EP.37 In Search of the Secret Storage. (5)
In Search of the Secret Storage (5)
This was before Ma Cheol chased Gu Yang-cheon to the secret storage.
Disheveled hair and a room in chaos, one arm wrapped in bandages while screaming obscenities — this was Nangong's Thunder Dragon, Nangong Cheon-jun.
"Fuck... Fuck!"
Every time Nangong Cheon-jun screamed and threw a tantrum, another object shattered, and the servants nearby flinched.
The moment Nangong Cheon-jun came to his senses, he was consumed by uncontrollable rage.
"That bastard... He definitely used sorcery."
There was no other explanation.
What was his name again — Gu Cheon-yeop or Gu Jeol-yeop or something.
The Tang Family's martial tournament only allows direct bloodline members to participate.
If circumstances didn't permit, they simply wouldn't come — they wouldn't send a branch family member.
That was an implicit rule among the great families.
The Gu family refers to the two families of the Divine Physician and the Sword Peak.
He heard the Divine Physician had one son — it must be that bastard.
Crack.
Nangong Cheon-jun gritted his teeth.
'What kind of sorcery did he use?'
At first, he was merely unpleasant.
He didn't like that he had traveled with his sister for days.
He didn't like that the guy was subtly paying attention to his sister — he just found him unpleasant.
Whether it was the Divine Physician, a renowned martial artist, or the Sword Peak's bloodline whom he disliked but was chosen as the latest rising talent.
His martial prowess was unimpressive, and his inner energy was so shallow that he could see through it entirely.
Yet despite that, he had that inexplicably languid face and that subtly condescending gaze — he didn't like it.
So he planned to rough him up a bit.
To make him know his place, that is.
Let his guard down? There was no need to go all out against someone like that.
Yes, that's why he let his guard down.
But that alone wasn't a reason to lose.
To think he'd end up like this. It was absolutely unbearable.
Nangong Cheon-jun was certain.
"It's sorcery..."
What kind of sorcery? How? That wasn't important.
If not, he just needed to make it so.
His groin still throbbing, Nangong Cheon-jun burned with even greater fury.
"Ma Cheol."
"Yes, young master."
Ma Cheol immediately steadied his mind at Nangong Cheon-jun's call.
If he called him like this, there was only one reason.
A command he had carried out hundreds of times — would this time be any different?
Nangong Cheon-jun asked.
"The method."
A short question. But one containing much.
Ma Cheol couldn't easily answer.
The situation wasn't in good shape.
The Gu family's guards' martial prowess was better than expected.
Among them, one unnamed youth appeared particularly outstanding. Probably his personal guard.
A level that wouldn't fall short even compared to his master, the Thunder Dragon.
It was questionable how a martial artist of that caliber hadn't made a name for himself yet.
Of course, the Gu family was particularly shrouded in secrecy in that regard.
Compared to himself, a Peak expert, if they fought a hundred times, he'd lose about twenty times.
Breaking through such a gap to capture or eliminate the Gu young master? In this short timeframe, it was virtually impossible.
"Ma Cheol."
Nangong Cheon-jun urged Ma Cheol's answer.
His master always played the role of a mature, affectionate, and gentle person.
But from Ma Cheol's perspective, Nangong Cheon-jun had a stronger side like a child who couldn't accept things not going his way.
Just like now.
Grrrk
A strange pressure tightened Ma Cheol's chest.
It was because of the blood seal received upon entering the Nangong family.
In exchange for easily obtaining martial arts and spiritual medicines and living under the Nangong name, one had to be loyal to the bloodline.
This was also why, despite reaching the Peak more easily than others, he volunteered as a bloodline guard.
Under the increasingly tightening pressure, Ma Cheol swallowed once and barely spat out an answer.
"...I will look into it."
The tightening pressure disappeared at that shaky answer.
Nangong Cheon-jun grinned at Ma Cheol's response.
Then he patted Ma Cheol's shoulder.
"I always trust you, Ma Cheol. You'll bring good news this time too."
"...Yes."
It wasn't a good situation.
He answered, but could he really accomplish it?
