Chapter 144

Jin Hwa-un sat leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.
His complexion was even paler than before.
He looked close enough to a corpse to call it brother.

“Is he dead?”

I brought a finger beneath the nose of the bastard who was deliberately keeping his eyes closed.

“Hmph.”

Jin Hwa-un deliberately blew a strong breath through his nose, so I quickly pulled my hand away.
This bastard still had enough energy to mess around.

“I’m still fine.”
“You don’t look fine from any angle. You absolutely can’t die. I even fed you expensive medicine.”
“I’ll try.”

He could still answer, but his condition was precarious.
Leaving him like this would be dangerous.

‘Looks like I need to get him out of here quickly.’

I looked at Yuk Ja-heung.
He had once again lost himself in the afterglow of victory.
He was repeatedly practicing the move that had finished off Jin Si-myeong.

Hwoong, hwoong.

“Keu, listen to that sound. Why didn’t it sound like this before?”
“Hey.”
“Even you can tell how incredible it is, right? This is the true essence of the Violet Lightning Yuk Family’s palm arts.”
“Yeah, amazing. Do you happen to know where the exit from the secret passage is?”

I humored him and asked.
This place was for the maintenance workers.
There had to be a way outside somewhere.
The problem was where.

Yuk Ja-heung blinked.

“No idea. Jin Si-myeong never told me.”
“What about you, Jin Hwa-un?”
“……I don’t know either.”

Well, there was no way Jin Si-myeong would have told them every little detail.

‘Guess there’s no other choice.’

The best option was for me to go myself.
The moment I got out of the No-Return Cave, I would have to hurry to the Ten Thousand Demons Hall.

“You two stay hidden in here. There are corpses around, so move somewhere else first.”

Yuk Ja-heung’s eyes widened.

“You want us to hide?”
“Yeah.”
“What about you?”
“I need to keep going.”

The Heavenly Demon might have been the one who started this, but I had objectives of my own for entering the cave.
The first was finding the secret manual left by a past Cult Leader. The second was finding the elixir called No-Return Blood.
I still hadn’t accomplished the second, so I needed to keep searching.

“You’re going back out there when the place is full of traps?”
“We can’t stay in here forever. That guy looks like his life could slip away at any moment.”

Yuk Ja-heung glanced at Jin Hwa-un before asking.

“Hey, but why the hell are you even running around with that mercenary?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Fine, but why is he in that condition?”

I answered casually.

“I stabbed him.”
“…….”

Yuk Ja-heung blinked.

“So you stabbed him? And now you’re trying to save him?”
“We’re cooperating now. I can’t explain the details yet.”
“First time I’ve seen someone stab a guy and then try to save him.”
“You know the ones who died earlier weren’t all of them, right? A few more from the Demon Bell Geuk Family should still be inside. Running into them would only cause trouble, so take him and stay hidden.”
“Him too? I don’t really want to.”

Yuk Ja-heung frowned, then cleared his throat.

“But since it’s my Sajae asking, maybe I could make an exception. If you call me Sahyung, that is. Hehe.”
“I can trust you with this, right?”

I ignored that completely.
Yuk Ja-heung thumped his chest.

“Didn’t you just see? I beat Jin Si-myeong.”

I definitely had.
And yet, the reason I still couldn’t quite trust him was probably because he was Yuk Ja-heung.

“I’ll get the secret passage opened once I’m outside. I’ll have the maintenance workers come get you.”
“How? There’s never been a precedent for that.”
“I’ll demand it from Master.”
“D-demand? Not ask?”
“I’m allowed.”
“Hmm. I see.”

Yuk Ja-heung moved his lips.
It looked like he wanted to say something.

“If you have something to say, say it.”
“N-no, it’s just……”

Yuk Ja-heung scratched the bridge of his nose and muttered quietly.

“……Be careful.”
“Why are you getting all sappy? Did you hit your head?”
“You bastard. I worry about you as your Sahyung and you still complain.”

I chuckled.

“Forget that. Buy another one of Master’s flasks once we get out.”
“You have another one of Master’s flasks?”
“No. I’ll have to get another.”

