Chapter 20
Scented incense and tea filled the room. The two fragrances seemed like they should never have gone together, but they had clung to me for a lifetime; I no longer found anything strange about them.
The instant I lifted my cup to my lips, the door slid open softly.
“Elder. Baek Mugeuk has sent a letter.”
“That brat said what?”
The moment I heard Baek Mugeuk’s name, my mood soured. It was an emotion I had spent a lifetime of cultivation learning to control, and yet the anger did not settle easily.
I unfolded Baek Mugeuk’s letter. The contents were simple.
-How about the martial artists in Zhejiang having a drink together?
“What an insolent bastard.”
“He also sent letters to Namgung and Iron Blood Castle.”
“Namgung and Iron Blood Castle too?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Hmm... In that case, make sure surveillance of the inn is not neglected.”
“Yes, sir.”
The door slid shut again, and I brought the tea back to my lips. At once, Baek Mugeuk’s face came to mind. That bastard, who had appeared out of nowhere and suddenly coiled himself around the center of orthodox and unorthodox factions alike.
Crack.
Without realizing it, I tensed all over.
Ever since that bastard appeared, nothing has gone according to plan.
That was right. Since Baek Mugeuk had entered the picture, none of our plans had unfolded the way they should have. That inn should have been ours to buy first. And once we had it, Namgung and Iron Blood Castle should have kept clashing there.
Bang!
“That bastard deserves to be torn apart.”
I opened the report containing Baek Mugeuk’s information. The details written there painted him as nothing more than an unremarkable first-rate martial artist. His family was insignificant, and a first-rate martial skill was far too weak to shake this board.
“Just what the hell is he...”
Why had he bought the inn?
What had he been thinking when he sent invitations like that?
And... how much did he know?
I couldn’t make sense of any of it.
Lost in thought, I did not know how much time had passed before the door opened again and an urgent voice called out.
“Elder! Namgung and Iron Blood Castle have started fighting at the inn!”
“Is that true?”
“Yes, it is!”
The moment I heard that, I cast light-footwork and rushed toward the inn. Not yet. Those two forces could not be allowed to fight yet. Today was not the day we had planned for.
Why is everything getting twisted like this?
By the time I reached the inn, the two sides were already swinging their swords and clashing in force. My brows drew together before I could stop them.
Was it because I had seen the two forces fighting? I would not deny it. But what truly unsettled me was not their battle.
Why the hell is that bastard over there, doing that?
The inn was already in ruins from the collision of the two factions. Yet in the midst of that chaos, one table remained perfectly intact at the center, and Baek Mugeuk was sitting on top of it, leisurely drinking.
“Namgung! Your sword is too rigid. Can’t you tell the difference between solid and stiff? And Iron Blood! Do you think just because you put all your strength into a swing it gets faster? Swing it lighter!”
He kept lecturing them without pause. It was so infuriating that the martial artists from Namgung and Iron Blood Castle kept shooting him dirty looks one after another.
“Elder, what should we do?”
“......”
I could not say a word. Namgung and Iron Blood Castle had already started fighting. Today was not the battle we had intended. In that case, should we not open the Treasury of the Divine Thief?
Too many thoughts came and went, but there was only one thing I could choose.
“Open the Treasury of the Divine Thief.”
At my words, the aura of the Taoists behind me sharpened at once.
“Half of you, ten in all, will follow me to the Treasury of the Divine Thief.”
“Yes, sir!”
“The rest of you will monitor the situation in the inn and keep watch.”
“Yes, sir.”
The ten Taoists and I hid ourselves with sorcery and carefully slipped into the inn, moving toward the kitchen where the Treasury of the Divine Thief was sealed.
Because the Namgung and Iron Blood Castle fighters were already consumed by battle, we moved with extreme caution, careful with every single step. That was why we were able to proceed without any collision. But just before entering the kitchen, I felt a strange gaze. Someone was watching us.
“......?”
I reflexively looked around. And once again, my eyes landed on Baek Mugeuk. He was staring straight at me with a listless expression.
Did he notice us?
For a moment I panicked and was about to place my hand on my sword, when...
“You over there, Namgung! Are you going to stop focusing? If blood starts flying, it’ll ruin the taste of the liquor!”
