Chapter 78 Flash Silk Veil
Back at the family head's quarters, the treasures were indeed piled up just as expected. These were the items Paeng So So had sent from her base, laundered through multiple routes two or three times over to ensure they arrived safely.
Tak Horak stood guard over them with a stern expression. Anyone seeing him might mistake them for the Long Arm Faction's arsenal.
And honestly, he had good reason to.
The Black Shadow Corps had been reorganized into the Black Shadow Guard, a direct force under the family head. Naturally, this drew endless envious stares, and lately, Tak Horak had been putting on an air of utmost solemnity, as if he'd gotten ideas above his station.
On top of that, his standing and influence within the family were skyrocketing thanks to the family head's trust.
"You've arrived."
His disciplined bow and greeting were utterly ridiculous. What was inside was pure junk, after all. I wanted to warn everyone around not to be fooled. Tak Horak was the biggest victim of the protagonist's side character intelligence nerf.
"Yeah."
"I stood watch without leaving for even a moment while you were away."
Well, he was reliable enough to count as one of my close aides. Without Tak Horak and Sa Wol, my life in the Divine Cult would've been hopeless.
"Not a single rat got near."
"Good. You did well."
At that simple praise—something anyone would say—Tak Horak's eyes welled up as if deeply moved.
"Oh, a letter arrived with the treasure cart."
I took the letter Tak Horak handed me.
To Brother Kim. Paeng So So here.
A bit late, huh? Sorry about that.
The ruin you told me about was too tough to raid. Instead, I hit a bunch of other spots, so I'm sending everything I got from them. Thanks to you, I've built up some fame and even recruited a pretty renowned formation master. We'll tackle that ruin you mentioned next. I'll send the candidate list first, so pick who you like. Looking forward to working with you more.
*P.S.* Where the hell is all this treasure going, anyway? You're not stockpiling weapons to invade the central plains, right?
*P.S.* Thanks for trusting me.
I folded the letter with a smirk.
"Aren't you going to burn it?"
"What?"
"Usually, when you exchange letters like this, burning them with Samadhi True Fire is the cool move, right?"
Yeah, that's Tak Horak for you.
"Think before you speak, Tak Horak."
Before I could scold him, Sa Wol stepped in.
"What the family head is doing is weakening the central plains factions while strengthening the Divine Cult. Burning that evidence could easily lead to misunderstandings of betrayal. We should obviously keep the letter."
"As expected! There was a profound reason behind it all."
……I'd planned to burn it once we were alone, but Sa Wol saved me from disaster. Well, as the saying goes, if it's on your ear, it's an earring; if on your nose, a nose ring.
From an outsider's perspective, my actions could be interpreted as colluding with the righteous factions of the central plains.
Especially if Il Wol Chu catches wind of it—they'd try to drag me into it somehow.
It hit me again: the Divine Cult was no place for even a moment's complacency.
Fortunately, Paeng So So's mention of "stockpiling weapons" actually gave me a perfect cover story.
In any case, I checked the inventory list that came with the cart.
Thirty-seven treasures in total. Thirty treasure artifacts and seven curios.
Pretty impressive haul.
The problem was that since she couldn't raid the ruin I recommended, none were immediately suited to my needs.
Like a cactus that shoots spines if you touch it.
A forearm-thick cactus sat in a small pot, sealed under a glass lid like some aquarium. A note warned to be extra careful, lest the countless spines shoot out.
The Tang Clan would lose their minds over this. Better hold onto it for when I meet Dang Si Hyeok later.
There were others, like a "playing monkey statue" or "leather shoes that never wear out." Undoubtedly valuable artifacts that could fetch a fortune if sold……
But useless.
Useless to me right now. What I needed were items to bolster my lacking martial prowess.
At least a few curios seemed salvageable.
Flash Silk Veil. Perfect for blinding eyes.
It was an ornament made of red, green, and blue silk threads. Simple function: emit a blinding flash of light at the desired moment.
A flashbang, essentially.
In that case……
I tied the Flash Silk Veil to the hilt of Pa Cheon.
Pa Cheon Sword + Flash Silk Veil
[I really hate this.]
'Why?'
[It's too ugly to tie to this beautiful sword.]
I was momentarily speechless.
'Combining this with my eye-gouging aura burst should make a great combo. It's silk, so it belongs at the sword's tip.'
[You're just full of tricks.]
'Try surviving a day here without them.'
[Fair enough, but still.]
Ignoring Pa Cheon's grumbling, I examined the next item. It was inside a small box sealed with a ribbon inscribed with unknown characters.
A jade.
A jade emitting a mysterious blue glow, pulsing rhythmically as if explosions were continually going off inside it.
"Hmm……."
