Chapter 5: Come Whenever You Wish

Geumseopsa stopped. He understood my position. It wasn’t that I wanted him to run and hide somewhere quickly, but rather to stay still.

“Stay still?”

Geumseopsa checked if he had heard me wrong. I fixed my changed expression.

“Move a little more into the corner.”

“…L-like this?”

“Good.”

Caught off guard by my determination, Geumseopsa reluctantly shifted his body toward the corner.

There was no time. At this speed, the only way to approach was by moving stealthily. Facing a master like Jang NeuGeum, any noise or breath would surely give us away.

“I’m going to set up a small Jinbeop just big enough for one person.”

“Jinbeop?”

Geumseopsa looked baffled. Certainly, Jinbeop wasn’t simple. Aside from Ohaeng, Pa, Yeok, Bangwi, and Sangguk, it required deeply layered study to even begin to unfold.

But I couldn’t convince him I had such knowledge, nor was there time to prove it. I took out some Okdol Joyul from the drawer beside me.

I had gathered them thinking Geumseopsa might have something to do. Normally, using Mokju or Chimchu for Jinbeop would be ideal, but since the drawer had holes, I grabbed a few pebbles instead.

“From now on, try to stay as still as possible. No coughing, no itching…”

“…Ah. No. I’ll try…”

Geumseopsa tried to speak, but after a brief hesitation, he produced a Jinbeop that was not very effective. Soon, he was ready to unfold the formation.

Eunjin—hidden formations—were the most basic type of Jinbeop. Although I couldn’t unfold Qimen Dunjia, the meaning of hiding secrets was clear enough.

The Qi flowing through all lands and spaces is not the same. Near a volcano, fire Qi is strong; near a river, water Qi dominates. Jinbeop’s mechanism is to temporarily suppress or amplify this Qi to interfere with the Chaan (this shore).

My task was to make the spot where Geumwolsang was standing the Gapeui, the center of the Gugung (Nine Palaces).

As I moved the stones at random, they trembled lightly, seeming to become transparent, and Geumwolsang melted into the background, even his breath vanished.

“Huh?”

In the empty space, Geumwolsang’s startled voice echoed. I immediately shaped my lips into a straight line and breathed through my teeth. Fortunately, my meaning was conveyed.

After hiding Geumwolsang and blinking twice, the sound of the window shaking reached my ears. I left my room and walked down the corridor.

The vibration of the Yu Ri Chang window was caused by the building itself. Still, I did my best not to show any signs of urgency as I descended the stairs.

As I reached halfway down, the front door burst open with a clamor.

The man who appeared, with a single strand of hair faintly falling over his forehead, was exactly whom I expected.

“Elder Lee Cheongmyeong. What brings you here?”

“Youngest Master, you’re still awake at this hour.”

“I heard. There was a vibration in the building.”

“I see.”

Lee Cheongmyeong looked at me with curious eyes. It was clear he had many questions to ask.

I smiled slightly. Beyond the humor of his hairstyle, I liked how Elder Lee was looking down at me. My smile seemed to ruffle him a bit.

“Have any outsiders entered, Young Master?”

“No.”

This time, Lee Cheongmyeong smiled faintly. He slowly climbed the stairs one step at a time as if trying to intimidate me.

“Indeed, something has changed in you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Originally, I couldn’t even catch your eye, and your voice was soft.”

That was something easily corrected with a throat clearing. He was the type to take trivial things seriously.

“People always change.”

Soon, Elder Lee reached my floor. His shadow stretched long over me. Since there was almost a foot difference in height between us, he had to look down to speak.

“Now answer my question. This is your last chance. Did you have any outside intrusion? Or did you go outside yourself?”

No matter the pressure, I knew the wisest answer here.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t remember if I went outside or if there was an intrusion.”

I smiled, and Elder Lee smiled along. Soon, he pulled out a purple piece of cloth from his pocket. It looked torn as if caught on something.

“Before entering the front door, I checked all the surrounding windows. This cloth was on the southwestern window frame.”

“I see. Sounds like I need to reprimand my attendants. They must’ve been negligent in cleaning.”

“No, this cloth just fell off recently. There’s still some evidence of Jinbeop around here.”

The purple cloth waved proudly before my eyes.

Indeed, with Geumwolsang running from his spot like that, it would be strange if no traces were left. Lee Cheongmyeong acted as if he had cornered me.

But my course of action was already decided, no matter what he did.

“That’s not my concern.”

“You’re denying it?”

“There’s no solid evidence, so there’s nothing to deny.”

Lee Cheongmyeong burst out laughing. He lowered his body like coaxing a crying child and locked eyes with me.

“Young Master, I don’t know why you’re changing so hastily, but the martial world won’t just let someone go because they throw a tantrum. You’re mistaken about something.”

He then straightened up.

“Then may I search your house? We need to find the intruder.”

“What if I refuse?”

“I’ll do it by force.”

“Then do as you please.”

I descended the stairs. I intended to wait by the chair near the entrance. Lee Cheongmyeong’s face showed some frustration. Just as he relaxed a little, I turned my back.

