Chapter 154. Trying to Row a Boat On Land (25)
Woo-Moon felt a tinge in his nose as he saw Eun-Ah frolic around once again.
‘Little rascal...’
“Due to the weather getting harsher, we have to migrate with the change of the seasons, and it just so happens that it’s time for our next move. As for the North Sea Ice Palace, they’re located in the center of the coldest land in the north.”
Woo-Moon smiled and nodded.
“I see. It’s truly eye-opening and amazing that you could live in such a cold place. Thank you for all your help.”
The group he met was very simple and welcoming.
Living in a barren place had to be difficult, to say the least. But even with their own struggles, they even offered Woo-Moon some of their jerky, saying that he needed to eat well if he wanted to survive in the cold.
“By the way, how far are you going? If you don’t mind, I can help you get there.”
“Pardon? What do you mean, help...”
Woo-Moon wanted to give Eun-Ah more time to have fun and play with the children.
As their path was an unrelenting revenge filled with blood, they should enjoy what relaxing time they found when they could.
Woo-Moon faced away from them and spread his arms wide. Then, a massive amount of snow rose into the air.
The snow flew around in a disorderly manner at first before gradually coming together under his manipulation. Soon, it formed a single block under the tremendous pressure of his qi.
A massive sheet of ice with a rounded front appeared before their eyes.
“W-what in the world...!”
The mouths of those watching were wide open.
They had heard many times that those of the murim could perform extraordinary feats and were like immortals. However, this was the first time any of them had actually seen such an immortal in person.
Well, it only made sense.
A feat like this required such an enormous amount of qi and detailed control that hardly anyone could do it without being a Paragon. How many Paragons could people like these meet? They could thank the heavens if they even saw a Transcendent once in their entire lives.
The more pressure was applied to the snow, the more each particle fused to the next, eventually becoming ice of the highest purity. It was as dense and tough as the strongest boulder.
Woo-Moon carved a hole near the front of the rounded edge, large enough to fit Eun-Ah’s tail.
“Eun-Ah!”
Kya?
Woo-Moon pointed to the ice and explained to her as she played with the children.
“I’m going to continue slowly, so you put your tail into this hole and drag these people to their destination. Okay?”
Woo-Moon and Eun-Ah were connected through their souls, meaning that they could find each other no matter how far apart they were.
Eun-Ah immediately understood that this was Woo-Moon’s consideration and that it allowed her to spend more time with the children. Her kind and pure heart was instantly filled to the brim with joy.
Seeing his partner’s antics, Woo-Moon laughed and said his goodbyes.
“This is in return for your help, so please don’t decline it. Alright, I’ll be off now.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Woo-Moon threw a big piece of gold in their direction and vanished on the spot.
“W-what!”
“Where did he just go?” cried the group’s eldest grandmother.[/ref]Technically, their eldest female elder, but not a matriarch per se.[/ref]
“He’s an immortal, an immortal! We just met with an immortal!”
No matter how much they searched, they couldn’t find Woo-Moon.
Eun-Ah placed her children on the slab of ice and held the slab tightly by inserting her long tail into the hole that Woo-Moon had made.
The adults bowed to the piece of gold, then wrapped it carefully and put it away, referring to it as a manifestation of Woo-Moon.
Then, afraid that Eun-Ah might disappear just as Woo-Moon had, they rushed over and got on the ice.
Eun-Ah dragged the slab across the snow with her tail and bounded off to where the people described.
Although she moved incredibly fast, as she ran with great care, the journey only had the slightest of bumps. Moreover, because Woo-Moon had rounded the front of the slab and given it a slight lip, the villagers behind Eun-Ah were safe without having to endure any of the wind.
***
“Whew...”
Ha Yeo-Seol sighed as she watched the people entering the North Sea Ice Palace.
The fateful day was gradually approaching.
Once a decade, the disciples held a group wedding at the North Sea Ice Palace.
Due to the incredible yin qi the people here cultivated, nearly all of the children born at the North Sea Ice Palace were female. Therefore, in order to maintain the North Sea Ice Palace, female disciples were tasked with finding an outsider to take as their husband.
