Chapter 514
Chapter 514
Chapter 514. Ice and Fire (2)
I tilted my head when I saw the writing.
Trading Company Head Bok had something to say to me about Snowstorm Palace?
What connection could he have with Snowstorm Palace?
For now, I should talk with him.
“May I go see him now?” (Eun Seoho)
“Of course. He should have returned by now.” (Bok Yun)
I headed to the office of the Gwangjun Trading Company’s trading company head with Young Trading Company Head Bok Yun.
“Father, it’s me, Yun. Young Trading Company Head Eun Seoho says he would like to pay his respects.” (Bok Yun)
“Come in.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
We entered the office.
Trading Company Head Bok, who had been sitting before his writing desk, rose from his seat and welcomed me.
“Welcome.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
I had heard he had business to attend to at a nearby trading company, and it seemed he had returned only a little while ago.
That was why he had not been able to attend the banquet either.
He must have received a report about Young Palace Head Bing Haerin’s visit as well, but since it was late, he likely intended to exchange greetings tomorrow.
Yet since I had come to see him like this, his expression was both pleased and puzzled.
No matter how close we were, even if I was paying my respects, it was quite late.
“It has been too long.” (Eun Seoho)
“I know you have been so busy you hardly have time to breathe, so no matter.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
He nodded and said,
“It seems you are going to the North Sea.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“That is correct.” (Eun Seoho)
Then I looked at Young Trading Company Head Bok Yun.
Young Trading Company Head Bok Yun nodded, then said to Trading Company Head Bok,
“I remembered what you told me before, Father, so I brought him here with me.” (Bok Yun)
I picked up from there.
“The Young Trading Company Head told me that you had something to say to me, Trading Company Head.” (Eun Seoho)
As I said that, I took out a plaque from my robes and showed it to him.
“Ah! My apologies. Not this one...” (Eun Seoho)
I apologized and put that plaque away again.
That was the proof plaque Lord Bang Hyomyeong had given me not long ago, proving I was the successor of Six-Eater Duke.
It was made of elaborately worked ruby, and from afar, it even looked like raw meat.
Surely they had not made it in this shape to express Six-Eater Duke.
Still, seeing as Geumryeong coveted it, there was no doubt it was quite an expensive item.
In any case, I took out the white identity plaque proving that I was Young Palace Head of Snowstorm Palace.
“Th-that is...!” (Trading Company Head Bok)
Trading Company Head Bok’s eyes widened at the sight of it, but he soon regained his composure and asked me,
“Since when?” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“It has been a while.” (Eun Seoho)
“Hoho... To think I did not recognize it even when it was right before my eyes! But your father was certainly...” (Trading Company Head Bok)
Before he could finish speaking, I sent a telepathic message.
My master is the Palace Head of Snowstorm Palace. (Eun Seoho)
“I see.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
Trading Company Head Bok nodded again and said,
“Even if it were me, I would entrust the next generation to someone as capable as you.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“My ability is nothing worth mentioning.” (Eun Seoho)
“That joke goes too far.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
Trading Company Head Bok gave a faint laugh, then spoke again with a serious expression.
“Follow me.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“Yes.” (Eun Seoho)
“Yun, you stay here.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
I followed Trading Company Head Bok.
But even after walking for quite some time, Trading Company Head Bok showed no sign of stopping.
“Do we need to go farther?” (Eun Seoho)
When I asked carefully, the Trading Company Head nodded.
Ah, so we had to go farther.
At any rate, the fact that we were still inside the Gwangjun Trading Company’s grounds after walking this much made me realize anew just how vast its premises were.
Then again, Liaoning did have quite a lot of land compared to its population.
A frontier region, and most of it was wasteland, making it a region specialized for livestock farming.
Thanks to that, even amid the continuing bad harvests, the aftereffects were somewhat less severe here.
Rice had never been the staple food here to begin with.
How much farther did we walk like that?
A pavilion came into view in the distance, and Trading Company Head Bok stopped in front of it.
A pavilion in such an empty field!
It was out of place, but there must be some meaning to it.
Enough for him to bring me, the Young Palace Head of Snowstorm Palace, all the way here.
“The current Palace Head of Snowstorm Palace is Mister Myeonghyeon, is he not?” (Trading Company Head Bok)
I flinched at the question, but soon realized there was no one around here and nodded.
This place was an empty field.
There was nowhere to hide.
Was that why he had come here?
I asked Trading Company Head Bok in return.
“Do you know my master?” (Eun Seoho)
“I met him exactly once.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“May I ask what your relationship with Snowstorm Palace is?” (Eun Seoho)
“It is nothing difficult. If one wishes to do business in Liaoning for a long time, it is difficult without having a connection to Snowstorm Palace.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
So that was how great Snowstorm Palace’s influence had been in the past.
“We received much help from Snowstorm Palace as well... and my father would often share cups of wine with the former Palace Head of Snowstorm Palace. Right here.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
After saying that, Trading Company Head Bok went up into the pavilion and brought back a cane.
Shrrng.
A sword slid out from inside the cane. Then he began stabbing the ground around the pavilion with it.
Thunk!
The sound of striking something.
