Tangmunjeon - Chapter 358



Only Krnovel

Flowers blooming in the snow

Bukhae Ice Palace Master tried to tell Seolhwa that she had had a hard time, but then made a trembling expression.

Because a strange man was standing next to Seol-hwa and paying his respects.

Of course, the power of the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord is so high in the North that it is not only common but even natural for people who encounter the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord to pay their respects.

But that only applies to people in the North.

There is no reason for a complete stranger to be polite to the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. This is especially true if the martial arts skills of the man are exceptionally excellent.

“Who are you?”

When the Northern Ice Palace Master asked questions in the Central Plains language, which he was quite proficient in, the Duke of Xuan showed a slightly more polite attitude.

“I am a Taoist monk of the shaman sect, named Hyeon-gong.”

“I see.”

Through that subtle reaction, Hyun-gong realized that the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace did not know the Wudangpa.

“Yes, Hyeon-gong. Why did you show courtesy to me?”

The moment Hyun-gong was about to open his mouth, Seol-hwa took a step closer to him. The distance between the two became close enough that they could even link arms.

The Northern Ice Palace Princess understood the entire situation with just her gestures.

“Hmm···.”

However, the Duke of Bukhae Ice Palace seemed displeased.

Hyun-gong took the reaction of Bukhae Ice Palace Lord for granted. He didn’t think that his master would recognize his true value at first sight.

‘It doesn’t matter. Just give me some time.’

A person’s true worth may be revealed late, but it will never be buried.

Given time, its true value will naturally be revealed.

Furthermore, Hyun-gong had great confidence in his own abilities, scoring a whopping eighteen points out of twenty.

To be more precise, Hyun-gong thought that he was not that far behind compared to the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

‘The King of the North Sea Ice Palace. He seems stronger than me. However, the gap in skill is more than made up for by the age difference. When I get to that age, I’ll be stronger.’

‘Considering that the North Sea Ice Palace is still not visible, it seems that the area of ​​influence of the North Sea Ice Palace is very wide. Its influence must be enormous. However, it is right to deduct a large amount of points because its position is not good. If it is the next leader of the shaman faction, it will not fall behind the North Sea Ice Palace Lord.’

‘The total scores are similar. It wouldn’t be strange if they were the same.’

‘But since you are going to be my father-in-law, it would be better to hold off for the time being.’

The conclusion was that he would give up, but through calculations, Hyun-gong gained confidence.

Hyun-gong’s shoulders straightened, his eyes became filled with strength, and his attitude naturally exuded confidence.

The Northern Ice Palace Lord laughed lightly.

“You seem to have guts. Let’s talk slowly later.”

The King of the North Sea Ice Palace turned around and spoke to his subordinates and Dang Mujin.

“Let’s go back.”

*

“Is that the place?”

“that’s right.”

After advancing for another full day along the North Sea Ice Palace, Dang Mu-jin and his party arrived near the North Sea Ice Palace.

The North Sea Ice Palace was surrounded by a large ice lake and was surrounded by fairly high rock walls. However, unlike the term palace, the scale of the North Sea Ice Palace was not particularly large.

But the fact that it was surrounded by a rock wall struck me as significant.

The party of Dang Mujin hardly saw any rocks on their way to Bukhae Ice Palace. All they could see was a field of pure white snow.

The rock could have come from one of two sources: either they dug down very deep into the snow and earth to retrieve it, or they brought it from a very distant place. Neither of these would have been easy.

Just looking at the castle walls built by gathering rocks like that, you could feel the power of the Bukhae Ice Palace in the north.

“It’s your Majesty!”

When the Northern Ice Princess appeared, people from the north gathered like clouds.

It is the exact opposite of the situation where people secretly avoid the place when they hear that a high-ranking official is visiting from the Central Plains.

Even many of those gathered were children, and others did not find the situation strange.

Although there was no one who showed excessive courtesy, the attitude of the people clearly showed their respect and admiration for the princess. The story of the Northern Ice Princess winning the hearts of the people of the north was not an empty story.

“I thought that Namgung Sega had won the hearts of the people of Anhui Province, but not to this extent…”

As Namgung Myung exclaimed in a small voice, Hong Geol-gae chimed in.

