Secrets of the Poison Sovereign's Vault
Rumble!
Silence fell over the cavern as everyone stared at the newly formed opening in the wall.
With just a few inexplicable gestures, an entrance had suddenly appeared where there had been nothing but solid stone.
It was utterly absurd.
Everyone stood frozen in stunned silence.
What on earth just happened?
A door that several men couldn't find no matter how hard they searched had just swung wide open.
"How in the world..."
"How did he...!"
The watching Dang Clan martial artists finally broke the silence, reacting in belated shock.
It was a sight they couldn't believe even as they stared right at it.
It had only taken a few minor movements.
How could such trivial gestures suddenly open the secret vault?
It was mind-boggling.
'Crazy.'
And I felt exactly the same way.
'Why the hell did this suddenly open?'
I stared blankly at the gaping entrance, my jaw slack.
I was genuinely flustered.
'Seriously, what is this?'
I had only done what I was told, but I never expected it to actually work.
I looked at the entrance, my eyes twitching slightly in secret anxiety.
Meanwhile, the two old ghosts floating in the air were busy chattering away.
[I thought you would fail at least a few times, but to succeed on your very first try... What a fascinating lad.]
Dok-jon looked at me with intrigue, mildly surprised.
[Right? He might be a bit of a blockhead, but he's surprisingly good at this sort of thing.]
Yoo Chun-gil sounded strangely proud.
Why are you the one acting proud?
[Indeed. I fully expected at least his thumb or middle finger to get blown off...]
'Wait... what?'
What did this crazy old man just say?
Thumb or middle finger? Was he talking about my actual fingers?
'You're telling me my fingers would've been blown off if I messed up?'
All I did was throw a few pebbles and draw a pattern on the wall with my finger. Where in that process was there a risk of losing my hand?
As I frowned in disbelief, Yoo Chun-gil spoke up.
[You... did you rig the mechanism with another one of your nasty traps?]
Yoo Chun-gil asked Dok-jon, sounding exasperated.
To which Dok-jon replied:
[Well, if a thief breaks into an empty house, should I just let them rob me blind? A man has to take precautions.]
[There's a limit to everything. The things you do aren't just mean; they're downright malicious.]
[And that is exactly why my vault remains unlooted to this day.]
[I suppose that's true.]
'...'
The more I listened to these old men bicker, the more I wanted to sigh.
'But at least it means he rigged the place.'
I now knew for sure that the secret vault was heavily booby-trapped.
Which meant...
'...I can't let my guard down for even a second.'
There was no telling what might happen. That single realization made my entire body tense up.
Just then.
"Young Master Bang."
The Poison King's voice called out. I turned to see him approaching with his usual unreadable expression.
"How did you manage that?"
"..."
How did I do it?
Your father gave me step-by-step instructions.
'...Obviously, I can't say that.'
Saying that would be no different from asking to be executed on the spot.
How should I explain this? I quickly racked my brain before speaking.
The excuse I could make was already decided anyway.
"I could see it."
"...See it?"
"Yes."
I focused my energy into my eyes.
Hummm! The Cheongwol Mind Method within my body stirred, gathering toward my eyes.
It was the proper awakening of the Moon Eye—a power I had obtained after consuming the Blue Moon Pill.
Taking advantage of the fact that my eyes glowed when using it, I showed them to the Poison King.
"That is..."
The Poison King's eyes widened as he stared at me.
Did he know what these eyes signified?
I didn't get a clear answer, but it didn't matter whether he knew or not.
"It seems the Poison Sovereign indeed left behind a hidden arrangement."
Since Dok-jon had handed me the perfect excuse on a silver platter, all I had to do was tailor my explanation to fit.
I just needed to spin a story around it.
"When I channeled my energy and looked at the wall, I saw something glowing with a blue light. I believe that is what allowed me to open the vault."
"...A glowing light..."
For the record, what I just said was adapted from what I had seen when I visited Yoo Chun-gil's secret stash.
'I really did see a light back then.'
I spoke while recalling that memory. Whether the Poison King would actually buy it was a bit uncertain, but...
'What's he going to do if he doesn't believe me?'
Even if he doubted me, there was nothing he could do about it.
The fact remained that I was the one who opened the door.
The Poison King seemed to realize this as well, as he didn't press the matter further.
"Did it truly... require the power of the Sword Saint?"
In fact, he actually seemed to believe it.
Well, given the message left behind and the visual proof I had just displayed, he had little choice but to believe.
