Chapter 406: Chapter 406

Boom, boom, boom!

The moment they entered toward the path Dan Woo-hyun had opened, in an instant, the ceiling collapsed and caved in.

Had they been only slightly late, this place would have almost become their grave.

“Hah… hah… I… I almost died.”

“It is a relief.”

“No! If you are going to do it, should you not at least tell me you are doing it?”

“I did not think it would collapse.”

“Anyone would think it would collapse. Except for you, that is…”

Even Mu Cheon-pung wiped away cold sweat and shined a hollow laugh. To that extent, the word ignorant suited Dan Woo-hyun’s action.

Even if it was a cavity, they had not used it meanwhile, and it had endured the passage of time until now while withstanding countless rains.

In such a situation, if one gave a shock, what could endure it?

Enduring alone would be considered miraculous.

“By the way, how did you know there was this kind of path in the wall?”

“It is instinct. Once in the past, I ignored that instinct and met with major trouble, you see.”

“…….”

Jang Sam-tae shut his mouth as silent as a dead mouse.

Although Dan Woo-hyun, who was walking ahead, did not speak openly, he mentioned past events implicitly.

Jang Sam-tae felt his heart heavy for no reason and broke into a cold sweat despite himself.

“Like a petty bastard…”

Dan Woo-hyun, who was walking ahead, stopped his steps abruptly.

Jang Sam-tae blocked his mouth and turned pale. What he meant to say in his mind had unexpectedly come out of his mouth.

“Hehehe, Ma… Manor Lord! Shall this Sam-tae go ahead?”

“…….”

Dan Woo-hyun stared at Jang Sam-tae without any words.

Although he wished he would say at least some word, whether he had no intention to comply with Jang Sam-tae’s thoughts, he merely stared intently and raised his hand.

His figure approaching slowly indeed resembled the Grim Reaper.

“Uaaaargh!”

Jang Sam-tae’s scream echoed loudly.

* * *

“Aigo…”

Jang Sam-tae walked ahead while clutching his painful head.

Whether it was because he was beaten after a long time, that he felt pain worse than usual would by no means be an illusion. Jang Sam-tae stroked his head and glanced at Dan Woo-hyun.

“It seems to hurt more than usual…”

It was a voice that sounded as if he would burst into tears right away.

No matter how much he stroked his stinging head, the pain did not easily subside.

“Because I hit you harder than usual.”

“No, why!?”

Dan Woo-hyun quietly stared at Jang Sam-tae who shouted violently. He had learned the Martial God Cultivation Classic through Sa Do-hak’s interpretation.

Whether because he had learned even a speck of it though not the perfect Thousand Days Creation Art, some resistance arose slightly to the lightly thrown fist.

Dan Woo-hyun, who did not like that, ended up applying force a bit stronger in the end.

“Do not think badly of it. Since this is also training.”

“Though I do not wish to do training such as getting beaten…”

Jang Sam-tae looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a dumbfounded look.

Who would want to do such training?

If there was such a person, he thought they might be the type of human who enjoys getting hit itself.

“Stop it. Rather than that, where is this place?”

“I do not know either.”

Beyond the wall, a path was laid out.

It was a narrow path estimated to have been dug by one person. Since it was to the extent that a bone-dry adult could barely pass, passing that place was quite an embarrassing task in itself.

“To make this kind of path… Keuk… crazy old man…!”

Jang Sam-tae, who was going ahead, frowned as he passed the gradually narrowing path.

Even more, since he dropped the torch in the midst of escaping to this place, only darkness filled in front of Jang Sam-tae’s eyes to the extent that he could not even see an inch ahead properly.

“Indeed… why did he particularly, mmggh… this kind of path…”

It was the same for Mu Cheon-pung that the situation was hard.

Although it was a situation where one might think it was somewhat easy because he had less flesh than Jang Sam-tae, the further they went, the narrower the path became, and also the walls were considerably sharp, so his skin might get cut if he was not careful.

“Wind blows from the front. If we go just a bit further, we will exit to the outside.”

“Is it a kind of escape exit?”

“Who knows?”

The three people thought of only one thing.

The one who made this is unmistakably Geum Wang-su.

Since he was a thief second to none under heaven, he would have never made it carelessly. Although the thought arose whether it was an escape exit preparing for the worst, this narrow passage did not look very advantageous for escaping.

“Uh?! We… we are all there!”

At that moment, Jang Sam-tae, who was walking ahead, shouted.

As the two went forward while putting out a bit more strength following that voice, as Jang Sam-tae said, the narrow passage came to an end and a fairly large space revealed its appearance.

Jang Sam-tae, who could not see due to the darkness, began to grope the surroundings with his hands hurriedly to find something that could light a fire, but Dan Woo-hyun and Mu Cheon-pung naturally looked around and began to check something.

“Wind enters.”

Dan Woo-hyun looked at one side.

Although it was subtle, cracks formed in the place forming the wall and wind was seeping in from there. Although he hid it well, perhaps that place was the passage to escape here.

“An old man who is utterly incomprehensible indeed.”

At that moment, Jang Sam-tae lit a torch he picked up from somewhere and checked the surroundings. As the dark space turned bright in a single blow, things that were not visible until now revealed their existence one by one.

