Chapter 85

• The Baekhyang-gwan Raid Incident with Absolute Security

Pretending to be unable to resist the instigation of the senior members of the Young Lady Lovers' Society,
Bi Ryu-yeon and his party, who had made a high-stakes bet, gathered in the Young Lady Lovers' Society's club room
after school and began to search for countermeasures.
The target was the Baekhyang-gwan, the paradise of women, a place forbidden to men,
which they had regarded as a pie in the sky for nearly thirty years.

If success was guaranteed, it was something worth devoting all their heart and strength to and pouring in a thousand pieces of gold. The effort and challenges that the Young Lady Lovers' Society had poured into the conquest of the Baekhyang-gwan in the meantime were enormous.

Among the most heavily guarded places in this Cheonmu Academy, if one were to count them on one's fingers, there is a place that always falls within the five folded fingers, and that place is the Baekhyang-gwan. The sacred ground absolutely forbidden to men, with thorough and strict security.

But even the deep defensive formations and the death formations, which were layered in dozens, failed to completely erase the interest and soaring curiosity of a few peculiar men. The stricter the security, the more difficult the difficulty, the more the Baekhyang-gwan stirred the hearts of men with a strange, enchanting fragrance and deluded their eyes and ears.

In the midst of this, there were still people who shouted to themselves, 'It's too early to give up,' and searched for a breakthrough hole smaller than a speck of dust. The Cheonmu Twin Ghost Shadows and Bi Yeon-tae were also among them.

They were the ones who had made the conquest of the Baekhyang-gwan their lifelong goal and were passionately challenging it with their hearts full of passion. The breakthrough of the Baekhyang-gwan's absolute forbidden-to-men formation was the lifelong task given to their Young Lady Lovers' Society.

Of course, it could not be denied that a considerable part of the dark desires of men had intervened in their boiling passion. In this boiling passion, a month flowed by like water.

The new moon, hanging in the dark sky like a bent blade, was revealing all the objects on the ground under the influence of its shadow. If it were not for the light of the torches that illuminated the surroundings of the Baekhyang-gwan, the heaven and earth would have been buried in almost perfect darkness.

There was a reason for choosing the night of the new moon as the day of the deed. Since the night of the new moon had the risk of rather arousing people's vigilance, choosing the night of the new moon, which was the final period when the moon was waning, as the time of infiltration was a brilliant choice in its own way.

A strange excitement arose in the heart of Bi Ryu-yeon, who was looking at the Baekhyang-gwan, hiding his body in the darkness with stealth. This slight excitement, rather than tensing the body and stiffening the muscles, gave a slight vitality and rather made him feel good. Besides, he was a person who had not yet been afraid of something or been nervous since his debut in the Jianghu.

Unlike his innate character, he did not go around bragging, but Bi Ryu-yeon was inwardly confident in this kind of work that required unparalleled secrecy. Although he had not learned the stealth and concealment art that all members of the Young Lady Lovers' Society had to learn, he had the Phoenix Dance, which would not be inferior to be called the strongest movement technique. Besides, he had a practical experience that could not be exchanged for a thousand pieces of gold. How could a past event be exchanged for money?

In the old days, the number of times he had been caught trying to sneak out to skip his meal duty, avoiding the gaze of his master, numbered in the hundreds. But he did not give up, and in the end, he finally succeeded in escaping, avoiding the ghost-like eyes and ears of his master with a skill that would slap a ghost's cheek.

He was a person with a record of having avoided a monster-like master, who was the owner of ghost-like eyes and ears, through thousands of practical experiences. Unless it was something extraordinary, he was confident that he could hide himself from the eyes of others. What was there to be afraid of when he had done it with his life on the line?

At the time, 37.5 minutes before midnight, it was time for the life gate of the Chaotic Flower White Mist Formation, which surrounded the Baekhyang-gwan, to open. If he missed this time, he would have to wait another four hours for the life gate to open again. There was a risk that the day would break before he could even do anything. In fact, the opportunity was only now. Two hours later was the time of escape.

The Sun-Hiding Shadowless, Chu Il-tae, would also be somewhere, watching for an opportunity to infiltrate, like a wolf watching a flock of sheep. Maybe he was already inside. Anyway, now was the time to be faithful to himself rather than worrying about others.

The preliminary infiltration education was perfectly received. The Young Lady Lovers' Society, which had a record of over a hundred infiltrations, had a mountain of data with detailed descriptions of the infiltration routes, times, directions, the arrangement of mechanisms, the types of formations, which were the products of their experience and honorable(?) records. Besides, since they had not neglected their own information gathering, the preliminary information was perfect.

