Wudang Sacred Scriptures

Chief Overseer So Seokha of Seongha Sangbang stared nervously at the masked man before him.
“Only sixteen? That falls far short of what was promised.”
The masked man’s voice was cold, and So Seokha flinched before replying.

“Commander, it’s growing more difficult to recruit laborers. They must be ignorant enough to avoid suspicion ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) and hail from far outside Hyeonseong. That narrows the pool.”
“If it's that difficult, you could have filled the numbers with vagrants from the city.”
“We barely scraped together enough bodies last time doing just that. It’s not as if the number of vagrants in Hyeonseong suddenly increases overnight. I ask for your understanding. Also, this…”

So Seokha subtly pulled something from his sleeve and offered it forward.
“The Sangbangju asked that I deliver this to you.”
It was a tea caddy made of mother-of-pearl-inlaid wood.

“He went to great lengths to obtain genuine West Lake Dragon Well tea. You live up here in the mountains—it’s only right you have a small pleasure to enjoy now and then.”
The masked man furrowed his brow.
“Tell the Sangbangju there’s no need for such trouble on my behalf.”

But seeing that the Commander did not push the gift away, So Seokha cautiously continued.
“In any case, I’ll do my best to fulfill our end. Is the shipment ready for transport?”
“We’re short on manpower. Preparation’s incomplete.”

“Then...?”
“Since you’re here, stay a few days. If you're in a rush, you’re welcome to go down into the mine and help with the labor.”
“Oh, Commander, spare me that. I’ll stay out of the way and wait at the guest quarters.”

As he exited the Commander’s quarters, So Seokha let out a long, weary sigh.
“Phew…”
Every time he came to this place, a foul feeling settled in his gut.
It felt as if countless vengeful spirits were watching him.

The acrid stench inside the palisade was nauseating.
The thought of waiting here for several days made him sick.
And the fact that he didn’t know the true identities of the masked warriors like the Commander—that alone was an ominous sign.

If they ever decided to close things down, they could do it in an instant. And not just the mine—everything.
The hired mercenaries standing guard had no idea. They laughed and drank, delighted by the pay. But So Seokha, who had seen war and chaos, knew just how precarious his footing was.
Especially when that shimmering substance... it was no mere treasure. It had the power to drive men mad just by looking at it.

That’s why the Sangbangju and I can’t stop. We’ve come too far.
Lost in his own thoughts, So Seokha failed to notice the presence watching him from beneath the eaves of a wooden building. Even if he’d been more vigilant, he still wouldn’t have sensed it.
From the darkness, Kwak Yeon observed in silence.

He had confirmed now: the palisade surrounded a mine.
It operated under the authority of the man called Commander—and the masked warriors under his command were undoubtedly elite martial artists. Kwak Yeon could feel it through his internal sense.
He had easily slipped past the wandering mercenaries standing guard around the camp. But getting anywhere near the Commander’s quarters had required a heavy expenditure of his inner energy, so sharp was the vigilance of the masked subordinates.

He had also taken stock of the layout within the palisade.
The Commander’s residence, along with the masked warriors’ quarters, was situated on slightly elevated ground. In contrast, the barracks for the mercenary guards and the laborers were pressed against the cliffside near the mine shafts.
It was a layout designed for surveillance. The Commander and his masked men watched the workers from above.

Between them stood a large structure from which grey smoke billowed constantly. It had to be the ore processing facility—the place where the materials brought up from the mine were treated.
That the guards kept a wide berth from that building suggested its contents were highly toxic.
Even now, late at night, thick smoke still poured from it.

A heavy unease struck Kwak Yeon’s chest.
That means someone is still inside, working. Just inhaling the smoke stings the lungs—what must it be like inside that place?
He now fully understood the earlier conversation—how they were always short on workers, no matter how many were brought from the outside.

Kwak Yeon swallowed a wave of rising fury.
First, I need to find the man named Seo Cheongsam.
Sticking to the shadows, he moved silently toward the mine.

There were no additional guards posted inside the palisade, allowing him to approach the tunnel entrance without difficulty.
Even in the dead of night, sounds echoed from within the shaft.
The Commander said earlier that they hadn't met their quota. Looks like they’re forcing labor even at this hour.

The mine had several branching tunnels. Kwak Yeon heightened his hearing and followed the path where the noise was loudest.
There, he encountered a laborer lugging a sack on his back.
The man’s eyes were vacant, and even when he saw Kwak Yeon, he didn’t react—probably assuming he was one of the guards.

“Hold a moment.”
Startled, the laborer dropped the sack from his back and fell to his knees.
“Please, sir, I’m sorry! I only stopped once to catch my breath, just once! I can still work, I swear! Just don’t send me to the warehouse—please!”

That was when Kwak Yeon realized the "warehouse" the man spoke of referred to the smoke-belching building—and that it was a place the laborers feared. It was where the weakened ones were sent.
“Be at ease. I just want to ask you a few questions.”
Hearing the respectful tone in Kwak Yeon’s voice, the laborer’s eyes went wide in shock. The guards never, ever spoke like that.

