Chapter 105: Snow Flower Academy (2)

Snow Flower Academy Administrative Office.

Inside a small building set up on the outskirts of the palace, three administrative clerks were sorting through documents.

Creak.

The door opened, and the office director entered. It was So-mu, the leader of the Wolf Fang Squad.

“Welcome, Director!”

Nodding to the clerks as they stood up, So-mu took the seat of honor. Although he had temporarily drafted a few soldiers with relevant experience, he planned to hand over the operations to civilians in the future.

“Sit down, everyone. Fundraising isn’t as easy as I thought. Since there are no wealthy residents left in Chang’an, I think I’ll have to take a trip to Hanzhong with you.”

He had donated the ten taels of gold he received from County Magistrate Wang Gi to cover the urgent costs, but it was still far short of the target budget. There were expenses for food, educational supplies for the children, and facility costs. Above all, the initial startup costs were not cheap.

A clerk sitting nearby grinned and said, “I see you haven’t heard the news yet. We don’t need to raise funds anymore.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Please prepare to be surprised.”

“Just tell me.”

So-mu waited, looking at him with an indifferent face. The clerk then pulled out a box made of jade from beneath the desk. He shouted with a voice full of joy, “It is one hundred taels of gold!”

“O-one hundred taels?”

“Yes! We won’t have to worry about funding for the next ten years!”

So-mu’s eyes widened. “Where did this kind of money come from?”

“Well, a woman donated it and left, but she didn’t reveal her name. She was as beautiful as her heart was kind…”

It was hard to understand. One hundred taels of gold was enough for a family of three to live extravagantly for a lifetime. It was not a sum of money that an ordinary individual could easily possess.

“Who in Chang’an would have one hundred taels of gold to give…”

“We have a donor log because they have to sign to donate… but she didn’t write her name.”

“Then what did she write?”

“She just drew a small flower. It looked like a snowflake…”

A snowflake. A single figure came to mind.

“Show it to me.”

The clerk quickly found the donor log and handed it over.

Checking the drawing, So-mu was certain his intuition was correct. It was the snowflake pattern she often engraved on her belongings as a personal decoration.

‘Yeon-mae did this…?’

He didn’t know where she had gotten the gold, but he was incredibly grateful that she had readily donated such a large sum to help him.

“Now that we have secured the funds, we must purchase the necessary supplies first.”

“Yes, sir. In fact, I’ve already requested ten wagons from the logistics unit. We need to visit the markets in the southern cities.”

“Good work. Still no volunteers for teachers?”

“Several residents have volunteered for administrative roles, but we only have one applicant for a teacher.”

Securing their first teacher was encouraging news. Brightening, So-mu asked, “Things are going well today. Who is it?”

“Take a look here, sir.”

A familiar name caught his eye on the applicant’s profile. It was someone he knew very well.

‘She brought her sister?’

Her younger sister, Cho-hee, had kept a low profile even within the Demonic Cult and had not participated directly in the orthodox-demonic war. Consequently, not a single orthodox martial artist had died by her hand.

For someone like her to step forward and offer to teach orphans was quite surprising.

Above all, hadn’t Yeon-mae arranged all of this?

‘I cannot thank her enough…’

Although they still needed to recruit more teachers for Snow Flower Academy, thanks to her, they were off to a very smooth start.

The clerk smiled and asked, “Leader, don’t you think things are going almost too well today?”

“Haha. They say that when you meet the right partner, blessings roll in on their own.”

“Pardon…?”

It was just a murmur to himself. There was no need to explain it to the clerk. So-mu stood up and said, “It’s nothing. Are there any flyers left? Promote this to the medical camp members still in Chang’an. Let them know we provide board and lodging along with a modest salary.”

“Yes, I will do that. Where are you going?”

“I have a state affairs meeting soon, so I must go. Good work, everyone.”

“Yes, have a safe trip, sir!”

Leaving the Snow Flower Academy office, he headed toward the conference hall.

Within the palace grounds, there were plenty of grand halls that could be used for meetings. However, the military command had chosen a modest building that had originally been built as a resting area for eunuchs.

As he walked, a familiar voice called out to him.

“Father!”

To his right rose the grand Zichen Hall, a massive structure standing nearly six zhang tall. Sitting on the roof ridge like a sparrow, So-so was waving her hand.

“It’s danger…”

So-mu stopped himself and chuckled. With his daughter’s current martial arts, she would be perfectly fine even if she jumped from this height.

