I pass through the bushes.
The night-laden forest is dark, but as always, I can see clearly with my eyes.
Due to circulating my meridians, my body still aches. Perhaps because I overused my ki-sense, the pain was worse than before.
"Tch."
I clicked my tongue once and walked. Pain is something you just endure, as always.
What was important right now wasn't my pain.
[I sense presences around us. There are four of them.]
I nodded at Amwang's sound transmission. I knew it too.
'They're far away, but they're surrounding this area like a circle.'
Grasping the ki, I could figure this out. This ki was the starting point.
It was a strange sensation. Visually, it was an empty field. It wasn't even that wide.
Trees spread out around the perimeter, and only rocks and weeds were visible, yet I was feeling something here.
"Do you sense something?"
Along with the question, something drops. It was a human head.
Four in total. Amwang had killed them all while informing me of their numbers earlier.
Did he make that round trip in such a short time? It was an incredible speed.
"I don't feel anything."
"Hmm..."
Amwang doesn't know. Those words subtly struck me. How could Amwang not feel this?
If so, should I assume this isn't related to a physical presence? Or else...
'It could be my delusion.'
I might have mistaken feeling something, but deep down, I was certain.
There is definitely something here. That was my conviction.
'Where could it be?'
It was around here, but where exactly? I turned my eyes and inspected here and there.
There should be something, but I still couldn't feel anything.
'Where on earth is it.'
I need to concentrate, but my nerves keep getting grated on.
I'm not sure if it's because I'm anxious or annoyed. Or maybe I just hate standing around like this right now. That might be it.
'All I can see is weeds and rocks on the ground. At most, there are flowers, but what could I possibly feel from here...'
I stopped mid-thought and frowned.
The two in front were one thing, but the flowers in the back bothered me somehow.
'Flowers?'
I turned my gaze and looked at the flowers on the ground. Come to think of it, it was strange.
'Why are there flowers?'
It was my first time seeing these flowers. Not my first time seeing flowers altogether, but my first time seeing them in this region.
Four in total. The species were roughly common flowers seen in the mountains, and their growing positions didn't seem to have any particular connection.
The important thing here is...
'Four flowers. Four people.'
The number of people Amwang killed. And the fact that flowers not found on the mountain were here.
At first glance, it might just seem like a coincidence.
I immediately bowed my head and examined the flowers.
I reached out and gently stroked the flower buds. Then.
Vroom—
"..."
A very faint vibration was felt at my fingertips.
This is it.
'Whether it's a formation or whatever. There's something in the flowers.'
The moment I felt the vibration and slightly parted my lips.
"I will bring more people."
Amwang said, as if reading my mind.
No explanation was needed. He seemed to have found the answer from my reaction and the number of flowers.
Bringing more people. The meaning of these words was none other than this.
As I mentioned earlier, there must be some connection to the number of flowers, so he predicted we would need four people in total to do something.
Hence, Amwang was saying he would bring more people, but...
"No. We don't have time for that."
I didn't have the time to wait for that and figure out a method.
"Since we killed those guys anyway, others will come soon. It seems difficult to handle all of them while doing something."
It would probably be possible. Originally, if Amwang wanted to, he could turn the entire Sichuan branch into a wasteland by himself. But.
"Then what method?"
"If we can't solve it... there's only one way..."
There was one method I could try.
I grabbed the flower stem.
I didn't pull it out; I just held it and concentrated.
Vvvvrm.
The vibration grew stronger.
The sensation riding up my hand spread to my body. From my body, it headed deeper toward my heart.
An alien feeling filled my body. Just like that, I slowly opened my eyes.
I observed the flower with my Mind's Eye open.
'Whoa.'
I exclaimed in admiration the moment I saw it.
'They really made this fucking insane.'
The intertwined stems were no joke. It was my first time seeing something this complex.
The spell that the Pilduma bastard used to bind the sword thread. It was twice as complex as that.
How should I solve this? Such a worry crossed my mind, but I was already moving.
No need to call people.
I will undo it. I just need to unravel all these things cast around here.
Wouldn't undoing it take longer than bringing people to find a solution?
It might. However, I believe.
I can undo this. I believed that.
There is something Sinui once said to me.
It was when I was learning curse arts from Sinui late at night.
-This is too much, even for you.
-Excuse me? With what?
I was doing them one by one as I was taught. Sinui, who was watching me, spoke.
-Where did this damned bastard pop out from...
-...Suddenly? Did I do something wrong?
-No, you did well. That's why I'm so dumbfounded, you damned bastard.
-Then you should praise me, why are you swearing...
-If you were going to pop out, you should have popped out about fifty years ago. Why were you born in this era of all times?
I was dumbfounded.
-How could you say something so hurtful? If it were fifty years ago, I wouldn't even have been born.
-Ugh. That makes it even more of a shame.
-So what's a shame?
I wondered what he was so regretful about that the old man was throwing a fit like this.
But.
-If the Zhuge Sega had existed without losing its honor even in this era... No, maybe it wouldn't have to be the same as now. If only your surname had been Zhuge.
Sinui spoke as if he truly regretted it.
-It might not have been so difficult for the Zhuge Family to reveal itself to the world again. That is what I regret the most.
If it was a compliment, it was a compliment. An excessively huge one at that.
I had never heard anyone say I was great anywhere else. But it was always like that when it came to curse arts.
At this point, I couldn't not know.
'So I have at least this.'
I thought I had nothing. But I do have something big.
The problem was that it just had to be curse arts.
Also, because there are so few who know about or use curse arts, I'm not sure what level I'm at.
But at least I know it's enough to startle everyone who sees it.
To exaggerate a bit, I'd say I view them the way an adult views children.
'If that's the case.'
If it really is the case.
'I can do it.'
It's not impossible.
