A Flower Blooming in the Snow
Dang Mujin was momentarily taken aback, but he didn’t lose his composure.
In truth, Dang Mujin was somewhat of a veteran when it came to getting lost.
First, he calmed his racing heart and assessed the situation with a clear mind.
His fur-lined coat was thick and warm, and he wasn’t hungry.
He didn’t feel the need to wander around looking for the demonic cult warriors to achieve some grand victory. It’s not like he could find them just because he wanted to.
Crucially, he wasn’t far from the Northern Ice Palace.
“If I retrace my steps, I should reach the Northern Ice Palace. I’ll head back first and then decide what to do.”
With that thought, Dang Mujin turned around.
And found himself locking eyes with a stranger. A demonic cult warrior had been stealthily approaching him.
”···.”
The demonic cult warrior was visibly startled.
“You… you noticed my presence? How…?”
In such situations, establishing dominance is key.
Since they weren’t going to see each other again, a little bravado wouldn’t hurt.
Dang Mujin lifted his chin confidently.
“Of course. Did you really think you could deceive my senses?”
“Ugh…”
Dang Mujin thought the warrior might flee, but unexpectedly, the man raised his sword towards him.
“So what if your senses are sharp? I can do that too!”
The demonic cult warrior charged at Dang Mujin with a determined expression.
It wasn’t the time to employ any fancy techniques, so Dang Mujin quickly drew his sword. The grip felt slightly unfamiliar.
Judging by the opponent’s stance, he seemed to be at the early stages of mastery.
There was no guarantee that Dang Mujin’s swordsmanship was superior. In fact, he might be at a disadvantage, having not practiced for some time.
But Dang Mujin had a trick up his sleeve.
Their swords clashed.
The demonic cult warrior swung his sword with all his inner strength to gain the upper hand. Dang Mujin did the same.
When swords clash with such force, a strong recoil is expected. Typically, one would use that recoil to quickly retrieve the sword and launch the next move.
But this time, things were different.
The expected recoil wasn’t there.
Dang Mujin’s sword naturally sliced through the opponent’s blade.
The demonic cult warrior’s eyes widened in shock.
No martial art is designed to handle a situation where one’s sword is broken or cut. It was only natural that the demonic cult warrior’s reaction was delayed in such an unforeseen situation.
Dang Mujin’s swordsmanship might have been subtle, but he wasn’t so inexperienced that he couldn’t exploit a glaring weakness.
His sword traced a long line across the demonic cult warrior’s torso. Even the thick fur coat was no match for the razor-sharp blade.
Through his sword, Dang Mujin felt various sensations.
Skin. Muscle. The hard resistance of bone. And the soft organs wrapping around the blade’s tip. It was a fatal blow, no doubt about it.
The demonic cult warrior fell to his knees.
Dang Mujin completed his move, retrieved his sword, and spoke arrogantly.
“To not recognize the master of the Self-Heart Sword, Dang Mujin, is a crime punishable by death.”
The demonic cult warrior, his voice bubbling with blood, retorted.
“Self-Heart Sword, my foot… If the swords were switched, I would’ve… won…”
“The quality of the sword is part of one’s martial prowess.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. How can an external object be considered martial arts…?”
“Fool. I won, so my words are law. No arguments.”
Dang Mujin ended the warrior’s life with a thrust to the heart, then wiped his sword clean in the snow.
Having taken down two formidable opponents in one spot, he felt like a great master. His recently waning confidence surged back.
Dang Mujin looked in the direction where he believed the Northern Ice Palace lay.
The snowstorm obscured everything.
There were no footprints, no one to follow.
He wasn’t even sure if this was the right direction.
But there was no other choice.
All he could do was press on.
“Let’s go.”
Dang Mujin disappeared into the snowstorm.
The group following Seobancheok realized too late that Dang Mujin was missing.
“Come to think of it, where’s Dang Mujin?” Namgung Myung asked.
“Wasn’t he behind you?” Hong Geolgae replied.
“I thought he went ahead.”
It was unexpected, but no one was overly concerned.
At the peak of their skills, mistakes were common, and everything was a bit clumsy.
“He’ll be fine, right?”
“I’m a bit worried, but…”
If it had been Namgung Myung, Hyun Gong, or Hong Geolgae who went missing, they wouldn’t have been too worried. But the fact that it was Dang Mujin was the issue.
Namgung Myung took the lead.
“We can’t just leave it. One of us should go find Dang Mujin. It’ll put our minds at ease.”
“Let’s do that.”
Hyun Gong and Hong Geolgae nodded in agreement.
The three of them huddled together and extended their fists.
They played a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide.
Hyun Gong won first.
“Alright. Now you two decide.”
But Hong Geolgae and Namgung Myung wore shameless expressions, as if they had planned it.
“Why should we?”
“Why? The loser should go find Dang Mujin.”
“You must be mistaken. The winner goes.”
“That’s nonsense. The loser takes the penalty.”
“Are you saying rescuing Dang Mujin is a penalty?”
Hong Geolgae boldly accused Hyun Gong.
Hyun Gong was at a loss, but there wasn’t much he could do. They were two against one. In the end, the majority rules.
