Last Chance

"That field rat's actually a pretty interesting little guy."

The more Yeop Pung turned it over on the walk back, the more fascinating that rat became. It had pulled Yeom Woon-hwan into the scene to steal his attention, and in the same stroke given Brother Ho's gang an opening to flee — then, in the chaos of the beasts' retreat, tried to make off with the Spirit Flame Flowers.

He made me drop my guard twice! This guy's a real operator!

Honestly, if Yeom Woon-hwan hadn't been completely lacking in offensive power, Yeop Pung might actually have fallen for the rat's scheme. Facing a mystic beast this clever, he was delighted. Wasn't this exactly the talent he'd been searching for?

Of course the little rat's abilities were still lacking. But why had Yeop Pung planted the Green Root Fruit in the first place, if not to raise the strength of a creature exactly like this?

If that little guy guarded this herb garden well and steadily gorged himself on century-old Green Root Fruit, it would be a different story entirely. Yeop Pung was certain he could forge even an ordinary rat into a savage predator — to say nothing of a mystic beast that had already become a spiritual creature.

You're the one!

Yeop Pung made up his mind. He'd found a suitable candidate to raise. The moment he got back to the cave, he would begin spiritual beast training in earnest.

Hmm… but looking at the state that rat was in earlier, I should treat his wounds first.

When Yeop Pung returned to the cave, he realized he'd been mistaken. When he'd left, Brother Ho had been roaring in fury with the rat right in front of him. Now the cave was the picture of peace.

A tiger, a wild boar, and a pangolin were all huddled around the rat, watching intently as the little creature waved its front paws and squeaked, occasionally letting out inexplicable, silly bursts of laughter.

What in the world… A disciplinary hearing was supposed to be in session. How had it turned into a comedy act?

Yeop Pung realized once again that he had underestimated this rat.

The moment they spotted his return, the four creatures in the cave scrambled to press themselves flat against the wall. The most well-behaved of them, Brother Ho, pointed at his own belly.

"I haven't done my business yet today."

And with that, Brother Ho vanished in a hurry.

Yeop Pung ignored the other three and squatted down in front of the rat. He grinned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and crooked a finger.

"Come here."

The rat trembled from head to tail. This was a creature that hadn't flinched even when facing the fiercest mystic beasts on Mount Tianyun. And yet, whenever it met this particular human with his cold smirk, its entire body seemed to freeze solid.

A natural enemy! This one is my natural predator!

Yeop Pung led the rat outside and squatted down in front of it.

"How is it that you understand human speech?"

The rat turned its head, pointed at the distant Spirit Flame Flowers, then pointed at its own mouth. The meaning was clear. It had likely eaten some kind of spiritual elixir, become a spiritual creature, and developed intelligence in the process.

"I see."

Yeop Pung nodded, walked over, plucked three Spirit Flame Flowers, and set them down in front of the rat.

"Want to eat them?"

Drool spilled from the rat's mouth in a stream, but it shook its head.

"From now on, no lying in front of me."

Nod, nod. The rat immediately bobbed its head in a frantic, vigorous nod.

"Good. Eat."

Yeop Pung set the flowers down in front of it.

This easy?

The rat instinctively picked up a flower and was about to put it in its mouth when it suddenly set it back down. It looked up at Yeop Pung with a woeful expression.

"Boss, just tell me what you want me to do."

Haha, not bad at all!

Yeop Pung liked the rat even more. Even in this situation, it asked for the full story before eating. This little guy had real potential. He gazed at it with a serious look, putting weight into every word.

The rat started so badly it dropped the flower it was holding.

Communication between Yeop Pung and the rat went remarkably smoothly. The rat immediately agreed to become his spiritual beast. Of course it did. What other choice did it have?

Following the Cheonun Sect's basic spiritual beast taming arts, Yeop Pung formally entered a contract with the rat and took it as his spiritual beast.

The Cheonun Sect's spiritual beast taming arts were, in truth, quite superficial. Even the sect's most powerful elders only trained a handful of ordinary mystic beasts to serve as gatekeepers or field hands. It was said that truly powerful spiritual beast taming arts had never even been transmitted to the Great Jin Empire.

Spiritual beast taming was also a technique that even Spirit Realm experts found ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠troublesome in combat. Who would enjoy a fight that became two-against-one the moment it started?

Honestly, with the taming methods Yeop Pung had figured out on his own, a single field rat that had become a spiritual creature was about his limit. If he encountered a more powerful mystic beast, he might win the fight — but he couldn't guarantee he'd be able to complete that delicate spiritual beast contract smoothly.

Once a contract was formed, a peculiar mental link arose between master and spiritual beast, and the master gained the ability to kill the spiritual beast at any time. It was an unfair arrangement, but given Yeop Pung's nature, he would never do something so cruel to a spiritual beast that was close to him. He'd simply put a safety measure in place so the rat wouldn't cause any trouble over the next hundred years.

"Good!"

Once the contract with the rat was sealed, Yeop Pung let out a breath of relief. Then the rat's voice echoed in his mind.

"Master, I look forward to serving you!"

"Good boy."

Yeop Pung smiled. "From today on, you'll manage the three in the cave. And there's one more task. Every night, go to that spot and wait for about an hour. When that pretty young lady you saw today arrives, bring her here. Make absolutely sure no one is following her!"

"Understood, Master! My nose is extremely sharp!"

The rat's eyes spun, and it grasped Yeop Pung's intent in an instant.

Useful! A clever one really is different!

Yeop Pung smiled with satisfaction.

