Chapter 88: Making a Deal-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 88: Making a Deal-1
"I'll give you a treasure!"
The Human-Faced Spider screamed at Sun-woo, who had his sword raised high.
Stop.
'Huh?'
Hearing those words, Sun-woo halted his blade mid-swing. What was this about a treasure all of a sudden?
"A treasure?" Sun-woo asked, sounding skeptical.
"Yes, a treasure! I'll give you a treasure equal in value to my inner core, so please, just spare my life."
She began to plead with him, her voice trembling as if she were on the verge of tears. Sun-woo fell into deep thought at her answer.
He had intended to kill her and consume her inner core, but if she could provide a treasure, the situation changed. Though she had been stubborn, it was true that she had technically saved his life earlier. If the treasure truly matched the value of an inner core, there was no reason he couldn't let her live.
'Of course, I could just take both.'
Sun-woo felt a wicked thought rear its head in his mind.
'But then again, does such a treasure even exist?'
Doubt began to creep in. The inner core of a Human-Faced Spider was a treasure among treasures, its value practically immeasurable. He questioned whether the creature before him truly possessed something of equal worth.
'Is she lying just to buy time?'
Sun-woo looked up and stared at her again. There stood a peerless beauty with a delicate impression, staring back at him stark naked. Her appearance sent Sun-woo into a deep state of contemplation.
"Hmm."
Sun-woo began to stroke his chin. The Human-Faced Spider watched his every move, trying to read his expression.
Eventually, as if he had reached a conclusion, Sun-woo took his hand off his chin. Then, he gripped his sword once more. No matter how much he thought about it, he didn't believe she actually had such a treasure.
"I told you I'd give you a treasure!!"
As Sun-woo raised his sword, the Human-Faced Spider shrieked in horror.
"You've been rotting in Godok Hall for hundreds of years. What kind of treasure could you possibly have?" Sun-woo scoffed.
There was no way someone trapped in Godok Hall for centuries would have something so valuable.
"Why won't you believe me? You haven't even seen it yet!"
"It's probably just some tasty poisonous herb or a pretty piece of tree bark."
There was no way a mere creature and a human would have the same definition of 'treasure.' Sun-woo didn't want to waste any more time.
"No! It's something that the human who threw me in here cherished deeply!"
"What!?"
Sun-woo's eyes widened at her words. "Is that true?"
"It's the truth! Every time that human came to Godok Hall, he always doted on that object."
Sun-woo fell back into thought. If it was something a human cherished, that changed things. As she said, it could be a truly magnificent treasure.
"How long have you been here?"
"I've seen the first snow about three hundred times from this place."
Sun-woo's gaze turned serious. Seeing the first snow three hundred times meant she had been imprisoned here for three hundred years. That timeline overlapped perfectly with the founding of Godok Hall.
Which meant the identity of the person who threw a pair of Human-Faced Spiders into this place was...
"......The Poison Emperor."
It was the absolute master of the Tang Clan, the man once called the Greatest of All Time—the Poison Emperor.
*
Sun-woo was considerably shocked by her words. To think the one who had imprisoned her here was the Poison Emperor himself. The credibility of the treasure she mentioned began to skyrocket.
Who exactly was the Poison Emperor?
He was the one who took the Guiwon Art, which only branch family members practiced, and transformed it into the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art. He was a man who reached the Half-Immortal Stage through Poison Arts and was the only person from the Sichuan Tang Clan to ever be hailed as the World's Greatest Martial Artist.
Furthermore, he was a great hero who had saved the Murim by defeating the Blood Buddha in the past. It was certain that such a man would have treasures in abundance.
Sun-woo's expression brightened. Fortunately, it seemed this woman understood the proper concept of a treasure.
"Well? Are you interested now?"
Seeing Sun-woo's expression soften, the Human-Faced Spider spoke with a slight smirk. It seemed her words had worked.
"I'm definitely interested," Sun-woo admitted honestly.
The Poison Emperor's treasure—there was no way he wouldn't be tempted. Moreover, his fight with the Poison Demon had deeply impressed upon him the importance of artifacts.
If he had been wearing the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor, he could have easily handled the Poison Demon even without the spider's help. Although it had been smashed by Lee Jae-won, the armor possessed a mysterious energy that allowed it to self-repair. If he had brought even that, he would have fought with much more leisure.
He had left it behind thinking it would be cumbersome for infiltration, and that had been his mistake. Although he had now reached the Transcendent Realm, the Murim was still full of people stronger than him. In such a situation, he needed to borrow the power of artifacts like the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor.
