Chapter 163. The Rabbit’s Burrow

So-hwa and Namgung Jin pressed on, seeking the end of the gorge, yet it was impossible to tell how far they had gone. Every tree, every patch of snow-laden ground looked the same, giving the disorienting impression of walking in circles.

Hoping to find some landmark to guide them, So-hwa turned her gaze toward the mountain—and froze.

“Young Lord,”

Namgung Jin halted and looked back at her.

So-hwa pointed at a rock face.

“The cliff is dry.”

The snow-covered rock had absorbed moisture, darkening its surface, yet in the center, a patch had dried completely, taking on a grayish hue.

As they approached the cliff, both of their gazes shifted instinctively. They sensed something—a presence.

Tap-tap.

It was not the unnatural flow of murderous intent or internal energy, but a natural aura of life.

Tap-tap.

A small gray rabbit appeared, its tiny feet brushing the snow.

At that moment, the rapid patter of another set of feet echoed.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tak!

The steps were short and soft—clearly a child running.

“Hey!”

A girl burst out from behind a tree, spotting the two of them, and froze. Her eyes darted between the gray rabbit and the two travelers.

Summoning her courage, she squeezed her eyes shut and brandished an orange stick from her waist.

It was a carrot, its tip blackened with age. Yet the rabbit, maddened by the sight of it, lunged at her at incredible speed.

Paba-ba-ba-bat!

The moment the rabbit was about to snatch the carrot, the girl tightly tucked the rabbit under her arm and fled.

Namgung Jin and So-hwa, staring at the empty snowfield, blinked slowly.

“Did that child just wave a carrot at the rabbit?”

So-hwa asked as if confirming what she had seen.

“Yes, and there was also a rabbit that was kidnapped.”

Namgung Jin replied, equally bewildered, recounting exactly what he had witnessed.

Without speaking further, they both gave chase.

Thanks to the lack of new snowfall, the girl’s tracks were still visible. They followed them for only a short distance before the footprints abruptly stopped in front of a massive tree. Its branches reached high into the sky, yet the tree was strangely wedged against the cliff face.

Namgung Jin leapt onto the tree, and So-hwa followed immediately. From the treetop, they exchanged a silent glance. The rock face touching the branches was gray and bone-dry.

Pressing against the dry stone, a thin slab shifted inward, revealing an entrance.

Namgung Jin exhaled in disbelief.

“A burrow… there was a den here.”

It was narrow enough to be called a rabbit’s burrow. Someone of Namgung Jin’s size had to bend his waist just to enter.

“You intend to go in?”

So-hwa asked cautiously. Entering and becoming trapped could be disastrous.

Namgung Jin nodded calmly.

“I think it’s more efficient to check this burrow than continue chasing the gorge of unknown length.”

“Do you have any idea what’s inside? It’s dangerous.”

“If the entrance is narrow, we can block it one-on-one. It’s safer than being ambushed in the open.”

Having already made up his mind, Namgung Jin bent his waist to enter.

“Young Lady Tang, would you wait here?”

“I’ll go in instead. You’ll have difficulty fitting through.”

“No. If someone enters behind me, our retreat might be cut off. Please wait here.”

Seeing she would not back down, Namgung Jin sighed.

“When I emerge from the exit, I’ll send you a signal. Come then.”

So-hwa reluctantly nodded. Since the Young Lord was decidedly superior in martial strength, she understood why he couldn’t yield the lead. If she went in first and used poison, it would be difficult for Namgung Jin to follow in to help.

When she volunteered to guard the rear, Namgung Jin entered the burrow immediately.

The tunnel seemed unusually long. Even after some time, he did not call for her to follow.

It felt like an eternity before his voice finally reached her.

“You can come in now.”

The sound seemed distant, faint, as if carried from the other end of the world.

After a moment of hesitation, So-hwa drew a vial of poison from her sleeve. It was a poison that would pose no risk to Namgung Jin, even at a distance. Expecting that someone might be pursuing from behind, she lit the smoke and carefully closed the entrance before stepping into the burrow.

Tap-tap.

The cave was exceedingly long, twisting and turning like an ant’s nest, evoking a primal fear in anyone who ventured inside.

The air was stifling. Sweat beaded on her forehead as the heat pressed in.

After a long trek, So-hwa reached the exit and saw Namgung Jin standing there. She asked immediately,

“Was it not too hot for you?”

He nodded, sharing the same thought.

“Yes, it made me sweat.”

As she moved to step out, Namgung Jin reached for her arm. At first, she thought it was overcautious, but once she stepped into the open, she understood.

The exit opened in the middle of the cliff, the footing perilously narrow—barely enough for a single adult to pass.

Though the exit was far below the cliff’s full height, a fall could still cause injury.

Namgung Jin scanned the area, searching for the missing girl. The narrow path split in two directions.

To the right, the path bent sharply, disappearing behind a distance of roughly nine meters; to the left, it led into a dark cavern.

