Chapter 129

“Speak so I can actually understand you.”

I frowned at Yuk Ja-heung.
He answered in a trembling voice.

“I was called by Father earlier. He started scolding me the moment I arrived. He asked what exactly I was doing when my junior brother keeps shaking up the cult every other day. He even said you were entering the No-Return Cave, so why can’t I do something like that!”
“So?”
“He told me to go in too!”

I blinked.
As far as I remembered, in my past life, Yuk Ja-heung had never gone anywhere near the No-Return Cave.
But the Violet Lightning Yuk Clan Patriarch was trying to put him into the No-Return Cave?
Could the situation have changed because of me?

“You’re a direct descendant of the Violet Lightning Yuk Clan. Can’t you break through something like the No-Return Cave?”
“Do you think I can?”
“……No. Didn’t you say you can’t go because it’s dangerous?”
“Of course I did!”

Yuk Ja-heung tore at his own hair.

“Then do you know what he said? He told me that if I was going to live, I should live after going to the No-Return Cave, and if I was going to die, I should die there. He said that living the way I am would only disgrace the clan, so I’d be better off dead!”
“It’s not exactly wrong.”
“What? Your senior brother is about to die, and you’re joking?”

I shrugged.

“Then what should I say? Should I pray for your soul?”
“Who asked you to do that? I’m asking you to stop this situation.”
“How am I supposed to stop it? It’s not like I can go to the Yuk Clan Patriarch and say, ‘He may be a useless son, but how about letting him live?’”
“You don’t have to do that, so just cancel the No-Return Cave. Say you changed your mind.”

I shook my head slightly.

“I wanted to do that too. But he absolutely won’t allow it.”
“Whose permission do you need?”
“Master’s.”

Yuk Ja-heung’s pupils shook greatly.

“You were going to the No-Return Cave because of Master?”
“Yeah.”
“……Ha. I’m doomed. There are still so many things I haven’t done. This is unfair. It’s so unfair!”

Yuk Ja-heung’s shoulders drooped.
It seemed the strength had left him after learning that the Heavenly Demon was involved. Words that man uttered were practically absolute doctrine.
As if that were not enough, he outright flopped down.

‘It seems he really is taking this seriously.’

The hem of his purple robe was caught under his backside.
And he treasured that thing like his life.

“Ah!”

After sitting like that for a moment, Yuk Ja-heung cried out.
I wondered if he had come up with some clever plan, but he sprang up and began dusting off the hem of his robe.
Carefully, so that not even a speck of dust remained.

‘……Of course. That’s just like this guy.’

“Is your robe important right now?”
“Of course it is! Do you know what this is?”
“Who gave it to you?”
“This robe proves that I’m a direct descendant of the Violet Lightning Yuk Clan, so only the Patriarch can give it.”

In other words, he had received it from his father.

“Is something given by a father who doesn’t care whether you live or die that precious to you?”
“That’s…….”

Yuk Ja-heung tilted his head, then quickly took off the robe.
Pak!
Yuk Ja-heung threw it away just like that.

“You’re right. What use is this stupid thing? I’m about to die.”

The purple robe rolled across the ground.
Yuk Ja-heung glared at it while breathing roughly.
I spoke as if to comfort him.

“Hey, think positively. No matter what, would he really tell his own son to die? Besides, you’re still a Little Demon in name.”
“You only say that because you don’t know my father.”

Yuk Ja-heung answered firmly.
Then, unlike his usual self, he lowered his head in dejection.

“Father originally tried to make my half-brother a Little Demon instead of me. He was born a month later than me, but he’s more tal—ah, no. He isn’t as good as me, but his martial talent is excellent.”
“Then how did you become a Little Demon?”
“Obviously, because my martial talent was better.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Really.”
“……Because of Grandfather. He insisted that the eldest son must take priority no matter what. Father had no choice but to follow.”

Yuk Ja-heung smiled bitterly.

