Chapter 175
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 175
Chapter 175. Traces of Seolpung Palace (2)
I nodded in response to his question.
“Please take good care of your children so that they don't feel their father's absence.”
I sometimes think that if Eom's sword, Eom's sword, had not disappeared, Seolpung Palace might not have been destroyed.
If the Palace Head's sword, Eunmu, had not disappeared, Seolpung Palace might not have been destroyed.
If the other children were like Miss Yeom, they would be growing up happily.
Suppressing those complicated feelings, I continued.
“When I return, I will support you again. I have a lot of money.”
I left his room after receiving Master Yeom's heartfelt gratitude.
It was time to leave.
When I returned to my room, Pal-gap was already ready to go.
“Let's go.”
We left the inn.
As we left the warm inn and stepped outside into the snowy wind, I couldn't help but sigh.
Let's go. We must fulfill Master's request.
I thought that the escort agency people were amazing for going anywhere they were requested to go.
“Liege, where should we go now?”
Jinyu, who was familiar with the geography of the North Sea, asked, and I replied, remembering what Master had said.
“Go straight west, and you will see a huge snow-capped mountain. When the mountain looks as big as an adult, turn right.”
My master had not seen it himself, but had heard about it from Heukjeok, so his directions were a little vague.
However, it seemed like we would be able to find it with a little effort, and if I couldn't find it, my master would not have sent me.
By the way, why did Heukjeok-ui Sun come all the way here? Does he have something to do with this place?
With that question in mind, we walked for about an hour, and then we began to see the snow-capped mountain.
When the mountain appeared to be about the size of an adult man, we turned right.
As we walked, I suddenly had a hunch.
There was something in front of us.
However, it wasn't a dangerous or ominous feeling... It was more like something in front of me was pulling me in.
So, I was able to move forward without hesitation.
We turned and walked for about an hour.
Soon, we arrived at our destination.
However, there was nothing there, which was quite confusing.
“Is this the right place?”
I nodded in response to Pal-gap's question.
“Yes. I think this is the place. This is right.”
The feeling that was pulling me seemed to be telling me that there was something here.
Meanwhile, Jin-yu Musha took a stick out of his saddle and began to assemble it.
Then he started poking the snow with the stick.
“Why are you poking the snow?”
Jin-yu Musha replied to Lee Pil Musha's question.
“Here at the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the terrain constantly changes due to snowstorms. That's why this pole is useful when searching for something buried in the snow. It's also useful when searching for people buried in avalanches.”
I wondered why he brought it, but now I understood.
A moment later
“I think there's something here.”
Jin-yu pointed to a spot, and we began to dig down into the snow.
Soon, we found what Master had told us to look for, the remains of Seolpung Palace.
“It's here.”
“It's a huge rock.”
Everyone nodded at Pal-gap's words. The rock was about as tall as Pal-gap.
To be honest, I was a little puzzled.
Why couldn't Master find the traces of Seolpung Palace, which even Heukjeok had found?
It wasn't that far from the inn in the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
But now, the mystery was solved.
Due to the snowstorm, the terrain had changed, and it had been buried in the snow.
Then, when the Black Sword passed by, it was revealed by chance.
There was a phrase written on the rock.
“O descendant of snow and wind, prove your worth.”
When I saw it, I remembered my Master's words.
If these were indeed the remains of Seolpung Palace, they would react to the martial arts of Seolpung Palace.
“Please step aside for a moment.”
With that, I dismounted and stood in front of the rock.
I took a deep breath and drew my sword.
Swoosh.
“Liege, why are you suddenly drawing your sword...?”
“You said I had to prove my qualifications. I thought showing you my sword skills would be enough.”
“That makes sense. Then you must demonstrate your sword skills from start to finish.”
I froze for a moment at the words of the Yeongam warrior.
The Jinseolshik Sword Technique consists of twelve techniques, as its name suggests.
However, I had only mastered the tenth technique, Seolbong.
