Book 29 Chapter 3

The darkness at the end of the tunnel

-Runners and Waiters

The secret passageway beneath the Xin Yongsan drinking vessel was longer than I expected.

It had been completely shut down since it was built and had never been used, so there was a lot of dust in the passageways, and you could clearly see your footprints every time you walked through.

His nose tickled from the rising dust, but he had to stifle a sneeze for fear of giving away his position. Continuing to walk through the dark, stuffy passageways with her breathing muffled was more of a struggle than she expected. I felt even more anxious after being separated from my trusty windbreaker and moral support, Yeomdo and Bingum Nosa.

'How nice it would be to have Gung Sang by my side at times like this…….'

Why does he always have to be around at times like this? Qin Lie was instantly irritated, and at the same time, he felt a terrible sense of loneliness. Even though he wasn't alone, even though he had other colleagues from the Heavenly Martial Academy, he suddenly felt as if half of his heart was missing.

'I wonder if the ambassador feels as lonely as I do? Even if such an ambassador is not by my side…….'

With his hand over his heart, the spirit lifted his gaze to see Na Yerin's back, walking with a stride that showed no sign of hesitation. There was a strong sense of certainty in each step. It was as if she was telling him to follow her in peace.

'You'd have to be more nervous than a whale's tendons to date a big brother. Do I really have to have that much balls?'

Qin Lie couldn't help but click his tongue at Na Yerin's audacity. He was strangely relieved to see the ambassador looking so impressive.

'Then why am I so anxious…….'

He endured the anxiety, thinking that if he could get away from the danger, it would go away. But the farther he traveled from the goblet, the more the anxiety grew, and the more it occupied the center of his mind.

Meanwhile, Na Yerin, who was walking confidently in the lead, was not as relaxed as Qixil Qinling thought.

"I haven't heard from the two elders who said they'd catch up with us soon, and I haven't heard from the two Bing swordsmen either……. It would be pointless to wait for them already.''

Na Yerin had a hunch. She 'knew' they weren't coming back anytime soon. Knowing doesn't make it any easier, it just adds to the anxiety, but somehow, you just have to know.

"It must be the godmother of the Shinmaga.

No matter how strong the Divine Eight Sages were, it would be difficult for them to defeat the Salt and Ice Swords alone. But…….

'If the godmother, called the Great Mother, had come forward herself…….'

Yidou and the Ice Sword Master may have already left their bodies, never to return.

……forever.

In that case, the remaining members of the rescue squad are probably good.

'Ryuyeon… If you were by my side now, I wouldn't be so lost…….'

Na Yerin was startled by the thought.

When did she find herself leaning on a man so naturally? I thought men were the most unreliable thing in the world…….

Na Yerin tucked her tail and steadied her weakening heart against the thought of continuing.

For now, he trusted himself. She wanted to be strong enough to make Bi Ryuyeon feel safe when she was alone, strong enough that he wouldn't have to worry about her, strong enough that he could leave the people he had to protect to her. And most of all, she wanted to protect the people she was with now.

"Let's hurry up the road a bit more."

To those who had begun to pause in the empty hollow in the middle of the secret passage, Na Yerin spoke in a quiet voice.

"Shouldn't we stop here and wait for the laborers?"

Na Yerin shook her head as she listened to the words of General Dam, the governor and de facto administrator of the fifth stronghold, New Yongsheng Guest House.

"No. If we linger here and run into a pursuing party, you two will be in trouble by then."

"But……."

Minister Dam was still hesitating, and Na Yerin spoke to him in a low but firm voice.

"I have to go, now."

Her voice was flat, but there was a mystery to it, a certain certainty.

"They'll be right behind us, let's hurry."

Soon after, Na Yerin said, her voice softer.

'Soon… because……. You know you won't be able to keep up with…….'

A wry, self-deprecating smile crossed Na Yerin's face for a moment, but it was gone before anyone noticed.

"That's right, that's right, that's right, that's right, that's the exit. There aren't many of them, but they're all set up to outrun your pursuers, so follow carefully."

Leading the way again, Damhwan's pace had quickened without him realizing it.

"Come on. Hurry up, big sister."

Na Yerin said, looking back at the spirit that hadn't left her side but had followed her silently.

"Uh, well, yeah……. Let's do that."

