𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔𝟏
At the exact moment of the hour of the Ox, I finished all preparations and, together with Shin Pyo-eul, used various concealment techniques to sneak into the night streets of Yeocheon.
“The Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art is certainly versatile.”
“Right? It takes years to master just one of these techniques.”
A single meaningful hexagram can yield eight different variations.
Among them was a combination intended for the purpose of self-concealment, as we were doing now.
“In the past, I would have said that it would be impossible to see through it, but now I’m not sure, given that Mr. Kang-yoon was able to break through Master’s Dream-Illusion Formation.”
In other words, it was likely that even this technique would be seen through if we were to approach a being of a great yokai class.
“In any case, since we’re just going to look around, it’s better to go without any worries.”
“Yes, and if it seems like things are going badly, we can just leave.”
By its very nature, the Seocheon is more chaotic at night than during the day.
There were many people moving about in the streets, and the air was filled with music and stimulating scents designed to captivate the minds of visitors.
During our previous explorations, we had identified two locations that we found suspicious.
The first was the Seocheon Castle, where the nominal ruler of this place, the ruler, resided, and the second was the Moon Shadow Pavilion, built by the de facto ruler, the wealthy merchant Ryu Geumcheon.
“Ordinary people can’t even approach these places, so it’s impossible not to suspect them.”
“I’d like to check out the Moon Shadow Pavilion first. What do you think?”
Both places were suspicious, but the Moon Shadow Pavilion seemed more dubious than the Seocheon Castle, which was located a little further away from the bustling center of Seocheon.
With that, Shin Pyo-eul and I used the power of the Black Birds to climb the walls of the Moon Shadow Pavilion and were able to perch ourselves on the upper part of the tall structure.
“Can you use the Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art to search the area?”
“Oh, no. I haven’t practiced that particular technique, so. . . .”
Since I hadn’t fully mastered it either, I deployed the search technique I had always used and began to examine the atmosphere inside the Moon Shadow Pavilion.
“There’s nothing out of the ordinary, but there are areas from the upper floors of the building down to the basement that can’t be examined with the technique.”
“Does that mean that detection is being interfered with?”
“Yes. It seems that we’ll need to go in and check it out.”
Whether or not it had anything to do with the great yokai of Seocheon, it was clear that something was hidden in this Moon Shadow Pavilion.
“But if we go in there directly. . . .”
“Yes. The yokai of the Seocheon will probably notice us.”
Unless it had absolutely nothing to do with them, it was certain that they would become aware of our presence and be on their guard.
In other words, this was a fork in the road.
However, the answer had already been set from the very beginning.
“From now on, we’ll move quickly. As Miss Shin Pyo-eul says, if things seem to be going badly, I’ll give you a signal, and you should leave immediately.”
Shin Pyo-eul nodded at my words, and with that, we entered the suspicious upper floors without hesitation.
There were many people inside the Moon Shadow Pavilion, including a number of exorcists, but none of them seemed to be able to see through the Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art, so they showed no reaction.
Swish.
Boom.
We eventually found the point on the upper floors where the search technique had been cut off, and after subduing the guards and breaking through the barrier, we finally discovered a passageway that looked extremely suspicious.
“. . . Does it lead to the basement?”
“Probably.”
“Judging from the fact that the entrance is on the upper floors, it seems like they didn’t want anyone to find it.”
Shin Pyo-eul was right.
Only those with proper status and position could enter the upper floors of this Moon Shadow Pavilion. In fact, no one other than the wealthy merchant Ryu Geumcheon and his close associates would know about this passageway.
There was such an unmistakable air of secrecy about it that Shin Pyo-eul and I entered without hesitation.
Boom!
Boom.
“. . . It’s quite a struggle to go down.”
It seemed that there was some kind of device prepared for users of the passageway, but since we didn’t know how to use it, we had no choice but to force our way through.
What unfolded before us as we descended into the basement was an even larger passageway.
“Where. . . . . . . do you think this leads?”
She said that, but Shin Pyo-eul seemed to have already guessed the destination in her mind.
However, since it was so absurd, she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
“My guess is correct. It’s likely that this leads to the basement of Seocheon Castle.”
“Huh, but Seocheon Castle is quite a distance from here.”
“It would be difficult for a human.”
However, if it was the power of a yokai, and a great yokai at that, the story would be different.
For them, creating a huge underground passageway like this would be nothing.
“Then, it’s. . . .”
“Yes. The great yokai of Seocheon is involved. I never imagined that the two forces we suspected would join hands.”
It was somewhat surprising to learn that a yokai had been ruling this city of pleasure for such a long time, but that was the truth that had been hidden.
We continued along the passageway, and as we did, the surrounding structure began to change slightly.
After about 10 minutes of walking, Shin Pyo-eul and I couldn’t help but gasp and frown.
That was because we sensed a considerable number of presences up ahead.
“Are they enemies?”
“There’s not much movement to suggest that. This is probably. . . .”
As I had expected, what we discovered when we went further were huge cages lined up everywhere.
