063
063
"Hwaaam."
Deep in the night.
A Tang Clan warrior, Gara, yawned and dozed. The moon overhead was full, and the night was perfectly still.
"Not even a single rat."
Gara shivered and circulated his internal energy. If this weren't such a critical assignment, he would have thrown back a swig of liquor to warm his stomach, but he was currently on a mission so important that even alcohol was forbidden.
"Ugh. It's not like anyone's going to come here anyway."
His duty was to guard the area near the Sichuan Tang Clan's secret vault.
Specifically, to prevent anyone from entering the vault without authorization.
The Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation.
Around the entrance to the vault lay a formation that rained down a poison so corrosive that mere contact with the skin melted living flesh and reduced a person to fragments of bone.
Not only intruders, but even a few overly curious members of the Tang Clan had died and become part of the bone piles within the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation.
Unless you walked the safe path known only to those of the clan head's rank, the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation was a place no one could breach short of possessing Immunity to All Poisons.
So worrying about intruders was unnecessary. The only reason a second-rate martial artist like Gara was assigned here was to warn off anyone who recklessly approached the vault.
Swoosh.
"...Hm?"
Still, there was no reason he would fail to notice an intruder approaching this brazenly. Gara slipped a hidden weapon into his hand behind his back and, concealed in the moon's shadow, watched the approaching figures stride forward without a trace of stealth.
'Two of them.'
By their silhouettes, one was a man and the other a woman. The man in front stepped boldly into the moonlight first. The woman's features were harder to make out.
"Even after all this time, this place hasn't changed."
"......Identify yourself."
"An intruder appears, and yet you remain so calm?"
"I'd rather know who I'm dealing with, so my death doesn't feel unjust."
The black-clad figure in a wide-brimmed hat and stealth garment gave no clue to his identity. Yet Gara could roughly sense the martial level of both the man and the woman behind him.
Peak-level at minimum. Enemies Gara could never hope to defeat.
"So... will you at least tell me who you are before you kill me? And what you came here for."
"My purpose is simple. I need to enter the Sichuan Tang Clan's secret vault for a time."
"Hah. That's impossible. Who could possibly enter the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation?"
"I can."
The black-clad man lifted the brim of his hat slightly. At the familiar face revealed by the moonlight, Gara clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Heavens...!!"
"You know me?"
"H-how could you, Young Master... you are here?!"
"I am an uninvited guest. I was never formally invited, but I was drawn here all the same by the blood that flows through my veins."
The man in black drew a medicine bottle from his robes. Gara accepted it with one hand and, upon reading the label wrapped around the bottle, started in shock.
"The inner core of a Human Face Spider...?!"
"I picked it up on the way here. Those who need it should use it, rather than me."
The man in black produced several books from his robes. The moment Gara saw the covers, his eyes brimmed with tears.
"Young Master...!! You truly haven't abandoned the family after all!"
"That's not quite it. I merely intended to discard what I no longer need, but found them too valuable to throw away."
The man in black lowered his hat again. Gara, his face filled with emotion, bent at the waist into a full ninety-degree bow.
"I'll pretend I didn't see a thing. Please go safely."
"Thank you. I will."
The man in black jerked his chin at the woman following him and threw open the door leading to the vault. The woman, her face hidden by a mask, gave Gara a light nod before boldly following the man in black inside.
Creeeak.
The door shut. Gara swallowed hard at the thick, pervasive aura of the Human Face Spider emanating from the medicine bottle inside his robes.
"Truly... the Young Master is also a child of the Tang Clan...."
Gara wiped his tears with his sleeve.
"Why not call yourself False Demon instead of a Sex Demon?"
"That won't do. I have already decided to walk the path of the Sky-Soaring Lust Demon."
Shaaaaaa.
Poisonous aura filled the air on all sides. Holding the Little Princess's hand tightly, I walked the safe path through the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation.
Pssssssh!
A deadly poison that would melt flesh on contact splattered beside us. If I had stepped even slightly farther forward, my toes would have dissolved instantly; if I had stepped slightly short, the soles of my feet would have melted away.
"Just as Bandit Demon is a master of Poison Arts yet walks the path of a flying thief, I too possess the world's greatest martial arts but walk the path of a Sex Demon. Therefore, the title of False Demon doesn't apply."
"Those are truly arrogant words."
"Why? Because the Heavenly Demon is the best under heaven?"
"I am the best under heaven."
