Chapter 22
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Sealed Demonic Sword
Ga Jin slung the box onto her back, her face twisted in clear displeasure.
She was visibly unhappy about it.
Her sharp gaze fixed on Lee Seon.
Lee Seon turned his head away to avoid her stare.
Yoo Yeong-mok shot Lee Seon a quick glance as well.
"Why'd you pick Ga the warrior?"
Lee Seon had a pretty good idea why he was asking.
Probably thinks I'm just taking my frustration out on her.
Of course, he'd already prepared a convincing excuse.
"It feels like yin energy is seeping out from inside there."
"It's hot as hell— what yin energy?"
Yoo Yeong-mok voiced his doubt.
"I didn't get any cool sensation or anything."
"It's extremely subtle, so most people wouldn't notice. I barely picked up on it myself."
"Really?"
Yoo Yeong-mok looked baffled.
"Anyway, constant exposure to yin energy seems to be slowly draining the body's yang qi. Someone like Ga warrior should handle it way better than us men."
Yoo Yeong-mok nodded.
If the physician said so, he had to trust it.
Lee Seon added another reason.
"Plus, Ga warrior's the strongest one here, right?"
Yoo Yeong-mok blinked vacantly for a moment.
"Who told you that?"
The unexpected response left Lee Seon flustered.
"She's not?"
"Not saying Ga warrior's weak or anything, but we've got a few others on her level in this escort."
"No way."
Did I read her wrong?
If the rest were second-rate, Ga Jin stood out as the unrivaled powerhouse.
It was unusual for someone of her caliber to serve as a mere guard for Willow Escort Bureau.
Still, there was no doubt she was the strongest among the escorts.
But judging by Yoo Yeong-mok's expression, he wasn't lying.
"...How long have you known Ga warrior, exactly?"
Another possibility dawned on Lee Seon.
"Not long at all. Less than a year, I'd say."
Less than a year?
"Something wrong?"
Wrong? Absolutely.
Warriors sometimes traveled with escorts or merchants.
Good people tended to gather around the reputable and virtuous ones among them.
Lee Seon had just assumed that was the case here and moved on.
But if she'd hidden her skills to infiltrate the bureau, that changed everything.
He'd entrusted her with the cargo because of the aura she gave off.
Her foul temper aside, she radiated a pure, clear energy.
She might have concealed her martial prowess, but she couldn't fool him.
She'd definitely cultivated Daoist arts.
Given the nature of her training, she probably wasn't here with malicious intent, but it was still suspicious.
"No issues."
Lee Seon kept it short.
He shelved his suspicions for now and decided to observe.
True to Lee Seon's word, Ga Jin held out far longer than the others.
Even so, she eventually started showing signs of fatigue.
By then, the sun was setting, so they couldn't keep pushing forward.
They quickly set up camp and flopped down.
True to form, the seasoned escorts were snoring the moment their heads hit the dirt.
In the midst of it all, Lee Seon bolted upright.
"Gotta confirm it after all."
Time to uncover the cargo's true nature.
Lee Seon rose and scanned the surroundings.
Two men stood watch near the cargo.
"This'll sting."
A tiny needle glinted between his fingers.
Whoosh.
The needle rode the wind and lodged in the muscles of their necks.
"Hm?"
They winced at the sharp prick.
Their fingers probed their necks and came away with a tiny thorn.
"Damn, what the heck is this..."
Before they could collapse, he darted over and gently laid them against a tree.
Lee Seon rubbed his hands together.
"Alright, let's see what we've got."
It felt like opening a treasure chest.
The cargo was encased in a rectangular wooden box.
A thick layer of cloth draped over it for extra protection.
But they'd never imagined this.
Lee Seon picked up a wooden block riddled with holes.
He'd snagged it from the roadside earlier that day.
Tap tap.
He vibrated it with his finger, and something squirmed out from one of the holes.
A body clad in pristine white armor, spindly legs, massive pincers.
Unlike ordinary ants, its body was as thick as a finger joint, with jaws nearly as large as its head.
These distinctive creatures were none other than iron-eating red ants.
Nicknamed for their voracious appetite and bizarre appearance, they were infamous killers everyone had heard of at least once.
If they were spotted nearby, the whole area would erupt in panic.
True to their name, they devoured every scrap of wood in the vicinity at terrifying speed.
That trait would prove extremely useful here.
A sharp tool would leave obvious marks.
But a bug boring through? Far less traceable.
One ant was all he needed for the job.
Lee Seon smeared some honey he'd prepared onto the cloth.
He set the ant nearby, and it caught the scent, crawling up steadily.
Scratch scratch.
Before long, the cloth was pierced clean through.
Lee Seon quickly identified the box's material.
"Peach wood box, huh."
Peach wood had long been said to ward off demons and foul energies.
Taoists in particular believed it held exorcism powers and crafted wooden swords from it.
And plastered all over this peach wood box were talismans.
From their design, exorcism talismans.
Taoists were definitely involved.
Wrapped up this tight.
What the hell could be inside?
Scratch scratch.
The ant kept chomping away busily.
A tiny hole appeared.
"No wonder it reeked. So this was the source."
Seeping from the box was a chillingly potent demonic energy.
Inside lay a single sword.
They'd been so wary of it that even the interior was lined with talismans.
Yet from the glimpses of the blade and its form, it was no ordinary sword.
A sword.
They say true masters aren't picky about weapons.
'Says who?'
Every warrior shook their head at that notion.
It was the kind of bravado you spouted against far weaker foes.
In clashes between experts, every variable mattered immensely.
Victories were decided by the slimmest margins.
What if your opponent wielded a famed sword while you clutched a kitchen knife?
In an already uphill battle, why saddle yourself with that handicap?
Warriors would even wage wars for a single legendary blade.
"Now I get the picture."
Ga Jin infiltrating the escort.
The purpose of this bizarre mission.
It all made sense if they were transporting this sword westward.
The blade looked razor-sharp at a glance.
Perfectly balanced form.
A sword like that deserved the title of divine weapon.
Even he, who cared little for weapons, felt a momentary stir of desire.
If the others knew about it, the chaos was predictable.
'Yeah. Makes sense.'
That bizarre energy he'd sensed? Demonic qi from the sword.
Nearly all his questions were answered.
One lingered, though.
"Why the hell are Taoists moving this sword?"
Peach wood enclosure, talismans galore— yet it still leaked demonic qi.
The seepage was even harming the transporters.
Something like this should be melted down or shattered outright. No loose ends.
Lee Seon's eyes turned ice-cold.
The smiling young physician from moments ago was gone.
He stood there now as a man of the murim.
His fingers brushed the poisons in his pocket.
If it'd been a priceless night pearl or a spirit beast's core— something of equal value— he wouldn't be this pissed.
Taoists gotta make a living too.
But this was different.
Taoists honed their martial skills to ascend as immortals.
Abandon the Dao for martial prowess?
The priorities were utterly inverted.
"Should I melt it?"
No divine weapon could withstand prolonged poison exposure.
Lee Seon pondered, then ruffled his own hair.
But that would cost Willow Escort Bureau dearly.
He'd already sensed their dire straits.
A thriving bureau wouldn't risk something this reckless.
There had to be a compelling reason.
With a famed orthodox sect backing it, the payout must be enormous.
Yoo Yeong-mok had likely bet everything on this run.
The desperation in his eyes screamed it.
What about the others?
They were here, throwing themselves into the fray for him— for the bureau they served.
Should he demand their sacrifice in the name of the murim?
"...Why's it so damn dark tonight?"
The moonlight was unusually faint.