Chapter 50
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50
Dawn broke the following day.
Inside the royal Inner Pharmacy of the Anreung Kingdom.
Clank.
A thick key turned, and the iron door blocking the underground stone chamber swung open.
An old man holding a torch stepped inside.
The air, thick with medicinal scents and dampness, made the flames flicker.
He gazed toward the center of the chamber and froze.
The pedestals that should have held ten jade coffins were empty.
* * *
In the King of Anreung’s quarters.
“…When did you discover this?”
“At dawn today.”
The old man answered in a low voice.
His name was Eom Muk. Though unlisted on any official royal register, he was the leader of the Shadow Guards and had handled the kingdom’s covert affairs since the reign of the previous king.
Eom Muk was also a Martial Arts Grandmaster who had attained the Profound Realm.
“The strand of hair caught in the door crevice and the wax seal on the lock were both intact. There were no signs of any tools being used on the lock, nor were there any cracks or gouges in the walls. Even with my skills, I could not determine how they were stolen.”
Veins bulged on the back of the King of Anreung’s hand.
At that moment, something squirmed sluggishly in his lower abdomen.
The King closed his eyes and steadied his breath. After a moment, the bulging veins receded.
Who could have done this?
The King’s face hardened.
To take only the ten jade coffins without leaving a single trace, using methods that even Eom Muk could not fathom—the thief could be no ordinary martial artist.
Could it be the cultivators from the Immortal Service Courtyard?
No, if they had noticed, I wouldn’t still be sitting on this throne. They would have stormed in by now.
Are they just watching, waiting for me to confess? That can’t be it. They are hardly merciful enough for that…
The King could be certain of nothing.
“For now, act as if nothing has happened. There is no need to advertise that we have lost something.”
The King looked at Eom Muk.
“Investigate quietly. Do not capture or torture anyone. Contact the Black Sun Bureau yourself.”
* * *
A few days later.
In an abandoned shrine south of the royal capital.
Eom Muk stood behind a collapsed idol, gazing into the darkness.
Before long, the shadows on the shrine floor stretched long.
Ssssh.
A man in a long black robe stepped out from the shadows.
The man’s face had not a single memorable feature. It was so remarkably plain that looking away for just a moment would blur any memory of his appearance.
Yet Eom Muk knew he was a terrifyingly formidable figure.
He was a Tier 2 Insect-Bonded Warrior, the one handling transactions with the Anreung royal house on behalf of the Black Sun Bureau.
“Why the sudden contact?”
“The goods have vanished.”
“What goods are you talking about?”
“The ten jade coffins.”
Eom Muk continued, “A few days ago, every last one of them disappeared from the underground secret chamber where we kept them.”
The man did not answer for a long time.
“I handed over the goods without fail. I even watched you return to the royal palace carrying the coffins.”
“You didn’t take them back?”
The man chuckled coldly.
“Why would we? Send an Insect-Bonded Warrior into the royal palace of Anreung just to reclaim what we already sold?”
“You are the only ones who knew we had those jade coffins.”
“Utter foolishness…”
Something wriggled beneath the man’s long robe.
Eom Muk’s hand also rested upon the hilt of the sword at his waist.
As their auras clashed, the worn altar between them trembled faintly.
“Are you making excuses because you want more? Life-Bonded Insects are not common bugs you find by the roadside. You can’t just claim they’re gone after receiving them. If word of this gets out, your side will be the one facing the consequences.”
“We truly lost them. If your people didn’t take them, then help us find the thief.”
* * *
Twenty days later.
A flying boat emerged from the clouds.
Wuuuung—
As the flying boat touched down on the stone platform behind the Immortal Service Courtyard, four Crimson Sky Sect disciples, including Jang Gyeong-ik, disembarked.
“Senior Martial Brother Jang.”
“Junior Martial Brother Lee. Has all been well?”
“Nothing happened. Did you leave the Crimson Sky Immortal-Ferrying Boat at the main mountain?”
“Indeed. We won’t have any use for it for the next six years until the next Immortal Ascension Selection, so it’s been deployed to another region. We delivered all the children to the main mountain safely as well.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“You’ve worked hard holding down the fort. Bring me the ledgers for the handover.”
After obtaining a five-day leave from the Immortal Service Courtyard, Lee Hyun reached Tunnel No. 3 in two days.
Squeak! Squeak, squeak!
When Lee Hyun entered the cavern, golden Fluffy Bees flew toward him from all directions.
