Chapter 186. Eight Years of Hardship and Suffering (7)

What mattered most was the heart.

No matter what kind of scar it left, a superficial wound left by a superficial action was still nothing more than that: superficial.

This was something he had known for a long time now. However, he had momentarily forgotten in the moment, and impulsively cut the back of his hand while he made his oath.

An oath was just a shackle that tied one’s heart.

As long as he had an unwavering mind and motivation, why would he ever need a shackle like that? Was there any chance he would forget Na Ban’s death? Was there any chance he’d just let Martial Heaven do what they wanted? Of course not. And he knew that very well.

Woo-Moon had just acted in such a manner as he had been overcome by guilt and driven by passion. And Ma-Ra had just made him see the error of his ways because she didn’t want to see him harming himself for no reason. Being injured in a fight was something both of them were accustomed to, but this was something else altogether.

Woo-Moon grabbed Ma-Ra's slender arm and hugged her.

“I won’t do something like that again. I promise.”

Without answering, Ma-Ra silently drew ointment and a bandage from her sleeve and carefully wrapped Woo-Moon’s hand.

If he were to circulate his qi, he could heal it in an instant. However, Woo-Moon deliberately didn’t do so. He just smiled softly and enjoyed Ma-Ra's touch.

The wind blew and made her long, luscious hair flutter.

Woo-Moon raised his hand and softly stroked Ma-Ra's head, straightening her hair.

Even though she had finished treating Woo-Moon’s hand, Ma-Ra stood still and didn’t move. Although she was not expressing it in any way, she was enjoying Woo-Moon’s touch.

A cat.

A proud and innocent little cat.

That was what Ma-Ra reminded him of.

Hugging her from behind, Woo-Moon kissed her deeply.

Time sweetly passed as the two continued kissing without even breathing. So long, in fact, that an average person would have died of a pleasant suffocation. Long enough for them both to accumulate some experience.

Both of them felt satisfied—as if a quiet frustration had been taken off their shoulders, something they’d longed to do but for some reason had never happened.

Then, they sensed someone coming.

Woo-Moon smirked as he looked at Ma-Ra’s luscious lips. “How soft... I could do this all day long...”

Ma-Ra, flustered, punched him in the chest and ran away in embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Woo-Moon tidied up his clothes and waited for the two people walking toward him.

“There you are, dear son-in-law.”

The first to appear was Ah Hee, the Otherworldly Ice Fairy of the North Sea Ice Palace. The beautiful girl walking behind her was Yeo-Seol.

“Is there something you need?” Woo-Moon asked, cupping his fist.

Ah Hee looked at him with a deep, thoughtful gaze.

“Are you returning to the Central Plains now?”

“Yes. It’s only a matter of time before news of my survival spreads across the Central Plains, and I have things I must go and do.”

Woo-Moon hadn’t finished everything he had set out to do. No, the most important thing he needed to do hadn’t been completed yet. Taking down the Cruel Sandstorm Riders was just a detour. Naturally, finding his parents and Gun-Ha topped his list of priorities, but he knew all too well that he was just a single man. No matter how fast and powerful he was, searching for them by himself was an exercise in futility.

Instead, he could rely on his trusted allies to search, while he himself could focus on the things he

could

do by himself.

‘I have to investigate the Hegemon Clan. I have to see if they truly are subordinates of Martial Heaven...’

His parents and Gun-Ha seem to have gone missing due to something related to Martial Heaven. He had no idea where Martial Heaven was hiding, but he did have a very good idea of where their subordinates were, and that could give him some clues.

‘If they did something to them...!’

Just thinking about the possibility made his blood race.

“Well, that makes sense. Still, although you might be able to go and track them down yourself if you find a clue or another, in the current situation, where you can’t find a hint of them anywhere, there’s no point in looking for them alone. You’re thinking of leaving the bulk of the search to the Imperial Government, the Kunlun Sect, and our North Sea Ice Palace, right?”

Woo-Moon nodded. “Exactly. You will help me, right?”

“I have one condition.”

Woo-Moon grew instantly nervous at the word “condition.”

“What is it?”

“Please take my daughter with you.”

Woo-Moon found it difficult to refuse, considering he had told Yeo-Seol that he would stay by her side forever. But...

