Split Zone No.13

Volume 3

191 The Trio Trapped in Ice

Huan Qing’s face could be seen clearly now. Bits of frost stuck to his eyelashes on milky white skin that looked like it belonged to a newborn baby.

I rushed forward through the opening created by Scorpion Ray. “Huan Qing, Huan Qing, wake up.” I pushed Huan Qing gently. His body was cold and rigid, and there was no reaction from him at all.

“Try using MF on him,” advised Gaoqin Jiuye, who was following closely behind me. I focused my MF on my left hand and placed it on Huan Qing’s chest in an attempt to wake him.

I felt an opposite force on my palm, and I looked at Gaoqin Jiuye with furrowed brows. “This is weird. It feels as if he’s resisting the MF from me, but it feels like he’s absorbing it at the same time. And...”

I shook my head, unsure of how else I can explain this. Gaoqin Jiuye took my hand away as he said, “Let me try.”

Something out of the ordinary happened as Gaoqin Jiuye placed a hand on Huan Qing. Huan Qing’s originally stiff body seemed to soften, and the ice that was on his face started to melt. As Huan Qing’s real skin was exposed, it seemed to start shriveling up...

Gaoqin Jiuye’s eyes widened. “He, his MF.”

“What do you mean?”

Gaoqin Jiuye did not answer. Instead, he started moving his hand over Huan Qing’s body. Huan Qing’s eyes then slowly opened. The skin on his face made him look as if he was a middle-aged man now.

He seemed lost at first, but he recognized Gaoqin Jiuye and I very quickly.

“Ah Shen...” he called out softly.

I responded, “It’s me, Huan Qing. Why’re you here? What happened?”

Huan Qing coughed. “Ah Shen... get out of here...”

He shut his eyes and passed out before he could finish the sentence. His face was now a dark red color. Gaoqin Jiuye said, “His MF seems to be severely damaged. I’m guessing this might be caused by being trapped in this glacier. Let’s get him out quickly.”

“Right.” I nodded as the two of us carried Huan Qing up. The glacier started quaking just as we were about to leave. There was a loud crash coming from under the ice below our feet.

Nie Zun looked surprised at the sudden change of events. He looked around with his hands in his coat pockets.

Boom.

The sound was getting louder and louder. Something seemed to be raging under the ice as cracks began appearing in the glacier Huan Qing was trapped in.

Taking a hand out of his pocket, Nie Zun pointed to somewhere behind us. “Hey, you guys are going to be trapped inside if you don’t move faster.”

Huan Qing did not have a small frame, and he was frozen rigid. In his unconscious state, I found it rather strenuous even though both Gaoqin Jiuye and I were carrying him. But the main reason for this was that Gaoqin Jiuye was not even using any strength!

After hearing Nie Zun, I called out, “Since you know that, come over and help us out quickly!”

Nie Zun shot me a smile that was full of malice. Fine, I guess I expected too much from him. Gaoqin Jiuye and I quickened our pace at his reminder.

The cold seemed to be right on our tails now. We focused MF onto our feet and started running across the icy surface, but it felt like we were on a layer of oil.

The scenario was like this. There was a glacier that would collapse at any moment. Right in front of the glacier were a male and female carrying a man dressed in white, trying to escape from the collapsing glacier. By their side was a man dressed in black, helping the male and female out while enjoying the sight of the collapsing glacier.

Crash.

Whoosh...

The glacier had collapsed behind us. We almost fell from the force.

“Phew. This place is huge. I’m so tired after running even when I use MF,” I said as I bent down, trying to catch my breath.

Gaoqin Jiuye and Nie Zun looked at the collapsed glacier as if deep in thought. I found it funny that they could remain so calm at this.

Gaoqin Jiuye glanced at Huan Qing, who now lay on the ground. “I still don’t get it. Why would he be here?”

I rolled my eyes. “Nie Zun can lose his memory here, so what’s there to wonder about.”

Nie Zun raised his brows. “I lost my memory? I really knew you from before?”

I couldn’t be bothered to explain further.

