Chapter 138

Demonic Cult

That Sam Anbul was imprisoned in the cult’s dungeon was only natural. He belonged to the Demonic Cult, so of course he would be held there.

But the sight of Namgung Myeong and Hong Geolgae made Tang Mujin’s heart race.

They must have been captured while trying to rescue me. I have to get them out quickly.

Just then, Namgung Myeong’s grumbling voice reached his ears.

“If you’d surpassed the wall of first-class and stepped into the peak realm like me, being outnumbered by one wouldn’t have been such a problem. Out of those three, not one was stronger than me.”

Hong Geolgae snapped back:

“You think I want to be stuck below the peak wall?”

“The peak wall isn’t even that great. If you decide in the morning, you can cross it by evening, can’t you? Now that I think about it, it’s strange. Why is it that everyone around me is only first-class? What a coincidence, huh?”

Tang Mujin changed his mind. Maybe he didn’t need to rescue them right away.

…Just letting them see my face to reassure them will be enough.

As he moved to step closer toward their cell, Hong Geolgae’s voice carried over.

“Come to think of it, maybe we shouldn’t have come to Mount Tian at all. To think I, who always lived freely, would end up trapped in a dungeon like this.”

“See? I told you. If you think about it, it’s the captive’s fault in the end. If you got yourself caught, then you should be able to get yourself out. That’s how the world works. You make the knot, you untie it—that’s what they call resolving your own mess.”

“Hm. I guess you’re right.”

Tang Mujin changed his mind again. He didn’t even need to show his face.

Not because he was irritated by their chatter, but because the real problem was that those two were idiots.

If he revealed himself, at least one of them would surely blurt something foolish like— “Tang Mujin! What are you doing here? You came to save us?”

The perfect way to ruin everything.

So Tang Mujin unburdened his mind and reached the calm, rational conclusion:

I’ll leave today. All I needed was to confirm the prison’s location.

With light steps, Tang Mujin left the dungeon.

***

When Tang Mujin returned to the Poison Cavern, Mok Wana approached hesitantly.

“What is it? Did something happen?”

After glancing around nervously, she asked:

“Are you planning to leave?”

Tang Mujin hesitated. He didn’t yet trust Mok Wana completely.

Their relationship was ambiguous, but she was still the disciple of a martial physician from the Martial Faction.

And the cult leader, though pretending to belong to the Doctrine Faction, was in truth heavily supported by the Martial Faction. It wouldn’t be strange if Mok Wana had ties to him.

But Tang Mujin trusted his own judgment. At the very least, Mok Wana wasn’t the kind of person to scheme in shadows. If she had planned such a thing, she wouldn’t ask so directly.

“Not today. But I’ll be leaving soon.”

After a moment of thought, Mok Wana gathered her courage and asked:

“Have you been uncomfortable here?”

“No. Not really.”

“Then… why not just stay on Mount Tian? What about living here as you are now?”

She hadn’t realized it herself, but Mok Wana was feeling desperate.

Never in her life had she met someone she could speak so freely with as Tang Mujin.

Every person needs someone to talk to. Mok Wana wanted to hear many things and share many things.

Her feelings were tangled and immature.

It wasn’t one simple emotion, but a muddle of them all: ordinary human concern, curiosity toward a stranger from outside, admiration for someone who had lived differently, the intimacy and friendship that had grown in their time together, and even a budding affection.

She was clumsy with emotions and had never grown up in an environment where she could express them. So she had always bottled them up.

But emotions don’t vanish just because they’re locked away. They must find an outlet. For Mok Wana, Tang Mujin had become the first such outlet, the only true channel of connection she had. Naturally, her tangled emotions became focused on him.

Perhaps if she had never met anyone to talk to, she could have endured.

But now that the channel was open, the thought of it closing again suffocated her. All she wanted was one person to be with. Just one.

Yet Tang Mujin wasn’t in a position to grant that, nor was he perceptive enough to read her heart.

“No, I have to go back.”

From that one line, Mok Wana realized the distance between them and how different their lives were.

Tang Mujin belonged outside Mount Tian; he would only pass through. Mok Wana belonged inside Mount Tian.

She recalled the time she was slapped for not putting her tools back in place, and the lesson she learned—that everything must be in its rightful place.

Tang Mujin asked:

“Why? Do you want to come with me?”

Mok Wana wrestled with the thought for a long while, then shook her head slightly.

“No… I don’t know.”

The outside world was still too frightening. Just walking alone to the village was overwhelming. How could she possibly go far away?

Tang Mujin replied:

“Is that so? Well, you’re probably safer staying here anyway. Escaping won’t be easy.”

Mok Wana gave a bitter smile.

***

After that, Tang Mujin often left the Poison Cavern. His plan was simple, but there was still much to prepare and observe.

One day, while he was away, Mok Wana heard whistling outside the cave.

It was the regular day to receive Bigeokdan pills.

When she came out, a familiar man handed her a box of the pills. As she took it, he asked:

“Anything unusual?”

Though she never told Tang Mujin, Mok Wana had a small task: report if his behavior became suspicious.

Not because he was especially distrusted, but because any outsider would naturally be watched.

She shook her head.

“Nothing in particular.”