“It’ll be dangerous. Martial Heaven is strong, so strong that I may find it difficult to protect myself, let alone Young Lady Ha.”

“It doesn’t matter, we accept the risks. Even if she has to risk everything, Yeo-Seol still wants to follow you.”

Woo-Moon looked at Yeo-Seol.

“I don’t want Young Lady Ha to be in danger.”

Yeo-Seol bit her lip and confidently shook her head.

“I was so... so sad when I heard that you had died while I was at the North Sea Ice Palace. I don’t ever want to go through that again. I don’t want to sit on the side, far away from danger, and tremble as I wait for news of you. I don’t care if I die. I don’t want to be away from you!”

In the end, Woo-Moon had no choice.

“Whew... I understand. Then, let's go to the Central Plains together, Young Lady Ha,” Woo-Moon said, nodding.

“Thank you, Young Hero Song.”

Although Yeo-Seol still harbored some conflicting feelings toward Ah Hee and felt uncomfortable around her, their relationship seemed to have improved somewhat compared to before.

Ah Hee had a slight smile on her usually icy face.

“You don’t have to worry too much about my daughter’s safety. There’s nothing we can do if she’s targeted by someone stronger than an Absolute Master, the Ten Swords of the North Sea will protect her otherwise.”

The Ten Swords of the North Sea.

It was a title given to the ten strongest disciples of the North Sea Ice Palace after the palace master and the elders. Funnily enough, although they were called the Ten Swords, most of them didn’t actually use swords.

“That’s a relief, then. With them, Young Lady Ha will be a little safer.”

The Ten Swords of the North Sea were all Transcendents, and they were quite strong even among Transcendents. Unless they were fighting several Absolute Masters or a Paragon, they could definitely ensure Yeo-Seol’s survival.

“I’ll take my leave, then, as I can’t leave the North Sea Ice Palace empty for long. Please take care of my daughter.”

“Understood. Have a safe trip home.”

As he watched Ah Hee depart, he heard her voice ring in his ear.

—I don’t know how many-eth wife my daughter is, but no matter how heroic and blessed your hero’s blessing is, don’t collect too many of them. Only marry as many as you can handle, okay?

Woo-Moon's face turned red at those words.

Although he hadn’t meant to... he had ended up entangled with several women.

Ma-Ra, Yeo-Seol, his junior sister Si-Hyeon, who was no longer living...

Thump!

As soon as he thought about her, the chronic pain that never seemed to leave his chest reared its ugly head.

“Ma-Ra, come out.”

Ma-Ra, who had been hiding in Woo-Moon's shadow, appeared before Yeo-Seol and him.

“Huh?”

Yeo-Seol, who had no clue that Ma-Ra was there, opened her eyes wide in surprise.

Then, she instantly felt threatened.

By this point, she was no longer as na?ve as before. She was aware that she was outstandingly beautiful. After all, wasn’t she the daughter of Ah Hee, the so-called Goddess of Beauty of the North Sea? Yet, she felt that the girl in front of her was even more beautiful.

‘Since we’ll be traveling together from now on, it's good for us to get the greetings out of the way... Nah. What am I even thinking? Since we’re going to BE together... well... it is what it is. Please don’t hate each other.’

Woo-Moon felt like he was getting a headache. He was worried about what would happen if the two of them disliked each other. If that happened, he was doomed. How could they ever start a family like that?

“This is Ma-Ra. We, well... we met through some circumstances and now stay together.”

Woo-Moon attempted to explain how they had first met. He found it difficult to expose Ma-Ra’s past as a slave, leading him to try to explain it as vaguely as possible.

Even so, he still flinched as he saw Yeo-Seol’s combative gaze. Moreover, Ma-Ra started to expose her bloodlust when she heard him say “we now stay together.”

‘It’s already gotten hard, it seems.’

“T-this is Ha Yeo-Seol. She is the daughter of the Palace Master of the North Sea Ice Palace. I first met her at the inn where I used to live.”

The two girls looked at each other for a moment. Then, Yeo-Seol, who was a little more sociable than Ma-Ra, smiled awkwardly and spoke first.

“H-hello. It’s nice to meet you,

hehe

."

Ma-Ra, on the other hand, was expressionless.

She was just as cold as Yeo-Seol’s mother, but while Ah Hee had an icy queen demeanor about her, Ma-Ra was simply poker-faced and barely more expressive than a rock. In any case, neither was the type that anyone could just easily approach.

