IJWEP 05

Chapter 05……

Perhaps it was because his qi and blood were twisted, but Baekseon felt sleepy all day despite having slept for hours.

“I have to go…”

He needed to move diligently and rewrite the original story completely, but without his strength returning, he couldn’t even summon the courage to move.

“Come to think of it… was I being pursued?”

According to the intruders who had stormed the cave, Dang Baekseon seemed to be called the Prince of Ten Thousand Poisons.

“Prince of Ten Thousand Poisons, Dang Baekseon…”

The people of the Sacheon Dang family practiced poison techniques. If someone had earned the title of Prince of Ten Thousand Poisons among them, it meant he must have had extraordinary martial skill.

“Still… I can’t remember anything.”

Well, that just meant he wasn’t an important character in the story.

Baekseon, thinking briefly, lifted his heavy body. Sitting in the cave yielded no answers, so he decided it was time to descend the mountain.

Of course, there were many things weighing on his mind.

Why was Dang Baekseon listed as missing? Why was this “missing” Dang Baekseon in Cheonrang’s cave? And what had become of the intruders who had suddenly appeared?

All of it was mysterious, but Baekseon decided not to ask Cheonrang. Even if he asked, the chance that Cheonrang would answer properly was slim.

“Besides… if I talk to him, I might not want to leave…”

Muttering to himself, Baekseon adjusted his clothes and stood at the entrance of the cave. He looked back and scanned the interior.

The cave bore clear signs of human presence. Cheonrang must have spent years here—alone, in solitude.

“…I’m sorry I couldn’t stay by your side.”

He wanted, if only in his heart, to be there until Cheonrang overcame the grief of losing his master. But that wasn’t his role.

‘Song Jeokrim.’

That was the role of the protagonist in this novel.

…While living as Dang Baekseon, would they meet again someday? Even if just briefly…

“…Take care of yourself.”

With those words, Baekseon left, trying to push aside the lingering attachment.

At that moment,

“What’s a sickly fool doing standing there?”

The low voice made Baekseon’s shoulders tremble violently.

When he turned, Cheonrang, who had been standing some distance away, strode quickly toward him.

“Ah, well…”

Baekseon tried to speak, but his breath caught. He needed to speak, but looking at Cheonrang’s face, he couldn’t open his mouth.

After several deep breaths, he finally said cautiously,

“…I’m leaving.”

“Leaving? Where to?”

“Hmm… I’m thinking of going to Sacheon first. I can’t remember the heart techniques, so I thought I might figure something out if I go to the Dang family.”

Cheonrang’s face twisted at Baekseon’s answer.

“So it wasn’t a lie that you forgot the techniques?”

“…Please don’t ask twice.”

I’m embarrassed enough as it is.

Turning his gaze away, Baekseon watched as Cheonrang sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

After a brief silence, Cheonrang suddenly turned his back and said,

“Do you know the way down?”

“No. But… if I wander around, I should find it, right?”

“You can go down?”

“Yes? Of course. Since there’s a way up, there must be a way down too.”

Baekseon’s casual answer made Cheonrang’s face crumple even more—as if a human face could wrinkle that much.

“You don’t even know where you came up from?”

“…?”

“Follow me.”

Cheonrang left the words hanging and strode ahead. With his long legs, he moved quickly, leaving Baekseon, without strength or stamina, scrambling to keep up.

“Here, go down.”

Cheonrang, arms crossed, nodded as he spoke.

“This… is the way down…?”

Baekseon moved his lips, staring at the abyss below.

“Way down”? One wrong step and he would meet the King of the Underworld and have his afterlife examined.

“Um, Cheonrang… do you hate me?”

“What?”

“Because you’re guiding me to the underworld.”

But Cheonrang continued as if confirming this really was the way down.

“You said since there’s a way up, there’s a way down. I guided you here from where you came up. Is there a problem?”

“…I came up here?”

From this thousand-foot cliff?

“Don’t you remember?”

Baekseon ignored the question and scanned the surroundings.

“The fog is thick.”

“Of course it is.”

As soon as he spoke, something felt off. On the way up, he had only looked at Cheonrang’s back, so he hadn’t noticed, but the fog was thick, and the trees surrounding them were absurdly dense.

Moreover, there was a ss-s-s sound of snakes slithering through the bushes… and below the cliff was a valley where a single misstep could break every bone in his body.

“….”

Baekseon’s lips trembled as he let out a dry laugh.

He shouldn’t have assumed Cheonrang was hiding in an ordinary mountain. Damn it, this was apparently Aenoe Mountain (Ainau Mountain).

In other words… there were no ordinary paths—only steep cliffs.

‘How am I supposed to descend without lightness skills?’

Baekseon stifled the urge to scream.

“Why aren’t you going down, Dang Baekseon? Didn’t you say you could descend?”

Baekseon, mouth agape, didn’t even turn, and Cheonrang smirked, asking,

“No… this place, ha…”

“Do you need help?”

“….”

“If not, I’ll leave then.”

As Cheonrang turned without hesitation, Baekseon frantically reached out and grabbed his collar.

Contrary to his expectation that Cheonrang would shake him off, he quietly turned to meet Baekseon’s gaze.

“Why grab me? You said you could descend on your own and not to interfere.”

“I don’t remember saying that…”

“If saying you could descend on your own didn’t mean that, I don’t know what it does mean.”

If only he could use his internal energy—this cliff would be nothing. Baekseon silently stared at the cliff, and Cheonrang continued,

“My master always said one thing.”

“…?”

“If you can help someone weaker than you, willingly extend a hand.”

He reached his hand toward Baekseon.

Baekseon, looking at the large hand, faintly smiled and placed his own hand on top. Although Cheonrang had teased him, he realized it was more like playful affection from a peer.

Moreover, he had thought Cheonrang wouldn’t speak of anything related to Manyugang, but he spoke first, citing his master’s teachings—this gave Baekseon unexpected relief.

“But before I help, I have to ask you something.”

“…Ask me?”

“Does the Dang family know about assassination techniques?”

Baekseon rolled his eyes, thinking carefully before answering slowly,

“My family elders would know better than I do.”

Better, my foot.

The Dang family was famous for poison. The elders might know something, but not as much as he did. From the moment he possessed Manyugang’s body, he had acquired all the knowledge in his mind.

‘I wonder why Dang Baekseon’s knowledge isn’t acquired…’

Anyway, if Cheonrang was asking, there had to be a reason. If he asked casually, Baekseon would pretend to consult the elders and find out.

“Then we’ll go together.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t want to?”

“No, it’s not that… are we really descending the mountain now?”

Baekseon’s eyes widened in shock. Cheonrang nodded lightly.

‘Why…?’

Had Manyugang’s body disappeared?

It couldn’t be.

As far as Baekseon knew, Cheonrang’s “saving my master” would continue until Manyugang’s body disappeared. So he shouldn’t be coming down the mountain yet.

‘So I was supposed to go first and rewrite the story…’

But now he wants to follow?

“I was going to just let you go if you said you’d leave—”

Cheonrang slid his hand into the gap between Baekseon’s fingers.

The warmth on his palm made Baekseon stumble slightly as Cheonrang pulled him close.

“I think I’ve met the ‘precious connection’ my master spoke of.”

…Huh?

“I’m planning to follow this connection for a while.”

Before Baekseon could respond, Cheonrang slid his hands under his knees and lifted him up.

“Wait, Cheon—”

Before he could say anything else, Cheonrang leapt off the cliff without hesitation.