“What are you doing up there?”

“Playing! Catch me if you can!”

To scale the roofs of the palace halls—in the old days, that would have earned her at least five strokes of the cane. However, having finally met her after some time, he couldn’t just walk past.

‘I should catch her quickly.’

He had a meeting, so he couldn’t waste time.

“I’m coming to catch you now!”

So-mu kicked off the ground and soared into the air.

Tap!

Seeing him fly up, So-so quickly ran.

“Heeheehee!”

Her light movement was unexpectedly swift. Landing on the roof, So-mu shot toward his daughter like an arrow.

Dash!

The distance closed rapidly. However, So-so was already leaping toward another hall. So-mu leaped in pursuit and shouted, “Where do you think you’re going!”

By the time they crossed the third hall, her small back was right in front of him. So-mu wrapped his arms around her waist and said, “Gotcha…?”

But something was wrong. The child’s figure vanished into thin air like smoke.

To execute the Heavenly Demon Phantom Step—it was indeed the Demonic Cult’s supreme evasion technique, one that had fooled even So-mu several times during the war.

So-mu quickly scanned his surroundings. About twenty zhang below to his left, he spotted her running on the ground.

“Heeheehee!”

Quickly landing on the ground, So-mu dashed after her scent like lightning.

“You little rascal!”

Though he was far faster, she darted in a zigzag pattern between the tightly packed halls, preventing him from closing the distance easily. As time passed, he grew slightly anxious.

‘Daughter… Father has a meeting to attend…’

Since he had never been late to a meeting before, he felt uneasy. Deciding to use his full power, his body seemed to be enveloped in a bright light.

Boom!

With a burst of wind, a trail of light stretched out. The distance closed in an instant, and just as he was about to grab her from behind—

“Oops!”

Flash!

A bright light flashed, and the child’s figure was already fleeing ten zhang away.

To think she had used his own light movement technique, the Lightning Flash Shadow Step.

“Sigh…”

Before they knew it, the father and daughter were running through a secluded corner of the palace. It was an area packed with storehouses, devoid of people.

After a short while, he succeeded in cornering her at a dead end. It was a brick structure of unknown purpose.

“Heehee. Hurry up and catch me!”

Something felt strange. Even though she was cornered, she was laughing.

‘Could it be she brought me here on purpose?’

He was late for the meeting, so he couldn’t delay any longer.

“You rascal, teasing your father like this.”

As he hurried forward, So-so slipped into a small crevice at the bottom of the structure. It seemed she had discovered this spot while exploring the palace.

“Father, I’m here!”

“Sigh. How did you find this place?”

Looking closely, the interior seemed much wider than it appeared from the outside. Fortunately, since it was dark, she didn’t seem to be running any further. The problem was that the crevice was too small for him to fit through.

‘Should I break this…?’

He hesitated briefly, but his thought did not last long. It was an unused structure anyway. Breaking it slightly to widen it wouldn’t hurt.

Placing his hand against it and releasing his internal energy, the crevice shattered open with a bang, widening the gap.

Stepping inside, the interior was completely different from what he had imagined. It was a labyrinthine structure with countless cells. It was the imperial dungeon, a place the military command had been unable to locate.

The entrance must be located elsewhere.

“Amazing, right? I found it!”

So-so grinned and approached him on her own. She was so adorable that he couldn’t bring himself to scold her. So-mu bent down and lifted his daughter in his arms.

“Teasing your father is fun to you, is it? Because of you, I’m late for my meeting.”

“Heehee…”

Still, he felt a sense of pride having played with his child after a long time.

“We don’t have time, so let’s get out of here.”

“Okay, Father.”

He couldn’t afford to waste any more time. Just as he was about to carry the child out, his profound senses, refined to the Profound Realm, detected a faint presence.

‘Could someone… be here?’

Although it was only a brief ripple that quickly faded, he was certain. He couldn’t ignore it.

“Shall we look around inside for a bit?”

“Sure! Heehee.”

Carrying the child, he ventured deeper into the dungeon. They navigated through the maze-like corridors, but no other signs of life were easily detected. There were only hundreds of cells behind iron bars.

It was a vast space that could hold at least a thousand prisoners. As they went deeper, they saw the corpses of prisoners who seemed to have starved to death. So-so covered her small nose at the putrid smell.

“Cough.”

Yet, she remained quiet, seemingly unwilling to leave just yet. Advancing a bit further, they finally found a sign of life.

