EP.34 In Search of the Secret Vault. (2)
In Search of the Secret Vault (2)
Geumcheon Yeonga.
A family that, centuries ago, was simultaneously a martial family and operated the Central Plains' foremost merchant guild.
During the time when the Magyeongmun first appeared in the Central Plains, Gwoncheolgeumwang Geum Il-cheon, who stepped forward first to block the Magyeongmun and displayed his righteous intent, was also famous as the outstanding family head of the Geumcheon Yeonga.
The foremost family of its time, having produced the strongest under the heavens of that generation and even grasping the flow of money in the Central Plains.
Contrary to the expectation that no matter how much time passed, it would firmly hold its ground in that position, the history of the Geumcheon Yeonga came to an abrupt end.
The Blood Calamity.
The reason the Geumcheon Yeonga collapsed in an instant was due to the suddenly occurring Blood Calamity.
Jang Seon, the Blood Demon of the Hyeolcheongyo. The rebellion of the Blood Cult that he sparked blew a storm of blood through the Central Plains at the time.
Of course, in the end, they were able to kill the Blood Demon and bring the Blood Calamity to an end. However, in that process, countless families and sects burned down and disappeared.
The Geumcheon Yeonga was one of them.
The place revered as the foremost family under the heavens vanished without a trace.
How it came to that, or what the Blood Demon did to make it disappear so vainly, was unknown.
I'm not sure if such records even exist, and I had never particularly tried to study that process.
'What would I do knowing about something from hundreds of years ago?'
The important thing was that it hadn't completely vanished without a trace.
The secret vault of the Geumcheon Yeonga that the Tang Sect found in my past life was exactly the proof.
As the secret vault of the foremost family at the time, many people expected that a massive amount of gold coins and spiritual medicines would be hidden within.
Gyecheonmun, who fought a bloody battle over the secret vault and ultimately succeeded in claiming it.
They kept their mouths shut about the secret vault, but it was a speculation made after seeing their Sect Master, who was said to be at the Peak Realm, suddenly reach the Hwagyeong Realm.
What if there's nothing inside?
'Then it's just empty, so what.'
Although I judged there wouldn't be nothing inside, if by chance there was, it couldn't be helped.
It was questionable whether I could even discover it in the first place.
The time given to me was barely a little over 3 days.
Somehow I managed to avoid having my time taken up by the Tangbyeongjeonhoe, but that didn't mean my search time had become abundant.
"...Damn, it's infuriatingly vast."
The day before, I slipped away by making up a nice excuse to Tang Juryeok, saying I had caused an accident at the Tangbyeongjeonhoe and wouldn't be able to show my face.
To the people of the Gu family, I left a single letter at dawn and ran away.
I told them I would return in 3-4 days, so they should leave the Tang Sect and wait in the village we had visited before.
Muyeon would despair seeing that, but there was no other way. I decided to agree to take the scolding together.
Of course, it was an agreement I made only with myself......
Running and walking for over one shichen like that, the place I arrived at was the mountainside where the Geumcheon Yeonga was said to have been in the past.
Location-wise, it was situated between the Tang Sect and the Gyecheonmun, so I could understand why they had fought so fiercely over it.
It was a small mountain in a way, but it was too vast to search alone for a secret vault.
"Hmmm... A few days won't be enough."
"That's right! It's really wide!"
"Right? Isn't this crazy? How am I supposed to search all of this."
"That's right! I'm hungry too!"
"Yeah... I'd rather just go back and eat some meat buns...."
Huh...?
I turned around at the sound of a voice that shouldn't be heard.
There stood Wi Seol-ah, covered in leaves for some unknown reason.
As I stared with a dumbfounded expression, Wi Seol-ah tilted her head as if asking what was wrong.
Pat.
A leaf stuck to Wi Seol-ah's hair fell off.
"You.... You..."
"Yes?"
"Why are you heeeere!?"
An echo reverberated through the mountain.
******************
Meat buns are delicious.
I had felt that way since my past life. They're cheap, but the inside is packed with meat, and the bun dough on the outside is soft and fluffy.
Ah, there are thin and chewy ones too, but I prefer the fluffy ones. They're delicious when hot, and delicious when cold.
They're delicious dipped in broth, and delicious fried.
What a proper food this is.
Throughout my life, I had never thought meat buns were unappetizing.
"Young Master, aren't you going to eat?"
Except for right now.
"....How on earth did you follow me here."
I came down from the mountain I had painstakingly climbed and dropped by a nearby village.
Since she said she was hungry, I figured I needed to get some food into her first.
Seeing the bowls pile up as Wi Seol-ah devoured the food made my head throb.
'...Just how many bowls of noodles is she eating?'
I'm only eating about three meat buns right now, but how many bowls is that... one, two.. three... four... eh.
'Let's stop.'
I stopped counting halfway through out of fear.
"Since when did you follow me?"
Wi Seol-ah, who was vigorously eating the noodles, answered my question.
"Earlier, mmm... going out, mmm..."
"Sorry, you can talk after you finish eating...."
Her cheeks look like they're going to burst.