The Poison King shifted his gaze from me to the entrance of the secret vault.
"...We shall enter the vault now," the Poison King declared, his expression turning deeply solemn.
His grave tone immediately heightened the tension among everyone present.
The secret vault left behind by the Poison Sovereign.
A space containing who-knows-what left by a master of the Heavens Beyond Heaven.
We were about to step inside.
[Let us go inside.]
And we were doing so with the Poison Sovereign himself.
We stepped into the pitch-black interior.
Contrary to the absolute darkness we expected, the first thing we encountered was a flight of stairs leading downward.
Not a single lantern lit the space, but since I was channeling the Moon Eye, the darkness posed no obstacle.
'It's narrow.'
The passage was tight.
It was barely wide enough for one person to descend at a time.
Holding onto the wall, I carefully made my way down the steps.
Even after descending for what felt like an eternity...
'Just how far down does this go?'
We still hadn't reached our destination. We had been walking down for a considerable time, yet the path seemed inexplicably deep.
I frowned at the strange sensation. Tension still gripped my body.
It was even worse because I was the one leading the way.
'Damn it.'
Ah, I shouldn't have said I could see anything. Now I was stuck in this position.
Thanks to that, I was incredibly anxious, but...
[Just how deep did you dig this place?]
[Just a bit further.]
It was slightly reassuring to have the very man who built the vault floating in the air and guiding me.
'Just a bit further?'
If we had to go even deeper, I wondered if he had dug all the way to the center of the earth.
"Do you see anything?" asked the Poison King, who was right behind me.
"...Not yet. I think we need to go down a bit further."
There were six of us in total.
Three martial artists from Cheongwol Gate, including myself.
And three others, including the Poison King.
The Poison King had mentioned that the other two were a formation master and a mechanism expert brought along just in case.
In other words, the Poison King was the only martial artist from the Dang Clan who had entered.
'...Without even knowing what's inside the vault.'
They had already suffered casualties trying to force the vault open, yet the Poison King himself was entering the most dangerous part.
Although I was only acting on a request, doubts kept creeping in.
'What exactly is he trying to find?'
What did the Poison King hope to gain by opening this vault?
At first, I thought he simply wanted to retrieve the treasures left by the previous family head.
'But seeing him enter in person and observing his reactions, it feels a bit off.'
Of course, as the family head, it wasn't strange for him to enter the vault himself.
Yet, his behavior felt subtly off.
I couldn't quite put my finger on what that subtlety was yet.
'But I need to keep it in mind.'
It was always wise to note anything suspicious.
With that thought, I continued down the stairs.
[Kid. Stop.]
"..."
I froze in place at Dok-jon's command.
We were still in the middle of the staircase.
"Young Master Bang?"
Ignoring the Poison King's call, I focused on the ghost's voice.
[Place your hand on the left wall.]
Following his instructions, I placed my hand on the wall.
Just like before, Dok-jon began to guide the position of my hand with meticulous detail.
[A bit to the left from that angle. Stop there. Now, shift only your middle finger slightly to the right. Yes, like that.]
The adjustments were so minute that I couldn't even tell what difference it made.
I simply moved like a puppet under Dok-jon's direction.
[Now, channel your internal energy and push.]
Hummmm!
I immediately drew upon my energy, channeling it into my palm.
I pushed forward with all my strength.
Creak!
The section of the wall beneath my palm sank inward.
At that moment...
Clack-clack-clack!
A harsh, grinding noise echoed, and the wall began to shift just as it had before.
Another entrance appeared.
"..."
I looked at the new opening, then glanced down the stairs ahead of us.
'If this is the real entrance, then what the hell is that staircase?'
What lay at the bottom of those steps?
As I stood staring, Dok-jon spoke to me.
[Do you wish to go down there? I understand the curiosity, but I wouldn't recommend it.]
"..."
Hearing that, I turned my gaze back to the new entrance without a shred of hesitation.
"Let's go. It's this way."
I led the group through the opening in the wall.
Unlike the long staircase, this path was short.
After just a few steps, a door came into view.
Just as I was about to reach out and open it...
[Ah. If you grab that handle as it is, the ceiling will collapse. Pull down the lantern next to it first, then open it.]
I reached out to the lantern on the left and pulled it down.
Seriously, I couldn't let my guard down for a single second.
Click.
A sound clicked. Only then did I grasp the door and push it open.
Creak.
I peered through the gap of the open door.
"Huh?"
My eyes narrowed instantly.
