Chapter 30

Chapter 30

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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 9
>Chapter Title: Armadillo (1)
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‘What in the world is this...'

Sorcerer Sak couldn't hide her bewilderment.

That sensation from moments ago—if she hadn't misperceived it—was undoubtedly beyond the level of a Yellow Spirit.

It was even more unexpected than the pain of the backlash from the counter-killing intent.

A vengeful spirit beyond Yellow Spirit grade?

'Sorcerer Sak? Are you alright?'

Great Madam Seok supported her as she helped her to her feet and asked.

Sak nodded at the question.

Though the counter-killing intent had rebounded, her protective talisman had shielded her body, so she had avoided any fatal internal injuries.

'Cough, cough...'

'What exactly happened?'

'It rebounded the counter-killing intent I sent.'

'Rebounded the counter-killing intent? What does that even mean?'

'Exactly what it sounds like. Sorcerer Myo-sin lost his life to the vengeful spirit's killing intent. In response, with Northern Precept's help, I sent that intent back at the vengeful spirit that had unleashed it.'

'And it bounced it right back?'

'Yes.'

Great Madam Seok furrowed her brow at Sak's response.

What on earth was going on?

She, a sorcerer superior to Myo-sin, had her counter-killing intent deflected. She had no idea how to process this.

'Then... does that mean you can't resolve this?'

-Swish!

As Great Madam Seok asked, Sorcerer Sak wiped the black blood from her lips and spoke.

'It's not a matter of whether it can be resolved.'

'What do you mean?'

'The situation has become far more dangerous than we anticipated.'

Great Madam Seok asked again, her eyes filled with concern at Sak's grave tone.

'How so?'

'If it were around Yellow Spirit grade, I could have sent the counter-killing intent and then subdued the weakened vengeful spirit with talisman arts. But that's not the case.'

'Not the case...'

'It's a far more powerful and malevolent vengeful spirit.'

Great Madam Seok asked in a tone of disbelief at Sak's words.

'Do vengeful spirits have grades too?'

'Yes. Think of it as a measure of their danger level.'

'Then, you said it's higher than that Yellow Spirit grade—whatever you called it. How much more dangerous is it?'

Sak brushed her disheveled hair back as she replied.

'In truth, even a Yellow Spirit grade is highly dangerous because it can directly inflict killing intent on people and take lives. Anything beyond that... even sorcerers who deal with anomalies can't help but feel tense.'

'Sorcerers too?'

'Yes. Vengeful spirits of Green Spirit grade or higher are quite rare.'

'Why is that?'

'To reach Green Spirit grade or above, the grudge must persist for decades, or the spirit must have endured immense suffering. Most vengeful spirits naturally have their grudges fade over time, leading to self-subjugation.'

'So... Green Spirits are vengeful spirits that have survived for ages?'

'Yes. Vengeful spirits that have existed for decades—that's a Green Spirit. Even for sorcerers who specialize in this, such high-grade spirits are no easy task. In most cases, it takes at least five sorcerers of the lowest rank, Water rank, risking their lives to subdue one.'

For those who held the Water rank title like Sorcerer Myo-sin, a Green Spirit was utterly beyond their capacity.

Great Madam Seok cautiously asked at Sak's explanation.

'So, the vengeful spirit possessing that one is a Green Spirit that's decades old?'

'Probably.'

That was Sak's guess.

She had only encountered anything higher than that twice in her life.

Those were veritable calamities, but she doubted this was that severe.

If it were a spirit of such caliber, Timber Sword Manor would already be drenched in blood.

The radius of its influence alone would be incomparable to lower grades.

That was why she was certain it was a Green Spirit.

'Sorcerer Sak... It's that dangerous, and you can handle it alone?'

At Great Madam Seok's question, Sak extended her hand.

'What do you mean?'

'You will need to pay additional silver taels.'

'For what?'

'For a Green Spirit grade, five ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hundred silver taels isn't enough. Make it a thousand.'

'......'

In a situation like this, she was trying to haggle?

Not Great Madam Seok, but rather Guard Ho-ang, found it absurd and interjected.

'A thousand silver taels? Even five hundred could buy how many sacks of rice? Do you think that's reasonable?'

'Silver taels and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lives aren't comparable.'

'Lives? Ha! You seem to be mistaken just because Madam commissioned you, but this is a martial clan. It's not some place full of ordinary folk...'

'Then have your guard handle it.'

With that, Sorcerer Sak turned to leave the warehouse.

'This wench!'

Unable to tolerate her actions any longer, Guard Ho-ang blocked her path.

'Who said you could just leave?'

'Step aside.'

