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Chapter 317: The Dragon’s Biwaegun

In the pitch-black room, cloaked in the darkness of midnight, a small flicker of flame barely illuminated the space.

Flicker…

There were two teacups placed before me.

With the elderly man’s skilled hands, the empty cup was filled with fragrant tea.

What kind of tea could it be?

The aroma was something I had never smelled before.

Unlike the sweet scent of the plum tea brewed by Maehwa Seon from Hwasan, this one had a distinct, inviting smell.

As I inhaled the scent, a sudden voice reached my ears.

—…Living such a pettifogging life is truly a first for me.

It was the voice of the Sleeping Dragon beside me, quite loaded with discontent.

– What?

—How brazen of you to go so far; isn’t that a bit excessive?

It seemed he was upset about me “selling him out” right after waking up earlier.

With an innocent face, I could only stifle a chuckle.

– You would have done the same in that situation!

– How many times have you seen me to make such a scary accusation? I’m not that kind of person!

Oh sure, right.

‘After all, how much have I suffered in my previous life, claiming you’re not like that…’

An ultimate secret technique.

Selling out a friend was none other than what I learned from the Sleeping Dragon.

Every time we got caught bickering, it was because he would sell me out and escape.

How many times did he abandon me when the So Sword Sect was angry, using me as bait to flee?

That guy was totally like that.

– It doesn’t matter if it didn’t work out anyway. You know, guys can be such tightwads.

– …I’m positive you’re insane.

– Haha, reflect!

Chomp!

I could hear the sound of the Sleeping Dragon grinding his teeth.

I wondered if he was going to lose his temper after hearing my mockery.

“Seems like you both have a lot to discuss,”

said Cheonghae Ilgeom seated across from us, interrupting our playful banter.

It appeared he noticed us exchanging jabs with each other.

Cheonghae Ilgeom took a sip from his own cup, then let out a small sigh.

“Goodness… I find it hard to tell whether to be surprised that Gwandosaeng was conversing through mental signals or to scold you.”

Since the mental signal utilized both the mind and sound, it required delicate application.

It was undoubtedly a peak-level technique.

For Gwandosaeng to use it nonchalantly was indeed surprising.

Though for me, it didn’t evoke much excitement anymore.

“The tea in front of Gwandosaeng is made from Yuseo leaves. It is grown personally by this honorable host.”

So that’s what it was; it seemed like a personal hobby of Cheonghae Ilgeom.

“Give it a try. It should be good.”

Slurp.

At Cheonghae Ilgeom’s suggestion, I took a sip of the tea.

It was hot, but

‘This is no big deal.’

Given I could ignite flames with my hand, a little heat was nothing to worry about.

The flavor that danced on my tongue was quite pleasant.

It was slightly tangy yet sweet, similar to plum tea but even sweeter.

Warmth spread through my insides against the chilly wind outside.

Clink.

Cheonghae Ilgeom set down his teacup.

“I’ll get straight to the point.”

I thought my tension might ease, but instead, it felt like the noose was tightening again.

“What were you doing over there?”

Ouch…

That was straight to the point.

He ditched the preamble and jumped right to the main topic, sharp as a sword typical of a Sword Master.

‘Damn it.’

I didn’t expect things to get so tangled up.

If only my thoughts hadn’t gone haywire back then, escaping would have been a non-issue.

Sigh.

I’m dizzy just thinking about it.

If Shin Noya hadn’t shown up to help me then, what would have happened?

‘It wouldn’t have been good.’

I couldn’t clearly remember what I intended to do, but the very space had felt distorted, and the power I sensed back then assured me something terrible would’ve happened without Noya’s assistance.

‘In the meantime, why is this old man silent?’

Right after Noya had saved me with his mysterious power, I was dragged to Cheonghae Ilgeom’s side.

I called out to Noya, who must have just awakened, but there was no response.

Could it be he fell back asleep again?

Then what was that mumbling earlier?

‘Cheonghae Ilgeom…’

I didn’t know what to think, but as I glanced at him, he was observing me with his unique white eyes.

It seemed he wasn’t going to let it slide easily.

In a moment of quiet contemplation, I took a breath and spoke.

“I was looking for Biwaegun.”

I omitted any unnecessary excuses.

Whatever else, it wouldn’t mean a thing anyway.

Lying in this situation would just make things worse.

“It’s about Biwaegun?”

“Yes.”

Cheonghae Ilgeom’s expression shifted subtly.

Of course, it was surprising to hear that a Biwaegun existed beneath the Shinryong Temple, especially coming from a late-stage talent like me.

‘I had thought this far.’

I had indeed asked the Sword Demoness to look into it, but the results could be unpredictable.

So I had laid a backup plan just in case.

