Chapter 126: Leaving
I quietly stared at Goeong.
Just thinking about the martial skill that old man had shown me so far was enough to tell me he was no ordinary person.
He had broken the flaws in my sword with nothing more than a pebble.
He had even detected my presence while I was hidden with Void Night Shadow Step, as casually as if we were playing a game.
And on top of that...
even an expert like Evil Soul Sword Flower Yeom Yuhwa treated him with that much respect.
...There's a good chance he once held a very high position within the Demonic Cult.
There were far too many strange things about Goeong.
His mind wasn't completely intact.
And the very fact that he was living alone, sealed inside a closed stone chamber like this, made little sense.
Well, it's not unheard of for someone to become simple-minded after suffering qi deviation during martial training.
I'd seen plenty of people like that before my regression.
People who fell into qi deviation and went mad.
Others whose minds snapped so badly that they regressed into childlike behavior.
Goeong could've been one of them.
But either way...
I decided not to think too deeply about it.
Whatever was happening here was an internal matter of the Demonic Cult.
There was no reason for me to stick my nose too deeply into it.
Right now...
only one thing mattered.
Getting out of here.
That was all.
Still...
there was one thing that continued bothering me.
Dokgo Cheonyul....
The vision I'd seen after falling beneath the waterfall in Falling Death Valley and losing consciousness.
I had definitely seen it.
True Immortal Cheongun and Heavenly Demon Dokgo Cheonyul clashing.
And I'd heard it.
...Dokgo Cheonyul possessed the final Flow.
It had been too vivid.
Too clear.
Far too real to dismiss as a random hallucination brought on by nearly drowning.
Especially after everything I'd already experienced.
The traces Cheongun had left for me.
The fortuitous encounters that looked like visions, yet had always connected to real martial arts.
Thinking about all that...
it was difficult to dismiss this one as nothing more than a dream.
The fact that I saw a vision of Heavenly Demon Dokgo Cheonyul inside the Demonic Cult's territory...
that itself might be another arrangement left behind by Cheongun.
The problem was how I was supposed to confirm it right now.
Dokgo Cheonyul.
The Heavenly Demon.
The third Flow.
The more I thought about it...
the more complicated my head became.
Hmm... what should I do?
Then—
Rrrrrumble... CLUNK!
The sealed wall of the stone chamber began moving again.
I immediately raised my head.
Yeom Yuhwa stepped through the opening.
She was carrying a set of black clothes in her hands.
The moment she entered, she tossed them toward me.
“Change into these.”
I unfolded the clothes.
They were black garments.
A face covering was tucked inside as well.
Yeom Yuhwa continued,
“These are clothes worn by martial artists of the Divine Cult.”
“If you wear them outside, at least you won't be suspected immediately.”
I gave a faint smile.
“You came prepared.”
Her expression didn't change.
“If I'm going to escort an intruder outside, shouldn't I at least do this much?”
Her words were emotionless.
But the sarcasm was obvious.
I didn't bother responding.
I immediately changed into the black clothes.
I put on the upper garment, tied the belt around my waist, then covered my face.
Yeom Yuhwa looked me over once.
Then gave a short nod.
“That should be enough.”
She turned toward the opening.
“Then I'll show you the way out.”
I breathed out inwardly.
Finally.
At last...
this long, suffocating life inside the stone chamber was about to end.
“Thank you. Then—”
I was just about to move when Yeom Yuhwa quietly added,
“However, there is one condition.”
I stopped immediately.
“A condition?”
I narrowed my eyes.
“What kind?”
Yeom Yuhwa smiled faintly.
It wasn't quite mockery.
Nor was it kindness.
It was the kind of smile that was difficult to read.
“From your perspective, it should be very easy to accept.”
“So there is no need to think too hard about it.”
I folded my arms.
“Fine.”
“Let's hear it.”
Yeom Yuhwa looked directly at me.
Then said,
“Please take the Elder out of this place.”
For a moment...
I didn't understand her.
"...What?"
I stared at her.
“You want me to take Goeong out?”
“What exactly do you mean?”
She answered calmly.
“Exactly what I said.”
“Help the Elder leave this stone chamber.”
I tilted my head.
“Is someone stopping Goeong from leaving?”
“No.”
“Then is someone watching him?”
“No.”
"..."
I stared at her.
No one was stopping him.
No one was guarding him.
And yet he couldn't leave?
That made no sense.
“Then what are you talking about?”
I asked again.
“If nobody is preventing him from leaving, why can't Goeong leave?”
Yeom Yuhwa remained silent for a while.
Her expression looked as though she was weighing how much she was allowed to tell me.
Eventually...
she let out a short sigh.
“I cannot explain the details.”
Then she continued carefully.
“What I can tell you is that the Elder has remained trapped here because of a certain restriction.”
I frowned.
“A restriction?”
“Yes.”
The word made my expression harden.
A restriction?
Out of nowhere?
Yeom Yuhwa continued,
“But if the Elder himself truly wishes to leave this chamber...”
“then he can.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Then?”
Yeom Yuhwa slowly nodded.
“You are the Elder's friend.”
“Please persuade him.”
Her gaze shifted toward Goeong.
“Ask him to leave this chamber.”
Then...
Yeom Yuhwa bowed to me.
The sight felt strangely unreal.
Evil Soul Sword Flower Yeom Yuhwa.
A swordswoman who would one day slaughter hundreds of Righteous Alliance martial artists.
And now...
she was bowing to me.
Asking for my help.
For a moment...
I couldn't say anything.
I was caught off guard.
It felt like I was stepping into something extremely troublesome.
The internal affairs of the Demonic Cult.
A restriction.
Goeong's past.
None of those were words I wanted anything to do with.
Should I just refuse?
Honestly...
