Chapter 186: Returning to Hell
“Commander. Why are you standing there without answering? The Alliance Leader asked you a question.”
Heo Seongbaek seized the opportunity and pressed me for an answer.
Azure Pine Garden fell silent.
All the gazes that had been focused on Moyong Cheonhwi only moments ago were now fixed on me.
And every one of them was filled with suspicion.
So this is how you're going to play it.
You're going to try to pin everything on me somehow.
I looked straight at Moyong Cheonhwi.
“I did not know from the beginning.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
I pointed toward the shattered stone floor.
“Most of Azure Pine Garden burned down or collapsed, yet the stones around the place where you were standing remained comparatively intact.”
Moyong Cheonhwi's gaze shifted toward the ground.
“It was strange enough that I couldn't simply ignore it.”
I continued calmly.
“So I checked whether something might be hidden beneath the floor.”
"..."
“I had no idea what was actually down there.”
I glanced toward the dead demonic humans.
“If I'd known creatures like those were waiting beneath us, I wouldn't have recklessly smashed the floor open first.”
Several people nearby nodded.
But Moyong Cheonhwi still looked doubtful.
“Even so, it is curious.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Azure Pine Garden is quite large, yet you somehow found that exact place.”
Then—
“Alliance Leader, it seems you still do not know what kind of brat Mujin is.”
My dear master, Jin Gwangung, stepped forward.
He stood before Moyong Cheonhwi with a completely relaxed expression.
“When it comes to tracking people or finding traces, there aren't many in Kunlun who can keep up with him.”
Jin Gwangung jerked his chin toward me.
“He was the one who tracked down the disciples kidnapped by the Thousand Poisons Old Demon in Black Spirit Valley.”
He folded his arms.
“In that enormous mountain range, he followed the traces all the way to their hiding place.”
Moyong Cheonhwi opened his mouth.
“However—”
“I'll acknowledge that much myself.”
Another person interrupted the Alliance Leader without the slightest hesitation.
My one and only senior brother.
Hyeoneom.
“My junior brother has a rotten personality, but his eyes are sharp.”
He glanced at me.
“If he notices something others dismiss as trivial, he'll keep digging until he understands it.”
His mouth curled slightly.
“There's nothing particularly strange about him finding something like that.”
And that wasn't the end of it.
“This poor monk has also benefited greatly from Taoist Han's keen eye.”
Moyong Cheonhwi turned toward Master Gonghyeon.
“The incident that nearly occurred at Shaolin would have become a great bloodbath if Taoist Han had not noticed the abnormality before anyone else.”
My master.
Senior Brother Hyeoneom.
And now the Abbot of Shaolin.
With all three speaking in my defense...
even Moyong Cheonhwi couldn't keep pressing hard.
“...I see.”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“I had not realized the Commander enjoyed such deep trust.”
I met his cold gaze without flinching.
Eventually, he spoke.
“Very well.”
“For now, I will accept that explanation.”
That was what he said.
But suspicion still filled his eyes.
Then Master Gonghyeon spoke again.
“Alliance Leader.”
“Please speak.”
Gonghyeon looked down toward the underground staircase.
“There is something far more urgent that we should be doing right now.”
Naturally, everyone else's attention shifted there as well.
“We should first determine what lies below...”
He continued,
“and where those demonic humans came from.”
Sect Leader Wonmyeong nodded.
“I agree with the Abbot.”
Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon also looked down the stairs.
“Now that this place has been exposed, we cannot simply turn away without investigating it.”
Moyong Cheonhwi remained silent briefly.
Then nodded.
“Very well.”
“We will go down and see for ourselves.”
That surprised me.
Unexpected.
I thought he'd try to stop us somehow.
If that place was connected to him...
I expected Moyong Cheonhwi to do everything possible to keep people from entering.
But instead, he had agreed without resistance.
Heo Seongbaek didn't object either.
Do they have something they're confident about?
Either way...
we'd know once we went down.
A short while later, Moyong Cheonhwi suggested selecting only a limited number of people to enter.
Everyone agreed.
We divided those who would descend from those who would remain in Azure Pine Garden.
From the Righteous Alliance...
Moyong Cheonhwi, Heo Seongbaek, several elders, and a group of elite martial artists would go down.
On our side...
the leaders of the three sects, several elders, and I would accompany them.
While everyone prepared...
I quietly called Myeongjeon aside.
“Myeongjeon.”
“Yes, Martial Uncle.”
When he approached, I sent him a sound transmission so no one else could hear.
His eyes widened instantly.
He stared at me in surprise.
I continued sending the rest of the instructions.
Once I had finished, I said only one thing aloud.
“...Understood? This is important.”
Myeongjeon stared at me blankly for a moment.
Then nodded.
“Understood.”
Not long afterward...
Moyong Cheonhwi stood at the top of the underground staircase.
We followed behind him.
Our footsteps echoed softly through the narrow passage.
With every step downward, the sounds from outside grew farther away.
The torches in our hands illuminated damp stone walls.
Cold air continued rising from below.
But then—
What is this?
Not long after we began descending...
a strange feeling crept over me.
At first, I assumed it was simply the discomfort of entering an unfamiliar underground space.
But the deeper we went...
the more the sensation changed.
It wasn't unfamiliar.
If anything...
what disturbed me was how familiar it felt.
Every step made the damp stone stairs echo faintly.
Listening to that sound...
something in my chest grew heavier.
Why am I reacting like this?
This was clearly my first time beneath Azure Pine Garden.
So why did it feel so familiar?
I stared into the darkness beyond the torchlight.
Then a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
Don't tell me....
No.
I can't be certain yet.
I quietly shook my head.
Suppressing the thoughts rising uncontrollably inside me...
I continued descending.
I don't know how long we walked.
The staircase that had seemed endless finally came to an end.
I stepped down from the final stair.
The torchlight illuminated the darkness ahead.
"..."
Without realizing it...
I stopped walking.
A long underground corridor stretched before us.
Wide enough for several people to walk side by side.
Stone walls running along both sides.
A low ceiling.
Even the recesses for torches carved into the walls at regular intervals.
I stared silently.
...It was here.
My heart began pounding faster.
Only now did I understand the source of the discomfort I'd felt all the way down.
I knew this corridor.
Better than anyone else in the world.
“Mujin.”
Jin Gwangung's voice came from behind me.
I snapped back to reality.
“What's wrong? You don't look well.”
“...It's nothing.”
I forced my expression to remain calm and began walking again.
But now...
everything looked different.
Moisture crawling down the stone walls.
Footsteps echoing through the corridor.
Even the stale, damp smell brushing against my nose.
Old memories followed one after another.
If my guess is really correct....
I had to confirm it.
With my heart hammering violently...
I continued deeper into the passage.
Some time later...
the warrior leading the group stopped.
“It's blocked.”
