Until the North Sea Ice Palace Melts (1)
[That moment, in the far north, distant from the Central Plains.]
In the depths of a palace sculpted from ice atop the frozen white wasteland, in what could be called the Binggung, the absolute lowest underground level, a woman stood before a massive frozen pillar.
"......."
A woman with hair so unnaturally white and long, her eyes gleaming an icy blue, extended her hand toward the ice pillar.
"...Yi Seol-a."
Calling the name 'Yi Seol' toward the pillar, the woman's eyes trembled faintly. Icy chill emanated from her slender fingers, cold enough to freeze anyone whose throat she grasped in an instant.
If there was one person who embodied cold fury perfectly, it was her. The white-haired, blue-eyed woman toyed with the ice pillar for a long while before turning her rigid expression away.
"So, what business brings you all the way to this North Sea Ice Palace?"
"To fulfill the Palace Lord's wish."
A white-haired woman of a slightly different bearing from the Ice Palace Lord—her eyes pure white as well—the 'Demon Physician Baekmyeon', bowed her head toward the Ice Palace Lord.
"Do you not wish to revive your disciple?"
"......."
"No, you don't. You've halted her at the brink of death, so surely you wish to restore her to her original state?"
"Silence."
The Ice Palace Lord glared at Baekmyeon with a savage face.
"The moment the Eternal Frozen Formation is lifted, my daughter dies."
"Yes. This deep underground where no sunlight penetrates, illuminated only by night-luminescent pearls. A place where even non-martial artists would freeze to death before entering. The formation arrayed here, the Eternal Frozen Formation. The instant it's dispelled, your disciple—whom you cherish even more than your daughter—will perish."
"You witch...!"
The Ice Palace Lord lunged at Baekmyeon in a flash, seizing her throat. Ka-ang!
A man in black assassin garb behind Baekmyeon drew his sharp sword, but the Ice Palace Lord caught it barehanded and reached for Baekmyeon's throat with her other hand.
"Kuhk...?!"
"Insolent assassin scum. Does the mistress of the Ice Palace look that laughable to you?"
The black-clad assassin, the 'Assassin King', furrowed his brows as his sword was gripped by the Ice Palace Lord's golden hand.
Once an assassin's sword was caught, defeat was inevitable.
"Baekmyeon...!"
"Don't worry. I'm fine, see?"
"?!"
"Heh heh heh."
But the Ice Palace Lord's other hand was blocked by Baekmyeon, who merely raised a single finger toward her own throat.
"You...!"
"Sorry, Assassin King. I needed someone to talk to on the way here to the North Sea."
"You deceived me...!"
"I never said I couldn't use martial arts, did I?"
The Assassin King's attack was halted, and in turn, the Demon Physician had blocked the Ice Palace Lord's strike.
"What are you doing, witch? Trying to start infighting?"
"Less infighting, more like the man who thought himself superior realizing a woman's facade and panicking."
"Not wrong."
Kwa-ang!
The Ice Palace Lord swung her hand broadly at the Assassin King like a resounding slap, instantly freezing him into an ice statue.
"Indeed, the Ice Divine Art. To freeze the leader of the Black Killer Corps—even demonic cult fiends feared him—in a single blow."
"This is the North Sea, the depths of the snowfields. Why do you think the North Sea Ice Palace built its palace here?"
Even as she unleashed the Ice Divine Art to its peak, it had no effect on Baekmyeon's body.
"...I don't know what sorcery you're using, but there's no reason not to hear your bizarre words."
The Ice Palace Lord stepped back.
"Yi Seol-a is the child I bore in my heart. When the Sword Saint pierced her heart, I personally recovered her from the river, froze her with the Ice Divine Art, and brought her here."
"That's what you hoped for, isn't it? For something to happen that could revive a being on the verge of death, heart sliced open and blood drained dry."
"......Yes."
The Ice Palace Lord stared piercingly at Baekmyeon, scanning her up and down.
"If you're here to toy with me, die right here. I'll personally send you to King Yama's side."
"How could it be a joke? Do you know how I reached this Ice Palace? I faked my death to shake off the demonic cult's pursuit, came here without even meeting my cherished disciple-son, whom I love like my own."
"I have no interest in your circumstances. Get to the point."
"My disciple can revive the dead."
"......."
At Baekmyeon's words, the Ice Palace Lord's expression softened.
"You're a madwoman."
"Madwoman, yes. But I'm telling the truth."
Baekmyeon pulled open her robes, baring her chest.
"If there's even a shred of falsehood in my words, I offer my life to you, Ice Palace Lord."
"......You."
The Ice Palace Lord grimaced fiercely at Baekmyeon, whiter than even her own body surging with Ice Divine Art.
"Are you truly alive?"
"I am alive. I was simply born this way."
"......."
"The important thing is, if you wish it, your disciple can live again."
"...However."
The Ice Palace Lord withdrew her hand and clasped them behind her back.
"My child fell into qi deviation tormented by her incurable illness. Even if she awakens, seeing her dead would mean nothing."
"She lives."
"......?"
"Moyong Seol, daughter of the martial world's public enemy Yi Ui-seol. She lives healthily now."
"What."
The Ice Palace Lord shook her head.
"Is Gu-eum Jeolmok some dog's name? Ten years ago, the Sword Saint himself carried that child all the way here to the North Sea Ice Palace. Though I blocked him at the entrance so he doesn't know Yi Seol-a is here, I personally examined that Gu-eum Jeolmok child myself. It's incurable!"
"But she was cured. By my disciple's extreme yang energy."
"......!"
