By Zephyria 
For him, it was a resonance of emotion he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. However, Ho-yeon looked utterly bewildered.
Before looking at Wi Yeon-gang, whose arm was twisted, Ho-yeon cast his gaze toward the children trembling in the distance. The ground, cracked by the impact of the palm power, stopped abruptly right in front of the children, as if it had been sliced.
It was only the large-headed Hee-un and Soho who were trembling; the two youngest were holding hands, mimicking a clash of palm power. Seeing this belatedly, Hee-un quickly grabbed the two children’s hands and pulled them down.
Unlike the ruined courtyard, the children all seemed safe. Relieved, Ho-yeon tried to release their interlaced fingers, but Cheon Mu-gyeong seemed to have no intention of letting go.
“The one who… made the Palace Master like that was you, wasn’t it.”
Holding his twisted arm with his other hand, Wi Yeon-gang coughed up a mouthful of blood. Ho-yeon tried to rush over, but Cheon Mu-gyeong still didn’t budge.
“Is a man who doesn’t even care for the orphans of his own land so precious to you?”
Those words seemed to imply that Mu-gyeong had blocked the attack to ensure the children weren’t caught in it. Yet, was Cheon Mu-gyeong not a domineering man far removed from the concept of chivalry?
“Speak correctly! I unleashed the Absolute Ice Spirit Palm, but I directed the strike only at you; I didn’t even include the children in the range!”
At the mention of the Absolute Ice Spirit Palm, Ho-yeon’s mouth fell open along with his eyes.
“Palace Master! Were you trying to kill Cheon Mu-gyeong?”
Ho-yeon craned his neck toward the Palace Master, his voice strained. Cheon Mu-gyeong felt the tremor in Ho-yeon’s voice and lightly curled the corners of his lips.
“Is he a man who could be killed just by trying!”
Wi Yeon-gang raised his voice as if telling Ho-yeon to look at his pathetic state. Since he couldn’t exactly tattle that this green, young Sect Leader had looked down on him by calling him “you,” he simply gnashed his teeth.
Furthermore, because he had been overwhelmed in the clash of internal power, the state of his twisted qi and blood, as well as his internal organs, was precarious. If left as is, he would likely need a long period of recuperation.
Nursing a grudge against Cheon Mu-gyeong, who didn’t give him so much as a glance, Wi Yeon-gang left the Eumbyeol Hall. A curse promising future revenge caught in his throat, but he barely managed to hold it back by scraping together what remained of his vanished reason. He couldn’t afford to fall that low.
Because he looked a mess, he didn’t make eye contact with the children, and the children, having felt the Palace Master’s wrath, only looked down at the ground.
Ho-yeon had been forced awake by the chaos, and upon coming outside, he was utterly devastated to find the situation even more absurd. Now that things had settled slightly, his confused mind was gradually clearing.
For some unknown reason, the Palace Master had first unleashed a secret technique of the North Sea Ice Palace on Cheon Mu-gyeong, and Cheon Mu-gyeong, not one to simply take a hit, had left the Palace Master in tatters. The children had seen him be completely overwhelmed; what was to be done? It was a situation where the Palace Master’s prestige would be dragged through the dirt.
“Let go.”
Ho-yeon couldn’t bring himself to look at Mu-gyeong’s forearm, where the blood vessels were raging after receiving Ho-yeon’s internal power.
Slightly leaning his body in, Mu-gyeong pressed their palms deeper together. While he often held hands with the children, this touch felt different from an expression of affection. The pressure from his thick finger bones weaving between Ho-yeon’s was, unbelievably, erotic.
For some reason, Ho-yeon felt his face flush before his arm did from the heat flowing in from the other man’s hand.
“An apology.”
Blink. Ho-yeon blinked once.
“…What?”
“You misunderstood me, didn’t you.”
It was so absurd that a hollow gasp escaped him. While it was true that the Palace Master’s actions had crossed the line, he was certain that Cheon Mu-gyeong was the one who provided the cause.
“Regardless of the reason… you are an uninvited guest. Since when does an uninvited guest cause such problems?”
“Then invite me.”
“…….”
This time, Ho-yeon truly became a mute. However, he soon managed to find a retort.
“I don’t have the authority to do that.”
“At least for me, the law of the strong seems to be correct.”
Confused by the cryptic words, Ho-yeon met his gaze.
“If a man like that were the Sect Leader, I would have flown his head off in less than half a day.”
The energy Wi Ho-yeon emitted was far purer and higher in level than that of the Palace Master. Ultimately, if those who practiced ice art clashed in the North Sea, it became a battle of heaven and earth spiritual energy. In a fight to draw upon the energy of nature, Wi Ho-yeon, who possessed a far more massive dantian, held the advantage.
Why had such a Wi Ho-yeon not coveted the position of the Ice Palace Master? If Wi Ho-yeon had been the Ice Palace Master, perhaps his own life in the previous existence might have been different. If Wi Ho-yeon had existed.
However, it was hard to imagine a Wi Ho-yeon, who lacked a belligerent nature, starting a rebellion for the position of Palace Master.
“We are different from the Demon Sect. Being strong isn’t everything.”
Just like now.
The qi channels in his forearm were still raging, but Cheon Mu-gyeong welcomed the sensation Wi Ho-yeon had given him. As Cheon Mu-gyeong tried to lower his face toward the white crown of the head, Ho-yeon took a step back. Because of this, their interlaced hands parted.
“I have to check on the children.”
