Tangmunjeon - Chapter 361



Only Krnovel

Flowers blooming in the snow

Dang Mu-jin was a little flustered, but did not lose his composure.

If you think about it, Dang Mu-jin can be said to have been in a disaster situation.

First, I controlled my desire to become impatient and calmly assessed the current situation.

The fur coat was thick and warm, and I wasn’t hungry.

I didn’t think that I should go around looking for Demonic Cult members alone and achieve great results while I was left behind. It’s not like I can find Demonic Cult members just because I want to.

Crucially, this place is not too far from the North Sea Ice Palace.

‘If we go back the way we came, we’ll reach the Bukhae Ice Palace. We’ll go back for now, and then we’ll meet up again depending on the situation.’

Dang Mu-jin thought about that and looked back.

And then my eyes met with a stranger. A demonic warrior was quietly approaching me.

“···.”

The Demonic Cult’s unmanned forces were greatly embarrassed.

“You, you noticed my presence? How…!”

In times like these, taking the initiative is important.

Since this isn’t a relationship that will last forever, it’s okay to be a little shameless.

Dang Mu-jin raised his chin proudly.

“Of course. Did you think you could fool my senses?”

“Ugh···!”

Dang Mu-jin thought that the Demonic Cult warrior might run away, but unexpectedly, he raised his sword towards Dang Mu-jin.

“Is it a good thing that I have a sharp sense of humor? I can do that much, too!”

The Demonic Cult’s unmanned unit rushed towards Dang Mu-jin with a look of firm determination on its face.

Since it was not a situation where he could use the recommended method, Dang Mu-jin immediately took out his sword. The feel of the sword handle was a little unfamiliar.

Judging by the mood, it seems like the other person is also at the beginning of their climax.

There is no guarantee that Dang Mujin’s swordsmanship skills will be better than his opponent’s. In fact, he may even be slightly behind. It has been quite some time since Dang Mujin stopped practicing swordsmanship.

But Dang Mu-jin had a corner of faith.

The swords of the two men clashed.

The Demonic Cult’s unmanned forces swung their swords with all their internal energy to gain the upper hand. Dang Mujin was no different.

When swords clash strongly, a strong counter-force is felt. Using that counter-force, the swords are quickly retrieved and the next attack is usually carried out.

But now things were a little different.

The swords made contact, but there was no proper rebound.

Dang Mu-jin’s sword was naturally cutting through the opponent’s blade and digging into it.

The astonished Demonic Cult warrior’s eyes grew so wide that they could no longer be widened.

There is no martial art that was created with the situation in mind where one’s sword would break or be cut off. It is only natural that the reaction speed of a Demonic Cult warrior would be slow in an unexpected situation.

Although Dang Mu-jin’s swordsmanship was subtle, it was not so immature that he could not cut down an opponent who had exposed a large weakness.

Tang Mujin’s sword swept across the upper body of the Demonic Cult warrior. Even the thick fur clothing was no problem in front of the overwhelmingly sharp sword.

Dang Mu-jin felt several sensations through the sword.

Flesh. Muscle. Hard, hard bones. And organs that wrap around the tip of the sword. It’s a fatal wound that doesn’t need any consideration.

The Demonic Cult warrior fell to his knees.

Dang Mu-jin finished his meal, retrieved his sword, and spoke arrogantly.

“You don’t recognize the swordsman Dang Mu-jin who mastered the Jasim sword. That crime deserves death.”

The Demonic Cult member spoke in a voice that was boiling with rage.

“What about the sword of confidence… If the sword had been switched, I would have, huh, won…”

“The performance of the sword is also a part of the achievement of martial arts.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. How can a god or a non-god have martial arts skills…”

“You fool. I won, so I was right. Don’t spit it out.”

Dang Mu-jin stabbed the Demonic Cult’s warrior in the heart, killing him, and then wiped the blood off his pure white eyes with his sword.

When I thought about defeating two top-tier players in one sitting, I felt like I had become an incredible master. My self-esteem, which had been a bit low recently, surged up powerfully.

Dang Mu-jin looked in the direction where the Bukhae Ice Palace was likely to be.

Nothing could be seen as it was obscured by the snowstorm.

There were no footprints, no one to follow.

In fact, I couldn’t even tell if this was the right direction.

But there was no other way.

All I can do now is keep moving forward.

‘Shall we go?’

Dang Mu-jin disappeared into the snowstorm.

*

The group walking along the western slope realized belatedly that Dang Mu-jin had disappeared.

