Chapter 173 : An Expert in This Field. -02
Chapter 173: An Expert in This Field. -02
While the two conversed in low voices, they had already reached the end of the cave.
A total of three stone doors stood there, greeting the group.
Yet even upon arriving at the end, Sama Uiseong did not relax his guard.
He knew full well that the most dangerous moment was precisely now.
Tap. Tap-tap.
Thus, Sama Uiseong carefully inspected the surroundings.
He was certain they would be targeted at the very last instant—when their vigilance faltered.
“The moment we open the stone door, a mechanism could activate.”
“That’s right. So we can’t let our guard down until the very end.”
Ban Hojin also examined the three stone doors with cautious eyes.
They were identical in size, differing only in direction, and at least outwardly, there was no visible difference among them.
“Only one of the three might be real. The other two could be traps.”
“That’s possible.”
“Should we cut into one? Make a small hole and look inside. Melting it is another option.”
At Seo Joun’s suggestion of melting, Sama Uiseong’s eyes widened.
It did not sound like a bad idea.
“That’s not bad.”
“We have to open it anyway, don’t we? But there’s no need to open it the way Thief Fiend would want. For all we know, this might not even be the secret vault. It’s unlikely, but he could’ve fed us false information just to drag us down with him.”
“He put this much effort into it. I doubt it’s fake. The money that went into this couldn’t have been small.”
Though Seo Joun mentioned the worst-case scenario, Sama Uiseong shook his head.
If it had been hastily made, it would have been possible. But from what Sama Uiseong saw, the mechanism formation here had required considerable effort.
There were some crude spots here and there, but the arrangement was not poor.
Unless Thief Fiend had money rotting away, which seemed unlikely given what was known of his disposition, this was not something constructed carelessly.
“I see.”
“Let’s melt a small hole first. Can you manage?”
“Who do you take me for? I’m someone who can melt even steel doors. A mere stone door like this is nothing.”
Chiiiiik!
Speaking confidently, Seo Joun placed his palm against the center of the middle stone door.
At once, with the hiss of rising steam, the stone began to heat up around the center of his palm.
It had been instantly superheated by Extreme Yang Energy.
Soon, it began to melt and drip downward from that point.
“That’s enough.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to make it a bit larger?”
“We’re just taking a look. There are two more doors left, so conserve some strength.”
“Hah! Who do you think I am? This much doesn’t even tickle my reserves. I barely used any internal power.”
Seo Joun puffed himself up proudly, but Sama Uiseong ignored him.
He saw no need to respond to every remark.
Instead, he peered through the small hole.
“It looks like this was used as a bedroom and resting space. There’s a small spring, and I can see a bed and some jars.”
“Then next.”
Since it was far from their objective, Seo Joun did not hesitate and placed his right hand on the stone door to the left.
Soon, the second door also melted in an instant, forming another small hole.
“It smells like books.”
“You can smell that? I don’t smell anything.”
“It’s faint. Probably sealed because of moisture.”
“Then maybe there are Martial Arts Manuals?”
Seo Joun’s face filled with anticipation.
The others were no different.
Even if not the Greatest Under Heaven, Thief Fiend had at least been counted among the top five thieves in the Central Plains.
Surely he would not have collected just any Martial Arts Manuals.
“First we need to confirm whether any traps remain. A trap is most dangerous when you let your guard down.”
“Hurry and check.”
Despite Seo Joun’s urging, Sama Uiseong remained cautious.
Even if he made a mistake, they would not immediately fall into mortal danger, but he still wanted to complete the mission perfectly.
He also wanted to show the others the level of his skill.
Thus, using a copper mirror, Sama Uiseong carefully examined beyond the stone door.
“There don’t seem to be any special devices here either.”
“Since it’s a push-door, maybe there wasn’t much they could install. At most, maybe some poison powder scattered around. Or smeared on. I heard there are composite poisons too—poisons that only become toxic when two or more combine.”
“That’s possible. But outwardly, it seems fine. And most poisons can be handled with a Poison-Repelling Pearl. Plus, you’re resistant to poison, aren’t you?”
“I’m still human.”
“That just means you’re useful in times like this.”
Seo Joun grumbled, but Sama Uiseong did not even blink.
Having a useful card and not using it would be foolish.
And there was nothing wrong with being prepared.
“Now, the last room! Only one remains! And only one wish left for us!”
“It’s about time something shows up.”
Seo Joun shouted in an excited voice.
So far, the chambers had not lived up to Thief Fiend’s name.
Thus, not only Seo Joun but everyone watched with anticipation as the final stone door slowly began to melt.
Chiiiiik!
The stone door glowed red-hot and once again melted and dripped downward.
At the same time, a dazzling golden light burst forth through the hole.
“Ooooh!”
“Finally!”
Though they could not see clearly, the brilliant golden radiance was enough to tell them what lay inside.
“Everyone hold your breath. Joun, use a palm strike to burn the air inside.”
“Yes!”
While everyone was momentarily entranced by the flood of gold, Ban Hojin’s indifferent voice echoed through the cave.
They immediately held their breath.
There had to be a reason he said that.
At the same time, they realized they had momentarily loosened their vigilance.
Whoosh!
Although they all carried high-grade Poison-Repelling Pearls, it was still best to avoid poisoning altogether.
Even the Baekdokhwan was not omnipotent.
