Qualification to Have a Chance (4)
“Mm……”
Wang Geumsan’s eyes drooped at the corners.
He knew all too well that sects who revered martial prowess strove endlessly for greater power. He saw it as no different from those who worshipped gold and obsessed over money.
But he’d never imagined their obsession could run this deep.
“What the hell is this?”
“They call it a Gu-ryeong-sa, a Spirit-Saving Snake.”
At Jin Taesan’s reply, Wang Geumsan’s gaze shifted back to the creature dubbed the Gu-ryeong-sa.
True to its name, it resembled a snake—but not the typical wriggling kind. Its entire outer shell looked as hard and unyielding as armor, and two small horns protruded from its head. No matter how you sliced it, this wasn’t your garden-variety serpent.
“You’re gonna feed this to the kids?”
No matter how much power it promised, it didn’t look remotely edible.
This has gotta be a no-go, right?
“……To be precise, we’re not feeding them the Gu-ryeong-sa itself. We extract the energy inside……”
Jin Taesan knew full well that Tae-eul Gate was struggling with internal energy issues. He’d heard they lacked the means to produce spirit pills and were scouring every avenue for supplements.
“Use every means at your disposal!”
He’d given that order himself, commanding his own merchant groups and others to gather intel on spirit medicines. He’d passed the list to Jin Taesan, who’d selected the essentials and sent his herb gatherers out for the ingredients. That was his last memory of it.
What the hell had happened in the meantime?
“Urgh……”
And now this freakish snake was sitting in their shared office.
“……We can’t just feed it raw. The Gu-ryeong-sa’s poison is too potent, so it requires special processing. Turning it into a spirit pill would maximize its effects, but……”
Ah, so that’s what all the roundabout talk boiled down to.
“You’re saying we can’t use it right now?”
He got that much. Spirit pill production was a closely guarded secret for every sect—hard to obtain or replicate. Tae-eul Gate opting for raw spirit medicines instead was unavoidable. Even one being a bizarre snake? Fine, he could wrap his head around that.
But.
Why the hell did you bring it to the office?!
To Wang Geumsan’s protest, Jin Taesan replied calmly.
“It’s a spirit medicine…… We can’t handle it carelessly.”
“No…… I get that, but couldn’t you just stash it in the warehouse? It’s, uh…… kinda creeping me out.”
Jin Taesan, who’d been impassively reviewing documents, turned to him.
“Are you scared?”
At what felt like a jab from Jin Taesan, Wang Geumsan’s eyes bulged.
“……Ha! Hah! The nerve! As if I, Wang Geumsan, could fear some puny little snake pup?!”
If you’re not scared, then why puff up your chest like that?
“Didn’t I tell you? Back in my escort days, I ran into a white tiger the size of a house!”
White tiger, my ass……
That instant.
“……!”
Jin Taesan’s face twisted in shock as he stared at the Gu-ryeong-sa.
“I-it…… it opened its e-eyes!”
“What?!”
Wang Geumsan jolted in tandem, leaping to the corner of the office.
So the rumors were bullshit—he had trained in martial arts. How else could that hefty frame vault so high?
“Q-quick, get away……!”
His conscience kicking in, he glanced back at his dear friend Jin Taesan, fearing calamity—
“White…… tiger……?”
Jin Taesan’s brow furrowed, nostrils flaring. Wang Geumsan looked down.
……The Gu-ryeong-sa was still deep in slumber.
“……Pfft, ahem. Must’ve been my mistake.”
A wave of humiliation burned Wang Geumsan’s face beet red.
Ignoring him, Jin Taesan barely stifled his laughter.
“No need to worry. Winter’s hibernation season for Gu-ryeong-sa—they won’t wake till spring.”
Wang Geumsan shot him a demonic glare, but Jin Taesan feigned nonchalance.
“A man who fears not a house-sized white tiger surely won’t flinch at a mere snake, right, Lord Wang?”
“……”
Now he was just toying with him!
But snapping back would mean defeat. Wang Geumsan puffed up exaggeratedly.
“Hahum! What do you take me for?!”
He stomped toward the Gu-ryeong-sa, chest out.
“Think I’d cower before some lowly beast?!”
Tap! Tap!
His gestures were grand, but the impacts on the iron cage were pitifully light. Jin Taesan struggled to hide his smirk.
How could a man who never buckled before imperial nobles fear an arm-length snake?
Still, better quit while ahead—before he got sulky. He’d been thinking shared offices cut the boredom anyway.
“H-hey.”
“Yes?”
Wang Geumsan’s face had drained white.
“L-look at this. It…… it opened its eyes.”
The lord’s such a lousy liar. Didn’t he know Jin Taesan would see through pranks this obvious?
True to form, he couldn’t resist revenge—but Jin Taesan swallowed a laugh.
A Gu-ryeong-sa that slept through winter fires suddenly waking? Absurd.
But he’d teased once already, so he’d play along. Slack off here, and he’d endure a week of stony silence.
Jin Taesan set down his papers, raising both hands theatrically.
“Oh no! Really? This is bad.”
“I-I’m telling you, it’s really awake!”
“Sure, sure. We need to find someone to make the pill fast. Worried if that physician Jin Sowoon’s sending has the skills.”
He nodded along vaguely and returned to work—
Clang!
“Eek!”
The cage rattled hard; Wang Geumsan yelped.
Man, even at his age, pranks this childish were fun?
Time to rein it in. The Gu-ryeong-sa was valuable spirit medicine, but its poison made even seasoned handlers wary……
Clang!
Another violent shake.
Okay, overdoing it.
“Lord Wang…… enough with the pranks.”
