By Zephyria 
Perhaps it was for the best.
For three years, he had been shut away in the mountains, living a repetitive daily routine without a single shred of pleasure, but at least that man had something to enjoy in life, so it was a relief… Relief, my foot!
He’s practically dying of happiness, isn’t he? Huh?
Someone else is on the verge of death here, yet he’s the only one having the time of his life?
Seong Mu-yeon glared at him fiercely, feeling as if he wanted to bite through a handkerchief.
Peng Do-hwan stepped outside belatedly. His face was stiff, likely due to whatever conversation had taken place with Gyo Hong. He looked as though he had just finished composing his intense emotions in a private room.
He wore a bitter smile, ignoring the curious gazes of the party directed toward him.
“Master!”
Just then, Gang Woong rushed into the teahouse in a hurry. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.
“I believe I’ve found the Demonic Cult’s hideout!”
He reported in detail what he had witnessed at the Black Manor a moment ago. The party listened intently to his explanation.
“I knew that place seemed suspicious. As expected, it really was the Demonic Cult.”
Baek Ryeo-il nodded after hearing the explanation.
“Then, we wait until it gets dark and…”
“No, we must go right now. We don’t know what hardships Yak Seon and the hostages are enduring even at this moment; there is no time to delay.”
Owl pushed forward firmly. While he wasn’t wrong, the party looked puzzled. He hadn’t been this impatient until they arrived in Lanzhou.
However, Seong Mu-yeon knew the reason.
A short while ago, because of the thugs’ rampage, some of Seong Mu-yeon’s medicinal ingredients had been damaged. All the ingredients used in the treatment Yak Seon prepared must be combined in exact weights without a single margin of error, but some had burst and become mixed. Because of that, the time allowed for them had grown even shorter. In truth, spending time observing the enemy’s movements and formulating a plan was a luxury.
“I agree with Young Hero Owl. How much can we possibly prepare by delaying for the sake of an investigation? Let’s just push in and sweep them all away.”
When even Peng Do-hwan took his side, Baek Ryeo-il no longer opposed. Whether they prepared or not, that was how it would end eventually.
Seong Mu-yeon shuddered, recalling what had happened at the campsite. But it was certainly the easiest and fastest way.
Peng Do-hwan wanted to leave Seong Mu-yeon and Owl in a safe place, claiming it might be dangerous, but no one supported him. Setting aside whether a city center where many outsiders come and go was truly safe after finding a Demonic Cult hideout right in the middle of it, everyone except Peng Do-hwan knew of Seong Mu-yeon’s hidden strength.
Seong Mu-yeon was more than capable of protecting someone like Owl.
Thus, the party immediately headed to the Black Manor following Gang Woong’s guidance.
Both Baek Ryeo-il and Peng Do-hwan opened the doors without hesitation, as if they were entering their own homes. There were no obstacles to hinder their steps until they reached the door of the problematic pavilion where the thugs had been dragged in.
Enveloped in silence, the Black Manor felt an eerie chill despite it being broad daylight.
Baek Ryeo-il, who was the most skilled in detection techniques, had the party wait to one side and pressed his ear against the door. After quietly observing the movements inside for a moment, Baek Ryeo-il motioned for them to approach.
Then, he flung the door open. Seong Mu-yeon nearly fell backward in surprise, and Gang Woong instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword.
“There’s no one here.”
However, there was no one inside the wide-open pavilion. Not only were there no people, but there wasn’t even any furniture. Perhaps it had been used as a hall in the past, as there was a slight elevation in the corner, and upon it sat an antique armchair with armrests—the kind an emperor might sit in—left lonely and weathered by time.
“You scared me…”
Gang Woong expressed his timid dissatisfaction, clutching his chest.
The five of them stood alone in the middle of a space wide enough to accommodate hundreds of people. Nowhere were the thugs or the demonic cultists who had dragged them in to be seen.
Gang Woong looked around the empty space in bewilderment.
“This can’t be.”
It hadn’t even been fifteen minutes since he saw the five thugs being dragged inside. In that short time, they had practically evaporated, whether they had soared into the sky or sunk into the ground.
“Moving five thugs secretly in broad daylight carries a high risk of discovery… They must be somewhere inside this manor.”
While Baek Ryeo-il scanned the empty space broadly, Seong Mu-yeon also looked around.
