Episode 25: My Husband
The ruin was a damp cave. Torches hung along the walls and in various places, and judging by the condition of the wicks, they seemed to have been lit not long ago.
The floor, soaked with moisture, had turned to mud, and moss covered many of the rocks, making everything extremely slippery.
Perhaps because of that, even I—who knew nothing about tracking techniques—could clearly see footprints scattered about. But that was as far as I could go. The martial artists, on the other hand, were clearly different. Each of them crouched down and began nodding.
“There are roughly thirty people ahead of us.”
Tang Siyuk, who had been crouching on the ground, stood up and spoke.
As expected of the Tang Clan.
Then, Tak Horak, who had been watching this, spoke up bluntly with a sulky expression.
“Twenty-nine.”
As expected of the Black Shadow Corps. No, wait—that's not the point.
I told them not to step forward, yet here they go again. Sure enough, Tang Siyuk’s gaze turned to Tak Horak.
“Your subordinate seems to be quite skilled in tracking?”
“I dabble a little.”
“Oh? You dare talk about tracking in front of the Tang Clan?”
“Puhp.”
Tak Horak burst out laughing. It was clearly a mocking laugh.
Did he just laugh?
“Ah, my apologies. I’m just a nobody in the Martial World, so I didn’t know the Tang Clan was known for tracking.”
“You little—!”
The atmosphere turned tense in an instant.
In fact, similar occurrences had been happening throughout the past week on our journey to the ruin. Tak Horak and Tang Siyuk had been constantly butting heads, exchanging subtle jabs.
The reason was simple: a kind of competition for loyalty.
Tang Siyuk had given me a Lesser Tang Token, indicating that he wished to have me as an ally in the Tang Clan’s successor race. To that end, he was doing his utmost to show off his competence.
Meanwhile, Tak Horak, who had always been a loyal subordinate of mine, was displaying a sort of territorial response, something like a show of dominance.
“Enough.”
I spoke to Saweol, who stood beside me.
“Saweol. How many people in total?”
“Exactly thirty-three. A few footprints overlap.”
“You heard that? Both of you were wrong.”
At my words, both Tang Siyuk and Tak Horak fell silent, as if they'd swallowed bees.
“This is no time for infighting. We can’t let the ones ahead claim the Immortal’s Ruin. Compose yourself, Horak.”
“My apologies.”
During my time with them, I had stopped using Tak Horak’s surname when addressing him. That’s because anyone who uses a spear and has the surname Tak is clearly associated with the Heavenly Demon Cult.
If I could use Transmission Sound, I would have scolded him until his ears bled.
“Let’s move.”
We walked for another five minutes.
The narrow, steep cave widened and leveled out the deeper we went. The stone walls were smooth and polished, as if they'd been chiseled and refined. Now this felt more like a ruin.
But then, Yun Yeopja’s face went pale as he looked at the walls.
“What’s wrong?”
“Sir, are you not alarmed after seeing this?”
“Seeing what?”
“This cave... it was entirely carved out by a single person. Likely using qi force.”
He must be a genius, if he could grasp all that from a glance. No wonder Yun Yeopja receives divine insight from a single word. I guess intelligence nerfs don’t apply to martial arts.
“But how are you staying so calm after realizing this, sir...?”
“Well, I’m used to it.”
It didn’t surprise me much. In Return of the Murim, most ruins were created by powerful masters who had grown bored with their overwhelming strength.
“Amazing, sir.”
Tang Siyuk, who had been listening silently, spoke up.
“What’s amazing?”
“That something that stirs awe throughout the Martial World, like qi force, is apparently nothing more than a dime a dozen to you.”
Yun Yeopja, hearing our exchange, seemed to have gotten the wrong idea. His eyes filled with admiration.
But if it’s this kind of misunderstanding, I’ll welcome it anytime.
“So it was like that after all. I was just a frog in a well.”
Brrr!
Right after saying that, Yun Yeopja suddenly shuddered. What is he, a PokeXmon trying to evolve?
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, the wind in the cave is just a bit chilly.”
As we continued forward, a fork in the path appeared. A classic ruin trick, forcing a decision.
Footprints were messily stamped on the left path. As if someone had used light footwork, the strides widened as they went.
“We’ll follow the footprints.”
Tang Siyuk began striding forward, but I stopped him.
“We go right.”
“Huh? But... well, I’m sure you have your reasons, sir.”
I nodded shamelessly. Truthfully, I had no specific reasoning.
I just knew who had gone ahead. And I knew their habits. Those guys always leave traces on the opposite path when faced with a fork.
Being a Return of the Murim nerd comes in handy at times like this.
We headed right. Sure enough, after a short while, footprints started appearing as if from thin air.
“By the way, sir,”
Yun Yeopja asked,
“You seem to know who’s ahead of us.”
“Yes, I have a pretty good idea.”
In truth, I knew exactly who it was. That’s why I was this composed.
“Who is it?”
“Treasure Hoarders.”
Literally, it means “Group That Fattens the Warehouse.” Fitting, given their activities.
“Treasure Hoarders??”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion at my words. It wasn’t their time to gain infamy just yet. In about three years, they’d become infamous, though.
“They’re professional ruin raiders. They rob ruins of their treasures.”
While it’s true that ruin treasures are ownerless, these guys go on to loot the treasure vaults of major sects, even mess with the government. They’re a real headache.
Especially their leader... he’s totally unhinged. All the more so, given his family’s history.
