◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 506: Into the Darkness
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The Tang Clan was thrown into an uproar.
“Never… enter the Sword Tomb…”
Of the fifty scouts the Tang Clan had dispatched, only three returned.
They were asked about the others, but none could answer.
Two died while receiving emergency treatment, while the last remained unconscious.
Every physician said the same thing. It was a miracle they had made it back to the Tang Clan at all.
An emergency meeting was called, while the martial artists prepared to deploy at any moment.
“Are you really planning to leave now?”
After completing five hundred Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets, we immediately began preparing to depart. Dang Mუგap came to see us off.
“The Tang Clan is also planning to organize another investigation team soon.”
It would have been reassuring to enter with the Tang Clan, but too much time had already passed to wait.
The condition of the Tang Clan martial artists who had returned told me enough.
The Sword Tomb’s crisis was progressing faster than it had in my previous life.
“I’m sorry. I already think we’re too late.”
Dang Mუგap’s gaze shifted to Dang Seohui.
A father worrying for his child was only natural.
“Deputy Hall Master Dang, why don’t you come with the Tang Clan members?”
“…What a foolish thing to say.”
Dang Seohui spoke as though she found it absurd.
“Yuseong Hall will be in even greater danger without me.”
“…”
Despite her calm expression, she gripped my sleeve tightly, as though holding onto something precious.
“If a Hall Master says such foolish things, people will look down on them.”
Dang Mუგap smiled at her quiet but firm words.
“It’s fine. I’m not worried about Seohui. Besides, you’re with her.”
He patted me on the shoulder.
“Please look after Seohui.”
I could feel the strength in his hand.
“I won’t give you reason to worry.”
“Then that’s enough.”
Just before leaving, I made one request.
“Could you distribute Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets to the investigation team?”
“Weren’t those made for you to use?”
“The Tang Clan members will eventually enter the Sword Tomb as well. Please make sure they can take the Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets before they go in.”
“…”
Dang Mუგap watched me for a long moment before speaking.
“You really are hard to understand. Very well.”
With that, we left the Tang Clan.
“Benefactor Jin, shouldn’t we hurry?”
“We are hurrying.”
“If we travel on horseback, we won’t be able to sleep along the way.”
“What are you talking about? Why not?”
Ilgak tilted his head.
This was why sheltered people were hopeless.
I rummaged through my robes and pulled out a fairly thick rope.
“While one person leads the horse, the other can tie themselves to it and sleep.”
“…”
People who had never suffered didn’t know how comfortable their lives were.
Back in my day, we didn’t even have money to rent horses…
“Th-that’s still a little too…”
“Would you rather carry the sleeping person and run?”
“…The horse sounds better.”
#
On the way to Great Snow Mountain, we covered the distance in a flash, changing mounts every two days as the horses became exhausted.
“Honestly, when I heard the Sword Tomb had become hell, I didn’t want to go in.”
“And?”
“But after eating and sleeping on horseback… fuck, I just want to enter the Sword Tomb as soon as possible.”
As Geumpyo said, our schedule was unbearably tight, and we reached Great Snow Mountain ahead of schedule.
“We rest for half a day, no more. Move as quickly as possible.”
After a brief rest, we began climbing Great Snow Mountain.
The path leading to the Sword Tomb was better maintained than I had expected.
More accurately, so many people and carriages had passed through that a clear road had formed.
Broken carriages, household goods, and dead horses littered the roadside.
“What a mess.”
Just as Ilgak said, it was complete chaos.
No one paid much attention. With so many people gathering, it was bound to happen.
Then…
“Ugh!”
A powerful stench assaulted us as we reached the mountainside, forcing us to stop.
“My goodness…”
Nearly fifty corpses of people and horses filled a large clearing.
They had been dead for some time. Maggots crawled between the bodies, while putrid fluids soaked the ground.
“Urgh…”
While the men of Yuseong Hall tried to stay as far from the corpses as possible, Dang Seohui, who had been sitting in front of me, leaped down and headed toward them.
“D-Deputy Hall Master!”
She picked up a branch, lifted the maggots clinging to the bodies, and carefully examined the corpses that had begun to rot.
“They’re all from the same group.”
“There were no enemies?”
“Yes. And there seem to have been only two attackers. The attacks were simple, with only two distinct forms.”
As Dang Seohui said, the dead showed only two causes of death.
Some had lost their heads, while others had been torn apart along with their horses.
“I don’t know who did this.”
It was no surprise. These attacks did not belong to any White Path sect.
People wearing Black Alliance uniforms had been wiped out, yet their attackers did not belong to the White Path martial world.
It was no different from a warning of another danger.
‘What the hell is going on?’
After finding the corpses, we moved even faster.
The higher we climbed, the fewer people we saw.
Contrary to rumors that people from all under heaven had gathered here, the area around the entrance felt quiet and eerie.
People entered the Sword Tomb one after another, but there was none of the excitement the rumors had described.
As we passed, merchants turned toward us one by one and called out to sell their goods.
“Fresh water in flasks! Flasks! You might suffer from a change of water after going inside, so take one with you!”
“Fresh jerky, made just yesterday! Have you prepared enough provisions?”
“Flint! Buy some flint!”
We had no need for supplies and were about to ignore them all when Geumpyo came over and whispered.
“Senior Brother, doesn’t something feel strange?”
“What?”
“The merchants. Don’t they sound like they’re reciting lines from a play?”
“…”
I approached the merchant who appeared to have the most goods.
“You have quite a lot of merchandise. Which merchant group are you from?”
