Unwelcome Guest
When Jin Somyeong reached the vast wasteland, he spread both arms wide.
Whoosh!
A cool wind brushed his cheeks as it passed.
For some reason, the flow of air—the sort of thing he usually paid no mind at all—felt different today.
The instant he focused and invoked Wind Riding Art, a surging gust blended with the natural breeze. It became a fierce wind that shoved against his back.
Whoosh!
He didn’t resist the current.
The moment his feet kicked off the ground, he lightened his body and let the wind carry him aloft.
“...Ahahaha!”
His figure arced through the air in a great parabola. Each time he touched down, the landscape around him flashed past in a blur.
Hooom!
It felt as though he had become one with a gale strong enough to shake even thick tree trunks.
With each passing moment, the acceleration piled on, and he only got faster.
With every breath, he covered forty or fifty meters. It was a speed that ordinary people couldn’t even hope to follow with their eyes.
Taaat!
The elastic power of his thigh muscles drove him forward, and his body, lifted into the air, was shot ahead like an arrow riding the wind.
“Ah!”
To be born on the earth and, in the end, rise to the sky—there was nothing finer.
Was this what it felt like to ride a wave and carve through the sea?
It was the sensation of becoming a bird and soaring through the heavens.
He had never realized that practicing law techniques could be this much fun. As expected, people felt rewarded when they did what they were good at.
If I combine this with Boundless Great Ability too?
The moment his excitement peaked and he spent another golden bead,
whoosh—!
The world around him began to stretch out. He was moving so fast that his eyes were producing a distortion.
The resistance of the air blocking his path split apart on its own. It opened wide, almost as if it were greeting him.
Damn!
He nearly lost his balance, but barely managed to regain control of his body. At that speed, simply keeping his balance was difficult.
This is incredible.
He was at least fifty percent faster now.
He had far surpassed the level of a Mid Qi Refining cultivator.
He had never seen a late-stage cultivator, so he couldn’t say for sure, but even they would probably struggle to catch him.
“Hahahahaha!”
In a brutal world like this, the knowledge that his means of self-defense had increased made his heart feel lighter.
From now on, a Mid Qi Refining cultivator was nothing to fear.
Hooom!
As Jin Somyeong floated through the air in a great arc, his eyes gleamed.
If he wanted to use Wind Riding Art in real combat, speed alone wasn’t enough. He had to be able to change direction at will.
He concentrated on the ground rushing toward him under the pull of gravity.
Taaat!
The instant the soles of his feet touched earth.
He twisted every joint in his body at once. Ignoring the violent inertia that tried to drag him off course, he changed the direction he was running.
He corrected the ruined balance by borrowing the wind itself.
Success!
It was a rather reckless movement, but his tough body held firm.
Delighted, he kept casting Wind Riding Art. He didn’t stop until about thirty percent of the spiritual energy in his dantian remained.
“Phew.”
Before he knew it, two hours had passed.
He had been so engrossed in training that he had lost track of time.
Feeling pleasantly drained, he returned to the eastern district of the Inner City—only to come face-to-face with an unwelcome guest lingering outside his house.
“Oh! So you were out. I thought you were inside pretending not to notice me. Hahaha!”
The stranger strode toward him without giving him a chance to avoid him, and Jin Somyeong asked, his expression full of suspicion, “...Who are you?”
“I’m a runner sent to deliver a letter. I was looking for Jin Somyeong. Are you him?”
Frowning, Jin Somyeong shook his head.
He was currently disguised with Faceless Veil. Of course, he hadn’t transformed into a completely different person.
He only bore a faint resemblance to Jin Somyeong’s original face—just enough to be misleading.
He had deliberately made the disguise obvious enough that a careful look would reveal he was someone else entirely.
That was because, before he learned of Faceless Veil, he had once met the red-clad steward while renting the eastern residence.
He had also raised his apparent age to his mid-twenties.
After all, a fifteen-year-old boy stood out too much in Red Sun Market.
In any case, he was now a man who only vaguely resembled Jin Somyeong, and was clearly someone else.
With irritation written all over his face, he glared at the unwelcome guest and said, “Jin Somyeong? I don’t know who that is. Why are you looking for that person here?”
