Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Manwol Valley Black Market
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The sun hung high in the midday sky.
Jang Wi crossed the Heavenly Demon Palace, escorting a woman at his side.
He soon reached their destination and spoke up.
"Wait here for a moment."
Leaving the woman behind, Jang Wi approached the entrance to the Heavenly Martial Hall. He lowered his voice respectfully at the door.
"Cult Leader. As you commanded, I've brought the Secret Affairs Hall Leader."
Having spoken, Jang Wi waited quietly.
Yet no reply came from within.
"……?"
The Cult Leader had clearly ordered him to bring her here at noon, so why no response?
Puzzled, and risking rudeness, he extended his senses to probe the interior.
But the Heavenly Martial Hall felt utterly devoid of any presence.
'The Cult Leader has never left during training hours before.'
What could this mean?
Head tilted in confusion, Jang Wi grasped the door handle.
And the instant he flung the door open.
"C-Cult Leader…!"
Spotting Hyeok Mulin standing calmly with hands clasped behind his back, he let out a startled cry.
Caught off guard, Jang Wi's jaw dropped. Hyeok Mulin's lips curved in satisfaction.
Impressive—the Extreme Swift Shadowless lives up to its name.
Even just mastering the physical form of Shadowless Step keeps my presence from leaking out almost entirely.
All that sporadic practice in spare moments is paying off.
Even a master like Jang Wi can't detect me without total focus.
This level should hold up in real combat.
"Must've been urgent. Opening the Heavenly Martial Hall door without permission."
"F-Forgive me."
"I'm kidding. I'll speak with the Secret Affairs Hall Leader now—step out."
"Understood."
Still dazed, Jang Wi departed. Cho Sahyeon slowly stepped inside.
She approached Hyeok Mulin, knelt on one knee, and offered formal respects.
"I pay my respects to the exalted Cult Leader."
"How are your quarters?"
"Perfect."
Considering the intelligence organization's needs, Hyeok Mulin had ordered a new Secret Affairs Hall built within the inner fortress.
It wasn't fully complete yet, but construction was progressing smoothly.
"Glad you like it. Now, to business."
"Yes."
Cho Sahyeon replied and politely offered a thin stack of documents.
It was a summarized report compiling key intelligence on the Yagul Clan.
Hyeok Mulin took the documents and began reading.
'An excellent choice.'
Yagul Hyeon had swiftly appointed the exceptionally talented Yagul Sohwa as heir, nipping potential strife in the bud early on.
And his judgment proved spot-on.
As she grew, Yagul Sohwa widened the gap with her siblings, displaying overwhelming superiority.
Eventually, her sonic arts made her unrivaled in the world.
Her primary strength is sonic arts, which use sound as a medium—particularly devastating against multiple foes in battle.
Sonic arts are inherently tough to defend against.
Poison can be countered with antidotes or detox elixirs, but sonic arts demand precise internal energy control, making countermeasures tricky.
Weaker foes lack even the basics to form an energy barrier, while stronger ones fall helplessly if the sonic practitioner outmatches them.
'And the Yagul Clan stands a cut above the rest.'
During the Great Orthodox-Demonic War three hundred years ago, when the world was engulfed in battlefields, a chilling rumor spread.
If a beautiful melody whispers in your ear, flee at once.
Or accept your end.
It will be your funeral dirge.
It didn't take long to prove true.
When the Martial Alliance, stalled on the front lines, decided to detour and target the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's headquarters.
They dispatched a secret elite unit of picked troops from each division.
But they unluckily crossed paths with one man.
The Yagul Clan Patriarch of that era, Yagul Seongung, appeared before them alone.
Unarmed.
Facing the unit, he slowly parted his lips.
That day, the entire detachment of hundreds perished on the spot.
The Yagul Clan's and sonic arts' fame spread far and wide thereafter.
'But they aren't without weaknesses.'
'Rats hiding in the rafters.'
A slur branding them as sycophants, but what could be done?
Among the Seven Great Demon Clans, ranked by combined might and influence, the Yagul Clan barely edged out the Hyeok Clan for a lower spot.
