116 – Heavenly Fortune

“The Cult Leader is coming?”

Chief Han couldn’t help but ask back, suspicious that Ho-yeon was merely talking in his sleep. Il Gang-gun had already rushed outside to investigate the situation.

The pupils within his slowly blinking eyelashes were as clear as transparent ice, yet the usual rationality was nowhere to be found. As Ho-yeon pushed himself up in that state, the heated stones placed atop the blanket came crashing down.

Since he showed no particular reaction to the sound, Chief Han realized that Ho-yeon was not in his right mind.

“Young Master Wi, please rest a bit longer. The letter sent to the Cult Leader will arrive soon, so please be at ease.”

“It’s true…. Mu-gyeong is coming.”

Chief Han was left speechless by the words spoken with such a clear, innocent face. It wasn’t just because he had dared to utter the name so casually. Even though she knew Wi Ho-yeon had been on close terms with the Cult Leader, the way the name left Ho-yeon’s lips sounded profoundly affectionate.

Who in the Divine Cult could call the Cult Leader so tenderly? As far as she could remember, there was only one person: Cheon Mu-gyeong’s mother, who had been poisoned by the forces of the First Young Master.

Chief Han herself had dared to feel pity for Cheon Mu-gyeong, [visit our site]a being who was essentially [Read on Read BL Novels]a heaven beyond heavens. Thus, she had been very pleased by the interest Mu-gyeong had shown toward another person—something he had never displayed before.

But now, Ho-yeon was different as well. Where previously a sense of betrayal had loomed larger than affection, now only longing remained. He murmured again, as if pleading for her to believe him, that Mu-gyeong was truly coming.

“Young Master, I understand, so please rest a bit more. I shall go out to greet him.”

After laying Ho-yeon back down on the bed, Chief Han called for Abok.

“Replace the heated stones with fresh ones and stoke the fire in the brazier further.”

“Yes, Chief.”

Following Il Gang-gun, Chief Han stepped outside, and Abok hurried to wrap the heated stones in cloth and place them throughout Ho-yeon’s bed.

“Abok, can’t you feel it?”

Ho-yeon, pinned down by the thick blankets as if bound, spoke while calmly blinking his eyes.

“I… I am not sure, Young Master.”

Abok, who came from the demon-taming cave, was originally meant to act as a first-class assassin, but because he was blind, he had been assigned to the 5th squad of the Soul-Severing Squad—a group of disposable pawns. It was Chief Han who had taken notice of him and made him her confidant.

Abok’s loyalty to Chief Han was so strong that he would give his life at her command. At first, he cared for Ho-yeon simply because it was Chief Han’s order, and he felt nothing particular, but as they spent time together, his thoughts gradually changed.

Ho-yeon’s nature was as soft and gentle as the blindfold covering his eyes, and so Abok, who trusted no one but Chief Han, had eventually opened his heart. Moreover, such a person had suppressed the blood-flame jiangshi—which even Elder Do-gyeon had struggled against—and saved the Divine Cult from the fire demon.

“I just… hope that the Young Master does not return to the North Sea.”

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Abok quickly shut his mouth. No matter how out of it Ho-yeon was, there were things one should and should not say.

Fortunately, Ho-yeon was unaware of Abok’s slip and continued to mutter to himself.

“The flames are so fierce, why does no one else know….”

Then, looking at the puzzled Abok, he smiled brightly.

“Even if they are fierce, they are the flames I want. They are the [[visit our site]Read on Read BL Novelsclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">Read on Read BL Novels]half of me that I have longed for so much.”

“The Cult Leader…?”

Ho-yeon smiled serenely. Then, he soon curled his body up, complaining that it was too cold. Even though heated stones were placed frequently and the brazier’s fire was stoked strongly, the white mist scattering from Ho-yeon’s lips showed no sign of disappearing.

* * *

Wi Ho-yeon had vanished.

