Emperor Namgung Mu of the Thousand Years - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#042

 

While holding the torch in the same position, and maintaining a frozen posture lest I miss any clue I might find, I move only my free hand to rummage through my clothes.

 

What I pulled out while keeping watch over the flickering darkness in the distance were four silver coins.

 

Though they had no special features, these heavy iron and silver coins had been my favorite throwing weapons since my assassin days when keeping watch and staying alert in all directions.

 

Preparing for an ambush, I slipped the four coins between my knuckles and focused again on what protruded slightly from the wall.

 

It was truly a reed tube smaller than a pinky nail.

 

Even that tube crumbled and crushed when my nail brushed against it.

 

‘At the lower section, around shin height…’

 

This isn’t theory.

 

This isn’t something I heard.

 

I know from experience.

 

Those who pass through such darkness usually carry torches in their hands, and those torches are unconsciously held up above their heads, in front of their line of sight, to secure at least five steps ahead in the darkness as preparation against attacks.

 

In such flickering light, shadows are inevitable.

 

When shadows are inevitably cast and there’s a place where vision is dispersed by my shadow falling diagonally below, it would be the middle position of the shin, between the knee and ankle.

 

Not the floor, not the ceiling, not the wall. If you were to install a device at this position to shoot hidden weapons or emit poisonous smoke, it would have the highest probability of going undetected.

 

Even if there were people like me who advance while groping with their hands to search, this position requires an awkward crouch, making it the most difficult and simultaneously impossible to search thoroughly.

 

But knowing this fact, and operating under the premise that someone was trying to play tricks on the Sichuan Tang Family, this was also the position I checked first, and my prediction was correct.

 

“As expected…”

 

Once you find one, the rest becomes easy.

 

People who install multiple devices unconsciously show certain repetitive patterns for efficiency, whether they realize it or not.

 

Without hastily pulling out or removing the reed, I checked the position where it was placed and the arrangement of rocks protruding from the cleverly concealed wall, and following similar patterns, I could see five more installed along the mine passage.

 

There would be more ahead, but this much was sufficient.

 

Reed tubes that crumble at the slightest touch.

 

Even if someone were lucky enough to find these, their next move would be obvious.

 

Since poisonous smoke would be injected through these, they would try to pull out or dig up these reed tubes somehow, trace them back to find where they lead, and look for whoever is blowing the smoke from the end.

 

But then they would surely miss the traces. These reed tubes, judging by how they crumble, are made from materials north of the river, truly fragile and would crumble at a touch after just three or four days in this humid underground environment. Not only would they fail to find anything, but trying to search would thoroughly damage the scene and give the opponent time to escape or respond.

 

“But there’s no need for that.”

 

The beginning is the hardest when all possibilities are open wide, but once the area becomes specified, it gets easier.

 

For ten breaths, I stared at the torch without moving a muscle.

 

‘As expected, seeing no flickering at all, there’s no wind.’

 

Mines inevitably have air holes along the tunnels.

 

Without them, you’d suffocate to death.

 

But no matter how long I watched, there wasn’t the slightest torch flicker, so the air holes had been deliberately blocked.

 

A mine of this size would have at least eight air holes along the tunnels, and I just needed to identify the closest air hole from this position and search the area thoroughly.

 

If some group injecting poisonous smoke was here, at least one of their subordinates would be guarding near an air hole.

 

Because if the smoke spread due to poor control, they could adjust the size of that air hole to ensure they wouldn’t die.

 

I extended my arm forward, holding out the torch.

 

I looked into the darkness.

 

I just needed to find an air hole and go there.

 

Of course, if there really were people specialized in such ambushes, finding their hiding place prepared with all their might would be incomparably harder than finding reed tubes. But I’d think about that when I got there—

 

—Throb.

 

“…?!”

 

I almost dropped the torch.

 

The silver coins between my extended fingers were trembling and emitting subtle heat and vibration.

