Chapter 94: The Promise
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94: The Promise
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Sun-woo, holding the Human-Faced Spider in his arms, used the Wind-Dust Step to rapidly distance himself from the Godok Hall.
He began to push his speed even further.
An inexplicable sense of dread had taken hold of him.
It was strange.
Even if the Poison King was absent, the Tang Clan was teeming with elders and seniors who had reached high levels of cultivation. Moreover, wasn't Tang Seo-yoon there? She had absorbed the inner core of the Human-Faced Spider and ascended to the Upper Stage of the Super-Peak Realm.
Despite this, the anxiety gnawing at a corner of his heart refused to fade.
Am I being oversensitive?
Sun-woo shook his head. Even without the Poison King, the Tang Clan was powerful. He told himself there was no need to worry.
However, he soon realized his intuition had been correct.
He came upon a sight that proved him wrong: countless corpses strewn across the ground.
"Ugh!"
The nauseating stench of rotting flesh wafted up. Perhaps because they had died inside the poison-saturated Godok Hall, decomposition was already well underway.
Sun-woo covered his nose and began to examine their faces.
Their features were too decayed to recognize, but they all wore the green robes embroidered with the specific patterns of the clan’s elders and seniors.
They were the high-ranking members of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Sun-woo stared at them, bewildered. Why on earth were the elders and seniors lying dead inside the Godok Hall?
This is bad.
Whatever the reason, it wasn't good. The fact that so many elders and seniors were dead here meant the Tang Clan currently lacked the manpower to deal with the Demonic Cult strike force.
Sun-woo began to circulate the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art, drawing up his internal energy. He needed to move even faster.
*
Sun-woo ran and ran.
He headed toward the South Gate, the closest exit of the Godok Hall.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
He was moving quickly with the Wind-Dust Step, but it wasn't enough. He had to squeeze out even more speed.
Sun-woo began to operate the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art at its peak. The Yin-Yang Harmony Qi, pushed to its limit, circulated through his body before gathering at his Yongcheon Points.
The internal energy accumulated at the soles of his feet and then exploded, propelling his body forward with even greater velocity. Sun-woo began to glide over the grass, blurring as he dashed out of the thicket.
.
.
.
How much time had passed?
Before long, Sun-woo reached the entrance of the South Gate.
But a problem had arisen. The entrance was buried under a mountain of stone debris. Someone had collapsed the entrance on purpose.
Grind.
"The Poison Demon!"
Sun-woo gnashed his teeth at the sight. It was undoubtedly the work of the Poison Demon. He had likely destroyed it to prevent anyone from escaping.
For Sun-woo, who was in a desperate race against time, this was infuriating. If he delayed here, the lives of Tang Seo-yoon and the Great Matriarch might be in jeopardy.
Sun-woo fell into thought. He had to give up on the South Gate. Should he head for another exit?
He couldn't. Going around to the East, West, or North Gates would take twice as long.
Damn it, isn't there another way?
As Sun-woo was racking his brain...
"Zzz... wheeze... Zzz... wheeze..."
The sound of snoring drifted up from his chest.
Looking down, he saw the Human-Faced Spider sleeping soundly in his arms. Sun-woo’s face contorted in a scowl. Whether she knew how frantic he was or not, her utter peacefulness rubbed him the wrong way.
Sun-woo abruptly pulled away the hand supporting her.
Thud.
"Ow!"
As Sun-woo let go, she landed hard on her backside and let out a short yelp.
"What was that for?!"
Angered by the sudden pain, she raised her voice and glared at Sun-woo.
"Stop sleeping."
"Even so, why would you just throw a person!"
"Are you a person? You're a spider."
"Oh, that’s true."
The Human-Faced Spider was quickly convinced by Sun-woo's logic. Indeed, she wasn't a human. Perhaps being thrown was acceptable then.
She shook her head vigorously from side to side before glaring at Sun-woo again. Even if she wasn't human, being thrown so suddenly was unpleasant.
"Why throw a spider, then?!"
"Because your peacefulness was annoying me."
Sun-woo spoke his mind plainly. In truth, he just felt like bullying her.
"You son of a bitch!"
The Human-Faced Spider seemed to be a quick learner when it came to profanity. Seeing her use it so naturally already gave him a strange sense of accomplishment.
"Anyway, is there any other way out of here?"
Sun-woo asked her on the off chance she knew something. Since she had lived here for hundreds of years, he thought she might know of a secret passage or a hidden crawlspace.
"Out of where? Here?"
"Yeah. I need an exit that leads outside right now."
Sun-woo spoke to her with total seriousness.
"There is one."
At Sun-woo's question, she answered with a bright smile.
"Really?"
Sun-woo’s face lit up as he asked back. It felt like a spark of hope had appeared out of nowhere. He had asked just in case, and there actually was an exit.
