EP.35 In Search of the Secret Vault. (3)
In Search of the Secret Vault (3)
I sat down in front of the tree and stared up at it blankly.
"What... is this?"
It was absurd enough that the cliff disappeared and a tree suddenly appeared, but a white maple tree, literally white?
Not only the leaves but the tree itself was entirely white.
It even seemed to glow faintly.
Surprisingly, the leaves falling from the tree actually held light within them.
I carefully picked one up, but it crumbled the moment it touched my hand.
"What in the world is going on?"
Is this really some kind of formation?
There were no records stating that even the Zhuge Clan, masters of formations who were said to have collapsed after being swept up in the past Blood Calamity, used such a formation.
Then how should I explain the phenomenon I just witnessed?
"Young Master! Look at this, it's so pretty!"
Wi Seol-ah came over carrying an armful of fallen leaves.
'...It crumbled when I picked it up?'
As if discriminating against people, they retained their shape in Wi Seol-ah's arms.
I carefully picked one of the leaves Wi Seol-ah was holding.
*Crumble.*
It crumbled exactly the same way this time.
"...What the, is it really discriminating?"
I feel kind of offended by this.
I look around. Looking at it now, the terrain had changed into something much more natural than when it was a cliff.
Was this the real thing from the beginning?
"Regardless, it seems we've found the secret vault..."
It was exactly what the Tang Clan said back then. It's really white....
In fact, it's too white.
If you didn't look closely, the falling leaves looked like falling snow.
To think they could hide something so conspicuous for hundreds of years.
How on earth was that possible?
As far as I know, formations don't have a very long maintenance lifespan, so they need to be checked periodically.
Did someone keep checking it, then?
It didn't seem like it, though.
"Young Master! There's something here!"
"...When did you get over there?"
While I was sitting there spacing out, Wi Seol-ah was already wandering around touching the tree.
At Wi Seol-ah's call, I approached the tree and found a staircase descending down behind it.
Wait, wouldn't a secret vault normally be made a bit more secretive?
"Is it because the formation is at this level that they didn't worry much?"
Perhaps my body feeling an uncontrollable fear when I tried to approach the cliff was also due to that influence.
Then how was Wi Seol-ah so unaffected?
She even pierced through the formation and saw the tree.
'They say a good thing is a good thing, but how should I explain this?'
I shook off my complicated thoughts.
I needed to focus on the secret vault first.
"For now, it's dangerous, so wait a mom..."
I was about to say that, but Wi Seol-ah was already gone from my side.
Her voice came from below the stairs.
"Young Master! Come quickly!"
"...Alright."
She acts really fast.
Thanks to that, the headache I was feeling showed no signs of ending.
******************
I immediately followed Wi Seol-ah down the stairs.
The descending staircase was much narrower than expected, and I couldn't see the end, wondering how far down it went.
I wondered if I should hurry down and get something to light the way.
Funnily enough, the white leaves Wi Seol-ah was holding served that purpose.
The sparkling leaves lit up the surroundings better than expected. Thanks to that, I was able to descend relatively safely.
The problem was.
'Just how deep did they make this?'
How far down had we come?
It felt like we'd been descending for a long time following the light of the leaves, but the stairs still showed no end.
'Something's off.'
No matter how deep they made it, was this even possible?
'Is this all a formation too?'
For some reason, I thought it might be.
Seeing as it hid that unbelievably large white tree and expansive land, and transformed it into a cliff... wouldn't it be an impossible feat? Actually, it wouldn't be impossible, right.
Looking at it this way, it seems we came in too recklessly without a formation master.
Finding the secret vault right before our eyes was because we were in too much of a hurry.
They say when greed blinds you, you can't see anything else; that was exactly our case.
I said to Wi Seol-ah, who was walking down ahead.
"I think we should go back up first..."
"Young Master, there's another path here."
"What?"
Where?
In front of Wi Seol-ah, there were still only stairs.
Still stairs with no end in sight, I mean.
"Where are you talking about? There's nothing but stairs ahead."
At my words, Wi Seol-ah fiddled with the wall to the side.
When she let go of her arms, the leaves she was holding fell with a rustle, but Wi Seol-ah didn't seem to care.
I looked at that and said,
"There's nothing but a wall, what could be..."
-Creak.
"Huh?"
A sound came from the wall Wi Seol-ah was touching, and with a burst of dust, a hidden passage appeared.
"Ta-da!"
Seeing the revealed passage, Wi Seol-ah puffed out her chest with a triumphant expression.
