Elixirs of Chill and Flame
Soon a servant came running to relay that Moyong Chwi-ryeo had said to go in first. It seemed Moyong Seol-ho was waiting.
At Namgung Seo-geon's words, "Now we can tour the family estate?", Moyong Seol-ho slowly nodded. For some reason, Ryeon felt a complicated swirl of emotions as she watched Namgung Seo-geon's retreating back. It didn't feel like a good idea to have asked sparrows to study alongside a stork.
"You've had a long journey—my thanks for your efforts."
Long ago, it had been called the greatest family under heaven, but now the Moyong Family Residence had stepped back from the central plains. Yet when the calamity of Blood Valley engulfed the entire murim world, the Moyong family had joined the fray, doing their utmost to sweep away the stench of blood. The feats left by the White Dragon Divine Sword, Moyong Chwi-ryeo, had been particularly remarkable, so it was only after exchanging greetings with those welcoming her that she could finally sit face-to-face with Danmok Cheon-gi.
"No need for such words when you've made me so welcome."
Moyong Chwi-ryeo took a sip of the freshly brewed, clear tea as she spoke, her gaze flicking briefly toward the area outside the door. Beyond this door, near the courtyard wall, she pictured the siblings standing there. Danmok Hyeon-yo and Danmok Hyeon-u.
"Hyeon-yo has truly suffered these past years..."
"......"
"Even with the canals, they don't reach all the way to the North Sea Binggung. The road is long and arduous. Especially when she had to return empty-handed time after time, yet still visit faithfully— that's no ordinary devotion."
Moyong Chwi-ryeo spoke those words, then lowered her eyes to savor the tea's aroma. Gentle steam wafted over her wrinkled face.
"I heard Hyeon-u had been possessed by a heart demon and secluded himself in training, but today he looks entirely different. So full of vitality and spirit— just like the boy he was back then."
"......The blessings are returning to the Danmok family."
At those words, Moyong Chwi-ryeo opened her eyes.
"It seems so. Would those blessings bypass Bingseol-eon? After all, that child is part of the Danmok family too."
"How old are you two, still calling each other 'child'?"
"That's what friends are like, aren't they? Forever like the children they were on the day they first met."
The Moyong family residence lay far to the north. And even farther north, in a remote land called beyond the passes, lay the North Sea Binggung. Moyong Chwi-ryeo recalled the day she first met young Bingseol-eon.
The spirited girl had bolted from Binggung out of sheer curiosity about the central plains murim. Having journeyed alone with just a single horse, her cheeks were crusted with dried sweat and grime, her sleeves blackened with dirt— yet her eyes were deep as a lake and clear as a spring.
—You're the young lady of the Moyong family?
—What? We don't call it palace lord. It's family head.
—Oh? Then serve me.
—What?
—You just run one little household? I'm going to rule Binggung someday!
After that, they spent some delightful times together. Swords and fists flew as they proved themselves to one another. Once their hair was disheveled and their clothes in tatters, they agreed to call each other not by titles like young head or young palace lord, but by name.
It was only later that Moyong Chwi-ryeo realized: those eyes must have been made from the Bingjeong, the treasure of North Sea Binggung.
"I still can't believe how old I've gotten. My heart remains as immature as ever, unsure how to live— yet everyone asks where I'm going next, and I have no answer."
Moyong Chwi-ryeo gave a small laugh as she spoke. Danmok Cheon-gi managed a strained smile in response, but his face soon hardened again. Watching his expression, Moyong Chwi-ryeo's own turned bittersweet.
"Some things in life can't be helped. Were you planning to spend the rest of your days blaming yourself in that shadow?"
"Her misfortune wasn't unavoidable. It's my responsibility. I brought her here, I..."
Danmok Cheon-gi spoke quickly but couldn't finish. Moyong Chwi-ryeo gazed at him steadily, then offered two palm-sized boxes she had brought with her.
"These are... from earlier..."
Opening one, Danmok Cheon-gi fell silent for a moment.
Just before, amid the welcomes at the Moyong residence, Moyong Chwi-ryeo had presented a large, flat box herself. They were small inner pills as gifts for the children attending Kyunghang Yunryeon for the first time. Ten neatly arranged miracle pills lay within— no small treasure. Honestly, they weren't the sort of thing to bring to a gathering of children.