“I’m not with a merchant group. I used to work as an escort warrior, but I came up here to earn a little extra money.”
For someone who had only started trading when the Sword Tomb opened, the number of workers and goods around him was unusual.
“You must have been here for quite some time.”
“I started trading in Lanzhou and expanded here quickly. There isn’t anyone on Great Snow Mountain who doesn’t know Juchangseo now.”
To indulge him, I bought enough jerky, water flasks, and cloaks for everyone.
When I paid part of the price with the horses we had ridden here, Juchangseo’s mouth split into a wide grin.
“If you’ve been here from the beginning, you must have seen many people entering and leaving the Sword Tomb.”
“Yes. People come and go, and I’ve even gained a few regular customers in that short time.”
“Then have many people come out of the Sword Tomb?”
“…Pardon?”
Juchangseo’s hand froze as he counted the silver taels.
“I heard many people entered the Sword Tomb, but I haven’t seen many coming out.”
“…”
I was speaking with Juchangseo, but the workers behind him and the merchants selling from nearby stalls had all turned to look at us.
An inexplicable chill ran through me before Juchangseo answered a moment later.
“Ha ha, of course many people enter and leave. How could anyone live without seeing sunlight?”
“I see. Going without sunlight is quite painful. Ha ha ha.”
When I forced out a laugh, the gazes fixed on me slowly turned away.
Then Juchangseo changed the subject.
“Ah, if you have money to spare, you should buy extra supplies before going in. If you use them and bring them back out, I’ll refund your money in full.”
Something no merchant would ever say.
“Why? Wouldn’t that be a considerable loss?”
“I started with nothing and earned a great deal thanks to my fellow martial artists. I should repay at least this much.”
Could someone offering kindness to others speak with so little emotion?
“It’s fine.”
“…If you change your mind, tell me anytime.”
The moment I turned away, I was certain.
‘Mindless Illusion Powder has spread everywhere.’
If even the merchants at the Sword Tomb entrance were like this, it was obvious the situation inside would be worse.
I led the Yuseong Hall members into the cave at once.
From far behind us, Juchangseo’s muttering reached my ears.
“What a shame. They looked like they had money. They’re going to die anyway, so they should’ve left it behind.”
#
Once we entered the Sword Tomb, the cave gradually grew larger.
When we reached a somewhat wider space, we stopped and distributed a Heart-Calming Spirit Pellet to each person.
Dang Seohui looked down at the pellet in her hand, lightly covered her nose with one hand, and muttered.
“…I don’t need to take this.”
“Please take it quickly.”
“I don’t need it! I’m healthy!”
“…If you take it, you can have a tanghulu afterward to cleanse your palate.”
“Really?”
I didn’t know how quickly Mindless Illusion Powder would spread, so it might have been a hasty decision, but I did not want to expose my Hall members to a potential danger.
We began moving again.
Our first target was the Moyong Clan.
There were other reasons, but above all, they were the people we needed to meet as quickly as possible.
They were searching for the remains of the Sword Venerable and Black King rather than their true inheritances, so the danger should have been lower. That did not mean they were completely safe.
The problem was that there was no one to ask.
Perhaps because we were near the cave entrance, almost no one was coming or going.
After traveling deeper inside for about half a day, we encountered a group.
They looked filthy and smelled as though they had not washed for days, but the symbols on their martial uniforms identified them as belonging to the White Path martial world.
“Excuse me.”
The people resting against one wall drew their swords and weapons as we approached.
“Don’t do anything unnecessary. Just pass by.”
“If you so much as move a finger, we’ll kill you.”
Considering our appearance and the Martial Alliance emblem, it was an excessive reaction.
I did not approach any closer.
“We are members of the Martial Alliance’s Yuseong Hall, investigating the Sword Tomb. May I ask one question?”
“…”
“Have you seen the Moyong Clan?”
Several people’s eyes darted as they gauged one another.
They looked as though they knew something but did not want to tell us.
‘What’s the big deal…?’
Their attitude alone made it clear they were not in a normal state.
I carefully placed a wooden box containing Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets on the ground.
“These are Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets. Replenish your primordial qi and continue your investigation.”
When I pushed the Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets toward them, one man opened the box slightly and looked up at me.
“Do you have a map?”
“Yes.”
“Unfold it. Don’t come closer.”
After I unfolded the map for him, the man gestured.
“There. A cave in the middle passage deeper inside. I saw them enter it.”
“When was that?”
“I don’t know. About fifteen days ago?”
“…”
When I said nothing, the man quickly pulled the wooden box back.
“You never said it had to be recent.”
“No, you’re right.”
They showed no trust or emotion toward others, pursuing only the greatest possible profit.
It was exactly as the reports from my previous life had recorded.
‘They said they would flare up like fire whenever they thought they were losing out.’
Thinking that demons who drew out only the ugliest instincts of humanity filled this cave…
‘The real beginning starts now.’
I felt daunted.
“Let’s move.”
I had given them the Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets. Whether they took them was up to them.
Those who did would have a better chance of surviving, and I hoped they would.
We headed for the cave the Moyong Clan had entered.
Along the way, we met both White Path and Black Path martial artists. We spoke with them or traded goods, asking about the Moyong Clan.
We did not learn anything useful.
On the third day after entering the cave, we finally reached the cave the Moyong Clan had supposedly entered.
“…!”
At last, we found traces of the Moyong Clan.
“They’ve been dead for a long time…”
It was a corpse wearing the Moyong Clan’s martial uniform.
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