Chapter 184: So Bong-ju
Chapter 184: So Bong-ju
No Je-eok, a peak-level expert of the Blood Cult, was a terrible alcoholic.
No, he was beyond simply loving alcohol — he was an addict whose life became agony without it.
That was why his nickname was Drink Ghost.
It seemed he'd once had the nickname Death Dart in the past, but now no one remembered it.
He was now simply called the alcohol-crazed spirit, Drink Ghost No Je-eok, by the Blood Cult followers.
And he was also the fool who, during several guard shifts, had slipped away to the outer passage alone claiming he had business to attend to, drinking liquor until he was eventually caught by Black Blood Illusion Demon Du Dang, the overseer of the Emperor's Tomb, and White-faced Corpse Demon Gu Woo-jeol.
'Stupid drink ghost.'
That was the Blood Cult followers' perception of No Je-eok.
These days, that Drink Ghost No Je-eok spent every border guard shift sunk in gloom.
It was because his heart felt like it was shriveling up from the agony of not being able to drink during a single hour of guard duty.
'If I could just put a single drop, just one tiny drop, to my lips...'
Then it felt like he could blow away all this misery and come back to life.
But even as an alcohol-crazed spirit, he knew very well that he absolutely could not do that anymore.
He also knew himself well enough to understand that he wouldn't be satisfied with just one drop.
And he knew all too well that if he got caught drinking by White-faced Corpse Demon Gu Woo-jeol again this time, he wouldn't be able to save his own life.
While Black Blood Illusion Demon Du Dang wasn't the type to concern himself with such things, White-faced Corpse Demon Gu Woo-jeol was, uncharacteristically for a Blood Cultist, an extremely meticulous and disciplined individual who placed great emphasis on regulations.
So No Je-eok was letting his comrades' mockery roll off him with one ear today as well, simply waiting for this border guard shift to pass by quickly.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, his nose began to twitch.
"Sniff, sniff, sniff. Hm?"
His eyes instantly flew wide open.
It was a faint scent that only a beast might be able to catch, but he captured it with precision.
It was the smell of alcohol.
The scent of liquor was mingling into the air.
His keen sense of smell, which became nearly beast-like when it came to alcohol, had detected the scent of liquor.
His nose began rapidly tracking the source of the scent.
'Where? Inside the passage?'
That was it.
It was definitely inside the outer passage.
From within the passage, an incredibly faint yet so very fragrant scent of liquor was drifting out.
And his nose, honed through vast experience, could even precisely assess the value of the alcohol.
'This... this isn't the smell of some cheap mid-grade clear liquor. This is a top-shelf spirit!'
Gulp!
Having identified the presence of alcohol, he swallowed the saliva he absolutely could not hold back.
He stole a glance around and saw that his comrades apparently hadn't noticed a thing.
No Je-eok now began to fidget uncontrollably and tremble.
He simply could not endure it.
'I have to go find it!'
Why the smell of alcohol was coming from inside the passage didn't interest him in the slightest.
Inside his head, there was only the thought that he had to go confirm that scent, and thoughts about how he could make excuses to his comrades and go there naturally.
That was when it happened.
From deeper inside the passage, two lights suddenly began to shine.
It was a bright green glow, like two will-o'-the-wisps floating side by side.
The comrades who witnessed those lights let out low cries of alarm.
"Look over there!"
"Lights? What is that?"
The moment they realized those were the eyes of a feline predator came right after.
Pabak!
It was a giant black panther the size of a tiger.
The black panther suddenly burst out from inside the passage and then dove straight into another passage right beside it.
At that, the two Blood Cult experts, momentarily flustered, immediately grabbed torches and launched themselves toward the black panther.
"I'm going!"
"Me too! We'll catch it!"
At that, the other four who had also been about to move hesitated and had no choice but to hold their positions.
Though it was somewhat large, catching a single leopard hardly seemed to require more than two or three peak-level experts.
