Chapter 24 Did You Come from Jongnam? (4)

"Ugh."

Cheongmyeong sank to the ground. "…Oh, I'm going to die."

This was no easy task.

Even if it was just a small hill, a mountain was still a mountain.

It was not easy to rummage through the mountains.

Moreover, sneaking around in the dark of night to avoid the eyes of the private school and its students felt like committing theft. 'Damn this body.' This body simply would not adapt.

In the past, Cheongmyeong could have used his lightness skill for three days and nights without breaking a sweat.

But this weak body gasped for breath with just a little movement.

It was the same when he went down to Huayun to interrogate Yu Jong-san.

Climbing up and down the mountain was ten times harder than facing that loud-mouthed swordsman.

Furthermore, what Cheongmyeong was doing now was not easy either.

"Hoo."

Placing his hands on the ground, Cheongmyeong took a deep breath and pushed his energy into the earth.

"What the hell am I doing in the middle of the night?" "Exactly, damn it."

The warehouse should be below.

But the problem was that he didn't know where exactly below.

There was only one method: to check each spot one by one.

Thanks to that, Cheongmyeong was now crawling around the mountain, pushing his energy into various points to find empty spaces.

If there was an empty space beneath the mountain, it would surely be the warehouse.

Words were easy.

It was easy to say… "It's like looking for a needle in a desert."

Cheongmyeong sighed heavily.

In the past, he could have covered a small hill with just a flick of his hand.

But now, he could barely shoot out a bit of energy from his fingertip.

"Oh no! I'm going to die!" Moreover, he couldn't keep shooting out that much energy continuously.

His inner energy, which should have been called his brother, had shown its limits after just a few uses.

Each time, he had to gather his energy again, repeating this process a dozen times. 'If I keep this up, am I just going to be wasting my time?' His tired body couldn't stop the wandering thoughts.

Cheongmyeong shook off the distracting thoughts.

No, there is always a way where there is a will.

"It must be there!"

Considering the nature of his elder brother, the ledger must be kept in a safe place.

And the only safe place would be here.

He had to grasp at straws.

But with such a slim hope, it was closer to a floating log than a straw.

How could he not grasp it? "One more time!" "Oh no!" "One more time!" "I'm dying!" "One more time!" "What’s empty? That’s not my concern. Oh no."

One more… No, wait a moment.

"What’s empty?" Cheongmyeong's eyes widened.

He squeezed out his energy and shot it out once more. 'It’s there!' He felt something strange.

There was indeed an empty space below.

His energy was still weak, so he couldn't tell if that space was created by someone or if it was naturally formed.

But one thing was certain: there was something empty.

Then? "Ptooey!" Cheongmyeong spat on the ground and stood up.

He grabbed the pickaxe beside him.

"I need to see it with my own eyes!" Now it was a battle of will.

"Ugh!" One scoop.

"Ugh!" Two scoops.

"Aaaah!" Three scoops.

Thud.

Cheongmyeong collapsed into the pit.

Dirt rushed into his mouth, but he no longer had the strength to spit it out.

"I’m going to die, I’m going to die."

Damn this body.

Just digging five spans made his arms tremble, and his legs wobbled.

His waist ached as if it had been struck by a sword.

Those who learn the way of the martial arts are accustomed to pain.

However, the pain from hard training and injuries is different from the pain of labor.

Unfortunately, Cheongmyeong was not very accustomed to the pain of labor.

Even if he were accustomed to it, this was not something a child's body could handle.

Digging up solid ground was a task that would be difficult even for a strong adult man.

Moreover, there was no trick to it.

It had to be done purely with strength and willpower.

"Ptooey!" Cheongmyeong spat out the dirt that had entered his mouth and glared.

"Alright. Let’s see who wins, you or me!" But if he gave up here, wouldn’t the name of the Plum Blossom Sword Master be tarnished? "Hooah!" Cheongmyeong began to swing the pickaxe with renewed vigor.

If there was a space down there, he would definitely reach it! Thud! Thud! Thud! "Hooah!" Thud! Thud! Bang! "Huh?" Bang? Cheongmyeong quickly lowered his posture.

He began to scrape away the dirt with both hands.

After digging out a few handfuls of dirt, he felt something hard with his fingertips. 'Brick?' Cheongmyeong's face twisted.

The sensation at his fingertips felt strange.

He could feel cracks here and there.

It was a brick.

The fact that there was something built with bricks beneath this mountain might be a good sign.

It meant someone had created an artificial space.

However, Cheongmyeong's thoughts were different.

If this was the secret cave of the volcano, they wouldn’t have carelessly fortified it with bricks.

Someone must have made it sturdier in case of an intrusion.

But bricks… 'Let’s dig a bit more.' Cheongmyeong suppressed his disappointment.

Until he confirmed with his own eyes, he couldn’t be sure of anything.

First, he needed to see it.

Scrape, scrape.

As he continued to remove the dirt, the clear pattern of the bricks emerged.

His martial arts level was still low, and it was dark, so he couldn’t see clearly, but it became certain that there was something below. 'Let’s see.' Cheongmyeong carefully grabbed one of the bricks.

