Invitation to the Jegal Clan (2)
It was the kind of sight that would make even ghosts wail in astonishment.
The lion statue had been cast from molten iron, with no visible seams from welding. That meant once it was made, no one could know what lay inside unless it was melted down or smashed apart.
And yet, this lion statue was speaking?
If there was a person inside, they'd be trapped forever, with no way out!
The lion statue continued.
"Everyone, please come inside."
Wang Yi Sam—and all the martial artists watching from behind Seo Baek—shivered at the eerie spectacle, chills running down their spines.
Behind the lion statue stood a low wall enclosing a single-story building. It seemed to be inviting them inside.
"After your long journey fleeing, you must all be exhausted. There's a well beside the building. Next to it is a hearth with kindling ready—feel free to use it."
The statue's words were polite, but they left everyone uneasy.
It had pointed out their fatigue so directly.
Not only was a statue talking, but it felt as if it were rolling its stone eyes, scrutinizing them.
Yet Seo Baek stepped forward without a hint of hesitation.
Cheongheo Jin-in followed right behind. Only then did Wang Yi Sam and the others trail after them, exchanging wary glances.
With Seo Baek leading, the group entered the building.
From outside, it hadn't seemed so spacious, but inside there was easily room for hundreds to lie down.
Scratches on the walls and ceiling suggested internal partitions had been removed to expand the space.
It must have originally been for hosting visiting martial artists from afar, but after the revenant outbreak, it had been repurposed for refugees.
One by one, people claimed spots and unpacked their belongings.
Those who weren't martial artists, worn out from exhaustion, collapsed right away.
For three days, they'd lived in fear of revenants appearing at any moment. Now, under a proper roof, the tension melted away.
The martial artists clasped their hands in salute, expressing gratitude to Seo Baek.
"Young hero, you've saved our lives."
They now called the boy, not yet twenty, "young hero."
"You're too kind. Everyone, rest well."
Seo Baek returned the salute politely.
Wang Yi Sam glanced around the interior and remarked,
"Way better than the tents at Wang Family Fortress."
"It's prepared for refugees."
Realizing the Jegal Clan's foresight, Wang Yi Sam nodded.
Then the voice spoke again.
"Those from Shika Manor and your two companions, please exit through the north door and come to the garden. The main hall is there—enter that way."
Seo Baek took the lead.
"Let's go."
"Me too?"
"It said 'my two companions,' so that includes you, senior brother."
"Tch. I don't like the sound of this."
The statue's voice had pegged Seo Baek, Cheongheo Jin-in, and Wang Yi Sam as the leaders guiding these hundreds.
Wang Yi Sam already felt uneasy in this bizarre place; heading to its heart made it worse.
But when Seo Baek and Cheongheo Jin-in headed for the door, he couldn't stay behind alone. Grumbling, he hurried after them.
Sticking close to Seo Baek, Wang Yi Sam tilted his head.
"First the lion statue talks, now the walls are chatting."
To Wang Yi Sam, it hadn't sounded like transmitted voice.
He'd encountered peak masters a few times in life and heard transmission now and then.
Transmissions echoed softly in the mind, but the statue's voice rang clear in his ears—like a normal spoken voice.
Seo Baek addressed his curiosity.
"It wasn't the lion statue speaking, and it wasn't transmission."
"What? Then how the hell...?"
"A tube."
"A tube?"
"Yes. They buried a long tube underground, connecting to the lion statue."
"Ahh..."
Wang Yi Sam finally got it.
It reminded him of childhood pranks with friends: reed tubes from the riverbank, one end to a friend's ear, and your voice carried through magically.
Someone from the Jegal Clan was speaking from afar, via a tube linked to the statue.
"There were gaps in the building pillars too. Probably tubes embedded inside, carrying the voice."
"I see..."
The Jegal Clan was famed for countless eccentric scholars and bizarre mechanisms.
Wang Yi Sam truly felt he'd arrived at the murim's most outlandish place.
Having unraveled the statue's secret, he wondered about something else. Gazing around vacantly, he asked,
"Okay, but where are they watching us from?"
But by then, Seo Baek and Cheongheo Jin-in were already ahead, too far to hear.
Snapping to, Wang Yi Sam rushed to catch up.
Moments later, the three reached the garden the voice had mentioned.
Thick woods surrounded it, with a quaint garden nestled among tall trees.
Neatly trimmed bushes, stone walls, and a small pond in the center. They circled the pond to the far side.
A building stood there—the clan's main hall, no doubt.
But there was a problem.
No door anywhere on the hall?
Building entrances usually faced south. This one had neither door nor window.
Wang Yi Sam checked the corner, peering at the side—no door there either.