Even if it worked, that was questionable.

While my eyes darted about, Cheonghae Ilgeom asked me,

“If there was a Biwaegun, how did you come to know about it?”

As expected, he inquired right away.

I cautiously pulled a card from my pocket.

“What is this…?”

Seeing the card I held, Cheonghae Ilgeom’s eyes widened in surprise.

The card in front of him was the “Ilgeol Card,” a token identical to the one I had received from Shin Yi, a representative of the Beggar Clan.

I had also shown it to the King previously, and it had been something I’d kept around, pondering when to make use of it.

‘…Will this work?’

Presenting this card to Cheonghae Ilgeom carried a significant meaning.

It was a very straightforward message.

The information about Biwaegun beneath Shinryong Temple came from the Beggar Clan.

Implicitly expressed, of course.

Though the card wasn’t directly provided by the Clan.

Even if Cheonghae Ilgeom managed to contact the Clan, he could interpret that someone from the Beggar Clan told me.

If this doesn’t work?

Then we cross that bridge when we get there.

If I had initially thought of the worst-case scenario, I would never have even considered trying to search for Biwaegun in the first place.

“…So you’ve got the Ilgeol Card.”

“Exactly.”

“Was it given to you directly by the Clan Leader?”

“I cannot say.”

“You do realize that whether or not you can speak on that issue isn’t something we can just gloss over?”

“I know that. But I still can’t say.”

“ ”

Looks like the situation was dire.

Honestly, I was scared he would figure me out, but if I elaborated further, I’d probably dig my own grave.

“Fine. For the time being, let’s set aside where you got your information. What did you see within the Biwaegun you claim to have found?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Ha…. Nothing at all?”

Of course, that was a lie.

After all that, there’s no way I wouldn’t have seen anything.

Even more frustrating was that I hadn’t even managed to inspect the items contained in there, nor did I bring any back.

But I had to keep that frustration hidden externally.

‘The Biwaegun is closed off.’

Afterward, I checked but could confirm the entrance where the Sleeping Dragon and I had entered was gone, with even the formation I had felt earlier completely vanished.

‘Was that the power of thoughts?’

Was it connected to the moment he tried to distort space altogether?

Did it erase the room that I assumed to be Biwaegun?

If so, that would imply—

‘It’s possible that location was a space created in the first place.’

The entrance had been real, and since the Sleeping Dragon recalled it too, it clearly wasn’t an illusion.

Not only had they created a space but had also seemingly frozen the time between their realm and ours.

Can this be considered “martial arts”?

‘Shin Noya claimed that it was all the power of Yeon Ilcheon.’

When I encountered Hwang Ah Bul Yeong, he had said everything I experienced was due to Yeon Ilcheon’s influence.

If it reached such a level, this was beyond human capabilities, wasn’t it?

‘Besides, how did I even manage to escape?’

The Sleeping Dragon once told me that shortly after my disappearance, he had been sitting in the corridor yawning, and when he opened his eyes, he was outside.

…

!

..

He claimed I had been lying behind him.

‘Time-wise, it would be at most ten seconds later.’

Considering the time spent conversing with thoughts, there’s no way that could have been the case.

Ultimately, it was clear that a discrepancy existed between the time in that space and the outside world.

‘If what I experienced wasn’t an illusion…’

I ought to consider it fortunate that I could say that.

The evidence that it wasn’t an illusion lay bound to my hand.

Though I had concealed it with my sleeve, Cheonghae Ilgeom wouldn’t have seen it.

“I’m pretty sure you heard from the Sleeping Dragon, but there wasn’t any time to look for anything after entering.”

I decided to turn this to my advantage.

That time difference was something I was the only one to perceive, and it could serve as my excuse.

Of course, whether he believed the Sleeping Dragon’s words or not would be up to Cheonghae Ilgeom.

If it were me, I wouldn’t believe it.

I would have hit them just to make them talk.

But that’s what you’d expect from my character.

“…So you’re saying you lost consciousness as soon as you entered?”

“Yes.”

That was not an easy statement to believe. Who on Earth would believe that?

“Then you’re saying you knew there was a Biwaegun beneath Shinryong Temple and that’s why you entered?”

“Yes.”

If I had already talked about Biwaegun with the Ilgeol Card, there was no avoiding this either.

Cheonghae Ilgeom fell silent as if he was deep in thought.

“…Since this involves a previously unknown Biwaegun, I’ll need to report this to the Alliance.”

He revealed that in a voice tinged with resignation.

“We will also discuss the treatment of Gwandosaeng with the Alliance afterward.”

If this goes poorly, I could be expelled from the Clan.

Moreover, there was a chance I’d be investigated by the Alliance as well.

