Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“… a person?”

“It seems like it?”

“Looks like a person?”

Everyone stared at the man sitting on the ice with wide eyes.

“No, a bear?”

“It is talking! Talking!”

“Why are you getting angry!”

When Baek Cheon looked wide-eyed, Yoon Jong turned his head.

The reason why they doubted if it was a person, even though a voice was heard, was simple. It was because the person in front of them had a large bear skin on them.

It was apparel he had never seen in the Central Plains, so it didn’t seem like a person to him.

“Can I speak?”

“… Um.”

While everyone hesitated, the person wearing bear skin looked at them and opened his mouth.

“It has been a while since I saw outsiders.”

Pure white skin was visible beneath the dark brown fur that was covering his head. It was difficult to get a clear idea of his face because of that shaggy beard, but something else stood out more.

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul grabbed both of Baek Cheon’s arms and pulled him back as they whispered.

“S-sasuk, sasuk! That person’s eyes are blue!”

“Isn’t he a goblin?”

“D-do not panic! I heard that these people in the West have blue eyes!”

“… west? This is north!”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon flinched for a moment, unable to find answers. When the three of them glanced at the man, unable to respond, Yu Yiseol stepped ahead, shaking her head.

“Is speaking alright?”

“Um? What does it mean?”

“… the North Sea doesn’t involve itself with the Central plains.”

“Ahhh.”

The man nodded, realizing what that meant.

“That is the story for high-ranking people. It has nothing to do with ignorant ones like us.”

And he smiled brightly.

The disciples of Mount Hua, who saw Yu Yiseol speak unbothered, snuck closer.

Baek Cheon, who was poked in the side, pushed ahead, cleared his throat, and threw himself figuratively at the man.

“Excuse me. I am Baek Cheon, the eldest second-class disciple of the Mount Hua sect.”

“Mount Hua sect?”

The man tilted his head and mumbled.

“Mount Hua… I seem to have heard of it.”

It seemed that Mount Hua’s fame, which had spread throughout the Central Plains, had yet to reach the North Sea.

No, even if their new fame had spread here, it wouldn’t be strange for this man who was not a martial artist to not know of Mount Hua.

Baek Cheon added to it.

“It is a sect in the Central Plains.”

“Ah, you are a Taoist. This is why I didn’t understand your clothes.”

At his words, Baek Cheon put on a bitter smile.

They were wearing animal fur and leather all rolled up together. It would be hard for anyone to know whether they were monks or Taoists.

“Strange. He should recognize the bald one.”

“…”

Gul.

Why were you doing this to Monk Hae Yeon?

Did you have something against him?

Baek Cheon, who wanted him to stop, slightly stepped on his toe and cleared his throat.

“… if you do not mind me, can I ask a couple of things?”

“You people are so polite. Please ask.”

“This is our first time here. Is this the North Sea?”

“Right, the lake of the North Sea.”

“Ahh…”

Baek Cheon’s face was filled with admiration once again.

As he gazed at the vast ice lake, he understood why it was referred to as a Sea.

“It seems we’ve arrived at the right place.”

“Indeed, I’m relieved. If we were on the wrong side, I might’ve broken the ice and jumped in.”

“….”

Yoon Jong had been exhibiting aggressive behavior lately, so Jo Gul stepped in and inquired.

“But why are you here? There’s not much to do on the ice.”

The man smiled brightly in response.

“It might seem a little strange to you, but I was fishing.”

“Huh? Fishing?”

Wait…

A long wooden stick was positioned in front of the man, who sat in a small chair, and a rope extended into a hole in the ice.

“Well, then…”

The man calmly grabbed the nearby stick and struck the freezing hole, breaking it once again.

Jo Gul asked curiously,

“…Can you fish here? Isn’t the water all frozen?”

“The top layer is frozen. If it freezes all the way down, the fish will die. Wouldn’t it be a dead lake?”

“Ah…”

Yoon Jong whispered to Jo Gul, an expression of disapproval on his face.

“Gul.”

“Huh?”

“Quit showing off your stupidity and be quiet.”

“…Yes.”

Baek Cheon smiled at how Yoon Jong was keeping Jo Gul in check. Such a beautiful senior-junior relationship.

“Oh! The rod is moving!”

At that moment, Tang Soso, who had been watching the fishing rod, exclaimed, clearly noticing the movement of the rope.

“Ugh.”

The man tightly gripped the rod and yanked it.

Chaak!

Water spewed out from the hole that was larger than a human head, and a massive fish, the size of a forearm, emerged.

“Wow.”

“So huge!”

“Hahahaha!”

The man chuckled cheerfully.

“It’s rare to catch such large fish these days. I must be lucky. Is it because I met an outsider?”

He shrugged, speaking with a cool tone.

“I’ll treat you to fresh fish.”

“Uh?”

“Hahaha. Don’t hesitate. The people of the North Sea have no problem treating outsiders.”

“No. Not that one. What did you say?”

“I said it’s fresh fish.”

“… what?”

“Uh?”

The man turned his head and looked at the fish he caught. The fish was frozen stiff despite being out of the water for just a couple of seconds.

“… Ugh, it was fresh for a couple of seconds….”

“…”

“…”

The faces of everyone watching the fish remained still. Then, a luggage sack on the cart began to wriggle.

“Hmm?”

The man looked curiously at this.

And…

Swish!

“Euk?”

His eyes widened.

He couldn’t help but be surprised as a luggage sack rose up. The sack’s mouth trembled and opened wide, revealing a blackened head.

“W-what is that thing?”

Baek Cheon closed his mouth and covered his face. Despite not trying to deny Chung Myung’s existence, he felt embarrassed and wanted to pretend not to know him.

“… sorry. That guy was cold.”

And Chung Myung stuck his head out and started screaming.

