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“Help me!”

As I stared blankly at the Zhuge Clan, I blurted out that desperate request.

What does it even matter why they’re at Golden Crow Island? The important thing right now is to survive this ridiculous mess I’m in. Zhuge is the heretical sect’s master and a master of evil arts. He’s bound to be useful somehow.

Then, with a grin, Zhuge said, “Bow down.”

“Huh?”

“Prostrate yourself and beg for my help.”

“……”

This guy must be insane!

My anger flared up, but I had no intention of listening to the ramblings of a lunatic. If it came to that, I’d rather just end it all than grovel before that maniac. I gritted my teeth and replied, “No way!”

Zhuge’s eyes lit up, and he said, “Pass!”

“Huh?!”

In the next moment, Zhuge unfurled a scroll that seemed to explode outward, filling the space like a storm. Just as it encased me, leaving me unable to see beyond my nose, I heard the wailing voice of Son Tian-Jun.

[Where are you, human?!!]

Whoosh! Whoosh!

There was a sound like wind tearing, and I glimpsed a red aura racing past outside the scroll. The sight of Son Tian-Jun soaring on a tsunami was pure terror. After a while, the noise subsided, and Zhuge’s voice echoed, “解.”

At that single word, the scroll surrounding me vanished as if washed away. Zhuge, rolling the scroll back into his pocket, chuckled.

“See? That idiot didn’t even think to hide.”

“……”

“Since I saved you, you could at least tell me your name?”

After a moment’s hesitation, I replied, “…So Woong.”

“What a farmer-ish name! Hehe, you really are human.”

“What was that about passing just now?”

At my question, Zhuge shrugged.

“It’s no fun helping someone who’s polite. It’s way more entertaining when they talk nonsense.”

I was flabbergasted. “Normally, wouldn’t you kneel in that situation?! What’re you thinking?!”

“Oh, that could be a thing~” Zhuge squinted.

“You realized you couldn’t fight against Son Tian-Jun’s tsunami, and you didn’t kneeled to me out of frightened for your life. You knew your skill difference well. That’s just delightful!”

Realization hit me—Zhuge wasn’t just some crazy guy. He was unexpectedly sharp, understanding that my earlier positioning was a desperate and calculated response. And if he knew that my Broken Blood Transformation technique was a mind control technique, he must have gauged my martial arts level already.

As I regarded him with caution, Zhuge gave a devilish smile.

“There’s a renowned spirit beast hiding around you, huh? What kind of creature travels with you?”

“I don’t see why you need to know.”

“Oh, I think I do. You never know, I might just save you.”

I shot back, “If it’s not necessary, I’m happy to just die!”

As our eyes locked, Zhuge flinched, forming a truly astonished expression. Next to him stood a chilling beauty, Tao King Byeok Ji-sang, who said, “Let’s go.”

Zhuge retorted, “No, I’m helping this guy. You go ahead.”

Tao King Byeok Ji-sang turned his gaze toward Zhuge.

“What’s with this whim?”

“Hehe… We’ll meet again later.”

“Do as you like.”

With a whoosh, Byeok Ji-sang disappeared into thin air. But no matter how I looked at it, that was definitely a spatial transport technique or something special, leaving me doubting my eyesight. Did the infamous Tao King Byeok Ji-sang, known as a freak gambler in the martial arts community of Sichuan, possess such abilities?

‘And what about their relationship? It’s all so unclear.’

Zhuge and Byeok Ji-sang were on familiar terms, yet Byeok Ji-sang showing no loyalty to help Zhuge didn’t add up. It left me in a haze about their ambiguous connection—were they lovers, comrades, or something even weirder?

I turned to Zhuge and said, “Like I said, you don’t have to go out of your way to help me.”

“Hehehe, you…” Zhuge regarded me with manic eyes.

“How can you hold that kind of gaze?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just now, when I looked into your eyes, you showed no fear of death! It’s not like you forgot it or hid it like a martial arts master, and you didn’t transcend it like some high monk either. Your eyes simply understand the essence of death.”

“……”

“What the heck are you?”

“A living being can’t just have that look!”

I fell silent, ‘Understanding the essence of death?’

My lack of fear of dying came from the fact that I would be reborn. And my more fundamental fear comes from ‘not ending’. That makes me occasionally view death as a nuisance. It was a realization I hadn’t contemplated before, but to Zhuge, it seemed like profound awareness of death.

After pondering for a while, I said, “If you intend to help me, then see it through to the end. Otherwise, there’s no way I can trust a suspicious character like you.”

“That’s a solid attitude. Very good.” Zhuge smiled faintly.

“I will help you. But the deadline is until you return to the earth.”

“Thank you.”

He chuckled, “First, I want to know how you ended up here.”

“Now is not the time for leisurely explanations. Soon, Son Tian-Jun will come back here looking for me.”

“Ah, right. Son Tian-Jun is bothersome, so let’s set a place first.”

Zhuge pulled out two sealed small bottles from his robe and tossed one my way, saying, “Drink it.”

“What is this?”

“Honey wine.”

He popped the cap and downed some, bathing his body in a sudden golden light.

