Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: A Good, Naive Guy
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“That's not all.”
“…Not all? What else is there?”
“Normally, when you take an elixir a second time, its effects diminish.”
“That's true.”
“But the elixirs I create are different. You can take them up to five times and still receive the full effect.”
My uncle, who had been shifting restlessly, finally shot up from his seat. My mother was so astonished her eyes went wide as saucers.
“What! Is that true?!”
My uncle was so excited that his voice was too loud, startling Mr. Yeongchun.
“Ah, my apologies. I got a little too excited.”
“Not at all. Your reaction is perfectly understandable. Even I couldn't believe it at first, despite having made it myself.”
That's why I spent ten years experimenting just to confirm it.
“Haha. Well, I'll be.”
What a windfall.
It was as if the heavens gave the Namgung family a disease, only to offer the cure.
On the other hand, I wished the heavens had never afflicted the Namgung family in the first place. But when do things in this world ever go as planned?
We had to gratefully accept the medicine we were given.
While my uncle and mother were momentarily lost in their astonishment, Mr. Yeongchun picked up a brush and began writing down the necessary ingredients.
He then handed the list to my mother. As she slowly looked over the ingredients, she noticed something odd and spoke up.
“There's Huangshan Maofeng here? Isn't that a type of tea?”
Huangshan Maofeng is a very rare tea that grows only on the seventh ridge of Mount Huang in southern Anhui. And the merchant guild that distributes this tea is none other than the Hangyeol Merchant Guild.
“Yes, that's correct. It's a very important ingredient.”
My mother's expression seemed slightly puzzled.
“First, how many elixirs do you need?”
My uncle answered.
“Hmm… about 600 should do it. Is that really possible?”
There were 300 members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade, 150 members of the Daeyeon Sword Brigade who were not yet fifteen, and 65 guards.
I also needed some, so I spoke up.
“I need 50 as well.”
“Why do you?”
“I have a use for them.”
My uncle's eyes widened for a moment before quickly returning to normal.
“He says he needs 50 more.”
“As long as there are enough ingredients, the quantity is not a problem.”
My mother spoke again.
“There's wild ginseng here?”
“Yes. All the ingredients on that list are important, but the wild ginseng is the most crucial.”
“That's fortunate. Our Hangyeol Merchant Guild has five roots of 500-year-old ginseng.”
My uncle leaned forward and asked.
“How many roots do we need?”
“For this many people, we'll need ten roots.”
“That's a shame. There was a rumor that ten roots of 500-year-old ginseng were found near Mount Huang two days ago.”
“A shame indeed. If it was two days ago, they must have already fallen into someone's hands.”
“Most likely.”
“What a pity. If you were to make it with 500-year-old ginseng, how much internal energy would one gain?”
“The price is too steep for me, so I've never made it, but I estimate it would be about 25 years' worth.”
“I-Is that true?”
When a martial artist consumes 500-year-old ginseng, they usually gain 15 to 20 years of internal energy. A thousand-year-old root grants between 40 and 50 years.
But finding a thousand-year-old root is like plucking a star from the sky. And ginseng less than 300 years old is practically useless to a martial artist.
“I believe so.”
“Haha. Sister-in-law, is there no way to acquire them?”
“If only there were. Ginseng of that age is sold the moment it appears. And it's not found often. Still, I'll see what I can find. If all else fails, would 300-year-old ginseng be acceptable?”
“Yes, that's more than enough. I'll just have to prepare it separately.”
“How much would a 300-year-old root provide?”
“It would be about 10 years.”
That's 10 years because Yeongchun is preparing it; consuming a 300-year-old root directly would grant 5 years at most.
Of course, even 5 years is precious in our current situation.
“Still, that's not bad.”
No, it was incredible.
Imagine gaining 10 years of internal energy, five times over.
Namgung Yul's mind was already racing, doing the calculations.
A grin stretched from ear to ear.
***
The next morning, Namgung Urin left the family estate. Not even fifteen minutes had passed before he ran into a beggar.
“Hey! Friend.”
Geolgae waved cheerfully.
“Were we friends?”