“The clan doesn’t need me anyway. He must be trying to dispose of me this time. But I don’t want to die! I’m not even twenty yet. I haven’t even dated anyone……! Damn it, why do I feel like crying?”

Yuk Ja-heung repeatedly became pitiful, then angry, then screamed, then grew sad.
It seemed his mood swings had worsened because of his fear of death.
Well, he was not the kind of guy who would normally talk about himself in such detail.

‘I do feel a little sorry for him.’

Was this what they called compassion?
If this pathetic guy went in, he would most likely not return alive.
Then who would I sell the Heavenly Demon’s flask to? I had been planning to receive them every now and then and sell them off in the future too.

‘Wait.’

A story suddenly flashed through my mind.
After learning that rumors about me were spreading, I had covered my face and visited a tavern because I was curious what they were saying.
One of the many stories I heard then was that there had been someone who came out alive even without passing through the No-Return Cave.
It was not specific information, but only something people were chatting about for amusement. Still, I thought it might be true.

Because I had heard a similar story in my past life.
Back then, I had no interest in the No-Return Cave, so I had forgotten it, but the moment I heard this story, what I had heard then came back to me.
That inside the No-Return Cave, there was a place safe from the traps. If one waited there until the No-Return Cave closed, the mechanical formation maintenance workers would let them out.
If that was true, I might not lose my flask customer.

‘Though nothing is certain.’

For now, it was only a rumor passed from mouth to mouth.
Who had survived, where they had hidden, and how many days they had endured. Nothing specific was known.
Still, the fact that there was a possibility at all had meaning.

‘The problem is how to confirm it.’

Before personally entering the No-Return Cave, I needed more certain information.
The place most versed in mechanical formations within the Demon Cult.
Wouldn’t that place know the answer?
I had been planning to visit there soon for my own sake anyway, and now that Yuk Ja-heung’s matter had overlapped with it, I should hurry.

I asked Yuk Ja-heung.

“You said earlier that you became a Little Demon thanks to your grandfather, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I take that as him cherishing you?”
“Of course! Grandfather has never once called me the shame of a hundred-year clan or said that I’m someone who wouldn’t be missed even if I were struck dead by lightning.”

I grew solemn for a moment.
Just how had this guy been treated by his father while growing up?

“Anyway, do you want to live?”
“Is there anyone who wants to die?”
“There may be a way.”

Yuk Ja-heung shot in front of me like lightning.

“Really? I don’t have to die?”
“I can’t be certain. The best thing is to somehow not go in, so try persuading your grandfather.”
“I can’t. He left to travel the Central Plains last month. So just tell me the method.”
“Before that, I have a condition.”
“What is it?”

A wary look.
I spoke slowly.

“If I have something to ask of you later, do it.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“How can I promise something I don’t know!”
“It won’t harm you, so don’t worry.”

Even if I asked for something, it would probably all be related to my own safety.
For example, if a conflict arose with the Violet Lightning Yuk Clan, the former Patriarch could act as a buffer.
In my past life, the Violet Lightning Yuk Clan Patriarch had no point of contact with me, but somehow, I felt that he had started actively keeping me in check.

Yuk Ja-heung stared at me suspiciously for a moment.
But in the end, his choice was to nod.

“If you make me do something weird, I won’t do it.”
“I won’t make you do anything weird. It’ll be something you can do within your means.”
“If you try to take advantage of me, it won’t be funny. I’ll show you a sharp lesson with my authority as your senior brother.”
“Like Heuk Un-hwi?”
“……!”

Yuk Ja-heung quickly shut his mouth.
I smiled and patted his shoulder.

“Think of it positively. It’s cheap for the price of your life.”
“Uh…….”

I did not think that I would fail to save him.
Even if I could not obtain the information I wanted tomorrow, I would keep my promise.
Because we were fellow disciples, at least.

“Come back in a few days.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to investigate a little.”

Yuk Ja-heung’s pupils shook uneasily.

