Chapter 122

"Young Master Wi...?!"

"Ah, Young Master Baek. I've finally found you."

Wi Je-ho, who suddenly appeared from somewhere, looked completely exhausted. His face was drenched in sweat, suggesting he had gone through all sorts of hardships.

"I really found you just in time."

Wi Je-ho sat down on the ground and caught his breath for a moment, wiping his sweat with his sleeve. Cheong-ra poured him some tea. After gulping down the tea and regaining his composure, Wi Je-ho looked at Cheong-ra's luxurious attire and said,

"Young Master Baek, seeing you like this, it seems you've been doing even better than I thought? Isn't that clothing made of Shu brocade?"

"...I didn't wear it by choice."

Though he answered like that, honestly, having admired himself in the mirror several times a day in these silk clothes, Cheong-ra felt somewhat guilty. Certainly, he had been living quite well for someone who was confined, so feeling a bit ashamed, Cheong-ra changed the subject.

"Young Master Wi, did you really break through the formation to get in?"

"Yes. You have no idea how much I struggled... That Dang Ran-yeong, I never thought he'd set up a Heaven and Earth Dream Illusion Formation."

Wi Je-ho grumbled, wiping the sweat from his face again. Come to think of it, Wi Je-ho had mentioned before that he was skilled in formations and could handle the Blood Cult executives. After catching his breath, Wi Je-ho stood up abruptly.

"Now, Young Master Baek. Let's get out of here quickly. We don't know when that Dang Ran-yeong will return."

Get out of here...? Having been forcibly confined for a month, he should naturally be happy and follow Wi Je-ho's words. However, Cheong-ra just stared blankly at Wi Je-ho, who was extending his hand.

"Young Master Baek, what are you doing? I said we need to leave quickly."

"Young Master Wi. I'm truly grateful that you came to rescue me. But this isn't simply out of goodwill, is it?"

At Cheong-ra's words, Wi Je-ho withdrew his outstretched hand. He sighed and scratched his head.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Our relationship was quite good, Young Master Wi, but honestly, not enough for you to go through such trouble to rescue me."

Wi Je-ho was as inscrutable as Dang Ran-yeong and felt just as distant. Hwan-hong was just cold in human relationships but had depth, and Nam Gang-ryong was truly a member of the righteous faction, so if those two had come to rescue him, he wouldn't have been this suspicious.

"If you don't tell me the reason, I won't leave this place."

Seeing Cheong-ra subtly place his hand on his sword hilt, Wi Je-ho sighed. If it was Wi Je-ho and not Dang Ran-yeong, Cheong-ra could handle him. After anxiously looking around once more, Wi Je-ho finally spoke.

"First, this World's Greatest Beauty Contest is very important to me. I can't allow anything that might increase the Blood Cult's power."

Unable to immediately understand Wi Je-ho's words, Cheong-ra tilted his head.

"The World's Greatest Beauty Contest... Didn't the Phoenix-Qilin-Iris-Orchid Contest end twenty days ago?"

"What are you talking about? The finals of the Phoenix-Qilin-Iris-Orchid Contest are tomorrow. Ah! I see..."

What did he mean, the finals were tomorrow? Had the contest schedule been delayed? Wi Je-ho explained to the confused Cheong-ra.

"Time flows slower inside the formation. It's been a month for you here, right? Outside, only nine days have passed."

"What... does that mean..."

Cheong-ra was greatly shocked by Wi Je-ho's words. He clearly remembered spending a month here, yet outside only nine days had passed? Is that why it felt like time had passed so quickly... Soon, Cheong-ra gathered himself and said,

"Young Master Dang said I wasn't that important to the plan."

"How could that be? Eliminating the brainwashing formation is the most important thing. Only a finalist can find and eliminate what's hidden somewhere. If that formation is activated, hundreds of high-quality sacrifices will be created, so what can we do about that? We can't monitor or kill that many people individually."

This sounded reasonable, and Cheong-ra nodded. Wi Je-ho continued,

"Second, Young Master Baek shouldn't be trapped in a place like this."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm someone who believes that Young Master Baek has a great role to play in the future."

After saying this, Wi Je-ho gave Cheong-ra a strange look.

"I firmly believe that with the outstanding talent Young Master Baek possesses, you will surely accomplish great things in completely eradicating the Blood Cult."

Cheong-ra knew he had what people called exceptional martial talent. However, it wasn't to the extent that Wi Je-ho would trust him this much. What was the reason for showing such vague yet deep trust without any basis or fondness for him? Unable to understand, Cheong-ra frowned.

"Isn't Young Master Dang there even without me? He could easily handle a hundred or even a thousand enemies."