*Were we ever?*
*You’re more like my little brother.*
“Weren't we friends from the day we met?”
“Not only do I not have friends, but I especially don't befriend beggars.”
*This punk.*
*Still, he doesn't look like he completely detests me.*
“What about a place?”
He was asking if he had found a suitable place for the Black Snake Sect.
“I found a decent estate.”
“The owner?”
“Looks like they abandoned it. But it turns out someone already claimed it.”
“Are there many places like that?”
“Quite a few… no, wait. Someone has taken over all the empty houses and buildings in Hefei. As of yesterday, in fact.”
Namgung Urin stopped walking.
“Do you know who it was?”
“I do.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Geolgae was giving Namgung Urin a slanted look.
“Because that person is your mother.”
“…She works fast.”
She truly is fast.
I was just about to tell Geolgae to buy up those empty houses and buildings.
“Are you heading there now?”
He meant the place where the Black Snake Sect was.
“No.”
“Then where?”
“Let me ask you something. Do you know who got their hands on the 500-year-old ginseng recently found on Mount Huang?”
“Why do you ask? Ah! Don't tell me. Wow. Is that old man going to make it for you? No way.”
“Do you know or not?”
“I know. That guy is funny. If he was going to do this, why did he act that way with the Hyeoncheon Sect? What a character.”
As a member of the Beggars' Sect, he knew a lot of information, but he couldn't know the deep, personal circumstances of every individual.
“Tell me.”
“For free?”
“What. You want a bruise on your face as payment?”
*You utter bastard!*
“…The Iron Blood Sect.”
“Let's go.”
“Where?”
“Where else? The Iron Blood Sect.”
“…”
The moment the words left his mouth, Namgung Urin was already on his way.
“You're not serious, are you?”
*No way.*
*He can't be. But that 'no way' is what gets you killed.*
“Hey, you punk! You can't do that! You're a Namgung! Don't you know the Namgung family? Namgung? Huh!?”
Namgung Urin didn't even glance back.
“Wow. That bastard. The Namgung family is going to ruins because of him. Utter ruins.”
Geolgae trotted after Namgung Urin, but when Urin suddenly used his lightness technique, Geolgae had no choice but to follow suit, pushing himself to the limit.
“Agh. What a life!”
He never knew the life of a beggar could be this miserable.
***
The Iron Blood Sect is located in Huangshan County, a good distance south of Mount Huang. It was actually closer to the border of Zhejiang and Jiangxi, provinces teeming with members of the Unorthodox Faction.
As a result, the Iron Blood Sect had many conflicts with the Unorthodox Faction. To them, the Iron Blood Sect was a more fearsome place than the Namgung Family.
Before the War of Orthodox and Demonic Factions, they were second only to the Namgung Family in Anhui, but their power waned after their Sect Leader was severely injured during the war. They were on par with the Baekri Family when, not long ago, the Iron Blood Sect Leader passed away.
Having set out in the morning, Namgung Urin and Geolgae only managed to reach Huangshan County after sunset.
“Pant, pant, pant. Dammit. I'm gonna die.”
“You're too weak.”
“Weak? You're the weird one for not even being out of breath after using your lightness technique for so long! And if my master heard you call me weak, he'd grab the back of his neck and collapse!”
“He's at an age where it wouldn't be strange for him to grab his neck and collapse.”
“You crazy bastard.”
This guy would probably say something like that right to my master's face.
“If you're rested, let's get going again.”
“Aren't you hungry? Hey, let's at least grab some of those dumplings over there. We're almost there anyway.”
He had a point; I was getting a bit hungry.
“Alright.”
Without another word, Namgung Urin headed toward a vendor selling dumplings in the marketplace.
“That punk. At times like this, he seems like a good, naive guy. The more I get to know him, the less I understand.”
Geolgae shook his head from side to side.
A moment later, Namgung Urin returned with the dumplings.
“Here.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Namgung Urin and Geolgae ate the dumplings right there in the marketplace, not caring whether passersby stared or not.
Geolgae, who finished his dumplings first, spoke up.
“Ah, that was good. But hey, friend.”
“What?”
