By Zephyria 
Why was there a memorial stone for someone who was still alive?
Was it something he had missed in his previous life, or was this another newly created variable? Cheon Mu-gyeong knelt before the memorial stone and lightly brushed his hand over the three characters etched in the thin layer of ice.
It was said that the previous Palace Master of the Ice Palace had locked numerous children in a cave in an attempt to create a human elixir, but they had all perished when the ground subsided and the entrance collapsed.
This, too, was a fact he had learned in his past life. When he had smashed through the rocks and found the entrance to the sunken cave to enter, there had been nothing but an empty void.
There were no traces of the ice dragon, nor even fragments of the dead’s bones. It was a space where only eternal snow and ice existed.
Taking his hand off the memorial stone, Cheon Mu-gyeong stood up and turned around. He felt the presence of Wi Ho-yeon, who was hiding among three snow pines, specifically the one in the center.
His breathing was fainter than that of others, but the scent carried by the wind was distinct. It was the scent of winter that clung to Ho-yeon. Cheon Mu-gyeong realized once again that he had become accustomed to a minty fragrance clearer than that of the snow pines.
Perhaps thinking he wouldn’t come out unless he was found, Ho-yeon was completely hidden behind a thick tree trunk; not a single strand of hair was visible. He had been following with great spirit, but as they headed toward this place, he had hesitated. It seemed he was not entirely unrelated to this memorial stone.
“Wi Ho-yeon.”
Cheon Mu-gyeong called his name in Ho-yeon’s direction. At that, the wind blew, and untied strands of hair fluttered, revealing his form. The hand that hurriedly pulled down the meltingly white hair was frantic.
Though he had zero experience with things like hide-and-seek, he had become the seeker several times in his relationship with Wi Ho-yeon. Unfortunately, Wi Ho-yeon’s hiding skills were abysmal. Since the seeker happened to be the heavenly demon, it might feel quite unfair for Wi Ho-yeon.
“Wi Ho-yeon.”
He spoke the name once more. With a soft crunch, stepping on the piled-up snow, Wi Ho-yeon appeared from beside the tree trunk. Because he had rushed out to follow, he was wearing nothing more than sleepwear filled with deflated cotton.
Even if he was born and raised in the North and was resistant to frost energy, it didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the cold. Cheon Mu-gyeong gradually approached Wi Ho-yeon, whose fingertips were frozen red.
“Did you… know?”
“What.”
“That I was following you.”
Ho-yeon curled his frozen fingertips into a round fist. It wasn’t because he was angry or upset about being caught, but rather an unconscious gesture to protect his hands.
Behind Cheon Mu-gyeong, the footprints leading to Ho-yeon remained vivid on the snow.
“I didn’t.”
“Liar. You called me.”
Ho-yeon exhaled a cloud of white breath, claiming he wasn’t that oblivious.
“I simply called the name written on the memorial stone.”
Cheon Mu-gyeong snatched Ho-yeon’s hand just as he flinched. Ho-yeon himself didn’t know if he was startled by the touch of Cheon Mu-gyeong’s hand or flustered because he had mentioned the memorial stone.
Facing him in the desolate snowy mountains where not even a mountain bird could be seen, Ho-yeon felt an indescribable awkwardness.
Of course, they had spent a fair amount of time alone together in the demon sect, but the situation was different now. Although they had pressed their bodies together and engaged in somewhat intense acts, this was the first time they had actually shared an intimate union.
Because he had been half-conscious, the memory wasn’t entirely clear, but the sensation of tough, hard muscles pressing down on him and the feeling of his lower dantian growing hot were engraved like a brand.
In truth, he wanted to demand why the man had slept with him. No matter how much he had first lunged forward in search of warmth, Cheon Mu-gyeong could have stopped him at any time.
However, Ho-yeon couldn’t utter a word to Mu-gyeong, who was enveloping his hands one by one. Despite the biting cold, his hands were still hot.
“Why… did you come here?”
“I just happened to walk this way.”
Walk, my foot. He had used lightfoot techniques, making it so grueling to keep up.
Ho-yeon’s gaze lingered on the memorial stones lined up beyond him. This was a place Ho-yeon visited occasionally. It was a place with no good memories, but he was the only one who could remember and honor the dead children.
Cheon Mu-gyeong, while quietly letting Ho-yeon hold his hands, looked into Ho-yeon’s deeply sunken blue eyes.
“Your name was on the memorial stone.”
“……It’s someone with the same name.”
“Is the surname Wi and the name Ho-yeon common in the North?”
Those with the surname Wi in the North were blood relatives of the Palace Master, whether distant or close. Unlike the demon sect, which revered power, the North was ruled by the descendants of the Frost Empress Wi Ji-woon. The reason Wi Yeon-gang, who led a rebellion, could become the Palace Master was that he possessed the legitimacy of bloodline.
“It’s possible.”
