A Treasure Worth Three Hundred Spirit Stones
Jin Somyeong stared at the muscular man he had been interrogating and summed up the situation with open disbelief.
"So. You're saying you followed me simply because you wanted my Spirit Stones?"
"Yes. There was a rumor that over the past half year, you had earned well over fifty Spirit Stones, Great Hero Jin..."
The more he listened, the hotter his temper burned. Damn robbers never had a conscience.
Memories of the countless times he had been exploited as a mortal flared up in him, stoking his anger into a blaze.
Crack!
Partly to vent, he struck the man hard on the back of the head.
"Bullshit! So what if I had earned fifty Spirit Stones? You were going to kill me and take them?"
"N-no! What a terrifying thing to say! I only followed you because I was curious how you had earned so many Spirit Stones."
"Haa. You heard some nonsense somewhere and came running. Right now, I have exactly three Spirit Stones on me."
"What?"
"Fifty, my ass. That damned rumor you heard is fake."
It was not a lie. After buying the Qi Condensing Pill with the twenty Spirit Stones he had saved over the past half year, he had been left nearly penniless.
"Impossible! Don't lie to me!"
The man raged as if he were the one who had been cheated by a swindler, his face twisted with indignation. Jin Somyeong could only stare at him, dumbfounded.
He was a murderer and a robber. What right did he have to look so wronged? It was so far beyond common sense that Jin Somyeong could not even feel angry anymore.
Clicking his tongue, Jin Somyeong asked another question.
"Enough. Who did you hear that ridiculous rumor from?"
His tone was indifferent, as though he barely cared, but this question was the true reason he had captured the man.
It was true that Jin Somyeong's income was unusually high for someone on the second layer of Qi Refining. That much was not especially difficult to discover. Anyone who took an interest and watched him for a while could figure it out.
However, that still required the effort of observing him.
Who would care what a beggar brat did day to day? Taking an interest in him at all was abnormal.
Who was it?
A few suspicious people came to mind, from Bang Il, the owner of Spirit Pill Pavilion, to the gatekeeper from the Red Sun Sect who had borne him a grudge.
"Wh-who do you mean?"
"I'm asking who told you I had a lot of Spirit Stones."
Keeping his face calm, Jin Somyeong focused on every word the tracker said.
"Uh... I just happened to hear it while drinking at a pleasure house. I don't really know."
"Tsk. Useless bastard. Then tell me who this boss you mentioned earlier is."
Gulp. The man's Adam's apple bobbed.
The answer to this question would decide whether he lived or died. He seemed to realize that too, and his voice came out tense.
"Our boss treasures her subordinates like her own life. So please, be wise and—"
"Shut up. Keep it short."
"Ch-Cheong Hwa-ran! A master at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. It's Cheong Hwa-ran!"
"...You called her your boss, but that's a woman's name. Are you still trying to deceive me?"
"I'm not lying! Our elder sister personally told us to call her boss!"
Jin Somyeong frowned.
He could not immediately place the name, but he felt as though he had heard it somewhere before. If even he, who was poorly informed, knew the name, she had to be fairly famous.
Cheong Hwa-ran.
After silently turning the name over in his mind, he nodded. Then he stood and looked down at the man.
"Fine. I'll remember it. Oh, and what's your name?"
"W-Wang Sin. But why do you need my name...?"
"If I'm going to make you a gravestone, I ought to know what to write on it."
Wang Sin stared blankly for a moment, unable to understand. Then his eyes bulged, and he began thrashing with a body that no longer had arms.
"Spare me! You said you'd spare me if I answered properly!"
"When did I say that? I considered it, but I decided killing you is better after all."
"You son of a bitch!"
Jin Somyeong looked at the man glaring at him like an innocent victim and said,
"How pathetic. You came here to kill me and rob me, yet now that it's your turn, you're frantic with resentment."
"You! If you kill me, our boss will avenge me! You will never die in peace—"
Slash!
With one stroke, Jin Somyeong cut through the throat of the man who cursed him to the very end.
Wang Sin's bloodshot eyes were filled with hatred, but hatred had no power. In the end, he would only be buried meaninglessly beneath a mound of dirt.
Even the blood that spurted up failed to touch Jin Somyeong. It struck his spiritual energy and pattered down onto the ground instead.
