Chapter 398: Not Opening One’s Heart to Anyone in the World
Geom Mugeuk examined the cross-section of the severed stone lantern.
Upon closer inspection, the cross-section was less smooth than he had expected. Nevertheless, a smile crept across Geom Mugeuk’s lips.
‘The Soaring Sword Art is trying to surpass its composition.’
It was like the final period of confusion that came just before achieving greatness. It was a natural phenomenon that often occurred among those who had reached mastery too quickly. If they failed to achieve greatness while in this state, most would regress even further than their original abilities. In this way, martial arts tested warriors through various methods.
Geom Mugeuk believed in Lee Ahn. He knew well just how much blood and sweat she had shed to achieve this result. Lee Ahn’s efforts would never betray her.
Next, he examined the bloodstains on the floor.
‘Lee Ahn was angry.’
She had mercilessly cut down those who attacked her. Knowing Lee Ahn’s personality, she would never have killed unnecessarily. They must have been people who deserved to die.
Geom Mugeuk recalled the battle that had taken place that day, visualizing it in his mind as he looked at the remaining traces and bloodstains. Thanks to his own high level of martial arts and his deep understanding of Lee Ahn’s swordsmanship, it was possible.
He imagined enemies rushing in from all directions to kill her, and Lee Ahn drawing her sword and cutting them down. The imagined blood sprayed by the falling enemies overlapped precisely with the bloodstains left on the ground.
Geom Mugeuk moved, following Lee Ahn’s movements exactly.
"Here, she cut down two, and here, she stabbed the one rushing in. Then she turned around, blocked an attack, and stabbed the heart."
When Lee Ahn turned her head, she saw enemies preparing to throw hidden weapons.
As she emitted a burst of sword energy, the ones trying to throw hidden weapons collapsed, and even the trees and stone lanterns behind them were cut down. The imagined stone lantern in Geom Mugeuk’s mind and the stone lantern lying broken on the ground merged into one.
Drunken Demon marveled at Geom Mugeuk’s explanation. Although he had a rough idea of the situation himself, to recall it so accurately?
Geom Mugeuk slowly entered the building.
The interior was empty. Traces of battle were visible there as well. Bloodstains remained here and there on the corridor floor.
Finally arriving at the main hall, Geom Mugeuk spoke.
"There was the final battle here. She cut down the two who tried to block her. She deflected the hidden weapon that came flying from behind the pillar and took out the one standing here."
Geom Mugeuk slowly walked further inside.
"She faced off against the leader here."
Geom Mugeuk quietly examined the area around the chair.
"She didn’t kill him. Not killing him means she tried to extract information. In other words, the person here wasn’t the final target. Probably, one of the big sects in the Northern Sea must have encountered a problem. We need to find that place."
Although it hinted that the situation had grown more serious, Geom Mugeuk did not appear overly worried.
"You're not worried?"
"About who? Lee Ahn? Or the enemy?"
After making such a joke, Geom Mugeuk revealed his true thoughts.
"If she had gotten involved in some ambiguous matter, I would have worried. If there had been no particular traces left here, I would actually be more concerned. But now, I can sense a clear goal. Lee Ahn is moving according to a plan."
Drunken Demon shook his head with a look beyond admiration, one that admitted defeat. Indeed, Geom Mugeuk was exceptional.
Was it only today? Even throughout the journey to this place, he had experienced this exceptionalness multiple times, making his time with Geom Mugeuk both fascinating and enjoyable. Perhaps because of that, he even felt a strange sense of stability.
In the past, when they drank together at the Tower of Drunken Dreams, he used to feel this kind of stability too, but now that they had traveled outside the cult, he could truly understand what that feeling was.
Originally, he should have been a Demon Supreme, tense and on high alert, responsible for the Young Cult Leader's safety, but instead, he felt protected. It felt like traveling comfortably with a close younger sibling. Yes, Geom Mugeuk turned this perilous journey through the martial world into a mere trip.
As he followed Geom Mugeuk, who strode ahead confidently, Drunken Demon shouted loudly.
"You were there that day too, right? You saw it all, didn’t you? And now you're acting all impressive?"
* * *
When the Black Fan Gang Leader, Joo Gyu, regained consciousness, he found himself in a dark, warehouse-like place. His body was completely immobilized due to his Devil's Hole being suppressed. Fortunately, however, his speech was not sealed, allowing him to speak.
'Why me?'
Then, suddenly, he remembered.
