Chapter 70

“……The heavens were pouring out all the thunderbolts they had in store.”
“Don’t say it. There was a dragon manifestation. Made of thunderbolts!”
The Simmani snorted at that. They had to say something that made sense.
“Well, you’ve been dragged away, and you’ve seen a lot of things. I wonder if you’ve been poisoned, and I’ll have to detoxify you.”
“Thunderbolts? Good for you. Didn’t you just piss yourself when you were captured?”
“You like dragons. The damn dragon! Dragons! Dragons! I’d scream at him to get out of the world if I saw one twice!”
Despite Biannan’s five senses, Guan Guo and Mr. Zhao didn’t care; they didn’t dare to ask him to believe what he saw.
But they wanted to speak. They wanted to tell the world that the land of the North Sea, here and now, was free again, and that it was not by their own efforts.
He wanted the world to know, if he could, and he wanted everyone here in the North Sea to know it, at least.
Even if they were just young men and women sleeping soundly now.
“You owe me …….”
“No debt. I did what I had to do, and now what?”
Han Tae-moon, who had returned to the Bing Palace and reclaimed the throne, shrugged.
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to put everything back.”
As soon as Han Tae-moon imprisoned Han Il-sang, he set out to restore everything in the North Sea. He retrieved all the freezing herbs and poisonous herbs that had fallen into the hands of the Northern Sea Shepherds and simultaneously released all the food in the ice palace. He also sent councilors trained in medicine to each village to examine the poisoned Northern Sea Shepherds.
Gradually, things in the North Sea began to return to their normal state.
* * *
“Actually, I’ve seen that sign before.”
I looked up at the sudden words. I looked at the mark.
“What do you mean, a mark?”
“The mark on the clothes you’re wearing.”
It was the mark of the Southern Palace. So you know the mark of the Southern Palace. A palace lord of the Northern Ice Palace.
We shouldn’t have had any contact.
Seeing my confusion, Han Tae-moon smiled and slowly spoke.
“It was a long time ago. But there’s a reason I remember it. It’s been a long time, but there was a freak with that mark who came to visit. I think.”
An eccentric.
An eccentric with the mark of the Southern Palace.
“Namgung…….”
It was Yak-sun’s name. I looked surprised. Why did that name come out of nowhere?
He had come all the way to the North Sea.
“A hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years. He called them all by name and said, “I’ll give you any amount of money, just give it to me.”
But Han Tae-moon refused, saying it was impossible. They were the treasure of the North Sea, he said, and theirs alone.
“Nevertheless, he refused to give them up. He was so stubborn. Ah, I see.”
Han Tae-moon smiled wryly and pointed to my stubbornly pursed lips.
“That’s exactly how you looked. Stubborn.”
“So what did you do, give up and go home?”
“No, it pointed me in a different direction.”
“Another way?”
“He said he would teach me his medicine.”
Medicine was not very well developed in the North Sea. He was so weak in medicine that he couldn’t even mend a common horn properly, so he offered to teach Beihai his medicine, which was to be the Southern Palace.
“I told him it was absurd, but he was very persistent, so I gave him a hundred ginsengs with both hands and feet.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the story. I felt stubborn, too. Even though I’d never met this ancestor of the Southern Palace, I felt a kinship with him.
“I can still remember how you were so excited like a child.”
“You had a big heart.”
“But how brilliant your choice was. Your choice was the best.”
Han Tae-moon’s gaze traveled to the center of the village, where councilors with medicinal needles and herbs were treating villagers one by one.
“The medicine he left behind is still useful here in the North Sea. In addition, the things he taught us remain in each village in the North Sea, and they are used to nourish the bodies of the North Sea people.”
I laughed out loud at the story, realizing that the warmth of the Southern Palace had been embedded in this place.
I realized that the warmth of the Southern Palace had been embedded in this place. Moreover, the warmth of my ancestor’s words seemed to melt away the coldness that enveloped me.
I could not be more proud than to see the name of the Namgung so well known here in the North Sea, in a land so far away.
“I didn’t know the importance of medicine then, so I paid for it with white ginseng, but I’m too proud to do so this time, as I represent the Beihai.”
“White ginseng is enough.”
White ginseng, even white ginseng, is hard to come by in the North Sea, so I had no intention of asking for anything more. I was glad to see that it was easier to get than I thought, but.
Shaking his head, Han Tae-moon turned his gaze to Mr. Cho, who was still standing there.
“This time, you’ll pay for what you’ve done.”
With that, he took the box Mr. Cho was carefully holding and opened it.
With a snap, the box was opened, and inside were five white ginsengs. Five of them.
“You shouldn’t be surprised by that yet.”
The second box looked even more luxurious, and I opened it,
“…… is deeply fragrant.”
The fragrance was deeper and richer than the five white ginsengs, which gave off the aura of the northern wind and snow just by looking at them.
