Chapter 165: Investigation (5)

Chapter 165: Investigation (5)

Jo Gyu-Min wordlessly stared at Kang Jin-Ho walking back toward the campsite.

“My apologies for that commotion,” said Kang Jin-Ho with a faint smile. He had already reverted back to his 'usual' self.

Jo Gyu-Min caught himself being relieved by this revelation. It made him chuckle in dismay.

'Relieved, is it...?'

Kang Jin-Ho wasn't some machine with a mode-switching button. No, that?Kang Jin-Ho of a few minutes ago was simply another facet of 'Kang Jin-Ho.’ It was just that he had usually been hiding that side of him. Having realized this, Jo Gyu-Min could only swallow his dry-feeling saliva nervously. He then spotted the figure of the unconscious Chinese man slumped inside the crater some distance behind Kang Jin-Ho.

'What did he do to that man?'

All Kang Jin-Ho did was wave his hand a few times in front of the Chinese man's face, yet that man started screaming like a horror movie victim before blacking out, bubbles foaming out of his mouth.

Kang Jin-Ho reached the campfire and addressed Jo Gyu-Min, “We should get some rest now. We'll continue traversing the mountain tomorrow, after all.”

“A-ah, of course.” Jo Gyu-Min hesitantly nodded while thinking...

‘Yes, it's a good idea to rest. Resting is all good and well, but...’

“...Mister Jin-Ho, are you going to, uh, leave that person over there? Like that?”

“Yes. He's not dead.”

‘Yes, I can tell as well, Mister Jin-Ho. I mean, his body is squirming and convulsing every now and then, so he can't be dead yet. But...’

‘But, if we let him 'sleep' like that in the rough, wouldn't he turn into a cold corpse by tomorrow morning? At the very least, wouldn't passing out like that somewhere freezing paralyze his face or something...?’

When Jo Gyu-Min kept staring at the unconscious Chinese man as if he wanted to say something, Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly and tried to reassure him. “Don't worry. That man's constitution is tougher than it looks.”

“...Yes, I don't doubt that,” said Jo Gyu-Min. That man had flown twenty meters in a straight line and got buried in a crater, but he still survived somehow. At this point, Jo Gyu-Min was ready to believe that the unconscious Chinese man's insides was forged in adamantium or something. “...Maybe he's Wolverine?”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Sorry?”

“No, it's nothing.” Jo Gyu-Min powerfully shook his head.

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged his shoulders and pulled out his sleeping bag.

Jo Gyu-Min leered at him. “Are you going to bed now?”

“Yes. You don't have to worry about the campfire. I've ensured that the embers won't bounce around while we sleep.”

‘N-no, the possibility of wildfire isn't the problem here, you know! No, wait! It is a problem! Yes, causing a wildfire is a problem, but now isn't the time to worry about that, no?!’

Kang Jin-Ho didn't seem to be aware of Jo Gyu-Min's thoughts as he leisurely slipped inside the sleeping bag and pulled up the zipper.

'You... You're really going to sleep?'

Really? In this situation?! Jo Gyu-Min stared alternatingly between the surface of Kang Jin-Ho's sleeping bag rhythmically rising and falling and the distant unconscious Chinese man. Eventually, though, he let out a long groan and slipped inside his own sleeping bag. “I don't care anymore.”

He should just do as told like a good salaryman—in this case, it'd be to get some sleep.

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“Urgh...”

Jo Gyu-Min had a rough night, so he didn’t get a decent sleep. Unsurprisingly, he was now having a torrid time ascending the mountain. As for the Chinese man, he was gone by the time Jo Gyu-Min had opened his eyes in the early morning. It seemed his worries had been for naught, after all.

Kang Jin-Ho was still dozing off in his cozy little sleeping bag when Jo Gyu-Min woke up, so he probably wasn't responsible for the Chinese man's disappearance. Which meant that the heavily-injured man had somehow gotten up and ran away all on his own.

'...I'm sure he can take care of himself.'

Even though it sounded a bit heartless, the truth was that Jo Gyu-Min didn't have any leeway to worry about someone else at the moment.

This mountain he was climbing? In a word, it was insane.

In the not-too-distant past, Jo Gyu-Min had hiked the famous Seollak and Taebaek Mountains. Going through society meant one would inevitably meet a senior manager who believed a group hiking trip with employees during weekends could build a stronger bond within the team.

Rather than building bonds, those hiking experiences had built up resentment and anguish in Jo Gyu-Min's heart, but he still got to know what it felt like to go on a long hike, so it wasn't a total loss. Working as a secretary meant he would gain experience in various things which could come in handy later on, so he was definitely thankful for that, but now...

'...Those hiking experiences were useless!'