Baek Mugeuk started nagging the Namgung martial artist standing behind him.
I had been so tense that the strength left my body all at once, and I let out a small sigh.
Come to think of it, that was only natural.
How could something like a first-rate martial artist possibly see through sorcery?
With that bastard throwing the plan off, I seemed to be getting far too sensitive. I brushed aside the creeping sense of déjà vu, entered the kitchen, opened the entrance to the treasury, and pushed myself inside. Once I took the lead, the rest of the Taoists began entering the Treasury of the Divine Thief one by one.
“At last, we have arrived.”
What stood before us was a wall made of ten-thousand-year cold iron. I lightly ran my hand across it. Behind the wall, I could feel the faint vibration of mechanisms in motion.
“To use this as a tomb... truly impressive.”
I, too, was amazed, since this was my first time seeing the Treasury of the Divine Thief. A tomb made of ten-thousand-year cold iron? How could anyone not be astonished?
“Elder. I’ve found the altar.”
“Proceed at once.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment I finished speaking, the ten Taoists lowered their heads slightly. Following my lead, our voices began to echo through the tomb of the Divine Thief.
“Taishang Laojun, resolve the talismans and break the seals.”
“Taishang Laojun, resolve the talismans and break the seals.”
“All evil retreat, hurry, by decree!”
“All evil retreat, hurry, by decree!”
As the incantation passed our lips, an altar began to manifest on what had been empty ground. At the same time, with a creak, a grinding sound, the wall of ten-thousand-year cold iron began to move.
“Oh! Elder, it’s gold and silver treasure!”
When the wall opened, what lay beyond was an enormous pile of riches. But that kind of wealth was not our purpose. I hurriedly moved my feet, trying to step into the tomb of the Divine Thief. But at that very moment, a voice from behind made me freeze in place.
“I kept my promise. That’s the Treasury of the Divine Thief.”
A voice that should never have been there.
I told myself it couldn’t be, and turned my head.
But that had only been my wish.
“......So it really was there.”
“Now that surprised me. I didn’t think some nameless foot soldier’s words would turn out to be true.”
After Baek Mugeuk came Namgung Gyeom and Won Woo-hyeop as well.
Only moments ago they had been brawling above us, but now they stood side by side, looking down as if nothing had happened.
“How the hell are you here?”
“What are you so surprised about? Were we not supposed to come here?”
“You lot are... not supposed to be here yet!”
At my question, Baek Mugeuk smiled faintly. The sight of that smile made my gut twist for no reason I cared to name.
“Not yet? Then you’re saying we were supposed to be here someday. For example... after you’d looted everything inside?”
“You damned bastard!”
A murderous impulse surged through me. I wanted to rush him, tear him apart, and kill him on the spot. But the reason I had come here mattered more than that boiling hatred. In any case, they would all die today. I would make sure of it. Then the plan would remain intact.
“Stop them. Not one step into the Treasury of the Divine Thief.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Come on, let us watch too. Just because we look doesn’t mean we’re taking anything.”
“Shut up!”
At my shout, the ten Taoists began to surround them. I quickly turned and stepped into the Treasury of the Divine Thief.
There was nothing I wanted in the first chamber of the tomb. That kind of treasure was utterly irrelevant. I immediately turned my attention away from the hoard and moved forward. But I could not go far at once, because shikigami stationed at various points came charging at me.
“Divine Thief! You’ve set up such a troublesome mess.”
It was obvious. These were the Divine Thief’s guards, arranged to block intruders. I dodged the shikigami and slowly began chanting a spell.
“Hundreds of deaths’ corpses, heed my command.”
The more I recited the spell, the slower the shikigami’s movements became. But then, alongside them, that damned voice reached my ears.
“You rushed in here that badly just to eat all this money by yourself?”
It was Baek Mugeuk’s voice. I grimaced the moment I heard it. Him again. What in the world were the other Taoists doing that they had let that bastard into this place?
My murderous intent was becoming harder and harder to suppress. But in a situation like this, while chanting a spell, I had to set aside the killing intent and concentrate.
I kept watch on his movements while continuing the incantation.
“Rise up, move according to my will.”