My Master, who knew this better than anyone, must have sent me because I was qualified.
Then...
I changed my mind, gathered my inner arts, and placed my hand on the rock.
At that moment, the rock began to vibrate, and familiar incantations began to appear.
“...!”
It was the incantation for the eighth technique of the Twelve Swords of Jinseol, Iljeonhyung.
And there was a hole underneath it.
I thought I knew what it meant, and I smiled.
Then, slowly raising my inner arts, I moved my sword according to the technique of Iljeonhyung.
Finally, he concentrated and thrust his sword into the hole with a single strike.
Click.
At that moment, he heard a sound like a mechanism moving, and his view changed.
“....”
Where was he?
Just a moment ago, he had been standing in front of a large rock in a snow-covered field, but now he was inside a large cavity.
Not only Pal-gap, but also the escort warriors were nowhere to be seen.
“Kui?”
Geum-ryung poked his face out from inside my sleeve.
“Ah, you came with me?”
“Kui! Kui!”
“Do you know where this is?”
I didn't really expect an answer, but Geum-ryung nodded repeatedly in response to my question.
“What? You know where this is?”
“Kui!”
Geum-ryeong jumped down to the ground, her tail wagging wildly. Usually, when Geum-ryeong was in a good mood, her tail would shake violently.
Like when she was given silver or gold?
Then could it be?
I walked down the path in front of the hollow.
The road was straight, and I walked for about a minute.
I saw a light ahead.
“...!”
There was a pile of gold and silver treasures.
There was a reason why Geumryeong was wagging its tail so violently.
I approached the place cautiously. There could have been a trap.
You might say, “What kind of trap could there be at this point?” But you never know what might happen in this world.
As I approached the gold and silver, I couldn't help but feel nervous.
That was because the envelope lying there was labeled, “To the descendant living a second life.”
It was clearly a letter addressed to me.
I couldn't say for sure that there was no one else living a second life like me, but what were the chances that person had learned the martial arts of Seolpungung?
I swallowed hard and opened the envelope.
Tuck
Inside was a piece of jewelry made of transparent crystal-like beads strung together with silver wire.
It looked like a sword ornament.
I put it aside and took out the letter enclosed inside.
“To the one living a second life, my descendant. I have waited for the day you would see this letter.”
When I saw those words, I remembered the mysterious handsome man I had seen in my dream.
Did he wait here to give this to me?
“Seolpung Palace was a place that showed me warmth when I had nowhere to go, and Northern Sea Ice Palace is my mother's sect. With the help of the Alliance Leader, I created the Taeum Byeonghae Gong martial arts technique to protect Northern Sea Ice Palace and develop Seolpung Palace, and laid the foundation for the martial arts of Seolpung Palace.”
This sentence confirmed my suspicions.
The person who wrote this letter was revered as the founder of Seolpung Palace.
The mother of Seolpung Palace's investigator was also a disciple of Northern Sea Ice Palace.
[One day, I witnessed the end of Seolpung Palace. I shed tears of blood as I watched everything in Seolpung Palace collapse. However, I couldn't just give up, so I decided to change the will of heaven.
Huh? You knew in advance that Seolpung Palace would be destroyed?
And you decided to change the will of heaven?
[So, I decided to give the second life to someone connected to me in exchange for my remaining life. Someone who is a man like me and possesses the body of a dragon.]
“....”
I bit my lip.
That meant that the person who gave me a second life was the investigator of Seolpung Palace.
[My descendant, if the second life I have given you has meaning, I hope you will use these treasures to rebuild Seolpung Palace.
Does my second life have meaning?
Of course it does.
Thanks to you, I can dream of revenge against the Martial Alliance and the Trading Company.
By the way, you want me to rebuild Seolpung Palace.
Running a sect is no easy task, but rebuilding a destroyed sect is many times more difficult.
Then, the following sentence caught my eye.