Yuk Ja-heung’s face stiffened.

“Get one? You’re not going to steal it, are you?”
“You think Master’s things can be stolen just because someone wants to steal them?”
“Right? Whew.”

I added one more thing to the relieved Yuk Ja-heung.

“I’ve only stolen two so far.”
“Well, that’s a reli…… Huh?”

Yuk Ja-heung’s face went blank.
He looked back and forth between the flasks hanging from either side of his waist.

“If there were two…….”
“I’m kidding.”
“Ah, hahaha. R-right?”
“I’m going.”

Leaving behind Yuk Ja-heung, whose expression hovered somewhere between laughter and tears, I left the secret passage.
Floors suddenly collapsing beneath me. Poisonous smoke bursting out.
I broke through one unpredictable trap after another.
I barely made it through with my footwork, the Poison-Warding Pearl, and everything else at my disposal, but my condition only worsened.

“Huff, huff.”

I leaned against a safe section of wall for a moment and caught my breath.

‘So this is the backlash.’

Cold sweat streamed down me, and every muscle in my body felt as though it were rebelling at once.
Normally, I would have rested quietly and waited for the backlash to subside.
But I didn’t have that luxury now.
There were still more Demon Bell Geuk Family members wandering around somewhere, and Jin Hwa-un was getting closer to death with every passing moment.

‘Where the hell is No-Return Blood?’

Impatience welled up inside me.

• It should have been retrieved long ago, but apparently it still hasn’t been.

Those were the Heavenly Demon’s words.
If it hadn’t been retrieved, that meant it was still sitting somewhere inside.
I thought carefully.

‘Originally, elixirs were rewards for passing the No-Return Cave.’

I had heard that in the old days, the young scions of the Seven Demonic Houses could practically stroll through and pick them up.
After the No-Return Cave was reorganized, they stopped placing them inside.
So if one was still left behind, where would it be?

‘Wait. Could it be……?’

I immediately shook my head at the thought that had just occurred to me.
It was too absurd.

‘But it also seems like the most plausible answer.’

I stood up again.
Sitting around would only make my body feel heavier.

I took out another Pain-Cutting Pill and popped it into my mouth.
I had no idea how many times worse the backlash would become, but I needed to get through the present situation first.

Clutching my aching body, I forced myself onward.
Following the hunch that had surfaced in my mind.

A crowd had gathered at the exit of the No-Return Cave.
It was even more crowded than when the entrants had gone in.
Those hoping to see Baek Su-gyeong emerge safely seemed to be mixed about evenly with those harboring ulterior motives.
A betting pool had sprung up over who would emerge first, who would make it out alive, and similar wagers.

“No rising talent can match Seventh Young Lord. I’m betting he comes out first.”
“Me too.”
“Come on, that’s too obvious. I’m betting on the Radiant Moon Jin Family. I heard Young Lord Jin Si-myeong is nearly as strong as someone from the direct line.”

A smile hung on the Elder Council Lord’s lips as he looked down at the scene.
He looked more relaxed than anyone there.
A table of wine and food sat before him, while Chief Steward Lee of the Radiant Moon Jin Family, who had coordinated this affair from behind Jin Si-myeong, sat beside him.
He had every reason to be at ease.

“Everything should be proceeding smoothly, I assume?”

Chief Steward Lee asked.

“One would hope so. You and Si-myeong prepared so thoroughly.”
“Even so, the opponent is the Seventh Young Lord. He is notoriously unpredictable.”
“Inside, he is nothing more than one man alone. Outside, he can draw on all manner of resources, but inside the No-Return Cave, he has no one.”
“That is true.”

Chief Steward Lee nodded.
The Elder Council Lord set down his wine cup and looked over the betting crowd once more.

“Hmm. You there.”
“Yes, Council Lord.”

One of the Elder Council Lord’s subordinates approached.

“Go over to them.”
“Shall I drive them away?”
“What are you talking about? Go place a bet.”
“Pardon? On what?”
“Bet that the Seventh Young Lord will not come out first. No, bet that he will not come out at all. The result is certain, so I might as well earn back the cost of the wine.”

