Chapter 717

Seven days and nights could feel long or short, depending on the person.

But for the Nanman Beast Palace, it was nowhere near enough time to repair all the damage.

The demonic qi that had poured from the rift was gone, but its aftermath remained. Countless people had died. Some had lost their families and homes. Others must have been afraid the disaster could return at any moment.

And the Beast Miao King disappeared in the middle of all that?

I frowned, thought it over, then asked, “Tell me exactly what you know.”

Hyuk Mujin scratched the back of his head. “Uh, sorry, but it isn’t much. Like I said, the Nanman leadership is in an uproar. They even discussed casting a net over heaven and earth to find Great Hero Yayul.”

I could hardly blame them. The Palace Lord, the one person they needed to rally around in a crisis, had vanished.

They were probably worried Dark Heaven had made another move, too.

An assassination. Or a kidnapping.

Maybe I was getting ahead of myself, but neither was impossible. The Beast Miao King had been badly injured in his fight with the Southern Heaven Demon Empress. His martial prowess was extraordinary, and Jeok Cheongang had reached him in time to help, but he couldn’t have recovered in just a few days.

“So what did the search turn up?”

Mujin tilted his head. “What search?”

“……Did you actually hurt your head? You’ve forgotten what you said a moment ago?”

“Oh. The net over heaven and earth.” He slapped his forehead. “I only said they discussed it.”

“Huh?”

“They called it off.”

Called it off? Over something this serious?

I blinked, then asked, “Did Dark Heaven take over the Nanman Beast Palace while I was asleep?”

“The leadership? I don’t think so.”

“Then they’re searching in secret so they won’t alarm the tribespeople?”

“I don’t think so either.”

“Then why the hell aren’t they looking for their Palace Lord?”

“Why are you asking me? He isn’t my Palace Lord.”

Whack!

Mujin finally earned himself another point toward his back-of-the-head mileage. He crumpled with a silent scream.

Namho clicked his tongue at the sight of him writhing on the floor, then turned to me.

“Ordinarily, the leadership would have done something. Cast a net over heaven and earth, sent warriors to search in secret—anything.”

I lowered my fist. “But they did nothing?”

“They had no choice. Someone stopped them.”

“Someone?”

“What choice did they have? This wasn’t some nobody who’d crawled in off the street. The great Fire King himself told them to drop everything.”

“……!”

“He reportedly told them that if the Palace Lord didn’t appear by midnight two days later, he would step in personally, so they should shut their mouths and focus on calming the people. The Young Palace Lord agonized over it, but in the end, he listened to the Fire King. The other chieftains had no choice either.”

Jeok Cheongang—and Yayul Mok, too?

My surprise didn’t last long. I thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Midnight two days later. That’s tonight, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“I see.”

“I see? That’s all?”

“What else is there to say? If Ol—no, if Master said to drop it, then we should drop it.”

Namho stared at me, then smacked his lips. “That’s quite a bond of trust between master and disciple.”

“His personality is terrible, but he has his reasons for doing things.”

“Would that bond hold if I told him what you said about his personality?”

“……Things would get heated. Do you want to see me wake up in Henan?”

“Why even ask? Of course—”

His answer had come without a moment’s hesitation. Then he glanced toward someone and continued in a mournful voice.

“Of course I’ll keep it a secret. Naturally.”

“……?”

What was that? Had Ju Hwaran just given him an axe-eyed glare?

But her eyes were curved into a smile when I looked. I must have imagined it. I probably wasn’t fully awake yet.

Smack.

I patted my cheeks and stretched. My stiff bones cracked, and I felt lighter than ever.

I’m in perfect shape.

Between leveling up and resting for seven days and nights, my body couldn’t have been better. The nightmare had left me in a foul mood, but that would pass.

Someone else is probably feeling the same way.

I put on a sleepy face for the others.

“Ah, I’m tired after talking so much for the first time in a while. Could you all give me a moment alone?”

Being a patient had its advantages. People accepted whatever I said without question.

Once they were gone, I slipped out of the pavilion through the window.

It was only a guess.

If he isn’t there, no big deal. If he is, then great.

But the moment I entered a remote patch of grass that no one ever visited, my guess became certainty.

“Oh, there you are.”

Rustle.

The grass stirred faintly at my greeting. At the same instant, a streak of light shot toward me.

Whoosh—crack!

The dagger flew straight toward the space between my brows. I caught it without even looking, and the blade began to glow red, unable to withstand the heat of the Scorching Yang Qi in my hand.

