The Scavenger Dog of the Wasteland
I left the viewers bickering among themselves in the chat and unfurled the scroll. There was nothing written on it. The idea was that whatever I wanted to find would appear as text if I thought about it clearly. What I sought was one of the old masters of Murim, now living in seclusion somewhere in the mountains. He had once been the head disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, but with a single-minded obsession to learn other martial arts, he had abandoned his guaranteed future and fled the sect like a madman. When I was crushing the righteous factions, the sight of him rummaging through the ashes of the places I had burned resembled a wild dog feasting on rotting corpses. In Murim, people called him the Scavenger Dog. The man himself insisted on being called a Martial Arts Researcher because he studied and spread martial techniques far and wide, but no one ever listened.
From someone who had once cooperated with him, I could say that the Scavenger Dog was, more or less, a decent human being. If you ignored the fact that he was trash who bared his fangs at the weak, wagged his tail at the strong, and would sell out even his own family if it meant acquiring a valuable martial art. Setting aside his personality flaws, he was the perfect person for what I wanted to do. He had reached the pinnacle of the Purple Mist Divine Art and possessed extensive experience learning and teaching countless techniques, so he would be skilled at instruction. Moreover, once I beat him into submission, he would quickly understand his place and tuck his tail between his legs.
Where else in the world could I find such a conveniently usable talent?
As I silently repeated in my mind, Tell me where the Scavenger Dog is, black brush strokes began to etch themselves onto the scroll.
Go to the slums of Hanzhong.
So he really was staying where I thought he would.
“For now, let’s head to Hanzhong as the scroll instructed.”
The distance between Hanzhong and Hwaeum was considerable. It was nowhere near the leisurely walking distance I had covered when visiting Mount Hua in the past. It would normally require several days of travel. But for the current me, it posed no problem at all. Because now that I had completed the prologue, I had access to the fast travel function.
I opened the Hwaryong Muin menu and scrolled down until I found the region movement option. The moment I tapped the text with my finger, the window changed to display a map of Murim. As soon as I thought about wanting to go to Hanzhong, the location lit up on the map.
Will you travel to this location?
“Yes.”
Fast travel will activate in 10 seconds.
The moment the message appeared, a circular pattern began to draw itself beneath my feet. It seemed the fast travel would trigger once the circle was complete.
“Whoa?!”
Baru, jolted awake by the strange noise, stood on my shoulder and glared at the circle forming on the ground.
“Min-ga. Are you not under some wicked sorcery?! The aura coming from that circle feels ominous!”
“I activated it myself.”
“...You did? So you can use Taoist magic as well?”
It wasn’t entirely wrong if viewed broadly, so I nodded. Baru stared at me with sparkling eyes. That gaze full of admiration felt rather burdensome.
“Then what kind of Taoist magic is this? I pride myself on knowing most techniques, yet I have never seen anything like this!”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Executing fast travel.
The instant the circle finished drawing, pure white light surged upward from its center and swallowed my vision. When the light faded moments later, we found ourselves in a completely different landscape.
While Hwaeum couldn’t be called a small village, it had carried the strong atmosphere of a remote frontier city. Hanzhong, on the other hand, felt like the true heart of the region. Buildings stretched out in long rows as if every inch of land was too precious to waste, and the streets were packed with people. The combined chatter of countless voices created a living background symphony, overflowing with human vitality.
I knew Hanzhong was a major city, but had it always been this enormous? I was certain I had burned this place once while destroying the Zhuge Clan, so how could it have grown to this scale? Whenever something defied my common sense, it usually had something to do with Hwaryong Muin players. This was probably no exception.
“Waaaaah!”
While I was quietly coming to that conclusion, a cry of wonder burst out beside me. Baru’s tails swished nonstop as she took in the sight of the bustling city. She turned to me, her voice brimming with excitement.
“Min-ga! Were you such a magnificent Taoist that you could wield miracles like this?!”
“To be precise, it’s one of the special abilities outsiders possess.”
“Hoo. Whether it’s summoning me from the rocky mountain or using such wonders, outsiders truly are astonishing beings.”
Even I had to admit that players were downright broken existences. The fact that they didn’t fear death was impressive enough, but they also had various special functions and could grow stronger faster than others through quests and rewards. Of course, since I was one of them now, I kept my mouth shut. Had I still been an ordinary person of Murim, I might have complained.
“What kind of city is this that it has so many people?”
“It’s Hanzhong.”