“……You really are helping me, right?”
“I am.”
“You can’t run away.”
“Where would I run? If your business is done, go now. I need to sleep.”
“I was going to leave anyway, you know?”

Yuk Ja-heung turned around energetically.
Simple guy.
When he came, he looked as if the world had collapsed.

“Ah, right.”

The guy who had been striding away suddenly stopped.
Then he turned around again and trudged back this way.
I frowned and said.

“What now?”

Instead of answering, Yuk Ja-heung swiftly picked up the purple robe lying sprawled on the ground.
Tap, tap. He carefully dusted it off and held it preciously in his arms.
Only then did he disappear in a hurry with a satisfied face.
A small laugh escaped me before I knew it.
It was truly like Yuk Ja-heung.

The next day, after the Heavenly Demon’s lesson ended, I had the carriage driven not to the Hidden Cloud Pavilion, but somewhere else.
That place was the Illusory Hwang Clan.

Orderly mountain terrain and trees planted with obsessive precision.
An artificial landscape that still did not feel real appeared.
At the entrance, I met Hwang Seung-hyu, the eldest son of the Illusory Hwang Clan.
It had been a while since we met, but after exchanging only brief greetings, I headed straight to the Patriarch. Because of training, I had no time to chat.

“Please enter.”

I passed through the Dream-Walking Formation and arrived before the Patriarch Hall.
I parted from Hwang Seung-hyu and the guards, then went inside alone.
In a space embroidered with a sky where the Milky Way stretched endlessly, Hwang Si-mong had his eyes closed.
I tried to perform a fist-clasp salute, but before I could, his eyes and mouth opened at the same time.

“You have come regarding the No-Return Cave.”

It seemed he knew because of the rumor.
I smiled and sat across from him.

“Since you already know, I can get straight to the point. Did the Hwang Clan perhaps create the No-Return Cave?”
“Before I answer that question, I must first know how much knowledge you possess regarding the No-Return Cave. That will determine how long my explanation needs to be.”

I roughly organized what I knew and told him.
The history of the Seven Demonic Houses milking it for profit, the fact that the mechanical formations were greatly strengthened afterward, and the possibility that there might be a safe zone inside.

Hwang Si-mong slowly stroked his beard.

“It is true that our clan laid the foundation of the No-Return Cave. However, we were excluded from the process of redesigning it into its current form. We were also one of the Seven Demonic Houses, after all.”
“Hmm.”

It was not a good answer.

‘Well, I suppose that makes sense.’

The reason the Eighth Heavenly Demon strengthened the No-Return Cave was to eliminate the harm caused by the Seven Demonic Houses, after all.
I couldn’t come all this way and return empty-handed. I asked Hwang Si-mong again.

“Is there any useful information?”
“I can say there is none, and I can also say there is.”
“What do you mean?”
“The mechanisms installed inside the No-Return Cave are extremely complex. It is packed with machines large and small whose purpose cannot even be known unless one is involved, but that is not all. Illusory Formation Arrays are planted throughout.”
“Illusory Formation Arrays?”
“That is right. Mechanisms alone cannot create a slaughter device on the scale of the No-Return Cave. The Illusory Formation Arrays play the core role of linking the mechanisms together and operating them.”

Hwang Si-mong raised a finger and drew something in the air.
A strange pattern shining faintly appeared.

“It is a spell art of the Heavenly Net Dream Realm. An illusion art practitioner who has reached a certain level can resonate with another person’s illusion arts. It is difficult to grasp even the detailed implementation principles, but it means I can understand roughly what kind of structure they have.”
“Really?”

Without realizing it, I leaned forward.
It felt as if passing through the No-Return Cave was now within reach.
The corners of Hwang Si-mong’s mouth rose faintly.

“It is too early to be surprised. Our clan also has someone who has passed through the No-Return Cave.”
“There is someone like that? Who is it?”

Hwang Si-mong pointed at his own chest with his finger.

“It is me.”