In the center of the space which was spacious enough for five or six adults to enter at once, there was something like a table made of stone, and old books were sprawled in the surroundings.

They examined them one by one, but most were books commonly sold in the marketplace. However, there were also things difficult to obtain interspersed.

Most were martial arts secret manuals, and there were also many cultivation methods.

On one side, a book about spiritual medicines was seen.

Jang Sam-tae could not know the reason why he brought and placed such things.

Because the Geum Wang-su he knew had no interest at all in such things.

“There are no treasures that should be here… and it is only full of junk. Is it really true that this is the place Geum Wang-su dug?”

“I do not know whether it is true or not… but it looks clear that someone was here.”

There are unmistakably traces of a person having lived.

Although he did not know whether that was Geum Wang-su or not, at any rate, the fact that there was a secret space in the cave Jang Sam-tae had dug was true.

“If that is correct, we might discover Geum Wang-su’s trace in this place.”

Mu Cheon-pung shined his eyes brightly.

From the beginning, the goal was Geum Wang-su. Had he discovered at least his treasures, his unfairness would have been less, but finding such things in this place where there was nothing looked like a difficult task.

If so, he would at least find a trace.

A place where the fellow might be.

Finding only such things made coming all the way to this Sichuan meaningful.

“No matter how much I think, it is not understood… why did he make this kind of place? Even hiding it…”

The master in Jang Sam-tae’s memory was by no means a person who read books. That was why he could not easily understand these many books.

“He must have been researching something.”

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun discovered something while inspecting the surroundings.

“Isn’t it an old book?”

It was an old book where even a title was not written.

Jang Sam-tae extended his hand without hesitation and opened the book.

“A cultivation method?”

The moment he checked the contents, Jang Sam-tae tilted his head.

The cultivation method Geum Wang-su taught Jang Sam-tae formed the center, and he seemed to have created something new by mixing various miscellaneous things.

However, it was a cultivation method of a level where even Jang Sam-tae, whose eye was not high, could not expect good results.

In the first place, he wondered if learning it was even possible.

“What is this?”

“It is a cultivation method.”

“I know that too, but…”

Saying ‘I am not asking such a thing…’ Jang Sam-tae wore a dumbfounded expression.

Since he was Jang Sam-tae who could now be called quite an expert, he knew what the contents written in the book were.

‘Even if you ignore me, there should be a limit?’

Jang Sam-tae threw the book onto the table with an expression mixed with dissatisfaction.

Dan Woo-hyun picked it up.

Interest settled on the face of Dan Woo-hyun who opened the book and flipped it page by page.

“There is not, there is not! Why is there not?!”

At that moment, Mu Cheon-pung’s fierce shout was heard.

He searched and rummaged through the surroundings.

Yet, he could not find a clue about Geum Wang-su.

The only thing present was old books.

That also was merely useless things to Mu Cheon-pung.

“No, Elder. Did we even come after thinking it would be here from the start?”

“That is so, but still, should we not find something that could be a clue!”

Mu Cheon-pung frowned with a gloomy expression.

“It is not that there is no income at all.”

“Yes?!”

“What!”

Dan Woo-hyun threw the book he had finished reading toward Jang Sam-tae. Jang Sam-tae, who caught it with a thud, sent a puzzled look.

“It seems your master was researching a cultivation method.”

“Is that so? Why?”

“It is due to the characteristic your sect holds. Since they draw innate genuine qi to use as lightfoot art, their lifespan also decreases. It is to fix that.”

“Eh? Then doesn’t it mean Master also knew that side effect!?”

“Correct.”

“And yet he had me learn it?”

Jang Sam-tae got angry quickly with a dumbfounded expression. If he knew that lifespan decreases, should he not naturally refrain from teaching it to another person?

“It was research for you. For what would a fully old man research that? His intention was likely to increase your lifespan a bit more and replace it with an ordinary cultivation method.”

“…….?”

At Dan Woo-hyun’s words, Jang Sam-tae wore an expression of not understanding. So, that eccentric old man was researching a cultivation method for Jang Sam-tae of all people?

For another person?

Not for himself?

Jang Sam-tae tilted his head.

“Whether it is true or not, I do not know either. It is a simple guess, but there seems to be no other answer to think of.”

“It… it makes no sense… that old man…”

“It seemed he even poured out all the money he possessed for that research. Among the books inside here, there are cheap ones, but there are also quite a few that look expensive.”

“…….”

“Huh?”

“And looking at the surrounding traces, it looks clear that he was here until recently. Because it is the optimal place to research without being disturbed by other people.”

Dan Woo-hyun looked around.

The place where they entered was not the entrance. He wondered if that map they saw outside was precisely the entrance leading to this place.

If he passed away and could not hand over the completed cultivation method himself, perhaps it was the master’s heart telling him to come looking by seeing that map.

Jang Sam-tae puckered his mouth.

No matter how much he thought, he could not believe it at all.

“And the reason he left this place… seems to be to obtain a new cultivation method that could be helpful.”

Dan Woo-hyun spoke, pointing to the book.

As the frozen Jang Sam-tae turned the pages slowly, at the very back, there was a map depicting a certain place.

“It is the Potala Palace.”

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