Chapter 49 - A Ray of Light in the Darkness
Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong rolled their eyes this way and that, wondering what the hell was going on.
Soon, the Blood Mist that had seeped into the soul prison writhed like rippling waves, and a red shadow slowly rose from within.
"Hng! Fuck! What the hell is this now?!"
"……!"
Jin Baek jerked his head up in horror.
If his limbs had been intact, he would've thrown a punch first thing.
Jin Jaryeong was just as stunned.
Jin Muhon chuckled softly.
"Get along nicely."
"No, my lord! What the hell is this—urk! What do you think you're doing, you little shit! Let go!"
The summoned soul scooped them both up in an instant.
Jin Baek, who had been on the verge of death, bellowed at the top of his lungs from somewhere deep within.
"What are you doing! Just let us die already!"
The corner of Jin Muhon's mouth curved upward.
"You've done well. Let's go home."
"Home? What home! We'll just be a burden if you take us!"
"The house was short on servants anyway."
"……."
"……."
Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong gaped in disbelief.
Then Jin Baek let out a sigh and spoke.
"Sigh… My lord. How's a cripple like me supposed to work…?"
"……."
Misery clouded Jin Baek's face.
Jin Muhon had never seen that expression on him since their childhood together, so he fell silent and stared steadily into Jin Baek's eyes.
"My lord—no, Brother Muhon. Let us go now. Dead is dead; I don't want to hold you back."
Suddenly, Jin Muhon recalled the moment he first met them.
Before they had bound themselves as lord and vassals.
Back then, they had roamed the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains as brothers, beating down demonic cultists left and right.
"There's a divine healer at home."
Remembering the old days stirred something strange in a corner of his heart.
"Huh? Divine healer?"
"Limbs are easy enough to restore."
"……."
"……."
Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong shuddered.
Understanding their feelings, Jin Muhon turned wordlessly and moved.
But at that moment.
The Four Emperors Sword hummed from within its sheath—resonating with a clear sword cry.
"……?"
Wondering what was up, Jin Muhon turned back.
Deep inside the cave.
A faint, auspicious light glimmered softly in the thick darkness.
"What's wrong?"
"Is someone in there?"
"……?"
Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong turned their heads in the direction Jin Muhon indicated.
"Beats me. No one. Even the Tang Clan bastards never went that deep."
Jin Muhon sensed something off at Jin Baek's words.
"You two can't see that light?"
"Light? What light? It's black as Cheon Gunak's guts."
"……."
No.
Something was definitely shining clearly.
And the Four Emperors Sword was resonating in response.
"Let's head out first."
Jin Muhon turned and started walking.
Step. Step. Step.
"You sure… it'll be okay?"
Even as he was helplessly carried by the soul, Jin Baek's concern outweighed his shame.
Their lives were meant to protect their lord.
From the moment they swore their oath of fealty, they had forsaken any lingering attachments to life.
They would die if ordered—but how could they bring calamity upon their lord's future?
"I'll put you to good use, so steel yourselves."
"……."
"……."
Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong shuddered again.
"…Thank you."
"Bullshit."
Boom—!
Jin Muhon kicked off the ground and leaped down the cliff.
***
The sun had set before they knew it, and the sky was filled with stars like scattered silver powder.
The lingering midday heat had vanished from the earth, replaced by an eerie chill, perhaps due to Poison Dragon Valley's pernicious qi.
"Aigoo. It's cold."
Go Seokchu, the Haomen Sichuan branch chief, had built a campfire and was leisurely roasting a rabbit.
"How long do we gotta stick around, fuck."
Instead of pounding his concubine's ass in a warm bedchamber, here he was suffering in this godforsaken place.
Things had gone seriously sideways.
"Ever since I got tangled up with that guy, nothing's gone right—hey! What the—?!"
Go Seokchu absentmindedly looked up and toppled backward in shock.
Beyond the red campfire flames.
Jin Muhon stood with a stern face, cradling a corpse in his arms.
"Who's that guy?"
"Huh? Oh! Th-that's… our sect leader! The bitch who lucked into the position thanks to her daddy—she's such a tight-ass about everything. Us founding members have more than a few complaints!"
Jin Muhon chuckled and approached the fire.
"Go ahead and vent if you've got something to say."
"Uh… having a corpse next to us is kinda…"
"Who said it's a corpse? Get moving."
"Eh? Isn't it dead? Whoa! Then yeah, let's get moving! Right away!"
Go Seokchu scrambled up and rummaged through the wagon.
But suddenly, an eerie aura permeated the air, and a reddish shadow emerged from behind the wagon.
"Hm? What now—gah!"
Go Seokchu's eyes bulged.
A blood-red ghost was holding a skull.
"Gh-gh-gho…!"
The skull, recognizing Go Seokchu, grinned and spoke.
"Rat bastard. Long time no see."
"Uwaaaah!!"
Thud—!
Go Seokchu rolled his eyes back and collapsed.
Jin Baek snickered down at him.
"Kid's still as jumpy as ever."
A brilliant white shooting star streaked across the night sky, trailing a long tail.
***
Caw—caw—caaaaw.
The next morning.
Warm sunlight and crow calls roused the group.
Yeon Jeokhwa, who had lost consciousness, struggled to open her eyes.
Her blurry vision cleared.
Someone was looking down at her.
