I Will Become a Phoenix More Noble Than the Emperor - Chapter 63

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

63.

Among them, Seon-o’s fingertips grew cold as she discovered several large wine jars big enough to hold two or three people with room to spare. However, there was no time to be stunned. Those guys were coming this way.

Seon-o grabbed Sa-baek’s arm tightly and ran toward the largest wine jar. Quickly circling around the wine jar, Seon-o found a small snail attached to it.

Seon-o’s eyes sparkled with overwhelming joy as she saw the Chinese character carved on the snail shell.

‘This is it!’

Hui, meaning brightness.

Seon-o immediately plucked off the snail with the Chinese character carved on it and clutched it in her hand, then led Sa-baek again to hide among the wine jars.

Sa-baek obediently followed Seon-o’s lead while persistently watching her back. Just as the two hid behind a suitable wine jar, the wall flipped again and footsteps could be heard.

When Seon-o looked back at Sa-baek and shushed him with a warning, Sa-baek responded by smiling with his eyes crinkled. His carefree attitude was almost enough to make her laugh in disbelief.

But thanks to him, she had found the wine jar, so she couldn’t complain. Moreover, now that she had found this, there was no need to stay here any longer.

‘If we leave tonight right away…’

Just as Seon-o was about to revise her plan, the voices of servants could be heard from behind the wine jars.

“What a mess. To be entertaining customers at a time like this, damn it!”

After the gruff voice spat out curses, a gentle voice replied.

“They’re making an investment. Let’s think positively about it.”

“Right, thanks to that wonderful investment, poor Moon Poong is going to die.”

Seon-o’s breathing became even quieter at the suspicious conversation.

‘Because of an investment… dying? Who…?’

It wasn’t just Seon-o who was surprised, as a servant’s flustered voice could be heard.

“Moon Poong is going to die? What are you talking about?”

“…This is top secret, so keep it to yourself. Moon Poong will compete in tomorrow’s final match.”

“What? What the hell does that mean? This is a monster fighting competition!”

“The boss is starting a new business. Tomorrow, after the monster fighting competition, he’ll advertise that anyone who can defeat the winning demon will receive a large prize. Then all sorts of superhumans will flock here.”

The servants continued their conversation while ladling alcohol in front of a relatively small wine jar.

“What? Come on, no matter what, what crazy bastard would do such a thing?”

“You don’t know. There are always superhumans who want to prove their status. And with money on top of that, there’s no reason demon hunters wouldn’t flock here. Haha, isn’t he a born businessman?”

“But… Well, I’m not sure. No matter how superhuman they are, fighting such vicious creatures as entertainment…”

“That’s why they’re using Moon Poong. They want to lure superhumans by showing Moon Poong easily defeating demons.”

Moon Poong seemed to be a person’s name. Upon realizing this, Seon-o’s blood ran cold.

‘That bastard Wang Ho-bang finally…’

Seon-o’s mind became complicated with Wang Ho-bang’s business plan appearing much earlier than expected. Seon-o knew why Wang Ho-bang was trying to draw superhumans into this dangerous competition.

Because he needed superhuman corpses.

No, more precisely, for his ‘business’.

Splash, splash. The sound of servants transferring alcohol echoed clearly in the storage.

“Well… I don’t understand it well, but anyway, isn’t that good then? Moon Poong winning means Moon Poong will ultimately be safe.”

“…”

“Is there something else I don’t know? Say something. You’re making people anxious and then keeping your mouth shut!”

“…Since an investor has appeared, Moon Poong will die after winning the competition.”

“Ah, what the hell does that mean? Why would Moon Poong die? He risks his life alone to catch those demons, and he’s such a loyal subordinate who would even drink lye if ordered. Why would they let him die?”

“Hehe. Haven’t you noticed anything suspicious? Why would such a great superhuman be so loyal to a monster fighter’s words?”

“…Well, there must be some reason for that.”

Then the man with the gruff voice snorted. Soon his voice lowered secretively.

“Listen, Jang Hwan. That superhuman is under sorcery. A terrible sorcery that forces him to obey the boss’s commands.”

