The frost market sprawled across a frozen plateau, its stalls draped in furs and glowing with ice lanterns that cast jagged shadows. Qin Mo, Yi, and Ren wove through the crowd, the wolf king's core pulsing under Qin Mo's ribs, its heat a quiet rebellion against the biting air. The FFD System scanned, detecting faint traces of frostflame essence in the market's underbelly—a smuggler's den rumored to trade in Silent Tax relics.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 44% / Cold 56%. Scan: Smuggler's den, 50 meters east, essence detected, threat level: Moderate.]
Yi's threads hovered, blending with the market's haze, her eyes sharp. "This place reeks of the sect," she whispered, nodding toward a stall with jade tokens glinting under furs. "They're trading more than goods."
Ren's daggers stayed sheathed, but his fingers twitched. "My brother passed through here. Said the smugglers dealt in shards."
The den was a cavern beneath a stall, its entrance hidden by crates of frozen meat. Qin Mo led, blade ready, the shard's heat guiding him. Inside, the air grew heavy, frost coating the walls, runes glowing faintly—bell shapes, pulsing blue. A low growl echoed, and a massive ice boar charged, its tusks gleaming like steel, eyes red with frostflame power.
[FFD System: Ice boar essence detected. Devour potential: High. Balance: Heat 43% / Cold 57%.]
Qin Mo dodged, Flame Step igniting, scorching the frost as the boar's tusks gouged the wall. Yi's threads lashed out, wrapping its legs, but the boar snapped them, ice shards flying. Ren's daggers struck its flank, drawing blood that froze mid-air.
Qin Mo unleashed Frost Claw, talons raking the boar's side, frost blooming as the shard demanded its essence. The boar roared, charging again, its tusks grazing his arm, cold numbing his flesh.
[FFD System: Ice boar essence absorbing. Devour progress: 12%. Balance: Heat 42% / Cold 58%.]
Yi wove a new thread net, slowing the boar, while Ren's daggers targeted its eyes, blinding one. Qin Mo seized the moment, Ice Veil activating—a thin frost shield deflecting the boar's next charge. His blade plunged into its core, the essence flooding him, cold and sharp.
[FFD System: Ice boar essence absorbed. Devour progress: 25%. New skill: Frost Charge (Prototype). Balance: Heat 41% / Cold 59%.]
The boar collapsed, its body crumbling into frost. A smuggler emerged, azure robe hidden under furs, jade token pulsing. "Core-bearer," he sneered, drawing a blade. "The sect pays well for your kind."
Yi's threads pinned his arms, Ren's daggers slashed his token, and Qin Mo's Frost Claw ended it, the shard absorbing a trace essence—not enough to devour.
[FFD System: Human essence incompatible. Silent Tax fragment detected: 4/9. Binding risk: 42%.]
Ren retrieved a bell fragment from the smuggler's pouch, its runes glowing blue. "They're working with the Silent Tax," he said, handing it to Qin Mo.
Yi's eyes darkened. "My village traded here before it burned. For these."
Qin Mo gripped the fragment, the bells in his pouch chiming softly. "Then we shut it down."
The market's noise drowned the chime, but the FFD System warned of eyes watching from the shadows.
[FFD System: Silent Tax resonance rising: 45%. Next trace: Market center.]
The group slipped back into the crowd, the frost heavier, the den's secrets only the beginning.