Chapter 87
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MJK
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Leviathan Bone? It's for Gorani's Teeth Grinding
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Beijing, China. In the most exclusive social club, Honghua.
Inside a secluded private room, Xiao Lin fiddled with her teacup while staring intently at someone.
"Lin, you look absolutely worn out."
It was Mei Ling, dressed in a glamorous cheongsam. The only daughter of a key figure in China's elite princeling faction and Xiao Lin's longtime friend.
"You've been out of touch lately. I was worried."
"Sorry. I've been so busy taking care of Liu."
Xiao Lin replied in an exhausted voice.
"How's Liu doing? Still no change?"
"Yeah. No improvement at all. But... Mei Ling."
She grabbed Mei Ling's wrist and whispered softly.
"A little while ago, I met Gorani-man."
"Gorani-man? That Korean hunter you're talking about?"
"Yes. I begged him out of desperation, and he took a look at Liu. But..."
Xiao Lin trailed off, choking back sobs.
"He said there's something strange inside Liu's body."
"Something strange?"
"Yeah. Apparently, some kind of seed is implanted in him. It's eating away at his life force."
"!"
Mei Ling's eyes widened in shock.
"A seed? So it's not the Dragon King's curse after all, but something else?"
"Yeah, I had no idea. We've been trying to cure the wrong curse for three whole years."
Xiao Lin bit her lip in frustration.
"Mei Ling, you've always gotten him rare herbs and precious artifacts. To think it was all for nothing... it breaks my heart."
"So what now? Tell me more. What's Liu's condition like?"
"It's too late. The seed's roots have grown too deep. If they pull it out by force, Liu will die... He said there's at most a month left."
"What? At most a month?"
Mei Ling cried out in alarm.
"How can we just let Liu go like this? Mei Ling, did the Chinese government really not know? It's suspicious—they couldn't have been clueless about the seed's existence, right?"
Xiao Lin clenched her fists, glaring at Mei Ling with resentment.
"Please, Mei Ling. Could you ask your dad? Did they really not know, or are they hiding it...? Is there any way to treat it?"
Mei Ling gripped Lin's hand tightly.
"Lin, don't lose heart. I'll ask my dad for sure. I'll dig through every hidden record to see if there's any way to help."
"Really? Thank you, Mei Ling. You're the only one I can count on."
Lin buried herself in Mei Ling's embrace and broke into sobs. Mei Ling gently patted her back.
But out of Lin's sight, Mei Ling's other hand was frantically tapping away on her communicator, sending urgent messages.
That night, at the countryside house.
I got a message from Xiao Lin via the Tower Market overseas channel server.
[Xiao Lin: Gorani-man, I met Mei Ling just like you said.]
[Gorani-man12: How'd it go?]
[Xiao Lin: Just as expected, she grilled me relentlessly about Liu's condition.]
A few days earlier, Xiao Lin had messaged me asking if it was okay to tell Mei Ling about me. Checking with me first before spilling was a very smart move on her part.
[Gorani-man12: You answered just like I told you, right?]
[Xiao Lin: Yes. I acted like I couldn't let go of Liu, mixing in some resentment toward the government. She seemed convinced I knew nothing.]
[Gorani-man12: Good job. Best to keep her believing that for now.]
I let out a sigh of relief.
The moment the Chinese government caught on, everything could go up in smoke.
'With China's tight surveillance network, they probably already know I visited their country.'
No matter how well I hid my identity and erased my tracks, stepping foot on Chinese soil meant I couldn't completely evade their eyes.
They were surely watching Xiao Lin closely and on high alert for any changes in Liu's condition.
[Gorani-man12: Keep feeding Mei Ling false info. Say Liu's getting worse by the day, that he's about to die soon.]
[Xiao Lin: Got it.]
[Xiao Lin: Oh, and we're all set on our end, so come over whenever you're ready.]
That seed I sensed inside Liu.
It was far too immense and divine to be just a vessel for a curse.
'It felt almost like... the origin of some colossal being.'
If it was a seed from a legendary entity or something comparable?
The moment the Chinese government found out, they'd butcher Liu not to save him, but to claim the seed. Or, deeming the power uncontrollable, they'd eliminate it entirely.
'Either way, it'd be hell for Liu.'
My goal was clear.
Keep China from realizing the seed's true value.
Make them see Liu as worthless trash and abandon him on their own.
Only then could I safely extract him from China.
'And for that, Liu has to stay alive.'
I was timing the perfect moment to confront the seed without endangering Liu's life.
Final preparations were underway on my end too.
A bright afternoon.
I sat on the porch, watching Muryong and Hasuo nap.
"......"
It was peaceful, but something told me trouble was brewing.
The crops were growing on their own, and the animal family was busy with their tasks.
Gorani seemed to be out patrolling the back mountain, while the chickens and rabbits were off training.
"Why does stuff always happen at times like this......"
That's when it started.
Woooong— wooooong—
A faint vibration emanated from the center of the field.
"Huh?"
The sound grew louder, and the soil began to churn.
-Hmyu?
"Ppoeng?"
Muryong and Hasuo woke up from their naps, rubbing their eyes at the vibrations. They stared curiously at the rumbling ground.
