Chapter 77
Chapter 77
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: The Taoist
-----------------------------------------------------------------
html, body { margin:0; padding:0; }
6장-도사
What is a Taoist?
Common folk tend to think of them as eccentrics who seclude themselves in the mountains, keeping their distance from the mundane world. They avoid alcohol and meat, aiming to ascend to immortality like cranes and such. But when those same people actually encounter a real Taoist, the emotions they feel are far removed from their preconceptions—more like bewilderment.
Proper Taoists might be one thing, but humans will be humans. Greed is inevitable, and compromising with reality isn't all that hard. So most who call themselves Taoists are really just warriors in robes.
True Taoists stay far from the secular world to begin with, so you rarely cross paths with them anyway. It's a statistical error, really.
-Clop clop
Hearing the horse's hooves striking the ground, I stared blankly into space with eyes that had lost their light.
How many days had it been since I'd spent entire days bouncing around in this carriage?
At least two weeks, for sure.
"..."
Only then did I remember why I'd fled the mountains for the jianghu, despite knowing full well how dangerous it was.
'I'm so bored I'm going insane...'
Boredom.
Anyone hearing that might call it ridiculous, but from my perspective, it wasn't.
Imagine living on Earth, gorging on global entertainment via high-speed internet in real time... then suddenly getting dropped into a world where even letters travel by pigeon.
'Why murim of all places...!!'
I'd lamented that question countless times since arriving in this world.
Right after the injustice of possessing this body, that was the next biggest gripe.
If it'd been a proper fantasy world, there'd at least be plenty to enjoy. But no—low tech level, ruled by raw power. Murim, of all things.
If I'd had a choice back when I first possessed this body, I'd have picked fantasy without hesitation.
At least there, you'd have magic faucets and whatnot.
'...Well. I've adapted somehow by now.'
If the chance to return to Earth popped up now, I'd have to think long and hard.
Ten years ago? No question. But now, with memories and relationships built here, going back alone feels... regrettable.
'Oh, right.'
I opened the shop window for the first time in ages.
Up top, as always, sat that eye-catching item asserting its presence.
'How the hell did they price this thing?'
Ten thousand points.
In time, that's 10,000 days—about 27 years. In gold, 10,000 taels. An insane sum.
You'd need to be the head of a massive merchant guild to even touch that kind of money.
No way to gather it through normal means, that's for sure.
'Lord of Heaven and Earth. Ten years of business, and not a single discount coupon?'
Cursing the Lord of Heaven and Earth had somehow wormed its way into my daily routine.
I figured the one who'd tossed me into this body and this world with a casual flick, along with this shop window, had to be connected to the heavens.
Summon me willy-nilly, then say "pay up 27 years or 10,000 taels if you wanna go home."
How could I not curse them? Or even hack at them.
Not just the shameless pricing—the heavens' twisted sense of humor while I read the celestial signs hadn't exactly been rare.
'Come to think of it, no heavenly punishment lately. Guess I've gotten used to it.'
Back in the day, a little trash talk would get thunder rumbling in warning right away. Lately? Nothing.
Had they gotten used to me?
-Crunch
'Gotta find a better way to trash talk...'
No snappy comeback like the old days. No fun in it.
As I said, I was bored out of my skull.
Plenty of reason to blaspheme against the heavens.
'Ah.'
Digging through my Earth memories, I unearthed something promising.
I hadn't been a huge fan, but it'd trended hard and left an impression. Still stuck with me.
'But is this really okay to try?'
What if it actually pissed them off? Could be unfixable.
'Nah, no way. After all the crap they've pulled on me.'
After all that trouble, a little prank wouldn't make them try to kill me, right?
Deep breath. Then I fired off the line I'd been mulling.
'Incompetent♥ meddler who can't even interfere properly in the mortal world.'
[...]
Something felt off. I decided against it.
Nope. Not this.
Yeah.
Abandoning the heaven-trolling, I glanced around.
Only person nearby? Sword Empress.
You might say, "Then just hang with her!"
"..."
But since that day, something had shifted in her mood. She barely talked to me anymore.
If I forced the issue, she'd chat a bit, but I could tell she wasn't into it.
'Did I do something wrong...?'
I'd been blackout drunk. No clue what happened.
Had I offended her while wasted?
No way to know, no way to fix it.
And I knew exactly what was needed in times like this.
"Sword Empress. Let's talk."
Trouble between people? Talk it out.
I went straight for the confrontation.
"...I'm thinking about some things right now. Later, maybe..."
"You've been dodging like this for two weeks straight."
"..."
"Do you hate me or something?"
"N-no! Absolutely not! Why on earth would I hate you?!"
Just testing the waters, but her reaction was explosive.
Startled me for a second.
"N-no... You've just been avoiding me so much, I thought maybe I'd become a burden."
"Th-that's impossible!"
Did my words hit that hard? Her cheeks flushed as she flailed her hands, flustered.
"So I'm not a bother, then?"
"O-of course not."
"Good."
I could tell she wasn't lying. From traveling together, I knew lies showed on her face.
Sighing inwardly with relief, I spoke up.
"If there's no issue, let's chat more often. You're all I've got."
"...Huh?"
Shaanxi was still far off, and it was just us two in the carriage. No avoiding it.
Spending that time spacing out alone? I'd lose my mind for real.
"Wh-what do you mean by that?"
"Huh? It's just us in this carriage."
"Ah..."
Sword Empress let out an odd sigh.
'Did I say something weird?'
No idea what was wrong with my words.
After reuniting with Soyeon and rethinking my relationship with him, talking to him had become difficult.
I felt unworthy of him. To ease the pain even a little, I'd tried sorting out my feelings.
But splitting up here, far from Shaanxi, offered no guarantee he'd return safely. So I'd planned to travel together until Shaanxi, then keep proper distance after.
Sorting feelings wasn't easy, though.
Every moment of conversation only deepened my affection—it never shrank.
Sometimes memories of that day—the healing I had to forget—resurfaced, stirring more chaos.
The temptation of my inner demon whispered to try it just once more. Even on the road to Shaanxi, I had to keep my distance.
Trapped in the carriage, avoidance meant dodging talks.
But apparently, it was worse than I'd thought.
"Do you hate me or something?"
That hit like a storm of thoughts.
Did he think I hated him?
Had my distancing hurt him?
What if he felt resentful because of it?
In that brief moment, worries and doubts flooded in.
Panicking, I waved my hands and explained. Thankfully, he wasn't too upset.
But then:
"If there's no issue, let's chat more often. You're all I've got."
My mind blanked. No thoughts.
"...Huh?"
The word slipped out dumbly.
But only for a moment.
Once I registered what he'd said—
-Thump thump thump thump
My heart went wild.
An inexplicable heat rose.
A unfamiliar craving surged from my lower abdomen, begging release.
But his follow-up words doused that fire with cold water.
"Huh? It's just us in this carriage."
"Ah..."
Thinking back, he was always like this.
Casual words and actions from him would set me off... only for me to learn later they meant nothing special.
"...Hoo."
I circulated my qi to suppress the turmoil.
For now, I could force it down. But what if a day came when I couldn't?
...That day must never come.
Never.