I'll Go Alone
"You two stay here. I'll go alone."
Yoo Eunhyeon's confident declaration plunged the surroundings into dead silence. The taut quiet stretched for a moment before Ho Won-jik let out an incredulous snort and raised his voice.
"Hyung-nim alone? That's ridiculous! No matter how strong you are, the other side is the Demonic Cult!"
"No... As Eunhyeon says, it might actually be safer that way."
"Noonim!"
Ho Won-jik cut her off as if he had no intention of hearing another word. Ju Yu-ryeon, however, seemed to have made up her mind; she simply nodded. Then, without hesitation, she raised a finger.
"You saw it with your own eyes just now. Eunhyeon's already a master at concealing his qi. Better for him to move alone than for us to awkwardly tag along and hold him back. He'll have less to worry about and can move more stealthily."
Hearing her out, Ho Won-jik could no longer argue and shut his mouth. Thinking it over carefully, she wasn't wrong. As she said, the three of them moving together would only invite unnecessary suspicion; it was far more advantageous for Eunhyeon to act alone.
And above all, the one with business at the Demonic Cult had been Yoo Eunhyeon from the start. Him stepping forward himself was the most reasonable choice.
Finally accepting the situation, Ho Won-jik let out a short breath, turned his head, and spoke to Yoo Eunhyeon.
"Hyung-nim. Even if you can hide your energy, it would still be best to prepare a decent forged identity. The Demonic Cult often hires laborers, so disguising yourself shouldn't be too hard. Even if not as a laborer, you could get hired as a porter for a escort agency or merchant guild hauling goods to the Demonic Cult. I'll look into that."
"Alright. I'll leave it to you."
Ho Won-jik heaved a deep sigh and bowed his head. He had said the words, but it seemed he hadn't completely set aside the worry in his heart.
Ju Yu-ryeon plopped a hand on his shoulder and spoke with the air of someone doing him a favor.
"I'll come along too. Sounds fun."
"Really?"
Ho Won-jik's face brightened at once. The anxiety from moments before seemed to have vanished without a trace. From his perspective, sharing the work with Ju Yu-ryeon was a hundred times more reassuring than handling it alone. His delight was only natural.
Watching the two of them for a moment, Yoo Eunhyeon let out a short laugh.
"First, let's find a place to stay."
After setting up a hideout near Sichuan, Ho Won-jik and Ju Yu-ryeon barely showed themselves from that day on. They simply traveled nonstop between Chengdu and the nearby towns, gathering information across the entire province.
They were putting every ear and every foot to work, searching for a crack through which Yoo Eunhyeon could slip into the Demonic Cult.
"Hmm. So this is Mount Dae?"
Yoo Eunhyeon, by contrast, stayed cooped up in their lodgings the whole time. Using the maps Ho Won-jik had obtained, he studied the geography of the Sichuan region and of Qinghai, where the Demonic Cult's headquarters was believed to lie.
Of course, he also had an eye toward scouting potential hiding places in case of unexpected trouble.
He traced the mountain ranges, passes, and waterways on the maps one by one, shifting his gaze in silence.
"But why are there differences here and there?"
After checking the same spots over and over, Yoo Eunhyeon muttered under his breath.
It was only natural that he would notice. The maps of the Sichuan area were more or less similar, but those covering the Qinghai direction were not. The terrain was subtly off from map to map, and some places were drawn completely differently. Even when he spread out three or four maps at once and compared them, the result was the same.
While Yoo Eunhyeon was tilting his head in puzzlement, Ho Won-jik and Ju Yu-ryeon returned from their information-gathering trip through Sichuan.
"Ugh, I'm dying. Sichuan is way too hot."
Ju Yu-ryeon shrugged off her outer robe, baring her shoulders, and let out a long breath. When Yoo Eunhyeon still didn't so much as glance her way, she answered with the casual air of someone long used to that reaction.
"But you don't look hot at all, Eunhyeon?"
"I've farmed my whole life, so I'm used to the heat. Plus, maybe because I've trained in martial arts, it doesn't feel that bad."
"Even with martial arts, still. This place isn't something you can endure with just cold-and-heat immunity. You'd need water-and-fire immunity at least, wouldn't you?"
"If you're really that hot, use this."
Yoo Eunhyeon held out the fan he used when he got warm. Ju Yu-ryeon took it without a word and passed it straight to Ho Won-jik. He unfolded it with practiced ease and began fanning her.
After the breeze had cooled them a little, Yoo Eunhyeon lifted the maps and spoke.