‘They probably won’t go that far.’

Given that Biwaegun existed within the Shinryong Temple, the Martial Alliance wouldn’t want the story to blow up either.

What mattered was what I had found inside.

Even if they investigated, if I didn’t take anything from the Biwaegun and they didn’t discover its existence, surely they wouldn’t escalate things further.

“I will send a letter to the Gu Clan about this matter.”

‘…This could be problematic.’

If my father found out I caused a commotion, especially if it took place at Shinryong Temple…

‘I’m done for.’

There would be no dodging this easily.

With my history of causing trouble each time I visited, there was a high risk of severe punishment this time.

Getting scolded by my father would be quite a problem.

Angry fathers could be incredibly terrifying.

“…It’s late at night; let’s reconvene to confirm matters separately.”

As dawn was nearing, Cheonghae Ilgeom intended to send us back for now.

With a caution not to speak of the existence of Biwaegun, he seemed to imply that he wouldn’t let this issue slide easily.

‘Am I going to be expelled?’

The likelihood was significant.

Honestly, considering my viewpoint, being expelled might have been quite welcome, but it didn’t change the fact that I still had important matters to deal with regarding Jang Seonyeon and Cheol Jiseon.

In the meantime…

‘Something feels off with his hand.’

I sensed something odd about Cheonghae Ilgeom’s hand.

While it was partially cloaked in his sleeve and not clearly visible, something was definitely peculiar, though I couldn’t quite pinpoint it.

“Get going, then.”

As I eyed Cheonghae Ilgeom’s hand, the dismissal bell fell, indicating that I was to leave.

I expected to be interrogated, so I had prepared more to say, yet things passed less trouble than expected.

‘What’s up with him? He seems off.’

With a strained voice hinting exhaustion, Cheonghae Ilgeom wore a somewhat tired expression, which probably explained it.

His spirit wasn’t showing much on the surface, yet there was undoubtedly some difference.

Leaving Cheonghae Ilgeom behind, I got to my feet.

For now, it was best to consider that I had made it through.

After exchanging pleasantries with the Sleeping Dragon, I exited the building.

‘I’m back.’

Immediately upon stepping out, I encountered the Sword Demoness.

She must have been waiting outside all this time.

The Sleeping Dragon appeared slightly surprised to see her, then cast a strange glance my way.

“I will head out first.”

Those words were directed by the Sleeping Dragon to the Sword Demoness.

Noticing that she had business with me, he opted not to intervene.

The Sword Demoness seemed to be acting cautiously, trying not to raise any suspicions about her relationship with me.

Right after the Sleeping Dragon left, she quietly followed suit.

Her steps seemed slightly hurried as if she was trying to get away fast.

We arrived at the walking path where we had previously met.

“Um…”

“We have things to settle, right?”

“Couldn’t we talk later? It’s dawn already.”

At my words, the Sword Demoness looked at me with an expressionless face.

It was apparent that was not an option.

Instead of holding Cheonghae Ilgeom, she had tasked me directly with something.

To bring a treasure called Plum Blossom Stone from the Biwaegun.

In response, I had promised to bring it if I found such a treasure.

“I mentioned earlier that I didn’t have time to look for anything after entering the Biwaegun.”

Plum Blossom Stone? Yeah, right.

The space had almost devoured me whole.

“I apologize, Sword Demoness, but…”

“Show me your arm.”

The Sword Demoness’s succinct command made me flinch involuntarily.

“Lift your sleeve!”

‘Tsuk.’

Her confident words made me click my tongue inwardly.

Looks like I’ve been caught.

“Sword Demoness, you see…”

“You may deceive Cheonghae Ilgeom, but you cannot deceive me. A gaze from someone who has seen the Plum Blossom is not easily fooled.”

She seemed to have sensed the strong fragrance of the Plum Blossom clinging to my arm.

I had made an effort to hide it, but… Ah, looks like that didn’t work.

“…This isn’t the Plum Blossom Stone.”

“Show me.”

With her absolute tone, I could only sigh and roll up my sleeve.

Just then, the object bound to my arm revealed its true identity.

The Sword Demoness appeared momentarily at a loss for words upon seeing what was on my arm.

I told her before, but this wasn’t a Plum Blossom Stone.

It lacked the texture that could even bear the name of “stone.”

The item was a rose-colored substance, winding around my arm like a thin cloth.

‘This didn’t feel like it should have.’

It was definitely the item I had touched within Biwaegun, drawn in by Noya’s power.

But the sensation of it back then was that of a rounded orb that fit nicely in the palm of my hand.

Now here it was wrapped like bandages around my left arm.

Why was it on my left arm when I’m right-handed?

That oddity didn’t sit well with me.

 

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