Traces in the Hidden Chamber
Creak! ...Not here either. I Yeon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Is she really in one of these empty rooms?" Im So-min asked skeptically.
"If she's holing up alone, what better place than an empty room?"
"That's true, but..."
"It's gotta be, so hurry up and search the empty rooms yourself, So-min."
"Ah, but this is someone else's place, so I'm kinda hesitant..."
"Is that the issue right now? Just find her already."
I Yeon pushed Im So-min along. Only then did Im So-min reluctantly unleash her lightness skill and start combing through the empty rooms.
How long had they been searching? A fair amount of time had passed, but nearly half the rooms remained unchecked. The Golden Dragon Battlefield was massive to begin with, and Im So-min, who only stuck to her usual paths, wasn't familiar with the layout, so she wasn't much help.
"Ugh... Sorry I'm so slow, sis. I got confused and went back to a place I'd already checked. Sis, I don't think I'm..."
Im So-min, reuniting with I Yeon, whined with a pouty face. That's when it happened.
"Wait."
I Yeon's eyes sharpened as if sensing something. Im So-min instinctively held her breath too. Logically, there shouldn't be any danger here, but I Yeon's aura was anything but normal.
And moments later.
Footsteps approached without any attempt to hide. They halted abruptly.
"What are you two doing there?"
"Huh? Leader sis?"
Im So-min's eyes widened. A tall beauty with a cold demeanor. The scar on her exposed neck. It had to be Ju Ok-yeong, the very woman they'd been looking for.
"Uwaaah, where have you been? We've been searching forever...!"
Im So-min rushed over joyfully to hug her. Or tried to. Ju Ok-yeong sidestepped lightly, leaving Im So-min swiping at empty air.
"Searching? Why?"
"Why? We had a sparring match scheduled for today!"
Im So-min pouted sulkily.
"That's why I'm heading there now. Any problem?"
Ju Ok-yeong replied matter-of-factly.
"No, but if you were gonna be this late, you should've said something beforehand..."
"Yeah, that would've been nice. So-min was really worried."
I Yeon chimed in. Her expression had already returned to its usual calm. But her eyes were taking in more than ever—from the subtle shifts in her pupils to the tiniest twitch at her toes.
It might be nothing. But her gut was telling her otherwise. Something was off.
"I see."
Ju Ok-yeong blinked, her thoughtful gaze flickering.
"Looks like I worried not just So-min, but you too, Miss I. My mistake."
Ju Ok-yeong readily admitted her error.
"It's fine. As long as it was nothing serious."
I Yeon took the cue. ...Too natural. There wasn't a hint of anything suspicious in Ju Ok-yeong's response. So was it really nothing? Just a minor lapse in consideration?
But that feeling...
"If it's not too rude, could you tell us where you've been until now?"
I Yeon pressed gently.
"I went into some random empty room and meditated for a bit."
The answer came fluidly. Effortlessly natural. Any hesitation would've been impossible. And given Ju Ok-yeong's usual habits, it was perfectly believable.
...Just my imagination, then.
I Yeon had no choice but to let it go. But a faint unease lingered in her chest.
Hoo, drop it. If I keep waiting, the real thing will turn up eventually.
It wasn't coincidence. It was the fruit of her intuition and persistence.
Ju Ok-yeong's matter had passed, but I Yeon couldn't shake the suspicion that her instincts had been right. So she'd boldly changed tactics. Instead of spying on new lord-related spots, she'd meticulously checked every empty room. Thoroughly, without missing a thing.
It took more time, yielded no results, but she persisted doggedly. Perhaps only her personality made it possible.
Another half month passed like that.
"Hoo..."
Even she was mentally worn out. Repeating fruitless tasks does that.
And yet, right now.
Click!
Touching a hanging ink painting on the wall triggered a mechanism. I Yeon's eyes widened. She scanned her surroundings, held her breath, then cautiously approached the sound.
It came from the floor. Examining it closely, she narrowed her eyes at a subtle difference in texture. She pressed down firmly.
Kiiik.
The floor panel slid away, revealing a hidden entrance. Stairs led down to a spacious chamber. Clearly a secret room.
"A place like this..."
Nothing confirmed yet. Plenty of sects had no hidden rooms. But she'd check.
Confirming no presences nearby, she descended, carefully resealing the entrance.
"...Night pearls."
Even sealed, the room glowed brightly. Thick night pearls dotted the walls like candelabras. How rich did you have to be to fill a single room with such valuables? In the Golden Dragon Battlefield, it made sense.
But that wasn't important. I Yeon swept the room with sharp eyes.
And then.
"Ha."
