Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Blossoming Prosperity Refinement (3)
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Seoran hurried back to the Black Bamboo Sect.
Today, the Stone Lotus seemed even slower than usual.
It was probably just her impatience making it feel that way.
After passing through the boundary barrier, she headed straight to Yi Agum's residence.
Young spirit root holders who newly join the Black Bamboo Sect generally live communally in the dormitories.
Once they grow older, achieve Foundation Establishment, or get married, they are provided with suitable housing.
Yi Agum had moved out on her own as soon as she became a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Seoran hesitated in front of the house, standing there all alone.
She gripped the door knocker, then let go, repeating the motion.
They had promised to eat together, but she had vanished for three months and now returned.
She had no idea how to apologize.
Seoran clutched her head and began to agonize over it.
Fortunately or unfortunately, her deliberations ended quickly.
Yi Agum spoke from behind Seoran's back.
"Sister, what are you doing out here?"
Lost in thought, Seoran jumped in surprise.
"Ah, Agum!"
"Why are you so startled?"
"Well..."
"Well?"
Seoran hemmed and hawed for a long while before finally managing to speak.
"I'm really sorry for forgetting our promise to eat together last time. It was my fault."
Yi Agum readily forgave Seoran.
"Okay, I'll let it slide this once. Just don't do it again."
Seoran asked, half in disbelief.
"You're not mad?"
"I was a little upset at the time, but I'm over it now. You're always so busy, Sister. Even I forget promises sometimes when I'm swamped with Medicine Hall work. It happens when you're distracted. You didn't do it on purpose to mess with me, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. I'm really sorry."
"So there's no need to look so guilty and fidgety. It's cold out here—come inside. I'll make hot pot."
"Yay, thanks, Agum!"
Yi Agum completely ignored Seoran's killer-cute act.
She quickly slipped inside the house.
Left alone in the snowy yard, Seoran mulled over her loneliness.
Her wounded heart ached terribly.
Still, the hot pot was warm.
Yi Agum, lying with her head in Seoran's lap, asked.
"Sister, so what have you been up to?"
"I went to the Golden Workshop Sect and learned the Primordial Spirit Technique."
"So now you can just cultivate at home?"
"No, I'm heading out again. I need something."
"Where to this time?"
Peeling a tangerine, Seoran replied.
"The underground world, to get some puppet materials."
Yi Agum took a peeled segment and ate it, then asked again.
"Right away?"
"No, we'll set off next spring. I need to show my face at the merfolk congregation and publish my novel too."
"Spring, huh?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
Yi Agum said.
"Well, I was thinking of tagging along..."
Seoran asked in surprise.
"To the underground world? What about your Medicine Hall duties?"
"I have plenty of vacation time. Might as well use it up."
And so Yi Agum joined the group.
A spur-of-the-moment group trip.
Unfortunately, Damcheong and Ho Hye-mun couldn't join.
Damcheong had to attend to pilgrims as the Dragon God, and Ho Hye-mun was busy preparing for the new term.
Seoran suddenly thought of her friend Geum Yeongyeong.
She had heard she was busy, but had no idea what with.
She decided no news was good news.
Spring soon arrived.
Seoran and Yi Agum left the Black Bamboo Sect, just the two of them.
After exiting the boundary barrier, they headed east.
Yi Agum rode her ferryboat, while Seoran was on the Stone Lotus.
Along the way, Yi Agum asked.
"Sister, doesn't that Stone Lotus seem a bit slower?"
"I don't really notice."
"No, something's off. It's shaking all by itself."
Seoran didn't take it too seriously.
"Is it? I'll check it later."
Out of vague worry, Yi Agum suggested.
"Why not ride my ferryboat with me?"
"It'll be slower with two."
"Better than something dangerous."
Seoran chuckled and said.
"It's fine. I won't die."
And exactly one gak (15 minutes) later, it crashed.
*****
After a series of mishaps, the two finally reached their destination.
Seoran stepped off the ferryboat with a dejected face.
She clutched the broken Stone Lotus tightly in both hands.
Yi Agum comforted her sister.
"It's okay, Sister. We can get another flying magic tool."
"This one's E-grade..."
"You can fly without one once you reach Incarnation stage anyway. Cheer up, okay?"
Seoran replied, trying to sound upbeat.
"Yeah, you're right..."
But her sulky expression refused to lift.
What on earth broke it?
Maybe from that Heavenly Tribulation last time?
Yeah, that could be it...
It made sense.
Seoran let out a deep sigh.
She tucked the shrunken Stone Lotus into her bosom.
It had astonishing recovery resilience.
Seoran forced a bright smile and said.
"Alright, shall we go see some friends after all this time?"
The two headed toward the entrance to the underground world.
As they walked silently, Yi Agum asked.
"Sister, so what's the difference between yokai and demonic beasts?"
"You really don't know? It comes up on the travel permit exam."
"That part had low odds, so I skipped it."
Seoran shrugged and said.
"Fine, let this perfect-scorer explain."
Spiritual beings are broadly classified into three types.
Spirit beasts, which belong to spiritual creatures alongside spirit herbs and spirit trees.
Demonic beasts like labyrinth speakers or merfolk.
And finally, yokai.
But the classifications weren't all that strict.
In the narrow sense, yokai refers to entities born naturally from yokai energy or evil qi that lack reproductive ability.
In the broad sense, yokai encompasses all malevolent beings that harm the world.
