New Threat (5)
Seo Baek had suspected that the Underground Hall's location at the heart of the revenant outbreak was tied to the Murim Alliance.
But he hadn't anticipated Gil Sang-baek mentioning the Shaolin monks directly.
"The Underground Hall exchanges a great deal of correspondence with Shaolin Temple, the Murim Alliance's headquarters. Relaying martial world news and intelligence from the southeastern Central Plains to Shaolin is one of our key duties."
Gil Sang-baek didn't bother hiding the Underground Hall's purpose.
"Since the revenant outbreak began, Shaolin sends monks here every three months to collect information."
It made sense. With sects isolated as they were now, intelligence was more vital than ever.
"But the monks due three days ago haven't arrived. We sent search parties the day before yesterday and yesterday, but they came back empty-handed."
"Song Mountain's terrain is treacherous. Can a small search party really find them?"
"They follow a specific route from Shaolin. It runs along the ridgelines, but stray from it and you'll run into revenant hordes. Only Shaolin and the Underground Hall know the path."
"I see."
"We sent a larger party out again today, but as you know, no luck."
Gil Sang-baek's next words were so predictable that even Wang Yi Sam, listening from the side, could guess them.
"We'll send another search party tomorrow. You said you have business at Shaolin—why not join us?"
Wang Yi Sam seethed inwardly at the suggestion.
'Knew it! Junior brother, turn him down flat. We're practically at Shaolin—can't waste more time.'
But Seo Baek cupped his fists in salute and accepted.
"We gladly accept the Underground Hall's request."
"My thanks. Rest up today and join the search party tomorrow. Kang Pyo, show our guests to their quarters."
Wang Yi Sam sighed deeply and whispered to Song Hyeon.
"The kid's too nice for his own good. Accepts every damn request that comes his way."
"I know the route to Song Mountain."
"Eh? Then why not speak up?"
"But I've never traveled it since the revenant outbreak. I don't know a safe path avoiding the hordes either."
"Uh... right?"
"If we meet the Shaolin monks, they can guide us—saving time in the end."
"Tch...."
Song Hyeon's explanation left Wang Yi Sam speechless.
Seo Baek stated reasons with irritating clarity; Song Hyeon dismantled arguments with icy logic. Neither gave Wang Yi Sam any room to retort.
'Both got a talent for chilling the air the second they open their mouths.'
Wang Yi Sam grumbled inwardly.
"It's getting dark anyway. Staying the night isn't a bad idea."
"What about the Shaolin monks? Lost in the mountains at night?"
Logic failing, Wang Yi Sam resorted to stubbornness.
Seo Baek shut it down simply.
"Shaolin monks know Song Mountain's terrain well. A night in the wilds won't faze them."
"What if they ran into a revenant horde?"
"Then the search party won't find them anyway."
"Grr."
Joo Eun-ri, watching from the side, chimed in.
"A cranky old man getting comforted by a brat—quite the sight."
Wang Yi Sam and Seo Baek bristled in unison.
"Who're you calling a cranky old man, you slip of a girl?!"
"I'm not a brat. Call me Seo Baek."
"Now the brat's griping too? Must be contagious from the old man."
"Not an old man!"
"Not a brat."
"Sure, sure, think what you like."
Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam glared, but Joo Eun-ri petted Chorang peeking from her sleeve and ignored them.
With Yu So Un briefly absent, a new comrade had joined their friendly banter.
"This way."
Kang Pyo led Seo Baek's group.
The corridor stretched endlessly, with side passages branching off, making the Underground Hall's full scale impossible to gauge.
"How damn big is this place? Built a fortress underground?"
Wang Yi Sam's complaint rang true, not petty.
"Hmph, holed up underground might be safe, but getting around on the surface? Not easy."
He undercut the Underground Hall's grandeur with his own question-and-answer.
Kang Pyo, leading, overheard and replied.
"One of the wood, fire, earth, metal, water passages accommodates horses. Surfacing is easy as flipping a child's palm—if you want."
"Horses come all the way down here?"
Wang Yi Sam gaped in surprise.
Horses were nearly twice a man's height and bulk. A passage for four men abreast would be needed at minimum.
An underground lair accommodating horses? No wonder Wang Yi Sam was stunned.
"We converted a dried-up well into a passage. Can't fit dozens, but a dozen or so can pass through easily, and we stable them below."
"......"
Wang Yi Sam fell silent.
The Central Plains were vast enough to wander a lifetime without seeing it all.
