The Cleanup

Jin Myeong planted a hand on the wall and vaulted over it. He checked the ground at his feet—no traps—then dusted off his sleeves and turned toward the workshop.

Figures.

Now all he had to do was deal with the bastard inside. He was still turning that over as he started toward the eaves.

Screeeak—

Jihun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opened the door and stepped out.

"…Kang Jihun?"

Jin Myeong stopped without meaning to.

The face was unmistakably Kang Jihun's. But what in the world was that body?

Jihun twisted shoulders that nearly filled the doorframe and came outside. His robe hung open, a chest that looked ready to split the cloth bared through the gap, and he descended into the yard at an unhurried pace.

"You… what kind of heretical art did you learn?"

No answer came. Jihun only blew out a white breath and walked toward him, looking every bit a madman.

Jin Myeong hastily formed a hand seal.

Fwoosh! The fireball struck Jihun square in the chest, and smoke billowed up.

What…? This uneasy feeling…

In a heartbeat the fire leapt to Jihun's robes and they began to burn in earnest. Jihun paid it no mind. He just kept trudging toward Jin Myeong.

…What is this? What kind of heretical art…

Jin Myeong looked him up and down. Jihun was still coming, naked now. The strange part was that his skin wasn't scorched at all. Far from being cooked red, there wasn't even a trace of soot on that bare body. And with every step a certain part of him swung loose—yet he kept walking as if he couldn't have cared less.

One step. Then another.

Only when his heel came down on a stone did Jin Myeong realize he was backing away from the sight of him.

Am I… afraid of that bastard right now?

It was only Kang Jihun. A Five Elements Spiritual Root nobody, stuck forever at the first layer.

Jin Myeong yanked a handful of talismans from his storage pouch.

"Then take this, too!"

He flung the whole handful at once.

BOOOOM—!

Dust rose in a pale cloud. Then a silence so deep it felt wrong.

Did I… did I get him…?

Jin Myeong narrowed his eyes and peered into the dust. And out of it walked Jihun.

"……"

The same gait as before. Not a single wound on his body.

Jin Myeong started to raise his spell-sword, then stopped.

How…? A Qi Condensation 2nd Layer…? Those talismans were at least Qi Condensation 4th Layer grade… and I threw dozens of them?

There were exactly two ways to explain it. Either the fortuitous encounter the bastard had gained was the Vajra Indestructible Body. Or the thing inside that flesh wasn't Kang Jihun at all. It was an Old Monster.

Jin Myeong flung the spell-sword aside. Then he dropped straight to his knees and ground his forehead into the dirt.

"Great One!"

Jihun kept walking.

"This lowly one was blind! I didn't realize a great one had taken this body…!"

Jin Myeong rubbed his brow against the ground and spilled the rest out in a rush.

"Spare me! Spare me just this once, and I will never again appear before—"

He saw a bare foot stop beside his head.

"Gre—"

Jihun lifted his foot and stepped down on Jin Myeong's head. Crunch—! The skull burst like a tomato under a wagon wheel. Even then, Jihun didn't draw his foot back. Crunch! Crunch!

"…Ugh."

I winced at the sunlight stabbing my eyes. The ground came into view, and the ground stained red, and some unidentifiable sticky fluid splattered in every direction.

"The fuck?"

It was blood. The whole place was plastered with it.

I frantically patted myself down. Where? Where'd I get opened up? Chest. Stomach. Thighs. No matter how much I felt around, there wasn't a wound. My forearms were as scrawny as ever.

I lifted my head and spent a while just looking around the yard. Whichever way I turned, blood. On the wall. On the pillars holding up the eaves.

…I did this?

I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Not a scratch on me, and the surroundings looked like this. Which meant—

Don't tell me that steroid turned me into some Super Saiyan gorilla and I went on a rampage…?

I couldn't remember a single thing.

"Why would a steroid turn someone into a gorilla…?"

I started to wipe my face with my hand, then stopped. Dried blood was caked thick across my palm, and it was deeply disgusting. I looked down past it.

"And why the hell am I naked."

Just one damn thing after another.

