Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Youngho watched Muyeon’s movements and thought to himself.

‘As expected, she was quite useful…….’

When it came to infiltration and tracking, there would be few in the world who could match the current Muyeon. But that alone was not what moved Youngho’s heart.

What Youngho had seen was the future Muyeon—one whom no one under heaven could rival in infiltration and pursuit.

Before the Regression, Muyeon had already had major friction with the Unorthodox Alliance, so their relationship had never been good.

If the Unorthodox Alliance wanted to request something from her, they had to pay at least five times more than the Murim Alliance.

Yet her skills were so exceptional that they could not afford not to use her…….

‘But right now, everything can be set right.’

Youngho knew not only Muyeon’s potential, but the completed version of her as well.

‘It would be best if I could bring her along…….’

Well, if it did not work, then it did not work.

While Youngho was thinking such thoughts, Muyeon observed him closely.

‘Is that even human?’

Even though he stood right in front of her, it felt as though he was not there at all. How much effort had she herself put into blurring her presence?

Yet the one before her had erased his presence itself, as though he had vanished from the world.

‘Fucking impressive, you damned wretch.’

Whether Peak Master Level, Transcendent Peak Master, or even the Transformation Realm, this was not a matter of realm—it was a difference in class.

She had heard of it before. That the inherent strength of a person was different from one’s realm.

‘It’s not like this bastard is the Heavenly Demon or something.’

If he were the Heavenly Demon, she might at least understand. But Youngho was extremely far from someone who wielded Demonic Energy.

‘His energy is ridiculously clean.’

Just standing beside him made her feel as though her body and mind were stabilizing.

As they analyzed one another, they soon entered a pavilion located in the most secluded corner of Luoyang.

“Stop.”

At Muyeon’s words, Youngho’s group halted.

-From now on, we speak through Voice Transmission. You brats over there can use Voice Transmission at least, right?

-Of course.

-Then first, we need to check whether there’s anyone inside.

-There isn’t.

-What?

At Youngho’s sudden Voice Transmission—no, at the content of it—Muyeon looked startled as she replied.

-You can tell that too?

-No. There’s no presence. Isn’t that right, Horyeung?

-Yes. There is not the slightest trace of human presence.

-Exactly. Why is it so clean? It clearly hasn’t been touched by human hands.

It was strange. How could a place untouched by human hands be clean? What a contradictory statement that was.

-Well, there must be specialists in this sort of thing. It’s just that I can’t recognize it.

Horyeung quietly nodded. Muyeon thought, What kind of insane monsters are these? and sent Voice Transmission toward them.

-Anyway, you’re certain there’s no one?

-If you don’t trust us, then check your own way.

“Ha…….”

As Muyeon let out a deep sigh, Youngho smirked.

-I’ll trust you for now.

-Don’t lie. You were already moving.

-……Monster bastard.

Having already confirmed through her detection technique that no one was inside, Muyeon walked boldly into the house and spoke.

“There are no traps for now. As for inside the house, we’ll only know once we enter. Still, keep your presence suppressed as much as possible.”

“Understood.”

They entered the house.

“It’s clean.”

The remark that left Youngho’s mouth represented everyone’s thoughts.

The interior, arranged with objects precisely aligned as though the owner had an obsession with cleanliness, felt even more alien precisely because no one was there.

Muyeon did not permit them to enter any further and pointed toward a certain spot.

“It’s there. You’re in the way.”

Youngho nodded and casually sat down where Muyeon indicated.

The others followed suit and seated themselves beside Youngho.

‘They’re seriously carefree.’

That was Muyeon’s impression. Youngho’s group sat as though they had come out for a leisurely stroll, eating traditional sweets and taffy while looking around.

‘I should continue searching.’

Letting out a long sigh, Muyeon entered the room. Once her attention shifted elsewhere, Youngho sent Voice Transmission to Horyeung.

-Horyeung, do you feel it?

-Yes. There is something below.

-Your senses have sharpened lately?

-We are traveling the Jianghu, are we not? If I do not hone my senses sharply, I cannot protect you, Young Master.

-Good attitude. It seems there’s something underground, but it’s a bit faint. There’s probably a Formation laid out.

-Can that mad bitch handle even that?

-Who knows? She’ll manage somehow.

As Youngho chewed on a sweet confection, Muyeon soon emerged from the room, having apparently searched the entire area.

“There’s no one. No traps either. I found a passage leading underground, but there’s a Formation.”

“Can you resolve the Formation?”

“For that sort of thing, you’d have to commission a specialized place. Like the Zhuge Clan.”

“You can’t?”

“I said, commission a specialized place.”

For an instant, Youngho’s eyes sank coldly.

“I didn’t hear an answer. Can’t you?”

His calm yet frigid voice passed through Muyeon’s body. Her knees nearly buckled involuntarily, and she swallowed before replying.

“Unfortunately, I can.”

“That’s a relief. You can’t just pocket five nyang of gold for free. Did you figure out what kind of Formation it is?”

“It’s simply a Formation that prevents you from finding your way. But if you make a mistake, you might never get out for the rest of your life.”

Horyeung’s eyes widened.

‘She figured out that much in such a short time?’

Even the Zhuge Clan, said to be unrivaled under heaven in Formations, might not reach this extent.

And yet that woman, who looked barely forty years of age, surpassed the Zhuge Clan?

‘There was a reason the Young Master wanted to bring her to the Unorthodox Alliance.’

“I can’t dismantle it entirely, but I can slightly alter the directional axis. Protect me and wait a moment.”

“If you dismantle the Formation, will the other side notice?”

