Chapter 141

The moment I stepped out of the illusory formation array, I froze in place.
They were standing right in front of me.
Jin Si-myeong and the collateral members of the Radiant Moon Jin Family, along with warriors from the Demon Bell Geuk Family and Yuk Ja-heung.
They had all gathered in one place and were staring at the exit Jin Hwa-un and I had just emerged from.

“……!”

Jin Hwa-un’s mouth started to open.
I quickly clamped a hand over it.
He flinched, but apparently realized his mistake right away and nodded.

I removed my hand and breathed as quietly as I could.
The Concealment Talisman hid our forms and presence, but I had no idea what it did about sound.
There was still a chance we could be discovered, so it seemed best to keep even our breathing quiet.

‘It lasts somewhere around fifteen to thirty minutes, right?’

All I could do was hope they left before its effect wore off.
They weren’t going to camp out here all day.

Jin Hwa-un tugged at my clothes.
Our eyes met.
His gaze seemed to ask what we were going to do.
I answered with my lips alone.

‘Wait.’

My internal energy was exhausted, and my body was a wreck.
Jin Hwa-un beside me was in even worse shape.
I had stanched his bleeding with torn cloth, Hemostatic Powder, and whatever else I could use, but blood was still slowly seeping through.

We needed time.
We needed time to patch ourselves up, something the collapsing illusory formation array hadn’t given us.

I was thinking exactly that when
one of the Radiant Moon Jin Family’s collateral members stupidly spoke up.

“W-what happened? Why isn’t anyone coming out?”
“Exactly. Could there have been some mistake, Hyung-nim?”

Jin Si-myeong frowned at the question.

“You saw that space vanish too. That enormous place shrank to smaller than a fist before being sucked away somewhere. That mercenary bastard went in to confirm whether Baek Su-gyeong was alive or dead, so at the very least, he should’ve come back out.”
“That is true, but couldn’t they both have been killed by the phantom beast you mentioned, Hyung-nim?”
“That is possible.”

I nearly nodded along without realizing it.
At the moment, that was exactly the misunderstanding I wanted them to make.

“B-Brother Jin, are you saying Baek Su-gyeong might be dead?”

Yuk Ja-heung stammered.
He had hurried away from the cavern earlier, so apparently he had reunited with Jin Si-myeong outside the illusory formation array.

“Hard to say.”

Jin Si-myeong crossed his arms thoughtfully.
He seemed lost in thought for a moment before turning toward the rest of his group and the Demon Bell Geuk Family warriors.

“We should go search.”
“For Seventh Young Lord?”
“That’s right.”
“We’d have to search the open ground rather than the secret passage. Aren’t there traps?”
“The traps probably disappeared along with the space.”
“Then wouldn’t Seventh Young Lord have disappeared with it as well?”
“That is precisely what we don’t know, so we must confirm it. If we spread out and search carefully, there should be no problem.”
“Easy for you to say.”

The Demon Bell Geuk Family warriors and the Radiant Moon Jin Family’s collateral members stared each other down.
It was a childish struggle for control.
They might have entered with the shared goal of killing me, but they still belonged to different families.
Their standoff only ended when Jin Si-myeong invoked Geuk Mu-hyeok’s name.

“First Young Lord will want a definite result, not guesses about what might or might not have happened.”
“…….”
“I will take that to mean we are searching together.”

The Demon Bell Geuk Family warriors stopped resisting.
Once their master’s name had been invoked, they had no way to refuse.

“B-Brother Jin. Do I have to go too?”

Yuk Ja-heung asked.
Jin Si-myeong looked at Yuk Ja-heung with contempt.

“What are you planning to do here alone? Don’t you want to know whether your junior brother is alive?”
“He’s probably not dead anyway.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Just a feeling.”
“Come with us.”
“……Huh?”
“I said come.”

Jin Si-myeong put force into his voice.
Yuk Ja-heung’s shoulders slumped as he reluctantly agreed.

Soon, they all left.
Only after their footsteps had completely faded did I let out a breath.
Those few minutes, not even half a quarter-hour, had felt like an entire hour.

“So what you tore earlier was a Concealment Talisman.”
“Yeah. It cost me plenty, so feel free to thank me as much as you want.”
“Do not begrudge the cost. It was surely cheap for the price of a life.”
“I didn’t know your life would be included in the price.”
“…….”
“You know where the secret passage is, right? Let’s move there first. I don’t know when the concealment will wear off.”
“Understood.”