On the sixth day since Yeop Pung had returned to the past, the first critical mission he needed to complete was done.

Thanks to the rat's appearance, the results far exceeded his expectations. Having the rat command Brother Ho's gang was incomparably more efficient than Yeop Pung doing it himself. Above all, the little guy could communicate. Things Yeop Pung had never been able to get across to Brother Ho's gang no matter how much he explained, the rat understood perfectly and relayed. Not only that — the rat even carried out its assigned duties magnificently.

"Brother Ho, catch a pheasant for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Master tonight. Yeah — a hen, no older than a year. What? Hard to find? Shall I mention that to Master?"

"No! I'll go!"

Brother Ho scrambled off in a panic.

"Pangolin, the soil around this Nakryeong Root still feels a bit hard. Dig it up once every three days. And remember — no sneaking bites. I'll know."

Hmph!

Old Man Armor found the rat's swaggering thoroughly unpleasant, but in the end he did as he was told.

"And you, Boar — don't work. Don't you know what would help us most? No matter how much the three of us stuff ourselves, could it ever match the volume of your dung? So just eat a lot every day!"

The boar was bewildered. I-is this even allowed?

Yeop Pung spent his days listening to the rat's barking orders. Once the little guy got to work, it displayed a drive beyond anything he'd imagined. Of the three Spirit Flame Flowers, Yeop Pung fed the rat only two, leaving the last one planted on the mountainside as bait.

"Hmm… Master, I think our ranks are still a little thin…"

The rat said this to Yeop Pung with a grave expression. Watching the little creature puff itself up about becoming king of Mount Tianyun's predators, Yeop Pung burst out laughing. He patted the rat's head and offered a single piece of advice.

"Don't overdo it. Take your time growing."

With Yeop Pung's first mission proceeding smoothly, it was time to focus on the second: resolving the bottleneck that had formed in his body from cultivating the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture.

Originally, Yeop Pung had planned that once the herb garden work was somewhat on track, he would disguise himself as a Cheonun Sect disciple and sweet-talk a few elders for a solution, the way he had with Song Gyeol and Elder Yeok. After all, the Cheonun Sect's cultivation level a hundred years ago would have been far higher than it was now. Couldn't you tell just by looking at that adorable girl who'd suddenly appeared from Gangun Peak?

But Yeop Pung soon found the answer to this problem.

On the night of the eighth day, Yeom Woon-hwan came looking for him again. The boy and the girl picked up their conversation as naturally as old friends, without a trace of awkwardness. It was only their second meeting, yet there was nothing stiff between them.

Yeom Woon-hwan, in particular, adored the rat. Yeop Pung had ordered the rat to bring her, but she'd shown up on her own, beaming, with the little creature cradled in her arms. Seeing the rat looking so blissfully happy in Yeom Woon-hwan's embrace, Yeop Pung felt inexplicably sour.

"Rat, tonight you can dig around the Nakryeong Root yourself."

"What?"

The rat's face fell. Why?

Utterly unable to understand Yeop Pung's feelings, the rat went underground to dig, swallowing its tears. Yeom Woon-hwan seemed to have caught on to his mood. She smiled, and at the sight of his apparently jealous expression, the smile at her lips grew even brighter.

"Pfft. Yeop Pung, you haven't even given him a name? 'Rat, rat' — it doesn't sound nice."

I have to name it too?

Yeop Pung grumbled inwardly.

"Then let's call it Coal. It's pitch-black anyway. Or Black Dummy works too. Black and clueless…"

Thud!

Something slammed into a rock in the field. A squeaking protest followed. Yeop Pung completely ignored it.

"Coal, Black Dummy — none of those are cute…" Yeom Woon-hwan said, blinking her pretty eyes. "Let's call him Heukgu. Like a little ball of fur. So cute!"

Thud!

Another crash from the field. The rat's insides flipped. Young miss, please… How is "Heukgu" any better than "Black Dummy"? What's cute about that?

"Heukgu it is, then. As you say."

Yeop Pung's eyes flicked, and he made the call on the spot.

"Heukgu, we're stepping out for a bit. Watch the house."

Yeop Pung called to the rat, but there was no response from the field.

Who's Heukgu supposed to be? Not me, that's for sure!

The rat shed tears.

Yeop Pung didn't take Yunhwan far. They sat on a peak above the herb garden and talked. He enjoyed talking with Yeom Woon-hwan about anything at all — though of course he enjoyed it most when the conversation turned to cultivation.

He swore to the heavens! Yeop Pung had brought up cultivation completely naturally. He absolutely had not asked about the Star Spirit Body Art on purpose. Absolutely not!

"Hmm? Yeop Pung, don't tell me you can't use the Star Spirit Body Art?"

Yeom Woon-hwan was the one who looked startled.

"Huh?"

Yeop Pung was surprised by her reaction too.

"I-I'm supposed to know that?"

"They transmitted the Falling Star Sword Technique to you, so how have you not learned the Star Spirit Body Art? Every disciple who's reached Minor Completion in the Nine Heavens Cloud-Spirit Scripture can do it."

"Ah, I see…" Yeop Pung nodded with a serious expression. "Peak Master Yeo mentioned that as well, but I've always been a slow learner. I can only handle one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thing at a time. I put off the Star Spirit Body Art recently because I was practicing the Falling Star Sword Technique. Unfortunately, Peak Master Yeo isn't on Mount Tianyun right now…"

"It's okay. I'll teach you!"

Yeom Woon-hwan looked at Yeop Pung with a pure, unsuspecting smile.

Ah, damn it!

Yeop Pung swore to himself once more.