Chapter 354: The Balance

As Baek Hyang-a’s figure disappeared from view, Tang Mu-jin and his companions stood motionless, watching her retreating form. It wasn’t that they had any grand reason for doing so; the situation had simply unfolded too suddenly, and they couldn’t fathom what Baek Hyang-a intended to do.

Some remained still for different reasons. Unlike the others who had a rough understanding of Baek Hyang-a’s words, Hong Geol-gae couldn’t quite grasp her meaning. It wasn’t because he was foolish; rather, Baek Hyang-a’s words were abstract and complex.

A life led by one’s own choices, or a life swept along by the current—such concepts held no significance for Hong Geol-gae. For him, a perfect day was one where he was well-fed, had a warm place to sleep, and found a couple of reasons to laugh.

Despite his simplicity, Hong Geol-gae sensed one thing: they shouldn’t ignore Baek Hyang-a and head south. His question broke the long silence.

“So, what do we do now?”

As if time had resumed, Tang Mu-jin and the others began to stir.

“Well, first we need to figure out what Baek Hyang-a plans to do,” Tang Mu-jin replied.

“She told us to stop her, right? Doesn’t that mean she’s going to do something we need to prevent?” Hong Geol-gae’s question was surprisingly insightful, leaving Tang Mu-jin feeling a subtle sense of defeat.

“Of course, we know that. We’re trying to figure out what exactly we need to stop.”

“Oh, I see. Hmm.”

The group fell into thought, each arriving at a similar conclusion. Baek Hyang-a, who had to kill endlessly to survive—if she were to do something drastic, it would likely be a massacre.

Tang Mu-jin turned to Seol-hwa. “Seol-hwa, does Baek Hyang-a have any reason to hold a grudge against the Northern Ice Palace?”

“Aside from the two elders, I can’t think of anything… I’m not sure,” Seol-hwa replied, her voice lacking confidence. She had thought Baek Hyang-a was in league with the two elders, but now that she knew it was a misunderstanding, she couldn’t confidently speak for Baek Hyang-a’s feelings.

“I see… you don’t know.”

Tang Mu-jin considered that Baek Hyang-a might not need a grudge to cause chaos. What she sought wasn’t revenge but to end her life on her own terms. Even if it wasn’t a massacre, it wouldn’t change much.

The most effective way to move others is to present them with a choice. Baek Hyang-a had already placed her life on one side of the scale. On the other, she would place something unavoidable for her opponent.

For the first time, Baek Hyang-a was in control of the situation, and she would end her life on her terms. Her life had never been entirely hers, but her death would be.

Namgung Myung grumbled, “Whatever it is, Baek Hyang-a’s definitely lost it. The problem is she’s subtly lost it. If she were as openly mad as Elder Tu-hee, she’d be easier to deal with. But this in-between madness makes her unpredictable.”

“True.”

“And did you see that earlier?”

“See what?”

“The ice-like aura around her. That was from drawing out her true energy, right?”

“Seems like it.”

“That wasn’t normal. I thought she was challenging us to a fight, but she just left. Does that make sense? Not that I’m complaining about avoiding a fight…”

Namgung Myung shivered. To him, Baek Hyang-a’s realization wasn’t particularly profound, but the sheer amount of dark energy she possessed was overwhelming enough to overshadow any lack of insight.

In a way, Baek Hyang-a might be the most troublesome opponent for an ordinary martial artist. While others rely on insight and achievement to determine victory, Baek Hyang-a would crush everything with her overwhelming dark energy.

Skilled strategy, clever mind games, and hard-earned experience all seemed to fade in her presence. Baek Hyang-a wouldn’t fight in a conventional way.

Hyun Gong, who had been listening quietly, muttered, “Well, it’s for the best.”

Namgung Myung grumbled, “What’s for the best? It’s going to be a mess…”

“No, you just said it. Baek Hyang-a drew out her true energy.”

Drawing out one’s true energy, or innate energy, isn’t something just anyone can do. It requires two main conditions: first, one must have achieved a level of mastery beyond the ordinary; second, one must abandon all attachment to life.

While the first condition seems daunting, the second is often the real challenge. Letting go of the will to live is no easy feat, even in the face of death.

In the past, many tales circulated about those who failed to draw out their true energy during the Great War. It was considered the most humiliating experience for a martial artist, a social death of sorts.

Even if one succeeds, the result is inevitably tragic, as those who draw out their true energy inevitably die. The time they have left is roughly half a day. Hyun Gong focused on this aspect.

Looking up at the sky, Hyun Gong said, “She drew out her true energy before noon, so she’ll likely die by sunset, right?”

“Well… that makes sense.”

“We’ll follow her slowly, and when she dies, we’ll collect her body and any manuals she has, then have dinner.”

It was a logical plan, yet something felt fundamentally wrong.

“Is that really okay?” Tang Mu-jin asked, to which Hyun Gong scoffed.

“Of course. Did we force her to use her true energy? No. Baek Hyang-a did it on her own, without warning. We couldn’t have stopped her. She probably got caught up in the moment and regretted it afterward.”

“Come on, that can’t be true…”

“It is. After finishing her revenge, she got excited and drew out her true energy, only to realize we were the only ones around. But she didn’t have any major grudge against us, so she left dramatically.”

Hyun Gong had his own interpretation of the situation. A thought crossed Tang Mu-jin’s mind: perhaps Baek Hyang-a did hold a grudge against Hyun Gong. After all, on the day Mu-ryang died, Hyun Gong had used Baek Hyang-a in a hostage situation. But Hyun Gong seemed to have forgotten that incident entirely.

