Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 477

“We can’t feel good if you kind people leave so soon,” one of the villagers said.

Baek Cheon smiled gently at the gathered villagers.

“Just your thanks is enough. We have things to do and can’t stay long, so please understand,” he said.

“But still, for you to leave like this…” another villager said.

The villagers were at a loss, feeling thankful but also sad. The village chief looked at the Hwasan disciples with great respect.

The disciples had cured their illness, and should be repaid, but these people were giving away all their remaining grain without taking anything in return.

The village chief’s eyes welled up with tears, receiving such help when even the Ice Palace threatened them.

“Please forgive us for not seeing your kindness at first and treating you carelessly,” he said.

“Please don’t say that, elder,” Baek Cheon said, stopping the village chief from bowing.

They had been cautious at first, but once they opened their hearts, they showed their thanks even more than people from their home in the Central Plains. The Central Plains is where the Hwasan people are from.

However…

Baek Cheon glanced behind the village chief, his face darkening slightly.

‘They still look tired,’ he thought.

It was to be expected.

The strange disease had been cured, but that didn’t mean the village was better off.

The illness that shut them off from the world was caused by the situation in the Northern Sea.

If things in the Northern Sea didn’t get better, similar things could happen again. Even if the illness hadn’t happened, they still wouldn’t have enough to eat.

With a heavy heart, Baek Cheon looked at them and bowed deeply.

“We will be going now,” he said.

“Yes, kind people. The Northern Sea Ice Palace is north from here,” the village chief replied.

“Thank you. Then…”

As the Hwasan disciples grabbed the cart, the watching villagers called out.

“Please be careful on your way!”

“Thank you so much!”

“Please stop by when you return. We will treat you really well then.”

The Hwasan disciples waved to them and began pulling the cart.

Even after they had started, Danggoso kept looking back, as if she couldn’t shake off her worries.

“Will they be alright?” she asked.

“They’ll be fine for a while. Baek Ah worked hard yesterday and filled the warehouse to the brim,” Baek Cheon said.

“He’s just like you!” Danggoso said with a smile.

She had praised him a few times for catching so many fish, and Baek Ah, encouraged by the praise, jumped into the water and brought back large fish one after another.

Then, he kept looking at everyone as if to say, ‘Why aren’t you praising me more?’

“I don’t know if he’s smart or silly,” Baek Cheon said.

“Sounds like someone we know,” Danggoso replied.

Baek Cheon sighed.

In any case, they had filled a warehouse thanks to Baek Ah.

‘It was a little sad to see Hye-yeon’s face looking more and more sorrowful,’ Baek Cheon thought.

He knew Hye-yeon was sad about giving away the fish, but it was their choice to help the village.

Anyway, the villagers would have to fish for themselves in the future to eat fresh fish, but the fish in the warehouse would be enough to fill them up for a while. The cold will keep the fish fresh.

“I heard that the village chief is sharing the fish he caught with other villages,” Baek Cheon said.

“Hmm. That’s a good thing.”

Baek Cheon nodded quietly. He remembered Han I-myeong’s words that they could not survive in this empty, cold land without helping each other.

“But there will be limits to that as well. Alas,” he said.

“That’s right.”

At that moment, Yoon-jong, who had been listening to their worried talk, quietly spoke.

“Isn’t there anything else we can do?” he asked.

“Not this again!” Cheong-myeong said, poking his head out through a small hole in the cart’s tent.

Baek Ah also proudly poked his head out from under his chin.

“Why? Are you going to settle down and live here!” Cheong-myeong teased.

“No, that’s not what I meant…” Yoon-jong said.

One person and one animal hissed at the same time.

“Why? Are you going to sell your sword again this time? A Hancheol sword (a very valuable sword) will sell for a high price, right?” Cheong-myeong continued.

“Why are you bringing that up again?” Yoon-jong’s face turned red.

“I just… I was just wondering if there was anything we could do to help,” he said.

“We can’t help,” Cheong-myeong said.

“Huh?” Yoon-jong looked at him, surprised by Cheong-myeong’s suddenly serious voice.

