Tangmunjeon - Chapter 348



Only Noblemtl

Episode 348 of Tangmunjeon The night of Gongdongsan The party of Dangmujin sat in a circle at the foot of Gongdongsan, where moss grew thickly, and looked at each other.

It was getting close to summer, so the weather was quite warm even in the middle of the night. However, the story we had to tell was not so warm.

A story that I kept hidden because I didn’t want to dig into my personal life, and a story that I put off because I lacked the eloquence to tell it.

It’s time to hear the story of Seolhwa, Bukhae Ice Palace, and Baekhyang-ah.

Seolhwa began to tell a story.

“As you all know, I am the eldest daughter of the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord. Among my siblings, I am the most accomplished in martial arts and have a high status.”

As soon as the story began, Hyun-gong intervened.

“It’s true. It seems there’s a power struggle in the Bukhae Ice Palace too?”

“No. It’s not like that. The North Sea Ice Palace isn’t a country. You can think of it as a huge Sega or sect.”

Unlike the imperial palace, where there is always discord over who will be the next head of a clan or the head of a family, it is rare for a martial arts school to fight over who will be the next head of a clan or the head of a family.

Firstly, because the martial artists spend their entire lives with their brothers in the martial arts world and know each other’s character and skills well, and secondly, because they value their own martial arts achievements more than their seniority.

Seolhwa cleared her throat and began to tell her story again.

“There is a place called Daebyeokgak in the Ice Palace. It is a place where instructors who teach martial arts belong. There are instructors who teach low-level warriors, and there are Daebyeokgakju who teach the successors of the Ice Palace. One day, I was talking to the Daebyeokgakju, and the vice-instructor of Daebyeokgak came and said.”

“What did you say?”

Hyun-gong naturally added his own touch. Seol-hwa smiled faintly and said.

“A woman from the Central Plains appeared and is staying in the village. She is not fluent in the language, but she has incredible talent in ice magic. As you all might have guessed, it is Baek Hyang-ah.”

“Hmm!”

As I listened to the story in the dark mountain, the atmosphere became similar to when I listened to old stories from adults when I was young.

The group listened to Seolhwa’s story with excitement.

The story goes like this.

“Actually, I just took that story lightly.”

“why?”

“Talent is important, but talent cannot surpass effort. The successors of the Ice Palace put a lot of effort into practicing Ice Palace since they were young. Not only do they practice until they are completely exhausted every day, but their lives are also centered around martial arts. Even I never ate warm foods like chicken or chestnuts until I was twenty.”

Dang Mu-jin nodded.

Not long after meeting Seolhwa for the first time, Dangmujin realized that there was something strange about Seolhwa’s eating habits.

When there was food that suited his taste, Seolhwa ate much more than most men. It was not like he was forcing himself to eat, but it was like he was truly enjoying his meal. It was clear that he had a very good appetite.

However, despite her good appetite, there were often days when Seolhwa barely touched food. On those days, Seolhwa would eat very little food, like a bird pecking at grain.

Dang Mu-jin watched the scene and realized what the problem was.

Seol-hwa does not enjoy warm foods, and eats cold foods without hesitation. This must be because of the eating habits she has had since childhood.

Fortunately, thanks to Dang Mu-jin’s unknowing consideration for Seol-hwa’s meals, Seol-hwa was able to continue to have a pleasant diet in the Central Plains.

Hyun-gong had a vague idea, but Nam-gung-myeong and Hong-geol-gae had no idea about it.

“Anyway, Daebyeokgakju listened to the story of Bugakju and went to meet Baek Hyang-ah. Then he came back and told her. She was literally an incredible talent. I also called Baek Hyang-ah to the Ice Palace to take a look.”

Seolhwa recalled her memories with a slightly hazy expression.

“···It was an amazing talent. It was as if he was growing a living elixir inside his body, and yin energy was constantly rising. What was even more terrifying was that it wasn’t even in perfect condition. It was suppressed by yang energy, like a growing sprout being pressed down by a rock, and yet it was still that bad.”

