The underground prison, located beneath the Demonic Cult’s splendid main hall, was gloomy and damp.
After spending a couple of months in such a place, even Kang Mu-hwi, who had been physically strong, gradually developed weak bronchi and lived with a constant cough. If that was all, it might have been somewhat bearable, but thanks to the shackles that had never been removed since he was imprisoned, his wrists were on the verge of rotting.
His wrists were bound by shackles hanging from the ceiling, forcing him to stand all day except when he was sleeping. Kang Mu-hwi, staggering with half-faded consciousness, blinked once when he saw the guard beyond the bars suddenly jump up and bow.
“Vice-Leader, you’ve arrived!”
A sound like air escaping leaked from Kang Mu-hwi’s chapped lips.
“I came by the Cult Leader’s order. Open the door and leave.”
“Yes, Vice-Leader.”
The highly disciplined head guard immediately opened the bars of the prison cell where Kang Mu-hwi was confined, dismissed the remaining guards, and left the area. Then, Joo Mu-jeong slowly appeared before Kang Mu-hwi.
“Senior Brother Kang, it’s been a while.”
“…”
Kang Mu-hwi only coughed in response.
“How long has it been? A month? Since I took on the position of Vice-Leader, I’ve been so busy that it’s not easy to find time.”
“…Why, cough, did you come?”
“Well, why else would this brother come? I came to clean up after Senior Brother.”
Joo Mu-jeong seemed to look around the shabby prison, then slowly took steps to approach Kang Mu-hwi. The glossy red clothing he wore was quite out of place in this space. Kang Mu-hwi merely glared at Joo Mu-jeong.
“Where did you send Ak Mujin?”
“…!”
Kang Mu-hwi’s eyes widened at the mention of Ak Mujin. Seeing his reaction, as if he was hearing this news for the first time, Joo Mu-jeong frowned and looked at him.
“Surely you don’t mean you don’t know? Weren’t you the last person to see Ak Mujin?”
“Ak Mujin is…, cough…, alive?”
Kang Mu-hwi muttered to the air.
“Haha, hahaha! Ak Mujin, cough, cough, is alive! Haha, Mu-jeong…. Joo Mu-jeong….”
Joo Mu-jeong sighed.
“Cough, cough, cough… When he returns, what, will you do? All of your, cough, misdeeds, will be exposed.”
Even through his coughs, Kang Mu-hwi’s voice was quite elevated. He continued to speak, not caring that the coughs were hitting his chest. Joo Mu-jeong, unfazed by Kang Mu-hwi’s almost threatening words, slowly moved and disappeared behind him.
“I don’t know. I don’t remember ever standing before Ak Mujin.”
Joo Mu-jeong said from behind Kang Mu-hwi.
“But what a pity. If even Senior Brother doesn’t know, then that insignificant life… is of no use to the Cult Leader.”
“…”
Kang Mu-hwi’s eyes, staring at the air, trembled.
“…Even more so, it’s a card I can’t afford to keep.”
Joo Mu-jeong’s eyes shone coldly and sharply.
***
Early in the morning, Ak Mujin woke up with a slight stomachache.
“…Are you alright?”
Someone spoke as he frowned and raised his upper body. It was Jin Geum-ryeon, who had already packed his female disguise and was sitting at the table.
“…I overslept.”
“Not particularly late. Those people haven’t even woken up yet.”
Ak Mujin wiped his tired face and briefly washed his face and brushed his teeth with the water Jin Geum-ryeon had prepared.
Even though he had finished preparing to leave, Jin Geum-ryeon seemed hesitant to leave. When Ak Mujin looked at him with a puzzled expression, he avoided his gaze and simply stood by the door.
“…”
“…”
“Shall we go now?”
It was Ak Mujin who broke the silence. Only then did Jin Geum-ryeon blink once and stare intently at Ak Mujin’s face. Feeling strange under that gaze, Ak Mujin felt an itch on the back of his neck for no reason.
“…Let’s go.”
Only then did Jin Geum-ryeon open the door. What on earth was he thinking, being so slow? But Ak Mujin didn’t think much of it and followed Jin Geum-ryeon.
“Ryeon!”
It was when they had just stepped out into the hallway. Jin Geum-ryeon turned around at the voice coming from afar and saw So Seung-ji and his group walking towards them.
“Brother So?”
In fact, Jin Geum-ryeon didn’t really expect them to accompany him. Actually, it would be better if they didn’t. But running into them in the hallway like this made him feel strange.
“I didn’t think anyone would come.”
Nevertheless, Jin Geum-ryeon greeted So Seung-ji with a smile, jokingly.
“Haha, our Ryeon. Your wit has diminished a lot. What Brother Ryu said yesterday was obviously a joke.”
“I was joking too.”
So Seung-ji and Jin Geum-ryeon smiled at each other.
“You must have been tired from taking the Vice-Leader around, so I’ll take over from here.”
