Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 479

Seol Cheon-sang, the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, walked through the corridor with his subordinates. A snowstorm raged outside.

The cold, sharp wind lashed at him, but Seol Cheon-sang didn’t even blink. People from the North Sea are tough in the cold.

“Lord Palace Lord.”

Seol Cheon-sang stopped. An old voice spoke from behind him.

“With all due respect, I don’t understand. Why are you treating them so well?”

The question was careful, but Seol Cheon-sang frowned.

“There’s no simple reason.”

His voice was very cold.

“Those people are here to see how strong the Ice Palace is, right?”

“Then we should…”

“Foolish.”

Seol Cheon-sang turned to the elder with a frown.

“Who do you think sent them?”

“W-well…”

“It’s obviously Shaolin.”

The elders’ faces became stiff when Seol Cheon-sang said “Shaolin”. Shaolin is a famous temple known for martial arts.

“Shaolin could have left the Ice Palace alone until now, because they are strong enough. But they need a reason, a justification.”

Shaolin wasn’t as strong as it used to be.

If Shaolin was as powerful as when the Central Plains (a central region) followed their every command, the Ice Palace wouldn’t have dared to ignore Shaolin’s spying in the North Sea.

But things were different now.

No sect would travel to the distant North Sea just because Shaolin asked them to. So, Shaolin had to face the North Sea alone. That would be hard, even for Shaolin.

And even if Shaolin won, they would be weakened by traveling to the North Sea alone. Then, Shaolin would lose its power over the Central Plains.

“If we attack them, we give Shaolin a reason to attack us.”

“A reason, you say…”

“The Hwasan Divine Dragon, and Shaolin’s Hye-yeon.”

Seol Cheon-sang’s eyes gleamed sharply, like ice.

“If two important disciples from respected sects died in the North Sea at the same time, even the powerful sects would have to get involved in the North Sea’s affairs.”

“Are you saying Shaolin sent them here on purpose? I heard that Shaolin’s Hye-yeon is a very talented person, someone the abbot of Shaolin really cares about. People say he’s a once-in-a-century talent.”

“Yes, a century is a long and important time.”

Seol Cheon-sang muttered to himself. Then, he turned to the elder and said firmly,

“But for Shaolin, which has been around for a thousand years, one talented person is just one person. Shaolin’s reputation is more important.”

“Hmm.”

The elders shuddered.

If that was true, the abbot of Shaolin had sent his most beloved disciple to die?

‘That’s truly ruthless and terrifying.’

People say that you need a venomous heart to rule the world, but who knew it would be like this…

“If we hurt them, Shaolin will have a good reason to put pressure on the Ice Palace.”

“But, Lord Palace Lord, would pressure from the Central Plains really be a problem?”

Seol Cheon-sang turned and glared at the elder. The elder flinched and lowered his head.

Seol Cheon-sang sighed, annoyed and showing his disdain.

“It’s not that I’m afraid of the Central Plains. And I’m even less afraid of Shaolin. The problem is that we won’t gain anything by fighting them now. Unless we can take over the Central Plains right away, winning will only hurt us more.”

“That is correct.”

“The best thing is to win without fighting. If we treat those people well and send them back, Shaolin will lose its reason to invade the Ice Palace.”

“Ah.”

The elders nodded.

“As expected of the Palace Lord!”

“They have no idea what you’re really planning, Lord!”

“The Ice Palace will be glorious for thousands of years!”

Seol Cheon-sang smiled, but he was thinking something else.

‘You blithering idiots.’

They couldn’t even figure out this simple thing and kept asking questions.

To take control of the Ice Palace quickly, he surrounded himself with people who were loyal, not skilled.

So, the elders were good at flattering him, but not helpful.

Seol Cheon-sang suppressed his annoyance and spoke.

“What are those people doing?”

“We gave them wine and food, and they’re eating and drinking a lot, without any worries.”

“Without suspicion?”

“Yes. They don’t seem worried at all.”

“…Are they really that daft?”

Seol Cheon-sang’s smile disappeared. He felt cynical and contemptuous.

“I was a little worried because Beast Palace Lord Maeng So introduced them, but are they just some riffraff who have lived comfortably?”

People who live in harsh lands never let their guard down. But these people didn’t seem to be able to do that.

Just then, one of the elders hesitated, looking strange. Seol Cheon-sang noticed.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Lord Palace Lord…”

The elder swallowed hard, looking awkward.

“That… something’s a bit different.”

Seol Cheon-sang frowned.

Different?

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they don’t seem worried… it’s just that…”

Seol Cheon-sang frowned, annoyed by the stammering.

“Speak clearly! What do you mean?”

“It’s just… maybe you should see it yourself, Lord Palace Lord.”

“Hmm?”

Seol Cheon-sang glared at the elder for a moment, but then started walking again.

‘I’ll know when I see it.’

After all, he was going there anyway.

A moment later, Seol Cheon-sang entered the banquet hall and his eyes widened in disbelief.

‘What is this?’

This was the North Sea Ice Palace.

The North Sea. A land far away from the Central Plains, a barren land.

Anyone who entered the land ruled by the Ice Palace would feel intimidated.

No matter how brave they were, they would be scared by the unfamiliar nature and culture.

So, the foreigners who had visited the North Sea Ice Palace had all reacted in similar ways, without exception.

