In the quiet of the forest, with the sound of birds and the sun completely blocked by the dense trees, five young men stood staring at a large tree with blank expressions.
After the driver left, they didn't know where to start searching. Cho Zin suggested that they begin near a lake or a waterfall. Indeed, they found a place with a lake, but Lang Byul wasn't sure this was the place. When he had heard that they found the grave, they said it was in a place with a waterfall, and near the waterfall there would be rocks surrounding it, and you would find a circle that you press to reveal the entrance. That was all he had heard before returning back in time.
He didn't care about his team, who were arguing, and quickly walked away, but Kyun noticed him. While walking, Byul remembered that they had said they found black crow feathers. At the very moment he remembered this, he found a black feather in front of his feet. When he saw it, he smiled.
Cho Zin and Ryeong Shin were arguing about where they should go. Cho Zin thought they should search here, but Ryeong Shin believed they should split up and search separately. The argument was about to turn into a fight if Moyun hadn't asked,
"Guys, where are Kyun and Byul?"
The two looked at him and stopped fighting.
Byul was holding the black feather, and his foolish smile was still there when he was suddenly startled by a voice asking,
"What are you doing?"
"Aaaah!" Byul screamed in fright and was about to scold Kyun, but when he saw Kyun looking at him nervously, he decided to stay silent. Perhaps Kyun was surprised by Byul's scream and thought it was just a coincidence, until Byul realized that woman was watching them.
"What a stupid question. Of course I'm looking for the damn grave."
Kyun understood that he was angry because he didn't know where to find the grave, but why was he cursing the grave? What did it do wrong?
The two walked together and, without realizing it, they found the waterfall. The waterfall's water was like jewels, with sunlight falling on it, making it sparkle like perfectly clear, flawless gems. The two stood before this beautiful scene.
"Well, if we don't find the grave, I'll take some of this water, tell everyone it's holy water, and sell it for a high price."
Kyun: "...."
"What is wrong with this person?"
Byul felt Kyun's gaze and was about to ask him why he was looking at him, but he heard Moyun's worried voice,
"Byul… Byul, are you here?"
Earlier, Cho Zin had suggested to the worried Moyun that they go to the nearest waterfall and they would find him there, because someone like Lang Byul, obsessed with finding the grave, would go there. And indeed, there he was with Kyun.
Byul was about to respond, but he noticed something. His eyes widened, and he rushed toward it without caring about Moyun scolding them. When Cho Zin saw Byul heading toward something, he couldn't help but ask,
"What is it?"
Moyun, who had been on the verge of crying from worry over Byul and Kyun's absence—and had even thought about what Liang Hyun would do to him after finding out—fell silent and looked at Byul.
Finally, Byul found what he was looking for. It was a protruding rock, round yet square at the same time, and it was clear that something was carved on it. Byul kept the black feather and wiped the rock's surface with it until the shape of a circle appeared. Byul's eyes shone, and without even listening to Cho Zin, who was warning him not to touch anything strange, he pressed the rock.
Everyone heard a cracking sound and looked at the waterfall. As the rocks moved in a certain way, the water split into two directions, separating to reveal a place like a cave. Air rushed out with a screeching sound, carrying moisture with it. The five stared ahead, each with a different expression of astonishment—except for Byul, who was smiling calmly. Fortunately, no one noticed his expression.
Cho Zin came from a very famous merchant family, and they went anywhere there was something valuable. His father once told him that the first thing you should say to the people who will take risks with you is to talk about the dangers and the gains, and see who will enter and who decides not to. Finally, he had the chance to say this. He was about to ask who would enter, but the moment he opened his mouth, he closed it again and cautiously asked,
"Where is Byul?"
When he looked at his team while preparing what he was going to say, he felt that someone was missing from the group—and of course, it was Lang Byul, who had entered without caring about them. He had already disappeared into the darkness.
Cho Zin could only say one word,
"Idiot."
But when he saw Kyun and Shin go after Byul without listening to the dangers and gains, he couldn't help but say again,
"Idiot."
But now it became,
"Idiots."
The cave corridor was long, and as they went deeper, darkness began to settle. Byul didn't like darkness, so he was the first to take out a Sun Crystal—a spherical crystal the size of a palm. It was white, but when exposed to the darkness, it began to glow yellow, just like its name.
"Guys, is this really the grave of the swordsman Lixing?"
The one who spoke and asked this question was Moyun.
Byul understood that he was about to say, Why don't we tell the sect leader? He was always like this. When Byul needed a sleep-elixir, also called the anti-sleep elixir, he heard that Moyun could make it. He didn't miss the chance, went to him, and asked him to make one—but he refused, claiming he didn't want to harm him because the elixir had dangerous side effects. When Byul remembered this, he rolled his eyes upward and made a "tsk" sound in anger.
Moyun was surprised and felt he had heard wrong, but after that, he couldn't ask anything, and no one answered him.
When Byul got the information from his mentally unstable brother, he heard from him that when the researchers found the passage, they were happy and didn't warn about the traps. There were four traps, and of course, the swordsman Lixing didn't want to hurt anyone, so he made the traps detect the type of person who came. If the person was righteous, they were welcomed; if they had bad intentions, they would be expelled or killed. Simple, right?
But he couldn't get more information, because Xiu Kin refused to give him information for free. Byul didn't care enough to pay money to know something that had exploited him for a long time and from which he gained nothing now. But if he had known he would return back in time, he would have paid without regret.
Well, it didn't matter. There were four traps, so surely none had been activated yet—they had just entered. He knew Lixing was a bastard, but not completely immoral. Just as he reached that conclusion, he heard the sound of something heavy, and also Moyun's voice,
"Oh, I think I stepped on something."
Byul looked and immediately knew it was a trap.
"Damn you, Lixing. I should have known you really are immoral."
Cho Zin went to help Moyun, but Byul was thinking how nice it would be if the trap were some arrows, bats, or even a large rock—he could deal with that. But…
There was a clicking sound, as if something had been opened. Soon after, they heard the sound of something huge moving. Suddenly, Byul felt that the thing moving toward them had many limbs, and besides that, it made a sticky sound as it moved. His body shuddered, and he became tense.
Kyun noticed and was about to ask him if he was okay. It was strange that the person who had been excited was now like a frightened chicken. But he didn't find it too strange—when the thing got closer, his senses warned him of what was coming. A moment later, he understood the reason for Byul's fear.
He looked at the team and shouted,
"Get out of here, quickly!"
But no one answered. Everyone was in a state of shock. When Kyun turned around, he saw a giant millipede opening its mouth, filled with yellow teeth.