Nothing at All Is Happening (2)
“Nothing over here!”
“There are no footprints at all! Maybe they were buried under the snow……”
The man receiving the report twisted his face in anger.
“No matter how fierce the blizzard is, does that make any sense? A person just passed through here, and not a single footprint is left behind!”
“B-but it’s true……”
“Then what, you’re saying the fugitive used tapsulmuhyeon—the level of light-footed movement where even if you step on snow, no footprints remain?”
“……I’m sorry.”
“Find him! Now!”
“Yes, sir!”
The warriors of the Ice Palace scattered in all directions.
He was the one who had infiltrated the Ice Palace alone and slain their men. If they let him slip away so uselessly, they wouldn’t be able to hold their heads up as warriors of the Ice Palace.
That bastard…….
Song Won clenched his fist and kept scanning the snow-whipped surroundings.
I’ll never let him live.
This was his pride on the line.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
More frantic footsteps rang out one after another.
“You, go check over there!”
“Yes!”
“If you find him, don’t try to take him on alone—signal immediately! His martial skill isn’t to be taken lightly!”
“Understood!”
The man who had given the order was about to dash off as well when he suddenly flinched.
This isn’t it.
Before him lay a vast frozen lake. With not a single place to hide, it would take a fool to choose this ice field as an escape route.
Just in case, he sharpened his vision and looked ahead, but of course, not a trace of a shadow was visible.
“Over there!”
“Yes!”
The Ice Palace warriors unleashed their light-footed movement and swiftly disappeared into the distance.
And a moment later…….
Peeking out.
On the wide frozen plain, from a tiny hole bored in its center, one round head and one small, long head cautiously emerged.
The round one flicked left and right as if surveying the surroundings. Then a sigh so deep it seemed to cave in the ground burst out.
“……Brrrgh. I’m freezing my balls off.”
Cold water kept streaming from hair soaked through with icy lake water. With the blizzard whipping in and slapping his cheeks, he honestly felt like diving back under.
He’d only just stuck his face out, and already a white frost had begun clinging around Chung Myung’s head. The water running down his body was freezing solid in an instant.
“Hngh. Damn yin-attribute martial art.”
Ice White Divine Palm was the North Sea Ice Palace’s pride, a yin-attribute martial art and the palace’s signature technique.
The reason yin-attribute martial arts were so irritating was that their cold qi and yin energy invaded the body itself. Chung Myung’s body right now was probably even colder than this ice water.
“Brr, cold!”
Kiieeek!
“Shut up, you idiot!”
Soaked to the bone, Baek Ah protested miserably and shot him a resentful look, but Chung Myung merely clamped a hand over its mouth.
“You clingy little leeches!”
After boring a hole in the lake and hiding beneath it, Chung Myung ground his teeth.
They always said people should live kindly, and if he hadn’t gone ice fishing a few times on the way here, this would’ve been a trick he never would have thought of. Besides, through Hye Yeon he’d already confirmed that a person wouldn’t die just from staying in water for a little while.
In the darkness, amid the blizzard, Chung Myung’s eyes glittered.
“……They’re gone, right?”
The pursuers had scattered in all directions and were moving farther and farther away from the Ice Palace.
At a time like this, sneaking back would be perfect.
The only problem was…….
“……I can’t go up from here.”
Chung Myung looked down at the water sloshing around under his neck and let out a long sigh.
“Suffer now and die later. Hey! Take a breath.”
Kiieeek!
Baek Ah struggled and wriggled in protest. It seemed to be asking why on earth it had to go into the water with him just because he had to.
“Think carefully. If you go out with a soaked body, you’ll freeze to death.”
…….
For a brief moment, Baek Ah stared blankly before letting out a sigh and taking a deep breath. Its previously slender belly puffed up like a balloon.
Chung Myung also took one deep breath before slipping back under the water.
Above the thick ice, his figure could only be seen faintly, like a carp swimming below the surface.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“……Will he be all right?”
“Will who be?”
“That Chung Myung idiot. Things seem to be getting bigger and bigger.”
“Yoon Jong.”
“Yes, Sahyung.”
“Hasn’t this been the case for a day or two now?”
“…….”
Baek Cheon spoke quietly, wearing the face of an enlightened Daoist.
