Two Minds, One Scheme
Baek Jin-ah traveled without rest for three straight days before finally reaching Chang’an.
She had the Ice Soul Divine Art manual tucked safely against her chest, so she couldn’t even afford to stop and breathe easy. She had to keep moving.
And if, by some disastrous mistake of her own, she were to lose the hard-won manual again, that would be a truly terrible problem indeed.
When she at last arrived in Chang’an, Baek Jin-ah hurried straight to the North Sea Ice Palace’s contact post on the western side of the city.
The Ice Palace might belong to the Outlands, but its relations with the Murim Alliance were, at least for the most part, fairly good.
The two sides recognized each other’s territory clearly under a nonaggression pact.
Because of that, anyone connected to the Ice Palace who wanted to enter Murim had to obtain the Murim Alliance’s permission.
The Ice Palace, likewise, had the authority to execute on the spot anyone who entered its domain without permission.
So the contact post existed to handle communication between the two powers.
Once she reached it, she would no longer need to move on her own.
From there on, she could travel to the Ice Palace by horse and carriage.
And with escorts accompanying her, she would no longer need to watch her surroundings quite so anxiously as she had until now.
That was why she quickened her steps—but when Baek Jin-ah reached the post, she was shocked.
Someone she never expected was already there.
“Brother? What are you doing here? You’ve recovered from your illness?”
“Of course. That’s why I came. Did you receive a message from the Alliance?”
“Huh? The Alliance? You mean the Murim Alliance?”
“What other Alliance would I mean? But by your reaction, I suppose that wasn’t it?”
“No. I didn’t receive any message from the Alliance. I’ve just finished my task and was on my way back.”
“What?! You finished the task? You mean you found the manual!?”
Baek Cheong-han, the North Sea Ice Palace’s young palace lord, blurted out in astonishment.
It was only natural that he would be shocked.
Originally, he had been the one meant to come looking for this manual.
But because he had fallen ill, Baek Jin-ah had come in his place—and now that he had recovered, he’d come personally to switch back duties.
There could only be one person from the Ice Palace in Murim at a time.
Baek Jin-ah’s expression brightened at that thought.
She was smiling so openly, so genuinely, that she seemed almost radiant as she drew the manual from her robes and pressed it into Baek Cheong-han’s hands.
“Hahaha. You really found it!?”
“Brother, your timing is perfect. Please take this manual back to the Ice Palace for me. I still have matters to attend to here in the Central Plains.”
“What? What matters could you possibly still have?”
“Important matters. Perhaps even something for the Ice Palace’s future.”
“No, you should at least tell me properly. How can you speak so vaguely and expect me to let it go?”
“Brother. You trust me, don’t you?”
Baek Cheong-han, who had never once seen Baek Jin-ah so fired up, looked momentarily flustered.
She had always been calm and cold. So indifferent, in fact, that she seemed almost devoid of feeling.
That was why this side of her felt so unfamiliar to him—almost unsettling, in its own way.
Still, he was a gentle older brother who trusted his younger sister, and so he nodded and said, “You’re not the sort of child who speaks nonsense. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll do as you ask. Though I may be able to say that much for the palace, what am I to do about the Alliance?”
“Please request temporary passage, Brother. If you tell them this mission is being extended, the Alliance won’t raise much of an objection. The next envoy hasn’t even arrived yet, so there’s still plenty of time before the deadline.”
“That may be true, but… very well! Even if I must use my authority as young palace lord, I’ll see that your request is granted. Now hurry along. This looks urgent.”
At that, Baek Jin-ah embraced her brother tightly, her gratitude sincere.
For his part, Baek Cheong-han found himself even more curious after seeing his sister acting this way for the first time in her life.
“When you come back later, you must tell me everything in detail. Otherwise, the numbers won’t add up.”
“Of course, Brother. Then I’ll be on my way.”
“Take care of yourself! Ah, wait. Hold on a moment. If you’re going, take this with you.”
