“Kuak!”

“Ack!”

The warriors of Ice Palace collapsed after uttering short groans

Whenever that happened, Cho Geom broke into a cold sweat.

He couldn’t bring himself to curse at his subordinates who were falling to young warriors who hadn’t even lived half their lives. He himself couldn’t do anything to this nebulous opponent in front of him.

“Do you think those skills will be enough?”

“...”

Cho Geom flinched.

He hated to admit it, but the difference in skill was obvious. If this man wasn’t trying to subdue him, Cho Geom would have stopped breathing by now without leaving a wound on his opponent.

“You people...”

He looked around, flushing with anger and shock. He was the only one standing now.

“Do you dare to touch the warriors of the Ice Palace and expect to be safe?”

“.. did you not touch him first?”

“Shut up!”

Baek Cheon smiled

There was nothing wrong with Chung Myung’s words about how people cursed when they had nothing to say.

Cho Geom’s eyes were shaking as he gritted his teeth.

“Not one of you will return alive from the North Sea! I will make sure you die with great regret!”

“You can’t do that with your current skills.”

“If the Ice Palace finds out about this, they’ll feed you to hungry animals all winter! There’s no use regretting it anymore!”

Hearing that, Baek Cheon’s eyes went dark.

“..um, it’s a bit inappropriate to say something like that, but.”

“What?”

“If someone hears those words, they won’t let the other person leave.”

“..”

At some point, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul moved secretly and started surrounding Cho Geom.

“It would be difficult if you don’t cooperate.”

“Can’t we just cut him and throw him off a cliff?”

Cho Geom’s eyes trembled. These people from the Central Plains were pressuring him with mean laughter. It seemed like they had done this many times before.

He also noticed that the female swordsman blocking his way was creepy and expressionless.

And with determined eyes, she was relaying something.

Paaat!

Just before they surrounded him, he threw himself and ran away. Jo Gul instinctively tried to stab him with his sword, but he couldn’t pierce Cho Geom, who was swinging his blade.

Cho Geom, who managed to defend himself from Jo Gul, burst into laughter.

“You will die before you step out of the North Sea!”

Looking at Cho Geom running away, Jo Gul said,

“Shouldn’t we pursue him?”

But unexpectedly, Baek Cheon just looked at the running man with a sad face.

“Me?”

“N-No! Not you, but someone else!”

“They have to be chased.”

Baek Cheon spoke without worry.

“But I don’t think there’s a need for it. It’s fine for us to endure this.”

“Uh?”

“.. You won’t kill him?”

“We will see.”

Baek Cheon clicked his tongue in pity.

“He should have just collapsed here.”

He sincerely felt bad for some reason.

Swish!

Cho Geom moved along the snowy path.

“Where are they..!”

It didn’t matter if he got lost now. The fact that people with such skills entered the North Sea meant they had a purpose.

‘And they were with Han Yi-Myung!’

Han Yi-Myung wasn’t a big deal to handle, but it would be trouble if he had such talented young people protecting him.

If those from the Central Plains aimed for this and sided with Han Yi-Myung, he had to inform them.

“I am going to head to the palace and...”

“You want to go to the palace?”

“Right now, I need to...”

Uh?

Cho Geom lifted his head as if it would break, but what he saw wasn’t a clear blue sky, but something dark and gloomy.

‘What is this..’

Uh?

Shoes?

Crack!

The soles of a round furry shoe echoed against Cho Geom’s face as he attempted to run.

“Kuk...”

Cho Geom could no longer run and stiffened as he fell.

Thud.historical

The body was pushed into the snow with force.

Puak!

Chung Myung, who landed on the snowy ground, trembled and covered his body with his hands.

“Oghhh! So cold, man!”

It was cold, but his body temperature dropped even more as he ran through the blizzard. Chung Myung glared at Cho Geom, who had fallen.

“I don’t get it! Still, the guy who tried to wield a blade runs away without shame?”

“...”

“Anyway, these days, there is no pride! Pride! During my time, such things didn’t happen!”

“.. Ughhh”

Cho Geom struggled to get up, his trembling arms barely supporting him as he brushed the ground. There were clear footprints on his face.

“This guy..this guy!”

He rose with bloodshot eyes but saw nothing.

A sense of crisis washed over him at the absurdity of the situation and the man’s hairy appearance.

Did this guy chase him just to make fun of him?

He was confident in his footwork. Running on snow and flat land was different. It was normal for this foreigner to be unable to keep up.

But did this man learn a special technique known only to the Ice Palace people?

Cho Geom tried to clear his mind and focused on his blade. Either way, he had to defeat this kid and head to the palace.

“The more I see, the more ridiculous things you’re doing!”

“Well, it’s not ridiculous.”

“What?”

“Maybe just a little bit of looking down?”

...

Cho Geom looked at those eyes as Chung Myung’s words shattered his pride.

“I will fix that head!”

“For generations, no one has ever been able to do that to me. Give up.”

Chung Myung smiled, extending his hand. Then he opened his eyes.

“Huh?”

“Thud.”

“Huh? Where is..”

Stuttering.

“Ah..”

Was Chung Myung unable to draw his sword because of the many layers of clothing?

Actually, he had forgotten it and left it behind. Chung Myung looked at Cho Geom awkwardly.

“I’m sorry..can I go and get my sword?”

“What?”