The opportunity came sooner than expected, making that anxiety seem meaningless.
Because the target he'd been secretly watching left the Tang estate alone at dawn.
Before being a guard, Ma Cheol was skilled in stealth techniques, so he was confident in covert operations.
How much effort would it take to deal with just one young master?
'Why is he leaving alone at this time?'
From Ma Cheol's perspective, that was the biggest question.
Could it be a trap?
If so, a trap for what?
The only presence detected was the Gu family's son.
Then why was that boy running out of breath at this early hour?
Where was he heading?
Ma Cheol decided to observe a bit more.
Since he could carry out his mission at any time, he wanted to satisfy his curiosity.
After walking and running for over an hour, they arrived at the mid-slope of Mount Geum-a, some distance from the Tang estate.
'Is this the place?'
He wondered what he was climbing so hard to find, but there was nothing.
'Around here...'
It would be very easy to kidnap him.
Rather than quietly eliminating him, his master would prefer that.
Taking advantage of him being alone...
"Why are you heeeere!"
Ma Cheol, about to act, couldn't help but pause at the boy's shout.
Beside the boy, another girl was standing.
'When on earth...?'
He had checked the entire way here.
He hadn't sensed any other person's presence beside the boy.
Another tail? Then he should have noticed.
Even more so if it was such an ordinary girl.
'...What? Is there someone else?'
An easily handled situation — the boy would have outstanding martial prowess since he beat his master.
But even so, the Gu young master was below first-rate, including his inner energy.
Adding a girl who looked like a servant wouldn't matter.
Even in that situation, Ma Cheol couldn't recklessly step forward.
It was strange.
Every sense in his body seemed to warn him not to come forward.
The two came down the mountain and entered a restaurant.
Listening in on their conversation while they ate, the Gu young master seemed to be looking for a white maple tree.
A maple tree in midsummer, and a white one at that... what could this mean?
Then suddenly, the girl turned around while eating.
Ma Cheol's body stirred at that gaze.
Was it his imagination? It was just a fleeting moment, but the girl's two eyes were definitely looking at him.
'It's my imagination.'
He had examined the girl's body just like the Gu young master, and she was an ordinary person without any inner energy.
It was just a coincidence overlapping with coincidence.
Pushing aside the tingling sensation, he thought so.
Meanwhile, the girl said she had seen the tree the Gu young master was looking for.
At those words, the Gu young master asked.
"Do you remember where it is?"
It seemed he had found something.
After that, the scenes Ma Cheol witnessed were situations he himself could barely believe.
The mountain climbed in the middle of the night, the white maple tree finally discovered, stairs leading underground.
Countless luminous pearls hanging on the walls.
The secret storage of unknown origin.
The demonic beast in the shape of a giant snake inside.
Ma Cheol couldn't understand this situation. Everything happened too suddenly.
If it were a fortuitous encounter, could it be called one?
He didn't know how the Gu young master knew about such a thing.
But in the end, going round and round, it would be good for him.
Everything would return to his master, but thanks to that merit, his blood seal might loosen a bit.
However.
What on earth was going on here?
"Hah... Hah..."
Ma Cheol grabbed his cleanly severed shoulder and repeatedly used his inner energy to stop the bleeding.
'...Why won't the bleeding stop?'
Despite forcing in Peak-level inner energy, the bleeding wouldn't stop.
Blood just kept flowing as if a dam had burst.
When, how, and by what method could such a small dagger produce such a sword wound?
Ma Cheol couldn't see even the slightest movement of how the girl swung her sword.
It was dangerous. He had to flee immediately.
"Where are you going?"
At the voice that seemed to pierce his heart, Ma Cheol's eyes trembled.
Slowly, slowly raising his head.
Seeing the figure before him, Ma Cheol couldn't breathe properly.
"I gave you plenty of chances."
The girl said.
With just those few words, one of Ma Cheol's shoulders was heavily crushed.
The black hair the girl had when he first saw her was gone.
In its place was brilliant golden hair as if molten gold had been poured over it.
"This is... what on earth..."
"Since you couldn't read the signs properly, I even helped sound your intuition."
What was that?