First I went and fetched water. I scrubbed the dried blood off my body and cleaned between my toes, and then I happened to look back at the yard. Up until yesterday it had been a pretty nice house. I'd even paid three months' rent up front, planning to run the furnace alone and rake in money. And overnight it had ended up like this.

But if my theory's right, I just committed murder. So why don't I feel even a shred of guilt…?

Maybe I was some kind of psychopath. I didn't know. Maybe the idea that killing someone makes you feel guilty was just something people learned.

"Haa… I should clean up first and get to work. I'm going to be late today."

I sighed and got dressed. On my way to draw more water, I paused.

"Ah… is the medicine all right?"

There were pills I had to send to BloomingDay. Goods I'd already been paid for. If those were ruined too, I might have to ditch the sect today.

I went straight to the table, picked up the bottle I'd set inside, and opened the lid. Three pills. They were fine.

"Haa… thank god."

I tilted the bottle, checked the inside once more, and closed the lid.

On the way to work I stopped by the Thunder Pavilion and sent the medicine. Then, out of habit, I checked my wrist. I didn't even own a watch.

"Haaaaa……"

I looked up at the sky. The sun had sunk farther west than usual, so I was almost certainly late. I was hungrier than usual, too.

I committed murder and I'm still hungry. I really might be a psycho and a socio both……

When I stepped into the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Alchemy Pavilion, the assistants were already processing herbs. I softened my footsteps and went in, and then my eyes met the Deacon's.

I'm fucked.

I bowed at once.

"Sorry I'm late! I'll fix it! I'm sorry!"

Nothing came back. I cautiously raised my head. The Deacon was looking at my face, then running his eyes over my shoulders and arms.

"…Are you all right?"

"Huh? Ah, yes. I'm fine."

Something was off about this man today.

Deacon Jang Deoksu studied the nape showing above Jihun's collar. No sign of injury. He turned his eyes toward Jin Myeong's workbench. Still empty.

Don't tell me that bastard…

When he'd reassigned the assistant yesterday, Jin Myeong had openly soured. Having the junior he'd been working like a dog rise to the same post must have twisted his guts something fierce. Today Jin Myeong hadn't shown, and only Jihun had come in late.

Did he pick a fight and get the worse of it?

If two Qi Condensation 2nd Layers had fought, there ought to have been wounds. Yet Jihun was perfectly fine, from his clothes to his face. Come to think of it, the breakthrough itself had been strange. Since when did a Five Elements Spiritual Root pile up spiritual qi that fast?

If an Old Monster has taken his body…

Jang Deoksu kept ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his mouth shut. What had he been saying to that one all this time? Asking after Jin Myeong's whereabouts now didn't seem like a good idea.

Of course, he might simply have gained a great fortuitous encounter. It could even pay to invent some pretext, kill him, and take it. But that case had a problem of its own.

Two disciples vanished from my Alchemy Pavilion? They'd suspect the demonic path without a second thought.

Jang Deoksu looked at Jihun, who was still bent in a bow, and thought it through. And he reached a conclusion. Sponsoring him was, under the present circumstances, the optimal solution.

If an Old Monster took the body, he at least won't kill me. If it's a fortuitous encounter, he'll make a useful connection.

Jang Deoksu clasped his hands behind his back and called him.

"Jihun."

"Yes, Deacon."

"Is your training coming along?"

"Yes. I'm keeping at it whenever I can."

Jang Deoksu nodded.

"Once you reach the third layer, I mean to put management of the Alchemy Pavilion in your hands."

"……Ah. Thank you, Deacon."

"Good."

Jihun stared at him, eyes wide, as if thrown off. Jang Deoksu paused a moment, then added,

"If you climb to the fourth layer, it'd be worth entering the Inner Sect selection as well. I'll write you the recommendation myself."

Jihun couldn't answer for a moment. Jang Deoksu watched his face and waited. At last Jihun bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Deacon."

Only then did Jang Deoksu wave a hand, light and brief.

"Right. Go see to your work."

I sat back down at my workbench.

…Does he know?

I stole a glance toward the Deacon. Normally he'd have cursed me out the moment I showed up late. Instead he'd asked if I was all right. He hadn't even asked where Jin Myeong was.

"Senior."

I flinched and turned. Soyeon was holding out a single small pill.

