Chapter 10
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Came from the Great Mountains
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It took me another seven days of travel after that to finally arrive in Xi'an.
The moment I reached Xi'an, I booked a room at the cleanest inn with the best facilities and shook off my travel fatigue.
Then I sought out a place that specialized in fencing stolen goods.
It was a shady, dangerous-looking neighborhood on the outskirts beyond the city walls.
Tucked away in the darkest alley of that area was a rundown pawnshop.
Places like this were usually run by the Whispering Shadow Sect.
I covered my face with a mask, just like in my assassin days, and stepped inside.
Four men with fierce faces were inside, eating a late lunch.
The moment they saw me enter with my face masked, they reached for their weapons and asked in guarded tones,
"What brings you here?"
"I came from the Great Mountains."
"......"
At the mention of the Great Mountains, the men's faces stiffened noticeably.
The Great Mountains meant the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
To prove I was truly from the Demonic Cult, I released the demonic energy I'd been suppressing.
I let out just enough, but it was more than sufficient to rattle a Whispering Shadow Sect outpost.
Sensing the sinister aura, the owner immediately realized I was from the Demonic Cult and began trembling in fear on his own.
In the unorthodox world, the Demonic Cult was heaven itself—the Jade Emperor incarnate.
I planned to sell the treasured sword and necklace here.
"I'm looking to dispose of this."
I set the sword strapped to my back down in front of the owner.
He hurriedly unwrapped the cloth, and upon seeing the gleaming blade, his eyes bulged wide.
"H-Hey, isn't this a treasured sword forged by the Myriad Gold Pavilion? This priceless thing......"
Surprisingly, the treasured sword—said to be made by the Myriad Gold Pavilion—fetched ten gold nyang.
Since one gold nyang equaled ten silver nyang, that came to a hundred silver nyang.
In today's terms, that roughly translated to about 100 million won.
I'd estimated it at maybe fifty silver nyang tops, so it turned out to be far more valuable than I'd thought.
'She even slept with me and still gave me something this extravagant?'
In modern terms, it felt like a rich bar madam buying her gangster boyfriend a Porsche.
And this was a place that haggled stolen goods down to half price or less, so its original value had to be at least twenty gold nyang.
It was truly a gift worth a gasp of astonishment.
And now, the pièce de résistance: the white jade necklace.
The owner's eyes went as round as saucers at the sight of the white jade necklace.
'Th-This? Gasp! This is......!'
The white jade necklace was unmistakably a luxury item at first glance. Such premium pieces bore maker's marks known only to insiders.
Sure enough, the necklace was stamped with the seal of the White Jade Royal House.
No fence worth his salt would miss that.
The White Jade Royal House was renowned for supplying top-grade jade ornaments exclusively to the imperial court in limited quantities.
And among their wares, this was one of the ultra-exclusive masterpieces said to number only two in existence!
'This has to be the supreme white jade necklace that the White Jade Royal House made just two of!'
"Wh-Where on earth did you get this?"
"If you knew its origin, you'd have to hang yourself from the rafters."
I deliberately exuded thick killing intent, and the pawnshop owner gulped under the weight of the heavy air.
Gulp—
The pawnshop owner was visibly terrified by my overwhelming presence, but his eyes were already gleaming with greed.
Middle Kingdom folk had adored jade since ancient times.
Jade was sacred, a symbol of longevity and wealth.
Even the King of Qin had once offered fifteen walled cities to the King of Zhao just for the He Shi Bi jade.
Thus, its value was beyond imagination.
"As you can see, this is a treasure from the White Jade Royal House. It's easily worth at least a hundred gold nyang. I'm sure you'll report it properly."
The fence swallowed hard again before replying,
"An item like this isn't easy for us to offload either. We absolutely can't pay that much."
"Then what's the best you can do? If you lowball me too hard, I'll take my business elsewhere."
"W-Well...... Fifty nyang! I'll give you fifty nyang!"
"You joking right now? Ninety nyang."
"How about fifty-five, milord?"
"Eighty nyang. That's my final offer."
"Sixty nyang! That's our absolute limit. Kill me if you must."
"Won't kill you. Sixty-five nyang it is."
"F-Fine, sixty-five nyang it is."
And so the white jade necklace netted a whopping sixty-five gold nyang.
That kind of fortune could easily buy a massive estate.
As a gesture of silence, I made the sign to seal lips toward the pawnshop owner. He mirrored it back.
This was the standard unspoken vow of secrecy in the unorthodox world.
Having bought it, the owner was now my accomplice, so he'd never breathe a word about me.
I removed my mask and headed to the Thousand Gold Merchant Group—the foremost exchange house in the Middle Kingdom—with the promissory notes I'd received as payment.
