628. The Sword Vault of Chunggyeong Fortress (7)
Everyone hurriedly steadied themselves and assessed the situation.
“What happened?!”
“Why is the entire sword vault shaking?!”
Cha Jangdu, still sprawled on the ground, pressed his hand to the floor and spoke.
“It seems someone touched something they shouldn't have.”
He glanced around, then stared in horror at one spot.
“Th-that...!”
The others followed his gaze.
There stood a stone statue carved in the likeness of Bak, the yokai from legend said to protect the people from war and calamity.
Because of this, it was also revered as a just and honorable yokai.
The statue's forehead horn was made of gold.
And clinging to that horn, frozen in place, was someone who had laid hands on it.
“Janggal! You idiot!”
Kwon Jik, the Grand Commander, bellowed at him.
“I explicitly told you not to touch anything!”
Aigoo, Gold Guard my ass—he's reeking of rookie vibes.
Doesn't he know you can't just touch things in a place like this?
His mental training must've been lacking.
Actually, I knew he'd screw up.
Seo-hyang Sojeo warned me before we entered.
But I let it slide because I figured we could handle it without major incident.
Rumble rumble rumble.
The sword vault continued to shake.
“You fool! Get your hand off now!”
“Y-yes! B-but... it won't come loose?!”
At Kwon Jik's command, Daehyeop Janggal desperately tried to pull free, but his hand was stuck fast to the horn.
Unable to move amid the ongoing tremors, everyone froze—until suddenly, he began screaming.
“Aaaagh! Help! It hurts!”
I let out a quiet sigh at the sight.
Bak is a just and honorable yokai.
Which also means it ruthlessly punishes the unjust.
Reaching for that horn out of greed was proof enough of his lack of virtue.
As the strongest here, I suppose it's my move.
Besides, I have my reasons.
I kicked off the ground and dashed to Daehyeop Janggal, slamming my foot into his body.
“Guhk!”
Thud!
His hand tore free from the horn, sending him crashing into the sword vault wall and rebounding.
“Cough!”
He collapsed, vomiting blood from the heavy impact.
But with his hand detached, the shaking finally stopped.
“Whew—!”
“Haa...”
Only then did tension ease, everyone sighing in relief as they slumped to the floor.
“Thank you. You saved us from disaster.”
I shook my head at Kwon Jik's gratitude.
“I'm just glad I could step in.”
As I spoke, I recalled Seo-hyang Sojeo's words.
“Daehyeop Janggal is going to touch the Bak statue's horn and cause big trouble. You'll have to forcibly pull him off.”
“Got it. I'll give him a good kick.”
“Put all my anger into it and kick him as hard as you can.”
Seo-hyang Sojeo still harbored resentment from his earlier harassment.
And since I felt the same, I'd obliged with gusto.
“Ugh...”
The Gold Guard daehyeops approached Janggal Daehyeop.
“Hey, you alright?”
“Cough! Y-yeah, I'm f-fine... urk!”
“Oh no! Looks like his ribs are cracked.”
“We should get him out for treatment.”
“Yeah, probably.”
I interjected smoothly.
“I think I kicked too hard. Sorry about that.”
“No, no!”
“You didn't mean to, right?”
I absolutely did.
“You did it to pry Jang Daewon off that horn, didn't you?”
I nodded.
“Yes. I couldn't wait—if we didn't get him off fast, everyone was at risk. I just reacted.”
“Well done. We're all safe thanks to you.”
“Thanks.”
“I'm embarrassed by all this praise, even after hurting Daehyeop Janggal.”
“Hoo...”
Kwon Jik sighed and said,
“Jang Daewon should head out now. He can't continue the mission like this...”
Can't have that.
“Actually... I came prepared for something like this. If he wears it, he should be able to move freely.”
“Hm? Prepared?”
“Yes. Sending him out now would disappoint a daehyeop so loyal to His Majesty. Why not try what I brought?”
“Go fetch it.”
“Yes.”
I pulled out the iron breastplate I'd prepared.
It was the one I'd made for Brother Jeong Ho after his ribs cracked at the Murim Grand Assembly.
And a hot new product just released by the Eunhae Merchant Group.
“Here it is.”
I explained the breastplate, then took a vial from my robe.
“And this is medicine I carry. Drink it, wear the plate, and he'll be fine.”
“Got it.”
Who knew it'd come in handy like this.
It's Geum-ryeong's saliva mixed in water.
Tastes off if you know, but medicine if you don't.
And getting Geum-ryeong's saliva costs silver or gold—far from cheap.
Daehyeop Janggal drank it and donned the breastplate.
About half a shichen later, he exclaimed in surprise.
“It's healed! No, completely healed!”
“Oh! Really?”
“What a relief!”
“Eun Sodanju! Truly grateful.”
I replied sheepishly to Kwon Jik.
“No big deal. Glad I could help.”
And inwardly, I grinned.
I had reasons for healing Janggal Daehyeop and armoring him up.
We still need to scour the sword vault and haul heavier carts back to Beijing.
If he bails injured, no dice.
