Chapter 353
Chapter 353
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 353
Chapter Title: Gloriously and Silently
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the far northern lands, there exists a peculiar custom known as the "Wind-Facing."
The rite itself is exceedingly simple. About a month after a child's birth, the infant, tightly swaddled in swaddling clothes, is placed in a basket and set upon the roof. For an entire day.
The North is a land of bitter cold.
Not the feeble chill that southerners imagine can be warded off by merely pulling one's collar tight.
It is a cold that blackens fingers and toes until they fall away.
A cold that even adults struggle to endure—how could a newborn possibly withstand it with ease?
Some children survive the cold, but far more are carried off by the northern winds to parts unknown.
Whenever an especially fierce gale blew, parents who had lost their child to the Wind-Facing would weep with guilt.
As times changed and years passed, fewer and fewer parents placed their babies on the roof.
Yet the custom of Wind-Facing never fully vanished.
Even though the revered Ice Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace issued edicts banning it multiple times.
There were many reasons for this.
A desperate measure in the harsh northern lands to reduce the mouths to feed by even one.
A superstition that those who survived Wind-Facing would live long lives free of illness.
But the true reason Wind-Facing persisted to this day was to test a child's martial aptitude.
A child who endured the chill well must possess strong yin energy, and thus would excel in ice arts—or so the harsh belief went.
And that belief held true to a significant degree.
Of course, it would have been ideal to teach martial arts to every child without the rite and assess their aptitude that way. But the northern people were not so affluent.
Even well-off families, pooling all their wealth, could barely afford to train one child in martial arts. To maximize the odds of success, Wind-Facing was necessary.
Like countless masters of ice arts, the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord had survived Wind-Facing as a child.
He had lost two fingers on his left hand to frostbite but had kept his life.
That was enough. He survived, learned martial arts, and with his exceptional talent, claimed a pavilion lord's seat in the North Sea Ice Palace.
One could say Wind-Facing had changed his life for the better, all things considered.
Proud of the hardship he had overcome himself, the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord could not help but burst into laughter the first time he laid eyes on Baek Hyang-ah.
A woman from the warm southern lands where even autumn ponds did not freeze.
A woman from distant realms where the lineage of ice arts had not even taken root.
For such a woman to possess talent greater than anyone in the Ice Palace—it was cruel, yet utterly ridiculous.
However, the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord's interest in Baek Hyang-ah ended there. Whether her talent from the south shone or not had nothing to do with his life.
It remained so even when she was adopted as the Ice Palace Lord's foster daughter, when she received personal instruction in martial arts from the Ice Palace Lord and Great Wall Pavilion Lord, and even when the Eternal Ice Crystal might become hers.
But on the day his long-awaited son lost his way in a blizzard and died, the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord could think of nothing but Baek Hyang-ah's face.
If only his son had endured the cold a little better, he might have lived.
Perhaps that wench had stolen something that should have been his son's.
Perhaps his son died because that wench took it.
He knew it was nonsense, yet the thought would not leave his mind.
Once it took root, the sight of Baek Hyang-ah, stumbling through northern speech while diligently training in martial arts, became utterly hateful.
He could tolerate northerners lacking such talent, but he could not abide an outsider unconnected to the North possessing it.
Then one day, the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord had a horrific yet ingenious idea.
An outsider had taken the talent that should belong to northerners—so was it not right for a northerner to reclaim it on their behalf?
He skillfully persuaded the Great Wall Pavilion Lord to join the plan. It was possible because the Great Wall Pavilion Lord shared a similar pain.
And on the day all preparations were complete, the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord and Great Wall Pavilion Lord secretly gathered the Eternal Ice Crystal and several vital manuals, then sought out Baek Hyang-ah.
"Baek Sojeo."
"Yes?"
"The Palace Lord has commanded that you depart for a secluded retreat, focus on training, absorb the Eternal Ice Crystal, and then return."
It was late at night.
But when the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord and Great Wall Pavilion Lord showed her the Eternal Ice Crystal and the manuals, Baek Hyang-ah believed their tale without question.
"Ah—alright."
Baek Hyang-ah was clumsy with the northern tongue.
The only people she conversed with were the Ice Palace Lord, his blood kin, and a handful of pavilion and hall lords.
Knowing little and innately gentle, she never doubted others' words and followed them faithfully—deceiving her was child's play.
The Great Wall Pavilion Lord and Minor Frost Pavilion Lord led Baek Hyang-ah secretly out of the Ice Palace, beyond the city gates.
They headed far to the west. Baek Hyang-ah followed diligently, without suspicion.
The Minor Frost Pavilion Lord thought as he watched her.
'With my level of attainment, I cannot directly assimilate the Eternal Ice Crystal. But killing Baek Hyang-ah and taking the yin energy she has refined—that much I can manage.'
It did not seem inferior to taking the Eternal Ice Crystal directly. Was not Baek Hyang-ah herself a living elixir? Adding a peerless elixir to another peerless elixir would yield tremendous effects.
Now, Baek Hyang-ah no longer irked him.
