"What is this?"

Yoo Seongyeon tilted his head.

But Cheonyeong couldn't say anything.

His heart was pounding, and it was even difficult to catch his breath.

Stakes driven into the edge of the cliff.

His hands trembled, and it seemed as if blood would well up in his reddened eyes.

This is the place.

Although there were no red pines like that time, how could he forget?

Even though he hadn't tried to recall it, the memories of the past flowed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

It was as if the scene from that time was right before his eyes.

On the open space, the training instructors standing with cold expressions, and the children trembling, just watching their faces, terrified.

He was one of those many children.

However, even though he was scared, he knew what he had to do to survive.

They had shouted.

To climb down the cliff.

The only thing that would guarantee their safety was the kudzu vine tied around their waists.

The children had gotten it themselves.

The thickness was all different, so it was a thing that one couldn't even know if it was safe.

A few children who hesitated were kicked by the training instructors and flew off.

Crack.

Cheonyeong, who let go of the stake and gritted his teeth fiercely, slowly got up and walked towards the cliff.

As the precipice grew closer, his body trembled.

It was the fear from the memories of the past, and a cold anger welling up from the depths of his heart.

"Lord Tang…"

As Yoo Seongyeon, who was puzzled by Cheonyeong's reaction, tried to approach, No Gwanyeong blocked his path and shook his head.

He was puzzled too.

Because it was the first time he had seen Cheonyeong show such anger.

He wasn't just angry. It was a much more intimate and sinister anger.

So he knew instinctively.

That it was better to leave him alone for a while now.

Because he was a person who knew how to shake it off himself.

In the meantime, Cheonyeong's steps reached the front of the precipice.

The killing intent that flickered and spread distorted the air around him, and the footprints left behind, as if imprinting his anger, represented his state of mind.

The footprints, which would usually have been faint, were dug so deep because he couldn't control his own internal energy.

Cheonyeong, who stood close to the cliff, looking precarious, looked down with his eyes cast down.

That place where the end could not be seen.

The children who had been kicked by the instructors and had fallen without wings had struggled without anything to grab onto and had stopped with a jolt at the length of the kudzu vine.

It was as if he could still clearly hear the sound of their waists breaking.

It was as if he could clearly see the unfocused eyes of the children who had gone limp.

He couldn't forget the sight of them falling into the deep, deep valley as the toughness of the kudzu vine couldn't withstand the weight and broke.

Grind.

His teeth were gritted.

At the pouring memories, he let out a rough breath, and unable to overcome the surging mental pain, his knees buckled.

Cheonyeong, who had collapsed, remained like that for a long time.

He bit his lip to hold back the hot feeling that was welling up, and clenched his fists to suppress his anger.

Jingagu…

I've finally found you. Finally.

How much time had passed like that?

After a long while, Cheonyeong stood up calmly.

He had to be calm.

He had to cool his heat.

Excitement would only be a hindrance.

Cheonyeong, who composed himself and turned around, wore his usual smile.

And No Gwanyeong asked.

"What should we do now?"

"We have to go find them."

"The way is…"

"I'll guide you."

As Cheonyeong walked, No Gwanyeong stepped aside, and as he passed, he followed behind him.

Yoo Seongyeon, and the three senior brothers too.

They just walked along the path Cheonyeong was taking.

No one asked. Why he had acted like that while looking at the cliff.

They just had to follow. Because the path he was taking was the will of his friend, the will of his family, and his course of action.

Cheonyeong was grateful to them.

For believing in him…

But he had to put aside his gratitude for a while.

Until the fight with the Jingagu was over.

The cliff. That place was a selection training ground.

There, they had pushed countless children to their deaths to choose the material to become assassins, and had only taken the children who had survived.

To another place.

There was no need to go to the next training ground.

If the stakes that had held the kudzu vines tied to the children's bodies were in that state, the training ground must have been abandoned for a long time.

A place not used.

The training ground that was nearby would be the same.

Even if he went there, it would be impossible to find traces of the Jingagu.

Because they wouldn't have left any traces in an abandoned training ground.

But there was a place that they would never have been able to abandon, even as the years passed.

The place where they made corpse poison.

Since the first start of corpse poison was in decay, the location had to be chosen well.

Heat had to gather and stay, and the poisonous energy had to not escape to the outside, so the wind had to not pass through.

There weren't many such places.

Especially above the seventh ridge of the Qilian Mountains, where more than half of the year was covered in snow.

So they would still be using it. If they were still raising assassins.

Cheonyeong remembered that place.

At that time, Cheonyeong had struggled to survive, had gone down the cliff faster than anyone, and had been the first to climb up.

The training instructor, who was satisfied with the venom in his eyes at that time, had judged Cheonyeong to be the material for an assassin and had made him do many things.

One of them was to carry the corpses of the dead children to the decay site.

There were many dead children, and every time, Cheonyeong had been mobilized for the labor of carrying the corpses, so he remembered the path of that time clearly.

Even though it was a life he had returned to in the past, and ten years had already passed, and there had been many changes.

If he hadn't found the cliff, it would have been a vague matter, but since he had found the place in his memory, he could now grope his way through.

As if following a connection point to find a target.

The steps of Cheonyeong's group, cutting through the pathless forest, were more agile and careful than ever.

