Chapter 313: Vigo of the Dragon. (4)

Squish.

It’s a dark path where not a single light penetrates.

The only sound heard is the squelching sound of walking on a wet path.

I try to ignite a flame with my fingertips, but the flame ridiculously fails to illuminate the way ahead.

It seems something special is blocking the light.

“What is this?”

“I can’t see anything?”

It seems the Sleeping Dragon can’t see either.

How long have I been walking?

Is this even the right path towards Bigo in the first place?

I’m continuing to walk for now, but I couldn’t help the annoyance rising within me.

‘Why are all the Bigos and seals I encounter in such a mess?’

It was the same with Geumcheon Yeong-ga’s Bigo.

Every single one of them is strange.

I broke through the strange formation in the Divine Dragon Hall to get in.

It was difficult to be completely sure it was Bigo.

“I haven’t asked yet. What are we going to find?”

The Sleeping Dragon asks me belatedly. What an early question.

“Us? I’m the one going to find it.”

“Isn’t it a bit too much to draw the line now?”

The Sleeping Dragon says, chuckling.

How he knew about this place. Why I’m going.

What my objective is.

He doesn’t ask anything. That guy was always like that.

Should I say he’s the type to just do something if it piques his interest?

Otherwise, he’s usually half-dead most of the time.

Being sleepy.

Or lazy, that kind of feeling.

‘The problem is that the things that pique his interest are noticeably few.’

Is the Sleeping Dragon called the Sleeping Dragon for nothing?

Honestly, though, I’m more used to seeing him like this than in that state.

Squish.

‘Hmm.’

With every step I take, it feels like the floor is more filled with water.

What is this?

‘Is it really water?’

I bend down and touch the liquid.

It seemed like water.

It was colorless and odorless.

I didn’t have the guts to even taste it, so I decided to just assume it was.

Why was water flowing here, and where was it coming from?

That was all I was curious about.

While walking like that for a long time.

“Hmm.”

“I can see the end.”

At the end of the long passage.

A faint light was visible.

It seemed like that was the end.

That’s fortunate, since it doesn’t seem to be that deep underground.

I move my steps and examine my surroundings.

How far down have I come?

I couldn’t gauge it, but it was at least longer than expected.

‘Is it spatial distortion?’

It was highly likely the influence of the formation.

Even when I went down to Geumcheon Yeong-ga’s Bigo.

The path heading underground felt strangely long.

That must have been the same phenomenon.

‘…To think a formation could do something like that….’

It was a question then, and it still is.

Just who.

Could deploy such a formation, and who had deployed it.

‘Anyway. What about him.’

I’m concerned about the Sleeping Dragon following behind me.

If this path I’m walking now is truly the path towards Bigo.

Is it okay to bring the Sleeping Dragon along?

That seems a bit troublesome.

Or maybe not.

Go and give him something.

Will it be enough to bribe him into keeping quiet?

Thinking about it, I shake my head.

‘Why would I give him that?’

If I found it, it’s mine. Why would I share it?

‘As expected, it’s better to knock him out and go.’

If he seems like he’ll complain later.

I’ll just put a seal on him.

‘That’s what friends are for.’

Although that’s not what that phrase is meant for.

He’ll probably let it slide.

‘Come to think of it….’

Thinking about it, that bastard also used to get away with things like this in his past life.

• You fucking bastard…! I told you not to put a seal on me!

• If you don’t like it, break it and come out.

Whenever I tried to go somewhere somewhat dangerous.

He used to tie me up and prevent me from moving.

I understood his intention, but it was a situation that proceeded by semi-force, so I was quite pissed off.

What’s more, the seal I use was created by the Sleeping Dragon.

Although it only came out much later than now.

‘Even if I put a seal on him, he’ll figure out how to break it later.’

Even if it’s a modified version, since he made it himself.

The Sleeping Dragon will eventually break the seal.

Still, he’ll probably struggle for a while.

‘Then, as expected, I should knock him out first….’

As I thought about whether to surprise him, I turned around.

Thump.

“Huh?”

Thump thump!

The Sleeping Dragon was standing behind me, pounding his fist in the air.

It even made a sound.

“What are you doing?”

In the awkward situation, I asked.

[Ah, this is screwed.]

The Sleeping Dragon grins and utters resigned words.

Seeing that, I widened my eyes slightly.

Because I had roughly figured out the situation.

‘A secondary formation?’

Did they mix another formation inside this one?

‘If so.’

How did I pass through just now?

It must be set up so only I could pass through.

Or perhaps there’s a special device.

Since there was no way I would know about something like that.

‘…I’m really terrible when it comes to formations.’

In the end, I had to ask the Sleeping Dragon in front of me.

[Can’t you break through? Try breaking through like you did before.]

It seemed even sound was blocked, so I had to read his lips.

Telepathy obviously didn’t work.

At my words, the Sleeping Dragon makes a dumbfounded expression.

[Do you think that’s easy?]

[Seeing you do it, it looked easy.]

[Then you try doing it.]

[If I knew how to do that, would I have brought you here?]

