Chapter 35: Looking for the Hint (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 35: Looking for the Hint (3)
My knees buckled, and I dropped to the ground, staring in shock at the tree that had materialized out of thin air.
“What in the world…?”
The cliff vanishing to be replaced by a tree was astounding enough. But for that tree to be the legendary white maple? That was insane.
Every part of it was white—the trunk, the branches, even the leaves. It seemed to glow with an inner light.
No, I corrected myself. The leaves falling from its boughs were genuinely shining.
I reached out cautiously to pick one up. The moment my fingers made contact, it disintegrated into dust.
“What the hell is going on?”
Was this spatial magic? The Zhuge clan had been famous for such arts, but historical records were clear: they hadn’t used any magic before being wiped out during the blood disaster. They simply vanished.
So how do I explain this?
“Young Master! Look, it’s so pretty!”
Wi Seol-Ah had gathered a small pile of the fallen leaves from around the base of the tree.
…But it crumbled when I touched it?
In her hands, the leaves held their perfect, luminous shape, as if they were discriminating against me personally. I carefully took one from her.
Crumble.
It turned to dust again, just like before.
“…Seriously, is it actually biased against me?”
A profoundly shitty feeling washed over me.
I took a moment to survey our surroundings. The flatland that had been concealed as a cliff now looked completely natural.
So this is the true landscape?
“Anyway, I think we’ve found the secret vault.”
It matched the Tang clan’s description perfectly: the white tree was unmistakable. It was almost unnaturally white. Watching the leaves fall was like watching snow drift from the branches.
To think this place had remained hidden for centuries… How was that even possible? From what I knew, spatial magic required regular maintenance and didn’t last that long on its own.
Does that mean someone has been tending to this place all along?
Somehow, I doubted it.
“Young Master! There’s something here!”
“…When did you even get over there?”
I was still kneeling, trying to process everything, but Wi Seol-Ah was already wandering around, touching the tree trunk. I walked over to where she stood, and behind the tree, I saw a staircase leading down into the earth.
Shouldn’t a secret vault be a bit more… secretive?
“I guess they weren’t too worried, since the spatial magic itself was the primary defense.”
After all, the sheer terror of walking off a cliff was deterrent enough for most.
But then what about Wi Seol-Ah?
She saw right through the illusion and shattered it effortlessly.
It’s convenient for me, but how am I supposed to explain this?
I let out a sigh, shaking off the confusing thoughts. The priority was the vault.
“It might be dangerous, so you should wait here—”
I started to say, but Wi Seol-Ah had already vanished. Her voice echoed up from the stairwell.
“Young Master! Hurry up!”
“…Right.”
Does she ever think before she acts?
Thanks to her, my perpetual headache was only getting worse.
* * *
I followed Wi Seol-Ah down the stairs. The descent was unexpectedly narrow, and the bottom was lost in darkness. I briefly considered going back to town for a torch, but luckily, the glowing white leaves Wi Seol-Ah held served as a perfect makeshift light source. Their soft radiance illuminated the way, allowing us to proceed safely.
The new problem was the depth.
Just how far down does this go?
We had been descending for what felt like an eternity, but the stairs just kept going.
Something’s not right.
Is it even possible for it to be this deep? Is this more spatial magic?
That seemed likely. If the magic could conceal an entire landmass and a giant tree, warping perception to create a cliff face… then extending a staircase wasn’t out of the question.
I charged in here without a proper plan…
I’d been too impatient, driven by the knowledge of the vault’s existence. The saying was true: greed truly does blind a person. I was a living example.
“Seol-Ah, I think we should turn back and—”
“Young Master, there’s a different way here.”
“What?”
Where?
In front of her was nothing but the endless downward staircase.
“What are you talking about? There’s only one way.”
In response, Wi Seol-Ah began running her hands over the wall beside her. The leaves she’d been holding fell to the ground, but she paid them no mind.
“It’s just a wall, what are you—”
Creak.
“Huh?”
The section of wall she was touching emitted a sudden sound, then exploded into a cloud of dust, revealing a hidden passageway.