Bluntly, sixth out of seven.
Excluding the Hyeok Clan once on the brink of expulsion, they were effectively last.
So they had no choice but to shadow the Cult's internal currents closely.
One might call it an inherent flaw of sonic arts cultivation.
Operating numerous sonic pavilions across Xinjiang Province.
Recently expanding locations and numbers, bulking up overall.
'Thorough investigation.'
Hyeok Mulin nodded after checking details like the main estate's name, layout, and key personnel duties, then flipped to the next page.
His eyes paused on the final section.
'Ho.'
Just days after his orders, and they'd dug this deep already.
Nothing to say but she's capable.
Promoting her was the right call.
'But this differs slightly from my past life.'
Originally, the Yagul Clan allied with the Man Clan around now to boost their voice.
Yet the report listed the Cheon Clan alongside.
'Must stem from my split with the Cheon Clan and canceling regular meetings.'
Declaring independence soured ties between Cheon and Hyeok Clans, so they were wedging in.
'Interesting. Very interesting.'
You can't ride two tigers forever.
Not choosing yet meant deep deliberations.
So, there was still time.
"Flawless work."
"Thank you."
Hyeok Mulin handed back the documents and asked her.
"That wraps this up. Did you look into the other matter?"
A parallel order to the Yagul probe.
"Yes. It opens tomorrow, perfectly timed."
"Already a full moon, huh."
Glancing skyward, Hyeok Mulin suddenly spoke.
"Free tomorrow?"
"Pardon? Yes, no schedule…."
"Good. We leave tonight."
His unilateral announcement left Cho Sahyeon's mouth agape.
M-Me? Go?...
A torrent of worries surged, but she swallowed them.
What could she do against the Cult Leader's command?
In the end, Cho Sahyeon held back tears and set off alongside Hyeok Mulin.
Manwol Valley.
Mu Li County, Xinjiang Province.
A village nestled along the ridge between twin peaks.
When the full moon crowned the village, the world's largest black market opened in Manwol Valley.
A place dealing in mysterious, rare, and illicit goods unseen in ordinary markets.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult knew of it, of course, as a Xinjiang black market.
Yet Sima Geuk left them be.
Eradicating them would just spawn another nest elsewhere; better to keep them in sight and tacitly allow it.
Thud.
Hyeok Mulin set foot on a mountain path a short distance from Manwol Valley's entrance.
Soon after, Cho Sahyeon arrived, panting heavily.
Hyeok Mulin eyed her steadily and remarked.
"Time for some stamina training."
Her head spinning from exhaustion, Cho Sahyeon gawked at him like a monster, gasping for breath.
Even strolling casually with hands behind his back, he was too fast for her to keep up.
"Hah… haaah…."
Another reason Cho Sahyeon could lead Shadow Fragrance alone was her exceptional stealth and lightness skills.
Until now, she'd seen no one surpass her.
But Hyeok Mulin effortlessly outpaced her without strain, shattering her confidence today.
Waiting for her to catch her breath, Hyeok Mulin spoke up.
"First time at Manwol Valley?"
"Yes. Never visited in person."
"It'll be enlightening. Book knowledge differs from seeing it firsthand."
"I'll keep that in mind."
She nodded vigorously. Hyeok Mulin then drew something from his bosom.
"Put this on before entering."
"This is…?"
She took the item in both hands.
A black mask covering eyes and nose.
Hyeok Mulin donned a similar one over his eyes.
"Manwol Valley's unwritten rule: hide your face. Vendors don't pry into identities either."
"I see."
Cho Sahyeon fitted the mask. Made of fine material, it clung comfortably.
"Shall we?"
As Hyeok Mulin headed to the entrance, she followed.
Entering Manwol Valley, her eyes widened at the sight ahead.
True to its fame as the world's top black market, crowds bustled about.
Not packed wall-to-wall, but matching a normal market's foot traffic.
'So many use the black market?'
Startled, Cho Sahyeon scanned around while trailing Hyeok Mulin.