“Is it that great?”

“Of course. It’s hard to gain people’s hearts, but it’s easy to lose them. The character of the current Ice Palace Lord, as well as the characters of the previous Ice Palace Lords, must be excellent to receive such a response.”

Hong Geol-gae thought deeply, then looked at Namgung Myung and smiled with an unpleasant expression.

Namgung Myung didn’t ask Hong Geol Gae for a detailed explanation because he thought he would get an rude answer if he asked him why he was laughing.

People’s attention was focused on Baek Hyang-ah, after passing through Bukhae Ice Palace Lord and Dang Mu-jin’s party.

Judging from the fact that his gaze lingered on Baek Hyang-ah for an unusually long time, it was clear that rumors about her had spread throughout the North.

However, no one hastily showed hostility towards Baek Hyang-ah. Since she returned with the Princess of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, they thought there must have been some reason behind it.

The Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord and Dang Mujin and his party climbed over the wall and entered the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

Most of the onlookers who had gathered dispersed to go back to what they were doing. However, the children were different. Since they had nothing else to do, they followed the group into the Bukhae Ice Palace.

Dang Mu-jin asked Seol-hwa.

“Can children come into the ice palace at will?”

“are you okay.”

Not only Seolhwa, but also the Ice Palace Lord and his escorts did not stop the children.

The King of the North Sea Ice Palace reached out to Baek Hyang-ah.

“Give me back the emergency supplies.”

“Here it is.”

Baek Hyang-ah took out three secret volumes with blood on the outside and returned them to the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace. The three secret volumes that So Sang-gak-ju and Dae Byeok-gak-ju had brought back safely to the arms of the North Sea Ice Palace. There were no ostentatious procedures.

The North Sea Ice Palace Master carefully examined the secret and made a satisfied expression.

“Hyang-ah. If there’s anything you need, just tell me.”

“All right.”

Then the princess’s gaze fell on Seolhwa.

“Unpack your luggage and rest for a while, then I will send someone to the palace.”

“I will do so.”

Only the Northern Ice Princess and her two escorts disappeared into the palace, while the remaining six headed to the reception hall.

The children who had followed from the village followed Dang Mu-jin and his party instead of the princess as if it was a given.

A dozen or so children entered the reception hall and looked at the party with expressions full of anticipation.

Of course, Dangmujin and his friends didn’t know what the kids wanted.

“Why did they follow me?”

“Just wait a minute.”

Seol-hwa disappeared somewhere for a moment, then brought back some warm tea and gave each child a cup.

This wasn’t the first or second time something like this had happened, and the way the children were handing out tea and receiving the tea seemed quite natural.

The children took a sip of tea each, and soon began to chatter about something to Dang Mu-jin and his party. Of course, Dang Mu-jin and his party could not understand what they were talking about.

Dang Mu-jin asked Baek Hyang-ah.

“What are you saying?”

“They asked me to tell them a story from the south. They came with me because they wanted to hear the story.”

Instead of speaking directly, Dang Mu-jin looked at Hong Geol-gae.

Hong Geol-gae was good at playing with the neighborhood children in Sacheon-seong. The children followed Hong Geol-gae better than Hyun-gong, Nam-gung-myeong, and even Dang Mu-jin. Dang Mu-jin thought that the secret was that Hong Geol-gae and the children were of similar skill levels.

Hong Geol-gae cleared his throat and began to tell his story.

“Ahem, okay. Where should I start… Okay. Should I start by telling you the endless story of the Yangtze River? Do you know the Yangtze River?”

The interpretation was taken turns by Seolhwa and Baekhyang-ah.

The children of the North were constantly amazed and focused on the story, even if it was a trivial story.

For the children of the North, rivers without ice and green forests were unimaginable. Some of the children even suspected that Honggeolgae was lying.

After some time, young people in their twenties also came in and listened to Hong Geol-gae’s story. The difference was that instead of just listening like the children, they occasionally asked questions.

The topic naturally changed. Beyond the warm southern world, the story shifted to the story of Dang Mu-jin and his party and Baek Hyang-ah.