Since they were notes issued by them, I figured I'd cash some out there.
No way was I handing over a ten-gold-nyang note just to buy a meal at a restaurant.
Even after taking a number ticket, I had to wait ages before finally meeting a clerk.
"How may I assist you?"
"I'd like to exchange these notes for cash."
"Very well. How much would you like to convert? Our exchange fee is five jeon per silver nyang."
The shrewd-looking middle-aged man eyed my youth and shabby clothes with faint disdain.
I pulled out the envelope containing the notes right in front of him.
I showed him six ten-gold-nyang notes and one five-gold-nyang note, then slid the five-gold one toward him.
"Convert four gold nyang into one-silver-nyang notes, and give me the remaining one gold nyang in ten silver ingots."
Silver nyang were handy for everyday use, so I'd keep them as pocket money.
But his gaze was fixed not on the five-gold note I'd offered, but on the thick stack of ten-gold notes in my other hand.
When I waggled that hand side to side, his head lolled along with it.
"Hey? Snap out of it."
"Ah, uh? Ahem! Ahem!"
He cleared his throat repeatedly to cover his gaffe and asked,
"Might I inquire which house you hail from, milord?"
"I'm an orphan."
"I-Is that so? If it's not too rude, could you tell me the origin of these notes?"
"......"
I made a slightly displeased face as I replied,
"Do I have some obligation to tell you that?"
"Haha, it's just such a large sum."
"A mere five gold nyang?"
"No, not that, but......"
He pointed at the notes in my other hand and asked,
"It's an inheritance from my master."
"And might that master's sect be......?"
To show him he'd crossed a line, I flashed a sharp glint in my eyes.
"......Are you doubting me right now?"
"N-No, not at all......"
I reached out and drew the teacup beside me toward me.
The cup slid smoothly across the table and into my hand.
The clerk's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
This was the Mystic Art of Controlling Objects at a Distance—a feat only grandmasters of the martial world could perform.
Whether he was stunned or not, I calmly sipped my tea and said to him,
"Dragging my late master into this to toy with me? You'd have no grounds to complain if I killed you on the spot."
"......!"
Despite the midsummer heat, cold sweat poured down the man's face as he dropped to his knees, begging for his life.
"F-Forgive me! I failed to recognize the heavens! P-Please, spare my life!"
All eyes in the exchange house turned to me.
The guards hired by the place even tensed, hands drifting to the swords at their waists.
Not wanting a scene, I spoke in a gentle tone.
"Rise......"
He scrambled to his feet, his face no longer that of the arrogant man from moments ago.
He looked like a fresh recruit straight out of boot camp.
I waved him off irritably.
"Don't make me repeat myself. Just go get what I ordered."
"Yes, sir!"
The clerk dashed off and returned with the notes and silver.
"Haha...... Here are your notes and silver. Please verify."
I checked the notes and silver before stowing them away, then asked the clerk,
"Do you handle spirit elixirs here by any chance?"
"O-Of course! We're specialists in elixirs. Unfortunately, all our stock has been snapped up by the local sects."
"The sects bought it all up? Why?"
"It's for the upcoming Dragon Academy entrance exam, naturally. We probably won't get even a small shipment for another three months. And every last one is so rare."
"I see. Well, if anything decent comes in, send word my way. I'll make it worth your while."
I wrote down the location of my inn.
At the promise of generous compensation, color finally returned to the clerk's face.
"Understood! I'll scour every branch...... No, the entire Middle Kingdom if I have to! Milord!"
He looked ready to drop everything and hunt for elixirs first.
"That's all."
"Safe travels, milord!"
'Never thought I'd hear "milord" at my age.'
"Was that him?"
"Yes, Pavilion Master. I saw it with my own eyes! He moved the teacup with the Mystic Art of Controlling Objects at a Distance."
"Unbelievable. How could a kid that young reach such a level? He doesn't look a day over academy age."
The Thousand Gold Merchant Group Pavilion Master pondered to himself.
'No way. A rejuvenated elder master?'
But he quickly shook his head.
He'd once met a true rejuvenated grandmaster, and no matter how profound the Return to Youth, they never looked that young.
As the Pavilion Master mulled it over, the chief steward delivered an intriguing tidbit.
"He said he's an orphan, too. And staying at an inn means he doesn't have a fixed base here."
"Is that right? Sounds like quite the catch. Carrying that much wealth yet dressed so plainly, and prioritizing elixirs—he's a martial artist through and through."
The Pavilion Master of the Thousand Gold Merchant Group watched intently as the young man departed.
Running a merchant group and exchange house required plenty of muscle.
In these chaotic times, how could he not covet such talent?