Trading Company Head Bok pointed to that spot and said to me,
“Dig here.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“Pardon?” (Eun Seoho)
“A young fellow should dig. Aigo, my back.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
Watching him make a show of patting his waist, I gave a faint laugh.
Trading Company Head Bok, you should at least look in the mirror before saying such things.
A man who could subdue a rampaging horse with one hand!
By contrast, Trading Company Head Bok’s wife was truly elegant and beautiful.
Young Trading Company Head Bok must have taken after his mother.
“Do you have a shovel?” (Eun Seoho)
Trading Company Head Bok brought a shovel from near one of the pavilion pillars, and I dug there with it.
What came out from within was a small iron box.
Seeing as Geumryeong showed no reaction at all, it did not seem to be expensive.
“What is this?” (Eun Seoho)
“It is something my father hid.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“Pardon?” (Eun Seoho)
“It is already a story from over twenty years ago.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
Come to think of it, this year made it about twenty-one years since Snowstorm Palace was annihilated.
“At the time, my father went to the North Sea and returned with a grief-stricken expression.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“He must have seen what remained.” (Eun Seoho)
“He likely did. He said it was something he found there and placed it inside this. He did not tell even me what it was, and asked me to keep it secret. He told me to inform only someone trustworthy connected to Snowstorm Palace.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“So you have kept this secret until now.” (Eun Seoho)
“That is so.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“To think you have kept that secret for over twenty years! That is astonishing.” (Eun Seoho)
“He said it was our way of repaying the grace our trading company had received from Snowstorm Palace. And our Gwangjun Trading Company is sincere when it comes to repaying grace.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
So that was why he had sent us fine horses before, saying he would repay the grace.
And he had bestowed many other things besides.
“From your expression, it seems you honestly want to ask why we repay grace so thoroughly when we could simply pretend not to know.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“Because there are many people like that.” (Eun Seoho)
“Of course there are. But in Liaoning, one must not do that. It is hard to endure unless we live tightly united. That is why we do not forget grace and repay it thoroughly.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“I understand what you mean.” (Eun Seoho)
“Take the box back to your lodging and examine it there. My father told me not to look at what was inside either.” (Trading Company Head Bok)
“Understood.” (Eun Seoho)
A little while later.
I returned to my lodging.
“Huh? What is that?” (Palgap)
Palgap tilted his head as he looked at the earth-covered box.
But I did not explain and said,
“If you don’t want the tea table to get dirty, I think you had better quickly lay a wrapping cloth underneath.” (Eun Seoho)
“Huk! U-understood.” (Palgap)
Palgap swiftly spread out a wrapping cloth, and I set the box down.
Then I let out a sigh.
“What is the matter?” (Miss Seohyang)
At Miss Seohyang’s question, I scratched my cheek and said,
“I am confused because I do not know what this is either.” (Eun Seoho)
It would have been nice if Miss Seohyang could tell me what it was before I opened the box, but her Ice Crystal Eye had the ability to reveal things hidden by special powers, not to see what was contained inside a box like this.
Hoo, right. I, the Young Palace Head of Snowstorm Palace, should confirm this.
Those in my room right now knew that I was Young Palace Head of Snowstorm Palace.
That was why I had not sent them outside. They would learn about this anyway, and explaining separately was troublesome too.
I carefully opened the box.
Creak.
The rusted hinges creaked.
Inside, something was wrapped in an old and faded white wrapping cloth.
I carefully untied the wrapping cloth.
“...!” (Eun Seoho)
What was inside was something I had never expected at all.
“Huh? Isn’t that a whetstone?” (Palgap)
A whetstone was one of a warrior’s necessities.
When one fought or trained, the edge of a weapon would grow dull, and to keep it sharp, one had to sharpen it regularly.
But what was truly interesting was that a whetstone retained quite a bit of information about the weapon its owner used and that person’s habits.
But why had the former Trading Company Head of the Gwangjun Trading Company hidden this so tightly?
And why had he told them to show this to a trustworthy person from Snowstorm Palace?
He had probably found it in the ruins of Snowstorm Palace, so why had he thought this was so important?
In truth, I had seen quite a lot of whetstones, but I had only used one myself a few times.
Because the inner arts accumulated through the Great Yin Ice Sea Divine Art were sharp in themselves.
The cutting power of my sword also became stronger, so there were not many cases where the blade dulled.
On top of that, if a sword was frequently exposed to the energy of the Great Yin Ice Sea Divine Art, it would not rust either.
Ah!
A flash went through my mind.
The former Trading Company Head Bok, who had associated with Snowstorm Palace for many years, must have known that as well.
So he had thought this was not something belonging to Snowstorm Palace, but something belonging to the culprit who attacked Snowstorm Palace.
Then was this evidence that could find the culprit?
Master and the Palace Head of the Northern Sea Ice Palace had said there was nothing in the ruins that could be called evidence.
He managed to find this somehow.
And it had truly been wise of the former Trading Company Head to hide it like this.
Master had said that even afterward, the culprit’s side seemed to be continuously watching the area around where Snowstorm Palace had been.
The Gwangjun Trading Company could have been swept up by that culprit by mistake.
