By Zephyria 
HF 81
===
“……As you can see, I can’t do things like lightfoot techniques. I couldn’t just die eating fasting pills, so I was trying to go hunting.”
Suddenly, the day Ho-yeon almost fell while descending a cliff came to mind. It was when he had confined Ho-yeon to a thatched cottage at the peak of a cliff.
“That place isn’t fit for a human to live.”
The sensation of Ho-yeon’s hand gripping his robes tightly, desperate not to fall into the dizzying depths.
“If you had fainted, your head would have burst open upon impact.”
“I know it’s a crude method. But I… I hate fasting pills that much.”
For Cheon Mu-gyeong, who had lost interest in gourmet food, these were words he couldn’t empathize with. However, he felt a dryness in his throat at the way Ho-yeon’s body leaned into him, pale with the fear of falling. To be precise, he wanted Wi Ho-yeon, who had nowhere to step, to cling to him even more desperately.
“What… what are you doing right now?”
“Since you hate them, we should go down.”
He pulled out the sword he had embedded in the cliff and plummeted, holding Wi Ho-yeon in his arms.
Ho-yeon’s loud scream brought a natural smile to his lips; despite the fall, he felt as if he were soaring.
But now, as he breathed life into a mouth that did not breathe and offered his own heat, there were no arms to embrace him back. What would happen if Wi Ho-yeon failed to wake up within the time allotted to him? If things reached the point where he turned the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains into a sea of fire, would he eventually be forced to take the boy’s life?
Even without the certainty that the curse would be broken by Wi Ho-yeon’s death, his past self would have already carried it out. However, Cheon Mu-gyeong did not want to return to a life before the variables had appeared. That was all.
Opening Ho-yeon’s lips, he once again breathed in energy as hot as the heat emanating from a brazier. He pressed his hand firmly against the boy’s withered chest. Since there was no response from any of the qi and blood paths in the body, only the heart remained.
While keeping their lips pressed together, he provided breath and waited for the heart to beat faintly. Only after a very long time—so long that he feared it might have stopped for good—did a faint pulsation occur.
Cheon Mu-gyeong did not miss that moment. Having completely filtered out the demonic energy, he channeled only yang energy into the heart’s vessels. Had someone touched him or disturbed his concentration, Wi Ho-yeon would have truly met his death.
But Cheon Mu-gyeong did not hesitate. While releasing the demonic energy from his body, he had formed a barrier that no one could approach. The moment anyone touched that demonic energy, their blood paths would twist, and they would die.
Following the single beat that started in Ho-yeon’s heart, Mu-gyeong slowly extended a thread-like energy. Pressing the back of Ho-yeon’s neck with his fingertips, Cheon Mu-gyeong awakened the Amun blood point. He then connected it to the Baekhoe point at the crown of the head and led the thread-like energy downward once more.
Cheon Mu-gyeong, in a state where he had filtered out all the demonic energy within himself, guided Ho-yeon through a full cycle of internal circulation. No matter if he was the heavenly demon, by exposing himself so vulnerably, he had become no different from a child. However, before the energy could complete a single circuit of the body, Ho-yeon’s qi and blood vanished again.
“Jangun.”
At the low call, a man in black light armor appeared from the shadows. The cult leader’s shadow prostrated himself in respect.
“You may kill anyone who enters.”
“As you command.”
Jangun rose at the cult leader’s order. Having witnessed everything, Jangun had no way of knowing why the cult leader was going to such lengths to save Wi Ho-yeon. The energy the cult leader had just expended was equivalent to 5 gapja (1) of internal energy.
Even for the cult leader, it would take a considerable amount of time to recover that much internal power, and Jangun could not help but be worried.
Even if he evaporated 5 gapja, the foundation that made up Cheon Mu-gyeong was demonic energy, so a significant amount remained in his dantian. However, it was enough to filter out only the yang energy.
Cheon Mu-gyeong’s forehead was drenched in sweat. Although his body was gripped by the fire demon, it had been a very long time since he had sweated. It was something that had not happened in this life, nor in dozens of previous lives.
Only after one dakyung (2) had passed did he attempt to connect the circulation again, matching the beating of Ho-yeon’s heart. The second attempt ended in failure, and the third, fourth, and fifth were the same.
To Jangun, it looked as if he were pouring effort into a corpse. Even as the sun dipped and the sunset faded, and a dark night fell with the moon hidden by clouds, Ho-yeon’s eyes remained closed.
* * *
“I apologize, but I do not believe this is a good idea.”
Upon arriving at the Ice Crystal Hall, the Black Tortoise Hall Master cautiously voiced his disagreement with the Palace Master’s opinion.
The Ice Crystal Hall was the pavilion where the affairs of the Ice Palace were discussed. The Ice Crystal Hall also belonged to the Ice Palace Hall complex, and as if following the legend that it reflected a person’s heart in detail, it was surrounded by transparent ice.
The Palace Master, sitting on the central throne, covered his forehead with his hand. The Black Tortoise Hall Master had also half-lost his mind after hearing from the Palace Master a few days ago that the intruder was the heavenly demon, but he quickly regained his reason at the Palace Master’s following words.
The Palace Master said they should contact the Murim Alliance and inform them that the leader of the Demon Sect was in the Ice Palace, and that they were being persecuted.
“Can’t we just hand him over, whether the cult leader kills Ho-yeon or not?”
“Look at this wicked fellow! Are you truly the Black Tortoise Hall Master responsible for our North Sea’s diplomacy!”
