Chapter 273
Chapter 273
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 74
>Chapter Title: Underground Golden Prison (4)
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Brocade Guard Execution Division office.
The expression of Sixth Captain Im Gyu-yeol hardened as he stared blankly at the hastily revised Golden Prison map.
"Such a thing..."
Deputy Warden Mok Seom, who had been elegantly sipping tea while watching him, asked curiously.
"What's wrong?"
"Deputy Warden, we have a problem."
"A problem?"
"Since we revised the map in such a rush..."
"Don't beat around the bush. Speak quickly."
"If they follow the twisted path as planned, it leads straight to a special zone in the Endless Golden Prison."
"A special restricted zone? You don't mean... Block 120s, do you?"
Mok Seom had previously served as the head of the Execution Division before becoming Deputy Warden.
That was why he knew more about the Underground Golden Prison than most Brocade Guards in the Execution Division.
The Endless Golden Prison was called the worst prison in its own right, but among its cells, even veteran Brocade Guards had to be cautious of those in Block 120 and beyond.
The latter half of Block 120 was so tightly managed that there were rules that had to be—absolutely—followed without fail.
"Bring me the map."
"Yes..."
At this, Sixth Captain Im Gyu-yeol handed him the map.
Deputy Warden Mok Seom's gaze stopped at a certain spot on the revised map.
"Such a thing..."
The exact same words Im Gyu-yeol had uttered slipped from his mouth.
He had only drawn a line over a portion of the Endless Golden Prison, yet it led straight to the latter half of Block 120, a place one should never enter.
If they followed this map...
'Cell 126...'
If it was the Cell 126 he knew,
"Are remnants of the Ghost Blood Sect still alive there?"
"Yes..."
"Hoo."
Deputy Warden Mok Seom clicked his tongue at Im Gyu-yeol's answer.
"What tenacious vitality."
"Yes... I can't understand it at all."
"It's beyond understanding."
"You're right, Deputy Warden. According to the records I received, it's been over thirty years since we cut off their meals, yet whenever we approach that area, we hear scratching sounds. That's why we've barred anyone from going near it, but how can a human survive for decades without eating anything...?"
"If we could solve that mystery, our predecessors would have done it long ago."
Prisoner in Cell 126.
Her exact name was unknown, but her identity was one of the Six Blood Saints of the now-extinct Ghost Blood Sect.
No one knew when she had been imprisoned there.
However, she was known as the longest-incarcerated prisoner in the Underground Golden Prison and one of the three that required the utmost caution.
Unlike ordinary prisoners, Cell 126 was classified as extremely dangerous despite being unable to receive even a single meal.
This was due to the prisoner's bizarre ability.
That ability bewitched people's minds simply by stimulating their sight and hearing, causing many mishaps.
But beyond this ability, there was another strange epithet that defined this prisoner.
That epithet was none other than "Immortal."
The higher-ups had taken an interest in Prisoner 126's inexplicably tenacious life force and investigated, but learned nothing.
Judging that they could not break the stubbornness of Prisoner 126, who kept her mouth shut through torture and interrogation, the higher-ups issued an unofficial order to break her will.
That was to cut off all food intake to the prisoner.
One of humanity's greatest desires is food.
They believed that blocking this desire would break her stubbornness and will, but something no one anticipated occurred.
Despite receiving no sustenance whatsoever, she did not starve to death.
She was still alive.
The higher-ups were astonished by this fact and sealed the information so it wouldn't spread anywhere.
Only a very few in the palace knew of this astonishing truth, and among the Brocade Guards, only those who had served as heads of the Execution Division.
Even now, ordinary Execution Division Brocade Guards believed that Prisoner 126 still received minimal meals.
Deputy Warden Mok Seom spoke in a grave voice as he looked at the map.
"This is troublesome. Approaching Cell 129 would just be asking for death, so that's one thing, but if they get anywhere near Cell 126..."
Before he could finish, Sixth Captain Im Gyu-yeol stood up and said.
"Deputy Warden, I'll go down there myself. If it's not that badge stone guy, I can handle it at my level."
"No... The cadet isn't the issue. If an incident occurs, even you won't be able to handle it."
With that, Deputy Warden Mok Seom rose from his seat.
* * *
Somewhere deep inside the Endless Golden Prison.
Initiate Ju Un-hyang, who had been scouting the surroundings, tore a tiny piece from her sleeve and held it to the torch.
It caught fire and began to smolder, producing smoke.
'Ah...'
Holding her breath, she watched the smoke drift toward the right fork out of the four passages.
Ju Un-hyang looked toward the right passage.
The direction the smoke flowed seemed the most promising.
She headed there.
Along the way, her shoes wore out completely, forcing her to discard the remaining one as well and go barefoot.
Without innate true energy, the soles of her feet would have been ruined on the damp, cold cave floor.
She pressed onward aimlessly like this when—
"Save me! Please, save me!"
Hearing a desperate cry for help from somewhere, Ju Un-hyang perked up her ears.
Had someone else fallen into one of the mechanism maze traps like her?
The only one assigned to the inner Endless Golden Prison with her was Yeom Kyung.
Ju Un-hyang ran toward the source of the voice.
There was a pit in the floor, about ten feet in diameter, sunken deep.
"Save me! Please! Please!"
The voice came from below.
Ju Un-hyang immediately thrust her torch toward it.
In the flickering torchlight, she saw a figure dangling helplessly, impaled through the thigh by a thick rope at the bottom of the deep pit.
Ju Un-hyang shouted toward the figure.