'Ah! I was kidnapped!'
It was hard to believe he had been kidnapped. A woman wearing a bamboo hat had invaded the manor, swiftly cutting down his subordinates and subduing him.
Because she wore a bamboo hat and a face veil, he could not confirm her face. No, even if she hadn’t worn the veil, her movements were so fast that he probably wouldn't have seen her face anyway.
If her goal wasn’t to kill him, she should have at least asked some questions. However, the woman subdued him without saying a word and dumped him here.
'For what reason?'
Having committed so many evils throughout his life, he couldn’t guess which grudge it was about. What mattered now was that he had survived.
'You shouldn’t have let me live. I’ll make you realize whom you dared to touch.'
He had trustworthy backing. Especially recently, he had been working on something important with a certain place. If they learned that his manor had been attacked, they would send experts to find him.
Northern Blood Gate.
Northern Blood Gate was one of the Northern Sea’s Three Powers. Among them, the Northern Sea Ice Palace overwhelmingly boasted the greatest strength, while the Northern Blood Gate and Ice Sword Gate stood as equals.
The three powers were both friends and enemies, contending for supremacy internally, yet joining hands as allies whenever pressure came from the Central Plains.
In particular, the Northern Blood Gate was a gathering place of ruthless and fierce warriors, a place even the Northern Sea Ice Palace did not dare to provoke carelessly.
The person Joo Gyu had joined hands with was none other than the second son of the Northern Blood Gate Leader, Yang Joong.
‘You’ll lose your head for messing with Yang Joong.’
He firmly believed that Yang Joong would come to rescue him. After all, to Yang Joong, Joo Gyu was an essential business partner. For the second son to become the successor of the Northern Blood Gate, he had to succeed in this business.
It was at that moment.
"Ughhh."
A groaning sound came from nearby. Startled, he turned his head and saw someone sitting on a chair a little distance away. It was so dark, and he couldn't use his internal energy. Plus, because he had been too focused on the fact that he was captured, he had failed to notice someone else was there.
Joo Gyu closely examined the person. The outline of the face became visible.
"Gasp!"
Upon confirming the identity, Joo Gyu let out a short scream.
"Young Master Yang!"
Amazingly, it was Yang Joong. It would have been wonderful if he had come to rescue Joo Gyu, but he had been captured as well.
How could the person who was supposed to save me be captured too?
"Pull yourself together! Young Master Yang!"
After shouting several times, Yang Joong finally woke up.
"Joo Gyu! You bastard!"
Yang Joong mistakenly believed that Joo Gyu had captured him. Having just regained consciousness in the pitch darkness, he recognized only Joo Gyu’s voice.
"Don’t misunderstand! I was captured too."
Trying to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding, Joo Gyu shouted.
Caught in a silence filled with distrust, Joo Gyu quickly said,
"The one who kidnapped Young Master Yang was a woman wearing a bamboo hat, right?"
At the mention of the woman with the bamboo hat, Yang Joong recalled his captor.
That's right. It had been a woman wearing a bamboo hat. She had subdued his bodyguards in an instant, and her movements were so fast that he could not figure out how she did it. He had not even seen her face properly.
"Then you too?"
"My manor was completely wiped out."
Yang Joong was not guessing, but absolutely certain of who was behind this.
"My elder brother. It has to be that bastard."
In the Northern Sea, there was no one else who would dare touch him. If he had to point fingers, it could only be the Northern Sea Ice Palace or the Ice Sword Gate.
If it were the Northern Sea Ice Palace, they wouldn't have needed to kidnap him like this to get what they wanted. Just summoning him to the Northern Sea Ice Palace would have been enough to make him obey. Above all, kidnapping was not their style.
The possibility that it was the Ice Sword Gate was also slim. They had been working with him to keep the Northern Sea Ice Palace in check. Their relationship was like that of lips and teeth, well aware that without lips, the teeth would grow cold.
However, Joo Gyu seemed doubtful that the person behind this incident was the Northern Blood Gate’s Great Young Master.
"If Young Master Yang were kidnapped, the Great Young Master himself would be the first to be suspected. He should be well aware of that. I don’t think he would do something like this. Besides, I’ve never heard of such a female master under the Great Young Master."
"Then who on earth do you think did this?"
After a moment of thought, Joo Gyu lowered his voice and spoke secretly.
"Isn’t there the matter we were working on together, Young Master?"