"Those earlier ones were from our Moyong family, and these... are from North Sea Binggung. That child asked me to deliver them, so I was a bit late."
"What... is this..."
"I heard those two helped with Ryeon's Balsa Sesu, so she sent two pills. Surely not three?"
The last part was a joke, but the mood didn't lighten. Moyong Chwi-ryeo let out a short sigh and explained the spirit pills.
"They're spirit pills made by combining Sullyeon Fruit and the inner pill of a Solar Golden Carp. It must not have been easy to obtain a Solar Golden Carp's inner pill in the North Sea— please appreciate the sincerity behind it."
Sullyeon Fruit referred to the rare red fruit of the lotus that bloomed only in cold places. And the Solar Golden Carp was the most special among fire carps that lived in hot waters. Unlike ordinary fire carps, whose bodies held yang energy but inner pills held yin, the Solar Golden Carp was pure yang in both body and core. For someone from the North Sea to consume, Sullyeon Fruit alone might have sufficed— yet they had gone to the trouble of pairing it with a Solar Golden Carp.
"Why would she... give these..."
"Why? As a grandmother, it's only right to repay those who sacrificed for her granddaughter."
"She said that if you take the spirit pill and diligently cultivate your heart method, you'll soon recover what was lost."
Spirit pills like these couldn't be bought with mere money. They required perfect timing, luck, and fateful connections— obtaining two would have been no small feat.
"She originally planned to bring them herself..."
"......!"
Danmok Cheon-gi jerked his head up. Moyong Chwi-ryeo smiled bitterly.
"She's improved greatly, but that body of hers couldn't make the trip. It was still too soon, so she asked me to deliver them instead. Please accept them, Sword of No Moon."
Danmok Cheon-gi couldn't tear his eyes from the small box for a long while before slowly closing it. Pain flickered in his eyes. Watching him, Moyong Chwi-ryeo spoke.
"Hyeon-yo takes after that child and can't handle the summer heat— the little ones too?"
At the sudden shift in topic, Danmok Cheon-gi looked puzzled but nodded quietly.
"Ryeon and Seong both just collapse when the heat intensifies. They lament when they'll achieve Hanseo Bulchim..."
Immunity to heat and cold was a distant realm, hard to reach even with ordinary inner power. Thinking of his young granddaughters dreaming of such a far-off future brought a faint, affectionate smile to his face.
Gazing at him, Moyong Chwi-ryeo said softly,
"Why not take a summer retreat? The far North Sea would be cool. Haha, it might even be too cold."
She added it like a joke.
"......What do you mean by that."
"By then, Seol-eon will have regained her strength and be clamoring to meet her granddaughters she's never seen. It wouldn't be bad to go calm her yourself."
She had skirted around it, but the meaning was clear: it would be fine for them to visit the North Sea.
"What... what is this?"
Ryeon gaped at the two miracle pills Danmok Cheon-gi had quietly shown her after summoning her alone. To her eyes, they appeared as small, azure-glowing pearls brimming with energy.
As she unconsciously reached out...
Approaching it slightly accelerates the rate at which Spiritual Energy accumulates.
A vision floated before Ryeon's eyes. She startled and pulled her hand back.
Seeing Ryeon's shocked expression, Danmok Cheon-gi realized his granddaughter had discerned the true nature of the spirit pill.
"Do you know what it is?"
Ryeon nodded quietly.
"A harmonious blend of cold and heat. Sullyeon Fruit... and Solar Golden Carp."
Finishing her words, Ryeon suddenly thought of the small carp in the Danmok estate pond, and her heart grew unsettled for no reason.
Could that one become a spirit creature? No... probably not.
"I knew you'd recognize it."
"But why this... where did it come from..."
"You'll remember how Cheongyun Jin-in and Danmok Han-so burned away the inner power they'd steadily accumulated to aid your Balsa Sesu."
"......Yes."
How could she forget? The fact that she had awakened by stealing a part of others' lives. How gladly and tenderly they had cherished this little thief. Even when "Danmok Ryeon" had merely clung to breath for a dozen years before fading meaninglessly despite their all, they hadn't resented her.