The Bloodless Full Moon Sword was a sword technique where a blade surrounded by extreme Yin energy drew a circle like the moon and severed the neck and limbs attached to the torso. However, it was said not a single drop of blood fell.
That was because the Yin energy touched the flesh before the sword did.
The cross-section cut by Yin energy froze immediately, preventing blood from flowing.
The sword was merely a tool for channeling Yin energy—a mysterious sword art said never to touch any object for an entire lifetime. It was a technique handed down like a legend, never actually witnessed. Most people from the Central Plains would be the same.
Namgung Jin, being the son of a martial family that specialized in swordsmanship, recognized the traces of the blade at a glance. And now he seemed to have deduced the technique used. Sohwa had thought that the Bloodless Full Moon Sword was merely an exaggerated tale of the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s Yin energy, but Namgung Jin clearly did not think so. He was convinced this cave bore the traces of the Ice Palace’s bloodline. She hadn’t realized he could look so bright-eyed.
If the Young Clan Head’s guess was correct and someone had carved this cave with sword energy, the martial power used was far from ordinary.
'Why would someone so powerful do such a thing...'
As Sohwa followed her thoughts, one of her eyebrows lifted slightly. Her gaze turned toward the children wandering just beyond her feet.
'If he cherishes those children that much, why leave them unguarded and go away?'
Unlike Namgung Jin, who was glued to the wall, completely absorbed by the sword traces of the Ice Palace, Sohwa spent a long time watching the children beyond her feet. She could hear a mix of words she could understand and those she couldn’t. Through the narrow grain of the wooden boards, thin bodies were faintly visible.
Soon Sohwa grasped the situation. And realizing that they had visited by chance when the martial men were away, she thought this circumstance could be used to her advantage.
She slowly traced words onto Namgung Jin’s palm, one character at a time.
[That man seems to be trying to keep us here.]
Namgung Jin must have thought the same because he nodded even before she finished the sentence. Sohwa continued slowly, moving her finger carefully so he could understand.
[Judging from how the children tried to protect him when we first arrived, it seems all the warriors have gone out for now.]
Namgung Jin nodded again, agreeing. Communicating by writing on the hand took quite a long time. The children, who had been peeking curiously from outside, eventually grew bored and ran off to play outside the cave.
The inside of the cave grew quiet, but Sohwa didn’t make a sound and carefully continued her message.
[If they’re waiting for the warriors to return, it would be better for us to go back to the dispensary now.]
Instead of answering, Namgung Jin lifted his head to meet her gaze. It was a look asking why—why, after coming all the way here to find the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s bloodline, she wanted to turn back without meeting them.
Sohwa looked at him briefly, then moved her finger again.
[Judging by the condition of the children and that man, this place is short on food.]
When she felt that he understood, she lowered her gaze again.
[The reason the warriors left these people behind and went out might be to find food.]
“......”
[When they hear we opened a dispensary at the southernmost harbor, they’ll come looking for us. Isn’t the chance of them coming for food higher than scouring the snowy mountains?]
In truth, even if not for food, they would likely come once to confirm their existence. Outsiders who had discovered the bloodline’s hideout had disappeared without a word, after all.
[Besides, they’ll have many questions about Great Hero Baek Unhae. They might think we have words left behind to deliver, and their curiosity will be piqued toward a Central Plains person who knows the name Baek Unhae.]
Sohwa moved her finger slowly across his broad palm.
[Even if we don’t ask them to meet us, they’ll come on their own.]
Her gaze finally rose.
[There’s no need for us to sit here obediently in their base.]
They were physically the weaker side. Their numbers were few, and they knew nothing about the Northern Sea. Waiting meekly in the enemy’s base for the warriors to return was no different from offering their necks.
Until now, Sohwa had thought that if one wanted to meet a tiger, they had no choice but to enter its den—but since a chance had appeared, there was no reason not to use it.
Tang Sohwa wanted to lure the Northern Sea bloodline to the dispensary. If she piled up food and medicine behind her and held a conversation, it would make her appear as someone with abundance. What was visible to the eye was more important than one might think. There was a reason her father decorated Hongso Hall so lavishly when meeting guests. Sometimes, merely appearing to have more could create temporary intimidation.
Staying in the gorge and merely mentioning that food and herbs were stored at the dispensary held little meaning. Even if the Northern Sea bloodline believed them and went to the harbor, they would only find unclaimed goods and feel nothing in particular.
If Sohwa returned to the dispensary, she could offer medicine and food herself, making the bloodline feel indebted.
'And... there’s also a way to make them keep coming for help afterward.'