After a fortnight of travel, the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord and Great Wall Pavilion Lord found an uninhabited cave.
No sooner had they settled inside than the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord offered the Eternal Ice Crystal to Baek Hyang-ah.
"The Great Wall Pavilion Lord and I will stand guard. Please assimilate the Ice Crystal."
But Baek Hyang-ah was no fool; she knew that was impossible.
Stammering, she replied.
"Yes? No. Not yet. It's dangerous."
The Eternal Ice Crystal was no ordinary elixir.
Even after pushing one's ice arts to the limit, it was uncertain if one could endure it.
Taking it now would surely prevent full absorption and cause severe issues.
Yet that was precisely the outcome the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord desired most.
If she fully—or mostly—refined the Ice Crystal's yin energy and then died on her own, would it not be convenient for both sides?
The Minor Frost Pavilion Lord crouched before Baek Hyang-ah, staring intently at her.
Then, in a tone unlike before, he spoke.
"Dangerous? What does that have to do with me?"
Baek Hyang-ah's aptitude was extraordinary, but the Kongtong Sect arts she had learned could not overcome even the Great Wall Pavilion Lord, let alone him.
Her newly begun ice arts were even weaker than her Kongtong Sect techniques.
The Minor Frost Pavilion Lord thrust the Eternal Ice Crystal at her again.
"Choose. Take it, or die."
Baek Hyang-ah had no choice.
Tearfully, she swallowed the Eternal Ice Crystal and assumed the cross-legged position to avoid death.
Soon, the cave filled with a chill too intense to bear.
The Great Wall Pavilion Lord and Minor Frost Pavilion Lord fled the cold outside and waited for her to die. Everything was going smoothly.
The problem arose afterward.
Baek Hyang-ah, having swallowed the Eternal Ice Crystal, miraculously survived and escaped.
Even this was not a major issue. She had not become a master capable of subduing them.
Vast yin energy coursed through her, but without knowing how to wield it—like a child holding a sharp sword. The pavilion lords pursued her calmly.
But from then on, things truly began to unravel.
Baek Hyang-ah encountered some Demonic Cult transcendent expert called Flame Blaze or whatever and departed with a group of warriors for the Demonic Cult.
Storming the Demonic Cult to kill her was impossible. The Minor Frost Pavilion Lord and Great Wall Pavilion Lord abandoned everything.
But soon, hope revived. Baek Hyang-ah reappeared.
However, in that short time, she had mastered tremendous martial arts, reaching a state beyond their control. Yet it seemed precariously unstable at a glance.
A madwoman could not live to old age, no matter her power.
The two pavilion lords trailed her for months, biding their time.
Baek Hyang-ah knew they were after her, but the lords were not foolish enough to get caught.
One day amid this delicate chase, the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord and Great Wall Pavilion Lord encountered Dang Mujin's group.
*
The Minor Frost Pavilion Lord's tale concluded.
Unlike usual, no one offered commentary.
Only quiet sighs echoed here and there.
Hyeon-gong looked at Seolhwa. Her expression was profoundly conflicted.
Hyeon-gong asked Dang Mujin.
"What will you do now?"
"We finish what we started. We can't recover the Eternal Ice Crystal, but let's retrieve the manuals."
Dang Mujin dragged the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord along, backtracking the path he had fled.
The Minor Frost Pavilion Lord offered no resistance, even as he was hauled toward death. He now knew how great a mercy it was to die.
And at last, Dang Mujin found Baek Hyang-ah.
She sat calmly amid shredded and shattered flesh.
The brutality was evident, yet Dang Mujin could somewhat understand her rage.
Dang Mujin and Baek Hyang-ah's eyes met.
Countless emotions flickered in her gaze.
Resentment. Old memories and longing. A flicker of gratitude. Then fury anew.
Baek Hyang-ah's eyes turned to the Minor Frost Pavilion Lord.
Dang Mujin tossed him toward her.
The Minor Frost Pavilion Lord neither fled nor wailed. Instead, he smirked and spat.
"Devilish wench."
He spat at Baek Hyang-ah.
She blocked the spittle with her right hand, then began tearing him apart with her bare hand, pale as if tinged blue.
His torn body gradually froze, until "shattering" better described it.
The group watched to gauge her power. But they could not discern it.
She seemed like a first-rate warrior, yet also peak-level.
Closer inspection revealed some aspects touching transcendent realm, others as if stepping into mythical heights beyond.
Her attainment defied conventional assessment.
Yet Dang Mujin and his friends thought: if they combined forces, they could probably subdue her.
Finally, the frozen chunks of the Great Wall Pavilion Lord and Minor Frost Pavilion Lord mingled in chaos.
No telling whose remains were whose.
Baek Hyang-ah drew a deep breath and looked at Dang Mujin.
A subtle tension hung between Dang Mujin and Baek Hyang-ah.
No malice toward each other, yet deep grudges.
Dang Mujin spoke first.
"Long time no see."
"Indeed."
Baek Hyang-ah nodded.
Dang Mujin had thought her reason lost like Tu Hui's, but surprisingly, her mind seemed clear.
