Ice Island Palace Chapter 31

Suddenly Mutiara Hitam, the powerful woman whose heart was as hard as steel, rushed into her husband, embracing him and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh, Lam-ko... what must I do, Lam-ko....? Ahh....!"

Tang Hauw Lam embraced his wife with deep affection and allowed her to cry her fill, giving an outlet for the sorrow in her heart. Then he said.

"My wife, if my guess is not wrong, you surely harbor true vengeance in your heart over the death of Raja Talibu, do you not?"

Mutiara Hitam looked back at her husband, her face wet with tears, her eyes scrutinizing him for a moment. However, when she saw how her husband looked at her with full understanding, she sobbed and lowered her face.

"Your guess is correct, My Husband. If I cannot avenge this, my life will never be peaceful again. I could go mad, chased by this vengeance. I... I must avenge this, I must kill the Raja Mongol!"

Tang Hauw Lam sighed, then spoke, his voice filled with sorrow.

"I understand, My Wife. Although this decision of yours is actually mistaken, I dare not forbid you because I know exactly what is happening in your heart."

Mutiara Hitam embraced her husband.

"Ahhh, Lam-ko... you are always so understanding of me, full of affection and patience. I... I am always wrong... ahhh, Lam-ko... but, if I do not avenge my brother's death, I think I will go mad! I will die living in misery, constantly tormented by the shadow of Brother Talibu demanding his death be avenged. Aaahh, Lam-ko, how tormented I have been these past few nights... visited by the shadow of Brother Talibu....

"

Mutiara Hitam wept again, hiccupping. Hauw Lam was secretly very surprised. He understood that there was indeed a spiritual bond and a closer, more subtle vibrational connection between twins. So he hardened his heart and asked.

"Do not feel guilty toward me and try to hide it, My Wife. Now tell me frankly, what is the desire in your heart that you have held back and suppressed all this time?"

Mutiara Hitam wiped her tears until they were dry and once again faced her husband, this time, as usual, calm and full of seriousness.

"Lam-ko, I want to go to Mongol and kill the Raja Mongol!"

Although Hauw Lam's heart pounded because he knew this was tantamount to suicide, he nodded and said,

"Very well! When do we leave? I am ready, My Wife."

"This is the problem that has troubled my heart and prevented me from being frank with you all this time, Lam-ko. I must go alone!"

Tang Hauw Lam's eyebrows furrowed as he gazed sharply at his wife's face.

"Why is that, Lan-moi?"

"This matter of vengeance against the Raja Mongol is a great danger, like entering a sea of fire!"

Tang Hauw Lam laughed heartily.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Mutiara Hitam! Do you think I am a man who fears death?"

"Do not jest, Lam-ko. In other matters, of course, I would prefer to live and die by your side. But this matter is different; this is a personal affair for me, and I do not want to drag you into great danger. I do not wish to see my husband also become a victim in this matter. Besides, if we both go, what about our disciples? No, my husband, and I hope you will grant my request this one time. Dead or alive, I will be eternally grateful to you."

"Kwi Lan....!"

Hauw Lam was startled and moved, embracing his wife. He knew that this time his wife was not joking and had made a firm decision that could not be changed. Kwi Lan embraced and caressed her husband with deep affection.

"My husband, listen to my words. Tomorrow morning I will go alone. You take our two disciples to Gunung Merak, north of the Khitan capital city—do you remember the place set aside as the burial ground for my Father Suling Emas's family? Now, wait for me there with the two disciples and all my scriptures, including the Sepasang Pedang Iblis. If my task in Mongol is completed and I can leave safely, I will follow you there. If not... should I perish in this personal mission, hmph... lead our two disciples well, and I... I will always wait faithfully for you at the gates of the afterlife, My Husband."

"Lan-moi...."

This time, it was Hauw Lam who shed tears. That night, the husband and wife poured out their affection completely, for they felt in their hearts that this might very well be the last time they shared their love! The next morning, with swollen and red eyes, beside her husband who looked gloomy and listless, Mutiara Hitam called Ji Kun and Yan Hwa and left a message.

"I am going away, perhaps for a very long time. You are naughty children, but you must obey all the commands of your *suhu*, study diligently and industriously so that later you can become *pendekar* who uphold truth and justice. Do not bring shame upon the names of your masters. Mutiara Hitam and Golok Sinar Putih are famous *pendekar*. Be careful, if you do not obey *Suhu* after I leave, if I am still alive, I myself will punish you, and if I am dead, my spirit will punish you. Understand?"

The two disciples nodded, sobbing, because they had heard that their *subo* intended to go far away and might not return! After a final embrace with her husband, without speaking, only their eyes exchanged a thousand promises that in life or death they would surely reunite, Mutiara Hitam then flashed away, leaving the three people she loved!

Tang Hauw Lam felt as if his heart was being sliced. Since marrying Mutiara Hitam, he had never been separated from his beloved wife. Traveling far away together, facing mortal dangers together, in joy and sorrow always together and united in heart. Now, suddenly, his wife had left him for an extremely dangerous mission! His entire body felt weak, and if his two disciples had not been there, Tang Hauw Lam, who was usually cheerful and humorous, would surely have wept loudly. He then gathered his two disciples, collected his wife's scriptures, tucked the Sepasang Pedang Iblis into his waist, and led the two disciples toward Bukit Merak in Khitan. The world no longer seemed appealing to Hauw Lam.

The sun seemed to have lost its light, flowers lost their beauty, and his heart constantly felt restless and oppressed. Yet he never complained in front of his two disciples. After arriving at Bukit Merak, Tang Hauw Lam began training his two disciples diligently, but all the while, his heart hoped day and night for Mutiara Hitam's return. He ate very little and hardly ever slept, because during the day he was always gazing into the distance, and at night his ears seemed to hear the footsteps of his wife returning! His body became very thin and his face pale. Waiting in such an uncertain state was truly the heaviest torment for a human being. If only he knew the result of his wife's vengeance! Had she succeeded? Was his wife still alive? Or had she perished?

Can Ji Kun and Ok Yan Hwa were two children usually spoiled by Hauw Lam. Their *Suhu* was always cheerful, never angry, so they were very pampered toward him. Only their *subo* had a strict nature toward them, and these two disciples were very afraid of Mutiara Hitam. Under the tutelage of the husband and wife, they would have become good disciples because from Hauw Lam they received visible affection and joy, while from Mutiara Hitam they received pressure to be diligent and learn discipline. Now that Mutiara Hitam was gone, there was nothing left for them to fear, and although they still studied diligently under Tang Hauw Lam's guidance, they now often played by themselves and paid little attention to their master.

This was because Tang Hauw Lam himself was like a statue, having lost his spirit, so he also paid little attention to his disciples except regarding the lessons in *ilmu silat*. After the two disciples learned that their *subo* had gone to kill the Raja Mongol and undertake a very dangerous mission, they too began to wait anxiously, so these three people, besides studying martial arts, often sat lost in thought, waiting for the highly anticipated return of Mutiara Hitam.

"Why did Your Excellency not wish to accompany Your Excellency's aunt Mutiara Hitam? By accompanying her, would Your Excellency not be accompanying your own parent and later be able to learn the high-level *ilmu silat* possessed by the powerful *pendekar* Mutiara Hitam?"