I instinctively grabbed Jegal Hyun by the sleeve. Then Jegal Hyun looked down at me with a curious look on his face.
âYoung Lady? Whatâs wrong?â
ââŠyou are asking me whatâs wrong?â
âYou suddenly grabbed my sleeve.â
Jegal Hyun didnât seem to hear anything. It sounds so loud to me. But he wasnât even looking at Buddhist monk Jeonghyeon.
The same was true of the other investigators. I was sure that they were told all together about the blood, but their expressions were so calm.
âCanât you hear this?â
âWhat are you talking about?â
âWhat Buddhist monk Jeonghyeon just said. Didnât you hea
ââDid the monk speak? When?â
âNowâŠ!â
I was going to talk, but I stopped. Iâm the only one who can hear Jeonghyeonâs voice.
âHow?â
I calmed myself down.
Monk Jeonghyeon couldnât do anything to me anyway. If he uses his powers just a little, the grandfathers and Silver Spirit will protect me immediately.
âAnd yet, why am I so nervous?â
I let go of the sleeve of Jegal Hyun.
âIâm going out first. My grandfathers are waiting outside.â
I purposely raised my voice so that Monk Jeonghyeon could hear it. If he knows that the elders are nearby, Jeonghyeon might back off.
However, Buddhist monk Jeonghyeonâs reaction was unexpected.
â No oneâs coming in here.
ââŠwhat do you mean? Why canât anyone come in?â
â Things unsaid will disappear. What one canât see is forgotten.
Jegal Hyun, who was looking at me carefully, asked while wrinkling his forehead.
âYoung Miss, who have you been talking to?â
But I couldnât answer Jegal Hyun. This is because Jeonghyeon âs words that followed were so ominous.
â Iâm sorry for the young lady, but think of it as a sin of being born wrong.
â I pray to the Lord that you believe in the afterlife, you will be born into an ordinary family in your next life.
âWha-what are you saying?â
Monk Jeonghyeon put his palms together. There was a loud sound that made the cave cry.
Clap!
I thought it was a signal to attack, but it wasnât.
Feeling strange, I turned my eyes to other people and took a deep breath.
ââŠâŠâ
Investigators stared into space with expressionless faces like mannequins.
They didnât even blink. They didnât even move a single finger.
âDangerous!â
It was gruesomely bizarre. I recoiled back.
Jegal Hyun, who belatedly noticed the abnormalities of the investigators, stepped forward.
âHuh? Whatâs wrong with everyone?â
I grabbed Jegal Hyunâs arm in a hurry.
âNo! Stay away!â
âYes?â
âKeep away from him!â
Jegal Hyun didnât seem to know what had happened.
âHeâs so frustrating. Does he not even have a sense of crisis?â
I screamed loudly.
âEunyeong!â
But no one showed up. It was the same when yelled at the top of lungs again.
â Things unsaid will disappear. What one canât see is forgotten.
âDonât tell me this situation canât be heard or seen by Eunyeong?â
There was no time to think deeply. This is because Jeonghyeon took out a small silver dagger from his sleeve.
Only then did Jegal Hyun shout in panic.
âSir, why the dagger⊠what are you trying to do? Stop, monk!â
âItâs too late! Heâs going to attack us!â
âWell, thatâs notâ thatâs not possible!â
At that time, Buddhist monk Jeonghyeon lifted his eyes.
His black eyes were surprisingly clear. As if he had abandoned all his desires. Even the will to live.
The moment I saw his eyes, I realized that my guess was wrong.
Jeonghyeon will not attack me. Heâs going to burn his own life away. Like a lit candle wick.
Unfortunately or fortunately, my prediction was not wrong. The silver dagger was stuck in the neck of Jeonghyeon, not us. Blood sprayed like a fountain, and at the same time light leaked out of his body.
Itâs suicide bombing!
I donât know how itâs possible, but I just felt it from my instincts.
âWe have to avoid it!â
âUh, where are you going!?â
We canât go to the entrance where Jeonghyeon was blocking us. Thereâs only one option left.
