Chapter 321
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 321
Chapter Title: I've Arrived, Miss
"Brother?"
Ha Mu-baek flashed a bright smile.
"I'm afraid I'll have to step away again for a bit."
Ha Seol-ran's face darkened slightly at his words.
"It's nothing dangerous, right?"
She was worried about her brother's safety.
"You think there's anyone in the world who could harm me?"
Ha Mu-baek replied to her question with one of his own.
But Ha Seol-ran couldn't answer right away.
Even she couldn't imagine anyone capable of harming her brother.
After all, he had survived that massive explosion—like a fire dragon ascending to the heavens—on that fateful day.
Since witnessing it firsthand, she had wondered if there was even a way to harm him.
"No."
That was her eventual response.
Ha Mu-baek's smile deepened at her answer.
"Exactly. So don't worry about me. I'm the one who's worried about you."
"Master's here, isn't he?"
Ha Seol-ran replied with a smile of her own.
"So, what's it about this time?"
She asked as if the thought had just occurred to her.
"It seems Seol-bing's gotten herself into a tough spot."
"Ah..."
Han Seol-bing was Ha Seol-ran's assigned instructor.
At the news that she was in trouble, Ha Seol-ran's expression clouded over instantly.
During the break between sessions, Seol-bing had informed both her and Joo Woo-myeong that personal matters required her absence, then hurriedly left the Dragon Training Pavilion.
The day after her brother returned to the pavilion.
Han Seol-bing must have rushed off because of that very issue.
"Please come back safely. Both you and Instructor Han."
No matter how invincible her brother seemed, she couldn't help but worry.
It was only natural to fret over a brother heading off on a long journey.
And on top of that...
She was even more concerned about Han Seol-bing.
Especially since she was in such dire straits.
Ha Mu-baek nodded with a smile and gently stroked Ha Seol-ran's head.
"Of course. You focus on your training and take good care of yourself. And try not to be too surprised today."
With that, Ha Mu-baek departed.
Watching her brother's retreating figure, Ha Seol-ran tilted her head in puzzlement.
It was because of his parting words.
Don't be too surprised today?
What did that mean?
It didn't take long for Ha Seol-ran to understand the meaning behind those words.
A day passed.
On this dawn in Mu-chang...
Ha Mu-baek had set out, but no one knew.
No, the Tak Clan wasn't even thinking about him at all.
The Tak Clan warriors were simply surrounding the palace hall enveloped in its formation.
The icy fog that could freeze the air in an instant hung heavy.
The atmosphere it exuded was utterly chilling.
Anyone who entered there would surely die?
That was why the Tak Clan warriors kept as far from the formation's perimeter as possible.
Some comrades had already gone in and never returned.
Only Tak Pung-geon's eyes gleamed as he scrutinized the formation's edges.
He even reached out to lightly touch the icy fog.
He tied objects to ropes, tossed them in, and pulled them back out.
"Hmm."
He could almost grasp it, but not quite.
It was impossible to discern anything just by inserting objects.
First, animals.
Tak Pung-geon fetched a few dogs, tied ropes around their necks, and tossed them into the formation.
'One. Two. Three...'
After counting to ten, he yanked the ropes and dragged the dogs out.
"Whine. Growl. Woof. Woof."
What had they seen inside the formation?
The dogs tucked their tails, trembling violently all over.
One thing was clear.
Yet they hadn't died, and their condition didn't seem worsened.
He repeated the process several times.
Not just in one spot, but at various points around the perimeter.
Recalling the diagrams from the manual, checking orientations.
As he methodically tested each spot...
A day slipped by.
The North Sea, under its white night, remained bright.
Yet his body felt weary all the same.
Such luminous nights could disrupt one's natural rhythms.
But those born and raised in the North Sea had long adapted.
Even in the bright night, fatigue set in, and sleep beckoned.
It was well past midnight.
Aside from the night watch, most had already retreated to their tents for rest.
Tak Pung-geon headed to his own tent to sleep...
Flutter flutter!
A faint sound of wings caught his ear, drawing his gaze.