The target was room 301 on the third floor. Now, all that was left was to go inside.

As Bi Ryu-yeon had already experienced in person at the Geomhon-gwan, the dormitory where he was currently staying, at the time of his entrance, countless numbers of traps and mechanisms were meticulously installed like a spider's web in each building of the Cheonmu Academy. But even that of the Geomhon-gwan was nothing more than a child's play compared to the mechanism traps of the Baekhyang-gwan, which were layered in triple and quadruple layers. The Baekhyang-gwan was a place where a mechanism of an incomparable strictness to the Geomhon-gwan was laid out with death as a cushion.

Why were the mechanism formations installed in the Baekhyang-gwan stronger in number and intensity than in other places?

Because they had to pay attention not only to the invasion of the enemy, but also to the invasion of the wolves called men who lived within the same fence. That's why the traps for the invasion of men on their ceilings, eaves, roofs, bathrooms, and around the toilets were densely installed with things that had a higher killing power and a more terrifying might than the traps for the invasion of the enemy. The lewd perverts who decided to infiltrate this dormitory as part of their hobby to peek at the secrecy and shame of their baths or toilets would have to put their lives on the line.

Perhaps the founder and architect of the Baekhyang-gwan did not have great expectations and trust in the character and morality of the men of the Cheonmu Academy who would come in the future. Otherwise, how could they have unhesitatingly laid out a triple and quadruple death formation for the wolf packs that would sneak in? Besides, as if to prove the founder's concern, there had been hundreds of infiltration attempts. The purpose of the invasion was unclear, but it would be safe to bet one's entire fortune that it was not very good.

As several cases of invasion occurred and, as usual, ended in failure and were referred to the disciplinary committee, the mechanism formations of the Baekhyang-gwan became more and more brutal and strict, one layer, two layers. At some point, when they came to their senses and looked, that place had now become a peerless, dangerous place that no one could break through.

When the night defense mechanism was activated after bedtime, even the women belonging to the Baekhyang-gwan could not move their bodies carelessly. Because they could not remember where all the numerous mechanisms were placed, they could not move carelessly. Although it was a troublesome and inconvenient thing, they were willing to endure the inconvenience to defend their chastity. The minority opinions with complaints and dissatisfaction were ignored.

As a result, the mechanism formations and traps installed in the Baekhyang-gwan had to be terrifying, both in principle (and in common sense). When the average skill of the individuals considered as prospective invaders was estimated, the excellence of their movement techniques was such that they could leap four or five zhang (12-15 meters) in one step, and the excellence of their sword ki was such that they could cut down a target seven or eight zhang (21-24 meters) away by scattering their sword ki. Individuals with skills below that could not even set foot in the Cheonmu Academy. Besides, the above standard was just an average estimate, and there were some who had even more outstanding skills. So how could there be any negligence in the mechanism formations that prepared for that?

The Baekhyang-gwan was a place where the operating positions of the mechanisms and the traps changed day by day. If one did not properly master the breaking methods and the passwords, there was even a risk that it could become a double-edged sword and harm the user. But even with such a risk, the number of mechanisms in the Baekhyang-gwan did not decrease.

Once the emergency bell rang and the invasion of a man was confirmed, a net of aunts would be instantly cast around the Baekhyang-gwan, and the intruder would be searched for under a watertight, fully waterproof security. Those aunts were from the female master backgrounds who were flying and crawling in the forbidden-to-men sects, and their skills were enough to look down on men. Besides, their hatred for men was close to pathological, and forgiveness and mercy did not exist under the tips of their swords. Men cautiously called them the Twelve Fairies of Absolute Poison and Difficult Fragrance, with fear and awe. Since it was long, there were also people who abbreviated it as the Poisonous Hateful Women, or in a double curse, the Poisonous Hateful Bitches.

The reason they were guarding this place was because they could not leave the chicken coop wide open to a wolf's den. They were beings close to legends, as the guardians who protected the Baekhyang-gwan here. It was said that there was no one who had confirmed their true faces and had been fine yet. They were punished without a rat or a bird knowing.

In today's infiltration plan, contact with them was excluded. Because contact with them, and the meeting itself, meant the failure of this matter.

