Chapter 167

He waved his hand vaguely.

“I trust you’ll manage well while I’m gone. Commander Seong, make sure to consult properly with Han Seokhyeon, the Grand Commander, on matters of Yangryeong. And send a letter to Seo Hyo of Cheonrim—tell him I’ll come to see him myself later.”

“...Understood.”

I turned my body without hesitation.

First Brother stood there with a bright smile.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

I intended to save this man.

And—

Just as I had come to understand Second Brother’s heart, I now wanted to understand this man’s heart as well.

I had to know—whether he was truly worthy of being the heir of Snow Palace, the one I was determined to protect.

Not just curiosity.

Necessity.

***

Internally and externally, Seol Horyeong was undeniably recognized as a genius. But there was always a qualifier that came attached to that word.

Free-spirited.

Seol Horyeong was an excessively free-spirited genius.

You didn’t have to look far to prove it—just consider the current situation.

From Cheonsnow Province to Yangryeong was quite a distance.

Yet Seol Horyeong had come alone.

To be precise, he brought only one coachman.

But the one driving the carriage now wasn’t the original coachman.

“It’s really quite strange. Our Coachman Sang is a martial artist at the Profound Heaven Stage, and he’s never even had a minor illness. But food poisoning? Come on... Maknae.”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

“Isn’t this just way too insincere?”

Seol Horyeong seemed to find the entire situation genuinely amusing.

Unhwi spoke.

“He is someone connected to me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. You don’t need to worry about Coachman Sang. And frankly, the one driving now might be even better at it.”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

Wearing a curious smile, Seol Horyeong tossed a comment.

“Go on. Seems like he’s got something he wants to say to you.”

“...Understood. And once again, I apologize.”

“No need. The sooner you go, the better for me.”

Unhwi looked at the dismissive wave of Seol Horyeong’s hand for a moment, then moved up to the driver’s seat.

There, Seo Hyo, who was calmly holding the reins, came into view.

Unhwi simply stared at him, without a word.

“...Staring at me like that won’t bore a hole through me.”

“Want to test that?”

“...Apologies.”

“You better be.”

He turned his gaze forward. The scenery was flashing by rapidly.

Seo Hyo was a martial artist in the Heavenly-Human Realm.

Using natural qi, he had drastically accelerated the speed of the carriage—nothing to complain about.

If not for that, Unhwi wouldn't have let it slide so easily.

“I didn’t expect you to be so shameless.”

After some thought, Seo Hyo finally spoke in a quiet voice.

“...His name was Sangjin, I believe. That coachman.”

“So?”

“It’s just mild food poisoning. He’ll recover in a day. In fact, it’ll even clear out some of the stagnation in his qi and blood.”

“Do you think that’s what I’m asking about?”

“...It was urgent.”

Seo Hyo had said it himself—he had something he had to speak about in private.

He’d insisted it was important and asked for time.

Then Seol Horyeong showed up, and Unhwi told him to wait—that he’d send a letter once things were settled.

But Seo Hyo didn’t want to wait.

So here he was.

“Then explain. What’s so important that you had to poison the coachman and follow me yourself?”

“...Can I explain later?”

Unhwi turned his gaze on him again.

He didn’t need to say much—Seo Hyo was someone who could say a lot with a few words. And Unhwi was someone who could read those words.

To go so far as to poison the original coachman, and now ask to explain later?

The pieces aligned in Unhwi’s mind.

He asked bluntly.

“You planning to come inside the secret realm?”

“...I am.”

“Sounds like you were going to sneak in no matter what.”

“...”

“I’ll make it simple. You’re now my coachman and my protector. From now until we reach the secret realm, you’re by my side.”

“...Are you serious?”

“I’m not the type to say something twice. You’ll need an alias too. What should I call you?”

“...Seoha. Call me Seoha.”

“Then we’ll have a proper talk in there.”

“...Are you sure it will be just talk?”

Unhwi gave a dry laugh.

“Seo Hyo.”

“Yes, Young Lord.”

“When you gamble with your life, the first thing you do before placing your bet is figure out what the game offers.”

“...”

“The same goes for weighing the scales. You’re already planning to upset the balance between us. You want to owe me. So what more could you possibly need?”

“...May I ask you one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“How much do you know?”

“Everything.”

The answer came so smoothly that Seo Hyo opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

“...Then how much do you think I know?”

“Enough to bet your life.”

“...A wise answer.”

“I told you. You choose what to place on the scale. You choose how to take my answer.”

“...”

“Just make sure you don’t regret the choice.”

Unhwi turned silently to look at the passing scenery.

And then—Seo Hyo sent him a sound transmission.

—The secret realm we’re entering tomorrow is not like the demonic one that appeared in Yangryeong.