Sa Wol stepped back. It must've reminded her of Cheol Mu Geuk's forge. The room heated up the moment I cracked open the lid.
[Jade related to fire. No other info.]
The issue was that jades were the epitome of high risk, high reward.
I'd faced the same dilemma with the Flicker Jade, but jades often had unknown effects.
Some, like the Golden Jade, granted curse-like abilities.
Absorb a fire-related jade thinking it's good, and I could end up screwed.
In web novels, fire powers were synonymous with coolness and romance.
But if it made me spew uncontrollable flames or explode due to the jade, that'd be a problem. At very high realms—like Super Peak—one could suppress the jade's energy with inner power.
Of course, that didn't apply to a fake Super Peak like me.
I'll just hold onto it for now.
Who knows when or how it might come in handy.
I pocketed the jade and Flash Silk Veil, then said,
"Store the rest in the family vault."
"Why not sell them?"
I sighed at Tak Horak's words. Classic response from the biggest intelligence nerf victim.
"These artifacts and curios all passed through the Treasure Division. Forgot who heads it?"
The Treasure Division head was Paeng So So. Not some random collateral Paeng—not the Dao King's direct granddaughter.
If word got out these items from her ended up in Divine Cult hands, all hell would break loose.
"Ugh. Such a waste."
"The less conspicuous ones will be distributed among the Black Shadow Guard."
Plus, since Tak Horak and Sa Wol had been seen with me in the central plains, they could carry them without raising eyebrows.
It'd be welcome if they got stronger, anyway.
Sure enough, our simple-minded Tak Horak beamed with emotion again.
"Any unusual activity in the family?"
"Surprisingly quiet."
Sa Wol nodded in agreement with Tak Horak.
"New faction members visit daily to see you, family head, but nothing major. The elders haven't made a move either. Should we check incoming and outgoing letters?"
"No need."
If the real faction was plotting something, letters would be encrypted or use other channels anyway.
[Calm before the storm? Or hiding like a startled turtle?]
'Either way, we've only got about a week left.'
[Then we should hurry too.]
'Yeah. Time to move.'
I needed Cheol Mu Geuk's seal to get the Kwak Family's. Only then would the Bill Gates son-in-law strategy work.
'Hold on.'
The thought of Cheol Mu Geuk connected to the jade Paeng So So sent.
If it was fire-related, the Iron Family might know about it. Cheol Mu Geuk spent his days lighting and extinguishing forges, after all.
"Everyone, get some rest."
Sa Wol and Tak Horak bowed and left. Opening the window, I saw faint moonlight filtering through the clouds.
Come to think of it, I was turning into a proper exploitative boss. Making them clock in before dawn and pull all-nighters.
Stare into the abyss too long, and it stares back. Had I become like Boss Kim after suffering under him so much?
[What the hell is that Boss Kim guy? A great yokai, seeing how you groveled.]
With Pa Cheon's misunderstanding, the day drew to a close.
The next day.
I rose at dawn as usual, box with the jade in hand, and headed to the Iron Family—with Sa Wol, of course.
"Impressive."
Cheol So Pyeong said with wide eyes. He was the impressive one, training at this hour, but I couldn't show it.
"What is?"
"Coming every day even as family head. Doesn't the Sado Family have work?"
No malice—just a joke. As an Iron Family man and Cheol Mu Geuk's son, he admired my "perseverance."
"Prep in advance, and it's no trouble."
"Honestly."
Cheol So Pyeong scratched his bald head.
"Under the previous head, the Sado Family was just annoying. But under you? Feels threatening."
"Simple."
I replied with some bravado.
"Don't make an enemy of me."
"Saying that in the Iron Family's courtyard. Got guts."
"One question."
"What're you curious about?"
"The family head. Why does he keep lighting and extinguishing fires over and over?"
"Ask him yourself…… Though you'd be lucky to avoid a scolding."
Cheol So Pyeong continued.
"To become a Heavenly Grade blacksmith, you must handle a certain ore."
"Cloud Demon Iron?"
"……How do you know?"
I was a Murim Returner lore nerd, but apparently it wasn't common knowledge. I just shrugged.
"Impossible to read you. Anyway, ordinary fire won't work on Cloud Demon Iron. You need far hotter flames—pure fire energy without impurities."
In my liberal arts knowledge, it sounded like complete combustion: burning perfectly without residue.
Should've majored in science. Knowing the basics only frustrated me more.
"Can't do it? Previous heads were Heavenly Grade. Related to martial arts?"
"Not martial arts. I chose the warrior path knowing my smithing talent paled. Anyway."
Sa Wol's eyebrow twitched at his next words.
"It started over a decade ago, when the Holy Light Star Family was wiped out."
Ah.
Sado Gwang's doing again.
Pretending to Be the Heavenly Demon