Chapter 173
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 173
Chapter 173. In the North Sea (3)
At his words, I unconsciously became tense.
But if I showed that I was too upset, he would think it strange, so I tried to act calm and asked, “May I ask why you think so?”
"I was just wondering why the wind in the North Sea is so calm.
“I'm just surprised that the wind in the North Sea is so calm. It was like this when I was walking with my friend.”
“Perhaps the heavens favor me.”
I couldn't bring myself to agree or disagree with his question, so I just gave a vague answer.
My master told me to keep Seolpungung a secret, but since I learned the Taeum Byeonghae Gong and Jinseol Shikshik Sword Technique from him, I am not completely unrelated to Seolpungung.
However, I felt guilty toward my master if I denied that relationship.
In any case, I had to be careful.
As someone who had met a disciple of Seolpung Palace before, Kim Ryung would be able to recognize him.
Thus, we gradually headed toward the center of the North Sea.
The feeling of running across a snow-covered field was strange.
The girl's father, who was traveling with us, said, "The North Sea is a dangerous place.
“Actually, the North Sea is not only difficult because of the snowstorms, but also because of the spiritual beasts that occasionally appear.”
“Come to think of it, I heard from the hunters that there are evil spiritual beasts, right?”
“That's right. About ten years ago, the frequency of their appearances increased significantly. However, when Seolpung Palace was still standing, it wasn't as bad.”
“I don't understand what you mean...”
“Ah, I didn't explain myself well. Originally, Seolpung Palace, like the Northern Sea Ice Palace, was responsible for exterminating the evil spiritual beasts of the North Sea. With a single sword, they could freely control the north wind and snow, so the spiritual beasts feared them.”
He continued his explanation.
“Now, I am solely responsible for exterminating the evil spiritual beasts at the Northern Sea Ice Palace, but I'm afraid I'm not enough on my own.”
“I see.”
At that moment.
In the distance, a group of people were running toward us.
“Help us!”
They were covered in blood, and a white leopard was chasing them.
Seeing this, the girl's father drew his sword and shouted.
“Red eyes! It's a red-eyed snow leopard!”
It was white like snow, just as the name suggested, but its eyes were red.
Hearing this, I dismounted from my horse and said,
“It looks like an evil spiritual beast.”
“That's right. Normally, snow leopards feed on the energy of snow, but when they start craving blood, their eyes turn red like that. From that moment on, they are no longer sacred animals. They are just demonic beasts.”
At that moment, Seo Woo said,
“It's coming this way.”
I also drew my silver sword.
The silver sword is the symbolic sword of Seolpunggung, but since you said that it can change its form depending on the person who wields it, there should be no problem using it here.
We began to get closer to the snow leopard.
But then
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Could that sound come from an animal?
As if it had stopped suddenly, smoke began to rise from Jikansulpo's feet.
Then it tucked its tail between its legs and began to run away.
Why is it acting so strangely?
We quickly regained our composure and gave chase.
Lee Pil threw a hidden weapon at Jikansulpo.
The hidden weapon must have hit its target, because the creature began to slow down. Seo Woo and Jin Yu slashed at Jikansul with their swords.
Swish!
Swoosh!
Finally, Jikansul collapsed.
One might ask if it was necessary to chase and kill a creature that was running away.
However, that is something only someone who does not know much about spiritual beasts would say.
Spiritual beasts are animals that have lived for a very long time, so they are extremely persistent.
Once they set their sights on their prey, they watch it closely and hunt it when the opportunity arises.
In other words, if we did not finish it off here, it could hunt us at any time.
We burned the body of the spiritual beast.
We thought about skinning it and selling it, but we decided against it because there was a legend that the skin of a demonic beast would bring disaster.
Meanwhile, I approached the people who had been chased.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for helping us.”
The girl and young man bowed their heads and expressed their gratitude to me.
They looked like siblings, as they resembled each other.
“You saved our lives.”
“It seems you are on your way to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“That's right.”
The young man nodded and asked cautiously.
“Where are you going?”
The girl's father answered the question.
“We are going to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“Ah!”
The young man quickly clasped his hands together and said.
“I'm sorry, but... the escort agency warriors who were protecting us were attacked by Jikansul.”
“Oh no...”
“So, may we accompany you?”
Hearing this, the girl's father looked at me, and I nodded.
“Yes, please do.”
We set off again, and on the way, we found the bodies of the two escorts.
Seeing the two bodies lying not far away, Seo Woo said sadly, “They look like they were brutally murdered.”
“They are warriors from the Pungju Escort Agency,”
replied the young man.
“That's right. They tried to save us, but...”
Their clothes looked familiar. I knew the Pungju Escort Agency.
“Can you give us a moment? We would like to cremate their bodies.”
“Go ahead.”
Seo Woo was also a Head Escort, so he didn't treat it as someone else's business.
I, who had a close relationship with the escort agency, felt the same way.
The bodies of those who had frozen to death earlier were still intact, so we left them as they were.
However, these bodies, torn apart and covered in blood, would attract other beasts and be devoured by them.
We collected any belongings and identification tags from the bodies and burned them.
We gathered their remains, placed them in a box, and handed it to the young man.
“When you return, please deliver this to the Pungju Escort Agency.”
The young man bit his lip and replied, “Yes, sir.”
It seemed that he had become quite friendly with the dead escorts.
Now that the escorts who were supposed to protect us were dead, how would we return home?
Anyway, now that the escorts were dead, it would be difficult for him to return home. He didn't seem to have much money.
I handed him some silver coins.
“Use this for your travel expenses when you return home.”
“No, I can't accept this after you saved my life.”
“If you return safely, the remains and belongings of the dead will be returned to their families, won't they?”
Only then did the young man accept the money I gave him.
