I don’t think it’s enough to simply calculate the losses the Northern Sea Ice Palace would take if they joined hands with the Unorthodox Alliance and went to war.
Unless there’s something else in play, it’ll be hard to stop the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Should I request a duel and knock everyone down as much as I can…? If I cleanly beat up a hundred people and get slapped with a twelve-week recovery diagnosis… No. I’d be restrained long before that.
Have I gotten used to thinking like a martial artist?
Endure. I’m a physician. If it comes to that, I’ll have to treat every last one of them. Surgery isn’t easy here, not with their religion. This damn neighborhood… No. No. Calm body and mind. Peace. Inner peace…
Jin Cheon-hee murmured sutras under his breath, steadying his body and mind.
“We need to gather information.”
“Information gathering, huh…”
“Yes. First, I think we should check whether anything’s wrong in this city, starting with the market in Baekho City. It doesn’t look like they’ll summon me immediately, anyway.”
“Are you going to go around bestowing kindness or something?”
“Something like that.”
At Gongsun Yeong’s question, Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
The meeting with the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace had ended without any real conclusion, and he’d likely be called to meet him again after some time had passed.
At least a few days, then.
If he could place something the Northern Sea Ice Palace genuinely needed into their hands, he might be able to pry them away from the Unorthodox Alliance.
“Hm. I’ll help you as well. You saved my life. The least I can do is this much.”
“Uh… but Your Highness wandering around the market…”
“I have acquaintances inside the palace too. My master taught me martial arts, but my senior brothers and sisters taught me as well.”
Connections within the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
If he really had those, gathering information inside the palace would be far easier.
“Then… please. I’m counting on you.”
“I will.”
“I’ll comb the commercial districts! I haven’t lost my touch!”
Gongsun Yeong pumped a fist, bright and energetic.
Business aside, when it came to making friends, she was frighteningly good at it.
If anyone could pull information out of the commercial districts, it was her, a so-called super insider in modern terms.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Leave it to me!”
And with that, the party scattered.
***
Baekho City was large, with more people than Jin Cheon-hee had expected. Built beside the lake, it drew all kinds: merchants with nomadic roots like the Suksin Tribe, and travelers who’d crossed over from the Hwa Empire.
Its signature commodity was Blue Light Crystal.
They said it was rare, a stone that gave off a faint blue glow when left alone. Mined from a vein on one side of the enormous snowy mountain, it was a self-luminous stone, the kind that seemed to hold light inside its body.
Just as luminous stone could cost more than gold by weight, Blue Light Crystal fetched a similar price, even if its glow was weaker.
Merchants flocked from everywhere for it. The city also became a natural stopover for those trying to travel east to west, or west to east.
Out in the open now, Jin Cheon-hee heard all of this clearly as he walked through the market. Martial arts sharpened the ears, and voices carried to him from far away as if the crowd itself were feeding him rumors.
Gathering information as he went, he headed toward the healing center he’d secured an introduction to before leaving the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Just as the Hwa Empire had physicians, and the Dadu Kingdom had physicians, the Ayesha Kingdom had something called a Healing Center.
Jin Cheon-hee intended to gauge the medical level of the region there, and to see whether the Northern Sea Ice Palace might have use for any information he could uncover.
He’d chosen the healing center for a simple reason: conversation had its own doors, especially between medical professionals. And because he’d deliberately obtained a letter of introduction through His Highness, he wouldn’t be turned away at the entrance.
That must be it.
In the distance stood a stylish, four-story plaster building. On the roof hung the symbol of the Guardian Cult, marking it as the best healing center in the city.
The man running it was said to be from the Selim Theocratic State rather than the Ayesha Kingdom. His name was Germain.
As Jin Cheon-hee walked toward Germain’s healing center, he suddenly stopped.
“Uh?”
Between the gloomy alleys, he saw a young man who was far too familiar, and far too conspicuous to be standing there at all.
Yeo Ha-ryoon, the Junior Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.
Without moving his head, Yeo Ha-ryoon only shifted his eyes, glanced at Jin Cheon-hee, and sent a message straight into his mind.
Long time no see, hyung.
In the shadows, only Yeo Ha-ryoon’s unique stillness pressed against the air.
Uh… long time no see. But why’re you here?
Because I have a mission. Move first.
Yeo Ha-ryoon slipped deeper between the alleys.
Jin Cheon-hee hurried after him.
***
The alleyways were narrow and maze-like, the hallmark of old cities. Hangzhou was the same: buildings collapsed, were rebuilt, collapsed again, and over time the whole city began to connect like a spiderweb.
Following Yeo Ha-ryoon, Jin Cheon-hee entered through the small back door of an old house.
A safe house made by the Demonic Cult.
“Ah… cold. Why’s it so cold even inside?”
At his grumble, the younger man smirked.
“Ondol is spreading quickly, but it’s still nowhere near enough to cover everything. This is a poor alley, so it’s worse. Hyung.”
“How do people endure it in the meantime?”
“It’s a volcanic zone, so it’s warmer than other frozen lands. Sit here.”
Jin Cheon-hee took the chair Yeo Ha-ryoon indicated.
Two cups of strong liquor were warmed and set out, one for each of them.
Even if he’d heated it using Scorching Yang Energy, most people couldn’t do something like that so quickly without any preparatory movement. It looked as if he’d done it with sheer will rather than internal energy, making it impossible to gauge his realm, but Jin Cheon-hee didn’t let any of that show on his face.
This guy was the protagonist, and a monster beyond ordinary logic.
“Wait. Wait a moment.”
From the medicine box Jin Cheon-hee had brought, something like a dried fish tail popped out unexpectedly.
