Chapter 160. The Harbor

Descending the cliff, So-hwa came upon a grove of white birch trees. Her gaze was fixed on the harbor visible through the trunks when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She brushed her hand across a black growth clinging to the bark.

At first, she thought it was a knot in the wood, but the shape was different. Something like charcoal had pushed its way through the tree’s surface.

Looking around, she saw other trunks mottled with the same black substance, as if blisters had erupted across them.

Sensing something amiss, Namgung Jin approached and asked/

“What is it?”

So-hwa plucked off a piece of the black growth and replied.

“Birch Polypore..”

“Birch Polypore?”

“In the North Sea, it’s a fungus treated as a precious medicine. The harsher the cold, the stronger its properties. Compared to what you’d find in the Central Plain, the North Sea is beyond compare.”

Namgung Jin examined the piece she handed him.

“I’ve never seen a mushroom like this.”

Yet to call it a mushroom seemed strange. Its form was grotesque, its texture uncanny—less like soft flesh, more like hard coal beneath his fingers.

With a calm voice, she explained.

“The growth of Birch Polypore is extremely slow. For it to have reached this size, it must have been left alone for years.”

She lifted her head and swept her gaze over the grove.

There were no fences or mechanisms blocking the way in, nor any formations. There wasn’t even a warning sign telling people not to touch.

This was a masterless forest. Had any North Sea people come across this Birch Polypore, they would have harvested it at once.

The fungus lived parasitically within the tree for more than a decade before barely emerging through the bark. Even after that, its growth was notoriously slow. For one to reach this size meant it had been untouched for at least a year.

Which in turn meant that for at least a year, no North Sea people had passed through the harbor.

Even if it were only the size of a fingernail, eyes would have turned red with desire to seize it.

As So-hwa’s expression darkened, Namgung Jin asked curiously.

“But is a mushroom being here a big deal? Your expression is not good.”

“If the Young Lord entered a cave and found a pool of Clear Blue Stone Oil pooling at the entrance, what would you do?”

“I’d hurry to collect it before someone else came.”

Namgung Jin said with a forced laugh.

“And you would assume that no one else had entered before you.”

Clear Blue Stone Oil was said to take a hundred years to gather a single drop. Its presence alone was proof of long neglect.

“It seems no North Sea people have passed this way in years.”

Now understanding her unease, Namgung Jin rubbed at his temple.

“To think that even the North Sea people avoid this place… it is disheartening.”

A harbor, where people ought to gather, lay deserted.

Silence fell between them.

The sight before their eyes was unnatural.

Even if not North Sea people, there should have been others here. This was the nearest shore to the Ice Palace’s island—merchants should have settled here.

Yet Central Plains people could not reach this harbor, and the North Sea peoples avoided it.

‘What in the world has befallen the North Sea?’

The thought was unsettling, but neither suggested turning back.

Crunch.

So-hwa stepped forward first.

Together they pushed through the birch grove and entered the harbor.

Namgung Jin pointed to a pavilion ahead.

“Over there, perhaps.”

Away from the shoreline stood a building draped in black cloth.

Creak.

When they pushed open the gate, a chill wind swept out to greet them.

The interior, however, was spotless, as if it had been cleaned only recently. Not a speck of dust could be found. The drawers were neatly arranged with medicinal herbs, and there were even five beds suitable for patients to lie upon.

‘Why would they go to such lengths, yet say nothing about the harbor’s ruin?’

So-hwa began to suspect Platinum Pavilion’s intentions, but no clear answer came to mind.

Perhaps, knowing that the Blood Demon was pursuing her, they had prepared this place as a refuge.

And if it was a matter of irritating the Blood Demon, the Master of Platinum Pavilion would gladly roll up his sleeves. His eccentricities hardly seemed suspicious.

‘To think I believed that someone, the Blood Demon himself, could not tame would simply obey my words… I was careless.’

Suppressing a sigh, So-hwa looked around the dispensary and slid open the middle door.

Clatter.

Beyond it lay the living quarters.

It was an unusual structure—a wide corridor that could serve as a reception hall lay between two rooms.

‘Was this pavilion once a tavern?’

Several tables stood in the corridor, and the two facing rooms looked like the private chambers that might have been offered to patrons seeking quiet.

Whether tavern or not hardly mattered.

In a harbor now empty and desolate, her plans had long since turned meaningless.

Opening the first room, So-hwa was surprised. The chamber was in excellent condition—comparable even to her own bedchamber back in the Tang estate.

Meanwhile, Namgung Jin stepped inside, muttering gravely.

“Even with a fire lit, the warmth does not last. Only if it burns all day does one’s body begin to warm up.”