Ho-yeon said he would go to the children himself, but the children were already approaching. Finding the frozen courtyard cracked in all directions fascinating, Ha-dong and Geum-hyeon were jumping around on it or playing with palm power again.
Feeling that Hee-un and Soho’s gazes were fixed on their joined hands, Ho-yeon quickly twisted his wrist and pulled away.
“Sir, are you alright?”
Hee-un looked at Ho-yeon and then cautiously pointed to Mu-gyeong’s forearm. The light armor covering Mu-gyeong’s arm had been torn to shreds by the aftermath of the palm power, and the veins in the skin visible through the gaps were bulging as if they might burst. Ho-yeon was quite worried, but he couldn’t show it openly.
“Uncle Wi’s energy was so great that my arm is on the verge of bursting.”
As he nonchalantly pressed the pressure points on his forearm, the qi and blood returned to normal, and the blue veins vanished beneath the tough skin. The arm that had been burned was also fine, but Ho-yeon kept that in mind as well. Even if it had improved, the pain must have existed.
“That’s right! Our uncle is a very, very great person!”
Soho suddenly looked at Ho-yeon with sparkling eyes. Even the great Palace Master was no match for the Sir, and since such a Sir acknowledged her uncle as great, her heart couldn’t help but swell.
The people of the North Sea respected and revered the Palace Master, but compared to the loyalty of the Demon Sect members toward their Sect Leader, it was merely a superficial faith. Especially for the young, like the children of Eumbyeol Hall, loyalty was lower.
Hee-un poked Soho in the side, as if telling her to read the room. Soho, whose tact seemed to have been frozen since birth, only furrowed her brow, wondering why.
“Uncle, I intend to return this gold to the Sir.”
Ho-yeon, who had unconsciously kept his gaze fixed on Mu-gyeong’s forearm, was quite surprised. It was because Hee-un suddenly held out a pouch of gold. Ho-yeon soon smiled proudly and stroked Hee-un’s head.
“Yes, Hee-un. That’s a good thought.”
Smiling shyly, Hee-un handed the gold to Mu-gyeong and said,
“Sir, I will gratefully accept only your kindness.”
“I never gave you my kindness.”
How could he speak so spitefully! Fearing that Hee-un might be hurt, Ho-yeon moved the child behind him.
“Once something leaves my hand, it never returns. The disposal is up to you.”
At Mu-gyeong’s blunt words, Hee-un remained flustered and hesitated. Ho-yeon took the pouch from Hee-un and forced it upon Cheon Mu-gyeong.
“Take it. They are still children. How are they supposed to manage this much money?”
“Is Uncle Wi not their guardian?”
That meant he was telling Ho-yeon to manage the money. Ho-yeon swallowed hard. With this much gold, he could buy Hee-un a beautiful and elegant new hair pin, wrist and ankle guards for Soho, who took on all the hard work, and as many cheek warmers and thick fur boots for Geum-hyeon and Ha-dong as he wanted.
He had already been bothered by the sight of the two youngest’s cheeks being cracked bright red. It wasn’t that he had no money at all, but he intended to use it sparingly until the children grew up. But if there was this much gold, and a whole pouch full of it…
As Ho-yeon stared blankly at the pouch, he snapped his head up the moment the large shadow cast over him disappeared. Mu-gyeong, who had torn off the tattered sleeves of his light armor as if they were cumbersome, was walking away.
The question of where he was going rose to his throat. But he felt that if he spoke, it would be like trying to hold him back, so Ho-yeon kept his lips tightly shut.
In the end, without even telling him to take the gold back, he only watched his retreating back with a troubled expression.
You are an uninvited guest.
The words he had spoken kept weighing on his mind. When he had stayed in the Demon Sect with no connections, his heart had felt empty, and he had often thought of the children of Eumbyeol Hall. Since Cheon Mu-gyeong had no one but him in this distant land, he wondered if he had been too cold and dismissive…
Ho-yeon shook his head slightly. Who was sympathizing with whom? However, Cheon Mu-gyeong had not resisted the internal power he released, but had accepted it entirely. Thinking about it again, the Palace Master had been in a situation where not just an arm, but his very life could not have been guaranteed.
He didn’t believe Mu-gyeong had endured it to avoid friction between the North Sea Ice Palace and the Demon Sect. “Above heaven and below earth, I alone am honored”—there were no words that described him better. Therefore, Cheon Mu-gyeong had no need for patience or generosity. He was a man who reigned over a land where the strong were always right.
Perhaps the reason he endured was…
“Hee-un.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“Could you hide this gold under my bed for me? And before that, buy a hairpin for yourself, wrist and ankle guards for Soho, and cheek warmers and fur boots for the youngest.”
Hee-un’s eyes soon became teary. These were all things they needed, and things they had actually tried to buy but had given up on. To think that her uncle was looking after them so tenderly. Even the biting wind of the North Sea suddenly felt like nothing.
‘How happy must she be for the usually calm Hee-un to shed tears?’
Ho-yeon felt a bit embarrassed, as if he had taken the credit using Cheon Mu-gyeong’s money, but he trusted Hee-un and entrusted her with the gold pouch. Then, he turned his steps in the direction Cheon Mu-gyeong had disappeared.
“Uncle, where are you going?”
Ho-yeon pondered for a moment before giving Hee-un an answer.
“…I should go see him.”
Ho-yeon’s gaze was still fixed on the spot where Cheon Mu-gyeong had stood. Then, fearing he might lose him completely, he hurriedly added,
“Because I am the elder.”
It was an ambiguous statement.