Something enormous was rising from below.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Finally, the earth split amid a cloud of dust, and a familiar handle popped out.
"This is?"
It was the hoe I'd bought from that black market during one of my unremembered patrols.
[Item: Cursed Hoe of the Gluttonous Dwarf]
[Rank: Unique]
[Description: A hoe infused with a curse that devours the life force of all it touches. In ordinary hands, it drains vitality, but for a master with pure energy, it submits and absorbs only the earth's essence, becoming the ultimate farming tool.]
"Right, this hoe."
Suddenly, I recalled the explanation from the Terminal of the One Who Peeks at Dimensions when I first got it.
[Trait: Detects the strongest, purest earthly essence nearby and moves on its own to offer it to its master. Targets vary from deep ley lines to rare minerals buried far underground. It won't return until it secures the prize.]
I pulled out my earcuff and asked on a whim.
"So that's what your trip was about? You're back now?"
[Affirmative. The entity reached a depth of 3,000 meters in the abyssal layer, captured the target, and returned.]
"Captured? A living thing?"
[No life signs detected, but dense concentrations of residual curse and grudge emit bio-like wavelengths.]
Sure enough, a massive white object was being dragged up by the hoe's tip.
Grraaah...!
It was moving with such desperate effort, I could almost hear the hoe grunting.
Moments later, the full form of the huge object was revealed.
"......What the hell? A bone?"
It was a chunk of spine as thick as a human torso.
Bleached white like a museum dinosaur exhibit, its surface smooth as polished marble.
But unlike its pristine appearance...
Dark, inky energy visibly wafted around the bone.
Shoooo—
The air around it was freezing solid.
I approached cautiously and focused my senses.
[Item: Ancient Leviathan Spine Fragment]
[Rank: Myth]
[Description: A fragment of the spine from Leviathan, the colossal beast that ruled primordial seas. Imbued with virulent poison that corrodes all it touches and the curse of the abyss depths.]
"Curse?"
Myth rank—clearly something incredible.
But the words "virulent poison" and "curse" in the description made me uneasy.
"Why'd you have to fetch something like this?"
I scolded the hoe, and it trembled its handle innocently, as if protesting that it had dug all the way to the deep underground aquifer for this treasure.
-Himyou......
Muryong pinched his nose and backed away from the bone's foul stench.
"Ppueng!"
Hasuo hid behind my leg, terrified by the bone's grotesque look.
"What do I do with this? Bury it again?"
As I pondered how to dispose of it...
"Kkiyot?"
A cheerful cry came from outside the gate.
Gorani was back from patrol.
Spotting the massive bone in the field the moment he entered the yard, his eyes went wide.
"Kking, kking!"
"Gorani, don't touch that. It's hot, hot!"
But my warning fell on deaf ears.
Gorani's eyes gleamed with unusual excitement, his black pupils sparkling with curiosity.
"Kkiyoot!"
With a triumphant bleat, he charged the bone.
He pinned it down with a massive forepaw...
Crunch!
And without hesitation, chomped on one end.
"No, stop!"
I panicked.
Fine, it was a myth-grade beast bone, but it was a lump of poison!
His mouth might melt away.
Crunch! Crackle!
But contrary to my fears, merry snapping sounds echoed from Gorani's mouth.
The Leviathan bone—said to be harder than steel—shattered like a cookie under Gorani's monstrous jaws and fangs.
"Kkiyoong!"
Gorani chewed blissfully.
Chomp chomp!
Munch munch!
His face beamed with the joy of premium gum.
I asked the Terminal again.
"Is Gorani okay?"
[Warning! Virulent poison and curse activating......]
"Knew it."
[......Neutralized by target's stomach acid.]
[Target's salivary glands secrete potent digestive enzymes that break down the curse.]
"......Huh?"
The Terminal stammered, seemingly flustered itself.
Gorani's saliva and stomach acid were more toxic than Leviathan's poison?
"......Tasty?"
"Kkiyot!"
Gorani clutched the bone protectively with his forepaws instead of answering.
Scrape, scrape—
He licked the surface and scraped at it with his artifact-hidden fangs, settling in for serious teeth grinding.
The inky curse energy around the bone dissipated harmlessly wherever his tongue touched.
'......Perfect for Gorani's teeth grinding.'
Thump, thump!
The hoe rubbed its handle proudly against the dirt, pleased with the reaction to its gift.
"Fine, play with it."
I gave up and sat back on the porch.
Watching the legendary Leviathan bone get slobbered and mangled in the yard corner.
Plink.
That's when Gorani spat something hard out mid-chew.
"Hm? What's this?"
Up close, it was a small, transparent orb embedded in the bone.
Too serene and depthless for a gem, too weighty with energy for a mere pearl.
[Item: Pearl of Stasis]
[Rank: Legend]
[Description: A pearl forged in the absolute silence of the abyss, untouched by light for ten millennia. It harbors the power of stillness, quelling all disturbances and halting flows.]
"Oh, nice."
The biggest enemy in Internal Energy cultivation was mental agitation.
With this pearl, I could maintain serenity and circulate my energy smoothly.
An unexpected treasure to deepen my Internal Energy.
"Alright then......"
Time to wake up Liu.