"You don't look well. It's a Clear Heart Pill. Please take it, at least."

"Ah… thank you."

"Um…… if you're having a hard time, you can rest a little. I'll do it, Senior."

Soyeon drew the herbs in front of me over to her side and quietly began stripping the fine roots. I put the Clear Heart Pill in my mouth. Chewing through its bitter edge, I glanced at the Deacon again.

There's no way someone who knew nothing would say something like that…

Reach the third layer, and he'd put me in charge of the Alchemy Pavilion. Reach the fourth, and he'd recommend me to the Inner Sect. Kind words. If I hadn't heard them after coming to work having crushed Jin Myeong, I might have been grinning too.

So… if I don't want to die, I'd better become useful enough to be worth keeping?

Because of me, one disciple had disappeared. Grow up fast, manage the pavilion, get into the Inner Sect, and he might look the other way. Wasn't that what he meant?

I swallowed hard. A bomb in the blankets? A bomb under the bed? There was a saying like that anyway—some nerve-wracking thing you had to live beside, never knowing when it would go off. This was exactly that.

Ugh. But sitting here thinking about it won't change a thing.

For now, doing the work in front of me as well as I could was the only way, wasn't it? I picked up the herbs Soyeon had prepared.

"I'll take this side."

"Will you be all right?"

"I'm fine. Thanks to you."

I took a steamed bun I'd bought as a snack out of my storage pouch and held it out.

"Here… thank you. Stick it beside the furnace and warm it a little, and it tastes better."

"Oh…… thank you, Senior."

Soyeon set the bun beside the furnace and came back. I took the prepared herbs and checked them one by one.

I ought to stock up on True Origin Pills and keep eating them…

For that, I needed to make more money first.

Should I increase how much I'm selling…?

I pinched off a fine root left on the end of an herb. Of course it stung to do it. I'd deliberately sold them one pill at a time to drive the price up. If I increased the supply now, the competition might loosen.

But it's not like I absolutely have to sell them expensive right now, is it?

BloomingDay had bought one at first, too. Then, once she'd tried it, she'd asked for three. Which meant—

Once they take it, they come back for more, right?

I set the inspected herbs aside. Soyeon gathered them and began sorting them in the order they'd go into the furnace. When I thought about it, the thing was simple. Would a man who'd spent days dual cultivating on the pill really want to go back to the way things were? Say he himself could more or less endure it. His dao companion? Why did it end so soon today? You were doing just fine before—are you tired of me now? Could anyone hear that and still hold out against buying the medicine?

Not a chance… obviously…!

I took the next bundle of herbs. First, release some supply. Feed this one and that one and get them hooked on the taste. And once everyone took using the pill for granted—

Then I just cut the supply, don't I?

I finished checking the remaining herbs. After handing them to Soyeon and freeing my hands for a moment, I took out my jade slip and posted that I was increasing the daily sales volume.

Yu Soha set a hand on her waist and slowly straightened.

Daytime clients really are exhausting…

She rolled her shoulders once, then crouched in front of the soil again. Still, the harvest was more than enough. Thinking of the yang qi she'd gathered with the three pills she'd ordered, she couldn't help smiling.

Yu Soha smoothed the soil with her palm and poured yang qi into it. After keeping her hand there for a while, she found a new sprout rising through the dirt.

"What will come out this time?"

She carefully patted the soil around the sprout. Last time she had obtained a Clear Spirit Fruit. This time she had gathered three times as much yang qi. What could possibly be inside?

Yu Soha peered at the Night Blossom Tree, then dusted off her hands. She sat beside it, took out her jade slip, and went straight into the Cultivator Gallery to look up Va-agra's post.

Increasing the quantity?

It was a sales notice from a few days ago. Yu Soha read the body and smiled faintly. Next time, the medicine might be a little easier to obtain. She circled the tree once, then scrolled down through the comments.

Farther down, users were still chattering about having bought the medicine, or about missing it again this time.

Hm?

She skimmed all the way to the most recent comments and found a few that were strange.

…Who showed up?

Yu Soha searched out the purchase comment they had all been replying to and scrolled back up.

The moment Yu Soha read the name, her face tightened.