“By the way, where did Dang Mu-jin go?”

Hong Geol-gae answered Namgung Myeong’s question.

“Weren’t you behind me?”

“I thought you went forward?”

It was unexpected, but no one was particularly surprised.

When you are at your peak, isn’t that the time when you make a lot of mistakes and do everything clumsily?

“I hope everything is fine?”

“I’m a little worried, though…”

Namgung Myeong, Hyeon Gong, Hong Geol Gae.

If one of the three had gone missing, I wouldn’t have been too worried. But the problem is that it was Dang Mu-jin who had gone missing.

Namgung Myung took the initiative.

“That won’t work. Let’s just have one person go find Dangmujin. That’ll be more comfortable.”

“Okay then.”

Hyun-gong and Hong-geol-gae also nodded.

The three men put their heads together and held out their fists.

Chungkwon (蟲拳) is a game where the winner is determined by the shape of the fingers.

The first person to win was Hyun-gong.

“Okay. Now you guys decide the game.”

However, Hong Geol-gae and Namgung Myeong had shameless expressions on their faces as if they had made a promise.

“Why us?”

“Why, why? The real person should go find Dangmujin.”

“I guess I misunderstood something. The winner was supposed to go.”

“Speak sense. The one who loses gets punished.”

“Do you think that going to rescue Dangmujin who is in danger is a punishment right now?”

Hong Geol-gae boldly slandered Hyeon-gong.

It was an absurd thing for Hyun-gong, but there was no way to respond to it. There were two people on that side, and I was alone. In the end, public opinion tends to follow the side with the most people.

Hyun-gong quickly made a decision and gave up resistance.

And then he started walking back the way he came, muttering softly.

I felt a little bad. I thought I had missed my chance to show off to Seolhwa if I did something good here.

Hyun-gong, who was walking along the trail, felt someone approaching from behind.

I looked back, thinking that a demon cult member had appeared, and unexpectedly, I saw the face of the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord.

Where were the people who went together? Now, the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace was alone.

The Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace asked the Duke of Xuan.

“Why are you alone?”

“I was on my way to look for a friend who had fallen behind.”

“I see. Thanks for your hard work.”

The Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord finished his story briefly and passed by Hyeon-gong before leaving.

“···.”

Hyun-gong felt a sense of discomfort.

‘Just passing by?’

There is a flow to the conversation. In this situation, it is normal to give empty advice.

If not, then you should have at least asked who the person in distress was.

Hyun-gong belatedly looked at the back of the Bukhae Ice Palace Lord.

Since his loud performance in the snowfield earlier, the Ice Palace Master’s behavior has barely changed.

There was only a little more snow piled up on his shoulders and head, but the Ice Palace Master’s attire still looked undisturbed.

What was more concerning was the direction in which the North Sea Ice Palace was moving.

‘Isn’t that the direction where the Bukhae Ice Palace is?’

Hyun-gong was on his way back to find Dang Mu-jin.

However, the direction in which the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord appeared was behind Hyun-gong. It was moving against the direction in which the Northern Sea Ice Palace warriors were moving in search of the Demonic Cult warriors.

‘Am I mistaken? No. The princess left before us, and our group didn’t change direction much. We should be headed in the right direction to the Ice Palace. Is there a reason why the Princess of the North Sea Ice Palace would return to the Ice Palace alone?’

There was.

Very simply, Hyun-gong thought of one reason why the Northern Ice Palace Princess would return alone.

Isn’t there an elixir of supremacy alive in the Ice Palace right now?

‘No. That can’t be.’

However, Hyun-gong was not yet convinced. It was still at the stage of being close to speculation.

Hyun-gong looked at the whole situation from the perspective of the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord.

The first thing that came to mind was the conversation between Dang Mujin and Bukhae Ice Palace Lord. Hyun-gong heard through Dang Mujin what they were talking about with the Ice Palace Lord.

‘I was interested in Baek Hyang-ah’s treatment and her prognosis. So far, it’s not strange.’

But the day after that conversation, I immediately ran into trouble with the Demonic Cult. This could be the case too.

The princess decided to immediately subdue the Demonic Cult without hesitation. It seemed as if she was also considering the presence of Dang Mujin and his party.

Hyun-gong thought about reversing the order of events.

‘What if he didn’t intend to fight the Demonic Cult warriors in hopes of getting us to help, but instead, he was trying to lure us out of the North Sea Ice Palace by provoking us into a fight with the Demonic Cult warriors?’

The Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace knows the relationship between Hyungong and Seolhwa. He must have known that if Seolhwa participates in a battle, Hyungong will not be left out. So if Hyungong participates in a fight, it is natural for his friends to participate in the battle as well.

On the other hand, Baek Hyang-ah is left alone in the Bukhae Ice Palace.

‘Is there a relationship between the Demonic Cult and the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace? No, there wasn’t. When we first met, there was no such feeling between the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace and the Demonic Cult.’

‘But, can we be sure that just because there was no relationship back then, there will be no relationship now?’

There have been a few days of free time since the day the Northern Ice Palace Lord encountered the Demonic Cult’s warriors.

Furthermore, from the day that Dang Mu-jin and Bukhae Ice Palace Ju talked about Baek Hyang-ah’s condition until the expedition, there was only about a day left.

It wasn’t a long time, but it was enough time for allies to become enemies and enemies to become allies.

Furthermore, it was not necessary for there to be a conspiracy between the Northern Ice Palace Lord and the Demonic Cult’s warriors.

‘What if the Demonic Cult members did things according to their needs, and the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace added his own plan on top of it?’

I know. It’s all speculation. There were parts that felt like guesswork.

But the situation is so natural and there is no misdirection.

And these ominous guesses always turn out to be correct.

At this point, Dang Mujin’s distress is not the most important thing. We must return to Bukhae Ice Palace immediately.

Of course, it wasn’t a decision made out of pure sense of justice or a single-minded determination to protect Baek Hyang-ah. Wasn’t the relationship between Hyeon-gong and Baek Hyang-ah a bit awkward?

I just felt confident that something big was going to happen.

And in Hyun-gong’s experience, there was a lot to be gained by being there when something big happened.

‘Can I find the weak point of the North Sea Ice Palace and tear something out of it?’

‘No. Realistically, that’s difficult. The problem is that the relationship between my friends and the King of the North Sea Ice Palace could go wrong. We have to prevent that at all costs.’

It is no exaggeration to say that Dang Mu-jin and his friends are almost the entire network of connections that Hyun-gong has built up to now.

And the Bukhae Ice Palace is where the wife’s family will be.

If the relationship between the Northern Ice Princess and Dang Mujin goes wrong here, the problem will become serious. Rather than having to choose between the two, it is better to lure the Northern Ice Princess well in advance so that their relationship does not go wrong.

I am not sure that I can persuade and stop the Northern Ice Palace Lord. However, I must prevent the worst from happening in another way. For example, I can help clean up the situation so that the Dangmujin does not notice the Northern Ice Palace Lord’s actions.

‘Let’s get moving.’

Hyun-gong walked in the direction that the Ice Palace Princess had left.

After walking for a while like that, Hyun-gong came across the group that Seol-hwa was in.

“stringer!”

Seolhwa smiled brightly and waved her hand toward Hyungong. Her face was stained with the blood of the Demonic Cult members. However, that appearance strangely suited her well.

Seolhwa approached Hyeon-gong and asked.

“Why are you alone?”

Hyun-gong was about to speak about his suspicions toward the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord, but then stopped.

The situation wasn’t certain yet, and even if it were, it wasn’t something worth telling Seolhwa.

Hyun-gong surrounded himself naturally.

“Dang Mu-jin got caught in a blizzard and got lost. I’m on my way to find him.”

It was an excuse, but at the same time, it was an indisputable fact. However, Seol-hwa asked Hyun-gong back.

“really?”

“···of course.”

Seolhwa didn’t ask any more questions.

Instead, he gave Hyun-gong a light hug, stared into his eyes, and then walked through the snowstorm with the Ice Palace warriors.

Hyun-gong moved again in pursuit of the Northern Ice Palace Lord.

*

Baek Hyang-ah was sitting in the reception area.

Unlike the usual bustling atmosphere, the reception hall where I was left alone was as quiet as a mouse.

It wasn’t just quiet. The reception hall was filled with a chill that seemed to freeze everything and the pungent smell of blood.

In front of Baek Hyang-ah were three corpses that had been shattered like ice.

There are traces of two of the Demonic Cult’s greatest masters and one of its greatest masters frozen to death.

Baek Hyang-ah muttered.

“···Idiots.”

Not long after the warriors of the North Sea Ice Palace set out, three elite warriors of the Demonic Cult stormed into the reception hall. They were after Baek Hyang-ah, who was left alone in the Ice Palace.

It was a pretty good plan, but there were two things the Demonic Cult’s warriors didn’t think about.

