7 — Treason (3)

The Forbidden Demon Prison was a special dungeon of the Eastern Depot built within an abandoned iron mine. It had been created two hundred jang (approx. 600 meters) underground to give punishments worse than death to the vilest criminals and those who were harmful to the world.

An iron mine was not where pure iron was dug out, but where iron-bearing rocks were extracted. Those rocks had to be smelted to separate out the iron. An abandoned iron mine meant that all the ore had been considered exhausted, so mining had ceased. Yet, because the rock still contained high concentrations of iron, digging one’s way out with bare hands was impossible. Over the years, the underground structure had become unstable, ready to collapse at any time.

It was such a place that Neung Je-gang arrived at.

“I heard your story. They say you committed your crime because of your younger brother.”

The department responsible for the Forbidden Demon Prison was the Eastern Depot’s Golden Court. Since arresting criminals was their duty, naturally the management of the dungeon fell to them as well.

“I had no other choice.”

One of the elders of the Golden Court, the Warden of the Forbidden Demon Prison, looked at Neung Je-gang with pity.

He had been a promising junior. In Beijing, people had already called him a candidate for Branch Chief, but within the Golden Court itself, there had been those who believed he might one day rise to Grand Director of the Depot.

Yet here he was now, guilty of an unforgivable crime and sent into the Forbidden Demon Prison.

“Once you enter this place, there is no way out. But it does not mean you have no chance to live.”

“There is a way to leave the Forbidden Demon Prison?”

“The Lord of the Golden Court feels deep pity for you. If he becomes the next Grand Director of the Depot, he may pardon you. With the authority of the Grand Director, he could grant clemency to at least one man. The problem is whether you can survive inside until then… too many of the people you once captured are in there, waiting.”

“I understand. If this is what I must endure, then I will accept it.”

“Good. Then hold out thirty years, at most. If not the next generation, then the one after that, another Grand Director will surely arise from the Golden Court, and I believe he will save you.”

“I understand.”

Thirty years!

It might be easier to die.

But having such hope was still better than having none at all.

‘No matter what happens, I will never die before killing Gye Yu with my own hands. Even if I have to suffer endlessly, I will endure until I see him perish before my eyes.’

Neung Je-gang entered the Forbidden Demon Prison with only vengeance boiling in his chest.

His dantian had been destroyed, his internal energy gone. His limbs’ sinews and bones were all broken— even if he had qi, martial arts were impossible.

The Forbidden Demon Prison had seven stone gates between the entrance and the dungeon itself. Operated by mechanisms, they could only be opened from the outside; inside, there was no way to break them down.

Rumble…

Neung Je-gang heard the massive stone gate close behind him.

Thud!

Once the gate descended, complete darkness remained. He was utterly cut off from the outside world.

Neung Je-gang did not move. He waited for his eyes to adjust.

But no matter how long he waited, his eyes could not pierce the dark.

He crawled. Slowly, painfully, along the rough, sloping passage. His knees and elbows tore open, blood soaking them.

At last, murmurs reached his ears. The prisoners already knew a new man had been thrown in—the sound of the mechanism had told them.

“Who’s coming in today?”

“Whoever it is, can’t be worse than you.”

“Unless he’s worse than the Human-Faced Leech, ha!”

At first Neung Je-gang couldn’t make it out in the echoing cavern, but one thing he caught clearly: the epithet Human-Faced Leech.

“Heh! That parasite’s still alive?”

The Human-Faced Leech was one of the villains Neung Je-gang himself had captured— a man who sucked people dry, never letting go once he latched on, hence the nickname.

He had been unlucky enough to be caught in Beijing and thrown here forever.

All inmates of the Forbidden Demon Prison shared one trait: their dantian had been destroyed so they could never cultivate again. Few, however, had their limbs’ sinews shattered as well. That punishment was reserved for traitors or the most vile who could still harm others even by walking.

“Huh? That bastard’s crawling here?”

“Wow, really? Haven’t seen one with broken limbs in ages.”

“Leech, looks like he’s worse than you. Otherwise they wouldn’t break him that bad.”

“Damn! Fine, he’ll die soon anyway. Then we’ll taste his flesh.”

Neung Je-gang crawled into their midst.

“Heh-heh, Human-Faced Leech. Long time no see.”

He greeted first.

“You… know me?”

“I’m the one who caught you. How could I not?”

He thought of concealing his identity, but there was no point—better to strike boldly than show weakness. Among villains, only the worse commanded respect.

“What?!”

The Human-Faced Leech leapt back in terror.

“Y-you bastard!”

He trembled, but did not approach.

“What’s wrong?”

“Leech, what’s with you?”

Others looked on with interest. Any unusual event was entertainment here.

“You fools! He’s Depot! He’s the one who threw me in here!”

“What? The executioner you told us about?”

“Yes! Run, idiots!”

The Leech cursed their slowness.

But this was the Forbidden Demon Prison. Who would fear a cripple with broken limbs?

“Why so scared? Look at him—he’s just another criminal.”

Only then did the Leech calm down.

“You bastard… what crime got you thrown in?”

But even so, he dared not approach. He remembered the other skill Neung Je-gang had— poison, which had rendered even himself helpless once.

“Treason.”

“What?! Treason? That’s on another level.”

“Crazy bastard. Depot life’s easy, why’d you screw it up?”

The voice was new, powerful. Neung Je-gang turned toward it. Unlike the others, this old man did not sound like a prisoner at all.

Those who could see him bowed their heads.

“Lord Demon Doctor!”

Neung Je-gang remembered. In training, he had learned of the Demon Doctor—a genius physician who had killed more than 300 through living experiments, dissecting humans in the name of medical advancement. Records said it was thirty years before Neung Je-gang’s birth.

“Surprised I still live? I’m half a corpse now, might die any day. But I need help with one more experiment. Will you assist me?”

The prisoners laughed bitterly. The Demon Doctor had continued his ways even here.

“If you help me, I’ll restore your shattered sinews. Then you’ll walk again. What do you say?”

Neung Je-gang wanted to refuse, but despair gnawed at him. As he was, he couldn’t even feed himself. If the Demon Doctor could repair him, he might yet have the chance for vengeance.

“…If you fix my sinews first, then I agree.”

The Demon Doctor grinned and lifted him up. Prisoners scattered from their path, fearful of both men.

When the old man vanished into the dark with him, the Human-Faced Leech burst out laughing.

“Ha-ha! Who said they’d taste his flesh? Think again—poison-flavored meat, ha-ha!”

“Shut up! If he survives the Demon Doctor, we’ll serve him forever!”

The prisoners shuddered at the ominous future.