Baek Hyang-ah spoke.
"I know why you're here."
"Yes. To retrieve the manuals and Eternal Ice Crystal. We can't get the Ice Crystal back... but Seolhwa knows your story, so we won't hold you accountable. No one will pursue you anymore."
"Seolhwa...? Ah."
Baek Hyang-ah quickly grasped who that was.
But Seolhwa could not meet her eyes properly, inwardly sorry for having misunderstood her all this time.
Dang Mujin said.
"Return the manuals. Then go wherever you wish—north, homeland, anywhere—and live as you desire. Your twisted fate ends here. Find peace now."
Baek Hyang-ah listened silently for a long while, then shook her head.
"No. That won't do."
"Why? Some problem?"
"Suffering and hardship don't come for specific reasons. You know that better than most, don't you?"
Baek Hyang-ah crouched down.
"I was born with blocked meridians, facing death. It happened without my say."
"Then one day, my meridians were healed. Again, without my say."
"Following Father's advice, I headed to the Kongtong Sect. Without my say. But it also meant some distance from Father, so I saw it as good. I wanted to learn martial arts, revive the family, and see Father smile proudly."
"Then I got word Father had passed. Without my say."
"Still, I steeled myself and trained. Not as Baek Hyang-ah of the JeWon Baek Clan, but as Daoist Baek Hyang-ah of Kongtong. But Master Muryang passed too. Unrelated to my will."
A chill crept into Baek Hyang-ah's words. Yet Dang Mujin could not interrupt.
"Wandering aimlessly north, I reached the North Sea Ice Palace. Precious bonds formed. With some peace of mind at last, I realized anew you harbored no malice. But once more, without my say, I left the Ice Palace. Life is like that."
"In the cave, desperately absorbing the Eternal Ice Crystal, I wondered why my life was this way. Then it hit me. This wasn't my life."
"...Not your life?"
"Nothing decided by my will, nothing flowing as I wished. All happened beyond my hands. How could that be my life?"
Baek Hyang-ah stood and nudged the scattered flesh.
"Revenge on the Great Wall and Minor Frost Pavilion Lords? Not my doing. Like a butcher tossing scraps to stray dogs, you gifted me vengeance. Each time, I tried thinking positively. But now I have no faith left to wag my tail."
Dang Mujin said.
"No. From now on, it'll be different. You have power now—no one can sway you."
"Power? Fine. But it's power with a price."
"...Price?"
"The chill dwelling in me isn't something a human can suppress. But when my life hung by a thread, the Demonic Cult Lord taught me a way: steal others' yang energy with their lives to sustain my wretched existence. I must endlessly kill to survive. Do you think I'd wish that?"
Dang Mujin faltered, unable to reply immediately. Seeing this, Baek Hyang-ah smiled brightly.
"See? The world is cruel."
Baek Hyang-ah turned to Seolhwa.
"You came for the manuals and elixir?"
"...Yes."
"Good. As requested, I'll return the manuals. The elixir too."
They knew her nature was kind, but not that she'd comply so readily.
A smile bloomed on Seolhwa's face.
But soon, she noticed something odd.
"...Elixir? Hadn't you already absorbed the Eternal Ice Crystal?"
"Of course I can't return the Ice Crystal. But you can receive an elixir in its place."
"What elixir...?"
Seolhwa still did not understand, but Dang Mujin's group grasped the implication.
Baek Hyang-ah smiled innocently. It was no child's smile, but that of someone twisted and mad.
Baek Hyang-ah said.
"Until now, everything was decided beyond my will, beyond my hands. But this once, I'll decide myself. Because this is my life."
No need to hesitate. No hesitation allowed. She had to act swiftly before others interfered.
Thus, Baek Hyang-ah immediately circulated her inner power.
Immense yin energy filled her body.
She guided it not along natural flow, but in reverse. Violently, yet meticulously.
Agonizing pain surged. Yet amid it, she felt a faint sensation.
Crack.
A fine crack formed in her dantian, and true essence began leaking out.
Any other would lose control of the flow.
But Baek Hyang-ah used her overwhelming yin energy to partially seal the dantian crack—perhaps freezing it shut.
The result was the same. Less true essence leaked from her dantian.
Of course, this did not mean she could use true essence and survive.
But unlike others who would die in half a day, she could last a fortnight.
With limited true essence drawn forth, incomparable frigid yin erupted, enveloping her.
Moisture in the air froze, sparkling around her like stars.
The sight was bizarre yet beautiful.
Baek Hyang-ah turned north.
But after a few steps, her foot caught on something. The Minor Frost Pavilion Lord's head.
His final words echoed. Devilish wench.
Baek Hyang-ah said.
"...The elixir bearing the manuals will return north as a devil. What that devil does—no one knows. But it will be purely the devil's will. How's that? Sufficient?"
Baek Hyang-ah smiled at Dang Mujin's group and Seolhwa.
The most dangerous smile Dang Mujin had ever seen.
Baek Hyang-ah said.
"Stop me if you can."
With that, the snow-white devil advanced north.
Gloriously. Yet silently.