Traveling With The Enemy

Rain poured down from the night sky.

“Won’t the tunnel collapse even on a night like this?”

Dressed in stealth gear and, in case of discovery, even wearing a newly changed face, Neung Je-gang asked Majil.

“The weather doesn’t matter.”

Majil answered with full confidence. He too wore black stealth clothes with a mask over his face.

As in Hangzhou, Majil pried up the bluestone slab on the inn’s floor.

This wasn’t the inn where they were staying. It was far from there. They had to do it this way to prevent pursuit along the inevitable underground tunnel once the Ice Essence Crystal was stolen and the theft exposed.

“But boss! What’s with that face? It looks… really unlikeable.”

“Heh heh! It’s my enemy’s face. Suits dirty work rather well, doesn’t it?”

“Ah ha!”

The two soon vanished, as if sucked into the depths of the earth.

“Are we right under the Ice Vault?”

Neung Je-gang asked Majil, who was tamping the soil ahead.

“Yes. I can feel the cold. The ground’s frozen, so it’s hard to punch through.”

“Then what are you saving True Fire Energy for? Melt it.”

“Oh—right? Hehe!”

Switching from Earth True Energy to True Fire Energy, Majil produced a ball of flame. The narrow tunnel quickly filled with scorching heat.

But once he did that, Majil had trouble compacting the soil.

“This won’t do. I’ll melt the ground—keep tamping the soil.”

Neung Je-gang ran the Radiant Yang Blazing Flame Art and breathed out heat.

Feeling the intense warmth, Majil’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I didn’t think there was anything hotter than True Fire Energy! Boss, what is that?”

“Radiant Yang Blazing Flame Art. No need to envy it. Unlike you, I can’t create fire. It’s just… hot.”

“Oh, really?”

Majil switched back to Earth True Energy and pressed and packed the soil, now damp from the heat, as they advanced.

Then, at some point,

“Boss, we’ve broken through.”

Light seeped into the tunnel.

Neung Je-gang stopped channeling energy, and a cutting chill immediately surged into the burrow.

“This is ice—and ridiculously thick.”

Majil touched the hazy layer blocking the tunnel’s end.

“H-hey? B-boss! My hand won’t come off!”

Majil’s hand had stuck to the ice.

“Run True Fire Energy. Wait—hold on. There’s someone inside the Ice Vault. Use it very lightly and peel your hand off.”

Breathing reached Neung Je-gang’s ear—calm and steady, different from his and Majil’s.

“What do we do? Someone seems to be cultivating… Let’s switch places.”

Neung Je-gang traded spots with Majil and moved forward. Someone was definitely there, but they couldn’t give up and go back now.

“You wait here. No—go back to the inn first. I’ll handle the rest.”

Sending Majil away, Neung Je-gang gently rubbed the ice with his hand. If he melted it too fast, the sudden temperature change could alert the person inside. The best was to slip in, snatch one Ice Essence Crystal, and slip out unseen.

Whoosh—

The instant he opened a hole in the ice, Neung Je-gang shot into the air and clung to the ceiling like a spider. The biting cold didn’t affect him, so aside from his hands sticking to the ceiling rock, there was no real difficulty.

In a sealed space like this, observing from the ceiling was best; that way, shadows cast by the light wouldn’t give him away.

Neung Je-gang could see the whole Ice Vault. He spotted someone cultivating, seated cross-legged.

Strangely, in this place where cold billowed, the person was training stark naked.

‘I’ve seen that before…’

The figure felt familiar. In the Martial Alliance, there was only one person whose naked body his eyes would recognize at a glance.

‘Ugh, damn! The Chief’s reckless daughter? This is a bad omen…’

Neung Je-gang edged over toward the Ice Essence Crystal a little distance from where Go So-jeong was cultivating. He would have loved to take both crystals, but that risked alerting that clingy leech of a woman.

As he neared the crystal, Neung Je-gang realized he was in trouble.

There was a hitch. The crystal was inside a metal container shaped like a censer with a lid. The censer’s patterns formed an array that spread the chill.

‘I can’t haul off the container too—this is insane.’

He had to either break it or cut it open. Breaking was impossible because of Go So-jeong; the noise would open her eyes.

