Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Nine Deaths and One Life
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Pitch-black night, a meteor shower poured from the sky. Heuk Do-san was battling the waves at the gunwale of the sailing ship alongside the old mercenaries.
"What the hell kind of disaster is this?"
"I don't know."
"What do we do now?"
"I don't know."
"How can you just keep saying you don't know? We need some kind of plan. You've got way more experience than me, don't you?"
"You give the orders. We've got the experience, but your head's sharper than ours by a mile."
"What are you talking about?"
"We've traveled together all this time, and you've saved our skins more times than I can count. I'm sure you've got some clever way out of this in that brain of yours right now. Spit it out. What do we do?"
"That's ridiculous..."
Heuk Do-san looked around. Meteors rained down from the sky like a downpour, and the sea churned as if it might capsize the world.
Just a short while ago, the Righteous Alliance and Heavenly Demon Divine Cult sailing ships had been locked in fierce shipboard combat, but now massive waves the size of houses tossed them about like leaves.
The ocean was filled with men who'd fallen from the ships, bobbing like maggots in a shit bucket.
"No time!"
"First, Old Man Mu, get down to the cabins. Find those treasure chests and secure them so they don't shift. If those heavy chunks of metal smash into the hull, we could spring a leak. The rest of you, grab the helm and the sheets. From now on, you'll steer this ship by my commands to get us out of here. Move!"
The old mercenaries scattered swiftly.
Heuk Do-san seized the sheet connected to the mainsail and leaped into the air. At that instant, a crimson meteor streaked from the sky and crushed him flat.
"Argh!"
Heuk Do-san screamed as he awoke.
His body was soaked through—must've been a nightmare. Of all things, getting smashed by a meteor shower.
"Huh...!"
He opened his eyes wide and scanned his surroundings. The world was utter darkness; bulging his eyes changed nothing.
But he could feel it.
The stench of corpses invading his nostrils, his arms and legs free to move, and the steady drip of water from somewhere.
Incredibly, he was alive. Unbearable pain from his wounds tormented his flesh, but he was definitely alive.
"What happened?"
The words he muttered carelessly echoed back. The space ahead seemed far larger than he'd imagined.
Flustered, Heuk Do-san fumbled at his waist. Fortunately, both iron rods were still there.
He quickly drew them, gripped one in each hand, and swung them overhead. Nothing caught.
"Huh?"
This time, he connected them into a staff and swung higher. Still nothing.
"What the hell?"
Confirming ample space above, Heuk Do-san groped forward like a blind man.
He walked for a long time with nothing blocking his path. His feet crunched over fallen rocks and stepped on corpses, but the space ahead remained empty.
Then suddenly, a 'crack!'—something snagged. Reaching out, he felt a smooth, wet texture.
"Stalactite?"
He prodded ahead with the iron staff. Sure enough, open space gave way repeatedly to what felt like stalactite pillars.
After roughly twenty-odd paces, he grasped the situation.
"Stalactites and stalagmites are acting as pillars! And that's what barely stopped the ceiling from collapsing?"
A canyon.
The canyon walls had jammed together, halting the ground's shift and weakening the collapsing ceiling's force. Dense stalactites and stalagmites had propped it up, halting the cave-in.
"Hah!"
Relief at being alive escaped Heuk Do-san in a groan.
But it was short-lived. Realizing he was trapped alone deep underground in this snowy peak sapped his strength.
"If I'm gonna die anyway, might as well go quick and clean."
The thought of slowly withering away amid all these corpses darkened his vision.
Life was such a fickle thing. Knowing death was inevitable, yet the mere fact of being alive right now ignited a burning thirst.
"If I'm dying, I'll at least quench it first."
Heuk Do-san grabbed a random stalactite and licked its moisture. He lapped for ages, barely wetting his throat, let alone filling his belly.
"If I had a white oak shard, I'd carve it to collect water."
Then it hit him—why not do the same with a stalactite?
"I need a knife—a blade!"
Heuk Do-san snatched up the iron staff and traversed the cavern. No light made orienting himself tricky. After trial and error, he found the crevice leading to the stone chamber.
By some miracle, the stone chamber was intact.
He walked straight ahead from the entrance. Soon, he reached the bedroom cluttered with odds and ends.
From there, he ditched the staff and groped the floor by hand, checking each item one by one.
The Snow Mountain Old Man had lit a lamp in the stone chamber. There had to be an oil jar somewhere.
Sure enough, moments later, he felt a jar the size of a goat's belly. He peeled off the leather lid by touch, and the smell of oil wafted up.
"Of course."
With oil confirmed, he scoured the bedroom meticulously and finally found flint stones.
Ridiculously, they were right under the oil jar. He tore a strip from his clothes, soaked it in oil, and struck the flints.
Clack! Clack!
Sparks flew a couple times, and the cloth caught. The surroundings lit up briefly.
No time to marvel. Before the cloth burned out, he found a wick, stuffed it into a mix of half oil and half sand from the jar, and lit it.
A small lamp flickered to life.
"Got it!"
With light, the surroundings came into view bit by bit. Predictably, the stone chamber hadn't escaped the disaster.
