IJWTGO 05

Because his qi had been twisted, Baekseon still felt drowsy even after sleeping all day.

“I should be going…”

He needed to act fast and change the original storyline.
But his body was weak, and he couldn’t bring himself to move.

“Come to think of it… they said I was being chased.”

From what the intruders had said, Tang Baekseon was called the “Young Master of Ten Thousand Poisons.”

“Tang Baekseon, the Young Master of Ten Thousand Poisons…”

The Tang family of Sichuan was known for using poison techniques.
For someone to be called that title, he must have been a martial artist of great skill.

“Still… I can’t remember anything about him.”

Which only meant… he wasn’t an important character in the novel.

Baekseon sighed and pushed himself up.
Sitting in the cave wouldn’t solve anything.
It was time to leave the mountain.

Of course, a few things still bothered him.

Why was Tang Baekseon missing in the first place?
Why was he in Cheonrang’s cave?
And what happened to the intruders from earlier?

But he didn’t plan to ask Cheonrang.
Even if he did, Cheonrang probably wouldn’t answer honestly.

“Besides… if I talk to him too much, I might not want to leave at all…”

He muttered softly, straightened his clothes, and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Then he turned to look back inside.

The cave was filled with traces of someone living here.
Cheonrang must have stayed here for years—alone.

“…Sorry I couldn’t stay with you.”

Baekseon wanted to remain by his side until Cheonrang overcame the grief of losing his master.
But that wasn’t his role.

It belonged to Song Jeokrim, the original story’s protagonist.

“…I wonder if I’ll ever see you again—at least once more, even if just in passing.”

With a faint, lingering feeling, Baekseon whispered:

“…Take care of yourself.”

And then he turned to leave.

At that very moment—

“What’s a half-dead man like you doing, just standing there?”

Baekseon froze at the quiet voice behind him.

Turning around, he saw Cheonrang step closer in a single stride.

“Ah, well…”

Baekseon tried to speak, but his breath caught in his throat.
Just looking at Cheonrang’s face made the words hard to say.

Finally, after a deep breath, he managed to speak.

“…I’m leaving.”

“Leaving? Do you even know where to go?”

“Uh… I plan to head to Sichuan.
Since I can’t remember my cultivation method, maybe I can figure it out at the Tang family.”

Cheonrang frowned deeply.

“So, forgetting your method wasn’t a lie?”

“…Please don’t ask me that twice.”

Because it’s embarrassing enough already.

Cheonrang raked his fingers through his hair and sighed.
Then he suddenly turned his back.

“Do you know the way down the mountain?”

“No… but… if I wander around, I might find it.”

“And are you sure you can make it down?”

“Of course. If I climbed up here, I can climb down too.”

Baekseon answered lightly.
But Cheonrang’s face twisted even further, as though such carelessness offended him deeply.

“You don’t even know how you got up here in the first place.”

“…?”

“Follow me.”

Cheonrang started walking ahead with long strides, leaving Baekseon scrambling to keep up.

“Go ahead. Climb down.”

Cheonrang crossed his arms and nodded toward the cliff.

“…This is… the way down?”

Baekseon’s lips trembled as he looked below.

It wasn’t a path. It was a death sentence.
One wrong step, and he’d meet the King of Hell.

“Cheonrang… do you hate me?”

“…What?”

“You’re pointing me to my grave.”

But Cheonrang simply added, as if it made sense:

“You said if you climbed up, you could climb down. This is where you came from. Is there a problem?”

“…I climbed up… here?”

From this thousand-foot cliff?!

“Don’t you remember?”

Baekseon ignored the question and looked around instead.

“The fog is… pretty thick today.”

“Of course it is.”

But something felt strange.

When he had followed Cheonrang earlier, he hadn’t noticed—
But the fog wasn’t the only thing.
The trees were unnaturally thick, almost like walls.

And from the bushes came the sound of snakes slithering.
Below the cliff lay a deadly ravine where not even bones would remain.

“….”

Baekseon’s lips trembled with a weak smile.

He had forgotten—this wasn’t an ordinary mountain.
This was Ainao Mountain, a treacherous place where normal paths didn’t exist.

‘There’s no way down without qinggong…!’

He swallowed the urge to shout.

“Why aren’t you going down, Tang Baekseon?
Didn’t you say you could?”

Cheonrang tilted his head, smirking.

Baekseon opened his mouth, then closed it, unable to reply.

“Do you… need help?”

“….”

“If not, I’ll head back.”

As Cheonrang turned away, Baekseon quickly grabbed his sleeve.

Surprisingly, Cheonrang didn’t shake him off.
Instead, he looked back, meeting Baekseon’s gaze.

“Why are you grabbing me?
You said you didn’t need my help.”

“I… don’t remember saying that…”

“Your qi is still unstable. If that didn’t mean ‘help me,’ I don’t know what did.”

Baekseon stayed silent, staring at the cliff.
If only he could use his inner energy…

Then Cheonrang spoke again.

“My Master had a saying—
If you can help someone weaker, lend your hand.”

He extended his hand toward Baekseon.

Baekseon smiled faintly and placed his hand in Cheonrang’s.
Cheonrang’s earlier teasing annoyed him, but this felt more like a gesture between friends.

Besides, hearing him mention Manyugang’s teachings put Baekseon oddly at ease.

“But before I help you… I need to ask you something.”

“…Ask me?”

“How much does your Tang family know about soul arts?”

Baekseon rolled his eyes, thinking carefully, before replying slowly.

“My elders probably know better than I do.”

Which was a lie.
Baekseon had inherited all of Manyugang’s knowledge the moment he possessed his body.

‘But why didn’t I inherit Tang Baekseon’s memories…?’

Still, he’d pretend to ask his family later if Cheonrang wanted answers.

“Then I’ll come with you.”

“…What?”

“Why, don’t you want me to?”

“It’s not that… I mean… you’re coming down the mountain now?”

Cheonrang simply nodded.

‘Why though…?’

Had Manyugang’s corpse disappeared already?
No… not yet.

Baekseon knew Cheonrang would never leave the mountain until that happened.

‘I was supposed to go down first and change the story…’

But now Cheonrang was coming along?

“If you’re really about to leave—”

Cheonrang slid his fingers between Baekseon’s and gripped firmly.

The warmth of his hand startled Baekseon, and before he could react—

“—it’s because I think I’ve finally met that ‘precious connection’ my Master spoke of.”

…What?

“And I intend to follow that connection for a while.”

Before Baekseon could reply, Cheonrang scooped him up in his arms.

“Wait, Cheon—”

But before Baekseon could finish, Cheonrang leapt off the cliff without hesitation.