Continuing with his reasoning, Hyun Gong said, “Besides, Baek Hyang-a grumbled a bit, but we’re her benefactors. We helped her get revenge on the two elders.”

Hong Geol-gae, caught up in Hyun Gong’s words, nodded unconsciously. Hyun Gong pointed north, where Baek Hyang-a had disappeared.

“Now that I think about it, Baek Hyang-a was ungrateful. It’s like saving someone from drowning only for them to demand your belongings. Instead of thanking us for helping with her revenge, she complained. It’s absurd. And after all that carnage, who would believe her complaints?”

It was a compelling argument. Just as Tang Mu-jin was about to nod in agreement, an unsettling thought emerged.

“Anyway, we did Baek Hyang-a a favor. We have every right to take care of her body.”

The realization hit like a bolt of lightning. Was this Hyun Gong’s true intention all along?

Namgung Myung, sharing Tang Mu-jin’s suspicion, questioned Hyun Gong’s plan with a dubious expression.

“Her body? Is it really our place to take care of Baek Hyang-a’s body? I don’t think so…”

Baek Hyang-a’s life was intertwined with three places: the Jeweon Baek family, the Gongdong sect, and the Northern Ice Palace. The most natural conclusion would be for her to be buried with the Jeweon Baek family. After all, isn’t it customary for people to be laid to rest where they were born?

The Gongdong sect was also a reasonable choice, being her second home and the place of memories with her master. Many martial artists chose to be buried near their sect rather than their birthplace.

But to suddenly claim her body? It was incomprehensible.

At that, Hyun-gong thumped his chest in frustration.

“Look, when I say we should take care of her body, it might sound strange, but there’s nothing weird or bad about it. Do I seem like the kind of guy who’d do this with ill intentions? I just want to give Baek Hyang-ah a proper resting place at the Northern Ice Palace.”

Why would he want to create a grave for her there, instead of at the Jeweon Baek family or the Gongdong sect?

Dang Moo-jin and Hyun-gong exchanged skeptical glances.

“Think about it. What did Baek Hyang-ah say to us at the end? She said she wanted to go to the Northern Ice Palace, right? She dared us to stop her. Even knowing she might die, she was determined to go there. It’s only right to respect her wishes about her final resting place.”

In Hyun-gong’s mind, Baek Hyang-ah was already gone.

If he had to describe it, she was a remarkably kind and considerate corpse.

A corpse that would walk to its own grave, sparing the pallbearers any trouble.

Of course, Hyun-gong’s desire to take her body to the Northern Ice Palace wasn’t purely out of respect for her wishes.

By bringing her remains there, he could claim he had helped solve a problem for the palace, earning some favor.

And perhaps, he could make a good impression on his future in-laws.

‘How many brothers and sisters-in-law does she have again? Should I bring gifts?’

Namgoong Myung asked suspiciously, “You’re not planning to use Baek Hyang-ah’s body for something, are you? I mean, I don’t think you’re that kind of person, but…”

If he truly didn’t suspect anything, he wouldn’t have asked.

And his question wasn’t entirely baseless. In fact, it hit the nail on the head.

Hyun-gong had been considering how to make use of Baek Hyang-ah’s body ever since he heard the story from the So-sang sect leader.

However, as a proud member of the righteous martial arts world, he had no intention of exploiting her body like the So-sang or Dae-byeok sect leaders might.

“Of course not! Even the most notorious villains wouldn’t desecrate a corpse. I intend to honor Baek Hyang-ah’s last wishes by preparing a grave for her at the Ice Palace. I’ll ensure no one touches her body, even if I have to swear on the name of Elder Yeongbojin.”

Yet, where pure energy gathers, miraculous herbs often grow.

There was a high chance that a powerful herb, infused with immense yin energy, would grow over her grave.

Hyun-gong had no plans to disturb her body, but he thought it might be acceptable to harvest the herb.

If no herb grew, he could simply consider it a good deed befitting a true martial artist.

Moreover, he couldn’t be sure the Gongdong sect would willingly accept her body. Sang-gwal Do-in was not following the same path as Mu-ryang-ja.

Returning her to the Jeweon Baek family, where her grave would be neglected, didn’t seem like a good outcome to Hyun-gong either. In his own way, he was concerned for her.

Of course, his friends didn’t think that far ahead.

They just assumed Hyun-gong was trying to impress Seol-hwa.

Hyun-gong stood up and urged his friends, “Let’s get going.”

“Already?”

“Baek Hyang-ah may have been a bit reckless, but she lived a life full of hardship. It’s better for someone to be there at her end than for her to be found dead and alone. With the daughter of the Northern Ice Palace Lord, the future head of the Wudang sect, the Namgoong family head, the Tang family head, and a strong beggar witnessing her final moments, it’s a rather grand farewell.”

For Hyun-gong, it was a noble gesture.

Dang Moo-jin and the others followed Baek Hyang-ah at a respectful distance.

And so, the day came to an end.

“She still looks fine.”

“Guess we’ll be dealing with a corpse tomorrow morning. Let’s just get some sleep.”

Another day passed.

“When is she going to die?”

“Tonight, for sure. Maybe we should sleep closer, so we can rush over if it looks like she’s about to go.”

By the third morning, Baek Hyang-ah still showed no signs of dying.

She continued to move north, surrounded by shimmering ice crystals.

The group’s mood grew increasingly tense.