"I'll be waiting."
Answering the man's final words, Jin Somyeong turned his attention to his surroundings.
He had dragged things out too long with the interrogation.
The power of the Flame-Eater Talisman was nearly exhausted. Soon, demonic beasts would catch the scent of blood and gather.
Before leaving, he collected every gift Wang Sin had left behind.
From the flying sword rolling on the ground to the pouch at the man's waist, he swept it all clean.
The Blue Flood Dragon Gang.
It was a group that had gathered around Cheong Hwa-ran, a rogue cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining.
Recently, the rapidly expanding Blue Flood Dragon Gang had been thrown into commotion.
"Did you hear why the boss called us all together?"
"Who knows?"
A dozen or so people looked at one another and talked among themselves.
They were all young, though their bodies were scarred enough to show they had suffered plenty in childhood. Most were fierce-looking men, with only a few women among them.
"When will the boss arrive?"
"Just wait quietly. She'll be here soon."
Despite their rough appearances, they were obedient.
Every one of them kept craning their necks to look toward the entrance, like puppies waiting for their master.
Who knew how much time had passed?
"You're here, Elder Sister!"
"Boss!"
A slender woman entered the hall.
Everyone shot to their feet and bowed their heads. Not one person was an exception. Every face was filled with respect.
"Mm."
After giving a brief acknowledgment, the woman crossed the hall. The one who naturally took the seat of honor was Cheong Hwa-ran, founder of the Blue Flood Dragon Gang.
For someone in the late stage of Qi Refining, her attire was plain. Her black martial robes bore not a single ornament, making a stark contrast against her pale skin.
Her upright posture subtly revealed her character. Perhaps because of the sword at her waist, she possessed a very distinctive air. At a glance, she could have been mistaken for a female Daoist who enjoyed simplicity, or a sword cultivator devoted to the way of the blade.
Just as the entire hall fell silent, Cheong Hwa-ran's blue eyes narrowed.
"Where is Fifth? Did I not tell everyone to gather?"
At her cold voice, even the atmosphere sank.
While everyone stood at a loss, the man at the front spoke cautiously.
"Boss. Actually, at dawn today, I caught a glimpse of Wang Sin taking the newcomers out with him. I don't know where they went, but they haven't returned yet."
Cheong Hwa-ran sighed.
"Did I not clearly tell you all to mind your conduct for the time being? Now that I have reached the eighth layer of Qi Refining, the Red Sun Sect's checks against us will only grow harsher. On top of that, the recent movements of the Duan Family have been suspicious as well."
"...Eighth layer? Boss! Have you broken through again?"
"Congratulations! As expected, your talent is the best under heaven! You'll surely become a Foundation Establishment great master soon!"
"That's right! Our heartfelt congratulations!"
As the hall suddenly grew noisy, Cheong Hwa-ran waved a hand.
"Enough. Becoming a Foundation Establishment great master is hardly so easy. To break through, I will need a Foundation Establishment Pill, and obtaining one is no simple matter. Those old fossils have monopolized all of them."
"A Foundation Establishment Pill...!"
"Furthermore, if word gets out that I have reached the eighth layer of Qi Refining, the threat from the Red Sun Sect, which has been quietly restraining us, will grow stronger. They may even cast aside appearances and attempt assassination. So all of you are to keep my advancement to the eighth layer a secret."
"Yes! Don't worry. Even if a blade is pressed to my throat, I won't say a word! Heh-heh."
Cheong Hwa-ran looked at her subordinates, who were as delighted as if the achievement were their own, and shook her head.
A rare smile appeared on her usually cold face.
"Find Wang Sin quickly and warn him firmly. That boy's temperament is too light. Once he drinks, he has no secrets, so make sure he doesn't set foot near a pleasure house for the time being."
"Yes. Boss, please don't worry and focus on your cultivation. Becoming a Foundation Establishment great master is the most important thing. Once you do, there'll be no need to care about the Red Sun Sect's restraints, will there?"
The entrance to Jeokyang Mountain.
Rustle!
A boy in shabby clothes burst out from between the dense bushes.
Jin Somyeong hid between the rocks and carefully watched his surroundings.
"Whew."
He observed for quite some time, but sensed no one nearby. Even so, he did not lower his guard and continued waiting.
He had to be careful. There might be other pursuers.