Horses were essential for traversing it—especially now, to outrun revenant hordes. Without them, mobility was impossible.
Accommodating horses measured the Underground Hall's thorough preparation.
Impressed, Wang Yi Sam quit complaining. The corridor echoed only with footsteps, falling silent.
Suddenly, figures emerged from a side passage.
They bowed to Kang Pyo and stepped back.
"Don't look like martial artists...."
"Refugees."
Wang Yi Sam muttered; Kang Pyo answered.
"We dispatch regular search parties to nearby villages, providing shelter and food to those who couldn't evacuate."
"For real? That's impressive."
"No idlers here. Everyone pulls their weight to earn their keep."
"Still, living without revenant worries beats most places."
"You get it."
Even chronic grumbler Wang Yi Sam was impressed—the Underground Hall's charity stood out in the revenant era.
Seo Baek agreed.
But unlike Wang Yi Sam's naive admiration, he recalled his master's teachings.
—Central Plains sects and clans don't perform good deeds without reason. Especially the so-called righteous ones.
—Never let your guard down. Predators lurk in the safest-looking shade.
'Understood, Master.'
If the Underground Hall truly ran on benevolence, Seo Baek had no business interfering.
But he heeded his master's words, staying vigilant.
He memorized the side passages as they went, ready to map the layout in his mind if needed.
Once Kang Pyo and the group passed, the refugees shuffled into the corridor, heading elsewhere.
Wang Yi Sam eyed them pityingly—not complaining this time.
"Not revenants, but why so gloomy?"
Then he spotted bamboo protruding from the wall.
"Huh? Air hole here too?"
Curious as ever, he peered inside.
Just empty darkness.
Then—a human voice from within?
"...Deputy Leader Kang, the Hall Leader seeks you."
"Hall Leader?"
Wang Yi Sam turned; Kang Pyo shot him a sharp glare, stepping between him and the bamboo.
"Don't meddle in Underground Hall affairs."
Then, to the bamboo:
"Tell him I'll come soon. We have guests—keep it quiet."
Kang Pyo silenced the voice and resumed leading.
Wang Yi Sam tilted his head at Seo Baek.
"Heard a voice from the bamboo?"
"You saw it at the Jegal clan. Same principle as the lion statue."
"Ahh...."
"Sound doesn't carry underground, so they embed hollow bamboo in walls to relay orders."
"A real underground fortress!"
Wang Yi Sam marveled again.
Then he flinched at something on the wall.
In the torchlight—a dark red stain.
"That bloodstains...?"
Joo Eun-ri raised her sleeve; Chorang poked out, sniffing.
It bared fangs and growled softly.
"Human blood."
"...!"
Kang Pyo, ahead, overheard.
"Nothing to worry about."
"That much splatter? 'Nothing'?"
Wang Yi Sam questioned, but the group shared the doubt. The stain soaked deep into the earthen wall.
Someone had died here recently!
As Seo Baek's group fell silent, Kang Pyo shrugged.
"Revenant scare a while back."
"Revenant scare?"
"A refugee went mad, claiming revenants had infiltrated. In his panic, he attacked our people before taking his own life. That's the aftermath."
"......"
"No revenants here, so relax."
Kang Pyo turned and led on.
But Seo Baek found the explanation lacking.
'One man's blood makes that much?'
The spray's spread and pattern suggested multiple deaths.
Still, as guests, they couldn't press further with Kang Pyo clamming up.
Wang Yi Sam scratched his head, muttering characteristically.
"Living underground like this? No wonder heads go funny. People need the open sky. Damn right!"
Seo Baek nodded in agreement.
Wang Yi Sam's offhand remarks sometimes hit the mark perfectly.
Meanwhile, weeks before Seo Baek's group entered the Underground Hall.
Dang Ryong of the Sichuan Tang Clan sat drinking in a rundown inn in Jiangxi Province.
Under clan leader's orders, he'd pursued and slain Dang Hong and Dang Jo Jeong, then entered the Central Plains hunting the boy expert described by the Ami Sect nun—a prodigy not yet twenty.
Tracking him proved difficult.
Once, inns and underworld spots revealed martial artists' whereabouts. But post-outbreak, most were shuttered.
As expected, it was like finding a needle in a sand dune.
Then, a drunken voice from the next table caught his ear.
"Jegal clan's done for. All because of some kid heading to Shaolin."
The Central Plains teemed with experts, but few boys rose to mastery young.
'That's him.'
Dang Ryong's instincts screamed it—the "kid" was his target.