Chapter 479

As I walked further inside, a pretty spacious stone chamber came into view.

There, several warriors had taken their places, each staring at us with intense gazes.

After a while, disappointment clearly showed on their faces, and they went back to their respective conversations.

What’s this? What’s happening?

Qing surveyed the stone chamber.

There were indeed a group of Sapa folks, those infamous Iron Blood Sword Heaven guys, and a few others who huddled together, sneaking glances.

And then, hmm? What’s that?

In a corner, Qing noticed a peculiar group.

One man was kneeling with his hands on the floor, while another, kneeling behind him, leaned awkwardly against the wall.

And sitting comfortably on the back of the man face-down, with legs crossed, was a woman who seemed to be taking advantage of the other’s back as a chair.

In front of them, the kneeling man politely offered a cup with both hands.

A woman took a sip of the tea and set the cup down.

It was definitely Jo Ah-yo, right?

A name you can’t forget once you hear it, or was it a pseudonym that was Jo Ah-yo?

Anyway, she seemed to have come down from the South Gate after things fell apart at the Seomun.

But what is this? Is she some kind of noble lady?

As Qing tried to hide his bewilderment, Jo Ah-yo turned her head to meet his eyes.

Then, she glanced back and forth, sizing up Qing’s party before nodding.

“Hey there, Miss. Are there five of you?”

Qing had his face hidden behind an ornate mask.

They were familiar faces to him, but for Jo Ah-yo, it was their first meeting.

“Uh, yeah?”

“Great! We can go together, you know me, right?”

“Are you Miss Jo?”

Qing tried to act like he knew her.

He just wasn’t sure if Jo Ah-yo was her name or a nickname, so he threw a guess.

“…I’m Lee Hye-hye. Jo Ah-yo is a nickname.”

He had a 50/50 shot, and he blew it.

He thought Jo Ah-yo was her name and that she had a secondary pseudonym like a subscription or something, but he missed the mark.

“Anyway, wanna join me?”

At that, a group flared up.

“Wait a minute, Miss, that’s not the deal!”

Four men, huddled together next to her, protested.

Lee Hye-hye shook her head.

“I’m sorry about that. But there are things that women understand among themselves, and we should help each other out.”

The faces of the men turned bright red.

Even though she mentioned women supporting women, was the implication that she didn’t trust these four gentlemen?

“Wait, where are we going?”

“Oh, right. Look over there.”

Lee Hye-hye pointed to a corner of the stone chamber.

There were open door frames lined up, and inside were stone doors, one after another.

Five of the stone doors had large x-marks on them, and there were ten complete ones ready to go.

And on the wall was an inscription.

“Ten people make one group to open the door.”

“When ten stand before the door, it will open. Everybody was waiting because their numbers didn’t match. So what do you think? If you and I join forces, we only need to find one more person.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Qing still found the whole situation absurd.

Was this some kind of game or escape room? Getting in groups of ten or something.

In any case, they needed to make ten, but everyone was just lingering around, reluctant to part ways with their companions.

True enough, who would want to enter this suspicious stone chamber with someone they didn’t know?

“Let me discuss this for a moment.”

Qing gathered his party’s thoughts.

“Hmm, what should we do?”

“Well, if we need to fill ten, wouldn’t it be better to find a few loners to complete the count?”

That was Namgoong Shin-jae’s suggestion.

Instead of grabbing the clustered ones, he suggested picking up the stragglers to fill the count.

That way, even if trouble arose, they could dominate with five against one or two.

Even if there was no conflict, the Qing party would naturally take the lead.

“Sure, that sounds good, but would those loners even want to join us? Plus, it’s safer to stick with a group. If they pull something, they’ll just scheme among themselves.”

If someone was alone and acted up, it’s just one person doing their thing.

But even a pair could set a plan.

Far better to stick with the larger group, who’d have to conspire as a team, making it easier to catch on.

One vote for gathering the loners.

And another for teaming up with Jo Ah-yo.

Qing looked around at his remaining party.

“I’ll go with whatever my sister says.”

Jin Jangmyung gave up her valuable vote.

That gave Qing two votes.

Thus, whether to gather the loners or join with Jo Ah-yo, Qing’s choice would be decided by majority vote.

So, Mo Yong Joo-hee had no say in this.

Still, wouldn’t it be a bit rude not to ask her?

With that thought, Qing glanced at Mo Yong Joo-hee.

But, she was lost in thought during this crucial moment of decision.

With a hint of envy and warm desire in her gaze, she stared intently at something.

Qing followed her line of sight.

What was capturing Mo Yong Joo-hee’s attention was none other than Jo Ah-yo, who was sitting like a human chair, along with Lee Hye-hye.

“Umm, Miss Mu Yang?”

This is the biggest drawback to a pseudonym.

They don’t even recognize it when you call for them.

Especially with freshly coined nicknames.

“Miss Mu Yang, hey, Miss Mu Yang?”

Qing gave Mo Yong Joo-hee a gentle nudge.

Only then did she snap back to reality.

“Ah! Me?!”

“What are you staring at? Are your legs tired? You want to sit down over there?”

“No, no, it’s not that, wait! No! It’s nothing, really! But, if you have something to ask me, anything, feel free to just say it!”