Na Yerin, who had been acting as if she were oblivious to the spirit's presence, as if she were in a trance, suddenly turned around and spoke to it, causing the spirit to stutter in surprise. What came out was another half-word.

'Why is this, really? I'm so flustered that I'm stuttering, and I'm waiting again…….'

But the spirit's half-sisterly response didn't anger Na Yerin, who merely smiled wryly.

He smiled, as if to say that was enough for now.

"This is crazy.

If he had tried to tell her to look at it, to tell her she was wrong, or to impose his will on her, she would have protested violently. But the deep smile that told me not to worry, that it understood everything, I couldn't even formulate a word of retort.

"Protect that child, and if you don't, you'll probably regret it for the rest of your life! I guarantee it. Don't make the mistake of anyone else. You may have to live with it forever."

His words echoed in her ears like a thorn in the side of her head as they parted.

"No, no, no, no, no, that can't be right, that can't be right, that can't be right!

The spirit shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake off a ghost that had stuck in his ear.

"What is true and what is false? I'm not even sure who I am anymore.

As time went on, the confusion only intensified.

Cold.

A chill ran through her body and mind, as if the cold darkness was eating away at her spirit. The spirit wanted to stay put.

It was excruciatingly lonely.

I felt like I was floating alone in the middle of nowhere in the dark of night.

Then, a warm hand gripped her shoulder as she shivered with chills.

"You're blue in the face, what's wrong, sister?"

The angry and startled spirit came to his senses, and the darkness around him brightened somewhat.

"Yerin……."

It was Na Yerin's hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, no. Nothing. Just a little chill."

The spirit jerked his head to the other side. Something stirred in his chest.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"No, of course I don't mind. If you don't mind, why are you bothering me?"

'This is not this…….'

I screamed at the top of my lungs, but inside, I was full of regret.

Na Yerin's eyes were still filled with compassion for her as she looked at the spirit.

"But you have tears in your eyes?"

His tone was very concerned.

"What, tears? That can't be true! Don't lie to me!"

The spirit panicked and wiped her eyes with her hand. She felt moisture trace the back of her hand.

"……!"

Where did it come from?

"Be careful. If the water qi surges too strongly up your spine and invades your brain, you can be struck down by the Jiuhua Mouth Disease and become depressed for all eternity. Have you forgotten, it was none other than you, Big Sister Ling, who taught me that as a child?"

"Me, me?"

"Of course. Don't you remember? If the fire qi is too strong, it will burn the nerves in the spine and drive a person into madness; if the water qi, or yin qi, is too rigid, surging up the spine and invading the brain, it will depress a person's spirit to no end. That's what 'jiu hua' and 'yip ma' are. That's what he taught me."

The spirit shook its head vigorously, as if in protest.

I didn't remember. It wasn't there.

Then, something clicked in the back of his mind.

"So, do you see what she's trying to say? Don't you get it? ……Listen! Now…… cut to the chase……. Keep your body and mind…… always straight…… and guard…… your heart……. young…… your heart! No matter how much…… it hurts, protect it…… and I'll help you! I won't let anybody…… hurt it…… because……."

Because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because……. I felt like there was something more to it. But I couldn't think of anything more.

'Quack…….'

The spirit's head suddenly ached like it was going to fall off.

"Are you okay? Your complexion has gotten even paler."

Pair!

"Go away! Don't come near me!"

The spirit shouted, slapping Na Yerin's hand away.

"……sister……."

Looking down at the back of her hand, which had turned red, Na Yerin muttered in an embarrassed tone.

The spirit was equally bewildered, but then his face hardened into a fierce expression and he exclaimed again.

"Go away. Don't come near me. If you come near, you will only hurt and torment me. Go away!"

Outright denial, confusion, shame, and loneliness.

All sorts of emotions were swirling in the spirit's mind.

Na Yerin looked at the spirit's distorted face and concluded that any further approach would put her in mental danger. Moreover, it was painful for her to see the spirit in distress.

"If I'm causing her pain, I can't help it, so I'll leave."

Na Yerin took up the mantle with a sullen expression, then strode to the front of the group. The spirit's eyes watched her back as she walked away. The hand it reached out in retreat only grasped at the empty void.

The labyrinth, which I thought had been brightened for a moment, was once again plunged into pitch-black darkness.

