Chapter 681

For an instant, I wondered.

What if the Black Hand Fist Demon hadn’t been there? What if I’d dodged the Finger Qi?

What if the pain hadn’t risen from the shoulder pierced by the Finger Qi at the exact moment our palms met?

What if I had known that my opponent’s martial arts were based on Yin-Cold Qi?

If—if any of that had been different…

Who would be standing now?

But I had no time to find the answer.

KRAK!

The frozen flames died away. The Yin-Cold Qi that had swallowed even the fire swelled as though it might burst.

Beyond the unprecedented internal energy that shook the surrounding space, someone’s hand, engulfed in pure-white light, pressed against my chest.

Tap.

One thought filled my mind.

Cold.

KRAAANG!

A storm of cold swept out in every direction.

At its center, a fierce wind battered my entire body. The world flashed past, and an immense force slammed through my back.

KRRRUNCH!

Trees. Rocks. Grass. Even unknown creatures unlucky enough to be caught in my path.

Alive or dead, it made no difference.

Everything I struck as I flew backward like a misfired shell bent, shattered, or burst apart.

The thick stone wall standing across my path—a path I had no control over—was both a curse and a blessing.

KWAANG! RRRUMBLE!

Even through the haze, I could feel the excruciating pain.

The scenery finally stopped whipping past. So did I, after flying several dozen jang¹ and burying myself deep in the stone wall.

Goddamn it.

I strained to speak, but no sound made it past my lips.

The world was red and blurry. A constant ringing filled my ears.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

That was a little unusual, even for ringing ears.

“…Fuck.”

I raised my head with a hollow mutter.

More than a dozen holographic windows floated in the air. Instead of their usual clear chimes, they came with warning beeps.

That got me good.

I let out a bitter laugh. Pain rose without pause from injury after injury. The Yin-Cold Qi that had invaded my body left my hands and feet trembling, making a mockery of my Unaffected by Cold and Heat realm.

I have to get up. I have to fight again…

But my body wouldn’t listen. It felt as though every screw in it had come loose.

I was cold and tired.

If I closed my eyes, I felt like I could get a good night’s sleep for the first time in ages.

Yes. No dreams, no one waking me. I’d sleep until my back hurt, and everything would be better.

When I woke, the pain wracking my body would be gone. This goddamn body would work again. I’d curl up under a warm microfiber blanket and look at my smartphone, and Mom’s voice would come through the crack in the door.

“Jin Taekyung, Jin Hayeon. I’ve got dinner ready, so hurry up and come out.”

Then I’d shuffle into the kitchen and, despite what she’d just said, find the table empty. I’d set out the spoons and side dishes while Mom stood with her back to me, the savory smell of soybean-paste stew wafting over her shoulder.

Ah. This is nice.

Just thinking about it put me at ease.

The corners of my mouth rose, and my eyelids sank lower.

Sss…

Something rough and damp brushed across my face.

I slowly opened my eyes. The first things I saw were sharp teeth and clear blue-white eyes.

—Whine.

The White Tiger whined like a puppy as soon as our eyes met. I gave a quiet laugh.

“…Was that you?”

—Whine. Whiiine.

I couldn’t understand him, but I could tell what his cries meant. What he wanted to say.

“Phew.”

Breathing hurt.

It felt as though I’d woken from a long dream. So many thoughts had passed through my mind, but only a short time had gone by.

Crumbled stone rained down on my body, still lodged deep in a wall so thick I couldn’t judge its depth.

Only a few seconds had passed since I’d taken the blow. There was still time.

Thud.

I braced a hand trembling from the cold against the ground and muttered, “Stop crying. I’m not dead yet.”

I was answering him, but I was telling myself, too.

That was right. I was not dead yet, and even if my flame had briefly gone cold, it could flare up again and again.

Just like now.

Fwoooosh.

Internal energy surged from my lower dantian, heating hundreds of acupoints before spreading through my limbs and bones.

As I temporarily sealed the damage inside me, fiery pain swept through my body. Something surged up my throat.

Cough!

Dark red blood spilled from my lips. I paid it no mind. It was dead blood.

And the substance that had been gnawing away at my body and interfering with the flow of my internal energy was covered in pure-white frost the instant it touched the ground.

Fsssh.

Yin-Cold Qi. An extreme form of it unlike anything I had ever seen.

During the Shaolin Bloodshed, the Yin Freak—one of the Yin-Yang Twin Freaks who had led Dark Heaven’s martial artists in a surprise attack on Shaolin Temple—had not possessed anything like this.

“…So that’s how it is.”

After muttering under my breath, I rose without hesitation.

Tududuk.

Leaves and stone dust fell from my body at the sudden movement. A dull ache followed, but fresh warmth now filled me from within. My hand had stopped trembling, and my vision cleared enough to make out the two figures drawing near.

