Treasure Hunter, Kim (5)
"Gah!! As a member of Liu Bei's army, I can't accept gifts from the Prime Minister!"
You could say something like that, but honestly, Cao Cao hadn't even tried recruiting me yet. Pulling a stunt like that would just make me look like some paranoid axe-murderer waiting to happen.
And why turn down a gift when it's offered? I decided to take it clean and simple.
'Gotta get some nice clothes for the wives.'
Even Yong-hwa and Guan Yu, born women through and through, couldn't tear their eyes away from the pretty silk garments.
'Then I'll wrap up these good deed quests.'
To get the Cham Sa Geom, I had no choice but to rack up reputation around Paeguk by doing good deeds like crazy.
"Kim. Kim. We're heading straight to the training grounds, right?"
I glanced at Yeo Po, who had somehow glued herself to my side like a puppy, and came up with a clever idea.
"Oh, Bong-seon. Mind tagging along for a bit? Got some patrol stuff to finish up."
I asked her. Might as well do it with Yeo Po since things had turned out this way. It'd probably save time.
"Yeah! Yeah! Sounds good!"
Yeo Po agreed without a second's hesitation.
"Wait... is that really okay?"
Didn't she have training or some officer duties at the training grounds?
"Eh... I can just dump that on Jang Liao or Go Sun or whatever."
Yeo Po shrugged it off carelessly.
'Worst boss ever...!'
I caught a glimpse of why this girl never built an empire fit to rule the land. She saw shoving tedious work onto her subordinates as a given. And when they screwed up, it was all their fault— no wonder people hated her guts.
'Just stay here forever.'
She wasn't cut out for leadership anyway, and letting her loose anywhere else would just cause chaos. Better to keep her close.
"I wanna work with Kim!"
Yeo Po was already acting like we were adventure buddies.
"Alright. Let's go."
I took Yeo Po along to finish the good deed quests.
After hearing the common folk's troubles and solving a couple simple quests to fix them, that was it.
But from a newbie's perspective, they were tough. Plenty of battles involved, after all.
"What the hell are you... grrrraaahhh!!!"
I stormed into a bandit stronghold preying on nearby farms, slicing through the scum.
No need for stealth or anything. I just marched in and beheaded the entrance guards.
"Hah!! These weaklings!!"
Yeo Po went berserk like a fish in water, carving up the bandits with her sword. Even without her beloved Fang Tian Hu Ji, her movements were godlike, shredding them like mad.
"Guh... our little bro, the top swordsman of Paeguk...!"
"Everyone!! Hold them off!!! Together we can win!!"
"Unleash the dogs!!"
The bandits charged in blind panic, howling.
Their faces twisted in real terror—enough to leave a mark. They stared like I'd stepped out of a horror flick as some psycho killer. And yeah, that's basically what I was doing, so fair enough... Who wants to live like that?
One guy strained his throat screaming too hard, so I decided to end his misery.
Spuuurt!!!
I lopped his head clean off with my sword. He toppled over, mouth still agape in shock.
"Big bro!!"
"You bastard!! How dare you!!"
The bandits made a last desperate charge, but raw power crushed them flat.
"Hah!!! Great spirit!!"
Yeo Po, thrilled by the hunt after so long, finished off the stragglers.
"They stole a ton, huh."
The stronghold's warehouse brimmed with veggies and loot the bandits had pilfered.
"Kim, you're too nice. Does the guard really need to handle this?"
Yeo Po grumbled as she hauled the cart.
'Not in Yeo Po's world.'
Theft was the victim's fault, murder the weakling's— that was her worldview.
"This is Yezhou under Lord Yideok now. Gotta care about the little guy's worries."
I gave Yeo Po a casual lesson in benevolence.
"Swinging the sword for the weak—that's true chivalry, right?"
Out popped some cringey wuxia line. Had I gone full chuunibyou...!?
"Eh, fine, got it."
Yeo Po still didn't buy it, tilting her head cutely.
"Thank you!! Lord Kim!!"
"Lady Bong-seon, thank you too!!"
The farm folk near the stronghold wept with gratitude.
Some robber gang calling themselves "righteous outlaws" had set up shop nearby. Whenever food ran low, they'd raid for grain and cash.
Petty crooks who didn't commit big crimes in Paeguk proper, so no one from the garrison bothered.
In this kill-or-be-killed era, stuff like this was nothing. Rule of law's a luxury of peace.
"I'll name my son after you!"
The farmer cried out in emotion.
"Nah, don't recommend it. Kid might get bullied."