"Is that you, Yeom Kyung?"
The figure made no response to her call.
Ju Un-hyang furrowed her brow.
Couldn't it hear her voice?
As she puzzled over this, a voice came from the pit.
"Save me. Please!"
Was it really him?
The voice sounded like pleading desperation.
She needed to rescue him first.
Pondering how, Ju Un-hyang shone the torch around below.
Besides the one dangling from the rope, there was a skull that looked like a corpse.
Someone must have fallen here and died.
'They didn't dispose of the body?'
They said they maintained the mechanisms periodically, but apparently not thoroughly.
On the opposite wall above the dangling rope, something protruded.
Hidden by the torchlight's shadow, she hadn't noticed.
'A sword hilt?'
A sword of unusual shape was embedded in the wall.
The smooth blade connected directly to the hilt in an awkward form. A rope was tied to the hilt as well.
It seemed she could reach it by stretching her hand down.
'I can use that.'
Deciding, Ju Un-hyang moved to the opposite side and reached down.
It was just within reach, and she grasped the hilt embedded in the wall.
As she tried to pull it out—that instant—
-Thump!
Her heart pounded wildly, and her innate true energy surged chaotically.
"Hngh."
A convulsion wracked her entire body as she gripped the sword.
She couldn't control the trembling; a cacophony of noises flooded her mind, turning it upside down.
[Kill! Kill them!]
[Why? Why are you doing this?]
[Please save me. Please...]
It wasn't just one or two voices.
The voices multiplied into dozens, hundreds.
Amid this, Ju Un-hyang's pupils shook.
She had clearly seen someone—thought to be Yeom Kyung—dangling below, but now there was no one there.
As if she had seen an illusion.
Dumbfounded by this,
[Give me your body!]
[Die! Die!]
'Kuh!'
The chilling noises further muddled her mind.
Each noise brimmed with killing intent and resentment, utterly abhorrent, and they began eroding her mind and body at a rapid pace.
'I have to... let go... of the hand.'
Ju Un-hyang tried to release her grip on the hilt.
But it clung to her palm like it was adsorbed.
Instead, with her still clutching it, the blade slid out from the wall with a schuk.
If it had been embedded while the corpse turned to skeleton, it should have rusted, but astonishingly, the blade was pristine, even gleaming with sword light.
'Let go! Let go...'
Ju Un-hyang exerted all her strength to pry her hand free from the sword.
But it was futile.
Her innate true energy in the central dantian burned hot against this sinister energy, but the screams and vengeful spirits contained in this unidentified sword were overwhelmingly intense.
Soon, the trembling in Ju Un-hyang's hand gripping the sword ceased.
Then, a bizarre light flowed into her raised eyes.
-Swish!
With changed eyes, Ju Un-hyang picked up the sword in one hand and the torch in the other, walking toward somewhere.
As she went, red warning words were scrawled on both walls.
[三十步內出入禁止]
No entry within thirty paces.
Yet Ju Un-hyang ignored the warning and advanced.
The moment she stepped within thirty paces, a chilling wind began to blow through the prison.
-Whoosh!
The torch flame flickered violently.
The shadows cast by the light rippled like waves.
Despite the eerie phenomenon, Ju Un-hyang paid it no mind and approached.
She stood before the cell.
[百二十九]
129.
It was etched above the thick bars of the cell door—the very room marked on the roster as absolutely off-limits.
At that moment, Ju Un-hyang raised the sword and swung it at the bars.
-Slash!
Sharp sword energy wrapped around the blade, and with a clang, the thick iron bars were severed.
Ju Un-hyang kicked the severed section with her foot, sending it tumbling into the cell.
-Thud!
Without hesitation, she entered.
In the flickering torchlight, something grotesque leaning against the wall became visible.
Ju Un-hyang's lips curled into a sinister smile as she gazed at it.
* * *
"Hm?"
Mok Kyung-un, who had passed through the mechanism maze trap far too easily, tilted his head and looked somewhere.
Originally, since it was unrelated to his plan, he had intended to just pass by, but one cell door was open.
Above the entrance of the open cell was engraved:
[百二十六]
126.
Seeing this, Mok Kyung-un recalled words from his subordinate, Mong Mu-yak.
[The cell with the Saintess Spirit Lord is 130. But just in case, you should note this too.]
"What is it?"
[It's best to avoid Cells 126 and 129 if possible.]
"Why?"
In response to his question, Mong Mu-yak had relayed the warning he had seen.
Cell 126 was where a Six Blood Saint of the Ghost Blood Sect was imprisoned.
The warning said not to approach within ten paces, and even for meals, one must block eyes and ears.
'Eyes and ears?'
He had felt a flicker of curiosity, but since it was unrelated to his goal, he dismissed it quickly.
There would be no reason to enter Cell 126 anyway.
However,
'Did that guy open it?'
A cell that should have been sealed tight was open.
And someone had entered the cell and was doing something.
That someone was none other than Yeom Kyung, the initiate from the Mount Hua Sect.
Wondering what he was doing, Mok Kyung-un saw Yeom Kyung blindfolded, gagged, and bound, extracting something from the captive's body.
-Pop!
Each time he pulled one out,
-Roooar!
The captive's energy surged dramatically.
Interest gleamed in Mok Kyung-un's eyes as he watched.
That was because, with his Ghost Eye open, energy manifested visibly to him, and this possessed a nature he had never seen before.
-Crackle! Crackle-crackle!
It unleashed blue thunderbolts like roots spreading in a storm.