Chapter 74: The New Recruit
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: The New Recruit
“Can we join forces with Mount Hua to pass down the legacy of the Zhongnan Sect?”
Mount Hua was already bringing up the very topic Hyeok Ryeon-yeom had intended to discuss.
They even shared the secret history regarding Yu So-dong.
It was a deeply worldly tale, filled with resentment and fury—the most human story a True Person could tell.
It also explained how the current Mount Hua Sect came to be.
-Heh, you’re in luck.
-To think an Orthodox sect would reach out to the Ice Palace first. A lot of time must have passed indeed.
The Demon Empress seemed unable to fully grasp the idea of joining forces with Mount Hua.
“That was something we also wished to ask of Mount Hua.”
The Ice Palace could not speak directly about their current situation either.
Therefore, they first had to lay out the conditions each side could offer and judge whether they could be met.
“Is that true?”
“On one condition.”
‘Just one.’
There was one more thing to ask of Mount Hua.
“Elder Baek.”
“Yes?”
“The Command Plaque.”
At the mention of the Command Plaque, Hyeoncheon Jinin’s eyes flashed.
“I want Elder Baek to stake his life on this, and for Mount Hua to do its utmost to change the perception of the Ice Palace within the Central Plains.”
Elder Baek stepped forward instinctively to receive the plaque.
“If you grant this request, the Ice Palace will assist Mount Hua in keeping Zhongnan in check.”
Seol Yerin’s voice resonated around Baek San.
“Then, would you tell us what we need to do?”
Crackle—
“What I’m most confident in is freezing things.”
Hyeoncheon Jinin nodded, seeing Seol Yerin’s overflowing confidence.
At the same time Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s group was meeting with the Sect Leader of Mount Hua...
Yu So-dong, the excommunicated disciple of Mount Hua, had slipped away from the scene and sat slumped on the ground.
The painful story of his master’s death.
The story of his life after being driven away by the True Person.
His mind was a mess.
‘It’s impossible to revive the inn.’
He had managed to run the inn with help after his master died, but only lethargy remained.
However, to think that the Mount Hua his master loved so dearly was in such a state.
He snapped out of his daze.
Money. He had to make money.
Since he was someone who could no longer make the scent of plum blossoms bloom, he had to be more desperate than anyone else to gather the funds to embroider Mount Hua with flowers.
‘I thought I was the only one who could raise the failing Mount Hua.’
He had been the top disciple of the most prestigious scholar-Taoist, yet he couldn’t save his master, nor could he utilize his talents for the sake of Mount Hua.
When he was being trained, his master always told him that if he ever had to descend the mountain, he should go into business. He said Yu So-dong had the head for it.
Yet, he had spent a long time in a secluded place, merely guarding a quiet inn.
He shouldn’t have done that.
“I heard you came back after running your inn into the ground?”
A crowd of Mount Hua’s third-generation disciples swarmed into the quarters where Yu So-dong was staying.
“Sahyungs.”
“Who’s your Sahyung?”
He thought they might have changed, but upon returning to Mount Hua, Sahyung Un-sang and the others seemed to have reverted to their old selves.
“Say whatever you want. I’m too tired to talk anymore.”
Leaving those words behind, Yu So-dong walked outside.
“You—you brat!”
Yu So-dong began to walk aimlessly.
It clearly felt like he had returned home, yet now it felt like someone else’s house.
Just then.
“If we leave Mount Hua, going straight to Hubei is the fastest way!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to go through Sichuan?”
“To see Dongting Lake, we have to go through Hubei and down to Hunan!”
He spotted the Ice Palace guards gathered together.
“What are you all doing here?”
“Oh, hello.”
It was Weizhi Young, Baek Mu-yong, and Tae Un-seo, who were in the middle of a conversation.
“We were discussing our next itinerary.”
“What kind of itinerary is it?”
“We were able to stop by Mount Hua thanks to the Elder’s invitation, but we’re actually out on a sightseeing trip. The Young Palace Lord said she wanted to see Dongting Lake.”
“Then wouldn’t the path through Hubei down to Hunan be best?”