So-hwa nodded, then moved to check the second room.

The moment she opened the door, both she and Namgung Jin fell silent.

“…”

“…”

The first room had been furnished with all new things—a bed with thick quilts neatly arranged, a sturdy desk and cabinet made of well-finished wood, even a large brazier by the window.

But this room had only a thin blanket and a single crude desk. Not even a brazier—cold air seeped through the doorframe itself.

Namgung Jin, standing behind her, let out a laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

So-hwa asked.

“It seems this room was meant for me.”

Her brow furrowed.

“No, Young Lord. There’s no need for you to yield.”

“This isn’t yielding. The master of this place decreed it so, and thus I should stay here.”

“… Have you ever met the Platinum Pavilion’s Master in person?”

He shook his head.

“I’ve never seen him, but during my time here I’ve felt clearly enough that he bears no goodwill toward me.”

It was only natural that a Blood Sect Hall Lord would not look kindly upon a member of the Murim Alliance. So-hwa could not deny it with empty words.

In truth, it was Haerak’s friendliness toward her that was the anomaly.

Of course, to Haerak, she was not merely a member of the Alliance but the physician capable of purging the Blood Demon’s tainted blood.

So-hwa stared at the shabby room.

“But it will be difficult for you to stay here.”

“This is more than sufficient… but still, I will sleep outside.”

For Namgung Jin, who had cultivated for years in a sealed cavern, this chamber was comfort enough to rest soundly. Yet he had another reason for choosing otherwise.

“The layout of this pavilion is troublesome.”

He said, pointing back toward the middle door.

“The dispensary is cut off from the living space, making it difficult to respond to any intrusion from the main gate. With the two rooms so far apart, there’s no need for me to stay inside. Better to rest in the dispensary—the bedding there lies midway between the front gate and your quarters. From there, I can keep watch more effectively.”

To him, keeping guard was only natural.

So-hwa wanted to object, but she held her tongue. Compared to this drafty chamber, the dispensary was indeed better. At least it had a stove—if he moved a bed near the fire, he could keep himself warm through the night.

“Thank you.”

So-hwa entered the room, unpacked her belongings, and returned to the dispensary.

In that short span, Namgung Jin had already moved a table before the fireplace and even prepared tea, setting a cup at her seat.

“So then,” he asked, “what do you intend to do now?”

So-hwa wrapped her hands around the steaming cup and answered.

“My original plan was to pose as a member of Yeonju Group, then feed information to those who came seeking medicine, in hopes of luring out the Ice Palace’s bloodline.”

Namgung Jin, still gazing into his tea, replied evenly.

“Hm. That strategy seems difficult to carry out now, does it not?”

So-hwa let out a sigh.

“Yes. It seems I’ll have to go out myself and search for another harbor.”

“Do you think there will be another one?”

“There should be… but I cannot say for certain.”

Even she sounded doubtful.

After warming her body with the hot tea, So-hwa unfolded the map she had brought from Platinum Pavilion.

Her eyes were fixed on the island where the North Sea Ice Palace stood.

“If the Ice Palace is still functioning as it once did, there must be a place where outside goods are delivered to the island.”

“The island is vast. Wouldn’t it be possible for them to live in self-sufficiency?”

“But nobles from both the Central Plains and the North Sea reside there. They will have a demand for foreign goods. Even if not for luxuries, they would need herbs from the mainland. For them, trade with the outside world is a matter tied directly to survival.”

Her gaze shifted toward the waters closest to the island.

“So, to move goods, there must be a harbor along the coast. There should be inns and taverns for merchants, and dwellings of North Sea people who settled there to make a living. A bustling port town ought to have formed by the shore.”

Her eyes came to rest on the very harbor they had just reached—

The southernmost edge of the North Sea.

The closest coastline to both the Great Desert and the Central Plains.

Merchants always take the shortest route. Distance translates directly into cost. Having listened endlessly to Ye-hwa’s complaints, So-hwa knew well how sensitive merchants were to expenses.

A caravan was never a small party. The cost of food and lodging at inns was no small burden. The longer the journey, the greater the risk of theft.

And the snowy mountains of the North Sea were perilous for outsiders. Thus, it was only common sense to use the southernmost route.

So-hwa’s expression darkened.

‘But if the southernmost harbor is in such a state… could there truly be trade elsewhere?’

Her thoughts leaned toward no.

She gazed quietly at the isolated island marked on the map.

‘Could it be that those living on the island have no need for a sea route? But what other path could there be connecting it to the mainland…?’

Then realization struck, and her breath caught in her throat.

‘… If there were a passage within the island itself, then there would be no need for a sea route at all.’

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