Although the story didn’t know, the people who put the yang energy into Baek Hyang-ah’s body were Dang Mu-jin and Goe-ui.

Dangmujin and Goei concentrated medicinal herbs and elixirs full of yang energy and fed them to Baek Hyang-ah. In the process, the great yin and yang energies harmonized with each other, and Baek Hyang-ah saved her life and gained enormous internal energy.

However, unlike the yin energy that continued to rise until Baek Hyang-ah died, the yang energy that Dang Mu-jin and Goe-ui had put in had its limits.

In order to keep the balance from being lost, you should eat a diet centered on foods with a warm nature and use elixirs that contain yang energy to inject yang energy.

During the time when the common people of the Muryang clan were alive, Baek Hyang-ah would have been well taken care of.

However, after the Gongdong faction was shaken and Muryangja died, Baek Hyang-ah would not have been in a position to live while worrying about such things.

The imbalance of yin and yang was a natural consequence, and it was not a very good situation for Baek Hyang-ah.

But life is full of ups and downs.

Baek Hyang-ah, whose yin energy was rising uncontrollably, must have looked like an age-old talent to the people of Bukhae Ice Palace.

“···I was interested in Baek Hyang-ah the moment I saw her. It wasn’t just me, my siblings were the same. So my siblings and I asked our father to adopt Baek Hyang-ah as our adopted daughter.”

Seol-hwa spoke naturally, but a look of puzzlement appeared on the faces of Dang Mu-jin and his party.

“Adopted daughter? Why an adopted daughter all of a sudden?”

It is understandable that Baek Hyang-ah had tremendous talent.

But the result was strange. Just because of such talent, they adopted a foreigner from a faraway land as their daughter?

“The schools of the Northern Sea Ice Palace and the Central Plains are different. The dream of the Northern Sea Ice Palace warriors is to leave their mark on the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s martial arts.”

“It’s the same for the Central Plains warriors.”

“No. It’s different.”

Baek Hyang-ah spoke bluntly.

“What I felt when I came to the Central Plains was that the Central Plains martial artists had great masters. Like Master Bodhidharma of the Shaolin Temple and Zhang Sanfeng of the Wudang Sect…”

Hyun-gong smiled happily.

It was clear that he had been spending time with Hwayeonshinni and telling her all sorts of sweet nothings about Jang Sambong’s greatness and the power of the shamans.

However, Hyun-gong’s story was not a baseless lie. Although there were some martial artists who occasionally ignored the shamans, there was not a single martial artist who ignored Jang Sam-bong.

A warrior who founded a sect with just one sword, became the best in the kingdom, and eventually became an immortal.

Who could disparage such a Jang Sam-bong?

“I heard that there is no Taoist monk in the Wudang faction who has learned all of Jang Sam-bong’s teachings, and that there is no monk in the Shaolin Temple who has accepted all of Bodhidharma’s teachings. It is difficult for the martial artists in the Central Plains to just learn the teachings that have been passed down. However, the Bukhae Ice Palace is different. The martial arts that have been passed down in the Ice Palace are not martial arts created by a peerless genius.”

“then?”

“The martial arts that everyone gathered together to survive in this harsh and cold land are the beginning of the martial arts of the Bukhae Ice Palace.”

Seolhwa thought for a moment and then said.

“To use a metaphor, the martial arts of the Central Plains are like elaborately carved Buddha statues. An ordinary person cannot add carvings to a perfect Buddha statue with his or her own skills. If he or she did, the result would be worse than leaving it untouched.”

Seolhwa continued her story.

“But the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace are like a stone tower. Anyone who lifts a crow’s foot can place a stone on a stone tower. The martial artists of the North Sea Ice Palace try to add their own traces to the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace. And quite a few people are able to achieve their dreams.”

It was a fascinating story, but it wasn’t one that the group could understand.

“What does that have to do with Baek Hyang-ah becoming the adopted daughter of the Bukhae Ice Palace Lord?”