I didn't see an exit anywhere.

"Here it is. Press this organ device and it will open a secret door."

Finally reaching the end of the secret passageway, Chancellor Dam breathed a sigh of relief with a much brighter face, and pointed to a circular organ device on the right side of the wall.

"Surely there are no ambushers out there?"

Qin Ling, who had come to a stop beside Na Yerin, asked with a worried look on his face, but Chancellor Dam's face was still bright.

"Don't worry. Beyond this gate is a forest on the outskirts of the castle. It's a secluded place beyond the castle walls, and who would think that such a place would have a secret passage to the castle grounds?"

"After all, the longer the passage, the harder it is to predict the way out."

The polite chatter in the back of the room echoed Dam's words. Then he softened his expression and added another word.

"Whoa, that's goodbye to this cramped passage!"

Unable to keep up with Mo Yonghui and Bi Ryuyeon, he had no one to talk to and was in no mood to do so, so he took a position at the back of the group and moved through the secret passage. As a result, behind him were Mu Ming, Zhang Zhiyao, and Yue Jing, who could be said to be in a delicate position, and in front of him were Qin Ling, Ying Ling, and Geum Young Ho, who had been silent all this time, whether they liked it or not.

The only thing he heard as he walked along was the sound of Jang Ji-ok's batting behind him a couple of times, but other than that, everyone was silent, both in front and behind him, and there was no place for him to interrupt. Geum Young-ho was the kind of person who would accept him if he spoke to her, but somehow he had a sense of urgency that if he did, he would cross an irreversible river in his interpersonal relationship, so he could only continue to stare at the darkness like a cow at an unknown solitude.

While he was still reeling from the feeling of breaking the silence and opening his mouth after what felt like a decade, Maharishi, who had been walking at the front of the group, nodded and said.

"Oh, I see, that's why the passage is so long. I didn't realize it was outside the city walls when you said it was an oddly long walk."

Apparently, the frustration is as great as it was before.

"I see you didn't like the aisle."

Maha-ryung snorted unnecessarily at the smirk on Chancellor Dam's face.

"Hmm, it's just that it's better to be spacious than cramped."

In fact, Maharaj had already been chastising himself for feeling like he was about to be squeezed into a narrow, unnecessarily long passageway. She hated narrow places.

"Haha, is that so? Anyway, it's a secret passageway that has never been used since it was created. There's no way it could have been exposed."

Patriarch Damhwan said confidently. Long Tianming stepped up to his side and spoke softly.

"For now, we'll just have to take Chancellor Dam's word for it, subordinate. I don't sense any life beyond the gate, so you'll be fine, and if anything happens to you, I'll have your back."

Then the Maharishi spoke up in a sharp voice.

"Who cares? I may be 'slender and frail,' but I can defend my body alone! A thousand people, who is your captain?"

"Of course, you are my captain."

Apparently satisfied with Long Tianming's unhesitating answer, Maharishi nodded with a satisfied smile.

"Yeah, I'm your boss, and I'm Mach, but… well, if you're going to protect me, I'm not going to stop you."

His words were tangy, but he leaned toward Yong Tianming in a subtle way.

"Of course I'll protect you, you just have to trust me."

"I will defend you a thousand times over, for you are my captain."

It's a good thing I didn't say my own…….

"Oh no, I can't look at this, I can't look at this, I can't look at this, I can't look at this, I can't look at this, I can't look at this, who doesn't have a lover?"

Geum Young-ho, who had been watching the two with a colorful expression of disbelief, pouted his thick lips at the intrusive behavior of the two men.

He was envious. Geum Young-ho is convinced that something must be terribly wrong, even if it is wrong.

"It used to be a dog-eat-dog world where they couldn't eat each other……."

I don't know how long they've been calling each other names and mass-producing chicken.

"Ganyalfe, who the hell is……."

Geum Young-ho, who was grumbling and pouting, realized Maha-ryung's glare and melted into a puddle.

"Do you want to die?

There was no basis for a different interpretation of the meaning of that look.

"Oh, no, nothing, ahahahahahaha, what did I say, I didn't say anything?"

Finally, the Maharishi's gaze softened, but Geum Young Ho's heart still pounded unabated.

"Oops, one bad joke and I thought I was going to get an axe-eye.