She let out a disbelieving scoff. The traces were so blatant it was absurd. No intent to hide them at all. Overconfidence in the secret space, perhaps—but even accounting for that, the carelessness was extreme.
"...Makes my job easier, at least."
Muttering, she crouched to examine the floor's footprints first.
The most prominent: crude, large prints. Obviously a man's. Big fellow, by the size. His prints were everywhere—meaning he'd been active here for a long time.
No other men's prints.
One man.
Turning to other prints: thinner, smaller lines. A woman's. Large for a woman, though—likely tall.
And.
Too few...?
I Yeon's face grew puzzled. The number was suspiciously low.
Did she even walk?
She could've stood in one spot every visit. This wasn't one or two days' worth.
...A human standing stock-still like that, multiple times? Multiple visits?
Impossible for a normal person. Unless the man was superior, ordering his subordinate woman to stay put. Nothing else explained it.
I Yeon etched the hypothesized man-woman dynamic into her mind.
"Other prints... Hm?"
Her expression turned quizzical again while checking the rest. Two more sets of women's prints. Not surprising. But they eerily matched the tall woman's—same form. They'd stood in place too.
Same assumption?
Nothing else fit. But three women?
...Even for superior-subordinate, rotating secret trysts with three women in this lair? Three affairs? And in the inner courtyard—no-go zone for anyone but the lord. Sneaking in once, maybe—but frequent visits? Tough.
An inside collaborator.
Probably one of the three women. Maybe all.
"Hoo."
Tricky. Sighing at the complexity, she scanned the floor for non-footprint traces.
And soon, her eyes widened.
"Knees... elbows...?"
Knee and elbow marks. Regularly spaced. Meaning.
"Crawling...?"
Her mind reeled; she froze. First time facing this. Adult women—not kids. Three different sets. Why would grown women crawl on the floor...?
All three.
Beyond her common sense.
"And..."
Now she noticed: crawl marks everywhere. Active crawling...
Why on earth...?
"..."
Stunned, I Yeon stood speechless for a while. Then, realization dawned.
"Don't tell me that kind of pervert."
Eun Hwa-yeong had mentioned it once. A vulgar customer at Red Flower Pavilion demanding to treat courtesans like dogs for any price. Staff refused; guards dragged him out back. He never returned.
She'd thought with disgust: How could such a twisted creep exist?
And here he was. A dangerous man with perverse desires.
"Haa, anyway—finish checking."
Sighing, she continued.
And.
"...As expected."
Curly hairs—not head hair. Scattered around. Pubic hairs, unmistakably. Four types: one man, three women.
Not just a few—full nudity and action implied.
The action being, obviously.
"Intercourse..."
Her face flushed as she murmured unwittingly. Embarrassing word for a virgin like her.
"What the hell is this place..."
Finishing her visual scan, she pondered dubiously. Just a secret spot for illicit sex? Too simplistic. Too many red flags.
Tell her first.
Sharp Eun Hwa-yeong could deduce from description alone.
And.
Track the owners.
Clear prints—easy to match by eye. Man probably outer courtyard, but identifying the women would open doors.
I Yeon erased her traces meticulously, ascended, cleaned above too, then slipped out carefully.
May this be the lead.
She hurried off.
"You sure you're doing this right?"
Bang So-un asked, drawing deeply on his long-stemmed pipe.
"Hahaha, of course, young master. Who am I? Jang Il. Have I ever failed to break a bitch in?"
Jang Il laughed heartily, brimming with confidence.
"No, your brain seems slack again."
He'd started cautious, but the thrill of dominating and fucking new women had loosened him visibly.
"Nah, no way. Just relax, young master. I'll tame 'em fresh and deliver."
Still cocky.
"That's why you look slacked out."
"Aigoo, I'm not. Besides, they're fish in the Golden Dragon Battlefield. Easy prey."
Down to "easy prey" now.
"Didn't I say there might be spies? Inner fish can contact outside."
"But no spies, right? No way to even reach out from here..."
Huge, ironclad fortress—especially inner courtyard. Even targeting Hwang Bo-seol's escorts? Tough. Couldn't leave her side. And paired escorts—suspicious moves get reported unless colluding from start.
Bang So-un agreed theoretically. But not impossible.
Jang Il didn't get it.
"Fine. Handle it."
"Haha, you got it, young master."
"Yeah, go do your thing."
"Yes, sir."
Jang Il strode out arrogantly from the Crystal Pavilion.
"That guy."
Bang So-un chuckled. Yeah, that's Jang Il—half muscle, half brain, except during hypnosis.
Hoo.
He exhaled a long plume of smoke.
"Guess it's time to make a move."