In the past, there had been a living being who had attempted to infiltrate the Baekhyang-gwan, boasting that he would prove that they were also humans like us by confirming their appearance of doing their business with his own two eyes, and had disappeared from the eyes of the world and had lost contact since that day. After that, there were no one who dared to look at the Baekhyang-gwan carelessly. Of course, there were many men who did not submit inwardly and had a burning sense of challenge. They just had not had the courage yet.

The preliminary information about them was also perfect. This time was when the guard of the Twelve Poisonous Fairies was the most lax. The infiltration route was also perfect. They had practiced it several times in advance. All that was left was the execution.

Bi Ryu-yeon's body moved as if melting into the darkness. His movement was so secret that it would not be recognizable even in broad daylight.

'It seems I've passed the first gate.'

Usually, the Twelve Fairies stood guard in shifts of three, but none of the three poisonous fairies had discovered him. He had also safely passed the Chaotic Flower White Mist Formation, which was spread out using the flowers in the flower garden, without being caught in the formation. Bi Ryu-yeon's figure entered the building as if seeping in.

If he went through the corridor, too many mechanism formations would block him. Since it was not yet the complete bedtime, they would not be fully activated, but he needed to avoid the eyes of the people walking around. Bi Ryu-yeon moved his body, following the footsteps that his seniors had followed. First was the ceiling passage that the fifth senior of the Young Lady Lovers' Society who had challenged the Baekhyang-gwan had discovered. The infiltration route was as he had memorized. The space above the ceiling was as narrow as expected. He did not let his guard down just because he had come up to the ceiling. He had already been warned that a mechanism had been installed here because the seventh or eighth senior had been caught using this place.

Bi Ryu-yeon moved his figure more cautiously than a cat, with all the senses of his body opened to the maximum. It was still a silent, formless movement.

When the lights in all the bedrooms in the Baekhyang-gwan were turned off and the bell announcing bedtime rang, all the death formations in the Baekhyang-gwan would be activated. In that case, it was rather safer to infiltrate at a time when the world of reality and dreams, where some were asleep and some were awake, intersected. Because it was much easier to avoid people than to avoid the terrifying and ominous mechanism formations that could pop out from anywhere. It was clear that the surrounding guard would also be much looser. Who would think that someone would sneak in when they were wide awake? It was an action that caught the consciousness off guard.

So, Bi Ryu-yeon decided to enter the Baekhyang-gwan at this time. A few fairies were surrounding the area, but as long as their positions were caught by Bi Ryu-yeon's eyes and ears, they would never be able to catch him.

"Then, shall we go?"

Bi Ryu-yeon's figure moved quietly like the shadow of the moon. There was no sound, no form, not even a slight movement.

'Huh? What's going on?'

He had thought he had moved according to the floor plan drawn in his head, but where on earth was this place? It was clear that it was not the way to the destination. Besides, the strictness seemed to be several times that of other places. Judging from the strictness of the defense and the moisture that filled the air, that place was... clearly a bathroom.

'Ahem, should I call this a coincidence? Or should I call it just in time?'

The time when Bi Ryu-yeon had infiltrated the Baekhyang-gwan was, coincidentally, the precious time when the female heroes of the Cheonmu Academy were shaking off the dust and fatigue of the day and preparing for bed. What else could be better than a bath in a hot tub to shake off the fatigue from the body? Besides, the bathroom facilities of the Baekhyang-gwan were decorated as splendidly and neatly as those of any wealthy household. The sound of water falling in the steaming bathroom mysteriously rang in Bi Ryu-yeon's ears. It was a musical melody that evoked a strange emotion.

'But how could I have arrived at the bathroom, which is located in the opposite direction of the target's progress? Is it really a coincidence?'

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Bi Ryu-yeon's finding his way to the bathroom, which he had known about as preliminary knowledge, despite it being in the opposite direction of the target point, was almost like moving according to his instinct.

'Aha, so this is that place.'

Bi Ryu-yeon, who was convinced that his feet were right under the bathroom, judging from the hot and humid moisture floating in the air that was sensitively stimulating his skin, began to burn with a sense of mission.

Bi Ryu-yeon was first worried about how sturdily this building was built, whether the materials were not defective, and whether it was not built with shoddy construction, thus disturbing a comfortable life. When he suddenly saw the black wall (ceiling) that was blocking his eyes, while not even being able to block his ears, such a thought suddenly came to him impulsively. Bi Ryu-yeon, who thought that it was his duty as a man to prevent such an injustice from being committed, decided to test the material and strength of the bathroom ceiling.