“Ta-da!”
Wi Seol-Ah looked at the newly revealed path and stood proudly. She’d done a good thing, but I couldn’t help feeling a little spiteful.
“See? There is a path here!”
“…Yes… But why is there a path here?”
Seriously, why?
This hidden entrance was located deep down a seemingly endless staircase, in a spot so inconspicuous you’d need a team of experts to find it.
And yet… it was discovered. Just like that.
By Wi Seol-Ah.
What in the world is going on?
Was this just a facet of her natural, monstrous talent? She lived in a different world, a future Zenith destined to reshape reality itself. Did that destiny grant her an intuition that bordered on cheating?
I had no answer.
As Wi Seol-Ah began to step into the hidden passage, I stopped her.
“From this point on, it’s too dangerous to act recklessly. I’ll take the lead.”
The words felt hollow coming from me, since she’d been leading the way the entire time. But my instincts screamed that the real danger started now.
Wi Seol-Ah responded with a strange, knowing smile.
Confused, I asked, “…What?”
“Young Master is worried about me…!”
“So what?”
“I don’t know, but it feels nice!”
For some reason, her saying that made me feel embarrassed. I bonked her on the head.
“Ow! Uuu… Why did you hit me…?”
“No reason. I just felt like it.”
“So cruel…”
I entered the hidden passage first. Unlike the dark stairwell, this path was bright. After taking a few steps, I paused to look at the source of the light—objects embedded in the walls.
“Are all of these… Moonlight Marbles?”
The stones illuminating the path were incredibly valuable in this era; you couldn’t buy them even with a mountain of gold.
And here they were, lining the walls as mere lamps…
“Fucking hell… I knew the Golden Nature Clan was wealthy, but this is just extravagant.”
I was stunned.
How much could I make if I took these all with me?
…Should I grab some on the way back?
It felt morally questionable. Then again, did I need to feel guilty? I was the one who found them.
Then again, I hadn’t become a demon in my past life by being burdened by morality, so—
“Young Master?”
“…It’s nothing. Let’s keep going.”
I pushed the thought aside and continued down the path, my guard up, expecting a trap or an ambush at any moment.
But I sensed no presence, no hint of danger.
We walked for a while. It wasn’t as long as the staircase descent, but it was still a considerable distance. Just as I started to suspect the path itself was a trap, we reached the end.
A massive door stood before us, at least twice my height. I approached cautiously and slowly reached for the handle, half-expecting a mechanism to trigger. Thankfully, nothing happened.
I pulled with some force.
Creak.
Despite its imposing size, the door opened with surprising ease.
Beyond it lay only darkness. No Moonlight Marbles lit this chamber.
“It’s too dark to see…”
I strained my eyes, trying to gauge the room’s size or see if there was another passage, when something white fluttered past me.
It was one of the white leaves Wi Seol-Ah had been holding.
Was it blown by a wind? But I felt no breeze.
…Child.
I immediately concentrated my qi, my senses sharpening at the sudden voice. It sounded as if it were spoken right in front of me, emanating from the darkness.
…How did you end up in a place like this, child?
The leaf floating in the air suddenly stopped, then crumbled to dust, just as it had when I touched it.
You are not a child of the Golden Nature Clan. So how did you find this place?
My vision gradually adjusted as a light began to emanate from the darkness ahead—the same white glow as the leaf.
I stepped in front of Wi Seol-Ah, shielding her while gathering Fire Qi in my palm.
This feels dangerous. Should we run?
No matter how much qi I poured into my senses, I couldn’t get a clear read on what was in front of me. Something was definitely there, but its presence was faint, obscured as if by a thick fog.
…You are holding something strange within you.
As the voice spoke, a brilliant light instantly flooded the room. It was blinding. I clenched my eyes shut and pulled Wi Seol-Ah close.
When the light faded and I opened my eyes again, I gasped at the transformation.
The chamber was now brightly illuminated. But the source of the light wasn’t the problem.
The room was colossal, with a ceiling at least thirty meters high. And in the center of this immense space was a snake.
A giant snake so massive it filled the entire room.