“What do you mean nothing? He’s been studying the monstrous bird’s poison for a while now. You should at least say how that’s going.”

“There doesn’t seem to be any special progress.”

“Really? Hm…”

The man narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her.

“Make sure nothing slips by you. Once is fine, but if you miss twice, you won’t get away unscathed.”

“Yes.”

The day Tang Mujin killed the straw-hatted man and Sam Anbul clashed with the Great Protector, Mok Wana had received a warning through this man—from the Great Protector himself.

It was sheer luck that Mok Wana got off with only a warning. By failing to report Tang Mujin’s strange actions, she had essentially allowed a peak expert to be killed. By rights, the punishment should have been severe.

The only reason she hadn’t been punished then was because they still needed someone to keep an eye on Tang Mujin.

“You, I hear you’ve been getting along well with him lately. Why don’t you push a little harder? If he really settles down here on Mount Tian, it’ll be good for you and good for us. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then that’s all you need to know. Do your best.”

The man patted Mok Wana’s back and sent her on her way.

She returned to the Poison Cavern, put the Bigeokdan pills away, and crouched in her little corner.

In the past, she would have spilled everything she knew the moment she heard such words.

But now, she felt strangely detached, as if floating, disconnected from reality.

Not long ago, she had realized she didn’t have much to lose.

Mok Wana knew her limits well. She wasn’t someone who could leave a great mark on the world, nor someone who could survive alone outside.

Her future would likely be much the same as now. No particular joys, no great sorrows. Just existing.

A life where she breathed and lived, but wasn’t much different from being dead.

If that’s the case, then maybe there isn’t much to lose, even if I die.

So, whatever came her way, she would simply keep her mouth shut.

That was the greatest kindness, and the greatest resistance, that Mok Wana could give.

***

Three days later, late at night.

The moment of action had come. Tang Mujin awoke and quietly sat up. Next to him, Mok Wana was sleeping soundly.

Nothing special had happened. When he’d mentioned leaving tomorrow, she had insisted on chatting until she fell asleep beside him.

At first, she had chattered quite a bit, and Tang Mujin worried she might keep him up all night, ruining the plan.

But soon her words had slowed, then faltered, and she finally turned over and slept, as if caught in some hesitation. Thanks to that, Tang Mujin had been able to sleep deeply before waking for the mission.

He looked at her and said softly:

“Goodbye.”

There was no response. When she awoke, she would only find his absence.

Stretching his arms, Tang Mujin gathered his prepared supplies and stepped out of the Poison Cavern. His life on Mount Tian was over.

He headed straight for the dungeon, hidden in the natural fortress of stone pillars.

Fortunately, there were no guards outside. After all, jailers were meant to suppress resistance within, not to fend off threats from without.

Tang Mujin crept onto the roof of the prison and set down the sack he had brought.

I need to hurry.

Then he rushed toward the cult leader’s hall.

Lately, more people had been loitering around the hall and the cult’s main grounds, watching to see when the monstrous bird would leave—its hunger was pushing it toward departure.

But none of them ventured close at night. That was why Tang Mujin had chosen this late hour for his plan.

Clamping the Poison-Absorbing Bead in his mouth, he vaulted onto the roof of the cult leader’s hall.

The monstrous bird, dozing off, snapped its eyes wide open at him.

Tang Mujin poured the sack of poisonous insects into its feeding bowl, then nudged the bowl slightly aside—far enough that the bird would have to stand up to eat.

“Come on, eat.”

Surely it wouldn’t refuse to rise, even for its egg.

Tang Mujin watched it tensely.

Kraaak—!

His worry was unfounded. With a caw like a crow’s, the bird stood and lunged at the food, devouring it greedily.

Where it had been sitting lay a nest, cradling an egg the size of a human head.

Got it.

Silently, Tang Mujin lifted the entire nest with the egg.

Then he dropped down from the hall roof and moved quickly away, before the bird finished its meal.

Just before slipping from its sight, he raised the nest high.

“Here! Your egg is here!”

The bird stared blankly at first, but when it settled back into place and felt nothing beneath its breast, the realization struck.

Kraaak—!

For the first time in a year, the mother bird spread its wings and soared into the sky.

Its gaze locked with Tang Mujin’s. Though its eyes had no whites, he could still see the blazing fury within them.

It wheeled high, then dove at him like a predator snatching prey.

But Tang Mujin wasn’t caught so easily. He hadn’t trained in lightness and footwork techniques just to be seized by a bird.

Even with the bead filtering the poison, he felt a suffocating pressure at his back, chilling him. Yet alongside it surged a thrill. Excitement.

Kraaak—! Kraaak—!

Dodging its talons by a hair’s breadth, Tang Mujin raced into the small basin where the dungeon lay.

With one final burst of speed, he set the nest atop the prison roof and sprinted away.

The monstrous bird glared after him, desperate to rip him apart, but it had more urgent business.

It settled back onto the nest, comforted by the familiar weight beneath its breast.

And in front of it, a sack full of food lay waiting.

Thanks to its dull avian mind, the bird quickly forgot what had just happened.

What mattered was that the egg was beneath it again, and food was close at hand.

As it ate, its poisonous miasma spread through the dark basin below.