In Cheong-ra's view, if Dang Ran-yeong set his mind to it, eradicating the Blood Cult was just a matter of time; he would definitely accomplish it someday. He himself would just be playing a supporting role at best. At Cheong-ra's words, Wi Je-ho's expression took on a strange light.

"How curious. That Young Master Baek trusts Dang Ran-yeong to that extent..."

"I just believe in Young Master Dang's hatred towards the Blood Cult."

Feeling preemptively guilty, Cheong-ra replied stiffly. Wi Je-ho smiled faintly and gave his third reason.

"Third, if not now, the next time Young Master Baek can get out will be at least three years later. And that's by outside standards. In a few days, the life gate will be completely closed. Even I won't be able to do anything then."

"Three years later, you say?"

Cheong-ra couldn't believe his ears. If a month here was nine days outside, it would feel like ten years. So Dang Ran-yeong's words about letting him out after at least ten years were actually true.

"If that man shows mercy, Young Master Baek might spend a short time in there and come out, but if not, you might spend ten or several decades alone. Now, what will you do?"

At Wi Je-ho's words, Cheong-ra finally nodded. He sighed and said,

"Is this really alright? It will be directly going against Young Master Dang."

"Ha! I don't follow Dang Ran-yeong's orders like Hwan-hong or Nam Gang-ryong. I'm just a collaborator, so there's no reason to follow everything he says. Anyway, I've explained everything, so let's really leave now."

Wi Je-ho urged again, growing impatient. Although he wasn't completely convinced, Cheong-ra couldn't stay here forever, so he followed. However, he couldn't help but look back at the quiet and comfortable villa. He should be happy to escape confinement, so why did he feel this regret?

In any case, putting aside his feelings, Cheong-ra followed Wi Je-ho. Standing beneath the wall, Wi Je-ho earnestly instructed Cheong-ra.

"Now we're going to find the life gate to get out, but I'll leave footprints, so you must step only on those spots. Also, ignore whatever you see or hear. Everything is an illusion."

"I'll keep that in mind, Young Master Wi."

Cheong-ra, well aware of how dangerous formations could be, nodded. Soon, Wi Je-ho carefully began to move.

From the outside, it looked like meaningless and strange walking. Wi Je-ho would pass between statues, or suddenly walk backward after going straight, then abruptly take large strides, almost jumping. As Cheong-ra followed exactly in the faint footprints left behind, the surrounding scenery soon rippled and changed.

As they passed between statues, the surroundings suddenly became desolate with ghostly wails, and when they walked backward, a steep cliff suddenly appeared. A tiger seemed to roar right behind them, and everything shook as if there was an earthquake. Throughout their search for the life gate, various illusions assaulted them, instilling fear. This was the nature of formations – if one deviated even slightly from the path due to this fear, their body and mind would be greatly damaged, or they would be trapped forever in the illusions.

Feeling intense killing intent from all directions, Cheong-ra resisted the urge to retreat and steadfastly followed Wi Je-ho. After walking slowly for about a quarter-hour, Cheong-ra finally managed to escape the formation with Wi Je-ho.

Surprisingly, unlike inside the formation, it was night outside. Seeing a thin crescent moon in the sky instead of a full moon, Cheong-ra finally realized he had come out of the formation.

"It was night outside..."

Cheong-ra sighed unconsciously. It felt like he had stepped into another world and returned to reality. When he looked back, he saw an empty lot with just a few trees planted. There was probably actually a beautiful villa surrounded by walls in that spot. Since they had only found the life gate to escape and hadn't destroyed the formation, the real appearance was still hidden.

After staring at that spot for a while, Cheong-ra soon turned to Wi Je-ho.

"So now we go to the banquet for the Phoenix-Qilin-Iris-Orchid Contest finals?"

"Yes. They'll surely try to do something to brainwash the participants at tonight's banquet, so somehow destroy the brainwashing formation. If you just do that, the rest will work out somehow."

Saying this, Wi Je-ho took out and handed over the finalist badge. It had been taken by Dang Ran-yeong when Cheong-ra was confined. Then he took out and handed over another item. It was a jade token that looked exactly like the one he had given before, which had also been confiscated along with the finalist badge.

"I figured it would have been taken away. It's quite a valuable item, so take good care of it this time. You almost lost the chance to ask for my help anytime."

"...Thank you, Young Master Wi."

Nodding, Cheong-ra received the finalist badge and jade token and left the place. As he moved towards the martial arts hall using his lightness skill, rather than feeling relieved about escaping while the owner was away, he felt a strange chill, as if something was chasing him.