Chapter 8: The Escape-4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 8: The Escape-4
"My name is... Yang Yeon-ji."
"Oho, Yang Yeon-ji. Yes, yes, I remember now. You’re the youngest who joined this quarter. You were the precious daughter of the Yang Clan, a family renowned for their spear arts, weren't you?"
Sun-woo let out a silent sigh of relief at Kang Ha-yoon's response.
As expected, Kang Ha-yoon seemed to have memorized the names of the new Phoenix Unit members. He had used his wits to provide Yang Yeon-ji's name, and she had been perfectly deceived.
"Yes, that is correct."
"The Head of the Yang Clan must be pleased to have such a diligent daughter."
"You flatter me, Hall Master."
"So, are you finding the work difficult?"
"The seniors treat me so well that I have no hardships."
"If any trouble does arise, feel free to tell me. It’s not as if I’m a stranger to the Yang Clan Head, so I’ll look after you."
"Thank you."
As Sun-woo continued the conversation with Kang Ha-yoon, he moved his feet around busily, searching for the turtle statue. He wanted to dive down and check with his own eyes, but the situation didn't allow it because Kang Ha-yoon kept talking to him.
"So, as I was saying, I told my husband..."
The boisterous and beautiful Kang Ha-yoon was incredibly talkative. If this were outside the novel, her chatty nature might have been cute, but in a situation where every second counted, her constant talking made his irritation flare.
Why does this bitch talk so much?
It was then.
Click.
He felt something move between his feet.
I... I found it!
Just in case, he reached down with his hand to feel it and found the object that was discharging the hot water.
It’s done. I’m saved! I’m actually going to live!!
But his joy was short-lived.
"Well then, shall I get in too?"
He heard Kang Ha-yoon's voice. Having finished washing her body, she began walking toward the tub to enter.
Step, step.
If she enters the tub, I’m caught!
Splash.
He heard the sound of Kang Ha-yoon's foot entering the water behind him.
Plop.
Before he knew it, Kang Ha-yoon’s body was submerged in the tub, causing the water to overflow. Sun-woo tried to think of a way to escape this crisis, but no suitable plan came to mind.
Should I launch a surprise attack and subdue her? Or just run?
Neither was a realistic option. Even if he, who was merely at the Peak Realm, launched a surprise attack, he didn't think he could subdue Kang Ha-yoon, who had reached the supreme heights of the Absolute Realm. Furthermore, even if he ran, it was certain he would be caught instantly. The gap between the Peak Realm and the Transcendent Realm was despairingly vast.
"Ah, this is so relaxing. My fatigue is just melting away~"
"...Yes, I feel wonderful as well, Hall Master."
Kang Ha-yoon seemed to enjoy soaking in the tub, letting out constant exclamations of admiration, and Sun-woo had no choice but to play along.
It was then.
Tap.
Sun-woo was startled by a small sensation touching his back.
"Ugh,"
"Ho-oh, your skin is quite rough. And looking at your muscle development, I’d believe it if someone said you were a man."
"I am embarrassed..."
From the looks of it, Kang Ha-yoon had touched him with her finger. Her hand didn't stop there; it began to stroke his back continuously.
"Still, touching it is somewhat addictive. It feels like I’m stroking my husband’s back."
She spread both hands and began to massage Sun-woo's back.
"Ah... ah... ah..."
At her touch, Sun-woo let out an involuntary groan, and she seemed to find it quite enjoyable.
"Is your back sensitive? I should make it even more enjoyable for you then."
Squish.
Sun-woo felt the sensation of Kang Ha-yoon's massive tits against his back. They were tits that boasted a presence so grand he could easily deduce their size without even looking. In that state, Kang Ha-yoon began to rub her breasts against him, moving up and down.
"Ahhh... ah... ang..."
Every time her nipples grazed his back, she let out a wet moan, making Sun-woo feel aroused. Sun-woo shifted his gaze and looked down. As expected, his phallus was tensed with an indescribable amount of strength.
Squelch, squelch.
In Sun-woo's ears, the sound of water began to mix with Kang Ha-yoon's moans.
