Chapter 736: One Must Also Know How to Steal a Person’s Heart
“It’s not me!”
The man jumped in fright and flatly denied it. But anyone could see that the figure in the drawing looked exactly like him.
Geom Mugeuk looked back at the drawing.
“Do you know what I thought when I first saw you earlier? That the person who drew this deserves a special reward and even a vacation.”
“It’s not me, you’re mistaken!”
He stomped his feet as though the injustice would kill him. Yet, when no one believed his words, he beat on his chest in frustration.
“It’s not me. Isn’t it only natural that there are lookalikes in this world? I must hurry back and save my younger sibling. Please let me go!”
Tears welled up in his eyes. Looking at him then, it almost seemed like it truly was a misunderstanding.
Seeing that, Geom Mugeuk pointed at a part of the writing beneath the drawing.
“Ah, look here. There was something I skipped earlier when I was reading your information. It says you’re good at acting and deceiving others flawlessly, doesn’t it?”
Indeed, that was exactly what was written there.
“Didn’t you see it when they searched me earlier? I don’t have the Treasure Map.”
“I know. You already burned it, and now it’s all in your head. It was written right there in what I showed you earlier, wasn’t it? That you had an exceptional memory. I suppose you’re even better at memorizing terrain.”
“No, why on earth are you doing this to me!”
“Why else? Because it’s you.”
Geom Mugeuk grinned slyly and poked him in the side again and again.
Pak! Pak!
The next moment!
Puuuh.
His body began to expand as if air were being pumped into him. The boyishly frail figure turned into the body of an ordinary man.
Geom Mugeuk had poked him as if in jest, but it wasn’t a joke. His Bone-Shrinking Technique had been broken, and his body returned to its original form.
“Nice to see you, Tae Soo.”
He was Tae Soo, the son of the great thief Tae Gon. Not only was he shocked that the other recognized his identity, but he was even more shocked that his Bone-Shrinking Technique had been unraveled in an instant.
And that wasn’t the only surprise.
The old man and woman who had been with this young fellow weren’t particularly shocked, even after seeing his true form once his Bone-Shrinking Technique was undone.
“Give me some water.”
At the words of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, Geom Mugeuk lowered his pouch and pulled out a bamboo flask.
“You must drink plenty of water to keep your skin looking better. Now that it’s improved, you have to take care of it.”
Fwoosh.
At that very moment, Tae Soo threw his body forward. Though his martial arts were average, he prided himself on his lightness skill being faster than anyone’s.
In an instant, he broke free of the place and leapt again. By the time of his second leap, he must have been more than fifty meters away, and with his third leap, when he landed, he would already have disappeared from their line of sight.
‘Who on earth are these people?’
How could they know his identity so precisely?
Just as he landed from his third leap—
“Haah!”
Tae Soo let out a groan, his eyes widening.
They were standing right in front of him.
Geom Mugeuk was handing the bamboo flask he had taken from his pouch to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon opened the stopper and drank the water.
‘How is this possible?’
For a moment, he wondered if he was dreaming. Or was he seeing an illusion?
But now was not the time to think about that.
Fwoosh!
He kicked the ground again and launched himself forward, moving as fast as he possibly could.
When he landed, the three were once again standing right before his eyes.
“Give me some water too.”
This time, the One-Slash Sword Supreme stretched out her hand.
Geom Mugeuk also handed her the bamboo flask. Their actions were exactly as they had been at the previous spot before he started running.
Tae Soo stood dazed. It felt as though they were still in front of the same cave as before, and only the background around them kept changing.
But no—it wasn’t that. He had certainly used his lightness skill to flee, and this was an entirely different place.
They hadn’t chased after him quickly. They had arrived ahead of him and simply continued doing what they had been doing before.
‘Just how fast are they?’
And Geom Mugeuk was even carrying that enormous pouch on his back. The doubts didn’t end there.
‘How could they know I would escape in this direction?’
After slipping the bamboo flask back into his pouch, Geom Mugeuk swung the pack over his shoulders once more.
“You people… what are you?”
Tae Soo’s voice trembled as though he had truly seen a ghost.
The youngest-looking “ghost” smiled and walked toward him.
“When someone’s hungry, they get unnecessarily sensitive, don’t they?”
Geom Mugeuk waved his hand lightly, suppressing Tae Soo’s internal energy.
“Stop running. Let’s eat first.”
* * *
Far away from the Cave of Death, a campfire blazed in the forest.
While Geom Mugeuk prepared the meal, Tae Soo sat with his internal energy sealed, watching him.
‘So they’re preparing for torture.’
Surely, at such a crucial time, they wouldn’t really just sit and eat.
They would probably mix truth serum into the food. Or lace it with poison to use as a threat.
They could always force him to eat, but if he tried to kill himself or shut down out of spite, he might never speak. So they must have planned to make him eat naturally.
‘Who on earth are these people?’