"You awake?"
"…My lord?"
The bone-chilling cold that had seeped into her marrow was gone.
In place of the impenetrable darkness, warm light filled everything.
For a moment, Yeon Jeokhwa couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality.
"Am… I dead?"
"Crazy talk. If you'd died, I'd be dead too."
Yeon Jeokhwa's eyes widened.
She tried to sit up in a rush, but her whole body screamed in protest.
"Urk!"
"Lie still like good kids."
"Huh? Like good kids…?"
Yeon Jeokhwa slowly turned her head while lying down.
A short distance away, a skull was grinning grotesquely at her.
"Redhead. Awake?"
"……!"
Yeon Jeokhwa's jaw dropped.
"No way… you bear bastard… is that you?"
"Kekeke. Crazy bitch. Yeah, it's me."
"What about Baekya-sal?!"
"Over there."
Yeon Jeokhwa whipped her head to the other side.
A pale-faced man was staring at her with trembling pupils.
"Ghost!"
"……."
Jin Jaryeong nodded faintly.
Confirming all three were safe, Jin Muhon stood.
Tears welled in Yeon Jeokhwa's eyes as she looked up at him.
"My lord! You came to save us in this hellhole… sob!"
"Get ready, all of you. I'll collect on your lives in full."
"…Yes. Waaaaaah!!"
The grown woman bawled like a child, snot and tears streaming.
Jin Jaryeong's face twitched, while Jin Baek turned away and muttered.
"Why the sudden waterworks? Making me tear up too. Fuck."
A single tear trickled down Jin Baek's cheek.
Jin Muhon walked over and kicked the oblivious, sleeping Go Seokchu.
"Ow! Who's there?!"
Go Seokchu bolted upright in a fluster.
"Watch your tongue."
"Ah! It's the family head? Thought it was someone else."
Go Seokchu grinned foolishly and scratched his head.
No matter how much he tried to get used to it, standing before the Sword Demon still sent chills down his spine.
"I've got something to check. Take good care of them."
Last night, he'd been shocked witless by the skull-faced Jin Baek.
Once he learned their identities, he'd damn near foamed at the mouth.
How the hell did the Sword Demon's division commanders end up like this…
Yeon Jeokhwa, flaunting her red hair and voluptuous figure while wielding daggers.
Jin Baek, with his massive build and mountain-like presence.
And Jin Jaryeong, who made your skin crawl just standing nearby.
Demonic Cult elites he could barely meet eye-to-eye with, all reduced to pathetic wrecks.
"Hey, rat. I'm hungry. Get some food."
Any pity evaporated at Jin Baek's call.
"Hey! It's Go Seokchu! If you're hungry, serve yourself!"
"Can't use my arms. Feed me."
"No way! Fuck! I'm the Sichuan branch chief—!"
Tap.
Jin Muhon placed a hand on Go Seokchu's shoulder.
Go Seokchu shrank and turned.
"…Yes?"
"Feed them. To your heart's content."
"Th-this wasn't in the job description…"
Jin Muhon chuckled.
"Whiny little shit. I'll pay extra generously, so take good care of all three."
"All three?!"
"Who else is here besides you?"
"…Understood."
Go Seokchu hung his head with a woeful expression.
Over a decade of acquaintance.
He grumbled, but he always saw jobs through—that was Go Seokchu of Sichuan.
Jin Muhon entrusted them to him with full trust and turned toward Poison Dragon Valley.
"If anything happens to them. You know."
"Don't worry, go on! I'll treat 'em like VIPs!"
"Good."
Jin Muhon met each of their eyes once, then unleashed his lightness skill toward the valley.
His figure vanished to a dot in an instant, as if worried for his injured subordinates.
"Whew! Feels like he's gotten even stronger."
"Tell me about it."
Go Seokchu shook his head and hung a pot over the fire.
"Breakfast is meat porridge?"
"Hahaha! Sounds good!"
Jin Baek laughed heartily.
Good my ass. Maybe I should poison the batch.
Go Seokchu grumbled nonstop but busily prepared the meal.
***
Thud.
Jin Muhon scaled the cliff in a flash and arrived at the cave where he had battled the Poison King.
Inside, the oppressive poison qi from yesterday was gone, replaced by a faint, refreshing aura.
"Hm…"
Even the stench-filled air now carried a subtle fragrance.
Jin Muhon suspected this change stemmed from the light he'd seen last night.
Step. Step. Step.
He ventured deeper into the cave.
Passing the Poison King's corpse—its lower body dissolved, organs melted—he reached the soul prison where the division commanders had been confined.
"That must be it."
As expected, something glowed amid the darkness.
Hummm—hummm—hummm—hummm—
The Four Emperors Sword sang.
Jin Muhon approached the light.
A solid stone wall soon blocked his path.
"Hmm."
He examined the wall closely.
No visible mechanisms or devices.
But there was a small gap, and the light seeped out through it.
"This looks just like…"
The gap's shape resembled a sword thrust.
Hummm—hummm—hummm—hummm—
"……?"
The Four Emperors Sword resonated even stronger.
Jin Muhon drew it from its sheath.
The pitch-black blade melted into the darkness.
On a hunch, he thrust the Four Emperors Sword into the gap.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
"……!"
The entire cave shook violently.
And soon,
The thick stone wall slowly parted to either side.