 

The vibration and heat, as if reacting to something, were extremely subtle.

 

But above all, an assassin’s fingertip sensitivity is the most acute. Moreover, I was in a state of extremely heightened senses in the darkness, and with four silver coins tightly fitted along my four knuckles all doing this simultaneously, it felt like thunder’s vibration or worse.

 

“Why?! Why are the silver coins—”

 

—Hiss, hiss, hissss…!

 

My senses were on high alert from the vibration and pain.

 

That’s why I heard it.

 

—Thud… thud…!

 

An extremely faint sound that normally even I wouldn’t have heard, buried under my own footsteps.

 

It was definitely the sound of something being released sequentially from far away, getting closer.

 

—Whoosh!

 

I held up the torch, but it was definitely colorless and odorless.

 

‘The scarf…!’

 

And the moment I noticed one strand of thread at the fluttering end of the cloth around my neck turning a red deeper than flame—

 

‘Poison…!’

 

—Bang! Bang bang bang!!

 

I quickly kicked up gravel from the floor.

 

—Crash! Craaash!!

 

The five places where reed tubes were visible to me collapsed as if exploding.

 

Though unconfirmed, I tried to throw silver coins at positions estimated to have reed tubes at the same height to thoroughly crush them. Then I hesitated.

 

“…!”

 

That freeze lasted exactly two breaths.

 

—Pop!

 

I raised my head to look at the ceiling.

 

“Ugh!”

 

My hand swung and the silver coins I threw with all my might shot indiscriminately toward the ceiling and all directions, completely different from their original target, and shattered.

 

Before the dust could settle, I threw the torch far away and ran back the way I came without looking back, screaming.

 

“Help! It really is colorless, odorless poison…! The curse of our ancestors!”

 

I fell twice on the ground.

 

“Agh… my nose…! Damn it, damn it!”

 

I untied and threw away my scarf, rolling around like a lazy donkey as I fled the mine without looking back.

 

…

 

…

 

“Steward Gam…! Steward Gam!”

 

—Crash!

 

Seeing me burst through the cabin door pale as death, Steward Gam was shocked.

 

“Master Namgung Hwi?! What happened? And why do you look like that?!”

 

I hurriedly turned around and slammed the door shut.

 

Steward Gam cried out in alarm.

 

“What on earth happened! Why is your nose bleeding, and why are your clothes in rags!”

 

Without answering, I closed all the windows at once.

 

I pulled down cloth to block them completely.

 

And then—

 

“Phew. This should be enough.”

 

“…What?”

 

Steward Gam looked dumbfounded at me, who had suddenly become calm as if cold water had been poured on fire.

 

“Ah, sorry for startling you. It’s just that I haven’t acted in so long… I got a bit too immersed and perhaps overdid it.”

 

“…Immersed? Acting?”

 

“Yes. Since I couldn’t determine how the opponent was watching me, I just assumed they were watching us from all directions and acted accordingly, so the performance continued until I reached the cabin.”

 

While speaking, I move all my fingers and toes ten times each.

 

After checking all my joints and blood vessels, confirming that even my eye movements follow my intentions with perfect precision, I finally gulp down a bottle of water from the table to wash the dust from my throat, then speak with a deep sigh.

 

“As I thought, my suspicions were correct. Curse or whatever aside, there’s definitely something in the mine.”

 

“…!”

 

What I held up was the first reed tube I had grabbed, protected in my grip even during all that chaos.

 

“Even though I’m quite confident in my fine control of grip strength, it got slightly crushed.”

 

“This is….”

 

“I heard sounds of what seemed to be poison mist coming through here. It seems I discovered something inside the silver mine, so it immediately began emerging.”

 

I quietly placed the reed tube on the table.

 

“I still don’t know how that poison mist managed to avoid detection by all of the Sichuan Tang Family’s toxin verification methods, but in any case, circumstantially someone sprayed what appears to be mist, and this confirms at least one thing – that a person, not ghosts or curses, is creating this situation.”