“See!”
Weizhi Young, feeling emboldened by Yu So-dong’s support, put her hands on her hips.
Baek Mu-yong muttered as if he were disappointed.
“Ahem, I thought going through Sichuan might be okay too.”
“If you wanted to eat Sichuan cuisine, I’ll cook it for you.”
When Tae Un-seo chimed in, Baek Mu-yong looked troubled.
“Ah, no. I think going through Hubei is just fine.”
“Sightseeing… I’m envious. Moving such a large group must cost a fortune in travel expenses. Is the Ice Palace wealthy?”
“Pardon?”
At Yu So-dong’s question, Weizhi Young looked around.
“This is a secret.”
“Hmm?”
“Our Young Master is very rich.”
“Rich…? Not the Young Palace Lord?”
“Yes.”
“Weizhi Young, one shouldn’t brag about money.”
“Oops.”
At Baek Mu-yong’s rebuke, Weizhi Young shut her mouth.
“Please act as if you didn’t hear that just now.”
Yu So-dong pondered for a moment, then looked at Tae Un-seo, who was sharpening a kitchen knife.
“Is that young hero a chef, by any chance?”
“That’s right. Since we’re traveling, there are many occasions where we have to cook our own meals.”
“And you, Young Lady?”
“I was originally the Young Master’s maid.”
Yu So-dong had witnessed all three of them performing martial arts.
A former maid who was skilled with daggers.
A guard who could slice enemies with a kitchen knife and cook with it too.
And a man with a physique that looked like he could shield the Young Palace Lord with his own body.
Furthermore...
‘The bald Deputy Squad Leader was a master of stealth.’
After a brief moment of deliberation, Yu So-dong spoke up.
“By any chance, do you need a waiter who’s good at cleaning, laundry, and other miscellaneous tasks?”
“Pardon?”
At Yu So-dong’s words, the three who had been listening silently widened their eyes in shock.
While Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s group was talking with the Sect Leader at Mount Hua...
Mount Zhongnan, Shaanxi Province.
Jeon Si-hwan, the Sect Leader of the Zhongnan Sect, realized that Elder Byeok Ra-jung, who had gone to seize Yulin City, had been out of contact for several days.
And then...
Flutter—
A carrier pigeon flew in.
Jeon Si-hwan’s expression hardened as he checked the message.
“…Annihilated?”
It made no sense. He had judged that Mount Hua didn’t have that kind of strength left, so he continued reading the message.
“Ah.”
As expected.
“The Ice Palace.”
The report said they had found disciples who had been turned into ice statues.
It was news that they had been defeated by the North Sea Ice Palace.
The inn was also half-destroyed.
They hadn’t caught Mount Hua, but they had harvested something else instead.
“The Ice Palace has infiltrated Shaanxi.”
The moment this fact reached the Martial Alliance, Shaanxi would turn into a strategic stronghold, and they would receive various forms of support from the Alliance.
“Right now, we’re in a position where we need even that support.”
They had funneled too much of the sect’s funds into the Alliance, fearing that the Great War of Good and Evil against the League of Four Tyrants might break out.
As a result, the sect members living within the Alliance lived in luxury, but the sects that weren’t had to tighten their belts.
“Wait.”
Thinking about it, if he played his cards right, he could make the Zhongnan Sect the sole hegemon of Shaanxi.
The fact that the Zhongnan elders and their men were caught raiding the Yulin Inn meant they had to consider the reverse scenario as well.
“It’s a race to see who attacks the other first. Chief Officer!”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
“Dispatch our warriors to Mount Hua immediately!”
“Pardon? To Mount Hua?”
“It’s war! We must frame it so that the Ice Palace joined forces with Mount Hua to strike Zhongnan!”
The Zhongnan Sect began to move busily.
The conversation had gone smoothly.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, Seol Yerin, Cheon Deung-jin, and the Divine Physician discussed Zhongnan a bit more before leaving the Sect Leader’s office.
“It seems we’ve strayed from our original purpose of sightseeing.”
“I support the Third Young Master’s opinion. We’re on our way to Nanman anyway, so wouldn’t it be good to make some sects friendly to the Ice Palace?”
