Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Zhuge's Darkness
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…What the hell is that guy doing?
Through my qi sense, I realized the man in night travel garb was none other than Zhuge Geun-yeong himself, leaving me to tilt my head in confusion.
Sure, heading out in the middle of the night out of the blue? I could let that slide.
But dressed like he was about to pull off a heist, it was too suspicious to ignore.
“Th-that…! Could thieves have broken into my brother-in-law’s room? W-we have to catch them right now…!”
“No, take a good look. That’s the Zhuge branch chief.”
“Pardon…?”
I grabbed Im Chun-sam, who was rushing off in a panic, and made him observe closely.
Once he confirmed I was right, he muttered with a frantic expression.
“Wh-why is my brother-in-law dressed like that…?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
He didn’t have some weird hobby, did he?
Was I going to witness some unspeakable secret after he asked to crash for the night?
As I hesitated over what to do about the suspiciously attired Zhuge Geun-yeong, he began to move, cautiously glancing around.
Where was he headed?
I was curious, but more than that, I had this nagging feeling that I couldn’t just let him go alone.
What should I do?
“…Let’s tail him.”
No time for long deliberations, so I decided to follow Zhuge Geun-yeong first.
“Huh? No need to go that far, surely…?”
Brushing past the flustered Im Chun-sam, I carefully shadowed Zhuge Geun-yeong.
My master followed without a word, and Im Chun-il tagged along with an excited look, like he thought it’d be fun.
With things turning out like this, Im Chun-sam couldn’t be the only one left behind and caught up late.
And so, an utterly unexpected crew set off on a midnight stakeout.
*
Cautiously tailing Zhuge Geun-yeong, our footsteps eventually led outside the clan grounds.
“What, off for some secret nighttime frolic? Heh heh heh, even a young master of the Zhuge Clan’s gotta have his manly urges.”
Contrary to Im Chun-il’s lecherous cackle, Zhuge Geun-yeong, having slipped out of the clan, headed in the opposite direction—toward Yunzhong Mountain.
“Climbing the mountain in this pitch-black night?”
“Oooh, bold move. Wandering a mountain shrouded in darkness can get you in real trouble.”
As I muttered, Im Chun-il chimed in and swaggered forward.
“From here on, I’ll take the lead since I know these mountains. Keep up.”
My qi detection net was spread around, so I didn’t really need the help, but no point in turning down his bravado, so I let him go ahead.
Thus, Im Chun-il took point.
But in the end, it was utterly pointless.
Because Zhuge Geun-yeong’s path led not to the mountain, but to a small grove at its base.
“…Ahem.”
Passing the awkwardly coughing Im Chun-il, who was embarrassed by his earlier boasting, I took the lead again.
A dense forest blocking even the moon’s faint light on an already dark night.
Fortunately, Zhuge Geun-yeong ahead pulled out a lantern to light his way, so we followed that glow deeper into the woods.
How far had we gone?
We kept our distance to avoid detection, when suddenly he stopped.
“Hold up.”
“Wh-what? Why?”
The three trailing me halted at the signal.
At that exact moment, Zhuge Geun-yeong whipped around, as if sensing something.
“Eek…!”
We ducked behind trees and flattened ourselves to the ground.
Of course, in this darkness and at this range, there was no way he’d spot us, but it was instinct.
As expected, he didn’t see us and tilted his head before turning back.
Then he spent a good while peering into the empty air, scanning for something.
“…What’s he doing?”
“Shh.”
I shushed Im Chun-il’s puzzled mutter and kept watching Zhuge Geun-yeong.
How much time passed?
Finally, he started walking again.
But after a few steps, his figure melted into the air like it was dissolving.
“Wh-what!?”
Im Chun-il’s startled voice.
Thankfully, he remembered my warning and kept it low.
Left stranded in the dark woods by Zhuge Geun-yeong’s sudden vanishing act.
But we couldn’t turn back after coming this far.
“…Let’s head to where the branch chief was standing first.”
Circulating qi to my eyes for enhanced night vision, I led the group to where Zhuge Geun-yeong had disappeared.
And just a few steps in, the qi detection net I’d extended forward began warping chaotically.
Like the laws of nature themselves were bending.
I quickly realized what was causing the distortion.
“…It’s a formation.”
“What, a formation? In this forest? Where?”
Hearing my murmur, Im Chun-il flailed around looking.
Mention of a formation in this sightless darkness had him sensing danger.
Ignoring Im Chun-il’s fussing, I turned to my master.
“What do we do?”
“Hmm, a formation set up in such a remote, deserted spot. It’s probably not just something to turn feet away.”
