Spirit Herbs: Gone One Moment, Here the Next (1)
'No, not those bitches—just this one bitch.'
I swallowed my rage and replayed what had just happened. An hour ago, I'd been grinning like an idiot on my way back to the dorm when someone suddenly snatched my Azure Stone Oil. Come to think of it, there was no guarantee this was really Emei Sect territory. She had long hair, not a shaved head like a nun...
'The moon's high overhead right now—why's her shadow so damn long?'
The thought flashed through my mind, and I snapped my head up. There, atop a boulder on the mountain, a figure uncurled like a cat stretching out.
'Of course. Why would a ghost steal elixirs? People are scarier than any ghost.'
My fist clenched unconsciously. Her clothes and wild, disheveled hair didn't scream nun. I called out,
"Hey, you crazy bitch?"
"Yeah?"
"What? You are?"
"Hee hee hee. Uhihihi, hihihihihihihihi!"
Far from denying it, she just beamed down at me like a total lunatic. Yup, certified madwoman. Sure, a deranged martial arts master was its own cliché in the jianghu. Her hair had gone stark white already, so it wasn't some congenital intellectual disability—more like she'd gone insane practicing her techniques. I gulped. Things were getting tense.
This was one of the jianghu's most reviled figures: a woman. Sure, she wasn't right in the head, but she had to be stronger than a five-year-old. Her lightness skill when she'd snatched the Azure Stone Oil earlier had been no joke—expert at hiding, with movements this wild and free.
"You from the Phantom Ghost Sect or something?"
"Nope!"
'Guess that's a no.'
Thinking she understood at least a little, I pressed on.
"Why's a shadowy expert like you after a kid's elixir anyway?"
She just tilted her head, so I simplified it.
"Give me back my elixir!"
"Nope!"
"What the hell do you even want?! Please, just spare my life! Inner energy is life for us martial artists, you know? If you keep acting like this, my house cat's gonna die! The cat's gonna die! We have to save the cat!"
My desperate threats, stern lectures, and cat-baiting fell flat. She just giggled down at me. Then—whoosh—she tossed something. I caught it on reflex and blinked. I'd thought it was a stick from how long it was, but it had real weight.
"What the hell is this?"
As I looked up, her figure had vanished.
"So, you lost the Azure Stone Oil?"
Dang Yeonhwa, spotting me slumped on the way back to the dorm, didn't bat an eye.
"For real."
"I see."
She nodded without a hint of doubt. I poured out my grievances anyway.
"My elixir... a whole thirty years worth..."
"Why didn't you just take it right then?"
Her casual reply made my blood boil.
'Fuck! I was the idiot thinking that warm vibe would last!'
She'd gone back to her usual stoic face. Should I beg her to find it? Nah, pointless—she wouldn't buy it. Glancing around, I spotted a suspicious shadow. I grabbed her skirt hem and clung.
"Wait! There, that madwoman! Lady Yeonhwa! Go get my Azure Stone Oil!"
"No, that's not..."
The figure wasn't fleeing—it was closing in. I gawked.
"Father?"
Why the hell was he popping out of the woods? Father asked Dang Yeonhwa,
"What happened?"
"Ask your son."
I spilled the whole story. Father's face, after hearing it all, was oddly indifferent.
"So, what's that in your hand?"
"Oh, the madwoman gave it to me?"
It was heavy, about forty centimeters long—a dagger. I drew it from the sheath to show Father.
"Looks pretty good, right?"
I hadn't handled weapons yet, but I'd learned from forge tours what made a blade quality. This reminded me of something from my past life's media: Damascus steel, the legendary sword forged in the Middle East from ore mined only in India.
"I see."
Father seemed unimpressed, but Dang Yeonhwa let out a deep sigh.
"Yohwan, do you know what that pattern etched on the hilt is?"
"Huh? There is something."
"It's the mark of the Demonic Cult."
"Demonic Cult? You mean the Heavenly Demon God Cult?"
"That dagger's been passed down through generations to the Heavenly Demon God Cult's Seat of Brilliance."
"Wait, you know that much detail? Do you really need to know what Demonic Cultists carry?"
"Ahem."
So the madwoman was Demonic Cult? No wonder she was such a nasty piece of work. The righteous alliance must've driven her insane and locked her up here in Emei.