And he saw it.
A pitch-black bird flying straight toward the formation.
Tak Pung-geon hurriedly focused his inner energy to the max and watched.
The bird plunged right into the formation and vanished.
Tak Pung-geon's eyes widened.
'No way...? Is there a path of life in there? Or did an ignorant bird just blunder in?'
He wracked his memory of the glimpse he'd caught earlier.
The bird was definitely a pigeon.
A black homing pigeon.
And on its leg...
"It had a message tube."
A homing pigeon!
Then it wasn't an accidental entry.
Perhaps there was a path visible from the skies above the formation.
He recalled asking the Iron Wind Corps warriors about the moment the formation activated the day before.
Not long after losing Han Seol-bing, vibrations started, and the icy fog began to form.
Less than half a shichen, they'd said.
Unfurling a formation this vast in such time was impossible, even for a genius.
Tak Pung-geon's mind raced.
He needed to organize his thoughts.
He sat cross-legged on his tent bed and sank into meditation.
The intel from yesterday.
What he'd confirmed personally today.
And the scene he'd just witnessed.
Meanwhile...
Directly above the formation's center, there was a hole about two cheok in diameter.
Not intentionally left open.
A flaw born from the formation's degradation over time.
Yet it was at the heart of the formation that blanketed even the towering palace.
In the vast expanse's dead center, no creature but a bird could pass through.
Baek-a shot through the hole at top speed.
"Hey! A bird!"
Though late, the lookouts spotted Baek-a.
And simultaneously...
They realized that the puzzling hole—showing blue sky amid the white fog—could allow entry.
It wasn't perfectly sealed against intruders.
Of course, what could possibly enter through that tiny gap in the sky above the vast palace hall?
Anything but a bird, anyway.
Baek-a soared through the palace grounds.
Soon, Na Hong-ryeon spotted it and waved the flag Han Seol-bing had given her.
Spotting the flag, Baek-a perched on the flagpole.
It had a message tube on its leg, but Baek-a wouldn't let Na Hong-ryeon touch it.
'A spirit beast, huh...'
Na Hong-ryeon took Baek-a as is and headed underground to Han Seol-bing.
"I've arrived, Miss."
At Na Hong-ryeon's words, Han Seol-bing opened her eyes.
"You made it back so quickly, Baek-a. Good work. You must have pushed yourself hard. Thank you so much."
Han Seol-bing noticed the wounds and signs of exhaustion on Baek-a's body.
A sight she rarely saw since learning about Baek-a.
Maybe once or twice during the great martial conference?
Baek-a knew the urgency and had given its all.
Coo coo.
Baek-a cooed in response to Han Seol-bing.
Perhaps because it had been days since they'd met.
Or because it brought the awaited news.
It felt especially joyful.
And its efforts were both heartbreaking and grateful.
A smile formed on Han Seol-bing's lips.
"As you can see, I can't use my hands. So hand the letter to that lady over there."
At Han Seol-bing's words, Baek-a bobbed its head as if nodding.
Only then did it allow Na Hong-ryeon's touch.
A small letter emerged from the tube.
"Setting out now."
Na Hong-ryeon read the contents aloud.
That was all.
Yet Han Seol-bing's face lit up even brighter.
She trusted him.
And it had panned out.
Han Seol-bing calculated the dates in her head.
The time it took her to reach the Ice Heaven Palace from Mu-chang.
And Baek-a's speed at full throttle.
"Four or five days."
"Pardon?"
Na Hong-ryeon echoed Han Seol-bing's murmur.
"We just need to hold out that long."
Her face was full of conviction.
Probably that one reinforcement she'd mentioned.
How could she have such faith?
"Don't tell the others. Just in case, we still need to ration food and supplies as much as possible."
Na Hong-ryeon nodded at Han Seol-bing's instruction.
They had ten days' worth of food and water.
The limit for quick transport while carrying it themselves.
Rationed carefully, it could last twenty days.
That was the worry after.
But now Han Seol-bing said just four or five days would do.