Bzzzzzz—
Over a thousand of them instantly blanketed his head, shoulders, and arms.
“Back up.”
As he issued a command through his Spirit-Nourishing Seal, the Fluffy Bees took to the air in unison.
They did not wander far, instead circling around him.
The Fluffy Bees from inside his Spirit-Insect Pouch emerged as well. The three that had mutated after eating the Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworm flew to the vanguard of the swarm.
Leading the Fluffy Bees, Lee Hyun headed toward the widest passage among their tunnels.
He laid the ten jade coffins on the ground one by one.
Bzzzzzz—
The humming of the Fluffy Bees’ wings shifted in pitch.
Hundreds of them clung to the transparent jade surfaces, waving their short front legs toward the sleeping Life-Bonded Insects within.
“I’ll give them to you one at a time, so wait.”
Squeak, squeak!
Lee Hyun picked up a jade coffin and carefully broke its seal.
Pssssht.
A faint medicinal scent drifted out alongside a chilly aura.
Submerged in the clear preservative liquid, the Life-Bonded Insect’s body gave a slight twitch.
Lee Hyun poured the preservative fluid and the larva together into a wide stone bowl he had crafted with the Soil-Softening Technique.
Splat.
The larva slowly unfurled its body.
Ssssh.
The Life-Bonded Insect began trying to draw in the spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth.
Buzz!
Three streaks of golden light shot into the stone bowl first.
Psh! Psh! Psh!
Transparent mucus, spewed by the mutated Fluffy Bees, covered the Life-Bonded Insect’s head and torso.
Startled, the larva twisted violently.
Splash! Splat!
But the mucus glued its body firmly to the stone bowl.
Dozens of Fluffy Bees swarmed over it at once.
Crunch. Munch.
Squeak, squeak, squeak!
The Fluffy Bees devoured the Life-Bonded Insect.
What began with dozens quickly swelled to over a hundred bees joining the feast.
“Don’t fight. Share.”
Before long, not a trace of the first Life-Bonded Insect remained.
Fluffy Bees with round, bloated bellies flopped onto the earthen floor, belly-up.
Squeak…
“That’s why you should have eaten in moderation.”
Lee Hyun examined the bees’ condition. For now, there were no unusual signs.
He broke the seal on the second jade coffin.
Soon, all ten Life-Bonded Insects were consumed.
Having gorged themselves, Fluffy Bees sprawled belly-up all over the cavern floor.
Among them, the three that had mutated from consuming the Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworms were exceptionally hot, with rhythmic pulses of spiritual power undulating within their bodies.
One of them flew unsteadily toward the cavern wall.
After inspecting the crevices in the rock several times, it began burrowing into an exposed patch of soil with its front legs.
Scritch. Scratch.
Carving out a hole just large enough for its body, the Fluffy Bee crawled inside.
The other two also scattered in different directions to do the same.
The rest of the Fluffy Bees showed no signs of a breakthrough yet.
Soon, a viscous, clear liquid oozed from the entrances of the three holes. Having retreated inside, the bees mixed the fluid with dirt to seal off their burrows.
“Oh… Are they truly about to break through this time?”
Lee Hyun inspected the small, sealed burrows.
I wonder how long this breakthrough will take. For now, I need to head back…
After checking the spirit fields and water tanks one last time, Lee Hyun left Tunnel No. 3 and returned to the Immortal Service Courtyard.
* * *
One month later.
In the basement of the Hundred Wares Shop in Hoeam Market.
Black Crow, Gray Mountain Goat, Mole, Blue Snake, and White Owl were gathered inside the stone chamber.
Rustle.
The floor rippled like water.
A cultivator wearing a Badger Mask slowly emerged.
“Greetings, Society Leader.”
“Be seated.”
The members took their seats.
As the routine reports drew to an end, Blue Snake drew a sheet of paper from his robes.
“Society Leader. A figure from the Black Sun Bureau has contacted the member overseeing the Heavenly Yang Kingdom region.”
“The Black Sun Bureau?”
The atmosphere in the stone chamber turned heavy.
Over twenty years ago, Black Marten, a spy from the Black Sun Bureau, had ambushed Chief Badger right in this chamber, only to be cleaved in two in an instant. That spectacle remained vivid in the members’ memories.
Blue Snake continued, “The one who made contact appeared to be a Tier 2 Insect-Bonded Warrior. He claimed to belong to the same branch as Black Marten.”