There was no clear-cut answer.
The Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake, natural predator of labyrinth speakers, wasn't born from yokai energy or evil qi and did have reproductive ability.
Thus, in the narrow sense, it was a demonic beast.
But in the broad sense, it was definitely a yokai.
Because it would devour all other races if left alive.
Even cultivators who practice demonic arts and massacre people are classified as yokai.
Bandits who disrupt the secular world are treated as half-yokai.
In that sense, the Poison-Eyed Dragon blocking the world's central axis and rampaging was not a spiritual creature but a yokai.
This was the consensus definition of yokai in the cultivation world.
The distinction between demonic beasts and spirit beasts was simpler.
If it looked impressive, it was a spirit beast; everything else was a demonic beast.
That was why Damcheong the dragonkin called herself a spiritual creature while referring to labyrinth speakers and merfolk as demonic beasts.
Once Seoran finished her lecture, Yi Agum said.
"So if they don't like something, they just call it all yokai?"
"Call it a beautiful social consensus?"
"Don't labyrinth speakers or merfolk complain? Like demanding to be classified as spiritual creatures too?"
"They didn't seem to mind. Cultivators are pretty much the same anyway."
Yi Agum asked in shock.
"Cultivators are classified as demonic beasts too?"
"If you get technical, yeah. Humans are animals too."
While Yi Agum was thoroughly confused, a labyrinth speaker approached from afar.
Totoseo greeted them warmly, arms spread wide.
"Liu Investigator, long time no see!"
Seoran greeted back in the same pose.
"Great to see you too! Say hi—this is my little sister Yi Agum! Agum, this labyrinth speaker is Totoseo!"
Yi Agum hesitantly spread her arms.
"N-Nice to meet you..."
"You too. Right on time, just like in the letter. Anyway, follow me. I reserved a cave mushroom feast. It's famous for being delicious."
Before leaving the Black Bamboo Sect, Seoran had sent an express letter via the human-faced bird post office.
The human-faced bird, paid extra, flew like the wind and safely delivered it to Totoseo.
Thanks to that, they could make reservations in advance.
Seoran smacked her lips and said.
"Sounds tasty. Let's hurry, Agum."
Two cultivators and one labyrinth speaker.
The group soon entered the underground world.
And were immediately surrounded by a swarm of reporters.
The reporters shouted all at once.
"Captain, do you support the Vertical Shaft Faction or the Horizontal Tunnel Faction?!"
"What do you think of the Vertical Shaft Faction's dominance over the underground world?!"
"Just one word!"
"We've received reports that you've made favorable comments toward the Horizontal Tunnel Faction before! Are you supporting them in this election?"
"Hey, you! Who are you?! Reports my ass—what reports!"
"Reports came in anyway!"
"Then name the source!"
"I can't! As a reporter, I'm obligated to protect sources' anonymity!"
"Right, anonymous sources aren't sources at all?!"
"Anonymous source nonsense! It's fabricated for sure!"
"What are you doing, stop him!"
"Let go! Hit me if you're man enough!"
"Totoseo Captain! Please explain!"
"Do you think it's okay for the underground world's hero to make biased statements?! You're a public figure!"
"I saw your face!"
"Do you need a press conference to clarify?!"
"Is your silence an admission of guilt?!"
"Cultivators—cultivators next to Investigator Captain!"
"Hanging out with surface cultivators! No different from endorsing the Vertical Shaft Faction! Assistant, write it down quick!"
"What's your relationship with those cultivators!"
"Oh, that's her! Liu Seoran!"
"What, Liu Seoran?! The hero who exterminated the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake, honorary labyrinth speaker Liu Seoran?!"
"Scoop! Print extras quick!"
"Assistant, run to the printer! Headline: 'Underground World's Heroes Reunite—Supporting the Vertical Shaft Faction?'"
"Got it!"
"You call yourselves reporters?!"
"Let's compete with undistorted truth and integrity!"
"Grab him, catch that guy!"
"Did you just hit me?!"
"Argh, my foot! Who was that!"
The reporters, who had been noisily shouting at Totoseo and Seoran, started fighting among themselves.
The group took advantage of the chaos to flee quickly.
After a noisy chase, they arrived at the restaurant.
Fortunately, the reporters didn't follow inside.
Seoran asked with a baffled look.
"What the hell was that?"
Totoseo, panting heavily, answered.
"Ah, it's election season right now. And reporters sticking to me too—who even knows what they think public servant ethics means. I'm supposed to stay politically neutral."
"Does it always get like this during elections?"
"This is tame. Twenty years ago when we became heroes, it was fiercer. You wouldn't know being on the surface. But elections are all like that. They fight and yell, and somehow a result comes out."
Seoran was floored.
"Fiercer than this?"
"Daily life, daily life. Whew, finally safe. Running made me hungry—let's go eat those cave mushrooms. Third floor of this building. Oh right, you were looking for top-grade stone and metal?"
Seoran nodded.
"Yeah, metal and stone. Almost forgot."
Totoseo laughed heartily and said.
"You're in luck. I have lots of friends in the mining headquarters."
"Really?"
"Yeah, trust me."
Seoran burst out laughing.
"As expected of Totoseo!"
Totoseo was the same.
"Hahaha, no big deal!"
Yi Agum couldn't hold back her admiration.
"What a mess..."
Still, the cave mushroom full course was delicious.