Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Leaving and Remaining
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Snow Mountain Old Man put the bone flute to his lips and blew with all his might. But unexpectedly, only a faint hissing sound like escaping air came from it—no sound that should have rung out could be heard.
While everyone else was bewildered, Heuk Do-san alone was not surprised.
He had heard once before: there were unknown sounds in the world that humans couldn't hear, and bats used those sounds, emitting them from their mouths to signal their kin.
Suddenly, Heuk Do-san wondered if these bits of knowledge were really things he'd heard from someone.
Could it be that he was mistaking innate knowledge for things he'd learned from mercenaries?
Even so, there must have been someone who first imparted that knowledge to him. Then who was that person?
Ever since discussing Bing-seol and his childhood memories earlier, he'd begun doubting the source of all his knowledge.
Heuk Do-san shook his head vigorously.
'Snap out of it!'
Moments later, from beyond the entrance of the stone chamber, came the sound of flapping wings, and a swarm of thousands of bats poured in. Soon, they began flying in a fixed pattern beneath the ceiling.
Looking at the thousands of pairs of bluish eyes glowing from their rice-grain-sized pupils, it was as dazzling as stars pouring down from the night sky.
That bizarre yet beautiful sight reflected in everyone's eyes—even those in a hypnotic trance, staring wide-eyed.
The exact same situation as what they'd seen in the cave earlier.
But unlike before, there was no foggy daze or sense of being unwittingly drawn in. Instead, his eyes cleared, and the stuffy pressure in his chest eased refreshingly.
Snow Mountain Old Man said,
"Will you make one final bet with me?"
"What trick is this now?"
"I'm staking my life that no one leaves this place alive today. What will you stake?"
"Shut up! Whatever scheme you're plotting, remember my warning: if something happens, you'll be the first to die."
"The bet has already begun. Heh heh heh."
It was then.
Boom!
A deafening roar shook the entire stone chamber. The vibration was so intense it was hard to keep one's footing.
Right on cue, the swarm of bats flying beneath the ceiling scattered and began rapidly exiting the chamber.
The explosion happened only once.
But its aftermath was far from ordinary.
Rumble... boom boom boom!
As if an earthquake had struck, vibrations spread throughout the entire cave, and cracks began spiderwebbing across the stone walls.
In that instant, Heuk Do-san spotted a stalactite hanging from the ceiling above Bing-seol's head falling.
"Danger!"
Heuk Do-san threw himself forward like a hail of arrows. Without time to grab her properly, he shoved Bing-seol aside. An arrow shot from Bing-seol's taut bowstring embedded itself in the ceiling.
Thud!
By a hair's breadth, the stalactite crashed into the sandy floor. The impact snapped it in half, and the upper portion—just barely—landed on Bing-seol's leg.
"Argh!"
With a dying scream, Bing-seol lost consciousness and collapsed.
"Damn it all!"
Heuk Do-san cried out and tried to shove the stalactite away. But how could human strength move something as massive as a temple beam?
"Even after mastering world-shaking martial arts, you couldn't find an heir. The Ten Thousand Layer Celestial Ceiling will end with me. But no one will ever know it was buried here. Ha ha ha!"
Snow Mountain Old Man burst into mad laughter.
As if unleashing all his remaining inner energy at once, his howling shook the already trembling stone chamber.
Walls split with sharp cracks, and small stalactites rained down randomly from the ceiling. The sounds carrying far indicated the entire underground cave was collapsing.
"Hong, carry me on your back. Hurry!"
Seop Dae-gang bellowed.
Hong Gong-tak sprang up spasmodically and hoisted Seop Dae-gang onto his back. Seop Dae-gang's orders continued.
"Evil witch, grab the lantern and light the way!"
Mo Yong-ak glanced back and forth between Heuk Do-san wrestling the stalactite and Bing-seol pinned beneath it, at a loss.
Seop Dae-gang barked again.
"We'll all die like this!"
"But..."
"Don't overthink it. If he's worth staking your life on, stay. Otherwise, grab that lantern and light the path right now!"
