Junggyeongjin (1)
They were still tracking me?
Cheon Woo-jin had first met Na Chwi-ryang, a Core Formation cultivator of the Yin Scale Spirit Needle Sect, in an underground waterway. They had clashed again on the streets of Junggyeongjin, leaving the Ghostly Soul Exorcism Banner behind in the fray.
Fueled by the tenacious vitality unique to the demon race, Na Chwi-ryang had kept coming back for more, even roaring at Cheon Woo-jin, "I've memorized your scent! I will never let you go!"
Na Chwi-ryang was, after all, a cultivator famed for his exceptional sense of smell. Had he simply kept tracking Cheon Woo-jin until he stumbled upon this place?
This is a problem.
If he fought Na Chwi-ryang here, Seo Seol-ryeong's shop would be reduced to rubble. They hadn't even decided what kind of business to run yet, but she had still worked hard scrubbing and organizing the place. And if a specialist in raw, physical brawling like Na Chwi-ryang went on a rampage, it would become a disaster zone in an instant.
"How rude, cultivator, to walk into someone's shop and immediately complain about a smell."
Seo Seol-ryeong's composure, however, was remarkable. She had fought Na Chwi-ryang herself in the Junggyeongjin district, after all.
"What do you want me to do about a smell that exists?"
Na Chwi-ryang flicked his forked tongue as he stepped inside.
"Check the drawer on the right. It's probably rotted through and growing mold by now."
"I'll take a look."
"The stench has reached the doorway. Throw it out immediately."
Watching Seo Seol-ryeong and Na Chwi-ryang converse as if nothing at all were amiss, Cheon Woo-jin fell silent for a moment.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"What did you come here for?"
Cheon Woo-jin had assumed the scent-sniffing meant another ambush. Clearly, that wasn't the case.
"Is there some other reason you're looking for an agent?"
"……"
Cheon Woo-jin found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
"I thought you hadn't opened for business yet."
"We simply haven't opened the door of a front business yet, is all," Seo Seol-ryeong replied in a cool voice. "Inquiries have already been pouring in from all over the 6th Layer. We only begin meeting clients in earnest today."
"……"
Na Chwi-ryang hadn't come to capture Cheon Woo-jin at all. He had merely come to see Seo Seol-ryeong, the broker. Now that Cheon Woo-jin looked closely, there was no particular hostility in the demon's gaze either. With the Ghostly Soul Exorcism Banner gone, he apparently had no more reason to target him.
"I jumped to conclusions, then. I'll clear out so I'm not in the way of your business talk."
"Hold on. Where do you think you're going?"
Na Chwi-ryang grabbed Cheon Woo-jin by the nape of the neck.
"You're sitting down and staying for this too."
"Why?"
"Because I want to hire you."
"……"
As Cheon Woo-jin stood speechless, Na Chwi-ryang scratched his jaw.
"Honestly, I wanted to commission you directly, but this woman has been going around insisting that every request has to go through her."
"……"
"Some women just have to manage everything a man does with their own hands, kahaha!"
Na Chwi-ryang threw his head back and laughed, baring rows of jagged teeth. Seo Seol-ryeong frowned at the sight.
"Don't say such absurd things. That man was the one who asked me to arrange everything in the first place."
What is she talking about now?
"When did I ever say that?"
"You told me yourself that taking commissions directly from the Cheollyong Alliance instead of going through me caused you no end of trouble."
"I did say something like that, but……"
"If you don't like it, then find and handle your own work from now on."
As the two of them bickered, Na Chwi-ryang let out a quiet chuckle.
"You two get along well. Shall I come back in about a shijin?"
"There's no need. Let's begin the business discussion," Seo Seol-ryeong said, her voice crisp and cold. "Cheon Dou, sit back down as well. The client wishes for you to be present."
"……"
Fine, then.
Cheon Woo-jin took his seat again.
"Then let's make our formal introductions first. I am Na Chwi-ryang of the Yin Scale Spirit Needle Sect, trained personally under the previous sect master, the elder Yo Won-gyeon."
Na Chwi-ryang grinned, flashing his teeth.
"Now, I'd like to hear your name and origins."
"Cheon Woo-jin," Cheon Woo-jin answered in an even voice. "A loose cultivator who wandered until he entered Ghost Head City. A man of no roots or lineage — there's nothing more worth telling."
"Even a rootless man must have had a teacher. Who taught you?"
"A man with no name. You wouldn't know him even if I told you."
"Hilarious. There's no way the master who produced something like you is a nobody. He must have been a remarkable figure."