They suppressed their footsteps and walked, hiding their bodies in the shade.

There was no telling who might be where.

Because the Jingagu had always been wary of outsiders.

It was at that moment.

After searching the forest for a long time.

As Cheonyeong stopped walking, the group that followed him all hid their presence and concealed their figures in the shade of the forest.

The scene revealed through the dense leaves.

At the end of a narrow path leading to the middle of a distant cliff, there was a thicket of bushes that seemed to have grown naturally.

To some, it might just be a landscape, but to Cheonyeong, it was a milestone that brought back memories.

"As expected…"

Cheonyeong's voice was chillingly low.

Behind the bushes.

It was enough to be certain. Because he could see an assassin hiding and guarding at the place where the path began.

How could he not know, just because he had suppressed his presence?

Even if he eliminated his breathing with the Sea Breath and concealed his presence with a concealment technique, there was something that could never be hidden.

The body.

If he were moving quickly, it would be different, but to hide his body while staying in one place, he had no choice but to use the terrain.

A shade located in a place that does not attract attention.

And in a forest like this, there were not many such landforms.

Things like rocks and trees.

Since he already knew their methods, even if others didn't, it was visible to the eyes of Cheonyeong, who had carefully examined such places.

So there must be an entrance to a hidden cave there, and the main building of the Jingagu was nearby.

"Elder."

"Yes, Lord."

"Behind the bushes, there will be an entrance to a small cave. When I go in, please leave your position and deliver the news to Baekta."

"Give your command."

"Please tell him to release the blockade on the north and move here now."

"Understood. Any other commands?"

"There are not. When a clear location is found, I will relay the necessary words then."

"I will relay it so. But what about you, Lord?"

No Gwanyeong glanced at the bushes on the cliff and made a worried face.

"I'm fine. Since I've obtained the precious blood of the Ten Thousand Gong Baek, I've developed a resistance to most poisons."

"Hoo, please don't overdo it. I don't know what the reason is, or what anger you are holding, but please do not forget that you are always the Lord of the Tang Family."

At No Gwanyeong's request, Cheonyeong smiled faintly.

The Lord of the Tang Family.

It must mean not to do anything reckless that would risk his life, since he was not alone.

"Don't worry. I won't do anything that would cause worry."

"Understood. Then, I will be back quickly."

"Yes."

No Gwanyeyeong bowed his head and disappeared, suppressing his footsteps.

And Cheonyeong looked at Yoo Seongyeon and the three senior brothers and said.

"Seongyeon."

"Yes."

"It's a place with only one entrance and one exit."

"…"

"After I go in, there might be some who try to escape. If someone other than me comes out, you must kill them."

"Y-you're going in alone?"

"Yes."

"That won't do. Who knows what's in there?"

"It doesn't matter what's in there. Only I can enter that place."

"What does that mean?"

"You must have seen it already, right? The corpse poison." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Th-that's…"

Yoo Seongyeon's face contorted.

It was as Cheonyeong had said.

At the Craftsmen's Guild, the corpse poison used by the assassins was truly vicious.

Even his master, Sword Immortal Changlim, had felt dizzy from the thick poisonous energy.

"And you must have seen it, right? How I was?"

"Hmm…"

He had no choice but to nod.

Because at that time, the only one who had withstood the corpse poison was Cheonyeong.

"I have become stronger than that time. My resistance to poisonous energy, and my internal energy. I've also obtained a pretty good hidden weapon."

Cheonyeong patted his bosom and smiled.

"Hah, I understand. But if you think it's dangerous, please give me a signal right away. I will help."

"Yes. Do that."

Cheonyeong's hand, which had been patting as he nodded, lightly grabbed Yoo Seongyeon's shoulder.

"Seongyeon."

"Yes."

"To them, a path is meaningless. Since they have learned a lightness skill that is skilled at climbing cliffs, anywhere will be a path for them once they are out of the cave entrance."

"…"

"Never show mercy. The moment you see them, you must cut them down with the intention to kill. The one you miss will surely come back and aim for you, and the people around you."

"…Yes."

At Cheonyeong's words, Yoo Seongyeon shut his mouth and nodded.

He was a Taoist.

He preferred a life-giving sword over a killing sword.

The teachings of the Immortal Tao's Secret Art were so.

But he was told not to do that.

In the moment of hesitation, they would buy time to escape, and if the opportunity arose, they could even counterattack.

"Senior Brothers."

"Yes, Lord."

"Help Seongyeon."

"Don't worry. We will do our best."

"Yes, and you senior brothers should also keep in mind. They are our enemies. We must kill them."

"Yes."

Only after making them promise again did Cheonyeong nod and turn his head towards the place with the bushes.

And he kicked the ground.

His figure, which had cut through the forest in an instant, revealed itself in the open and shot out at high speed.

And as the hand that had touched his bosom opened, two streaks of flashes flew faster than the speed he was moving at.

"Heup!"

"An enemy?"

It was a small sound.

With a startled gasp, the shadows created by the rocks and trees flinched, but they became quiet at the silver flash that pierced through their side.

When the silver flash, which had finished its job, chased after Cheonyeong and was stored in his hand, Cheonyeong had passed the narrow path and had arrived in front of the bushes.

And he disappeared into the cliff as if he had been sucked in.

(End of Chapter)