Chapter 75

Chapter 75

“It is here!”

“This is it.”

Using the newly acquired map, the two quickly found their way. Although it was a bit far from where the manor had been, the map was so accurate that they did not get lost.

Upon arriving there, what they saw was none other than a cave hidden by bushes. There was not even a sign of any beasts, and the inside was pitch-black, making it seem like they would need to carry a torch.

Gwon Mu-jin tore his upper garment and found a piece of wood to make a torch.

“I will go first, so follow me closely.”

“Yes!”

Gwon Mu-jin replied with an excited expression. Since the hope of obtaining Geum Wang-su's treasure had arisen, he could not help but feel strength filling his entire body.

Since they had found it together, would he not share a little bit?

What would be the first thing to do once he received it?

Since it would be a massive amount, let's start by gulping down all kinds of famous wines!

Even though they had not found it yet, the mere thought of it kept his joy from fading. Meanwhile, Dan Woo-hyun stepped inside the cave.

The sound of their footsteps echoed heavily throughout the cave.

The further they went inside, the more a cold chill swept over them. Their bodies cooled down rapidly and a coldness set in, to the point where it was hard to believe they had been sweating from the heat just moments ago.

Once they had walked inside for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea,

Squelch!

The ground was so muddy that walking was difficult.

“It is mud…”

“…Yes…”

Mud inside a cave?

Although no trace of landslide or sediment could be seen anywhere, mud filled the entire surroundings to the point where their feet sank deep.

Because of that, the coldness pressed in even more.

His pants were already a mess due to the mud.

Still, the two walked in silence.

For if they passed through this mud field, they would obtain Geum Wang-su's treasure. It was difficult, but would it not bring a sense of accomplishment in its own way?

Compared to what they could obtain, this amount of trouble was nothing.

As they stepped through the mud for another fifteen minutes or so, the mud finally disappeared and a normal stone path appeared.

“Sigh… I do not know why there is mud in a place like this.”

“Landslides must have washed in long ago. Time passed, and those traces have disappeared now…”

In fact, Dan Woo-hyun could not hide his wonder either. No matter how much time had passed, he had not found even a trace of dirt entering when they came into the cave.

While inwardly feeling that something was strange, he did not stop moving forward.

The cave was deeper than they had thought.

In fact, the further they went inside, the narrower the interior became and the lower the ceiling grew. To pass through narrow spots, they had to squeeze through crevices in the rocks, and to pass through low spots, they had to squat down and crawl on the ground.

From the cave entrance to where they were now.

It felt as if they had entered for about an hour, but in reality, barely thirty minutes had passed. Because the path was that rough and winding, their bodies and minds were becoming exhausted.

“Pant… pant… pant, My Lord, wait… for me…”

“Ahem… hurry along.”

Dan Woo-hyun and Gwon Mu-jin were crawling on the floor.

The ceiling was so low that they bumped their heads whenever they raised them. Furthermore, the stalactites were so sharp that Gwon Mu-jin had his clothes torn and was cut by them multiple times.

Of course, Dan Woo-hyun was not much different.

Because his body was secretly protected by internal energy, he was not cut and did not bleed, but his clothes were already in tatters and his face was covered in dirt.

They crawled like that for a long time.

Whenever they saw snakes along the way, they caught and beat them in horror, rolling, getting cut, and falling as they moved for a long time.

The appearance of the two quickly became miserable.

To anyone looking, they now seemed like beggars.

“…”

“…”

Before long, there was not even a word spoken.

Dan Woo-hyun, who was leading the way, showed no change in expression, as if he were somewhat heated. It seemed that he was only moving forward because he had come this far; otherwise, he would have destroyed the entire cave.

On the contrary, Gwon Mu-jin was exhausted and worn out.

After pushing himself so hard without even a proper rest, he was crawling, getting cut, ducking, and falling inside this godforsaken cave, making him desperately want to throw everything away and go back.

If not for Dan Woo-hyun, that is.

“It seems we are almost there.”

Hearing those words, Gwon Mu-jin mustered more strength. The thought that he would soon lay hands on a massive treasure flashed in his mind again, and he moved by putting force into his trembling legs.

They moved for about another cup of tea's time.

Eventually, a low cavern where it was impossible for them to even stand up at their height revealed itself.

“…”

“Ah… this is really driving me crazy…”

Dan Woo-hyun said nothing, and Gwon Mu-jin ground his teeth.

It was a cavern so low that they could barely move by squatting. It might have been better to crawl on the ground instead, but sharp stones were scattered all over the floor.

If they crawled in a prone position, they would end up in tatters.

The problem was not that.

Contrary to their expectation that this cavern would be the last, there was more path ahead. In fact, nothing could be seen here right now.

Grind!

And the sound of Dan Woo-hyun grinding his teeth was heard.

Gwon Mu-jin looked at him in surprise.

Though expressionless, he seemed truly angry.

