Chapter 178
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 178
Chapter 178. The Way Back (1)
She bit her lip at my words.
“You're so cruel.”
“Yes, I am.”
Shut up!
A poisoned needle flew toward me.
I knocked it away with my sword and at the same time struck her neck with the hilt of my sword.
Pah!
“Guh!”
Seeing her collapse in a faint, I smiled. I knew it.
That was when it happened.
Huh?
Suddenly, I smelled the scent of wildflowers.
I was sure I had smelled this scent before.
Then, a group of people on gray horses came rushing from behind. There were about fifty of them.
“Who are they?”
A disciple of the Northern Sea Ice Palace answered my question.
“They are the Snow Eagle Corps, the elite mobile unit of our Ice Palace.”
The name “Snow Eagle” seemed to describe the characteristics of the unit.
As the Snow Eagle Corps approached, the scent of wildflowers grew stronger.
The disciple of the Northern Sea Ice Palace next to me saw the figure riding the white horse at the front and was so surprised that he rushed forward and prostrated himself.
“Greetings, Palace Head!”
Palace Head?
If it's the Palace Head, then that means she's the next head of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, right?
She didn't look like she was even 20 years old, but she was beautiful, albeit expressionless.
She dismounted and said,
“I came running when I saw the emergency signal.”
“Yes, Palace Head. I will report.”
The Northern Sea Ice Palace disciple reported the situation to her with a dignified demeanor.
“...So, we have subdued the culprit.”
“I see.”
The Palace Head nodded and turned to me.
She seemed to be quite skilled, as I couldn't even hear her footsteps.
As she approached, the scent of orchids grew stronger.
This scent was definitely... the scent of the mysterious masked man I met at the Lotus Pavilion a few years ago.
She bowed politely and introduced herself.
“I am Bing Haerin, the Palace Head of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
Now that she had revealed her name, I had to reveal mine as well.
“I am Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Thank you for helping us.”
“I only did what I had to do.”
“By the way, are you a man?”
I nodded in response to her question. It was true that I was a man.
“Yes.”
My answer surprised those around us.
“That's a lie!”
“Only women are allowed to enter here, right?”
“No, there are some who are allowed.”
The Palace Head interrupted them.
“I heard it from the Palace Head. She said that men with strong yin energy can enter here.”
However, her gaze was not on me, but on the sword I was holding.
Could she have recognized the identity of this sword?
The Eunmu Sword may look a little nice, but it doesn't seem that special...
Moreover, it can change its shape to suit its owner.
If she knew that this sword was Eunmu Sword, it would be very troublesome.
She was someone who was thought to be related to the Martial Alliance.
As a disciple of Seolpung Palace, I felt uncomfortable knowing that there was someone related to the Martial Alliance in the Northern Sea Ice Palace, which I was supposed to protect.
I didn't want them to get any information about me.
She met my gaze again and bowed her head slightly.
“Since you saved my disciples, it is only right that I treat you with the utmost respect, but given the circumstances, I must ask you to postpone that until later. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
Then she took three small boxes from a pouch at her waist and handed them to me.
“This is called ‘Silver Snow Pill.’ It is not a miracle cure, but it is a medicine of similar quality. It will help you master your martial arts.”
It was suspicious coming from a stranger, but she couldn't refuse in front of everyone.
Besides, she couldn't refuse a gift from the Palace Head.
“Thank you very much.”
“If you have anything else you desire, please tell me. I will grant your request if possible.”
I thought for a moment.
It would be nice to enter the Northern Sea Ice Palace, but he said it would be difficult, so I had to ask for something else.
There must be something about me that outsiders cannot see, which is why they would not let me into the Ice Palace.
“If you wish to visit the palace, you are welcome to do so. It is normally off-limits to outsiders, but since you are my benefactor, I can grant you that request.”
“What?”
I blinked at his unexpected words and asked again.
“Didn't you just say it would be difficult for me to go with you?”