Jin Hwa-un staggered to his feet and began walking with difficulty, one hand pressed against his abdomen.
A short while later, he stopped at a pressure-triggered trap.
He stopped just short of the point that would trigger it.
Then he felt along the wall for a while until, with a soft Tuk, a stone popped outward.
When he pulled it down, the floor containing the trap split open to either side, revealing an underground space one level below.

“There was something like this here?”
“They said it is an emergency passage for the administrator to evacuate through if an unexpected accident occurs during an inspection. I came out through here earlier and went to where you were.”

Apparently, this was the point closest to the exit of the illusory formation array.
What had been an exit for me had effectively been an entrance for Jin Si-myeong and the others.
I went down with Jin Hwa-un.
Dimly glowing light sources kept the place from being too dark.
He felt along the wall again, and the opening we had just entered through closed.
After walking a little farther along the narrow passage, the space opened up to reveal an astonishing sight.
Countless metal cables, gears, pulleys, and other mechanisms were intricately intertwined like blood vessels.

“Wow.”

The exclamation escaped me before I realized it.
Did all of these operate the countless traps inside the No-Return Cave?
And the maintenance workers had to service machinery this complicated every time?

‘That can’t be easy.’

It was astonishing in more ways than one.
I knew there was a safe zone, but I never imagined it would be on this scale.

“Let’s circulate our qi first. We can talk afterward.”
“Fine.”

We moved to an isolated corner where we were unlikely to be discovered.
I sat cross-legged and quickly circulated my energy through one cycle.
It wasn’t as effective as taking my time, but I recovered some internal energy, and my heated qi and blood settled down as well.
That didn’t mean I felt refreshed.
Every breath sent a deep ache through my ribs.
The effects of the Pain-Cutting Pill seemed to be fading.

Once I finished circulating my qi, I quickly treated my injuries again.
Jin Hwa-un also stanched the wound from my cold-iron dagger again.

“Whew. This is killing me.”

Jin Hwa-un muttered quietly, then looked at me.

“There is something you need to answer.”
“What?”
“How did you know my real name?”

I figured it was about time he asked.
I answered casually.

“The Divine Cult’s intelligence network is incredibly thorough. I’m a Little Demon, so I have access to highly classified information.”
“Difficult to believe. Even the Divine Cult could not know my real name. Only a handful of people in Nightflower Valley know it.”
“That’s because you don’t know what they’re capable of. The Demon Eye Pavilion probably even knows how many times you moved your chopsticks at lunch.”

That was a lie.
Even the Demon Eye Pavilion probably didn’t know this guy’s real name. Much less how many times he used his chopsticks.

“I cannot believe that either.”
“What are you going to do if you don’t believe me? I already know it.”
“Hmm…….”

Jin Hwa-un narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but I remained perfectly calm.
He didn’t know a damn thing about the Demon Eye Pavilion anyway.

“Let me ask you something instead. You’re an exile from the Radiant Moon Jin Family, right?”

Jin Hwa-un’s eyes wavered.
Strictly speaking, Jin Hwa-un’s father was the exile. Hwa-un had been driven out along with him because he was his son.

“Don’t be too surprised. This is information from the Demon Eye Pavilion too. Naturally, only a tiny number of people have access to it.”
“……You truly seem to know everything.”

Jin Hwa-un let out a sigh.
I pushed a little further.

“Did the Radiant Moon Jin Family commission you to kill the Seventh Young Lord inside the No-Return Cave?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you accept?”
“…….”

Silence.
We could be discovered by Jin Si-myeong and the others at any moment, so I continued without waiting.

“Want me to guess? You planned to earn merit by taking me down, then use it to return to the Jin Family.”
“……That was the plan. Until a little while ago.”

Jin Hwa-un sighed.
I nodded.
In my previous life, the Radiant Moon Jin Family had been thrown into considerable turmoil.
Because of Jin Hwa-un’s appearance.

What was so important about this one man that the entire Radiant Moon Jin Family had been shaken?
All you had to do was consider this.
The current Radiant Moon Jin Family Patriarch was named Jin Hwa-ryong.
His eldest daughter, Jin Hyo-myeong, was also my Second Senior Sister.
Despite his young age, Jin Hwa-un held a higher generational rank than most Jin Family members his age.
His father was Jin Hwa-ryong’s uncle.
But in the struggle for the position of Patriarch, he had lost to his own nephew.

I didn’t know how it happened, but Jin Hwa-un somehow became the Nightflower Valley Lord’s disciple.
Later, he returned to the Radiant Moon Jin Family and demanded his rights.
He was exceptionally talented, and there were also those who felt guilty over what had happened to his father, so there had supposedly been fierce debate over whether the family should accept him back.

