Treasure Hunter, Kim (1)
Treasure Hunter Kim (1) The emperor, who had been swept up in the schemes of Li Jue and Guo Si and finally escaped, only to evade the mad pursuit of Zhang Ji and Fan Chou in a desperate game of brinkmanship before arriving in Xu Chang... quickly realized that reality was a cesspool.
Cao Cao was just another man scheming to seize power by exploiting the emperor. Trapped in Xu Chang, the emperor could only live day by day in constant fear.
Even with loyalists like Dong Cheng forming a solid faction, there was nothing he could do since Cao Cao controlled the military authority in Xu Chang.
And what caught the emperor's eye was one man: Liu Bei, who was family on the genealogy chart, practically an uncle. With his formidable warlord force and an approachable demeanor that suggested he'd listen if asked nicely, the emperor singled out Liu Bei as a check against Cao Cao.
Publicly calling him "Imperial Uncle" in front of the ministers was all part of that psychology.
It was a bittersweet moment revealing the desperation of a fallen emperor... but honestly, to outsiders, it was a nuisance.
'No way. Why dump your shit on us?' From our perspective, riding the same coattails, it was a burden.
If he could only survive by leeching off others... maybe it was better to just step up and smack the emperor down. That thought crossed our minds too.
Anyway.
"Brother Xuande, seeing His Majesty smile after so long makes me happy too." Cao Cao patted Liu Bei's shoulder with a grin.
He was smiling, but his eyes weren't. Being able to control his eyes and mouth separately—that was the eerie trick of Cao Cao's expressions.
"Yes, I'm overjoyed to meet His Majesty in my lifetime." Liu Bei gave an ambiguous smile as he replied.
"His Majesty wants to appoint you to an office right away. Do you know Pei?" Cao Cao asked.
"Ah, isn't it Lord Mengde's hometown?" Liu Bei said with a smile.
"Yes. And the birthplace of the great Emperor Gaozu of Han." Cao Cao spoke in a meaningful tone, eyeing Liu Bei.
"I'm thinking of making you Governor of Yuzhou." Cao Cao executed a rather destructive personnel decision.
I'd figured it'd be something like magistrate of Pei County, but no—he was appointing him Governor of Yuzhou, overseeing Pei and the entire Yuzhou region.
From Governor of Xuzhou to Governor of Yuzhou wasn't a huge demotion. Honestly, comparing Xuzhou and Yuzhou now, Yuzhou was definitely better off.
"To entrust me with such a heavy responsibility..."
"Tsk. His Majesty personally ordered the appointment—if I give you a lowly post, it damages my own prestige. Just accept it."
Cao Cao said with a smile.
"Then I, Yi, gratefully accept." Liu Bei immediately expressed his thanks.
And so, our journey to Yuzhou was decided.
Appointing a ragtag band of self-proclaimed righteous volunteers like us to such a position was impressive, no doubt. It showcased Cao Cao's bold personnel choices.
Cao Cao himself probably intended to win over more than half of our entire Liu Bei army.
The other half was pure pragmatism.
'So even the emperor's intentions were seen through.' The famously brilliant Prince of Jinliu, Liu Xie, but in the end, just a sheltered young master. Of course Cao Cao pierced right through his motives.
If Liu Bei and Liu Xie stuck together, they could stir up anti-Cao factions within Xu Chang. Plus, we had Chen Gong on our side. Cao Cao must have figured Chen Gong could scheme enough to form a real force.
So, to handle both Liu Bei's loyalty and containment in one stroke, Cao Cao offered him the governorship of Yuzhou.
Yuzhou wasn't just ours anyway—he'd assign surveillance to his close aides and lock Liu Bei in there.
'Smart guy.' Anyone could come up with that given time, but pulling it off in a short meeting showed real brains.
Truth be told, Cao Cao was the kind of munchkin you'd see in web novels. A natural genius in military affairs, literature, arts, and politics.
In Pei Castle, the heart of Yuzhou, Liu Bei officially received the seal of the Governor of Yuzhou and began his official duties.
"Imperial Uncle!!" "Uncle!!"
But the place was swarming with common folk. The moment we arrived, they erupted in cheers.
Too many for it to be just political theater.
Word of the Imperial Uncle's fame must have spread.
'And the righteous deeds in Xuzhou got around too.' In these chaotic times where even self-preservation was tough, tales of a hero personally marching out to protect the commoners spread like wildfire.
"Alright. Let's start over, step by step, from here." Liu Bei tidied his windswept sideburns and flashed a bright smile.
Thus began our new life in Pei Castle.
The moment we arrived in Pei Castle, I dove straight into treasure hunting using my game knowledge to make some cash.
"Chun Seol."
I called her immediately.
"Y-yes, yes... Lord." Chun Seol clasped her fists in a bao quan toward me right away.
No, "Lord" was too much pressure.
"If I may ask boldly... do you happen to know my name?" But Chun Seol suddenly hit me with an out-of-left-field question.
"Of course. It's Chun Seol, who else?" What was with her?
"Ah... you remember." Chun Seol gave a weird, goofy grin.
"I-I thought maybe you'd forgotten..." "No, I'm not a goldfish."
