Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Five Minerals Powder
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Hong Geolgae had no particular thoughts on the matter, but Dang Mujin and Yi Chung exchanged glances.
Dang Mujin mouthed the words.
'Are we going to kill him?'
The reply came through a transmission of voice.
-No. We need to find out who's making the Five Minerals Powder.
The group followed the merchants into the village.
The villagers greeted the merchant caravan warmly, as if it were just any ordinary group of traders.
"Give me five packets of Five Minerals Powder."
"Right away."
A few people approached to request the powder.
The merchants sold it with the same demeanor as any other traders. It was as natural as selling rice to those who needed rice or cloth to those who needed cloth.
Not many came to buy the Five Minerals Powder. By the time the day was nearly over, only six people had shown up.
However, since the powder was so expensive, the merchants had collected a fair amount of money.
As evening drew near, an old man arrived wearing clothes that looked expensive but were worn out.
"I don't have money right now. Could I get one packet of Five Minerals Powder on credit?"
Unlike the other customers, the old man's voice lacked confidence. From the looks of it, he'd taken the powder on credit more than once or twice.
The merchants looked troubled.
"Sir, you already owe us quite a bit on credit."
"I'll pay you back when I get the money. It's just that things are tight right now. You know how it is."
The old man's attitude was upright yet desperate. The merchants scratched their heads in distress but eventually handed over the Five Minerals Powder.
"This is really the last time. We're not digging it out of the ground ourselves, you know."
"Of course. I get it. Don't worry. Next time I see you, I'll settle the whole credit balance."
The old man left with a beaming smile. But the merchants didn't seem to expect they'd ever get paid.
Dang Mujin asked the merchants.
"That man must owe you a lot on credit?"
"That's right. He's got at least one gold ingot hanging over him."
"Why do you keep giving him the medicine?"
"He pleads so pitifully, saying he can't live without the Five Minerals Powder. We can't just refuse him. Besides, money aside, shouldn't goods go to those who need them? Even merchants have to take a loss sometimes."
The other merchants nodded in agreement. Their expressions held a subtle pride—the pride of not being mere money-grubbers.
Dang Mujin sensed something off about their attitude.
Dang Mujin and Yi Chung knew what the Five Minerals Powder really was. A substance that gnawed away at a person's mind and body.
But conversely, nearly everyone who wasn't a physician was unaware of how harmful it truly was.
A drug that made you feel good when you took it. A drug only the wealthy could afford. A drug with rumors that long-term use could turn you into an immortal.
That was the common view people had of the Five Minerals Powder. The merchants' thinking wasn't much different.
Yet the one making it had to be a physician, and they surely knew its dangers but made it anyway.
"Where do you get this medicine from?"
"We buy it from Namga Village."
"Namga Village?"
"Yes. The leader there is a fine man. The villagers were on the brink of starvation, and he opened a path to survival for them."
Dang Mujin listened closely to the merchants' story.
Just a few years ago, they said, their village had been an ordinary one, where people mined copper from the mountains or gathered sand iron and gold dust from the river to make a living.
But about three years ago, some black path martial artists had taken over the mountain, blocking their livelihoods. Two years ago, while seeking help from another village, they'd met the Namga Village leader.
He'd made the Five Minerals Powder for them to sell, ensuring the people wouldn't starve, they said.
The merchants' faces and voices were filled with goodwill toward the Namga Village leader.
"Thanks to him, life is pretty good these days. Actually, much better than when we were digging for sand iron and gold dust. That was dangerous, and if the yield dropped, we had no choice but to go hungry. But selling Five Minerals Powder brings steady, substantial income."
The merchants reminisced about the old days of breaking ice in winter to enter the river for sand iron and gold dust. Indeed, many of them had frostbitten fingers or the backs of their hands, darkened and scarred.
The merchants closed up shop and headed to the inn. The three separated from them and entered a small guest room.
Dang Mujin immediately asked Yi Chung.
"We're going to that Namga Village place?"
"Of course. I want to see the face of the bastard making the Five Minerals Powder."
Hong Geolgae couldn't follow Dang Mujin and Yi Chung's conversation.
"Why go to Namga Village? The buyers and sellers both seem content. No one's being wronged. The merchants even say their lives have improved."
Dang Mujin pondered how to explain, but Yi Chung gave a simple, straightforward answer.
"Five Minerals Powder causes illness. It drains your energy, fills your head with delusions that cloud your mind, and eventually your skin rots away until you die. Selling it is no different from inflicting disease on others for profit. Just like that Yeom Physician from Zhuul Village."
"Ah."
Hong Geolgae understood immediately. Hadn't Yeom Physician in Zhuul Village dumped poison into the river to make people sick, then sold them medicine?
But Dang Mujin still had doubts. The people had gone to Namga Village because black path martial artists had occupied the mountain, blocking their livelihoods.
If they went to Namga Village and stopped the Five Minerals Powder production, wouldn't the villagers lose their means of survival?
Dang Mujin pointed that out, but Yi Chung's stance was clear once more.
"That's not my concern."
"What?"
"I can't just walk past someone spreading disease. How they make a living is their problem to solve."
"Isn't that a bit... harsh?"
"Have you ever cared about how people here get by on the way here? I haven't, and neither have you. It's natural for them to handle it themselves."