Not only in the Ice Palace, but nowhere in the North Sea could any trace of Wi Ho-yeon be found. Since he had disappeared after falling into an underground cave in the eternal snow mountains with Cheon Mu-gyeong, there was no way for the Palace Lord, Wi Yeon-gang, to know. In the midst of this, a memory flashed through Wi Yeon-gang’s mind.

[Since the divine beast of One Body Two Heads was completely split in two, it became the Heavenly Ice Polar Dragon and the Heavenly Dragon of Extreme Flame. As yin and yang separated, the power of the two divine beasts was halved, but the greed of the Heavenly Dragon of Extreme Flame became the kalpa fire and burned the world.

By the divine authority of the Heavenly Ice Polar Dragon, the fire dragon was expelled to the flame mountain of the hundred thousand great mountains, and thus the disaster of the North Sea ceased. It is the supreme grace of the holy dragon.]

It was a secret history left by the first Palace Lord and Frost Empress, Wi Ji-woon.

Wi Yeon-gang hurried first to his son’s room. Originally, Wi Yeon-gang had tried to take the secret history the child had found that day, but the child had adamantly refused, so it was still kept [[Read on Read BL Novels]Read on Read BL Novelsclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">Read on Read BL Novels]there. It was a decision made based on an intuition that the location of the secret history should not be moved carelessly.

Because they had evacuated to a safe place, the child’s quarters were filled only with books scattered by the earthquake. Wi Yeon-gang searched urgently for the secret history, but among the numerous books, there was none that appeared as blank pages. The secret history, which responded only to the bloodline of the Frost Empress, revealed its contents only when internal power of the ice art was infused into it.

Wi Yeon-gang immediately changed direction and headed toward Mujin Pavilion, where his wife and child were. The inner chamber, surrounded on all sides by ice crystal stones, was a place safe not only from earthquakes but also from enemy attacks.

Even for a martial artist of Wi Yeon-gang’s caliber, it was an impregnable fortress that could never be broken by force. The only ones who could perform the gate opening were those who inherited the blood of Wi Ji-woon.

Wi Yeon-gang reached the ice crystal stone wall and placed his hand on the spot where the blue energy was condensed. As the true qi emanating from his hand spread into the ice crystal stone wall, the entrance to Mujin Pavilion began to split left and right. Inside, the Snow Shadow Guard and servants were protecting his wife and child.

“A-won, give me the Ice History of the North Sea!”

Already knowing his family was safe, Wi Yeon-gang immediately reached for the ancient book his son was holding in his arms. Though puzzled, the child handed the book to his father, and Wi Yeon-gang abruptly poured his internal power into it.

Ice History of the North Sea

Simultaneously, the title was engraved upon the old book. Wi Yeon-gang flipped through the pages to find the information he sought.

It was almost certain that the Heavenly Ice Polar Dragon had been in the underground cave, so perhaps the method for a human to escape that [unauthorized copy]place was also written? However, Wi [Read on Read BL Novels]Yeon-gang had skimmed through the contents before handing the book to the child. But it had been nothing more than a parade of incomprehensible phrases.

Nevertheless, Wi Yeon-gang checked the secret history meticulously to find even a single clue.

He wanted to demand of the Cult Leader that since Ho-yeon disappeared while they were together, the man should find him himself instead of asking him what to do, but if he did that, an unbearable aftermath would await him.

Originally, there was no fire energy in the ley lines of the eternal snow mountains, but when the spiritual power of the divine beast, the Heavenly Ice Polar Dragon, touched the flame mountain of the hundred thousand great mountains, hot lava began to flow even in the abyss of the North Sea.

This is a passage of the barrier created by the two separated divine beasts, the Heavenly Ice Polar Dragon and the Heavenly Dragon of Extreme Flame. Only those recognized by the divine beast can cross the boundary between the eternal snow mountains and the hundred thousand great mountains in an instant.

“Father, I am still in the middle of interpreting the secret history.”

Wi Yeon-gang, who looked as if he had buried his face in the book, finally looked down at the child beside him.

“The order is all jumbled. You have to infuse internal power differently, following the traces left by the Frost Empress, for the records to find their original positions.”

