#92 That's My Gift. [Xiao Shin, Mysterious Disappearance.]
[Xiao Shin, Mysterious Disappearance.]
[World Rank 5, China's 'Four Heavenly Kings' Xiao Shin Has Gone into Hiding.]
[Is the World Ranking Tournament Now in Doubt as Well...?]
[Paewangmun's 'Zhang Wei' Denies Rumors: Xiao Shin Has Simply Entered Seclusion Ahead of the World Ranking Tournament.]
The mass media was ablaze.
Zhang Wei ground his teeth as he watched TV.
"This... this...!"
He slammed his foot into the table with a bang!
Antique dishes and plates crashed to the floor in a deafening shatter.
Crash!
"You fucking idiot!" Zhang Wei bellowed.
He had learned of Xiao Shin's disappearance about a week ago. At first, he thought the man had simply retreated into seclusion after his pride took a hit. But no—Xiao Shin had gone completely radio silent.
His subordinates' testimonies amounted to nothing more: he'd left the hotel and vanished.
Zhang Wei knew Xiao Shin's personality inside and out. The man was arrogant by nature, adept at leveraging his power and position, fiercely proud, and brimming with ambition. He'd do anything to achieve it.
Zhang Wei also knew Xiao Shin harbored intentions to betray him. But that meant the man wasn't the type to run. Flight simply wasn't an option in his playbook.
So then?
'Did someone get to him?'
Get to him? Korea's public safety was the best in the world, which meant it was teeming with powerful Awakeners. A fight on that level wouldn't go unnoticed.
Xiao Shin was World Rank 5. Even without his jiangshi, his mana reserves and arsenal of talismans honed over years were still potent. Subduing him would require someone of equal caliber.
Zhang Wei's eyes darkened coldly.
Screeech—
The suite door opened, and subordinates entered, bowing their heads.
"Movements of Korean rankers at the time in question."
Zhang Wei scanned the report they handed him, his face twisting in a scowl.
'All the rankers have alibis?'
Top rankers residing in Seoul had all been accounted for.
"CCTV?"
"Well..."
The subordinate proffered a smartphone. The saved footage showed Xiao Shin.
"......Just ordinary downtown Seoul."
Xiao Shin shuffled along the street. Then, abruptly, a ferocious blizzard engulfed the camera's view, blotting out everything like a white wall. Everyone knew of the massive snowstorm that had hit.
By the time the blizzard weakened, Xiao Shin had vanished without a trace.
"......"
Suddenly.
Crackle—
Kirin materialized beside him and sat quietly. Zhang Wei stared at the creature.
The horn protruding from Kirin's forehead was still immature.
He had first found Kirin in Shandong Province, China, at Mount Tai. Back then, its horn was broken, and it lay dying.
"......"
It had been ten years since he'd brought it back and nursed it to health. The horn was slowly regrowing.
Kirin stared intently at the footage before turning to Zhang Wei.
Its mouth opened.
[An unnatural meteorological anomaly.]
Kirin's voice resonated through the air like an ice dragon's deep hum.
"Is that so?"
[It cannot be considered a natural phenomenon.]
Kirin's eyes flashed.
"......!"
Zhang Wei's eyes lit up.
"Does that mean the Ice Dragon is in this country?"
[Possibly.]
Kirin's voice settled calmly.
[But targeting her is unwelcome.]
"......"
Zhang Wei stared at Kirin. Then, in a subdued tone, he asked,
"I've already sent Xiao Shin once before."
[You've incurred her wrath, then.]
"Something like that."
[Then Xiao Shin fell to her. That's the law of the Northern Fantasy Realm.]
"......I need the Ice Dragon."
[A difficult request.]
"Even when I want her this badly?"
[......]
Kirin gazed at him with unfathomable depth before speaking.
[Zhang Wei.]
Zhang Wei flinched. Kirin's eyes seemed to pierce right through him.
Then it continued.
[I've granted you countless requests over the years. My debt of gratitude is nearing its end.]
Zhang Wei said nothing.
Finally, Kirin let out a short sigh.
[......I'll aid the one who saved my life. But victory is no guarantee. This will be the last repayment.]
Only then did Zhang Wei smile.
'Cheonma, was it?'
Kirin had named the one who shattered its horn as Cheonma. Beings from the Fifth Dimension, the Murim! Their enigmatic Eternal Crystal power had captivated Zhang Wei deeply.
Zhang Wei laughed coldly.
"Good."
Poof—
Kirin vanished.
Zhang Wei now faced forward. He nodded to the subordinate standing at attention, who spoke.
"Please look at this as well."
What the subordinate presented now were Xiao Shin's belongings. Valuable accessories, but no artifacts—likely because he wore them constantly.