Hyun Gong quickly assessed the situation and gave up resisting.
Muttering under his breath, he started retracing his steps.
He felt a bit annoyed. This was his chance to impress Seolhwa. He felt like he missed an opportunity.
As he retraced his steps, Hyun Gong sensed someone approaching from behind.
Thinking it might be a demonic cult warrior, he turned around, only to see the face of the Northern Ice Palace Lord.
The others were nowhere to be seen, and the Palace Lord was alone.
The Northern Ice Palace Lord asked Hyun Gong, “Why are you alone?”
“I’m on my way to find a friend who got separated.”
“I see. Good luck.”
With that, the Palace Lord passed by Hyun Gong and left.
”···.”
Hyun Gong felt something was off.
“Just passing by?”
Conversations have a flow. In such situations, even a hollow piece of advice would be a normal response.
If not that, at least asking who got lost would be expected.
Hyun Gong watched the Palace Lord’s retreating figure.
After the flashy display in the snowfield earlier, the Palace Lord’s appearance hadn’t changed much.
A bit more snow had gathered on the shoulders and head, but the Palace Lord’s attire remained pristine.
What concerned him more was the direction the Palace Lord was heading.
“Isn’t that the direction of the Northern Ice Palace?”
Hyun Gong was retracing his steps to find Dang Mujin.
But the direction the Palace Lord came from was behind Hyun Gong. It was against the direction the Northern Ice Palace warriors were moving to confront the demonic cult.
“Am I mistaken? No, the Palace Lord left before us, and we didn’t deviate much. It must be the direction of the Northern Ice Palace. Why would the Palace Lord return alone?”
There was a reason.
Hyun Gong quickly thought of one reason why the Palace Lord might return alone.
The Northern Ice Palace housed a legendary elixir.
“No, that can’t be.”
But Hyun Gong wasn’t entirely convinced. It was still more of a conjecture.
He viewed the situation from the Palace Lord’s perspective.
The first thing that came to mind was the conversation between Dang Mujin and the Palace Lord. Hyun Gong had heard about it from Dang Mujin.
“The Palace Lord showed interest in Baek Hyang-ah’s treatment and prognosis. That’s not unusual.”
But the day after that conversation, trouble with the demonic cult arose. That could happen.
The Palace Lord decided to confront the demonic cult without hesitation, seemingly considering the involvement of Dang Mujin’s group.
Hyun Gong reversed the sequence of events in his mind.
“What if the plan wasn’t to fight the demonic cult with our help, but to lure us out of the Northern Ice Palace?”
The Palace Lord knew about Hyun Gong’s relationship with Seolhwa. She would have known that if Seolhwa joined the fight, Hyun Gong wouldn’t stay behind. Naturally, if Hyun Gong joined, his friends would too.
Meanwhile, Baek Hyang-ah would be left alone in the Northern Ice Palace.
“Is there a connection between the demonic cult and the Palace Lord? No, there wasn’t any sign of that when we first met.”
“But can I be sure there hasn’t been any connection since then?”
There had been several days since the Palace Lord first encountered the demonic cult warriors.
Moreover, there was a day between the conversation about Baek Hyang-ah’s condition and the departure.
It wasn’t a long time, but it was enough for allies to become enemies and vice versa.
Furthermore, there didn’t need to be any collusion between the Palace Lord and the demonic cult warriors.
“The martial artists of the Demonic Sect acted according to their needs, and if the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace layered her plans on top of that, what picture would emerge?”
I know. It’s all speculation. Some parts even feel like wild guesses.
But everything seems too natural, and there’s no deviation in the direction.
And such ominous speculations always tend to be right.
At this point, Tang Mujin’s misfortune isn’t the most pressing issue. I need to return to the Northern Ice Palace immediately.
Of course, it wasn’t purely out of a sense of justice or a determination to protect Baek Hyang-a. The relationship between Hyeon-gong and Baek Hyang-a had always been a bit awkward.
It was just a gut feeling that something big was about to happen.
And from Hyeon-gong’s experience, being present when something big happens often comes with its own rewards.
“Could I leverage the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace’s weaknesses to gain something?”
“No, that’s not realistic. The real issue is that the relationship between my friends and the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace could sour. That must be prevented at all costs.”
Friends like Tang Mujin are practically the entirety of Hyeon-gong’s network.
And the Northern Ice Palace is where his future in-laws reside.
If the relationship between the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace and Tang Mujin deteriorates, it would be a serious problem. It’s better to smooth things over with the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace now than to be forced to choose between them later.
There’s no certainty that I can persuade the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace to stop. But I must prevent the worst-case scenario, even if it means helping to cover up her actions so Tang Mujin doesn’t find out.
“Let’s get moving.”
Hyeon-gong started walking in the direction the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace had gone.
How long had he walked? Hyeon-gong soon encountered Seol-hwa and her group.
“Hyeon-gong!”
Seol-hwa waved brightly at him, her face smeared with the blood of the Demonic Sect’s martial artists. Yet, somehow, it suited her.
She approached Hyeon-gong and asked, “Why are you alone?”
Hyeon-gong hesitated, about to voice his suspicions about the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace.