Neither direction offered a clear view, and both felt unsettling.

Again, Namgung Jin chose the concealed path over the open one.

“Let’s go into the burrow,” he said, gesturing toward the left.

“The gorge is narrow. Anyone on the opposite side could fire arrows or throw weapons—it would be dangerous.”

He seemed to reason that if both paths carried danger, it would be easier to handle an ambushed enemy in a confined space. So-hwa agreed silently.

If it’s enclosed, poisons and traps can be used effectively, she thought.

Assuming the worst, they moved swiftly into the left tunnel.

But just as they stepped forward, a shadow fell from above.

Kah-ang!

Namgung Jin raised his sword, deflecting an arrow that fell from the sky.

Looking up, they saw a storm of arrows raining down.

Kah-ang! Kang!

“Run!”

Dodging the arrows, Namgung Jin and So-hwa darted into the burrow, while the archer struggled in vain to stop them.

To be honest, the archer’s skill was abysmal. Most arrows missed entirely, falling outside the path. Even if it was a child’s arm, there was little strength behind it.

“Ah, no!”

When they entered the burrow, the child wailed in frustration, her voice still high-pitched, unbroken by puberty.

Inside the burrow, a swordsman, who had been lying in wait, suddenly lunged.

Kah-ang!

Namgung Jin met the blade with his own sword.

So-hwa immediately sensed an intense chill—not the biting cold of the North Sea, but a different, sharper cold.

Kang! Kah-ang! Kang!

The metallic clash of blades sent waves of icy gusts, surging forward and retreating rhythmically.

A man, apparently hindered in movement, pressed his sword against Namgung Jin’s.

Yet Namgung Jin exuded only a faint scent of pine resin, making no real effort. He did not use his internal energy and seemed careful not to harm the man.

The man, despite gathering his own energy, could not bring strength into his blade.

So-hwa soon understood why.

The man twisted to avoid Namgung Jin’s sword, but because his clothes had been cut, his bare back was fully exposed. Boils covered his skin—it was clear he was a patient.

Seizing the moment, Namgung Jin reversed his grip on his sword and struck the man’s elbow with the hilt. The patient instinctively dropped his weapon.

“Ugh!”

Chaang!

The sound of the sword clattering against the stone floor echoed loudly.

Namgung Jin spoke hurriedly in the Central Plains tongue.

“We do not intend to harm you.”

It had been decades since the Central Plains people who settled in the Northern Sea arbitrarily named the Northern Sea Ice Palace a branch.

Since the Blood Demon had also sent the Ice Palace bloodlines to the Central Plains, it was likely that many people in the North Sea knew the Central Plains language.

Still, So-hwa remained tense, watching the man closely, uncertain if her guess was correct.

Namgung Jin, proving he had no intention to fight, sheathed his sword and gestured with open palms.

Then, calmly, he conveyed the plan So-hwa had intended.

“We come from the Yeonju Group.”

Namgung Jin slowly enunciated, staring at the Northern Sea person with a neat expression.

“This person is a physician of the Yeonju Group. She received a Northern Sea person as a patient three years ago and has come to the North Sea to deliver the message he left behind.”

The man’s gaze drifted to Tang So-hwa.

She realized that he understood the Central Plains tongue.

Clever as ever, the Young Lord, seeing that the man was a patient, immediately invoked the name of the Yeonju Group, unsettling him mentally.

Patients suffering from serious illnesses would search their entire lives for the Yeonju Group. Many had staked all their wealth and remaining years on them. For a man covered in boils, the name was absolute.

The Yeonju Group was known to cure even the most hopeless cases.

Watching the man waver, a faint relief stirred in So-hwa’s chest.

‘Perhaps conversation will be easier than expected.’

With a calm expression, she pulled from her bag a wooden box containing medical tools. The sight of the scissors and blades made the man flinch.

Though the instruments were useless for the current treatment, she displayed them to reassure the patient. The Yeonju Group was famous for using cutting tools in their care.

So-hwa pretended to examine the scissors and blades before placing them back in the box and spoke.

“I came to deliver the message of Warrior Bai Yunhai, but your condition looks severe. Would it be acceptable if I examined your wound before conveying his words?”

“Yunhai? You know Yunhai?”

The man’s voice changed, tense and alert.

Bai Yunhai was the name of a North Sea person who had once sought out the Yeonju Group.

The man seemed to have erased the existence of the Yeonju Group from his mind, waiting only for So-hwa’s answer. Instead of speaking, Tang So-hwa searched her sleeve for the item given to her by the Four Seasons Hall Lord.

She presented a headband wrapped in paper—an evidence item kept in the Four Seasons Hall. Though faded and stained with blood, the man recognized it immediately and sank to the ground.

So-hwa approached and handed it to him.

“He wished to be buried in his homeland, but since we cannot bring his body, at least this…”

“U… Uncle!”

