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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐𝟖
The location of the real Blue-White Soul Mirror is not discovered until much later in the timeline than the 1st installment.
Therefore, I, who am aware of this, could confidently determine that the Blue-White Soul Mirror currently in Cheong Do-yool’s possession is not the original.
「𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙮 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙤-𝙮𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚.」
Although his family has been entrusted with the stewardship of the Blue-White Soul Mirror for quite some time, it seems that Cheong Do-yool discovered through some coincidence that it was a cheap imitation and not the original.
「𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩. . .」
Cheong Do-yool was indignant that he had been cherishing and passing down to future generations a fake.
This was also a reason why he desperately sought to obtain the power of the azure dragon.
Having realized that the Blue-White Soul Mirror was a fake, he wanted to obtain something comparable to the Blue-White Sword wielded by Cheong So-ha in its stead.
When I relayed this information without hesitation, Cheong Gi-beom also seemed to sense that I was not merely telling him lies, and his expression turned serious.
“Are you saying that you know its location?”
“That is correct.”
“If what you say now is a lie, you will never set foot on this Korean soil again.”
The composure that emanates from one’s own strength.
If I were to deceive Cheong Gi-beom, he would chase me to the ends of the earth and attempt to punish me. That was how straightforward and upright his character was.
“Every word I have spoken is true. I have not twisted a single thing.”
“You are quite confident. I am curious about the source of your information, but I will set that aside for now.”
In truth, Cheong Gi-beom is indebted to me simply for having learned this information.
He will be able to avoid expending his efforts in the wrong direction and has gained a card that he can use to pressure Cheong Do-yool when the time is right.
And Cheong Gi-beom is the type of person who cannot live while being indebted to others.
In other words, it was clear that the option of refusal had vanished from his mind when combined with his original goal.
As expected, Cheong Gi-beom, after a moment of deliberation, nodded his head to indicate his assent to me.
“In that case, you are saying that you wish to borrow my strength in exchange for the Blue-White Soul Mirror. Very well. If you truly bring me the Blue-White Soul Mirror, I, Cheong Gi-beom, swear upon my name to cooperate with you.”
“Thank you. May I ask one more thing, if I may be so bold?”
“A request? What is it?”
“I know the location of the Blue-White Soul Mirror, but of course, it will not be easy to obtain. I lack the strength to do so with my current abilities.”
In other words, I was asking to borrow the power of someone capable of providing assistance. And the person that statement pointed to was clear.
“Tsk. That is not wrong. Very well. Take Un-cheol with you.”
“Um, I have only just returned.”
“If he were to be captured by others before accomplishing his goal, it would be nothing short of laughable. Until then, you will stay by his side and swat away any flies that approach.”
Cheong Un-cheol scratched his head as if he found it bothersome, but he did not show any intention of refusing.
That was because it was something that was clearly necessary, just as Cheong Gi-beom had said.
And so, the deal was set in motion without a hitch. We began to move, taking Cheong Un-cheol with us as we left the territory of Cheong Gi-beom’s faction.
Our next destination was none other than the place where the real Blue-White Soul Mirror was hidden.
It was the Mirror Forest, a location deep within the Cheonseong-Am Mountains that could only be entered by satisfying specific conditions and that had appeared as an event stage in the game.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Time passed, and soon the sun had completely set, leaving behind the dead of night.
Following behind the group and heading towards the depths of the mountains where the Blue-White Soul Mirror was hidden, Cheong Un-cheol gazed at Han Kang-yoon, who was leading the way, with meaningful eyes.
「. . .𝙃𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮.」
In truth, Cheong Un-cheol, who had received the recipe for the talisman he had been interested in from Cheong Juhwa just before going to see Cheong Gi-beom, had already made up his mind to cooperate with their persuasion.
And to that Cheong Un-cheol, Han Kang-yoon had said this:
『As a result, the Elder will likely accept my proposal and attempt to have Cheong Un-cheol-nim accompany us.』
『. . .Hoo.』
『If you were to follow the Elder’s words at that time, I believe it would be of great help to me.』
At the time, he had simply thought that it was certainly possible and had let it pass, but looking back on it now, he could see that everything had unfolded exactly as Han Kang-yoon had predicted.
Every single detail.
「. . .𝙃𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙠𝙞𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩.」
To possess such skill and judgment at this age was certainly no ordinary feat.
To meet and negotiate with an elder of a family that might not even become an ally in a situation where they were already in danger, who else could calmly embark on such an adventure?
That was why, as he went through the process, Cheong Un-cheol thought.
Perhaps it would be none other than this Han Kang-yoon who would make the greatest name for himself in the next generation of his family.
「𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.」
The abilities he had shown him directly were also amazing, but apart from that, Han Kang-yoon had an indescribable aura about him.
It was a strange presence similar to what one might feel when facing truly great figures.
Having encountered various strong individuals, including elders of his family, Cheong Un-cheol was confident in his intuition.
「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩. 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙘𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣.」
If Han Kang-yoon truly was such a talented individual, it would not be a bad idea to either bring him into his faction or form friendly relations with the Cheong So-ha faction to which he belonged.
