#1124: When A Friend Calls, You Have To Come. (4) — Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“I asked if there was any problem.”

The Beast Palace members flinched at Seol So-Baek’s cold voice.

They were not foolish enough to misunderstand the situation. They could not be unaware that this young man was the North Sea Ice Palace Lord, belonging to the Five Palaces Beyond the Great Wall along with the Beast Palace.

However… the Beast Palace members’ faces remained dark as they glanced at the cart piled high with animal skins. Even if the opponent was the North Sea Ice Palace Lord, shouldn’t they speak their minds?

“Do you really have to…?”

The voice, which had sounded slightly suppressed, gradually regained its original tone.

“Is there a need to kill innocent beasts like that?”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

Seol So-Baek cut off the conversation as if it wasn’t worth having.

“It’s meaningless to argue whether beasts are guilty or not, and even if it mattered, why should I accept your judgment on my actions?”

“Oh…”

Chung Myung looked at Seol So-Baek with amazement, and the Five Swords, who remembered Seol So-Baek, all opened their mouths in surprise.

‘Is that really the So-Baek I know?’

‘Sasuk. I don’t think that’s right.’

‘Is that the So-Baek we know?’

‘Wow, he was really cute when he was little.’

Chung Myung looked at Seol So-Baek with fresh eyes.

Though he had grown so much he was unrecognizable, in Chung Myung’s mind, Seol So-Baek was still a child. The legitimate heir of the North Sea Ice Palace, yet never properly treated as such.

But the image Seol So-Baek showed now was clearly far from the innocent child living in a hut that he remembered.

Seol So-Baek, glaring coldly at the Beast Palace people, was filled with the dignity befitting the North Sea Ice Palace Lord who leads the Northern Sea.

‘Fascinating.’

Four years is enough time for a small child to become a young man. But it seems too short a time for an innocent child to show proper dignity.

Is it the position that shapes the person? Or is the blood of the North Sea’s Seol family deeper than Chung Myung thought?

“So you think killing innocent beasts is the right thing to do?”

But the Beast Palace members did not back down easily despite Seol So-Baek’s strong stance.

Everyone has a point they cannot yield on. The Beast Palace members, who treat beasts like friends, could not tolerate the Ice Palace’s act of bringing back piles of animal skins as gifts.

“Aren’t you wearing animal skins yourselves?”

“These were not obtained by killing. They were taken from beasts that died naturally. We do not take the lives of healthy beasts just for their skins.”

“Ha ha.”

At that moment, Seol So-Baek laughed as if it was ridiculous.

“Those who learn martial arts that kill people tell us not to kill beasts recklessly? Absurd.”

“People commit sins, but beasts do not.”

At that moment, Seol So-Baek’s eyes grew bleak.

“It seems the place you live is quite prosperous.”

“…What?”

“I see you spout such well-fed words. But what can I do? The North Sea, covered in snow and ice, is a place where you must do whatever it takes to survive. There’s no luxury to consider the plight of mere beasts.”

Seol So-Baek’s voice was bitterly cold.

In fact, the Ice Palace enjoys a fairly wealthy life in the North Sea, but Seol So-Baek is not an ordinary Ice Palace person. Moreover, until he matured, he lived apart from the Ice Palace and experienced firsthand how the people of the North Sea lived.

So he cannot help but know how hard it is to live rooted in that frozen land where not even a single grain can be properly grown.

For such a Seol So-Baek, how hollow must the Beast Palace’s words about not killing innocent beasts sound?

“Are you saying we are wrong now?”

“Well, I don’t think so. But…”

Seol So-Baek slightly turned his head. Through the gap in the warehouse door, large beasts could be seen.

“Did you bring those?”

“Yes, so what?”

“Interesting.”

Seol So-Baek sneered.

“It must take considerable effort to raise beasts that large. As far as I know, Yunnan wasn’t in a good state until recently either.”

“…What do you mean?”

“If you have food to feed such beasts, you should share it with the starving. Even in hardship, you take care of beasts regularly. It seems beasts are more important to you than people.”

“You’ve said enough…”

“And what if I have?”

The atmosphere turned cold. Seol So-Baek continued in a chilling voice.

“I’ve heard the Beast Palace is free-spirited, but this seems more like licentiousness. Even if there are problems here, is it proper for mere members of Palace like you to question me, the Ice Palace Lord, directly?”

“Th-that’s…”

“This is what ‘reckless and arrogant’ means. Thanks to you, I now know what kind of place the Beast Palace is.”

“Y-your words are excessive!”

“Excessive?”

Seol So-Baek bared his teeth. At the same time, a cold chill emanated from him.

“It’s okay for you to disrespect the North Sea Ice Palace, but it’s excessive for me to speak carelessly about the Beast Palace? I didn’t realize the Beast Palace was such a great place. I’m curious—how much more can you disrespect the Ice Palace?”