And inside them, humans were locked up like cattle.
“Are they. . . . . . . alive?”
“Yes. It seems that they’ve been put to sleep with some kind of technique. This is enough to give us a rough idea of the bastard’s purpose.”
The great yokai of Seocheon had been abducting some of the humans who visited the city, drawn by its reputation, and using them as food.
In some ways, it was similar to what Gonha had done before, but this time the scale was different.
It was a much more malicious and blatant hunt for humans.
This bastard truly was a monster worthy of its evil reputation.
「𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. . . . . . .」
It’s shocking and bewildering to see it in person.
Of course, in this day and age, even if a few people go missing, it’s not easy for it to become public knowledge, so from the perspective of increasing one’s power, it might have been the most efficient method.
Shin Pyo-eul, who had finally collected her thoughts, clenched her fists tightly.
“To think that such an evil yokai has been hiding among humans so brazenly. . . . . . .”
“Even for us, it wasn’t easy to identify its existence, so the people must have been completely unaware of it.”
“This bastard is a great evil that must be destroyed. Let’s hurry and go meet it.”
Shin Pyo-eul, who had been somewhat cautious until now, couldn’t help but show her anger at such evil deeds.
As we approached the end of the passageway, we found a space similar to the one we had seen in the Moon Shadow Pavilion.
Probably, this place would allow us to enter the upper floors of Seocheon Castle directly.
“The bastard has probably noticed us by now. There’s no guarantee that we’ll be able to get out of here easily if we go any further.”
“. . . But we can’t just leave such a yokai alone. So please tell me honestly.”
She was asking me if we had any chance of winning a fight against it right now.
“We have a chance of winning. However, it will be difficult to defeat it in a head-on fight.”
“Then, it’s. . . . . . .”
As Shin Pyo-eul seemed about to give up and retreat, I added one more thing.
“At least with the two of us, I think we can do it.”
“Huh?”
“It seems that we’re not the only ones after him.”
TheAzure Dragon’s Yeouiju, which was inside the Formless Box, had been sending me signals as if it had been looking for its master since earlier.
“It seems that one of my colleagues is here.”
Cheong Juhwa, she’s here.
With things as they were, I had no choice but to advance.
“Will you join me?”
“. . . I’d be happy to.”
With that, we stepped through the passageway at the end and into the entrance of Seocheon Castle.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
About a month ago, Cheong Juhwa had entered the world of martial arts with her colleagues, but unfortunately, she had fallen right into this Seocheon Castle.
And to make matters worse, she had encountered the great yokai that was nearby and had her mind completely controlled.
「𝙊𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙙, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?」
『Stay calm. It doesn’t intend to do anything to you right now. And with the Blue Heart Jade and my power, we can break the control, so an opportunity will come.』
「. . . . . . .」
As the Azure Dragon had said, the great yokai of Seocheon, who called herself the Consort of the Jangyang clan, for some reason had no intention of harming Cheong Juhwa right away.
She had simply taken control of her mind and made her one of her attendants.
「𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨. . . . . . .」
『Didn’t I tell you to be patient? You’re not in a position to do anything on your own.』
It certainly seemed that way, so Cheong Juhwa barely managed to suppress the urge to slap the Consort who was stroking her cheek.
She endured and endured, observing the situation and gathering information.
However, the more she did so, the more it became clear that she was a yokai of fearsome power and evil.
「𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙙. 𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙠𝙚. . . . . . .」
『Yes. It’s a very unpleasant sight. But bear with it for now. At least until you find someone who can help you.』
「𝙐𝙜𝙝, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮.」
A month passed in this way.
Cheong Juhwa had wanted to explode with anger several times, and each time, the Azure Dragon had calmed her down and stopped her.
However, both of them knew that they couldn’t stay like this forever, so it was time to wish for a miracle.
『I sense an aura.』
「𝙃𝙪𝙝? 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩?」
『The aura of my Yeouiju is getting closer.』
The meaning of this was simple.
It meant that Han Kang-yoon, who possessed the Azure Dragon’s Yeouiju, was approaching this Seocheon Castle.
「𝙊𝙝? 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣. . . . . . .」
『In this state, it will also notice my presence, and it is likely that it will come looking for you.』
Perhaps the only chance to escape this situation had finally come to Cheong Juhwa.
“. . . Unpleasant little mice have entered my garden. Let’s go and greet them.”
With that, Cheong Juhwa, following the alluring smile of the Consort, was finally able to confront Han Kang-yoon, who had infiltrated Seocheon Castle.
『It seems that there was another colleague. This is the best possible outcome.』
The Azure Dragon exclaimed as if an opportunity had come, and Cheong Juhwa agreed.
“Are you the great yokai of Seocheon?”
In response to the brief moment of eye contact with Han Kang-yoon, Cheong Juhwa moved her pupils slightly, as if she had lost her mind.
That alone was enough for them to understand each other’s intentions.
“Celestial technique, Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art.”
“Rending Slash!”
In an instant, the technique that covered the entire area shot out, targeting the body of the Consort.
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