As he mentally organized the details of his report to Cheong Gi-beom, Cheong Un-cheol continued to follow behind the group.
And finally, they reached their destination.
“Are we really here? I don’t sense anything in particular.”
As Cheong Ji-yeon, who was walking ahead, had said, Cheong Un-cheol could not detect any aura either.
It was hard to believe that a hidden location existed in a place like this.
However, Han Kang-yoon, without hesitation, stepped forward and began to do something mechanically, as if he were measuring distances or repeatedly testing something.
After finishing all of that, Han Kang-yoon found a spot and sat down on it, then spoke to everyone.
“If we wait here for a while, the entrance will open.”
Although they could not clearly understand what he meant, since there was no other way, the group waited in place for a short while as Han Kang-yoon had instructed.
And at the exact moment when midnight passed and the day began to change, Han Kang-yoon took out the necklace he had been carrying around his neck and placed it on the ground, adjusting its angle.
Then, something amazing began to happen.
Whoosh.
Ziiiiing!
The jewel of the necklace began to glow as it absorbed the moonlight, and soon the reflected light pointed to a spot between two trees on the edge of the forest.
Only then did Cheong Un-cheol realize the existence of a space that had been hidden until now.
「𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨. . .𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚?」
The fact that it had completely deceived Cheong Un-cheol’s eyes meant that the one who had created this barrier possessed skills that were at least on par with his.
“Then, let us proceed without delay.”
Han Kang-yoon retrieved the necklace he had placed on the ground and once again led the group from the front, while Cheong Un-cheol followed behind, his curiosity growing ever stronger.
All the while, he continued to speculate about the true identity of Han Kang-yoon, who he could not quite pin down.
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「𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙮.」
Originally, this was a place that the characters from the first part of the series would only reach after obtaining various clues, but of course, none of that mattered to me.
The method of opening the entrance to the Mirror Forest was both difficult and simple.
One of the three great treasures of the family other than the Blue-White Soul Mirror, either the Blue-White Sword or the Blue Heart Jade, must be in one’s possession, and at the moment when midnight strikes, the moonlight must be reflected onto a designated spot.
As luck would have it, I had the Blue Heart Jade that I had received from Cheong Ji-yeon, so there was no need for me to satisfy any special conditions.
It could not have been more perfect.
「𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙗𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙮.」
It was simply a matter of doing so a little earlier than planned.
Although according to the terms of the deal, I would have to hand over the Blue-White Soul Mirror to Cheong Gi-beom, I already had another idea in mind for that.
So for now, I only needed to think about reaching the end of the Mirror Forest and obtaining the Blue-White Soul Mirror.
Swish.
Whoosh.
As we entered the entrance to the barrier between the trees, the Mirror Forest that I had only ever seen in the game finally appeared before my very eyes.
「𝙄𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙨.」
The sight within was truly bizarre.
The trees of the forest that had been planted on the ground appeared to be hanging upside down, reflected on the ceiling, and mirrors that were impossible to tell where they were hidden were scattered everywhere, haphazardly distorting the scenery.
Cheong Juhwa, who saw it, said with a grimace.
“. . .Ugh. What is this? It’s making me dizzy.”
“It’s a kind of maze. Like a hidden picture puzzle.”
“It seems like it won’t be easy to find our way.”
Apparently, the sight had shocked him as well, because Cheong Un-cheol, who had been at the back, stepped forward and summoned his spiritual power, deploying a detection spell.
However.
Whoosh.
Zzzzap!
“Ugh, how is this. . . . . . . . .”
The spiritual power that had formed a realm of detection and spread out in all directions was reflected here and there by the mirrors and lost its form in an instant.
It meant that tricks would not work.
“. . .Who on earth could have created a barrier of this level?”
It must have been quite a shock to Cheong Un-cheol. In fact, even with his abilities, which were practically at the special-grade level, he was presented with a level of spellcraft that he could not break.
Even after trying a few more times, we had no choice but to conclude that a simple break-in was impossible, and we headed towards the entrance of the forest on our own two feet.
“This is troubling. Even if we try to leave markers, they will soon be scattered. Is it possible that we could end up getting hopelessly lost inside?”
Cheong Ji-yeon’s concern was valid. If we were to get trapped in the maze of this Mirror Forest, it would not be impossible to starve to death without ever finding the exit.
As everyone’s expressions hardened at her words, I took a step forward without a moment’s hesitation and set foot inside the entrance for the first time.
Ziiiiing.
As I did so, my figure began to be reflected in the mirrors scattered in all directions, and before I fully entered, I extended my hand and offered it to the group.
“Everyone, you must hold onto each other. As you can see, it is difficult to discern our actual location with our naked eyes.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying that you can find the correct path even in here?”
To Cheong Un-cheol’s doubtful words, I replied with a calm face.
“Yes. I can find it.”
Ordinary people would certainly have struggled to navigate the maze, but I was different.
In my mind, a map of the entire space of the Mirror Forest had already been inputted as if by my past experiences.