So-hwa’s words caught in her throat. A girl had leapt out from hiding within the burrow.

With an astonished face, the girl examined the patient who had collapsed on the floor, then looked up at So-hwa. The girl’s gaze was fierce. It was the same girl who had taken the rabbit earlier.

So-hwa’s brows furrowed slightly. A chill emanated from the man.

But it was colder than when he had fought Namgung Jin earlier. Tang Sohwa unconsciously rubbed the back of her hand.

The man patted the girl’s arm, which had wrapped around his shoulder.

“It’s alright.”

And just like that, the chill vanished as if it were a lie.

‘It wasn’t his internal energy?’

So-hwa opened her mouth to ask something, but thought better of it. Had Namgung Jin not lightly tapped her arm, she might not have been able to maintain her composure.

It was not the face of a member of the supposedly benevolent and virtuous Yeonju Group should make.

So-hwa forced her features into a calm, kind expression.

The man, who had been wiping his face, shifted his gaze. He looked toward the entrance and sighed.

“It’s fine. Come inside.”

Immediately, the quiet presence at the doorway surged in. Children, around ten years old, each carrying bows and arrows as tall as themselves, panted heavily as they entered.

“Are you alright? M—”

As the children began to speak at once, the man pressed a finger to his lips. The signal to be silent worked; the children quieted immediately.

“Wait quietly in the other room.”

Though reluctant, the children grudgingly left the burrow.

The man rose with the girl’s support and spoke in a cold, measured tone.

“As you can see, there are many ears outside, so we shall speak within. Come in.”

He winced with each movement, clearly in pain.

So-hwa followed, her eyes fixed on the patient’s wounds.

Judging from their size and color, the injuries were not severe.

Yet the man’s body was emaciated, with bones protruding, and his complexion was poor. When one’s energy was so depleted, even minor wounds could become fatal.

So-hwa lifted her gaze to survey the burrow. The interior was pitch-dark, carrying a foul stench.

If one has lived here for long, even a healthy person would wither. This is the worst possible environment for treating boils.

No matter how carefully pus was removed or how potent the medicine, living in such filth would surely cause the flesh to rot anew.

As So-hwa and Namgung Jin stepped deeper inside, they froze.

On a makeshift mat of torn wood, bodies lay sprawled.

Five corpses, all of small stature.

Stunted boys and girls who had not even reached the age of formal study.

So-hwa narrowed her eyes.

Faintly, she saw mist rising from one child’s lips.

So-hwa shifted her steps and approached the young patient, bringing her hand close to the child’s nose.

A light breath of air brushed against the skin.

The man turned his gaze toward her.

“What are you doing?”

“They still have a breath left. Do you know that?”

“Do not waste your time. The breath will fade soon enough.”

So-hwa ignored his words and asked again.

“When did they lose consciousness?”

“Not long ago. I found them collapsed in the gorge this morning and brought them here.”

“All five of these children were discovered this morning?”

“Yes. Those foolish ones were searching the gorge for a missing sibling, apparently sneaking around. The other children playing outside found them in the morning and brought them here.”

So-hwa studied the girl lying before her carefully.

The child’s clothes were tightly wrapped, leaving only the face and nape exposed.

Faintly, a red rash could be seen on the nape.

So-hwa gently pulled the clothing down to examine more of the skin; the chest and shoulders appeared clean.

With a calm expression, she lifted the girl’s eyelids.

The eyes revealed bright redness along the membranes. In the cold, blood vessels would usually constrict and the color fade, yet the membranes remained vividly red, as if inflamed.

The exposed skin was reacting.

Especially the delicate membranes.

A symptom consistent with exposure to sulfur.

So-hwa checked the girl’s pulse.

There was a reaction on the externally exposed skin.

The poison, having entered through the lungs, circulated through the blood and damaged the internal organs. Her pulse was far from normal.

So-hwa raised her gaze.

The man’s expression remained calm. He had said he found five bodies this morning, yet he showed no trace of alarm. If healthy children had suddenly fallen into such a state, fear and panic would be natural—but he remained unshaken.

That reaction irritated her.

It was as if he had seen such symptoms many times before.

So-hwa lowered her gaze again to the patient and asked,

“Are there any hot springs nearby?”

A sudden, chilling breeze brushed her cheek.

Observing the man’s uneasy reaction, So-hwa studied the girl’s face.

“Sometimes, prolonged exposure to hot springs can cause one to lose consciousness. But this child appears to have suffered damage before the cold could constrict her blood vessels, so she was likely left exposed to the cold after losing consciousness.”

If the child’s condition stemmed from sulfur poisoning, it could be treated easily.

At least for the physician of the Nine Turns Pavilion of the Tang Clan of Sichuan, it was an easy matter.

So-hwa pulled a wooden box from her sleeve.

Removing a detoxifying pill for poison, she spoke.

“Please bring water, a cloth to wipe their bodies, and clothes for the patients to change into.”

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