The eyes of the young people in the North looking at Baek Hyang-ah were filled with pity. Soon, the young people started to grumble as if they were very angry.

“What are you saying?”

When Dang Mu-jin asked, Seol-hwa answered.

“You’re insulting the small and large stones.”

After some time had passed, the northern people disappeared, led by the hands of women who appeared to be maids.

Seolhwa also disappeared after receiving the summons of the Ice Palace Lord. Finally, only Dang Mujin and Baek Hyang-ah remained in the reception hall.

Only then did Dang Mu-jin speak to Baek Hyang-ah.

“I understand why you wanted to come back here.”

“Right? It’s cold, but there are good people there.”

Even though Baek Hyang-ah was suffering from an unbearable cold, she had a bright and relaxed expression on her face that I had never seen before.

“I didn’t miss my hometown that much. Looking back, I don’t have many memories of Jewonbaekga. All I remember is the scenery inside the room. But I missed Bukhae Ice Palace so much. Even though I didn’t stay there for that long.”

“That’s great. What are you going to do now?”

“well.”

Baek Hyang-ah calculated the time she had left.

Because the speed at which we were moving towards the North Sea Ice Palace was extremely fast, it seemed like we could hold out for a few more days.

Baek Hyang-ah sat down by the fireplace and spoke.

“There’s nothing I want to do in particular. I want to spend my time leisurely like this, and when the time comes, I want to be buried in a sunny place. It’s a cold land, but there are places that get a lot of sunlight.”

It was a bitter story. However, Dang Mu-jin actively asked Baek Hyang-ah.

“Really? That’s good. You’re not busy. Can I ask you one thing?”

“Please? What is it?”

“I want to check your condition.”

Baek Hyang-ah looked at Dang Mu-jin. It was the pure gaze of a member of parliament, without any selfish intentions.

Baek Hyang-ah smiled faintly.

“What good will it do to examine my condition? It’s not like you can go somewhere and find a patient similar to me.”

“It’ll be hard to find a similar patient. But if you’re lucky, you might be able to find a way to survive.”

“what?”

Baek Hyang-ah’s eyes opened wide.

“Even though you pulled out the true source of energy? You can still live?”

“It’s just my opinion, but it’s possible. If so, we should try it.”

It was common sense to Dang Mu-jin that if he pulled out Jinwon Jin-gi, he would die.

Of course, he had never thought about it deeply. However, over the past few days, while accompanying Baek Hyang-ah, Dang Mu-jin thought about Jin Won-jin-gi from the beginning again.

Jinwonjinki can be said to be a special internal energy that is stored in the deepest part of the danjeon.

The True Energy is the essence of life, so its power cannot be compared to ordinary internal energy, but if you draw it all out, you will die.

That was what most martial artists thought about Jinwonjinki.

But Dang Mu-jin’s thoughts were a little different.

‘Can using the Jinwonjinki be the direct cause of death?’

There are stories related to Danjeon in old medical books. However, doctors of long ago did not think that Danjeon had much to do with life.

And there were many parts of the information about Jinwonjinki that people had misunderstood.

The idea that Jinwonjinki cannot be accumulated and its amount does not change is a typical example. That idea is only half right.

It is a clear fact that you cannot intentionally accumulate Jinwonjinki. However, if you train in martial arts and focus on training your internal energy, the amount will increase very slightly.

The higher the achievement, the greater the explosive power that Jinwon Jinki brings out. That is why.

On the other hand, the amount of True Origin Energy of those who have never trained in martial arts is so small that it is difficult to even confirm. It is so small that it is questionable whether it even exists.

But even if the amount of Jinwonjingi was small, life was not in danger. Children, the elderly, and people in poor health were all alive and well.

Some people say that the problem is not the Jinwonjinki itself, but the damage to the danjeon caused by drawing out the Jinwonjinki. However, that is an even more flimsy argument.

The danjeon is not an organ that moves blood like the heart, nor is it a path for blood to flow.

It is not a vessel for food, and it has nothing to do with breathing. Even if you have not learned the breathing method using the danjeon, there is no problem in breathing, right?