She hid that last thought and stared intently at Namgung Jin. Fortunately, Namgung Jin reacted positively. Though their reasoning differed, the eldest son of the Namgung Clan had reached a similar conclusion.
Namgung Jin nodded and wrote on her hand.
[If we’re leaving, it would be best to go right now.]
***
The man opened a basket where he stored vegetables. Inside were withered leaves, dry like hay, and two half-rotten carrots. He placed them into a pot, added snow he had scooped up, and lit a fire. Soon, vegetable broth began to simmer.
The Northern Sea Ice Palace bloodline was filling their stomachs with broth alone. Recently, the curse of the Second Seat had spread even to their cultivation fields, causing a shortage of food. The bloodline had given what little they had first to the weaker Northern Sea people, but in truth, even that amount was not enough. The gorge where the Northern Sea residents lived would soon reach its limit.
The First Seat let out a sigh.
'How much longer can we endure?'
Now it seemed they stood at the crossroads—either go to all-out war with the Blood Cult or kneel before them.
Feeling weakness creep into his heart, the First Seat shook his head.
'No. We must endure longer. We absolutely cannot disrupt the training of the Seventh Seat.'
The Seven Seats of the Northern Sea were their final hope. The seventh position would soon be filled—they had to wait.
Though he couldn’t guarantee when that day would come, since all bloodline members with talent had followed the Fourth Seat for training, he believed at least one would reach enlightenment.
The First Seat lowered his gaze. Next to the pot sat a container of black powder. In the past, he would never have stooped to such cowardice, but now that his body was in this state, he feared taking risks. If those Central Plains people ran away, he doubted he could chase them down.
Just as he was about to put the sleeping powder into the broth, he heard a groan outside.
“Ugh.”
He set the vial down, limped out of the kitchen, and saw that one of the four children who had fainted had regained consciousness. The man quickly knelt to check the child’s condition.
“Are you all right?”
“Ugh, First Seat...”
He recalled how the Central Plains woman had checked the boy’s eyesight. The First Seat hastily held up a finger.
“Your eyes—can you see clearly?”
“Yes, I can. But my stomach...”
The boy turned his head mid-sentence and gagged. Having eaten nothing, he vomited nothing. Remembering how the Central Plains woman had said they needed nourishment, the man hurried back to the kitchen and brought a ladle of broth.
“Drink this first.”
“Ugh, my stomach doesn’t feel good...”
“She said you have to eat something to recover. Just try it.”
Having never before seen anyone survive the curse of the Second Seat, the First Seat had no idea how to treat the children. All he could do was imitate what the Yeonjuda physician had done. Judging by how the first child who woke had already recovered enough to walk outside, her treatment clearly worked.
“That’s right—I shouldn’t be wasting time! I should ask that physician to take a look.”
Just moments ago, he had planned to drug the two Central Plains visitors to make them sleep, yet now he shamelessly thought of seeking their help.
'I shouldn’t have sent Najin on that errand.'
He had sent her out to fetch snow, thinking she might try to stop him if she saw him adding powder to the broth, but now he urgently needed her.
Throwing on his worn outer robe, the ailing man forced his frail body to walk along the cliff. The residential corridor was silent.
The man searched all the rooms with a stunned expression, but no one was there.
“No... no!”
The Central Plains visitors were gone without a trace. His face went pale.
He rushed to the cliff and shouted.
“Najin!”
His voice echoed through the gorge. Because they lived in hiding, he never raised his voice—but that was how urgent it was.
Moments later, something leapt up from below the cliff and reached his spot in an instant.
“First Seat, what’s wrong?”
“The Central Plains people are gone! If they go around revealing our location...”
As the man trembled, Najin’s eyes widened. Though startled herself, she tried to calm the shaking First Seat.
“I’ll go—”
“No! It’s dangerous for you to go alone! That swordsman who was with them wasn’t ordinary.”
Najin spoke firmly.
“T-then I’ll go find the Fourth Seat. We’ve already reached our limit...”
“Don’t say such nonsense! No matter what happens, you must not interrupt the training of the Seven Seats!”
Najin looked as though she had much to say but pressed her lips shut.
The man, unable to decide what to do, looked around the cliffs, then spoke as if making up his mind.
“The Second Seat should be returning soon. Go to the perimeter and check. They said themselves they set [N O V E L I G H T] up at the southernmost harbor—tell the Second Seat to investigate that place. That swordsman won’t pose a threat to him.”
“But the harbor...”
“It’s been years; maybe the enemy’s attention there has faded. We don’t know if the Central Plains people were lying, but if they’re telling the truth and people can now come and go there, it’s worth confirming. Still, tell him to be cautious.”
Najin nodded and immediately ran off. Leaping up the cliff several times, the girl vanished into a small tunnel.