As the Palace Master shouted, striking the throne, the Black Tortoise Hall Master bowed his body deeply.
“Ho-yeon is my favorite! How can you say it doesn’t matter if such a precious child dies? And if something happens to Ho-yeon, do you think that cult leader will leave us alone?”
The Black Tortoise Hall Master had an expression that asked, Why on earth would he target us if Ho-yeon is the one who comes to harm?
“The man himself boasted that if that were to happen, he would not leave us in peace.”
“Then perhaps, in that case, how about we take this opportunity for our Ice Palace to dispose of the cult leader?”
The Black Tortoise Hall Master’s eyes sparkled, believing this was the chance. The Palace Master openly clicked his tongue, wondering why such a person was in charge of diplomacy. However, if the Palace Master had not faced the cult leader personally, he would have had complacent thoughts just like the Black Tortoise Hall Master.
“He was not a man one could challenge even for a single move.”
The Palace Master’s ice art was at a level that no one in the North Sea could hope to match. Wi Yeon-gang also possessed immense pride in his own martial prowess and was not one to admit deficiency so easily. Yet, without even exchanging a single blow, a deep sense of defeat had already settled over Wi Yeon-gang’s face.
“Rumors are not always exaggerated. I realized this time that they can actually be understated.”
At Wi Yeon-gang’s definitive statement, the Black Tortoise Hall Master let out a low groan. That said, bringing in the Murim Alliance was not a wise move. If the Murim Alliance removed the cult leader, they would use the excuse of having granted a favor to try and dominate the North Sea.
Come to think of it, hadn’t the cult leader bestowed an enormous amount of wealth in exchange for the transfer of Wi Ho-yeon’s person? The Black Tortoise Hall Master jumped up from his seat and spoke.
“Palace Master! Please think about it carefully. Looking at it another way, doesn’t it seem the cult leader… cares for Ho-yeon immensely? How much wealth did the cult leader give? Since you also said there is no way Ho-yeon will die, why don’t we take care of Ho-yeon as if he were gold or jade, and ask the cult leader for even more wealth—”
“Black Tortoise Hall Master! Did I not say I have no intention of handing Ho-yeon over to the cult leader!”
The Black Tortoise Hall Master was the one who was baffled—after being the first to suggest sending him to the Demon Sect, why the sudden change?
Wi Yeon-gang also read the Black Tortoise Hall Master’s inner intentions and could say no more. He decided to tell the Black Tortoise Hall Master about the Ice Dragon and the Fire Dragon as well, adding his own conjectures.
The Black Tortoise Hall Master, who had been skeptical throughout the long explanation, changed his expression instantly when the secret history of the first Ice Palace Master was mentioned.
“Palace Master! Then conversely, wouldn’t it be fine if our precious Ho-yeon simply consumed the energy of the Fire Dragon?”
Within the Black Tortoise Hall Master, Wi Ho-yeon’s status had rapidly ascended to “our precious Ho-yeon.”
“That’s easier said than done. Do you not know that the cult leader sucked Ho-yeon dry to become like that?”
It was a tempting proposal for Wi Yeon-gang as well, but was the heavenly demon such an easy opponent?
“Listen to me. Honestly, the cult leader could have just swallowed our precious Ho-yeon whole, couldn’t he? But he paid a price, and the moment Ho-yeon fell into a state of suspended animation, he rushed to the North Sea. What do you think that means?”
“The cult leader… has no intention of killing Ho-yeon, no matter what.”
Nod. The Black Tortoise Hall Master nodded vigorously, saying exactly.
* * *
Mu-gyeong’s injection of true qi, which began in the afternoon, did not make Ho-yeon open his eyes even after midnight passed and dawn broke. However, Ho-yeon’s heartbeat had become much faster than at first, and the internal circulation was slowly finding its place.
Although it was only three or four strands, whereas ten should normally circulate through the blood paths.
Mu-gyeong kissed Ho-yeon countless times, breathing life into him. Watching this, Jangun unconsciously grimaced.
The heat emitted by dozens of braziers alone must be agonizing, and it was too painful to watch the cult leader pour out his strength like that. It was the moment Jangun almost dared to speak, telling him to stop.
Haa. A breath carrying frost energy flowed from Ho-yeon’s parted lips. Soon, the long, white breath resembled the cold of the North Sea. As if waking from a long sleep, Ho-yeon finished a very slow breath and opened his eyes even more slowly.
Cheon Mu-gyeong stared directly into Ho-yeon’s eyes without even blinking. Now, it seemed as if Mu-gyeong himself was not breathing. The moment their gazes met, Ho-yeon’s eyelids fluttered down and then back up.
Blinking blankly, instead of cursing him as a bad man or telling him to get lost, Ho-yeon simply stretched out his two arms languidly. With hands that had no strength in them, Ho-yeon wrapped himself around Cheon Mu-gyeong’s large frame and whispered.
“……Warm.”
Just as Cheon Mu-gyeong had treated Ho-yeon like a piece of ice that had flowed into lava, Ho-yeon regarded Cheon Mu-gyeong as something like a campfire found in the eternal snow mountains. He had regained consciousness, but he was in a sleepwalking state. However, Cheon Mu-gyeong let out a short, silent laugh through a ragged breath.
Not only did Ho-yeon rub his face against his chest, but he also pressed his lower body tightly against him. It was something he did whenever this terrible sleepwalking manifested.
“Jangun, go outside, two hundred jang (3) away.”
==
Approximately 300 years.
Approximately 15 minutes.
Approximately 600m.