The subordinate hesitated.

“How much should I wager?”

The Elder Council Lord looked at Chief Steward Lee.

“How much would you wager?”
“I have little wealth to speak of, but you are different, Council Lord. If it is certain he will never emerge, would even your entire fortune be too much to wager?”
“My entire fortune? Heoheoheo. How bold.”

The Elder Council Lord stroked his beard.
Judging by the size of the betting pool and where most of the money was going, it seemed capable of handling a sizable wager.
Unlike the others, he would bet on Baek Su-gyeong’s death.

The Elder Council Lord took five banknotes from his robe.

“Bet these.”
“F-five hundred taels?”
“Why? Is it too little?”
“N-no, Council Lord!”

The subordinate hurriedly accepted the banknotes and went down.
Chief Steward Lee spoke admiringly.

“As expected of you, Council Lord. You certainly know how to bet big.”
“Heoheo. What is so impressive about that? At my age, it would be more troubling if I could not spend five hundred taels as I pleased.”
“Only someone of your stature could say such a thing.”

The Elder Council Lord’s smile deepened at Chief Steward Lee’s flattery.
He raised his wine cup again.

Baek Su-gyeong.
Ever since he had been placed under disciplinary confinement because of that bastard, the Elder Council Lord had ground his teeth over him every single day.
At last, an opportunity had come, and he had seized it.
He had joined hands with the Radiant Moon Jin Family, arranged for a mercenary, brought the No-Return Cave administrator over to their side, and even mobilized the Demon Bell Geuk Family.
This time, there would be no failure.

Then he felt it.
An unpleasant gaze.
The Elder Council Lord turned his head.

Baek Su-gyeong’s subordinates were gathered some distance away.
Several guards and men from the former Ghost-Face Unit.
One among them was particularly irritating to look at.

Ak Mu-jin.
The bastard was glaring at him without knowing his place.
The Elder Council Lord snorted.
This was the man he had once lured into a trap, slaughtering his subordinates and leaving Ak Mu-jin himself half-dead.
Apparently, he still hadn’t forgotten that humiliation.

‘But.’

The Elder Council Lord’s eyes narrowed.
Something was different.

‘His presence? His eyes?’

Ak Mu-jin hadn’t been like that before.
Had he made some kind of progress?
The Elder Council Lord considered it for a moment, then snorted.

‘How much could it possibly amount to?’

The Elder Council Lord looked away.
They were dogs who would soon be without a master.
They weren’t worth his attention.

“Council Lord, look over there.”

Chief Steward Lee pointed toward the exit of the No-Return Cave.
A human presence could be sensed within the darkness.
The murmuring of the crowd grew louder.

“Someone’s coming out already?”
“That was fast. Is it one of the first-day entrants?”
“Could it be Seventh Young Lord after all?”

The Elder Council Lord snorted.

“It’s probably Si-myeong.”

In truth, it didn’t matter who came out.
As long as it wasn’t Baek Su-gyeong.

Soon, the silhouette of a person emerged from the darkness.
Covered in blood and battered from head to toe.
Then, as he stepped out of the darkness, a handsome face came clearly into view.
It was.

“……!”

The Elder Council Lord dropped his wine cup.
Baek Su-gyeong.
The man who had entered last on the first day had come out first!

“Impossible!”

The Elder Council Lord shot to his feet.
The table overturned, sending wine bottles and dishes crashing to the ground.

“How is that bastard……!”

Chief Steward Lee’s face went deathly pale as well.
Baek Su-gyeong had come out alive.
And that meant.

“Th-then Young Master Jin and the others……!”

The Elder Council Lord’s gaze reflexively snapped toward Ak Mu-jin.
Baek Su-gyeong’s subordinates were all rushing toward the exit.
Every one of them was beaming.

Baek Su-gyeong looked utterly exhausted, but he waved toward his subordinates and the gathered spectators.
As though showing off that he was still alive and kicking.

“Th-that bastard!”

The Elder Council Lord’s lips trembled.
But then-

“My five hundred taels!”

His face flushed so red it looked ready to burst as he realized what truly mattered.