On the other hand, Yeo-Seol was very kind and weak-hearted. She was the innocent and pretty girl-next-door type, and that was exactly why she brought out such a strong protective instinct in Woo-Moon. Unfortunately, here, that served her poorly, as she was too timid to become friends with someone like Ma-Ra.

Woo-Moon looked between the two people anxiously.

Quite unexpectedly, he saw Ma-Ra smiling faintly and nodding her head.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Ma-Ra!”

Surprised and delighted, Woo-Moon was about to say something when Ma-Ra suddenly disappeared.

“Wow!”

As Ma-Ra disappeared, Yeo-Seol’s eyes widened again in amazement. She was as cute as a curious rabbit, once again stimulating Woo-Moon's protective instinct.

Woo-Moon asked her a question, smiling unconsciously.

“How old are you now, Young Lady Ha?”

“Oh, I turned eighteen this year.”

“Oh, is that so? Ma-Ra is eighteen, too. You two can just be friends.”

Yeo-Seol shook her head in response.

“No, I can’t! Op... um. Op...”

Woo-Moon was initially hurt by her reaction, taking it as her not wanting to be friends. However, he was confused, finding it strange that Yeo-Seol suddenly found it difficult to speak, stuttering and blushing.

“What’s wrong, Young Lady Ha?”

Yeo-Seol lowered her face, which was so red that it looked as if it were about to explode.

“Gege...”

Gege.

This was the familiar moniker used by a woman to refer to the man she loved.[1]

Yeo-Seol was embarrassed as she said this word for the first time, while Woo-Moon felt like her voice was so sweet that he was melting.

After saying it once, Yeo-Seol gained more courage.

Tilting her head, she continued without stuttering.

“Since Young Lady Ma-Ra met you first, Gege, it wouldn’t be right for me to treat her like a friend. I should be referring to her as Unnie.”

“Ah...”

Yeo-Seol was right when it came to etiquette.

Woo-Moon had fallen in love with Ma-Ra first, and once the war was over and they could finally enjoy life, he would marry Ma-Ra first and make her his first wife—his main wife, in other words.

However, Ma-Ra suddenly appeared once again. Without hesitation, she grabbed Yeo-Seol’s hand.

“I don’t like being called Unnie. Let’s just be friends.”

Ma-Ra looked over at Woo-Moon. “Is that okay?”

Naturally, Woo-Moon had no intention of objecting.

“Yeah. It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m not sure if Young Lady Ha will mind.”

Ma-Ra looked at Yeo-Seol with her colorless eyes.

"We are friends."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ma-Ra let go of Yeo-Seol's hand and disappeared.

“Ah... w-we can’t do that... What are people going to say...”

Unlike Woo-Moon and Ma-Ra, Yeo-Seol was less liberal in her notions of etiquette and therefore found herself rather flustered by Ma-Ra’s reaction.

“Eh, no worries. Who cares about others? What matters is you being okay with it.”

Eventually, Yeo-Seol nodded. She was, after all, not just the average young lady; she was a person of the

murim

and, more importantly, a disciple of the North Sea Ice Palace, which was famed for not being stuck in the stiff ways of the Central Plains.

“Understood. Then, let’s do it that way. But...”

“What is it?”

“You have to stop calling me Young Lady Ha. It feels really uncomfortable when you’re so formal.”

“Okay. I’ll relax a little from now on, then. You can do the same, Yeo-Seol. Do whatever you feel comfortable with. Just look at Ma-Ra! She just does whatever she wants!”

Thwack!

Suddenly, a rock the size of a fist flew out of thin air and hit Woo-Moon on the back of his head.

“Agk! Hey, what’s wrong with you?! It’s not like I’m lying!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

1. In ethnic Korean, the term for an older brother from a woman’s side is

oppa

. In Sino-Korean—in other words, in Chinese—it’s

gege

(哥哥). Besides actual siblings, it’s also common for women in Korean/Chinese cultures to apply these terms to men they’re familiar with, particularly their boyfriends/husbands. In murim novels, where Hanmun/Sino-Korean root words are common, they often differentiate the actual brother

oppa

from the boyfriend/husband

oppa

by using

gege

for the latter. ☜