Gwon Mu-jin, who had been about to vent his complaints, shut his mouth tight. He knew well that in times like this, the best policy was to cater to Dan Woo-hyun as much as possible.

“We… we are almost there, right? I will also buck up.”

“…Right.”

In a blunt tone, Dan Woo-hyun and Gwon Mu-jin began to duck-walk. No one would ever think that this was the appearance of Gwon Mu-jin, famous in the Central Plains as the Twin Daggers, and the one who had obtained the title of Martial God for the first time in the history of the Central Plains.

Heave-ho, heave-ho!

The two moved forward in a squatting position like children receiving punishment, and soon left the cavern to move along the path ahead.

Moving along in a squat, the two felt the path becoming increasingly difficult. The low passage showed no sign of ending, and to make matters worse, they were climbing an uphill slope.

“Pant… pant… pant…”

From behind, Gwon Mu-jin's groans were heard continuously. Although Dan Woo-hyun leading ahead still did not shed a single drop of sweat, his face had turned red, showing how annoyed he was.

Then, suddenly looking ahead, Dan Woo-hyun stopped in his tracks. The path in front of him was blocked. There was no longer any place to move forward.

Frowning, he looked to the side, and a faint drawing of unknown origin could be seen.

“Pant, pant… what, what is that?”

“It is a drawing. It points to something.”

Dan Woo-hyun stared intently at it. One was an arrow. It could be faintly seen pointing toward the blocked stone, and looking elsewhere, a drawing in the shape of a lion appeared clearly whenever the torchlight shone on it.

However, since the meaning was unknown and merely sitting in a squat was a torment, Dan Woo-hyun quickly reached out his hand and struck the wall.

Boom!

With a loud noise, the wall burst open.

The entire cave shook violently as the sound spread everywhere.

Feeling anxious that it might collapse, Gwon Mu-jin looked around and rolled his body to follow Dan Woo-hyun as he exited.

Soon, he gathered himself and looked around.

“…”

“…Huh?”

And then they saw.

This somehow terribly familiar feeling.

A landscape they seemed to have seen a lot.

Gwon Mu-jin stared at the stone statue of the lion standing blankly, tilted his head, and slowly moved to inspect the surroundings. Then, as if realizing something, he pressed his brow tightly and looked at Dan Woo-hyun.

“Say nothing.”

“Yes…”

He saw Dan Woo-hyun taking deep breaths over and over again.

Here was there.

Yes, that manor.

The dried-up pond.

They had broken through the stone built around that pond. In short, they had gone down and then returned here after suffering all that hardship.

“Haha…”

The sense of futility was unspeakable, and the annoyance reached the brink of explosion. Heavens, it was the first time seeing Dan Woo-hyun so angry.

Had Geum Wang-su been in this place, not even a trace of him would have remained.

“Lion… lion…”

Dan Woo-hyun muttered repeatedly. He seemed to have decided to throw the thought of being played out of his mind and focus on the goal for now.

He quietly stared at the stone statue of the lion and kicked it.

Boom!

With a grand noise, fragments scattered in all directions. With Dan Woo-hyun's skill, he could have easily turned it into powder, but perhaps he was venting his anger, for his kick was quite powerful.

Gwon Mu-jin, sweating coldly, looked on awkwardly before his eyes went wide. From inside the broken stone statue of the lion, a large chest revealed itself.

Both Dan Woo-hyun and Gwon Mu-jin were surprised.

Because of that, he uttered words that should not have been said.

“Why did you not try breaking it sooner?”

“What?”

“Nothing…”

Grind!

Dan Woo-hyun ground his teeth.

When they first found the map to the cave, it would have been enough to just break the statue. That meant there was no need to go through all that hardship inside the cave and return to this place.

The more he thought about it, the more his irritation surged.

It was the first time since the Blood Demon that he felt this angry.

Yet, perhaps because he had obtained what he wanted, he felt his anger soften slightly. A treasure as large as the hardship they endured had better be there.

Otherwise, that man Geum Wang-su.

He would chew him to pieces.

Dan Woo-hyun caught his breath slightly and swung his foot.

Thud! With a short sound, he struck the chest. That lightly delivered kick ruthlessly broke the lock and revealed what was inside.

For a moment.

The two shut their mouths.

No one uttered a word.

They were surprised by the gold and silver treasures before their eyes.

The glittering items dazzled the eyes, to the point where even an emperor who ruled a nation would lose his mind.

In the center lay a carefully folded letter.

Dan Woo-hyun chuckled.

Then he slowly reached out and picked up the letter in the chest. After unfolding it carefully and reading its contents, Dan Woo-hyun looked up at the sky.

Then, looking down at the ground, he calmed his breathing.

Rubbing his eyes once to check if this was a dream or reality, he read the letter again.

[Blank! Better luck next time]

Having read it, Dan Woo-hyun destroyed the chest.

Two copper coins that had been inside the chest flew up into the air.