[Although I have given you a second life, I know how difficult it will be to rebuild the destroyed Seolpung Palace, so I am leaving you three things. I hope they will be of help to you.
Three things...
“First, the sword attached to this letter. It is made of ice, so it will help you with your inner arts.”
I looked at the sword in my hand. Was it really made of ice?
“The second is one-third of the treasures I have collected.”
I saw a huge amount of gold and silver treasures piled up in front of me.
With this, I guess I'll give it a try.
To be honest, I feel frustrated that I cannot proudly reveal that I am a disciple who has mastered the martial arts of Seolpunggung.
If I feel this way, how difficult must it be for my Master?
In any case, it is not a bad offer.
[The last one is the secret technique of the Jinseolshik Sword Technique. The location of the secret technique is...
Currently learning the tenth technique of the Jinseolshik Sword Technique, I was not particularly impressed.
[My descendant, the survival of Seolpung Palace rests in your hands, so I hope you will not refuse my request.
That was how the letter ended.
Come to think of it, it's amazing.
The letter clearly said, “the one who lives a second life.” That means he knew in advance that I would come here.
It was a chillingly accurate prediction.
I should be grateful to the investigator.
Regardless of his purpose, thanks to him, I got to live a second life.
In fact, I had been wondering how I came back from death and got a second life.
No matter how much I thought about it, it didn't make sense.
But now that I know the reason, I feel at ease. Of course, I still have the request that the investigator placed on my shoulders.
Then, I should gather the treasures here.
I took the inkstone made of stepstone out of my pocket and opened the secret storage.
Then I started putting the treasures inside.
I thought about leaving them there and telling my Master, but I decided it would be better to take them with me and give them to him myself.
He must be busy, and I didn't want to make him come all the way to this dangerous place, and they might disappear in the meantime.
“Kui...”
At that moment, Geum-ryeong approached me and tapped my leg with her front paw.
Then she looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Kui... Kui.”
I thought I knew what Geum-ryeong was saying. She was asking me for one gold coin in a playful manner.
Well, okay.
Geum-ryeong has to eat too.
I handed Geum-ryeong a gold coin and said,
“Here, this is yours.”
“Kui! Kui!”
Geum-ryeong quickly grabbed the gold coin and swallowed it. Her tail trembled cutely.
I scraped out all the gold and treasures inside and put them in my secret hiding place.
“Now I have to get out of here.”
But no matter how much I looked around, I couldn't find any exit.
What? You asked me to do that, but there's no exit?
I looked around again carefully.
I retraced my steps and examined the walls thoroughly.
I even tried to touch the walls with my inner arts, just like when I came in.
However, there was no sign of an exit.
How am I supposed to get out of here?
I sighed and asked Geum-ryung.
“Geum-ryung, how do we get out of here? Do you know?”
Geum-ryung nodded in response to my question.
“What? You know?”
“Kui! Kui!”
She then slipped into my sleeve and brought out the secret manual I had hidden there.
It was the secret manual of the Jinseolshikshik Sword Technique.
I took it because I thought I should keep it since it was a gift from the investigator.
Geum-ryung put it on the floor and opened the manual.
Could it be?
Did the investigator, who knew I would come here, not know that I had learned the Jinseolshikshik Sword Technique?
No, he must have known.
He probably even knew that I had learned up to the tenth technique.
If so, then there must be a reason why he gave me the secret manual of the Jinseolshik Sword Technique.
I remembered that there was a well where water collected and a wall-mounted flower stand next to it.
Why were they here?
So... I have to master all of this before I can leave.
I picked up the secret manual and sighed.
By the way, how long will it take to master all of this?
Now that I've disappeared, how worried must my bodyguards be?
I felt anxious, but I calmed myself down.
When learning martial arts, impatience is a no-no.
One wrong move could lead to qi deviation.
“All right, let's do this.”
It shouldn't take too long. I've already mastered the tenth technique, no, all of the techniques.
But that was my mistake.