White Owl spoke up.
“Did he come seeking revenge?”
“No. On the contrary, he said he wishes to do business with our society.”
“The Black Sun Bureau wants to do business with us?” Mole furrowed his brows.
Blue Snake nodded.
“It seems Black Marten submitted several reports about our society before he disappeared. However, when they failed to uncover a single clue after his disappearance, the Black Sun Bureau judged us as an opponent not easily provoked. They conveyed that they have no intention of antagonizing the Twin Heavens Society.”
Lee Hyun spoke.
“What do they want?”
“They asked us to find a thief.”
“A thief?”
Blue Snake smoothed out the paper. In the center of a simplified map of the Anreung Kingdom’s capital, the royal Inner Pharmacy was marked, with a date written on one side.
“Roughly two months ago, goods disappeared from a secret underground chamber here. They are commissioning us to find the person who stole them.”
A subtle flicker passed through White Owl’s eyes.
A secret underground chamber in the Anreung royal Inner Pharmacy? And why is the Black Sun Bureau investigating a theft in the Anreung royal palace?
“The missing items?”
“He did not disclose the contents. He only said they were ten jade coffins, two chi long and as thick as an adult’s forearm.”
Lee Hyun remained silent for a moment.
“The contact seemed to be under pressure from his superiors. He appeared to hold our society’s secretive methods in high regard. He offered an advance of two mid-grade spirit stones if we accept the commission, and eight more if we find any worthwhile leads.”
Black Crow asked cautiously, “Society Leader. What shall we do?”
“We accept.”
There was no hesitation in Lee Hyun’s reply.
The members exchanged glances.
Blue Snake asked, “Investigating beneath the Anreung royal palace will entail considerable risk. Which member will you assign this to?”
“There is no need for you to worry. I have plenty of other members to handle side tasks.”
Blue Snake caught his breath. Black Crow and Mole unconsciously straightened their postures.
Plenty of other members?
They had believed themselves to be the core of the Twin Heavens Society, the members with the highest cultivation. Yet, from the Society Leader’s words, it sounded like there were multiple capable members whose very existence remained hidden from them.
White Owl thought of the rogue cultivators who frequented the Anreung Immortal Service Courtyard and the royal palace.
Could there even be a member of our society inside the royal house?
* * *
A few days later.
Obtaining another five-day leave, Lee Hyun visited Tunnel No. 3.
Squeak, squeak!
When Lee Hyun entered the cavern, the Fluffy Bees swarmed toward him as if welcoming him back.
“Yes, good to see you, too.”
As he commanded them to disperse through the Spirit-Nourishing Seal, the golden swarm immediately cleared a path. Lee Hyun headed to the tunnel where he had fed them the Life-Bonded Insects.
Three small holes were bored into the wall, but the burrows were empty.
Only thin, transparent molted skins and hardened mucus remained on the floor.
“They’ve already emerged.”
Squeak!
An unusually loud chirp sounded from above.
Lee Hyun looked up.
Three golden Fluffy Bees clung side by side to the ceiling.
They were the ones that had mutated after eating the Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworms.
The moment their eyes met Lee Hyun’s, they spread their wings simultaneously.
Buzz!
Three streaks of golden light shot down, almost overlapping.
One alighted upon Lee Hyun’s head, while the other two perched on his shoulders.
Squeak. Squeak, squeak.
Lee Hyun placed the Fluffy Bee from his shoulder onto his palm.
Its size was the same as before, and its plump, fluffy body retained its alternating bands of gold and black. However, the spiritual power fluctuations within were incomparably more stable and powerful.
The quantity of spiritual power is small, but its quality is definitely at the Foundation Establishment level!
All three seemed to have crossed the threshold into Tier 2 spirit insects.
“Well done.”
After completing an inspection of his facilities, Lee Hyun opened a ledger on the floor of his cultivation room.
The ledger also contained records of outside rogue cultivators who had clashed with Twin Heavens Society members.
[Guest Retainer Wi Cheong, entered the capital alongside the Chang Kingdom’s Pyeonghae Merchant Company. Clashed several times with society members while scouring underground veins near the capital. Hostile toward the Twin Heavens Society.]
The Pyeonghae Merchant Company…
It was a merchant company that traveled between the northern Chang Kingdom and the Heavenly Yang Kingdom, trading marine spirit materials and medicinal herbs.
I’ll just make something plausible up.
Lee Hyun took out a fresh sheet of paper and steadily set his brush to work.
