Author-like Preparation
At this moment, Seo Joo-cheon, not Po Un, was needed.
Knowing that blindly rushing to confront Bul-sama would lead to certain death this time as well, he had to prepare thoroughly.
Fortunately, they had barely escaped Bul-sama’s grasp earlier by setting fire to the reeds along the Suo River, but now even the reeds could not be used.
‘He is still at the Suo River, repairing his boat. He came for Baek I-jin’s eyes and to seize the Gongcheong Seokyu. He attacked Baek I-jin to steal the Gongcheong Seokyu in the scramble. But since the Plum Blossom Swordmaster has not arrived at the inn, something must have happened. Even if Baek I-jin sent a messenger for help, no one came. It is strange. No matter how precious the elixir is, it cannot be more important than the daughter of a sect leader.’
The Plum Blossom Swordmaster had surely missed the messenger sent by Baek I-jin while chasing the Gongcheong Seokyu’s whereabouts.
‘Or perhaps he could not come even if he wanted to.’
To raise their survival chances, a completely different strategy from before was essential.
‘I am not a reader. I am the author. The author who created this world of the novel. But being dragged around so helplessly is not like me. Even if my abilities are pitiful, I must find a way out. That is what an author would do.’
That thought brought a feeling of shifting from a passive character to an author’s mindset close to a creator.
‘We alone have no chance against Bul-sama. Then we must draw in skilled fighters who can withstand him. To develop this situation as the author, I need to think from the protagonist’s perspective.’
Seo Joo-cheon had a good idea.
‘I will spread the rumor that the Gongcheong Seokyu is at the Suo River. Even those who do not believe it will flock there after hearing the rumor.’
The best way now was to lure the martial artists chasing the Gongcheong Seokyu to the Suo River and make them fight Bul-sama.
‘The second plan is to give Bul-sama the Gongcheong Seokyu. A fake one.’
Seo Joo-cheon fiddled with his fingers.
Imagining his fingers on a keyboard, he pondered the story.
‘But how?’
Even while writing novels, there were times when the direction felt off and he would groan for days.
When solutions did not come easily, he would feel as restless as someone with constipation.
At that moment, the clear description of the Gongcheong Seokyu that Seo Joo-cheon had written rose vividly to mind.
‘Jang Hyeon-nam smelled the Gongcheong Seokyu’s fragrance and felt dizzy. It was a common scent yet somehow prickled the nose. It was a unique fragrance like honey mixed into good Zhuyeqing. The main fragrance and floral notes blended together, stimulating not only the sense of smell but also the taste in a strange way.’
Seo Joo-cheon immediately bought the best Zhuyeqing and honey from the inn and mixed them into his own bottle.
“Big Brother, it is not the time to drink now. We barely have time to think how to confront Bul-sama.”
Jang Hyeon-nam followed with complaints, and Seo Joo-cheon smiled faintly.
“This is the secret weapon that will save us.”
“Oh! You are scheming again.”
Having seen Big Brother’s schemes work well during their Jianghu travels, Jang Hyeon-nam watched silently.
‘Since the fake Gongcheong Seokyu has the exact same fragrance as the in-novel setting, Bul-sama will fall for it. Most characters recognize the settings I wrote.’
After putting the bottle in his bosom, Seo Joo-cheon said, “Shall we go now?”
Seo Joo-cheon shook his head.
“No, there is still more preparation.”
Seo Joo-cheon pondered how to block Bul-sama’s attacks when they met.
It would be impossible to defeat Bul-sama by fighting with martial arts.
Winning against Bul-sama with Seo Joo-cheon’s current strength would be like a setting error.
Even Jang Hyeon-nam, who had received the protagonist buff, was being pushed around by Bul-sama’s subordinates.
‘Things may have changed a bit now.’
That thought made him consider bringing Jang Hyeon-nam along.
‘If I do that, the Gongcheong Seokyu will likely fall into Jang Hyeon-nam’s hands. Of course, since he is the protagonist, the story will flow that way. So it is better not to bring him. To obtain the Gongcheong Seokyu and martial arts as the Karma Mission reward, it is better to eliminate dangerous elements.’
Seo Joo-cheon’s thoughts lengthened.
He now realized he needed to become stronger.
He could not return to reality, and he could not die here.
For that, he needed power above all else.
That power must be tremendous.
The first step was the two martial arts and the elixir that the Black Eye Scroll possessed.
To organize his thoughts, he stepped into the backyard behind the inn.
At least, if he blindly tried to seize the Black Eye Scroll without solving this problem, everyone would die.
Seo Joo-cheon had the habit of wandering around when the story development stalled while writing novels, so he walked leisurely like a stroll.
During that time, good developments often came to mind.
“Uncle.”
