Chapter 174
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 174
Chapter 174. Traces of Seolpung Palace (1)
In the case of girls, they become disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, but what about boys?
The other person answered his question clearly.
“That's why Seolpung Palace was there.”
“What?”
“It was a place built to raise the boys born to the women of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. That place was Seolpung Palace.”
He explained further.
As children born out of love, some were raised by their fathers, but that was not always the case.
In such cases, Seolpung Palace was where those children were raised.
The children were raised there, and when the Northern Sea Ice Palace opened its doors, the girls became disciples.
However, the boys remained at Seolpung Palace and lived as disciples of Seolpung Palace.
“And the stories of the boys who became disciples of Seolpung Palace are very diverse. Some lost their fathers, some didn't know who their fathers were, and some were rejected by their families.”
Hearing that, I remembered the madman who attacked me when I met Geum-ryeong and obtained the Eunmu Sword.
Yoo Deok-jin of Seolpung Palace.
And the contents of the letter he had.
[As I told you before, bring that sword to me.
Then I will recognize you as my son.
So that's why Yoo Deok-jin stole the Eunmu Sword.
To be recognized by the father who had disowned him.
I heard that Seolpung Palace was destroyed by the Demonic Cult, but I had a hunch that there was something more complicated going on.
“Then was Seolpung Palace established by the Northern Sea Ice Palace?”
“No, that's not the case. A long time ago, the Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance, who had retired, heard about these events and helped establish Seolpung Palace. At that time, it was not a military organization.”
He continued.
“Then, a person with exceptional martial arts skills was born, and under his leadership, Seolpunggung grew into a powerful military organization. So Seolpunggung appointed him as their investigator.”
That investigator must be the person who left behind the secret manual I found earlier.
“You know a lot about Seolpunggung.”
“I heard various stories from a friend.”
“Ah... Are you referring to the person who died when Seolpunggung was destroyed?”
“Yes.”
“But wasn't Seolpunggung destroyed about ten years ago? Then what happened to the children during that time...?”
He hesitated before answering my question.
“I have them with me.”
“What?”
“I have those children with me.”
.
.
.
Early the next morning.
I woke up early and finished my breathing exercises.
What I realized was that the Tae-Eum Byeong-Hae Shin-Gong I had learned was a mental technique unique to this place, the North Sea, as befitting a mental technique created here.
It was several times more effective than when I practiced at home.
Considering that it was relatively more effective in winter, it seemed that the colder it was, the more effective the mental technique became.
How on earth did they destroy the Seolpung Palace, which specialized in martial arts unique to the North Sea and used the cold north wind and snow as weapons?
But he quickly dismissed the thought. It wasn't something he could find out right away anyway.
He tried to continue his sword training after practicing his breathing, but gave up.
If any other Northern Sea Ice Palace disciples saw him training or sensed his energy, it could cause trouble.
He had to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
He wondered if he had gotten up too early since he wasn't going to practice.
Hm?
At that moment, he sensed a commotion outside. Among the commotion, he could sense the energy of the girls he had met yesterday and their companions.
Are they leaving already?
When he went down to the first floor, he saw many people saying goodbye to each other.
“Take care of yourselves.”
“Yes.”
“No matter how difficult it is, endure it. The future of our family rests in your hands.”
“I understand.”
“Please take care of yourself.”
“Thank you for escorting us here. Our family will pay the remaining expenses.”
“I understand. Please take care.”
Among those sharing their farewells were the people I had met yesterday, also exchanging greetings.
“Father, take care of yourself. And tell the children to take care of themselves.”
“I will.”
“Yeon-rang, return safely.”
“We will meet again someday.”
“Of course.”
“Please take good care of Hyun.”
“Don't worry.”
I turned my head and looked at another girl.
“Orabeoni.”
“Don't worry about us. Take care.”
Seeing that, I felt strange.
Bang!
At that moment, a woman struck the floor with her sword sheath and said,
“We're leaving. Follow us.”
They left the inn and entered the foggy area behind it.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
The girls entered the fog without any problems, but the men following them were all blocked.
It was as if the fog had solidified and pushed them away.
“Is this the fog from the rumors?”
“Ah...”
They stared blankly into the fog, then one by one turned around and went back into the inn.
All kinds of complicated emotions could be felt from their backs.
By the way, how is it possible for fog to push people away?
So I gently touched the fog.
Swoosh
Huh? That's strange.
It was clearly the same fog that had pushed the other men away, but I didn't feel any resistance when I touched it.
Then I heard Pal-gap's voice behind me.
“What are you doing here, young master?”
“Ah! Pal-gap.”
I called out to Pal-gap and pointed at the fog.
“Touch it.”
“...?”
Pal-gap tilted his head, but he touched the mist as I told him to.
Tak
“Huh? What is this? There's nothing here, so why is my hand stuck?”
“...”
“Wow! This is amazing!”
I'm a man, so why isn't my hand stuck?
However, I thought it would not be good to talk about this, so I smiled quietly and changed the subject.
“This is the Northern Sea Ice Palace, so it must have been to prevent men from entering.”
We went back into the inn, did some light basic training in our rooms, and then went downstairs to have breakfast.
Now we had to go find the traces of Seolpung Palace that Master had told us about.
“Good morning.”
We sat down at a suitable place, and the waiter took our order.
“What would you like?”
“Is there anything light for breakfast?”
“Then I think a dish made with green tofu would be good.”
“I'll have that.”
After ordering our food, Pal-gap sighed and said,
“We have to go back there again.”
“We have to. That's why we came all this way.”