The situation wasn’t clear yet, and even if it were, it wasn’t something to share with Seol-hwa.
He smoothly deflected, “Tang Mujin got caught in a snowstorm and lost his way. I’m on my way to find him.”
It was an excuse, but also an undeniable fact. Seol-hwa, however, questioned him further.
“Really?”
”…Of course.”
Seol-hwa didn’t press the matter.
Instead, she gave Hyeon-gong a light hug, gazed into his eyes for a moment, and then walked off into the snowstorm with the martial artists of the Ice Palace.
Hyeon-gong resumed his pursuit of the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace.
Baek Hyang-a sat in the reception hall.
Unlike its usual bustling atmosphere, the hall was eerily silent, as if the world had stopped.
It wasn’t just quiet. The hall was filled with a chilling cold and the metallic scent of blood.
In front of Baek Hyang-a lay three shattered bodies, like broken ice.
They were the remains of two supreme masters and one master from the Demonic Sect, frozen to death.
Baek Hyang-a muttered, ”…Fools.”
Not long after the martial artists of the Northern Ice Palace had set out, three elite members of the Demonic Sect had stormed the reception hall, targeting Baek Hyang-a, who was left alone.
It was a decent plan, but they overlooked two things.
They underestimated Baek Hyang-a’s ability to harness her true energy.
And they chose to confront her in a confined space where escape was impossible.
The result was the death of the three Demonic Sect martial artists.
Baek Hyang-a looked up and behind them.
There were six more bodies that hadn’t frozen.
They were the people of the Northern Ice Palace who had bravely stood in the way of the Demonic Sect’s martial artists to protect Baek Hyang-a.
The old servant who occasionally brought snacks to the reception hall. His assistant. Two maids who attended to the guests. And two others whose roles she barely knew.
They weren’t even trained in martial arts. They had no weapons.
They stood in the way of the Demonic Sect’s martial artists for one reason only.
They couldn’t bear to let Baek Hyang-a be in danger.
Six untrained individuals had stepped up to protect Baek Hyang-a, who possessed power beyond that of any supreme master.
’…If only I had made a decision a little sooner.’
Baek Hyang-a hadn’t told them to flee because of Tang Mujin’s advice that overusing her internal energy could be dangerous.
Even knowing that the six untrained individuals couldn’t hold off the Demonic Sect’s martial artists, Baek Hyang-a hesitated for just a moment.
That brief hesitation was enough time for six lives to be lost.
Baek Hyang-a assessed her remaining internal energy and the yin energy.
Releasing the yin energy here had been beneficial. The amount of remaining internal energy wasn’t insufficient.
‘I’m still okay.’
Baek Hyang-a carefully laid out the six bodies. A sense of guilt pricked at her heart, touched by the kindness and goodwill they had shown her.
Yet, she didn’t move the bodies outside. She sat back down in the center of the reception hall. It felt like the situation wasn’t over yet.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Just one set. Baek Hyang-a’s heart beat a little faster than usual.
She looked up to see who had arrived. The Lord of the Northern Ice Palace was staring at her.
Baek Hyang-a smiled.
“Father. You’re here?”
“Did you know?”
Their conversation seemed like a non sequitur, but it flowed seamlessly between them.
“At first, I didn’t. But I realized it while being chased by the two branch leaders and the main leader.”
Baek Hyang-a continued.
“It’s possible to take in an outsider as an adopted daughter and teach her the secrets of the Ice Palace. But to adopt me and offer the Eternal Ice Crystal within a month, when there are so many promising heirs, is absurd.”
“You misunderstood my goodwill. It’s unfortunate.”
“You can joke?”
The Lord of the Northern Ice Palace smiled silently and gazed at Baek Hyang-a.
Baek Hyang-a gauged the last of her true energy and internal reserves. She didn’t think she’d die easily.
“People used to whisper behind my back, calling me a cursed woman with a demon’s fate. They said I was unlucky, that I devoured people. I didn’t argue because they weren’t entirely wrong.”
Baek Hyang-a looked up at the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace.
And she thought of Tang Mujin.
Tang Mujin, who tirelessly worked to save a life, even sacrificing sleep.
The warmth she felt from Tang Mujin’s hand on her stomach.
That warmth was more comforting than the warmth she felt when she drained life from others.
Tang Mujin’s voice echoed in her mind.
‘Don’t overuse your internal energy.’
But now, there was no other choice.
So Baek Hyang-a whispered softly.
‘I’m sorry. It turned out this way.’
She roughly tore away the yin energy that had been containing her true energy. The true energy began to seep out as if it had been waiting.
Simultaneously, a massive wave of yin energy enveloped the reception hall.
Inside, a cold more intense than the snowstorm outside began to rage.
Frost flowers bloomed at Baek Hyang-a’s feet.
“Because of my cursed fate, my father died, and my master died. No matter how I think about it, I am a woman who devours people. I might really be a demon.”
The white demon strode toward the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace. With each step, beautiful frost flowers bloomed.
Baek Hyang-a raised her pale hands and spoke to the Lord of the Northern Ice Palace.
“And you’re my master and father. This time, it’s your turn to be devoured.”