With a flash, golden Zhuge leapt forward, where a strangely formed demon swooped in and grabbed his shoulder. In an instant, both vanished.

“……?!”

What the—?

But I couldn’t just stand here. After standing dumbfounded for a moment, I uncapped the honey wine and peered inside to find a suspicious liquid sloshing around.

‘Eh, it’s supposed to be ten-thousand toxin resistant, so it won’t kill me, right?’

I swallowed hard, then chugged the honey wine. It tasted as sweet as honey. Soon I felt a gentle golden light enveloping my body, and I leapt forward.

Thwack!

At that moment, I felt something grip my shoulder again, and the demon’s sound echoed with a warp in the very space itself.

Swish!

“Gah!”

When I regained my senses, I found myself thrown about somewhere. A dust-laden building loomed, filled with piles of what looked like materials and supplies. Just as I was piecing together that I’d arrived in some warehouse, Zhuge’s voice echoed in.

“Where are we?”

I looked up. Zhuge was grinning atop a mound of supplies. I glanced around and replied, “Not sure…”

“This is my secret location in the Phantom Realm, not far from where we were at Golden Crow Island.”

“Phantom Realm?”

“You don’t know what the Phantom Realm is?”

“I know a bit, but…”

The Phantom Realm, according to Ji-seon Mang-nyang’s knowledge, was a place where materials and spirits were so unstable that everything changed constantly. It was closely related to the dreams of sentient beings, and supposedly couldn’t be accessed through normal means. It was also said to be home to many illusionary beasts.

Zhuge rubbed the head of a bizarre beast that was nestling next to him and said, “You need to drink honey wine to handle that little guy crossing dimensions at super light speed. You just consumed a precious treasure of the heretical sect, So Woong.”

“What are you saying?”

“You dimwit. Are you pretending not to get it? This cute little thing helped us escape from Golden Crow Island!”

Rug-gug-gug!

The odd cry came from the creature, which had no eyes and bat-like wings, looking as if it combined a bee and a reptile. It snuggled against Zhuge’s hand, clearly affectionate.

‘This creature can move at super light speed?’

I started to grasp the situation. This creature’s ability was to traverse dimensions at super light speed, and that honey wine I just drank protected living beings at that speed. I stared silently at Zhuge as he said, “Kiddo, how will you pay for the honey wine?”

I protested with my last ounce of strength, “As you said, we’re in the Phantom Realm. Until I return to the real world, I owe you nothing!”

“Huh? Just because it’s the Phantom Realm, it doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous! The beasts living here have their own temper.”

Zhuge grumbled as I retorted, “If you can cross dimensions, why did we come to the Phantom Realm instead of just going back to the real world?”

Zhuge blinked slowly.

“Why would I?”

“Huh?”

“The real world is boring! Full of filthy humans, and the whole world is cramped in China. I don’t want to go back to that junk.”

In that moment, I felt the sincerity in Zhuge’s words. I finally realized what he must be thinking about why he’s here.

[The afterlife exists, but I wasn’t there. I made another passage to reside elsewhere, watching from the sidelines. My soul had been preserved in silence all this time.]

[Another world exists, different from this one. Blood Realm, Phantom Realm, Asura Realm, and so forth… I found those worlds far more fascinating than the human world.]

Our past conversations, tinged with nonsensical chatter, now made a bit more sense.

I had once dismissed them as Zhuge’s nonsense or delusions.

But that wasn’t the case. Zhuge rejected the predetermined lifespan of humans, learned magic from the heretical sect, honed his ability to shift dimensions, and was having a grand time hopping between realms like it was a party.

So the Zhuge before me wasn’t simply physical but spiritual, and this base was likely a passage he had constructed for surveillance. I was finally beginning to understand just how he had lived until now.

After deep contemplation, I said, “If you take me back to the human realm, my companion, Mangnyang, will thank you.”

“Mangnyang? What?” Zhuge’s expression suddenly twisted in disgust. He glared at me with disdain and asked, “Don’t tell me you’re talking about my nephew’s friend?”

I pretended ignorance.

“Nephew? Why is Mangnyang your nephew?”

“Only the odd one that uses that name is my nephew Hyun.”

With that, Zhuge’s eyes gleamed.

“Spill the truth. Otherwise, I might just toss you into the other realm for a hundred years.”

“Gah…” I reluctantly began telling Zhuge about Mangnyang and how we were companions, explaining how I ended up in this place. Listening intently, Zhuge remarked, “Interesting. I should visit Hyun again after a long time.”

“Wait…”

“What is it?”

I met Zhuge’s gaze directly and pressed, “I want to know why you were with that woman at Golden Crow Island. Who was she?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Are you unable to disclose it?”

He laughed dismissively.

“No reason to tell you, a weirdo asking for dirt. If you want to know, fork over some dough.”

“You’ll tell me if I pay?”

Zhuge regarded me with curious eyes.

“For a dimwit, your thirst for knowledge is impressive.”

He tossed another bottle of honey wine at me.

“Pfft… right now, just shut up and follow me. I first need to check whether you’re a companion of Hyun or not.”

 

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