The Terrifying Cheon-geum Domain (1)

Gyeong Un and Gyeong Chun were disciples of Kunlun. They were also disciples of the Necromancer Cult, that is, the Taepyeong Sect. The two were not people of the Central Plains. Gyeong Un was Tibetan, and Gyeong Chun was Mongol.

As disciples of Kunlun and members of the Taepyeong Sect, both of them had each experienced being harshly treated by people of the Central Plains at least once in their childhood. So when they heard that their Patriarch Deung Gak and Sect Leader Jeong Hoe-ja would establish a new empire in Cheonghae Province, they were not surprised.

A country of their own, where they would enslave the people of the Central Plains.

What a wonderful story it was.

But in truth, they could not participate in the war. They did not know why, but they had been ordered to guard Mind-Cleansing Cave, which had been made so people could be punished there when they committed wrongdoing. That empty place, of all places.

In the end, the two spent their time sitting on the central stone platform of Mind-Cleansing Cave and chatting about this and that. At night, other fellow disciples would come to relieve them. They only had to endure until then. If anything, every day was comfortable in both body and mind.

“So, you see. Back then, I went outside holding a kitchen knife, saying I would kill that bastard.”

“Oh! And then?”

“I couldn’t see anything else. I pointed the knife at that bastard and shouted, ‘You bastard!’”

Thud.

“Die, you bastard!”

Thud.

Gyeong Un was listening to Gyeong Chun’s story with amusement. Gyeong Chun’s old stories were different every time, but they were always entertaining. If he had not learned martial arts and had become a storyteller, he might have succeeded.

“But then that bastard quickly rolled his body and fled outside. I kicked the door open with my foot and chased after him. ‘You bastard!’”

Thud, thud.

“Just as the kitchen knife was about to stab that bastard’s body.”

Thud, thud, thud.

“That bastard…….”

“Shh!”

While listening to Gyeong Chun’s story, Gyeong Un suddenly brought a finger to Gyeong Chun’s mouth.

“Ptoo! What are you doing?”

“Be quiet! Don’t you hear some sound?”

“What sound?”

Gyeong Chun frowned. He was angry that his story had been interrupted.

But then it happened.

Thud, thud, thud.

Gyeong Chun also heard a strange sound.

“What is it?”

Gyeong Un pressed his ear against the stone platform they were sitting on.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The sound became even clearer. There was something beneath that stone platform.

Gyeong Un suddenly felt fear. He was somewhat timid by nature.

“I’ll quickly go and inform the Cheon-geum Domain Lord.”

Before Gyeong Chun could say anything, Gyeong Un sprang to his feet and ran out of Mind-Cleansing Cave. Gyeong Chun was good at telling stories, but he could not match Gyeong Un in quick reactions.

When facing an unknown being, being alone was more frightening than being in a group. Gyeong Chun quickly got down from the stone platform.

Everything he said was a lie. In other words, they were stories he made up. He had such a talent.

Perhaps because of that, even in a situation like this, he had absurd thoughts. He imagined the stone platform splitting open at any moment and a bloodstained demon’s hand thrusting up.

Tap.

The moment he thought that, something tapped his shoulder.

“Uwaaaak!”

Gyeong Chun was startled as if his heart would drop and recklessly unleashed the Chuun Fist, the skill he was most confident in.

Thud.

Gyeong Chun felt a tremendous impact and was sent flying.

“What is this?”

A woman’s voice was heard. At that moment, Gyeong Chun’s mind snapped awake. The beautiful face of the Cheon-geum Domain Lord, which he knew very well, was right there. Her name was Sohee.

“Were you trying to kill me?”

“N-not at all.”

“Then why did you do that?”

“I was startled…….”

“Tsk, tsk! For a man to be so timid.”

Sohee strode into Mind-Cleansing Cave.

“You said there was a sound coming from here?”

“That is correct.”

Sohee put her ear to the stone platform.

Thud, thud, thud.

There was no way she would fail to hear what Gyeong Un and Gyeong Chun had heard.

A strange light appeared in Sohee’s eyes. She looked at Gyeong Chun and said,

“Bring the fellow outside in here too.”

“Yes.”

Gyeong Chun quickly ran out and dragged in Gyeong Un, who had not entered.

“The things men do…….”

Sohee clicked her tongue as if displeased, then said to the two of them,

“Are you two strong?”

“O-of course. We are men, after all.”

Gyeong Chun stammered his answer.

“Then can you push this away?”

Sohee pointed at the stone platform. The newly made stone platform was much larger than the previous one, and it was a huge stone block without any mechanism installed.

“What? W-why that?”

“Can you, or can’t you?”

Sohee became irritated. Gyeong Un and Gyeong Chun knew very well how terrifying Sohee was when she became angry. Most of the people called the Sect Leader’s junior martial brothers and sisters had tempers of that sort.

“W-we can. But we were told not to touch this.”

“By whom?”

“The Sect Leader…….”

Gyeong Chun timidly continued.

“He told us never to touch the stone platform.”

Sohee’s complexion changed slightly. That was a sign that she was angry. A hint of killing intent even showed.

Gyeong Chun cursed his own mouth. Why had he stepped forward to answer when Gyeong Un was there too?

