By Zephyria 
HF 44
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“Holding my breath hostage to make a deal—is this a threat?”
Even though his hand was wrapped around Mu-gyeong’s neck, it didn’t look threatening at all. Rather, it looked as if Ho-yeon’s pale hand was the one being threatened by Mu-gyeong’s neck, where veins were pulsing.
“The nine yang severed meridian… no, right?”
“That… person told me to find someone with an extreme yin constitution to treat the Cult Leader’s nine yang severed meridian.”
“I suppose such rumors have spread outside the Divine Cult. But that is not the case.”
“Then…”
“Since he did not refuse the pleas of the two guardians, I suppose it does align with the Cult Leader’s will.”
At the time, he had been so focused on the fact that the person who told them to fetch him wasn’t the Cult Leader that he had overlooked something. Back then, Han Hee-ryeong had essentially said that the Cult Leader did not have the nine yang severed meridian.
“I wonder.”
As Mu-gyeong spoke in a low voice, the vibration in his neck tickled Ho-yeon’s palm. However, Ho-yeon could not pull his hand away, as if it were scorched and stuck to a hot surface. It felt as if lava were flowing into his slightly opened dantian. To be precise, Mu-gyeong was seizing his frost energy.
Ho-yeon glanced down at Mu-gyeong’s right arm. Though hidden by the long robe, the fierce heat that usually radiated from his forearm was not felt at this moment.
“At the very least, it’s true that I’m being helpful to you.”
Ho-yeon acted bold before the deal. Internally, however, there was an underlying anxiety about what would happen if the answer was no. Mu-gyeong neither denied nor affirmed, simply drawing out Ho-yeon’s internal power like uncooling lava.
At this rate, his unstable dantian might suffer a severe blow. The internal power Ho-yeon had released was merely a small piece of ice compared to the heat Mu-gyeong emitted.
“You called me eternal snow.”
“I called you phoenix head wild hair.”
Mu-gyeong narrowed his crimson eyes, making it look as if he were smiling. Because Ho-yeon liked that particular expression on Mu-gyeong’s face, he struggled to steady his wavering gaze.
“Whether it’s phoenix head wild hair or eternal snow, I’ll be whatever you want, so you give me what I want too.”
To preserve his life from Cheon Mu-gyeong, Ho-yeon had to be recognized as useful by any means necessary, and he was currently proving it through action. It seemed Mu-gyeong was finding stability by stealing the yin energy from him. However, Ho-yeon did not want a one-sided extortion.
“Do you mean the children?”
Ho-yeon’s eyes widened. How did he know about the children of Eumbyeol Hall? Then, realizing that he must have seen the letter, he quickly dismissed the question.
“The children are doing well in the Ice Palace, so they’re fine. What I want is…”
The core of it was to ask for a promise that his life would not be taken, but he could no longer trust the man’s word. All the trust he had once held had been an illusion.
The path to escape the Demon Sect was blocked, and he didn’t know when his life might be snatched away. His survival depended entirely on Mu-gyeong’s fingertips. Therefore, Ho-yeon attempted a gamble he had never dared in his life.
“Martial arts.”
Mu-gyeong found this unexpected condition intriguing. Although ice arts and demonic arts had different affinities, Wi Ho-yeon’s psychology was easy to deduce. Ho-yeon likely wanted to find a way to be unconstrained by frost energy through Mu-gyeong, who had reached a realm beyond the demonic.
“Why should I?”
Flinch. Ho-yeon’s hand, touching Mu-gyeong’s neck, trembled slightly. He had spoken words that would never work on an arrogant bastard of a Cult Leader.
“I guess the Cult Leader just extorts things without paying a proper price?”
To be honest, Ho-yeon still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that this man was the Heavenly Demon. It felt like a dream, but he had to stay sharp to survive the tiger’s maw.
As Mu-gyeong closed the distance further, Ho-yeon’s arm became bent at the elbow, and he missed the timing to pull his hand away.
“The Cult Leader?”
“…I’m not a member of the Demon Sect, so I won’t use honorifics.”
Truthfully, Mu-gyeong’s crimson eyes were terrifying, but Ho-yeon spoke with surprising confidence while swallowing hard.
“Master.”
“…What?”
Ho-yeon frowned at Mu-gyeong’s incomprehensible response. The frost-laden breath and the heat-filled breath were so close that it felt as if ice and fire were competing for dominance, though they soon neutralized each other.
“If I am to do as you say, shouldn’t I be called that?”
It was true that he had asked to be taught martial arts, but he had no intention of making him his master.
“I’m suggesting a deal, not a master-disciple relationship.”
“You’re fine with arguing about who’s the older or younger brother, but you hate the word ‘master’?”
With a sudden movement, Mu-gyeong pressed his body closer.
“How selfish.”