"Yeah. There's an exit leading outside not far from here."
"Where is it?"
A wide smile spread across Sun-woo's lips. There was hope.
"I don't remember!"
She told Sun-woo with a beaming grin. She looked quite pleased with herself.
"............"
Sun-woo felt a surge of irritation at her answer. Was this damn spider completely lacking in situational awareness? How could she play a prank when he was in such a hurry?
"Hey, stop messing around and tell me. Where's the exit?"
"I really don't remember!"
The Human-Faced Spider raised her voice as if she were the one being wronged. What was she supposed to do if she truly couldn't remember?
"No, for fuck's sake, how does it make sense that you know there's an exit but don't know where it is?"
"What's 'for fuck's sake'?"
"It means I'm going to beat the hell out of you."
Sun-woo began to slowly draw up his internal energy. He intended to fix her mischievous streak once and for all. Sensing the ominous aura, the Human-Faced Spider hurriedly continued.
"Wait, wait! I really don't remember! My spiritual nature got scrambled during the molting process, so some of my memories were lost!"
The Human-Faced Spider began to speak to Sun-woo with genuine earnestness.
"The location of the exit is the same. I definitely knew it before I molted, but now I only have a trace of a memory that it was around here. I have no memory of the exact spot."
She began to watch Sun-woo's reaction anxiously, fearing he might actually strike her.
Hearing her words, Sun-woo began to stroke his chin. He was doing the math in his head. Going to another gate besides the South Gate would be a massive waste of time. Furthermore, in the worst-case scenario, if the other gates were destroyed like the South Gate, he would have exhausted himself and wasted time for nothing.
Let's find the other exit.
Sun-woo reached a conclusion. Although the Human-Faced Spider was mischievous, she wasn't clever enough to lie like this, so he decided to trust her.
Sun-woo turned to move quickly. At that moment...
Tug.
Someone pulled on Sun-woo's dragon robe. It was the Human-Faced Spider.
"Wait."
"What?" Sun-woo asked, puzzled.
"...You have to take me with you."
She answered in a tiny voice, like a crawling ant. She was afraid that Sun-woo might abandon her.
Hearing her voice, Sun-woo realized his mistake. He had been in such a rush that he had forgotten to pick her up.
"Up you go."
Sun-woo scooped her up in one motion and tucked her against him.
"Hehe."
Satisfied with Sun-woo's response, the Human-Faced Spider snuggled into his arms. As long as she was with Sun-woo, no natural predators could approach her. To her, Sun-woo was the ultimate safe zone. She wore a satisfied smile.
After picking her up, Sun-woo began to scan the surroundings. However, nothing resembling an exit was visible anywhere.
After half a shijin of wandering around the South Gate, Sun-woo began to grow frantic. He was anxious. Currently, the Tang Clan had no Poison King and no elders or seniors. In short, it was no exaggeration to say the clan was practically defenseless.
Of course, Tang Seo-yoon was there, but no matter how strong she was, facing a Demonic Cult strike force alone was incredibly dangerous.
"Don't you remember anything?"
In his desperation, Sun-woo pressed the Human-Faced Spider. She was the only one who knew the location of the escape route. She was his only hope.
"Uuuuugh... uuuuugh... I don't... remember."
She whispered in a small voice. Sun-woo's expression was so grim that she had become frightened.
"Think carefully. How did you find out about that exit in the first place?"
"Umm, the human who imprisoned me used to come and go through there!"
She spoke as if a memory had been triggered. As expected, it seemed to be a secret passage used by the Poison Emperor.
"Then do you remember how that human opened the exit?"
"Mmm... that... I think he pressed a stone."
"At what height?"
"I don't think it was very high up!"
Sun-woo began to deduce the answer from her memories. If it was a structure where an entrance opened when a stone was pressed, there was only one possibility: the massive stone wall surrounding the Godok Hall. The key to opening the secret exit had to be somewhere on this wall.
I should have asked that from the start... fuck.
Sun-woo lamented his own stupidity and moved quickly. He approached the stone wall and began pressing on the stones one by one. Since he didn't know how much pressure was required, he applied as much force as possible.
I have to find it quickly.
Sun-woo's movements became even faster.
.
.
.
How long had he been pressing the stones?
Click.
Rumble!
When he pressed a protruding brick firmly, a massive vibration rang out, and a section of the wall began to slide open. He had finally found the exit.
Sun-woo cheered inwardly. He was finally getting out of the Godok Hall. He hurriedly prepared to run. The South Gate was the exit closest to the main estate. If he ran straight from here, he would arrive at the Tang Clan manor in no time.
"Zzz... wheeze... Zzz... wheeze..."
