Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Confession
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Night had deepened well past the third watch.
In the meantime, the blizzard had grown even fiercer, reducing visibility to mere inches. The wind howled so loudly it tore at the eardrums, making conversation nearly impossible.
"Are you really planning to cross the Ice Gorge with us? And that you'll cross last with Bing-seol?"
Dang Yak-ran asked.
"Any problem with that?"
"Of course there is. You should have made crossing first the condition. Crossing last leaves no chance to escape. They'll definitely try to catch you two. There's no way out then."
Hyeon-gak suddenly interjected.
"Just in case you're hoping, don't expect help from Dang Sojeo or me."
"Even if I grant Dang Yak-ran, I didn't expect a monk to push me aside too. Didn't you fight freely, unbound by anyone, even under the Righteous Alliance's shadow?"
"I did put my name on the alliance roster. It's true I don't listen well, but that doesn't give me grounds to stop you from executing a traitor."
"Who was it that let the witch go and told her to run?"
"That's my line. I let her go to avoid this mess, but you're waiting here—what's your plan?"
"That's disappointing."
"I've got to live too."
"Sure. Live long enough to shit on the walls. Eat all the meat you want from now on."
"I've always enjoyed meat."
"You're such a dolt."
"Well, nothing to be done."
"This isn't the time for jokes, both of you!"
Dang Yak-ran snapped.
Heuk Do-san tossed a stick of firewood into the campfire and said,
"If I'd made crossing first the condition, Seop Dae-gang wouldn't have accepted. We wouldn't have bought any time."
"Bought time how?"
"There's this thing called a mountain-valley wind. It's the wind that blows through the valleys from the mountains—up toward the peaks by day, down into the valleys at night. For some reason, the nighttime wind is several times stronger."
That explained the raging snowstorm. But why was Heuk Do-san bringing this up now?
"If there's a cliff in the middle, it changes everything. The fierce wind hits the cliff and surges upward, creating a counter-gust. That wind is far stronger."
"What are you getting at?"
By then, the campfire was nearly out. The wood was gone; this was the last warmth.
Heuk Do-san poked at the fire with his axe, trying to coax a bit more life from the embers. In the process, a half-burned stick accidentally flew toward Hyeon-gak's crotch.
"Hot!"
Startled, Hyeon-gak jumped up and swung his hand. Dark energy must have slipped out unconsciously. The stick exploded with a 'bang!' and flew behind the ice cave.
"What was that?"
"Sorry, I was just stirring the fire."
"Watch it, will you?"
Grumbling, Hyeon-gak sat back down.
Meanwhile, Dang Yak-ran was baffled.
She had seen the flung stick, as Hyeon-gak flailed, reach the Ice Gorge—only to suddenly shoot skyward. To a height of over ten.
"Did you see that?"
"Yeah."
"What do you think?"
"Just as you said, a powerful updraft surges from the Ice Gorge. Extremely strong. Crossing in the morning will be very dangerous."
Hyeon-gak looked back and forth between Heuk Do-san and Dang Yak-ran in confusion. They'd thrown a burning stick at him—what were they talking about?
"So be extra careful."
"What... are you saying?"
Instead of answering, Heuk Do-san turned to the ice cave and whispered,
"How's it going?"
"It's done."
Bing-seol's voice came from inside the ice cave. The snow blocking the entrance crumbled away, and something long and black shot out.
Using Hyeon-gak and Dang Yak-ran as shields to avoid detection from the tents, Heuk Do-san unrolled a tightly wound hide on the ground.
The hide, with all fur scraped off, was about half a in size. In the center, two halved sticks formed a cross , fixed in place.
"How is it?"
"It's a mess."
"I'm sorry. I've never made one before. Should I do it again?"
"No need."
"Here's the dagger too."
Bing-seol tossed a dagger through the hole. Heuk Do-san picked it up and tucked it securely into his belt.
Earlier, Heuk Do-san had instructed Bing-seol: While he built the campfire to draw eyes, she was to enter the ice cave and make something.
The steps were:
First, remove the fur hide she was wearing and scrape off the fur clean with the dagger. Next, take the staff she'd used to climb from the mountainside and split it lengthwise into two long pieces. Then attach them to the hide and secure the four corners tightly with sinew.
The result was this contraption.
To avoid notice from the tents, Heuk Do-san shoved the item back into the ice cave. Halfway in, it slid the rest of the way with a whoosh.
"What was that just now?"
"It's a special kind of kite."
Dang Yak-ran asked.
"A kite?"
"In a bit, Bing-seol and I will use this to cross the Ice Gorge. A leap gets us five, and borrowing the wind adds another five—enough to reach the other side."
Realizing too late, Hyeon-gak's eyes widened.
Dang Yak-ran said urgently,
"There are eyes watching from the tents. No matter how heavy the snow, you can't carry that kite to the Ice Gorge without them seeing."
She was right. The distance, the direction—everything.
Seop Dae-gang had pitched his tents at a spot calculated to monitor their movements while preparing for a surprise attack. The snowfall was factored in too.