As Gyo Hong had mentioned, this pavilion seemed to have been empty for a very long time, as clumps of dust rolled around every corner. However, a few areas caught his eye that were unusually smooth and free of dust.
Moving unconsciously along the dust-free areas, Seong Mu-yeon felt a strange sensation beneath his feet.
After stomping his foot a few times, he noticed the echoing sound was different compared to other spots. It was as if there were a large space beneath.
“There’s a basement,” Baek Ryeo-il muttered, having approached unnoticed. He glared at the floor as if he could see through the wooden planks to what lay beneath.
“There must be a hidden entrance.”
Upon hearing this, the party all rushed in to search every corner of the manor, including this pavilion, to find the door to the basement, but no door was found anywhere.
There was undoubtedly a space below. Even if they couldn’t find the door, there was one most convenient way to enter the basement.
“…Should I just break it?”
Baek Ryeo-il murmured to himself.
“You can’t! The hostages will be in danger!”
Gang Woong jumped.
“Please give us a little more time. There must be a way to get in.”
However, even Gang Woong’s voice lacked conviction. He urged the party to search more, while remaining extremely wary that Baek Ryeo-il might swing his sword on a whim.
After searching the same place over and over, Baek Ryeo-il suddenly shouted in a small but clear voice.
“Hide!”
At that moment, Seong Mu-yeon felt the presence of dozens of people approaching from outside.
But where to?
Aside from a single large table, there wasn’t even furniture to hide behind. They were standing completely exposed in an open field.
As Seong Mu-yeon looked around frantically, he was pulled by someone’s hand, and before he knew it, he was crouching atop a ceiling beam.
“Shh…”
The person who had brought him up was Peng Do-hwan. Gang Woong was with him. The other two were not visible. Seong Mu-yeon soon spotted Baek Ryeo-il and Owl hiding behind a beam pillar opposite them.
Slam!
Fortunately, the pavilion doors swung wide open, and dozens of people dressed in black entered. A thick, unmistakable Demonic Energy flowed from them.
As expected, they were indeed the Demonic Cult.
Seong Mu-yeon watched the tops of their heads, holding his breath.
Why do demonic cultists love black clothes so much? It might be fine at night, but such attire in broad daylight would actually stand out; he was almost curious about the secret of how they managed to reach the Black Manor in the middle of the city without being caught.
One of the Demonic humans approached the large table and manipulated something, and the floor split open.
As expected, a device to descend into the basement was hidden!
If they could just find the way to open that door, they could get inside.
Then they could quickly rescue Yak Seon and the hostages trapped within. Thinking that this uncomfortable companionship would finally come to an end, Seong Mu-yeon felt a slight sense of relief.
However, the Demonic humans did not enter; instead, they lined up. Rather than them going in, someone came out from inside.
Unlike the other Demonic humans, he was a man not wrapped in black cloth. Judging by his authoritative posture, he seemed to be the leader.
The man’s face slowly emerged from the pitch-black darkness into the faint sunlight. Upon confirming the face that finally appeared, Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes widened.
It was Il-gwang.
The brief joy of seeing a familiar face after a long time vanished as Seong Mu-yeon recalled that their last meeting had not been particularly pleasant.
It wasn’t Il-gwang’s fault. Since he was the one who had witnessed everything from the side when the relationship between the Demonic Cult’s Second Young Master, Seong Mu-ryong—whom he served as a subordinate—and Seong Mu-yeon had soured beyond repair, it was inevitable.
In the end, they had found a Demonic Cult hideout, but it wasn’t the one they were looking for. Since the force led by the Third Young Master of the Divine Demon Sect had taken Yak Seon, Yak Seon was not here.
‘…I thought things were going too easily.’
Seong Mu-yeon let out a low sigh, unable to hide his disappointment. However, Peng Do-hwan’s expression was ominous.
“Young Master Peng, please endure…”
Gang Woong mouthed the words silently, desperately trying to calm him down, but Peng Do-hwan’s eyes were bloodshot, and the muscles of his entire body were contracted tightly, as if he were about to leap from his spot at any second.
‘Damn it…’
Seong Mu-yeon realized that Peng Do-hwan had previously encountered Il-gwang, who had served him. This meant that a close aide of the Seventh Prince Seong Mu-yeon, whom Peng Do-hwan was pursuing with all his might, had appeared right before his eyes.