Chapter 68: How Long Do You Think We Have to Stay?

They say a single moment feels like three autumns; even a quarter of that felt absurdly long.

Being carried like a bundle of baggage in Gwanggaek’s arms, I passed through a tunnel that seemed to have no end at all, and could only conclude that Shin Pilju, who’d built this secret passage, had definitely been out of his mind.

According to what Jin Sowol had told me, the original purpose of this passage was as an escape route for “Lady Buyong” in case of emergency.

But no matter how many barriers and mechanisms you install, what good is it if it’s this long?

Lady Buyong would be exhausted before she even got out.

Without someone to help her, it was doubtful she’d ever reach the exit at all.

It was only later that I was able to resolve this curiosity.

Jin Sowol said there was another refuge in the middle of the passage.

The role of this tunnel was to lead intruders away outside while Lady Buyong hid herself there.

The reason Jin Sowol hadn’t chosen that method now was that the caliber of the pursuer was different.

In truth, if the “enemy of supreme peak-level martial skill” that Shin Pilju had planned for showed up, there would’ve been no need to run in the first place.

But the Evil King was a person we simply could not stand against.

And he would easily sense our presence if we tried to hide near the passage.

Jin Sowol, Jin Cheongun, and Lee Gwang could not control their breathing.

So first, we had to get as far away from him as possible.

Anyway, when we were in the middle of fleeing and still ignorant of Shin Pilju’s intentions, I was cursing him in my heart when that grating noise reached my ears as well.

It was the sound of the Evil King smashing through the barriers Jin Sowol had dropped earlier.

A little later than I did, Geoseon picked up on the noise and shouted urgently from behind.

“The Evil King is coming!”

It was a report that was of absolutely no help.

All it did was amplify the anxiety on our side.

But immediately afterward, Jin Sowol’s clear voice echoed through the tunnel, carrying a note of hope.

“We’re here.”

A faint glow different from the dim light spilling from fragments of luminous pearls in the ceiling shimmered ahead.

Once Han U-gyeong went into that pool of light, Gwanggaek followed, and suddenly a wide-open outdoor space filled our vision.

Even so, I felt even more stifled.

We’d come out of the passage, but our situation hadn’t improved.

The Evil King would be out the exit in a little while as well.

Even if there was a gap of several hundred jang between us, it would take him no time at all to catch up.

At this point, I judged there were only two possible strategies.

One was for only me—the Evil King’s target—to remain behind, and send the others away.

The other was for us to scatter in all directions.

There was no way Jin Sowol and the others would throw me to the Evil King as food, so the only practically viable option was scattering.

Then at least half of us might survive.

To increase my companions’ chances of survival, I was about to decide to draw the Evil King toward me.

Before that, I needed to switch my “carrier” from Gwanggaek to Sword Emperor’s Son.

Even the Evil King wouldn’t be able to recklessly strike to kill the heir of Sword King.

But Jin Sowol had a different countermeasure.

A plan far superior to any I’d come up with.

“Everyone, follow Old Lord Han. You absolutely must not lose him.”

At her order, Geoseon raised an objection.

“But child, if we stick together like this and the Evil King finds us, we’ll all…”

He couldn’t bring himself to attach the words “die together.”

Pointing ahead to show Han U-gyeong the direction, Jin Sowol spoke in a calm yet resolute tone.

“Trust me. There’s a way to shake him off.”

It was a situation where optimism was almost impossible, but because we knew her brilliance, everyone held onto a sliver of hope.

And sure enough, she did have a fantastic, outlandish trump card prepared.

About a hundred jang from the exit, a small river about three or four jang wide appeared.

We followed Han U-gyeong and jumped straight into the water.

Having been warned in advance that we would be diving, we let the current carry us downstream under the surface.

Once we saw Han U-gyeong move toward the riverbank, we gathered there.

Then he was sucked into the dirt wall.

We followed him in.

Inside the wall, there was another secret passage, slanting upward.

Before long, the damp vanished and the path turned downhill.

We slid down, deeper and deeper into the earth.

Eventually, the rabbit-hole-like tunnel ended in a space only three or four pyeong wide.

That was our final destination.

Taking a thumb-sized luminous pearl from her bosom, Jin Sowol lit the surroundings and declared, her voice tinged with confidence,

“No matter how great the Evil King is, he’ll never find this place.”

Geoseon objected.

“Well, that’s fine and all, but what if we suffocate in here?

We might be able to last an hour, but you and your father, and this little brat here, will have a hard time lasting even a single moment.”

“Don’t worry, Elder. There are air holes.”

At a loss for words, Geoseon changed the subject.

“Anyway, how did you find a place like this?

Looks like it was built quite a long time ago.”

“Just like now, the Jeonwon region was a strategic point in the ancient kingdom era because it connects in all directions.

Whenever war broke out, it was one of the first places to be hit.

So the people of old prepared shelters like this everywhere.

I deciphered the secret gates recorded in old texts and located twenty-two of them.

With Guard Kang’s help, I found that six of them were still usable.

Even then I never imagined a day would come when we’d actually use one, but I’m glad it’s coming in handy.”

Geoseon let out an exclamation.

“Haah, how can the most beautiful child under heaven be this clever on top of it?

But what would you have done if you’d just swum past that wall earlier?

With your eyesight, you wouldn’t have seen anything.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not nitpicking. I’m genuinely curious.”

“In fact, I asked Guard Kang to personally scout this place the other day.

Since Lord Jeon has made enemies of the entire orthodox and demonic martial world, I wanted to prepare as many different contingencies as possible.

Anyway, at that time I marked the entrance in the riverbank with luminous stone.

That’s why I could see it.

Of course, it was only thanks to Old Lord Han instantly grasping my intention and finding it right away.

