The snow valley narrowed, its ice walls rising like silent sentinels, their surfaces etched with cracks that whispered in the biting wind. Qin Mo and Yi moved swiftly, the wolf king's core pulsing under his ribs, its heat a restless beacon against the frost. The FFD System's warnings lingered like shadows after the frost wolf ambush, the scout's blood still steaming in Qin Mo's memory. The Azure Flame Sect's trackers were closing in, their jade tokens locked on the shard's pulse.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 68% / Cold 32%. Scan: Azure Flame Sect trackers, 200 meters east, threat level: High.]
Yi's frost threads trailed behind, weaving a shimmering veil to mask their tracks in the snow. Her fingers moved deftly, eyes scanning the ice walls for movement. "They're close," she murmured, threads tightening. "The bells—they called them."
Qin Mo nodded, his blade drawn, its steel catching the faint glow of ridge runes that flickered like dying embers. The pouch at his side vibrated, the bone-white bells inside humming faintly, their chime a low, persistent threat. "We set the trap here," he said, gesturing to a choke point where the valley pinched into a narrow pass, ice walls forming a natural funnel.
Yi's threads spread across the ground, thin as spider silk but strong as steel, forming a lattice to slow their pursuers. Her village had burned for a shard like his, she'd said, her frost skills born from that loss. "They'll pay," she whispered, her eyes hard with vengeance that mirrored Qin Mo's own.
The trackers emerged—three figures in azure robes, blades glowing with blue fire, their jade tokens pulsing in unison. The leader, a scarred man with a cold sneer, raised his token, its red light pointing straight at Qin Mo's chest. "Core-bearer," he hissed, voice echoing off the ice. "Surrender it, and you might live."
Qin Mo stepped forward, Flame Step igniting beneath his boots, melting snow into clouds of steam. "You'll have to carve it out."
The leader lunged, his blade weaving a net of frostfire, arcs of blue light slicing through the air with precision. Qin Mo parried, steel clashing with fire, sparks mixing with ice shards in a chaotic dance. The impact jarred his arms, the scout's blade infused with sect array power that pulsed like a heartbeat.
[FFD System: Frostfire siphon detected. Endurance loss: 15%. Balance shifting: Heat 65% / Cold 35%.]
Yi's threads snapped upward, wrapping the leader's legs, pulling him off balance. "Now!" she shouted, her fingers weaving more threads to bind his arms.
Qin Mo struck, his blade scoring the leader's arm, blood freezing on contact with the cold air. The other trackers flanked, their blades moving in a sect formation, ice lines connecting their strikes like a glowing web. Qin Mo dodged, the shard guiding his movements with unnatural precision, but a graze on his shoulder sent cold numbness through his arm, slowing his grip.
Frost Claw activated, the skill from the frost wolf's essence lengthening his fingers into icy talons. He raked the nearest tracker's chest, frost blooming across the robe, the man staggering back with a choked gasp.
[FFD System: Frost Claw effective. Devour progress: 8%. Balance: Heat 64% / Cold 36%.]
The leader broke free of Yi's threads, his jade token flaring, summoning a frost array that crackled underfoot. Ice vines rose, snaking toward Qin Mo's legs, seeking to bind his strength. He stomped, Flame Step shattering the ice into glittering shards, heat pulsing outward in a wave that scorched the trackers' robes. The air hissed, steam rising like a shroud.
Yi wove more threads, sealing the second tracker's blade mid-swing, her face strained but resolute. "They're linked to the bells," she said, threads tightening around the tracker's wrist, forcing him to drop his weapon.
The leader's eyes widened as Qin Mo's blade found his throat, a clean cut silencing his sneer. The jade token shattered, its red pulse dying in the snow. The remaining tracker turned to flee, but Yi's threads lashed out, tripping him into the ice. Qin Mo's Frost Claw finished the job, the shard absorbing a faint trace of essence—not beast, but human, offering no devour.
[FFD System: Human essence trace absorbed. Non-beast—devour incompatible. Balance stabilized: Heat 66% / Cold 34%.]
Yi knelt by the leader's body, retrieving a fragment from his shattered token—a thin, metallic shard etched with Silent Tax runes, glowing faintly blue. "They're collecting these," she said, handing it to Qin Mo, her fingers trembling slightly from the cold.
The pouch at his side chimed in response, the bells inside vibrating with a low, resonant hum. Qin Mo's fingers closed around the fragment, the shard in his chest warming as if recognizing kin. "Then we'll collect them first," he said, voice steady despite the chill creeping up his spine.
The valley fell silent, the ice walls reflecting the moon's pale light, but the wind carried a distant chime—more trackers, or something worse, were coming. Yi's eyes met his, a shared resolve burning in her gaze. "Together," she said, her threads glinting like frost under the moonlight.
Qin Mo nodded, the FFD System chiming softly in approval.
[FFD System: Fragment acquired. Silent Tax chain: 1/9. Binding risk rising: 28%.]
The trap had worked, but the hunt was far from over. The bells' chime lingered, a reminder of the debt the mountain demanded.