Chapter 63
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: I Saw Hope
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Chapter 63.
Its all my fault.
Having finished his lament, Han Taemun met my gaze through the iron bars with a calm expression. The story he had unfolded was akin to an epic poem.
It began with something close to resentment.
Then it slowly sank into sorrow.
By the end, once the tangled emotions had settled, his reaction was
His reaction felt almost detached. Or perhaps like someone who had attained a sense of transcendence.
I felt so foolish and stupid for speaking out, wondering what I should say. I once prided myself on being the head of the Three Outer Palaces and the master of the North Sea Ice Palace, a ruler who had brought about an era of peace and prosperity. But as I told my story, I realized the ones who had been wronged were not me, but others.
I had a feeling I knew who those others were.
The countless people of the North Sea. I was the one who made the already cold winds of the North Sea even harsher.
Muttering in self-deprecation, he said he was unworthy of the title of Palace Master.
I rejected the hand extended from the Central Plains and paid no heed to the words of the other two palaces. So
Worn down by all manner of hardship, he had become frail and weak.
I listened intently to the story of this elderly man, who was a far cry from the dignified image of a Palace Master.
What right do I have to speak of their peace and stability, whatever it may be? What am I to them?
Watching the old man, who called even this late realization a self-pitying grumble and was ashamed of it, I
To give up is the truly shameless act. If you failed to fulfill your duties as the Palace Master, isn't that a dereliction of duty? If you couldn't complete your role and things ended up like this, you must use all your strength to set them right. No excuses or justifications.
I said what was on my mind. My eyes were on the former Palace Master, Han Taemun, but the person reflected within them was someone else.
It was none other than the Head of the Namgung family, my father, Namgung Mubaek. I wished that he, a man so stubborn and convinced of his own path, would think like Han Taemun, just once. I hoped he would not be buried under the name of Namgung but would become a true ruler who cared for the peace of the family, the stability of the people, and the well-being of Anhui.
To me, Namgung Mubaek was one who had failed in his role. He had let my mother from my past life die, and he had failed to properly care for the family as it grew sick, causing the Namgung household to break down. He encouraged competition and was swayed by those who flaunted their backgrounds.
And so, looking at Han Taemun, I came to a realization.
I will help you.
I would help this old man before me.
Help a ruler who had awakened to the reality of the present rather than the glory of the past.
And after seeing with my own two eyes the true era of peace he would create
I would prove that the path I walk is the right one.
!
At my words, Han Taemuns eyes widened.
After a long conversation with Palace Master Han, my uncle and I left the Ice Cell.
My immediate disappearance will cause chaos. We must devise a plan.
Is it because of the one beside you?
He is my only remaining blood relative. If this child disappears the Ice Palace will face another crisis.
Hearing that Palace Master Hans immediate disappearance would cause an uproar from the two Daoists of Mount Qingcheng and the acting Palace Master, I knew we needed time.
At the same time, if someone so extreme as to brutally torture the Palace Masters son right in front of him was playing the role of master here, I thought it was entirely plausible.
Heavenly Ice Sword Bu Pyeong, could you find him and bring him to me? If he is not here
Heavenly Ice Sword Bu Pyeong.
The strongest warrior in the North Sea Ice Palace after Han Taemun and Han Ilsang.
Beyond mere strength, the Heavenly Ice Sword Unit he led was the long-standing pride and joy of the North Sea Ice Palace. The unit, which began with the history of the Ice Palace itself, was founded on the basis of absolute loyalty to the Palace Master.
As I moved to find Bu Pyeong, he asked me.
Whats your plan?
My uncle slowly opened his mouth.
What do you mean? If I said Id help, Ill help. A man doesnt go back on his word.
Dont be foolish.
My uncle shot me a reproachful look.
The North Sea Ice Palace is a sect that rivals any of the great sects in scale. Even if you manage to break Palace Master Han out of here, do you really think you can restore him to power? Its like throwing an egg at a rock.
So youre saying we should just find the hundred-year ginseng and leave?
My uncle met my gaze and let out a sigh.
Im saying this act of helping you speak of shouldnt go too far.
What did you see here, Uncle?
What do you mean, what did I see?
What did he see?
Seeing my uncles lips move uncertainly, I raised the corners of my mouth.
Uncle.
What is it?
I want you to see the world without prejudice.
Its true I have my biases, but I never hold prejudice
Thats not what I mean.
I just dont want my uncle, as my guardian, to narrow his view of the world simply to illuminate my own.
I saw hope.
Hope?
When I looked at the bigger picture, without a narrow perspective, I called it hope.
The people of the North Sea call the North Sea Ice Palace their lords. Though they may not be the lords they once knew, they havent forgotten the past.