“In all my life as a beggar, this is the first time so many people have stared at me while I was eating dumplings.”
“You were paying attention to that while you ate?”
“Of course I was. People were staring like crazy. Doesn't it bother you?”
“No.”
“Sigh. What kind of person are you…?”
Geolgae was about to give up, but he couldn't, so he spoke again.
“Hey. You really don't get it? People weren't staring at us, they were staring at *you*.”
“I know.”
“Ah, you know?”
“Yeah. I'm not an idiot, of course I know.”
“W-What is it, then?”
“Because I'm handsome.”
“…”
…What kind of bastard is this?
“Hey, you're really shameless, you know that?”
“It's not about being shameless, I just don't pay it any mind. It's a natural occurrence.”
“That's a natural occurrence?”
“Yeah. For me. Does it bother you when people avoid you because you smell?”
“…No.”
“See. It's like that.”
“…No, that's…”
Sigh.
Forget it. Just forget it.
I'm the crazy one for even having this conversation with you.
“Let's go.”
“I can't go on. Eating the dumplings just made me feel emptier.”
“You've got to be kidding me.”
“We're going to take the ginseng from them whether we leave now or tomorrow, right? The mood is right, so why don't we have a drink? There's no rush.”
“Drinks?”
“Yeah. You seemed to hold your liquor well.”
“Fine. Drinks. Let's drink.”
“Punk. So decisive. You're buying the drinks, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And the snacks.”
“No.”
“Hey. Drinking without any snacks…”
Namgung Urin took out the dagger from his bosom, a keepsake from his father.
“This.”
“That… Ah. Good. You've never done this before, have you?”
Namgung Urin nodded.
“Alright. Then I'll teach you a thing or two.”
So, Namgung Urin bought liquor from a tavern, and he and Geolgae headed into the mountains and caught a wild boar.
A short while later.
“Wow… What are you?”
Geolgae had shown him how to catch a wild animal, gut it, and prepare it for eating.
“What?”
“Is this really your first time doing this?”
“Yeah. Why, am I good at it?”
“Yeah. You're so good it's baffling.”
“I'm just like that.”
“Heh. Ha. I'm speechless.”
And so, they roasted the wild boar and drank under the starlit sky, the stars serving as their seasoning.
Before they knew it, they were both quite drunk.
Geolgae called out to Urin.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“Ever thought of calling me your elder brother?”
“No.”
“Even if I'm stronger than you?”
“That won't happen either.”
“Damn it. By the way… do you know that your personality is really weird and shitty?”
“Yeah.”
“…You know and you still act like that?”
“I live as I was made.”
“Sigh. Let's not even talk about it.”
A few more cups of liquor were exchanged.
This time, Urin spoke.
“Let's stop drinking and go to sleep.”
“…What are you saying? Two guys… together…”
“Then I'm going to sleep first.”
“…”
He's a weird one, I tell you.
***
The next morning, Namgung Urin and Geolgae stopped at a spot where the main gate of the Iron Blood Sect was visible.
Namgung Urin pointed toward the main gate and asked Geolgae.
“What are they doing over there?”
“Ah. That. They're recruiting for the Sect Leader's personal sword brigade. Funny, isn't it? Recruiting outsiders for the Sect Leader's special sword brigade? Don't you think?”
“So he has a lot of opposition.”
Geolgae glared at Namgung Urin.
“What's with that look now?”
“A person should only be so talented and smart. Tsk.”
“Not funny.”
“Oh, yes, of course.”
“But if the Iron Blood Sect Leader can't even trust his own people, how can he trust outsiders with uncertain identities?”
“It just shows how much he distrusts those on the inside.”
“Even so.”
Namgung Urin thought the Iron Blood Sect Leader's idea was flawed. However, for Namgung Urin, it was a very helpful one.
“I'm going. Wait here.”
“W-Where?”
And with that, Namgung Urin headed for the main gate of the Iron Blood Sect.
“Th-That… crazy bastard!”
Talented and smart people weren't supposed to be that crazy.
I just can't figure out why that guy is the way he is.
“This is no time to be standing around.”
Ah, thanks to that madman, I'm going to have to run my legs off again.