Soon, the Marriage of the Snow Flowers, the marriage ceremony of the North Sea Ice Palace that took place every ten years, would begin.
The Marriage of the Snow Flowers wasn’t just a mere wedding.
The recruitment of a husband was used to measure a disciple’s ability and, thus, their status and position within the North Sea Ice Palace. Their husbands would be measured by their abilities, competing with each other and comparing their abilities.
Just thinking about it made Yeo-Seol sigh.
All of her disciple sisters were busy bringing heirs from each clan and comparing and bragging with each other, but she still hadn’t yet found anyone to serve as her candidate for the Marriage of the Snow Flowers.
“If only... if only that attendant from back then...”
Tears fell from Yeo-Seol's eyes.
Over the past year, the North Sea Ice Palace had sent their disciples to freely move across the gangho for the sake of the Marriage of the Snow Flowers. Yeo-Seol herself had headed to the Central Plains.
The first place she had gone to was the Justice Coalition, and on the way there, she had met an attendant.
Once she arrived at the Justice Coalition, she had learned that the attendant’s name was Woo-Moon and that he was the Hero of the entire coalition.
However, the most heartbreaking and shocking news was that the attendant Woo-Moon had gone missing after entering the Heavenly Demon Mound.
Although he was said to be missing, the Justice Coalition had taken his death as a given fact. It was only natural, as not a single member of the Righteous Faction that had entered the Heavenly Demon Mound seemed to have survived.
Yeo-Seol felt like her heart had been broken, essentially giving up and returning to the North Sea Ice Palace alone to wait for the Marriage of the Snow Flowers.
Actually, Yeo-Seol was so beautiful that many men wanted to marry her.
No matter how her disciple sisters harassed her and plotted to make sure she didn’t stand out, a diamond would eventually stand out among a bunch of rocks.[1]
However, she had rejected any and all offers, shaking her head no at any confessions of love.
Woo-Moon was the first person to show her kindness. Moreover, he was the only one to respect and treat her well. And that was not all—he was someone to whom she was incredibly grateful. He had shown up like a miracle and saved her when she was in danger, even going so far as to suffer serious injuries for her.
It was only natural that Yeo-Seol couldn't forget him.
“Young Lady Ha, are you here?”
Before she knew it, a young man was standing next to her.
“Ah, Young Master Yu.”
He was none other than Yu Cho, having come all the way here from the Mount Hua Sect. His expression flickered darkly before he continued.
“Do you still need some time to think? My feelings for you are deeper than anyone else’s, and I would truly like to marry you, Young Lady Ha.”
Yu Cho was actually engaged to Bi Yeo-Jung, Woo-Gang's previous lover. However, he hid the fact that he was engaged and continued to try to flirt with Yeo-Seol, even going so far as to come to the North Sea Ice Palace.
Yeo-Seol thought that Yu Cho was feeling pity for her because she was so sad, and she was indeed somewhat grateful for that. However, she had no such feelings for him.
“I am truly sorry, Young Master Yu, but...”
Could Yu Cho really be so clueless?
No.
He knew that Yeo-Seol still had feelings for Woo-Moon and that she hadn’t forgotten him yet. Still, he held back his irritation and continued to wait for her. However, now that the Marriage of the Snow Flowers was getting closer, it was difficult for him to hold back any longer.
“You’re still unable to forget that pathetic bastard who foolishly entered the Heavenly Demon Mound and died trying to save some Demonic Path bitch? Why are you like this?”
Every single one of Yu Cho's words pierced Yeo-Seol's heart like a barbed needle.
“Wow, you really are so eloquent with your words! This is the exact reason I don’t have any feelings for you. Considering you think of women as nothing more than bitches, you wouldn’t have lifted a finger even if I was the one going into a dangerous place like the Heavenly Demon Mound! That is the difference between you and sir attendant!”
Yu Cho's eyes grew cold. He had unintentionally committed a massive blunder.
He had come all the way here to woo her, so naturally, he had never shown her this side of him. However, given that he had lost all his face and prestige because of the Song brothers, he couldn’t help lashing out the moment she mentioned Woo-Moon for the umpteenth time.