"No door on the side? Maybe around back?"
As he moved to circle behind, the silent Cheongheo Jin-in finally spoke.
"No south-facing door means none in other directions either."
"Tch, how do you know without looking?"
Wang Yi Sam snapped gruffly, but surprisingly, Seo Baek nodded in agreement.
"I concur."
Even Seo Baek agreed, leaving Wang Yi Sam speechless.
A talking statue was one bizarre mechanism; this doorless house was so absurd it drew a hollow laugh.
Who builds a house without a door?
Strange events piled up since arriving at the Jegal Clan, leaving Wang Yi Sam dazed.
He even doubted if this was really the Jegal Clan. The main hall was right there, but they couldn't enter.
Seo Baek scanned the surroundings intently, then said,
"It's go."
"Go?"
"Yes. This garden is designed after a go board."
Wang Yi Sam shut his mouth again. He knew some chess but was blind to go.
This time, Cheongheo Jin-in nodded at Seo Baek's words.
"Indeed. It's go."
"Hah, you finally figured it out?"
Wang Yi Sam felt smug for no reason.
From Wang Family Fortress on, Cheongheo Jin-in always noticed first, with Seo Baek agreeing after. Here, Seo Baek had spotted it first, and the elder caught on late—Wang Yi Sam felt like he'd won something.
"Fine, say it's go. What does that have to do with a doorless house?"
Seo Baek pointed to the central pond.
"For example, that pond copies a famous go life-and-death shape."
"Life-and-death?"
"Plum Blossom Six in a Row."
Go-blind Wang Yi Sam could only listen quietly.
Seo Baek, unusually animated, continued.
"Plum Blossom Six is a famous go vital point tesuji. My master and his wife played often. When she captured his stones with it, she'd clap in delight."
Seo Baek's eyes grew distant, wistful.
But rough, straightforward Wang Yi Sam noticed nothing and pressed,
"So what's Plum Blossom Six?"
"In go, a group needs two eyes to live. But Plum Blossom Six has six eyes—yet still dies."
Wang Yi Sam couldn't grasp it.
"I'm go-blind, but six eyes and it doesn't make two? That make sense?"
"It does in go. On a nineteen-by-nineteen board, any shape is possible."
Wang Yi Sam kept probing, but Cheongheo Jin-in stood arms crossed, listening silently.
"Plum Blossom Six dies if you play in its vital point. Look—stepping stones in the pond."
Sure enough, round stones bridged the pond.
"One sits exactly at the tesuji spot. Right... there."
Whoosh. Seo Baek leaped lightly, landing feather-soft on the indicated stone.
"This stone is the key to the doorless building."
His weight pressed it down.
Instantly, cracks spiderwebbed the front wall, which slowly rotated.
Kreeeeak. Rumble.
Like a massive revolving door opening.
The go-inspired garden's stepping stones triggered the mechanism for the sealed building.
And Seo Baek had cracked the Jegal Clan's mechanism at a glance.
Suddenly, applause echoed from somewhere.
Clap clap clap clap.
The statue's voice followed.
"Impressive. I see you three are talents versed in both civil and martial arts. Please enter—we've invited you to the Jegal Clan."
Soft light bloomed inside, illuminating the group.
"After you."
Seo Baek led; Cheongheo Jin-in nodded and followed.
Wang Yi Sam scratched his head, watching them.
Seo Baek and Cheongheo Jin-in fit the description—proficient in letters and arms. But he was barely literate, a middling swordsman at best.
He wondered if he even qualified for a Jegal Clan invitation.
Screw it!
After agonizing, fearing the door might close, he dashed inside.
Plain from outside, the interior was vast.
Creak creak creak.
Wooden floors squeaked under Wang Yi Sam's steps.
Seo Baek and Cheongheo Jin-in moved silently.
Self-conscious, Wang Yi Sam tiptoed thief-like—but it only made more noise.
Damn. Lousy lightness skill means I can't even burgle.
He grumbled inwardly. Actually, that was one reason for wooden floors: to foil assassins and thieves. Jegal Clan buildings were designed with intent down to the details.
Wang Yi Sam had unwittingly deduced a secret, oblivious to it.
Soon, the corridor ended at a paper-screened door.
As the trio approached, the panels slid open sideways.
Wang Yi Sam startled.
Talking statue, doorless house—and now auto-doors?
Looking closer, two servants knelt inside, opening it manually.
Embarrassed at his jumpiness, he coughed awkwardly.
At the room's head sat a young scholar at a table.
"Welcome. I am Jegal Hyeok, Second Young Master of the Jegal Clan."
The voice from the statue.