At the Little Princess's audacious confidence, I laughed.
'This is what it means to be the Heavenly Demon.'
She wasn't called the Number One Flower of the Black Path for nothing. Her conviction in her own martial arts and her self-esteem were indeed the best under heaven, exactly as she claimed, and in truth she had grown into one of the Three Great Masters of the World.
"When it comes to self-confidence, you're certainly not inferior to Taiji Flower."
"Does that mean I am inferior in some other way?"
"......."
I turned around and fixed my gaze on her. The Little Princess raised a hand to her shoulder and glared at me.
"I am taller than her. I possess more inner energy. And my face is prettier!"
"That's a Human Skin Mask. I'll grant you height and inner energy, but comparing faces is difficult."
"What... did you say....."
The Little Princess looked genuinely shocked.
"Is that the truth? You aren't just using the Human Skin Mask to hide an ugly face??"
"Why would I lie to you about such a thing? My apologies to Taiji Flower."
"You mean you haven't already taken Taiji Flower, with a face that can match mine on a body like that...? Could it be... you've already finished everything with her...?"
As expected of the Little Princess. I answered with a smile.
"Heavens.... Aren't you afraid of the consequences? What will you do if Taiji Flower grows stronger than you and comes after you carrying four swords to stab you?"
"When that happens, I'll just quietly let myself be caught and become a matrilocal son-in-law. The same goes for you, Little Princess. If one day I capture your heart and yet depart seeking another woman...."
I pulled the Little Princess's hand toward me. The Fire Bone Mountain acid splashed behind her, and I drew her into my arms and whispered.
"You may break my legs so I cannot run away. But spare my waist and manhood. That would be to your detriment as well."
"Y-you...!"
"Kehaha! Of course, I have no intention of leaving you for the time being, so rest easy. Let us continue."
Holding the Little Princess, I moved my steps further inside. After fuming for a long moment, the Little Princess composed her breathing and spoke in an exasperated voice.
"You may be the first person in the world to pass through the Sichuan Tang Clan's Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation with so little tension, Bi-cheon."
"There's no path more boring than a maze whose answer you already know."
I know the safe path through the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation perfectly. I know exactly when and where the poison will strike, and which spots along the safe path must not be stepped on.
"A formation is a martial art as well. So there's no way I wouldn't know it."
"Hah, does that mean you can use the Tang Clan's martial arts too this time?"
"Of course. I could count on one hand the martial arts in this world that I cannot use."
Who knows how much Murim blood I've absorbed? The Tang Clan's martial arts are among them, and I also know the martial arts of the person from the Sichuan Tang Clan who understands how to break the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation.
'Poison Immortal.'
A hidden hermit secluded somewhere in the wild mountains of Sichuan, far from Chengdu. A master of the Profound Realm from the previous generation who blocked the path of the Blood Jiangshi moving to annihilate the Sichuan Tang Clan, buying time for the Tang Clan members to flee.
"Even the warrior guarding the entrance sensed it. That I've learned the Sichuan Tang Clan's martial arts."
"Isn't that because Bi-cheon is currently impersonating Bandit Demon?"
"Heh. You're still far off. Do you think the people of the Tang Clan, who have examined bodies as thoroughly as those of the Unorthodox Faction, couldn't see through a Human Skin Mask? Of course, I also used the Body Transformation Art, but I didn't fool him with just a similar face and voice. Since ancient times, when impersonating someone from a martial family, nothing is as certain as this."
Tang!
I caught the hidden weapon flying toward the Little Princess. Then I threw the poison needle I had seized straight ahead.
Kyee-ek!
"Huh...."
The poison needle pierced the forehead of a snake brimming with venomous energy. If I hadn't killed it, it would have immediately raised its head and sounded the alarm.
"The Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation is based on snake venom. And it is designed so that this creature raised by the Tang Clan must be killed in order to enter or leave the formation."
"How... terrifying."
"Because it's the Tang Clan."
The Sichuan Tang Clan is a house that belongs to the Orthodox Faction, even if it is the least orthodox of them all. I suspect they were drawn to their side during the Great Righteous-Demonic War because the Murim Alliance feared being killed off by Poison Arts, but every member of the Tang Clan is ruthless in their methods.
It's the same now. The safe path only fully opens once you kill the snake that spews the Fire Bone Mountain acid when it appears. Otherwise, the alarm sounds and warriors come rushing.
