Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Solar Meridian Owner
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"Where is this?"
Jong Sobin muttered in disbelief as she looked at the signboard.
Magistrate's Office.
"Why are we at the magistrate's office?"
I chuckled at her puzzled gaze.
"The Solar Meridian body harbors an abundance of yang energy. Martial artists can harness it through their cultivation methods, but ordinary folk with excess yang often turn into pyretic yin fiends."
"So you're saying the pyretic yin fiends in the magistrate's prison have Solar Meridian bodies."
Jong Sobin stared at the signboard with a hollow expression.
'Why have I never thought of this before?'
She couldn't shake the feeling that she was a flower grown in a greenhouse, ignorant of the world.
"Even the Murim Alliance's Thunder Prison holds quite a few Solar Meridian owners who were captured as pyretic yin fiends. When we go to the Alliance later, we can use treatment as an excuse to enter and absorb their energy."
Hearing that, Jong Sobin felt she absolutely had to visit the Murim Alliance.
"When I was with the Inspection Unit, I personally threw a few pyretic yin fiends from the Alliance into there, so I know them well."
As she listened to me, Jong Sobin suddenly realized a crucial problem remained.
"Fine, let's say the yin fiends have Solar Meridian bodies. But how do we get into a prison guarded by soldiers around the clock?"
"Follow me. Think you can walk a bit?"
"Yes. I can manage a little. Thanks to Scholar Cheon's excellent treatment."
It seemed like a sincere remark.
When we told the guards at the main gate we had business from the Nangong Family, they checked our identities and let us through.
"Huh?"
Jong Sobin kept catching her breath, baffled by my unpredictable actions.
"Isn't that the magistrate's quarters?"
"We have to ask the magistrate."
"Will he listen to us? We're not even officials."
Even she, sheltered from the world, knew that much.
I approached the guards.
"Halt! This is where the magistrate conducts his duties."
I went up to one of the two guards and said,
"I'm here from the Nangong Family."
At the mention of the Nangong Family, the guard straightened up sharply.
In Hefei, not just Anhui as a whole, the Nangong name outweighed any other authority.
"What business brings the Nangong Family here?"
I took a plaque from my bosom and handed it to the guard.
"Deliver this to the magistrate, and he'll understand."
As I passed the Family Head's signal token to the guard, he recognized its value and hurried into the magistrate's quarters.
Not long after, the magistrate came rushing out.
He must have been eating, as there were grains of rice stuck to his mouth.
"I've interrupted your meal, Magistrate."
"What brings you to this humble place?"
Even if he wasn't versed in the martial world, the magistrate knew well what the Nangong Family Head's signal token signified.
'He must be in disguise as a scholar for some reason. But I thought the Protectors were old fogeys— this one's awfully young.'
His suspicions were brief; he couldn't afford to slight the bearer of the Family Head's token.
"How did you come all the way here?"
"I have something to investigate from the main family, so I need to enter the prison briefly. It would be great if I could see the prisoners."
The magistrate flew into a rage on my behalf.
"Hah! One of those vermin prisoners must have caused trouble for the family. Of course, I'll help however I can."
Seeing prisoners in the jail was no big deal to refuse.
"The family will be grateful for your assistance."
At my words, even a magistrate bowed deeply.
Having the Nangong Family's protection in Anhui was an immense boon.
From afar, Jong Sobin watched the scholar and the magistrate, tilting her head repeatedly.
The magistrate's constant deference made it clear he treated the scholar as someone of high standing.
'That scholar definitely isn't ordinary. What magistrate fawns over a mere scholar like that?'
Given that he lived as a scholar despite his exceptional martial prowess, he felt like someone on a secret mission.
The scholar approached and said,
"Let's head to the prison."
Under the guard's guidance toward the prison, Jong Sobin followed silently behind him.
Kiiiik!
As the prison gate opened, a stench assaulted them.
"Ugh!"
Jong Sobin recoiled from the foul odor she'd never experienced before.
She'd smelled rotten flesh as a physician, but this was beyond human endurance.
Cheon Taesan, having visited the Murim Alliance's Thunder Prison a few times, was inured to such smells.
He even circulated spiritual energy to block his nostrils the moment the stench hit.
Jong Sobin, however, could only pinch her nose with her hand.
Cheon Taesan said to the guard,
"Tell me where the yin fiends are."
The guard pointed to a darker corner.
"We keep the yin fiends mostly in this section."
Five men huddled in two iron cages.
The prisoners wore shackles on their arms and legs.
The yin fiends received worse treatment than murderers.
"Can I go in and see the prisoners?"
The guard hesitated.
"How do we know what those fiends might do..."
"You may not have heard, but we're Nangong Family warriors."
"Ah. Then go right ahead."
The guard opened the cage door, and Cheon Taesan entered first.
Two lunged at him, but he swiftly struck their pressure points, dropping them.
He then checked their pulses, infusing spiritual energy.
"Just as I thought!"
Cheon Taesan smiled at Jong Sobin.
"This one's it."
He soon entered another cage, prompting one to shout,
"What do you intend to do with us? We're prisoners, but you can't treat us like this."
He looked refined, dressed properly—clearly from a wealthy family.
"Quiet."
"Do you know who I—"
Paak!
Cheon Taesan deliberately struck his blood point hard, knocking him out.
"Who else? A pyretic yin fiend. Prisoners sure love to yap."
