2
8
5.
And, stimulating my eyesight, I meticulously captured the appearance of the terrain piece by piece.
After taking in the view of Mt. Judang from one peak, move to another peak to take in the view of Mt. Judang from a new angle.
I moved as fast as I could, but by the time I finished, the sun was already high in the sky.
My head feels like it’s going to explode.
I came down from Mt. Judang clutching my throbbing head and returned to my lodging.
The priests who had arrived before I knew it.
“Senior Brother, I have drawn it.”
Eunho held out a stack of papers as the representative.
You’ve done well.
“Senior Brother. What kind of scheme are you plotting again this time… No, what on earth do you intend to do with this?”
What are you going to do?
I looked at him and curled the corners of my mouth into a smirk.
I intend to sell the opportunity.
“A chance?”
“Right, the opportunity Jongnam is monopolizing.”
Those guys must be confident that only they can ‘monopolize’ it.
I intended to take advantage of that gap.
Eunho, who had no way of knowing what was going on inside my head, wore a look that suggested he didn’t quite understand what I was saying.
I patted the guy on the shoulder.
“Keep watching, for you will soon find out.”
“No, again…….”
What’s wrong? Is he going through a rebellious phase?
I gently nodded to the side to the guy who was about to move his lips.
Iron rings and steel plates stacked neatly in one corner.
Eunho puts his two hands together neatly.
I always trust my senior brother.
As expected, it can’t be the rebellious phase. Of course not.
The fellow began turning the pages of the maps they had drawn, one by one, with perfectly coordinated movements.
I looked into it in detail without missing a single part.
As instructed, I have excluded all people and drawn the area near the entrance of Cheondonggul Cave and the surrounding region in detail.
Bring the map of the open as well.
Next, it is time to compare with the fake market map that Gaebang sold.
The map drawn by Gaebang only depicts 70% of Cheondonggul.
But it didn’t matter. After all, what I needed was the terrain near the entrance.
I closed my eyes tightly.
Based on the information I saw with my own eyes earlier, I visualize Mount Judang in my mind and create a scaled-down model.
In addition, I plan to create a realistic depiction of the Heavenly Cave by combining the map of the Open with the maps drawn by the priests.
To create a three-dimensional realistic representation of the cave depicted in cross-section, the maps drawn by the priests are needed.
After opening my eyes again, I began to assemble the Heavenly Cave in three dimensions, comparing the maps Eunho handed me over again from the beginning with the map of the Open Sea.
As the actual appearance of Cheondonggul Cave became more concrete, the back of my head felt tight.
Now is the time to combine the two 3D maps of Judangsan and Cheondonggul, which were created in this way, into one.
“Hmm…….”
“The shape of Mount Zhutang gradually fades. ‘It was here.’ Based on the 3D map of Mount Zhutang, I align the realistic depiction of Tiandong Cave with the location of the entrance blocked by Zhongnan.”
As I finished adjusting the scale, the terrain around the entrance and the surrounding area became clearly visible. ‘Done!’ I rotated the realistic model map and examined it more closely.
at that time.
“……
“H-Big Brother!”
I opened my eyes wide at the sound of Eunho’s startled voice.
The guy who suddenly barged right in front of me had a serious look on his face.
Seeing it this close, it’s really ugly…
“Blood…… nosebleed…….”
huh?
Just as Eunho said, when I put my finger to my nose, a bucketful of blood was flowing out.
“ah.”
Once I realized it, my head spun and the world seemed to be spinning.
The feeling I had in the past when I was forced to cram in materials from the Mantongbu and Simhyeongak by order.
But… ‘To think I am doing this of my own accord.’ I was now doing on my own accord what I had done under the coercion of others back then.
While I was lost in thought.
Saryeon gasped in terror and grabbed my nose with a cloth to stop the bleeding.
Hey, grab him gently…
“What on earth are you doing!!”
Saryeon, whimpering as if about to burst into tears at any moment.
Anyway, he’s second to none when it comes to worrying a lot.
Swoosh.
I pulled Sa-ryeon’s hand away and said.
“What are you doing?”
And he covered his nose and grinned.
Giving Jongnam a hard time.
The guys who swarmed in front of me were frowning and looking at me as if I were a madman.
Hmph, to dare look at your Heavenly Senior Brother with such disrespectful eyes. How audacious.
I briefly considered using the iron ore and steel plates stacked nearby to restore order, but… ‘Well, whatever.’ I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of those Jongnam bastards making disgusted faces because of this.
