The Zhuge Clan's Second Young Master's Scheme (2)
Wang Yi Sam was at a loss for words.
Ever since arriving at the Jegal Clan, he'd been reeling from the endless array of mechanical traps and devices.
Yet here were Seo Baek and the blue-robed man dismantling them one by one, as casually as children playing with toys.
What amazed—and exasperated—him most was how perfectly in sync the two were.
Sometimes the blue-robed man would toss out a hint, and Seo Baek would solve it; other times, the blue-robed man would stand back with arms crossed, silently watching as Seo Baek took the lead. It repeated like clockwork.
It was like watching the legendary judge Po Qingtian, famed for his swift and precise verdicts, paired with his brilliant detective bodyguard Zhan Zhao!
Seo Baek picked up an oil lamp from the room and stepped into the secret passage. Spotting Wang Yi Sam standing there dumbfounded, he said,
"Senior Brother, aren't you coming?"
"R-right, of course."
Wang Yi Sam snapped out of it and hurried after Seo Baek and the blue-robed man.
A short walk down the secret passage revealed a staircase descending into the depths. The group headed down.
At the bottom lay a long corridor.
It was narrow enough that two adults walking side by side would brush shoulders. They proceeded single file: Seo Baek in front, then Wang Yi Sam, then the blue-robed man.
The corridors above ground had been dim, but oil lamps hung at every corner. This underground secret passage, however, was pitch-black darkness incarnate.
Even with Seo Baek holding the oil lamp, it illuminated only about a zhang ahead.
Wang Yi Sam was a fearless broad dao wielder who charged into hordes of revenants without hesitation.
But this suffocating, lightless confinement was driving him mad. He'd almost rather face a revenant swarm—the mental strain was that oppressive.
Maybe it was his imagination, but the passage seemed to narrow the further they went.
"Damn it, this is like scurrying through a rat hole."
Wang Yi Sam grumbled, and the blue-robed man following behind asked,
"Is this your first time on a stealth mission?"
"Stealth mission? Isn't that spy stuff?"
As far as Wang Yi Sam knew, stealth missions meant infiltrating organizations in disguise to gather intel.
But the blue-robed man meant something else.
"When bailiffs speak of stealth missions, they mean slipping into forbidden areas covertly, completing the task, and escaping undetected."
"Hmph, why would a martial artist stoop to sneaky thief tactics like that...?"
"The jianghu isn't just about dueling with swords."
"......"
Even Wang Yi Sam, mid-complaint, was struck speechless by that.
Since meeting Seo Baek, his life had been a nonstop parade of bizarre events he'd never imagined.
He'd thought swinging a broad dao was all there was to it, but now even he had to concede the blue-robed man's point.
That admiration, however, evaporated with the next words.
"Don't worry. You won't need to use your head."
"What'd you say?"
As Wang Yi Sam bristled, ready to snap, the blue-robed man pointed ahead with his index finger.
"The brains are already up front."
He was right, of course. Seo Baek wasn't just a martial powerhouse; his mind was razor-sharp.
Wang Yi Sam inwardly grumbled at the blue-robed man but couldn't argue. How do you get mad at someone who's always spot-on?
The corridor dragged on relentlessly.
Unable to vent at the blue-robed man, Wang Yi Sam lashed out at their surroundings.
"This is insane! Whose house is this damn maze?"
"It's a secret passage. Complexity is to be expected."
The blue-robed man's words needled Wang Yi Sam's temper again, but this time he followed up with a courteous explanation.
"If Shaolin Temple is the origin of the world's martial arts, then the Jegal Clan is the wellspring of all mechanism formations. Centuries of accumulated knowledge fill every corner here. It's no surprise they're riddled with them."
"I see..."
Once more, the explanation was logical and impeccable.
That sparked a random thought in Wang Yi Sam's mind.
Fancy talker like him probably sucks at actual martial arts.
In the jianghu, smart mouths and silver tongues shone at first but often vanished when blades were drawn.
If brains were everything, why bother with martial arts? Just take the imperial exams!
Belittling the blue-robed man like that eased Wang Yi Sam's irritation a bit.
Suddenly, Seo Baek clenched his fist and halted.
The signal to stop.
Wang Yi Sam pressed close behind him and whispered,
"What is it? Jegal Clan goons ahead?"
"Not ahead. Below."
"Below?"
Wang Yi Sam glanced down instinctively.
There, in the stone floor beneath his feet, was a faint seam.
It wasn't rough or cracked from age—the line was straight as if cut by a blade. This was deliberate design.
Seo Baek crouched low, bringing the oil lamp close to peer through the gap.
"There are people down there."
"People? Living underground?"
"Underground, yes. But not living."
"What does that mean?"
The blue-robed man chimed in, as if assisting Seo Baek.
"People underground who aren't alive? Only one possibility: revenants."
"......!"
Wang Yi Sam recoiled in shock.
But he quickly realized it was pointless.
The revenants weren't ahead—they were below the group. Backing up changed nothing!
Meanwhile, Seo Baek kept peering through the seam with the lamp held close.
"Junior, you sure that's safe? If a revenant spots us..."