At those words, Seon-o’s eyes snapped open as she eavesdropped on the conversation. When Seon-o turned to look at Sa-baek, she saw that Sa-baek was also looking at her with serious eyes.

The two were thinking the same thing at this moment.

‘Superhuman slave.’

Excitement rose in Seon-o’s throat at this information she had never expected to encounter here. Seon-o calmly kept her breathing low while focusing all her senses on the servants’ conversation.

“What…? But there’s no way such sorcery exists… No, wait. Hold on. Could it be what a Phoenix Competition Candidate discovered recently…?”

“Right, I was convinced when I heard that news too. The boss bought Moon Poong from that place. Isn’t that right?”

Crash!

Gasp, the sound of the man with the gentle voice dropping alcohol in surprise could be heard.

“Hey, be careful. If the boss finds out we spilled this alcohol, he won’t let us off easy.”

“S-sorry. Then… what you’re saying is…”

“Right, since that Maehwagak place or whatever collapsed, the boss must be anxious too. Do you remember the pouch the boss carries around every day? About two months ago, I saw the boss feed something he took out from there to Moon Poong. That’s definitely the cause of the sorcery.”

At those words, Seon-o’s excitement deepened even more.

‘Maehwagak’s drug!’

Everything was falling into place seamlessly.

“Since the Imperial Palace has gotten involved in this matter, the Boss will definitely want to eliminate any future troubles. So he’ll use Moon Poong one last time and then dispose of him. A new investor has appeared, and now he can obtain demons without needing Moon Poong.”

The man with the thick voice seemed quite clever. All his speculations were plausible and held validity.

“Oh dear, this doesn’t sit well with me. Moon Poong may be blunt, but he’s a good man. He’s saved me from being bitten by demons several times.”

“…What can we do? That’s just his fate. We should worry about ourselves. Even a Superhuman ended up like that, so who knows when guys like us will be used as food for those demon beasts.”

“Ugh, don’t say such horrible things. Even if you scare me like that, I have nowhere else to go. But then where is Moon Poong? It would be good if he could at least escape.”

“We’ll probably only see him during tomorrow’s match. It seems they’ve hidden him away carefully since they heard a customer was coming.”

The sound of a man clicking his tongue and turning around while gathering wine bottles filled with transferred alcohol could be heard. The sound of their footsteps followed, and soon after, the faint sound of a wall rotating could be heard.

As the benefactors who had provided crucial information departed, silence settled over the wine storage.

“…”

“…”

Seon-o couldn’t easily open her mouth and simply looked at Sa-baek. Judging by the heavy light that had settled in his eyes, which were vaguely directed toward mid-air—a light that hadn’t been there moments before—it seemed he too was pursuing the ‘sorcery that brainwashes superhumans.’

“You heard it, didn’t you?”

When Seon-o asked as if demanding confirmation, his gaze that had been floating in mid-air became clear, and Seon-o’s face was reflected in his mysterious eyes.

He smiled faintly as if to say that was indeed the case.

Seon-o was about to ask him something again.

But that was the moment.

Suddenly, Seon-o’s throat became blocked, and her eyes opened wide.

Following that, a crushing pain in her heart made her gasp and stop breathing, and Seon-o collapsed toward Sa-baek. Sa-baek’s eyes hardened as he instinctively caught Seon-o.

Seon-o couldn’t even push away his hands and bit her lips. The pain spreading from her heart was not ordinary. Since she had been prepared for something to happen to her from the beginning, Seon-o immediately recognized the identity of this pain.

‘The Rift Sound Stone…’

It was definitely Yin Stone pain.

‘Of all times, now…’

Pain that seemed like it would burst her entire body continued for several seconds with thudding sounds. It seemed the price for consuming the Rift Sound Stone was having her heart burst.

Sa-baek, who had grasped the severity of the situation, grabbed Seon-o’s shoulders and laid her limp body on the floor. After touching Seon-o’s forehead, which had instantly become covered in cold sweat, he pressed around her neck area.

Sa-baek’s expression became serious as he noticed Seon-o’s pulse was racing wildly.

“You consumed a Yin Stone.”

When he immediately identified the cause, a flash of surprise appeared in Seon-o’s eyes, which had been distorted with agony.

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