Among them was a small camera.
"A compact device Boss Xiao Shin always carried."
It contained footage. Combat footage!
Theo battling alongside a massive skeleton. From Xiao Shin's perspective, Theo unleashed overwhelming power, neutralizing the jiangshi in an instant. The sheer force was captured perfectly.
"Xiao Shin..."
Zhang Wei's eyes narrowed.
He'd heard about the jiangshi loss, but not this ability.
'This bastard had ulterior motives.'
Theo—codename Hades—must have been Xiao Shin's target with this power. With it, China's evil Taoist jiangshi forces would be obsolete. He could unify China effortlessly.
......
"Your handiwork?"
One day, Kang-ho asked casually.
King looked up from the table to the Ice Dragon sitting demurely opposite.
"......?"
The Ice Dragon—her name was Han Su-hwa. She gazed steadily at Kang-ho, her vivid blue eyes clear and pure. She clutched her egg like a treasure while holding an ice cream cone.
Ignoring the TV announcer's voice, she nodded calmly.
"Yes."
Pffft! King choked on his drink, coughing violently.
Beside him, Seol-a—sitting primly, winking one eye while struggling to scoop kimchi jjigae with a fork—tilted her head.
Seol-a pointed at King and said to Kang-ho,
"Mommy."
"......"
"This."
Kang-ho pulled out tissues and handed them to King. He pondered how to explain to Seol-a that he was daddy, not mommy, as intended.
Soon enough, he turned to Han Su-hwa.
"Why?"
She replied to his question.
"Our clan never forgets grudges or favors."
"......"
"We repay favors with favors and grudges with grudges. They tried to take my child—more precious than my own life."
"I see."
Kang-ho nodded matter-of-factly, more calmly than expected.
"I..."
He cut her off.
"No need. I didn't ask for excuses. Just curious."
"......Understood."
She rose slowly, bowing politely to Kang-ho.
"You've done me a great favor. I'll repay it."
"Forget it."
Kang-ho waved it off like it was nothing.
"Thank you for looking after me. Human society is still hard to grasp, but staying longer might burden you. Humans have their own laws."
Kang-ho neither affirmed nor denied.
She hesitated, then reached to return his clothes.
Kang-ho smiled gently.
"In the human world, we don't strip in front of others."
"Pardon?"
"That's my gift."
"......"
She blinked, then nodded.
"Thank you."
"Oh, what about Xiao Shin?"
"Ah."
She smiled brightly. Her pale skin, red lips, and neat white teeth gleamed.
"Froze him solid and ground him into snow dust."
Chills!
King shuddered. His drink went down wrong again, triggering coughs.
Seol-a thumped his solar plexus worriedly.
"Got it."
Kang-ho nodded indifferently.
"Until next time, then."
"Safe travels."
She bowed once more, opened the door, and stepped out.
Rumble—
Storm clouds gathered as if devouring the sky. She transformed into a colossal ice dragon and soared northward.
* * *
Screeeeech—
Flying above the clouds, she suddenly thought of the human strongest below.
'Is he really human?'
He was too unique for that. Not just his absurd power.
She'd simply never felt this emotion before.
'How can a human understand us...?'
That man seemed to truly get her. And it wasn't wrong.
Kang-ho had spent ages with beasts. Likely the only one in this dimension more at ease with them than humans, with deeper empathy.
Thump!
Her heart raced anew. Puzzled by the strange feeling, she tilted her head and accelerated northward.
Her goal: the northern lands, blanketed in eternal blizzards and snow.
Hummm—
Suddenly.
[......!]
She sensed an odd energy from beyond the horizon.
[This energy...]
A familiar power—one she'd encountered multiple times in Murim.
Pop-pop-pop-pop—
A brilliant yellow line streaked from the distant sky, piercing the clouds and etching a golden trail across the world.
Pop-pop-pop-pop—
The energy hurtled toward her at astonishing speed.
She narrowed her eyes.
Soon, the yellow energy's source arrived before her.
A Fantasy Beast radiating brilliant lightning appeared.
[Kirin...?]
[It's been a while.]
Kirin replied stoically.
[Why are you here...?]
[If you're here, my presence isn't so strange.]
[......]
She swallowed involuntarily.
[I... thought you died to Cheonma.]
[He was formidable, but I survived by luck.]
Kirin finished, its gaze sinking deeply.
Reading the ominous shift, she instinctively backed away.
[I've received a great favor here.]
[A favor......]
[One that saved my life.]
She knew what that meant.
Repaying a life debt. That was the law of the Northern Fantasy Realm in Murim.
[No way...]
[The human who granted it demands your life.]
Kirin muttered flatly, its reluctance clear.