Ever since his affair with Yong Tianming had been tied up, something had happened to Maharishi, and he was becoming more and more dignified in charge. Her sharp, angry, and arrogant demeanor had gradually thinned, and she was becoming more regal by the day. Moreover, he was becoming somewhat cute, so his number of followers was growing considerably more than before.

"I'll open the door then."

Grrrrr.

Chancellor Dam touched the mechanism and the secret door began to open with a faint whirring sound.

"Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!"

Geum exclaimed, spitting out the gritty sand that had entered his mouth.

"Don't worry. Well, they're ants, maybe a few in the mix, but they're not deadly, and they don't have venom."

"Et tu, that's not the problem!"

Unusually, it was not the door in front of them that opened with the mechanism, but the one overhead, the ceiling. As the ceiling door opened, some of the camouflage sand piled on top of it rained down, and Geum Young-ho happened to be standing there.

"Poof, I was so surprised that I actually laughed out loud."

Geum Young-ho spat out the sand, and Maharishi laughed accusingly.

"……But what is this door, anyway?"

Qin Ling pointed to the door at the front, which contained two dragon sculptures, and Damhwan laughed.

"That's a fake door, haha, very convincing, but I wouldn't go through that door if I were you."

"Why is that?"

In response to Qin Ling's question, Secretary Dam replied with a serious face.

"That's because there's a death march of killer organs behind it."

"……!"

"People are often fooled by appearances."

At Chancellor Dam's words, Mahar'ryong looked at the ornately decorated front door with a slight chill in his step and muttered to himself.

"You mean a trap that defies common sense?"

If they had entered this passage without the guidance of the damned, …… they would have laughed and stepped into the precipice of death, knowing nothing.

"In this case, common sense is a trap in itself, and it's surprisingly easy to get caught, because the more urgent and emergency-like the situation, the less time you have to be meticulous."

It was a light-hearted way of saying, "I made this recipe for lunch today," but the meaning behind it weighed heavily on people's minds because it could not be ignored. The only reason they didn't fall into this trap today was because they were Dahan's allies, not his enemies.

The tingling in his stomach and mouth remained for a while, but then he looked up and saw the moon hanging in the night sky through the open door in the ceiling.

The cold night air drifted into the passageway with the scent of the forest. It was a breath of fresh air that cooled his lungs.

"Come on, let's get out of this stuffy passageway."

Geum Young-ho, who was feeling more uncomfortable in his stomach than others because of his stubbly body, was eager to get out of here.

"Please wait."

Geum Young-ho was about to run away when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

"What's the matter, NaSojae?"

Geum Young-ho asked with a smirk, stopping to look at Na Yerin, who had been silent as they reached the exit and began to chat with each other in relief.

"I think it's a good idea to wait a while."

"What's wrong, did you sense something was amiss?"

Chancellor Dam asked nervously, but Na Yerin shook her head calmly.

"No."

"So……?"

To a puzzled Dam's question, she replied nonchalantly.

"It's just, ."

"Is it just……?"

"That's the best way to put it."

Geum Young-ho's cheeks twitched again as he listened to the conversation from the sidelines.

"You don't seem to believe me."

At that, Geum Young-ho quickly opened his mouth and said.

"What? No, not even close, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah."

I could have just ignored what she said, but I was afraid of the repercussions that would come back to haunt me.

You don't know what sanctions "he" will impose and how he will impose them.

And that's where we left off.

"……."

A deep silence filled the aisle. No one spoke up. For the umpteenth time, Geum Young-ho spoke up.

"Ummm, you know what, sir, I don't think anything's happening?"

"I see, so nothing has happened yet."

When asked if she was at all embarrassed to be wrong, or if her convictions hadn't changed yet, Na Yerin's response was nonchalant.

"So I guess I can leave now?"

"Well, I don't think so."

"No?"

"No."

"But we can't be stuck in this small, stuffy place all day, can we?"

"Why don't we wait a few more days?"

At Na Yerin's retort, Geum Young Ho sighed.

"No way, you can't expect anything to happen with just one piece, and besides, didn't I already wait like you said once?"

Twice they said no.

"……Yes, I will."

Na Yerin looked a little disgruntled, but the desire to leave was too strong for her, and for everyone around her, to resist, knowing full well that if she did, the invisible frustrations of her heart would come crashing down on her again.

