Thanks to Zhuge Hwaryeong's talisman, Hong Yungae was able to proceed through the maze comfortably.

Although a slight doubt of 'Is this the right way?' arose, it quickly subsided as he proceeded without any blockage.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm."

Zhuge Hwaryeong, who was following behind, followed Hong Yungae, humming a tune without any tension.

'Why does a man have such a uselessly beautiful voice?'

Zhuge Hwaryeong had a talent for modulating her original voice.

But since she didn't have the talent to modulate even her humming, Zhuge Hwaryeong's original beautiful voice pierced directly into Hong Yungae's ears.

Hong Yungae shook his head at the unknown emotion that was blooming in his chest.

"Although this maze has no dangerous elements, there are many dangerous things after this, so don't let your guard down."

"Ah, yes..."

At Hong Yungae's words, Zhuge Hwaryeong immediately stopped humming and glanced at Hong Yungae.

That sight also stimulated something in Hong Yungae.

He felt sorry for no reason.

"But don't be discouraged."

"Yes!"

Zhuge Hwaryeong answered energetically, as if she had never been dispirited.

For a moment, Hong Yungae felt a strange sense of incongruity, but since he lived simply, he didn't particularly mind.

And so, they safely reached the end of the maze.

For Hong Yungae, who had suffered greatly here before, it was an unbelievable result.

"Thanks to Junior Sister Hwaryeong, we passed the first gate easily. Thank you."

For Hong Yungae, who had suffered a life-and-death struggle in the maze every time he entered, the current situation was just grateful.

"Don't mention it." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Zhuge Hwaryeong answered with a confident smile.

What blocked the path of the two, who had passed through the maze in a friendly atmosphere, was a cliff.

Although there was a path at the end of the cliff, and there were walls on both ends, no matter how one looked at it, it was a path that could only be described as a cliff.

"It looks to be at least thirty zhang away."

"It seems so. I also had a hard time crossing here before."

"You said you hadn't learned martial arts then, right? How did you go?"

"I went through there."

Hong Yungae pointed to the walls on both sides of the cliff.

The walls were not smooth but were rugged and protruding, and although it was precarious, it was a structure where one could place one's feet.

"...I don't think I can go."

"I also fell dozens of times."

"What? Are you okay?!"

"Even if you fall, you just go back to the entrance. Of course, the sensation of falling is vivid..."

Recalling the memory of that time, Hong Yungae shivered as if he had a chill.

'Even I am like this.'

Hong Yungae scanned Zhuge Hwaryeong next to him.

'This brat with only bones can never go.'

Since she was skinny and looked frail, and there was no manly corner to be seen at all, Hong Yungae evaluated her as such.

"Now that I have the lightness skill I learned from Master, it won't be that difficult, but what about you?"

"Hmm."

Zhuge Hwaryeong pondered for a moment and then took out a talisman from her bosom.

"For now, I have a shrinking earth talisman, but..."

"Shrinking earth? With that, isn't it possible to cross sufficiently?"

"This shrinking earth talisman is a type where you light it, and when the talisman is all burned, you move to the place where the talisman is."

Zhuge Hwaryeong looked at the shrinking earth talisman, then turned her gaze to Hong Yungae and stared at him.

"Senior brother."

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"After I light this shrinking earth talisman, can you, senior brother, hold this and reach the other side of the cliff before the talisman is all burned?"

"Huh? That's..."

Hong Yungae quietly looked at the cliff and the other side.

With his current lightness skill, it seemed he wouldn't be able to cross right away, and it was a distance where he would definitely have to go through several footholds on the wall to reach it.

And so, the conclusion that Hong Yungae, who was looking at the distance and the wall, came to was.

"I'm not sure..."

"Is it going to be difficult after all?"

"No, can't I just hold that talisman, cross over, and then light it?"

"That won't work. It's an effect where the person who lit the talisman while holding it moves."

"Then do I have no choice but to try?"

Hong Yungae steeled his heart.

"Let me practice a little."

He hardened it a little softly.

Hong Yungae immediately raised his lightness skill and placed his foot on a foothold on the wall.

Compared to when he had barely managed to hang on and cross before, it was a great improvement.

'My body is as light as a feather.'

Having gained confidence, Hong Yungae quickly stepped on the footholds and safely landed on the other side of the cliff.

Although there were some precarious moments, it was generally uneventful.

'I think I can do it.'

Hong Yungae, who was full of confidence, crossed over to the other side again.

"I think it will be fine."

"That's a relief. If it weren't for this method, I would have had to use a slightly more complicated method."