There were quite a few people who even survived with their danjeon broken.

When the Jeongpa warriors punish the Sapa warriors, isn’t the most common action they take to destroy the Danjeon, preventing them from being able to use their internal energy? If the Danjeon is destroyed, all of the internal energy will be lost, but they will still be able to survive.

Likewise, Dang Mu-jin thought that there was a possibility of survival even if he used all of his Jinwonjinki. Of course, he would not be able to be called a martial artist.

Hong Geol-gae, who was listening to the story from the side, scolded him.

“Speaking of sensible words. It’s common sense that if you use the Jinwonjinki, you will die.”

“Even common sense isn’t always correct.”

“You know how many congressmen there have been since ancient times? If there was such a method, someone would have figured it out.”

At first glance, Hong Geol-gae’s point seems reasonable. However, Dang Mu-jin thought differently.

“Of course, there must have been countless members of the National Assembly since ancient times. But among them, how many do you think were better than me?”

Such an arrogant story. Hong Geol-gae, as well as Nam-gung Myeong, who was listening from the side, opened his mouth wide.

Dang Mu-jin didn’t stop there.

“I am not a person who is satisfied with treating patients according to the methods written in the medical book. Rather, I am a person who creates the medical book. Future doctors will treat patients according to the methods I taught.”

Hong Geol-gae and Namgung Myung wanted to point out something, but they had nothing to say. Dang Mu-jin’s story was clearly true.

Even in the field of medicine alone, there is no one who can compare to Dang Mu-jin at present.

It wasn’t just because he was a friend that he was evaluated that way. Doesn’t the nickname “Yi-ryong” and the stories of many people calling him the best doctor in the world support that fact?

Even though Dang Mu-jin may not be a master, he was a martial artist who had reached a very high level.

Even in ancient times, there may have been doctors who had mastered the art of medicine like Dang Mu-jin, but they were not martial artists as skilled as Dang Mu-jin.

In other words, Dang Mu-jin has reached an unprecedented level of knowledge in treating martial artists.

Dang Mu-jin spoke forcefully.

“If there is a doctor who can cure the person who brought out the true spirit, it is definitely me.”

And Dang Mu-jin pointed to Baek Hyang-ah.

“If there is someone who can pull out the true spirit and survive, that person has to be Baek Hyang-ah.”

Dang Mu-jin did not only trust his own abilities.

The condition of the patient, Baek Hyang-ah, is also special. There aren’t many people in the world who have drawn out Jinwonjinki, and those who have consumed Jinwonjinki usually die without even having time to visit a doctor.

Even if you do go to the doctor, there is no way you can get treatment because you will die before you can even say a few words.

But Baek Hyang-ah was different. Baek Hyang-ah was moving towards death, but she clearly had time left.

“No matter what···”

Hong Geol-gae hesitated with an unconfident attitude. He was worried that Baek Hyang-ah would get her hopes up for nothing and end up even more disappointed.

In the end, Hong Geol-gae raised both hands and stepped back.

“I don’t know. I don’t know much about medicine, and I’ve never tried to extract the true essence of a person. I don’t think it’s right for me to get involved and meddle in something I don’t know.”

Namgung Myung and Hyeon Gong’s reactions weren’t much different. They just looked at Dang Mu Jin without saying much.

Dang Mu-jin looked at Baek Hyang-ah.

“How about it? Do you want to trust me once? I’m not asking you to stick with me all day. Just leave it to me for half an hour twice a day. Just leave it to me for one hour a day.”

Baek Hyang-ah couldn’t figure out what she had heard.

It was such a sudden story, and so incredibly sweet.

So, instead of agreeing, Baek Hyang-ah asked Dang Mu-jin back.

“Can you really live?”

“I can’t say that for sure.”

Contrary to his confident attitude, he gave a dispiriting answer.

But that wasn’t the end of Dang Mu-jin’s story.

“But I can tell you one thing for sure.”

“What is it?”

“If I can’t fix you, there will be no one left who can pull out the true nature of Jinwonjinki and survive. What do you think?”

The party discussed the first.

A man facing death needed no further explanation.

“Please.”

That’s why Baek Hyang-ah nodded.