They began to click their tongues and chat amongst themselves.
"How does a leopard come out from the outer passage side?"
"How else. Don't you remember? Wasn't there talk of a collapsed gap forming over there last time?"
"Ah, was there? Shouldn't that be repaired?"
"Repair, my ass. Why bother with a place no one comes to anyway."
It was while the remaining Blood Cult experts were conversing like that.
Drink Ghost No Je-eok stealthily rose to his feet, then awkwardly picked up a torch and said,
"My body's feeling kind of stiff, damn it. I'll go catch that leopard too."
At that, his comrades sneered and asked,
"You? You're not just going to hole up somewhere and drink again, are you?"
"Right. Would a drink ghost like you ever move for anything other than alcohol?"
But at his comrades' suspicious questions, No Je-eok instead flared up in anger.
"What nonsense! Do I even have any alcohol on me right now to drink?! Just watch! I'll definitely skin that leopard and come back with its hide!"
Having said that, No Je-eok began striding briskly into the passage.
But as he moved toward the passage where the leopard had gone, he stole a glance back at his comrades — and the moment their gazes momentarily shifted away, he immediately flung himself into a completely different passage.
Straight toward the direction from which the scent of alcohol was wafting.
No Je-eok now sprinted through the dark passage with all his might. He could hear his comrades shouting from behind, but he ignored them.
"You idiot! That's not the right way!"
He simply ran, laughing with a wheezing chuckle.
The aroma of alcohol growing ever stronger and stimulating his nose made him feel so blissful he thought his soul might fly away.
"Hehehehe! Not the right way? This is precisely the right way. The smell of alcohol! It's really the smell of alcohol! Kekeke!"
How long had he been running?
The scent of alcohol, now drawing near, was fully piercing his nose.
Suddenly, the beautiful form of a gourd bottle placed in a corner of the passage entered his eyes.
Its voluptuous, curvaceous beautiful shape — no matter how you looked at it, it was unmistakably a liquor bottle.
"Ooooooh! It was real!"
No Je-eok cheered.
He had no way of knowing why that liquor bottle was placed here.
Perhaps the spirit deity who took pity on him had descended in the form of a black panther.
In any case, that wasn't important.
What was important to him was grabbing that liquor bottle right away, popping the cap, and tipping it into his mouth.
"Ehehehehe!"
It was just as he was reaching out with such deeply moved eyes to seize the bottle.
Pyusyuk!
In an instant, with the sound of a small projectile piercing the air, his body stiffened rigidly.
Throwing weapons had flown from behind and struck his pressure points.
"?!"
But No Je-eok could not comprehend what kind of situation this was.
Because immediately after the stinging sensation, a leather whip that suddenly lashed out from right behind him coiled around his body.
Hwiriririk!
It had all happened far too quickly.
'N-no!'
Wrapped up in the leather whip in an instant, dragged away like a cocoon, he gazed at the liquor bottle with regretful eyes even until the very last moment.
His love was growing distant.
***
The party that had abducted No Je-eok using Jeung Chil's throwing weapons and Ya Un-hyang's whip — Seonwoo Jin's group — first carried him and retreated to a passage further back.
Then they set him down on the floor and prepared for interrogation.
Jeung Chil and Seol Pung first created a qi barrier in the empty air, making a space through which sound could not pass.
Then they released No Je-eok's demon blood pressure point.
At that, No Je-eok, now able to speak, immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.
"You orthodox bastards! How dare you worms crawl all the way in here! Do you think you'll be able to leave behind even a single bone fragment?!"
But Jeung Chil, with an indifferent expression, let his words go in one ear and out the other as he asked Seonwoo Jin,
"Anyway, how do you plan to interrogate him?"
At his question, Seonwoo Jin grinned and answered.
"I happened to have learned the Bone and Sinew Separation technique on the side once. I'll try using that."
"...You learned torture techniques on the side? Just what kind of guy were you out there, you bastard?"