“What matters is not who places the stone on top of the stone tower, but how big and beautiful the stone is. And in my sisters’ and my eyes’ eyes, Baek Hyang-ah was the one who could place the biggest stone on top of the stone tower.”

The group now understood the story of the story.

Although Baek Hyang-ah is an outsider, she possesses overwhelming talent in ice hockey.

Instead of Seolhwa and her younger siblings personally leaving their mark on the martial arts of the Bukhae Ice Palace, they wanted Baekhyang-ah to show them the next level of ice martial arts.

Hong Geol-gae asked, leaning against the tree at an angle.

“So, Baek Hyang-ah became your adopted daughter?”

“Yeah. There were quite a few cases of outsiders being adopted into the Bukhae Ice Palace. Baek Hyang-ah was the first person from Jungwon, but…”

“You taught Baek Hyang-ah the martial arts of the Bukhae Ice Palace?”

“That’s right. My siblings and I yielded the elixir that was given to Baek Hyang-ah, and we also yielded the best teacher to Baek Hyang-ah. Daebyeok Gakju taught Baek Hyang-ah exclusively. The rest was as expected. Baek Hyang-ah had already achieved a lot, and she also had a talent that was perfect for ice fighting, so she learned martial arts quickly. That was good.”

The story of the fairy tale has stopped.

The group didn’t ask about the next story either, because they knew roughly what happened.

“···But Baek Hyang-ah ran away with the secret medicine and elixir. I don’t know how Baek Hyang-ah tricked them, but So Sang-gak-ju and Dae Byeok-gak-ju disappeared together. At first, I couldn’t believe the situation. But even after several days, Baek Hyang-ah didn’t return.”

Seolhwa let out a deep sigh.

Hyun-gong watched her closely, slowly moved to the side, sat down next to Seol-hwa, and put his arm around her shoulder.

Seol-hwa also naturally leaned slightly against Hyun-gong. That sight felt strangely natural and unpleasant.

Although Dang Mu-jin, who was married, and Namgung Myeong, who had a lover, looked at Hyeon-gong with displeasure, Hong Geol-gae felt an inexplicable anger and even sadness.

Hyun-gong did not avoid that gaze and had an expression full of superiority.

Seolhwa spoke while half-lying in Hyungong’s arms.

“That’s why I took on the responsibility of cleaning up. I’m the most accomplished among my siblings, and I was the first to suggest that Baek Hyang-ah be adopted as my daughter.”

“You must be having a hard time in a foreign land.”

“But I’m still not sure. Baek Hyang-ah wasn’t the kind of person to run away like that, and she had no reason to run away.”

When I heard it, it was true.

Since the elixir was said to have been given to Baek Hyang-ah anyway, regardless of whether or not it was digestible, there was a high chance that the Mannyeon Bingjeong would end up in Baek Hyang-ah’s hands.

In that situation, would there be a reason for Baek Hyang-ah to take emergency supplies and elixir and run away from the ice palace?

I couldn’t figure it out.

That was the end of the story. When all the stories were over, the surroundings became quiet.

A large full moon rose in the sky, and the stars twinkled as if they would not lose to the full moon. The loud squeak of insects could be heard.

Seol-hwa was still in Hyun-gong’s arms.

Hyun-gong slowly inhaled while wrapping his arms around Seol-hwa’s shoulders. It was soft and had a nice scent, and Seol-hwa’s shoulders felt soft to his hands. Even though her skin was covered with a layer of clothing.

Chatting with friends. The bright moon and the sound of crickets. A cool breeze blowing occasionally.

It was a perfect night. Each and every one of them is not special, but there are only a few nights in a lifetime when all of these come together. Unlike usual, Hyungong also felt a little sentimental.

The crickets’ chirping became quieter. As the surroundings became quiet, Hyun-gong was able to hear his own heartbeat clearly.

Thud, thud, thud.

Then, through Seol-hwa’s back leaning against him, he could faintly feel her heartbeat.