He then checked the pulses of the three, assessing their constitutions.
"Oh ho!"
Two of the three had Solar Meridian bodies.
The one he'd hit had accumulated pyro-yang qi.
'With this much, he must have been quite the infamous yin fiend. A martial artist would've refined it into inner force, but civilians have to vent it as essence.'
The other had less than him but more than the one Jong Sobin was currently drawing from.
'This should suffice for years of activity without issue. Depending on her Ice Polar Meridian's severity, of course.'
Jong Sobin entered soon after and began absorbing pyro-yang qi from the ones Cheon Taesan indicated.
The guard stood spear at ready, poised to stab if the prisoners convulsed.
About half a shichen (30 minutes) later, Jong Sobin rose and nodded.
"All done."
Color returned to her pale, blood-drained face.
With her body's balance restored by the pyro-yang qi, she improved rapidly.
"We're good. Let's go."
As they exited the prison, the guard asked,
"What should I report to the magistrate?"
"Tell him we're indebted. And say we didn't find the prisoner we were after. Also, remember my face—we might return."
So Jong Sobin could come alone, Cheon Taesan gave advance notice.
"Understood. I'll relay that."
They left the magistrate's office and walked until Cheon Taesan knelt before the limping Jong Sobin.
"I'm fine. I've recovered a lot of energy."
"I'll carry you back to the safehouse. And be careful with that thigh artery. If it reopens, there's no fixing it."
Jong Sobin didn't argue and climbed onto the scholar's back.
"Thanks to you, Scholar, I've overcome a major crisis."
"Your lifespan's extended a bit. Make sure to absorb Solar Meridian energy at the Murim Alliance too. There should be plenty."
Jong Sobin shook her head.
'Mentioning lifespan means he's figured me out.'
She almost asked how much he knew but swallowed it.
It was a pointless question anyway.
So she posed a meaningful one.
"Why are you being so good to me?"
The Phantom Spirit Step relied on spiritual energy, not inner force, allowing conversation mid-leap.
But Cheon Taesan had no reply and just kept running.
"Cheon Yeoseol, was it?"
Jong Sobin wasn't asking for an answer.
She just needed to vent to herself.
"Cheon Yeoseol is the Ice Palace's last hope. Take good care of her. Truth is, I went to check on her once. I needed to see the Ice Sacred Body for myself."
Jong Sobin drew a breath and continued.
"Seeing her live like true siblings with Scholar Cheon, I couldn't even approach to greet her. It felt like I'd shatter her peace. Perhaps... perhaps..."
Jong Sobin trailed off.
Her duty as Little Palace Lord clashed with her maternal instincts.
'Perhaps living like that is what makes an Ice Sacred Body truly happy.'
Born and raised in the secluded North Sea Ice Palace as Little Palace Lord, Jong Sobin couldn't fathom why watching Cheon Yeoseol play freely, laugh brightly, and mingle without restraint hurt her heart so.
'Is it right to make her live like me?'
That time, she'd stood watching Cheon Yeoseol for a long while, lost in thought, before turning away.
"If Scholar Cheon ever uses the Ice Sacred Body for ill, I'll take her back anytime."
"Naturally."
Cheon Taesan continued, wanting to convey his exact intent.
"Parents don't gain the right to control their child's life and death just by giving birth. A child is an independent person in their own right. True parents respect their child's independent will."
It felt like a lecture, so Jong Sobin chuckled softly.
'Huh? He can talk this naturally even while using lightness skill?'
Amazed by his abilities yet reassured,
'Someone this capable will protect the Ice Sacred Body well. Better than with us, at least.'
Upon reaching the safehouse, it bustled with people.
The White Tiger Unit warriors had taken over. Their leader, Wang Cheong, approached me.
Seeing me, he flashed a friendly smile. His thick brows and prominent cheekbones gave a stubborn impression.
I introduced Jong Sobin first.
"This is the Little Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace. I'm Cheon Taesan, on rotation from the Nangong Family."
"I'm Wang Cheong, leader of the White Tiger Unit."
Wang Cheong spoke in a gruff voice.
I responded politely.
"I've long heard of Leader Wang's reputation while serving in the Murim Alliance. It's an honor to meet you."
This was the courtesy expected when greeting high-ranking Alliance figures.
Wang Cheong grinned at me.
His affable gaze made me inwardly tilt my head.
Murim Alliance elites rarely showed me goodwill.
A mere scholar exposing their corruption had made me infamous there.
"I heard the full story from Hwayeong. Requesting protection from our unit was the right call."
I glanced at the girl Yeowon clinging to Hwayeong.
Hwayeong merely nodded at me, saying nothing more.
From that, I assumed neither the White Tiger Unit nor Inspection Unit knew of the Ice Sacred Body.
Curious how much they knew, I probed casually.
"I heard Demonic Cult and Blood Cult thugs are rampaging in Hefei."
"They're greedy for the North Sea Ice Palace's Little Palace Lord. They think seizing her grants them the palace. We just got intel that Ice Palace elders have entered Hefei too."
Wang Cheong addressed Jong Sobin.
"With that in mind, Little Palace Lord, please refrain from acting alone from now on. This is no longer just North Sea Ice Palace business—it's the Murim Alliance's affair."
If the Blood Cult or Demonic Cult took the North Sea Ice Palace, a pillar of the martial world would crumble. The Alliance couldn't stand idle.