And this evidence would have vanished too.
I showed the whetstone to Warrior Seowoo.
“Warrior Seowoo.” (Eun Seoho)
“Yes.” (Seowoo)
“Is there any information you can infer from this whetstone?” (Eun Seoho)
At that, Warrior Seowoo took the whetstone and began examining it from all angles.
“Mm, the owner of this whetstone was probably someone who used an ordinary longsword. And the whetstone is quite worn down, but judging by how accustomed he was to using it, I would say he was somewhere between second-rate and first-rate.” (Seowoo)
“I see.” (Eun Seoho)
“But this whetstone is fairly high-grade.” (Seowoo)
Through that, one could tell the owner of this whetstone was fairly wealthy.
For those who lived by the blade, a whetstone was a necessity, but it was also a considerable consumable item.
So poor swordsmen had to be sparing even with whetstones.
“And judging by the traces left on this whetstone, the owner of this whetstone is one of two things. Either someone who uses fire arts, or someone who lives in a very hot place.” (Seowoo)
Warrior Seowoo continued speaking.
“Isn’t this part of the whetstone cracked? When it is exposed to heat, a whetstone cracks like this, but it differs depending on whether that heat is environmental or artificial.” (Seowoo)
“I see.” (Eun Seoho)
Then there was no doubt that this was evidence of the culprit.
Because things like a hot region or fire arts had absolutely nothing to do with the North Sea.
“That is all for my opinion.” (Seowoo)
At those words, I asked the other warriors.
“Does anyone else have another opinion?” (Eun Seoho)
At that, the other warriors shook their heads. It meant they had nothing to add.
As expected of Warrior Seowoo.
Since he had so much experience, he had been a great help this time as well.
For now, it meant I had to meet the people of Zhurong Palace.
One more purpose had been added to this journey.
.
.
.
The next day.
“Please take good care of yourself.” (Bok Yun)
“Yes. I understand.” (Eun Seoho)
We left the Gwangjun Trading Company while seeing off Young Trading Company Head Bok Yun. Thanks to the supplies Young Trading Company Head Bok Yun had generously prepared for us, our hearts also felt full.
We quickly raced across the grasslands.
Thanks to Young Palace Head Bing Haerin, none of the grassland tribes approached us.
After crossing the grasslands so peacefully, we arrived at the North Sea branch.
Since we were going to the North Sea anyway, I intended to deliver operating funds to the North Sea branch.
The branch head of the North Sea branch, whom I had not seen in a long time, had become a person of this place before I knew it.
“It’s been a long time, Young Trading Company Head!” (North Sea Branch Head)
The sight of him laughing heartily as he looked at me seemed as though he could kill a pack of North Sea wolves in one blow.
No, had he only been training his body here?
The muscles in his arms were as thick as Palgap’s legs.
“You have changed a great deal. You seem to have grown younger.” (Eun Seoho)
“Please do not say such things. Those are words that mock this old body.” (North Sea Branch Head)
No, I mean it.
Who would look at you, Branch Head, and say you are someone close to retirement?
“First, please accept this.” (Eun Seoho)
I took out a pouch filled with money from my robes and offered it to him.
“These are operating funds. I ask for your continued good work.” (Eun Seoho)
“I will give my utmost loyalty.” (North Sea Branch Head)
“Ah, and...” (Eun Seoho)
I said to him,
“If there are any spiritual medicines that can be obtained in the North Sea, please procure some.” (Eun Seoho)
“Spiritual medicines?” (North Sea Branch Head)
“Yes. If you happen to discover an ice lotus, please be sure to secure it.” (Eun Seoho)
Thanks to Craftsman Yeong Gujin, I had become able to make White Dew Wine, so if I could obtain ice lotus, I planned to try making ice lotus wine as well.
“And I will take a look at the North Sea branch’s situation.” (Eun Seoho)
“Yes.” (North Sea Branch Head)
After touring the North Sea branch like that and pointing out what was lacking, day had already dawned.
Since there was not much time left until the Ice-Fire Conference, we headed straight for the Northern Sea Ice Palace the next day.
“Young Trading Company Head, the snowstorm may make this difficult for you.” (North Sea Branch Head)
At the branch head’s attempt to dissuade me, I spoke as if telling him not to worry.
“This is a journey with the young master of the Ice Castle. Would I be afraid of a mere snowstorm?” (Eun Seoho)
“True, that is also the case. Then please go safely.” (North Sea Branch Head)
And so we advanced into the North Sea...
Whoooooosh!
And faced a terrifyingly raging snowstorm.
“You mean we have to go through that?” (Palgap)
“That’s right.” (Eun Seoho)
“Hrmi...” (Palgap)
Palgap shuddered as though overwhelmed. The others also looked worried.
But I had no worries.
Because Master had taught me a way to pierce through the snowstorm and roam the North Sea without being attacked by any other spiritual beasts tainted by blood.
It was a secret art that only the Young Palace Head of Snowstorm Palace could use.
I drew the Silver Mist Sword, thrust it toward the snowstorm before us, and emitted my energy.
Whirl!
At that moment, a passage formed before us.
Wow!
This is the best, isn’t it? (Eun Seoho)