"A complicated method?"

"I'll explain that later, for now, let's cross."

"Ah. Let's do that."

Hong Yungae and Zhuge Hwaryeong stood close to the wall of the cliff.

It was to shorten the time even a little.

"Then I'll light it."

"Right."

Zhuge Hwaryeong lit the shrinking earth talisman and immediately handed it to Hong Yungae.

As soon as Hong Yungae received the talisman, he raised his lightness skill to its fullest and began to climb the wall.

Since he had gained more confidence than before, his speed was much faster.

However, the problem was that the fire on the talisman was an ordinary fire.

'Oops!'

Seeing the precariously flickering flame of the talisman, Hong Yungae slowed down.

'If this goes out, it's all for nothing, so I have to go carefully.'

Protecting the flame of the talisman, he stepped on the footholds and barely reached the other side.

'The talisman?'

As Hong Yungae looked at the talisman in his hand, the talisman was almost all burned, and the flame was just about to touch Hong Yungae's finger.

"Ah, hot!"

Hong Yungae threw away the talisman.

At the same time, the talisman was completely burned, and Zhuge Hwaryeong appeared in that place.

"Hah!"

Perhaps because he had thrown away the talisman, Zhuge Hwaryeong appeared in a very unstable posture and fell forward.

Fortunately, since Hong Yungae was in front of her, she didn't fall, but it became a posture as if she were being embraced by Hong Yungae.

"Ah, s-sorry!"

"Ahem, it-it's okay."

Zhuge Hwaryeong corrected her balance and got out of Hong Yungae's embrace, and Hong Yungae turned his head at the strange feeling.

'Why does a man smell so good?'

Hong Yungae quickly moved away from Zhuge Hwaryeong with his head turned.

"Ahem, let's proceed to the next."

"What kind of place is next?"

Shaking his head, Hong Yungae quickly shook off the strange feeling and thought about the next gate.

"The next gate is an easy yet difficult place."

"The expression is subtle."

Originally, Hong Yungae did not have the talent to speak in a roundabout way.

Nevertheless, the reason he expressed it this way was because the next place could only be expressed in that way.

"The next gate is a place where you just have to go straight ahead."

"Then isn't it easy?"

"That's right, if it's just walking, it's easy. However, something keeps appearing around you."

"Something appears? Does a tiger appear or something?"

"In a way, something scarier than a tiger appears."

Hong Yungae closed his eyes and recalled the times he had entered the secret cave until now.

"What appears is a hallucination. Sometimes something unrelated to oneself appears, and sometimes something related to oneself appears."

"Hmm, it seems to be a type of illusion formation."

"I don't know about formations, so I have nothing to say, but. Anyway, it's important to just go straight ahead without getting caught up in that hallucination."

"What if you get caught up?"

"You are directly affected by that hallucination. Something like getting hurt there appearing as reality."

"Uhm, it's a high-level one among illusion formations."

"But don't worry."

Hong Yungae patted the shoulder of Zhuge Hwaryeong, who had a bad expression.

"I also found out after experiencing it several times, but that gate also has a structure where if you feel it's too much, you just run back, and you return to the entrance."

"That's a relief."

And so, the two talked and walked, and in no time, they arrived at the gate where the hallucination was said to appear.

From the outside, it just looked like a straight-through passage.

"The moment you set foot in that place, a hallucination will unfold, so how about we hold hands and go in?"

"H-hands?"

At Hong Yungae's suggestion, Zhuge Hwaryeong was startled.

Looking at such a Zhuge Hwaryeong, Hong Yungae just tilted his head.

"What are you so startled about? Since we might lose track of each other when we go in, I'm saying let's hold hands and go."

"Ah, th-that's right."

With an embarrassed look, Zhuge Hwaryeong grabbed the hand that Hong Yungae held out.

While grabbing it, she muttered, 'If it's an illusion formation, I don't think holding hands will be of much use,' but since she muttered it so quietly, Hong Yungae did not hear it.

"If you're ready, let's go in?"

"Yes, let's go, senior brother."

The two held hands and set foot in the gate with a tense look.

At the same time.

"Junior disciple?"

Hong Yungae was flustered that he felt nothing in his hand.

Although he had definitely held hands with Zhuge Hwaryeong, now there was not even a trace.

"Wh-what?"

Although he had maintained a solemn pretense in front of Zhuge Hwaryeong, at the flustering situation, he had returned to his original timid beggar self and was scanning his surroundings with an anxious look.

"H-Junior Sister Hwaryeong?"

