents who lost their children to the Wind Greeting would often weep with guilt.
As times changed, fewer parents subjected their children to this custom.
Yet, the tradition of the Wind Greeting did not completely vanish.
Even the revered Ice Palace Lord of the north issued several decrees to ban the practice, but to no avail.
There were many reasons for its persistence.
In the harsh northern lands, it was a desperate measure to reduce the number of mouths to feed.
There was also a superstition that children who survived the Wind Greeting would live long and healthy lives.
But the real reason the practice continued was to test the child’s potential.
It was a cruel belief that a child who could withstand the cold possessed a strong yin energy and would excel in ice martial arts.
And this belief was largely true.
Of course, it would have been ideal to teach martial arts to all children and assess their potential that way, but the northern people were not so fortunate.
Even a relatively well-off family could only afford to teach martial arts to one child, so the Wind Greeting was necessary to maximize success rates.
Like many masters of ice martial arts, the Master of the Small Pavilion was a child who survived the Wind Greeting.
He lost two fingers to frostbite but survived.
That was enough. He lived, learned martial arts, and with his exceptional talent, rose to become the Master of the Northern Ice Palace.
Surviving the Wind Greeting had changed his life.
The Master of the Small Pavilion took pride in overcoming such adversity, which is why he couldn’t help but laugh the first time he saw Baek Hyang-a.
A woman from the warm southern lands, where ice doesn’t even form in autumn.
A woman from a place so far removed from the lineage of ice martial arts.
And yet, she possessed an extraordinary talent that no one in the Ice Palace had. It was both cruel and amusing.
However, the Master’s interest in Baek Hyang-a ended there. Whether her talent was exceptional or not was irrelevant to his life.
Even when Baek Hyang-a was adopted as the foster daughter of the Ice Palace Lord, or when she was taught martial arts by the Palace Lord and the Great Pavilion Master, it didn’t matter to him. Even when the Eternal Ice Crystal was within her reach, it didn’t matter.
But on the day his late-born son got lost in a snowstorm and died, the Master couldn’t help but think of Baek Hyang-a.
If only my son had been able to withstand the cold a little better, he might have survived.
Did she take something that should have belonged to my son?
Did my son die because she took something from him?
Even knowing it was a ridiculous thought, he couldn’t shake it from his mind.
As the thought took root, the sight of Baek Hyang-a struggling to learn the northern language and diligently practicing martial arts became unbearable.
He could tolerate the fact that northern people lacked such talent, but he couldn’t stand an outsider possessing it.
Then one day, the Master had a terrible yet brilliant idea.
If an outsider had taken the talent meant for the northern people, wouldn’t it be right to reclaim it on their behalf?
The Master persuaded the Great Pavilion Master to join his plan. The Great Pavilion Master, having suffered a similar loss, was easily swayed.
On the day everything was ready, the Master and the Great Pavilion Master secretly gathered the Eternal Ice Crystal and a few crucial martial arts manuals and went to see Baek Hyang-a.
“Miss Baek.”
“Yes?”
“The Palace Lord has ordered you to retreat to a secluded place to focus on your training and absorb the Eternal Ice Crystal.”
It was late at night.
But when the Master and the Great Pavilion Master showed her the Eternal Ice Crystal and the manuals, Baek Hyang-a believed their story without question.
“Oh, okay.”
Baek Hyang-a was not fluent in the northern language.
She only conversed with the Palace Lord, the Palace Lord’s family, and a few pavilion and hall masters.
She didn’t know much and was naturally gentle, so she didn’t doubt or question what people told her. Deceiving her was all too easy.
The Great Pavilion Master and the Master led Baek Hyang-a out of the Ice Palace and beyond the city gates.
They moved far to the west. Baek Hyang-a followed without suspicion.
The Master thought as he watched her.
“I can’t absorb the Eternal Ice Crystal myself. But I can kill Baek Hyang-a and take the yin energy she’s absorbed.”
It seemed just as effective as directly absorbing the Eternal Ice Crystal. Baek Hyang-a was a living elixir, after all. Adding one supreme elixir to another would yield tremendous results.
He no longer found her presence distasteful.
After traveling for about two weeks, the Master and the Great Pavilion Master found a deserted cave.
As soon as they settled inside, the Master handed the Eternal Ice Crystal to Baek Hyang-a.
“The Great Pavilion Master and I will guard you. Absorb the ice crystal.”
But Baek Hyang-a wasn’t foolish enough not to know that she shouldn’t.
She stammered, “No? I can’t. Not yet. It’s dangerous.”
The Eternal Ice Crystal was no ordinary elixir.
Even after reaching the pinnacle of ice martial arts, it was uncertain whether one could withstand it.
If she absorbed it now, she would surely face severe consequences without fully absorbing its energy.