She still had much to say to Heuk Do-san. There were unresolved knots from the past deep in her heart.
But untying those old grudges with him wasn't worth more than her life. Without hesitation, Mo Yong-ak snatched the lantern that had fallen before Snow Mountain Old Man. Then she bolted out of the chamber at full speed.
Hong Gong-tak, carrying Seop Dae-gang, followed behind.
Heuk Do-san, grappling with the massive stalactite, watched Mo Yong-ak's receding figure in the distance.
'Farewell. My younger self.'
As the lantern vanished, the stone chamber plunged into darkness. Only the faint glow of the bats that hadn't yet escaped allowed him to make out his surroundings dimly.
Squeezing out every last ounce of strength from nursing days, the stalactite wouldn't budge.
In that moment, suddenly the stalactite began to shift little by little. Glancing around in the chaos, he saw Hyeon-gak and Gong Cheon-ak had awakened and were straining alongside him.
It seemed those with higher inner energy had woken first. Heuk Do-san was overjoyed, as if he'd gained a heavenly army.
"Hurry!"
The stalactite, which had seemed immovable, was lifted half a zhang high.
"Throw it to the side!"
Thud!
The stone pillar toppled away with a roar.
Heuk Do-san hurriedly checked Bing-seol's condition. Fortunately, the sandy floor had spared her bones from shattering.
Still, a compound fracture was unavoidable. Her shin was snapped clean through.
"What the hell just happened?"
Gong Cheon-ak shouted.
"Shut up and pick up the others. We have to get out before the bats are gone. Hurry!"
"Out of the way!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Hyeon-gak shoved Gong Cheon-ak aside, scooped up Bing-seol, and dashed off.
"That damn stonehead!"
Deprived of the first pick by Hyeon-gak, Gong Cheon-ak looked around, tucked Yeom Jin-sang under his arm, and ran.
Heuk Do-san scooped up Dang Yak-ran and followed the two. His body felt as heavy as a thousand catties, but now he had to wring out every scrap of strength.
The stone chamber connected directly to the cavern.
With bats squeaking and flapping about, and stone fragments pouring from the ceiling, the cavern was a scene from hell.
"Follow the bats!"
Heuk Do-san shouted.
Sure enough, the bat swarm was crossing the cavern and vanishing rapidly into a passage leading somewhere.
Hyeon-gak in the lead ran at full speed after the bats as Heuk Do-san directed. Countless corpses of foreign women were trampled underfoot, but dodging the boulders raining from above left no time to think.
The shaking intensified to the point where keeping balance was impossible. The falling rocks shifted from pumpkin-sized chunks to long, jagged boulders.
Boom! Boom!
After a long while of echoes, dodging the cascading rocks as they traversed the cavern, they finally reached the narrow gorge connecting to the outer cave.
The bat swarm was flapping into the gorge.
But something strange was happening. For some reason, the walls on either side were closing in, narrowing the already tight gorge further.
It couldn't be that Snow Mountain Old Man had set up such an intricate mechanism alone; it seemed like a distortion from the ground shifting due to the explosion.
"The gorge is narrowing! Hurry!"
Hyeon-gak, leading the way, spotted it first and yelled. He plunged into the gorge and sprinted madly. Gong Cheon-ak followed.
It was the moment Heuk Do-san, arriving last, leaped in.
Boom!
With a roar, a colossal stalactite crashed at the gorge entrance. There was no time to react.
All Heuk Do-san could think was protecting Dang Yak-ran as he charged into the falling stalactite.
The vertically plummeting stalactite veered from the lateral force and slammed into the left wall. Heuk Do-san pushed with all his might using his shoulder, back, and waist.
Thud! Scraaaape!
As the stalactite scraped and gouged the wall, an eerie sound rang out. By the grace of heaven, it wedged in the gorge's midpoint, halting the encroaching walls.
But the pressure was still immense, and the stalactite was cracking with sharp snaps.
"Heuk Do-san!"