At Paeng Ju-hyeok’s words, Ak Mujin and Jin Geum-ryeon’s gazes briefly met and then separated.
Jin Geum-ryeon opened his mouth to say something, but Ak Mujin moved first and approached Paeng Ju-hyeok. Paeng Ju-hyeok took a step forward and received the rope that Jin Geum-ryeon was holding. The rope around Ak Mujin’s wrist looked too flimsy to Paeng Ju-hyeok, so he frowned slightly and muttered to himself.
“Will this mere rope be enough?”
“Are you going to carry him on your back or something?”
At Ak Mujin’s fluent words, not only Paeng Ju-hyeok but even his group widened their eyes and stared blankly at him.
“Haha… Hahaha! You’re an interesting fellow.”
With those words, Paeng Ju-hyeok led Ak Mujin and walked ahead.
Jin Geum-ryeon’s gaze remained fixed on the back of Ak Mujin’s head.
\*
The more Ak Mujin walked, the heavier his hands became and the more he was dragged downwards, and his pace slowed. That was because the rope around his wrist had long been replaced with an iron chain.
Ryu Su-cheong, who had been most suspicious of whether Ak Mujin was the real Vice-Leader, had suggested first that he should be bound even more strongly.
“Hey. Our prisoner is losing his strength.”
“Didn’t they say he lost his Inner Force and his body weakened?”
Ak Mujin was easily exhausted due to his weakened physical strength, and he was starting to get annoyed. Only now did he begin to realize that Jin Geum-ryeon had been very considerate of him.
“Then let’s rest for a while at that pavilion over there.”
Seol San-hae pointed to a pond nearby. The season was the end of autumn, so there were no flowers blooming, but the pond full of lotus leaves was quite serene and seemed like a good place to rest for a while.
“No. Didn’t we just rest a little while ago? We rested a whopping seven times yesterday.”
Jin Geum-ryeon shook his head firmly. Seol San-hae stopped walking, looking at Jin Geum-ryeon.
“Am I asking to rest for myself? The person you’re dragging along can’t walk properly.”
“Then I’ll carry him on my back.”
“Hey, brother. Don’t push so hard. It’s not a long distance anyway, what’s wrong with resting a bit?”
Ryu Su-cheong leisurely sided with Seol San-hae, and Paeng Ju-hyeok, who was leading Ak Mujin from the very back, added a word.
“Yeah, the weather’s nice, let’s rest a bit. Even if we go on like this, we’ll arrive by tomorrow evening.”
Jin Geum-ryeon looked up at the sky and swallowed a sigh.
It was true that he was getting impatient as the Martial Alliance got closer, but more than that, he was anxious at the thought of when the Demonic Cult might appear.
In fact, he had seen black shadows following them continuously in the village where they had stayed briefly before. They had suppressed their presence as much as possible, but Jin Geum-ryeon’s keen senses couldn’t miss them. He instinctively sensed that those shadows were pawns of the Demonic Cult. It would be good if it was just a hunch, but considering his experience, his gut feeling had never been wrong, so he didn’t feel good.
He had actually been wondering whether to tell his group about this. But they didn’t even fully believe that he had captured the Vice-Leader, so how much would they believe him if he said he had seen Demonic Cultists who were now formless? Jin Geum-ryeon had given up on that early on.
“Ryeon. Everyone seems to agree, how about we rest for a while?”
So Seung-ji called out to Jin Geum-ryeon. Then, Jin Geum-ryeon looked at him for a moment, and when even Namgung Eui stood next to So Seung-ji and looked at him as if agreeing, he finally nodded.
“…Alright. Let’s rest. But this is the last time for today.”
“Yes, yes. Even after resting, if that guy whines that he can’t walk, I’ll carry him on my back.”
Hearing these words to his face wasn’t a pleasant thing for Ak Mujin either. He clicked his tongue inwardly and headed towards the pavilion, watching Jin Geum-ryeon, who looked somewhat tired.
Paeng Ju-hyeok led Ak Mujin up the stairs first, followed by So Seung-ji and Namgung Eui.
‘Do you want to achieve merit that much….’
Ak Mujin inadvertently turned around at the small voice. Seol San-hae was still standing outside the pavilion, talking to Ryu Su-cheong.
‘Please understand, Young Lady Seol. Isn’t it natural for a rural martial artist to be anxious to achieve merit as soon as possible?’
Ryu Su-cheong’s voice was full of laughter as he said that, and it was laced with a tone that disregarded Jin Geum-ryeon’s Inner Force.
The fact that martial artists who should know better were gossiping out loud without even using Telepathic Transmission was the same as telling Jin Geum-ryeon to listen. Moreover, Jin Geum-ryeon was about to climb the stairs next to Namgung Eui, so he was in the closest position to Ryu Su-cheong and Seol San-hae among their group.
Ak Mujin glanced at him, but Jin Geum-ryeon didn’t even bat an eye.