Yangyang Martial Hall (4)
It was a fairly large lacquered box buried underground.
We dug deeper to pull it out, then carefully opened it.
Inside the box were twelve bottles, tightly sealed.
The mouths of the bottles were wrapped in layers of white paper, resembling white lotus flowers.
What is this?
As I tilted my head in curiosity, Ha Pyodu approached, saw the bottles, and cried out in shock.
“S-S-Seol...! Is this... Ice Lotus Wine?”
“Pardon? What's Ice Lotus Wine?”
“It's liquor brewed from ice lotuses, which grow only in the North Sea. And only the North Sea Ice Palace and the Snow Wind Palace could brew it.”
Ha Pyodu was completely thrilled.
“Once you taste it, its unforgettable flavor...”
He went on praising the wine for nearly an hour.
It must be that precious.
“The recipe for brewing Ice Lotus Wine was lost when the Snow Wind Palace was destroyed... Now, only the North Sea Ice Palace can make it.”
A truly rare liquor, impossible to obtain in the Central Plains even if you wanted it!
“May I take a closer look?”
“Of course.”
Ha Pyodu carefully lifted one bottle from the box and examined it.
The paper wrapped around the bottle's neck indicated the brewing date.
“And Ice Lotus Wine grows more precious with age. Let me see... Gasp!”
For a moment, it seemed Ha Pyodu's breath had stopped.
“E-Eig...!”
“Ha Pyodu! Calm down!”
“Gasp! Gasp!”
Curious about his reaction, I glanced at the paper on the bottle.
Gasp! Eight... eight hundred years?
That would mean it was brewed during the time my master was still alive.
This was worth whatever price it commanded.
“Eight hundred years old... The aroma must be beyond words.”
“I imagine so.”
“Even ten years makes it incredible, but eight hundred!”
Ha Pyodu continued.
“Brewed with ice lotuses, it clears the mind. It sweeps away most worries and obsessions.”
“...”
I suddenly understood why my master had left this wine for me.
A message to snap out of it and get my head straight.
But Master, I've already come to my senses.
So I'll share one bottle with you, Ha Pyodu—who's eyeing it so eagerly—and my master back at the transport agency. The rest I'll save for raising a toast on the day my revenge is complete.
To celebrate slamming Baekcheon Merchant Group and the Murim Alliance right in the back of the head.
Ha Cheol Pyodu wondered if he was dreaming.
Whew! I nearly had a heart attack!
It was that shocking.
Eight-hundred-year-old wine from the Snow Wind Palace, no less!
When the Snow Wind Palace fell, he had been around thirty.
He had been a disciple there but was working as a transport leader outside.
One of the palace's traditions: once martial arts reached a certain level, disciples spent about ten years active in the outside world.
They called it the Snow Cleansing Journey.
It kept the palace from being completely isolated.
That's how he knew about their Ice Lotus Wine.
Brewed from the spirit medicine ice lotus and sealed in a special way, it could last up to a thousand years.
One feature of that seal was wrapping the cork in white paper shaped like a lotus.
Ice lotuses bloomed once every ten years, so the wine was brewed then too.
Disciples received a cup when leaving for their journey and another upon return.
Ha Cheol never forgot the taste from his own departure.
Indescribably refreshing, awakening every sense.
And that feeling of all troubles vanishing.
I thought I'd never see it again...
He looked at Eun Seo-ho with an expression of deep emotion.
Eun Seo-ho, meanwhile, didn't seem to grasp its full significance yet.
Well, that was understa—huh?
“By the way, Young Branch Leader.”
“Yes?”
“How did you know this wine was here and tell Palgap to dig?”
It suddenly dawned on him.
“Honestly, when you woke up and suddenly told Palgap to dig, we looked at you oddly...”
“Ah, well.”
Eun Seo-ho scratched his ear and said,
“A handsome man appeared in my dream and told me to dig here. Said he prepared a gift.”
“Did he happen to have a blue tassel on his waist?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“My goodness... That was our Snow Wind Palace's Grand Master.”
“Ah...”
Only then did Ha Cheol understand Palace Lord Kwak Myeong-hyeon's decision.
Kwak Myeong-hyeon had named Eun Seo-ho as the next palace lord.
When many questioned it, he had said,
“He is the successor palace lord prepared by our Grand Master.”
Ha Cheol hadn't understood then.
Hard to accept the choice.
No matter that he was a disciple, naming the third son of some unrelated merchant group—who had no ties to the palace—as sub-palace lord?
But now, he had no choice but to believe.
Proof stood before him: Ice Lotus Wine clearly made during the Grand Master's active years.
“Ah, here—take one bottle.”
“R-Really giving it to me?”
“Yes. But we're traveling, so hard to store. I'll keep it safe and give it when we return.”
“Understood, but how will you store it?”
Eun Seo-ho smiled faintly.
“Actually, His Majesty the Emperor bestowed an item on me for that.”
“I see.”
This young beauty before him probably didn't know.
That Ha Cheol, unable to drink Ice Lotus Wine again, had never truly completed his Snow Cleansing Journey.
“Return safely, Cheol-ah.”
He missed the late former palace lord who had said that while pouring him a cup.
We set off again.
I glanced back.
The place where I and my people died in my previous life.
Yes, memories don't vanish.
But this spot no longer filled me with tension or dredged up fearful recollections.
