EP.35 In Search of Bego (3)
Standing in front of the tree, I sat down and stared blankly at it.
It was absurd enough that the cliff had disappeared and a tree had suddenly appeared, but it was literally a white maple tree.
The leaves, and even the tree itself, were entirely white.
They even seemed to glow slightly.
The leaves falling from the tree were surprisingly filled with light.
When I carefully picked one up, it crumbled to pieces as soon as it touched my hand.
"What on earth is going on here?"
Is this really one of the formations?
Even the Zegu family, known as experts in formations who were swept away in the past bloodbath, had no records of using such a formation.
Then, how should I explain what I'm seeing now?
"Master! Look at this, it's so beautiful!"
Weixia had gathered a bunch of fallen leaves and came over.
"...When I picked them up, they crumbled."
In Weixia's hands, they retained their shape, as if discriminating against people.
I carefully picked up one of the leaves Weixia was holding.
It crumbled just the same.
"...What is this, is it really discriminating?"
This is making me feel bad.
I looked around. Now that I noticed, the terrain had changed to something much more natural than when it was a cliff.
Was this real from the beginning?
"Regardless, it seems I've found Bego..."
It was exactly as Dangmen had described. It's really white...
The falling leaves looked like snow if you weren't careful.
To think they could hide something so conspicuous for hundreds of years.
How is that even possible?
As far as I know, formations don't last very long and need to be checked periodically.
Did someone keep checking it?
"Master! There's something here!"
"...When did you get over there?"
While I was sitting and staring, Weixia had already been wandering around and touching the tree.
When I approached the tree at Weixia's call, I saw a staircase leading down behind it.
Isn't a secret chamber usually made more secretive?
"Since the formation is this strong, maybe they didn't worry about it?"
Perhaps when I tried to approach the cliff, my body felt fear due to the formation's influence.
Then, how did Weixia remain unaffected?
She even broke through the formation to see the tree.
'Even if it's a good thing, how do I explain this?'
I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
I needed to focus on Bego.
"Let's be careful... it's dangerous."
Just as I was about to say that, Weixia was already gone.
Her voice came from below the stairs.
Thanks to her, my headache didn't seem to be going away.
I immediately followed Weixia down the stairs.
The stairs were much narrower than I expected, and there was no end in sight.
I thought about rushing down to get something to light the way, but...
Surprisingly, the white leaves Weixia was holding served that purpose.
The glowing leaves illuminated the surroundings well, allowing us to descend relatively safely.
'How deep did they make this?'
How far have we come down?
Following the light of the leaves, we've been descending for a long time, but the stairs still show no end.
No matter how deep they made it, is this even possible?
'Is this all part of the formation?'
Considering the impossibly large white tree and the vast land hidden and transformed into a cliff... it doesn't seem impossible.
Looking at it now, it seems I entered too recklessly without a formation expert.
I found Bego too quickly, and my greed blinded me to other things.
I called out to Weixia, who was descending ahead of me.
"We should go back up first..."
"Master, there's another path here."
All Weixia could see were stairs.
The stairs that still had no end.
"Where are you talking about? There are only stairs in front of us."
In response to my question, Weixia started touching the side wall.
When she let go of the leaves, they fell, but she didn't seem to care.
"There's nothing but the wall, what are you talking about...?"
A sound came from the wall Weixia was touching, and with a puff of dust, a hidden passage appeared.
Weixia puffed out her chest proudly at the revealed passage.
It was clearly a good job, but it seemed annoying.
"...Why is this really here?"
We would have had to bring an expert and conduct a long investigation to find a passage that only becomes visible after descending for so long.
Is this also a matter of talent?
As a potential divine sword, Weixia's perspective must be different from mine, but can it be so different that she can see things like this?
When Weixia tried to enter the passage, I stopped her.
"It's dangerous to go in recklessly. I'll go first from now on."
It didn't seem right to say this after leading the way down the stairs, but...
From here on, it really seemed dangerous.
Weixia smiled sweetly for some reason.
I asked her, confused by her smile.
"You're worried about me...!"
Weixia's words made me feel embarrassed, so I gave her a light tap.
"Ouch! Why...! Why did you hit me...!"
"Just because, it's annoying."
Inside the passage, it was bright enough that we didn't need the leaves. I stopped walking and noticed something.
The things embedded in the walls, illuminating the area...
"Are these all night pearls?"
Stones that emit bright light in the dark.
Nowadays, they are so rare that no amount of money can easily buy them.
But they are casually embedded in the walls here?
"Crazy... Even if the Jinchunyan family had a lot of money, is this reasonable?"
If I took them all, how much would it be worth?
'...Should I take some when I leave?'
It feels a bit guilty, but... isn't it fine? After all, I'm the one who found them.
Right, in my past life, I didn't live as a person overflowing with conscience.
"It's nothing. Let's go forward first."
I'll think about the night pearls later. I cautiously moved forward.
I was on high alert, looking around in case something jumped out, but...
There was no significant threat.
We walked for a long time, not as long as the stairs, but...
Just when I started to doubt if this passage was a trap and we should have continued down the stairs,
Finally, we saw the end of the passage.
At the end of the passage was a massive door, at least twice my height.
I walked forward and slowly grabbed the pitch-black door handle.
I was worried that something might happen when I grabbed the handle, but fortunately, nothing did.
I pulled with all my strength.
Contrary to my expectation that it would be incredibly heavy, the door opened easily.
When I opened the door and entered, the room was filled with darkness, just like the door.
It seemed that no night pearls were installed in this room, unlike the passage.
I couldn't see the size of the room or if there were other passages. Something passed by me in the dark.
It was the white maple leaf Weixia had brought.
Was it being carried by the wind? But there was no wind at all.
I immediately raised my aura at the sudden voice.
It was coming from ahead.
-...How did you get here, child?
The maple leaf, which had been floating, stopped in mid-air.
It then crumbled and disappeared, just like when I touched it.
-You are not a child of the Jin family, so how did you find this place?
A light began to appear from beyond the darkness.
The same white light as the one the maple leaf had.
I raised the Gouyanhuailun technique, protecting Weixia behind me.
'This is dangerous. Should I run away now?'
No matter how much I raised my aura, I couldn't sense anything beyond the darkness.
There was definitely something there, but it was as hazy as a thick fog.
-...You carry something strange within you.
With those words, the light suddenly enveloped us.
The light was so bright that I closed my eyes and protected Weixia.
When the light faded and I opened my eyes,
I gasped at the sight before me.
The room, which had been dark, was now brightly lit.
The problem was the source of the light.
The room was tall and wide, at least ten zhang in height, and at its center was a snake.
A massive snake that could fill the entire room.