Yang Joong’s expression stiffened. There indeed was something he had been working on together with Joo Gyu. Being captured together, it occurred to him that it might be related to that.
"Whoever it was, we’ll be freed soon. The main family must already know I’ve been kidnapped and will have launched a search. Besides, we have Hwang Chu."
Joo Gyu was also well aware of Hwang Chu. He was Yang Joong’s right-hand man and a master of tracking arts. Not only was he skilled in tracking, but he also had great martial prowess, so whenever an incident like this occurred, Hwang Chu would step in and resolve it.
"He’s trustworthy, Warrior Hwang."
"So don’t worry. They’ll soon realize that sparing our lives was a big mistake. Once we get out of here, I’ll peel that woman’s bones apart while she’s still alive."
At that moment, a groaning sound came from behind as someone else awoke from unconsciousness.
Startled by the fact that another person was there, the two turned around. It felt as if someone hidden in the darkness was waking them up one by one at just the right moments.
Overwhelmed by rising anxiety, Joo Gyu prayed desperately.
'No way? It can’t be? Please, no!'
By now, their eyes had adapted to the darkness. Their surprise quickly turned into despair.
The man slumped against the back wall, suppressed at the Devil's Hole, was none other than Hwang Chu.
Seeing that he too was captured suggested that he had been looking for them. But that was now the problem.
Then, who would come to find you?
* * *
Geom Mugeuk and Drunken Demon were sitting at a tavern in a bustling village of the Northern Sea. The two had moved here from the first village where the manor was located. They anticipated that the next incident would occur in a place where large sects were gathered.
As expected, they managed to hear the news they wanted. Many people were talking about it.
"I heard that the Northern Blood Gate’s Young Master Lee has gone missing."
"I heard too. Seems the Northern Blood Gate is in an uproar because of it."
Geom Mugeuk and Drunken Demon listened to their conversation from a short distance away.
While pouring a drink into Geom Mugeuk’s cup, Drunken Demon said,
"Taking on the Northern Blood Gate alone... Truly a steel heart, a real steel heart."
Both Geom Mugeuk and Drunken Demon were familiar with the Northern Blood Gate. It was one of the three major powers representing the Northern Sea.
"Lee Ahn really has no fear, just like me."
"What on earth is going on that she would even kidnap a blood relative of the Northern Blood Gate?"
"Maybe she wanted her first journey through the martial world to be a proper one."
Drunken Demon sipped his drink and asked with an intrigued expression.
"So? Are you just going to sit and watch?"
Since she had touched a blood relative of the Northern Blood Gate Leader, they would not let this matter pass quietly. Considering the number of their experts and their overall scale, they were by no means an opponent to take lightly.
"For now."
Still, he intended to watch how she would handle it. He understood better than anyone just how important this experience would be.
Lee Ahn, how are you going to resolve this?
At that moment, the people on the street began to buzz.
"Experts from the Ice Palace!"
Looking outside, they saw martial artists clad in pure white robes approaching from a distance.
Northern Sea Ice Palace.
They were known as the foremost among the mysterious forces of the martial world. They belonged to no righteous or unorthodox alliance and had walked an independent path. Having never fallen into ruin throughout their long history, they had proven their strength.
The aura exuding from the Ice Palace martial artists was both pure and cold.
Especially the young woman leading them, who embodied what cold beauty truly meant. Geom Mugeuk recognized who she was.
Han Seol, the only daughter of the Northern Sea Ice Palace Master.
It was said that she inherited the cold-hearted personality of the current Palace Master. She was known for never opening her heart to anyone throughout her life. Rumor had it she trusted no one in the world, not even her own parents. All rumors about her were sharp and cold like that.
Behind her, more than a dozen top-level experts of the Ice Palace followed. Each one radiated an overwhelming presence.
Attracting all eyes, they walked toward the tavern and stopped right in front of it.
They had been heading for the tavern from the start. Leaving her subordinates to wait outside, Han Seol entered the tavern alone.
As she stepped inside, the customers lowered their heads and even held their breath. Each step she took brought a wave of cold air.
Han Seol stopped in front of Geom Mugeuk. Whether or not her nature matched the rumors was unclear, but at least one thing was certain. If there was ever a term like "cold beauty," it surely existed for her.
Han Seol, with clear and cold eyes, stared at Geom Mugeuk and spoke, skipping any formal greeting.
"Young Cult Leader, how about a drink of Ice Liquor with me?"