“I do not know if you are aware, but my disciple went missing here. I have searched day and night for seven days, yet not a single trace has been found. Thus, I shamelessly wish to ask for your help.”
“Shamelessly? That is absurd, considering I owe my life to you, Great Hero. But… my help?”
It was an arrogant thought, but Seol-rin had assumed the request would be related to formations, her specialty, or perhaps to martial arts theory, which she had memorized thoroughly. But finding a person? She had no confidence she could do better than a Transcendent master. Furthermore, why would the Hao Sect, masters of tracking and investigation, seek her out? As the fear that she might fail the request crept in, the scattered pieces of the puzzle suddenly clicked into place.
Gasp, have you already heard the news that Cho Yoon, the Immortal Healer, is wandering the streets of Guangdong?
He has been wandering the city to find his disciple. A person who is usually so reluctant to reveal his movements… desperate enough to ignore the rumors.
At Cho Yoon’s single statement, a mix of burden and pity surged within her. Seol-rin shook her head to clear her mind, pushing aside her confusion to ask a productive question first.
“Is the missing disciple the Young Hero Seomun whom I met in Zhejiang Province not long ago?”
“No, it is Lim Sa-hyeon, Cheon-oh’s senior martial brother. I hear he is called by the title ‘Heavenly Treasure Blade.’ He won the first Three Treasures Tournament and has been training in Hebei ever since, only recently setting foot in Guangdong.”
“I have heard much of the Young Hero Heavenly Treasure Blade. I never imagined he, too, would be under your tutelage, Great Hero…”
Stories of the comet-like rookie’s outstanding martial arts and gentle nature were not uncommon. Who else in this martial world but the Immortal Healer could raise such a talent? Perhaps “as expected” was a more fitting reaction than “no way.”
Even so, her confusion remained. Forgetting the jealousy that surged up despite the urgent situation, Seol-rin asked again, this time with utmost seriousness.
“I apologize, but due to my dull wits, I have not yet grasped your intention, Great Hero. My body has only recently recovered from Severed Meridians, and I am ashamed to say I am not even skilled at spreading my internal energy to use sensory aura. I fear I am woefully inadequate to assist you, Great Hero, but is there perhaps a specific task you require of me?”
“…I have no intention of asking a child who has only recently recovered to take on a burdensome task. I merely wish to ask you one thing, but I hesitate because it may be a great discourtesy to you.”
“Please do not worry, Great Hero.”
Seol-rin answered as if catching the tail of Cho Yoon’s words the instant they left his lips. Firm determination filled the eyes that looked straight at him, and a strange heat lingered on her flushed cheeks. Clenching and unclenching her trembling hands under the table, Zhuge Seol-rin continued.
“As a direct descendant of the Zhuge Clan, the great landlords of Donggwan, and as an individual whose life was changed by your grace, I have a duty to repay your kindness even after death. Rather, I am only glad to be of help to you in this way, and I only worry about what to do if I cannot give you a proper answer. So please, do not hesitate.”
“…”
Cho Yoon, who had been quietly studying Seol-rin’s face, let out a short sigh. Sensing that he had abandoned his hesitation, Seol-rin smiled brightly on purpose. Having decided not to waver any longer, Cho Yoon soon opened his mouth. The words that flowed out were systematically organized, as if he had gone over them in his mind many times already.
“I searched thoroughly enough to count the number of rats running through the sewers, but strangely, there were no traces. The Hao Sect said there was no one suspicious among those who left the city. If the culprit intended to avoid attention, they could have done so easily, but for now, I wish to place my hope here.”
“Yes, Great Hero.”
“Therefore, I ask you. Do you know of the artifacts preserved within your family?”
“Do you speak of the Zhuge Clan’s artifacts?”
“Yes. Specifically, do you know anything about a precious object whose method of creation has been lost, leaving only one in existence?”
Zhuge Seol-rin, who had been listening quietly, suddenly furrowed her brow. The fact that the Zhuge Clan possessed numerous artifacts was already an open secret. That was why the clan had filled not only their internal grounds but also a radius of dozens of zhang outside the walls with dense formations, and strictly managed the grade of artifacts accessible even among blood relatives.
Originally, Zhuge Seol-rin’s grade had merely been “Third Upper” (San-sang). Her authority and access extended only to items among the unique artifacts with lost creation methods that were not considered highly useful.