Drip. Hissss.

Molten metal fell to the ground. Only then did I remember I was still wearing my mask. I threw both hands up.

“It’s me. Jin Taekyung.”

A moment later, faint sounds of air splitting came from above. Several figures landed among the thick grass.

One, two, three…… seven.

Exactly as many as I’d sensed. And I knew who they were.

“The Seven Miao Tigers, right?”

Step.

“Please forgive our rudeness.”

The man in front stepped forward and removed his mask, revealing a good-natured face I recognized from the underground prison.

“We never did exchange names. I’m Wonhu of the Seven Miao Tigers. It’s an honor to meet you, Great Hero Jin, Benefactor of Nanman.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Great Hero Jin.”

The others followed him in awkward but respectful fist-palm salutes.

I let out a quiet laugh. “Benefactor? I should be thanking you. You helped me a great deal that day.”

At the mention of the underground prison, Wonhu smiled too.

“Think nothing of it. Without you, we would all have been as good as dead. Or…… become mindless monsters.”

His smile faded on those bitter words. He sighed, then looked at me with some uncertainty.

“But how did you know to come here?”

“I’ve been here once before. I came to see Great Hero Yayul.”

Wonhu nodded as though that explained it. “That must have been the day he vanished without a word, even to us, his personal guards. We were quite alarmed.”

“Yes. Yayul Mok—or rather, the Young Palace Lord—brought me here.”

“No one comes here anymore. It’s an ideal place for a private conversation.”

“I can see that now.”

The Outer Palace alone was enormous, large enough to pass for the capital of a small country. No one had any reason to wander into a secluded patch of grass where even the path had disappeared.

“Then, Great Hero Jin, are you perhaps……”

“Yes. I came to see Great Hero Yayul. I had a feeling he’d be here.”

“Hmm.”

Wonhu let out a low hum and stared at me. Then, instead of the answer I had expected, a quiet command slipped from his lips.

“Make way.”

The Seven Miao Tigers standing behind him flinched in unison.

“Big Brother.”

“But our lord ordered us not to let anyone in……”

“I won’t say it twice.”

At Wonhu’s firm voice, the Seven Miao Tigers hesitated for a moment before sighing heavily and splitting apart to either side.

“I trust you know where to find him. I’ll take my leave.”

Wonhu gave me another awkward fist-palm salute and started to turn away. Then he stopped and looked back.

“I swear by heaven and earth, every person in Nanman, myself included, will remember what you did for us.”

I felt the same way. I’d remember their help until I died, and I was grateful they were still alive.

I gave the Seven Miao Tigers a nod and made my way through the thick grass.

A few moments later, a crumbling old shrine came into view.

Step.

I made no attempt to hide my approach. Through the holes in its door and the gaps where the corners had worn away with age, I could see someone’s back.

“May I come in?”

No answer came. I went inside.

Screeech.

The old floor shrieked as soon as I stepped on it.

“Whoa. You might want to oil this thing.”

I glanced around as I spoke. A low voice came from the broad-backed man sitting cross-legged before me.

“It’s fine. It’s been like that for a long time.”

“True. Great Hero Yayul would know better. You said you always hid here whenever you caused some major incident as a child.”

“……Did I?”

“Have you forgotten already? You told me last time.”

“I must have told you all sorts of things.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t remember. He was grieving for someone who was no longer in this world.

Someone who had always hidden in this old shrine with him.

I watched the Beast Miao King’s back for a moment, then asked, “Why did you disappear? You could have said something before you left.”

“I felt like it.”

“Everyone’s worried. They keep asking where our Palace Lord went.”

“So you came looking for me?”

“I was out for a walk. You should get back before ‘our Palace Lord’ becomes ‘your Palace Lord.’”

“Palace Lord.”

The Beast Miao King let out a quiet, humorless laugh and muttered in an empty voice,

“Do you think…… I have the qualifications to be a Palace Lord?”

“Hmm. That depends on why you came here.”

“Why?”

“If you’re going to brush me off with ‘I felt like it’ again, then you might as well quit being Palace Lord. Not that I’m qualified to tell you what to do.”

A brief silence passed before he spoke.

“It hurt. More than I could bear.”

“Because of what?”

“Because I failed to protect them. The countless tribespeople who followed me—and my one and only sworn brother, suffering right beside me.”

“……”

“Do you know which of those hurt me most?”

I didn’t answer. The Beast Miao King went on.