Sucking honey on the job, eh!
Now that he sees how his greed nearly doomed us, he won't act rashly again.
And since rib injuries are common for Gold Guards, it's free promo for our wares to frequent users.
......
I opened my eyes.
Deep underground, time was hard to gauge.
But after about two shichen of sleep, it felt like dawn or morning.
I roused the workers to prepare food.
“Oh! Up early.”
“Yes. You're up early too, Grand Commander.”
Kwon Jik Grand Commander was stretching, while Cha Jangdu was already scouting ahead.
“Elder, coughing? You're up quite early.”
“Old age means less sleep.”
Even past sixty, Cha Jangdu led by example.
I need to work harder.
- Cluck! Cluck!
Huh? Threatening to fetch Master if I slack?
How much harder can I go?
...No retort.
After breakfast, sword vault exploration resumed.
How far had we gone?
We faced an unexpected sight.
“Isn't this... where we passed earlier?”
“The traps are disarmed, so yeah.”
The mood turned grave instantly.
After over a day probing the vault, we'd looped back near the start.
“Ever seen this in past explorations?”
At Kwon Daeju's question, Cha Jangdu nodded.
“Once, long ago in another vault. We solved a riddle to access the true interior.”
“Riddle?”
“Yes. And vaults like this are rare—require immense time and effort. Means something vital's hidden here.”
I scanned the group.
Eyes burning with greed.
“Vital” meant priceless treasure to them.
But is it really?
I told Geum-ryeong to alert me to valuables—no word yet.
“Where's the riddle?”
“Inside here.”
“Here?”
“Yes.”
Cha Jangdu continued.
“This space itself is the riddle and the answer.”
Kwon Daeju explained to all.
“...So we'll solve it together. But no touching anything recklessly. You saw what happened to Janggal Daewon.”
Janggal Daehyeop flushed at the warning.
“Find anything riddle-like.”
“Yes!”
Everyone spread out, hunting clues—crowdsourcing intellect.
I chatted with my guards while scanning.
“Straight shot would've been half a day.”
Half a day? Less than one shichen.
“Disarming traps slowed us.”
“A riddle, huh... what could it be?”
At Myeongjong Musa's words, Changun Musa shook his head sheepishly.
“No clue. Good at memorizing, bad at puzzles.”
I chuckled.
“Plenty of experts—someone'll crack it.”
Jin Yu Musa replied,
“I bet that someone's you, my lord.”
I laughed.
“Nah. Honestly stumped this time.”
I asked Jin Yu Musa,
“What do you make of this vault?”
“Agreed—something crucial stored here. Learned about vaults in mechanism studies, since they're mechanism hubs.”
He continued.
“Few like this exist because they demand insane dedication.”
Made me curious about its true purpose.
Myeongjong Musa asked,
“Didn't you mention a 'dog hole' entrance? Why not use that?”
Jin Yu shook his head.
“Seems logical, but not simple.”
“Why not?”
“Builders escaped via that exit—they'd anticipate invaders using it. They're no fools.”
“True.”
“So it'd be riddled with mechanisms and traps to the core—same as here.”
“Then why find it?”
“Escape route if needed.”
Curiosity satisfied.
I surveyed slowly.
Bak statues everywhere—the ones Janggal nearly doomed us with.
Mostly similar, but materials varied.
Gold, silver, even coral.
- Geum-ryeong, no reaction to those?
- Cluck? Cluck cluck!
- Huh? Those aren't edible either?
Meaning they're all traps?
The golden horn was one, so maybe Geum-ryeong skips traps.
She loves money but discerns edible from cursed coin flawlessly.
Then something caught my eye.
A wooden Bak horn.
Per Cha Jangdu, this vault was centuries old.
Wood should've rotted, especially in humid Yunnan.
Yet the interior was bone-dry.
“I think I get it.”
I returned to Kwon Daeju, deep in thought.
“Something wrong?”
“I believe I've solved the riddle.”
“Knew you'd figure it quick.”
“Flattery. Could be wrong.”
“Let's hear it.”
He called Cha Jangdu; I shared my theory.
“The riddle ties to these Bak statues.”
“Thought that too—too many of them.”
“Noticed the horns' varied materials?”
“Of course. But no clue how it fits.”
“The wooden horn is key.”
“Wood? Why?”
I smiled.
“Didn't you find it odd, Jangdu? This is humid Yunnan—yet bone-dry here.”
“Ah... yeah.”
“They obsessed over moisture to prevent wood rot.”
I pressed on.
“No need for such dryness if rot didn't matter.”
Kwon Daeju interjected.
“To keep mechanisms and traps functional?”
Cha Jangdu pondered, then shook his head.
“Past ones worked fine in humidity. Builders knew that.”
“Then?”
“Yes. Eun Sodanju's right.”
Kwon Daeju gathered everyone and announced.
“We'll touch the wooden horn.”
“Understood. Who does it?”
No volunteers.
Mishaps could maim or kill.
“I'll do it.”
I raised my hand and stepped forward.
“My idea, my job.”