If it was a treasure cherished by the Poison Emperor as she claimed, it might be an item on par with the Ghost-Face Armor. Sun-woo's face began to flush with anticipation.
"Fine. If it's truly a treasure equal to your inner core, I'll spare you."
"Really!?" she asked, her face lighting up. She had finally found a way to survive.
"However," Sun-woo added a condition.
"Yes?"
"If it doesn't match the value of your inner core, you'll hand over your core without a fight."
"How is that fair!?"
The Human-Faced Spider raised her voice in anger. That meant even if she led him to the treasure, he could still kill her if he didn't like it.
"If you don't like it, you can die right now."
Sun-woo slowly raised his sword again.
"No... no! I'll do it!"
Seeing his blade, she hurriedly agreed. She had to survive first.
'You wicked bastard,' she cursed inwardly.
Who had ever treated her like this in all her hundreds of years? Even the man who threw her in here used to stroke her head and tell her to grow up quickly.
Who was she? She was the queen possessing the most potent poisonous qi among all venomous creatures. She was the ultimate predator at the top of the food chain, a mystical being who had neared the level of a Yokai Immortal through several molts.
The Human-Faced Spider felt miserable at her suddenly pathetic situation. However, none of those titles mattered in front of this man. He was stronger than her, and she had no choice but to follow.
"Now, lead the way."
Sun-woo gestured to her. He wanted to confirm the identity of the treasure as soon as possible.
"Wait a moment. Let me recover a bit first, then I'll show you."
"Cut the crap," Sun-woo scoffed. Did she think he was born yesterday?
"I can't even stand up! How am I supposed to show you!?" She raised her voice, refusing to back down.
"Do you think I'm going to give you time to recover?"
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Get in."
"What?"
"I said, get in my arms."
Tap, tap.
Sun-woo pointed to his chest. It seemed he didn't trust her enough to give her time to heal.
The Human-Faced Spider cheered inwardly at his reaction. She planned to stay quietly in his arms and then pierce his chest the moment she recovered.
"Fine," she answered readily.
It was then.
"Wait a second."
Sun-woo gripped his sword again.
Squelch.
Splurt!
He sliced right across her chest. Blood erupted, soaking her body.
"KYAAAAAAAH!"
She screamed at the sudden, searing pain. They had just reached an agreement, hadn't they? Why was he suddenly cutting her? She glared at Sun-woo with eyes full of resentment.
"I need some insurance too. Who knows? You might suddenly turn on me and attack."
Sun-woo spoke calmly despite her hateful gaze. He hadn't trusted her from the start. She was an enemy who had been aiming for his life. Even if she was cooperating now to survive, she was a woman who might attack the moment she saw an opening. To prevent that, he needed insurance.
Slash.
Slash.
Sun-woo infused his internal energy and cut her a few more times.
"KYAAAAAAH!"
Each time, she let out a scream filled with malice, but Sun-woo didn't care. Only after he had cut her significantly did he put his sword away, looking relieved.
"Phew, now I can relax."
Sun-woo wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued.
"Sniff... you... wicked... bastard... sniff."
The Human-Faced Spider, cut by Sun-woo's blade, spoke in a sobbing voice. The pain was so great that tears began to leak out. Blood seeped from the wounds all over her body, and her energy began to drain as she tried to heal them. Her plan to ambush Sun-woo seemed to have flown out the window.
"I need at least this much insurance to carry you, don't I?"
She continued to sob piteously, but Sun-woo remained indifferent. How dare a monster act like a human? Especially one that had tried to kill him without hesitation. She should be grateful he promised to spare her conditionally.
"Let's go now."
Sun-woo picked her up and held her in his arms. "Hold on tight."
The Human-Faced Spider grabbed Sun-woo's neck tightly to avoid falling. Sun-woo kicked off the ground and moved forward. It was time to claim the treasure.
*
"Sniff... sniff... sniff..."
The sound of the Human-Faced Spider's crying hammered at Sun-woo's ears.
"Stop crying already!" Sun-woo shouted, his irritation peaking.
"Sniff... what do you expect me to do when it hurts! You dog-like bastard!"
She didn't back down, snapping back with a curse. She felt wronged. It wasn't like she wanted to cry. The pain was simply too much to bear, and the tears came out on their own. How was she supposed to control that? Moreover, she resented Sun-woo for being annoyed—the very person who had caused this.