If he hadn’t, my father, Gwang, and I wouldn’t have been able to hold our breath, we would’ve panicked and thrashed about, and then we’d have had no choice but to surface.”

Everyone let out a breath of relief.

Even without her spelling it out, we all knew that if we’d come up, we would have run straight into the Evil King.

Maybe because she was conscious of that fact, Geoseon laughed in a deliberately hearty way.

“Keuhaha! That bastard must have flown a good few thousand li through the night to catch this brat, and look at him now.

Serves that unlucky bastard right.

He must be running all over the place right now, panting like some mongrel that lost the chicken it was chasing, ready to burst with frustration.”

Jin Sowol’s pink lips twisted in a wry smile.

“The Evil King will be somewhere nearby. Searching the places where we might be hiding.”

Geoseon’s eyes bulged.

“What? Why?”

“From the exit of the passage, he’d have followed the footprints leading to the river to the place where we went in.

Since there are no tracks on the opposite bank, he’d have concluded that we escaped along the river, either upstream or downstream.

From his point of view, the question would be which direction.

Rather than making a simple either-or choice, I think he’d have taken to the air.

From several hundred jang up, you can see very far.

Once he confirmed there was no suspicious movement along the river either way, he would have come back down to the ground and started scanning the riverbank for footprints.

Thinking that we climbed out of the river somewhere in the middle and went into the mountains.”

Gulp.

Swallowing loudly, Geoseon lowered his voice.

“In that case, isn’t there still a chance he might catch us?”

Jin Sowol reassured him—and the rest of us as well.

“Don’t worry, Elder.

The chance is extremely slim, and even if the Evil King figured out the method we used to escape, he still couldn’t find this place without knowing the entrance.

He’d have to turn all the earth around the river upside down down to seven or eight jang below ground, and there’s no way he’d go to that much trouble.

Judging from his record so far, he’s not the patient type.”

Listening to her and Geoseon go back and forth, I finally joined the conversation.

“How long do you think we have to stay here?”

Jin Sowol turned her head toward me.

Bathed in the soft light of the luminous pearl, her face was beautiful enough to stop a man’s breath.

Looking at her from the side, Sword Emperor’s Son’s eyes went hazy like he was drunk on a drug.

“Two hours should be enough, but because of me, we’ll have to stay about seven hours. I’m sorry.”

No one said anything.

Then the speckled old man—who’d had no presence at all until now—looked around at everyone and asked in a small, timid voice,

“Does the young lady have some kind of trouble?”

Jin Sowol smiled bitterly.

“I have a chronic illness, Master So. I can’t be in sunlight.

That’s why I can only go out after the sun sets.”

“Ah!”

As if realizing he’d asked a needless question, Geoseon glared at the speckled old man.

He shrank in on himself so pitifully that he was almost hard to watch.

Since I’d told him “Auntie” was stronger than me, Geoseon did not press the poor old man further and instead looked to Jin Sowol.

“Where are you planning to go once we leave here?

After wasting his time today, that bastard’s going to be even more hell-bent on catching this brat.”

A picture-perfect smile bloomed on Jin Sowol’s jade-like face.

I was the only one who knew why she was smiling.

“I’ve prepared a separate hiding place, Elder.”

“Oh? As expected.”

With a note of admiration, Geoseon started to pour out his praise, but Jin Sowol continued speaking first.

“So we have to decide before we leave here.”

Geoseon tilted his head.

“Decide what?”

Putting away her smile and adopting a serious expression, Jin Sowol looked around at everyone.

“Whether to enter the hideout or not.

Once we go in, we’ll have to refrain from going outside for quite a long time.”

Everyone except “Auntie” understood what she meant.

Anyone who didn’t want to accompany us to the hideout could not be told where it was.

Sword Emperor’s Son, who had been silent until now, spoke the moment Jin Sowol finished.

“I’ll go with you.”

Gwanggaek followed at once.

“I, too, will stay to the end with my benefactor.”

Geoseon grumbled.

“All this damned hardship for the sake of one clueless brat.”

Stung, a reflexive curse slipped out of me.

“Damn it, if you don’t want to go, then don’t. Who’s dragging you?”

“Well, listen to this punk. The one who farted is the one getting angry. What nonsense is this? Is that any way to treat the man who’s saved your life how many times now?”

Because Geoseon’s anger felt genuine, I backed down quickly.

Even if it hadn’t, this wasn’t the mood to be trading barbs.

“I was wrong, Old Man. Forgive me.

And you’re right. I apologize to everyone.

I’m ashamed that you all have to suffer because of me.”

Geoseon tapped my not-yet-healed left shoulder.

It hurt so much I almost screamed.

“Is this brat about to die? He’s acting out of character. Just be yourself, will you? It’s giving me goosebumps.”

Before I could fire back, Geoseon stated his own decision.

“Well, we’ve come this far. Whatever happens, we’ll see it through to the end.

If it comes to it, I’ll just treat it as a few years of wall-facing cultivation.”

He looked like he might smack my shoulder again, so I glared at him and scowled.

A warning not to touch me.

“Oh ho, look at this brat. Instead of being grateful, he’s rolling his eyes at me? Why, you little…”

Geoseon didn’t get to act on his mischief.

“That’s enough.”

The one who stopped him as he reached toward me was Han U-gyeong.

Being older and far stronger, he was not someone Geoseon could go against.

Like a naughty child caught in the act, Geoseon flinched and drew back.

Glancing once at him, Han U-gyeong met Jin Sowol’s eyes.

“I’ll go too.

But I’ll have to visit Sword Fortress at some point.

Gwang’s master will surely wonder where we’ve gone.

I’ll be very careful not to be seen going in and out.”

While Jin Sowol’s face lit up with joy, Sword Emperor’s Son’s expression grew dark.

[End of Chapter]