How on earth is she fitting all that in her mouth?
Eventually, Wi Seol-ah swallowed all the food in her mouth.
"You left quietly in the morning, so I followed you out!"
"...How exactly?"
I avoided the gazes of the guards on watch duty early in the morning, and repeated walking and running for several hours.
I even used my Naegi at times to run.
Not realizing that Wi Seol-ah was following me was bad enough.
...How on earth did she follow me?
Even if she came panting from a lack of stamina...
"You did look like you were going to die of exhaustion in the middle! But it looked fun. So I watched!"
"...Uh, yeah, thanks."
No matter how tiny my Naegong is, and no matter how lacking my physical training is.
I am a martial artist possessing internal energy.
Setting aside the future, it wasn't something Wi Seol-ah, who was currently nothing more than an ordinary person, could follow just because she wanted to.
But how?
Of course, I had never seen Wi Seol-ah look tired while doing household chores.
I had even seen her effortlessly lifting things that looked difficult for male servants to carry.
'...No, that in itself seems to be a problem.'
Is the future strongest under the heavens extraordinary right from the sprout?
But this is still too strange.
"Are you saying you really ran all the way here following me?"
At my question, Wi Seol-ah glanced back slightly.
I checked behind her thinking there might be something, but there were only empty tables and chairs.
"I just followed you!"
At Wi Seol-ah's words as she turned back to answer, I swept a hand over my throbbing forehead.
How should I send her back.
Even if I told her to go back the way she came, I wasn't sure if she'd arrive safely, and even if she returned to the Tang Sect right now, I didn't know if our companions would still be staying there.
And yet, taking her back and coming again would take too much time, which was urgent.
Sending her back alone was also risky because of Wi Seol-ah's flashy appearance; who knows what might happen.
Sichuan, after all, was not exactly a peaceful region.
'Not that I'm one to talk, having sneaked out alone.'
"No, how could you follow me into this danger!"
Wi Seol-ah flinched at my shout.
"I'm sorry... You seemed like you were going far away... I was anxious, so I followed you."
I feel the same way.
No matter how lacking my Naegi is, to not even notice Wi Seol-ah chasing after me.
'A perfect state to get stabbed in the back.'
Did I let my guard down, thinking it was still a peaceful world?
I thought I was moving around fairly vigilantly, considering the land I was wandering was Sichuan.
What should I do, I don't have much time either.
Should I search while having her with me? That seems a bit unreasonable; I can barely manage my own body, can I really drag Wi Seol-ah around?
...As expected, should I go back to the Tang Sect and come again? It might be better to come here now, say I 'accidentally obtained information about the secret vault,' and bring Muyeon along.
Though I don't think he'd believe it...
'Ah, what should I really do?'
While I was turning my thoughts around, Wi Seol-ah asked.
"Young Master, what did you come here to do?"
"To find something."
"Delicious meat buns?"
"Why the sudden talk about meat buns?"
"But, you only eat meat buns every day."
"No... you're right?"
I had been seeking out meat buns a lot lately.
But meat buns are delicious...
Phew, I let out a sigh.
Would I really be able to find the secret vault in this situation?
I picked up some information about the surrounding environment where the Geumcheon Yeonga's secret vault was located, but it probably wasn't accurate information.
"A white maple tree in the middle of summer... That doesn't even make sense."
Under the white maple tree, the entrance to the secret vault was found.
That was what the Tang Sect had said at the time. It was essentially a nonsensical story.
The time when the Tang Sect found the secret vault in my past life was summer.
It's hard enough for maple leaves to turn color, much less be white?
"Did they pass down the information vaguely, or was it distorted?"
It's probably closer to the latter.
It's entirely possible that for a family that captivated an entire era as the foremost family under the heavens, illusions got mixed in and it spread differently to the public.
The biggest problem is me, who came looking for it blindly believing that.
'...Ah, you idiot.'
The thought of giving up and going back suddenly springs up.
Noticing I was gradually getting tired, Wi Seol-ah spoke.
"A white maple tree?"
"Yeah, a white maple tree... I came to find that."
It would sound strange even to Wi Seol-ah.
No, come to think of it, it was a stranger thing to say that such a unique tree couldn't be found for centuries.
"A maple in summer, it's a bit weird, right?"
"That's right, it was really pretty when I saw it earlier!"
"...Right, even you think it's a bit..."
Huh?
What did Wi Seol-ah just say?
"What did you just say?"
When I asked back in bewilderment, Wi Seol-ah made an expression like she didn't know what I was talking about.
"What's wrong, Young Master?"
"No, you said you saw it. The white maple tree."
"Yes."
"...W-where did you see it?"
Wi Seol-ah tilted her head at my words.
"We were looking at it together earlier!"
"At what...?"
"The tree!"
"Me...? With you?"
"Yes!"
When on earth?
I became dazed, making an expression as if wondering why I couldn't see it.
Wi Seol-ah also seemed frustrated with me and huffed as she reached for one of my meat buns, so I smacked the back of her hand.
"Ow!"
"....You said we saw it together. That tree."