But that was precisely the outcome the Master desired.
If she absorbed most or all of the ice crystal’s yin energy and then died, it would be convenient for both parties.
The Master crouched in front of Baek Hyang-a, staring at her intently.
And in a tone different from before, he said, “Dangerous? What does that have to do with me?”
Though Baek Hyang-a’s martial talent was exceptional, the martial arts she learned from the communal sect were no match for the Great Pavilion Master, let alone the Master.
Her newly acquired ice martial arts skills were even less developed.
The Master offered the Eternal Ice Crystal to Baek Hyang-a again.
“Choose. Eat it, or die.”
Baek Hyang-a had no choice.
She wept as she swallowed the Eternal Ice Crystal and sat in meditation to survive.
Soon, the cave was filled with an unbearable chill.
The Great Pavilion Master and the Master stepped outside to escape the cold, waiting for Baek Hyang-a to die. Everything was going according to plan.
The problem arose afterward.
Miraculously, Baek Hyang-a survived after swallowing the Eternal Ice Crystal and managed to escape.
Even then, it wasn’t a major issue. She hadn’t become a master capable of overpowering the Great Pavilion Master or the Master.
Though she possessed immense yin energy, she didn’t know how to wield it, like a child holding a sharp sword. The Master and the Great Pavilion Master pursued her without panic.
But that’s when things started to go awry.
Baek Hyang-a encountered a supreme martial artist from the demonic sect, known as the Radiant Flame, and left with a group of martial artists to join the sect.
They couldn’t storm the demonic sect to kill her. The Master and the Great Pavilion Master gave up on everything.
But soon, a glimmer of hope returned. Baek Hyang-a reappeared.
However, she had rapidly mastered formidable martial arts, making her untouchable by the Great Pavilion Master and the Master. Yet, it was clear that her state was highly unstable.
A person with a deranged mind, regardless of their martial prowess, rarely lives long.
The two masters followed Baek Hyang-a for months, waiting for an opportunity.
Baek Hyang-a knew they were after her, but the two masters were too cunning to be caught.
One day, during this delicate pursuit, the Master and the Great Pavilion Master encountered Tang Mujin and his group.
The Master’s story came to an end.
Unlike usual, no one offered any comments.
Only soft sighs could be heard here and there.
Hyun Gong looked at Seol Hwa. Her expression was deeply troubled.
Hyun Gong asked Tang Mujin, “What will you do now?”
“We must finish what we started. We can’t recover the Eternal Ice Crystal, but we can retrieve the manuals.”
Tang Mujin dragged the Master along the path he had fled.
The Master didn’t resist as he was dragged toward his death. He had come to understand how great a mercy it was to be allowed to die.
Finally, Tang Mujin found Baek Hyang-a.
She sat quietly amidst the torn and shattered remains.
Though her actions had been brutal, Tang Mujin could somewhat understand her anger.
Their eyes met.
In Baek Hyang-a’s gaze, a multitude of emotions flickered.
Resentment. Old memories and longing. A small measure of gratitude. And then, once more, anger.
Her gaze settled on the Master.
Dang Mujin tossed the scroll towards Baek Hyanga.
The scroll didn’t flee or cry out. Instead, it let out a dry chuckle and spoke.
“You devilish woman.”
Baek Hyanga spat at the scroll.
With her right hand, she deflected the spit and then, with hands so pale they seemed almost blue, began to tear the scroll apart.
As the scroll’s remains were shredded, they gradually froze, and soon it was more apt to say they shattered.
The group watched, trying to gauge Baek Hyanga’s martial prowess. But they couldn’t make sense of it.
She seemed like a top-tier martial artist, perhaps even at the pinnacle. Yet, upon closer inspection, parts of her skill seemed to touch the realm beyond the pinnacle, a mythical level.
Her abilities defied conventional measures of martial achievement.
Yet Dang Mujin and his friends thought they might be able to subdue her if they combined their strength.
Eventually, the frozen remains of the scroll and another were indistinguishably mixed.
It was impossible to tell whose remains were whose.
Baek Hyanga took a deep breath and looked at Dang Mujin.
A subtle tension hung between them.
There was no malice, but their history was fraught with ill-fated encounters.
Dang Mujin spoke first.
“It’s been a while.”
“Indeed.”
Baek Hyanga nodded.
Dang Mujin had thought she might have lost her reason like a berserker, but surprisingly, her mind seemed clear.
This time, Baek Hyanga spoke.
“I know why you’re here.”
“Yes. I’ve come to retrieve the secret manual and the eternal ice. Though it seems the ice is beyond recovery… Seolhwa knows your situation, so you won’t be held accountable. No one will pursue you anymore.”
“Seolhwa…? Ah.”