Kehehehe. Ho Gye-ak, the owner of the Black Spot shop at the Xi’an branch of Shaanxi Province, could not suppress his regret as he watched the martial artists passing by. ‘Oh my stomach… Even if I sold to just one out of ten, how much would that be…’ Because he was quick at calculations, he just glanced at the passersby.
Ho Gye-ak, who could estimate the cost just by looking at it, had to clutch his aching stomach at the amount that was automatically calculated in his head.
“Hurray, here he comes in! Hurray, here he comes in! The wandering entertainer who came last year~~”
He could not hide his even greater resentment when he saw the Beggar pass by, singing mockingly and throwing sneers as if he knew how he felt.
“Oh dear, the silk merchant has no customers and is going to starve to death!”
“Hehehe!”
At Gaebeodo’s words, a vein finally popped up on Ho Gye-ak’s forehead.
“How dare you guys, who just scam customers, make fun of us!”
Still not satisfied, he brought the salt ladle he usually favored and sprinkled it three or four times, at which point the beggars finally started to flee in a panic.
However, even while running away, he does not stop running his mouth.
“Hmph! Did we hit them? They’re the ones who got caught!”
“Silk merchant, just focus on selling your silk! I don’t know if it will sell, though, hehe.”
Ho-gyeok, who had been fuming for quite a while even after the beggars had completely disappeared.
Even so, his anger remained unsettled. ‘Damn it! I spent three years preparing for this…’ Having started investigating the Heavenly Cave three years before the appearance of the Five Spirit Immortal Flower, he was confident that he would sell more maps than the Beggar’s Sect when the Five Spirit Immortal Flower appeared this time.
We marked all the locations where Oryeong Seonhwa-yu previously appeared, and even invited an elixir expert to specifically identify the predicted locations for this time’s Oryeong Seonhwa-yu.
Ho Gye-ak’s philosophy was that anyone selling information should do at least that much.
However, I received instructions from above not to sell the Cheondonggul map.
I tried to persuade my superiors somehow, but failed. ‘Damn it…’ At first, I couldn’t understand the order.
He is also well aware that Haomun suffered hardships for selling the map of the Maryeong Plateau, but
Cheondonggul Cave is different from Maryeong Plateau, and there was no such thing as unidentified natural dust.
However, I soon felt completely drained after hearing the reason why the sale of maps was banned.
After all, I couldn’t just sell the map knowing that Jongnam would block the entrance to Cheondonggul Cave.
They could sell it off by claiming they didn’t know, just like the Beggar’s Sect, but the Hao Sect is in a different position from the Beggar’s Sect.
Even if they realize too late that they have been scammed, they won’t be able to easily protest against the Open Sect, but they will be able to retaliate against the Hao Sect to their heart’s content.
Unlike the beggars who had nothing to lose, they had things to protect. ‘That couldn’t be.’ Such a thing had to happen, especially for the sake of the other Haomun followers who were engaged in their livelihoods.
Just look at how many Haomun followers suffered damage during the Maryeong Plateau incident.
Nevertheless.
“Ugh…….”
Ho Gye-ak could no longer stand guarding the stall because calculations kept popping into his head.
To make matters worse, seeing the Beggar Sect members who had fled trying to stealthily approach again made my anger surge.
Just as I was thinking I should close the shop early and roast some chestnuts.
We are looking for the Teungbyeol Port Office.
My ears pricked up at the strange(?) voice coming from behind.
Among them, there was something that could be clearly heard.
Special fabric!
Ho Gye-ak quickly turned around and looked at the person who had spoken.
The owner of that voice is… … .
“Oh? Young Master Jin?”
Jin So-un, the current Hao Sect’s only ‘guest’ and the representative of the academy, the Black Flame Dragon, the Black Maitreya, and the master of the Black Dragon Clan.
“Eh. It’s Jeommi.”… …
He stood there in a strange position with both noses covered.
What is this again… No, I knew you weren’t ordinary, but this is just too strange…
Ahem.
Ho Gye-ak suddenly came to his senses.
“Why on earth is the nose……?”
“Jeomjuning, is there any time difference?”
The time?
As Ho Gye-ak tilted his head, Jin So-un pressed his left nostril with one hand and blew his nose.
“Yes. If I have time.”
Then the paper blocking the right nostril came out.
Then, as Jin So-un pressed the opposite nostril and blew his nose one more time, a piece of paper popped out of his left nostril.
It is incredibly embarrassing…
Let’s do some map business.
“…….”