“Hmm... Are you really not him? I heard that Jin Somyeong had come into this residence. For the record, the letter I’m carrying is very important.”
The man claiming to be a messenger narrowed his eyes.
He began examining Jin Somyeong’s face without the slightest disguise.
He even had the audacity to use the Spirit Eye Art and inspect him!
“Hah. What do you think you’re doing? Have you no manners? Are you looking for trouble in the Inner City?”
“I’m sorry. Please give me just a moment. I must deliver this letter to Jin Somyeong no matter what.”
He was incredibly brazen.
He kept staring without caring that Jin Somyeong’s expression was growing more and more severe.
For almost a full minute.
Only after an excruciatingly awkward silence did the man laugh sheepishly and say, “Ah... it seems the Daoist just looks like Jin Somyeong, and someone must have mistaken you. Sorry for the trouble. Then I’ll be on my way.”
Whoosh!
Just like that, the unwelcome guest who had appeared out of nowhere left. There was no real explanation, and no compensation either.
“...”
Standing still and watching the messenger’s back, Jin Somyeong frowned.
He couldn’t let a suspicious man walk away like that.
Swish.
He even burned through Boundless Great Ability to unleash Presence-Wiping Art at full strength.
With his presence fading like that of a transparent man, he quietly followed after the fellow.
The man’s caution was fairly sharp.
He passed through several winding alleys, glancing back constantly to check for anyone tailing him.
But he couldn’t see through Boundless Great Ability's concealment technique. He simply wasn’t skilled enough.
Jin Somyeong suppressed his own presence and tracked him for quite some time.
At last, he succeeded in uncovering the messenger’s true identity and destination.
...Red Sun Sect?
The man walked boldly toward the grand gate of the Red Sun Sect.
“Brother Beom Chang. I’m back.”
“Well? Did you check?”
By the ease and familiarity of his greeting with the gatekeeper, it was clear he belonged to the Red Sun Sect.
Jin Somyeong, watching the two men, narrowed his eyes.
That bastard...
The gatekeeper called Beom Chang looked familiar.
It was that son of a bitch from a few months ago—the one who had tried to force a slave contract on him!
Qi Refining, fifth layer.
Was it because he had advanced to the third layer? The man’s cultivation level, which he hadn’t been able to sense before, now stood out clearly.
After a brief moment of thought, Jin Somyeong approached the gate.
He was curious about what kind of conversation the two were having.
“Brother. This doesn’t seem to be Yeo Dongbin either. He does resemble Jin Somyeong a little, but that’s all. He was definitely someone else.”
The gatekeeper’s face darkened. His already ugly features twisted even further.
“Not him either? Are you certain?”
“Yes. I checked personally with the Spirit Eye Art. His age is different too. Judging from his bones, Yeo Dongbin is definitely over twenty.”
Beom Chang glared at the messenger and snapped, “Damn it! If it isn’t him either, then who the hell is it? Didn’t they say the last cultivator to appear in Red Sun Market after Jin Somyeong vanished was Yeo Dongbin?”
“W-well... there are a few people who seem suspicious, but the chances are very low. Starting with cultivation level, they’re completely different from Jin Somyeong.”
“Tch!”
Spitting out a thick gob of phlegm, Beom Chang barked, “Damn it all! I thought I’d finally found myself one usable slave!”
“Brother, just let it go. Jin Somyeong seems to be dead already. No matter how much I look, I can’t find a trace of him.”
“Jin Somyeong, you stupid bastard! You moron, you actually went up Jeokyang Mountain and got yourself killed! Damn it, what a waste!”
Beom Chang stamped the ground in frustration.
His face had turned as red as though he were the one who had lost money.
The messenger, sensing his mood, tried to comfort him.
“Brother, there are plenty of early Qi Refining cultivators in the market already. Pick someone else. There are already more than three fools who signed contracts with us this month alone.”
“Ha! You don’t know what you’re talking about! What good is a handful of spirit stones if you fool a bunch of worthless trash? You’re saying that because you don’t know how vicious that little Jin Somyeong was!”
“Come on, brother. I heard that boy was only fifteen. How vicious can a child really be?”
“Hmph! Sure, he had nothing to his name, but he was born with a gift for surviving in harsh places. Would you believe me if I said Jin Somyeong spent three whole years climbing Jeokyang Mountain in a mortal body?”