"There's no way someone of the clan head's rank or higher could mistake the safe path, so if the alarm rings because the snake wasn't killed, that would naturally mean an intruder has reached the vault, wouldn't it?"
"...It's a truly vicious and terrifying formation."
"And one more thing. By killing the snake and putting it back, you can learn something else."
"Perhaps traces of passage...? Hm... though the method is cruel, you can tell someone has come through because the snake is dead...?"
"Correct."
Smack. I lightly patted the Little Princess's buttocks with my palm.
"Bi-cheon!"
"Thankfully, it seems your tension is gone. Let's keep moving forward. We're almost there."
Creeeak.
I pointed to the iron door at the center of the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation, leading downward. The door, forged from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, remained uncorroded by the Fire Bone Mountain acid and retained its original color. I pushed it open with force.
"Let's enter. Ah, do you need more of the medicine?"
"......Ah, not yet."
The Little Princess fidgeted and looked away. It seemed she did need the medicine, but was too embarrassed by the method of application to answer properly.
"What is there to be embarrassed about? You simply pour the medicine inside your clothes."
"Is it normal not to be embarrassed by this...?"
The Little Princess gestured at her own attire. It was black like mine, but unlike my martial arts uniform, hers was made of a material that clung tightly to her body, revealing every curve of her figure.
"What is a uniform?"
"Why are you suddenly asking that?"
"A uniform is the most effective garment for promoting a sense of belonging to an organization. Therefore, uniforms are inevitably modified to suit their purpose, unlike ordinary clothes. The stealth garment you are wearing is the same. What do you think would happen if it were loose and baggy like a scholar's robe and its hem touched something in here?"
I gently scattered my internal energy toward the downward entrance. The moment the extreme male energy stretched below, the spiderwebs clinging in every direction burst into flames.
"It is to minimize bodily contact with traps like those. In a sense, the garment becomes your skin."
"But something like this is too...."
The Little Princess swept a hand near her waist and shook her head. Unlike her peach-like, petite buttocks, her smooth, gracefully shaped pelvis was like a gourd bottle.
— From now on, the attire of all female cultists shall be changed to a material that clings tightly to the body.
The Blood Cult Leader had spoken. The fundamental principle of a stealth garment is to not be detected by others. Therefore, if you carry out your missions in attire that would make you feel shame upon being discovered, you will perform your missions even better.
"Little Princess, let's descend. From here on, you can easily find the path yourself, so go first."
"Bi-cheon says so, so I don't sense any particular danger... but wait. Don't I have to crawl through there on my stomach?"
The Little Princess pointed at the narrow passageway leading downward. It was a space so tight that an adult man would have to crawl on all fours.
"......Sex Demon."
"Keu-heu-heu."
The Little Princess shot me a glare and then lowered her upper body into the opening. Watching her back as she crawled forward on elbows and knees, I took a long, steadying breath.
"Hooo-ha."
I concentrated male energy into my eyes. To sweep away the darkness in a lightless space and see everything, I focused my entire body's energy into my sight.
Dragon Eye, open!
Flash!
Objects began to move into view in a space that had been nothing but blackness. To use the power of the Dragon Eye, I had no choice but to revert my face to its original appearance with the Body Transformation Art—but truly, I had no choice.
"Haha, it's so dark I can barely see. I'll have to feel my way forward."
I stretched my upper body forward and crawled on all fours toward the figure ahead.
Soft.
As soon as I entered, my forehead and nose touched something plush. The figure ahead jolted in surprise and shot forward.
"A-are you insane?!"
"Heh-heh, Little Princess. This is also a trial. There's a trap ahead, right?"
Thump, thump-thump. I squared my face and butted forward.
"If you don't move quickly, I'll be urging you from behind."
Lick.
I lightly smacked my lips. The Little Princess's body flinched and momentarily stopped.
"Hm? What's wrong? Why aren't you moving faster? Could it be...."
Thump, thump. I inwardly rejoiced at the pulse beating from ahead of me.
"Surely you're not... unable to disable the trap? A mere formation of the Tang Clan?"
"Th-there's no way that's the case!"
"Is that so? Hm... I see. But why are you so tense?"
"......You... you can't see, can you?"
"Huh."
I nodded. My forehead touched the soft buttocks and lifted away.
"Is there anything to see in this darkness? Unless you possess the Dragon Eye."
Before my eyes, I could see nothing but a mark left by an axe blow.