The frost market's heart pulsed with life, stalls packed with furs, blades, and glowing frost orbs, their light casting a cold haze. Qin Mo, Yi, and Ren moved through the throng, the shard's heat a faint pulse against the market's chill. The FFD System tracked a broker's stall, its owner rumored to deal in Silent Tax relics, the bell fragment from the smuggler's den burning in Qin Mo's pouch.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 41% / Cold 59%. Scan: Broker's stall, 30 meters north, Silent Tax essence detected, threat level: High.]
Yi's threads blended with the crowd, her eyes on a stall draped in black furs, its owner—a gaunt man with sharp eyes—watching them. "He knows we're here," she whispered, threads ready.
Ren's fingers grazed his daggers. "My brother mentioned a broker. Said he traded lives for relics."
The broker beckoned, his smile thin. "Shard-bearer," he said, voice low, "the bells choose their own. Trade them, and you might live free."
Qin Mo's hand tightened on his blade. "I don't trade debts."
The broker snapped his fingers, and two guards—clad in frost-etched armor—lunged, their blades glowing with blue fire. Qin Mo activated Flame Step, heat scorching the ground, dodging a slash that froze the air. Yi's threads bound one guard's arm, while Ren's daggers struck the other's knee, staggering him.
[FFD System: Frostfire blades detected. Heat loss: 15%. Balance: Heat 39% / Cold 61%.]
The guards moved in sync, their blades weaving a frost array, lines glowing on the ground, pulling at Qin Mo's shard. He unleashed Wolf Howl Shock, the roar cracking the array, guards stumbling. Yi's threads tightened, snapping a guard's sword, while Ren's daggers found his throat.
Qin Mo faced the second guard, Frost Charge activating—a burst of icy speed that closed the gap. His blade slashed, frost blooming on the guard's armor, the shard devouring a faint essence.
[FFD System: Guard essence trace absorbed. Devour progress: 10%. New skill: Frost Howl (Prototype). Balance: Heat 38% / Cold 62%.]
The broker fled, but Yi's threads caught his ankle, dragging him back. "Talk," Qin Mo growled, blade at his throat.
"The bells are the Silent Tax's leash," the broker spat, eyes wide. "They bind shards to the old gods. You can't escape."
Ren's dagger pressed closer. "Where's my brother?"
The broker laughed, choking as Yi's threads tightened. "Gone to the Tax. Like you will."
Qin Mo's blade ended him, the shard absorbing a bell fragment from his pouch, its runes pulsing blue.
[FFD System: Bell fragment acquired. Silent Tax chain: 5/9. Binding risk: 45%.]
Yi's face was grim. "They burned my village for these. For gods we never knew."
Ren clutched his daggers. "My brother's alive. I'll find him."
Qin Mo nodded, the bells' chime growing louder. "We'll break their leash."
The market's lights flickered, the FFD System warning of deeper dangers.
[FFD System: Silent Tax resonance: 48%. Next trace: Shadowed stall, west.]
The group moved, the frost heavier, the broker's words echoing in their minds.