Someone tugged at the hem of Seo Joo-cheon’s pants, and he looked down.
A little boy was sobbing.
The inn owner’s son.
He had grown familiar with the boy after staying in the inn for several days.
“Why?”
“Please save him.”
“What?”
“The cat.”
Following the boy’s finger, he saw a cat sitting on the top of a persimmon tree in the backyard.
A cat should easily climb that height and tree with its agility and flexibility, but it was frozen in place, unable to move.
“Oh my, this is really it! I am going crazy.”
Seo Joo-cheon clicked his tongue at the words that appeared before his eyes. Who would have thought a child’s request would generate a Karma Mission?
Save the Cat
📍 Location: Inn Backyard
🎁 Reward: Luck
⏳ Duration: One Si-jin
“This is not right at all. This is reality, not a novel! Shit!”
Seeing the Karma Mission trigger, curses poured out.
The Karma Missions that activated at random had irritated him.
Since the Karma Missions were small, the rewards and failures were also small.
This was a Karma Mission that could just be ignored with no consequences.
From this, Seo Joo-cheon realized one thing.
He had thought Karma was generated by major characters, but now it seemed that anyone who asked him could trigger a Karma Mission.
Even Do Ok-myeong and the inn owner’s son, who was just an extra of supporting role, qualified.
‘I must not accept requests from others so casually anymore.’
Jang Hyeon-nam approached and said, “Big Brother, I will lower the cat with my whip.”
But to avoid many branches and wrap the cat with the whip, the cat might get hurt.
“No. I will climb up myself.”
Since the reward was luck, he did not expect much.
Thinking how great the luck from the child’s Karma Mission would be.
Seo Joo-cheon swiftly climbed the persimmon tree and reached out to the branch where the cat was.
The cat remained frozen, body stiff.
At that moment, a hornet flew out from behind the tree.
Whoosh!
Soon, dozens of hornets swarmed from the back of the tree.
‘Ah, the cat cannot move because it has been stung by the hornets.’
Seo Joo-cheon scooped up the cat and jumped down.
“Thank you.”
So-dong hugged the cat and greeted Seo Joo-cheon.
“The cat could not move because it was stung by the hornets. It will be fine after a few days. And tell your father there is a beehive behind the tree; he should remove it.”
“Yes.”
So-dong disappeared with the cat in his arms.
Seo Joo-cheon lingered in the backyard without leaving, and Ham Cheon-yeong and Jang Hyeon-nam stood watching blankly.
‘There must be something that Big Brother cannot solve.’
Ham Cheon-yeong waited, thinking Big Brother was devising a strategy.
“Uncle.”
The inn owner’s son approached Seo Joo-cheon, holding a bowl.
“Here, take this.”
“Did you buy this to eat?”
So-dong nodded.
“It is a reward for saving our cat.”
“Hahaha! So the luck is in this bowl.”
Seo Joo-cheon ruffled So-dong’s hair.
“Yes. Thank you.”
‘Is this the luck mentioned in the reward? If so, if I had not saved the child’s cat, I might have truly suffered misfortune.’
Grinning while holding the bowl, a hornet landed on it.
Since hornets liked sweet things, it was natural for them to get stuck.
Watching it for a moment, Seo Joo-cheon’s mind flashed with several settings.
“That’s right! That will work!”
Overjoyed, Seo Joo-cheon shouted.
Since the idea was good even by his own standards, Seo Joo-cheon immediately put it into action.
***
Ham Cheon-yeong blinked in confusion at the somewhat absurd instructions from Big Brother.
“It is necessary. Since you have mastered Iron Cannon Three, you will be fine even if stung by hornets.”
Seeing Big Brother’s serious face, he quickly removed the beehive.
And he found the largest queen hornet among them and put it into a bamboo tube.
Although stung several times by hornets, thanks to Ham Cheon-yeong’s Iron Cannon Three ability, it only reached the level of being bitten by mosquitoes.
Seeing Seo Joo-cheon enter the backyard storage with the bamboo tube, Jang Hyeon-nam tilted his head.
“It seems there is something, but I cannot figure it out.”
“Sometimes Big Brother does things we do not know about. But every time, it has a big effect.”
“Yes. Even if it is a bit strange, we believe and wait.”
The two had great trust in Big Brother.
***
Seo Joo-cheon entered the storage and first opened his own bottle.
There, the Jangdokhwe-go was packed full.
Somehow, the Jangdokhwe-go individuals had increased.
Having the ability to quickly replicate individuals when there were males, it would stop replicating once the necessary number was reached.
According to Seo Joo-cheon’s setting, the Jangdokhwe-go demonstrated tremendous abilities in reality as well.
Seo Joo-cheon picked up a Jangdokhwe-go with chopsticks and put it into the bamboo tube.