“Hmm.”

She wasn’t paying a single bit of attention.

Qing scanned the stone chamber.

The warriors within were all staring this way.

Or actually, it was directed at Mo Yong Joo-hee’s chest.

Sadly, it was just a trick of the eyes, and with no ability to see through the illusion, how could the men know any better?

Some weren’t shy at all about hiding their lecherous glances, while others discreetly turned their heads but still threw sidelong glances.

By comparison, Jo Ah-yo’s three followers were holding steady, as if they were furniture, not flinching at all.

Qing soon made up his mind.

“Let’s go with this Miss here. That’ll make nine of us. We just need to grab one more.”

With that, Qing confidently strode forward.

Toward the men who had been peering at Mo Yong Joo-hee’s exquisite figure from the floor.

As Qing approached, the men looked up with dazed expressions.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, just ignore me and keep resting. I just need something.”

Then, Qing reached out and grabbed one man by his hair, pulling him toward himself.

It was a completely natural motion, like grabbing an object.

“Ah!? What the hell is this!?”

“Don’t move! Or your neck is gone!”

“Gulp.”

The startled man, squirming in shock, felt the cold touch of the blade on his throat and promptly shut his mouth tight.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Stop whining!”

Startled, the other members of Gyeongyang Sagan jumped up and grabbed their weapons, but the third one was already in Qing’s grasp.

Qing held the dagger to the neck of the third member and shouted.

“Jo Ah-yo! What are you doing? Get ready to go!”

“Huh? Me? What’s happening? And Jo Ah-yo isn’t my name, it’s—”

“Enough! We’re five, and Jo Ah-yo has four! We’ve got one, so let’s hurry!”

“No, wait, you can’t just grab anyone without—”

“So, what? You’re not coming with us? Are you gonna leave a fellow woman behind? Huh? Aren’t you going to help a fellow woman?”

“Well, I am, but… and I’m not Jo Ah-yo, I’m Lee Hye-hye—”

“Whoa whoa, don’t move! Hey, what’s your name?”

“Ahn Yoon-juk, it’s Ahn Yoon-juk.”

“Wanna go with me? Or go to the afterlife? Wanna come with me or die?”

“I-I’ll go! Please, just spare my life—”

“See! Did you hear that? This Ahn Yoon-juk is coming with us. You all stay here; we’re off to hunt some treasures.”

In an instant, Ahn Yoon-juk’s gang was in utter disarray.

They couldn’t handle a sudden hostage situation and were completely taken aback.

Meanwhile, the third member was dragged away.

That’s when the leader of Gyeongyang Sagan shouted out.

“What’s the meaning of this? Can’t you give the third one back immediately?”

Qing retorted. “Oh, you’d like that, would you? What’s your plan if I don’t?”

The leader of Gyeongyang Sagan opened his mouth, but no words came out.

“Uhh, if you let her go now, we can just let things go as they are.”

“And if I don’t? If I decide to make a fuss over this, then what?”

“Uhh…”

“See, you’ve got nothing to say now? And also, this lovely young lady, Ahn, here also wants to join us. Right, Ahn?”

“Y-yeah! I want to go!”

“Alright, agreement reached! Now, don’t move.”

As the members from Gyeongyang Sagan took a step closer, Qing pressed the blade firmly against Ahn Yoon-juk’s throat.

“Eek! Guys! Don’t move!”

With the blade pressing tightly against his throat, Ahn Yoon-juk was in a panic and desperately restrained his brothers.

So Qing dragged his hostage backwards cautiously.

And soon, one hostage.

One hostage-taker and his party.

All while Jo Ah-yo and her followers looked bewildered at what was going on, they all gathered before the stone door.

Then, there was a rumble, and the stone door slowly began to disappear upwards.

While the other members of Gyeongyang Sagan were at a loss and pacing back and forth, Qing’s party, alongside their new recruits, vanished through the stone door.

After that, a loud crash shook the air as a new stone door slammed down, sealing off the entrance.

—-

Lee Hye-hye felt her mind was racing.

The reason she had initially suggested joining Qing’s party was that their overall vibe seemed much calmer than all the dark-clad men around.

But now, unexpectedly, they chose to fill their last spot with a rather aggressive method.

“Hey, what are you thinking?”

“But there’s an open spot.”

“Couldn’t we just take in one more? Just like that?”

“Ugh, anyone wanting to wiggle into a group like that would usually have a good amount of confidence in their own abilities. Isn’t it better to just snag anyone than risk getting someone like that?”

“Wait, what?”

Lee Hye-hye tilted her head in confusion.

She could see the logic in that.

“There’s bound to be a reason why they decided to bring together ten people like this. Ahn, are you keeping that frown on? Anyone watching might think you were dragged along against your will.”

At that, Ahn Yoon-juk’s expression soured even more.

Qing only chuckled quietly.

“What’s with your face? You seem awfully uncomfortable? If you don’t want to come along with us, then I guess that’s that. Alright, Ahn, you’re free now.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I’m not going to hold you back. I see no reason to hinder someone who’d rather not come along.”

But what good would freedom do?

He was already inwardly being pulled along, the stone door was blocked, and the path ahead was singular.

Ahn Yoon-juk drooped his shoulders.

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