An Unexpected Emblem
I stared at the open door. The opening behind the wall was just large enough for a single person to squeeze through.
"Do we go in there?"
[Yes.]
I nodded at Yoo Chun-gil's words and took a step forward, cautiously entering the passageway.
The moment my foot crossed the threshold—
Flash!
"...!"
My eyes widened. The passage had suddenly lit up.
What is this?
Night-luminescent pearls...? No. And it's obviously not a lantern.
The walls themselves were glowing. It wasn't because something was embedded in them.
They're literally just emitting light.
I reached out and touched the wall. It felt no different from ordinary stone.
What was causing it to glow so brightly?
I stared at the wall in wonder, then turned to Yoo Chun-gil.
I was about to ask him for an explanation, but...
[Whoa. What the hell is this?]
Yoo Chun-gil's eyes were as wide as saucers, his face a mask of sheer shock.
Wait... you shouldn't be the one who's surprised.
Why was he shocked by his own secret vault?
"...You didn't know about this?"
[Did this exist? It shouldn't have.]
"Seriously? You're not teasing me?"
[Indeed. I have never seen this before.]
"...Uh, that's not good."
If Yoo Chun-gil didn't know about this, it was a problem.
Him not knowing his own vault looked like this meant...
Either he's never been here...
Which made no sense. In that case...
Someone else came and changed it.
Since walls don't just start glowing on their own, it had to be the work of an intruder.
Tsk.
Tension began to coil in my chest.
The first room was one thing, but if even this place has been tampered with...
Doesn't that mean the entire vault has been compromised?
A cold wave of anxiety washed over me.
If Yoo Chun-gil doesn't know, then it also deviates from Dok-jon's original design.
With that thought, I stared at the wall again. Where on earth was this light coming from?
Yoo Chun-gil seemed to be thinking the same thing, staring intently at the glowing stone.
[Hmm.]
He observed it for a moment, then tilted his head.
[Let us keep moving for now.]
"What?"
Yoo Chun-gil urged me forward as if it didn't really matter.
"...Shouldn't we look into this a bit more?"
I pressed him, but he only gave me a grumpy look.
[It is not as if staying here will give us answers. We will only find out by going further. Besides...]
Yoo Chun-gil picked his nose with his pinky finger and continued.
[Even if someone did break in, they would not have been able to go any further than this. At most, they might have reached the third room.]
"...How can you be so sure?"
[Because that is how it was designed.]
He spoke with absolute certainty, looking at me with a face that said there was no room for doubt.
"...Alright."
Seeing his confidence, I finally started walking again.
Just as he said, the only way to find out anything was to keep going.
I walked further down the passage, and before long, another door came into view. It seemed to be the exit.
Just as I was about to grab the door handle—
I paused.
I stopped and looked at Yoo Chun-gil.
[Hmm? What is it?]
"...Is it safe to open?"
I was asking out of suspicion that there might be a trap.
[You worry over nothing. Go ahead and open it.]
"..."
Only after hearing him click his tongue in disapproval did I nod.
I pulled the handle.
Creeeeak!
The door was heavier than expected, but it opened smoothly once I channeled a bit of strength.
"..."
I cautiously slipped through the opening.
The interior was exceptionally bright, just like the passage. The walls here were glowing too.
This place too.
What was going on? Hiding my bewilderment, I scanned the surroundings.
As I took in the room, my eyes stretched wide.
"What in the world...?"
The modest-sized room was packed to the brim with something.
I focused my eyes to see what it was, and it didn't take long to realize.
"...They're all jewels."
The floor was littered with gemstones.
There were even heaps of jewelry.
Good lord.
Just how many are there...?
I didn't know much about jewelry, but even I could tell these were incredibly valuable.
This was, quite literally,
a mountain of gold and silver treasures.
A literal mountain of treasure piled high.
[Hahaha. Quite a lot, isn't it?]
Yoo Chun-gil boasted proudly.
"...When did you gather all of this?"
