Chapter 140
Liyeon and I immediately set off.
We followed the only path that existed inside the cave. We had no idea what was there or where it led, but we diligently made our way farther inside.
The farther we went, the smaller the space became. Perhaps the place where we had been was the widest part of the cave, because the ceiling gradually lowered and the path narrowed.
Before long, the cave had become a space barely wide enough for two people to stand. I narrowed my eyes.
‘Surely we didn’t take the wrong path?’
That couldn’t be the case. After all, this was the only path inside the cave. Other than this, there was only the hole leading upward, and there was no other way out.
I wondered if we should find a way to climb up through that hole even now, but I decided to go as far as we could for the time being and kept moving my feet.
However, that didn’t last long either.
“Damn…”
The path was blocked.
At the end of the cave lay a huge boulder. It was an enormous rock that looked like it weighed well over a thousand geun, and it had apparently been sitting there for quite some time, because even moss had grown over its surface.
‘That one’s going to be difficult.’
There didn’t seem to be anything we could do about that boulder. Leaving aside the fact that it looked extremely heavy, if the boulder had naturally come to rest here, it would have been firmly wedged in place and wouldn’t budge at all.
Had we really been better off figuring out how to climb through the hole?
Just as I was wondering whether there was truly no other way…
“This.”
“Hm?”
“This. It moves.”
What? It moves?
I looked at Liyeon in surprise. He was already touching the boulder with his hand.
When he pushed against it with force, there was a slight change.
It shook.
It was an extremely subtle movement, but when I concentrated, I could definitely feel it.
Could it be?
“Wait! Just a second.”
I hurried over to the boulder. Unlike before, I placed both hands on it and felt around its various parts. Only after examining the very bottom of the boulder did I finally discover it.
There was a small gap underneath the boulder.
Grass had grown there, so I hadn’t noticed it at first. I pulled out the grass and examined underneath more closely. There was a small rock there.
It looked as though the large boulder had been placed on top of the smaller one.
I shouted happily.
“It’s man-made! Someone deliberately put this boulder here. Looking at that small rock, it seems like it should move easily… Maybe the bottom got clogged up from not being used for a long time? Let’s push it again!”
“Okay.”
Liyeon and I put our strength into it and pushed the boulder to the right. Sure enough, we heard something breaking underneath the boulder.
I tore away the grass and vines beneath it and dug out the soil to make it easier for the boulder to move. After repeating this process and pushing the boulder, it finally began to slowly shift.
Rumble.
“We did it!”
The boulder hadn’t been moved completely, but there was now enough room for one person to pass through. And behind the boulder was another path. It was dark, but there was unmistakably a passage leading somewhere else.
I gestured for Liyeon to follow me and went inside first.
The moment my foot touched the floor, I was secretly startled.
‘What is this place?’
It was… a passageway.
A passageway deliberately made so that people could walk through it. The ground was flat. Unlike the naturally uneven floor of the cave earlier, this path had clearly been artificially constructed to make it easier for someone to travel through.
And that fact seemed to indicate that someone lived somewhere connected to this passage. Perhaps there was a house at the end of this path.
‘Who?’
I just hoped they weren’t enemies.
With a faint sense of unease, I continued forward with Liyeon.
The path was quite strange. Sometimes it went upward, sometimes downward, winding around like an ant colony. But after walking for quite some time, we discovered something else.
Stairs.
At the end of the path was a staircase leading upward.
‘What on earth is this place……?’
I exchanged glances with Liyeon before soon climbing the stairs.
At the top of the stairs was an iron door. The door, made of steel, looked quite sturdy, so I first grabbed its large handle and knocked three times in succession.
Bang, bang, bang.
It was meant as a signal in case there was someone inside.
However, no answer came.
I waited for a while, but when there was no sign of anyone, I pushed the door myself.
Creeeak.
Surprisingly, the door opened easily.
I widened my eyes, then hurriedly became alert to my surroundings.