It would steel my resolve and ignite my fighting spirit.
Sometimes I wondered.
What became of the Eunhae Merchant Group after my death.
Obviously, all the retainers died. The group scattered to the winds...
No—given Nangong Gang's greedy nature, he probably swallowed it whole.
It was a plump, juicy target, after all.
Ah, heartburn.
Just thinking about it burned in my gut.
Yes, to avoid that dogshit ending, I need power.
Become the world's top merchant group.
Then smack Baekcheon Merchant Group and the Murim Alliance upside the head.
After days of travel, we arrived in Hangzhou.
“This is Hangzhou?”
Ha Pyodu answered Palgap's question.
“Yes.”
Was it because I promised him a bottle of Ice Lotus Wine?
His attitude had softened compared to before.
Even more deferential now.
Previously, he'd treated me politely as his master's brother's prospective son-in-law and per his master's request.
Was Ice Lotus Wine that precious?
Precious enough to inspire sudden respect?
I couldn't help but chuckle.
It was the awed expressions on Palgap and the guards as they gazed at Hangzhou's scenery.
The vast West Lake, boats floating on it, tiny islands.
Like a fairyland where immortals roamed.
Winter had its own charm.
I hadn't expected the stoic Seo-u Warrior to look so enchanted.
“First time in Hangzhou for everyone?”
“Yes.”
Seo-u Warrior replied.
“I handled the Yunnan routes at the agency.”
“You too, Jin Yu Warrior?”
“Yes, no chance before.”
“Weirdly, we never got routes this way.”
“That's how it goes. Haha.”
Since we're here, hitting a nice inn for some fun after business didn't sound bad.
I couldn't drink, but the views made up for it.
And when I came back later to buy one, it'd be rundown—no crowds, poor management, none of this magic.
.
.
.
“That's Yangyang Martial Hall.”
Ha Pyodu pointed to a building on the outskirts near West Lake.
Yangyang Martial Hall looked utterly ordinary from outside.
A wide plot, maybe five hundred pyeong, walled in with black-tiled walls.
Buildings inside, children's shouts as they trained.
“Haat!”
“Hat!”
“Extend those arms more!”
“Haat!”
“Don't spread your legs too wide!”
“Haap!”
No gatekeeper, so we followed Ha Pyodu through the gate.
A young instructor training kids spotted us, told them to rest, and approached.
“Ha Sabaek, you're here?”
“Yes. Where's the hall master?”
“Out briefly.”
Then a familiar voice from behind.
“Oh? Brother Ha, you came?”
We turned. The familiar figure entering through the gate was Yeom Jin-yeon Daehyeop, the hall master.
He greeted Ha Pyodu warmly, then startled upon seeing me.
“Eh? Young Hero Eun, what brings you here?”
Ha Pyodu answered gravely in my stead.
“He comes with full authority from the palace lord.”
.
.
.
In Yangyang Martial Hall's master's office.
Silence fell briefly.
We waited for Yeom Daehyeop—no, Hall Master Yeom—to compose himself.
“So... Young Hero Eun is a disciple of the Snow Wind Palace too?”
“Yes, learning martial arts from Kwak Pyodu, who will become palace lord.”
“Then why pretend not to know about the palace before?”
“My apologies. Master instructed utmost secrecy...”
“Ah... Can't be helped. Then the sponsorship before...”?
“Aren't these kids my juniors? I gave as a senior brother. And...”
I continued.
“To keep my promise of more support.”
“I see. If Myeong-hyeon entrusts full authority, he must trust you deeply... That guy's no pushover just because you're a disciple.”
His casual reference to the palace lord made me ask carefully.
“Is the old friend you mentioned before—who passed away—my master?”
“Ah, yes. The death was a lie, though.”
“As I thought. But you're not a Snow Wind Palace disciple, are you...?”
“Correct.”
Hall Master Yeom nodded with a smile.
“Not a disciple, so I call Myeong-hyeon by name, not palace lord.”
Who calls their palace lord by name, after all.
He chuckled awkwardly, resolving my doubt.
“Truth is, I came to see my daughter Hyeon-i, ended up staying, and somehow became hall master. Anyway, have you heard about our hall's situation?”
“Yes, that's why I'm here. Working for a merchant group, maybe I can find a solution.”
“Good. My recent errand was a summons from the landowner.”
He sighed.
“Construction start date's set. Mid-March next year. But...”
His face showed no emotion as he continued.
“They demanded demolition costs for the hall.”
“Pardon?”
What did I just hear?
Demanded what?
I asked Hall Master Yeom again.
“They want demolition costs?”
“Yes.”
His blank expression wasn't lack of feeling.
It was sheer absurdity.
Not only evicting after over ten good years, but no compensation—and demanding demo costs?
Landowners can request vacation, sure.
But this wasn't illegal; built with permission.
Morally, compensation's due.
Demolition costs?
“Any lease contract from when you rented the land?”
“Yes, but it won't help much.”
He fetched the contract.
I read it.
The lessee pays five taels of silver annually by New Year's to the lessor for five hundred pyeong at XX location.
Just one clause.
Now I saw why it wouldn't help.
Five taels for five hundred pyeong!
Cheap rent suggests some reason.
Prior hall master might've been lax, but a clan lord wouldn't skimp on basics.
Something's off...