"Lately... you've barely talked to me, Lord... I thought maybe you'd forgotten about me..." Chun Seol mumbled shyly.
"..." Yeah, I'd been a bit neglectful with the subordinates lately due to being busy. Chun Seol... she notices those little things, huh.
"No way I'd forget my subordinates." I smiled at her.
"Y-you can't forget..." Chun Seol blushed faintly at my words.
"Th-then... leave an unforgettable mark on me, Lord... ehehe." Suddenly, Chun Seol's eyes glazed over. What? Was she plotting something?
"Anyway, Chun Seol. We have work to do here." I'd assigned the rest of the Kim Squad to patrols and maintaining order, pulling Chun Seol aside specifically.
"Anything!" Chun Seol nodded eagerly with a smile.
"Treasure hunting. Like we did in Xuzhou." I got straight to the point.
This Pei domain was loaded with hidden treasures. We'd snag them, turn 'em into cash, and grab the Peerless Sword too.
"Chun Seol, you know all the fences, right?" No idea about her past, but she was an expert on this.
"Hmm. But Yuzhou might be tricky to find contacts." Chun Seol sighed.
"Lord Cheng Yu's been ruling this area, and his soldiers are all hot on treasure hunting. Plus, the laws have gotten stricter, so thieves and fences are drying up."
Chun Seol, as expected. She was basically the thieves' gallery. Ask her anything thievery-related, and she knew it all.
ChatGPT-level knowledge!!
"Hm. In that case, we'll have to operate even more secretly." Yeah, this quest might cause some friction with Cao Cao's army.
Simple reason: Cao Cao, who'd blown too much cash on "welcoming the emperor," created a specialist unit for tomb raiding to fund the military. This was real history. Desperate measures like digging up graves and ruins for gold to convert into grain and weapons. It showed how dire things were for Cao Cao back then.
Most of Cao Cao's troops had turned into treasure hunters, frenziedly excavating every possible site.
We'd clash since we were digging for the same stuff.
"Chun Seol, this mission's top secret. We'll wear masks at night."
I told her. If it got out we were Liu Bei's men, it'd be a mess.
"Ah... of course." But Chun Seol nodded like it was the most obvious thing.
"..." Her backstory was getting more intriguing.
Anyway, Chun Seol and I set out for nighttime treasure hunting.
Having poured my life into this game once, I vaguely remembered treasure spots.
I led Chun Seol up a wild hill to the ruins of a dilapidated shrine, already worn away.
Pei Castle itself was where Emperor Gaozu of Han began his journey, so shrines had sprouted like mushrooms. A defensive measure since Gaozu was originally a nobody playboy. Build a ton of shrines, fabricate legends, and suddenly he had roots.
During the Han's heyday, these places were stacked with treasures—total goldmines.
"...Looks like someone's already here." Chun Seol clicked her tongue, staring ahead.
Yeah, I half-expected it, and there they were. Cao Cao's soldiers, embodying every grunt's basic virtue of digging, were maniacally unearthing treasures. They'd churned up the whole area figuring something had to turn up eventually.
"No helping it." I'd anticipated this and brought tools.
Rummaging around.
I pulled out the all-purpose tool from my back: a roughly carved wooden bat. Our bald guy Gwang Yeom had whittled the wood and oiled it himself.
Length and weight like a baseball bat. My go-to weapon from my youth league days.
Even facing punks, smashing walls like crazy and roaring made them scatter.
Anyway.
'I've got bludgeon tech from the Mount Sang Classic Sword.' One of the game's weapon trees, bludgeons were maxed too. Mount Sang Classic Sword was like a hamburger set of martial arts—covered most weapon skills.
Bludgeons' edge over swords: higher chance of non-lethal takedowns. Best for captures or suppression without killing. Swords were too lethal.
Usually, weapon tech ups lethality, but bludgeons weirdly increased non-lethal odds the more you leveled—fascinating.
"Don't kill 'em—just knock 'em out good." I nodded to Chun Seol, then advanced on them.
Stealthily closing in on the obliviously digging soldiers, measuring distance. When it was close enough, I kicked off and charged.
"Guh...! Who the hell are you!!" One soldier looked up in panic.
"Hup..!!!" I swung the bat wide using my core.
Whoooosh!!
My youth league bat skills were muscle memory.
Crack!!!!
The wooden bat slammed cleanly into the helmeted soldier's neck.
I controlled the power, of course. Not a full horizontal swing—more like snapping at the strike zone kept it non-lethal.
"Guhb!!" The neck-hit soldier crumpled limply to the ground.
"E-enemy!" "Thieves!!" The soldiers fumbled for swords. Too slow.
"Single!" Crack!!!
"Double!" Clang!!
I swung wildly, taking them down one by one. Smashed their pots clean, silencing them.
"...Kuhk." "Guhp." Before they could draw, lightning from the bat staggered them into heaps. Checked pulses—all alive. Call a doctor later... but not killing them was a win.
"Chun Seol. Coast's clear." I stowed the bat and called to her hiding behind a rock.
"Yep." Chun Seol scurried over with her leather pouch.
Now, the treasure hunt we'd been waiting for. Score some loot... call the wives and squad for a beef party. Thinking that, I stepped into the half-ruined shrine interior.