Doesn't seem like anyone is there...
He began wondering whether he should head back. Security in the market was in shambles, but at least it was safer than Jeokyang Mountain.
Wait.
Jin Somyeong, who had been about to step out from between the rocks, stopped.
Unlike when he had climbed Jeokyang Mountain at dawn, his bundle was heavy.
It was because of the gifts that the kind Wang Sin had prepared for him before departing for the afterlife.
Can I really just take these back with me?
Cultivators had many secretive methods. They were beings who wielded all kinds of supernatural powers beyond the imagination of mortals.
Among the rumors Jin Somyeong had heard as a mortal, there had been one like this.
Immortals are said to leave invisible marks on their belongings so they can retrieve them even if they lose them. That's why people said never to pick up things carelessly.
He carefully examined the items he had brought once more.
There was the sharp flying sword around which blue spiritual energy lingered, and the pouch that somehow looked expensive.
No matter how closely he looked, he could not tell anything.
While he was agonizing over what to do, he suddenly froze.
"Huh?"
Jin Somyeong's mouth fell open.
It was not because he had discovered a mark. He was simply stunned by an unexpected harvest.
"...Is this a storage pouch?"
He had thought that the flying sword was the most valuable treasure among the things Wang Sin had left behind. After all, the shield the man had used as his main tool had already been shattered.
But he had been wrong. There was something even more valuable.
Jin Somyeong's fingertips trembled. He examined the fist-sized pouch again and again.
The more he repeated the action, the more excited he became.
"It's real. This is a real storage pouch."
A valuable item he had only heard of in rumors. It was the storage pouch famous as an essential item among cultivators.
Simply put, a storage pouch was a pocket-space bag. Despite being smaller than a fist, it could hold countless objects.
Given its overwhelming convenience, it was naturally so expensive that the price could make one's jaw drop.
Even the cheapest storage pouch, one with only about thirty-six square feet of space, cost at least three hundred Spirit Stones.
Gulp.
The moment he carefully opened the pouch and infused it with spiritual energy, instructions on how to use it appeared in his mind, almost like a manual.
"Incredible."
As expected, a luxury item was different. He could not help being moved by the considerate function usually found only in high-grade magic artifacts.
Whoosh!
Everything went inside, from the flying sword he had struggled to carry because it had no scabbard to the gourd bottle filled with dew.
All of it disappeared into a pouch the size of a fist.
"This is amazing."
His thought of abandoning the items out of concern for being tracked vanished completely. If it was worth hundreds of Spirit Stones, then it was worth taking some risk.
Spirit Stones were not merely money.
They were precious resources that increased the speed of cultivation and, in the end, raised one's chances of breaking through to the next realm.
More than three hundred Spirit Stones was a great fortune that could save him at least four or five years.
Five years.
No matter how he thought about it, giving that up simply because he was worried would be far too wasteful.
...I can't abandon it. Still, I should take precautions against tracking.
He took everything out of the storage pouch.
Fifty-seven Spirit Stones, miscellaneous books, a flying sword, unknown pills, and even a suspicious-looking mask.
Laid out together, the harvest was abundant.
If he had his way, he would have examined each item carefully, but he had no time. This was the dangerous wilderness.
Looking at the items scattered across the ground, he focused his mind.
Crackle!
Five beads of Boundless Great Ability turned to powder. A mysterious ripple swept over the items.
He was startled by the unexpectedly high consumption, but soon accepted it.
Well, of course. I don't know anything about preventing tracking.
It was the same as with magic arts. If he did not know the method, the price of fulfilling a wish became greater.
In any case, he purified every item, including the storage pouch.
Whatever marks might have been engraved on them, they should have been erased by the almighty power of the Boundless Great Ability.
Only then did Jin Somyeong truly feel relieved and step out from between the rocks.
As he walked toward Jeokyang Market, he considered what he should do next.
The Outer City is too dangerous. I need to find a house in the safer Inner City.
He could no longer put it off.
Cave dwellings in the Inner City were expensive, but he could afford one now. That was thanks to the inheritance Wang Sin had handed over.
With his pockets full, his options had widened.
After I find a place to live... I'll check what's inside the storage pouch.
Forcing himself to suppress the laughter that kept threatening to spill out in anticipation, he walked away with lighter steps.