"Okay, Mr. Dam, what do we do now?"

Geum asked excitedly.

"Hey……, why don't you wait a little longer, a day or so isn't that long, is it?"

Damhwan winced. As a man who worked in the shadows, his instinctive sense of danger was far more developed than most, and Na Yerin's words seemed somehow unimportant. Besides, it was his habit to be a little more cautious when anyone warned him of danger.

"If we delay here any longer, and the trail catches up with us, and we're all caught, will Chancellor Dam be responsible?"

"That can't be right."

He said it to Damhwan, but he secretly wanted Na Yerin to hear it, too. Damhwan thought about arguing a little harder, but he didn't have a strong enough argument to convince people that they shouldn't go, so he gave up.

"Ha, okay, let's take the ladder down."

Damhwan pressed a spot on the right wall, and a wooden staircase slid down.

"Guys, get out of here, I'll lead the way, but whatever happens, don't blame it on me. Because I was clearly against it."

With the nails in place, he began to climb the wooden stairs to the overhead door, carrying the huaxiao.

The interlocutor has just slipped out the door that opened in the ceiling.

"Stop!"

Na Yerin, who had been still, reached out urgently toward Chancellor Dame and shouted.

He was so focused on Na Yerin's words that his body involuntarily paused for a moment.

Chorus!

A long silken cord snaked out of her sleeve like a whip, dragging Damhwan's body down with it.

"What the hell happened……."

Next moment.

Boom!

With a sudden binge, the torch he was holding burst into flames, and a swarm of red fireflies mixed with the straw and blew out into the air.

If he hadn't paused for a moment, and if Na Yerin hadn't used her hand in time, his head would have been shattered like a watermelon dropped from the fifth floor of Huang Hak Lu, a competitor of Xin Yong Long's.

"Huh, what the heck……."

Ducking into the passageway, craning his neck like a frightened turtle, Damhwan was too chilled to speak.

"Bar, what the hell was that attack just now, it sure as hell wasn't a sword?"

Gong Zhenghui muttered to himself as he stared at the end of the doorknob.

Maharaj nodded in agreement with him.

"That's right, if it was a long-range attack from a sword qi beast, I would have seen the trajectory of its flight, but that one just came without any precursor! Could it have been a Gap Gong of the Gap Gong series?"

"No way, unless you're a ranged attacker like Shaolin's Hundred Steps of God, you're not going to be able to pull off something like this."

Qin Ling was skeptical of Maha Ling's words.

"That's a lot of power to cover a distance of at least ten zhangs……."

Judging by the lack of movement, they were at least ten sheets out.

"Unless you're a peak master, you're not going to be able to do much good at a distance of more than three zhang…"

"That's right, because most of the power is lost on the way through the air."

Qin Lie's words were interrupted by Maha Lie. Long Tianming nodded and added.

"And I didn't hear any of the piercing sounds that are characteristic of battlefields, sir."

Whether it's an airfield, an airspace, or an airspot, it's an attack through the air, and it's usually a violent shaking of the air, which gives it a distinctive wave-like quality. That wave-like quality is essential to delivering destructive power.

"So what the hell was flying?"

"Chet, I need to know what kind of ambush this is so I can prepare for it or not!"

Geum Young-ho, who had been anxious to get out of the room since earlier, complained impatiently from the sidelines.

I was more comfortable dealing with ambushes like bows and spears. But if you didn't know what kind of ambush you were dealing with, there was a risk of being caught unawares.

They had already been ambushed and taken by one, no, three, four, or more.

"It's probably a yin factory, not a yang factory."

It was Na Yerin who stood still and spoke up. All eyes turned to her.

"Yin gong? I don't even remember hearing breathing, let alone music?"

The Mach number didn't look convincing at first.

"It's probably 'silent sake.'"

Na Yerin's words startled everyone.

"You don't mean… the silent ones, do you?"

Jinling asked cautiously, his eyes widening.

"No, I'm afraid not, that's the silent shot."

The polite man was stunned by the adamant answer.

"What do you mean, a yin gong that doesn't make a sound?"

To my horror, so did everyone else.

"I was once in a ying gong class taught by the Heavenly Yin Master Hong Lan. He said that if you counted all the people in the current martial arts realm who have reached that level of cultivation, it wouldn't be more than five fingers."

Silent Tanju!