But Seonwoo Jin ignored his words and opened his mouth toward No Je-eok.
"We're going to ask you questions from now on. When you feel like answering, blink your eyes."
But his attitude was staunch.
"Don't make me laugh! To the likes of you orthodox scum, not a single word will I...!"
Tadak!
Without even listening to his words, Seonwoo Jin pressed his demon blood pressure point again and first unfurled the first stage of the Bone and Sinew Separation upon him.
Udeudeuk!
At that, No Je-eok's eyes bulged wide open from the pain of his muscles and bones being dislocated.
"Kkeuuuuugh!"
A pained groan flowed from his mouth, which could not speak due to the sealed demon blood pressure point.
A short while later, after observing his condition for a moment, Seonwoo Jin raised the level by one stage and spoke to him.
"Now it's this stage. There are ten stages in total. I look forward to seeing just how long you can endure."
"Eukkeuuuuugh!"
At that, his body began to tremble and quiver.
The party swallowed dryly and looked back and forth between Seonwoo Jin and No Je-eok.
It was because No Je-eok's figure, trembling violently with an expression so pained his eyes seemed about to pop out, and Seonwoo Jin's serene figure, slowly twisting his muscles and bones to elevate the stages of agony, looked somehow mad.
Jeung Chil abruptly muttered with a horrified look in his eyes.
"See. That guy really is weird. I mean, who in the world learns the Bone and Sinew Separation technique on the side to begin with?"
At that, even Bi Sa-yeong and Seol Pung had no choice but to awkwardly clear their throats and avert their gazes.
Seonwoo Jin went up to the fifth stage of the Bone and Sinew Separation technique, then released it, and freed No Je-eok's demon blood pressure point so he could open his mouth.
But No Je-eok, even with an expression that had gone nearly deathly pale, did not speak the words the party wanted to hear.
"Kyaaaaa! Y-you sons of bitches! Did you think I would surrender to this pathetic level of pain?! Kekahahahaha! Ten stages, you say?! Go ahead and do a hundred stages! What I have to say to you is about your mothers...!"
Tadak!
In an atmosphere where something utterly unfilial seemed about to erupt, Seonwoo Jin frowned and sealed his demon blood meridian.
It seemed he would truly have to go through all ten stages.
That was when it happened.
Ya Unhyang, who had been watching from behind with languid eyes, suddenly opened her mouth to speak.
"Just a moment."
Then, as everyone watched on with puzzled expressions, she stepped forward and said to Seonwoo Jin,
"May I try once?"
Seonwoo Jin wore a surprised expression at her volunteering.
But for now, he gave a nod of consent.
Then Ya Unhyang pointed a finger at the bottle Jeung Chil was holding and said,
"Lend me that, please."
Jeung Chil flinched in alarm at her words and hugged the gourd bottle to his chest.
"Wh-what?! My, my liquor again, why?!"
His cherished Small Flask Liquor was now less than half full.
That was why, even when Seonwoo Jin had asked to borrow it earlier, Jeung Chil had reacted as if he were sending off his own child.
But because Seonwoo Jin had firmly promised he only needed the scent and would absolutely not touch a single drop, he had been able to borrow it briefly to use as bait.
Now Ya Unhyang was once again asking to borrow his precious liquor.
Ya Unhyang said in a languid voice,
"I'll only use it for a moment."
At her words, Jeung Chil began to agonize with wary eyes over what to do.
Then Bi Sayeong, who was beside him, soothed him.
"Come now, Sasuk. Your pretty saje says she'll only borrow it briefly to subjugate the Blood Cult's forces. She's not saying she'll drink it, just that she'll borrow it for a moment — let her."
At his words, Jeung Chil asked again with a doubtful expression.
"R-really? You're absolutely not going to drink it, right?"
Bi Sayeong boasted as if it were a matter of course.
"Of course not! Would we be in any state to drink in the middle of all this?!"