“Chung Myung causing trouble is as natural as the laws of nature. And getting dragged into that trouble and suffering for it is just the way of the world. One avoids a typhoon, and a gentleman does not willingly join in the commotion.”
“So you just don’t want to get dragged in?”
“Exactly.”
Baek Cheon clicked his tongue rapidly, as if completely fed up.
“And by now, the rest of you should understand this too. Whether it’s the Ice Palace or whatever, once that lunatic decides to turn a place upside down, not even the imperial palace can handle him. Most likely, he’ll stroll back tomorrow morning like nothing happened.”
“……I’d like that too.”
Yoon Jong kept glancing toward the window with a worried expression.
He was so concerned that right now he could almost hear phantom knocking, as though Chung Myung were banging on the window again.
Knock, knock.
See? Wasn’t it exactly like that?
Knock, knock.
Again?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yu I-seol shot to her feet. She rushed to the window and opened it without hesitation.
Flinch.
At the sight that appeared, Yu I-seol was genuinely startled, unlike her usual self.
Chung Myung, white as snow and looking more like a snowman than a person, was clacking his teeth at high speed while hanging on the window frame.
And on his shoulder, a white marten in scarcely better shape was wrapped around itself with both front paws and shaking violently.
Clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter!
The sharp sound of Chung Myung’s teeth knocking against each other rang out clearly.
“……You look weird.”
“M-move. Out of the way.”
When Yu I-seol obediently stepped aside, Chung Myung let out a groan and vaulted over the sill into the room.
Thud.
The instant his feet touched the floor, he sprawled in front of the window, curled himself up tight, and shivered.
“……Thought I was gonna die.”
The Mount Hua disciples stared at him blankly, then all shook their heads at once.
“……Seriously, this guy.”
“Still, he got back earlier than I expected. He doesn’t exactly look like he came back acting casual, though.”
“How did he even get this covered in snow……”
Jo Gul clicked his tongue and reached out to brush the snow off Chung Myung’s body.
“Hm?”
But there was almost nothing to brush away.
“Sahyung. This isn’t snow—it’s just ice. The kid’s frozen solid.”
“What?”
Baek Cheon was so shocked he rushed over in a panic.
“No, you crazy bastard! What were you doing out there to end up like this? Bring him to the brazier! Get blankets! Hurry!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Mount Hua disciples hurriedly dumped Chung Myung in front of the brazier and wrapped him in layer after layer of blankets.
With his face twisted in anger, Baek Cheon spoke.
“If you went out for reconnaissance, then you should’ve just done reconnaissance and come back! Why did you have to make such a damn scene?”
“……Dong-ryong.”
“Cough!”
“I really did try to come back quietly, okay?”
“And then?”
“……Those bastards said I was a Demonic Cultist.”
The Mount Hua disciples nodded as though they fully understood.
“That is a bit much.”
“You should apologize to the Demonic Sect. That was way too harsh.”
“……You little…….”
Chung Myung glared, but unfortunately, being too busy shivering violently meant he posed no threat at all.
Jo Gul looked at him and asked,
“But why the hell did your body end up like that? No matter how cold it is, it shouldn’t have frozen your body like this.”
“The Ice Palace’s martial arts…… ugh, are just like that.”
Chung Myung sniffed.
He huddled closer to the brazier, and at least a little warmth returned to him.
“Yin-attribute martial arts are supposed to invade your body and freeze you from the inside.”
“Whoa. So you sacrificed yourself like this just to tell us that?”
“……You all are really gonna die.”
Chung Myung coughed a few times and shuddered. Baek Cheon let out a small sigh and asked,
“Are you all right?”
“Do I look all right?”
Then Chung Myung rolled his eyes and barked,
“Damn it, if I hadn’t gone out wearing those stupid black robes, I wouldn’t be in this mess! Why didn’t anyone stop me?”
“We all tried to stop you, you bastard!”
What, did this bastard have a pestle in his head? How did he keep erasing everything so cleanly every time?
“Ugh, cold.”
Chung Myung grabbed the ends of the blankets and hugged them around himself, trembling. Baek Ah, who had been warming itself by the fire, swiftly burrowed in beside him.
“……But seriously, are you really okay?”
