When Dragon and Tiger Join Hands (2)
Seo Baek easily located the Metal Character Passageway in the Underground Hall.
Finding paths and gauging directions was one of his specialties, honed through grueling training at Shika Manor.
After confirming the Metal Character Passageway's position, Seo Baek shifted his course diagonally.
'South from the Metal Character Passageway, about a hundred zhang.'
Moments later, Seo Baek and Dang Ryong arrived at the abandoned well.
But it looked nothing like he'd imagined. A single cart covered the well's entrance.
An old, rotting cart discarded in the woods. Even a passing traveler wouldn't suspect a thing.
Seo Baek pushed the cart aside, its wheels creaking as it rolled a few times. The hidden abandoned well came into view.
No better way to conceal an entrance.
The revealed well was larger than expected.
It must have once served travelers heading to Shaolin Temple, a spot to water horses and rest.
Now it was desolate. Stone piles lay crumbled, weeds sprouting everywhere—abandoned since the revenant outbreak, untouched by anyone.
While the surroundings were shattered stone heaps, stone steps led down into the well.
The ceiling was surprisingly high, likely modified by the Underground Hall members for horse access.
Not just an abandoned well—an artificially carved cave.
Seo Baek sent a transmission to Dang Ryong.
[Then we'll infiltrate.]
[Rules?]
[Rules?]
[You're the leader here, so lay down some. Like 'kill everything in sight'—criteria for what to do.]
[…….]
He had a point.
In the Underground Hall's narrow tunnels, even hand signals would be tricky.
Chatting via transmission during surprises had limits. Better to decide upfront how to handle encounters.
Seo Baek gathered his thoughts and transmitted.
[Infiltration rules, then. First: stealth.]
[Until when?]
[Until we confirm the group's safety and capture Hall Leader Gil Sang-baek. He pays for his crimes.]
[Fine. If stealth fails?]
[Second: silent elimination.]
Seo Baek had no plans for a massacre.
But he wouldn't hold back either.
Firing crossbows at Shaolin monks, trafficking refugees—the Underground Hall's past was murky, but it was a den of evil now.
If they crossed paths during infiltration, their deaths were their own doing.
[That's it?]
[One more.]
[What?]
[Third: if they aim a death spear, strike first and kill.]
[Music to my ears.]
The tunnels were narrow and straight. Crossbows would leave no cover. So,
'First strike wins.'
Anyone aiming meant stealth was blown—best to attack preemptively.
Preparations complete.
[We're going in.]
Seo Baek descended the steps into the well.
A high-ceilinged tunnel led to a wooden hatch on the floor.
Lifting it revealed stairs descending deeper.
The tunnel narrowed sharply in width and height.
They'd entered the Underground Hall proper.
Sure enough, presences stirred below the stairs.
'Two guards at the well.'
Seo Baek turned to Dang Ryong trailing him, slashing his thumb across his throat in signal.
One each.
Dang Ryong grinned wickedly, true to form.
A man who thrilled at blood. No normal martial artist would travel with him, but Seo Baek didn't care.
He needed Dang Ryong before qi deviation hit.
'If need be, I'll walk hell with a demon.'
Whoosh. Seo Baek leaped down.
As expected, two Underground Hall members leaned against the wall on guard.
They sensed a black shadow flash—but had no time to shout or draw weapons. Their lives ended.
Seo Baek reversed his grip, smashing the sword hilt into one's chest. Crack. Bones shattered, piercing the heart. Instant death.
Turning, Dang Ryong had struck an acupoint with his finger, then drawn a blade from his sleeve and stabbed the chest. No scream.
He sheathed it smoothly. The body slumped without spilling a drop.
Seo Baek understood.
'Blocked blood flow with acupoint, then stabbed.'
[Worried revenants would smell blood, so hilt strike?]
[Yes.]
[Sloppy. Hilt kills are second-best. Didn't it make noise?]
[True.]
Dang Ryong's critique rang true. Nearby members might've heard.
Even cunning Seo Baek hadn't sequenced it like that.
'Sichuan Tang Clan folk are different.'
It felt like watching an assassin, not a martial artist.