Gong Cheon-ak, who had run ahead, rushed back in alarm. Realizing the situation late, his eyes widened.
How could someone without even cultivated inner energy block that massive stalactite with his body?
"H-How are you...?"
"Where's Hyeon-gak...?"
Heuk Do-san growled through his clenched throat.
"He bolted ages ago. Probably has no clue what's happening back here. That's why I call him stonehead."
"Good."
"Hang on a bit. I'll find a way."
With that, Gong Cheon-ak set down Yeom Jin-sang and moved to cling to the stalactite.
Heuk Do-san said urgently,
"Don't do something pointless!"
"What?"
"You know damn well—why act out of character? If I pull back, the stalactite falls into the cavern. If it does, the whole gorge seals shut, and you'll get crushed too."
"......!"
Gong Cheon-ak knew it too.
The massive stalactite wedged in the middle had stopped the walls' advance—and right now, Heuk Do-san was holding it back with his entire body, exerting himself to the brink of death.
"Then what do you want me to do?"
Heuk Do-san instinctively knew this was the moment of choice Bing-seol had spoken of. His remaining fate would be decided by this choice. And one path led to death.
Amid the bone-crushing pain, he looked down at Dang Yak-ran cradled in his arms. Brushing the dust from her face revealed her true features.
Her large eyes gently closed in sleep—she was so beautiful.
'Do you remember the day we first met? Why didn't we recognize each other then? We wouldn't have taken this long detour.'
"Take her."
Heuk Do-san handed Dang Yak-ran over like passing a burden. Gong Cheon-ak reflexively took her.
"I'm counting on you."
"And you?"
"Teasing me?"
"......!"
"Promise you'll get her safely to the Central Plains. In exchange for buying you and Bing-seol time to escape—that's a fair demand, right?"
"She'll ask about you later."
"Tell her I ran off alone."
"I've never lied once in my life."
"Shut up."
Gong Cheon-ak nodded, lips pressed tight.
"Go."
Heuk Do-san's legs trembled as if they might snap any second.
Above, the last bats remaining in the cavern streaked into the gorge at full speed.
Gong Cheon-ak tucked Dang Yak-ran and Yeom Jin-sang under his arms and said,
"Thanks for everything. Don't worry about Dang Yak-ran. As long as I live, I'll get her to the Tang Clan of Sichuan."
Finishing his words, Gong Cheon-ak turned and ran. Moments later, his figure vanished into the darkness with the bats.
'I'm counting on you, Seventh Star Lord.'
Even after Gong Cheon-ak disappeared, Heuk Do-san held on with all his might until he could fully escape the gorge.
He didn't know where this strength was coming from in his body. Surviving this moment would grind every joint to dust.
The tail of the last bat swarm vanished into the gorge. The light following the flying bats faded away.
In that instant, the stalactite, unable to withstand the pressure, shattered with a roar.
Bang!
In the moment of life and death, Heuk Do-san unleashed his War Sword to escape the gorge.
The halved stalactite collapsed toward the cavern. The encroaching walls slammed together again with a roar.
Bang!
The faint light extending from the gorge vanished, turning the cavern pitch black. The very blackness Bing-seol had described.
'What an extraordinary witch.'
Boom! Rumble rumble crash!
Was it from the walls colliding?
Continuous earth-shaking roars followed as the ceiling began collapsing entirely.
Surrounded on all sides.
No way out, nowhere to hide.
Heuk Do-san pressed tight against the wall, curling his body like a worm.
Even in that split second, Heuk Do-san had the irrelevant thought, 'By now, an avalanche must be happening on Snow Mountain, right?'
When death was actually upon him, it wasn't as frightening as imagined. Only the vision of his mangled corpse buried under a peak deep in the underground cave terrified him.
Rumble rumble rumble crash!
Perhaps due to the cavern's size, the collapse dragged on. Boulders poured down, and the ground shook like an earthquake.
Then something heavy struck the back of his head.
Thwack!
'Now I'm really done for.'