Before setting off with the Wind-Dust Step, Sun-woo looked down at the Human-Faced Spider sleeping in his arms. A question had surfaced: was it right to take this monster out of the Godok Hall? If someone were killed or harmed by her, it would be a very troublesome situation.
"Hey."
Sun-woo began to gently shake the Human-Faced Spider's head to wake her.
"Mmm... num num... I'm gonna sleep more..."
"Oh, for heaven's sake."
But the Human-Faced Spider showed no sign of waking up, seemingly lost in a pleasant dream. She was even talking in her sleep.
Whack!
Sun-woo gave her a sharp flick on the forehead. He was dying for time and had no leisure to indulge her spoiled behavior.
"Ow!"
At the flick, she woke up with a scream.
"What now?!"
"Are you still not recovered?"
"You're the one who interrupted me!"
She shouted, looking genuinely angry. Though it looked like she was just sleeping aimlessly, sleep was strictly the process through which she recovered her spiritual nature. How could he interfere with that and then ask such a question?
"I'm leaving the Godok Hall now. What are you going to do?"
Sun-woo asked her quietly. To him, this was just a place he was passing through, but to her, it was the home where she had lived for hundreds of years. He couldn't just take her away without her consent.
"I have to stick to you until I'm recovered anyway. If you're leaving, I guess I'm leaving too."
She was more decisive than he expected. Did she have no attachment to the home she'd lived in for centuries?
"Don't you have any regrets?" Sun-woo asked, puzzled.
"I told you, my spiritual nature got scrambled during the molting and I lost my memories. Fortunately, I don't seem to have any big regrets."
Sun-woo studied her face closely. He wondered if she was forcing herself to hide her sadness. But her expression seemed truly indifferent.
Strange girl.
Sun-woo shook his head.
"Then let's make one promise before we go out."
"What promise?"
"That you will never kill a human."
"Why?"
"Because if you do, I'll kill you."
Sun-woo answered clearly. Ultimately, since it was Sun-woo who was bringing this monster—who was close to the Transcendent Realm—out of the Godok Hall, he needed a safety measure. Something that would make this creature feel fear. As a result, Sun-woo had resorted to threatening her life.
"You killed people too, didn't you?"
She asked back, puzzled. He had killed people himself, yet he was telling her not to. What kind of logic was that?
"He was someone who deserved to die."
He was likely referring to the Poison Demon. Of course, Sun-woo had killed people, but wasn't that a different case? If he hadn't killed the Poison Demon, his precious people would have died. From Sun-woo's perspective, the Poison Demon deserved death.
"What's the criteria for someone who deserves to die?" the Human-Faced Spider asked back.
"Huh?"
"Did that person attack you first?"
No. If anything, Sun-woo was the one who attacked.
"Or did he show you hostility?"
No. On the contrary, he had shown goodwill and tried to persuade him several times.
"Or did you have a grudge against him?"
No. In fact, he had received the grace of having his life saved from the Poison King.
"............"
Sun-woo couldn't answer her questions readily. He realized that the criteria for "someone who deserves to die" was his own absolute, subjective standard.
"I'm sorry. I misspoke. He wasn't someone who deserved to die."
"Then?"
"He was someone who pursued different values than me. Conflict was inevitable, and so was his death."
"Then if I meet someone with different values, can I kill them too?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because it's bad."
"Then why did you do something bad?"
".........Because I'm a bad guy."
Sun-woo continued bitterly. Hearing the Human-Faced Spider's words had made him feel somewhat depressed.
"I want to be a bad guy too!"
The Human-Faced Spider said with a bright smile. Sun-woo chuckled at the sight. He wondered if this monster could ever understand the complex emotions of a modern person dropped into the Murim.
"No."
"Whyyyyyy!"
The Human-Faced Spider whined. If she became a bad guy, wouldn't she be able to kill anyone who was different from her? Why would he refuse such a good thing?
"Because if you become bad, I really will kill you."
Sun-woo spoke calmly. One bad guy was enough. He absolutely could not give a killing license to this monster who was close to the Transcendent Realm.
"You're really mean!" she shrieked.
"Now, pinky swear."
Sun-woo held out his pinky finger to her.
"You don't even keep your pinky swears!"
The Human-Faced Spider had long since lost faith in pinky swears. Hadn't he promised not to hit her and then whacked her anyway? She felt that such an untrustworthy promise was useless.
"Well, you'll get hit if you don't keep it, so you'd better keep it."
Of course, Sun-woo was confident he could enforce the promise through violence.
"Hmph."
She grumbled as she hooked her pinky with Sun-woo's. With this, the promise was established.
Phew, is that enough of a safety measure?
Sun-woo breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Since he had gone this far, she would at least think of his words once if she ever felt like killing someone.
Having finished the promise, Sun-woo picked her up and began to run. Now that he had placed a safety lock on the Human-Faced Spider, he could cut loose without worry.