Unlike the dark passage outside, the interior was brilliantly lit.
...What? Why is it so bright?
And it wasn't narrow either. It was vast.
It felt even larger than the family head's personal residence.
'For it to be this bright...'
Where was the light coming from? I looked up at the ceiling.
Instantly, the source of the illumination became clear.
...Are those...
The glowing objects embedded in the ceiling.
Could they be...
"Night-luminescent pearls...?"
Were all those tightly packed gems actually night-luminescent pearls?
No way.
A single night-luminescent pearl was worth a fortune. How could all of those be real?
I stared in disbelief at the absurd sight.
[...Where on earth did you get all of those?]
[Curiosity killed the cat.]
[You... don't tell me... did you steal them from the Demonic Cult?]
[Tsk. I told you, you're better off not knowing.]
'This is driving me crazy.'
Another piece of unwanted information had just been dumped on me.
It was mind-boggling enough that those were genuine night-luminescent pearls.
'...What? The Demonic Cult?'
Why was the Demonic Cult suddenly being brought up?
I almost screamed out loud.
'Those pearls belong to the Demonic Cult...?'
The Heavenly Demon, who had instigated the Great War between Orthodox and Demonic factions.
The Demonic Cult, which worshiped the Heavenly Demon like a god.
It was common knowledge that the Cult had collapsed after the Sword Saint, Yoo Chun-gil, slayed the Heavenly Demon.
Yet the Poison Sovereign had plundered these pearls from the Cult and embedded them in his own secret vault?
'...How on earth did he pull that off?'
I had a mountain of questions I wanted to ask, but I couldn't utter a single word.
"Are those... are those all night-luminescent pearls?"
"Unbelievable...! Pearls of that caliber..."
Do-hyeong and Cheon Ui-jin reacted in astonishment as they examined the pearls.
Even the Poison King stared blankly at the ceiling, clearly taken aback.
[Hey, the pearls aren't what's important right now. Look at them, completely mesmerized.]
Actually, they are extremely important. How could anyone look away from a ceiling practically paved with fortune?
'I really want to pry just one off.'
Stealing just one of those would be enough to fund a comfortable life in hiding somewhere.
I indulged in a brief, happy fantasy, but...
[Just so you know, if you try to pry one off, the whole place will collapse. So watch yourself.]
Dok-jon instantly shattered my hopes.
"There doesn't seem to be anything of note here. Let's keep moving," I said, swallowing a sigh.
As I spoke, the way everyone looked at me shifted.
What...? Why were they staring at me like that?
"Young Master Bang... as expected, you have no interest in such material wealth..." Cheon Ui-jin murmured in admiration.
What did you say, kid?
'Who says I'm not interested?'
'I want to steal them so badly my stomach hurts.'
'...Having to leave gold and treasures untouched right before my eyes is pure torture.'
Was there anything more sorrowful than this?
"It's not that," I said, turning my gaze to the Poison King. "This vault belonged to the Poison Sovereign, so these aren't mine to take. More importantly..."
"Given the Poison Sovereign's personality that we've seen so far, there's no telling what will happen if we touch them carelessly."
"..."
The Poison King looked as if he had already anticipated this.
In fact, he seemed surprised that I had picked up on it.
"Just to be safe, it would be best not to touch anything recklessly. What do you think, Family Head?"
"I agree."
The Poison King nodded. That was justification enough.
"Then, Family Head, what should we do now?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"We have successfully entered the vault... but what else are we supposed to do here?"
"..."
We had opened the vault. Wasn't the job technically done?
The Poison King remained silent for a moment before replying.
"We haven't searched the entire place yet, so we should look around a bit more."
"Understood."
I nodded without further comment.
Just then.
[What is this brat doing? We haven't even found the sword yet, and he's already trying to—]
Dok-jon grumbled in annoyance.
[Dang Gyeon. Quiet.]
Yoo Chun-gil immediately cut him off.
At the same time, I looked away.
Ensuring no one was watching, I let my expression slip.
My mind raced as my eyes narrowed.
...As I thought.
It seemed my suspicion was correct.
I looked at the Poison King, who was now wrapped in deep concentration.
'He has something specific he must find here.'
The vault itself wasn't his ultimate goal.
He had come to retrieve something hidden inside it.
'And though I don't know what it is...'
I frowned, sensing the Poison King's subtle, tense demeanor.
'This feels dirty.'
A deeply unpleasant sensation washed over me.
It felt as if I were standing right next to a bomb that could detonate at any second.