I asked Wi Seol-ah, who was rubbing her smacked hand and glaring at me.
"Y-yes."
"Do you remember where it was?"
I asked as I carefully handed the dish of meat buns to Wi Seol-ah.
******************
-Tsiririk, tsirik
Before I knew it, the sun had set and night had fallen.
To think night fell after climbing up and down the mountain a few times...
'Time passes so uselessly fast.'
I only climbed up and down without finding anything.
No matter how much one becomes a martial artist who pierces through to reach the heavens, they can't do anything about time, right?
It might be too presumptuous for someone who has experienced regression to say, though.
"Heave-ho!"
I looked at Wi Seol-ah, who was eagerly following along the animal trail at the sound of her energetic shout.
Walking along the narrow path full of trees and rocks, her painstakingly ironed clothes were covered in dust and leaves.
Even so, Wi Seol-ah had a bright smile on her face, as if she was having so much fun.
"What's so fun?"
"Being with you is all fun, Young Master!"
I asked for nothing.
My chest kept tickling, so I forced myself to turn my head forward.
It was a rough path for an ordinary girl to walk, but Wi Seol-ah followed along just fine without a single hitch in her breath.
'...Doesn't she have way too much stamina?'
Is the martial bone of someone who will become a Shingeom really different after all?
"In a little bit, it'll be the place we climbed up to earlier."
The mountainside I climbed up during the day. Wi Seol-ah said she saw the white maple tree there.
When I saw it, it was just a cliff full of ordinary trees and rocks.
What on earth did Wi Seol-ah see there?
I hoped it was worth the risk of coming to find it at night.
'Fortunately, there don't seem to be any demonic beasts around.'
There was an oddly absent presence of demonic beasts.
There wasn't even a trace of wild animals.
There was only the sound of insects chirping.
Before long, I reached the place I had arrived at earlier.
As expected, nothing was visible to my eyes.
"Where on earth is it?"
"...Hm?"
Wi Seol-ah answered as if my words were strange.
"It's right there!"
I moved my gaze following her finger pointing somewhere, but there was nothing.
That side is a cliff, isn't it?
"What are you talking about, there's only a cliff."
It felt like I shouldn't go there.
I tried to go check, but strangely, my feet wouldn't move.
"That's weird... It's really there."
Wi Seol-ah didn't seem to feel anything and walked toward the cliff nonchalantly.
"Wa...! I told you it's dangerous!"
I shouted, but my feet stayed in place.
Why is this happening...?
Wi Seol-ah gestured toward the empty air.
It was a dangerous position where taking just half a step would mean falling below.
"...Shit... Move!"
Gritting my teeth, I drew out my Naegi throughout my body.
Whoosh! The heat escaped from my body.
I circulated the Guyeomhwaryunggong as much as I could.
Using my Naegi, I forced strength into my legs, which had frozen like a statue.
Only then did my body slowly start to obey. Ignoring my hesitation, I ran and embraced Wi Seol-ah.
"Kyaa!"
Wi Seol-ah, caught in my arms, let out a short scream of surprise, but I couldn't afford to care.
"Are you crazy!? If you fall from here, you'll die...."
I was about to yell at her fearless action, but I stopped. Something was strange.
Crack-! Crack-!
Cracks began to form in the empty air.
Little by little, the lines that quickly connected gradually spread out.
This was just like.
'The Magyeongmun...!?'
I hastily took out the Maseonbu I had brought just in case.
The Maseonbu that came out of my embrace maintained its peaceful shape.
There were no abnormalities in the Maseonbu... So why?
The current phenomenon was very similar to the Magyeongmun, which appeared by tearing through the empty air.
When my thoughts reached that point, a chill ran down my spine.
If it was really the Magyeongmun, it was already too late to flee.
"I should have left you behind after all...."
The situation became urgent.
Even if by some luck it was a Green Rank gate, at my current level, I couldn't hold out while protecting Wi Seol-ah.
Should I send Wi Seol-ah away and handle it alone? It was an urgent situation, so I had to act first without thinking.
"It's dangerous right now, so hurry and...."
"See, I'm right! Young Master!"
"What?"
Even in this situation, Wi Seol-ah was just smiling.
"I'm not lying! Right!?"
"What are you talking about, I said it's dangerous right now."
Wi Seol-ah didn't seem to see my urgency and kept pointing somewhere with her hand.
Starting from the edge of the cliff, the empty air gradually began to crack. And now, it crumbled down.
'What on earth is this?'
Could it be an array? I had never seen an array like this before.
Moreover, could one be made to look so real?
Soon, a bright light burst from the cracks that spread densely like a spiderweb.
Not knowing what would happen, I held Wi Seol-ah in my arms to protect her.
"Mmmmph!"
Wi Seol-ah made a muffled sound.
After about 30 seconds, the light seemed to fade, so I slowly opened my eyes.
"...What on earth is this?"
I let out an exasperated sound at the sight I saw after the light faded.
Where there clearly should have been a cliff, a flat expanse of land spread out.
And in its center.
Just as the Tang Sect had said, a single giant white maple tree stood towering.