Chapter 30
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 30
“If you have any last words, say them now.”
“Thank you... elders....”
Ise replied gruffly, “Enough with this ‘elders’ business. We’re sixteen. We’ve lived a fifth as long as you.”
Geum Ah sniffled softly for a long moment before forcing the corners of her lips upward. She knew he was only cracking a joke to cheer her up.
“…What a kind person.”
Seol Ryeong quietly wrapped her arms around Geum Ah, gently patting her back for quite a long while.
“It’s warm. It’s been so long since I felt a human’s embrace.”
“Geum Ah.”
“I will not depart with regrets.”
“…….”
“I am a mere, lowly creature of the Qi Refining stage, yet I met a fateful bond and was treated so warmly. I am not sad. Humans gave me a name, taught me love, showed me parting and longing, granted me hope, and now, finally, comfort me.”
Geum Ah offered them a deep bow.
“Thank you. Humans are truly lovely beings. Thanks to you, I lived a short life in happiness before leaving.”
A smile—whether born of laughter or tears—bloomed on her face.
“May you both remain safe and well. I will pray for you, even in death.”
With one final teardrop, she slowly closed her eyes.
There was no need to vanquish the Demon Ghost. As if refusing to force their hands into an unnecessary killing, she ended her own life.
Ise rubbed his heavy chest and turned his head toward Seol Ryeong.
“…….”
Seol Ryeong was crying even more mournfully than Geum Ah, thick tears tumbling down her cheeks.
“…Why are you—no, never mind.”
Ise let out a soft sigh and patted her back.
One way or another, I really hate Demon Ghosts, he thought.
* * *
After performing a soul pacification rite for Geum Ah’s spirit, he sealed the Bamboo Tube Beauty’s corpse into the Demon Ghost Sealing Scroll.
He then walked over to Seol Ryeong. Her face was puffy and swollen.
“Done crying?”
“…Mm-hmm.”
She rubbed her eyes vigorously, then looked at Ise with a resolute expression.
“Then let’s get down to business.”
“What business?”
“Looting the spoils of war.”
According to the Basic Manual of the Great Martial Dao: When cultivators engage in a life-or-death battle and one party falls, all remaining spoils belong, in principle, to the victor. Neither family nor acquaintances can claim ownership.
In other words, all of Cultivator Kim Si-won’s possessions belonged to them now.
For a mission offering a measly two Spirit Stones and three Contribution Points—which still had to be split between two people—they had suffered endlessly and burned through far too many resources. Kim Si-won had accumulated wealth for over seventy years. It only made sense to strip him clean to recoup their losses.
Ise had intended to do exactly that even if she hadn't mentioned it, but...
“Is that really okay? You’re not clinging to your whole ‘Dao Principles’ speech this time? Here I thought you’d tell me I’d get struck by a Heavenly Tribulation if I kept everything for myself.”
“…Winner-takes-all is natural law.”
“It must be my imagination that your ‘Dao’ only applies when it’s convenient for you, right?”
“Of course it’s your imagination. Let us go, Fellow Daoist Ise. It is a pity his corpse is already inside the Sealing Scroll, but there is surely seventy years’ worth of hidden wealth inside his Cave Abode.”
“I already emptied his corpse ages ago. Who do you take me for?”
“…When on earth did you do that?!”
“While you were busy bawling your eyes out.”
Ise jiggled a wrapped bundle of goods, showing it off.
Seol Ryeong looked utterly dumbfounded.
Truthfully, she had been thoroughly shocked during the fight. His breathtaking audacity, courage, and decisiveness were traits she couldn't hope to imitate. Watching him achieve enlightenment and break through his limits in the middle of a life-or-death battle felt like witnessing a truly dazzling talent.
She found herself wondering if the playful boy standing before her was really the same cultivator from moments ago.
“You really are full of surprises the more I get to know you,” she muttered.
“There was no Storage Pouch, though,” Ise noted. “I heard cultivators usually carry at least a small one.”
“Rogue Cultivators are notoriously poor. Even if we raid his Cave Abode, there might not be much.”
“That would be a real problem.”
Ise knitted his brows in genuine distress—though it was hard to take him seriously when he still smelled like roasted squid from his own charred flesh. He swallowed a pang of belated regret, thinking he should have kept his looting a secret.
* * *
Still, they had to search the place.
Park Gang-seo, a senior at the Qi Refining stage in the Great Martial Dao, had once said: Honestly, killing a cultivator and emptying their pockets is far more lucrative than hunting Demon Ghosts.
Back then, Ise thought it was just the nonsense of some charlatan Daoist. Now that he was in this position, his mindset had entirely changed.
He had always thought he possessed no greed for material wealth. However, he had absolutely no desire to return empty-handed after risking his life.
Especially not now. Now that he knew what Spirit Stones could buy, understood their true value, and had experienced the ruthless law of the jungle where the weak were devoured by the strong—from this moment on, the humble, noble Ise was dead. He was reborn as a miser, an incarnation of pure greed.
“There are so many consumable items.”
They gathered all the wealth hidden inside the Cave Abode and dumped it onto a table. They initially thought the place was empty, but Kim Si-won had craftily dug beneath the floorboards to stash his valuables.
The haul included:
About fifty Spirit Stones.
A few Demonic Path Cultivation Manuals.
Around twenty consumable Dharma Artifacts.
And one unidentified Dharma Artifact.
