The Empty Box
An empty box.
The faint scent of herbs lingering inside suggested that something had once been kept here, but now, there was absolutely nothing.
"...What is this?"
Why is it empty? It shouldn't be empty.
I thrust the box forward with a thoroughly bewildered expression. Yoo Chun-gil stared blankly at it.
Then, scratching the back of his head, he spoke to me.
"It has been plundered, has it not?"
"...What?"
"Hahaha! Well, well. Plundered indeed."
Yoo Chun-gil burst into hearty laughter, as if finding the situation incredibly amusing. Every time I heard that cursed laugh of his, it grated on my nerves.
"Is this funny to you?"
"And why should I not laugh? Some rascal has run off with the treats I hid away."
"Shouldn't you be angry instead of laughing?"
"No, no. One must laugh."
Yoo Chun-gil, who had been laughing merrily, wiped the smile from his face in an instant.
"To think someone had the sheer audacity to plunder my treasury... How could I not find it amusing?"
"...!"
In that instant, I felt the air around us turn ice-cold.
My breath caught in my throat, and goosebumps broke out all over my body.
...Crazy old bastard.
I almost took a step back without realizing it. I see. This man...
He is absolutely furious.
His laughter wasn't just laughter. He was genuinely enraged. No wonder his laugh sounded far more terrifying than usual.
"Just how did they manage to rob it..."
Hearing his puzzled murmur, I narrowed my eyes and spoke.
"Didn't you say all the passages are connected? Couldn't they have just walked in and taken it?"
Yoo Chun-gil knitted his brows at my words. Judging by his expression, he didn't like my answer one bit.
"Impossible."
"Why? There are plenty of people out there who possess internal cultivation methods. Opening it by chance isn't out of the question..."
"Perhaps, if all cultivation methods were the same."
"...What?"
"Have you not felt it? Even among those of the Cheongwol Mind Method, not all are equal."
"..."
I bit my tongue slightly at his words. It was something I had already sensed. I just hadn't been entirely sure.
"The reason the elder and that young pup suspect you yet refrain from acting rashly... Surely a clever lad like you has figured it out."
"...Is it because I possess your mind method, old man?"
"Indeed, that very... Wait, your way of addressing me reverted in the blink of an eye."
He seemed rather bothered by his sudden demotion from 'respected elder' back to 'old man.'
"That's not what's important right now."
"It is somewhat important to me—"
"So, in any case, this space cannot be opened without your specific mind method, correct?"
"...Yes."
"Yet someone opened it and took the elixirs...?"
Which meant...
"Either there is someone else with the exact same mind method as you, or..."
"Or they found a way to open it without it, and someone else knows of this location."
"...Oh."
To put it simply...
"We're screwed, then?"
It meant the situation was far from good.
Whichever it is, it's an anomaly.
It was completely outside my calculations, and trying to factor it in only made things more complicated. Even if they had somehow figured out the mind method, knowing this exact location was a different story.
Judging by the old man's reaction, it's not like he shared this secret with anyone else.
Let's assume they somehow located it. Looking around, there were a total of eight doors. Since he said devices were installed throughout the building, the number of doors didn't quite match up.
They probably couldn't make doors for all of them, so some passages must be linked.
The possibilities were endless. With so many entrances, the risk of discovery was naturally high.
"What about the possibility of someone forcing their way through the mechanisms?"
"None."
I tilted my head at his firm denial. "Why do you think so?"
"Did I not tell you earlier? The one who crafted this was that eccentric old codger of the Tang Clan."
"What of it?"
"Though his personality was utterly deranged, his skill was unmatched. There is no chance he made a mistake."
"..."
What absolute faith. It seemed the craftsman was indeed an extraordinarily skilled artisan...
Still, I have to keep it in mind.
That was Yoo Chun-gil's belief, not mine. In the end, I was the one doing the legwork, so I had to keep all possibilities open.
"So what you're saying, old man, is that they must have entered through a proper entrance... Is that even possible?"
"Who knows?"
"...Excuse me?"
"Is that not for you to investigate from now on?"
"Wow, you really are a lunatic, aren't you?"
"...You do not even bother to sugarcoat your words anymore."
Why would I sugarcoat it? Even if I could, I wouldn't. He had to be incredibly shameless to say that. It wasn't like we were playing games here.