“I said I’m only altering the directional axis, not dismantling it. And unless someone manages the Formation for twelve shijin straight, there’s no way to tell during the hours it isn’t being maintained.”

“So that’s why there were always people sitting around managing the Formations at the Zhuge Clan.”

“Right. That place never neglects Formation management even for a single moment. More importantly, have you been to the Zhuge Clan?”

“No, I just heard that.”

Muyeon looked at Youngho with suspicious eyes, but he brushed it off with his usual shameless expression.

Muyeon withdrew her gaze from Youngho and poured all her concentration solely into the Formation.

Half a shijin passed, and Muyeon, drenched in sweat, said,

“It’s finally done.”

“You’re slow.”

“It would be nice if I were Zhuge Muyeon, but unfortunately I’m just a wandering warrior.”

Youngho knew that changing even a single directional axis of a Formation normally consumed an enormous amount of time.

But having seen Muyeon’s Formation-breaking skills before the Regression, he found this comparatively too slow.

‘Back then, even one dakyung would have been enough.’

And that had been when she dismantled a Formation of the Zhuge Clan, no less. After briefly recalling the memory, Youngho said,

“Lead the way.”

“You want me to identify traps too?”

“Can’t you?”

“You’re really testing my pride. Fine. Follow closely.”

Of course, it was not merely pride. Youngho’s original request had included identifying traps, so she was simply fulfilling the commission.

If she had stepped forward out of wounded pride alone, Muyeon would have died long ago in this line of work.

As Muyeon descended the stairs leading underground, Youngho’s group followed behind.

After descending roughly five zhang underground, a large passageway came into view.

They left the stairs and continued through the passage, but even after a long time, no traps appeared.

At Muyeon’s careless pace, Horyeung spoke sharply.

“There are no traps.”

“Seems that way.”

“Still, aren’t you moving too quickly? What if you trigger one like this—”

“No matter how much I walk, there aren’t any traps in sight. Old man, stop showing off and just stand in the back.”

“How rude.”

“What do you expect from a wandering warrior?”

Horyeung merely frowned and said nothing further, as if she were not worth speaking to.

Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon felt the same. They were displeased, but endured it because both Horyeung and Youngho remained silent.

If Youngho showed even the slightest dissatisfaction, they were prepared to use that as an excuse to pressure Muyeon.

Thus, Youngho’s group and Muyeon walked for another quarter-hour.

“Stop.”

At her slightly stiffened voice, the group halted immediately.

“A trap?”

“To be more precise, a Formation.”

“Can you break it?”

“I can, but… it’s better than I expected.”

“How long?”

“One shijin? No, two?”

“Must be quite complex.”

“Seems so.”

“But that’s not a Formation. It’s a trap.”

“What do you mean—?”

Clang!

In that instant, with the sharp sound of metal colliding, sparks burst right beside Muyeon’s neck.

Kagagagak!

As she saw the two swords that had stopped just short of her throat, Muyeon’s face turned pale.

It was indeed a trap. Had she taken even a single step forward to unravel the Formation, her neck would have been severed.

She looked at Youngho with an expression of utter disbelief. He grinned.

“You owe me. A life debt.”

Youngho stared at the shadowy figures waiting in the darkness.

In truth, only Youngho and Horyeung had not panicked at the sudden ambush. As Youngho skillfully deflected the opponent’s blade, Horyeung also charged toward the hidden enemy.

Slice!

Pshuuuk!

“Hup!”

When Horyeung cut down something that looked human, poisonous fumes seeped out of it. He shouted urgently,

“Protect your bodies with Internal Energy! It’s poison!”

“Hosan, Chowon. Be careful with your breathing.”

Just as their bodies stiffened with tension, dozens of figures surrounded Youngho’s group. Even in this desperate situation, Youngho smiled brightly.

“Wow~. We’re trapped? Are we dying here?”

A shadow slowly stepped forward from the darkness and spoke.

“Nonsense. Since you blocked my blade, these creatures alone are insufficient.”

“So you’re coming out yourself?”

“Consider it an honor. Few are granted the privilege of dying by my hand.”

“I’m sure.”

‘Usually they died from poison.’

As Youngho was about to speak, Muyeon nudged his side and said,

“Hey, those are Jiangshi.”

Jiangshi. At that single word, Youngho’s group focused properly on the figures concealed in the darkness.

“……Indeed.”

Horyeung said it, while Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon stared in shock at the Jiangshi.

‘All these people are Jiangshi?’

But an even more shocking remark came from Youngho.

“You can manufacture Jiangshi, but controlling them seems clumsy. There aren’t many.”

Even Horyeung’s eyes widened at that statement.

“Young Master, did you just call this a small number?”

Youngho nodded as if it were obvious.

“I heard roughly five hundred people went missing, but there are only a few dozen Jiangshi here? There should be hundreds. And judging by the poisonous fumes, these are Poison Jiangshi?”

Poison Jiangshi!

Individually, they were weak Jiangshi that could be handled by someone at the level of a First Rate Martial Artist. But that did not mean they could be underestimated.

It was said that if one were even slightly grazed by a Poison Jiangshi’s attack, that person would not survive a single dakyung.

Of course, it would not matter if one possessed an antidote—but Youngho’s group did not have any antidote…….

“Here’s the antidote. Drink it.”

They did.

“Pardon? When did you prepare this?”

“On the way to Luoyang, I had Hyeon-gang make some antidotes to test his skills.”

It was, of course, a lie. Youngho simply knew.

He knew what kind of monster lived in Luoyang—and that the monster was ten times more terrifying than an ordinary master of the Transformation Realm.

“Poison Demon.”

In that instant, killing intent mixed with poison began to seep from the man’s body.

“I came to kill you.”