Chapter 137: Phantom Sound Pavilion
“I didn't expect you to send word through Yeom Yuhwa that you would come see me so soon after my visit to the Heavenly Demon Palace.”
Sa Eumryeong smiled at me.
I gave her a slight nod.
“If it's something I have to decide anyway, wouldn't it be better to settle it quickly instead of dragging things out?”
“Hohoho. Indeed. As expected of the Heavenly Demon's Kindred Spirit chosen by the Cult Leader.”
Sa Eumryeong let out a lilting laugh.
It was only laughter, yet somehow it made my mind loosen slightly.
After laughing for a while, she looked at me curiously.
“I made a few arrangements so your journey here wouldn't be inconvenient. How was it?”
“Quieter than I expected.”
I nodded with an indifferent expression, but inwardly I was somewhat surprised.
Hmm. So that was why....
On the way from the Heavenly Demon Palace to Phantom Sound Pavilion, I hadn't encountered a single person.
There should have been at least one or two people patrolling the interior of the Demonic Cult.
Does she even have control over the cult's internal personnel?
It was a clear display of just how much influence Sa Eumryeong possessed.
The corner of her mouth rose.
“Since the Heavenly Demon's Kindred Spirit was coming to visit, I couldn't allow unnecessary noise to interfere.”
“Thanks to you, I came comfortably.”
In truth, patrols wouldn't have mattered if I used Void Night Shadow Step to conceal myself.
Still, I played along with her.
Then—
“But... you came alone.”
Sa Eumryeong looked me up and down, then frowned slightly.
“...Where is the Cult Leader?”
There it is.
I answered calmly.
“I came alone today.”
“Alone?”
Sa Eumryeong narrowed her eyes.
“May I ask what you mean by that?”
“Before crossing a river, shouldn't you first check whether the bottom of the boat is leaking?”
“Meaning?”
“You read the letter I sent, didn't you?”
I looked directly at her.
“I came to see for myself just how prepared you are to deal with Overlord Saber Ghost Demon.”
Sa Eumryeong said nothing for a moment.
Then the corners of her lips slowly curled upward.
“Very well. A Heavenly Demon's Kindred Spirit ought to possess that much caution.”
She turned and gestured toward the interior.
“Then see for yourself.”
“See what kind of place Phantom Sound Pavilion truly is.”
I followed behind Sa Eumryeong and stepped inside.
The moment I crossed the main entrance, the first thing to touch my senses was—
Trrring....
The sound of a pipa.
Then various other instruments joined in, intertwining with one another.
At first, it merely sounded like pleasant music.
But after taking a few more steps inside, I strangely began to feel my thoughts growing faintly hazy.
I lightly shook my head and continued forward.
Then I saw the women playing music throughout the spacious hall.
Some were young girls who looked around fifteen or sixteen.
Others were alluring women around twenty.
They held pipa, geomungo, and small golden bells, each completely absorbed in their performance.
Around them, young men knelt with their heads bowed.
Sa Eumryeong slowed her pace.
“What do you think of the Sound Maidens of our Phantom Sound Pavilion?”
She smiled.
“If you wish, I could give you one.”
“No need. I'm not interested.”
“Hohoho. A grown man keeping his distance from women? How unusual.”
Instead of answering, I glanced sideways at the men kneeling around the Sound Maidens.
Looking more closely, something was clearly wrong with them.
Some were practically naked, barely wearing any clothes at all.
Their eyes were vacant and unfocused.
They looked drugged.
Seeing where I was looking, Sa Eumryeong smiled.
“They all came here of their own free will.”
“They fell in love with the melodies of our Sound Maidens and chose to remain here as their lovers.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Lovers, my ass. They look like slaves.
Seeing the men's condition changed the way the music sounded in my ears.
The longer I listened, the more it made my skin crawl.
And the music wasn't the only thing bothering me.
This smell....
A fragrance was slowly seeping into my nose.
At first, I'd thought it was only a faint musk.
But the farther we went into the hall, the stronger it became.
Without changing my expression, I quietly steadied my breathing.
Sa Eumryeong noticed and smiled.
“Do you like the fragrance of Phantom Sound Pavilion?”
“It's rather strong.”
“Phantom Sound Pavilion gathers only the finest things.”
She smiled sweetly.
“Beautiful women, music, fragrance...”
“The things that steal the human heart most easily.”
Things that stole the heart....
Everything inside Phantom Sound Pavilion seemed designed to bewitch a person's mind.
As expected of Sa Eumryeong....
While I organized my thoughts, Sa Eumryeong had already turned into an inner corridor.
I followed silently.
Sa Eumryeong led me deep into Phantom Sound Pavilion.
The farther inside we went, the fainter the music became.
But something was strange.
The music was clearly growing more distant...
yet somehow it seemed to cling even more thickly to my ears.
The fragrance was the same.
Every time we passed beneath one of the red lanterns hanging along the corridor, the musky scent burrowed deeper into my nose.
After walking for quite some time, Sa Eumryeong finally stopped.
We stood in front of a room sealed by double sliding doors.
She pulled both doors open, then looked back at me.
“Come in.”
I gave her back a brief glance before stepping inside.
The moment I crossed the threshold, an even stronger fragrance seeped into my body.
...That's potent.
Then the room came into view.
At the center of the sealed chamber stood two figures.
One was a man with an unnaturally pale face.
He looked to be in his early thirties.
A handsome man with bloodless skin smiled at me.
His features were refined, but there was something unpleasantly sticky in his gaze.
The other was a hunched old man.
His body was so emaciated that his skin seemed stretched directly over his bones.
He idly played with his long, tangled fingernails.
A faint stench of decay seemed to hang in the air around him.
Sa Eumryeong spoke softly.
“These are the people you wished to meet, Heavenly Demon's Kindred Spirit.”
She gestured toward them.
“They are the ones who share my intentions.”
At her signal, the pale man bowed toward me.
“I greet the Heavenly Demon's Kindred Spirit.”
I silently studied his face.
Yin Soul Demon Elder, No Hyeonmyeong.
Within the Demonic Cult, he was an old monster infamous for sound arts and illusion techniques, just like Sa Eumryeong.
He appeared young, but in truth he was already over seventy.
No Hyeonmyeong was merely another old monster who had distorted the passage of years and changed only his outward appearance.
I glanced toward Sa Eumryeong.
Seriously. You can't trust the faces of men or women who practice illusion arts.
Then the old man beside No Hyeonmyeong spoke.
“I am Gongya Dok.”
Myriad Poison Demon Lord, Gongya Dok.
When it came purely to poison arts, he was said to stand shoulder to shoulder with the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
A poison master ranked among the Three Great Poisoners Under Heaven.
Yin Soul Demon Elder.
Myriad Poison Demon Lord.
Phantom Demon Musician.
Birds of a feather truly did flock together.
Illusion arts and poison arts....
So even among the Ten Demons, the ones with similar specialties gathered together.
Then—
“As you requested, I have introduced those who stand with me.”
Sa Eumryeong smiled at me.
“Surely this should be enough for you to trust my sincerity.”
Her gaze sharpened.
“Now it is your turn.”