He had never heard of three masters like this in the martial world. With such a peculiar combination, there was no way there wouldn’t be rumors.
Geom Mugeuk began stir-frying vegetables and mushrooms. He sprinkled salt and added a secret seasoning blend.
Geom Mugeuk skillfully and quickly finished cooking, then divided the stir-fried mushrooms into four bowls.
He brought one of them over to Tae Soo.
“Here, eat.”
Geom Mugeuk freed one of his hands so he could move it.
“I have no appetite.”
“Don’t complain of hunger later, just eat now.”
He set the bowl of food down in front of him and walked over to his pouch.
Geom Mugeuk pulled out something wrapped in paper from the pouch. When he unfolded the paper, moss lay inside.
As its distinctive smell wafted out, Tae Soo’s eyes widened in shock.
‘That scent… could it be? Stalactite Immortal Moss?’
Geom Mugeuk divided the Stalactite Immortal Moss and placed it only into the bowls of himself and the two Demon Supremes.
“It tastes too awful eaten plain. But mixed like this, it should go down just fine.”
Tae Soo’s eyes grew even wider. What he said was true—Stalactite Immortal Moss was known to taste unbearably bitter when eaten alone. Could it really be? Was it genuine?
‘No way. He wouldn’t actually put Stalactite Immortal Moss into mushroom stir-fry.’
Yet the appearance and smell were unmistakably that of Stalactite Immortal Moss. And who could have studied rare medicines more than a thief like him?
‘No, impossible.’
Stalactite Immortal Moss was a legendary elixir! It couldn’t be real. After all, the notion that the three of them would simply share such a priceless treasure was absurd.
‘Ah! They’re trying to bait me.’
He realized it instantly. By pretending it was Stalactite Immortal Moss and eating it themselves, they’d naturally make him want some too.
‘It must be fake—laced with poison or truth serum.’
No doubt they had already taken the antidote beforehand.
Looking at him, Geom Mugeuk raised the portion of Stalactite Immortal Moss in his own bowl and asked:
“Want me to give you some too?”
Inside, Tae Soo sneered.
‘As expected! Exactly what I predicted.’
He shook his head.
“I’ll pass.”
Geom Mugeuk looked surprised.
“You refuse this? Impressive. You’ll regret it bitterly later.”
Tae Soo snorted. It couldn’t possibly be real. If it were, they wouldn’t be sharing it so freely.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon compared the portion of moss in his bowl to the other two’s and said:
“Mine looks like the largest.”
Indeed, his bowl held the most Stalactite Immortal Moss.
“You’re mistaken.”
Of course, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon could tell. Geom Mugeuk had given him the most. Across from him, the One-Slash Sword Supreme gave him a discreet look, signaling him to just eat without making a fuss.
“Come, let’s eat.”
“Never thought I’d get to eat such a treasure mixed with mushrooms.”
“Well, whatever enters the mouth should be eaten with pleasure—that’s what makes it good for the body, don’t you think?”
The three of them began eating the dish.
“It’s tastier than I expected.”
The One-Slash Sword Supreme expressed her satisfaction, and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon nodded in agreement.
They all finished eating the Stalactite Immortal Moss.
After they had all taken it, without anyone taking precedence, they sat and circulated their qi.
When they finished the energy-circulation breathing exercise, their gazes deepened further. The Stalactite Immortal Moss was known to restore the consumer’s vitality and grant long, disease-free life.
“You look younger than before you ate.”
“Really?”
Geom Mugeuk drew his sword and held the blade up so they could see their faces reflected again.
“I can’t tell much myself.”
But there was definitely a difference.
The two elixirs taken that day had been of considerable help to Geom Mugeuk, but they had been truly beneficial to Blood Heaven Blade Demon and One-Slash Sword Supreme.
Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who had been quietly gazing at his reflection in the blade, suddenly spoke. When in his life had he ever said such a thing? Had he ever said it at all?
“This is amusing.”
One-Slash Sword Supreme stared at Blood Heaven Blade Demon in surprise. She understood well that such words from him held great meaning, since he was not the sort to speak that way in his life.
What, then, would Geom Mugeuk answer?
His reply was simple.
“I found it amusing too.”
One-Slash Sword Supreme did not speak it aloud, but she enjoyed the moment as well. It was a pleasure she had not felt in a very long time.
Tae Soo, who had been watching the three, felt a strange emotion.
“What are you guys!”
They truly acted as if they had eaten Stalactite Immortal Moss, all while not bothering with him at all.
Tae Soo cautiously asked Geom Mugeuk,
“What will you do with me now?”
An unreserved answer flowed from Geom Mugeuk’s mouth.
“We will go together to find the Sword Tomb.”
‘By whose permission!’ Tae Soo was inwardly stunned, but he continued his act.
“You really have it wrong. I was only there by chance.”
“I was training. I was practicing finding paths in that complex cave and also practicing the Bone-Shrinking Technique.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled and produced once more the paper bearing the portrait he had shown earlier.