“But if you fail to find anyone, I will hold you responsible for your rude unannounced visit.”

“…Hah.”

I went down to the first floor, and Lee Cheongmyeong climbed up.

***

Lee Cheongmyeong was bewildered. Half an hour had passed since he began searching Okmyogak. But there was truly nothing. Even when he used his Qi perception, all he sensed was a cheeky little brat.

“A cunning ghost indeed.”

It was clear someone had entered. At the very least, there should have been no unknown or uncertain information about the direct line of the Hwanggeum Family.

“At this level, if it wasn’t Jinbeop, then it would be a miracle…”

But even with five Jinbeop masters setting the formation in Okmyogak, the idea that a Jinbeop had suddenly appeared to hide an intruder was nonsense.

Lee Cheongmyeong shivered briefly. Reporting that an intruder was in the Youngest Master’s residence but couldn’t be found would result in a serious reprimand.

“By the way, this isn’t just any human intrusion.”

Usually, if someone had been replaced, they’d show signs of nervousness or depression. This was serious enough to make one doubt that the Youngest Master had been swapped for real.

That aside, for Lee Cheongmyeong, the priority was to find the intruder. He searched the closet, under the bed, and beneath chairs—nothing.

“Still can’t find them?”

At that moment, the Youngest Master’s voice came from behind. Lee Cheongmyeong jumped and turned around.

The Youngest Master’s lack of Qi aura made him difficult to detect.

Geum-mokhwan stood like a young novice monk. He tilted his head as if feeling disdain.

“Surprised?”

“No.”

Lee Cheongmyeong ground his teeth internally. He tried to keep calm, but his ears had reddened as a side effect.

“You should leave now. It’s late. I need to sleep too.”

“What trick did you pull?”

Lee Cheongmyeong couldn’t accept it. Every sign pointed to someone entering Okmyogak. He had to know who had such a secret relationship to visit the Youngest Master in the dead of night.

“Is that some kind of last-minute nonsense?”

Geummokhwan twisted his mouth and sneered. Lee Cheongmyeong had never been so insulted since entering the martial world.

Lee Cheongmyeong nodded. He admitted it. Whatever trick or secret passage might exist, it was out of his reach. But he couldn’t accept that he simply failed to find the intruder.

However, the fact that someone could pull such a trick was valuable information.

“…Seems I haven’t seen the full scope of your skills. I’ll go in now.”

“Yes.”

Geummokhwan no longer even looked interested, not even meeting Lee Cheongmyeong’s gaze. His disdainful attitude made Lee Cheongmyeong smile again. Thinking a twelve-year-old would cause a nervous breakdown was ridiculous.

Just before leaving through the front door, Lee Cheongmyeong suddenly turned around.

“Young Master, you said you’d hold me responsible if I couldn’t find any traces. How do you intend to enforce that?”

“You’ll know the day my alchemy ends.”

Geum-mokhwan said this and abruptly turned away without even looking at Lee Cheongmyeong, then climbed the stairs. It was a provocative challenge.

***

“Phew. Haa, haah.”

Geumwolsang, as if just surfacing from a long submersion, leapt out toward me. Standing in the same posture for over half an hour must have been difficult.

Inside the Jinbeop, the outside was visible. When Lee Cheongmyeong entered the room, Geumwolsang must have been extremely tense.

He rolled his body a few times to loosen stiff muscles, which looked amusing.

“You endured well.”

“Yeah.”

Only then did Geumwolsang realize I had been watching and stood up sheepishly.

He cleared his throat and looked at me seriously.

“Mokhwan, what is this nonsense?”

“It’s Luo.”

“Using Jinbeop at your age? A talent even our Hwanggeum Family would envy!”

Geumwolsang spoke in a voice raised with delight.

I looked at him. His innocence seemed something I could use to my advantage.

“Brother, please keep it a secret that I can use Jinbeop.”

“That’s obvious. You had your reasons to hide it until now. The silence, caution, and gloom were all for a purpose.”

I nodded. I knew I’d earned that kind of evaluation. It was better to be shameless now. From this point on, everything was half done.

“You have many questions. Why you’ve hidden it so far, what you’ve been thinking…”

Geumwolsang’s eyes sparkled as he spoke, but I shook my head.

“We’ll talk next time. It’s already late.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you come to check if I’m really ‘Gwangjeong’? Since I’m not, you should leave.”

“No, but still…”

“I’ll be leaving soon.”

Though Geumwolsang seemed to show brotherly affection, that was a huge misconception.

The outside Jinbeop was already removed when Lee Cheongmyeong entered, so there was no reason for Geumwolsang to be here. Just as he was about to leave with a forlorn look, I added,

“Go out the north window. That’s the Saengmun (life gate) of the Fog Trapping Array.”

Only then did Geumwolsang’s expression brighten slightly.

“Alright. Got it.”

I confirmed Geumwolsang’s exit from Okmyogak and turned back to my seat.

As I said to Geumwolsang, there was no time to sleep. I closed my eyes and activated the Taeul Heavenly Origin Divine Art. Time was short.

Until my only confirmed ally arrived, I had to grow as much as possible.