I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind
Chapter 56
Chapter 56
The Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Hidden Mastermind
Episode 56
At that moment, Dang Cheong-a checked the mechanism on the torch stand with Deung So-han’s help and began to chatter.
“The oil is incredibly old. It looks like the mechanism barely managed to function. It might go out before long.”
Deung So-han nodded as he ran his fingertips along the wall.
“I can feel a faint draft coming from somewhere. We won’t run out of air, but as Young Miss Dang said, if the light goes out first, it will be easy to lose our way.”
“Then we must hurry.”
Baekri Hyuk replied shortly and immediately entered the passage. The word ‘Depository’ kept circling in his mind.
Had it been a simple treasure vault, it would have been called a ‘Bogo’ (treasure storehouse). But the use of the word ‘Bigo’ (hidden depository) implied it was a place holding a deeper significance than mere wealth.
However, what bothered him more than that…
…was the fact that Deung So-han was examining something else separately within his field of vision.
The reason several people had entered the depository in the first place was to divide the labor.
Naturally, it was right for one to look at the cryptograms, another the path, and another the structure.
But Baekri Hyuk, in whose heart a Heart Demon (心魔) had already begun to sprout, could not accept this.
“…….”
His vision began to blur.
Behind such a Baekri Hyuk, Namgung Ryeong-hwa followed with light steps, her hand covering her mouth.
How long had they walked along the winding path?
Baekri Hyuk, who had been leading the way, came to a halt.
“It is a fork in the road.”
At his words, the group quietly surveyed their surroundings. One path led to the right, the other to the left.
The right-hand path had mechanisms shaped like candlesticks embedded here and there in the walls, and a faint golden light shimmered through the gaps. It seemed as if something was reflecting the light.
Though a faint, fishy smell lingered, the atmosphere was such that it wouldn’t be strange if it were a warehouse filled with gold and silver treasures.
On the other hand, the left path was quite different.
The humidity was thick, and things were strewn across the floor where the torchlight could not reach.
When Yeong-do held out a Luminous Pearl to illuminate the area, bleached white skulls and jagged, rusted weapons revealed themselves.
Deung So-han narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.
“The left path… it seems there are those who lost their lives here long ago.”
“Then it seems the place we should go is the right.”
As Namgung Ryeong-hwa spoke, her eyes sparkled in the reflected light.
Baekri Hyuk spoke to her as if scolding.
“Ryeong-hwa. If there is treasure shining so openly, it is more likely to be a trap.”
“Then we can just check, can’t we?”
Namgung Ryeong-hwa spoke nonchalantly and tossed the Luminous Pearl she was holding deep into the right-hand path.
Yoo Chwi-san naturally furrowed his brows.
“That is my property.”
“I shall compensate you.”
Along with Namgung Ryeong-hwa’s cool voice, the Luminous Pearl rolled into the right-hand passage.
The pearl rolled with a clatter before stopping against a corner of the wall.
Namgung Ryeong-hwa shrugged her shoulders innocently.
“See? Nothing happened.”
“…Is that so?”
Then, opinions suddenly became divided among the group.
“Let’s go to the right.”
“Still, shouldn’t recovering the remains on the left path be the priority?”
“We don’t even know if they were thieves who came to plunder the Medicine Immortal’s depository, or those of the Black Way.”
“What need is there to recover their remains?”
“Still, as a matter of human decency…….”
While such a conversation took place, only Dang Cheong-a continued to stare down the right-hand path. She muttered.
“…Do you not hear something like the sound of something sweeping the floor?”
“What?”
And it happened in an instant.
“Kyaak!”
Shuuuuk!
From the right corner, dozens of poisonous snakes the size of a man’s forearm lunged out.
Because they had crawled out from the darkness, no one except Dang Cheong-a had noticed them.
“Watch out— Kyan!”
And faster than her warning, Dang Cheong-a was suddenly pushed forward, staggering.
Namgung Ryeong-hwa’s fingertips had brushed her back in a flash.
Namgung Ryeong-hwa acted naturally as if she hadn’t applied any force at all, but Dang Cheong-a momentarily lost her balance and stumbled forward a step.
As a result.
Click! As soon as her foot touched the floor, black smoke erupted from the crevices in the ground.
“Poison fog!”
Someone shouted.
The dark-red poison fog spread in an instant.
The right-hand alley was truly a trap.
Deung So-han, who was standing closest, reflexively grabbed Dang Cheong-a’s arm. However, the poison had already begun to spread.