After molting into a human, the durability of her main body had become far too weak. Furthermore, her emotions had become incomparably richer than when she was in her spider form. Becoming closer to a human was proof that she was nearing the realm of a Yokai Immortal, but the side effect was that she now possessed a wide range of human-like emotions.
Because of this, she was more sensitive to pain, more sorrowful, more miserable, and angrier. Every emotion was felt vividly.
Sun-woo was also flustered in his own way. A mere monster had disguised itself as a human, yet its behavior was no different from an actual person. Who would look at her and think she was a centuries-old Human-Faced Spider? He felt her emotions were too rich for her to be considered just a monster.
'She's practically a human.'
Thinking that, he felt a slight twinge of guilt for hacking her body apart. But he soon shook his head. No matter what, she was a monster that had aimed for his life. It was a useless sentiment.
"Sniff... sniff... if you go another hundred yards this way... sniff... you'll see it."
She sure could talk well while crying. Sun-woo barely suppressed a smirk. He couldn't let his guard down.
'She's a monster, you crazy bastard!'
Sun-woo cursed himself inwardly and continued running steadily. A distance of three hundred yards wasn't that far. They would arrive shortly.
.
.
.
Before long, Sun-woo found a massive nest made of spiderwebs. This must be the place where the treasure she mentioned was located.
"Is this the place?"
"Sniff... that's right... if you go inside, you'll find the object that man cherished..."
She continued to sob. It seemed her wounds still hadn't healed. Sun-woo slowed down and moved cautiously toward the spider nest. Something might jump out, after all.
"Hehe... why are you slowing down? Are you scared?"
Suddenly, her voice, thick with mockery, reached his ears. Seeing this incredibly powerful man approaching the nest so cautiously as if he were afraid made her let out a giggle.
Sun-woo frowned at her mocking laughter. It seemed that even after being beaten like that, she couldn't let go of her mischievous streak.
Thwack!
"Ow!"
Sun-woo raised his fist and gave her a sharp flick on the forehead. Perhaps because he infused a good amount of internal energy, she let out a yelp.
"Why did you hit me!?"
"Just because."
"Eeeeeeeek!"
She glared at Sun-woo in displeasure, but he ignored her and quickened his pace. He felt like he was becoming childish just by talking to this molted Human-Faced Spider.
'Let's just get the treasure and part ways quickly.'
Squish, squish.
As he entered the webbed nest, he felt a sticky mucus on the floor. Sun-woo grimaced.
"What is this?"
"It's venomous fluid," she answered nonchalantly.
"Why on earth would you spray venom all over your house?"
"I saved it to eat later."
Sun-woo looked at her with an incredulous expression. Who leaves venom on the floor to lap up later? He realized that a beast was still a beast.
It wasn't just the fluid. The inside of the web was filled with a nauseating poisonous mist. It was a mist so toxic that he would have been in serious trouble if he hadn't reached his current realm. Sun-woo glanced at the Human-Faced Spider.
'She didn't bring me here to poison me, did she?'
"What are you looking at?"
Feeling his gaze, the Human-Faced Spider looked up and asked.
"Nothing."
Sun-woo quickly looked away and began walking along the path.
Squish, squish.
The interior was deeper than he expected, and the path twisted and turned.
"How much further?"
"Just a little more. Turn right here."
Sun-woo moved carefully according to her directions. The floor was slipperier than he thought, making it impossible to move quickly. After some time had passed...
"There! Over there!"
She reached out and pointed toward something in the distance. It seemed they had finally arrived. Sun-woo began to walk faster.
Squish, squish, squish.
Soon, he reached the spot she had indicated. There sat a dark, somber-looking box. As if possessed, Sun-woo slowly reached out and touched the box. A freezing chill bit at his hand.
'Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron!?'
He had a hunch. Metals that possessed this level of cold were rare. Sun-woo drew his sword.
"Wa... wait! It's not the box! The real treasure is inside the box!"
Seeing him draw his sword, the Human-Faced Spider spoke up urgently, her voice trembling. She probably thought Sun-woo was aiming his blade at her. She must have been terrified by the sight of him drawing his weapon.
Sun-woo ignored her whimpering and concentrated his internal energy. Soon, Astral Qi began to form on his blade. Sun-woo swung the formed Sword Astral and struck the box.
Clang!
With a metallic ring, Sun-woo's Sword Astral was deflected. A wide grin spread across Sun-woo's face. It seemed he had hit the jackpot.