"Won-jik. Why are these maps so different? Especially the Qinghai side—they're all over the place."
"Let me see. Hand them over."
Ho Won-jik took the maps from Yoo Eunhyeon, examined them quietly, then set them down and said,
"I heard this while investigating. Apparently the Demonic Cult has been heavily reworking the surrounding area lately. The maps probably look different because each one reflects a different time."
"Is that so? Even so, if the terrain itself is changing, it must be a pretty big project... Why would they suddenly do something like that?"
If there had been civil engineering on a scale that altered waterways or erased forests, it made sense for the maps to diverge. But work of that magnitude always had a reason behind it.
When Yoo Eunhyeon looked at them skeptically, Ju Yu-ryeon sat up from her half-reclined position as if she had been waiting for the question.
"Whatever the reason, it's worked out pretty well for us. Things might go easier than we expected."
"Why's that?"
"Like you can see, the construction is so ongoing that it hasn't even been properly reflected on the maps yet. Because of that, there were plenty of places hiring laborers. Well, with a project this big, of course they'd need a lot of people."
Ju Yu-ryeon shrugged and shot a glance at Ho Won-jik. He pulled several sheets of paper from his robes and held them out to Yoo Eunhyeon.
"Take a look. I narrowed it down to work sites close to the Demonic Cult. You can work there for a bit, then slip inside when the chance comes."
Yoo Eunhyeon unfolded the papers without delay. He scanned the contents with a blank expression for a moment—then his gaze stopped. A low exclamation slipped from his lips.
"They're looking for people with farming experience? Why?"
Every sheet Ho Won-jik had brought listed preferential treatment for those who had farmed before or who were skilled at it. When Yoo Eunhyeon looked at him as if demanding an explanation, Ho Won-jik reluctantly opened his mouth.
"I don't know exactly why, but... when Noonim and I actually went to the sites, everyone was clearing land. Looks like they're planning to farm."
"Come on. What kind of farming are they going to do in a place where even ginseng wouldn't grow..."
Yoo Eunhyeon grumbled under his breath, clearly unconvinced. Ju Yu-ryeon watched him quietly, then spoke with a meaningful air.
"One thing is certain."
She glanced around and lowered her voice further.
"Every single move of the Demonic Cult always carries the will of the Thousand-Year Dark Demon. In the end, this is his will as well."
At her words, all three fell silent. Whatever the purpose, it was clearly nothing to take lightly.
Could it really be the old man...?
Hearing Ju Yu-ryeon, Yoo Eunhyeon sank into deep thought. The fact that it was Sa Unsik's order, and that the timing went back two years, kept nagging at him.
Moreover, two years ago was right around when Yoo Eunhyeon and Sa Unsik had first met. Back then Sa Unsik had shown no interest in farming whatsoever and knew almost nothing about it. That meant this change had almost certainly come after meeting Yoo Eunhyeon.
He did seem deeply impressed by farming itself back then. Is that why? Hmm... better to be careful.
While Yoo Eunhyeon was wrapping up his thoughts, Ju Yu-ryeon continued.
"Anyway, since it's something the Thousand-Year Dark Demon is interested in, isn't that actually good for us? If he happens to come inspect, things will get a lot easier for you, Eunhyeon."
For Yoo Eunhyeon, who wanted a quiet meeting with Sa Unsik, the chance of running into him even by coincidence was the most desirable outcome.
He nodded lightly in agreement.
"True enough. Then shall we pick one? Ideally the closest to the Demonic Cult."
"How about this one? Seeking those with over twenty years of farming experience. Skilled in land reclamation, flower picking, pruning, fertilizing, and all manner of farm work. Hyung-nim, if you round it up you've been at it about twenty years, right? A born farmer! Haha!"
Ho Won-jik tossed out the joke with a silly laugh. Ju Yu-ryeon smacked the back of his head without the slightest hesitation. Watching them, Yoo Eunhyeon clicked his tongue and spoke.
"I could do it, but simpler is better. If they're recruiting for something that specialized, the screening will be strict too. That'd make it way too easy to stand out."
"True. We're not actually going there to work, so no need to make things complicated. That means we need a job that isn't too conspicuous but isn't too sloppy either... Let's see..."
Ju Yu-ryeon took the lead and began flipping through the list. Before long, without anyone needing to say it, the three of them started examining jobs that Yoo Eunhyeon could take on without trouble.
Then Yoo Eunhyeon pointed to one among the many postings and spoke briefly.
"This one will do."