Chapter 361
A deep night, with even the moonlight hidden behind clouds.
A lone figure moved swiftly through the darkness. Charrk—chains he had summoned flashed white as they spread out like a spiderweb.
“Hmm.”
The man standing on a rooftop railing scanned the area for a moment. After confirming there was no presence to be felt, he drew out his chains again.
The chain sliced through the air without hesitation and lodged into the building across from him. Riding the chain across open space, the man slipped cleanly through a shattered, gaping window.
“Mm?”
As the man looked over the office interior that had been turned into a complete wreck, Eun Woojeong soon spotted something oval-shaped and suspicious in the center.
Rubbing his chin, he tilted his head.
‘...A dungeon entrance? No, it’s different.’
Eun Woojeong quickly realized it was the exact same kind of entrance as the “unidentified rift” he’d seen last time.
The Circle Guild’s trashed executive office. No people in sight. The fact that Cha Seohu’s last recorded location was pinned here—after checking each point, Eun Woojeong nodded.
“I see.”
He’d come because Cha Seohu wasn’t answering even when contacted, but it looked like Cha Seohu hadn’t been able to hold back and had gotten himself wrapped up in an incident again.
Understanding the rough flow of events, Eun Woojeong moved without hesitation.
The rift entrance, which had been about an adult’s height, grew enormous the closer he got, until it swallowed his vision in black.
***
His consciousness blurred as if he’d fallen into water, and all strength drained from his body.
How much time passed like that?
The consciousness that had been dragged down under the surface suddenly snapped into sharp clarity.
Eun Woojeong didn’t rush. He opened his eyes slowly.
“......”
The first thing he saw was red cloth. Next, ornate gold decorations came into view.
Without even needing to look around, he could tell this was a strange room.
Carefully lifting a hand to feel his face, Eun Woojeong realized his mask was gone.
‘What.’
Still lying down, he moved only his eyes and cautiously checked the situation. After judging there were no immediate threats, he raised his upper body.
“...?”
Something slid down past his shoulders. Only belatedly realizing it was his own hair, Eun Woojeong narrowed his brow.
Not only his hair—his clothes had also changed into a flowing, unfamiliar, Eastern-style outfit he’d never seen before.
‘This isn’t my taste.’
Because of his line of work, Eun Woojeong preferred clothing that clung close and made it easy to move. He flicked his arms a few times, eyed the trailing sleeves, then crossed his arms.
The room was practically a showcase of extravagance.
The bed he was sitting on had tall pillars made of gold, and several layers of thin red cloth were draped around it.
It felt like he’d become some Eastern noble drowned in luxury and indulgence.
He was looking around with an indifferent expression when it happened.
From beyond the door, he sensed someone approaching.
‘Trained footsteps.’
It was a presence far quieter than any normal person.
Even as he leaned back against the headboard in a relaxed posture, Eun Woojeong prepared for combat just in case.
Srrk—the door slid open to the side, smooth as silk. The visitor was, unexpectedly, a fairly ordinary-looking man.
“My Lord.”
The man bowed politely to Eun Woojeong and continued.
“New information has come in, so I came to report it to you.”
Eun Woojeong watched him in silence for a moment, then asked calmly.
“New information? What is it?”
“Yes. It concerns an incident in the Henan region.”
The man approached like flowing water, without a sound, then bent at the waist. At Eun Woojeong’s ear, he explained in a low voice.
After listening quietly, Eun Woojeong thought briefly, then gave an order.
“Leave.”
“Yes.”
As Eun Woojeong spoke naturally—like he was recalling the tone from a historical drama—the man bowed without suspicion and left the room.
Alone again, Eun Woojeong rose from the bed.
He walked to the window and pulled aside the red cloth. The view outside came into sight.
The early-evening streets weren’t that dark, with lanterns lit here and there. There were many narrow alleys, and plenty of shops hung with red lanterns.
Just looking at it, it wasn’t a wholesome street.
There were still parts he couldn’t understand, but Eun Woojeong quickly caught on to what kind of place he’d woken up in.
“Shaolin... and the Demonic Cult.”
Shaolin... did that mean the temple in China? Henan was a region in China too, so did that mean this space was some version of ancient China?
He didn’t know what the Demonic Cult was.
What was certain was that, based on the information the man had delivered, there was a strong chance the remnants of the Demonic Cult—who had caused a disturbance at Shaolin and fled—were connected to Cha Seohu.
The corner of Eun Woojeong’s mouth lifted gently.