Step.

Footsteps slowly crossed the Poisonblood Grounds, which had changed from a swamp into a desert, and from a desert into frost-covered land.

The Black Hand Fist Demon followed several paces behind with a triumphant look on his face. I had eyes only for the man ahead of him.

That damn old man.

He walked at his leisure, as though admiring a landscape he had painted himself. I raised White Flame at an angle and watched him.

“Unexpected,” he said. “I was certain you wouldn’t be able to move after that.”

I knew his sobriquet now. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say I’d remembered it.

“That might be true for old men like you, Great Snow Fiend.”

“Youth is a fine thing. Yet you fail to understand that, in a situation like this, it will only bring you more pain.”

As he had until now, the Great Snow Fiend answered without the slightest wavering and continued.

“The fight is over. Surrender now, and I will spare your life. This is my first and last offer.”

“Senior! What are you saying?”

That wasn’t me. The Black Hand Fist Demon’s face twisted as he protested, but the Great Snow Fiend shook his head.

“The Demon Empress gave me the order herself. She said that letting him live would invite great trouble in the future, but that I was to capture him alive if possible. And we already have the upper hand.”

“Even so…!”

“Shut your mouth.”

“…”

“I know how you feel, but this is Heaven’s business. Question me again, and I will not forgive you.”

His tone and aura were icy. Even the half-mad Black Hand Fist Demon knew better than to keep arguing.

“This fucking…”

The Great Snow Fiend ignored the mutter slipping through the other man’s clenched teeth and held out a hand to me.

“It is foolish to continue a fight whose outcome is clear. Surrender and live to fight another day. Do that, and the Fire Gate Clan and the Jin Family of Taiyuan may preserve their lineages.”

I stared at him and answered.

Not with words, but with action.

Whoosh!

A sharp sound of air splitting rang through the air.

The Great Snow Fiend moved exactly half a step to avoid my spear strike.

“I believe I made myself clear. My first and last offer.”

“So?”

“I thought you were fairly clever, but you’ve chosen the foolish path after all. Can you not feel which way the battle has turned?”

“Which way it’s turned.”

I muttered the words and continued.

“Honestly, I do want to live. But I’m not the kind of bastard who surrenders or runs just because things have tilted a little. Unlike some people.”

The Great Snow Fiend paused. Then, as though he’d realized something, he gave a small nod.

“You know me.”

“I’ve heard of a sobriquet or two. White Rice Cake, Great Snow Fiend, something like that.”²

“A child like you would hardly have heard that name… Fire King Jeok Cheongang. Did your master tell you?”

“Then do you think the fucking Heavenly Demon told me?”

I shrugged.

“He said if I ever met a son of a bitch who used twin wheels and Yin-Cold Qi, it would be the Great Snow Fiend or his successor. He said he wished he’d killed you himself, but after you killed the former Sect Leader of the Zhongnan Sect, you disappeared without a trace.”

“I feel the same regret. If this old man had met your master during the Great Faction War, I could have killed the Fire King and made my name resound throughout the world.”

“At best, you’d have been the Ice God instead of the Great Snow Fiend, you fucking idiot.”³

“…”

For the first time, he reacted. It was slight, but his brow furrowed. I gave a quiet laugh.

“So you do have some pride. Then again, you ran away back then. Maybe you don’t.”

“I merely withdrew to fight another day. This old man is not foolish enough to stake his life on a fight when outnumbered.”

In truth, from what I’d heard, his decision had been cold and sound. He’d killed the former Sect Leader of the Zhongnan Sect, thrown their chain of command into chaos, then slipped away from Great Snow Mountain and vanished.

But…

“So what?”

“What?”

“You were scared, so you ran. You didn’t want to die. You were afraid of dying. That’s why you stayed hidden for so long.”

“You bastard…”

“It’s not like I’m criticizing you. I don’t want to die either. But once you’ve lived that many years, you should be honest every now and then—even about the things you don’t want to admit. Don’t you think?”

Deep lines creased the Great Snow Fiend’s brow. Powerful Yin-Cold Qi rose around him and pressed down on everything nearby.

“I heard you. When I next meet your master, I shall pass on your last words.”

Last words.

Maybe that’s how it will be.

I took a deep breath. This was no ordinary opponent. Facing two Supreme Peak masters while suffering from internal injuries was all but suicide.

Was I afraid of dying? Of course.

I’d feared death ever since I became a Hunter. Coming to Murim hadn’t changed that.

Now that I had taken one step toward accepting the word death in my heart, I was different from before.

I can do anything. Anything.

This wasn’t a fight to survive. It was a fight to kill.

And that meant I could charge in without holding my life back.

SHWAAAAAK!