Chapter 59 Someone Came
I'd gotten word from Tae Sa-rok that the Doggo Clan's Blood Vault wasn't your run-of-the-mill warehouse. It was an ice storage facility designed to keep all sorts of demonic insects, blood, deadly poisons, and drugs in prime condition using frigid cold. In other words, the air inside was so chilled that thin sheets of ice formed on everything.
The outside doesn't look like a normal warehouse either. Looks more like a massive tomb.
'The actual tomb felt more like a maze, though.'
Hm? Oh, you mean the Ten Thousand Demons Mausoleum? Yeah, that too. Heh heh heh...
The Blood Vault resembled a gigantic burial mound. They'd dug deep into the earth for efficiency, trapping the cold underground in a stone structure divided into over a dozen chambers. There were three entrances wide enough for people, and surprisingly, the main gate was the easiest way in.
Looks like wagons come and go through here.
'Yeah. They stuff animals or people inside for testing drugs and venom. They seal their acupoints so they can't move a muscle.'
Hohoho. So very demonic.
'It's the kind of outrage that'd send them straight to hell.'
......
I ignored the suddenly quiet Bongmareung and got moving. Just like at the Law Enforcement Hall, I planned to sneak in hiding among the cargo headed inside. But this time, I wasn't planning to hang from somewhere or get carried in.
Then how?
'I'm gonna drive it in myself.'
On the path to the Blood Vault, I pulled my mask down tight and hunkered in the shadows of the wall, lying in wait. Soon enough, a small cart pulled by a pony came creeping along.
"Yaaawn. So damn sleepy. Dragged out here on night watch 'cause of that Baekdo Church crap or whatever—what a joke."
A demon wearing a tall hat yawned hugely from the driver's seat. And he wasn't alone.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
"What? Your jaw acupoint loosening already? Shut your trap, punk. Keep making noise and I'll rip out your eyeballs and shove 'em down your throat."
"......"
"Should've kept quiet from the start."
The man driving leisurely glanced back over his shoulder with a snicker, mocking the poor soul bundled in the cart like luggage.
As the cart drew near, Bongmareung gauged the driver's alertness.
Third-rate errand boy. Easy pickings with a surprise attack.
'That so? You're dead.'
The technique I'd picked was the Wall Mountain Fist's Cunning Tiger's Charge—a brutal strike that smashed two fists in rapid succession to pulverize the skull. The moment the cart was close enough, I launched myself at the driver's seat like lightning.
Crack!
"......!"
The guy didn't even register me bursting from the dark before he was swept away. Two hits to the temples, and he flipped his eyes back without a scream, out cold.
I claimed his seat and yanked the reins.
"Whoa, whoa."
I'd handled horses plenty back in my pickpocket-and-barker days. I swung the cart into a dark alley. No moonlight made everywhere pitch black, but with my Ghostly Spirit Wall Eye and Extreme Heaven Nine Wheels Art, I could scan the surroundings perfectly.
'This spot'll do.'
The cart halted in an empty stretch. I dragged the unconscious driver from the seat and dumped him on the ground.
'Bong, how do you seal the jaw acupoint?'
Start with Shoulder Well and Phoenix Eye. Then Wrist Pulse...
Sealing the jaw kept them from talking. I wanted his mouth shut first. But midway through the explanation, Bongmareung chuckled.
Why bother with acupoints? Just cram something in his yap—job done.
'Huh? Damn, that's a solid idea for once.'
I stripped off his bloodstained robe and threw it on. Then plopped his tall hat on my head. Word was, this getup let you skip inspections entering the Blood Vault.
The hat reeked of hair grease, and the robe stank to high heaven, but as a back-alley rat, I pressed on unfazed.
Time for a gag.
'Like this, right? Something like that?'
I ripped his sleeve into strips, wadded one into a ball, and jammed it in his mouth. Then tore another long strip, yanked it tight from mouth to nape, and tied it off. Wrists and ankles bound in seconds, and Bongmareung murmured in admiration.
This guy's got pro binding skills. Suspicious...
'What're you on about? Just did what the gang bosses taught me back in the alleys.'
Then their tastes must be...
Next, the cargo hold. A groan leaked from under the cover. I unlocked it and flipped the lid—and our eyes met.
A young man about my age, big mole on his left cheek.
"Mmph, mmph..."
Terror filled his gaze. His lips quivered, but his body was rigid as a log—same state I'd been in when they snatched me long ago. Totally immobilized.
Just a commoner, no demonic arts. Obviously let him go, right?
'Nah. Can't do that.'
Huh?
Sorry, kid, but now wasn't the time. I tossed the knocked-out demon next to the mole-faced youth and slammed the cover shut. Climbed back into the driver's seat and got the cart rolling.
Bongmareung sounded puzzled.
Isn't he an innocent commoner? Snatched just like you. I figured you'd free him on principle.
He sounded oddly disappointed. I smirked.
'Gotta free him eventually. Just not now. Can't let him loose here.'
Why not?
'Think about it. How's he escaping the heart of Doggo Clan territory alone? He'd wander, get recaptured, and that'd screw me over. Better take him into the Blood Vault first.'