Unhwi kept watching the trees go by.

Another sound transmission.

—It is a secret realm of the Shaolin Temple from the Primordial Era. And if possible, I would advise you not to enter.

—Reason?

—Before I explain that, aren’t you curious why I’m so sure it’s Shaolin’s secret realm?

—Are you going to tell me?

—I am. There are strange artifacts in the world. Some of them can detect details about specific secret realms.

Let’s be clear—Seo Hyo was one of the largest powers behind the black market.

Among the items flowing through those channels, plenty were classified as artifacts. That one of them had this kind of ability wasn’t surprising.

—So?

—The artifact I possess can reveal the interior layout of a secret realm. It has limited uses.

—Go on.

—But there are rare realms where even it can’t reveal everything. I used it before coming here. I could confirm only that it was a Shaolin secret realm—nothing else.

—So in summary?

—...For a secret realm to have this level of closure at this level of danger... regardless of its grade, there will be blood spilled. You might die.

Only then did Unhwi turn his head.

—You said the grade was Divine-Level 3, right?

—Yes. It’s definitely {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Divine-Level 3.

He rested his chin on his hand for a moment.

This really was odd.

An artifact that could detect a secret realm’s interior before it even emerged was practically at the level of a divine relic. To say nothing of possessing one—how could a Shaolin secret realm be classified as only Divine-Level 3?

—I haven’t lied. Its grade is definitely Divine-Level 3. However...

—It may be the artifact’s limitation.

—Correct. Though it can read both natural qi and celestial energy within, it can’t be fully reliable.

—So it’s a Shaolin realm... Divine-Level 3... yet you detected no natural qi or celestial energy?

—Yes. It might seem easy on the surface—but that very ease could mask a deadly danger.

“You said you wanted to go in together, didn’t you?”

Unhwi finally spoke aloud. Seo Hyo answered quietly.

“That’s why I’m going in.”

—Because I need you, Young Lord.

Unhwi gave a short laugh.

Everyone wanted Seol Unhwi.

But unfortunately, he wasn’t the kind of man who could be owned.

He was the kind of man who owned others.

And people often misunderstood something fundamental: No matter how dangerous a secret realm was, there was always a way to clear it.

The only question was whether you could find it or not.

Whether it was Divine-Level 3, Flame-Level, or even Martial God–Grade—it didn’t change.

Even if you couldn’t find the answer, if you were at least at the Mythic Realm or Heavenly-Human Realm, you could force your way through by sheer power.

Every secret realm so far had followed that rule.

Unhwi pulled out a brush and paper from his traveling pouch, wrote something on it, and tossed it out the window.

Seo Hyo watched it flutter away and asked,

“...I didn’t think that monster from Shinsam Valley cared for you this much.”

“Just focus on driving.”

“...Yes, Young Lord.”

***

Seo Hyo had been correct.

From far behind, No Cheonmyeong, who had been trailing them, picked up the fallen paper.

—First, I must apologize. I’ll have to politely refuse your assistance today, Senior No.

“...You little brat.”

No Cheonmyeong had every intention of helping Unhwi.

As soon as he heard the rumor that Unhwi was entering a secret realm, he followed.

Even though Unhwi hadn’t asked, he acted on his own.

And he let Unhwi know—by letting only Unhwi sense his qi.

“A secret realm, huh... dangerous.”

Even though he’d been out of Murim for fifty years, No Cheonmyeong still understood how things worked.

Especially with secret realms—

what surfaced wasn’t the desire of the martial artist,

but the bare human instincts within.

What happened inside was determined by the survivors' accounts—and only those.

No one ever knew the real truth.

No one could predict the rewards.

But blood would always be spilled.

That was the nature of a secret realm.

He’d wanted to protect Unhwi.

But Unhwi had refused.

“Is it because of the guy next to him?”

He felt somewhat reassured—Seo Hyo was at the Heavenly-Human level, and he didn’t sense any killing intent from him. It wasn’t a bad arrangement.

Still—

“Tch... what a difficult brat.”

Scratching his head, No Cheonmyeong turned around.

Unhwi wasn’t someone who acted without reason.

***

Hanbing Valley.

A deep ravine stretching northeast from Cheonsnow Province—where snow never melted, year-round.

Though it was midday, the deeper they went, the darker it became.

Almost like walking from day into night.

The man at the front—Yeon Chuha, Vice Pavilion Lord of Baekryeongak—pulled out a Celestial Compass and checked it before speaking briefly.

“This is it, Lord Daeseollin.”

At his words, the entire group halted.

There were fewer people than expected.

Seol Horyeong, Unhwi, Seo Hyo (under the alias Seoha), and Yeon Chuha—

Aside from them, there were only three others.