Chapter 255: The Thief is Caught
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 255: The Thief is Caught
“Th-this… Eek…”
A bald man, making a sound just like Tang Soyeong.
I can barely stand it when Soyeong does it, but seeing a man with such a long beard making the same sound is just disgusting.
“Gekgek.”
Still, you’ve come at a good time.
These fo-ti and snow ginseng are a bit bitter on their own. You got any honey?
I gekgekked while scratching my belly.
“Y-you ate all the elixirs and you’re acting so nonchalant…!”
Huh?
I didn’t eat that many.
“Garigekgek.”
There wasn’t much worth eating anyway.
“Th-this… Eek… A lizard…”
He wanted to get angry, but he couldn’t.
Because I was the lizard Taotie brought.
Even though I’d committed the minor transgression of stealing and eating all the elixirs, they couldn’t touch me.
Actually, if they offered my body to Jin-ryong as is, the problem would be solved.
The effects of all the elixirs I ate would be combined in me.
Of course, the guys here wouldn’t have wanted that.
They were probably planning to secretly feed one elixir a day to the insects and pocket those insects for themselves.
While I was at it, I copied the dance I learned from Old Man Compy.
I don’t know about anything else, but there’s nothing better for pissing people off.
It felt like my eyes were getting a little hazy, too.
“Uooooh! I can’t take it anymore! You damn lizard!”
The bald man’s head turned red, as if he’d reached the limit of his patience.
He looks like an octopus now.
“First, just stay still…!”
Waaang.
I opened my mouth wide.
Then, looking into the bald man’s eyes…
Chomp.
I snapped my mouth shut again.
“Hi-hiik!”
Yeah, don’t mess with me.
Behave.
Or I might just bite you for real.
An emergency had been declared in the elixir storeroom, also known as the Black Cloud Faction.
This was because Taotie, one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon, had not only visited the Black Cloud Faction in person but had also left a lizard in their care.
At first, they thought he had come to clean up their corruption, but they were relieved when he left after dropping off a single, bizarre-looking lizard.
However, they soon realized their mistake.
The lizard Taotie had given them acted with utter arrogance, as if it knew its own standing.
Over a single lizard, the Black Cloud Faction was now on the verge of annihilation.
As Taotie and a certain lizard had guessed, this was where elixirs meant for Jin-ryong were gathered.
But the place wasn’t operated solely for that purpose.
Jin-ryong was a mythical being, so only a select few knew of his actual existence.
Only the gatekeepers who had to greet outside guests and the high-ranking officials were aware of the connection to Jin-ryong.
The rest only knew that it was a place where elixirs for their superiors were collected.
That’s right. The elixirs gathered at the Black Cloud Faction were not offered exclusively to Jin-ryong.
While the highest-grade products were Jin-ryong's share, the rest were used to cover the Black Cloud Faction's operating costs.
Renowned masters from all over would visit the Black Cloud Faction to purchase elixirs and inner cores.
Here, “masters” referred to spirit beasts seventy percent of the time, and humans the other thirty percent.
Not only was it not well-known, but its location near the 100,000 Great Mountains, despite being on the outskirts, made members of the Orthodox Factions reluctant to approach.
The rumors about the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult weren't exactly favorable.
Conversely, this meant that spirit beasts who didn't care about such things visited frequently, as did the unorthodox practitioners of the Unorthodox Factions who were willing to brave such dangers to become stronger.
Not only them, but even those from outside the Central Plains would occasionally seek out the Black Cloud Faction.
Thus, the Black Cloud Faction supplied elixirs and inner cores to a diverse clientele for a high price.
But because of a single lizard, their business had hit a snag.
With an infuriating expression, it poked around everywhere, miraculously finding where the elixirs were and swallowing them whole.
It wasn't a dog, but it even tried to bury elixirs in the ground. When caught in the act, it would get extremely embarrassed and start whistling.
Just from the fact that Taotie had brought it, they knew it was no ordinary lizard, but they never imagined it would be this much of a menace.
They couldn't treat it harshly because of its connections, but that wasn't the only reason.
It had a vicious personality and would try to bite anyone who got close.
And if you stared at it for too long, its face would become strangely pointed, giving them the feeling that something terrible would happen if it formed a right angle.
One bald man had risked getting his fingers bitten and attempted to capture the lizard.
But what do you know, a mysterious storm and lightning strike appeared out of nowhere, and the bald man fainted on the spot.
The lizard had an innocent look on its face as if it knew nothing, but unless you were a fool, you could tell it was the culprit.
After all, lightning striking inside a cave was not a normal phenomenon.
Still, the Black Cloud Faction miraculously discovered the lizard's weakness.