The fact that I misjudged Baek Hyang-ah’s ability to bring out Jinwon Jin-gi.

And the fact that he was trying to fight Baek Hyang-ah in a narrow space where he couldn’t escape.

The result is the death of three demon warriors.

Baek Hyang-ah raised her head and looked behind her.

Behind the corpses of the Demonic Cult members, there were six corpses that were not frozen.

These are the people of Bukhae Ice Palace who bravely blocked the path of the Demonic Cult warriors in order to protect Baek Hyang-ah.

A homeless person who occasionally brought snacks to the reception desk. The homeless person’s assistant. And two servants who served the people in the reception desk. Two people whose jobs I don’t even know.

Even they were not trained in martial arts. They had no weapons.

They blocked the path of the Demonic Cult’s unmanned forces for one reason only.

We can’t leave Baek Hyang-ah in danger.

Six people who had not even learned martial arts came forward to protect Baek Hyang-ah, who had martial arts skills that were superior to those of any other master.

‘···If only I had made the decision a little earlier.’

The reason Baek Hyang-ah couldn’t tell the six people to run away was because of Dang Mu-jin’s advice that it could be dangerous if they consumed too much internal energy.

Even though she knew that six people who had not learned martial arts could not stop the Demonic Cult’s warriors, Baek Hyang-ah hesitated for a moment.

That brief moment of hesitation was enough time for six people to lose their lives.

Baek Hyang-ah measured her remaining internal energy and yin energy.

It was actually a good thing that I released my negative energy here. The amount of internal energy I had left was not insufficient.

‘It’s okay so far.’

Baek Hyang-ah collected the bodies of the six people and laid them out neatly. She felt a sense of indebtedness. The kindness and favor they had shown her prickled her heart.

However, Baek Hyang-ah did not take the body out, but sat down again on the chair in the center of the reception hall. This was because she felt that the situation was not over yet.

Thud, thud.

There was a sound in the reception hallway. There was only one footstep. Baek Hyang-ah’s heart beat a little faster than usual.

Baek Hyang-ah raised her head and looked at the person who had appeared. The Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace was looking at Baek Hyang-ah.

Baek Hyang-ah smiled brightly.

“Adoptive father. Are you here?”

“Did you know?”

A conversation that sounded like a series of questions and answers. However, the conversation between the two did not stop.

“I didn’t know at first. But I realized it while I was being chased by the two small and large statues.”

Baek Hyang-ah continued the story.

“I could happily adopt an outsider as my adopted daughter and teach her the secrets of the Ice Palace. However, there are so many promising successors, so it would be ridiculous to adopt me as your adopted daughter and then recommend the Mannyeon Ice Palace in just one month.”

“You have misunderstood my kindness. What a pity.”

“You knew how to joke?”

The King of the North Sea Ice Palace laughed silently. Then he stared at Baek Hyang-ah.

Baek Hyang-ah finally estimated the amount of Jinwonjingi and internal energy remaining. It didn’t seem like she would die without strength.

“People pointed fingers at me behind my back. They said I was a bitch with a devil in my horoscope. They said I was an unlucky bitch who ate people. I didn’t make any excuses because I thought they were right.”

Baek Hyang-ah raised her head and looked at Bukhae Ice Palace.

And I thought of the party leaders.

Dang Mu-jin, who worked hard and lost sleep to save one person.

The warmth felt from Dang Mu-jin’s palm that touched the boat.

The warmth I felt from that palm was warmer than when I killed a person and took all their warmth away.

Dang Mu-jin’s voice was heard.

‘You shouldn’t use your internal energy excessively.’

But now there is no choice.

That’s why Baek Hyang-ah muttered softly.

‘I’m sorry. It turned out like this.’

Baek Hyang-ah roughly tore off the yin energy that had been covering her danjeon to prevent the Jinwonjin energy from leaking out suddenly. The Jinwonjin energy leaked out as if it had been waiting for it.

At the same time, a huge amount of negative energy enveloped the reception hall.

Inside the reception hall, a colder air began to blow than the snowstorm outside.

Pure white frost flowers bloomed at Baekhyang-ah’s feet.

“Because of my strong fate, my father and my teacher died. No matter how much I think about it, I’m a bitch who eats people. I might really be the devil.”

The pure white devil strode towards the Northern Ice Palace. With every step, beautiful frost flowers bloomed.

Baek Hyang-ah raised her two pure white hands and spoke to the King of the North Sea Ice Palace.

“And you are my teacher and father. This time, it is your turn to be eaten.”