“You… you’re not one of them?”
Kwak Yeon, knowing he needed the workers' cooperation, allowed himself a slight fabrication.
“I’m a military aide working under the Provincial Governor of Honam. During my investigation into a series of disappearances near Shimjeong-hyeon, I uncovered evidence of an illegal mining operation. It may sound hard to believe, but government troops are already stationed just outside the palisade.”

A glimmer of hope flickered in the laborer’s uncertain eyes. If there was even the faintest chance of survival, a drowning man would cling to a straw. And now he was being told that government forces had arrived—how could he not be overwhelmed with emotion?
“Oh, my lord… You’ve come from the heavens. The heavens haven’t abandoned us after all. Thank you… Thank you.”
“Shhh. Keep your voice down. If they catch even a whiff of the truth, they’ll destroy the evidence and flee.”

“Destroy the evidence?”
“The men outside this camp are no ordinary warriors. If they sense the tide turning, they’ll buy time—and bury everyone still working down here in the process. Once they escape, they’ll deny everything. And without witnesses, we’ll have no way to prove any of it, will we?”
At last, the laborer understood. He nodded gravely.

“They’re more than capable of doing just that. To those bastards, human life means less than a flea’s.”
“That’s why I need your help.”
“Whatever you ask, just say the word.”

“First, I need to know how many people we’re trying to save—and where they all are.”
“About half are inside the tunnels right now. The rest are back in the dormitory waiting for their shift. During the day, they send everyone into the mine… Guess even those bastards understand human limits. Ah, and there are a few more in the warehouse, too. But… I wouldn’t hold out hope for them.”
“Why not?”

“The ones sent there are as good as dead. It’s where they burn heavy lead ore to extract silver, using gods-know-what kind of poison to do it. Every day, they haul out corpses.”
Tears fell freely down the man’s cheeks.
“They say a man’s life is worth ten taels of silver to those monsters. My lord, the ones running this place aren’t human.”

Kwak Yeon felt something collapse in his chest.
Is this how vile people can truly become?
From deep in his lower abdomen, inner energy surged upward, raging through his entire body.

His emotions were stirring wildly—the Art of the Everchanging Origin had begun to respond on its own.
No. Not yet.
Guiding the erupting energy through the pathways of the Celestial Meridian Map, he forced it to settle. Then he asked, voice low:

“What do they do with the bodies?”
The laborer pointed toward a sealed-off tunnel nearby.
“They dump them in that abandoned shaft. Please, whatever you do, don’t go looking in there. If you see it… you’ll never sleep again.”

Kwak Yeon silently hoped that Seo Cheongsam was not among them.
“Do you know a man by that name—Seo Cheongsam? I met his wife during the investigation.”
“Seo Cheongsam?”

The laborer tilted his head.
“There’s not much talking between us down here. I might’ve heard the name, but I wouldn’t know who he is.”
That answer made something clear to Kwak Yeon—asking around for him, person by person, would be futile.

The laborers were scattered across the mine, the rest confined to their quarters. And the warehouse… that place had guards watching it day and night.
There’s no helping it. I’ll have to rescue everyone first—and ask questions later.
Even a moment’s delay could cost a life.

Resolved, Kwak Yeon turned to the man.
“I’m going to leave now and call for the troops outside. It’ll take some time. In the meantime, spread the word among the others down here. Have everyone gather in one tunnel and block the entrance with wood and ore—enough so no one can get through easily.”
“Understood. But my lord, what about the ones in the dormitory?”

“I’ll take care of them too. The same strategy applies.”
“But… there are so many guards around outside…”
Kwak Yeon gave a quiet smile.

“I’m not exactly helpless, you know. I wouldn’t be a military aide to the Provincial Governor if I weren’t capable.”
“Ah!”
His mouth tasted bitter. It was a lie born of good intent, but still a lie.

Had he told them he was alone, would they have followed him at all? Saving lives came first.
And as for the villains within these walls—he wouldn’t leave a single one alive.
Those who valued ten taels of silver over a human life... did not deserve mercy.

A true gentleman must be merciless in the pursuit of justice.
Kwak Yeon had no doubt: if the Master of Three Spirits Palace were here, he would act exactly the same.
Outside the laborer’s quarters, the guards suddenly felt a cold gust of wind brush past.

Then, all at once, they heard a thud—something rolling across the ground.
—Thunk.
The night sky seemed to spin upside down.

It was the last thing they saw.
Severed heads rolled across the dirt. Their moment of awareness lasted only a blink.
Whshh.

Kwak Yeon had struck each guard cleanly across the torso, imbuing every blow with the cutting force of the Demon-Repelling Infinite Form. That was why, even though four men dropped dead in unison like rotted logs, the sound they made was softer than falling leaves.
He approached the door to the dormitory and spotted a heavy wooden latch barring it from the outside.
They’d locked the laborers in—to keep them from escaping.

That meant these men were trapped in that pitch-dark space all through the night. The building had no windows.
No latrine. No washbasin. Nothing.
It was further proof they treated the workers like livestock. No—worse than livestock.

Not even animals were confined like this.
Even the smallest shred of belief that these people were human would have prevented such treatment.
Kwak Yeon wasn’t asking for respect.

But the men running this place had erased the very idea that laborers were living beings.
And in that sense… they were more wicked than demons.
Shhhrrrk.

A low hiss rose from deep within his chest.
It was rage. White-hot and pure.