Baek Cheong-han rummaged through his baggage and took out a medicine bottle, handing it over.
At the sight of it, Baek Jin-ah’s face brightened. She accepted it with both hands, tucked it away in her luggage, and quickly left the contact post.
Baek Cheong-han watched his younger sister recede into the distance for a long while before looking down at the Ice Soul Divine Art manual in his hand.
He had never particularly wanted to come to the Central Plains in the first place.
So he decided it was fortunate things had turned out this way, and went inside to write a letter to the Alliance.
Once she was outside the contact post, Baek Jin-ah hurried with all her strength toward the Jegal Clan Manor.
She was truly happy. It felt as though the luck she had never once known in her life had decided to help her just this one time.
Her steps lightened. Her whole body seemed ready to fly.
With a smile spreading across her face, Baek Jin-ah kicked off the ground and retraced the road she had come by.
* * *
In a dark audience hall, rows of great pillars stood under the light of oil lamps. There, a man knelt in obeisance and reported to the one seated above him on the dais.
“After investigation, the one who attacked the Taegaji Manor appears to have been only a single woman.”
The man seated in the chair of honor looked down with bored eyes.
Usually, that meant he should continue, so the kneeling man did so without delay.
“From what we’ve learned, the woman appears to have come from the North Sea Ice Palace. Her purpose in coming here is still unknown, and we have not yet determined why she attacked the Taegaji Manor. If you grant me more time, I can surely uncover the reason….”
“Enough.”
The cold voice made the subordinate flinch.
The man on the dais seemed to gain a sliver of interest as he muttered, “Why would the Ice Palace be involved in this matter…? I can’t think of a single reason.”
After a moment of thought, he gave a lazy order to the subordinate.
“Call Jeokwol.”
“Wh-what, Jeokwol, sir!?”
At those words, the man let out a sigh and drew a finger across the air to the side.
There came a wet, severing sound.
The subordinate’s head was cut clean away. He died without even a scream or a final gasp.
Black-clad figures stepped forward silently and removed the corpse.
A new man took the emptied place, and the man seated on the dais spoke again.
“Call Jeokwol. And find the woman said to have come from the North Sea Ice Palace and bring her to me. Also bring the lord of the place called Yang Manor. I’ll hear the reason directly from them.”
“Yes, my lord.”
With that, the subordinate vanished, and the man on the dais propped his chin on his hand, looking almost bored.
Even so, he continued to think.
Why had the Ice Palace attacked Taegaji Manor? How much did Yang Manor know?
What relationship could those two possibly have?
But the thought did not last long.
To the man, such worries were nothing more than a brief amusement.
* * *
Back at the Jegal Clan Manor, having been assigned the same lodging she had used last time, Gukseon was so pleased she found herself humming without even noticing it.
And in the room next door, Byeokunja heard that skin-crawling tune through the wall and shuddered in fear.
Good heavens. Humming? That girl?
If just a hummed tune could make Sword Venerable tremble, that would count as yet another of Gukseon’s great feats.
But Sword Venerable really was afraid.
And not just because of that humming—once he thought about what lay ahead, he realized this was not the sort of matter that could be brushed aside.
For some reason, that girl called Baek Harin had so firmly refused before, yet now she had readily agreed to come along.
Of course, she had not said she would become his disciple.
Still, Byeokunja and Gukseon were both confident, so they had not paid much attention to that part.
Once she got a taste of the prestige and benefits that came with the Great Jongnam Sect, she would never be able to let go.
So even though she had only half-accepted, the matter was as good as settled.
All that remained was deciding how to sweeten the deal.
The problem was that Byeokunja had intended to take the girl back to Jongnam and be done with it.
But if they were to wander the world like this instead? That vicious junior sister would certainly work him like a servant.
He didn’t even need to see it to know—it was obvious.
That junior sister taking on the dirty work herself? Impossible.