However, as it happened, Zhuge So-seo currently held real power in the Zhuge Clan, and Zhuge Seol-rin was a genius rarely seen in ages.
It felt as though the things she had learned while struggling to find her place—struggling not to be ignored and despised—were finally shining their light. Seol-rin replied with a slightly crooked smile.
“For my fifteenth birthday present, I demanded access to the Deep Serenity Library and the Heavenly Secret Vault. I continued my research until I left for Anhui Province, so fortunately, it seems I will not disappoint you, Great Hero.”
“…Thanks to you, a weight has been lifted. Thank you.”
“The Zhuge Clan secretly seeks out and possesses many artifacts. What exactly do you have in mind, Great Hero?”
She had no awareness that she was selling the precious secrets her family had kept for so long. No, even if she did, she felt no guilt. Zhuge Seol-rin was a seventeen-year-old who had lost all affection for her blood relatives, save for her mother, and whose rebellious phase had merely been delayed. She had long grown sick of the clan’s arrogance, and while she would help when needed, she also hoped they would be taught a lesson at least once.
And Seol-rin trusted Immortal Healer Cho Yoon entirely. Even though she was likely weaker than a chick before this noble figure, she had always received his consideration. She was certain that someone who put so much thought into even a single question would not go around selling the clan’s secrets.
Beyond all these reasons, Zhuge Seol-rin simply wanted to be of help to Immortal Healer Cho Yoon.
Hearing Seol-rin’s words, Cho Yoon thought for a moment before raising one hand to form the shape of a round cup.
“I wish to ask if there is an artifact with the function of concealing the user’s presence. I thought of an artifact that is small enough to fit in a palm, black in color, and capable of setting time and radius with an attached needle, but it does not matter if it is something else, as long as it serves a similar function.”
“Do you speak of the Astral Needle Moon Dial? It is the item with the most exceptional performance among the concealment artifacts possessed by the Zhuge Clan.”
With a pleased look, Zhuge Seol-rin brought a new sheet of paper, spread it on the table, and picked up a brush. Then, without hesitation, she drew a round artifact shaped like a sundial. She did not ask how Cho Yoon knew of this artifact. Since he had lived much longer than she had, there must have been opportunities for him to encounter it.
By the way, the situation was reversed when I first met the Great Hero.
Her heart beat pleasantly as she recalled memories of the past she sometimes looked back on with joy.
“Most other concealment artifacts only hide the user themselves or cannot be used for a while after a certain period, but the Astral Needle Moon Dial can hide everyone within a spherical radius centered on the owner as if erasing them from the world, provided there is enough internal energy infused into it.”
“…If they hid Sa-hyeon and activated this, do you think it is a reasonable explanation for why I could not find my disciple?”
“The Astral Needle Moon Dial is a mystery that even the Zhuge Clan has failed to fully explain for a long time. I, too, have researched it, but the complexity of its design and the abstruseness of its principles were so difficult to handle that I could not bear to dismantle it and put it off.”
“But there are two unresolved problems.”
Fixing his gaze on Seol-rin’s drawing, Cho Yoon borrowed the brush. Then, in the corner of the paper, he wrote a simple note in elegant handwriting.
“One: according to what you said, the Astral Needle Moon Dial should be strictly guarded within the Zhuge Clan. I have never heard news of the Zhuge Clan being in an uproar over a lost artifact, so I wonder if it is more likely to be a different concealment artifact. Is the Demonic Cult not also infamous for possessing all sorts of heinous artifacts?” Cho Yoon added seriously.
However, Zhuge Seol-rin, recalling the worst-case hypothesis upon hearing his words, could not answer easily. For a moment, her breath hitched, and her mind went blank. She stiffened, then only spoke slowly after receiving Cho Yoon’s questioning gaze.
“That is… there is a separate reason why I came all the way to the Hao Sect. There was a childish desire to meet you again, Great Hero, but in truth…”
“…”
“In truth, my mother sent me a secret letter. ‘Do not return to the clan.’”
What if the Zhuge Clan’s artifact had been swapped or leaked and disappeared?
And what if Zhuge So-seo had realized this too late?
Seol-rin’s face, which had been excited just moments ago, turned pale. It was still nothing more than a baseless guess, but it was an assumption that fit the pieces together all too well.