“Mess with it carelessly, and we could be in deep trouble.”
Overhearing us, the hitherto silent Im Chun-sam cautiously spoke up.
“B-but why would my brother-in-law come in here…? Dressed in night garb, no less.”
“That’s…”
No one present could answer that definitively.
All we knew was that night travel garb wasn’t for friendly visits.
“Plus, he hesitated earlier, so it didn’t seem like his first time here. Isn’t he wandering lost inside right now?”
Im Chun-il picked up my cautious words with his unlucky jab.
Im Chun-sam’s face paled at his brother’s remark, and suddenly he strode forward with grim resolve.
I blocked his path.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“…I-I’ll go bring my brother-in-law out. If he’s really lost in there, w-we have to get him…!”
And just like that, he charged straight into the formation?
“Rushing in without a plan will just get you trapped too—hey, wait!”
Ignoring my attempts to stop him, Im Chun-sam pressed on.
I grabbed his arm to yank him back, but instead, I started getting dragged.
Damn, this guy’s got some real bulk to him.
No choice, I circulated qi through my body and gripped him.
But astonishingly, even against my qi-infused strength, he held firm.
Why’s this guy so damn strong?
And as if sensing my qi, he started channeling his own, his strength growing.
“Stop a second and hear me out…!”
“Little bro, you gonna stop or not?!”
As I got dragged again and urgently pleaded, Im Chun-il’s roar hit my ears.
Unable to ignore his big brother too, Im Chun-sam flinched and halted.
A pot-lid-sized palm then smacked the back of his head.
-Pak!
…Did I hear a crack? What broke?
Fortunately, despite the loud smack, it wasn’t serious—Im Chun-sam just scratched his head.
His brother glared at him murderously and bellowed again.
“Hey, you idiot! Someone who doesn’t even know the formation’s anchor points thinks he can just barge in?!”
“B-but… if my brother-in-law’s lost inside, big brother, you said…”
Im Chun-il flinched at the timid mutter and exploded anew.
“Th-that’s just a ‘maybe’!”
“But it could be… What if something happens to our brother-in-law…?”
Now Im Chun-sam was on the verge of tears.
No joke—he looked ready to bawl.
“Whew…”
Leaving the oversized problem to someone his size, I refocused on the formation.
But I was no expert on formations either.
I turned to my master, who likely had the most experience here.
“Any idea?”
“Well, I can definitely feel the qi distorting, but…”
Trailing off, my master picked up a palm-sized stone and flung it into the formation.
Like with Zhuge Geun-yeong, it vanished into thin air.
Clicking his tongue at the sight, my master said gravely.
“It’s a formation that rends space itself. Step in recklessly, and you might never get out.”
In the end, no clear solution emerged.
What now? Turn back after all this?
Scratching my head, I absentmindedly extended the qi detection net forward to probe the formation.
“…Huh?”
Then I spotted something odd.
Or rather, a single thread of light?
The qi detection net, scattered and warped by the formation.
Through the gaps, one path remained—a stretch where it didn’t disperse.
Could this be…?
“…Master, wait here.”
“What? No, what are you—hey, you fool!”
Ignoring my master’s shocked shout, I stepped into the formation.
*
The moment my foot crossed into the formation, my senses blurred briefly—then I realized I was standing in the middle of a desert.
“…What?”
I’d been in a dark forest moments ago, and now scorching sun beat down on a wasteland.
A trope from wuxia tales, but experiencing it firsthand was shocking.
My awe was short-lived as I recalled my goal: tailing Zhuge Geun-yeong. I pressed on.
Even with the surroundings utterly changed, my qi detection net still guided me.
Following it, the environment shifted wildly.
Lush forest again, then trudging through a glacier’s heart, standing on a cliff edge.
Each time, I followed the net’s direction.
Crossing the forest, scaling the glacier, plummeting from the cliff—and finally,
“…!”
I stood in the dark forest once more.
Realizing I’d navigated out via the intact qi detection net, I let out a hollow chuckle.
Who’d have thought my own invention had this use?
But my elation faded as a foul stench hit me late, and I pinched my nose.
“Ugh…! What’s that smell…?”
Blood.
The cloying reek of slaughter, like a mountain of livestock carcasses.
Sensing trouble, I delved deeper—and spotted faint light in the distance.
Whatever it was, I felt certain Zhuge Geun-yeong had gone that way.
Approaching cautiously, I entered the light’s domain and found not him, but something else.
“A cave…?”
What met my eyes was a massive cavern, like an entrance to the abyss.