The Yin Gong misconception that it can only be used by those who have reached the pinnacle of their study.

The air cavity powers the waves of air, and the sound cavity powers the waves of sound itself. Sometimes, of course, the sound shakes the air. In any case, the presence of sound is indispensable for Yin Gong to be effective.

Silent sake, however, is different.

This was a mastery that literally empowered silence. The strings would be plucked, but no sound would be made, and the waves would fly out with all their power, destroying the enemy. It was a state comparable to the "invisible blade," one of the highest levels of swordsmanship, and it meant that one, or more than one, of the five who had attained it was now here.

"I didn't take that class, Yin Gong."

"I know. This golden pig is extremely reluctant to learn anything that doesn't make him money."

Qin Lie spoke up with a tangy voice.

"Moxon Thorie, you can make a lot of money selling music, too, depending on what you're selling, but the culture of poetry, writing, painting, yoga, and tuning is really tricky. If you go in there, you're screwed. I just don't want to sell what I don't know."

"Gee, gold pig, I didn't know you had a philosophy of commerce. I watched it again a little bit, so I guess you're not going to sell anymore?"

Hearing Qin Lie sneer, Geum Young Ho seriously shook his head.

"No, I'm just not ready. My father says that selling intangibles is the essence of business. I'm thinking of organizing a karaoke contest to find the best singers from all over the country."

He's already got a business plan for something he said he wasn't ready for.

"You should definitely ask Master Zhang to judge the kids! Oh, and Jinling, if you're interested, let me know!"

"What me? I mean, I'm kind of pretty, but…… I'm Amipa's disciple……."

"Well, you're pretty good!"

"…because it's done?"

Quack!

He looked Qin Lie up and down and nodded, and just as he did, Qin Lie's two fingers pinched him in the eye with a 'Ningjotam Eye'.

"Off, off, off, my eyes, my eyes!"

Geum Young-ho, his eyes glazed over, struggled furiously back and forth. But instead of taking pity on him, he was forced to shed a second tear when he saw his coworkers keeping their distance for fear of catching the pervert if they got too close.

"Phew, after all…… I never thought I'd face a master with such a rare martial art, I'd much rather deal with a master using a sword or dao."

Maha Ling, who had relaxed a bit thanks to Geum Young Ho, muttered with a troubled expression, This Gigantic Ma's Lady hated being cornered with her hands and feet tied like this the most.

"So you've got a pointed idea, holy spirit?"

Maharishi looked at Yong Tianming with a questioning glance.

"How much experience do you think I have in battling that rare Yin Gong supreme master?"

"Like… two or three times?"

The Maharishi shook his head.

"Wrong, none at all, and I'm sure everyone else is no different."

No one could argue with her.

No one in the group had ever shared a hand with a Yin Gong peak master. The fact that they were all so inexperienced meant that a Yin Gong Supreme Master was rare.

"umm……."

Everyone was deep in thought.

He was right, because stopping silent drinking was like trying to stop an invisible blade from flying at you.

So how dare you stick your neck out to the limbs.

I had to work hard to come up with a response.

But their meeting was too long on an inconclusive topic.

Enough to annoy someone waiting outside.

* * *

"Uh-oh, they're not coming out, what are they so shy about? Come out and talk to me, kids."

A thicket of grass about ten sheets southwest of the entrance to the secret passage.

Concealed amongst the lush branches and grasses, the seventh of the Eight Elders, Gal Hyo Hyo, who had been killing time with his stealth, grumbled in a low voice. In his arms, instead of a long spear, he clutched a large piece of silver. Then a calm, yet somehow cold voice came from beside him.

"Who do you think that…… is because of?"

Hearing Hilnan's emotionally charged voice from right next to him, Gal Hyohyo's body stiffened.

"Haha, that sixth sister. That makes it sound like I made a mistake."

Knowing who he was up against, Gal Hyo-hyo quickly relaxed his expression and said with a smirk.

"You don't think your rash behavior messed up your performance, do you? Hasn't it halved the effectiveness of your silent drinking?"

The original use of silent ammunition was to obscure the source and direction of sound, like hexes. The "sound" of a powerful attack coming from an unknown direction was terrifying because it was "silent".

The invisibility attack is the crown jewel of the trick, and using it in such a blatant way naturally diminishes its effectiveness.