It was definitely a good job, but she looked somehow obnoxious.
"See! There's a path!"
"...True, why is this actually here?"
Why is this really here?
A passage that could only be found after descending for a long time, and because it was so inconspicuous, it would have required bringing an expert and investigating for a long time to discover it.
And she just found it like that.
...It's Wi Seol-ah.
'What in the world is going on.'
Should I consider this the realm of talent as well?
Since she's the makings of a Divine Sword, the world Wi Seol-ah sees must be different from mine, but does that difference allow her to see even things like this?
I couldn't know.
As Wi Seol-ah tried to barge into the passage, I grabbed her.
"It's dangerous to go in carelessly. I'll go first from here on."
It didn't seem like the right thing to say after I'd made her lead the way down all those stairs.
But from here on, it felt like it would truly be dangerous.
At my words, Wi Seol-ah smiled radiantly for some reason.
Not knowing the reason for that smile, I asked Wi Seol-ah.
"...What's wrong?"
"The Young Master is worrying about me...!"
"Why is that?"
"I just like it!"
Feeling inexplicably embarrassed by Wi Seol-ah's words, I flicked her forehead.
"Ouch! Hey...!! Why did you hit me...!"
"Just because you were being obnoxious."
"You're so mean...!"
Stepping into the passage from the wall, it was bright enough that the leaves weren't needed, unlike the staircase area. I walked along the light and then paused.
Come to think of it, the things embedded in the wall that were emitting light right now.
"Don't tell me these are all Night-Luminous Pearls?"
Stones emitting bright light in the pitch-black darkness.
Nowadays, they were so rare that even with a lot of money, they couldn't be easily obtained.
But they're embedded so casually in the wall like this?
"Crazy... No matter how much money the Geumcheon Yeon Clan had, does this make sense?"
It was beyond absurd.
How much would they all be worth if I took them?
'...Should I subtly take them when we leave?'
My conscience pricked a little, but wait, wasn't there nothing to prick my conscience? Finders keepers, after all.
Right, it's not like I lived as a demonic cultivator in my past life out of an overflow of conscience, right?
"Young Master?"
"It's nothing. Let's go forward first."
I put the Night-Luminous Pearls aside for now and carefully advanced forward.
I was nervously observing my surroundings, even using my internal qi, in case something popped out.
But there was no particular threat.
We walked for a long time, though not as much as the stairs.
Just when I started suspecting that this passage was a trap and going down the stairs was the right way.
The end of the passage was finally in sight.
What was visible at the end of the passage was a massive door that looked to be at least twice my size.
I stepped forward and slowly grabbed the pitch-black, ink-colored door ring.
I was worried something might happen when I grabbed the door ring, but fortunately, nothing seemed to occur.
I pulled it with all my might.
*Creak.*
Contrary to my expectation that it would be extremely heavy, the door opened very easily.
The place we entered after opening the door was filled with the same darkness as the door's color.
It seemed not a single Night-Luminous Pearl, which were embedded in the passage, was installed in this room.
"It's too dark...?"
In a situation where I couldn't see anything—neither the size of the room nor whether it was connected to another passage—something passed by me as I stared into the pitch-black darkness.
A white light.
It was none other than the white maple leaf Wi Seol-ah had brought.
Was it blown by the wind? But for that, it didn't seem like there was any wind at all.
-...Child.
At the voice that suddenly echoed, I immediately drew up my internal qi.
It was ahead.
The voice was coming from beyond that darkness.
-...How did you come all the way here, child.
The maple leaf that had been fluttering away stopped in midair.
And then, just like when I touched it, it crumbled and disappeared.
-You are not a child of the Jin Clan. Then how did you find your way here.
Light slowly began to appear from beyond the darkness.
It was the same white light that the maple leaf had held.
I protected Wi Seol-ah behind me and drew up the Nine Flames Wheel Technique.
'This is a bit dangerous, should I run away even now?'
No matter how much I drew up my qi, I couldn't sense the presence beyond.
There was clearly something there, but it was as hazy as if covered in thick fog.
-...You harbor something strange within you.
With those words, the light engulfed us in an instant.
At the blindingly bright light, I squeezed my eyes shut and protected Wi Seol-ah.
When the light faded and I barely lifted my eyelids.
I gasped at the sight before my eyes.
The room, which had been filled with darkness, was now brightly lit.
The problem was the source of the light.
In the center of the high and spacious room, which looked to be at least ten zhang in length even if it didn't reach the ceiling, there was an out-of-place snake.
A giant snake that was more than enough to fill the room.