As he warned—
Jin Taesan saw it.
Gleaming yellow eyes snapped open, glaring at them both.
Why the hell is it awake……?
No time for thought.
Hiss—
The Gu-ryeong-sa coiled and shot forward like an arrow, slamming the cage.
Thud!
The sturdy bars shifted a full foot from the impact. Realizing its prison, it writhed to escape.
“H-hey…… d-do something!”
True to its spirit beast name, it grasped the situation fast. Seeing the bars unyielding, it slithered to the end and coiled tight.
Then, like a siege catapult, it launched itself repeatedly.
Even Jin Taesan, a martial artist, gaped at nature’s divine technique.
Whoa! A spirit beast was a spirit beast!
“Hey! Not the time to admire it!”
Snapped back by Wang Geumsan, Jin Taesan cleared his throat and edged toward the door.
“Don’t worry. No Gu-ryeong-sa can break these bars and……”
“Damn it! Then why’s it keep trying to get out?!”
“Huh? You curse too, Lord Wang?”
“Fix this, damn you!”
As Wang Geumsan clutched his sleeve—
Hiss—
The coiled Gu-ryeong-sa smashed again with ferocious motion.
Thud-crash!
The cage shifted another foot. Enraged by the unbreaking prison, it seemed even more vicious.
Hiiiiss—
Maw gaping, four razor fangs dripped venom. Its cry made both men shudder.
“S-see? It can’t get out.”
“Doesn’t look like it—the bars are denting bad!”
“Denting, sure—but not breaking. How could a mere beast overcome human craft……”
Thud-crash!
“Urk!”
Wang Geumsan shoved Jin Taesan toward it while steadying his near-fall—instinct overriding their vaunted friendship.
“D-do something quick. Put it to sleep or kill it.”
“Can’t kill it! Then it loses value as……”
“L-look! Look at it!”
Switching tactics, it gnashed its fangs into the bars.
Crunch!
Fangs protruding outside looked even deadlier.
“D-don’t worry. No matter its bite force, these steel bars……”
“Why steel then?! It’s a spirit beast! Should’ve used at least profound iron!”
“Lord Wang! Steel’s not for hoes! A mere……”
Crunch! Grind!
After testing, it pried at the gaps.
And then.
“Kyaaak! The cage! The cage!”
“Kyaaak!”
Hard to believe those shrill screams came from grown men with frost in their sideburns.
Crunch! Thud-crash! Crunch! Thud-crash!
Fully berserk, the Gu-ryeong-sa thrashed wildly. The small cage tumbled and jerked, dropping their hearts with each motion.
Griiind!
Finally, the bars gaped wide enough. It coiled tight and rocketed out, widening the gap further.
At last.
Thud-crash! Bang!
The freed Gu-ryeong-sa rolled across the floor and hit the wall.
“……!”
“……!!!”
Their faces blanched white.
“S-save me!”
Wang Geumsan bolted first, yanking the door—
Clang!
“……Huh?”
Clang-clang!
……The door wouldn’t budge.
Clang-clang-clang!
“Uwaaaah!”
As Wang Geumsan rattled madly, Jin Taesan joined, but it held firm.
“I said fix it ages ago! Lord Wang!”
“Don’t blame me now! You brought the damn monster!”
“What now?!”
“Why ask me?! You’re the martial artist! Use that legendary Tae-eul Sword Emperor technique to subdue it!”
“……Step back. I’ll smash it with Great Ocean Palm.”
“No! Not old Tae-eul arts—the Sword Emperor ones!”
“I was busy making money—never learned ’em!”
“Damn it! I’m disappointed in you! Disappointed!”
“Great Ocean Palm!”
Thwack!
Infused with inner energy, but the technique’s weak power couldn’t dent the first-rate carpenter’s door.
—Lord Wang! I’ll make the office door sturdy enough to withstand cannon fire.
A fleeting image of the carpenter’s smug thumbs-up.
While Wang Geumsan glared at the memory—
Hiiiiss—
The venomous Gu-ryeong-sa approached, as if knowing who caged it.
“Uwaaaah! Anyone! Save me! Over here!!”
“Great Ocean Palm!”
As it coiled at a distance, ready to spring, despair etched their faces.
Then.
Click.
The door opened from outside; they tumbled out.
“L-Lord Wang? Merchant Lord?”
Sprawled ignobly, they blinked at the servant’s confusion.
“R-run! Monster! A monster’s chasing us!”
“Monster?”
“Yeah! One that bit through the cage and escaped……”
As Jin Taesan and Wang Geumsan scrambled out—
The unfamiliar man with the servant peered inside.
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Huh?”
Before Wang Geumsan could reply, the coiled Gu-ryeong-sa shot toward all four like an arrow.
“Eeeek!”
The servant shrieked; the man casually stepped in, snatching its neck.
“Whoa there. Strong little bugger. Isn’t this a Gu-ryeong-sa?”
“Huh?”
“Raise the temperature slowly, and they wake right up from hibernation.”
The beast that shredded steel hung limp in his grip.
“Cold snaps kill ’em, though.”
He carried it to the yard and shoved it into the snow. Its frantic thrashing slowed, then stilled.
How much time passed?
It dangled lifelessly in his hand.
“For indoor storage, keep it cool and shaded.”
“……”
His utterly nonchalant face left Jin Taesan and Wang Geumsan dumbfounded.
“Uh…… who might you be?”
A lifesaver, practically glowing with halo. Wang Geumsan asked most deferentially.
The man smiled casually, as if used to such greetings.
“I’m Sama Jeong. Sent by Jin Sowoon from the academy.”
Hard to believe that refined smile subdued the monster in an instant.