Chapter 506
Chapter 506: Into the Darkness
Turmoil seized the Tang Clan.
“Whatever happens… stay away from the Sword Tomb…”
Out of the fifty scouts dispatched by the Tang Clan, a mere three made it back alive.
When questioned about their fallen companions, none could utter a coherent word.
Two breathed their last while receiving desperate medical aid, while the remaining scout fell into a deep coma.
Every healer shared the same assessment: it bordered on the miraculous that these men had managed to drag themselves back to the Tang Clan gates at all.
An urgent council was assembled, and the martial forces stood on high alert, prepared to march at a moment’s notice.
“Are you truly determined to head out right away?”
The instant we completed refining five hundred Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets, our preparations for departure were already in motion. Dang Mუგap arrived to see us off.
“The Tang Clan will soon assemble another search party as well.”
Joining forces with the Tang Clan would have provided substantial security, yet too much precious time had already slipped away to afford any waiting.
The horrific state of the scouts who managed to crawl back was evidence enough.
The disaster unfolding within the Sword Tomb was advancing far more rapidly than it had in my past life.
“Forgive me. I fear we may already be arriving far too late.”
Dang Mუგap shifted his gaze toward Dang Seohui.
A father’s natural concern for his own blood was undeniable.
“Deputy Hall Master Dang, wouldn’t it be wiser to accompany the main Tang Clan force?”
“…What utter nonsense.”
Dang Seohui answered as if the suggestion were sheer lunacy.
“Yuseong Hall would face far greater peril without my presence.”
“…”
Though her facial features remained composed, her hand gripped my sleeve with surprising intensity, as if clinging to an irreplaceable lifeline.
“When a Hall Master mutters such foolish remarks, it invites contempt from others.”
Dang Mუგap offered a faint, acknowledging smile at her blunt yet unwavering response.
“Very well. My worry does not lie with Seohui. Not when you stand beside her.”
He set a heavy hand upon my shoulder.
“Look after Seohui for me.”
The firm strength in his fingers conveyed the depth of his plea.
“I will give you no cause for regret.”
“That is all I ask.”
Just prior to our departure, I raised a single request.
“Would you see to it that the Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets are handed out to your impending investigation team?”
“Were those not concocted for your personal use?”
“The Tang Clan will inevitably venture inside the Sword Tomb before long. Ensure they consume the Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets prior to setting foot inside.”
“…”
Dang Mუგap observed me in thoughtful silence for an extended beat before murmuring.
“You truly remain an enigma. Consider it done.”
With those final words, we turned our backs on the Tang Clan grounds.
“Benefactor Jin, shouldn’t we pick up our pace?”
“We are already moving at full speed.”
“If we stay mounted on horseback, when are we supposed to sleep?”
“What foolishness is that? What prevents you from resting?”
Ilgak tilted his head, completely bewildered.
This was precisely why those raised in comfort proved utterly helpless.
Reaching into my inner garments, I produced a substantial length of sturdy cord.
“While one rider guides the reins, the partner can bind themselves securely to the saddle and slumber.”
“…”
Those who had never tasted hardship had no concept of how sheltered their existence truly was.
In my former days, we couldn’t even scrounge up the copper coins to hire a single nag…
“Th-that seems somewhat extreme…”
“Would you prefer to hoist a sleeping man over your shoulders and sprint the entire distance?”
“…The horse option suddenly sounds reasonable.”
We tore across the landscape toward Great Snow Mountain like a bolt of lightning, trading out our mounts every couple of days whenever the beasts collapsed from sheer exhaustion.
“To be frank, hearing that the Sword Tomb had transformed into a living hell made me want to avoid it entirely.“
“And your point?”
“After eating and resting while strapped onto a damned horse… hell, I’d rather march straight into the Sword Tomb right this instant.”
True to Geumpyo’s lament, our unrelenting pace bordered on torture, but it allowed us to reach the foothills of Great Snow Mountain well ahead of our original timeline.
“A half-day pause, not a single breath longer. Then we advance with maximum urgency.”
Once our brief respite concluded, our ascent up Great Snow Mountain commenced.
The mountain trail ascending to the Sword Tomb proved surprisingly well-trodden.
More precisely, the sheer volume of travelers and heavy wagons trampling through had ground down the rugged terrain into a visible thoroughfare.
Shattered wagons, discarded domestic cargo, and rotting horse carcasses lined both shoulders of the path.
“What a disastrous spectacle.”
Ilgak’s remark hit the mark; the scene was pure anarchy.
None paid it much heed, however. With such an overwhelming horde converging upon a single point, such carnage was an inevitable outcome.
Suddenly…
“Ugh!”
A suffocating, rancid stench struck our senses as we breached the mid-mountain ridge, bringing our advance to a dead halt.
“Good heavens…”
Nearly fifty rotting carcasses of men and steeds choked a wide plateau.