It had been a long time, and the bricks were tightly interlocked.

He pulled on the brick with force, being careful not to let it collapse.

With a rustle, one brick came up with him. 'Yes!' Carefully pulling out the brick, Cheongmyeong pushed his face into the hole that was revealed below. 'Now, let’s see…' After enhancing his inner strength to check below, Cheongmyeong frowned slightly.

There was nothing below.

All he could see was… 'This can’t be… Ah! A corridor?' His fists clenched involuntarily.

He hadn’t made a mistake in searching.

He had found it correctly, but he had just come a bit to the side.

The place he found was not the secret cave but the path leading to it.

His abilities were still lacking, so he couldn’t accurately distinguish between the path and the secret cave.

But finding the corridor meant he had found the way to the secret cave! "Good!" Just as Cheongmyeong lifted his head to remove the remaining bricks… a soft sound of footsteps came from inside.

"Huh!" Cheongmyeong almost shouted in surprise.

Someone was walking this way through the corridor. 'Is it the leader?' He quickly tilted his head back and hurriedly covered the brick he had removed.

But there was a bigger problem.

"Oh no!" Light was seeping in through the gap created by the removed brick.

In a hurry, Cheongmyeong covered the brick with his body and lowered his breath, using the Breath Concealment Technique.

"Why now!" He might get caught at any moment.

If the leader discovered him digging through the mountain and reaching this place, what would he say? He must not be found out.

The sound of footsteps walking down the dark corridor grew closer.

It was not a fast pace. 'It really is the leader.' Just from the figure revealed in the darkness, he could clearly tell it was the leader.

Fortunately, the leader seemed unaware of anything unusual and passed by the spot where Cheongmyeong was hiding.

But there was no time to breathe a sigh of relief.

The leader soon stopped walking.

"Is there a wall there…?" As his eyes adjusted to the complete darkness, he could see the inside more clearly.

In front of where the leader stopped, there was a large wall.

No, it wasn’t a wall.

It could easily be mistaken for one, but that couldn’t be a wall.

The end of the long corridor was not a wall but what could be called a door.

The leader stood still, staring at the door.

"You knew, didn’t you?"

He could have expected that.

Others might not have known about the existence of the secret cave, but the leader was likely aware of it.

The elder brother might have passed down the information to the future leader just in case, or he might have discovered it by chance while using the place.

But what was strange was that if he knew about the existence of the secret cave, why had the volcano ended up in this state? There must have been ledgers and treasures that the elder brother had prepared in the secret cave.

At that moment, the leader slowly raised his hand and began to feel the wall, or rather the door, as if he were touching something precious.

He lingered there for a long time.

"What is he doing?" It was a movement that didn’t seem to have any particular meaning.

Yet, despite that, Cheongmyeong felt no urge to interrupt him because he sensed a different atmosphere from the leader than usual.

The leader, who had been feeling the door, slowly lowered his head.

Then he remained still in that position.

Only then did Cheongmyeong realize.

He wasn’t trying to do something.

That was the posture of someone who couldn’t do anything.

Cheongmyeong bit his lip unconsciously as he looked at the leader’s back.

It was small.

And it felt shabby.

The back of the great volcano’s leader should always be wide and warm.

But now, his back felt hunched and shabby, like that of an old man worn down by time.

A back that could not be shown to anyone.

It was only because there was no one here that he could show such a back.

Cheongmyeong could feel the leader’s back trembling slightly as he leaned against the wall.

"Ah…" He understood.

"He couldn’t open it."

Cheongmyeong bit his lip tightly.

That back hurt.

It was so cold and painful.

The collapsing Hwasan sect.

The way of the martial arts was declining, and wealth was dwindling.

Those demanding debts were becoming increasingly fierce, and the blades of enemies were growing sharper.

How despairing it must be to lead Hwasan alone in such a situation? How devastating must the leader’s heart be, watching the sect he had devoted his life to crumble while being unable to do anything?

Yet, he could not open his heart to anyone.

The leader must be a figure that others can rely on.

He was not someone who could lean on others.

Even if everything crumbles, he must firmly support this place like a great tree with deep roots.

So… so he comforts his pain and sorrow alone in a place like this.

Holding onto the door of the secret cave that would not open.

Cheongmyeong looked at the leader’s back with sunken eyes.

As if trying to engrave that sight into his two eyes.

After a long time, the leader, who had been holding onto the door without moving, slowly lifted his head.

He had been staring at the door intently, and only then did he let out a low sigh and turn his body.

Then he slowly walked back down the corridor.

Cheongmyeong held his breath until the leader’s presence completely disappeared.

Then he removed the bricks and jumped down into the corridor below.

"…Tsk."

He saw a sight he didn’t particularly want to see. 'It’s my fault.' Not only that, but it was also the fault of the seniors.

The future of the martial world was important, but the future of Hwasan was equally important.

It was important to resolve the imminent crisis, but he should have thought about the children who would be left behind.

"It’s not too late yet."

If there was a mistake, it could be corrected.

From now on, Cheongmyeong would return the lost time to them.

"Now then…" He turned his head to look at the door.

"Shall I try to open this damned door?"