"Who the heck is it?"
Bing Chwi-seol asked. She was pressing her palm to Han Seol-bing's meridian points, steadily infusing glacial true energy.
She'd been at it for over a day now.
Talking while channeling energy had become effortless.
"The corps leader."
"Corps leader?"
"Hocheon Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek."
A curt reply.
But Bing Chwi-seol's face filled with shock and anticipation.
She too had heard the rumors and intel about Ha Mu-baek.
As the head of the Ice Heaven Palace—one of the Eight New Sects—she knew facts close to the truth.
Na Hong-ryeon, however, still tilted her head.
She knew he was impressive, but repel the Tak Clan alone?
Them, with hundreds of warriors?
Morning training time.
They gathered at the grand training grounds as usual.
And the one who appeared on the platform...
Was a complete stranger.
A handsome man with sharp, angular features.
His face, like something out of a painting, evoked legends like Ban-an or Song-ok.
The cadets buzzed, glancing at each other at the unfamiliar face.
Ha Mu-baek had given a heads-up yesterday, but who could've imagined the new instructor would be such a beauty?
The reaction was the same even among the Dragon Training Pavilion's Seven Squads and Twenty Squad cadets.
Only one person.
Ha Seol-ran stared blankly at the platform.
The face was definitely new.
So strikingly handsome it made her avert her eyes upon meeting his gaze.
Yet...
The aura emanating from this man felt all too familiar.
An aura she could never mistake.
Majestic, proud, solemn, immense.
That very presence.
He was concealing it, but Ha Seol-ran's senses pierced the veil.
And she knew its owner all too well.
'M-M-Master...???'
Ha Seol-ran froze in shock.
Only now did she grasp the meaning of her brother's parting words.
That was why he'd told her not to be too surprised.
But how could she not be?
Where had her kind, gentle master gone...?
Ah, one thing remained the same.
His imposing, bony frame.
"Who is that? Was there someone like him at the pavilion?"
Dang Jin-san racked his memory, but it was a first.
Someone that handsome wouldn't be forgotten after one glance.
"Pleased to meet you, cadets. I am Ji Gun-wi. Call me Instructor Ji. At Instructor Ha's request, I'll be teaching you temporarily, so follow along well."
A brief greeting.
His voice was pleasing too.
A clear, refreshing tone that lifted spirits.
The female cadets were already blushing, flustered.
"Tch. Looks like a pretty boy gigolo..."
Someone grumbled, displeased by his appearance.
"We'll start with shield formation drill training. Once that's done, we'll move to spars."
At Ji Gun-wi's—no, Wi Ji-gun's—command, training began.
Another day passed.
Tak Pung-geon, who had meditated late into the night before sleeping, opened his eyes around morning.
Something like a clue was forming.
He needed to investigate more thoroughly, more precisely.
Today, too, he brought dogs to probe the formation.
Spots he hadn't checked yesterday.
Dashing from place to place, the day waned again.
Though it was still bright.
The next day.
Not dogs this time.
Cats.
Same method.
Spots he'd marked from the dog tests.
The cats' reactions weren't much different from the dogs'.
But their pupils varied in size.
The movements felt through the leashes were similar too.
The next day.
Birds this time.
Homing pigeons.
Sent not from the sky, but to spots accessible on foot.
With tough thread securely tied to both legs.
The viable entry points for animals were dwindling.
And now, he no longer pulled them out right away.
Instead...
After the movements ceased completely via the thread, he dragged them out.
And then...
"Dead."
Without fail, they were dead.
Afternoon came.
Tak Pung-geon finally resolved to send in people.
He tied ropes to a few Tak Clan servants and had them enter.
Counted to ten, then yanked them out.
In that brief time, what had they seen and endured? They trembled uncontrollably.
However...
Their eyes were focused, no one had soiled themselves.
They remembered clearly what they'd experienced and recounted it.
One saw a maze, another a monster, one his late father, another felt utterly powerless.
All sorts.
Narrowing it down step by step...
He found three spots total.
Finally...
"Gotta check from above too."