They had been lying there for quite some time. Swarms of maggots writhed throughout the mangled flesh, and putrid fluid pooled across the saturated earth.
“Urgh…”
While the disciples of Yuseong Hall instinctively backed away from the sickening scene, Dang Seohui, perched directly before me, dropped from the mount and strode straight toward the carnage.
“D-Deputy Hall Master!”
Snapping a fallen twig, she nudged aside the wriggling maggots covering the remains, peering intently into the decaying flesh.
“Every single one belonged to the same faction.”
“No signs of opposing combatants?”
“None. Furthermore, the attackers seem to have numbered merely two. Their methods were remarkably crude, exhibiting only two distinct patterns of execution.”
Dang Seohui’s deduction proved exact; the fallen displayed merely two modes of slaughter.
A portion had their skulls neatly severed, while the remainder had been brutally shredded apart alongside their steeds.
“I cannot identify the origin of these strikes.”
It was hardly astonishing. Such martial techniques bore no resemblance to any orthodox White Path faction.
A regiment garbed in Black Alliance garb had been thoroughly obliterated, yet their slayers bore zero connection to the honorable sects.
It served as an unmistakable omen of a lingering, unseen terror.
‘What madness is unfolding here?’
Spurred by the grotesque discovery, our pace turned even more frantic.
Yet the further up we climbed, the sparser the crowds became.
In sharp contrast to the wild tales claiming that all beneath heaven had swarmed to this peak, the threshold of the entrance possessed a chilling, desolate stillness.
Folk filed into the Sword Tomb in a silent trickle, devoid of the exuberant fever that rumors had painted.
As our group walked past, roadside peddlers turned in unison, raising their voices to peddle their wares.
“Pure water sealed in flasks! Get your flasks here! A sudden change in water source will upset your intestines down there—take one before you descend!”
“Fresh strips of dried beef, prepared only yesterday! Are your travel rations sufficient?”
“Flints here! Don’t get caught in the dark without flint!”
We carried sufficient provisions and intended to brush past the stalls, but Geumpyo leaned close, keeping his voice low.
“Senior Brother, doesn’t something strike you as off?”
“Explain.”
“Those peddlers. Their voices sound artificial, like performers reciting rehearsed lines on a wooden stage.”
“…”
I stepped toward the merchant who possessed the largest spread of goods.
“You carry a remarkable inventory. Which merchant association do you represent?”
“I hold no ties to any association. I once earned bread as an armed escort, but made my way up here to pocket some quick silver.”
For a common peddler who supposedly launched his enterprise only after the Sword Tomb emerged, the sheer volume of his stock and attending laborers appeared wholly unnatural.
“You must have occupied this plot for quite some time.”
“My business began back in Lanzhou before I rapidly branched up the slopes. Across the entirety of Great Snow Mountain, there is scarcely a soul who doesn’t recognize Juchangseo.”
Playing along with his routine, I purchased an ample haul of dried beef, canteens, and woolen cloaks to outfit every member.
When I settled a portion of the balance by surrendering the steeds we had ridden up the mountain, Juchangseo’s face split into an expansive smirk.
“Having maintained your post since the very beginning, you must have witnessed countless souls passing through the mouth of the Sword Tomb.”
“Indeed. A constant flow going back and forth. In this brief window, I have even earned myself a handful of loyal regulars.”
“In that case, have many individuals actually emerged back out of the Sword Tomb?”
“…What was that?”
Juchangseo’s fingers instantly stiffened amidst the silver taels he was tallying.
“I was told massive throngs flooded inside the Sword Tomb, yet I have seen scarcely anyone walking back out into the open.”
“…”
Though I was addressing Juchangseo alone, the laborers hovering behind him and the nearby stallkeepers all halted their movements, their gazes turning toward us in eerie synchronization.
A sudden, sharp chill crept down my spine before Juchangseo finally broke the silence.
“Ha ha! Why, naturally a great multitude enters and exits. How could a living being endure without the warmth of the sun above?”
“Indeed. Deprivation from daylight is a miserable plight. Ha ha ha.”
As I forced a hollow chuckle, the cold eyes pinning me slowly drifted away.
Juchangseo swiftly diverted the conversation.
“Ah, should your purse permit it, you would be wise to secure additional provisions before crossing the threshold. If you manage to bring the unused gear back outside, I shall provide a full silver refund.”
An absurd arrangement no legitimate merchant would ever dream of proposing.
“For what reason? Would that not incur a massive loss on your end?”
“I began with bare hands and accumulated vast fortunes entirely through the goodwill of noble martial artists. Offering this much courtesy is the least I can do.”
Could a merchant genuinely extending altruism speak with such flat, lifeless emotion?
“There is no need.”
“…Should your mind shift, you may seek me out anytime.”
The moment I pivoted away, total clarity washed over me.
‘Mindless Illusion Powder has thoroughly contaminated this place.’