Cho Geom rushed at Chung Myung without hesitation and struck with his blade. At first glance, it was clear that he possessed lightning-fast speed.

“DIEEEEE!”

The blade swung with extreme Yin qi and shot toward Chung Myung’s forehead.

“No!”

Chung Myung’s face contorted in pain as he raised his hand to block the oncoming blade. Seeing this, Cho Geom felt a surge of delight.

“You stupid bastard!”

A swordsman who left his sword behind. Where else in this world could such a pathetic act take place?

Besides, even if he ran, did this guy plan on blocking the blade with his bare hands?

“You are a fool in all things!”

Cho Geom’s sword seemed poised to cleave Chung Myung in one strike.

The fragile-looking hands of Chung Myung collided with the blade. Cho Geom had no doubt that his blade would cut down Chung Myung.

But..

Clack!

“Euk?”

Cho Geom’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“What?”

This was an unbelievable sight. His blade was expertly caught in the hands of Chung Myung.

“T-this cannot..”

He was so shocked that his heart raced in his chest. It made no sense that someone could casually hold a blade he wielded with just bare hands.

Reflexively, he tried to pull the held blade, but it wouldn’t budge from Chung Myung’s hands. A voice filled with heartache echoed in his ears, making it impossible for him to calm down.

“People should be able to recognize others! I said I was going to bring a sword, but you stepped up to stop me?”

“...”

“You!”

Argh!

Chung Myung delivered a swift kick to Cho Geom’s crotch, causing his body to float in the air momentarily.

And..

“Kwaaaaak!”

No sooner did he open his eyes.. no, he didn’t have to wait long, as a desperate scream erupted right then.

Thud!

Cho Geom, who had fallen to the ground, began to foam at the mouth.

“Tch.”

Chung Myung approached with an annoyed expression and lifted his pathetically raised ankle.

“Ugh. How do I get back up? Ugh, it’s so cold!”

Shehehehe.

He drew a long line on the pristine white snow using Cho Geom’s body.

“Here I come.”

“.. see that, he’s being bitten by the hunting dog.”

“He’s a mad dog, I’m telling you, not a hunting dog.”

All the Mount Hua disciples nodded at Jo Gul’s words. If that man had just quietly gotten hit and fainted, they wouldn’t have had to suffer like this..

‘So sad.’

Despite being their enemy, there was no need to not feel bad for them.

“I-it’s so cold, for real!”

Chung Myung threw Cho Geom, whom he was dragging, toward where the Ice Palace warriors were gathered. The body’s owner had long since fainted.

‘Even if that man is an enemy, this guy is a Taoist!’

‘Respect people!’

But it was pointless to ask such things from Chung Myung.

“You couldn’t catch anything properly, huh!”

“I knew you’d get him.”

“Anyway, let’s move now!”

“.. you’re the best, jerk.”

Baek Cheon shook his head and turned around. Tang Soso was tending to the injured Hong Yi-Myung.

“Are you okay?”

Baek Cheon asked, and Hong Yi-Myung let out a sigh before responding.

“.. thank you for helping us.”

“It was nothing. If we help others today, maybe one day we’ll receive help too.”

Hong Yi-Myung, upon hearing his words, had a bitter smile.

“I never expected that ‘one day’ to come so soon.”

If he hadn’t shown kindness to the disciples of Mount Hua and lent a hand with the cart, both he and the child would have been left to freeze and become sacrifices to the ice palace warriors.

Wouldn’t they have become cold corpses?

They had both been fortunate enough to receive a great reward in return for a small favor.

Baek Cheon asked Tang Soso.

“How is he?”

“He has some internal injuries, but nothing too severe. If he rests for a day or two, he’ll recover without difficulty.”

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheon nodded, seemingly pleased.

“But, elder..”

He glanced at the father and son, unsure of how to address them after calling them over.

“That..”

Baek Cheon hesitated for a moment, prompting Chung Myung to speak up.

“Sir.”

“...”

“It seems like things have gotten a little complicated between us. I think it’s time for an explanation now, don’t you?”

“...”

“Especially..”

Chung Myung turned to Hong Jin-Bo.

“Based on what you’re doing, it seems like they’re after him rather than you?”

When Hong Yi-Myung looked up, his eyes were filled with deep sorrow.

“Let’s go inside first. It’s windy here.”

This time, Baek Cheon responded instead of Chung Myung.

“Right, but..”

“Don’t worry.”

Hong Yi-Myung sighed.

“I’ll explain everything inside. It’s something you all need to know too.”

The disciples all nodded.

“But what should we do with these guys?”

At that moment, Jo Gul gestured towards the warriors of the Ice Palace.

“If we leave them like this, will they wake up and run? Should we move them inside?”

“The house is small. Where would we even put them?”

“Then what do we do?”

“What do you mean, what?”

Chung Myung shivered in the cold and walked to the side of the house. He gathered a pile of firewood and brought over a strong piece.

“What do you want to do with that?”

“What do I want to do? Well..”

One of the warriors flinched as if they were coming to their senses.

“Uh.. Uh.. Just..”

Puaaak!

Thud!

“...”

The man fell again when hit on the back of his head with the firewood.

“You see?”

“...”

“If they wake up while someone’s on guard duty, hit them on the back of the head and knock them down. If you hit well, they will get to sleep.”

“...”

The Evil of Chung Myung did not even stop in the North Sea.