“Ugh…”

It was the groan of a middle-aged man, and two distinct presences could be felt. Hearing the groan, So-so buried her face in his chest.

“Sniff. It’s scary.”

“Even though you’re with your father?”

Not far off, they finally found the source of the groan. Two middle-aged men were imprisoned side by side.

Signs of torture were visible all over their bodies, and they looked as if they were on the verge of death from starvation. If they hadn’t trained in martial arts, they would have died long ago.

“Close your eyes for a moment.”

Their hands bound, the prisoners raised their heads at the sound of So-mu’s footsteps.

“Do not mock us; just kill us…”

“Kill us…”

Hearing them ask for death in unison, he could guess how miserable their lives here had been.

“Judging by your imprisonment here, you must be from the Song Dynasty. Am I correct?”

The prisoners looked bewildered. Come to think of it, the man who had just entered was wearing the military uniform of their own country.

“Who are you…?”

“I am a commander under General Jang-yang. We reclaimed this fortress a few days ago.”

The prisoners trembled, too choked with emotion to speak for a moment. Finally, one of them asked in a shaking voice, “Is that… really true? For General Jang-yang to have succeeded…”

“We were commanders under General Hwang Ik. After losing the battle, we were captured and imprisoned…”

The two commanders shed tears of gratitude. For now, he had to get them out.

“You have suffered. I will get you out, so please step back.”

So-mu’s expression brightened. He now had a perfect excuse for being late to the meeting.

Channeling his internal energy into his right hand, he struck the iron bars, tearing both doors off their hinges with a loud crash.

Boom! Boom!

He also shattered the iron cuffs binding their wrists. The two commanders blinked in shock at his incredible strength.

Having slid down from her father’s arms, So-so bowed politely to them. Her wariness seemed to have vanished.

“Hello~”

A young girl in a prison dungeon was an out-of-place sight, and the commanders responded in bewilderment.

“Oh… hello…”

“Nice to meet you…”

So-mu quietly examined their condition. He estimated they were too weak to walk. However, with proper rest and food, they would surely recover.

“If you don’t mind, I will take you to see the General first, and then arrange for you to eat and rest.”

Having starved for days, waiting another half hour would make no difference. Seeing them nod, he slung one commander over each shoulder.

“But which way did you enter? The entrance should be around the left corner, past two turns.”

“My daughter happened to find a crack that opened into the dungeon.”

“Sigh… It is a stroke of heaven’s luck. I will surely repay you later.”

The entrance to the underground dungeon was located in a secluded spot away from the palace halls, which was why the military command had failed to find it.

“So-so, go to your master.”

“Goodbye, Father~”

Emerging into the light, So-mu headed straight for the conference hall. On the way, the commander on his right shoulder asked, “Speaking of General Jang-yang’s army… is there a commander there named Yang Yeon-jeong?”

“Yes. She is the General’s adjutant.”

“Thank goodness. She is still alive.”

“What is your relationship with her?”

“She is the second sibling of our family, though we call her hyeong-nim. I am the fourth, Yang Kang, and the one on the left is the youngest, Yang So.”

The Yang family was famous as a prestigious military family that had dedicated generations to the country. Their loyalty was widely renowned, and So-mu had heard of them before.

“The adjutant will be overjoyed. But how did you two end up…”

“Our army was wiped out during the battle. The two of us held out until the very end before being captured… We should have died then… We have shown you a pathetic sight.”

“Since you are alive, does that not mean you have another chance? Fighting alongside us in the future will be a great help.”

As the military command’s jurisdiction had expanded, Jang-yang had been worrying about the shortage of military officers.

As they conversed, So-mu learned that of the seven Yang brothers, the eldest and third had died early in the war, while the remaining two were serving in other armies. So-mu was inwardly impressed by the family’s dedication to the nation, which lived up to its reputation.

Before long, they arrived at the entrance of the conference hall, where two guards stood watch.

“You have arrived, Adjutant So-mu! Everyone is waiting for you.”

“Good work. Open the door.”

Creak.

As the door opened, all the generals were gathered around a long table. It seemed the meeting had not started yet as they waited for him.

Yang Yeon-jeong, who was sitting next to Jang-yang at the head table, said with a puzzled expression, “How unusual. For you to be late. But who are those two on your shoulders?”

So-mu asked with a grin, “Adjutant, do you recognize these faces?”

Confirming their identities, Yang Yeon-jeong leaped from her seat.