Vendors wore varied masks, manning stalls laden with wares.
Prices varied wildly.
Trinkets of little worth sat beside astonishing treasures.
'That's a Greater Divine Golden Dragonfish inner core…!'
Her eyes bulged at the tiny, golden-glowing core.
Casually scattered on the ground, it was unmistakably the inner core procurable only by the Central Plains' imperial house.
Beside it lay relics like a transcendent monk's sarira and the Azure Cloud Sword Immortal's treasured blade, jaw-dropping items strewn haphazardly.
Gulp.
Overwhelmed by rarities she'd rarely glimpse in a lifetime, she swallowed hard.
She glanced at Hyeok Mulin, but he merely skimmed them without approaching to buy.
Then, spotting something, he headed to a stall.
The vendor brightened and greeted them.
"Welcome! What do you seek?"
"How much for this?"
Hyeok Mulin pointed to a bamboo shoot on the stall.
The vendor nodded and launched into a detailed pitch.
"This is a natural century-old bamboo shoot from a top-grade sunlit grove, prized as first-class. Peel and eat the flesh to boost internal energy by half a jia—"
"Skip the sales talk. Price?"
"Impatient, eh."
The vendor held up two fingers.
"Special: ten nyang of gold."
"Pricey."
"What's your offer?"
"Five nyang."
"Hey now, joking? That barely covers the husk."
Bargaining ensued—Hyeok Mulin pressing down, vendor holding firm.
Finally, Hyeok Mulin sighed in defeat.
"Fine. Ten nyang it is. Throw in that one over there too."
Scanning the stall, he pointed to a gold brush tucked in the corner.
"That's pricier…."
The vendor hesitated, but Hyeok Mulin cut him off.
"No nonsense. I know it's just gold leaf over a plain brush."
"Ahem!"
Caught out, the vendor coughed awkwardly and nodded.
"Deal! All for ten nyang!"
Clink.
Hyeok Mulin set down the gold, pocketed the bamboo shoot and brush, and turned away.
As they walked, he handed the shoot to Cho Sahyeon.
"Plant it near the Secret Affairs Hall. It'll firm the soil and stand straight as a pillar—resistant to most shocks."
"Pardon? But a century bamboo shoot boosts internal energy by half a jia. Why waste such a treasure in the dirt…?"
"True for fresh ones. This was harvested long ago—lost all its qi."
"N-No…!"
Shocked, she reeled.
"Vendor knew too. That's Manwol Valley. Buy blind, get fleeced."
"Then why buy the shoot? It has some effect, but without qi, not worth it."
"I didn't buy the shoot."
"……Pardon?"
She tilted her head, baffled. Hyeok Mulin presented the brush.
"This was the goal."
Crunch!
He gripped it firmly.
The gold and silver leaf flaked off.
Revealing a razor-thin brush emanating dazzling platinum light.
Seeing it, Cho Sahyeon jumped back.
"Isn't that the Heavenly Light Brush?!"
"You know it."
Hyeok Mulin smiled contentedly at the brush in his hand.
'Finding this here of all places.'
He might've overlooked it without close inspection—an unexpected windfall.
A mere add-on to the bamboo shoot, yet its value was beyond measure.
Ten nyang of gold?
Ridiculous.
Money alone couldn't buy it.
No longer produced.
The lightest brush in the world, crafted by the master artisan who refined the emperor's four treasures of the study.
With the artisan dead and the craft lost, one of the few remaining Heavenly Light Brushes.
'Perfect for him.'
Tucking it away, Hyeok Mulin looked ahead.
Seen enough here. Time to go.
He strolled the street with Cho Sahyeon.
Vendors beckoned, but he ignored them.
At the end, unlike flanking stalls, one faced straight ahead.
Unique among Manwol Valley folk: no mask, face bare.
Hyeok Mulin approached nonchalantly.
"Welcome! Seeking anything?"
"No items."
The vendor grinned eagerly. Hyeok Mulin shook his head, met his eyes, and said gravely.
"Here for the auction house."
His grin vanished instantly.