“Hanzhong. I had heard it was a great city, but I never imagined it would be this vast. Simply wandering around this place could easily take several days!”
It seemed the mere sight of the massive city thrilled Baru. I let her enjoy the scenery to her heart’s content and scanned our surroundings. At first glance, the streets looked no different from before I had appeared, but that wasn’t actually the case. Many people were stealing glances at me. They tried to hide their interest, but none of it escaped my qi sense. Since people of Murim would have no reason to pay attention to a newcomer like me, the owners of these gazes had to be players.
“Be honest. Among those watching the broadcast right now, are there any near me?”
The chat exploded with messages the instant I asked. It looked like quite a few people were staying in Hanzhong. Since this was an online game, I had considered the possibility of running into other players like I had with Ha-rin, but I hadn’t expected there to be this many.
“You didn’t all follow me here to Hanzhong, did you?”
“Then why are there so many players here?”
So because this was originally a place with a high player population, there were naturally many people watching my stream as well.
I had been about to tell them not to get involved, but the viewers already knew and answered my concerns. It was reassuring to know I wouldn’t be bothered, but I wondered what kind of incidents had occurred in the past to necessitate such a policy. I should ask Enry about it later. Since she had been streaming for a long time, she probably knew.
With a new question in mind, I started walking. Come to think of it, the message on the scroll had been rather vague. It simply said to go to the slums of Hanzhong. Since I already had a rough idea of where the Scavenger Dog was, I could walk without hesitation, but anyone else would have been completely lost.
As I grumbled internally, an arrow appeared in front of me. It was exactly the same shape as the one that had appeared when Geomseon tested me. Yes. This was more like it. An arrow that pointed toward what I sought.
The direction it indicated matched where I wanted to go, so there was no need to change course.
“Min-ga. Where are we going?”
Baru sounded disappointed as she watched the central district grow distant. She must have really enjoyed sightseeing.
“I have something I need to do.”
“Were we not here simply to tour the city? Hoo. Then it cannot be helped.”
Her ears drooped. She had clearly been looking forward to exploring the city. For someone who had spent her entire life confined to a rocky mountain, the vibrant scenery of a bustling city must have been incredibly fascinating.
“Once my business is finished, we can explore the city together.”
I didn’t know the new Hanzhong very well, but the viewers surely did. If I asked them for recommendations, it would definitely be a fun experience.
“Really?”
“Do I look like someone who would lie?”
“You promise?”
“Yes. I promise.”
As if her earlier dejection had been an act, Baru began humming cheerfully on my shoulder. Good grief. Satisfying this girl’s expectations would probably require spending an entire day wandering around with her.
Following the arrow, we soon reached the slums. People lying sprawled on the ground. A man leaning against a wall, laughing as if drugged. Buildings that looked ready to collapse at any moment, and a foul stench. Countless wary eyes watching me. The scenery here remained unchanged. The residents looked a little better fed than before, so their lives seemed to have improved somewhat, but the overall atmosphere was the same.
Continuing after the arrow, a run-down shop came into view. The only things it sold were shriveled vegetables and rotting grain. It was questionable whether the owner even intended to run a business. When I stopped in front of it, the old man tending the stall looked me over.
“Looking for something?”
If my memory served, I was supposed to tell the old man what I wanted to buy and for how much, and he would let me into the hidden area. But I couldn’t remember the exact password. In the past, he had let me in just by seeing my face without needing any code.
After thinking for a moment, I silently walked past the old man and headed inside as the arrow directed.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!”
The old man shouted to stop me, but I ignored him. He didn’t have the ability to block me anyway. Following the arrow, I came upon an old cabinet blocking my path. It looked like part of the wall, but the arrow continued pointing behind it. That could only mean one thing. There was a space behind it. There was probably some mechanism to move the cabinet, but I hated bothering with such things.
I threw a punch and smashed the cabinet to pieces. A staircase leading downward was revealed. So the Scavenger Dog was down there.
I had successfully found the hidden passage, but there was something I needed to do before descending. When I turned around, the men who had been watching me since I entered the slums were standing there.
“You. What the hell are you?”
The old man from the shop spoke in a sharp voice, as if he were their leader.
“Answer properly. If you spout any nonsense, we’ll mess you up.”
“Mess me up? You lot? Me?”
Now that was amusing. Perfect timing. I had been planning to cause a ruckus anyway to draw out the Scavenger Dog. Should I beat these guys down and catch his attention?