Hyun had almost finished reading the diary, the remaining pages thin and fragile. He had internalized the warnings, the history, and the shocking revelation that his gentle father was known as the Devil of the Battlefield. Yet, the final entry held the most incredible shock, one that changed his objective from mere survival to calculated, high-stakes theft.
His father wrote that during his time as the Young Cult Leader, he hadn't just fled—he had prepared for his eventual return. Knowing the greed and chaos that would follow his "death," Joon-Ho had spent years secretly accumulating valuable resources from his sect and rivals, hiding them in various locations, including within the very fortress of the sect he led.
He explained that cults like the Crimson Peak, which was built upon theft and extortion, rarely used their wealth or their most potent cultivation resources immediately. They stored them, like dragon's hoard, against future rivalries. Joon-Ho surmised that the minor Cult Collector operating out of the Demon Peak was likely funneling large amounts of such treasures to a central location.
The diary contained a series of cryptic, complex instructions, meticulously detailing the location of these hidden stores. They weren't just gold; they were Spirit Herbs capable of instantly boosting cultivation, rare Refining Minerals for forging weapons, and, most importantly, Forbidden Manuals—powerful cultivation techniques too dangerous to be taught widely.
"My son," the writing shifted, growing urgent on the page, "I knew the Murim would eventually find you, or you would find it. If you read this, know that the path I ran from is now your inheritance. These treasures are weapons. They are the only leverage you will have against the chaos I left behind."
Joon-Ho specifically identified three major caches hidden deep within the structure of his former sect's headquarters, which the Crimson Peak Cult would be unknowingly guarding. He drew diagrams showing specific structural weaknesses, false walls, and old, forgotten drainage tunnels. This information turned Hyun's suicide mission into a treasure hunt.
The knowledge was overwhelming. He was no longer just an avenging orphan; he was now the designated heir to a dark fortune, tasked with reclaiming his father's buried power. He realized his original purpose—saving the children and punishing the Cult—could be achieved not just through fighting, but by collapsing the Cult's foundation by stealing their most valuable assets.
Hyun carefully copied the most crucial structural diagrams onto the thin piece of bark Ahn had given him. He memorized the strange sequence of movements required to access the hidden compartments. He spent his final two days checking the placement of his signaling stones for Snow three times, ensuring the cub would be safe and hidden.
His farewell to Ahn was quiet and brief. He handed her the meager savings he had accrued at the Inn, money he knew she desperately needed. She looked at him, no longer seeing a scared boy, but a small, steady flame of defiance. She simply nodded, her eyes full of the resigned sorrow of Gong-Eui Village.
When the pale, sulfur-scented dawn finally broke, casting long, menacing shadows across the village square, Hyun was ready. He had secured his father's diary inside the secret compartment of his car, a final physical anchor to his past life. He was Ji-Woon, the weak, forgettable orphan. He would walk toward the Demon Peak to claim his inheritance and fulfill the destiny his father had tragically sought to bury.