Huh, that’s even more confusing.
For a moment, Ho Gye-ak began to ponder which he should follow first: the orders from his superiors or the demands of the ‘guest’.#“Young Master Jin, that… which map are you referring to?”
“What map? What else could there be but Oryeongseonhwayu?”
No, I do know, but…
So why suddenly…
Ho Gye-ak cautiously opened his mouth.
“Um… Young Master Jin, I’m sorry, but I don’t think that will be possible.”
“Why?”
“Hmm… how should I put this?”
After contemplating for a moment, Ho Gye-ak brought out the map he had made.
“I have already made a map of Cheondonggul Cave. However, permission to sell it has not been granted by the higher ups.”
Jin So-un carefully examined the map.
That’s a surprisingly detailed map. Did you make this yourself?
Yes. I’ve been preparing for quite a while.
Is it woodblock printing?
“yes?”
Ho Gye-ak tilts his head at the unexpected question.
Jin So-un, who still couldn’t take his eyes off the map, added.
“I don’t think a map this precise could have been drawn by hand, piece by piece.”
“Well…… that’s true. Because I know someone…….”
Then that’s enough.
Hmm? What do you mean it happened?
Ho Gye-ak groaned and spoke.
“The higher ups issued an order not to sell maps because Jongnam blocked the entrance. That is why, even though I was very greedy… I was unable to sell them.”
Phew, just thinking about it makes me choke up again…
Ah, there is no need to worry.
“Because our customers won’t complain, right?”
“Our customer…?”
As Ho Gye-ak looked at him with a puzzled expression, Jin So-un spread a large sheet of paper wide over his map.
We will sell this map.
“yes……?”
Ho Gye-ak’s gaze shifts between the paper and Jin So-un in the painting, which looks more like a landscape than a map.
“Um… are you saying this is a map?”
“A map, by definition, must contain location information and be drawn on a flat surface using universally used symbols. ‘This is so unfamiliar.’ The map Jin So-un was talking about was neither flat nor did it have any symbols.”
however.
Look closely.
Ho Gye-ak, who was carefully examining Jin So-un’s map with Mok-ri full of confidence, identified familiar things in the painting.
“Th-this is……!”
This is a place that cannot be forgotten, as it is where Hogyeak has been constantly going up and down for the past three years.
So it is Judangsan…….
“you’re right.”
But you’re saying you’re going to sell this?
Aside from the fact that one can obtain Oryeongseonhwayu, Mount Judang is not a particularly famous mountain.
Even landscape paintings of the Five Sacred Mountains, the most rugged in the world, or Mount Song, the Taishan and Beidou of the martial arts world, do not receive a good evaluation unless they are painted by a famous artist.
To think you would even try to sell a drawing like this, done with such clumsy skills.
No matter how extraordinary a figure he is—as a guest of the Hao Sect, the head of the academy, the Black Flame Dragon, the Black Maitreya, and the chief of the Black Dragon Fortress…
“Hmm, this is a bit…….”
Despite his own flustered expression, Jin So-un’s confident attitude was enough to make Ho Gye-ak suspect that Jin So-un was trying to scam him.
“Um, Young Master Jin… do you happen to need money?”
At Ho Gye-ak’s words, Jin So-un pointed to a spot instead of answering, as if he understood.
“Look here. ……
And here.”
Ho Gye-ak’s gaze intently follows the movement of Jin So-un’s fingers.
The place Jin So-un is pointing to is the entrances of Cheondonggul… … .
however.
And here.
To the place where I followed Jin So-un’s finger.
“hmm……?”
There was one more cave drawn that was not originally there.
“This place is…….”
I am selling information.
“W-wait a moment, Young Master Jin.”
Ho Gye-ak looks at the painting again.
However, even after looking into it again, nothing has changed much.
Even though I can no longer sell maps, it has been a full three years.
It was said that Judangsan was the place he had frequented for three years as if it were his own home to draw maps.
“Master, I have climbed up and down Mt. Zhutang hundreds of times over the past three years, but there is no third entrance like this to Tiandong Cave…….”
Of course not. Because it will be there soon.
What did I just hear…
The words that followed were even more absurd.
This entrance will appear the day after tomorrow, before sunrise at the hour of the Rabbit.
“What is that…….”
Soon, a very playful, yet confident smile rises over Jin So-un’s face.
I’m planning to make this entrance.
You’re saying you’re making it?