Thus, the moment they heard Ban Hojin’s words, they stopped breathing, and Seo Joun unleashed a palm strike, scorching the air within the vault.
Chiiiiik!
With the sound of air evaporating, acrid smoke flowed out through the hole.
Even so, the group did not rush inside.
They calmly waited until all the poisonous smoke had dissipated.
There was no urgency, so they kept as far from the vault as possible.
“Since we’re waiting anyway, should we check the Martial Arts Library first?”
“That sounds good. It’ll probably take a while for the smoke to clear.”
Though the chamber appeared similar in size to the others, being inside a sealed cave meant it would take time for the poison smoke to disperse.
Thus, to save time, Sama Uiseong headed toward the Martial Arts Library.
Of course, Seo Joun opened the stone door.
Grrrrng!
“Just in case, don’t go in immediately.”
“With Protective Energy, I can block most mechanism formations, can’t I? I’ve got internal power to spare.”
“That’s why I had you do it.”
“Tch!”
Listening to the bickering of the two peers, Ban Hojin kept his eyes fixed on the stone door.
Soon, the perforated stone door opened fully, revealing the Martial Arts Library.
Tap. Tap.
Yet Sama Uiseong did not enter carelessly.
After carefully inspecting the area around the stone door once more, he stepped inside.
First the floor, then the ceiling, and finally the walls.
“There don’t seem to be any mechanisms here.”
“Even so, just in case, Joun.”
“Yes!”
Hearing Sama Uiseong’s opinion, Ban Hojin glanced at Seo Joun.
He did not sense poison like in the vault, but one could never be too careful.
Soon, another wave of scorching heat burst from Seo Joun’s twin palms, sweeping through the chamber.
“They sealed them in oil paper. Even wrote the names of the martial arts clearly.”
“Huh. There’s even a Martial Arts Manual said to have vanished. It was known that the original was lost and could never be restored, and yet…”
“There are martial arts from Prestigious Families too. Huh? There’s even one from the Main House?”
Sunwoo Bang and Jeong Iryong spread out, examining the shelves.
Then Murong Cheok wore an incredulous expression.
A martial art of the Murong Family, believed to have been lost, sat boldly upon the shelf.
“Judging by the scale, Thief Fiend didn’t build this alone. You can feel the traces of time on the shelves. Same with the mechanism formations.”
“It would be difficult to construct all this alone in a short time. Even the arrows and iron spikes show they were installed long ago. It’s been well maintained.”
“He probably inherited it. Though Thief Fiend was active, he couldn’t have stolen this much.”
Sama Uiseong agreed with Ban Hojin.
It could have been built alone.
But it would have required a long time.
Then the sheer number of Martial Arts Manuals and treasures here would not make sense.
Though Thief Fiend had been active for quite some time, it was not long enough to amass such scale in such a short period.
Even if he operated secretly, installing mechanism formations was not something done in a day or two; there would have been noticeable gaps.
“So it’s wealth accumulated over generations. I understand now why Thief Fiend felt so wronged at the end.”
“And none of it was truly his.”
“That’s true. They were all stolen, after all.”
Seo Joun let out a small laugh.
Ban Hojin was right.
If it had been wealth he built himself, it would make sense to feel regret. But less than a tenth here was likely earned by Thief Fiend personally.
Thus, Seo Joun could not help but smirk.
“There are Unorthodox Arts and Demonic Arts too. The classification is quite neat.”
“If there are manuals related to your respective families, set them aside. We can verify authenticity later.”
“I already checked. It doesn’t seem like there are any from the Main House. Though there are some tempting ones.”
Murong Cheok spoke, and Sunwoo Bang, who had also quickly examined the shelves, nodded.
Fortunately, there were none from the Seonwu Family.
“There are a few I find tempting too.”
“Same here.”
Murong Cheok and Seo Joun subtly raised their hands.
They must have scanned nearly everything already.
“Oh? There’s even a martial art from the Sama Family!”
At that moment, Sama Uiseong’s voice rang out—the most excited since entering the cave.
Never had he expected to find a martial art of the Sama Family here, and with trembling hands, he opened the tightly sealed manual.
He wanted to confirm it quickly.
“Really?”
“Hah. What a situation.”
“In the end, it’s a good thing, isn’t it? That’s enough.”
Unlike Murong Cheok, who looked bewildered, Seo Joun chose to see it positively.
For Sama Uiseong, this was turning misfortune into fortune.
“True. In the end, it’s returned to its rightful owner.”
“Let’s check the vault now.”
As Sama Uiseong’s face gradually brightened while skimming the manual, Ban Hojin waited an appropriate amount of time before turning away.
He could guess how Sama Uiseong must be feeling.
“Wow……”
“This is insane.”
“It’s blinding.”
When they opened the vault door after the smoke had cleared, dazzling brilliance poured forth.
The light from Seo Joun’s torch reflected in myriad colors.
Gold bars stacked in layers, countless jewels, and weapons that looked anything but ordinary sparkled as if begging to be admired.
“There’s not even any silver.”
“It just takes up space. But the amount is insane. Even when we raided the mountain strongholds or Insect Fiend’s hideout, it wasn’t this much.”
While Sunwoo Bang and the others admired it in pure awe, Ban Hojin compared it to the places they had plundered before.
They had raided quite a few locations, but in terms of scale, Thief Fiend won overwhelmingly.