Chapter 136: Decision
An icy chill burrowed into my body through my fingertips.
It felt as though nails made of ice were being driven deep into my bones.
The sensation in my entire arm vanished in an instant.
Even the blood flowing through my veins felt as though it had frozen solid.
“Kugh...!”
I instinctively circulated the Kunlun Blue Soul Scripture.
Pure internal energy surged up from deep within my dantian and raced violently through my arm.
The energy of the Kunlun Blue Soul Scripture collided head-on with the frost invading my body.
As cold and heat clashed inside me, pain tore through my arm as though something were cracking apart within it.
But I couldn't afford to lose.
I drew up my internal energy again, even more forcefully.
Little by little...
the frost invading my body began to retreat.
Now.
I barely managed to tear my hand away from Goeong's shoulder, then immediately retreated several steps.
“Hoooo....”
I exhaled roughly and circulated my internal energy again.
As the pure qi swept through every corner of my arm, sensation slowly returned to the limb that had felt frozen solid.
My fingertips still tingled...
but fortunately, there didn't seem to be any serious damage.
I immediately raised my head.
Yeom Yuhwa was staring at me with trembling eyes.
“Yeom Yuhwa....”
Shing!
I drew the sword at my waist and shouted,
“What the hell did you do to Goeong?”
The moment I drew my sword, Yeom Yuhwa cried out urgently.
“You're misunderstanding, Mujin. Please put away your sword.”
“Misunderstanding?”
I pointed the blade toward her.
“What exactly am I misunderstanding?”
My voice hardened.
“Before asking me to put this away, shouldn't you explain what's going on?”
“Understood.”
Yeom Yuhwa answered immediately.
“I will tell you everything you wish to know.”
She glanced toward the bed.
“I will explain everything, so please put away your sword while the Cult Leader is finally resting.”
Her eyes didn't look like those of someone lying.
At the very least, she doesn't seem to be plotting anything else.
I stared at her for a moment longer...
then pushed my sword back into its sheath.
Click.
Only then did Yeom Yuhwa let out a long breath of relief.
“Fine.”
I gestured toward Goeong with my chin.
“Then let's start with his condition.”
“It is as I explained before.”
Yeom Yuhwa spoke carefully.
“The Cult Leader is asleep.”
I nearly laughed.
“Asleep?”
I stared at her.
“You seriously expect me to believe that?”
It was absurd.
There was no way Goeong's condition was normal.
Even someone born with an Extreme Yin Constitution, capable of carrying intense cold within their body, wouldn't release this degree of freezing energy barehanded.
The cold I'd just experienced was more than enough to freeze a person alive.
“You're saying that level of cold naturally comes out of Goeong's body when he sleeps?”
At my sharp question, Yeom Yuhwa continued.
“More precisely...”
Her expression darkened.
“it began after the Cult Leader extinguished the Sacred Flame.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“After the Sacred Flame went out?”
“Yes.”
She looked toward Goeong lying on the bed.
“After the Cult Leader decided to confine himself within the Heavenly Forbidden Prison, I tended to him personally for some time.”
Her gaze became distant.
“That was when I discovered something.”
She paused.
“The Cult Leader... did not sleep at all.”
That much...
I had already suspected.
It had been one of the strange things I'd noticed while staying with Goeong inside the Heavenly Forbidden Prison.
When I nodded, Yeom Yuhwa continued.
“Then, after some time, he began falling asleep at extremely irregular intervals.”
Her voice became heavier.
“And whenever he sleeps...”
She looked toward Goeong again.
“his body releases this cold, and he becomes completely defenseless.”
This was new information.
I kept listening.
“At first, the sleep lasted only a short time.”
“It did not happen often either.”
She hesitated.
“At most, it would last about one gak.”
I frowned.
“One gak?”
That made no sense.
Goeong had been asleep for at least half a day since yesterday.
Yeom Yuhwa immediately noticed my confusion and continued.
“But as time passed, the intervals between these episodes became shorter.”
“And the amount of time he remained asleep became longer.”
I stared at her.
“What about now?”
Her expression fell.
“Once he falls asleep now...”
She spoke quietly.
“he can remain unconscious for almost an entire day.”
I immediately asked,
“Then why did you hide this from me?”
“For the Cult Leader's safety.”
Yeom Yuhwa looked directly at me.
“If word of this condition leaked out, anyone harboring hostility toward him could act.”
“Hmm....”
For now...
her explanation didn't sound like a lie.
But there were still things that didn't sit right with me.
“If you were that worried about Goeong's safety...”
I narrowed my eyes.
“wouldn't it have been better to leave him inside the Heavenly Forbidden Prison?”
“At first, I thought so too.”
Yeom Yuhwa weakly shook her head.
“But the Cult Leader's condition kept worsening.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“I became afraid that if nothing changed...”
“he might one day fall asleep and remain frozen forever.”
"..."
I looked toward the bed.
Honestly...
the Goeong lying there looked closer to a frozen corpse than a sleeping man.
If Yeom Yuhwa was right...
then there really was a chance his condition could become irreversible.
Then she continued.
“It was while I was struggling with that decision that I met you.”
I turned back toward her.
Her expression didn't waver at all.
“The Heavenly Demon's Kindred Spirit mentioned in the Cult Leader's message.”
She continued with complete conviction.
“And my choice was correct.”
Then she shook her head slightly.
“No.”
“It would be more accurate to say that the Cult Leader's message was fulfilled.”
Her eyes grew brighter.
“You personally showed us that there is a possibility for the Sacred Flame to return.”
“A new hope.”
I frowned.
“A new hope?”
“What do you mean?”
“If the Sacred Flame can be revived...”
Her voice grew more earnest.
“then perhaps there is also a way for the Cult Leader's mind to return to normal.”
She looked at me almost pleadingly.
“And that hope...”