He was well aware of the child’s genius, but he couldn’t help but be amazed every time he saw this side of him. Furthermore, the fact that hot springs appeared in the eternal snow mountains because they were connected to the flame mountain of the hundred thousand great mountains via a barrier was simply astounding.

In the gap of that barrier, I saw Cheon Tae-seong, who had reached the Ultimate Realm of Demonic Arts. My arrogance, BEGIN: unauthorized copy -->unauthorized copybelieving I had reached the end of the ice art and considering myself the best under heaven, was finally shattered before that man’s existence.

However, despair soon became the Way. I record here that my ice art has also finally stepped into the true realm.

Wi Yeon-gang’s hand trembled slightly. Cheon Tae-seong, who had reached the Ultimate Realm of Demonic Arts, was the First Heavenly Demon. The record that the Frost Empress had met Cheon Tae-seong through the barrier was hard to believe even after seeing it with his own eyes.

If that were the case, then the reason Wi Ho-yeon was able to escape from a monster of a man like Cheon Mu-gyeong was….

“Cheon Tae-seong, that absolute piece of shit.”

“Wha—what?”

Wi Yeon-gang’s eyes widened to the point of popping out at the crude curse that came from his child’s mouth.

“Oh, Father, it wasn’t me. If you look there, a record left by the Frost Empress remains.”

Now that he looked, beneath the clear script, a very faint but intense curse was written. That wasn’t all. Everywhere, it was filled with foul language that would be considered very harsh for a child to see, such as ‘I should have absolutely wrecked him,’ ‘Thinking about it again makes my blood boil,’ ‘that low-born demonic bastard,’ and so on.

Before he could even sink into the shock of seeing the [unauthorized [stolen content]copy]Frost Empress’s true face, Mujin Pavilion—named for its supposed stability regardless of what happened—began to shake violently in all directions.

Boom! Crash! Thump! After several sounds of something slamming powerfully from the outside, one side of the wall that boasted of being an impregnable fortress collapsed in a mess.

Cheon Mu-gyeong revealed himself through the thick mist of shattered ice crystals. As the fine powder floated in the air, it looked as if the Milky Way had descended upon the earth, but Cheon Mu-gyeong released his qi as if it were a nuisance. Then, the powder vanished, burned away by the heat without a single grain remaining.

“Not even half a day has passed!”

Wi Yeon-gang vented his frustration toward Cheon Mu-gyeong, who had come in less than a day despite saying he would give them four. It was a moment where he fully understood the Frost Empress’s feelings. Wi Yeon-gang decided that if he left a record later, he would write ‘absolute piece of shit’ for Cheon Mu-gyeong, letter by letter.

“You should have given us time to find a way! Do—do you have so little patience!”

Wi Yeon-gang’s voice trembled slightly at the end, barely managing to use formal speech out of consciousness for those around him. However, Cheon Mu-gyeong looked at Wi Yeon-gang without emotion and spoke.

“My children are freezing to death, while you keep your dependents so delicately tucked away; it’s only natural that my patience is shattered.”

Since when did that man care so much for the children of Eumbyeol Hall! This was surely him throwing a tantrum after losing Wi Ho-yeon.

“And this seat originally has no patience.”

How could there be a man so brazen and lawless! However, protecting his family was Wi Yeon-gang’s top priority.

“The barrier…!”

Wi Yeon-gang sent a telepathic transmission while gripping the Ice History of the North Sea tightly. When Cheon Mu-gyeong, who seemed ready to turn Mujin Pavilion into powder, stopped his movement, Wi Yeon-gang poured out another transmission.

“It says the cave of the eternal snow mountains and the flame mountain of the hundred thousand great mountains are connected by a barrier! If the Cult Leader lost him right before his eyes and cannot find him, wouldn’t it be that Ho-yeon crossed through that barrier?! Therefore, what use is it to look for someone who isn’t in the North Sea here—”

In an instant, Wi Yeon-gang’s telepathic transmission lost its destination. The figure of the Heavenly Demon who had been before his eyes had already vanished, leaving not even an afterimage.