From beneath his feet as well, another click was heard.
In that moment.
Boom! The floor gave way.
“Kyaaaaaak!”
“Young Miss Dang! Young Master Deung!”
Deung So-han and Dang Cheong-a’s bodies were sucked straight down.
Yoo Chwi-san and Yeong-do threw their bodies forward instinctively, but it was already too late. The trap they had fallen into was deep and smooth.
“Tch……!”
And even while watching that sight, Namgung Ryeong-hwa smiled slightly behind her hand.
“Oh my…….”
Her eyes were shining as if she had anticipated this entire situation from the very beginning.
“…….”
Baekri Hyuk, who had been standing dazed until his eyes met Namgung Ryeong-hwa’s, felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
There was no way… such a deed could be justified.
It was not at a level that could be dismissed as a prank, and who knew what lay beneath that hole…
“Namgung Ryeong-hwa…!”
As Baekri Hyuk gritted his teeth and raised his voice, Namgung Ryeong-hwa detestably trembled her shoulders. Then, she made a show of dabbing her eyes with the end of her sleeve.
“It’s frightening when you suddenly raise your voice, Hyuk oppa. I was already so shocked that the two of them suddenly fell…….”
Baekri Hyuk’s fists trembled at her poised tone. That look in her eyes, that way of speaking.
She was clearly… enjoying this.
He knew Namgung Ryeong-hwa had a sharp personality, but…….
Baekri Hyuk, who had not known she could be this cruel, found himself at a loss for words.
“…….”
Meanwhile, Yeong-do and Yoo Chwi-san stood frozen, staring down into the newly formed hole.
A pitch-black darkness where not even a scream could be heard. There was no telling what lay beneath. Perhaps they had already struck something deeper and…….
“…What do we do?”
Fear and anxiety slowly dyed the expressions of the two men.
“You two…….”
It took time even for Yoo Chwi-san to part his lips.
“Do you perhaps know something?”
Baekri Hyuk turned around like a lightning bolt.
“It is clear that Namgung Ryeong-hwa had a hand in this! Ryeong-hwa, I do not know what you were thinking when you did this, but—”
“Ha.”
Then, Namgung Ryeong-hwa let out a cold sigh.
“Honestly…. How indecisive.”
“What?”
“If they were to die caught in a mere trap like this, wouldn’t being called rising stars of the generation be more than they deserved?”
At her words which crossed the line, everyone’s expressions froze instantly.
A voice that was nothing short of heartless, a smile like thin ice.
No one could find a trace of humanity within Namgung Ryeong-hwa’s beautiful features.
Namgung Ryeong-hwa smiled elegantly and said.
“Don’t just blindly blame me, Hyuk oppa. Didn’t you also tell me earlier that you couldn’t stand the way Young Master Deung was showing off?”
“No, when did I ever…!”
“Oh my. It seems you intend to push all the responsibility onto me.”
Namgung Ryeong-hwa chuckled, covering her mouth.
“But I really didn’t do anything, you know? Are you trying to frame me as a cold-hearted poison woman just because I am staying calm? Men, truly.”
“……!”
Baekri Hyuk trembled, unable to say anything more.
Yoo Chwi-san, who had calmed down relatively quickly, forced himself to speak.
“…It seems pointless for us to argue among ourselves, so first, a way to rescue those who fell…….”
It was then.
Rumbleeeee.
Suddenly the ground shook, and the cavern began to tremble as if it were about to collapse.
“……!”
As if they had never been fighting, the four of them each deployed their protective internal arts and surveyed their surroundings.
What trap had been triggered this time? And why was it triggered?
Before such thoughts could even form, the source of the vibration became clear.
“That is…….”
“…Impossible.”
The collapsed floor that had just swallowed Dang Cheong-a and Deung So-han was vibrating violently and rising once again.
There was no way such a thing could be possible.
While everyone gasped in shock, the two who had vanished beneath the earth reappeared amidst the rising dust.
They appeared completely unharmed.
Yoo Chwi-san and Yeong-do rushed forward first to check on them.
“How did this happen?”
“Just how…!”
Dang Cheong-a spoke with a dazed expression, staggering as she was supported by the two.
“The Medicine Immortal’s soul……”
A soul?
What nonsense.
However, as soon as those words ended, red energy fluttered and a small figure clearly revealed itself from the darkness.
…A young girl.
Garments devoid of any color and eyes that flickered with a blue light.
Floating in the air surrounded by a faint light, there was no expression on the child’s face. As if she were not human.