[The faction across the Southern Nether Sea began infiltrating personnel under the guise of merchant companies and guest retainers roughly 300 years ago, around the time of their invasion of the Ram Kingdom, instigating conflicts among local powers.
Having concluded the war of conquest over the Ram Kingdom approximately 115 years ago, this faction has recently infiltrated cultivators into the Chang Kingdom, Heavenly Yang Kingdom, and Earth Kingdom to sow discord among the three nations.
Keep watch on Wi Cheong, Guest Retainer of the Pyeonghae Merchant Company.]
Lee Hyun folded the paper and sealed it. He only needed to send the report to Blue Snake.
* * *
Two months later.
At an unnamed rocky mountain in the southwest of the Anreung Kingdom.
Inside a natural underground cavern, Lee Hyun and Blue Snake stood side by side.
The only path leading to the cavern was a single narrow shaft of an abandoned mine. The shaft twisted multiple times and was blocked at various intervals by newly fashioned stone doors made by Lee Hyun.
Blue Snake asked, “Do you truly intend to meet him?”
“Yes.”
Lee Hyun looked toward the rock walls of the cavern.
He had chosen the location himself. With solid bedrock sealing off all four sides and entry strictly limited, neither a Foundation Establishment cultivator nor a Tier 2 Insect-Bonded Warrior could threaten him.
“He is coming.”
Shortly after, footsteps sounded from the corridor.
Rumble—
The stone door blocking the cavern entrance ground open, and the man in the black robe entered.
Stepping into the cavern, the man looked first at Lee Hyun in his Badger Mask.
“Greetings to the Leader of the Twin Heavens Society.”
“So I finally meet the Insect-Bonded Warrior of the Black Sun Bureau.”
The black-robed man retrieved three items from his storage pouch: a pouch containing eight mid-grade spirit stones, a repeatedly folded map of the royal capital, and a palm-sized clam shell.
Thud.
The three objects were set down upon the stone table.
“Your society’s intelligence was correct.”
Hm? It was correct?
The man unfolded the map.
It was a map charting the wells and underground water veins of the Anreung capital. Small markings made with red ink lingered around the western part of the royal palace and near the Inner Pharmacy.
“In his storage pouch, we discovered seven previous aliases and three identity tokens. This clam is the magical artifact he used to communicate with overseas forces.”
“Did you recover the goods?”
“We have not found them yet. Wi Cheong denies it to the bitter end. Though we could not confirm his direct involvement in this theft, the fact that he was an infiltrated spy in Anreung is more than enough.”
Blue Snake looked at Chief Badger with astonished eyes.
The Society Leader knew Wi Cheong’s true identity from the very beginning…
Without realizing it, Blue Snake stood a little taller with pride.
The man’s gaze swept over the Badger Mask, then down the purple robes.
“I have heard rumors that the Mystic Kingdom, the Tier 4 cultivation realm northwest of the Earth Kingdom, has recently been watching movements in the south. Your esteemed society is likely an intelligence network secretly maintained by a major sect of the Mystic Kingdom. In this line of work long enough, one can deduce that much.”
The man continued, “As fellow practitioners of the same trade, there is no need for us to draw blades against each other pointlessly. Moving forward, the Black Sun Bureau wishes to maintain amicable dealings with the Twin Heavens Society.”
He packed the map and clam shell back into his storage pouch.
“I shall take my leave for today.”
The man’s figure disappeared down the winding corridor.
Remaining in the cavern, Blue Snake asked cautiously, “Society Leader.”
“Speak.”
“Is our society truly from the Mystic Kingdom’s…”
“You only need to know what is necessary.”
Blue Snake bowed his head hastily.
“I have overstepped.”
His voice held a reverence deeper than before.
Shortly after Blue Snake departed, Lee Hyun pocketed the pouch with the eight mid-grade spirit stones and took his leave as well.
* * *
Twenty-four years later.
Extending his term, Lee Hyun remained in the Anreung Kingdom, marking his thirtieth year serving as a State-Resident Cultivator.
During that time, at least on the surface, no notable incidents occurred between the Heavenly Yang Kingdom and the Anreung Kingdom.
That day, lying in his quarters at the Immortal Service Courtyard, Lee Hyun was reading a letter from the main mountain.
[Outer-Sect Artisan Disciple Lee Dong-sam, report to the main mountain to receive your Foundation Establishment Pill.]
Finally…!