“…”

“At this point, I think I need to prove that the Ice Palace is not a place to be so disrespected.”

A chilling murderous aura poured out. Seol So-Baek, with eyes as cold as the ice walls of the North Sea, dropped his hands and stepped forward just then.

“Hey, why fight as soon as we see each other? Let’s get along.”

“…Fight?”

At the moment Chung Myung spoke from behind, the chill Seol So-Baek was emitting vanished as if washed away. Instantly changing the atmosphere, Seol So-Baek turned sharply to Chung Myung and gave an embarrassed smile.

“I-I was just having a brief conversation. With the Taoist here, there’s no way I’d do that!”

“…”

“Oh, come on. No way. Hehe.”

The Ice Palace members, moved by the rapidly grown young lord, lost their strength. Their shoulders slumped, heads bowed weakly, their eyes moist with tears.

‘The Mount Hua illness has flared up again.’

‘Why is it that whenever something related to Mount Hua happens…’

‘Why on earth does he act like that!’

Who could understand the feelings of the Ice Palace members?

Even to them, Seol So-Baek had grown remarkably well. At first, some were displeased that a child who had not properly experienced the Ice Palace world would ascend to lordship simply because he inherited the blood of the previous lord.

But now, no one in the North Sea doubts that Seol So-Baek will be a great lord. His past conduct has been too exemplary to harbor doubts.

Unlike previous lords who grew up comfortably in the North Sea Ice Palace and failed to understand the lives of the North Sea people, Seol So-Baek understands their hardships better than anyone. Thus, he is becoming a caretaker of the North Sea people more than any previous lord.

He is growing from someone to be protected into someone who protects them.

He may not be perfect now, but Seol So-Baek, the current Ice Palace Lord, is regarded as someone who might one day become the most perfect person.

Just one thing.

‘If only it weren’t for Mount Hua.’

It was incomprehensible why such a cold, rational, yet warm-hearted person would lose his mind whenever the two words Mount Hua were involved.

Even those animal skins gift were like that.

L-Lord. The Mount Hua people live in the warm Central Plains; do they really need these kinds of skins?
Hmm. So?
Ah, no. It’s just that they’re hard to catch, and everyone is exhausted… They’re quite rare…
So?
Well… it’s not that I don’t want to, but is this really necessary…?
So?
…
So?
…I will do it.

That is not something to be dismissed as just ‘rare.’

How many countless nights did the North Sea Ice Palace members stay up to obtain those skins! Those beasts are mostly nocturnal and cannot be seen during the day!

Can you imagine how insane it is to hunt beasts on stormy, snowy nights in the already cold North Sea?

A person who usually cares if the Ice Palace members have comfortable beds and enough food becomes a madman who drives them to hunt on blizzard-filled freezing nights just because of the two words Mount Hua.

“And also… I think your words are a bit too harsh.”

“Ah, right?”

Seol So-Baek smiled pleasantly at Chung Myung’s subtle admonition. Chung Myung tilted his head at this incomprehensible reaction.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because I think I did well.”

“Huh?”

“I tried. Usually, one must be warm, but to enemies or opponents, a warrior must not show even an ounce of warmth, right?”

“…Huh?”

Uh… that’s true, but… the Beast Palace isn’t an enemy, is it?

But Seol So-Baek, whether aware of Chung Myung’s feelings or not, smiled even brighter.

“It wasn’t easy, but with steady effort, the day came when I heard such words from the Taoist. Indeed, the Taoist’s saying that effort never betrays is true.”

“W-what effort?”

“Of course, you are the Taoist after all.”

“…Huh? What do you mean…?”

“I tried to imitate the Taoist’s demeanor. When the Taoist fought, he was exactly like this. Fighting those Demonic Cult bastards like this! Like this!”

“…”

“I’m still lacking, but if I try harder, someday I can be like the Taoist, right?”

Chung Myung looked at Seol So-Baek smiling brightly with a dazed expression.

Shifting his gaze slightly, he saw the Ice Palace members bowing their heads as if wanting to bury themselves in the ground, unable to bear watching this. Their flushed faces contrasted sharply with their pure white uniforms.

“Me?”

“Yes!”

“…I acted like this?”

Chung Myung looked back at the Five Swords standing behind him. But the Five Swords averted their gaze awkwardly, avoiding explanation.

“Well, not exactly the same.”

“A little… uh, a little similar.”

“What he tried to imitate… yeah, I get what he was trying to imitate.”

“Of all the people…”

Chung Myung stared blankly at the Five Swords, then turned his gaze back to Seol So-Baek. Seeing him blinking his big eyes and smiling, he was reminded of a large dog wagging its tail fiercely.

A hollow voice escaped from Chung Myung’s lips.

“…Really?”