âInside!â
I ran frantically into the training area with Jegal Hyun. Though the back of my head was hot, I couldnât even look back. I thought I would be in trouble if I hesitated a little
âThatâs where we have to get to! If we are just around the corner, we wonât be affected by the explosion as much.â
Unable to keep up with the speed that we were running, we stumbled and at the same time a bright light filled the cave.
âArgh!â
A huge force like a tidal wave hit us in an instant. Our bodies, pushed by the force, floated away.
Boom! Kwang!
The cave trembled with a roar. The floor shook like a tidal wave.
âUgh!â
As soon as I hit a stone wall, I curled up into a ball
There was an intermittent sound of something collapsing. The cave, which had been shaking as if it was about to collapse, calmed down after a long time.
I checked my physical condition carefully. My whole body was throbbing as if it had been beaten. Did I hurt my shoulder when I hit the wall? I couldnât feel my right arm.
I looked for Baekha who might be rolling around on the floor.
I couldnât see well because the air was blocked by cloudy dust. I couldnât even tell who lived and who died.
âCough, cough, cough!â
Something rose from my throat. It turned out to be a lump of dark red blood.
I was sweating a lot as my whole body lost strength. It was obvious that I had internal injuries.
I wiped my mouth with my sleeves and found a pouch in my arms.
It contained dried persimmons that were reserved for Aku Ryun and gifts from elders.
I rummaged through the bag, took out the Golden Medicine, applied it on my shoulder, and took half the medicine that was left over.
His throbbing improved and the speed I moved improved, but my internal qi remained twisted. At this rate, Iâll freeze to death in the chill.
âI canât be here. Letâs get out of here.â
I barely stood up against the wall with my shaky left hand on the floor. I didnât even walk much, but I sweated quickly and drenching my face.
I stopped for a moment and was wiping off the sweat that caught my eye when I heard a groan somewhere.
âEuuuuuhâŠâ
It was Jegal Hyun.
I approached him and pulled on his arm.
âAre you all right?â
He looked dazed as if he had not come to his senses yet, but he soon grabbed his legs and groaned in pain
I put the Golden Medicine on his legs and fed him the rest of my medication.
Only then did Jegal Hyun come to his senses and looked around.
âYou guys caused this incident yourselves, so who are you trying to pin it on? Donât tell me you planned this?â
We remained silent until the sand did not fall. I kept my anger down and got him up.
âItâs a loss for us to fight here. Letâs just go outside and talk.â
ââŠI agree. Youâll find out when we get out of here .â
He spoke stiffly and stood up against the wall. We went back the way we ran from.
I couldnât put any strength into my legs. I struggled, but I clenched my teeth and endured it.
I didnât want to show weakness to Jegal Hyun.
âLetâs go a little further. Itâs the entrance a little further. Just a little moreâŠ!
âAhâŠâ
A huge rock was blocking the passage to the entrance. I sank to the floor.
âNot like this!â
Jegal Hyun limped. He punched the rock with his fist, but without his powers the rock didnât move an inch.
âWhat should I doâŠ?â
I was so exhausted that I couldnât even cry. I felt like my throat was going to dry and tear.
I collected saliva I had in my mouth and wet my throat.
To make matters worse, it was chilly. Itâs because of my internal injuries and excessive movement. It was hard to withstand the chill because of my dwindling qi. I took the remaining red beads out of my pocket with a trembling hand.
âCan I break that rock with this?â
Jegal-hyun looked at the red beads and shook his hands in disgust.
âThe red bombs? No way! The explosive power is so strong that it could endanger us!â
âThen wait a minute. Grandfathers and dad will rescue us soon.â
âWhat do you mean? If they touch a single thing wrong outside, the whole thing will collapse.â
Like a man who gave up all hope, Jegal Hyu âs voice was full of frustration.
No, Iâm not dying here! Now that I have a family, I think I know what happiness is.
âI canât die like this!â
I clenched my teeth and shook my head.
âDonât be so weak! Even though Iâm six years old, Iâm holding out, why would a grown man say something weak like that!â
ââŠâŠ â
âItâs too early to give up. Thereâs a way out of any situation. I meanâŠâ
My ears hummed and I heard a sound before I was done speaking.