Besides, Byeokunja, though overshadowed by Gukseon, was also a man whose name was never far from any conversation when people spoke of strange temperaments.
When Baek Harin had seemed an untouchable bird, his enthusiasm had been blazing. But now that she had accepted the proposal, all his momentum had gone right out of him.
That was all it was.
Like grandparents adoring their grandchildren, perhaps?
Wanting to ignore the bothersome things—child-rearing, schooling, all that dreary nonsense—and simply show off while enjoying the grandchild’s little performances when they came to visit on the weekend?
That was why the idea of suddenly setting off on a journey together had become such a hassle.
He only wanted Gukseon to butter the girl up and bring her back to Mount Zhongnan, and then he could teach her a few things while laughing heartily to himself.
With that thought in mind, Byeokunja rose at once and headed for Gukseon’s room, where she was still humming away.
“Girl.”
“Please come in, Martial Uncle.”
Gukseon was in such a good mood that even her voice was soft.
Hearing his junior disciple-sister speak so pleasantly, Byeokunja suppressed the goosebumps that rose all over him and stepped into the room.
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“Do tell.”
“Just so you know, don’t even think about excluding me and wandering off alone with the women! I’m telling you this now so I can draw the line clearly.”
Hearing that, Gukseon’s heart gave a small jolt, but she did not let it show on her face like some amateur.
Still, inwardly she thought, This sly Martial Uncle really isn’t someone to underestimate.
That was exactly what she was thinking.
Bringing Martial Uncle Byeokunja into this had only been a move to make Harin even more tempted.
Gukseon was a woman of appetite, after all. She wanted Harin fully as her disciple.
So if Byeokunja tried to insist on claiming Harin for himself, Gukseon had even been prepared to oppose him by invoking seniority and rank.
“Hoho. Martial Uncle, how could this junior possibly think such a thing? It’s just that Martial Uncle has more important matters to attend to, don’t you?”
“What? More important matters?”
“Now that girl has agreed to come with me, it’s only a matter of time before she becomes a child of Jongnam. But surely you can see that the sect master and the elders will object?”
Watching Gukseon lay out her little bait, Byeokunja felt a burst of triumph inside.
I knew it. Did you think I wouldn’t see through that foxlike little brain of yours?
“Why should I care what those old geese have to say? Things like that can be settled if I just take my sword and dance a few rounds with it!”
“No, Martial Uncle. You mustn’t do that. What would the girl think of Jongnam then? And if you treat her so harshly, how could the sect master and elders possibly look on her kindly?”
“Hmph. That wouldn’t do.”
“So let’s do it this way, Martial Uncle. I’ll butter the girl up, and you go back and prepare for receiving her. That is something only you can do.”
“Ummm….”
“When I return, I’ll bring back a mountain of Duilju, so please do this for me.”
“Oh-ho. Duilju? A mountain of it?”
Gukseon watched him wavering and rejoiced inwardly.
“I’ll buy enough for you to drink until you’re sick of it, so please, just this once.”
“Tch. Still… I do want to travel with that girl….”
“Once she becomes your disciple, you can travel with her as much as you like, can’t you?”
“Well, yes, that’s true, but….”
“Then please listen to me. I’ll even buy you plenty of Wangpyeong dried meat on the way back.”
“Hmm. Suspicious. This generous behavior of yours is awfully suspicious.”
“What? Is it so suspicious that this junior would buy her Martial Uncle drinks and snacks?”
Seeing Gukseon’s mildly offended expression, Byeokunja decided it was probably time to stop and pretended to yield at last.
“Fine. Duilju and Wangpyeong dried meat. Don’t forget.”
“Of course. I’ll be sure to buy them, so don’t worry.”
“Tsk. I’m still disappointed, but… all right. I’ll do as you say.”
With that, the conversation ended, and Byeokunja left Gukseon’s room wearing a broad smile.
Of course, Gukseon was laughing happily to herself in her room as well, so in truth, neither of them had really lost anything.