Dang Ryong extended a hand toward the tunnel ahead.
[Lead on.]
[Follow.]
Seo Baek slipped soundlessly deeper. His mind raced.
Dang Ryong promised to save him once, repaying the debt. Then challenge him again.
Even mid-battle with the Hall.
It'd endanger Dang Ryong too, but he wouldn't care.
'Never create that opening.'
Seo Baek planned to block any chance for that save.
Tunnels ahead likely held crossbow guards.
Behind: an unpredictable foe.
Ahead: scorpion with hidden tail stinger.
Behind: snake with venomous fangs.
He'd never craved his comrades more.
Wang Yi Sam, Yu So Un, Song Hyeon, Joo Eun-ri.
His traveling companions since leaving Shika Manor.
'I'll find them. And never part again.'
The Metal Character Passageway had wall torches; this well-linked tunnel was pitch black, no light.
Deep underground, visibility nil.
'Shika Heart Method.'
Flash.
The tunnel interior sharpened into view.
[Moving.]
Seo Baek transmitted and darted ahead without waiting.
Shika Heart Method pierced darkness, but not like true light.
Outlines of people and objects, really.
Colors blurred. Everything appeared deep gray.
An Underground Hall member ahead would look like a moving wooden statue.
Eerily stark.
Beyond the bleak vista, something chilled Seo Baek: the technique's time limit.
'No luxury to track duration now.'
If qi deviation started, better finish fast and head to Shaolin.
'But find the group first.'
Song Hyeon would plow through revenant hordes on Song Mountain for the books. Plus Shaolin monk Jin-mun.
Then, a faint yellow dot afar.
'Light.'
Earlier in the Metal Character Passageway, tunnels formed a cross.
They'd reached the heart.
Darkness limited vision for Hall members too—no clear faces from afar.
Their mismatched clothes helped; no outfit giveaway.
Seo Baek sheathed his sword and strolled casually.
Quick-witted Dang Ryong transmitted.
[Blending in?]
[Yes.]
[Stopgap. We'll get spotted.]
[Cross that bridge then.]
Luckily, no encounters en route to the center.
At a fork, Seo Baek veered smoothly.
Crossbows could fly anytime.
Straight lines were suicide.
His goal: bloodstained wall.
Deputy Gang Pyo blamed revenants, but it felt like a cover-up.
Seo Baek suspected rebel execution site. A slaughter there.
And a trafficking faction? Prisons nearby, surely.
Tunnels webbed like a spider, but Seo Baek navigated flawlessly.
The layout mapped in his mind.
Spotting Hall members, he ducked into side paths casually. Flickering torchlight in gloom raised no alarms.
'Darkest under the lamp.'
Soon, they arrived.
Seo Baek peeked around the corner. Opposite: bamboo-barred prison.
Ragged refugees huddled, faces vacant.
Learning their "righteous" faction trafficked people—despair incarnate.
Thankfully, no comrades.
'Not captured.'
Seo Baek had figured fifty-fifty odds.
Unless ambushed by crossbows, capture unlikely. Especially with Song Hyeon and Jin-mun.
'Even better.'
Dang Ryong scanned, then transmitted.
[No sign of your crew. Now what?]
[Told you. Return what they gave.]
[How?]
[Capture Hall Leader Gil Sang-baek. Now.]
[If they resist?]
Swish. Seo Baek drew from his back.
[We cut them down.]
[Agreed.]
Then—a voice from protruding bamboo on the wall.
"Deputy Protector Gang, where are you?"
"In the grain storage."
Gil Sang-baek seeking Deputy Gang Pyo.
Their system: bamboo stakes for orders.
Overhearing was lucky. Seo Baek listened.
"No reply from the Water Character Passageway."
"I told them to report every gak."
"It's past a gak."
"Send Hall members?"
"No. Guards there are dead. Rats got in."
Seo Baek's brow furrowed.
From the talk:
Water Character Passageway was the well.
Guards reported hourly to Gil Sang-baek.
No report? Obvious trouble.
Then, Gil Sang-baek's order echoed through the bamboo.
"Dead or alive."