"Did those elixirs even exist in the first place?"
"So now your suspicion turns to that?"
"Well, your memory isn't exactly perfect. And honestly, it's much easier for me to accept that you're just senile."
Rather than dealing with a complicated incident that would give me a headache, I preferred the scenario where the old man had simply lost his mind.
However...
"The elixirs most certainly existed."
Yoo Chun-gil was resolute.
"Do you have any idea how much I had to rob those bald monks of Shaolin and those Taoist priests of Mount Hua to get them...! They were absolutely there."
"...Bald monks and Taoist priests?"
"Indeed. That old eccentric Buddhist of Shaolin, and the Plum Blossom Sword of Mount Hua..."
"Stop... Right there... Don't say another word."
I quickly cut him off. Just hearing those titles made my knees shake.
...The Eccentric Buddhist and the Plum Blossom Sword.
One was the former Abbot of Shaolin, and the other was the current Sect Leader of the Mt. Hua Sect. It was terrifying enough to hear the titles of the current Heavens Beyond Heaven of the Central Plains being tossed around so casually.
And he robbed those people to get them?
It was utterly absurd just to hear it.
Furthermore, to put it another way...
...There's a high probability they were the Daehwandan and the Jasodan.
Those were the signature elixirs of Shaolin and Mount Hua. Suddenly, my stomach began to ache with regret.
"...Damn it. Which bastard stole my elixirs?"
"Wait, why have they suddenly become your elixirs..."
"If they were still here, they would have been mine!"
"...Uh, right."
"Just who the hell..."
Who could have snatched all those precious, high-grade treasures? Just wait till I catch them. Honestly, even if I did catch them, there wasn't much I could do, but I was still furious.
"...Sigh."
Then, my anger suddenly cooled.
There's no point in standing around like this anyway.
Now that I knew they were gone, I had no business here. Coming down here had only given me a headache.
"Let's go back up..."
I turned around. I intended to head back before it got any later, but...
"Hold on."
Yoo Chun-gil called out, stopping me in my tracks.
"What is it? If someone comes down here, it'll be hard to explain—"
"I said the box was plundered. I never said we were completely cleaned out."
"...!"
I spun back around instantly.
"...My deeply respected elder. Does that mean...!"
"..."
Yoo Chun-gil gave me a look of sheer disdain for a moment, but he quickly wiped it away and pointed ahead.
Following the direction of his finger, my eyes landed on the wall.
"What is it?"
It was just a bare wall. I looked closely to see if there was anything there, but nothing caught my eye.
Just then...
"My boy. My treat pantry is not merely this size."
My eyes widened at the old man's words.
"Indeed."
Yoo Chun-gil grinned widely at my unspoken question.
"Let us proceed to the next room."
This wasn't the end.
I approached the wall and stared at it. Still, nothing stood out.
I lightly touched it. It felt cold. It didn't feel any different from the other walls.
"You're saying there's an entrance here?"
"Yes."
Was there really something here? No matter how hard I looked, there was nothing.
If he wants me to go to the next room, shouldn't there at least be a doorknob?
The thought crossed my mind, but it was pointless.
Then again, if it had something like that, it wouldn't be a secret room.
After touching it a few more times, I asked Yoo Chun-gil.
"What do I do now?"
"Who knows?"
"Excuse me?"
What kind of bullshit answer was that? I frowned and looked at Yoo Chun-gil.
Look at this old man.
His expression was strange. It wasn't that he genuinely didn't know.
A mischievous smirk played at the corners of his lips.
Seeing that, I understood his intention. He was clearly challenging me to figure it out myself.
"...Are you playing games with me even here?"
"Give it a try."
"No, in this situation, why would you..."
"My boy, if you can figure this out, I shall give you one more good thing."
"...Something good?"
My ears perked up. It was official. I was a materialist.
"What is it?"
"Hmm... What should I give you? Ah, yes."
Yoo Chun-gil clapped his large hands together.
"The dark iron sword I mentioned before. I shall give you something even better than that."
"...!"
"I was thinking you needed a sword anyway. Is this not perfect?"
"..."
"If you succeed, I shall place it in your hands. So, search for it."
Something better than the dark iron sword?