When the escort agency received a request for an escort, the escort fee was paid in two installments.
Half before departure and half after arriving halfway.
If something happened along the way and the escort was interrupted, the escort fee would be paid only the first installment.
And if an escort dies like this, only a small amount of compensation is given to the escort's family.
I've heard that some unscrupulous escort agencies demand compensation from the escort's family.
And so we set off again.
Somehow, our group had grown to five people. As I looked at them, Jin-yu sent me a telepathic message.
“Are you worried that they might interfere with your Liege's business?”
“No, not at all.”
I shook my head slightly.
“If I couldn't handle it, I would have refused to accompany you from the start.
It's not like we're going to be together for that long.
It's no big deal, I just wanted to do a small favor.
”Don't worry too much. We'll be at the entrance to the Northern Sea Ice Palace soon. There will be guides there.
“Guides?”
“Yes. The fact that we have reached the entrance of the Northern Sea Ice Palace means that we have proven our eligibility to enter. And without guides, we cannot enter the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
Hearing his telepathy, I glanced sideways.
The girl I met last night and the girl he just saved were getting along well and chatting about this and that.
Seeing them chatting away made me feel strange.
We stopped for a while to eat lunch, then set off again.
We walked for several hours.
In the distance, I could see an inn.
I couldn't help but tilt my head at the sight of the huge inn, which was about eight stories high.
There's an inn in a place like this?
Not only I, but everyone else also looked confused, except for Jin-yu and the girl's father, who remained calm.
“We're finally here.”
“What?”
“That is our destination.”
Yoo-eung-am asked the girl's father.
“Are you saying that is the Northern Sea Ice Palace?”
“No. It is more accurate to say that it is the entrance to the Ice Palace. We will rest there for a while and then follow the guide to enter the Ice Palace. And then...”
He said with a sigh.
“It is the only place in the Northern Sea Ice Palace where men can stay.”
Hearing this, the girl looked at him. Her eyes were filled with sadness, as if she knew that they would soon be parted.
Then this is where we will truly part ways.
Soon we arrived at the inn.
It was a grand inn with a sign that read “Bingung Inn.”
“Welcome.”
As soon as we arrived, two men who looked exactly like twins ran out to greet us.
“We are glad you made it here safely.”
“Leave the horses to us and come inside.”
“We are not going to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, but can we stay here anyway?”
They answered my question readily.
“Of course.”
“Our inn does not discriminate against guests.”
“But we do kick out non-guests.”
I asked again.
“Who are those who are not guests?”
“Those who are like dogs in heat or those who are hungry for blood are not guests.”
Their faces turned fierce for a moment, but they quickly returned to their friendly smiles.
“Come in.”
“If you are guests, welcome to the safest inn in the North Sea.”
When Jin-yu glanced at the samurai, he nodded.
That must mean it was okay to rest here.
“Then let's rest here.”
Our party entered the inn and was immediately surprised.
The interior of the inn was also very luxurious.
Beautiful women dressed in simple white robes were bustling about, doing their work.
They all seemed to have considerable inner arts, so they must be disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
“Welcome.”
A woman sitting at the cash register stood up and greeted us.
The room rates were similar to other inns in the Central Plains.
“And there will be no charge for those who are entering the palace.”
“I see.”
“It happens to be the day when those entering the palace will be going in, so you can go with them.”
As we were going through the check-in procedure, we heard a woman's voice behind us.
“Yeon-rang?”
Hearing that voice, the girl's father turned his head in that direction, and our eyes also turned toward her.
She was a woman of considerable beauty.
He replied in a trembling voice to the woman who appeared to be in her twenties.
“It's been a long time.”
“You kept your promise.”
“Yes.”
He looked at his daughter with a complicated expression and said.
“Say hello. This is your mother.”
.
.
.
That night.
I went downstairs for a moment.
It was time for everyone to be asleep, but the girl's father was drinking alone.
“Why aren't you with your daughter?”
“Ah.”
Some might say I was being nosy, but this was only natural for a merchant.
Small connections like this could be very helpful in the future.
Besides, being friendly is also a virtue of a merchant.
He sighed lightly and said, “She must be with her mother right now.”
“The woman you met earlier was your mother, right?”
“You said she was your mother, right?”
I sat down in front of him and continued the conversation naturally, and he nodded.
“Yes, I first met your mother at Seolpung Palace.”
He said he was a disciple of Seolpung Palace, so it must have been around that time.
“Seolpung Palace had a very close relationship with the Northern Sea Ice Palace. And the Northern Sea Ice Palace regularly sent people to Seolpung Palace to patrol this area with me.”
“I see.”
“We fell in love at that time, and Hyun was born from that relationship.”
“...”
“But as you know, children under the age of five are not allowed to enter the Northern Sea Ice Palace. That is the law.”
“That's why you were raising her, Master.”
“That's right. And Hyun-i must become a disciple of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. That is... the law, so I brought Hyun-i here.”
Is it the law that girls born to women of the Northern Sea Ice Palace must become disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace?
“Then is this the first time she has seen her mother?”
“That's right. She can live with her mother for about a year, but that's not long enough for a child to remember. After a year, they must be separated.”
I was honestly disgusted by such a cruel law.
The sadness of having to send away a child you gave birth to because of the rules of the organization you belong to must be like having your heart torn apart.
By the way, there is something puzzling.
“But usually, when you see your mother for the first time at such a young age, you would feel awkward or shy, but Hyun didn't show any such signs toward Miss.”
“Oh, that...”
He smiled.
"Hyun's mother loves him very much and always tells him that even though she is far away, she misses him and wants to see him again.
What a wonderful father.
Hearing that, I couldn't help but smile.
But then, a question popped into my head.