“You have no idea how many people’s efforts are contained in this single sheet of paper. It’s information born of the toil of dozens who spent their lives on one thing. People far smarter than you or I.”
The two Demon Supremes listening inwardly thought: all that was true, but—
‘Not smarter than you.’
For that reason, the two Demon Supremes were quietly curious how Geom Mugeuk intended to discover the location of the Sword Tomb.
“In the current situation, continuing to deny is the worst strategy of all. Ah, this fellow uses only trifling methods. He’ll only be ridiculed by his opponent. You’re not that kind of fellow, are you? It even says here you’re not that kind of fellow.”
Tae Soo stared at Geom Mugeuk for a moment, then finally changed his strategy. Seeing his opponent, he felt that stubborn denial would not work.
“You are right. I have memorized that location. Not only the location, but the way to enter through the true entrance rather than a false one, and how to avoid the internal mechanisms. I alone in this world know it.”
Only half of that statement had been true.
In his life before regression, Geom Mugeuk had entered the Sword Tomb.
But at that time he had not gone there for treasure hunting, so he did not know much about the interior of the Sword Tomb. He had gone to meet one person.
Geom Mugeuk watched Tae Soo silently.
Tae Soo braced his stomach and eyes and did not avoid that gaze.
He felt a strange emotion in the clear look directed at him.
‘Why was he looking at me like that?’
Watching the two, Blood Heaven Blade Demon sent a telepathic message to One-Slash Sword Supreme.
―If we just beat him senseless, he’d spill everything.
To that, One-Slash Sword Supreme added another suggestion.
―Or cut off his fingers, one by one.
Blood Heaven Blade Demon smiled wryly and said,
―Does our Young Cult Leader not know you’re the sort to say such things?
―That’s only something the two of us would do.
Blood Heaven Blade Demon gave a faint, pleased smile at her words.
Geom Mugeuk neither beat him nor cut off any fingers.
Srrrrr.
Drawing the Black Demon Sword, Geom Mugeuk said,
“Indeed, places like the Sword Tomb might be better left forever a secret of the martial world.”
Geom Mugeuk flashed the blade.
Shiiik.
Without hesitation, Geom Mugeuk brought the sword down toward Tae Soo’s neck.
“Wait!”
At Tae Soo’s shout, the sword halted just before it would have cut his throat by the slimmest margin.
Drip.
Blood trickled from the shallow cut.
‘That madman really tried to kill me.’
With fear and astonishment in his eyes, Tae Soo said to Geom Mugeuk,
“If you kill me, you will be killed too.”
“Why would that be?”
“You know who my father is, don’t you?”
Tae Gon, the era’s greatest thief.
“If I died, my father would surely avenge me. My father had never once failed to find someone or breach a place. He would slip into your dwelling while you slept. No matter how deeply you hid, it would be useless.”
The Demon Supremes who were listening had the corners of their mouths rise. They wondered how Tae Gon’s expression would change if he knew exactly where that “deep place” was.
Geom Mugeuk met threat with threat.
“Then I shall deal with your father first.”
For a moment, Tae Soo flinched in surprise. He soon regained his composure.
“You will never find my father’s whereabouts.”
“Alright, it won’t be easy. But it’s not impossible. First I’ll spread a rumor. I’ll say the one who has the Treasure Map to the Sword Tomb is Tae Gon. Then countless people will rush to find your father.”
Geom Mugeuk held up the portrait he had shown earlier.
“With my information network I’ll probe every bit about your father. I’ll even identify his face and circulate it all over the Central Plains.”
“!”
“If your furious father comes for you because of this, we can deal with him then.”
Geom Mugeuk made his threat concrete and detailed, and the threat landed on Tae Soo.
Tae Soo could not offer any rebuttal, so Geom Mugeuk sheathed the sword he had been holding to his throat.
“I told you to eat, didn’t I? When you’re hungry your head won’t work and you make foolish threats like that. This is the time for bargaining, not threats. ‘If I tell us the location, what will you give me?’”
Tae Soo paused in thought and then asked,
“What will you give me?”
“It depends on what’s there.”
“How can I trust that you’ll spare my life when we arrive?”
Then a remark unexpected from Geom Mugeuk slipped out.
“If one dreams of becoming the greatest thief of the age, one should not only know how to steal things.”
Tae Soo flinched inwardly. That sentence was exactly what his father had often told him—word for word.
“To be the greatest thief, one must also know how to steal a person’s heart.”
“!”
A look of surprise flashed across Tae Soo’s face.
‘Must be a coincidence,’ he thought.
But Geom Mugeuk’s words were not a mere coincidence. They had been words the older Geom Mugeuk had heard directly from Tae Gon in his life before regression. The person he had met in the Sword Tomb back then had been Tae Gon himself.
“So, while we’re on the way there, try to steal my heart.”