There could have been an enemy hiding behind the door, or an array formation could have activated the moment we crossed the threshold. But even after waiting for quite some time, nothing happened.
Confused, I slowly stepped inside.
Then my eyes widened at the sight before me.
‘A prison?’
A familiar scene came into view. A narrow, elongated corridor, iron doors spaced intermittently along both sides, sturdy stone walls, and tiny windows set into those walls.
Even iron bars tightly fitted over those windows…
‘It’s definitely a prison.’
I had seen a prison like this at Yongcheok Stronghold as well.
But why was there a prison here?
Was someone hiding a prison here?
“This place is…”
Liyeon, who had followed me inside, also looked quite surprised. His eyes were wider than usual as he repeatedly looked around.
Just as I was about to speak to him…
“Apparently…”
“Excuse me!”
I suddenly froze.
Then I whipped my head toward where the voice had come from.
The voice called out again.
“Is anyone there? If anyone is there, please say something!”
“……?”
“There is a sick child here. Please, just show us mercy once. We don’t even ask you to let us out, so please, even just a cold wet cloth…!”
‘What’s going on?’
The voice was coming from inside the prison.
We had been so focused on checking what was behind the door that we hadn’t noticed whether there were people inside the prison.
We went toward the cell where the voice had come from and peered through the bars.
The cell was pitch-dark, making it difficult to distinguish anything. But once our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we could see inside.
At the same time, I flinched.
‘These people…!’
Although their clothes were covered in dirt and filth, there was no way I could mistake them.
People dressed entirely in white from head to toe.
More than anything, what stood out was the embroidery of flames sewn onto their sleeves.
They were followers of the Sacred Fire Cult.
The moment I realized that, I quickly opened my mouth.
“Are you perhaps members of the Sacred Fire Cult?”
Someone answered in surprise.
“Y-You know of our Holy Cult? No, are you a member of our Holy Cult?”
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“I’m not a member of the Sacred Fire Cult. However, I happened to discover this place while investigating the area at the request of the Sacred Fire Cult.”
“Ah, ah…! My goodness!”
They were overjoyed by my words.
“I knew it. I knew the Holy Cult wouldn’t abandon us. I knew the Sacred Fire Saintess would come to rescue us!”
“What?”
“You came at the Sacred Fire Saintess’s request, didn’t you? To rescue the followers who were unjustly imprisoned here! Ah, if you believe in the Sacred Fire, salvation shall descend. Truly, an envoy of the Sacred Fire has arrived…!”
“No, no. Wait.”
“Thank you so much, thank you! Please let us out quickly. There is a sick child here who needs treatment immediately!”
“Just a moment!”
I waved my hands to stop them as they continued talking without pause.
They looked confused, but first I needed to clear up their misunderstanding.
I continued speaking while trying to calm them down as much as possible.
“First, I understand the situation. Don’t worry. I’ll get you out soon. But there is one thing you’ve misunderstood.”
“Yes?”
“I just told you, didn’t I? I originally came here for a different request and happened to discover this place. To be honest, we didn’t even know there was a prison here. We didn’t know that members of the Sacred Fire Cult were being held here either.”
“……”
“Where is this place? Why are you imprisoned? Don’t members of the Sacred Fire Cult usually move together? How did you end up here…?”
“That…”
The followers of the Sacred Fire Cult couldn’t bring themselves to continue.
They merely exchanged anxious looks among themselves. Before long, a voice came from among them.
“Because the Blissful Pleasure Sect captured and imprisoned us.”
Soon, someone stood up from among the clustered followers and approached the window.
It was an old man with a hunched back. The old man’s appearance was shabby, but his eyes were clear.
Not a single one of the followers stopped him as he stepped forward. They simply watched.
Seeing this, I realized that he was the leader who commanded these people.
“If you mean the Blissful Pleasure Sect, then this place is…?”
“Yes.”
The old man nodded.
“This is a hideout of the Blissful Pleasure Sect. One of the places where they live in hiding.”
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