The dignity of an absolute being who could so easily crush a martial artist beyond the Peak.
How should this even be described?
Ma Cheol couldn't understand.
What he could be certain of was that the aura the girl emitted was not inner energy.
Then what should this be called?
"You should have escaped earlier."
At the girl's words, Ma Cheol asked with difficulty.
"Who are you, noble one..."
"Someone you don't know."
"If you knew I was tailing from the beginning, why did you leave me be?"
"I didn't leave you be. I even showed sufficient leniency."
Only then could Ma Cheol understand the inexplicable anxiety and intuition he had felt all along.
"Why would someone like you..."
Ma Cheol bit his lip.
The reversal of aging, said to be attained only by martial artists who reached the end of enlightenment spoken of in legends.
Could the person before him be a martial artist who had reached that realm?
Then why would such a person volunteer to play the role of a servant?
The girl said.
"I don't take questions... There isn't much time."
I still want to use it a bit more.
The girl said so in a small voice.
"The reason I showed leniency is because this body is experiencing killing for the first time."
"...What are you talking about?"
He could feel it from that unwavering sword strike.
If not massacre, then at least she had taken lives before — there was no way this was her first kill.
The girl ignored Ma Cheol's doubts and continued only her words.
"At the very least, I wanted to leave this part to your own choice. It ended up in an unwanted direction. I'm sorry."
The sudden apology — Ma Cheol thought that apology wasn't meant for him.
How could he survive?
His mind kept working, but the girl's steps were faster.
He had long erased the thought of fighting back.
He had to flee.
While the girl was talking to herself, he raised all the inner energy in his body at once.
Because he pulled it to the limit so hastily, his innate qi could be damaged, but this wasn't the time to worry about that.
Just survive and return.
All he thought about was returning and telling what he had experienced.
Ma Cheol immediately turned around, detonated his inner energy, and kicked off the ground. He intended to flee all the way to the Tang estate.
But something was wrong.
His gaze, which should have been facing the entrance, was arbitrarily pointed at the floor.
And it was getting closer.
'What...'
Ma Cheol harbored the question, but that was the end.
Thud, roll.
The head of Nangong's promising Peak expert rolled across the floor of the secret storage.
He had died in vain from Wi Seol-ah's single sword strike.
Watching that, Wi Seol-ah calmly sheathed her sword and waved her hand once, enveloping Ma Cheol's body in flames.
After a brief moment passed.
Without leaving even bones, he disappeared as if he had never been there in the first place.
[...Now...give it back...!!]
At the voice piercing her ear, Wi Seol-ah laughed softly.
"I'm sorry, but you won't be able to come out for a while, so could you bear with it a little?"
[It's my body...]
"Right, it's your body... For now and forever."
Wi Seol-ah approached Gu Yang-cheon, who was sleeping as if dead, and stroked his head again.
"...I'll really give it back now. I think this is enough."
It was bitter.
All the actions she took now felt that way to Wi Seol-ah. They say nothing hurts more than belated regret.
The old saying wasn't wrong at all.
Wi Seol-ah poked Gu Yang-cheon's cheek once and smiled.
[...Seol-ah...]
She quickly pulled her hand away at the complaint reaching her ear.
-Leaving?
The crumbling snake from behind asked.
"I'm going to sleep. I think I overdid it."
How long would it take to come out next? It seemed like it would take a long time.
-...Do you know what kind of existence you are?
At the snake's question, Wi Seol-ah smiled slightly.
"Just a little."
Wi Seol-ah knew a little about herself. She just realized it too late.
-It will be a difficult path.
"I know."
-I see... I pray that blessings be upon your future.
"...Thank you, you worked hard. Sleep well."
Perhaps because of Wi Seol-ah's words, the snake's massive body crumbled and disappeared all at once.
Wi Seol-ah watched that and slowly lay down beside Gu Yang-cheon.
She tapped the furrowed brow of Gu Yang-cheon, who seemed to be having a nightmare.
Soon Wi Seol-ah also closed her eyes.
******************
Some time later, Gu Yang-cheon finally opened his eyes.
"...What is this place?"
It was an unfamiliar ceiling.