I put strength in my eyes, looked at the arrayed lines, and slowly applied force.
To unravel this damned thing.
*******************
The giant iron doors that were closed opened.
It was just big enough for a person to enter.
Wi Seol-a and Namgung Bi-a moved their steps. They carefully entered through the door.
As soon as they entered the room, Namgung Bi-a frowned.
"...It's huge."
She spat out the words while looking around.
The room was quite wide. And tall.
An overwhelming vastness compared to the size of the passage. How could such a size exist underground?
No, did we even come down this far?
Only a sense of alienation was felt.
"..."
Unlike Namgung Bi-a who was inspecting the surroundings, Wi Seol-a was staring at only one place with wide eyes.
Straight ahead. Something that completely didn't fit in this spacious room was in front of them.
It was what Wi Seol-a had been staring at since she looked into the room.
"...That's..."
Wi Seol-a spat out a somewhat trembling voice. At that voice, Namgung Bi-a also looked at the same place as Wi Seol-a.
Only then did she see it.
A single mismatched tree standing alone in the room.
A floor made of stone, not dirt. And for some reason, a small tree growing there.
Its size was just a little larger than Namgung Bi-a, so strictly speaking, it was right to see it as a sapling.
Why on earth was such a sapling in such a large room? Furthermore...
"It's white..."
Strangely, the tree's leaves were white. It had a color like white jade and even emitted a faint light.
The reason this room was relatively bright without a single lamp seemed to be thanks to that tree.
Namgung Bi-a was looking at the tree in wonder, but Wi Seol-a's reaction was strange.
She looked surprised, and also somewhat shocked.
"Seol-a...?"
Namgung Bi-a called out to Wi Seol-a, but Wi Seol-a didn't answer and stepped forward.
The end of her slow steps was the tree. Standing in front of the tree, Wi Seol-a carefully stroked its leaves.
As her hand touched it, the leaf crumbled away.
The fragmented leaf looked as if light was breaking apart.
"..."
"Seol-a..."
The moment Namgung Bi-a expressed doubt at Wi Seol-a's actions.
"…!"
Namgung Bi-a hastily turned around. Her white hair fluttered, and a flash of light burst from her waist.
Clang—!!
Her swiftly swung sword deflected something. Along with the friction, a brief spark flew.
It was a sword.
Namgung Bi-a frowned and looked in the direction the sword flew from.
"Damn it."
There, an old man with his hands behind his back was looking at the two.
"I was going to cut your throats right away... But you're a more sensitive child than I thought."
"..."
At the old man's voice, Namgung Bi-a raised her sword.
"Hoh."
Looking at such a Namgung Bi-a, the old man let out a word of admiration.
"The young lady is quite pretty. Yes, looking at that hair and appearance, I know who you are. You're the Flower of Anhui."
Whoosh.
Along with the old man's words, swords floated up around him.
"Strange thing... Did the Holy King order that bastard to do this? Probably not..."
"Who...?"
The old man muttering to himself. Looking at him, Namgung Bi-a asked.
"Ah... right, I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself first."
Only then did the old man smile and introduce himself.
"I am Daehwan, the Gate Master of Gyecheonmun."
Hearing the introduction of the Gyecheon Gate Master, Namgung Bi-a swallowed a small groan.
"..."
Clatter. The tips of the swords floating in the air pointed toward Namgung Bi-a and Wi Seol-a.
"It seems uninvited guests have arrived, so I came to see your faces..."
Sssss—!! At the increasingly intensifying ki, Namgung Bi-a swallowed a groan. It was strong.
Her body tensed up involuntarily.
Namgung Bi-a threw a quick glance behind her. Even in this situation, Wi Seol-a was still only looking at the tree.
She looked as if she was bewitched.
Kiiiing—!!
Clang—!
"Ugh!"
Namgung Bi-a moved her sword and blocked the attack again. She succeeded in defending this time too, but her hands were numb, and the power was twice as strong as before.
"It's useless to look elsewhere when someone is talking to you."
"...Haa..."
"Child. Please focus. Because this is an important question."
Swish.
The swords began to spin around Daehwan. Without noticing, another sword had been added.
"How did you open this door?"
"..."
At the question, Namgung Bi-a's eyebrows shook.
"Six years. A door that hasn't opened once during that time. No matter what I did, I couldn't open it... How did you open this?"
A door that couldn't be opened. Those words were meaningless. Namgung Bi-a recalled the situation just before. The method of opening the door was nothing special. It just opened on its own when Wi Seol-a's hand touched it.
Recalling that, she grasped the current situation.
Wi Seol-a, who looked as if bewitched, only looking at the tree. The door she opened that couldn't be opened. The Gyecheon Gate Master who was surprised by this.
"..."
Recalling this, Namgung Bi-a nodded.
Did she figure something out?
'Difficult...'
No. She just decided to give up. Such difficult things had never suited her since the old days.
There's something. Just knowing that was enough.
If so, what she had to do was easily decided.
Having organized her thoughts, Namgung Bi-a spoke to the Gyecheon Gate Master.
"...Are you curious...?"
"Oh, are you going to tell me?"
Swish.
"Hmm?"
The Gyecheon Gate Master reacted to Namgung Bi-a's action.
She quietly pointed her sword at the old man.
"...If you're curious..."
Seeing the tip of the sword, the Gyecheon Gate Master's eyebrows narrowed.
"...Try to find out yourself."
"Haha..."
As always, if she didn't know the answer, she fought.
There was no easier method for Namgung Bi-a than this.
"...My, my."
Daehwan shook his head as if he truly felt it was a shame, looking at Namgung Bi-a.
Shhhk.
The rotating swords stopped their movement and aimed their tips at Namgung Bi-a.
"You made a poor choice."
Along with those words, four blades poured down on Namgung Bi-a.