“Then shouldn’t we hurry and catch up? I’ll go ahead.”
Yun Yeopja looked ready to release the bands around his wrists and ankles. If left alone, he’d use his Eight Heavenly Dragon Steps and fly off.
“I’ll go ahead and dismantle the traps! I’ve been taking traps apart since I was a kid!”
“You don’t have to.”
I shook my head and smiled.
“There’s a saying in the East: ‘Blow your nose without using your hands.’”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Treasure Hoarders will be dismantling all the traps ahead of us. All we have to do is follow behind them.”
The two of them looked doubtful.
Moments later—
“You were right, sir. There are signs here. No, not signs—ruins.”
Tang Siyuk looked genuinely impressed.
Well, that was understandable, considering what was before us.
Arrows stuck out of the walls, and spears jutted upward from a collapsed floor, their blades gleaming. They were all dismantled and broken—nothing but debris remained.
To be honest, this was baby-level compared to actual mechanisms. Even First-rate warriors could swat away flying arrows with ease.
Still, my hunch had been correct.
“Seems like this Treasure Hoarders is pretty capable, sir.”
“You could clear this much on your own too, couldn’t you?”
“Of course. The Tang Clan’s direct heirs disarm traps like these by age ten.”
Tang Siyuk wore a proud expression. This is why people say the Tang Clan only pretends to be righteous. What kind of righteous clan throws ten-year-olds into trap-laden ruins?
Of course, that was just a greeting compared to what lay ahead. Something even more dangerous would be waiting.
‘The real deal starts when we hit the formation array.’
According to Return of the Murim, formation arrays twist the energy of nature to create phenomena. You can think of it as wuxia-style magic.
When those formation arrays combine with classic traps, even masters can’t afford to let their guard down.
‘Thanks, Treasure Hoarders.’
They dismantled all those annoying traps for us. There’s no way I could have passed through them myself. Sure, thanks to Sky-breaker Sword, my body’s trained well enough to react to a few, but more than that is pushing it.
We advanced carefully, disturbing nothing else along the path.
***
Far from suiting ruin exploration, a scholarly-looking man stood with a delicate expression. He looked more like a scribe than a martial artist. Strangely, he wore numerous accessories—earrings, necklaces, rings.
He squinted, staring hard ahead, as though a transparent wall blocked his path. Before him, a dense mist hung in the air—just one step further, and he would enter a formation array's zone.
The scholarly man crouched and began drawing complex characters and symbols on the ground with a stick, erasing and redrawing over and over.
Eventually, he nodded and stood up, turning his head to speak.
“Three steps to the left. One step forward. One more to the right. Jump into the air and slash once... Lastly, a diagonal step—did you memorize it all?”
“Yawn... When am I supposed to memorize all that?”
“I told you formation arrays are dangerous.”
“Whatever. Step aside.”
The one who shoved him aside was a petite woman. She looked more like a girl than a woman at first glance.
But slung across her shoulder was a massive saber—a tachi, nearly as tall as she was. She acted like it weighed nothing.
“Why memorize all that when I can just smash it?”
“But if you recklessly dismantle a formation—”
The man’s words never finished. The woman had already swung her saber. Not "sliced," but swung, because the weapon was ridiculously huge and thick.
Paa-ang!
As she swung, a tremendous gust blew the mist away. A terrifying blade wind.
The path revealed was a narrow ledge along a cliff. Barely enough space for two people to pass shoulder to shoulder.
“See? Easy, right?”
“Look again.”
The scholar replied curtly. Sure enough, the mist that had been pushed away came rolling back.
“You don’t break a formation like some brute.”
“Hmph. If once isn’t enough, then I’ll hit it again. Move.”
The scholar sighed. She was as stubborn as an ox—once she decided on something, no one could stop her.
“Everyone, back away. The lady’s coming through.”
“Yessir~”
Dozens of people behind them stepped back quickly. If they got caught in that wild swing, they’d be reduced to bones.
“She won’t destroy the ruin, will she?”
The scholar had a sudden chill of dread but shook his head. Whoever built the ruin surely wasn’t so sloppy.
“Hrrr-yaah!”
The woman gave a sharp shout in front of the mist.
Bzzzt—
A red aura surged along her saber. It was just shy of forming qi force, an extremely refined level of power.
Just as she was about to swing—
“Everyone, move!”
Suddenly, she turned and slashed downward with all her strength.
Kwadududud!
A blazing, crescent-shaped blade wind—like a shark fin skimming the ground—rushed forward with terrifying force.
“What the—?!”
“Get down!”
The group following her scattered in both directions. The scholar, yanked backward by someone else, grit his teeth.
“What are you doing?!”
“There were rats.”
She pointed with her massive saber.
Everyone’s eyes followed her gesture.
There stood Sado Hwan.
“Who the hell are you?!”
The woman’s group—Treasure Hoarders—drew their weapons at once.
Sado Hwan’s group responded in kind.
But then, as Tang Siyuk was gripping his hidden weapons with a grim expression, he suddenly looked confused.
“Paeng Soso??”
“Tang Siyuk??”
“Then you’re the leader of Treasure Hoarders? Brother, did you know this?”
The woman, Paeng Soso, turned her gaze to Sado Hwan following Tang Siyuk’s words. Her eyes grew as wide as lanterns.
“Found you.”
A smile crept onto Paeng Soso’s lips.
“My husband.”