"He truly was a man of no consequence whatsoever."
Cheon Woo-jin said it as the days spent with Gwiyeongja surfaced in his memory.
"He was the kind of master who died at his disciple's hand while trying to kill that disciple himself."
"……"
Na Chwi-ryang flinched at those words. Then he leaned forward.
"You're telling me that disciple was you?"
"Use your imagination."
"Krehehe. Off to quite the murderous start, weren't we?"
Na Chwi-ryang slapped his knee and laughed.
"I like it, Cheon Woo-jin."
"A few days ago you were snarling that you'd never let me go, and now your attitude has turned on a coin."
"Back then we were enemies at each other's throats over the Ghostly Soul Exorcism Banner. With the banner gone, there's no need to quarrel over old business."
With that, Na Chwi-ryang narrowed his eyes.
"Of course, that's assuming you prove useful to me going forward."
"Whether I help you or not depends on what your business actually is."
Cheon Woo-jin looked Na Chwi-ryang squarely in the eye as he spoke.
"What exactly is this matter that brought you to me? The Yin Scale Spirit Needle Sect must have plenty of capable cultivators of its own."
"This matter has nothing to do with the sect. It's my own personal affair, which is why I've been looking for someone outside the sect to help me," Na Chwi-ryang replied, his gaze drifting toward Seo Seol-ryeong. "And then word reached me that a fellow with decent skills had newly set up shop on the 6th Layer."
"……"
"I'd rather use someone I've already crossed blades with than some complete stranger. So I came here myself to make the request."
Cheon Woo-jin finally understood why the demon had come seeking out someone he had once been hostile toward. He had experienced Cheon Woo-jin's strength firsthand.
"This isn't something I want broadcast widely, either. That's part of why I chose a loose cultivator and an agent who've only just arrived on the 6th Layer."
"So there's something unsavory about it."
"You could say that."
Na Chwi-ryang began his explanation slowly.
"Some time ago, an item was brought down from the upper layers of Ghost Head City. But its bearers were ambushed on the 6th Layer and robbed of it."
"……"
"The ones who took it are a pack called the Iron Calamity Mob. Ever heard of them?"
At Na Chwi-ryang's question, Seo Seol-ryeong nodded.
"You mean the group that roams the middle layers of Ghost Head City committing every manner of lawlessness."
"They're no proper sect — just a rabble of loose cultivators banded together. But lately their strength has grown by leaps and bounds. Word is they now rival Jangnimchae of the 5th Layer."
"Jangnimchae…… I heard it was annihilated recently."
"There's talk that the Iron Calamity Mob was behind that as well."
Cheon Woo-jin stayed out of the exchange between the two. He had been the one to annihilate Jangnimchae, but he saw no reason to announce it here.
"In any case, the Iron Calamity Mob has no fixed base and drifts from place to place, so tracking where they took the stolen item is nearly impossible. The ones who lost it are beside themselves, stamping their feet in frustration."
"So the cultivator has agreed to retrieve it on their behalf?"
"No, that's still undecided."
Na Chwi-ryang grinned, baring his teeth again.
"I'll hunt down the Iron Calamity Mob and take the item back, no question. But whether I return it to its original owners or dispose of it myself — I haven't decided yet."
"……"
Seo Seol-ryeong fell silent for a moment.
"So the ones who lost it never actually requested this of you."
"The original owners apparently have something unsavory of their own going on. That's why they can't easily entrust the job to others. And that's where I step in."
Cheon Woo-jin, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
"Judging by how you talk about it, it must be something quite valuable."
It had to be an item worth Na Chwi-ryang's while to act on his own initiative. Whether he collected a fee for returning it or kept it for himself, it would surely yield a considerable profit.
"Is it dangerous, like the Ghostly Soul Exorcism Banner?"
"It's a different sort of thing from the banner. But its utility is far greater."
"Then what exactly is it?"
"The Heavenly Silkworm Shadow Concealment Robe."
At those words, Cheon Woo-jin was startled inwardly. It was a name he had encountered in the game.
"A powerful concealment treasure that absolutely cannot be detected without spatial perception at the mid Nascent Soul realm or above. Its whereabouts were unknown for ages, but it seems to have been tucked away somewhere in the upper layers of Ghost Head City. Someone tried to carry it out of the city, and that's when this disaster happened."
"……"
If Cheon Woo-jin's memory was right, the Heavenly Silkworm Shadow Concealment Robe was indeed that formidable. But in the game, obtaining it had been impossible — it was used in the later power struggle over the next imperial throne of Weijin Country, and then vanished once more into obscurity.