Squelch, squelch.
"Aaaaang... ang!!"
Listening closely, the sound seemed to be coming from Kang Ha-yoon behind him. While rubbing her nipples against Sun-woo's back, she was thrusting her fingers into her clam pussy.
"Huaaaaang... Husband..."
Sun-woo began to panic. He understood her feeling of loneliness since Lee Jae-won was away, but for a woman who was a Hall Master to masturbate using a subordinate's back—the situation was both baffling and filled his head with immoral fantasies.
"Haaaaaaaang!"
Sun-woo wanted nothing more than to turn around right now and madly thrust his phallus into that lewd clam pussy, but he barely managed to endure it with superhuman patience. If he couldn't hold back here, his head would surely be blown off.
While trying his best to calm his erect phallus, Sun-woo sang the national anthem in his head, desperately praying for this moment to pass quickly.
"Aaaaaaaaang~~~~~~~~~~!!!!"
Only after Sun-woo had sung the national anthem ten times did Kang Ha-yoon seem to reach her climax. Instead of her moans and the sound of water, only her heavy breathing could be heard.
"Ha... ha... hang..."
Soon, Kang Ha-yoon seemed to regain her senses and spoke in a voice that sounded embarrassed.
"I’m sorry. My husband has been away on a trip lately, so I must have been lonely."
"Not at all. I believe that is entirely understandable."
"Thank you for understanding. But really, you are a child with a very charming back."
Expressing her gratitude, Kang Ha-yoon continued to stroke Sun-woo's back as she spoke.
"......Thank you."
"May I call for you occasionally?"
"......Yes, please do so."
"Fufu, thank you. If anything happens, tell me anytime. I will help you as much as I can."
Leaving a nuance that she would become his backer, Kang Ha-yoon stood up.
"I’ll be going now. I’ll send the cold medicine sometime this morning."
"Thank you..."
"I’m the one who should be more thankful. Fufu."
Creeak.
Thud.
Having finished her piece, Kang Ha-yoon closed the door and left the communal bath.
Sun-woo felt a complicated mix of emotions. Seeing the lewd side of a character he had been most fond of made him feel horny, but he also felt a sense of betrayal. Still, thanks to his iron-clad patience, he had been able to escape the clutches of that monster-like Kang Ha-yoon. If he hadn't been able to hold back and had lunged at her, he would have become a ghost.
Though he had escaped Kang Ha-yoon, he couldn't afford to be careless. There was no telling when someone else might walk in. Sun-woo quickly dove underwater to confirm if what he had found was indeed the turtle statue.
Beneath the clear water, the turtle statue was discharging hot water. Sun-woo grabbed the turtle's neck and twisted it to the right.
Creeeeeak.
The sound of the neck turning echoed, and the hot water discharging from its mouth stopped.
"Puh-haaa!"
Sun-woo hurriedly emerged from the water and caught his breath. He stepped out of the hot tub and waited quietly for the entrance to reveal itself.
".................."
However, nothing happened in the communal bath.
"What? Why isn't anything happening?"
He had turned all the statues in the cold tub, the hot tub, the warm tub, and the medicinal tub, but only the water discharge had stopped; there was no sign of the entrance to the hideout appearing.
"Could it be!?"
An ominous thought crossed Sun-woo's mind. In truth, the method of heading to the hideout through the secret passage in the Phoenix Hall was close to a gamble. Since the Murim Alliance had changed to the Cheonmu Alliance, it might not work due to a setting conflict, or the passage might have been blocked during the renovation process.
But having no other choice, Sun-woo had been forced to gamble, and as a result, that gamble had failed. Sun-woo couldn't help but feel despair. He had come here risking his life, but the one thing he had relied on had vanished.
Fine, let's just turn myself in. I'll say I ran away because I was scared and beg for leniency.
It was just as he had given up on everything and decided to surrender.
Shiiiiiiiing!
With a loud noise, all the water in the warm tub began to be sucked away. Feeling that the speed of the drainage was unusual, Sun-woo watched the scene unfold. Soon, all the water in the warm tub was gone, and the white floor inside the tub was revealed.