“I heard that the wind is very strong there. We've been fine so far, but I'm worried about what will happen from now on.”
“Don't worry too much. We'll be fine somehow.”
“I envy the disciples of Seolpunggung. They say they can control the snowstorms.”
The woman who took our order refuted that statement.
“Oh, no, that's not true.”
“What?”
“It is true that the people of Seolpung Palace can control the snowstorms, but not all of them can. Only the Palace Head and his direct descendants have that power.”
“Is that so?”
At that moment, she was called from the kitchen, and the conversation was interrupted.
“Ah! Master.”
“Good morning.”
The people we met yesterday came down.
They were the girl's father, the young man who had been with him, and the girl's Orabeoni.
They looked lonely, especially the girl's Orabeoni, who was alone.
So I invited them to join us.
“If you don't mind, please join us for a meal.”
“Thank you.”
They sat at the same table and ordered food, and the girl's brother spoke first.
“Did you all have a good rest?”
“Yes, we did.”
“Um... My name is Han Jae-ik.”
Since he introduced himself, I had to do the same.
“My name is Eun Seo-ho.”
The girl's father also introduced himself in response to my greeting.
“My name is Yeom Jin-yeon. And this is a guy I'm taking care of because we have a connection.”
He bowed his head quietly in greeting.
“By the way, I'm worried about my younger brother. I heard that training at the Northern Sea Ice Palace is very difficult... I hope he can endure it.”
Master Yeom Jin-yeon responded comfortingly to Master Han Jae-ik's words.
“The Northern Sea Ice Palace is also a place where people live. They are not too cruel, so you don't have to worry.”
“I am glad to hear that. I hope she will endure it well...”
“You seem very worried.”
“Yes, my sister entered the Northern Sea Ice Palace not because she wanted to, but because she had no choice.”
“What do you mean?”
At my question, he sighed deeply and said.
“The situation is a bit complicated, but the reason I brought my younger sister here is because she is being arranged to marry someone.”
“Isn't that a good thing?”
“It's not a normal marriage. There is an influential family near our family, and the chairman of that family sent a matchmaker to make my sister his ninth wife, so we had to leave in a hurry.”
“Not the ninth concubine, but his wife?”
“Yes, his wife. The problem is that all of his previous wives are dead.”
“All eight of them?”
“Yes, most of their deaths were suspicious, but they were ultimately ruled suicides.”
“...”
Only then did we understand the situation.
“Then isn't Master Han's family in danger?”
“Even so, my parents said that this is better.”
Rather than have their daughter killed and live with a sense of injustice, they chose to send her to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, even if it meant she would be persecuted.
The situation was pitiful.
Why does the world not leave those who want to live a good life alone?
“Where is your family, Master?”
“I am from Henan.”
The Fengzhou Escort Agency is located in Henan, so you must have signed a contract right after leaving home.
Henan is not far from Hubei, so I gave him a little consideration.
“If you feel that you can no longer endure it, please come to the Eunhae Trading Company. I can give you some work to do.”
“Thank you. I will keep that in mind.”
It hurt my pride to see someone I saved get into trouble at the hands of another.
Master Yeom said to him.
“By the way... It will be difficult for you to get home. The road from here to Henan is not very safe.”
“I'm worried about that too.”
“Then let's ask the escorts who have finished their jobs. Actually, it is forbidden to accept personal requests, but since we are going back anyway, it shouldn't be a bad offer for them.”
He continued.
“And even if we can't go all the way to Henan, we can stop at a big city along the way and ask for help there.”
“That's a good idea. Thank you for your advice.”
Around that time, our meal was served, and after we finished eating, we went up to our rooms.
Everyone was busy packing their bags, and I headed to Master Yeom's room for a moment.
“Master Yeom, it's Eun Seo-ho.”
“Come in, please.”
When I entered, Master Yeom was also packing his bags.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
He nodded in response to my question and said to the young man who was with him.
“Go outside and rest for a while.”
“Yes.”
He obediently went outside, and Master Yeom invited me to sit down.
“What is the matter?”
“You said yesterday that you would take care of the children born to the women of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“Yes, that's right.”
“So, how do you manage financially?”
“I cover the expenses with personal commissions and donations.”
“Do you need any additional support? I would like to help you a little.”
In my opinion, the sponsor Master Yeom was referring to was probably my Master.
I was certain of this after listening to their conversation earlier.
The close friend Master Yeom was talking about was his Master.
First of all, Master Yeom seemed very calm when talking about his close friend's death. If he knew so much about Seolpung Palace, they must have been close friends.
And only the direct descendants of Seolpung Palace can control Seolpung.
My master said that the Jinseolshik Sword Technique was a family specialty. A family specialty means that only direct descendants can learn it, not the martial arts of the sect.
That is the conclusion I came to after putting all the pieces together.
My master is a direct descendant of the Seolpung Palace, which was destroyed, and his close friend is Master Yeom Jin-yeon.
He also said that he deliberately told everyone that he was dead in order to keep his master's survival a secret.
In any case, as a disciple learning the martial arts of Seolpung Palace, I believe it is my duty to support them.
Strictly speaking, those whom Master Yeom is raising are my senior brothers.
It's not like we don't have money.
“I'm taken aback by your sudden offer of support. Of course, I appreciate your generosity, but may I ask why you are offering this?”
“Just... please understand that I heard about their situation and felt sorry for them.”
He thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
“I can't refuse because their situation isn't good. I will gratefully accept.”
I immediately took out the transfer slip and handed it to him, and he was surprised when he saw it.
“Are you really... sponsoring them with such a large amount of money?”