"Revenants don't react to ordinary lamplight."
"......!"
Wang Yi Sam recalled Seo Baek's words from their Shu Dao Pass carriage escort, amid the revenant field.
Three things to absolutely avoid in front of revenants: breath, the scent of blood, and displays of emotion.
No one in the group was bleeding.
Emotions weren't an issue either.
Even if a revenant looked up, the darkness would hide the ceiling seam above.
That left only breath.
"Just make sure your breath doesn't reach them. At this distance, no problem unless you're huffing deliberately."
By now, the blue-robed man had knelt beside Seo Baek, pressing his face to the gap to peer below.
"Another secret chamber beneath this underground passage. As expected from the Jegal Clan, pinnacle of mechanism formations."
"Indeed."
Irked that they were conversing without him, Wang Yi Sam shrugged and crouched down anyway, pressing his eye to the seam.
The drop was distant, but he still held his breath—he couldn't relax with just a ceiling between them and a zhang drop.
The space below resembled their current passage in layout—a long corridor.
But the height and width differed vastly.
The ceiling was far higher; a martial artist could reach it, but an ordinary person jumping full force wouldn't.
Likely to prevent those below from climbing up.
Their passage had been cramped, but this underground one was several times wider. Hard to gauge exactly from the narrow seam.
A vast underground expanse.
And what that implied was clear.
A multitude of people down there.
Sure enough, shadowy figures staggered through the darkness below.
The light was dim, but Wang Yi Sam recognized them instantly.
Revenants!
In the revenant-ravaged Central Plains, every faction—righteous or unorthodox—was united against them. Yet the Jegal Clan had captured and imprisoned revenants underground?
A famed upright sect, no less!
Then the blue-robed man did something odd.
Pointing at a revenant passing directly below Wang Yi Sam, he said,
"Look at the one with the broad dao on its back."
"I see it."
"Notice how the dao is slung diagonally so the blade doesn't touch its back, with the ring twisted to avoid snagging when raised. And the ring isn't hooked like a claw."
The light was faint, but it matched his description perfectly.
Impressed by the sharp eyes, Wang Yi Sam asked,
"Spot on. So what?"
"There was a man who roamed the jianghu freely, slicing foes vertically in one stroke from the broad dao on his back. Remember him?"
"No way—the Gale and Cloud Single Sword, Tu Xiangdao?"
Wang Yi Sam gaped, staring harder at the revenant.
Tu Xiangdao was a renowned expert in the Central Plains jianghu.
Especially his broad dao mastery.
Wang Yi Sam, a fellow broad dao user, had always wanted to meet him, even just to watch his techniques up close.
Tu Xiangdao a revenant, haunting the Jegal Clan's depths?
Normally, Wang Yi Sam would've laughed it off as absurd.
But the revenant's broad dao had a dragon-head hilt.
Just like Tu Xiangdao's—cast so the blade emerged from the dragon's maw, earning it the nickname Dragon-Maw Dao.
Reading Wang Yi Sam's expression, the blue-robed man confirmed,
"It's the Dragon-Maw Dao."
"......!"
Wang Yi Sam couldn't hide his shock at the revenant Tu Xiangdao.
Nor at the blue-robed man, whose insight bordered on mind-reading. Wang Yi Sam was floored.
The blue-robed man continued identifying the wandering revenants one by one.
Some by their weapons, others by clothing or bearing.
Wang Yi Sam spotted one too.
"That bald one with the eagle tattoo—isn't that the unorthodox expert Guo Qi?"
"Seems like it."
The bald head gleamed in the faint light, making the tattoo obvious. Easy pickings for Wang Yi Sam.
But compared to the blue-robed man, it was nothing.
While Wang Yi Sam ID'd one, the blue-robed man rattled off over a dozen.
His eyesight made it seem like he had the entire Central Plains jianghu mapped in his palm!
Stunned, Wang Yi Sam jabbed at a random featureless revenant.
"Who’s that one?"
No distinctive weapon, clothes, or build. He'd picked it deliberately to stump him.
The blue-robed man replied flatly,
"No idea."
"Hah, stumped this time? Running out of Central Plains trivia?"
"No features, no face visible— even with all the intel in the world, how could I know?"
"......"
Wang Yi Sam realized he'd asked a stupid question again and shut up.
Tongue-tied, he redirected his frustration at the Jegal Clan.
"Keeping revenants locked up! What the hell are those Jegal bastards up to?"
The blue-robed man said something cryptic.
"They're holding them, sure—but whether they captured revenants is another question."
"What do you mean?"
Wang Yi Sam pressed, curious.
Seo Baek, who'd been silently observing below, finally spoke up.
"It means they might've grabbed living people and turned them into revenants."
"......!"
Wang Yi Sam's jaw dropped in horror.
"Even the upright Jegal Clan wouldn't sink that low..."
"They absolutely would. The jianghu has no fixed righteous or unorthodox— the moment you commit evil, you become unorthodox. The Jegal Clan has strayed from the righteous path of their own accord."
"So what now...?"
"You asking because you don't know?"
Seo Baek stated firmly,
"We punish the Jegal Clan for defying heaven's mandate."