The ceiling had half-collapsed but been halted by countless stalactites and stalagmites.
Looking back, the secret vault's stone door was long shattered. He strode in, grabbed a sharp-looking sword, and emerged.
Stalactites dotted the chamber too, but Heuk Do-san was curious about the main cavern. Stepping out, he saw a space six or seven paces wide faintly illuminated.
The light spread, and soon he could see twice the area.
Just as expected. Hanging stalactites and upward-thrusting stalagmites from the floor acted as pillars propping the ceiling.
Staring at it felt like being an ant inside a giant loofah.
"Insane."
Still, it was a relief. He'd starve in ten days, but at least he'd have time to reflect on his life before accepting death.
Heuk Do-san returned to the sandy stone chamber. He selected a dripping stalactite, spiraled a groove into it with the sword, and placed a vessel from the bedroom beneath.
Moisture pooled quickly—not insignificant. Soon, enough for a cup gathered. He tossed it back, and his thirst eased at last.
"Finally feel half-alive."
"Pour me a cup too."
"Whoa!"
Heuk Do-san jolted to his feet. In the corner, a freakish figure caked in white dust blinked at him.
It was the Snow Mountain Old Man.
"Still kicking?"
"If I were dead, I wouldn't be talking, would I?"
"Hah, you tenacious old bastard."
"You're the one yapping away."
"What the hell happened?"
"I was just sitting there, and the rocks fell around me. As you see, the stalactites and stalagmites stopped the collapse. Lucky break. Looks like you too."
"What'd you do to the cave?"
"I detonated explosives I'd rigged long ago for emergencies. Simple mechanism."
"You nearly got us all killed. And now I'm really gonna die because of you. Time to prove your luck's finally run out."
Heuk Do-san approached with his iron rods.
He was about to bash the Snow Mountain Old Man's head, leaning limply against the wall like a scarecrow.
"No rush, is there?"
"No need to delay."
"One last cup of water first. Throat's parched from blood loss. You'll grant that much?"
"Death knocking, and thirst is your big worry? You even grasp the situation?"
"Looks like you need that realization more."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm done for, but you need to survive somehow. First rule of survival: coldly assess your situation."
"......?"
"......"
"Hold on."
Heuk Do-san placed a wick under the grooved stalactite. As water gathered, the Snow Mountain Old Man spoke.
"You woke up in a day."
"What?"
"You. Exactly one day."
"In this pitch black, how do you know if it's a day or half gone?"
"Fifty years in the dark. I was confused at first too. Once thought ten days passed; turned out just one."
"Bullshit."
"Believe it or not."
By then, the vessel was half full.
Heuk Do-san offered it.
"Here."
"Feed me."
"You demonic freak gone mad."
"You broke both my arms."
"......!"
The Snow Mountain Old Man's arms hung limp.
Heuk Do-san licked his lips, grabbed the old man's chin, pried it open, and roughly poured the water in.
Despite the pig-like treatment, the Snow Mountain Old Man didn't complain.
"Gah, refreshing."
"You mad old coot."
"Mouth got rougher in a day."
"You expect sweet talk from me? Be grateful I haven't cursed you out proper. Shameless old goat."
"Don't be like that. Out of all the snowy peaks miles away, why'd you climb this one—where I am? Heaven's matchmade us."
"I picked the best vantage for scouting. You chose it to watch enemy troops. Just two guys with similar taste in terrain. What matchmade bullshit."
"Mercenary on the battlefield, huh? Boarded that ship by chance, trapped in the Nine Heavens Illusion Grand Ancestral Formation by chance, crash-landed by chance, picked this peak by chance—all coincidence?"
"By that logic, everything's fate and destiny."
"That's my point. Past actions cause present results. Present actions seed future ones."
'What nonsense is this old fart spouting?'
"Similar thinking, eh? Music to my ears. Come to think, we share traits. Definitely fate."
"Shut it."
"Again: nothing happens by chance. Everything has a cause. Me settling here, your comrades leaving you alone."
"One thing I know: you left me here alone so I wouldn't let you die easy."
"Why the vendetta? You invaded my cave without permission first."
"You really asking 'cause you don't know?"
"Really don't."
"You tried to kill us!"
"But no one died."
"I'm about to."
"Not set in stone."
"Shut it. Attempting it gives me reason enough."
"Had no choice. Had to hide my disciple mastering the Hundred Thousand Great Heaven Walls. If Central Plains martial artists sniffed it out before completion, fifty years' work crumbles."
"You mad...!"
Heuk Do-san couldn't hold back, ready to unleash dockside curses honed on gambling tables.
Then a strange thought struck.
The Hundred Thousand Great Heaven Walls manual was already stolen by Seop Dae-gang. Dead or alive, if alive, he'd be the sole inheritor as the old man said.
But when activating the trap, the Snow Mountain Old Man's setup didn't guarantee Seop Dae-gang's safety.
No doubt he'd meant to kill him. And hadn't he laughed maniacally about the art dying with him?
Yet disciple?
'What scheme's this old bastard cooking now?'