“Well, it’s not hard to give help,” Cheong-myeong said.

“…”

“But that’s only for a moment. Before long, it’ll be the same again.”

Cheong-myeong’s voice was calm, but his face was more serious than ever.

“Changing a life is up to oneself, not others,” he said.

Everyone turned to look at Cheong-myeong with surprise.

“Why?” Cheong-myeong asked.

“No,” Baek Cheon replied.

“For once, you’ve said something right out of the blue,” Danggoso said.

“What are you guys doing?” Cheong-myeong glared at them.

“Tsk. Forget it. What’s the point of talking? Hurry up and run,” he said, clicking his tongue and hiding back inside the tent.

The Hwasan disciples exchanged strange glances.

‘He’s a really strange guy,’ they thought.

Just two days ago, when he met the Demonic Cult, he had made them feel so cold, but now he was acting like nothing had happened.

Baek Cheon chuckled and encouraged his disciples.

“We’ve wasted too much time. We need to get there before the Ice Palace guards they had stopped earlier can warn the others. Let’s move quickly instead of resting,” he said.

“Yes, Sasuk!”

“Okay, Sahyung.”

“Let’s go!”

Everyone began to pull the cart even faster.

“That’s…”

“I think that’s it.”

“It’s been a long journey.”

“They call it the Ice Palace, and that’s exactly what it is,” one of the Hwasan disciples said.

The disciples looked at the large building in the distance in amazement.

Walls of pure white ice sparkled like diamonds.

Beyond the large wall that felt overwhelming, a castle soared high into the sky. Looking at the fortress built in a style completely different from that of the Central Plains, they truly felt that they were in the Northern Sea. The Northern Sea is a cold, different place.

If the castles of the Central Plains were vast and grand, the Northern Sea Ice Palace was sharp and towering. The pure white castle matched the surrounding scenery, making it look like a castle of ice.

“It’s amazing. To build such a building in a place like this…” one of them said.

“Indeed.”

Building such a castle in the cold and empty, cold land would not have been easy. Just looking at the Ice Palace, they could feel the power of the people who lived there.

“Hmm.”

“Umm.”

Yoon-jong spoke with a slightly worried look.

“I feel a little scared. It feels like I’m being overwhelmed…” he admitted.

Jo-geol laughed loudly at this surprising thing to say.

“Haha, Sahyung. How can you say that about a building?” he asked.

“What do you know, you rich kid?” Yoon-jong glared back.

Jo-geol jumped back and looked at the distant mountains.

Baek Cheon looked at the castle again, impressed.

“So, this is the Northern Ice Palace.”

He paused, stopping to look in wonder, before remembering what he had to do. He stopped the cart and spoke to everyone seriously.

“Everyone, be careful. The Wild Beast Palace Lord might have told them we’re coming, but we don’t know how they will act.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle.”

“If things go badly, we might need to run. Remember that, and be careful.”

“Yes.”

The Mount Hua disciples looked worried.

They were worried because they knew the Demonic Sect might be involved, and they didn’t know how the Ice Palace would react.

“Right, then…”

“Ugh. It’s freezing.”

Just then, there was a rustling sound. Chung Myung, covered in furs, jumped off the cart and walked forward.

“Looks like a real ice castle.”

After saying this simple thing, Chung Myung turned to the others.

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

“Right!”

The Mount Hua disciples smiled a little as they got ready and walked towards the Ice Palace. The snowstorm was gone, and they could see the clean, white walls that looked very big and impressive.

Baek Cheon stood in front of the huge main gate in the center of the wall and knocked.

“Is anyone there!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Usually, there would be guards at a gate this big. But maybe because it was so cold, or because they thought no one would come so far north, the gate was unguarded.

Thud! Thud!

“Is anyone there! We need to speak with someone at the Ice Palace!”

There was no answer.

Baek Cheon frowned and was about to knock again when—

Clang!

A loud metal sound echoed as the gate slowly started to open.

Creak!

The huge iron gate opened slowly, making a loud, scraping sound that made everyone uncomfortable.

Finally, a person in clean, white robes appeared in the half-open gate.

‘These people really love white.’