Then, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, he dropped it into both cups and boiled them again with Scorching Yang Energy.
“What is that…?”
“Dried sea bream fin. It’s used as medicine, but if you soak it in alcohol and boil it, it turns into a delicacy again. I don’t like alcohol that much, but Sister Gongsun Yeong said it was unbelievably good.”
“…Hyung. I can’t taste.”
“That’s why.” Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes narrowed in stubborn concern. “I’m wondering whether you can’t feel anything even if we add aroma. You can still smell blood, at least, right?”
Like Severed Meridians, Yeo Ha-ryoon’s loss of taste was hard to explain with modern science.
Then I should try something, at least.
“Ha. Did you come all this way just to take care of my tongue first, hyung?”
“Drink first.”
“….”
Sip.
Yeo Ha-ryoon swallowed a mouthful and exhaled.
“I only feel the texture. It’s not the taste you want.”
“Hm. Not enough.” Jin Cheon-hee set his jaw. “Then expose your acupoints a bit. No, I should come closer. Stay still.”
He drew out a long needle.
After taking measures to temporarily let him taste, like last time, Jin Cheon-hee handed the cup back.
Sip.
“It’s delicious.”
“Right.” Jin Cheon-hee grinned, pleased in a way only an older brother could be. “Hehehe.”
He found it strangely endearing, watching Yeo Ha-ryoon savor something with genuine enjoyment.
Yeo Ha-ryoon lingered over the sensation, taste returning after a long absence.
“The candy I sent?”
“I ate all of it except one.”
“Good. You saved one for when things get hard?”
“Hm.”
Yeo Ha-ryoon gave the smallest nod.
After trading overdue stories, Jin Cheon-hee finally asked, “So. Why are you here?”
Not just Yeo Ha-ryoon, but the Demonic Cult as a whole.
Sip.
Yeo Ha-ryoon tasted the alcohol again, the scent of sea bream rising with the heat, and then he spoke.
“Two things. We’re here for two reasons.”
“Blood Immortal Cult?”
“Right. You noticed immediately, hyung.”
Jin Cheon-hee nodded once and pressed, “Then the second?”
“Helping maintain the alliance between the Unorthodox Alliance and the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“…”
“You’re not surprised. Did you predict it?”
“Because it didn’t match the Blood Immortal Cult’s method. And in the end, the Demonic Cult has to be among the forces that want the Great War.”
The Heavenly Demon wants blood. She wants more blood. Different from the Blood Immortal Cult, sure, but she knows it too: the Demonic Cult will inevitably spill a river of blood if it’s going to conquer the world.
“She said too many masters are still alive.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Jin Cheon-hee scratched his chin, then added, “Cheol Mu-baek of the Iron Martial Sect, maybe?”
“…You figured out even that much?”
Yeo Ha-ryoon didn’t hide his surprise.
“It’s strange for a rising master that young to be unknown. Even if he trained in the mountains and only came down recently, it’s odd that he’d specifically attach himself to the Unorthodox Alliance. And above all…”
“Hm?”
“I scratched him, and he acted like someone used to being insulted. Isn’t that strange? A strong, up-and-coming master from the wilderness, yet he’s already heard enough contempt to get used to it.”
“Cheol Mu-baek was too calm. As a spy, he’s top-class, but that top-class part became poison.”
Jin Cheon-hee shook his head.
“No. I went in suspicious from the start. From the Unorthodox Alliance’s perspective, it would’ve looked different.”
“…”
Yeo Ha-ryoon fell into thought and took another sip.
The rich alcohol scent. The savory trace of sea bream. The burn of strong liquor spreading from the tip of his tongue down into his stomach.
Hyung hasn’t changed. No… he’s sharper than before.
As he’d said, the Unorthodox Alliance hadn’t suspected Cheol Mu-baek.
The sect itself had been created by a martial artist from the Unorthodox Alliance long ago, a group centered on smuggling. Even their ledgers looked clean.
And the founding patriarch, the one who’d once belonged to the Unorthodox Alliance, had actually been a martial artist from the Demonic Cult.
He’d infiltrated, then withdrawn at the perfect time.
From the Unorthodox Alliance’s perspective, that made them feel like relatives by default. There’d been no reason to suspect anything.
And yet Jin Cheon-hee had seen through it from a handful of traits.
It meant he’d adapted that deeply to the physiology of the gangho.
“By the way, is it really okay to confirm Cheol Mu-baek is a spy this easily?”
At that, Yeo Ha-ryoon smirked.
“It’s fine. If things go wrong with the Unorthodox Alliance, that Junior Cult Leader bastard will be the one in trouble. It doesn’t bother me.”
“Oho?”
“I’m telling you because it’s you, hyung. If it were someone else, I would’ve killed him the moment he realized the secret, just to shut his mouth.”
Hm, Heavenly Demon-nim. Your little Heavenly Demon is spilling the Cult’s secrets like it’s nothing.
I’ll call the price of that crab meat soup repaid.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art? That’s what you forced on me.
Jin Cheon-hee kept his face composed and continued, “What a damned mess of a family, like ‘konggaru’ spilled everywhere. Junior Cult Leaders ready to bite each other’s throats. Well, there’s only one future Heavenly Demon anyway. Is it because the one who survives becomes the next Heavenly Demon?”
“Well, something like that.” Yeo Ha-ryoon’s eyes narrowed. “By the way, I didn’t know you’d come. Did you come to break the alliance with the Unorthodox Alliance?”
“Yeah. There’s no need for people to kill each other for nothing.” Jin Cheon-hee cracked his neck with a quiet series of pops. “Ah, thinking about it, there’s something decent for a snack.”
Saying that, he pulled dried fish out of the medicine box again.