Rumble, rumble.
Rumble, rumble.
The floor at the edge of the warm tub split open, creating a hole large enough for one person to enter. Sun-woo looked intently into the hole, but he couldn't even gauge its depth with his naked eye.
A sense of fear washed over him again, but he couldn't just stay here. Sun-woo grabbed his clothes and sword and jumped straight into the hole.
As soon as Sun-woo entered the hole, the split ground began to close up. Then, the statues that had been turned began to rotate their necks back in unison.
Creeak.
Creeak.
Creeak.
Creeak.
And the water began to flow again.
Gush, gush, gush, gush.
Soon, the warm tub that had been completely drained began to fill with water, and the water level rose rapidly until it maintained the same level as before. The communal bath in the Chrysanthemum Pavilion of the Phoenix Hall looked no different than usual.
Having jumped into the hole, Sun-woo was falling down a seemingly bottomless pit.
"Damn it, how long am I going to fall!?"
When he first entered the hole, the feeling of being saved had been foremost in his mind, but as he fell endlessly, anxiety began to set in.
Am I going to die like this?
Since there had only been a description of the protagonist, Lee Jae-won, finding the secret exit and descending, without any detailed explanation, his anxiety multiplied. If the bottom was made of stone instead of water, his body would surely be shattered.
No, it won't be. It won't be, it won't be!
He tried to deny it, but the seed of doubt grew even larger, manifesting as the emotion of terror. Becoming desperate, Sun-woo drew his sword, holding the blade in his right hand and the scabbard in his left. Then, he infused them with internal energy.
Hummm.
A bluish film covered the sword and scabbard, and they began to emit light. Sun-woo thrust the sword and scabbard into the walls. Perhaps thanks to the Sword Qi he had applied, they sank easily into the interior of the walls.
However, because the cutting power had also increased as much as the Sword Qi he had wrapped around them, his falling speed didn't decrease at all. Sun-woo continued to fall, carving through both walls with his sword and scabbard.
Sun-woo slowly began to withdraw the internal energy from the sword and scabbard.
Screeeech.
Screeeeeeeeech.
As the internal energy was gradually withdrawn, the cutting power began to decrease, and as the cutting power decreased, the blades naturally began to dull. The duller the blades became, the more his falling speed began to drop sharply.
Sun-woo carefully adjusted his internal energy, managing the strength and weakness of the friction. The key here was to find a speed at which he wouldn't die even if he hit the bottom. Soon, he was able to match a speed that allowed for a fairly stable descent.
He had wanted to just jam the sword in and stop his fall abruptly, but he was certain the sword would break if he did that. So, although it was a bit tedious, he used his internal energy to significantly reduce his falling speed. If he fell at this speed, he wouldn't die even if the floor was made of flat stone.
About fifteen minutes had passed since he reduced his speed. Even though fifteen minutes had gone by, Sun-woo was still falling, and maintaining his internal energy was starting to become a bit of a strain.
Did I reach the Earth's core or something?
It was just as he was having that ridiculous thought.
Thud.
He felt a sensation against the soles of his feet. He had finally reached the bottom. As his feet touched the ground, Sun-woo felt a chilling sensation. If he hadn't drawn his sword and reduced his falling speed, his five limbs would have been pulverized.
"I almost died because of that damn author."
After cursing the author who had written such shitty descriptions for the sake of convenience, Sun-woo first looked around his surroundings. The bottom of the hole only showed a single-path tunnel leading in one direction. And toward the tunnel, he could see a shimmering streak of light.
Why is it so bright? There’s no way sunlight could reach here.
Puzzled by the brightness inside the tunnel, he followed the light illuminating the passage.
Night-luminescent pearls!?!
He soon discovered the identity of the objects illuminating the cavern. They were night-luminescent pearls. Night-luminescent pearls were spheres that possessed the property of emitting light on their own, and they were very precious items traded at high prices depending on the intensity of their light. If the intensity was enough to brightly illuminate the entire tunnel, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them top-grade.