It would feign a bite whenever men approached, but strangely, it would remain calm when women came near.
Half-doubting, they sent women to it, and it showed a willingness to listen, more or less.
It wasn't like it immediately repented and begged for forgiveness; it just stopped trying to bite and would listen to what they had to say. Still, this was a huge step forward.
Of course, it didn't accept just any woman; its attitude changed slightly depending on the size of their chest.
They wondered if a mere lizard could possibly be thinking about such things, but no matter how they looked at it, that seemed to be the case.
In the end, the bizarre lizard was able to live a life of luxury, being fanned by women, eating gourmet food with the surrounding insects, and lazing around getting fat.
Of course, that didn't mean its thievery had stopped.
The incidents of it gulping down everything at once decreased, but it continued to sneak a little bit away each day.
But that was a small price to pay. If not for this, the Black Cloud Faction's elixir supply would have been depleted in just seven days and nights.
The person in charge of the Black Cloud Faction, the Heugunbang Leader, racked his brain trying to figure out how to deal with this lizard.
Whether it was returning it to Taotie or quickly offering it to Jin-ryong.
But since neither option was easy, the Heugunbang Leader's hair fell out day by day.
“Kwishishik! Big Brother! This Black Lightning Twin Ghost is truly impressed!”
The Black Lightning Twin Ghost. In other words, a black mantis, rubbed its forelegs together next to me.
It had gotten a lot of handouts from following me around, so now it was calling me ‘Big Brother’.
“Kereureuk…”
The Purple General also acted cute, showing its belly.
It seemed happy to taste a meat dish made by humans instead of crickets.
“I feel bad for only receiving things from you, little one. You even gave us those precious elixirs…”
The kind centipede didn't know what to do with my generosity.
Unlike these freeloaders, the centipede deserved it.
If it were up to me, I'd give it more elixirs, but I'm only giving out small pieces because the humans might do something stupid if they find out.
My plan was to burn down the elixir storeroom, but this is turning out to be easier than I thought.
They give me food every day, sometimes charming ladies come to fan me, and I get to steal elixirs.
It's gotten to the point where I think I could live here.
Of course, they're only treating me like this because I'm a precious lizard meant for Jin-ryong.
I'll have to milk this for all it's worth before they draw their swords.
And while I'm at it, I should look for new followers to bring into the Gaegaek Cult.
If nothing else, the poisonous insects would get along great with Soyeong.
Drrrk.
I heard the sound of a stone door opening.
The centipede and the other insects quickly backed away.
Of course, I just stayed where I was, lying down and gekgeking.
What did they bring this time?
Are they bringing an elixir?
Stealing them every day is getting tiresome.
“So, you're saying that lizard ate all the elixirs?”
A clear, melodious voice that made my ears perk up.
“Y-yes. The lizard settled in and every day, the elixirs…”
“Heugunbang Leader. If you let a single lizard disrupt our operations, what am I supposed to do?”
Seeing the guy called the Heugunbang Leader fumbling like that, she must be someone of very high rank.
“It's not an easy journey to the Black Cloud Faction, you know.”
Is she closely related to the elixir storeroom?
“…I am ashamed.”
“Well, let's have a look first.”
Step.
I heard someone approaching me.
Waaang.
I quickly prepared to snap at them.
I don't know who you are, but just you try and touch me.
“Palace Lord, be careful! It has a vicious temperament and might bite you!”
Palace Lord?
Not a princess, but a Palace Lord?
…I feel like I've heard that title somewhere before.
I turned my head slightly to look at this ‘Palace Lord’ who was approaching me.
I saw white hair.
It resembled Baek Seol-hwa's, but was somehow different.
Seol-hwa's white was the warmth of snow, while this woman's white was the coldness of it.
I saw a black qipao that exposed her thighs.
The amount of skin showing was quite daring.
But at the same time, she was wearing a somewhat out-of-place overcoat, which felt like a shame.
Seeing the thick fur coat, I could tell she was from a cold region.
…Wait a minute.
White hair, Palace Lord, a cold region.
Could it be?
The white-haired woman wrapped one hand around my body.
I felt a cold chill.
It was cooler than the Snake Queen's skin and more chilling than Baek Rang's cold energy.
“Is what the Leader said really true? A lizard that looks like this went on a rampage in the Black Cloud Faction? Hmm, I think otherwise.”
I definitely tried to bite, but I couldn't.
“It's perfectly soft and its flesh is warm.”
Damn it.
“…It's strangely warm, even though a lizard's body temperature shouldn't be this high. Leader, I like this one.”
These cheap bastards…!
To think they'd hire someone like this just to catch me.
“Gerong, kkerorororong.”