[…]

Huh.

Although I couldn’t hear it, I could tell the Sleeping Dragon was laughing resignedly.

Tap tap.

I tapped the wall blocking the Sleeping Dragon with my hand.

It didn’t seem particularly thin.

Then…

[Step back a bit.]

[Huh?]

After saying that.

Whoosh-!

[…]

I clenched my fist.

Then the Sleeping Dragon, startled, widened the distance.

He seemed to have sensed what I was about to do.

I immediately used the momentum from my waist and lunged my fist towards the wall.

KWA-ANG-!

The moment my fist hit the wall, a violent sound echoed around, and vibrations spread.

Pitter-patter….

Seeing dust falling from the passage, it seemed the impact had registered.

[It’s not breaking.]

The wall remained intact.

At this level, it seems it can’t be broken by force for now.

[You’re crazy. You hit it?]

Seeing my actions, the Sleeping Dragon showed a rare, strong reaction.

Why is he acting like that?

[I have to try first to see if it breaks.]

[…If you knew even a little about formations, you wouldn’t use such a crazy method. Especially with a formation of this level, you should be even more careful.]

[Like I said earlier, if I knew, I wouldn’t have brought you!]

Thump thump.

As I tapped it again with my hand, not even a crack appeared on the wall.

‘Too bad.’

The reason I tried hitting this was nothing else.

‘If it doesn’t break at this level, then he won’t be able to break it either.’

I was checking whether the Sleeping Dragon could break through this wall.

Because if it could be broken at this level, the Sleeping Dragon could easily pass too.

[Can’t you solve this like you did before?]

Like how the Sleeping Dragon used a trick before entering the formation.

It was asking if he couldn’t find a gap and dismantle it.

At my words, the Sleeping Dragon shakes his head.

[I can’t. I can’t hear anything. This is a different formation than before.]

I wonder what crazy bastard solves formations by listening to them, but.

Since the Sleeping Dragon was actually doing it, I had nothing to say.

[…It means you can’t solve it.]

Nod.

Then it seemed okay to just leave it as it is.

Whether the Sleeping Dragon realized that too.

He suddenly plopped down on the floor without hesitation.

Wasn’t the floor filled with water…?

[What are you doing?]

[This is better than being knocked out. I’ll wait here.]

Seeing the Sleeping Dragon say that, I had to be quite surprised.

That bastard… realized I was going to knock him out.

He’s very quick-witted.

From my perspective, it was fortunate because he was saying he’d wait on his own.

[Couldn’t you just go out and wait?]

I suggest he could just go out and wait if that were the case, but.

The Sleeping Dragon looks towards the entrance we came through, then looks back at me and says.

[I can’t go out.]

[What?]

[It’s blocked now.]

At the Sleeping Dragon’s words, I tilt my head.

The entrance is blocked? As I looked bewildered, the Sleeping Dragon added an explanation.

[Something inside must be solved for it to open. Formations like this are usually like that.]

I listen to the Sleeping Dragon’s explanation, but.

I felt like the situation was turning strange.

‘How much time do I have left.’

The Sword Empress is currently holding onto Cheonghae Ilgeom.

I’m already in a hurry. And now I have to do something inside too.

The situation is really turning out terribly.

‘…Right, since when was I ever lucky.’

How many times have things gotten messed up and ruined with every task I do?

Since I have to try something first, I decided to head towards the exit, leaving the Sleeping Dragon behind.

I’m concerned about the Sleeping Dragon left alone, but.

Since he can’t move forward or backward, there’s nothing I can do.

I had to go in and think.

Since they say that’s the only way.

Squish.

The sound of water was still the same.

It grew stronger as I got closer to the door.

Should I say the water level is rising?

‘It feels like it’s up to my thighs.’

The water, which was up to my ankles at first.

Was now up to my thighs.

I had to know what this liquid was.

As far as I knew, there shouldn’t be any lakes around the Divine Dragon Hall.

Could it be groundwater?

Holding such thoughts.

I approached the entrance.

‘Inside…’

The environment beyond the entrance couldn’t be seen well.

Was this also the formation’s influence?

I reached out my hand first.

Rumble.

As my fingertips touched it, it spread a flow like a wave reaching out.

Without any sense of obstruction.

My hand naturally went beyond the entrance.

It seemed there was no other formation, unlike when blocking the Sleeping Dragon behind me.

If there was something a bit strange.

‘It feels like entering water.’

The feeling of passing through the entrance.

Perhaps because it was similar to the feeling of entering water, it felt a bit unpleasant.

Woooong.

I squeezed my body through the entrance.

Fortunately, I could escape that unpleasant feeling from just now.

Swaaaah.

As I went inside through the entrance.

I had to squint my eyes at the sudden pouring light.

It was a time that wouldn’t even pass a few seconds.

I forced my eyes, which had been squinting briefly, to adapt to the light.

I made them open, even by force.

“…!”

The environment inside the formation, which I saw with my eyes open.

Was at a level that made me gasp without realizing it.

‘What is this?’

Roots.

