The Harvest
There were probably five Qi Circulation experts guarding the mine. But I couldn't trust that number. Having just dealt with a spy, how could I rely on their statistics? Still, killing three Qi Circulation experts was a massive achievement. More than anything, the fact that I was the sole survivor meant I could monopolize their corpses and possessions. This was far more than a simple victory.
First of all, the Core Condensation grunts had all become my subordinates. Since I was the only Qi Circulation expert left to give orders, they had to obey me whether they liked it or not.
And so, a great deal of blood was spilled. There were heavy casualties on both sides, friend and foe alike. But to me, that was actually welcome. Allies died? Well, the enemy was completely wiped out, wasn't he? It was a bit of a shame about old man Chi-o, but I planned to tell Sister that he died a glorious warrior's death. That was more than enough to fulfill my duty. I wasn't a delicate enough person to fret over every single casualty in a massacre.
"Hey. They're all dead."
"Good work."
"Your concubine has arrived, Master."
As long as my people were safe, nothing else mattered. After confirming they were unharmed, I ignored Ryeo-ah's nagging and began looting the corpses. Starting with the sword-type dharma treasures of the middle-aged scholar and the young man, I stripped them of literally everything they wore.
"Tsk, this one's a bit damaged."
Among the loot were the cultivation techniques they practiced. This was because cultivation manuals were often kept like personal notebooks. It allowed cultivators to immediately begin practicing whenever and wherever a sudden flash of insight struck them. As one climbed to higher realms, never knowing when a fortuitous encounter might present itself, this had hardened into a sort of custom.
"The dual-wielder and the goatee guy didn't have much."
Since Gul-yo's techniques and dharma treasures had been completely burned or destroyed in the previous clash, only the final menu remained. First, the middle-aged scholar.
"Really?"
Well, why not? I stripped the robe off the middle-aged scholar and draped it over my shoulders.
"Ugh, smells like a dude."
Honestly, it was pretty disgusting. But I couldn't just throw away a dharma treasure that even Ryeo-ah deemed decent. I briefly considered giving it to So-wol or Jeongha, who lacked combat power, but immediately dismissed the thought. My girls wearing clothes that reeked of another man? I'd rather rip the robe to shreds on the spot and drench them in my own scent instead.
"But I can't just throw it away."
Its performance was too good to ignore. I couldn't discard something that might make the difference between life and death over a matter of personal preference, so I'd just have to give it a thorough wash later. After hearing a brief explanation of how to use it from Ryeo-ah, I gathered the rest of the scholar's belongings.
"Talisman, talisman... a fan, needles, pills... and what the hell is this?"
Naturally, my shallow pool of knowledge had its limits.
"Ryeo-ah. Translate."
"You said you wanted those. Do some work, then."
I pointed at the five still-warm corpses of the Qi Circulation experts, prompting 'Ryeo-pago' to get to work.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much else that caught my eye. As if to prove the robe was the greatest harvest, most of the items ended up going to So-wol or Jeongha. For me, they were inferior to my Dokkaebi club, or simply not worth swapping out. This was especially true for the pills. Logically speaking, if anyone obtained a spiritual medicine, they would consume it immediately. Why would they carry it around like a treasure goblin? The pills I had hoped for were all either healing medicines or stimulants.
Instead, the real harvest was something like this.
"It's a map."
This wasn't some cheaply made amusement park pamphlet. It was a highly detailed military-grade map, showing meticulous planning. Traps and precise patrol routes were laid out in detail. Of course, once the deaths of the middle-aged scholar and his party were discovered, the internal layout would change, but even so, this was a massive find.
"So, what we got is..."
A bunch of miscellaneous items, the robe, and a few talismans Ryeo-ah told me to keep, saying they'd be quite useful. Honestly, it felt like So-wol benefited more from this than I did.
"Thank you, Master."
Sparkle, sparkle. The sound effect practically materialized around her. So-wol's body was covered in all sorts of dharma treasures and consumable talismans. Since she lacked combat power, I had tossed them to her, thinking she should at least have some powerful dharma treasures or consumables that didn't drain her demonic energy. The result was quite a sight.
"Hehe."