It was a rush to show his hand.

Whether you're an underdog or an overdog, the first person to show their hand wins.

"No, it's……."

"Didn't you rush in first and break the whole performance?"

A woman with black and white silk braids that flowed down to her waist. Her whole body resembled that of a noble crane. In one hand she held a jasper jade cow, and she was Gal Hyo-min, the sixth of the Eight Elders of the Goddess of Heaven.

"Nothing to say."

Gal Hyo Hyo bowed her head. No matter how old she grew, she would always be young in front of this sixth sister.

"It's always the seventh sister who's the problem. She looks like a little girl and has the personality of a little girl, and I can't stop her."

Standing beside him, muttering softly, was a cute little girl with her hair braided into a bun. On the girl's shoulder was a black cat, whose fur was as black as light, and whose movements were so swift that even the most skilled adepts could not keep up with it. In other words, this cute little girl was none other than Galhomyou, the youngest of the Leopard Goddesses.

"Hey, you peanut cat, who says you look like a munchkin, you're just a little taller, you little peanut!"

The fiery Gal Hyo Hyo glared at the youngest. She'd been crushed by the sixth sister, but to be disrespected by the youngest was disgraceful.

"What, who says I'm a dwarf, how can you call a cute little girl like me a dwarf, you mulatto!"

"Wow, this is really……!"

Being called ugly was the last thing Gal Hyo-hyo wanted to hear, especially from the youngest, and it made him cringe threefold. Gal Hyo-hyo was tall and well-built, with long legs and slender angular features, but his face was the most plain of the eight siblings.

With her luscious, lithe figure and manly vigor, her popularity among Shinmaga's female maidens was unquestionable. But Galhyohyo was not content to simply revel in her subtle popularity.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to hear that from you!"

"Why? ……Haha, because I'm so pretty!"

The youngest Hyoumyo shrugged her tiny shoulders as she casually swept her right hand through her braided hair.

"Good for you, good for you!"

Gal Hyo-hyo laughed at the notion that it was a great idea.

"Hmph, of course she's good, because being pretty is a good thing, aren't you envious?"

"……You're going to have to have a meeting with me before they do, little brother."

Gal Hyo Hyo raised a trembling fist and forced a smile.

"Bam, are you going to hit me with your thick fist and tell my mom later?"

Galhyohyo's fists clenched as he threw out a non-threatening threat that surprisingly worked.

"I'm not going to fight you, …… you're my age, and I'm going to put up with this old man just this once."

In truth, Gal Hyohyo had a slight inferiority complex about being the least feminine of the Eight Elders. But no matter what, she couldn't bear to be called that by that little brat for the sake of her pride. Every time she had to wrestle with the youngest, she was forced to realize how miserable she felt and how she was being forced to lose.

'Ugh, I can't even squeeze one of those in…….'

If she did, she would be punished by her biological mother, the Honglian Zen master Danhye, who gave birth to them. As the youngest child, he was unusually fragile and sickly from an early age, so Danhye's attention and affection were especially special.

"Well, I suppose there's another reason, but…… is just a jingle anyway.

She was the youngest of the six sisters who had been raised with so much care and attention that she was now a perky, purring, eight-legged cat, and she had almost monopolized the love of her mothers and all the other six sisters except Hyo-hyo.

Even the spirit cat on her shoulder, Ebony Snow, had been given to her by the quiet falconer Gal Hyo-min. Hyo-hyo's discrimination had gone too far, as she was harsh with herself every day, but gave her youngest child such a precious gift.

Everyone was too bitter to back down from the youngest.

'How come this wild hoe doesn't pick on any of my sisters, but he picks on me? Oh, I see. It's because of his inferiority complex about being short, I'm sure! He's jealous because my legs are so much longer than his!'

There was no one smaller than the youngest among the seven, but Gal Hyo-hyo took comfort in the thought; if he didn't think about it, he might just beat the crap out of her one day.

"It's nice to see you two having a good time in the midst of all this, and it shows a sense of camaraderie."

Gal Hyo Min, who had been silently watching the two, spoke up. Gal Hyohyo and Gal Hyo Myo's bodies twitched at the same time. Even the Black Snow Cat sitting on Galhyo's shoulder flinched for a moment.

"Okay, let's stop chatting and get to work, shall we, youngest?"