Then Jeung Chil reluctantly handed the gourd bottle over to Ya Unhyang.
But the moment Ya Unhyang received the gourd bottle, she sent a telepathic transmission to Bi Sayeong.
- Please suppress Elder Jeung a bit, Daesahyeong.
- Huh? What did you say?
Bi Sayeong was caught completely off guard by her words.
But even before she heard his answer, Ya Unhyang had already begun to act.
She approached No Jeeok without hesitation, then tilted the gourd bottle and poured a few drops of liquor into his mouth.
Then in that instant, two people's eyes dilated sharply as if about to pop out.
"Kkeuuuuu!"
One was No Jeeok, who was reacting even more violently than when he underwent Bone and Sinew Separation.
And the other was, of course, Jeung Chil.
Jeung Chil exploded with volcanic fury and shouted,
"Wh-what do you think you're doing, you wench?!"
But it was Bi Sayeong who grasped the situation first.
He hastily sealed the pressure point on Jeung Chil's back.
Tadak!
"Eueup! Euuueup!"
Then Jeung Chil, his demon blood meridian sealed, howled as if under torture.
But Ya Unhyang did not even look back at him.
Moreover, Seonwoo Jin was swiftly recreating the Qi Barrier that Jeung Chil had been maintaining, completing the soundproofing.
The situation had unfolded in an instant, as if prearranged.
Ya Unhyang released No Jeeok's mute point and said,
"If you give us information, I'll let you drink this liquor."
Then the eyes of No Jeeok, who had not yielded even to Bone and Sinew Separation, began to tremble uncontrollably.
From behind, the pressure-point-sealed Jeung Chil howled desperately.
"Kkeuuuuuuuu!"
Ya Unhyang continued speaking with her languid eyes.
"But if you refuse to talk."
She then slowly tilted the gourd bottle toward the ground.
The liquor inside the gourd bottle began to fall helplessly to the floor.
Joreureureuk!
No Jeeok finally howled like a beast.
"No! You cruel bitch! Don't do it! I'll talk! I said I'll tell you everything!"
Jeung Chil howled as well.
"Kkeuuuuuuuuuu!"
Amid that chaotic situation, Seonwoo Jin asked Mukrang with an incredulous face.
'Is that sincerity real?'
Then Mukrang, who could discern falsehood by reading the other's will, answered.
- ...It is an overly intense sincerity. I too am dumbfounded.
A short while later, Seonwoo Jin's party was able to hear the details of the inner situation of the Emperor's Tomb from No Jeeok.
Having given up all the information, he was finally able to take his last breath with a face full of happiness.
But as is the way of the world, if there was a happy man on one side, there was an unhappy one on the other. As No Jeeok breathed his last with a happy face, Jeung Chil was endlessly shedding tears.
And a moment later, when Jeung Chil's tears stopped, his eyes were brimming with venomous energy.
It was a fiercely murderous glare, as if he would instantly turn the place into a sea of blood the moment his pressure points were released.
Then Ya Unhyang approached him with her languid eyes.
And to Jeung Chil, who was glaring at her with murderous intent, she spoke calmly.
"Once we return, I'll give you three large casks of Small Flask Liquor."
In that instant, Jeung Chil's gaze wavered slightly.
And when Ya Unhyang released his mute point, he immediately shouted loudly.
"Don't lie, you wench! How could you possibly give me something so precious...!"
But cutting off his words, Ya Unhyang said,
"I can make it."
"...What?"
As Jeung Chil found himself at a loss for words for a moment, Ya Unhyang affirmed once more.
"I said I can make it. Not just Small Flask Liquor, but Sohongju, Dukang Liquor, White Liquor — I can make them all. There was a terrible alcoholic among my ancestors. They collected every brewing method under heaven, saying they would taste every liquor in the world."
Then Jeung Chil's mouth fell wide open.
Small Flask Liquor, Sohongju, Dukang Liquor, White Liquor.
All of them were famous wines representing their respective regions.