She seemed to love it, though. She must have known it didn't look very elegant, but was she really that pleased? It was incredibly cute to see her subtly shrugging her shoulders, showing off the dharma treasures and talismans dangling all over her.
"Sure. As long as you're happy."
"Your concubine shall serve only Master for the rest of her life."
"Well, that goes without saying."
Now, for the grand finale. It was time to see how fat the pockets of our great old man Chi-o were.
"Feels like cracking open a piggy bank."
His head was crushed, and foul fluids were leaking out, but a little gore wasn't enough to stop human greed. I thoroughly searched his body just as I had the others, and sure enough, extraordinary items fitting his strength began to pour out. Especially one in particular.
"A gulping what? Why is the name so weird?"
"Ah, an inventory."
It was a rather shoddy inventory in terms of capacity and various other aspects, but it was better than nothing. Actually, it was fantastic. When I pulled out the pouch, which looked like a lucky bag, I could definitely feel the organic wrinkles and nodules of a living creature on its surface. Loosening the opening revealed the pink mucous membrane of the beast inside.
"Now, let's see what our old man hoarded away. Old folks love stuffing their attics with all kinds of junk."
The organic nature of the bag was a minor issue. I untied the silk thread securing the opening and shook the pouch upside down. Sure enough, a mountain of items began to tumble out.
Clatter—
"Wow."
The wealth was truly proportional to his age and strength. There were even spiritual medicines that looked extraordinary at a glance—a wild ginseng that crackled with sparks, and a fruit shaped like a deer's antler. If these weren't spiritual medicines, that would be a problem in itself.
"Jackpot."
A literal jackpot.
Even Ryeo-ah gave a fairly generous assessment. As she inspected the items, she pointed out the spiritual medicines one by one.
"What about these dharma treasures?"
"Cultivation manuals... let's see..."
There were several books, but only one caught Ryeo-ah's interest: the Demon Transformation Knot. After staring at it for a moment, Ryeo-ah replied indifferently.
"Is it that bad?"
"Tae-ak would be sad to hear that."
Look at Tae-ak, practically weeping tears of sorrow from being ignored.
"Tsk. What a waste."
They might be useless to me, but some of them were on par with my Dokkaebi club. How much money would they fetch if I sold them?
"Alright, alright."
But before that.
Before I knew it, only four naked, blood-soaked corpses remained in front of me.
"Oh, right."
I grabbed So-wol and turned her head away.
"Master?"
"Don't look. It's hideous."
"Oh my, your concubine does not mind at all."
Well, I mind, you wench. It wasn't particularly pleasant to admire the naked bodies of dead men, let alone corpses with exposed bones, oozing blood and reeking of a foul stench. I waved my hand, telling her to go play somewhere else, and she retreated, saying she would go inspect her newly acquired items.
"Mmm~ hmmm~"
So-wol hummed a strange tune as she pitter-pattered away.
I waved my hand at Jeongha, who was still staring blankly at me.
"What? You go too."
"Umm..."
"Are you eyeing these things? I'll give you a fair share, so just go for now."
"No, it's not that! I have some conscience. I only managed to take down some Core Condensation grunts, so why would I covet anything?"
"Then what is it?"
Jeongha gazed up at the sky with a distant look for a moment, then turned her eyes back to me.
"Hey..."
Her beautiful red irises shimmered.
"I'm sorry."
Twirling her messy, unkempt hair around her finger, Jeongha lowered her head.
"For what?"
It wasn't like she had messed anything up. In fact, I heard she had done an excellent job chasing down and wiping out the remnants. If she had asked for a compliment instead, I wouldn't have been so bewildered.
"The Qi Circulation Pill you gave me. I nearly caused a disaster by stubbornly refusing to take it. If I had been in the Qi Circulation realm, this battle would have ended much more easily."
"That's true. Why were you being so stubborn anyway?"
"Ugh."
"Well, what can you do? It's up to you. It's your item, after all."
Still, my curiosity got the better of me.
"So, why didn't you take the Qi Circulation Pill?"
"That's..."
"No, just be honest. Even if you say you didn't take it because it was dirty since it came from me, I'll understand."
Of course, that would cause the minor issue of my fragile heart being ripped to shreds.