Galhyohyo smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, let's do our best, Hyo-hyo!"

Even though he was the youngest and the most fussy, the sixth sister's gaze seemed to frighten him.

"Should we set fire to the burrow like we used to do when we were fox hunters as kids, because it doesn't look like there's a hole in it. If the smoke goes in, it'll come out."

"No fire."

"Why?"

"Fire burns wood, and when the trees and forests are gone, don't the animals have nowhere to go, and besides, doesn't that get soot on your clothes?"

Gal Hyo-min objected, looking very disgusted.

"It's black anyway, right?"

"It's no big deal," said Galhyohyo. She usually wore a white silk robe with black bands on the sleeves and front, like a crane, but now she was dressed in a black robe because she had an assassin. The only thing black against the white was the long braid that held her long, lustful hair, which fell almost to her knees.

"But it's soot, and I don't like smoke."

Like a noble crane, Gal Hyo-min was very particular about neatness, and no one could stop her at this point.

"Then cancel the fire."

Hyo-myo urged, standing next to the soft-spoken Gal Hyo-hyo.

"Big Sis, think fast. Min's face is getting harder and harder."

"I'm thinking, don't interrupt me. I don't know, I don't know, I'll take it."

Her mind was racing, and her body moved before her thoughts. She strode forward, took a deep breath, and began to chant at the top of her lungs.

"Hear! I am the Seventh Galhyohyo of Shinmaga! If you are warriors, come out and fight! If you do not come out by the time I count to five, you will suffer a great deal!"

Frustrated, Gal Hyo-hyo finally declared war. The night air rang with the sound of his deep and chaste voice. Of course, it was impossible for him to shout so loudly.

"You called it a threat?"

Gal Hyo-min said with a pathetic face.

"……Yes. Was that a bit much?"

"That's not quite right, you big girl!"

Galhyo glared at Hyo-myo, who was sneaking in from the side, and Galhyo-min sighed.

"Since it's come to this, let's end it with that 'power' that is your organ."

"Oh, you mean show of force, okay, okay."

Galhyohyo nodded, confident that that was enough.

"But can my sister help me? I don't think I can do it alone. Oh, I'll take this, I'll take this."

Seeing Gal Hyo Hyo pointing to the silver in his hand, Gal Hyo Min nodded as if he had no choice.

"…… That's pretty shameless."

Gal Hyohyo smiled and cut to the chase.

"That's just the way I am, haha. So, how about that for a change?"

"…… You mean the song…? Hmm, that's enough for me. Let's get right to it."

The two exchanged glances as Hyomyo shook her head.

"Okay, Min, I'm sure you'll be able to support me from behind, I'm not very good at fine motor control."

"Yeah, we can't bury them alive. Okay, let's see if we can get them to play along, because I don't want to leave you on your own and have you get carried away again."

Galhomin took from his arms a flute of ebony, shining with a black sheen as if hewn from obsidian. On the naked body of the ebony, which emitted a cold chill, was engraved a lion, the King of the Hundred, as a gift.

She was an accomplished musician and could play all kinds of instruments, but she was especially fond of the black cow, which her older brother, Gal Zhongchuan, had purchased with great difficulty for her as a gift for her love of music. When Gal Hyo-min refused, saying that she could not accept such an expensive gift, Gal Joong-chun laughed and said, "I'm sorry.

"It's okay, it's okay. You're listening to the best music worth a thousand gold coins for free. Such a luxury is not something that even the blackest of black masters can afford. If you think of it as the price of listening to you for the rest of your life, this black cow is a bargain. Consider it an evil plot by your big brother to give you free access to heavenly music for life."

And Gal Zhongtian could no longer hear her black cow. forever.

And she will never be able to repay the price of this black ox.

'Big brother, this will be the first stanza of a heartfelt song dedicated to you.'

In contrast to her swirling emotions, Gal Hyo-min's face remained calm and collected as she brought the black cow to her mouth.

Sitting in front of the silver gold on the floor, Gal Hyohyo placed both hands on top of Chilhyeon and muttered to himself.

"You should see the smiles on their faces."

And the harmony began.

Ding-ding-ding-ding! Whirrrrrrrrrrr!

The sound of the flute, clean and clear and rising faster and faster, began to echo in the cool forest night.

It was the beginning of a nightmare.