By then, their concern had become completely genuine. Under the worried gazes of the Mount Hua disciples, Chung Myung sighed and clicked his tongue. Then he straightened his back and sat cross-legged.
“Hngh…… yin-attribute martial arts or whatever, it can’t invade my body! I’ll blow it away in one shot!”
As Chung Myung settled into a breathing posture, Baek Cheon shook his head helplessly.
Right.
You win, you damn brat.
Morning came.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
The Mount Hua disciples, who had drifted off to sleep from sheer exhaustion, snapped awake at the violent pounding on the door.
“What is it?”
“I’ll go take a look!”
Dang Soso sprang up at once and rushed to the door. She cracked it open and poked her head out.
“What can I do for you?”
A few armed men stood outside. At their front was Song Won, the same man who had chased Chung Myung the day before.
He looked Dang Soso over with cold eyes and said flatly,
“There was an intruder in the Ice Palace last night.”
“Ah, I did wonder why it was so noisy outside. So that’s what happened.”
“Was there anything unusual here?”
“No. Nothing much on our end.”
While speaking, he watched her expression carefully, but from her impassive face, he could read nothing at all.
“If it’s not too much trouble, may we look inside?”
“……Are you suspecting us?”
“Not necessarily. But it’s always best to be certain. The intruder had excellent stealth techniques, so he may have slipped in here.”
“…….”
“The others in the Ice Palace are all being searched as well, so please cooperate.”
Dang Soso was just about to object to that transparently obvious lie when—
“Tell him to come in.”
Chung Myung’s voice came from behind her.
Dang Soso looked mildly displeased, but she opened the door wide anyway and stepped aside to give Song Won room to enter.
“Go ahead.”
Song Won gave a light nod and stepped inside. His sharp, blade-like gaze swept the room in an instant.
“You’ve had a rough time.”
His eyes settled on Chung Myung, who was speaking flippantly.
At the sight of Chung Myung wrapped in blankets, the corner of Song Won’s mouth twitched faintly.
“……You look very cold.”
“Yep. I’m not great with the cold.”
“A martial artist who can’t stand the cold…….”
“The techniques I practice are a bit unusual.”
“Is that so?”
Song Won smiled thinly and said,
“Teacher.”
“Yes?”
“May I check the hand inside that blanket?”
“My hand?”
“Yes. Just let me see it for a moment.”
“Why my hand?”
“Don’t ask why.”
“That’s a little hard to do when I don’t know the reason.”
Chung Myung shrugged, and Song Won’s eyes turned cold.
This bastard…….
How dare he act like that here?
He knew they were guests of the palace lord, but Song Won found their attitude deeply irritating.
His agitation made his tone rougher.
“I’m only checking whether that hand bears any injury.”
“An injury?”
“Yes.”
The assailant had taken the palace lord’s Ice White Divine Palm head-on with his own hand. No matter how exceptional his martial arts were, there was no way he’d come out unscathed.
He hadn’t come with a particularly strong suspicion, but the sight of a martial artist trembling from the cold only deepened it.
“If you have nothing to hide, there’d be no reason not to show it. Isn’t that right?”
“Sure, I guess. But…….”
Chung Myung grinned.
“I don’t want to show you.”
“…….”
For a moment, Song Won lost his words and stared blankly at him.
Is this guy seriously trying to mess with me right now?
Just how much guts did a man need to speak to him like this in the North Sea Ice Palace?
“……Then that means you’ve got something to hide.”
“Nah, not really. I mean, it does look like you’re suspecting me of being the intruder, and if I just show you my hand, that’d be insulting, wouldn’t it? So let’s make a bet.”
“……A bet?”
Watching Song Won frown hard, Chung Myung laughed to himself.
“If I’m not the intruder, then don’t interfere while we’re walking around the Ice Palace. Simple, right?”
Song Won’s eyes sharpened even further as he glared at Chung Myung.
“I can’t speak for the entire Ice Palace, but I can promise that much. If you want, I can even serve as your guide.”
“Not bad.”
Nodding, Chung Myung finally pulled his hand out from inside the blanket and held it out to Song Won.
“Satisfied?”
A smooth hand, without a single wound.
But in that instant, Song Won suddenly seized it like lightning.
“Wh—!”
The Mount Hua disciples, startled, gripped their sword hilts tightly.