“I didn’t mention Potala Palace because I thought it might be too much.”
“You did well. There’s no need to let them know that the Outland martial world is penetrating deep into the Central Plains.”
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, who had been listening to the two, spoke up.
“I think there are pros and cons. We can’t say Mount Hua has completely turned to our side because of this; in the end, Mount Hua is a sect that represents the Jianghu.”
“That’s true.”
“They’ll discard us whenever they have a justification. And the fact that we’ve arrived in Shaanxi will now reach the Martial Alliance as well.”
The risks had certainly increased.
If rumors spread that the Young Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace was touring the Jianghu, there was a possibility that those with grudges against the Ice Palace and those curious to see her would flock to them.
“Even so, you thought this method was the safest, didn’t you, Captain?”
“Of course. We’ll be traveling through more areas where Orthodox sects are located, and now we can use Mount Hua’s name as leverage.”
If they were to travel without hiding their identities and do so with dignity, they needed to establish many friendly sects.
“Are we… completely ostracizing Zhongnan?”
“I believe we’ve already crossed a point of no return.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“Where did the Little Snow Unit go?”
At Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s question...
“Over there.”
Eun-bin, who had been hiding, revealed himself.
Eun-bin was guarding the Young Palace Lord, Seol Yerin, as if he were her personal bodyguard.
“Lead the way. I think we need to discuss our future schedule.”
“Captain. However, an unusual situation has arisen.”
“An unusual situation?”
As they moved following Eun-bin’s report, they found Yu So-dong with the Little Snow Unit.
“Why is the owner of the Yulin Inn here?”
“Well…”
“Greetings, Young Palace Lord. I am Yu So-dong, an excommunicated disciple of Mount Hua.”
“Oh, yes.”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion at the sight of Yu So-dong suddenly introducing himself to the Young Palace Lord.
“I wish to enlist in the Little Snow Unit.”
“……Pardon?”
Naturally, Seol Yerin’s gaze turned toward Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom turned his gaze toward Weizhi Young.
“Um… Young Palace Lord. By any chance, do you need someone who’s good at cleaning and laundry?”
“…Do you want to enlist even though you know we’re from the Ice Palace?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
For what reason?
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s gaze shifted to Weizhi Young.
-I’m sorry. I told Young Hero Yu that the Young Master is very rich, and then…
After hearing Weizhi Young’s secret voice transmission, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom began to examine Yu So-dong.
Aside from the fact that he was a former Mount Hua disciple who could run an inn and was quick with calculations, he didn’t know much about Yu So-dong.
However...
‘If we take Yu So-dong with us, we can flaunt our friendship with Mount Hua.’
The problem was that the Little Snow Unit was a unit meant to guard the Young Palace Lord, Seol Yerin.
He couldn’t be accepted as a member just because he was good at cleaning and laundry.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom slowly approached Yu So-dong and began to examine his physical constitution.
“Hmm?”
Then, he discovered something peculiar.
“Is your internal energy circulation perhaps not free?”
“Pardon? How did you…?”
“…Do you often hear that you’re physically weak?”
“…That’s right.”
Why hadn’t he noticed this from the start?
‘Seniors, did you know?’
-Hmm?
-Are you asking if we knew the boy suffers from a severed meridian condition?
The Demon Empress seemed to have known.
‘Yes.’
-It’s the Three Yin Severed Meridians. I thought you had noticed. Heh, did you not know?
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom realized his powers of observation were still lacking.
After confirming that Yu So-dong had the Three Yin Severed Meridians, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom turned to Seol Yerin.
“May we hire this new recruit, Young Palace Lord?”
“That is up to your discretion, Captain.”
“Are—are you really letting me join?!”
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom smiled at the sight of Yu So-dong’s moved expression.
He hadn’t expected to encounter someone with the Three Yin Severed Meridians in a place like this.
He might not be able to perform martial arts properly right now, but...
‘Once his condition is treated, he will be reborn as an excellent recruit.’
A new talent to handle the cleaning and laundry for the Little Snow Unit had arrived.