Although he timidly called for Zhuge Hwaryeong, there was no answer.

Although Hong Yungae briefly thought about going back.

'No. If only I go back to the entrance and the junior disciple passes, my dignity as a senior brother will be gone!'

Although there was no dignity to assert in the first place, to Hong Yungae, it was a rather serious problem.

'I told the junior disciple that if it's dangerous, she can go back, so it should be fine.'

Having steeled his heart, Hong Yungae stepped forward.

At that, the place that had been a cave wall until just now changed to the scenery of a village.

-This beggar brat!

-Where do you think you're crawling in, you dirty beggar brat!

The sight of children and adults throwing stones at him came into Hong Yungae's eyes.

"Ugh! Even though I know this is a hallucination, it hurts."

Frowning, Hong Yungae silently walked forward.

This hallucination was a memory that was also in Hong Yungae's mind.

It was something that had happened when he had gone into a well-to-do neighborhood to beg because there was no food and begging was not easy.

'Well, it's a common thing.'

In the past, it was a very common thing, and even now that they were united as a group called the Beggars' Sect, although the act of directly throwing stones had decreased a little, the treatment had not improved much.

-That beggar brat's body looks strong, so how about we catch him and sell him?

-What are you doing? Do it right away!

Cursing or throwing stones was the gentlemanly way.

There were also ruffians who would beat him for no reason or try to catch him and sell him, not infrequently.

"Sigh, a beggar's fate."

At first, he had reacted with a start, then he had been beaten to death and had barely been able to escape.

Fortunately, since the hallucination of the secret cave did not want death, when he was on the verge of death, he would return to the entrance.

After that, Hong Yungae had continued to challenge, and only after a long time had he realized that this was a hallucination.

"This is why experience is important."

Ignoring the surrounding hallucinations, Hong Yungae continued to move forward.

Most of the things he had experienced while living as a beggar unfolded before his eyes as hallucinations.

A surrounding beggar dying from an unknown illness or being beaten to death for no reason.

Starving to death because there was no food at all.

Even in Hong Yungae's memory, not-so-good memories were implemented as hallucinations and continued to unfold before his eyes.

"Although it's not good to see, well, since it's a hallucination."

Knowing that it was a fake, Hong Yungae continued to move forward.

And so, when he had advanced to some extent, a strange scenery unfolded before Hong Yungae.

Inside a certain burning building.

Inside a building that looked luxurious despite being on fire, a woman was holding onto Hong Yungae and shedding tears of blood.

The woman's figure was beautiful, and although her clothes were very worn, they were silk clothes that looked luxurious at a glance.

-Although you are the child of a concubine, you are a body that has inherited the blood of the Son of Heaven!

The woman of the hallucination was holding onto Hong Yungae and pouring out her resentment, shedding tears of blood.

-So, so please survive!!

A voice filled with a deep resentment that would make even Hong Yungae, who knew it was a hallucination, flinch.

Hearing that voice, Hong Yungae shook his head from side to side.

"This hallucination is showing up again."

The current hallucination was what corresponded to the hallucination unrelated to himself that Hong Yungae had told Zhuge Hwaryeong about.

"The bloodline of the Son of Heaven, how funny."

Although the woman filled with resentment was a little scary, since the current hallucination was so unrealistic, Hong Yungae was able to laugh.

"Since it's so unrealistic, this place is easier than the other hallucinations."

In the first place, since it was a scenery he had never seen, and it was a hallucination that was so unfitting for himself, it was too unrealistic.

When Hong Yungae had first seen this hallucination, he had also harbored a thought of 'Could it be?'.

Because there was a part of his old memories that he couldn't remember.

But he had been able to shake off that part by recalling a single word that the old beggar who had often begged with him had said.

-Wouldn't it be because you have an empty head!

Recalling those words, Hong Yungae nodded his head.

"That's right. My head is a little bad."

The empty memory was because his head was bad.

On top of that, there was one more reason why he thought the current hallucination was an unrelated hallucination.

"In the first place, does it make sense for the bloodline of the Son of Heaven to become a beggar?"

To Hong Yungae, the name 'Son of Heaven' was its literal name.

The son of the sky who had come down from the celestial realm to rule the people, having received the mandate of heaven.

Compared to those, Hong Yungae was.

"I'm just a beggar."

Chuckling, Hong Yungae moved forward.

And in front of Hong Yungae, who had advanced so.

-You bastards! Are you not afraid of the heavens!

The back of the old beggar he had seen many times was visible.

(End of Chapter)