When white snow falls, it looks like jewels descending from the sky, but if you take some of it into a cup and let it melt, it becomes undrinkable and its color turns slightly yellow. Some use this to describe a person who appears beautiful, but whose beauty is only external, while inside he becomes like that melted water which cannot be drunk. This explains the reason for stomach pain when eating snow.
Lang Jong had heard this often, but he never expected to see this metaphor embodied before him, in his delicate fourth son.
Even after the meal ended, no one spoke, but Lang Biol was the one who broke the silence, saying that he wanted to take a walk for a while. Lang Jong did not understand why he was telling him that, but he agreed and told him to return at any time.
That was what happened. Jong was in his room filled with luxurious items, family paintings, and manuscripts.
Jong looked at a thin golden bracelet in which three purple jewels shone.
He held the bracelet sadly and sighed:
"When will you come? I cannot deal with this change. I only hope that this change is for the better."
This bracelet belonged to Mary.
Jong did not know how to deal with his sons, perhaps because he did not spend much time with them.
But Mary was the opposite; she knew how to deal with them well.
However, because of her father's illness, she began visiting him frequently, even though Jong knew that the old man was fine and only wanted to see his daughter and his young grandson.
Jong tried many times to make Mary bring Lang Biol with her, but Lang Biol always refused.
His thoughts were interrupted by the terrified scream of a servant:
"Master, something has happened! The sect leader wants you!"
Lang Biol was looking at the clear sky, thinking that he would certainly get what he wanted. He just needed patience.
He looked ahead and realized that he had walked a long distance and found himself in front of the palace of the Minister of Justice and Peace.
This minister was responsible for judging criminals inside and outside the sect.
Before he returned in time, this minister used to help him with anything he requested and gave him useful advice.
When Biol made a mistake or caused a problem, he would go to him, and the minister would always look at him angrily and begin scolding him, but in the end he would help him.
When Lang Biol remembered this, he smiled gently as if he missed the past.
In the midst of his thoughts, he heard the sound of fast footsteps.
Lang Biol was surprised. He recognized those footsteps. It was training in a sword technique.
He closed his eyes and tried to determine which sword technique it was, but he could not identify it.
In the end, his body was not as it had been before returning in time. Previously, he could identify any sword technique and the level of the person training, and whether it was a man or a woman.
Now he could only hear the footsteps.
This made him think that he must train in sensory training, which he had trained in at the age of nineteen, but now he could train in it at the age of fifteen.
This excited him about the level he would reach.
He moved slowly, jumped over a tree, and looked at the person training.
His hair appeared platinum blond, almost white.
His eyes seemed light gray or perhaps bluish gray, with a sharp and calm gaze.
His skin was very fair or pale, highlighting the contrast with his slightly dark clothes.
He moved the sword, jumped, and spun.
Lang Biol recognized that technique. It was the Golden Sword Technique.
Annoyance appeared on Lang Biol's face. This was his old friend and also his enemy, Ryong Shin.
Ryong Shin was jumping and spinning like a fool, waving his sword in every direction.
This made Lang Biol wonder mockingly:
"Since when did the Golden Sword Technique make its user look like a clown? If Ryong Yang saw his technique being used like this, he would have cursed him a thousand times or killed him."
While Lang Biol imagined Ryong Yang's angry face, Ryong Shin continued training, gripping the sword tightly and cutting the straw dummy.
He was breathing heavily as if he had been in a fierce battle, then looked proudly at the destroyed dummy.
Lang Biol could not hide his sarcastic and annoyed expression:
"Huh? Why is this fool breathing heavily? And why is he looking at the dummy as if he defeated one of the transformed? Was I this miserable when I was young? Who would believe that Leader Ryong Shin was this foolish?"
Ryong Shin heard a laugh.
He was shocked and looked up, finding Lang Biol sitting on the tree and smiling.
Ryong Shin: "Who are you!?"
Lang Biol: "Was that sword training? Haha, that is cute."
Ryong Shin: "I asked who you are!"
Ryong Shin's voice was filled with warning, but Lang Biol simply ignored him and jumped down.
This angered Ryong Shin even more, but before he could say anything, Lang Biol spoke:
"I am Lang Biol, hello."
"Really? Was Lang Biol this mischievous before?"
Ryong Shin could not believe that this was Lang Biol.
Lang Biol did not understand why he did not believe him. There is no one else with white hair and purple eyes besides him, but after that he did not care whether Ryong Shin believed him or not.
"Was that the Golden Sword Technique? If it was, that is the worst thing I have seen in my life."
Ryong Shin's face looked annoyed and he was about to respond, but Lang Biol stopped him after picking up a tree branch.
With a calm gaze, Lang Biol precisely imitated Ryong Shin's movements, but with complete flexibility.
The Golden Sword Technique was created by Ryong Yang.
His mother was a dancer, and he always watched her dance, so he decided to make the sword like dancing, but used for defense and killing, not for entertaining people.
Everyone in the Ryong family knows this, but no one was able to imitate the technique correctly, not even Ryong Shin, although he tried many times since he was eight.
He felt despair, but he continued training, hoping that one day he would be able to imitate it.
But unexpectedly, a stranger came and simply copied the technique.
Not only that, but he looked exactly like Ryong Yang when performing it, as if he were truly there.
He held the branch in an attacking stance, leaped gracefully like a butterfly, spun in the air with ease and confidence, and when approaching the enemy, he swung the branch vertically to cut off the enemy's head and landed with complete flexibility on his feet.
Lang Biol had imitated the exact same movements of Ryong Yang, but instead of a sword, he used a tree branch.
Even then, the air burst powerfully in the final movement.
Ryong Shin looked at him in shock.
If that last attack had been directed at him, he would have fainted by now.
But fortunately, Lang Biol was not targeting him.
Lang Biol looked at him with a gentle smile.
Ryong Shin was stunned and almost fell into illusions, but he regained his senses when the beautiful smile turned into a sarcastic one, and Lang Biol repeated Ryong Shin's own words:
"Does Lang Biol speak this arrogantly?"
Ryong Shin did not understand the connection to what he had said earlier.
He hesitated and said:
"Could this really be Lang Biol, the White Lotus? No, impossible. How could he..?"
He looked again at Lang Biol, who was angrily holding the tree branch and waving it right and left, but he could not accept that this narcissist was Lang Biol.
Moreover, Lang Biol would never have been able to imitate such movements.
He looked at Lang Biol's purple eyes and white hair and fell silent:
"Could he be an illegitimate son? Or Lang Biol's twin?"
He looked again at Biol, who was annoyed because the branch had broken.
His facial expression looked like that of a delinquent, making the second and third possibilities more likely.
Lang Biol looked at him in confusion:
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No.. nothing. I apologize!"
Lang Biol was slightly surprised by Shin's sudden politeness, especially since he had been threatening him moments ago.
But their thoughts were interrupted by the scream of a servant:
"Young master! Young master!"
Both Ryong and Lang Biol looked at him.
The servant arrived struggling to catch his breath:
"Young master, the sect leader wants to see you. It is important!"
Lang Biol felt somewhat surprised and wondered whether he had made the leader of the Golden Tiger Sect and his wife change their minds because of the tea he had sent them. Was that not the case?