“Oh no! My head is splitting! Oh no!”

“….”

“Fuck! It’s getting colder! What the hell is this place?”

“…”

The man’s eyes sparkled at this shocking sight.

“Didn’t you say you were Taoists?”

“Not him. Probably.”

“…”

However, no matter what the man thought, Chung Myung kept talking.

“Mister! Mister!”

“Huh? You talking to me?”

“Is this the North Sea?”

“… it is.”

“Where do I need to go to get to the North Sea Ice Palace? Is it around here?”

“Ice Palace?”

The man’s face tensed up.

“You guys are visiting the palace? But the Ice Palace doesn’t allow outsiders. Even the locals need permission to get close to it.”

“Ah, it’s fine. We have permission.”

“You guys do?”

The man gave them a suspicious glance and then nodded.

“Well, if you didn’t have permission, you wouldn’t have been able to come here in winter. People don’t even go out. So it must be urgent.”

“…”

No?

We just came without thinking.

“So, where is the North Sea Ice Palace?”

“The way to the North Sea Ice Palace isn’t difficult. All you have to do is follow the lake all the way. At the end of the lake, there’s a place where the mountains and the lake meet. That’s the North Sea Ice Palace.”

“Ah, so we just need to follow the lake?”

“Right!”

Chung Myung nodded, feeling relieved.

“I was so scared, thinking there was such a long way to go! So we’re almost here?”

“Huh? Didn’t you hear?”

“Huh? You said at the end of the lake, right?”

“…you, you don’t even know what the North Sea is. The end of this lake is around 589 km from here.”

“Huh? What was that?”

“589 km.”

“Huh?”

“Are you deaf? I said 589 km.”

“Huh?”

“….”

Chung Myung’s eyes shook.

“H-How far?”

“589 km.”

“Mister, are you messing around with me?”

“….”

“How much was it? Going from Mount Hua to the Sichuan Tang Family is less than that!”

“Isn’t that why it’s called the North Sea?”

“…this is a crazy place!”

Chung Myung mumbled in shock.

He had heard of the lake being called the North Sea because of its size, but that was all! Wasn’t this too much!?

“W-We have to go another 600 kms with this cart in this cold?”

It felt like the string of rationality broke in Chung Myung’s mind.

“Damn life, I’m not even human if I can’t set fire to the head of Shaolin’s master, Abbot, or whoever he is! Is this person wearing human skin and scamming people? Where did he come from? This?”

He thought these were informants of the Shaolin sect seeking revenge for being beaten by the Demonic Sect.

But there was no one to stop his rant. It was because the others were equally shocked.

“600 km?”

Even now, with the place being frozen, they had come all the way here, and now they had to go hundreds more kilometers? Their faces turned red.

The man shook his head, feeling sorry for them.

“You people had no idea what the North Sea is like. This is just the beginning. It’s a lot colder in the mountains above.”

“….”

“The perfect way to die is going in such clothes.”

The man chuckled as he said it.

“It can’t be helped. Maybe this is also fate. Follow me now.”

“Uh?”

“People of the North Sea don’t treat guests so rudely. You’d better come to my home and warm up a little.”

“Ahh…. Thanks for that, but….”

“Yes! I will go!”

Baek Cheon, who was stopped, looked puzzled while Chung Myung spoke.

“Hey. Going to someone else’s house….”

“I’m freezing to death in here, and you’re worried about going to someone else’s house? You’d rather freeze to death on the street? Who cares about being polite to others now?”

Now Chung Myung was demonstrating with his whole body why people who lived in cold regions were impatient.

“It’s not wrong. It’s not right to underestimate the North Sea.”

“… then don’t be shy and take care of yourselves.”

“Hahaha. What is there to be shy about? Come with me.”

The man began to rise from his seat.

“I’m glad. It’s winter, so there isn’t much to eat, but we’ve caught some fish now.”

“Uh? That?”

The man nodded.

“You want to share that?”

“… It’s not easy to catch things like this here in winter.”

Still, just one fish?

“Ugh. I’d rather just die.”

Sure, I could freeze, but I couldn’t go hungry. Just because I was born a beggar in this life didn’t mean I wanted to live like one!

Chung Myung came out of the sack and moved to the hole.

“UGGHHHHH! Cold! Cold! I’m going to die!”

And without delay, he stuck his hand into the hole.

“W-what are you doing…!”

“UGHHHH!”

As Chung Myung pulled his hand out, the ice around the hole shattered, and several fish, the size of a man’s forearm, came up.

“Ugh?”

“Thud! Thud!”

The fish that landed on the ice started flipping and flopping.

“OHH! Chung Myung, nice job…”

Baek Cheon’s eyes shone, and he turned to praise Chung Myung, but he was no longer there.

“….”

He turned his head and saw him going into the sack and closing it.

“… I’m not sure if I should be praising him or cursing him for this.”

“It’s always the same, Sasuk.”

Yoon Jong patted Baek Cheon on the shoulder as if comforting him. The man looked at the fish scattered around on the ice and the sack.

His eyes softened a little.

“Load these quickly.”

“Yes!”

After the disciples of Mount Hua loaded the frozen fish into the cart, the man also began to arrange his rods.

“I was thinking… you all are no ordinary guests.”

Then, as he got up, he looked at Baek Cheon.

“Let me introduce myself. I am Hong Yi-Myung.”

“Like I said earlier, we are the disciples of Mount Hua from the Central Plains. The third gene…”

“Ah, just move already! I’ll freeze to death here!”

“….”

Hong Yi-Myung nodded, his eyes filled with sadness as he looked at Baek Cheon.

“Let’s go.”

“… Yes.”

At that moment, Baek Cheon realized that a certain person’s personality remained the same, whether it was cold or hot.