 

“Wh… Which…!”

 

Steward Gam’s face turns red.

 

Looking back and forth between my face and the end of the reed tube, he exploded in fury.

 

“Which damn bastards dare to do such a thing to the great Sichuan Tang Family, who always pursue their enemies for revenge…!”

 

“Calm yourself, Steward Gam. And you can get angry later. If you act rashly, we’ll miss our chance.”

 

Steward Gam flinches.

 

“Chance?”

 

“I’ve just scattered bait. I actually thought this worked out well.”

 

In the world of assassins, there are three types of killers.

 

Those who approach openly for one-on-one contracts – Whitenight.

 

Those who ambush and stab to kill – Darknight.

 

And finally, those who hide and plan operations using traps, poison, and schemes – Eclipsenight.

 

Those involved this time are at least the third type.

 

They specialize in concealment.

 

Specifically, they’re unmatched at creating hiding places using terrain, and where their specialty shows greatest power is in dark, massive caverns and forests.

 

Finding their hiding spots among irregular terrain would take enormous time and energy, no matter how much I search from breathing holes first, no matter how skilled I am.

 

With no one to trust right now, and not knowing how things might unfold if Elder Yi bursts in during all this.

 

That’s why I decided to draw the enemies out instead.

 

“The enemy must have been watching and monitoring me from the moment I entered the mine through some means. Since I’m an outsider but appear skilled based on my fine clothes, and killing me carelessly might cause trouble, from their perspective they likely tried to either scare me away or dispose of me with poison as they’ve been doing. So the moment I detected the poison, I kicked gravel into what appeared to be reed tubes and broke five or more of them.”

 

“But how does that become bait? If the reed tubes were broken, wouldn’t they realize their method was exposed and move to conceal the situation and proceed to the next stage? So we should hurry and mobilize all available Sichuan Tang Family personnel to surround the mine-.”

 

“They’ll think I broke the reed tubes by accident.”

 

“By accident?”

 

“I was initially startled and broke five tubes thinking I needed to block the mist first, but then I changed my thinking. I deliberately shot the silver coins I was holding as irregularly as possible to break the surroundings, and while leaping down using the Descending Dragon Style, I threw away the scarf with the Poison Detection Mirror that was getting tangled around my feet as I tumbled. I came down the mountain shouting to clearly show I was getting away. By now they’re probably in the process of retrieving the scarf, and seeing the Poison Detection Mirror, they’ll think a cowardly visitor with moderate martial arts skills came by, detected their poison through it, got terrified, and fled while throwing things in all directions.”

 

“How can you be so certain? Couldn’t you be wrong?”

 

“If I were in their position, that’s what I would think. So I don’t doubt it. That’s why we need to quickly move to the next stage now, not waste time calling others. Oh, this….”

 

I picked up a red bottle from the shelf.

 

“Isn’t this Phantom Illumination Night? It’s rare to see – truly befitting the Sichuan Tang Family.”

 

Steward Gam answered in bewilderment.

 

“At this point I just accept it when Master Namgung Hwi recognizes something. Yes, that’s correct. Since it reacts to blood and emits color, someone probably brought it to treat wounded soldiers or identify bloodstains at scenes. But that would be useless to you right now, wouldn’t it?”

 

“I’ll take this with me. Also, Steward Gam, let’s exchange clothes.”

 

“My clothes? Why would you need my shabby clothes?”

 

Steward Gam points to his clothes and tilts his head.

 

“With many of their poison devices broken and not knowing when the next person might come up, they’re probably frantically busy with repairs in this urgent situation.”

 

“…Ah, then surely.”

 

I nodded.

 

“Unlike the earlier uninvited guest in fine clothes, this time a lowly person who could be killed and disposed of without any consequences comes up. In that case, there’s only one method they’ll take.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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