‘This should work. Since I have not tried it, I do not know.’
He sat in seiza position and entered qi circulation.
And thinking of the queen hornet and Jangdokhwe-go, he slowly began qi circulation.
He planned to attempt fusion creation with the queen hornet and Jangdokhwe-go.
The ability of fusion creation.
Ability inheritance of the target to the desired target.
In an instant, fireworks exploded in his mind, and light bloomed.
Fusion Creation Success
✅ Fusion of Queen Hornet and Jangdokhwe-go
📍 Location: Inn Backyard
🎁 Reward: Queen Jangdokhwe-go
The message that rose in his mind.
After seeing it, he finished qi circulation and muttered, “Fusion creation was successful. But I wonder if it will properly act as a queen hornet.”
He took out the Queen Jangdokhwe-go and placed it on the floor, then poured the Jangdokhwe-go from his bottle.
Then, the Jangdokhwe-go gathered around the Queen Jangdokhwe-go in a circle.
The strange thing was that they kept a distance and did not approach the Queen Jangdokhwe-go.
As if guarding the queen.
When he dropped a dead queen hornet nearby, the Jangdokhwe-go gathered and instantly devoured the queen hornet.
When the Queen Jangdokhwe-go twitched and moved, the Jangdokhwe-go kept a distance following the movement’s range.
‘Success. If I have only the Queen Jangdokhwe-go, Bul-sama cannot attack me. Because his arms are made of Jangdokhwe-go.’
He had prepared a way to escape even if they collided with Bul-sama.
By saving one cat, he had taken a means.
‘People should do kind things, after all. If I had ignored the child’s request and passed by, I would never have seen the beehive, and I would not have thought of fusion creation with the queen hornet.’
But that raised one problem.
‘I need to think about regenerating Dokgo Ho-in’s arm with the Jangdokhwe-go. If I have it, the guy will not even come near me.’
He felt the need to find another method.
***
“Ready. Let us go.”
“Tell us what you prepared while going.”
“Even if I tell you, you will not know.”
“Annoying. By the way, we will not tell the third big brother that we are going, right?”
Seeing Jang Hyeon-nam’s quick-witted remark, Seo Joo-cheon nodded.
“We need another excuse. If he knows, he will definitely follow us.”
After meeting Dokgo Ho-in, Seo Joo-cheon boasted about clothes he had never done before.
“Looking at my clothes, it seems the second and youngest need to wear matching ones too. I will go buy clothes; wait here.”
With Seo Joo-cheon wearing the blue martial uniform, a mysterious aura and the feeling of a master emanated, so he could not deny that clothes are wings.
“You thought well. Since the youngest said the clothes at Gwak Family Manor sell well, wear beautiful fabric. We are now the Shaanxi Four Chivalrous Heroes.”
Dokgo Ho-in smiled brightly.
It was fortunate that he lacked insight at this time.
“I will bring one set of clothes too. What color should I buy?”
After Seo Joo-cheon’s words, Dokgo Ho-in said with a smile.
“Shall we unify with blue martial uniforms?”
“Understood. I will buy one set of blue martial uniform that fits you.”
“I am looking forward to it.”
After talking with Dokgo Ho-in, he met Jang Hyeon-nam.
Jang Hyeon-nam’s eyes became sharp and his momentum more intense.
“Jang So-hyeop, it seems you have achieved something. Congratulations.”
After Seo Joo-cheon’s words, Jang Hyeon-nam gave a kind smile.
“It is all thanks to Big Brother Po. Thank you.”
Jang Hyeon-nam quickly replied.
“You cannot wash your mouth knowing that.”
Seo Joo-cheon chuckled.
“Have you completely expelled the poison?”
“Yes. It has been completely expelled.”
“Still, just in case, you should do qi circulation and diet often to check if any poison remains.”
“I will remember. By the way, where are you going?”
Jang Hyeon-nam asked since the three were about to leave the inn together.
“Ah, I want to look at some clothes. Since there are no suitable clothes.”
“Ah, I see. Go ahead.”
After parting with Jang Hyeon-nam, Seo Joo-cheon smiled brightly.
Who would know that the person going to fight with that smile?
“Recently, I have seen a lot of Big Brother’s new side.”
“That is an acknowledgment.”
Ham Cheon-yeong agreed, and Seo Joo-cheon chuckled.
How much trust in Po Un made them change like this without even suspecting?
“When we arrive at the Suo River, you must follow my words unconditionally.”
“I cannot guarantee how Bul-sama will change.”
After Jang Hyeon-nam’s words, Seo Joo-cheon glared.
“Then, you go back.”
“Ah, I know. When did I ever disobey Big Brother’s orders?”
“Yes. Many times. Uncountably many.”
“I do not remember.”
The two bickered while heading to the Suo River.