Parts that could be called tree roots are covering the room.

Unlike the passage I came through, it’s not dark.

Because of that, everything is visible, which is rather strange.

‘…There are no torches.’

There’s nothing that can illuminate the room.

What could be the reason for it being this bright underground?

Moreover.

‘Water…?’

The water that had risen slightly on the floor.

Could not pass through the entrance I came from.

Something.

Something is strange.

‘This.’

An unknown strangeness entered me, so I used my foot to splash the water on the floor into the air.

“…!”

For a moment, it seemed like water droplets splashed.

Then they stopped dead in the air.

‘No way, is this…’

It’s a sensation I felt before.

Where was it? In Hanam, the same place as here.

Or rather, in Shaolin, a bit far from here to call it the same place.

A colleague of Elder Shin.

Called a hero of the past.

It was the sensation I felt when I met Huangfabuling, Tieying.

A strangeness as if time had stopped.

The feeling I felt then is the same as now.

That means.

‘This space too. Does it mean it’s related to their work.’

I can’t be sure, but.

Since experiences like this aren’t common, I could predict.

The range of this distortion.

Is probably around this room, beyond the entrance.

‘What’s the condition of the room?’

Unlike the water in the passage that reached my thighs.

The water only slightly wets my feet.

Among the tree roots covering the room.

An unknown cloth was covering the items.

This seems to be.

‘Bigo, I think.’

If it looks like this and isn’t Bigo, then what else could it be?

Furthermore, in Geumcheon Yeong-ga, there was nothing but a large snake.

They say that was Bigo too.

Even looking at the condition of the cloth.

It feels clean and like not much time has passed.

Is it thanks to the current formation, which seems to have stopped time?

‘Good.’

It wasn’t bad.

This means the condition of the stored items could be quite good.

Swallowing my saliva for a moment.

I approached the piled-up items.

Since I can’t take all of them, I have to take only the necessary items.

‘Necessary items.’

What I need.

It’s likely the ratio of elixirs will be high, but.

Since I don’t know what might be there, I have to search while examining.

‘…If the flow has stopped, do I have some leeway with time?’

I could think so, but.

Since I didn’t know the situation outside for sure, it wasn’t the time to just hesitate.

‘Was it like this back then too?’

Around the time the Heavenly Demon discovered this place in my past life.

It didn’t seem to have this kind of feeling.

After I found this place.

And between when the Heavenly Demon discovered this place later.

What could have happened?

Even I didn’t know about that.

‘I also have to find what the Sword Empress asked for.’

What did she say?

Was it the Plum Blossom Stone?

I’m not sure since I didn’t hear its appearance properly, but.

She said it was a treasure of Hwasan.

I don’t know why the Sword Empress thought something like that would be here, but.

Then the Sword Empress’s purpose.

Is it to retrieve Hwasan’s treasure that might be buried here?

‘Thinking about it that way, it has some validity.’

But it was also quite ambiguous to say it was just that.

Because it didn’t seem like the existence called the Sword Empress would go this far for him.

‘What’s so special about a treasure.’

Although it’s said to be like a symbol.

It’s ultimately just an item.

‘If I think about something like Noea, it’s not entirely like that…’

While there are treasures that are practically helpful to warriors.

There are also usually items that are not.

Those are usually called symbolic treasures.

The treasures I brought to Hwasan.

Or the treasures stored in the clans are usually like that.

‘I guess I have no right to talk, finding this place to loot some treasures.’

I felt an unpleasant feeling, like I had become a grave robber.

Or rather, not ‘like I became’, but ‘I am’.

‘There’s no owner anyway. It’s my will.’

I decided to just think that way.

It would be better for me to take it than for the Heavenly Demon to discover it later and snatch it away.

It would be much better for me to take it.

‘First, I need to check what’s here.’

I reached out my hand to search from the nearest part first.

Because I have to peel off the cloth first to know anything.

Just as I was about to grab the cloth covering the items.

• Stop.

Thud.

From behind my back.

A voice was heard.

It was a thick and deeply low voice.

I immediately wrapped my inner energy and turned around.

“…”!

There, without my knowledge, a person was standing.

No.

‘…Should I call this a person?’

To be precise, it would be correct to call it a human form.

Because the person in front of my eyes was somehow semi-transparent, making it hard to call them fully human.

‘…What is this now? Could it be a ghost?’

While my body trembled slightly, overcome with fear without realizing it.

The unknown being in front of me looked at me and opened its mouth.

• You… what are you?

He looked to be slightly over twenty years old.

His hair was blonde, reminding me of Wisla.

Seeing his firmly built body, he looked like someone of the same martial arts lineage as me.

This means at least.

He’s not an ordinary person.

Even that blonde man.

Was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

Who are you?

“…That’s what I want to ask?”

It’s what I want to ask more.

What is his identity?

Thinking if he might be an enemy, and if I should assume a combat stance.

The man looks at me and opens his mouth again.

• You are….

He examined me up and down briefly.

Then he says to me with somewhat cold eyes.

• You’re not Sincheol.

It was a familiar name.