"Yohwan. That's no toy for you to keep."
"What? No way!"
"Dang Yohwan!"
Her sharp rebuke made me glance at the dagger again. At first, it was nothing special, but the iridescent patterns on the blade were mesmerizing. A Heavenly Demon God Cult weapon? It oozed cool factor—like a GI toting a Nazi-looted Luger P08!
"Still, it's valuable. Can't just toss it."
"Toss? I'll hold onto it for you!"
Father cut in.
"Want it? Take it."
"Hell yeah! Thanks, Dad!"
"Good lord—"
Dang Yeonhwa clutched her forehead—clear proof of the family head's authority.
"It's a mark of one of the Demonic Cult's top experts. Don't show it off anywhere, Yohwan."
"Got it, obviously!"
I recalled the specifics: one dose per decade of age. With no extras, Grandma Yeonhwa must've thrown a fit in front of the Emei head, dignity be damned. Father, as heir candidate, got plenty, but at ten, thirty years' worth was basically guaranteed for me too.
Anyway—Demonic Cult special item acquired!
The next day, at dawn. We all descended the mountain together. Moyong Yeong, thinking this was his first time meeting Father, was on his best behavior.
"Hello, Tang family head! That carriage driver we had? His driving was awful, and his attitude was rude! You should fire him."
I shot Moyong Yeong a side-eye as I boarded first, curious how Father would react to the slander right to his face.
"That driver's gone now."
"Awesome! Better for the Tang family's reputation!"
"Ambushed on the way back. Blood Cult's doing, looks like."
"Oh. Wait, really?"
Uncomfortable badmouthing the dead, Moyong Yeong shut up fast. Wait, hadn't Uncle Moyong said he'd been injured fighting Blood Cultists? We'd diagnosed the wound and pegged his attackers as our clansmen, but why keep that from him? He'd seemed fine lightness-skill-ing back, but then grabbed luggage from the carriage and headed to Emei.
"Father, not riding?"
At my brother's question, Dang Yeonhwa replied,
"Probably business with the sect head."
I clicked my tongue, watching Father vanish in a blink.
'Lady Yeonhwa did go hard on the Emei head.'
Not that it wasn't Yang Wife's fault anyway.
"Young master? Something wrong?"
"Pipe down, will you?"
"Yes, elder!"
Yang Wife straightened up quick. Effective, maybe? 'Strength really is everything.'
A wish formed on the bumpy ride home: just as strong as Lady Yeonhwa. Minus the celibacy, of course. Moyong Yeong, sensing the Tang vibe, stayed quiet, and the gentle rocking lulled us all to sleep.
Family head Dang Myeongseok skipped the sect head and headed down yesterday's shortcut. Emei territory, but plenty of trees and rocks for cover.
"Yowch!"
He didn't flinch—instead, he pinched the attacker's cheek between thumb and forefinger.
"Eeeeng..."
Of all his many foes, this sibling ranked in the top five. Even the Tangs weren't immune to family drama. Dang Myeongseok had always hated the cheeky, noisy troublemaker. Her father had even died because of her—treating his qi deviation-plagued daughter had drained the previous head's congenital qi. Despite that sacrifice, she hadn't fully recovered her wits, so he'd left her with Emei.
"You recognized me, huh—your own kid?"
"Ah, aaah!"
She fumbled open the bundle she'd brought. Inside: snacks from Third Wife.
"Eat."
She devoured them ravenously.
The 'maknae' constantly stirring trouble? Definitely her mother's genes—or qi deviation in the womb. Like Dang Yeonhwa, she'd clocked the dagger instantly. When he'd found his missing sister, she'd clutched that hated enemy's possession—the man who'd assaulted her—and insisted on keeping it.
Auntie seemed fond enough, but he still despised her spawn. That's why he'd let the boy have it. Maybe it'll lead him to his bastard father up in Tianshan.
"Baaa—"
"Hahee-ya, this is..."
Not the lost Azure Stone Oil, but an elixir mimicking a pill's form. Dang Myeongseok saw through it at once—an item impossible to get from a righteous sect like Emei.
"Baa!"
Like her stubborn childhood self, she grinned brightly, spread her fingers wide, and shoved the pill at him—as if urgently tasking him to deliver it.
He glared.
"You little rascal."
If she were sane, he'd have smacked her head.