'Unless you're going to spit back what you were paid or something...'

'No. It's fine.'

'What?'

Ho-ang looked puzzled at the sudden remark, but Sak glanced at the cloth bundle on her shoulder and muttered soothingly.

'Calm down. Armadillo.'

'!?'

There was nothing on the cloth bundle.

So why was she drawing attention with such mutterings?

Irritated by it, Guard Ho-ang asked.

'What do you mean there's something on the cloth bundle? You've been talking like that earlier too, as if something's there...'

-Shhshsh!

It happened before she could finish.

A subtle rustling sound reached her ears.

Ho-ang looked toward it.

'Hm?'

Sacks were piled up, and there was nothing there.

But the rustling came to her ears again.

This time from all directions.

-Rustle rustle! Rustle rustle!

-Swish!

Ho-ang's tense face reached for the sword hilt at her waist.

It was an unsettling sound.

Coming from everywhere, it was incredibly grating.

Then Sak waved her hand and said firmly.

'Armadillo. Enough.'

The moment she did, the rustling that had filled the air from all sides stopped abruptly.

Feeling an ominous chill for no reason, Ho-ang asked in a somewhat subdued voice.

'Wh-what was that just now?'

Sak shook her head side to side as she replied to her question.

'Don't provoke the armadillo.'

With that, Sak reached out to the empty air above the cloth bundle and stroked it as if petting something.

She had done the same earlier—what on earth was she doing?

'There's nothing there, so what...'

'Armadillos are very shy.'

'No, what even is this armadillo that you keep...'

'The armadillo is a native mountain demon from Yeoah Mountain at the end of Galsan. It's an imae-mangryang.'

'Imae-mangryang? You mean a yokai?'

'Something like that.'

Imae-mangryang.

Strictly speaking, mountain goblins and yokai are called imae, while those in rivers and seas are mangryang.

From ancient times, people have referred to them collectively as imae-mangryang.

'The armadillo is my familiar spirit. Even though it's shy, it absolutely won't forgive anyone who harms its master.'

-Fwoosh!

No sooner had she spoken than the torch flickered, casting a strange shadow behind the cloth bundle.

'Wh-what is that?'

Seeing the shadow, Ho-ang recoiled in terror.

Nothing was visible on the cloth bundle, yet a massive shadow swayed there—a coiled body like a snail, a bird's beak, and a snake's tail.

Its form was utterly bizarre.

'If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there's nothing more, step aside.'

Sak tried to pass the terrified Ho-ang.

At that moment, Great Madam Seok spoke.

'Wait!'

'......'

'Can you really deal with that Green Spirit or whatever it is?'

Sak's lips curled into a slight smile as she stood with her back turned.

She had expected they wouldn't refuse.

A Green Spirit grade was extremely dangerous, but as a sorcerer who could command a familiar spirit, she could handle it somehow.

Sak erased her smile, turned with a serious expression, and said.

'Since it rebounded the counter-killing intent, the vengeful spirit must be quite enraged now. If we don't handle it quickly, it could lead to an even bigger disaster.'

Great Madam Seok eyed Sak sharply.

Then she made her decision.

'Alright. A thousand silver taels. We'll pay it.'

'Up front.'

'......'

This sorceress.

She seemed oddly obsessed with money.

* * *

Mok Kyung-un slowly opened his closed eyes.

It was entirely different from when he had drawn in vital energy using normal circulation methods.

Rather, this chilling, yin energy absorbed via reverse circulation felt like clothing perfectly fitted to his body, allowing him to circulate it freely.

It even persisted when it sank below his abdomen.

'So this was the answer.'

It was better than forcing in vital energy that didn't suit his body.

Especially since he could circulate it.

But there was one problem.

'It's too little.'

Compared to vital energy, this deathly energy was pathetically scarce.

Not even a tenth.

Like a parched spring, no matter how much he circulated, it wouldn't fill properly.

'What a shame.'

If he could secure more of this energy, he might even form a dantian with deathly energy alone.

It might be faster to just kill someone moderately and absorb their deathly energy via soul-devouring.

'Hmm.'

Mok Kyung-un pondered this for a fleeting moment.

But it seemed difficult for now.

The more carelessly he killed, the more restrictions would arise, so even if he killed, it required thorough calculation.

Otherwise, he could end up in trouble like before.

'Maybe ask them?'

The Demon Monk or Cyan Spirit, being vengeful spirits themselves, might know where deathly energy was abundant.

So he sought out the Demon Monk, but

'Hm?'

The Demon Monk's condition looked quite poor.

Slumped against the floor, wounds covered his body, and grayish haze rose from him.

He had no idea why.

