Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Meeting the Girl
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Nangong Mubaek visited the clinic where Jong Sobin worked, only to find the door shut tight. He felt a pang of disappointment.
"No consultations today? Or maybe she's out on a house call? Even if she were, she wouldn't close up shop on other patients like this. That's strange."
He paced around for a while before asking a servant who emerged from inside.
"Is Little Palace Lord Jong here?"
The servant eyed Nangong Mubaek up and down, pegged him as one of Jong Sobin's followers, and replied indifferently.
"She had urgent business and left early this morning."
"Not a house call?"
"Yes. She's away on business."
"When will she be back?"
"No set return. This servant doesn't know."
"Well, damn."
He had come with purpose, but with Jong Sobin gone, Nangong Mubaek felt utterly deflated.
At that very moment, Jong Sobin was at a mountain stronghold.
Veiled women stood in formation around her.
"How could this happen?"
Before her lay a shattered block of ice.
Even in the sweltering heat, the ice hadn't melted, but its interior was completely empty.
"Third Protector, can the Ice Sacred Body awaken on its own?"
Hwayeong shook her head.
"This subordinate has never heard of such a thing. There's no record of it in the palace's history either."
"It was fine until yesterday, so it must have awakened last night or at dawn and escaped. It couldn't have gone far in that time. We can scour the area and find traces."
Jong Sobin continued with a troubled expression.
"Clean this place up quickly and erase all our traces."
"Yes, Little Palace Lord."
As Hwayeong responded, she suddenly turned her head.
A group was approaching from afar.
"Little Palace Lord. It looks like the group that's been tailing us these past few days."
"Indeed. They're heading straight for us. Everyone, battle stations."
The distant specks rapidly closed in on the mountain peak where Jong Sobin stood.
"Little Palace Lord."
Jong Sobin glanced at the arrivals and scowled.
It was one of the elders from the faction currently dominating the North Sea Ice Palace.
"What brings you all the way out here, Elder Yu? Have you come to kill me too? Wasn't assassinating the Palace Lord enough?"
The sharp-featured old woman replied with a cold expression.
"The North Sea Ice Palace has always been run by the Palace Lord and the elders. But the Lord tried to eliminate our faction, leaving us no choice but to resist. You know that, Little Palace Lord."
"That was to stop your faction from bringing in outside forces. Of all things, how could you think of allying with the Blood Cult? And now the palace is better off for it?"
Elder Yu Yeongrip's mouth twitched at Jong Sobin's sharp words.
"Hand over the Ice Sacred Body. It belongs to the Ice Palace, not to you personally, Little Palace Lord."
"Why? Planning to offer it to the Blood Cult too?"
"Sigh. The Blood Cult will be our foothold for advancing into the Central Plains. It's not inherently bad. Without a Solar Meridian host, you'll die soon yourself, won't you? How long must we bear this curse?"
Yu Yeongrip let out a long sigh before continuing.
"We must venture into the Central Plains, overcome our fate, and raise the Ice Palace to a pillar of the martial world. Otherwise, we'll be left behind. Even you, Little Palace Lord, are posing as a physician to find a Solar Meridian host. How long can we live like this?"
Jong Sobin shook her head.
"The Ice Palace's value lies in remaining in the North Sea."
"You're even more backward-thinking than the previous Palace Lord. Our Ice Palace has the power to dominate the martial world. It's time to step out for the sake of our disciples."
"I haven't meddled in your affairs since you murdered the Palace Lord. Go conquer the world or establish a sect in the martial world—I don't care. Do as you please."
"We won't interfere in your actions either, Little Palace Lord. But you must surrender the Ice Sacred Body."
"What if I say it's gone?"
Yu Yeongrip released her killing intent as she spoke.
"We'll kill you and take it if we must."
At Yu Yeongrip's raised hand, white-clad women formed a encirclement around them.
"You've brought quite the entourage."
Her side had only herself and Third Protector Hwayeong; the other subordinates weren't even first-rate experts.
But Yu Yeongrip's group were all elites of the Ice Palace.
And Yu Yeongrip herself was a master whom even the Little Palace Lord and Hwayeong together might not defeat.
So Jong Sobin decided to be honest.
"You're too late. The Ice Sacred Body has already awakened and vanished."
"What nonsense is that? How could the Ice Sacred Body break free on its own?!"
"If you doubt it, see for yourself."
Jong Sobin led them to the stronghold where the unmelted ice block sat.
Yu Yeongrip frowned at the hollow ice mass.
"Is this truly the truth?"
"We were just investigating ourselves out of shock."
Yu Yeongrip touched the ice and sighed.
"It really is."
It was unmistakably the ice in which the Ice Sacred Body had slumbered.
Made of ice essence, it wouldn't melt without internal energy.
The fact that the ice remained meant the Ice Sacred Body had shattered it from within on its own.
"So you don't even know where it went! Why bring this here at all?!"
Yu Yeongrip blamed Jong Sobin.
"Better than it falling into another faction's hands. Do you think the Blood Cult would just leave it be?"
Jong Sobin pressed on.