“In order to give you a warm welcome, everyone in the palace must be present. However, that would be difficult with that monster around, so that is why I said that.”
So, it was okay to go to the Northern Sea Ice Palace together, but it would be difficult to give me a warm welcome.
I wondered how warm of a welcome it would be...
“That is why we have postponed giving you a warm welcome.”
“I see. Hmm.”
I cleared my throat to hide my embarrassment.
In that case, there's no need to go now.
Since she said that, she will invite me to the Northern Sea Ice Palace someday. There's no need to insist on going now.
“What I want is for you to keep it a secret that I was involved in this matter today. Can you promise me that?”
She thought for a moment and then nodded.
“I understand. I will do as you ask.”
I was uneasy, but this was the best I could do for now.
She wouldn't break a promise she made to me, her benefactor.
At that moment, one of Seol Eung-dae's men said from behind.
“The monster has awakened.”
It woke up sooner than expected.
Hearing that, Palace Head Byeong Hae-rin approached the monster.
The monster, who looked to be about 13 or 14 years old, had shed its appearance when it fought me.
Now, the monster looked like a middle-aged woman.
What a terrifying transformation. Hmm, at this point, it's not a transformation, but a complete metamorphosis.
“So why did you do this?”
“...”
“Assassination? Chaos? Ah, you wanted to cause chaos.”
“!”
The monster was startled by those words.
“So what is your real purpose? To cause chaos... A spy? Secrets? Spiritual beasts? Elixir? Yes, it's elixir.”
“Huh!”
The monster's eyes widened in shock.
I couldn't help but admire her in my heart.
A suspicious person is a suspicious person, and something amazing is amazing.
“Damn it! That's right! I was trying to steal the magical medicine in the Northern Sea Ice Palace! With that medicine, I can raise my level! Then I will gain absolute power... Ugh!”
The Palace Head Bing Haerin swung her fist at her.
Wow, that's hotter than I expected.
“How dare you try to harm the people of my palace because of such a filthy desire? I can't believe it.”
“I have a reason for wanting to obtain absolute power. I want revenge on this annoying and filthy world... Ugh!”
Once again, Bing Hae-rin's fist slammed into her face.
“Why should I listen to your story? And are there people who don't know that this world is annoying and dirty? But unlike you, they don't hurt others. They just live for a better future.”
“...”
“Do you know that? It's because of selfish people like you that this world has become so annoying and dirty.”
She said coldly to the members of the Seol Eung-dae.
“Lock her up in the prison. I'll beat her up myself.”
“Yes!”
She struggled and resisted, but she had already been marked with a blood mark, so she had no choice but to be dragged away.
Young Master Bing Hae-rin said to me.
“Thank you for not killing the criminal.”
“We need to make sure there are no remaining threats, so he needs to stay alive.”
“That's why I'm grateful.”
The truth was that I didn't kill the criminal with a single blow because I didn't want to show mercy.
And since he was going to die anyway, he might as well spill everything before he died.
It was his own fault.
The Palace Head Bing Hae-rin looked at me and gave me a clasped hands greeting.
“Then let's go. I'll walk you to the inn.”
She walked out of the foggy door with me.
Before leaving the door, I remembered what she said.
Regardless of her suspicious identity, I really liked what she said.
So, without thinking, I blurted out, “Have we met before?”
“...!”
She flinched for a moment.
What is it?
“We've never met before.”
“I see.”
But I was sure.
This was the masked person I had met at Yeonhwa-ru.
As she stepped forward, the inn quickly began to recover.
I realized that the Palace Head had more authority and influence than I had thought.
“Our Palace Head is amazing, isn't she?”
A disciple working at the inn spoke to me with a proud look on her face, and I smiled and nodded.
“Yes, she is.”
“The Palace Head is the pride of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
I could feel the pride in the words of the Northern Sea Ice Palace disciple.