Ho-yeon replied, avoiding Cheon Mu-gyeong’s piercing gaze. He wanted to pull his hands away, but he didn’t have the confidence to push away a brazier standing before him in the dead of winter. Ho-yeon admitted it: he was utterly weak in both body and mind.
“I heard the previous Palace Master drowned the young ones of the North in there to create a human elixir.”
Ho-yeon looked up in shock. He was bewildered that Cheon Mu-gyeong knew the shame of the North. The aides of the previous Palace Master who knew that fact had all been killed, and Wi Yeon-gang had kept it a secret after erecting the memorial stones. And he was the only survivor who had returned alive from that deep cave.
There was no way the Palace Master would have told Cheon Mu-gyeong about this shame directly, so how did he know?
“That’s just a ghost story.”
“Uncle Wi.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“You seem to forget who I am often, but I do not speak of rumors as if they were facts.”
It was a heavy resonance, as weighty as the scent of sandalwood emanating from him.
Before he knew it, Ho-yeon locked eyes with Mu-gyeong, who now had red eyes. His true essence was not black eyes, but crimson eyes. He only had dark eyes when suppressing his demonic energy, which acted like a human-skin mask hiding his true nature.
The demonic energy of others was toxic enough to make the skin sting, but Cheon Mu-gyeong was different. He only felt a distant sense of overwhelming pressure, like the wonder provided by vast nature.
Ho-yeon clearly had a fondness for Mu-gyeong. That feeling had been so great that he didn’t hate him even though he had been deceived. To be more honest, he found it fascinating that the man by his side was the legendary leader of the demon sect.
He had even felt awe at the level of martial arts Cheon Mu-gyeong displayed while saving him during the cult leader’s birthday, when the blood cult had intruded. So much so that he had actually wanted to learn the martial arts he had previously ignored.
Ho-yeon had stayed at the Ice Palace through the Palace Master’s goodwill, but behind that was an intention to show that he was a safe person. He had almost killed the Palace Master and his household. Therefore, he stayed in the eumbyeol hall to put the Palace Master at ease.
Since Wi Yeon-gang had ascended to the position of Palace Master through a coup, he was exceptionally cautious. He had even made the Palace Master’s hall, which should have been the most lavish, desolate to prepare against the threat of assassination.
If he hadn’t stayed where the Palace Master’s eyes could reach him, Wi Yeon-gang would have spent his days in anxiety, wondering if Ho-yeon would appear and threaten him at any moment.
To signal his harmlessness, Ho-yeon intentionally didn’t even look at ice arts. The children of the eumbyeol hall were the only driving force for his life. Into such a life, a distinct presence named Cheon Mu-gyeong, who could not be erased, had intruded.
If asked now if he hated him, he couldn’t say he found him lovely. How could he look kindly upon the person who had thrown him into qi deviation?
But the man who enveloped his cold hands in heat, the Cheon Mu-gyeong who gave large sums of money to the children without regretting a single coin, and the man who could have harmed the Palace Master but refrained at his request—he kept shaking Ho-yeon’s heart.
While thinking himself foolish, he became interested in Cheon Mu-gyeong like an uncontrollable curiosity. Even now, hadn’t he followed Cheon Mu-gyeong because the words he had spoken weighed on his mind? That didn’t mean he had forgiven what the man had done.
Unable to define his complex emotions, Ho-yeon asked.
“Are you… looking for the human elixir?”
That might be the reason Cheon Mu-gyeong had come to the North.
“No.”
Despite Ho-yeon’s extreme tension, the words from Cheon Mu-gyeong’s mouth were firm.
“Then why did you come to the North? It’s not like you came to take me back.”
Mu-gyeong tilted his head slightly. Then, the red eyes approached strangely.
“I had no intention of taking you back.”
Even though it was a fact he already knew, Ho-yeon couldn’t help but feel a sense of resentment.
“If I return to this cult, you are included.”
“What?”
Rumble. At that moment, a sound like thunder from the sky echoed from beneath their feet. The entire eternal snow mountain seemed to cry as the ground shook violently, and a roar signaling the start of an avalanche erupted. It was the moment Ho-yeon hurriedly looked down at his feet. Cheon Mu-gyeong suddenly pulled Ho-yeon’s waist, hugging him tightly without a gap.
A sharp gasp escaped Ho-yeon’s lips. Feeling the sensation of the ground vanishing beneath him, he was held by Cheon Mu-gyeong, his two legs floating in the air. With the subsequent roar, the snow-covered ground that Cheon Mu-gyeong had been supporting collapsed in an instant. The hard ice ground split and shattered like worn cloth, and the two plummeted into the distant underground.
Ho-yeon recalled the smile of Cheon Mu-gyeong as they had fallen off a cliff together before. But this time, no laughter was heard. He only felt the strength of the arms holding him tightly, as if afraid to let go.
In the midst of the dizzying fall, Ho-yeon also clung tightly to Cheon Mu-gyeong.