The messenger’s eyes went wide.
“Th-three years? In that dangerous place?”
“Exactly! Give people like that even the tiniest spark of hope, and they’ll throw their lives away and run like dogs! He would have been perfect for sending into the soon-to-open Red Cloud Secret Realm to fetch a Foundation Establishment treasure. What a pity, what a shame!”
“Hmm... Brother, an early Qi Refining brat could never survive a place like the Red Cloud Secret Realm, could he? He’d die nine times out of ten. The chances of him bringing back a Foundation Establishment treasure would be one in ten, no—probably not even one in a hundred.”
“Idiot! What does one in a hundred matter? It’s not my life on the line, so why wouldn’t I send him?”
“...Huh?”
“If I gather dozens of Jin Somyeong types and throw them into the secret realm, it’s not impossible that I’ll get my hands on a Foundation Establishment treasure myself!”
The messenger, mouth hanging open, spoke as if he were genuinely impressed. “Amazing! This brother has had his eyes opened today. As expected, your way of thinking is completely different from a little guy like me. Truly incredible!”
“Hmph. If you understand, then go back and check again for anyone who looks suspiciously like Jin Somyeong.”
“Yes, Brother. Don’t worry.”
The man rolled his eyes and, in a sly tone, said, “Brother, to be honest, leave the ones most likely to be dead to me, and let’s go to a pleasure house together today instead.”
“A pleasure house...?”
Beom Chang clicked his tongue several times before shaking his head.
“No. A gentleman should keep his distance from women of ill repute. I need to focus on my cultivation, so you should go and enjoy yourself.”
“You really won’t come? There’s a new courtesan at Chwiseon House, and they say her figure is absolutely unbelievable.”
“...How unbelievable are we talking?”
“Heh-heh. She’s a courtesan at Chwiseon House, so her body must be perfect without question. But the more important thing is something else. Do you know what her actual cultivation art is?”
“So what if a courtesan has a good cultivation art? How impressive could that possibly be... Wait. Don’t tell me?”
“That’s right! She learned a proper dual-cultivation art that flowed out of the Flower Union Sect!”
“A dual-cultivation art! Really?”
“Of course. Do you think I’d dare lie to you, Brother? If you dual-cultivate with that woman, your cultivation will rise as though you’d trained for a full week!”
Leaving the two men behind as they laughed and traded lewd remarks about women,
Jin Somyeong walked away.
His eyes had long since turned colder than ice.
Red Sun Sect. If you insist on meddling with me...
I won’t avoid you.
He had also learned something else from their conversation: it was almost certain that Bang Il, the owner of the Spirit Pill Pavilion, had sold his information.
Very few people knew that he had spent three years climbing Jeokyang Mountain.
The only likely suspect was Bang Il.
He acted like a trustworthy merchant, and yet he sold a man out for a handful of spirit stones.
Still, it was also true that Bang Il had been the one to help him take his first steps onto the path of cultivation. Remembering that debt and that favor, Jin Somyeong kept it tucked away in the corner of his mind.
He wouldn’t go out of his way to take revenge, but if the chance came, he intended to repay it.
Beom Chang was different, however.
That man had forced a slave contract on him and threatened him. Even if things had stopped there, that alone would have been enough to make him detestable, but he had gone further and actively searched for him with malicious intent.
No matter how he looked at it, there wasn’t a single reason to let him off.
How should I deal with him?
Narrowing his eyes, Jin Somyeong fell deep into thought.
Fighting the entire Red Sun Sect head-on would be nothing but a waste of time. They weren’t worth that much.
What mattered most was cultivation. That fact must never be forgotten.
But...
It wouldn’t hurt to hit them a little.
Even a great dam could be brought down by a single small hole.
He intended to make life difficult for them, so long as it didn’t interfere with his training.
The more chaotic the power structure of Red Sun Market became, the better it was for a wandering cultivator like him.
The gatekeeper. He said that bastard’s name was Beom Chang, didn’t he?
Jin Somyeong’s face changed completely as he stroked Faceless Veil.
He transformed into a broad-shouldered, easygoing man in his forties and headed for a tavern.
Beom Chang was clearly the kind of man who made enemies everywhere he went.
Jin Somyeong intended to start by investigating him.