If it was being smuggled out of Ghost Head City at this point in time…… I have a fair idea of what's coming.
While Cheon Woo-jin was turning the matter over in his mind, replaying the game's storyline, Seo Seol-ryeong spoke in a cool voice.
"This carries some risk. If the two of you move together, an enemy like the Iron Calamity Mob is manageable enough. But from what I'm hearing, this may not end with simply dealing with them."
"Don't worry. Once I've pried the Heavenly Silkworm Shadow Concealment Robe out of the mob's hands, I'll handle whatever comes after myself."
"I'd like to believe that, but the unexpected can happen. That too must be accounted for."
"What's this, then — you want me to pad the fee to cover that possibility?"
Na Chwi-ryang stroked his jaw.
"How much are we talking? A hundred thousand spirit stones?"
"That's far too little. And in the first place——"
"Hold on."
Cheon Woo-jin cut Seo Seol-ryeong off. She had been taking a negative stance toward the whole affair, but his own thinking was different.
"I'll take this job on myself."
"Ah, really?"
"Cheon Dou!"
Na Chwi-ryang was delighted; Seo Seol-ryeong pushed back. But Cheon Woo-jin kept his composure as he went on.
"That is — assuming proper compensation is provided. I have no intention of working for a pittance."
"Hmm, and how much do you need? A hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones?"
"Not even close."
Seo Seol-ryeong was doing her best to drive up his price. He could hardly move for such pocket change. And besides——
"This time, rather than spirit stones, I'd like my payment in something else."
"Something else?"
Na Chwi-ryang tilted his head, scratching his jaw.
"You're a Water Spirit Root holder, if I recall. Shall I hand over some resource infused with water-based qi? As it happens, I came into an inner core from a thousand-year-old toad not long ago."
"That's not a bad offer, but what I want is something different."
Cheon Woo-jin spoke in a calm, measured voice.
"I've taken an interest in body-refining arts lately. I'd like you to pass along a good one."
"What? A body-refining art?"
Body-refining arts were methods of tempering the flesh — much like the martial techniques of the murim world. Ever since demonic qi had taken root in his lower dantian, Cheon Woo-jin had developed an interest in them. He had realized that, just as murim practitioners wielded internal energy, he could use the power of demonic qi to reinforce his body.
"Hmmm. A body-refining art, you say……"
Na Chwi-ryang murmured, rubbing his chin.
"It's true — someone like you does need one."
"Is that so?"
"Watching you fight, that's how it looked."
With that, Na Chwi-ryang raised a finger.
"You never stay rooted in one place. You range across the whole battlefield as you fight, and sometimes you plunge alone into the enemy formation."
"That's true."
"If all you did was hold a position and spam spells, there'd be no need. But fighting the way you do, a body-refining art is essential — it raises your reaction speed even if you never throw a single punch."
Na Chwi-ryang mimed striking the back of his left hand with a finger of his right.
"Say there's someone trying to ambush you from behind. You'd have to turn and hurl a spell at them. Train a body-refining art, and the speed at which you turn improves — which means your ability to respond to ambushes sharpens as well."
"Fair enough."
"If a body-refining art is what you want, I'll hand over the Six Extremes Dynamic Art. I'll give you the manual — study it however you like."
The Six Extremes Dynamic Art was a considerably refined body-refining art. It greatly enhanced physical capabilities and could be combined with swordplay, fist arts, and the like. Even in the game, it had been quite serviceable. And yet——
"I'm afraid that won't be enough."
"What?"
At Cheon Woo-jin's refusal, Na Chwi-ryang's eyes flew wide open.
"Hey, don't tell me you're demanding the body-refining arts of the Yin Scale Spirit Needle Sect itself? The Six Extremes Dynamic Art is something I obtained separately, so there's no problem teaching it to you — but the sect's proprietary arts cannot be leaked outside the sect."
"I'm not asking for the Yin Scale Spirit Needle Sect's proprietary arts."
Cheon Woo-jin answered in a level voice.
"What I'd like to learn is not the Six Extremes Dynamic Art, but the Liuji Tiangang Divine Art."
CRASH!
Na Chwi-ryang's massive fist slammed down on the table. The table shattered in a single blow, and the scent of aged wood wafted up through the dust.
"You little bastard…… where the hell did you hear about that?"
Before Na Chwi-ryang, glaring as though ready to resume their last battle on the spot, Cheon Woo-jin stood unbowed, holding his head high.