Baek Hyanga quickly understood who Seolhwa referred to.
However, Seolhwa couldn’t meet Baek Hyanga’s eyes, feeling guilty for having misunderstood her all this time.
Dang Mujin continued.
“Return the manual. Then go wherever you wish, north or home, and live as you desire. Your troubled fate ends here. Seek a peaceful life now.”
Baek Hyanga listened quietly for a long time before shaking her head.
“No. I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Why? What’s the problem?”
“Pain and hardship don’t come for a reason. You, of all people, should know that.”
Baek Hyanga crouched down.
“I was born with a blocked meridian, facing death. It wasn’t something I chose.”
“Then one day, I was cured of it. Again, not by my choice.”
“I followed my father’s advice to join the sect. It wasn’t my choice, but it seemed good to distance myself from him. I wanted to learn martial arts and revive my family, to see my father smile with pride.”
“Then I received news of my father’s death. Again, not my choice.”
“Still, I resolved to train. To live not as Baek Hyanga of the Jeweon Baek family, but as a disciple of the sect. But then my master passed away. Again, nothing to do with my will.”
A chill lingered in Baek Hyanga’s story, but Dang Mujin couldn’t interrupt her.
“I wandered north and reached the Ice Palace. I found precious connections. With newfound peace, I realized you bore me no ill will. But again, I had to leave the Ice Palace against my will. Life is like that.”
“In the cave, desperately absorbing the eternal ice, I wondered why my life was like this. Then it hit me. This wasn’t my life.”
“Not your life?”
“I never chose anything, and nothing went as I intended. Everything happened beyond my control. How could that be my life?”
Baek Hyanga stood up, kicking at the scattered remains around her.
“Revenge on the scrolls? That wasn’t my doing either. Like a butcher tossing scraps to a stray dog, you gifted me this revenge. I tried to stay positive, but I can’t wag my tail anymore.”
Dang Mujin spoke.
“No. From now on, it will be different. You have the power not to be swayed by anyone.”
“Power? Sure. But this power comes at a cost.”
“A cost?”
“The cold within me isn’t something a human can suppress. But the demon lord taught me a way to survive by taking others’ lives for their energy. I must keep killing to live. Do you want me to survive like that?”
Dang Mujin hesitated, unable to answer immediately. Baek Hyanga smiled at his pause.
“See? The world is cruel.”
Baek Hyanga turned to Seolhwa.
“You came for the manual and the elixir, right?”
”…Yes.”
“Fine. I’ll return the manual as you asked. And the elixir too.”
Seolhwa knew Baek Hyanga was kind, but she hadn’t expected her to agree so readily.
A smile spread across Seolhwa’s face.
But soon, she realized something was off.
”…Elixir? Didn’t you already absorb the eternal ice?”
“Of course, I can’t return the eternal ice. But you can have an elixir in its place.”
“What kind of elixir…?”
Seolhwa still didn’t understand, but Dang Mujin’s group grasped the meaning behind the words.
Baek Hyanga was smiling innocently. It wasn’t the smile of a child, but of someone twisted and mad.
Baek Hyanga spoke.
“Until now, everything was decided beyond my control. But I’ll make at least one decision myself. This is my life.”
There was no need to hesitate. Hesitation would only allow someone else to seize control of her life.
So Baek Hyanga immediately drew upon her inner power.
An overwhelming cold filled her body.
She guided the cold not in its natural course but in reverse. Aggressively, yet with precision.
Immense pain surged through her, but amidst it, Baek Hyanga felt a faint sensation.
Crack.
A thin fissure formed in her core, and her vital energy began to leak out.
Anyone else would have been unable to control the flow of vital energy.
But Baek Hyanga used the overwhelming cold to partially seal the fissure. Or perhaps she froze it.
Either way, the result was the same. The amount of vital energy leaking from her core decreased.
Of course, this didn’t mean she could use her vital energy and survive.
But unlike others who would die within half a day of drawing upon it, she could last about fifteen days.
Thanks to the limited release of vital energy, an incomparable cold surged around Baek Hyanga.
The moisture in the air froze, making her surroundings sparkle like stars.
The sight was both strange and beautiful.
Baek Hyanga began to walk north.
But before she could take a few steps, something caught her foot. It was the head of the scroll.
She recalled its last words. Devilish woman.
Baek Hyanga spoke.
”…The elixir with the manual will return north as a demon. No one knows what that demon will do. But it will be entirely up to the demon’s will. Isn’t that enough?”
Baek Hyanga looked at Dang Mujin’s group and Seolhwa with a smile.
It was the most dangerous smile Dang Mujin had ever seen.
Baek Hyanga spoke.
“Try to stop me.”
With those final words, the white demon headed north.
Brilliantly. Yet silently.