"After entering the ice cave, we'll dig a snow tunnel to the Ice Gorge. Ten from Seop Dae-gang's tent to here, another ten to the gorge. In this snow, they won't see a thing."
"It's dangerous. If the updraft catches you wrong, you could get swept into the abyss..."
"You want me to fight Seop Dae-gang?"
"Maybe that's better."
There was something Dang Yak-ran didn't know.
Over ten years ago, Seop Dae-gang—the sole witness that night—had spared Heuk Do-san for some reason and warned him never to get involved in murim affairs.
But now, ten years later, Heuk Do-san had become a murim man against his will.
He'd even forged deep ties with top young experts like Dang Yak-ran and Hyeon-gak. He'd even met Mo Yong-ak again.
Seop Dae-gang wouldn't welcome that. He'd stop at nothing to tie up loose ends now.
"If Seop Dae-gang and I fight, one of us dies for sure. And I guarantee it won't be me."
Seop Dae-gang was the man Dang Yak-ran had liked. He was Mo Yong-ak's fiancé now. Heuk Do-san didn't want to kill him in front of those two women. Truth be told, he had no desire to kill him at all.
Hyeon-gak narrowed his eyes.
Seop Dae-gang was the strongest young expert in the Northern Murim. Heuk Do-san must have some hidden card, he figured.
But beating Seop Dae-gang? Impossible. What made him talk so arrogantly?
'Well, when you're running anyway, what's a little bravado? By that logic, even the Heavenly Demon's just ten moves against me. Yeah, sure.'
"I'll go with you."
Dang Yak-ran said out of the blue.
Heuk Do-san and Hyeon-gak's eyes bulged simultaneously. Dang Yak-ran looked at Heuk Do-san and repeated firmly,
"I'll go with you."
"No."
"Why not?"
"You know why. Go with me now, and you'll be branded a traitor too. Want to spend your life hunted by the Righteous Alliance's execution squads?"
"I'm the heiress of the Tang Clan of Sichuan. Even the Righteous Alliance can't touch me lightly."
"Bringing shame on your clan is fine?"
"I've steeled myself."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Why can't I? We're not blood-related, not master-disciple, not even friends. What do you care if I get hurt?"
"I don't want you getting hurt!"
"......!"
Dang Yak-ran turned to stone.
An awkward silence fell. Hyeon-gak licked his lips a few times, then quietly stood.
"Urgh, gotta piss and sleep."
Even after Hyeon-gak left, the silence lingered. The wind whipped the campfire fiercely.
Dang Yak-ran slowly spoke.
"That was you saying you like me, right?"
"What nonsense..."
"It sounded like it."
"No."
"It did."
"I said no."
"Fine, say it's not."
She said that, but her face beamed. Heuk Do-san felt embarrassed on one side, furious on the other.
'What did I just say? Why did that slip out? Can't take it back now. Wish I could rip out my tongue.'
"Come with Seop Dae-gang. Safer by his side than mine. If fate allows, we'll meet again in the Central Plains someday. Buy you a drink then. You owe me one."
"The Ten Ghost Pursuers scheme to kill you all day. Seop Dae-gang has Mo Yong-ak senior interrogate me nonstop. How can I go with them watching that?"
"What are you saying?"
"I like you too."
Heuk Do-san froze.
His face flushed, heart pounding wildly. So loud he worried she'd hear it.
"Pretend you didn't hear that."
"Say it again?"
"Why are you like this?"
"I want to know too. How did I end up liking someone like you? Selfish, rude, foul-mouthed. But I'm done pretending otherwise. I really like you."
"......!"
"Don't act so shocked. I know you like me too. Leaving the boat by the river, footprints in the swamp—all for me."
Heuk Do-san was at a loss. He'd never dreamed she'd be this forward.
"Anyway, I can't take you. You can survive staying here. But Bing-seol dies if she doesn't go."
"I know."
"But I promise: you won't die at the Ten Ghost Pursuers' hands. And I'll stay as close as I can."
"Does that mean you like me?"
"Close enough."
"Close enough? That's it?"
"Same difference."
"It's not."
"Take the hint."
"Then I lose out."
"Fine, I like you. Happy?"
"See? I was right."
Dang Yak-ran's eyes had grown misty. She brushed away the tears pooling at her brows with a finger.
But her face shone with a bright smile.
"Now go."
"We'll meet again, right?"
"Who knows."
"Be careful."
"You too."
Dang Yak-ran rose slowly. As she turned toward the tents, she suddenly stopped and looked back.
She coldly glared at the ice cave where Bing-seol was and at Heuk Do-san. Then she pointed two fingers from her eyes to his, back and forth, before vanishing.
"......!"
You're my man now—look at another woman, and I'll gouge your eyes out.
He'd heard Tang Clan women were fearsome, but this bold?
'One thing's clear: you like me less than I like you. How'd it come to this? Damn, it pisses me off just thinking.'
By then, the campfire had gone out completely. Darkness enveloped them.
He gazed at the tents across. The blizzard was so bad they'd pulled the hides taut over the entrances. The watchful eyes were gone too.
Finally, he looked up at the sky. Amid the snowstorm, stars twinkled brightly.
'What perfect weather.'