Kang Jin-Ho worked hard to suppress his pounding heart.

'Do I... still have an attachment to this place?'

He had made this journey just to confirm it. To see with his own eyes. Yet, his heart began to pound in excitement like this. Didn't that mean he still had some kind of lingering feelings toward his second life?

Kang Jin-Ho eventually entrusted himself to this unknown emotion and sped up the steep incline.

“M-Mister Jin-Hooo!” Jo Gyu-Min failed to keep up and could only cry out.

However, Kang Jin-Ho was in too much of a hurry to respond. He quickly ascended the incline and was greeted by the sight of an extensive basin not too far away.

“...!” He stood there, unable to say anything. His lips clamped shut.

The extensive basin had... nothing but overgrown weeds. This wide, seemingly-endless basin had no evidence of human habitat left.

“Huff, huff!” Jo Gyu-Min somehow managed to chase after Kang Jin-Ho, then fell on his butt while panting laboriously. “J-just what is in this place that you... Mm?”

Jo Gyu-Min scanned the basin below as his frown got deeper. “Mister Jin-Ho, there is... nothing down there.”

“...Yes, you're right.”

Jo Gyu-Min quickly clamped his mouth shut after sensing a hint of sorrow and loneliness in Kang Jin-Ho's voice. While experiencing many 'adventures' together, Jo Gyu-Min got to witness Kang Jin-Ho getting angry or happy. However, not even once did he witness Kang Jin-Ho express such emotion before.

'What did he expect to find down there?'

Jo Gyu-Min didn't even know where to begin guessing. Well, he could see nothing of importance down by the basin, after all.

Kang Jin-Ho quietly closed his eyes and recalled the past. He could still vividly see everything even now. In the past, back in Zhongyuan, this place was packed full of so, so many buildings and palaces. Countless people had lived here, living their daily lives. Even the land where Kang Jin-Ho drew the last breath of his second life wasn't too far from here. But now...

Nothing was standing in this place. As if all those years Kang Jin-Ho had lived were nothing but a passing dream.

“There... there really is nothing here?”

What an odd feeling this was. That life in Zhongyuan shouldn't have any 'bearing' on the current Kang Jin-Ho. After all, didn't he consciously decide to live this life to the fullest, unfettered by his past? Being attached to the past he couldn't go back to didn't suit Kang Jin-Ho's personality. However, for some reason...

A corner of his heart ached. The completely erased traces of the past seemed to be crushing down on that part of his chest.

Kang Jin-Ho slowly turned around to leave.

Jo Gyu-Min looked at him. “Mister Jin-Ho?”

“...No. Don't worry about it.” Kang Jin-Ho shook his head as he began to make his way down the mountain slope.

'What does he mean by that?'

Jo Gyu-Min wasn't sure what Kang Jin-Ho was trying to say just now, but he still instinctively knew that now wasn't the time to ask. He should just quietly follow for now. He began to follow Kang Jin-Ho down the mountainside, but then...

'Huh? We didn't take this route to get up here, though?'

Kang Jin-Ho wasn't going back to the path they had taken to get here. It seemed he was heading somewhere else now.

'Wait, is that a cave?' Jo Gyu-Min's eyes opened wider.

If it had been him alone, he would have never found that cave. The entrance was so craftily hidden between steep inclines on the rocky mountainside that it was nearly invisible to the naked eye. The space there was barely enough for a single person to go through.

“...Wow, there’s a place like that around here?” Jo Gyu-Min muttered.

Kang Jin-Ho didn't respond to that; he simply stood still with his eyes closed and his head slightly raised. Again, Jo Gyu-Min failed to understand Kang Jin-Ho’s actions.

However, Kang Jin-Ho's heart was pounding away crazily right now.

'It... hadn’t been a dream!'

Here was the proof that those years hadn’t been a dream his mind had cooked up. The land that couldn't be filled up even with all the knowledge in cultivation and various techniques—the proof of the land he used to live in being a historical part of this world was now standing tall right before him!

Kang Jin-Ho pushed his slightly trembling legs forward and tried to enter the cave. However, his steps came to an abrupt halt when a low voice filled with killing intent suddenly came from somewhere behind him.

“Go back to where you came from!”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly turned his head. A crazy-looking man with indecipherable age stood there, glaring. His wild, crazy hair covered his face, while his clothes resembled tattered rags at this point.

This crazy-looking man glared at Kang Jin-Ho and muttered once again, “I'm warning you, you better scram!”

“Somehow, this...” An unreadable grin floated up on Kang Jin-Ho's lips just then. That grin morphed into a full-on chuckle as he slowly walked closer to the crazy-looking man. “...This feels rather welcoming, doesn't it?”