The buildings were white, the clothes were white, and even their skin looked pale. It all felt a little strange.

“What brings you to the Ice Pal—…”

The warrior stopped talking when he saw the Mount Hua disciples. His face became hard.

“Outsiders?”

“…”

Chung Myung looked at Yoon Jong and asked, “Do we look strange or something? How did he know we were outsiders just by looking at us?”

“…I don’t think anyone else in the Northern Sea dresses like you,” Yoon Jong said dryly.

“…”

The warrior still looked angry.

“Coming to the Northern Sea wasn’t enough. You had to knock on the Ice Palace’s door? You really want to die!”

He spoke loudly, and warriors in white uniforms came out from inside, even though he didn’t tell them to.

Chung Myung asked again, “Were they waiting out there in the cold? Wow, they really have nothing better to do.”

“…Chung Myung. Please…”

Yoon Jong wanted to hit Chung Myung. Why was he asking such questions at a time like this?

No matter how long he knew him, Chung Myung was a mystery.

The warriors surrounded the cart, trapping them.

Clang! Clang!

They all pulled out their swords and pointed them at the Mount Hua disciples.

“Wait, please stop!”

Baek Cheon raised his hands to show he didn’t want to fight and said quickly, “We are from the Central Plains, but we have permission to be here. The Wild Beast Palace Lord sent us!”

“…The Wild Beast Palace?”

“Yes.”

The warrior narrowed his eyes.

“How would people from the Central Plains get permission from the Wild Beast Palace! Just saying it doesn’t make it true!”

“It’s the truth! You can check it!”

The warrior looked closely at Baek Cheon, wondering if he was telling the truth.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“If you are lying…”

That’s when it happened.

“Ah, just go inside and check! I’m freezing; how long are you going to keep us waiting here?”

The warrior quickly turned his head.

The warrior looked at Chung Myung, who was squatting and shivering, and couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

But Chung Myung kept talking.

“You don’t seem important enough to make decisions yourself. Don’t waste everyone’s time; go and check.”

The man looked like he wanted to kill Chung Myung.

Baek Cheon closed his eyes.

‘I should have stopped him from talking before we knocked.’

Why hadn’t he shut him up? Why!

It was too late to be sorry.

But then, the warrior nodded and put his sword away.

“Wait here.”

“…”

He was surprisingly calm, after Chung Myung had been so rude. Before Baek Cheon could understand what was happening, the warrior turned and went inside.

“…They’re more reasonable than I thought?”

“Of course,” Chung Myung said casually.

“If the Northern Ice Palace is like the most important palace in the Northern Sea, then the Ice Palace Lord is like a king to them.”

“That’s right.”

“A soldier can’t just decide what to do when the king of another country might have contacted their king. He would be in big trouble if he did.”

“Ah… so that’s what you meant by ‘not important enough to make decisions.’”

“What did you think I meant?”

“I just thought you were insulting him.”

“…”

Chung Myung’s eyebrow moved a little, but Baek Cheon stood straight, not ashamed. He was right. It wasn’t his fault. The same words can mean different things depending on who says them. It was normal that even if Chung Myung told the truth, it wouldn’t sound like the truth.

Just then, Chung Myung said quietly, “Martial Nephew.”

“Yes?”

“Be ready. If we don’t hear good news, we’ll have to start fighting.”

Baek Cheon nodded, and the other disciples looked serious.

A short time passed.

Tap.

The man who had gone inside ran back out.

“Everyone, put your swords away!”

The Northern Sea warriors quickly put their weapons down.

“Open the gates! The Palace Lord will let them stay as guests of the Northern Sea!”

The warriors ran to the gate and started to open it.

“We are sorry for being rude. Please, come inside.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Baek Cheon was happy that things had gone well and sighed in relief. But then—

“Looks like we’re walking into a dangerous place.”

“…”

Chung Myung smirked.

“Good. We’ll see who wins – them or us.”

Chung Myung smirked, a cold, mocking smile on his lips. He walked casually towards the dark opening of the Ice Palace gates, as if he was just going for a walk in the park, not into a possible trap.