Kim's a weird name in China.
'Second good deed quest done.'
One more, and I'd meet the requirements for the Cham Sa Geom.
"Bong-seon. On to the next spot."
I dragged my ultra-competent sidekick Yeo Po to the final quest.
A back alley in Paeguk's market.
"Grah... who the hell are you...!"
"Green Turban scum...?"
I cut down the thugs in blue hoods at a gambling den tucked in the alley.
The Qing Guan Ze—blue-hooded riffraff, the strongest gang around. Ran illegal casinos in Paeguk, extorted heavy protection from shops, riling up the locals.
The morning punks harassing the dumpling shop? Probably their subcontractors.
Oh, and yeah, they ripped off the Yellow Turbans' name. Backstory said they were remnants.
But none of that mattered. This org was ten seconds from oblivion.
"You've heard of Paeguk's Tiger!! I'll take you o—"
A burly axe-wielder started his big speech, hefting a massive double-headed axe.
Swoosh!!!
Before he finished, Yeo Po slashed his throat.
Why do they always choke on their lines...? I pitied the third-rate villain trope.
After gleefully hacking away and razing their hideout, I divvied up the loot among the folk.
"Lord Kim!! Thank you!!"
"Truly grateful!"
"Feels so good!"
The commoners cheered, thanking me and Yeo Po.
See, Yeo Po? Doing good deeds takes time, but feels pretty great, right? I glanced her way to check for growth... but she looked utterly bored. Consistent as ever, in her own way.
Word was, these Qing Guan Ze ran usury too, crushing debtors with insane interest. Even sold off daughters to brothels.
Bonus: rescued women kidnapped to their brothels.
"A man like Lord Kim should rise high..."
"Thank you."
Wading through endless handshakes, I sensed the chain quest triggering.
"K-Kim... wanna wander the streets a bit before heading back?"
Yeo Po suggested, then added one more word.
Even ignoring it was Yeo Po, a silver-haired beauty blushing as she spoke? My face heated up involuntarily. Sunset starting to paint the sky was the ultimate cheat code. No resisting that.
But... chain quest conditions for the artifact were met.
Whoosh.
Amid the crowd, an old man sipped from a cup. But the liquid floated up on its own to his lips—no tilting needed.
Obviously no ordinary geezer.
[Beauty invites you to dinner vs. artifact hunt]— moment of truth.
'But priorities.'
No helping it. Men go nuts for artifacts and rare gear. Back in the day, boys hunted treasure in the hills without anyone telling them. Instinct. Unavoidable.
"Bong-seon. Got stuff to do after work."
I turned down the offer, tears in my eyes.
"Oh... okay."
Yeo Po's face fell openly. Kinda hurt.
"Tomorrow works, though."
I slipped in a promise without thinking.
"...R-Really?!"
Her face lit up instantly, grabbing my hand.
"Promise?"
She squeezed with insane grip strength. Blood flow: zero.
"Yeah."
Didn't expect the random chain quest NPC to pop up this fast.
After sending Yeo Po off, I approached the old man.
"Hmmm. What business does a young one have with this old timer?"
The elder prodded a floating water droplet, smiling at me.
"Aren't you Zuo Ci, sir?"
Straight to the point.
"Hm. You know me."
He grinned, eyeing me intently.
Rare NPC who appears after building good rep in Paeguk. Chain quest: Zuo Ci. Yezhou native, so first meet here's in Paeguk.
"...Ah. A Heaven-defier. One who slips the flow of fate."
Zuo Ci smiled brightly, clapping and chuckling.
Wugil called me that too last time. Piercing my otherworldly origins? Nah, don't overthink.
"Follow me."
No fancy words— he just nodded and walked.
Sass him here, and poof—he vanishes. So I silently parted the crowd, tailing him.
About thirty awkward minutes of wordless strolling later...
We reached a small shrine on the forest outskirts. Not total ruins, but dusty and neglected.
"Hm. Patience: pass. Was gonna ghost if you yapped."
Zuo Ci smirked playfully.
"Sensing you early 'cause you're off fate's rails. Heaven-defiers are unique."
After some cryptic mumbo-jumbo, he headed to the weathered incense burner out front.
Fwoosh.
He conjured flames from thin air, lighting it.
"Now. Sniff the incense. If heaven approves your deeds, it'll react."
He waved me over like a gangster offering a joint.
Sniffing pulls you into a spirit world trial; clear it for Cham Sa Geom fragment.
"Huuuuh."
I inhaled without hesitation.
The sharp scent hit, and my consciousness blacked out.