"Have you considered the catastrophe if the Ice Sacred Body falls to the Blood Cult, Elder Yu?!"
"Who said we'd hand it to the Blood Cult? That's your misunderstanding, Little Palace Lord."
"Even if your faction has no such intent, the Blood Cult will seize it. That's why they're allying with you."
Yu Yeongrip deemed it unworthy of rebuttal and ordered her subordinates.
"You lot, search around the stronghold for the Ice Sacred Body. Find even the smallest clue!"
Dozens of white-clad women scattered at her command.
Jong Sobin hoped the Ice Sacred Body stayed well hidden from Yu Yeongrip now.
"We can't just stand idle either. Mobilize everyone we have to find the Ice Sacred Body."
"Yes, Little Palace Lord."
"It must not fall into Elder Yu's hands."
Jong Sobin ground her teeth.
On my way back from buying the needed herbs, the noodle stall couple spotted me and called out warmly.
"Scholar! Hello there!"
I smiled and returned their greeting.
"Business treating you well?"
As I approached the stall, the aroma wafting from the broth was different from before.
A subtle herbal scent mingled in, making it smell utterly delicious.
"How's it going? Selling well?"
The man grinned broadly at my question.
"You won't believe it. After adding those herbs you mentioned and simmering them in, the broth turned out so flavorful that customers doubled."
"Really? That good, huh?"
The noodle vendor scratched his head.
"They say it's delicious, but I wonder if you'd think so, Scholar."
I sat on a stool as I said,
"Perfect timing. I was getting hungry anyway. One bowl of noodles, please."
I took a bite and let out a sigh of admiration.
"Delicious. The broth is refreshing yet umami-rich."
To achieve this flavor, they must have experimented to find the perfect ratio with the herbs I suggested.
"You worked hard."
"All thanks to you, Scholar."
Sure enough, passersby and merchants alike greeted me, scarfed down a bowl, and went on their way.
Quite a few, too.
In the short time I ate, ten customers came and went.
Then a gurgling stomach rumble came from behind me. I turned to look.
A girl who looked a bit over ten stared intently at the noodles.
What drew my eye was her attire.
Her face was so pale and translucent it seemed untouched by hardship.
Yet she wore rough hempen clothes fit for vagrants, baggy as if borrowed.
"Want a bowl of noodles?"
I asked the girl.
She nodded.
I pointed to the seat beside me.
"Sit here."
She stared at me blankly before sitting down.
"One bowl of noodles, please."
Despite looking starved, she ate neatly.
Savoring each bite slowly, she even finished the broth.
"Big brother, can I have another?"
I smiled at the girl who casually called me big brother.
Her voice carried an air of refinement.
Her speech and demeanor showed she wasn't some wild child.
"It's delicious. Really delicious."
At her praise, the vendor's wife boasted.
"Of course! This noodle broth was made with the secret recipe from the scholar here."
"Really?"
The girl glanced at me and nodded.
"Big brother, what do you do? Are you a cook?"
She spoke casually to me the whole time, but it didn't feel rude or annoying.
Not because she was pretty—it was just so natural.
Like someone who had been spoken to that way her entire life.
"No, I'm a scholar."
"Oh, really? What's your name, scholar big brother?"
"Cheon Taesan."
"Suits a handsome scholar big brother."
"Thanks."
I found her playfulness endearing and absentmindedly patted her head.
Her black hair felt like silk, so I stroked it again.
"Huh?"
The girl widened her eyes cutely and said,
"I think someone said you shouldn't pat a girl's head carelessly. Who was it?"
She pondered, then shook her head.
"Can't remember."
"Sorry if it bothered you. As compensation, no charge for the noodles."
"Oh? Then pat it once more."
"Why?"
"To get another bowl."
"Hahaha, alright. One more bowl, please."
I patted her silky hair again.
"What's your name?"
"My name is..."
She thought long and hard, then tilted her head.
"Weird. I can't remember my name."
She truly seemed to have no recollection.
"Why can't I remember my name?"
I gazed at her steadily before speaking.
"Do you know where you live?"
"Home?"
She kept tilting her head.
"Can't remember home either."
For someone who forgot her name and home, she seemed remarkably cheerful.
"Got anywhere to stay right now?"
She rolled her eyes upward in thought, then shook her head.
"Nope."
The vendor's wife looked at her pityingly.
"Scholar, we've had a bad harvest lately, so orphans are popping up everywhere. Even on North Street, beggar kids have noticeably increased."
Indeed, entering North Street, one saw more vagrants and beggars. Today, it felt double.
The wife saw the girl as one of those newly destitute children.
"Nothing else you remember?"
"That's the strange part. I remember nothing about myself, but everything else."
I suspected partial amnesia from trauma or shock.
"That was good. Thanks, scholar big brother."
The nameless girl finished her second bowl, bowed slightly to me.
"Where are you headed?"
"Hmm, some uncle earlier bought me tasty food and said to come find him if I had nowhere to sleep. I'm going there."
With that, she headed into an alley.
"Scholar, is it okay to let that child go like that?"
Worried myself, I quietly followed the alley where she vanished.