Moreover, Escort Go Chan was passed out on the medicine hall bed in a bizarre posture, as if asleep.

'What happened?'

Had something occurred while he was circulating energy?

Puzzled, a voice echoed.

-Hmph. Quite the handful, mortal.

The voice belonged to the Cyan Spirit.

She sat on the bed, puffing thick smoke from her pipe.

She lifted Mok Kyung-un's chin with the pipe's tip and said.

-Are you really a living human?

'Worried I might have died? My heart's beating just fine.'

-Hmm. A perfectly healthy living being should attract vital energy, not deathly energy, and perform proper circulation arts.

'Did I do something wrong?'

The Cyan Spirit snorted at Mok Kyung-un's question.

It wasn't a matter of right or wrong.

She was merely intrigued by how he defied logic.

-Doesn't your heart feel like it might burst, or your head like it might split?

'Yes, but no such feelings.'

'How peculiar. Truly peculiar. You're the first mortal like this.'

'Is that so? May I ask something too?'

The Cyan Spirit took a deep drag from her pipe and exhaled, speaking in an annoyed tone.

-Hoo. What do you want to know?'

'Nothing much. How can I gather more deathly energy?'

-What for? Planning to form a dantian with that energy?'

'Exactly.'

The Cyan Spirit's red lips twitched at Mok Kyung-un's words.

She hated this mortal for binding her, but she was also curious.

What form of power would emerge if he formed and wielded a dantian with deathly energy instead of vital?

'Deathly energy in a living human body...'

Quite intriguing.

She tapped her pipe with her finger and said.

-Fine. I'll tell you. There's the simplest way.

'What is it?'

-Kill them.

'......Killing?'

-Any living thing, human or otherwise, turns its vital energy into deathly energy upon death. That's what you absorbed before, right?

At first, even the Cyan Spirit had doubted it.

Living humans couldn't absorb deathly energy, after all.

Mok ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kyung-un smacked his lips slightly at her words.

'What a shame. I thought that might be quickest, but it'd get quite troublesome. So I can't just kill indiscriminately right now. Any other ways?'

'What a shame, he says...'

The more she learned about him, the clearer it became he was no ordinary human.

His thinking was completely different.

-If that's too hard, change the place and time.

'Place and time?'

-Places like medicine halls are for saving lives to begin with. With vital energy overflowing, how much deathly energy do you think you can gather?'

'Oh.'

Mok Kyung-un nodded as if understanding.

Seeing this, the Cyan Spirit shook her head.

-Vital energy peaks just before dawn, when life stirs. That's when it's most abundant. When's the opposite?'

'At dusk?'

She chuckled.

-No.

'No?'

-You might think so, but the time when deathly energy is fullest is specific.

'When is that?'

-From Zi hour to mid-Yin hour. It's called the hour of the departed.'

'Hour of the departed? Sounds plausible.'

-The peak is early Chou hour in between. That's when deathly energy is most abundant.'

'I should aim for then. And places overflowing with yin energy, like graves.'

-Not bad thinking, mortal.

The Cyan Spirit raised the corner of her red lips.

But she quickly schooled her expression, aware of it.

Mok Kyung-un inwardly chuckled at her but said without showing it.

'Thanks for telling me. But do you know why the escort Go Chan is like that, and why the Demon Monk is in that state?'

He had been curious about this too.

-You're quick to wonder. That mortal tried to...

She almost said it was because he had tried to stop Mok Kyung-un's suicidal reverse circulation, but she quickly switched targets.

She pointed at the Demon Monk with her pipe to speak, but

-Oooooh... oooooh...

A strange sound came from outside.

It sounded like a bird crying, or perhaps a fox wailing, depending on how you heard it.

Puzzled, now a rustling sound came from somewhere.

Mok Kyung-un looked there.

'What is it?'

It seemed near the left side of the bed, but nothing was there.

-Rustle rustle!

But now the sound came from the right.

He looked again, but still nothing.

Finding it odd, suddenly

-Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Shhhshshshshsh!

Sounds erupted from everywhere.

Turning his gaze, black things were now crawling, filling the floor.

They were insects.

All kinds, too numerous to count.

'......What is this?'

-More trouble than expected, mortal.

'Pardon?'

-The armadillo.

One of the Central Plains' three forbidden texts, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, states thus:

In the deep mountains of Yeoah Mountain lives a ferocious beast called the armadillo.

It has a bird's beak, owl-like eyes, and a snake-like tail.

The armadillo avoids humans.

Its cry sounds like calling its own name.

Where the armadillo appears, insects swarm, no rice grain is harvested, and it becomes barren wasteland.

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