“……root?”
“Yes. Root.”
It was a three-pronged root that could only be considered bigger than a white ginseng.
“……And an unusual aura. What is this?”
“You felt the aura. This is the true treasure. A treasure.”
As he spoke, Han Tae-moon opened the wrapper he was holding. It was brilliant and transparent, filled with the mystery of the North Sea and the power of life, as if it had been plucked from the snowy mountains of the North Sea.
As soon as I sensed something unusual, I looked at Han Tae-moon with an incredulous expression.
“You seem to recognize me at a glance.”
“Even with five hundred ginsengs, this one root is still enough to provide ancestral hemostasis.”
“That’s right. Even if it’s not five hundred ginsengs, but ten, it can’t be compared to this. There is a great power of nature, and a part of it is contained in every single root.”
It was none other than the root of the Korean ginseng.
“Panax ginseng……!”
I’ve heard it before. The story of ginseng is the stuff of legend.
The extraordinary nature of the ginseng, which is said to be comparable to bulo grass, is hard to overstate.
As I stared at the three roots of bamboo ginseng being handed to me, I was dumbfounded. This is what it means to pay a price.
“You’ve done more than you deserve, but you must understand. It is necessary to heal the poisoned North Sea people and keep the North Sea alive.”
“You are right.”
As he said, the poison that had accumulated in the North Sea for so many years had to be dispelled with a mighty blast of energy. Just as the energy of the deepest heart was driven out in one fell swoop with the energy of the Thunderclan.
And to overcome the poisoning of hundreds and thousands of North Sea people, they would absolutely need to harness the power of the bamboo ginseng. I shook my head in disbelief at the thought of using my hard-earned treasure for the benefit of the Beihai people. Yes.
That’s how it should be.
Not for my own glory and wealth.
Not for my own glory and authority.
Not my own mastery of the North Sea.
To be the guardian of the North Sea.
Not to end in regret for what was said to me.
With the heart of a leader who truly cares about the Beihai.
I nodded at the sense of responsibility and mission Hantai showed me.
“This is what you wanted to show me, what you wanted to prove.”
My uncle-in-law had come over and was talking to me. She was talking to me in a way that I had never heard before, and I was showing her that this is what I wanted to show her.
This is the way I need to go, this is the way I want to go.
“……Yes, the Southern Palace is the way to go.”
The old man turned and looked at the united North Sea people.
“It will be a difficult task.”
“Don’t get your hopes up…….”
“But I’m looking forward to it.”
With that, he walked over to Black Ho, Donghwi, and Kang Woo-moon, who had collapsed and were being treated.
Anyway.
A little embarrassed.
“Did I say sword king?”
“My uncle?”
“I see you’re going to be an uncle. That’s quite the honor.”
Han Tae-moon gazed at the back of his uncle’s head, admiring him briefly, and then shook his head excitedly. It was as if he was remembering the last battle.
“The Sword King, you were never worthy of that title…… said.”
“Of what?”
“Your exploits in the North Sea were all your doing. If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have stepped forward.”
“…….”
“And he said he had a child who was better than him, but I think he meant you.”
I coughed unnecessarily. These were embarrassing stories.
“Do you know what you’re called in the North Sea now?”
How am I called?
I looked at Han Tae-moon in bewilderment, and he burst out laughing.
“Your distinction in the North Sea has been widely publicized by them. Perhaps it will soon be known in Zhongyuan as well.”
These were the two Simmany I had sought out. They were holding the North Sea men with all their might, ranting about something. They were gesturing with their swords and shaking their heads.
“Will they be in the main and center?”
“Of course, we will, for we will need to trade with Zhongyuan. I’m also curious about the family name you’re going to build.”
As he said that, I became even more curious.
What am I?
What is it called here in the North Sea?
“The Thunder Sword Star. It’s named for your overwhelming power in the heavens, scattering so many thunderbolts. Congratulations.”
“Thunder Sword Star.
I couldn’t help but laugh at that.
I wonder if they know.
What the Southern Palace’s thunderbolt means.
It was too much of a coincidence that they’d just seen a thunderbolt and stuck it on.
I couldn’t help but be amused by the asterisk.
“Sword Sheng, if anything happens, call the North Sea for help.”
At those words, I looked up.
I could see Han Taiwen, and behind him, countless shadows.
The Bing Tian Sword Vice-Prefect, and hundreds of warriors from the Bing Tian Sword Clan were standing before me. It was an example of those who were dedicated to the Beihai and would spare no expense.
“Sword Castle, Sword King. And be polite to our guests from far and wide!”
Boom, boom, boom!
At Bu Ping’s shout, hundreds of warriors raised the tips of their swords to the sky. The sound of the echoing chill began to fill the air. Combined with the north wind, it transformed into an aura that represented the Beihai.
“……The North Sea never forgets a favor, Namgungban, and I will surely remember your name.”