[It is not so much that I gathered them, but rather that I kept the gifts sent by those trying to curry favor with me.]
"...Ah."
So it was a mountain of sponsorships and bribes.
...Well, of course.
Yoo Chun-gil was the World's Greatest, so all kinds of sponsorships and bribes must have poured in.
And he just dumped them all here?
I wondered why he hadn't done anything with them.
[It was too tedious to deal with them one by one, so I just left them be. The pile did grow rather large, though. Hahaha.]
He was just lazy.
...How can anyone be too lazy to deal with this much wealth?
I couldn't comprehend it.
If it were me, I would have sold them for a good price and hoarded the cash immediately.
Was he just not interested in money?
Well, it didn't matter.
[As I said before, take them.]
The important thing was that all of this was now mine.
"...Oh."
Reacting to Yoo Chun-gil's casual tone, I immediately stared at the gems and jewelry.
Just as he had promised back in Sichuan, he was giving it all to me.
All of that is mine?
I greedily licked my lips at the sight of the mountain of gold and silver.
With a face full of greed, I approached the pile.
I knelt down and picked up a single item.
It was a small ring. I held it up and spoke to Yoo Chun-gil.
"This one is enough."
[Huh? What?]
Yoo Chun-gil frowned at my words.
I smirked at his reaction.
"I don't need the rest. This ring is plenty."
[......No, wait.]
Yoo Chun-gil seemed temporarily lost for words.
His face looked like a broken machine.
After a brief silence.
[I brought you here because you said you needed something, and now you are spouting such nonsense?]
Yoo Chun-gil finally found his voice.
[Do you think I am joking? I told you to take it all!]
"No, I don't think you're joking. And I'm being completely serious too."
One might wonder how I could walk away from a mountain of treasure.
But I meant every word.
It would be a lie to say I'm not tempted.
How could I not covet such vast wealth? I wasn't some saint free of greed.
But.
"As I've said before, nothing good comes from coveting a ghost's possessions."
These belonged to Yoo Chun-gil.
And wealth, of all things?
...Those are exactly the kind of items that invite misfortune.
Touch them carelessly, and I'd pay a heavy price.
So, this single ring was enough.
This much is fine.
It was the perfect item to take without crossing any lines.
[......What an absurd fellow. So, you are going to leave all that wealth behind and walk away with just that?]
"Yes."
[Then why did you ask for it in the first place?]
He couldn't understand why I had demanded access to his vault back in Sichuan, only to take a single measly item.
"Like I said, this is enough. Besides..."
Keeping a smirk on my face, I looked at Yoo Chun-gil.
"You didn't bring me here just to give me this anyway, did you?"
[......]
Yoo Chun-gil flinched at my words.
[Ha!]
Then, he burst into laughter.
[Hahaha!]
His laughter was so loud it made my ears ring.
[You cheeky brat.]
"Thanks for the compliment."
Just as I said, Yoo Chun-gil hadn't brought me here to give me treasure.
I know the old man's personality. There's no way that was all.
The old man put me through hell, but he only ever gave me things that would actually help me.
As far as I was concerned, the treasure here was just a pretext.
A pretext to lure me here.
He had thrown it out as bait to get me to come, but it wasn't the main event.
In that case...
"So, what is it? The thing you actually wanted to give me."
What was the real reason?
When I asked, Yoo Chun-gil looked slightly disgruntled.
[What a boring fellow.]
He seemed quite disappointed that I had already figured it out.
However...
[But of all things, why did you choose that?]
Yoo Chun-gil asked, staring at the ring in my hand.
"Why? Is this ring valuable?"
I had just picked it up at random. Was it actually something precious?
It was a plain jade ring with no distinct features.
If there was anything unusual about it, it was its rare purple hue.
[......Hmm......]
Yoo Chun-gil tilted his head slightly at my question.
[No, it does not matter. Take it. But you had better not think of selling it.]
"...Why? What is it?"
Why was he acting so ominous? It was making me uneasy.