Glaring at Yeo-Seol menacingly, he was about to say something when someone’s venomous voice interrupted him.
“Attendant, attendant, all you can say is attendant! What, do you think he’ll come back to life if you keep talking about him? Tsk, you stupid thing. From the moment I first saw him at the inn, I knew he was a useless idiot. Figures you, of all people, would like someone like that,” said Yeo-Seol’s eldest senior sister, Jeong Gyeong.
The kind-hearted Yeo-Seol couldn’t bear to confront her and simply cried once more.
She hated these people who did nothing but curse Woo-Moon’s existence every day. And she was in despair over her own situation, where she wasn’t able to respond appropriately.
***
Meanwhile, Eun-Ah dropped off the villagers and found Woo-Moon, who by now was quite close to the North Sea Ice Palace.
‘So, the Marriage of the Snow Flowers, huh.’
He had already heard the news regarding the event from some other cultivators he’d met on the way—obviously, hopeful young men.
When he first heard about it, he took some time to think.
Should he wear his yaksha mask?
If he were to arrive when the Marriage of the Snow Flower was taking place and the people from the Central Plains’ murim were there, there would definitely be some among them who would recognize him.
However, he decided not to wear the mask.
‘No, this is an opportunity. There will be people from all over the place who will see me and send messages home. Moreover, there may even be some who show strange behaviors. I can use this to my advantage. All I have to do is capture all of those bastards, check their items, and confirm their martial arts to determine if they’re dogs of Martial Heaven or not.’
All he wanted was for his identity not to be revealed until he was able to attack the Cruel Sandstorm Riders. If he was able to succeed, it wouldn’t really matter if he was exposed afterward.
Thus, he decided not to wear the yaksha mask, confident that he would be able to intercept any messages they tried to send.
Of course, there was one other reason. He needed to ask the North Sea Ice Palace for help. If he came here wearing a mask, it would show that he didn’t trust them, so why would they help him?
"Oh, I can see the North Sea Ice Palace over there.”
Hearing those words, Eun-Ah began to run even faster.
***
In her anger and sadness, Yeo-Seol couldn’t stop crying.
“Anyway, all you know how to do is drag your feet. Pft, how boring. Young Master Yu, what are you going to do? I don’t have much more time, either. If you refuse me again, I’m also going to find someone else.”
Yu Cho looked at Jeong Gyeong again.
She definitely was less beautiful than Yeo-Seol and had a harsh personality on top of that. However, she didn’t seem to have anything particularly bad about her otherwise.
“I understand, Young Lady Jeong. Well then, let's attend the Marriage of the Snow Flowers together. I don’t have any regrets regarding this stupid girl anymore.”
“Oho. You’ve made the right decision. That girl only has a good face; otherwise, she’s stupid and foolish. And with that snobbish personality of hers... tsk, tsk.”
Then, in the eyes of the kind-hearted and young Yeo-Seol, in her hazy gaze, she noticed something strange in her field of view.
Something was running fast toward them through the snowy field in the distance.
‘Is that a white tiger? What’s it doing here? Wait, someone’s riding it?’
Because of her tears, she couldn't clearly see who was on top of the white tiger.
Seeing Yeo-Seol’s strange behavior, Yu Cho followed her gaze, only to stiffen for a moment.
Then, his face gradually distorted, filled with a murderous rage.
‘Th–that, THAT BASTARD?! WHY IS HE HERE?!!! Isn’t he supposed to be dead?!!!’
Eun-Ah got closer and closer to the North Sea Ice Palace.
Then, when she was within distance, Eun-Ah jumped a hundred feet in a single bound, as if flying through the sky, and landed right in front of Yeo-Seol.
“Ah!”
Only now was Yeo-Seol able to tell who the rider was, and in her shock, she simply forgot words existed.
On the other hand, Woo-Moon smiled happily.
“It’s been a while, Young Lady Ha.”
1. Literally, if there’s a hole in a pocket, something’s bound to drop one way or another. But that just doesn’t sound good here. ☜