If mere peddlers guarding the threshold of the Sword Tomb were already corrupted to this extent, the horrors festering in the depths below were beyond imagining.
Without lingering a moment longer, I guided the disciples of Yuseong Hall into the gaping cavern.
From a distance behind our steps, Juchangseo’s faint muttering drifted across the wind.
“A pity. They carried plenty of silver. Since they’re only heading to their graves anyway, they should have surrendered it all before stepping inside.”
Once we breached the Sword Tomb’s threshold, the surrounding rock face gradually expanded into a cavernous expanse.
Reaching a broader cavern chamber, we halted our march and distributed a single Heart-Calming Spirit Pellet to each person present.
Dang Seohui examined the pill resting in her palm, pinching her nose shut with her opposite hand as she grumbled.
“…There is no reason for me to swallow this.”
“Ingest it without delay.”
“I have no need for medicine! My health is in peak condition!”
“…Swallow it down, and you may enjoy a skewer of tanghulu to rinse away the bitterness.”
“Are you serious?”
I remained uncertain of the exact speed at which Mindless Illusion Powder took root, making this measure possibly premature, but I refused to gamble with the minds of my comrades.
Our party resumed the march.
Our primary objective was establishing contact with the Moyong Clan.
Various motives drove this pursuit, yet above all else, they were the faction we needed to locate with the utmost urgency.
Their quest centered on locating the mortal remains of the Sword Venerable and the Black King rather than unearthing their martial legacies, which theoretically lessened the peril they faced. Even so, safety was far from guaranteed.
The fundamental hurdle lay in our inability to find anyone to question.
Perhaps owing to our proximity to the outer threshold, almost no travelers crossed paths along our route.
After half a day spent pushing through the subterranean gloom, we finally stumbled across another contingent.
They were caked in grime and reeked of unwashed days, but the crests emblazoned on their martial robes clearly marked them as disciples of the orthodox White Path.
“Pardon our intrusion.”
The warriors resting along the jagged rock immediately unclasped their blades and readied their weapons the second we approached.
“Cease your approach and pass quietly along.”
“Twitch so much as a single finger, and you will not leave this ground alive.”
Considering our disciplined posture and the clear Martial Alliance insignia we bore, their hostility was entirely irrational.
I checked my steps, halting where I stood.
“We are investigators representing the Martial Alliance’s Yuseong Hall, surveying the Sword Tomb. Might I trouble you with a question?”
“…”
“Have you chanced upon members of the Moyong Clan?”
The men exchanged fleeting, suspicious glances, taking each other’s measure in silence.
Their guarded expressions made it apparent they possessed knowledge they had no intention of freely parting with.
‘What could possibly justify this level of paranoia…?’
Their defensive demeanor alone signaled that their minds were severely compromised.
With steady motions, I lowered a wooden container holding Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets onto the stone floor.
“These are Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets. Use them to replenish your primordial qi before proceeding further.”
The moment I slid the container toward their circle, one warrior cracked the lid open, glancing up with calculating eyes.
“Do you carry a diagram of these tunnels?”
“I do.”
“Spread it out. Do not cross the distance.”
The moment the parchment map was unrolled before him, the warrior pointed a finger toward a specific corridor.
“Right there. A recessed cavern situated along the central passage further in. I watched them march into its mouth.”
“Precisely how long ago was this sighting?”
“Who keeps track? Roughly fifteen days back?”
“…”
When I offered no response, the warrior abruptly snatched the wooden container closer to his chest.
“You never stipulated that the information had to be fresh.”
“Fair enough. You speak the truth.”
They harbored neither faith nor basic human empathy toward outsiders, driven purely by the naked pursuit of personal advantage.
The situation matched the historical records from my prior lifetime with chilling precision.
‘The records noted that they would erupt into volcanic fury the moment they sensed even the slightest slight to their interests.’
To think that the depths of this cave were crawling with hollow husks driven solely by humanity’s foulest impulses…
‘The true trial has only just begun.’
A heavy dread weighed down upon my chest.
“Let us move out.”
I had delivered the Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets into their grasp. Whether they chose to consume them remained their own decision.
Those who chose to swallow the medicine would drastically elevate their odds of surviving this hell, a fate I genuinely wished upon them.
We adjusted our heading, advancing toward the cavern where the Moyong Clan had allegedly vanished.
During the trek, we crossed paths with wandering figures from both the White Path and the Black Path. We traded words and exchanged resources, continually pressing for news regarding the Moyong Clan.
None yielded anything of actual value.
On the third day since passing beneath the earth, our footsteps finally brought us to the mouth of the cavern the Moyong Clan had reportedly entered.
“…!”
There, amidst the stone, the first clear signs of the Moyong Clan emerged.
“This person has been dead for an extended time…”
Crumpled upon the floor lay a corpse clad in the distinct martial uniform of the Moyong Clan.
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