[It is worth quite a bit, so selling it carelessly will only bring you trouble. If you must sell it, I will tell you how later. For now, just keep it safe in your robes.]
"Hmm... Alright."
It was a bit concerning, but his explanation made enough sense, so I decided to let it go for now.
[Tsk.]
Yoo Chun-gil clicked his tongue and walked over to a certain spot.
He scanned the piles of jewels before calling out to me.
[Come here.]
Yoo Chun-gil beckoned.
[Here. Dig around in this spot.]
"Here?"
[Yes.]
Yoo Chun-gil pointed to a spot. As instructed, I thrust my hand into the pile and began rummaging through it.
While searching, I kept questioning him.
"What exactly are you trying to give me? Is it another elixir?"
[Hoho, you shameless brat. You have consumed so much already, and you still covet elixirs?]
"It's always good to have more."
[Stop. Too much of anything is poison. Especially in your case—if you absorb any more energy now, it will put a severe strain on your dantian. If your energy increases before you have properly consolidated your realm, your body will collapse.]
I had reached the First-rate realm by consuming the Great Pill, and then leaped to the Peak realm using the energy left behind by Dok-jon.
Since less than ten days had passed between those breakthroughs, my growth was indeed dangerously rapid.
So I need to hold off for a while.
I guess even fortuitous encounters could be harmful if they overflowed.
I had to suppress a chuckle at the thought.
It's hilarious to worry about having too many fortuitous encounters.
For others, it was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, yet here we were, worrying that I had too many. It was absurd.
"Then if it's not an elixir, what are we looking for?"
What was so important that I had to dig through this pile of gems?
My arm was starting to ache, so I pressed him.
[A cloak.]
"...A cloak? A cloak is in here?"
[Yes.]
It was just an outer garment. And we were looking for it here?
"It's not just any ordinary cloak, is it?"
[Of course not. It is the magnificent cloak used by none other than the Sword Saint, Yoo Chun-gil.]
"...Ah, yes, of course."
[......What is with that reaction?]
"Nothing... It's nothing."
[It truly is an extraordinary item, so drop that attitude.]
"Just how amazing is it?"
[It is called the Baegamukpo. It was crafted by weaving cold iron with the hide of the spiritual beast that once ruled Mount Baega.]
"Ah?"
Hearing that name triggered a memory.
Come to think of it.
Back when the Sword Saint dominated the martial world, it was said he swept through battlefields like a yaksha, clad in a snow-white cloak and wielding his beloved sword, Man-wol.
"Is it the cloak from those legends?"
[Indeed.]
Yoo Chun-gil grinned at my words.
[It is my signature piece. Since you are rumored to be my successor, you should at least wear something like that to look the part.]
"...Hmm."
I could already foresee all the trouble that would come just from wearing it, but...
The old man has a point.
I did need that kind of symbolic presence.
If I was going to use the Sword Saint's name, I needed something that would make people associate me with Yoo Chun-gil.
This is actually perfect.
The legendary cloak recorded in history.
Obtaining it would give me a massive advantage.
So, I kept digging diligently.
Thud.
Found it.
My fingertips brushed against a texture that felt out of place.
It definitely wasn't a gemstone or jewelry.
It was soft and supple.
This was it.
I grabbed it and pulled it out.
Clatter!
Jewels scattered in all directions as something emerged from the pile.
As expected, it was a cloak.
"I found it... Huh?"
[Oh! Finally... Wait, what?]
Both Yoo Chun-gil and I froze the moment we saw it.
It was indeed a cloak. But...
It's black?
Contrary to the legends of a snow-white cloak, this one was made of jet-black fur.
Furthermore, the emblem embroidered on the fabric was definitely not something Yoo Chun-gil would ever wear.
"...Old man. This..."
A beautiful embroidery in the shape of a flower bud.
In the Central Plains, there was only one place that used such a beautiful emblem.
"Isn't this the emblem of the Mt. Hua Sect...?"
One of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang, the faction known as the Sword of Shaanxi.
It was the emblem of the great Mt. Hua Sect.