Ho Gye-ak gaped wide and stammered as he watched that smile. Ho Gye-ak headed straight to the printing press holding Jin So-un’s map.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thinking it was the antics of a drunkard, he pressured the printing shop owner, who had come out wielding a club, to make a woodblock.
They brought in all the members of the Haomun and began making maps.
Ho Gye-ak, who had made one hundred maps just before dawn, immediately began selling them.
“These are people who are already angry because of the map of openness; would they want to buy this?”
In response to Haomundo’s question, Ho Gye-ak asserted.
“We have come all the way to Xi’an in search of the Five Spirit Immortal Flower Oil. Since things have turned out this way, we will live on, even if it means being deceived, so do not worry.”
But didn’t the higher ups tell us not to sell the maps?
It was a point that Ho Gye-ak was also worried about, but he didn’t pay much attention to it.
The higher ups said not to sell maps of the inside of Cheondonggul Cave, but wouldn’t selling a map depicting the entire outside of Judangsan be within the branch’s authority?
Moreover, the information provider is none other than Jin So-woon from ‘Gourmet’.
Even if things go a little wrong, if I say that I helped with his plan, the higher-ups won’t make a big deal out of it.
“Then, what about the price…?”
Price… … price, I suppose.
Ho Gye-ak took a deep breath.
“Ten silver coins!”
Although it was too small an amount for a map classified as a treasure map, Ho Gye-ak set the final price at ten taels.
It is commonly thought that people would like free information, but the exact opposite is true.
People trust information in proportion to the price they paid.
If anyone is suspicious or asks to lower the price, pretend you can’t win and let it slide.
After all, maps are nothing more than tools to gather people.
If all of this is realized according to Jin So-un’s plan, it will be possible to deal a blow not only to Zhongnan but also to the Beggar’s Sect.
Moreover, wouldn’t it be even better if it could be of help to Jin So-woon, the ‘Gourmet’?
Just thinking about it makes me laugh…
No, no, I shouldn’t be too much like him, *cough*.
“In any case, make sure to carry it out.”
Although the Haomun followers questioned Ho Gye-ak’s instructions, which were completely incomprehensible from start to finish, their actions were not slow.
Around the time the morning sun reaches noon.
Jin So-un’s map began to spread throughout Xi’an by word of mouth.
“Can you believe this?”
“That’s nonsense. I’ve already been there, and there was no entrance.”
“Look at the time here! The entrance opens tomorrow at the hour of the Rabbit (卯時)
I told you.
“Haha, even if this is a place with a miraculous elixir, do you really think the cave entrance opens and closes according to the time?”
Many people did not trust the map, and some claimed to have been scammed.
There were even those who planned to raid the Haomun immediately, claiming that the Haomun looked down on warriors just as much as the Gaebangmun.
However, all those actions were put on hold for a while.
Just in case, the hour of the Rabbit
Because there was a hope that the cave might actually open.
The ‘new entrance’ of Cheondonggul Cave, which had suddenly become packed with people.
“Huh? You?”
“Ahem……!”
“You told me not to believe such nonsense!”
“What are you talking about! I just climbed Mt. Judang for a walk.”
“At this hour?”
Awkward encounters began to take place all over Mount Judang, and people stopped talking and slowly started heading toward the places marked on the map.
And around the time the hour of the Rabbit was approaching.
“huh?”
“what?”
Did you feel it too?
Those with sensitive senses began to look around one by one.
Then, the vibrations began to intensify to the point where even those with less sensitive senses could feel them.
Ddd
The world was shaken, and a vibration resounded as if the sky were falling.
The rocks in the mountains began to shake and fall, and the birds sleeping in the trees were startled and soared into the air all at once.
“earthquake?”
“W-what is this……!”
And at that moment.
Kwa k
A huge light was emitted along with a massive explosion.
People turned their heads in surprise at the huge radiance that seemed to light up the dark night sky.
“What? Did you get struck by lightning?”
“Wasn’t the light a bit different for that?”
The confusion lasted only a moment.
“Wait! That light! It’s a place marked on the map!”
At someone’s words, they exchanged glances.
“!”
“!!”
And without anyone taking the lead, they unfolded their divine techniques and began climbing the mountain.
Those who arrived at their destination in the blink of an eye.
“Huh…!”
I could see a cave with a huge gaping maw right in front of me.
“This, this is the entrance!”
“Y-The entrance to the Thousand Cave really opened!”
“Get out of the way! Oryeong Seonhwa-yu is mine!”
At the signal of someone’s shout, countless warriors threw themselves into the cave without hesitation.