What could it possibly be? I had no idea.
"...I'm only going to give it a try, alright?"
Well, getting anything would be a plus. With that thought, I stared at the wall.
Opening the door.
There was obviously no doorknob, and touching it yielded no clues. Yet Yoo Chun-gil said there was a door leading to the next room here. Furthermore...
The fact that he told me to open it myself means there's something here that reveals the method.
Or...
Even if the method isn't here, he has already taught me what I need to do it.
I arrived at those conclusions.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at the wall.
The space was dark. There were no lanterns, nor were there any brackets to hang them.
This meant the space itself wasn't designed with such things in mind.
The reason was likely the application of energy the old man had taught me just moments ago.
Channeling the mind method into the eyes to brighten one's vision.
It was the very method I was using right now.
"..."
Thinking about it, my mind settled.
It's strange.
He could have told me to bring a lantern, or he could have explained it beforehand. No matter how crude the old man seemed, I already knew his cunning was no joke.
Yet he had gone out of his way to enter this space and even possess my body to teach me this.
I focused on that reason.
He definitely told me to search for it.
What was I supposed to search for? Recalling his words, I strained my eyes.
Wuuung.
The Cheongwol Mind Method, which had been circulating continuously, reacted. The speed of its rotation increased slightly.
...Whew.
I regulated my breathing. Increasing the speed maximized the instability.
A single moment of carelessness could cause my energy to collapse.
Knowing this, I still pushed the speed higher.
Right up to the limit of what I could endure.
Consequently, my vision grew slightly brighter.
Is this all?
It was just a bit brighter. Nothing in particular stood out.
Was this not it?
I'm starting to reach my limit.
Thinking it must be a different method, I was about to slow down the rotation when...
Kiiiiing!
"...!"
As the rotation reached its absolute peak, something faintly appeared on the wall.
It was a line.
It was extremely faint and translucent, but something was definitely drawn on the wall.
At that moment...
Tuk!
The mind method broke, and darkness rushed back in. Unable to withstand the rapid rotation, my energy had dispersed.
In the pitch-black darkness that returned, I closed my eyes.
"Oho?"
Yoo Chun-gil reacted with interest, but his voice didn't register in my ears.
It was a line.
A line drawn horizontally on the wall.
In terms of length, it was about seven feet.
What I had seen with my energy-infused eyes was a clear clue.
A passage hidden within a bare wall.
The entrance leading to it was concealed, and there was no handle.
Yet, a seven-foot-long line glowing with a faint blue light was visible.
I connected the dots.
What I did to get to this treasury.
Moving the drawers. Pulling out the third drawer and using the mind method when opening the first drawer.
What was the key takeaway from that action?
This place is deeply connected to Yoo Chun-gil's mind method.
Which meant...
It is also connected to this secret door.
My mind raced.
Before long...
Seureung.
I reached a conclusion.
I drew the sword at my waist and lowered my stance.
My eyes remained closed.
There was no point in keeping them open anyway. Why not just brighten my vision again?
No.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of maintaining that state while simultaneously executing a martial technique.
Wuuung!
The mind method circulated once more, surging vitality through my body.
Recall it.
Just like when I demonstrated it before the Sect Leader.
I channeled the atmosphere of that moment and the sensation in my body. The energy erupting from my dantian quickly wrapped around my blade. In the darkness, only my sword glowed with a blue light.
By the time the flowing energy gathered at the tip of the blade...
"Can you manage with your eyes closed?" Yoo Chun-gil asked.
I didn't answer. I couldn't open my mouth because I was focusing all my energy. I only replied in my mind.
It doesn't matter.
It didn't matter if I couldn't see.
Because I saw it when I opened my eyes.
I had already seen the line. I had mapped out its position and its length.
That was enough for me.
Even with my eyes closed, even in the pitch-black darkness, I could see it. No, I remembered it.
Swiiish!
Without hesitation, I swung my sword.
Once again, the Moon Wave unfolded from my hand.
Chwaak!
The tip of the sword swept across the wall.
Without actually touching it, stopping exactly an inch away.
"...Ha!"
Yoo Chun-gil let out a sharp gasp at the sight.
Rumble, rumble!
Soon, a loud rumbling echoed from the wall.
I had guessed correctly.