“You choose first,” Seol Ryeong offered. “If you pick an artifact, I’ll take Spirit Stones equivalent to its value. I need Spirit Stones more urgently than artifacts anyway.”
With a resolute face, Ise instantly swept all the Spirit Stones and Dharma Artifacts toward himself.
“Did you completely forget that I came out here to help you…?” she deadpanned.
Looking rueful, Ise picked up the only artifact with a unique shape.
Usually, single-use artifacts came in the form of pills to be crushed, pellets to be thrown, or talismans infused with spiritual energy. Strictly speaking, talismans and pills were classified as Dharma Objects rather than Dharma Artifacts, but most people lumped them together under "Dharma Artifacts" for convenience.
Among all the single-use Dharma Objects they secured, this was the only one made of iron, forged in the shape of a sickle.
“I’ll take this one for now.”
He didn't know what it was, but if it was a reusable Dharma Artifact, its base value would start at thirty Spirit Stones minimum.
Sure enough, Seol Ryeong grabbed thirty Spirit Stones to balance the trade.
When Ise injected spiritual energy into the artifact, it expanded and transformed into the shape of a saber. Well, a saber with a wide, flat blade. Honestly... it looked exactly like a kitchen knife from the Jeong Empire.
He couldn't tell if it had any other uses. He would have to ask the Cheongsangyeong Dharma Artifact Shopkeeper later.
Watching him channel spiritual energy into the artifact, Seol Ryeong tilted her head.
“Did your cultivation realm go up?”
“Yeah. Earlier, during the fight.”
“…Good grief. You answering so nonchalantly pisses me off even more.”
A monster who broke through to 3-Star Qi Refining just two weeks after becoming a cultivator had killed an opponent who spent seventy years stuck at 5-Star Qi Refining, and was now casually looting his Cave Abode.
Could anything in this world be more unfair? She couldn't bring herself to say it aloud.
Whether he knew her thoughts or not, Ise collected his remaining ten Spirit Stones and a few consumable artifacts.
After deciding to hand over the Demonic Path Cultivation Manuals to the Great Martial Dao, the two headed toward Namsan Valley.
* * *
Hong Sa-deuk emptied the outpost's entire medical inventory to treat Ise’s burns.
He then pleaded for a favorable evaluation for when they reported back to the Outer Gate affiliates, bribing them with generous funds and ample provisions. Ise naturally promised to give him the highest possible marks.
After expressing his gratitude for Hong Sa-deuk's wholehearted support—and generously gifting the man a few of Seol Ryeong’s talismans—they finally left Namsan Valley.
Running without rest all the way back to Cheongsan, the two headed straight for the Daoists' Street. Their goal was to visit the artifact merchant Hyeon-un-ja, sell their unused Dharma Artifacts for Spirit Stones, and get their peculiar newly acquired artifact appraised.
“Hyeon Ong! We’re here!”
Despite Seol Ryeong’s cheerful greeting, the old man paid her no mind, merely puffing away on his long pipe.
“I told you to smoke outside!”
“If you’re going to nag, get the hell out of my shop,” Hyeon-un-ja grumbled, waving his hand in annoyance.
Accustomed to his cantankerous response, Seol Ryeong laid out the artifacts she intended to sell. Ise placed the sickle-shaped artifact he wanted appraised right beside them.
“Please just appraise this one.”
“The appraisal fee is one Spirit Stone.”
“Hyeon Ong, do you really have to go that far? You could appraise it for free, considering our relationship.”
“Does showing your face sprout Spirit Stones or Dharma Artifacts? If you don’t like the price, go to those street hacks and get robbed blind.”
“…….”
Ise stepped in and handed over a Spirit Stone.
“She refuses to let anyone cut her divination fees, yet she’s quick to haggle down others’ labor. Please understand her, Elder.”
At Ise’s remark, Hyeon-un-ja chuckled softly and pulled out a magnifying glass.
“Elder, did you know Seol Ryeong before this?”
“'Elder' my foot. I’m just an old man who acts half his age. Call me Hyeon Ong.”
Seol Ryeong answered the previous question instead.
“We didn’t know each other originally; he’s an acquaintance of my mother.”
“I’ve known her since this brat was still pooping on the floor,” Hyeon Ong added.
“What are you even saying…?” Seol Ryeong sputtered.
Ise clutched his stomach and roared with laughter.
A moment later, Hyeon Ong brought back the appraised artifact. Holding the metal, he funneled spiritual energy into it. The blade shifted into a triangle, then a square, and even split into two blades like a pair of scissors.
“Hyeon Ong, what on earth is this used for?”
“It’s just a kitchen knife.”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s a multi-purpose kitchen blade made from the claws and bones of a Spirit Beast. Infuse it with spiritual energy, and it transforms into whatever shape you want, making it perfect for cooking.”
“Wait a second. Why would anyone make something like a kitchen knife out of precious Spirit Beast materials?”
“When preparing Spirit Food, using ordinary tools degrades its efficacy. Do you not even know something so basic? If you don’t need it, sell it to me. I’ll give you five Spirit Stones for it.”
So...
He had traded away thirty Spirit Stones' worth of value in exchange for a cooking knife worth a paltry five.
He hurriedly looked over at Seol Ryeong. She was desperately holding back laughter, a sly smirk plastered across her face.
“I really didn’t know! What can you do? Just consider it fate.”
The ancient saying that there wasn't a single soul in this world you could trust had proven to be entirely true.