And the man the people of the North Sea call their Palace Master, or more accurately, the former Palace Master, is aware of his shortcomings and feels a need to atone to his people.
This is the most ideal and hopeful of places.
It could always go back. The place known as the North Sea Ice Palace.
It could once again become a place where a warm breeze blows even amidst the harsh cold.
Of course, to achieve that, one thing was absolutely necessary.
Provided, of course, that the root of the problem is eliminated.
Tsk.
The root of the problem.
The Daoists from Mount Qingcheng who had learned the Heart-Crushing Palm, two of them no less, had reduced the North Sea Ice Palace to this state in less than two years.
You heard it from Palace Master Han. To make it like this in such a short time means a drastic change occurred.
And what of it?
I clicked my tongue, tsk. I glanced at my uncles red cheeks and sensed his intoxication.
Sober up a bit before we talk. You complained about the cold and used it as an excuse to drink yourself silly. Looks like your head isnt working.
Tch.
Paaat. The alcohol dissipated, and my uncles flushed face instantly returned to normal.
Anyway, speak.
A drastic change, even for a Vice Palace Master like Han Ilsang. And even if he used the excuse of rebellion to persuade the people of the Ice Palace
There were definitely holes in the story. There must have been more than a few who followed Han Taemun, the former Palace Master of the North Sea Ice Palace.
How many people prefer preservation over change, and existence over preservation? Its impossible that everyone agreed.
Youre saying there must be many who are dissatisfied, many who believe the past was better than the present?
Bu Pyeong of the Heavenly Ice Sword Unit is likely one of them.
Not only that, but I believed not many would wish for the North Sea Ice Palace to remain this desolate and dark.
He wasnt in the Ice Cell, was he?
Doesnt that mean hed be more of a threat if kept in the same space as Palace Master Han? Besides, didnt the Palace Master say it earlier? Han Ilsang didnt target him from the start; he went after his followers first.
Thats why finding Bu Pyeong of the Heavenly Ice Sword Unit, a follower of Han Taemun, would make things easier. He was said to have the highest loyalty. At the same time, the Heavenly Ice Sword Unit he directly commanded was said to be the most powerful martial group within the North Sea Ice Palace.
But assuming the worst-case scenario.
What if they killed Bu Pyeong and gave command of the Heavenly Ice Sword Unit to someone else?
That was the situation my uncle anticipated, but I just shrugged.
That would be even easier. A position seized in such a way would hardly be secure.
If it wasn't a position earned through skill and recognition.
If it was a position obtained by fawning over power and flattering authority.
It would be filled with those who harbored resentment. Such is the power of long-standing tradition.
It will proceed more smoothly, so dont worry.
From the moment I awoke in the body of Namgung Ban, the Great Young Lord.
The Sword Family Assembly, the Green Forest front in Shandong, and now the events here in the North Sea.
Nothing had ever been easy.
I was simply doing the best I could.
Oh, Lord
Im dying
Please, just kill me
Wails echoed from all around.
Whipped for a full day, there wasn't a single part of their bodies left unscathed. Sorting poisonous herbs all day long, their fingertips were so frozen they were useless.
Gwan Saek was one of them. Though born in the harsh cold and living a hand-to-mouth existence, he had never once forgotten his pride as a woodsman.
But to think his life would end here, in an ice mountain within an Ice Palace that was even more frozen than the dead of winter.
He trembled with rage.
Did you see that Mr. Jo? Sucking up to those palace lords, ordering us around like hes some kind of nobleman.
Hes living the high life! It was disgusting to watch!
How could he? Weve known each other for years!
One after another, they wailed, then cursed Mr. Jo, who had attached himself to the palace lords.
Thud, thud.
Someone walked along the ice path and pushed their way into the space where they were staying.
Is everyone all right?
It was the very man they had just accused of abandoning all ties to save his own skin.
It was Mr. Jo.
You crazy bastard! What are you doing here?!
Get out of here, now!
You disgrace to the North Sea!
Just as the woodsmen and herb gatherers were grinding their teeth and about to approach Mr. Jo menacingly
Dont.
A man, his body covered in bruises, dragged himself forward and stood between them. It was Gwan Saek.
Gwan Saek! What are you doing?!
You know how we feel better than anyone! Dont stop us!
Seeing the resentment simmering in every word they spat out, Gwan Saek let out a sigh.
Mr. Jo isnt siding with them. Hes just trying to save us.
At those words, the woodsmen and herb gatherers asked what he meant. Gwan Saek turned his head to look at Mr. Jos gaunt face.
The old man has already found what theyre looking for.
What theyre looking for?
The woodsmen all looked at Mr. Jo.
The ten-thousand-year ginseng. Thats what they want.