“I told you I’d come back and get you! I’m rich now!”
The shikigami’s movements grew markedly slower. But Baek Mugeuk paid them and me no mind at all, strolling up to the treasure and lying down on top of it as if it were a comfortable bed.
“Advance!”
The spell was complete. The shikigami no longer moved and had fallen completely under my control.
“Tear that damned bastard apart this instant!”
“Huh? Why are these things suddenly acting up?”
At my shout, the shikigami lunged at him. Baek Mugeuk, seeing them charge, quickly drew his sword.
“I’d like to see that bastard die... but the mission comes first.”
There was no room for hesitation. The most important thing to me was fulfilling the mission. I hurled myself toward the ten-thousand-year cold iron wall opposite the entrance. Then I began chanting the spell once more.
“Taishang Laojun, resolve the talismans and break the seals. All evil retreat, hurry, by decree.”
When we opened the first door, the ten of us had shared the burden of spiritual power. But opening this one depended on my own power alone. The instant I recited the spell, I felt internal energy draining rapidly from my dantian.
Creak.
Unlike the first gate, this one made only a faint mechanical sound and opened far more narrowly than the last.
“There!”
I shoved my body into the small opening. The room beyond was filled with luminous pearls. But at that moment, I felt the greatest shock of my life.
“It’s not here.”
What I saw was only a single taishi chair. I rushed toward it. Then I frantically searched the surrounding area.
Crack!
Bang!
I poured internal energy into my fist and split the taishi chair in half. There could not have been a problem with the plan. There could not have been a problem with the intelligence, either.
“Then why isn’t it here!”
Something had gone wrong.
“Where is it! Divine Thief!”
The Divine Thief’s shikigami was gone.
“Why are Taoists so greedy? Let’s all enjoy it together.”
Baek Mugeuk’s face appeared through the gap in the door. He was grinning as if the whole situation delighted him. How had that infuriating bastard survived the shikigami? The killing intent I hurled at him began to surge out of control. I could no longer suppress it.
“Why are you so angry? Did you not find what you were looking for?”
“Baek Mugeuk...!”
“Don’t call me that. I’ll get attached.”
“You’ll die here.”
“Hmm... will that be easy? You still have to kill these two, too.”
The moment Baek Mugeuk finished speaking, Namgung Gyeom and Won Woo-hyeop stepped into view. And only then did I understand.
The Taoists of Mosan had not managed to leave a single wound on them.
“...Baek Mugeuk. You actually used me to clean up the rabble?”
“I agree! Nameless foot soldier.”
Under the furious stares of the two men, Baek Mugeuk shrugged.
Then, without another word, he extended a finger and pointed at me.
“......”
All three of their gazes landed on me. And then the faint pressure of Namgung Gyeom and Won Woo-hyeop’s auras began to press toward me.
“Who is that bastard? Looks like some orthodox faction punk to me.”
“Mosan Sect’s elder... Mo Hu-gun...”
Namgung Gyeom looked at me with an expression that plainly demanded an answer, as if to ask why I was here. But there was only one thing I could say.
“You were all fated to die here anyway. I didn’t expect to be the one killing you myself, though!”
I took a blood essence pill from my robes and shoved it into my mouth. Immediately, I began reversing the flow of my blood and energy. In an instant, my entire blood network twisted violently, and agony drilled deep into my bones.
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
The moment I pushed through that pain, a surging rush of power and ecstasy flooded me. My whole body burned hot, and my vision began to stain red.
This was my final move.
Reversed Blood True Qi...
Agony and exhilaration, as though my flesh were being burned alive. And at the same time, the power erupting from within me was stronger than anything else.
Seeing that, Namgung Gyeom and Won Woo-hyeop’s expressions stiffened.
Exactly. That was the face those vermin deserved to wear.
As I savored the fullness surging up from the depths of my heart, what reached my ears was... a carefree, almost teasing voice.
“A Taoist using demonic arts? That’s absurd. Hmm... fine, I’ll make a proposal. Whoever kills that bastard gets the entire Treasury of the Divine Thief. How about it?”
“Aaaaaaagh! I’ll kill you!”
The instant Baek Mugeuk’s voice rang out, reason snapped inside me.