After finishing her work, she returned to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Watching her, I thought to myself.
Next time I see her, I must find out who she really is.
.
.
.
After seeing her off, I returned to the inn and asked my companions sitting on the first floor.
“Are you all okay?”
“Yes, we're fine.”
“These aren't even scratches.”
Everyone replied as if it were no big deal.
The battle with the spiritual beasts was more intense than expected, and everyone suffered minor injuries, but they were not so severe that they were unable to move.
Except for Pal-gap.
He was completely unharmed.
I told Pal-gap to hide well, and he obeyed me faithfully.
The spiritual beasts couldn't find Pal-gap, and when I glanced over, I saw that they were passing right by him.
Huh...
Is one of Salwang's talents, his ability to hide, so great that it can even deceive the senses of spiritual beasts?
He really is amazing.
After four days, the wounds of the bodyguards had almost completely healed.
I was once again impressed by the effectiveness of the medicine provided by the Ice Palace, but I found out that it was made by Heukjeokseon.
Could there be some kind of connection?
It was time to return.
We gathered our belongings and went down to the first floor.
“You are leaving now.”
“Yes, we are.”
I nodded and replied to the disciple working at the inn.
“Please stop by again next time. I won't charge you for your stay at the inn, as you are the benefactors of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“Then we will definitely stop by again. Goodbye.”
“May the kindness of Seolpung be with you on your journey.”
As we left the inn, Pal-gap shivered and grumbled.
“Ugh! It's cold!”
“You're wearing a necklace, but you're still cold.”
“That's what I mean.”
“Now we just have to go south, so it will get warmer.”
I had a few things to do on my way back to Hubei.
First, I had to repay the hunters who had helped us.
We left the North Sea and went to the hunters' huts at the entrance to the village.
Fortunately, they were resting in their huts when we arrived.
“It's good to see you again.”
“You returned safely.”
“Yes. Thanks to you, we had a good trip.”
“You're welcome. We were just lucky.”
They were blunt on the outside, but deep down they were kind people.
“Still, you helped us, and we want to repay you somehow...”
“Repay us?
”No, we didn't invite you into our hut expecting anything in return.“
”We know."
Then someone spoke from behind us.
“Then please buy some of the animal skins our tribe caught.”
“Why is he butting in?”
“Ah! You're the boy I saw before.”
The boy bowed his head at my words, and one of the hunters looked embarrassed.
The boy was the hunter's son.
“The merchant who was supposed to buy our tribe's animal skins has turned us down, so we're in a difficult situation.”
“...”
Seeing that the two hunters had no response, it seemed that this was true.
I asked them.
“Please explain in detail.”
“Well, that's the thing...”
The hunter's tribe had lived in the area for generations, hunting animals and selling their skins.
However, the merchant who usually bought the skins had reduced the quantity he purchased, and recently he had refused to buy any, saying that all the skins were defective.
“That's a ridiculous excuse! Our tribe is very skilled at working with leather!”
“I can tell just by looking at your clothes. I'm quite knowledgeable about leather.”
One of the main products of the Eunhae Trading Company is silk, but the cloth shop also sells various other fabrics.
I mean, I know how to tell the difference between different types of leather and how well it's been worked.
“They're trying to rip you off.”
“What?”
“Honestly, how many merchants come all the way here to trade leather?”
“That's true...”
“They're taking advantage of your situation. You probably looked for other merchants, but couldn't find any.”
“That's right.”
“As I just said, there aren't many merchants who come all the way here to trade leather. It's a very small market. They're colluding with each other. Would you accept their offer?”
“Ah! So that's why... the other merchants all said it was difficult to make additional deals...”
“When time passes and you can't hold out any longer, the merchants you've been doing business with will come to you and take pity on you, and they'll sell you goods at a bargain price.”
“Ah...”
“Those rotten bastards!”
“May they all die in a thunderstorm!”
Well, bastards like that deserve to be cursed.