“I know the rough story. Do you really think the Jin Family will welcome you back that easily?”
“It won’t be easy. That is why I tried to build accomplishments worthy of recognition. But as long as I remain alive, I can do that as many times as necessary.”
“And if they still won’t take you back?”
“They will. I am also the Nightflower Valley Lord’s only disciple.”
“Since you brought him up, let me ask. Did the Nightflower Valley Lord give you permission to do this? You could’ve died in here.”

Jin Hwa-un answered without much emotion.

“No. I came here without permission, behind the Valley Lord’s back.”
“Oh, really? But you just call your own master ‘Valley Lord’?”
“What does it matter? We hate each other.”

Jin Hwa-un smiled bitterly.
I tilted my head.
That differed from what I knew.
The Nightflower Valley Lord would eventually risk his life for this guy.
And they hated each other?
‘Not that it matters right now.’

“Fine. I’ll make you an offer.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll get you out of here alive. I’ll even help you return to the Radiant Moon Jin Family.”

Jin Hwa-un asked back without even a moment’s hesitation.

“The conditions?”
“Two.”

I held up two fingers, then folded one down.

“First, you arrange for me to meet the Nightflower Valley Lord later.”
“The Valley Lord? For revenge?”
“No.”

Jin Hwa-un gave me an uncomprehending look.
Understandable. I had already crossed paths with Nightflower Valley twice, and neither encounter had ended well.
I had been attacked by assassins they sent, and the man in front of me had come here to kill me too.

“If not revenge, then why?”
“I can’t tell you that.”

The idea had suddenly occurred to me after I decided to keep this guy alive.
There was someone I hadn’t met until much later in my previous life.
Now I thought I might be able to meet that person much sooner.
The Nightflower Valley Lord would know where that person was better than anyone.
At this point in time, they should still be confined in Nightflower Valley.

“You might hate each other, but you’re still master and disciple. You can arrange a meeting, right?”

Jin Hwa-un studied me for a moment, then nodded.

“Very well. The second?”
“Do you know Jin Hyo-myeong?”
“The current Patriarch’s eldest daughter. I heard she is in closed-door training.”
“Right. Never fight that woman.”

Jin Hwa-un’s brow twitched.

“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Whether it’s a spar or anything else, don’t fight her.”
“May I ask why?”
“Because you’ll be the one who loses out.”

Once again, I didn’t explain in detail.
He wouldn’t believe me even if I told him how terrifying a hard-working monster obsessed with martial arts could be.
For now, he only needed to remember it.
That way, when the situation arose later, he could avoid it.

“…….”

Jin Hwa-un didn’t answer.
I didn’t press him.
If we made it out of the No-Return Cave alive, I would have plenty of time to convince him.

‘Now, how should I prepare for Jin Si-myeong?’

I asked Jin Hwa-un.

“Do you have a token proving you belong to the Jin Family’s direct line?”

Just as the Violet Lightning Yuk Family had its violet long robes, the Radiant Moon Jin Family had the Radiant Moon Seal.
It was a seal-shaped token proving direct-line status.
If it hadn’t been confiscated when Jin Hwa-un’s father was exiled, this guy would probably still have it. His desire to return to the family was strong, after all.
Sure enough, Jin Hwa-un nodded.

“I have it.”
“Good.”

I organized my thoughts for a moment before speaking.

“They’ll be here soon.”
“Here?”

Jin Hwa-un asked back.
I pointed at the floor along the path we had just taken.
Scattered drops of blood were visible beneath the dim light.
Apparently, Jin Hwa-un’s wound had opened further while we moved.

Jin Si-myeong had said they would search the entire plain.
When they returned, they would find the blood near the entrance to the secret passage.

“I can still send a few of them to hell.”

Jin Hwa-un, whose expression had darkened, quickly put on a show of bravado.
I chuckled.

“You’re not even in any condition to fight.”
“……I can take one or two with me before I die.”
“Forget it. I’m going to have you do something in a bit. When I do, you need to act ridiculously authoritative. Got it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Just say you understand.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s move over here.”

We left the secluded corner and returned to the area packed with intricately interwoven machinery.
We were few, while they were many.
If a fight broke out, terrain like this would favor us.
It was an especially good environment for someone as confident in footwork as I was.

I wasn’t sure how long we had been sitting there resting.
Footsteps sounded from the distance.

“They’re here!”

With that shout, they appeared.