Cutting it was also a problem. He hadn’t expected this, so he’d brought no weapon—no No-Mind Sword, not even a dagger. Only bare hands.

‘Do I go back and grab a dagger?’

It seemed like the only way.

Then a good idea flashed.

‘Just take the whole thing, pull the crystal out at the inn, and toss the container. I was stupidly thinking of lugging it all the way to Kuaiji Mountain…’

That would work—and it was better than going back for a blade.

Neung Je-gang reached for the container. The instant his hands touched it, a piercing sensation spread through his whole body.

‘What is this? Cold I can barely endure?’

He had underestimated the crystal. His hands went numb.

Hurriedly, he drew up his energy to resist the cold—creating a problem. Most of his arts belonged to the Pure Yang line.

Sssssss—

The crystal’s frigid chill met his scorching heat with a loud hiss, sending up steam.

He realized his mistake. At times like this, it was better not to resist but to flow with the cold.

He swiftly switched to the Ice-White Cold Soul Art. As expected, the sound ceased, and the steam stopped forming.

‘Whew.’

He exhaled in relief and glanced toward Go So-jeong.

‘Ack!’

His heart nearly stopped—Go So-jeong’s eyes were open, staring at him.

Their gazes locked. Neung Je-gang froze, torn by the thought that he’d been exposed.

What should he do? Gag her? Kill her if he had to? Or something else?

As he writhed in extreme indecision, he remembered he was wearing Gye Yu’s face.

‘Ah, good.’

He let out a quiet sigh of relief. Sometimes the traitor’s face did help.

‘But how can she be that calm, facing a strange man while naked?’

To Neung Je-gang, Go So-jeong didn’t look startled at all. Normally, being interrupted mid-cultivation like this would at least risk qi deviation.

He looked again. She simply closed her eyes and continued training.

Neung Je-gang clenched both hands and crushed the container holding the crystal. Since he’d been seen, there was no need to carry the whole thing. No need to fear the sound of it breaking, either.

Carrying the broken container, he slipped back into the tunnel. He switched his energy to the Radiant Yang Blazing Flame Art and produced thick steam. The vapor quickly clung to the surrounding ice, and the tunnel mouth frosted over.

He dug up the tunnel floor and plastered the entrance ice with it. This wouldn’t keep the tunnel from being discovered, but it would slow pursuit a bit.

Neung Je-gang lay down in the burrow, the crystal wrapped between his hands running the Ice-White Cold Soul Art. Soon, his prone body floated up.

Waseon Buun (Lying Immortal Floating Cloud).

A lightness skill that allowed movement while prone or face-down—nothing could fit the situation better.

After Neung Je-gang vanished like that, only the shattered, empty container remained.

Majil hadn’t returned to the inn; he waited at the tunnel entrance for Neung Je-gang.

“Boss, why so late?”

“I was spotted.”

“Eh? How? So what happened?”

“It’s fine. I was spotted with this face. Hah!”

Only now could Neung Je-gang smile at ease.

“What do we do with this tunnel?”

“Leave it. They’ll find it anyway—no need to touch it. And why are you here when I told you to go to the inn?”

“I was going to seal the tunnel.”

Majil, apparently no longer surprised by Neung Je-gang’s covert ways, took it as a matter of course.

“Boss, let me see that Ice Essence Crystal.”

Neung Je-gang took out a small gold case, opened the lid, and showed it to Majil.

Soft silk lined the case and the lid, giving off a very warm impression. Perhaps because of that, the crystal inside didn’t look that cold.

But that thumb-sized crystal could freeze a person solid in an instant.

Recklessly, Majil reached toward it.

“So that’s the crystal? Looks like a white jade pebble.”

Neung Je-gang quickly snapped the case shut, blocking Majil’s hand.

“Do you want to die? Touch this and you’ll freeze to death. It’s viciously cold despite how it looks.”

At the word “die,” Majil sheepishly withdrew his hand and stood up.

“Boss, I’m going to sleep.”

He returned to his room and threw himself onto the bed—still in his stealth gear.

Neung Je-gang lay down as well, also still in his stealth clothes.

Soon after, they drifted off at nearly the same time—a languid, pleasant sleep after a hard job well done.