The two torsos pressed tightly together, separated only by the arm Ho-yeon had wrapped around his neck. As if to show off, Mu-gyeong didn’t just consume the blue yin energy clinging to the hand, but tried to strip away the remaining energy as well.
It wasn’t a demonic art, nor was it an essence absorption art. It felt as if two different natures were desperately craving one another. However, because Mu-gyeong’s energy was far more powerful, Ho-yeon’s mind grew dizzy.
“Anyway, you’ve… never properly taught anyone before.”
Ho-yeon spoke indirectly, suggesting that Mu-gyeong would never be a good teacher. Usually, he spent his time in courtesan houses or gambling dens… Come to think of it, did he really frequent those places? Everyone in the cult would know he was the Cult Leader. That, too, seemed to be a lie.
If he had been the young master of the Demonic Shadow Martial House, Ho-yeon would have been greatly relieved to have his misunderstanding cleared, but now he felt lost, not knowing how much of him was a lie.
“Even if I was a case of surpassing the master, I have indeed never taught anyone.”
Ho-yeon’s mouth hung open slightly at the honest admission. More than that, the phrase ‘surpassing the master’ was surprising. Of course, it sounded less like self-praise and more like a simple statement of fact.
“So, are you saying you will teach me?”
“What should I do?”
Ho-yeon grew anxious at the slow, ambiguous answer. It was because side effects were beginning to manifest in his body again due to the exertion of his internal power.
“I’ve also never taught someone with a constitution that shouldn’t learn martial arts.”
“You said the Heavenly Demon isn’t human. Th-then you should be able to do everything.”
Even knowing his words were insolent, Ho-yeon didn’t stop.
“If you can’t.”
At that moment, Ho-yeon gasped at an expression he was seeing for the first time. A vivid smile played on Mu-gyeong’s lips, and madness seemed etched into his crimson eyes.
“Then, am I still human?”
Ho-yeon was locked in his gaze, unable to look away.
“Why… why ask me that?”
As the energy gradually drained from his body, a tingling pain set in. If this continued, he would soon faint.
“Think about it… for now, please leave. I… I’m going to sleep now.”
Even as he spoke, Ho-yeon knew he sounded beyond brazen—he sounded insane. But since Cheon Mu-gyeong might harm him after he fainted, he had to say something.
“Sleep? You mean you’re going to pass out.”
He had wondered before how the man could speak so spitefully, but since he was the Cult Leader, he simply had no need to mince words. However, Ho-yeon felt quite wronged. He had survived by the grace of the Ice Dragon, but in exchange, he had to absorb too much energy, and his frail body simply couldn’t handle it.
To make matters worse, because of the mystical seal, he couldn’t even inform the Palace Master or anyone else of his situation. Thus, the only thing Ho-yeon could do was keep his dantian sealed.
“If you do something mean… while I’m passed out… you can’t.”
Ho-yeon pleaded internally for him not to kill him. Then, in a half-rambling tone, he continued.
“If you do something mean… I’ll get revenge in the same way…”
By now, Mu-gyeong’s gaze had moved beyond interest to that of someone watching something amusing.
“I only put you in a cart?”
“If you’re going to do it again… it would be better if you just dumped me outside the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.”
The moment Ho-yeon, pushed to the brink of fainting, spoke with utter sincerity, his blue-grey eyes rolled back. The strength in the hand wrapping Mu-gyeong’s neck vanished completely, leaving only his arm trapped between their two bodies.
Mu-gyeong brought his face close to the nape of Ho-yeon, who had fainted, looking even paler than usual. Like a starving man, he inhaled Ho-yeon’s scent, feeling a moment of respite from the curse of the fire dragon that had finally quieted down.
There was no grand reason why he had attached his shadow, Jangun, to Ho-yeon. It was simply because it was obvious that Wi Ho-yeon would try to flee.
However, Ho-yeon had family to protect. If he left the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and headed for the Ice Palace, he wouldn’t be able to avoid the Demon Sect’s pursuit, and naturally, calamity would befall the Ice Palace as well.
Had Wi Ho-yeon fled, Cheon Mu-gyeong would have stained the entire Eternal Snow Mountain with blood without a moment’s hesitation. Whether Ho-yeon knew this, or whether he lacked confidence in his escape from the start, or perhaps—boldly—he was trying to solve his physical problems through Mu-gyeong, he was cunning in his own way.
In truth, Mu-gyeong didn’t need a deal; he could have just continued stealing yin energy as he did today. He could have tortured him into breaking the seal, or threatened him by mentioning his family, but if he did that, Ho-yeon would simply wither away and die.
Mu-gyeong did not want intermittent relief. He wanted to completely remove the curse of the fire dragon. However, if the answer lay with the variable before him, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to pretend to go along with his wishes. After all, he was a variable and a change that had appeared once in a hundred years.
A field of snow, looking as if it were embroidered with gold needles, lay beneath Mu-gyeong.
Something mean, was it?
A short sneer brushed across his lips.