“But since the Domain Lord orders it, of course we can do it. Right, my friend?”

Gyeong Chun said that while slightly pushing Gyeong Un toward the stone platform. In that instant, Sohee’s killing intent vanished as if washed away.

Gyeong Chun let out a sigh of relief.

Ma-jil dug the earth without rest. No, he pushed the soil away by drawing out his Muto True Qi to the utmost. Each time his hand lightly struck the ground, a wall of earth abruptly rose and struck the left and right walls, compacting them.

Today was already the tenth day. The promised date had all passed.

“I think I’m almost there now……. Isn’t this enough?”

Ma-jil no longer dug straight ahead for a long distance, but changed direction and opened a tunnel diagonally upward.

Crack.

Bare ground was revealed, and the inflow of air raised a small cloud of dust.

Ma-jil observed the situation outside. He heard no sound.

He stuck his head out and looked around. Fortunately, it seemed to be the back side of the small mountain he had aimed for. He quickly climbed up above the tunnel he had made.

“Huh?”

Perhaps he had made some mistake, but the Necromancer Cult’s camp, which should naturally have been visible, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was another small mountain before his eyes. It seemed he had dug the tunnel much farther than his target.

“Well, if we came in deeper, it should be safer.”

He found a large rock nearby, lightly covered the tunnel exit with it, and returned back the way he came to the Martial Alliance’s camp. Once he returned, the prepared special mission team was supposed to enter the tunnel.

“He has returned. Please do not forget to follow the plan.”

When Cheong Yeon saw Ma-jil, he came to Go Won-gi and spoke.

“But he has done such hard work, so I feel too sorry…….”

“You do not need to feel sorry. He is not the kind of fellow who would be exhausted by that much. If you simply praise him a little, he will readily move.”

Cheong Yeon seemed to be plotting something involving Ma-jil.

“In any case, let us go out.”

Go Won-gi quickly put aside what he had been doing and went outside.

“Great Hero Ma-jil! You have worked hard.”

Unlike when Go So-jeong called him that, Go Won-gi calling him a great hero was on a different level. With Go So-jeong, it was courtesy, but with Go Won-gi, it meant recognition. Being called a great hero just for digging some earth made Ma-jil a little embarrassed.

Go Won-gi soon called Go So-jeong and summoned the special mission team. They had been resting well and replenishing their strength for this operation.

“I accidentally went farther than planned, so it is beyond that mountain.”

“Is that so? That does not matter. As long as we can avoid being discovered, it would be fine even if it were beyond Cheonghae Lake. If this matter is completed safely, all the credit will belong to Great Hero Ma-jil.”

Go Won-gi’s praise did not stop.

“But Unit Chief!”

Cheong Yeon suddenly called him. The operation had begun.

“What is it?”

“May I go with the special mission team as well?”

“Great Hero Cheong Yeon, you?”

“It seems their numbers are too few. Leaving aside eliminating the Necromancer Cult’s food supplies, what will you do about the grain near Cheonghae Lake that is about to be harvested?”

“That has not yet reached harvest time, so it is a problem to worry about later.”

“I think that is a mistaken view.”

“What?”

“Think about it. If this special mission team succeeds in its mission, the enemies will suffer from a shortage of food. Would such people simply leave the places about to be harvested alone? They will probably turn those people who have blocked infiltration until now toward guarding the grain.”

“Then……?”

“We should deal with the food warehouses and the grain-producing area near Cheonghae Lake together. This friend and I will do that.”

Cheong Yeon pointed at Ma-jil.

“M-me?”

Ma-jil looked at Cheong Yeon in shock. He had just returned after digging a tunnel, so what was this now?

“Who else here has the ability to set fire to that wide plain?”

“Ah, I see. With Great Hero Blazing Flame Master’s ability, it might be much easier.”

Go Won-gi picked up on those words. He habitually exalted him as a great hero.

“Besides, you have the skill to escape safely even if you fall into danger, right? So you and I are perfect for this job. I can protect you while you set the fires.”

Cheong Yeon and Go Won-gi were cornering him from both sides. For a moment, Ma-jil wavered over what he should do.

But then, interference came from someone no one had expected.

“I will go too.”

Je So-yeon had approached at some point and said that beside them.

“I will go with you too.”

Go So-jeong also stepped forward. Since Je So-yeon said she would go, she thought she could not simply stay still either.

In that instant, Ma-jil’s face twisted all at once. Because Je So-yeon had stepped forward, he had lost his chance to refuse. If Je So-yeon went, he had to go to protect her.

Cheong Yeon and Go Won-gi’s expressions also crumpled. Beyond the Necromancer Cult’s camp was dangerous land. This was not a picnic. Since they were women, the two of them could not help but worry.

“Fine, let’s go. Damn it!”

Ma-jil reached that conclusion.

He knew Je So-yeon’s stubbornness well. If she said she was going, then she would go. Was she not the one who had followed Neung Je-gang all the way to Kuaiji Mountain with that stubbornness? There was no need to waste strength resisting when they would end up going anyway.

Thus, a second special mission team was also formed. Although it was a hastily assembled special mission team, its members made it a powerful group that would not fall short no matter where it was placed.