He still didn’t know where this place was, what it was, or where Cha Seohu—after causing trouble—had fled to.
But it didn’t matter.
He was used to finding out information and collecting it.
Brushing back the long hair that flowed down and shimmered silver, Eun Woojeong picked up a long red-stemmed smoking pipe that was set in one corner of the room and stepped out.
***
“So... if we follow this bird, we can meet the other team members?”
After successfully shaking off Shaolin and saving his hair, Ryu Sunghyun pointed at the bird on my shoulder with a strange expression.
“This bird, could it be... your younger brother’s...”
“Yes. It’s the shadow bird.”
Since there was no reason to hide it, I nodded. Ryu Sunghyun asked, puzzled.
“Where is your younger brother?”
“I don’t know yet. We got scattered everywhere and we’re looking. At least this bird can guide us to locations, but it can’t pinpoint Cha Sahyeon’s location.”
“I see.”
After my explanation helped him understand the situation better, Ryu Sunghyun’s expression grew even more complicated.
“It’s surprising. The skill’s owner is so far away you don’t even know where he is, and yet it moves freely like this and even uses part of the shadow skill.”
“You can’t think about it by our standards.”
I’d been shocked and fascinated at first too, but now I’d gotten used to it. The more you tried to measure how limitless Cha Sahyeon’s skill was, the more you lost.
Kiiik.
Getting Ryu Sunghyun’s gaze, the shadow bird lifted its head proudly, as if it wouldn’t even pretend to listen unless it was my request.
“Tch. It’s still just a bird-brained little bastard. Even if it’s impressive, how impressive can it be.”
Kwon Seoyul, trailing behind us, got petty for no reason. I ignored him and asked the bird.
“Is this really the right way? We’ve been walking forever.”
Kiiik, kik.
The shadow bird flapped its wings and nodded.
“It’s far. All I see is trees.”
“If this space is wuxia, it makes sense it’d take a long time. The land is huge. Honestly, it was just luck that the four of us gathered as fast as we did.”
Ryu Sunghyun, who’d been walking in front to watch for danger, turned back at my words.
“Come to think of it... everything’s been so hectic, I didn’t get to ask properly. That thing you called ‘wuxia.’ From what I’ve heard, it seems like a type of novel. Can you explain it in more detail?”
“...Huh? Explain it? You’re curious?”
His request threw me off, and I asked back.
I’d already explained basic things like Shaolin and martial arts. Judging by how lukewarm he’d seemed when he listened, I thought he had zero interest.
At my question, Ryu Sunghyun gave a faint smile and nodded.
“We don’t know when we’ll get out of here, and at the very least, we need minimal knowledge to respond in an emergency. And it looks like we’ll be walking for a long time anyway, so it’s better to hear an explanation now.”
Hyun Dowoon, walking behind me, agreed too.
“Yeah. Kwon Seoyul doesn’t really know wuxia either. It’s good to know this stuff at times like this.”
That was true. We’d already been walking half the day just to find a single teammate—at this pace, who knew when we’d get out.
But there was a problem.
“I can explain as much as you want, but... it’s a whole setting. I don’t know how far I should go.”
When my face turned serious, Hyun Dowoon grew careful too.
“If you teach a total beginner too deep right away, you know they’ll just crash, right? Keep it light, okay?”
“No, is it even possible to explain wuxia ‘light’? What even counts as light?”
“Isn’t it sects? You can just split it into three: bad guys, good guys, and weird guys.”
“But honestly, does wuxia even have good guys? They’re all knife-carrying thugs.”
“Publicly, the Orthodox Faction is supposed to be the ‘good guys,’ right? Even though Shaolin—who we just fought like crazy—is also Orthodox.”
“Wait. Then what about the Unorthodox Faction? Are you only explaining the Demonic Cult? What about the Blood Cult? Is there a Blood Cult here? If there is, things get really complicated.”
“Come on. There’s no way there’s a Blood Cult. And going as far as the Blood Cult is too much. Let’s stop at the Demonic Cult. The Green Forest can be explained as mountain bandits. The Beggars’ Union is...”
My conversation with Hyun Dowoon kept getting longer. Kwon Seoyul, who’d been waiting, twisted his eyes with irritation.
“Hey, so are you gonna explain it or what? You two are just running your mouths between yourselves and having a blast!”
Ryu Sunghyun, who’d been walking ahead and quietly waiting, couldn’t exactly deny it at Kwon Seoyul’s words, and only smiled awkwardly.