Book 13 Chapter 10
The dungeon!
A dank basement where no sunlight can reach.
A thick, mossy, cold iron gate.
A key was wedged between the locks, which were yellowed and rusted from moisture.
The musty, rotten smell hangs in the air like a haze, and the damp, stale air naturally raises a person's eyebrows.
It was a thunder jade that no one was allowed to enter, and one had to jump through a lot of hoops just to visit, but that was no barrier to the old man.
The gummy, coppery key slides into the hole, and soon the key and lock are engaged.
"Bam!"
The owner of the key strained his hand, and a harsh sound rang out, opening the lock.
Yay!
The stones screamed with a deafening noise, and the iron gate slowly opened with a heavy friction.
"Come on in."
The jailer with the keys struck the most polite posture he could muster. He couldn't tell exactly who the old man was, but the papers he brought with him were clearly stamped with the seal of a higher power than he dared to look at.
It's easy to get in, but hard to get out, and now a solitary cell has been opened to harsh music.
"Who? "
The owner of this dark and dingy solitary cell, the former Grand Master of the Iron Scrolls, Gu Tianhua, asked without looking up, but the visitor merely stared, unresponsive.
The jailer quickly lit a torch in the cell. After being in darkness for so long, the netherworlder frowned heavily, unable to adjust to the too-bright light.
"Nice work. I'd like to be alone with you, so step away!"
"Yes!"
At the old man's gesture, the jailer bowed politely and stepped aside.
"……."
A moment of silence, like the wind in his ears. Sitting upright on a hard, cold iron bed that never seemed to be anything close to a comfortable night's sleep, Gu Tianhak finally lifted his head to look at his longtime visitor.
The voice that had just answered and retreated was short, but he recognized it as belonging to the jailer. To hear the jailer's voice ringing out so respectfully from this golden cage was harder than a star in the sky.
His gaze shifted a little higher, catching a glimpse of a chest-length gray beard, and only then could he make out his visitor's features.
"Who are you……."
It was a new face.
The old man huffs and laughs.
"If I do this, will you remember? "
The old man swiped his right hand across his face.
Gu Tianhak nearly snapped the chopsticks that had been his favorite eating utensils for so long in half. His eyes widened.
Kudos!
He hurriedly unbuckled the pseudo-supine and rolled off the bed, placing his forehead on the floor in a bow.
The old man was completely unconcerned by his behavior, pacing back and forth inside the thunderjade. The old man's gaze pierced through the darkness.
The walls within the thunder jar were even more dense than when Qi Shihan had visited. The old man shook his head with a satisfied smile.
"You've gotten a lot better."
"Wow, it's Kwang-young, Tae-jon! "
In a trembling voice, full of emotion and turbulence, Gu Tianhak answered. It was so ridiculous, so ridiculous, so ridiculous, but it was so cloudy that I felt like I was going to cry.
A tear in the eye of Gu Tianhua, the former master of the Iron Scaffold, one of the Black Heavenly League's most powerful armies and a name synonymous with fear……. It was outrageous, and it shouldn't have happened, but it did.
"Hehe, it looks like it's raining!"
But Koo Chun-hak understood: He didn't want her to see his tears.
"It's been a while."
A stern but compassionate voice came from the old man's mouth. No one could guess his age, but the old man's face didn't show any twisted wrinkles, as if crushed by the weight of time.
"Ji, it's been a decade since I've seen Jonan in person."
"Has it really come to that……."
The Old Man was the sun, the idol of the Netherworld. If it were not for him, there would be no Kukcheon, no one to lead the Iron Scaffold, or even the Kukcheon that once led it. It was through the Old Man's teachings that he was able to become the master of the Iron Scaffold.
"I'm here because I have a favor to ask of you."
"If you ask me to……."
It was a wonder that this old man, a godlike figure with unlimited and absolute power, had anything to ask of anyone, when all he had to do was give orders and everything would be in order. But Gu Tianhak had no right to ask questions. He was only obligated to answer.
"Just give the command. I will fulfill it by the name of God!"
Bowing so low that his forehead touched the cold stone floor, he answered.
"There's a place you need to go! "
The old man kept his explanation short and simple. The old man's demeanor was calm and serene, but Gu Tianhua was anything but. As he listened, his face began to change, taking on an increasingly strange glow.
Gu Tianhak knew. He knew what he was feeling these days. And he knew what it would take to make it go away. He realized. This wasn't going to end until he was done with him!
And then…, the opportunity came.
"…can you do it?"
The old man, having told his story, asked. Gu Tianhua bowed his head and once again offered his utmost respect and reverence.
"Take up the mantle!"
It was short, but it implied all his will.
The old man nodded with a benevolent smile of satisfaction.
"You are now released!"
The old man declared. It was then.
"I'm sorry, but I have a favor to ask."
Gu Tianhua's face was very serious as he spoke carefully.
"Something? Is there anything in particular you need? I'll be as accommodating as I can be."
After a moment's hesitation, Gu Tianhak finally spoke as if he had made up his mind.
"Can I take…, these chopsticks?"
A smile appeared on the old man's face as he alternated between the chopsticks and the face of Gu Tianhua for a moment. He burst out laughing.
Koo Chen-hak's face flushed with embarrassment.
No visitors
No inmates
No inmates
No official record of that day was left in the Golden Thunderjade Journal.
It was a week before the delegation from the Heavenly Martial Academy departed, and it happened in the Black Heavenly Blind Gold Marrow.