A person cannot control their heartbeat at will. However, the heartbeats of two people that were out of sync slowly become one.

Hyun-gong’s heart trembled. He felt like he had to say something.

In fact, there was something he wanted to say. However, Hyun-gong could not say it out loud.

With a small sigh, Hyun-gong asked Seol-hwa another question.

“Sulhwa. What are you thinking about?”

“Did Baek Hyang-ah take the Eternal Ice Crystal?”

“well.”

“You’re alive because you’re not drunk, right? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to just bring the emergency supplies, but if possible, I’d like to bring both the Eternal Ice Crystal and the emergency supplies so I can return home…”

“This is my hometown.”

When he heard that he was returning to his hometown, Hyun-gong’s heart sank.

Even though he tried not to think about it, the image of Seol-hwa returning home with a secret weapon was drawn in Hyun-gong’s mind. It was her back.

Hyun-gong asked without realizing it.

“If I go back, will I never see you again?”

Seolhwa was still lying diagonally in Hyeon-gong’s arms, and only turned her head to look at Hyeon-gong.

“Why do you think so?”

“Bukhae Ice Palace and Mt. Wudang are too far away.”

At one time, it was good that Seolhwa was from the Northern Ice Palace. However, now, Hyun-gong felt that Seolhwa’s status as the daughter of the Northern Ice Palace Lord was like a chain.

It felt strange.

Hyun-gong used to grade people based on their abilities and backgrounds. A higher score was better, and there have been no exceptions so far.

But now there is an exception.

What’s the big deal about giving a high score to a story’s background? It might be better to have no background at all.

I thought it might have been better if Seolhwa had been a girl from an ordinary family, rather than the daughter of the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

But the story said,

“Can we go together?”

“I am-”

Hyun-gong’s mind became complicated.

The North Sea Ice Palace and the Wudangpa.

And Seolhwa and Yeongbojin.

Both Seolhwa and Yeongbojin were very important people to Hyeon-gong.

When the moment of choice comes, which side will Hyun-gong choose?

Hyun-gong’s reason shouted.

The nonpartisan faction is certain, but there is no guarantee that the North Sea Ice Palace will be yours!

Hyun-gong frowned. However, he could not clear his mind. Hyun-gong was a person who had become too accustomed to thinking. He could not finish his calculations lightly as usual, and he could not let go of his regrets as a result of the calculations.

The story continued.

“It’ll take at most a year to go there and come back. You can endure that, right?”

“···huh?”

“Let’s go and come back. We have to see our dad.”

Hyun-gong opened his mouth stupidly.

When a woman introduces her father, it is not a light matter. It is true in the Central Plains, but it would not be much different in the far north.

“You weren’t thinking of coming back? It would be better for me to live in the Bukhae Ice Palace.”

There was one big premise to the story of Seolhwa. It was that she would stay with Hyeon-gong in the future.

Hyun-gong asked, stammering.

“That, that story. Me and···?”

Seolhwa turned her body around and lay down on Hyungong’s lap. Then she wrapped both arms around Hyungong’s neck and asked.

“Was I the only one who was serious?”

Hyun-gong’s heart was pounding like crazy.

Even now, he couldn’t tell if Seolhwa’s heart and his own heart were beating at the same beat. But somehow he had a feeling that it was.

Hyun-gong always smiled when he was happy. Sometimes he smiled sadly, and sometimes he smiled contentedly.

But now, even though I was happy, for some reason, tears came to my eyes. Hyun-gong spoke with tears in his eyes.

“No, no… That can’t be… ”

Seolhwa took a deep breath and exhaled with a “Ugh.”

And after hugging Hyun-gong with both arms, he slowly patted Hyun-gong on the back.

Hyun-gong cried and sobbed in Seol-hwa’s arms.

It’s a perfect night. I thought this moment would come, but I didn’t know it would come. I didn’t know it would come so suddenly.

It was also nice that his three friends were looking at him with slightly displeased expressions.

Hyun-gong thought.

I will never forget this night spent at the communal mountain.