Jeung Chil asked blankly with an expression of disbelief.
"Y-you can make all of those? I-is that lie really true?"
Then Ya Unhyang smiled a peculiar smile and answered.
"When we return, I will brew them all for you. Since you are my sasuk."
With that, Jeung Chil's rage was completely put to rest.
It was the moment the situation was resolved.
***
The six Blood Cult peak experts standing guard in the passage on the outer section side were just about to rotate shifts.
"Hey, shift change!"
"Ugh! So boring. It's finally over."
"Tch, must be nice to go in and rest now. How am I supposed to spend another hour?"
"Huh? Why are there only five? Where did the Drink Ghost bastard go?"
"Dunno. He went in saying he'd catch the leopard that infiltrated the passage, but the two who went in first came back out saying they lost the leopard, and only he didn't come out. Well, it's obvious what he's up to."
"Keukeukeuk, that Drink Ghost bastard really must have a death wish."
"Keukeuk, since the Shima Elder isn't here right now, his bad habits have gotten worse, that's all."
At that moment, Seonwoo Jin's party, concealed in the shadows of the passage, was watching them shift with sharp eyes.
Seonwoo Jin sent a telepathic transmission.
- Let's prepare.
Then the members raised their thumbs to signal their understanding.
According to what Drink Ghost No Jeeok had told them, the outer passage guard shifted every two hours.
So if they dealt with them right after the shift change, it meant the next shift wouldn't come for another two hours.
However, that did not mean they had a full two hours.
Because the perimeter guards outside the cave rotated on a staggered half-hour offset from them, at two-hour intervals, the outer perimeter guards would actually pass through this outer passage for their own shift change in thirty minutes.
Thus, the time they had to remain undetected was only thirty minutes; they absolutely had to finish the task within that time.
A moment later, Seonwoo Jin, who had been closing his eyes and maximizing his senses to track the departing new shift guards with his Mind's Eye, suddenly snapped his eyes open and met gazes with Seol Pung.
Then Seol Pung too looked at him and nodded.
It meant now was the time.
The start, just like before, was with Black Panther first.
Seonwoo Jin stroked Black Panther's neck and sent his intent.
'Could you lure them towards this passage?'
Then, as if it had heard him directly, Black Panther rose and began to saunter toward the direction of the Blood Cultists.
A short moment later, a commotion broke out among the Blood Cultists who spotted Black Panther's gleaming eyes.
"What's that, those lights?"
"A beast! It's a Black Panther!"
"That's the one the earlier guards mentioned! Two of us will chase it!"
"I'll go!"
"Me too!"
Pabak!
Two demon heads who had reached the peak level grabbed torches and dashed into the passage after Black Panther.
They chased Black Panther's retreating form, shouting,
"It's pretty fast! No wonder the guys before couldn't catch it!"
"Though the Drink Ghost bastard wouldn't have caught it anyway!"
"What? Keuheuheu! True. That guy's execution is confirmed."
That was when it happened.
Something long and squishy suddenly rose from the floor and hooked their legs.
Teoteok!
"Ugh! What the?!"
"Is it a snake?"
The two peak-level experts did not fall, but they lost their balance, stumbling as they focused their gaze on whatever had tripped them.
It was a long cord resembling the body of a black snake.
And as one of them realized it was a whip, he tried to cry out in alarm.
"It...!"
But he could no longer say anything.
Shaak!
"Keok!"
"Keuk!"
It was because two puppets, which had surged up like ghosts from the floor shadows behind their backs, covered their mouths and slit their throats.
They were Seonwoo Jin and Bi Sayeong.
In that instant, the torches slipping from the demon heads' grasp as the strength left their hands were lightly caught by Seol Pung and Jeung Chil.
Teok! Teok!
It was a scene where their hands and feet moved in perfect sync, as if they had been coordinating their breathing for months.
The five exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and began to silently move again toward where the demon heads were standing guard.