"No! It's not like that at all!"
Wow, what a relief. If she had spat venom with those moist pink lips of hers, my heart really would have ached.
"It's just... it felt like a waste."
"What?"
Jeongha tilted her head, squirming as if she were tickled. Soon, she leaned her head slightly, squeezed her eyes shut, and shouted:
"It was a gift from you, so it felt like a waste to just eat it! Happy now?!"
"What?"
"It felt like I was consuming a memory, and I hated that. But I know it was a foolish thought. I get it now. So, I'm going to take it and break through right now. Just stand guard for me."
Oh dear, was she embarrassed? Honestly, I'd be a little embarrassed too. Perhaps realizing her own childish stubbornness, Jeongha's ears turned bright red. They looked as ripe and tempting as tomatoes, so I reached out to touch them, but she suddenly bristled.
"Don't touch me!"
"Wow, talk about absurd."
"I'll ask the maid to stand guard, so don't you dare come near!"
With that sharp retort, Jeongha scurried off in the direction So-wol had gone. She kept casting glances back at me as she ran, but unfortunately, I couldn't follow her.
Because I had another child whining for snacks right here.
"I'm about to feed you, so just wait a second, Grandma."
"You don't want to be called a grandma, you don't want to be called a child. What do you want me to call you?"
Ryeo-ah was utterly defeated, left speechless. Seriously, this was the master who was supposedly stronger than Kang Baek-jin? Man, she was exhausting.
And so, I drew runes upon the valuable dharma treasures and corpses, infusing them with power. Then, I inserted Jeon Gu-seok's core into Bo-ah's body.
"Excellent."
"...Are you Ryeo-ah?"
"Indeed I am."
Ryeo-ah, borrowing Bo-ah's body, handled the rest. She said that simple rituals or sacrifices that didn't consume demonic energy were no burden to her.
"Flesh. Blood. Bones. Hold, swallow, cling to the stomach, and melt away."
Ryeo-ah reduced the blood, corpses, and dharma treasures into a handful of dust, scattering them to the wind. I watched the entire process from a distance with my arms crossed.
Once the ritual was complete:
"Done?"
"I shall be in your care from now on as well."
"Likewise."
Ryeo-ah returned to my consciousness, leaving me with the instruction to take good care of Bo-ah's body. I tucked Bo-ah, whose body had regained its smooth and pristine state, under my arm. Man, the sensation was something else. Thanks to her breasts, which were even larger than Jeongha's and So-wol's, her chest pressed against my side, looking as if it were about to burst.
"Wow."
What a moving pair of breasts. Truly magnificent.
Jeongha had reached the Qi Circulation realm.
Jealous wench. I failed on my first try and had to bash my head against it three times before succeeding. Of course, if Jeongha heard me say that, she'd tell me to cut the bullshit and flip me the bird. Who was I to be jealous when I had reached Qi Circulation in less than a year of starting cultivation?
"Your concubine will surely... one day...!"
"I'll look forward to it."
As I waited in front of the temporary shelter with So-wol, a bright crimson glow shone from within.
"Congratulations. How does it feel to be in the Qi Circulation realm?"
"..."
"We've got a lot of work to do now. We'll have the celebration party when we get back, but for now..."
Jeongha stared at me.
She looked at the single-edged blade at her waist once, then at my face twice. Silent, with an unreadable expression.
"Jeongha?"
Ah, I was getting a bad feeling about this. Come to think of it, we were in the same realm now, weren't we? Logically, there was no way I'd lose, but it looked like she was harboring some pretty cheeky thoughts.
Soon, Jeongha nodded, apparently convincing herself of something. She reached for her blade as if to draw it... but then rolled up her sleeves and bared her pale fists instead.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Can I hit you just once? No, actually, ten times?"
"Do you think that's going to happen?"
"I reached the Qi Circulation realm. You should praise me. Give me a present. So just one hit. Please?"
Like hell I would.
"I've really wanted to punch you at least once. Come on, why not?"
What was this, deviation of qi or something?
I let out a wry chuckle as I watched Jeongha cracking her knuckles, looking as if her fists were itching for a fight.
Maybe I needed to discipline her before she developed some bad habits.