Oh, you thought that far ahead.
'Obviously.'
I flicked the reins and steered on. At the Blood Vault entrance, the guards swung the gates open without a word.
'Not even batting an eye at my mask.'
The intel checked out: same outfit meant no inspection. Slipped right inside easy as pie.
The interior drew a low whistle from Bongmareung.
Hoh! Like a damn exhibition. Everything's frozen solid. Human-faced vines, crane spirit grass...
At a glance, it was a warehouse storing ingredients and meds in ice blocks. But Tae Sa-rok's intel told me what lurked deeper: the fruits of twisted live experiments. They'd grabbed mole-face to harvest organs from a live body, no doubt.
Sure enough, deeper in: a stone slab and two doctors clutching scalpels, waiting.
"Set it down here, warrior."
"Mm."
I hopped down, flipped the cover, and hauled the demon—not the youth—out by the collar.
The bastard's eyes snapped open, and he started thrashing the second he came to.
"Mmmph! Grrrmph! Mmph!"
Doggo Clan warrior or not, he channeled his inner energy and flopped like a fish on a cutting board—hard to even drag.
I glanced at the doctors.
"Sorry, his acupoints came loose. Mind waiting a sec?"
"Of course, warrior."
Bongmareung grumbled.
Tch. Gotta knock him out after all? Meridian seals are tricky. Hit Hundred Convergences and Heavenly Pillar first...
'Nah, forget it. I'll learn later.'
Then what?
'Easier way popped up.'
I surged my inner energy and slammed a fist down. Right on his dantian.
Splat!
"Gaaargh..."
His eyes rolled back. Third-rate or not, a shattered dantian hurt like peak transcendence. Froth bubbled as he went limp. I hoisted the body lightly and plopped it on the slab, instructing the doctors.
"This one's got a fierce will to live—bind the limbs tight first. He'll yap nonsense too, so gag him good."
"No worries, warrior. We'll slit the throat and drain the blood right away. Gotta crack the skull for brain research tonight."
"......"
Just hearing it turned my stomach. I nodded vaguely and climbed back aboard, wheeling toward the exit.
But I only pretended to leave—no opening the gate.
'Game's just starting.'
Had to grab what I came for and bolt fast. I shed the stinky robe on the seat and unleashed my lightness skill.
Blood storage racks over there. Shelves packed with gourds.
Huge shelves crammed with labeled gourds. Massive ice blocks and demonic energy arrays kept the chill flowing.
Dokgo-named ones sat highest. I leaped, snagged a few between my fingers, and landed.
Huh? Grabbing four? Need that many?
'Better safe. Might not be Dokgo Jae running the Boiling Blood Gu—could be someone else. Might as well stock up while I'm here. Hate coming back.'
True enough. Take as many as you can without raising flags.
I snagged four: Dokgo Yung, Dokgo Jae, Dokgo Hyeop, and even the eldest granddaughter Dokgo Hye's. Boiling Blood Gu was rare and pricey, so prime Doggo blood made sense.
'Alright, let's bounce.'
Wait!
I spun for the exit, but the demonic spirit halted me.
'What?'
Why're you forgetting? Tae Sa-rok's commission—you steal the Seven Demon Lords Statue, he hands over Yarul Bi-cho's martial manual!
'Oh yeah. That.'
I scratched my head and turned back; Bongmareung sighed.
You punk! How do you forget something like Yarul Bi-cho's manual? You're sharp as a tack one minute, total space cadet the next. Tsk tsk tsk!
'Fine, I'll snag it. Quit nagging.'
Left passage. I scouted the path earlier.
'Thanks, Bong-mom.'
......
Word had it the Seven Demon Lords Statue was a gold sculpture of the founding Heavenly Demon and his six great demons, exquisitely carved as one.
A question hit me.
'Why stash a statue here? Why not the clan head's bedroom?'
Good point. Must have some special power.
We learned why soon enough. The statue, standalone in its case, radiated pure white frost on its own—no arrays needed.
Reason for its spot.
'Made from solid millennial cold iron, gold-plated.'
One pricey holy relic.
'Deal's off-balance now.'
Then pocket it yourself.
'Eh, nah...'
I mentally tallied as I lifted the statue. Felt like I deserved more.
"......?"
A chill prickled my nape. Instinct spun me around.
'Someone's coming.'
Extreme Heaven Nine Wheels Art surged, sharpening my hearing to the max. Near the entrance where I'd parked.
"What the? What's this?"
"Why's the cart here?"
"Where's the guard?"
Guards' sharp voices. I tucked the statue away and bolted.
A familiar voice grazed my ear—I had to floor it.
"Check the cargo."
Dokgo Jae! For some reason, the Black Division Leader was inside the Blood Vault.
Tae Sa-rok swore no one would show. Of all people, him.
Intel sucked. Ditch the cart and run.
Round the corner to the cart—and bam, unexpected sight.
The mole-faced youth rose smoothly from the hold, scratched his temple, and said:
"Whoops, sorry, Division Leader. Been so beat lately, snuck a nap. Heh heh heh."
"......?"
What the hell? That guy?