The exit of the exam hall.
During university exam periods, staring at the exit led to a lot of thoughts.
If I step out that door, it’s the start of my joyful vacation. Should I be the first to dash out? No way—if I boldly leap out and end up with a D+, it would be a disaster.
Why is everyone else leaving before me? Is the exam easy? It feels difficult for me. Did I mess up this test? There were some confusing questions. Should I stop agonizing and just leave?
The place that signifies the end of the exam, no matter the outcome.
“Is this finally the exit of the Hongcheonmirijin?”
I was standing in front of the exit of the son-in-law qualification exam.
After clearing university, getting a job, and dating, I wanted to burst through the door like opening the front gate of the countryside house where all my relatives gathered.
The Hongcheonmirijin isn’t easy to pass, even for those from the Zhuge family. Naturally, having passed all the trials, I’d expect to receive such treatment.
But here I was, still unable to open the door.
“This is awkward.”
Each trial takes two days. The entirety of the Hongcheonmirijin lasts ten days.
“No way did it take less than a day per trial.”
I arrived at the exit too quickly.
I pressed my forehead in frustration.
Even those from the Zhuge family can’t easily pass it, and if successful, I’d at least become a candidate for Deputy Head of Family. It certainly made sense.
Could it be that the essence of the Hongcheonmirijin is a formation testing the seven emotions and six desires?
Once I step out that door, how could I explain how I got through so fast? Was that dark-haired fellow a long-time disciple with extraordinary talents like a Taoist Master?
Could it be that our son-in-law works while getting less sleep, eats my daughter’s burnt meat and 20-minute ramen without complaint, isn’t greedy for money, isn’t swayed by a desire for fame, and is a perfect son-in-law without wanting a wife or a mistress?
That’d be surprising.
It wasn’t the reality, though.
The reason I passed through the formation so quickly. The reason I didn’t waver in the face of the seven emotions and six desires that everyone experiences was actually very simple.
“Because the formation doesn’t work on me…!”
———
“It seems like the formation doesn’t work on Master Kang.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
I had learned the truth not long ago, while preparing to leave for the Zhuge family, when Miss Zhuge brought it up.
“Do you remember when we first met?”
“Are you talking about when I snuck in as a delivery person?”
“Before that.”
When could that have been? When did I meet Miss Zhuge before that? Oh right, that time.
During the forced matchmaking session.
“Could you step aside a bit?”
Though I didn’t see Miss Zhuge’s face, I had met her in a box.
“You mean when I escaped from the Man Geum Battlefield using the box?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Miss Zhuge, seemingly embarrassed, nodded while blushing.
“Yes, I remember.”
Why was she suddenly bringing that up? When I asked with a puzzled expression, Miss Zhuge immediately changed the topic.
“Do you remember when I sneaked into your room, Master Kang?”
“There’ve been so many instances….”
Not long ago, while filling out forms, she snuck in like a ninja from an internet cafe.
“Ah… right. That was when I discovered Ho Pil’s identity. Similar events occurred back then too.”
Ho Pil and the box? I racked my memory again.
“Ah, Miss Zhuge. You were using a box back then, so it wasn’t noticeable.”
“Huh? How so?”
Thinking back, I realized how shocked she had looked at that moment.
“Yes, I remember. But what does that have to do with the formation?”
“The box I carry around is not an ordinary one, you see.”
“Yes?”
Feeling she hadn’t explained enough, Miss Zhuge showed me the complicated drawings and letters inside the box.
“It’s a box that applies the Zhuge family’s formations to erase the presence of its user. It makes me blend in like a stone laying on the street, so no one pays attention to me.”
“So you aren’t hiding your face because you’re shy?”
“It’s a box that even the people from my family struggle to recognize.”
I thought she was using it to cover her pretty face. She looked like she found it unfair.
It seemed the box she usually carried around was something that blended in everywhere.
“Still, how can it be that the formation doesn’t work on me?”
Even a stone on the street would be recognizable if it were from the Zhuge family, right? That sounded a bit far-fetched.
“I had my suspicions, but I didn’t think too deeply into it,” Miss Zhuge added, mentioning she had other doubts but never bothered to investigate further.
Sure. It wouldn’t matter for living, would it? It’s like I’d write the number of completed game achievements on my resume. Not necessary.
Whether or not the formation works on a person, what does it matter? Unless it’s the reason Miss Zhuge is watching me in silence.
“Because I’m going to the Zhuge family.”
“Yes. I don’t know what could happen there. I think it would be good to test my hypothesis.”
Since we’re going to the headquarters of martial arts formations, it definitely needed to be investigated.
——
“Master Kang, did you perhaps live in nature as a child or have you consumed some incredible elixir?”
Why does the person who wants to test me look so perplexed? Miss Zhuge asked in disbelief.
“I’ve only eaten some ginseng because I’m Joseon.”
“I still can’t wrap my head around it.”
Miss Zhuge, you really don’t need to look so distressed. I often struggle to understand even with answers and explanations. That’s just how life works.
“Is that so?”
“It seems the types of formations that would harm you don’t work well on you.”
“Just a bit ago, I saw the illusion clearly within the formation.”
When a tiger as big as a house charged at me, it sent chills down my spine.
“That’s typically an illusion to make you frightened and run for your life. But you recognized it immediately.”
“It did feel real.”