Gaoqin Jiuye pointed at the rubble in front of us which took up the space of an entire soccer field. “Let’s go over and take a look. We might be able to find some clues.”

“What about Huan Qing? It’s impossible for us to carry him around like this right?” I pointed at Huan Qing who was on the ground.

Gaoqin Jiuye tilted his chin towards Nie Zun. “Let him stay here to keep an eye on him.”

Gaoqin Jiuye, I’m sure you’re enemies with Huan Qing.

You’re letting this unpredictable fellow keep an eye on Huan Qing? Are you sure he wouldn’t accidentally kill Huan Qing in the spur of a moment?

I expected Nie Zun to protest, but he shrugged casually and made it seem like it was nothing. “Sure. Go ahead. I’m not that interested in that place anyway.”

He then proceeded to pat down his coat to clear the bits of ice before sitting cross-legged on the ground, elbows resting on his knees.

He looked at us lazily. “Go ahead.”

Seeing that I didn’t leave, he waved a lazy hand at me. “Go on.”

Fine, I shall not argue with you now, since you’re acting like a demented child after having lost your memory. I followed Gaoqin Jiuye to the glacial rubble after rolling my eyes at Nie Zun.

With MF, I could move really fast if I was not carrying anyone. The cold wind blew past me as I ran. As we reached the icy rubble, I looked backwards at Nie Zun. He was but a tiny black dot in the distance.

“You go there, I’ll be over here. Let’s see if we can find any clues in this icy mess,” Gaoqin Jiuye said as he pointed somewhere.

You guys really love to point at things. The ice was extremely uneven and it was rather deep. I initially thought it was a mountain encased in ice, but this seemed to be made entirely of ice and snow.

It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. I took Piercer out, concentrated my MF on it and whipped it against the ice.

Crack.

White smoke appeared as huge blocks of ice shattered. Brrr, it’s cold here.

“Hey, Li Shen, I found someone here,” Gaoqin Jiuye called out to me.

“Right, I’m coming over now.” Taking a corner of my red dress in one hand and Piercer in the other, I ran quickly towards Gaoqin Jiuye.

I tripped in my haste.

Crash.

I was tripped by something horizontal. Falling flat on my face, I got cut by an icicle that happened to be on the ground when I fell. I touched my face and saw blood on my hands as I struggled to get up.

“Damn. It’s tiring just using MF in such cold conditions. I can’t regenerate as quickly either. So much blood from this tiny icicle.”

“Hey, what’re you mumbling about there? How can you be this dumb and fall?” Gaoqin Jiuye shouted.

You could actually hear me mumbling... Did you use MF to enhance all your five senses? I adjusted my dress and just as I was about to pick Piercer up from the ground, I saw a leg in the ice.

This was the leg that tripped me earlier.

“What’re you doing there... Come over and help me get this person out.” Gaoqin Jiuye continued to call out.

Looking at that leg in the ice, I answered, “I’ve found someone here too. Don’t be lazy and get that person out yourself.”

I picked up Piercer and used it to gently swipe away all the ice on that leg. The trapped individual was finally exposed after I cleaned up all that ice.

I was stunned as I recognized who it was. I looked up and shouted towards Gaoqin Jiuye, “It’s Mi Fu!”

Gaoqin Jiuye seemed to be looking at the person he had just dug out. “It’s Ku Fei over here.”

So Huan Qing and the two of them actually arrived here after going missing in the Southern District.

But why did they just disappear from the Southern District? Did they reach this glacier directly or were they brought here by somebody else...

No, it wasn’t quite possible for them to get caught since Huan Qing had a high MF. There’re not many from the Northern District who have the ability to trap the three of them here at the same time.

So was this the demon cave’s power, spatial transference?

But why did it have to be the three of them?

There was no time for me to think about this now. I squatted and started digging to get Mi Fu out of the ice. Her rosy cheeks were slowly exposed as I brushed the ice away.

Her face looked like a flower in bloom. It looked like it had just received a shower in the rain, looking fresh and adorable. I picked her up and walked over to Gaoqin Jiuye.