Ep441 - I Became a Drunkard in a Martial Arts Novel.

Suddenly an unexpected situation unfolded. Lying on the floor, coughing up a mouthful of blood, I realized. “Cough… Gah!” That something had pierced through my heart. And that I would soon die. “Aah….” The sudden approach of death didn’t frighten me at all. If I closed my eyes like this, the pain would cease. However, there was something I had to do before dying. “Hiya!” “Yeonhee!” Yongseon and Yong Seollan rushed towards me with shocked expressions. ‘I need to speak….’ I knew the sins I committed couldn’t be washed away. Yet, I must atone. Even if it could lighten the weight of my sins towards them by the slightest bit. No, even if it doesn’t, I must do everything I can. ‘What I can do….’ There was only one thing she could do in this situation. To confess everything she knew. “Hiya, please stay with us, Hiya!” Yongseon repeatedly called the dear name, supporting my neck and back. ‘Indeed….’ Hiya (熙兒). When I was a child, Yongseon called me that. Every time, I secretly cherished the moment, feeling like I was her daughter, guessing if this unfamiliar warmth was what a mother's love felt like. “Palace… Mistress.” “Yes, Hiya. Don’t lose your senses. I will heal you soon…!” Yongseon couldn’t finish her sentence. Because she saw my heart, pierced. If it were anywhere else, it wouldn’t have mattered. The lungs, liver, stomach. Perhaps, freezing the wound to forcibly halt the bleeding and then finding a way to save could be possible. But not the heart. For the heart was not a place to be frozen. “Chiiit…!” With difficulty, I reached out and grasped Yongseon’s hand, who was helplessly lamenting in the face of inevitable death. Cold, yet warm. It felt intensely cold on the surface, yet within it lay a core warmth that I could feel. “Palace Mistress….” “Yes, Hiya.” “The Everlasting Ice City… cough! It was tainted by demonic energy….” “Demonic energy…!” “But… it was…, heuh…, not merely a means to corrupt the Everlasting Ice City, cough, cough.” “What do you mean…?” Several years ago. A woman came and showed a token proving she was a member of the demonic cult covertly active in Zhongyuan. I asked her. What brought you here? In response, the woman said. She had come on business with the Everlasting Ice City. After leaving those words, she disappeared by dawn the next day. And a few days later, she returned with an excited expression. “They said… they would create… monsters using the… Everlasting Ice City… cough, cough.” A trembling fingertip pointed at the grotesquely swollen Everlasting Ice Crystal. It possessed immense power, yet lacked a will to wield it. It was repeatedly expanding and contracting, broadening and narrowing. As if there was a consciousness, like a living being. This meant the woman’s plan was being successfully executed. “But… it’s not too late… heuh… yet.” She said. This was the foundation for the future. For the day when the celestial demon would proclaim the conquest of Zhongyuan. It was a seed of disaster she had planted in preparation for that day. That day she spoke of is not today. Which means the plan had not yet fully succeeded. “For now, it can be… sufficiently prevented. So…, cough! Cough!” By any means, that must be stopped. Unfinished words reached deep into the hearts of Yongseon and Yong Seollan. My vision was becoming increasingly blurred. Even the pain that had been spreading throughout my body until just a moment ago was no longer felt. It must be because I was drawing infinitely close to death. My soon-to-be-broken consciousness selfishly held a single wish. “Palace… Mistress.” “Yes, Hiya.” “In the next life..., I wish to be born as your daughter….” My gaze shifted to Yong Seollan, who was shedding tears. “To become the elder sister… or younger sister of the young lady..., if only I could be born that way…, oh, how wonderful it would be.” Yeonhee smiled, resonating with the lingering joy of such a fleeting imagination. Yongseon gently stroked her head and responded. “I permit you to be born as my daughter in the next life. So….” She continued with a forced smile. As if death meant nothing. “Just go a bit ahead and wait for me.” It was joyful, immensely joyful. To be given a chance to be her daughter in the next life. The joy from that realization was immeasurable. “Thank… you.” She smiled and closed her eyes. * * * The wind that was once merely fierce had changed. Now it was filled with killing intent and malice. Merely touching it made one feel an unsettling sensation all over. “A monster….” I heard it all. The words she spoke before she died. I now had a good idea of who the woman that appeared years ago might be. “Jin Miyeon.” If it's the woman obsessed with monsters in the demonic cult, it had to be her. A bitter taste lingered at the corners of my mouth. “Even after all that destruction, it wasn’t enough….” I couldn't kill her within the demonic cult, so instead, I destroyed her base. I meticulously located and eradicated every hidden element on those vast mountains until no trace was left. Yet she continued her research and seemed to have achieved another breakthrough. Monsters were originally beings transformed by demonic energy, created by corrupting living animals. However, Jin Miyeon sought to turn the Everlasting Ice Crystal into a monster. And it appeared she had partially succeeded. [The power… is not enough.] As if the orb swelling on its own wasn’t enough, a voice was seeping out from it. Whooo- With each gust of wind, my fingertips grew stiff, and sensation dulled. The same happened at the tips of my toes. The cold wave was just that fierce. It affected even the body of a master in martial arts. ‘A prolonged battle would be unfavorable.’ I could feel my senses dulling, little by little. The longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantaged I would be. ‘I must finish this as quickly as possible.’ But it was impossible to do it alone. An enormous amount of energy was needed to smash the Everlasting Ice Crystal, which was gradually turning into a monster, in one blow. The orb, although still weak, had gained a will of its own and wouldn’t just stand by idly. Thus, Baek Woojin sought help. “I will need your assistance.” “Just name it.” After entrusting the lifeless body of Yeonhee to Yong Seollan, Yongseon approached me. “I owe my life to you. I will bear any risk, even those that threaten my life.” Baek Woojin gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “That’s not what I desire.” Yongseon’s eyes sparkled and a deep curiosity arose in them. “Oh? And why is that?” To her question, Baek Woojin replied flatly. “Your daughter struggles under the weight of the palace mistress's position, does she not?” Yongseon laughed coldly. “I see… a reason that pleases me.” What could possibly please her about that? I couldn’t understand her sentiment, but my bewilderment was brief. “Please buy me some time.” “How long?” “…About one quarter of an hour should suffice.” “That should be doable.” Yongseon nodded readily and strode forward past Baek Woojin. In the midst of the howling freezing winds. Her steps were as if she were strolling in her own room. No matter how fierce the cold wave, she was a master of ice techniques. No ordinary level of cold could affect her. “Haah!” With a sharp cry, Yongseon charged and swung her sword at the bloated Everlasting Ice Crystal. [……!] Crrrack! The crystal defended itself by growing sharp icicles to block the strike. The icicles were so sturdy that they withstood the full force of her swing. And then, they began shifting shapes to target her instead. Swish swish! The sound of them slicing through the air was deafening, a lethal assassin aiming solely for her vital points. Standing before them, her figure suddenly vanished. Amid the fierce snowstorm, countless afterimages of her appeared and disappeared. Chuisul Muhun. The wondrous power from the Bingbaek Divine Art of the North Sea Ice Palace, a step technique learned only by the palace master and her successor. Chuisul Muhun, as the name suggests, gained greater power amid raging snowstorms. With the Everlasting Ice Crystal continuously unleashing a cold wave over this land, Chuisul Muhun could reveal its optimal might. Crrrack! Swish! Boom boom! The Everlasting Ice Crystal unleashed its unpredictable attacks, shapeshifting the solid ice freely, yet still couldn’t capture her true form. If this continued, they could easily buy the one quarter-hour that Baek Woojin mentioned. However, the situation wasn’t as optimistic as it seemed. ‘My internal energy depletion is severe.’ Chuisul Muhun was a step technique so fast and dazzling that it filled the raging snowstorm with afterimages. Because of this, while it was exceptionally effective for dodging attacks and confusing the eyes of the opponent, it also had the significant downside of consuming a substantial amount of internal energy. Especially when executed to its fullest potential, as it was now. Moreover, her body was not in perfect condition. Although she replenished her dantian through internal pills, she had already used more than half of it to awaken her body from a near-comatose state, leaving her with not much remaining. At this rate, in less than half a quarter-hour, her internal energy would be completely depleted. ‘It’s not enough.’ If that happened, she wouldn't be able to cover the one quarter-hour that Baek Woojin requested. Which meant she couldn’t just keep dodging. So what must she do? The method was clear. ‘I have no choice but to confront it head-on!’ To physically endure the unpredictable attacks. Resolutely, she stopped her brisk movements in the snowstorm. Then, as if waiting for her, an avalanche of ice bombardments came from all directions. In the absence of visible gaps, she braced herself to endure a fair amount of damage, gritting her teeth against potential pain. At that moment: “Haaah!” An energy, similar to her own battle cry, swept away part of the incoming bombardment. In the small opening created there, stood none other than her daughter. “Seollan…!” Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you to take Yeonhee’s body and leave? Just as she was about to snap at her, “The current Palace Mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace is me, Mother. As the Palace Mistress, it’s my rightful duty to confront threats against the palace. Not even you can take away my responsibilities.” “Huh….” Yongseon laughed helplessly. To think her daughter would take the lead in this situation. She was unsure what kind of expression she should wear. Author's Note: The release was quite delayed today… I’ve been having a hard time as the writing hasn’t been coming together as I hoped for the past few days, so I ask for my readers' generous understanding… sigh… I will be back with the next chapter soon. Thank you all for reading as always. Have a wonderful day. (_ _)