But…

Seolcheon Sang wondered, “What are those things?”

The scene in front of him was like nothing he had ever seen before.

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

A figure was drinking straight from a big bottle of liquor.

Seolcheon Sang watched the figure’s throat bobbing and felt like he needed a drink too.

“Kraaaah!”

The figure slammed the bottle down, wiped his mouth, and shouted like he was having the best time ever.

“This booze is amazing!”

The one in the middle, laughing, was Chung Myung.

He looked very happy as he stared at the bottle.

The strong liquor was something you couldn’t even find in the Central Plains, and he seemed to really enjoy it. He smacked his lips and grabbed a piece of meat, ready to dig in.

“Meat! It’s meat!”

Chomp chomp chomp chomp.

Chung Myung ate the meat quickly and reached for another piece.

Snatch!

But someone else grabbed the meat first.

“Oh, you dare?”

Chung Myung glared at Jo Gul, who had taken his meat, looking very angry.

“You dare touch my meat? Don’t you respect your elders?”

“Chung Myung, you’re younger than me.”

“Ah, right.”

Jo Gul, who was a little afraid of Chung Myung, started eating the meat quickly, with tears of joy in his eyes.

“Juicy meat…! Not dry jerky, but real meat! Krooooh! It melts in my mouth!”

“Eat a little quieter, okay? Be quiet!”

Yoon Jong scolded Jo Gul while also eating as fast as he could.

Even Baek Cheon, who usually told the others to behave, was eating like crazy without saying a word. Yu Yiseol and Tang Soso were also focused on the table, grabbing food.

“Rice! Rice!”

“This is so delicious…!”

Jo Gul was very happy, like he was in love with the meat.

“We only get good food when we come all the way here!”

“…We brought rice, but we didn’t even have time to cook it.”

“That devil kept rushing us, so we had to eat raw rice!”

They had traveled to the Northern Sea very quickly, so they couldn’t eat well. When they arrived, they were busy helping people and didn’t have time to cook good meals.

Also, they were supposed to be Taoist masters. How could they eat from the little food that was being given to the poor patients?

So, the Mount Hua disciples were having their first real meal in over a month.

They used to eat meat three times a day back in Mount Hua, but lately, they had been eating raw rice and dry jerky. It must have been hard for them! Now that they finally had good food, they didn’t notice anything else.

Except for one person.

Pick, pick.

Only one person wasn’t really eating. Hae Yeon moved his spoon around his plate without really picking anything up.

“…M, Monk…”

The Mount Hua disciples finally looked around and felt sorry for Hae Yeon.

The Ice Palace had brought out a table full of meat to treat their guests well.

Stir-fried meat, boiled meat, fried meat, grilled meat…

It was a feast for the Mount Hua disciples, but Hae Yeon couldn’t eat any of it.

Hae Yeon looked at the table with sad eyes and picked up a few stir-fried vegetables that were there for decoration. He started eating them.

“…Should we ask them to make something else for you?”

“Amitabha…”

Hae Yeon looked at Yoon Jong with tears in his eyes and shook his head.

“I’m… I’m alright.”

“He says he’s alright! Let’s eat!”

“Yes!”

The eating continued like a battle. Hae Yeon stared at the Mount Hua disciples with empty eyes.

‘If they recommend meat to me one more time… just one more time…’

They were cutting him off so heartlessly.

Hae Yeon wasn’t the only one who was confused.

Seolcheon Sang, the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, was also staring at the Mount Hua disciples in shock.

‘Isn’t the Mount Hua Sect a Taoist sect?’

The Northern Sea didn’t know much about the Central Plains, but they knew that much.

‘What kind of Taoist master drinks liquor like that and eats meat like a pig?’

And why was that monk looking at the liquor bottle?

Now he understood why the Elder wanted to see this for himself. This was something you couldn’t describe in words.

“Krooooh! I feel alive now.”

Chung Myung had eaten so much meat that the cooks were tired. He patted his full stomach and grabbed the liquor bottle.

“…How can you drink more after eating so much?”

“Hey, dummy. There’s a separate place for food and a separate place for liquor. You don’t even know that simple thing? Tsk tsk tsk.”

Chung Myung smiled and looked up, feeling happy.

“Oh?”

He saw Seolcheon Sang standing by the door. Chung Myung smiled and stood up.

“Lord of the Palace, you’re here!”

“…”

“Krooooh! Thank you. I didn’t expect such a warm welcome!”

“…Is that so?”

Seolcheon Sang was sweating. He couldn’t remember the last time he had sweated in the Northern Sea.

‘Is he… a little crazy?’

The Central Plains and the Northern Sea didn’t like each other. Even though they had come with Maeng So’s introduction, this place was like enemy territory for them.

But Chung Myung was acting like he was at home, completely relaxed.

“Would you like a drink?”

“…”

“This liquor is good, you know. It’s really amazing.”

Seolcheon Sang was speechless. He smiled awkwardly and said,

“I’m glad you like it.”

He took a deep breath and calmed down. He walked over to the Mount Hua disciples, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Then he felt a little calmer.

“Well then. It looks like you’ve eaten enough, so let’s talk.”

He asked with a gentle smile.

“Why have you come to the Northern Sea?”

Chung Myung smirked.