"As Ice Palace Lord, you must want more Jeolmok Jeong patients to keep appearing. So you can absorb their yin qi and preserve Lady Yi Ui-seol here—whom you cherish more than your daughter—eternally while you live."
Baekmyeon shrugged, pointing to several spots on the chamber walls.
"No need for that anymore. My disciple will cure Jeolmok Jeong patients, and he can heal Lady Yi Ui-seol's wounds too."
"That is...."
"I bring the Central Plains martial world's news first and foremost, Ice Palace Lord. You must trust me completely."
"So."
The Ice Palace Lord scanned Baekmyeon up and down again.
"What do you want?"
"......."
"You wouldn't come to this North Sea without gain. Especially not a woman who faked her death. What's your true purpose?"
"...Heh heh."
Baekmyeon approached the Ice Palace Lord.
"Ice Palace Lord. How astonishing. A rejuvenated female expert who still maintains her chastity."
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"What I desire is."
Baekmyeon startled the recoiling Ice Palace Lord, seizing her waist and chin in one swift motion.
"I want my disciple to claim every beauty in the Central Plains."
"What...?"
"Just as Lady Yi Ui-seol is the child you bore in your heart, my disciple is the child I wish I could bear anew from my own womb and raise."
"......."
Even as Baekmyeon's face drew near, the Ice Palace Lord couldn't move.
"The time is ripe. The demonic cult is defeated, no more chaos in the world. Someone must bring turmoil to the era, continue the cycle of defying heaven."
"You mean to stir up bloodshed in the Central Plains martial world again?"
"Blood wind is blood wind. But not the blood of the dying."
A red flush bloomed on Baekmyeon's pale skin.
"It will be the blood of virgins conceiving children, birthing them."
"What...."
"My disciple will unify the Central Plains martial world. Where the Cheonma sought to rule with force and fists, my disciple will rule with vitality and masculinity."
"You wench...."
The Ice Palace Lord continued gravely.
"Truly, a madwoman."
"Heh heh heh."
"Just what is your disciple like?"
"My disciple will end the martial world and usher in a new era. His blood, his energy, cannot be limited to just the Moyong family line. If we wish to hasten the age of immortals even a little."
Baekmyeon was sincere.
"Only when his blood spreads far and wide, birthing many children with that energy, can I reach my ideal utopia."
"...What energy do you mean? Vital essence?"
"No."
She grinned wickedly.
"Immortal qi."
"......."
"I don't want to be the Demon Physician. I want to be the Medical Immortal."
At Baekmyeon's mad visage, the Ice Palace Lord unwittingly swallowed hard.
"Yes. I want to ascend to immortality."
Thus, she didn't notice.
The ice pillar, where the faintest crack had formed without even a splintering sound.
[A few days later, Seongnakwon entrance. The newly built medical hall 'Muwol'.]
"Hey, Physician Seok. Why didn't you tell me something that important?"
Dang Yuri glared at me with a serious face. I knew what she meant, but I had no choice but to avert my gaze.
"What's with that outfit?"
"What about it?"
"Where's your usual black uniform? Wearing something that bares your legs like that."
"It's the latest fashion."
Dang Yuri pointed to her tight-fitting top and the fabric draping down from it, slit long between her legs.
"A true master doesn't cling to weapons, and a true female expert isn't bound by clothing."
"I see. A ploy to captivate men with your allure?"
"Close enough. Thanks to it, you're constantly averting your eyes from me, hyper-aware."
"So, why?"
"I wanna go to the imperial palace."
Dang Yuri said seriously.
"What, to enter the emperor's harem? You ignored guys before since you were one, but now as a woman, gonna give it a shot?"
"Nah. Better to bond with someone who's been a woman from the start, right? I'm gonna date the Empress."
Dang Yuri was dead serious.
"The martial world's gone mad. But didn't you say you prefer pure virgins?"
"Huh, could it be...?"
"What about Geomhui?"
"Hey. Wanna die?"
Dang Yuri swung a mock punch at me through the air.
"If I hadn't cured Lady Moyong, you'd be dead and I'd have taken her first night. Got it?"
"What impudent words."
"!!"
Dang Yuri froze stiff.
"Ah, ahh...!"
"My first night was already yours, Physician. Even if we went back in time, it'd be the same."
"Nngh, hee-hee...!"
Moyong Seol approached from behind, wrapping her arms around Dang Yuri and gripping her throat—but Dang Yuri rolled her eyes in ecstasy at the touch.
"This won't do, Physician."
Moyong Seol's hand slid toward Dang Yuri's lower abdomen.
"How about I jab an unbleeding point right here?"
"......Huh?"
Dang Yuri, reveling in the contact, stiffened.
"W-wait a sec. Unbleeding point means...."
"It'll bleed a bit since it's your first time, but that's fine."
"W-wait! That's...!"
"Looks like the Physician needs to properly educate you with unbleeding—ow!"
I lightly thwacked Moyong Seol's head.
"Physician...?"
"Let go. And don't spout such things carelessly elsewhere."
I pulled Moyong Seol's hand away from Dang Yuri's abdomen.
"This belongs solely to you."
I guided that hand to what only Moyong Seol could possess.
"......Yes."
Moyong Seol blushed and bowed her head.
"Anyway, let's prepare the new medical hall. Thanks to the 'Empress' promising much aid for the Moyong family, we now have space to treat Jeolmok Jeong patients."
"Q-question."
Dang Yuri raised her hand.
"His Majesty got that way—doesn't the Empress want the Geukyang Jihwan for him?"
"That is...."
I pulled Moyong Seol away from Dang Yuri as I answered.
"Soon, a noble lady will visit the medical hall with a 'palace maid'. We can ask her then."