Having confirmed the source of the light, Sun-woo pulled out the sword and scabbard that had been stuck in the wall. He checked them against the light of the pearls to see if the blades were damaged. Fortunately, since he had maintained a faint amount of internal energy, the blades didn't seem to be significantly damaged.
He put the sword back into its scabbard and put on his clothes. Since it was very chilly inside the tunnel, Sun-woo, who was soaking wet, could have suffered from hypothermia. If he had reached the Transcendent Realm and become immune to heat and cold, it would be a different story, but for Sun-woo, who was only at the Peak Realm, maintaining his body temperature was very important.
After tightening his shoelaces, Sun-woo began to move slowly into the tunnel. As he entered the tunnel, he saw night-luminescent pearls quite frequently. It seemed the protagonist, Lee Jae-won, had forgotten to collect them. Or perhaps he had forgotten about the information regarding the hideout altogether.
If they were night-luminescent pearls of this brightness, he could accumulate enough wealth to live luxuriously for three generations just by prying off and selling a few. Sun-woo made a mental note to take a few when he returned later, then quickly hurried his pace.
A tedious journey began. No matter how much he walked and walked, the end was nowhere in sight. Of course, the fortunate thing, unlike when he was falling earlier, was the fact that he could at least control his speed as much as he wanted.
Thinking about it, the situation wasn't that bad. Although there had been many hardships, he had eventually found the entrance to the hideout and was moving along safely like this. Moreover, since he didn't have to worry about pursuers, he decided to have a relaxed mind.
As he moved forward slowly, he began to worry about future events. Would there be enough food left in the hideout to endure? Would Lee Jae-won be able to clear Jang Sam's name? Would he be able to return home? What would he have to do to return?
The more he thought about it, the more only headache-inducing worries came to mind. But he couldn't stop thinking. If he gave up because it was hard, he wouldn't be able to move forward. Sun-woo delved deeper and thought more.
In the worst-case scenario, he had to assume the possibility that Lee Jae-won would also turn into his enemy. No, he had to assume the possibility that the entire Murim would become his enemy. If that happened, he thought deeply about how he would have to act to survive.
It was the Cheonmu Alliance, which it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say ruled the Murim. The only forces opposing the Cheonmu Alliance were the Wicked Way Alliance and the Demonic Cult. But even if these two forces joined hands and attacked, the Cheonmu Alliance would win a hundred times out of a hundred. The gap between the Cheonmu Alliance and the two forces was as large as the difference between a five-year-old child and a grown adult.
Without even going as far as a full-scale war, if the Absolute Martial God Lee Jae-won, who had reached the Profound Realm, stepped forward and killed the entire leadership, both the Wicked Way Alliance and the Demonic Cult would have no choice but to surrender. In fact, the Wicked Way Alliance and the Demonic Cult were merely groups that survived by Lee Jae-won's mercy.
In High School Senior Goes to Murim, the protagonist was a being who existed in a position close to a god. He was an absolute existence to the point where no one could resist even if he shaped and changed the world as he pleased. Since Lee Jae-won might become an enemy, no matter how much he thought about it, no answer came to him.
Sun-woo shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He had no hobby of clinging to impossible tasks. If Lee Jae-won became his enemy, it would be faster to just bite his tongue and commit suicide.
It was just as he was worrying like that.
A light brighter than the light reflected in the tunnel was illuminating the space before Sun-woo's eyes. Sun-woo raised his head and looked straight ahead. Before his eyes, a wide cavern appeared.
In various places throughout the cavern, numerous night-luminescent pearls were embedded, emitting a bright light. The light from the pearls was so intense that it boasted an incredible brightness, enough to illuminate the entire cavern.
I’ve arrived!
His first impression of the cavern was that it was incredibly massive. And he felt a sense of awe at the fact that a cavern of this size had been created underground. In the first place, this was an era without excavators, so it must have all been dug with shovels.
The interior of the cavern consisted of only a few earthen caves, and numerous sword marks were left on the walls, with occasional traces of fist strikes visible. They were likely marks left by the protagonist while he was training in the past.
Walking slowly, he began to examine the cavern in detail. He intended to scavenge and eat even the crumbs of an elixir if any were left.