It was as if I was watching a 3D IMAX movie, meticulously crafted by a director with thirty years of experience. While I flinched at the tiger’s paw because I was wearing glasses, the fact that it was a movie remained unchanged, so I didn’t feel fear.
“It seems that you have a body that doesn’t easily get swayed by formations.”
“True, it felt like illusions presented by the formation didn’t affect me much.”
“That’s not it. They try to disorient you by messing with your sense of direction and depth or showing illusions, or erasing your presence right before your eyes. It doesn’t work at all.”
Miss Zhuge looked at me like a professor who had just discovered evidence that shattered their theory just before submitting a thesis after sleepless nights.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It’s to the point where the entire Zhuge family would come rushing out.”
“Haha.”
“Maybe you’re extraordinary because you’re a famed Ho Pil. Your intuition is so sharp that you discerned the abnormality in no time. The elders in your family would likely know more, but I have no idea why it’s happening.”
Desperate to come to terms with it, Miss Zhuge rambled on, presenting various theories, but I didn’t feel the need to respond.
—
“Is it because of the Reverse Heaven’s Decree?”
The ability that defies heaven.
The one who goes against heaven, the one who changes fate. Reverse Heaven’s Decree: gathering fame and wealth; it can twist any predetermined fate.
The answer that Miss Zhuge sought wasn’t something I could divulge to others.
“It’s like a magma user being in a superior position over a flame user.”
Ultimately, the formation is an act of twisting the natural order to derive desired results. It wouldn’t work on someone who twists heaven and fate; that would be quite natural.
“If this world grants a special ability, it should grant a good one. What’s the point of a formation being ineffective?”
How often would a person find themselves ensnared in a formation during their life? At most, they’d clearly see the Zhuge family concealed by the mist. I chuckled at the absurdity of it all.
The silver lining is that I got to use it at least once after coming to the Zhuge family.
“Thanks to that, it was quite enjoyable.”
The illusions the formation showed didn’t disappear; it was merely that I could continuously recognize the world within the formation as an illusion.
Most likely, the throbbing around my temples was for similar reasons. It let me escape the exit quickly, but I didn’t rush.
—… What’s this?!
—Yoon Ho, come lay down.
In the sleep zone of the Hongcheonmirijin. In my memory, So-hee was waiting for me.
—S-So-hee?
—I’ll be your pillow. Sleep with your nose.
Just like always, So-hee was waiting for me with her expressionless face. But I could tell—by her subtle expressions and her gaze—that she was secretly looking forward to it.
Seeing So-hee’s face after such a long time, even knowing it was an illusion, made my heart flutter.
Should I escape? Stay a little longer? Yeah, it would be weird to rush out too soon. Besides, it’s true I need to kill some time anyway.
On top of that…
—I’ll just borrow your lap for a moment.
The combination of a miniskirt and thigh-high socks was hard to resist.
—I’ll clean your ears too.
—Thanks a bunch.
The moment my face pressed against her thigh, two massive moons blotted out the sun. Where was this nice breeze coming from? A cool autumn breeze brushed against my cheek, feeling delightful.
The affectionate ear-cleaning brought a shudder of pleasurable chills.
This feels great. I want to fall into a deep sleep just like this.
—But hey, Yoon Ho.
—What’s up, So-hee?
—Why didn’t you tell me about your marriage news?
Her chilly voice pierced through my eardrums like winter winds.
—…
—Why didn’t you tell me?
“I didn’t realize it wasn’t a sleep zone; I thought it was a place for dreams.”
Since it was called a sleep zone, all my slumber seemed to vanish.
Could it be that the sleep zone couldn’t withstand So-hee? The sensation of the ear cleaner nearing my eardrum still gives me the creeps.
“If there exists a virtual reality world, it would probably be just like the Hongcheonmirijin.”
A world of lucid dreams where you can recognize it’s a dream and act freely. However, the condition is that you must possess the Reverse Heaven’s Decree.
Normal folks would likely lose track of when they entered, just as I did when I lost consciousness and entered the appetite zone, becoming mere puppets to their desires.
I finally understood why it took two days per trial.
In the end, I enjoyed passing through the trials in this incredibly immersive virtual world mindset, but a problem emerged.
“How much time has passed?”
Being inside a cave, I couldn’t tell the time.
When a person doesn’t pay attention to the changes of a day, sleeps when they want, and eats when they desire, their sense of time erratically distorts.
It felt like about five days had passed, but I didn’t know the exact date.
Of course, there are ways to leave like this.
“If I leave too swiftly, the chance of revealing the Reverse Heaven’s Decree arises…”
It’s like sneaking into a local language exam while being a native speaker. My goal is to pass the son-in-law exam, not a time attack in the Hongcheonmirijin.
The reason I asked my father-in-law about the shortest breakthrough time was precisely for this. I’d only need to match my father-in-law’s time to gain recognition.
I had come here thinking around the seven-day mark.
“I boldly declared I’d be out in seven days, but I need to know when to leave.”
I let out a small sigh.
“I should’ve spent one more day in the appetite zone.”
Honestly, it was intense. If it weren’t for the exam, I might’ve been okay with staying there for an entire week.
Regret swept over me.
“…Let’s go for it!”
“Huh?”
A sound came from beyond the thick door.
What was that sound? Pressing my ear to the door, I heard the most welcome voice.
“It’s still the seventh day! There’s no way they’re coming out!!!”
“Let’s draw lots now!!!”