With that, Yi Chung blew out the candle and lay down on his spot.
*
The next day, the group arrived at the merchants' village following the caravan.
The merchants unloaded the goods from the caravan inside the village walls and began distributing them.
Each person took goods worth a few silver coins, but a few small gold pieces were set aside separately.
"What's with those gold pieces?"
"We'll deliver them to Namga Village. They don't give out the Five Minerals Powder for free, you know."
"Hmm."
The Five Minerals Powder wasn't hard to make if you had plenty of ingredients. Namga Village made a hefty profit on it, and these merchants took another cut.
Dang Mujin stepped outside and looked around. The villagers seemed to have lived hard lives—wrinkled faces, rough hands and feet.
Yet everyone had bright expressions, and no one looked emaciated to the point of health issues. Some wore tattered clothes, but none had holes in theirs. It didn't seem like a lie that things had improved recently.
Scattered around the village were several carts, empty of miscellaneous goods, so they weren't for farming. There must be more than one merchant caravan selling the powder.
'Hmm.'
Dang Mujin returned inside and asked the merchants where Namga Village was. They looked a bit reluctant.
"You looking to get into the Five Minerals Powder trade? Too many sellers wouldn't be good..."
"Don't worry. We know how to make it ourselves. We just want to meet the Namga Village leader."
"In that case, head west over two hills."
The place they described was at most half a day's walk.
Dang Mujin's group left the village right away and headed to Namga Village.
Namga Village was in the center of its settlement, though naturally not as vast as the Nangong Family estate.
Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae hopped up to peer over the walls.
Inside Namga Village's walls were just five or six tiled-roof buildings, none grand or imposing.
The three headed to the main gate. There were no guards at the entrance. They pushed open the slightly ajar gate and entered, at which point a few gazes turned their way.
A man in neat attire approached. His face somehow gave off a rough impression.
"What brings you here?"
"We're travelers passing through. We heard you can get Five Minerals Powder here."
"How many taels shall I prepare for you?"
They dove straight into the transaction without any lengthy questions, as if it were everyday business.
And not just a coin or two, but several taels. They must produce it in large quantities.
Dang Mujin pulled out a gold ingot from his bosom and showed it.
"One gold ingot's worth is fine. And it's not just the goods—we'd like to meet the one who makes the Five Minerals Powder."
"If you want to see the leader... wait a moment. He's not busy right now."
The man disappeared somewhere, then returned at a brisk pace.
"Inside there. Enter the largest building."
He gave a brief explanation and went back to his duties. Dang Mujin, of course, along with Hong Geolgae and Yi Chung, stared at the man's retreating figure.
His gait was slightly different from an ordinary person's.
"That guy seems to know martial arts, right?"
"Yeah. And he's not the only one. Everyone in Namga Village has learned at least some martial arts."
Hearing Yi Chung, Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae looked around.
For its size, Namga Village had few people inside, and there wasn't a single maidservant, who should be the most numerous. Only a few men in worker or errand-boy garb wandered about.
And all of them had straight postures and light steps.
"...You're right."
"There might be a connection between those black path folks who took the mountain and Namga Village. Could be they're in cahoots."
"Are those guys strong?"
"None of the ones visible here outrank you or Hong Geolgae in skill."
"That's a relief."
Dang Mujin felt reassured. Even if trouble arose, they could survive.
The three entered the building the man had indicated.
Inside were three rooms, but only one had signs of life.
Just as they approached that room, Yi Chung stopped and whispered.
"You go in first."
"Why?"
"Just a hunch."
Surely nothing dangerous would happen the moment they entered. Dang Mujin cautiously flung open the door.
But nothing dangerous occurred. Inside sat a man with a neatly trimmed beard. He sat upright and dignified, addressing Dang Mujin.
"Welcome. Here for the Five Minerals Powder, I take it?"
"Yes. We have some questions too."
"No need to worry about quality. It's not the low-grade stuff mixed with gypsum or such..."
As he spoke, Hong Geolgae entered, followed by Yi Chung. The moment Yi Chung appeared, the Namga Village leader's eyes widened, and his face stiffened.
As the leader shot up from his seat, Yi Chung's sword was already at his throat.
"Long time no see, Nam Yeonbu. Sit back down for now."
The Namga Village leader, called Nam Yeonbu, hesitated rather than sitting. When Yi Chung pressed the blade slightly, a drop of blood trickled down his Adam's apple.
The leader sat with a pale face.
Even seated, he fidgeted, lifting his hips slightly. As if desperate to flee. Yi Chung eyed him coldly and threatened.
"Try getting up once. I'll put a hole in your throat before your knees straighten. If you've got complaints, yell for help."
"Were you acquainted?"
"One-sided interest, you could say. He wouldn't have wanted to see me, but I wanted to see him."
"How'd you meet?"
"Simple. He used to make and sell Five Minerals Powder before, but I lost track of him."
The Namga Village leader spoke in a trembling voice. His attitude was servile.
"Elder Yi Chung. Do you... need something?"
"Yeah. Have all the Five Minerals Powder in Namga Village brought here."
The leader hesitated briefly. But he didn't ponder long. The powder couldn't be more precious than his life.
He shook a bell, and the man they'd met earlier returned to ask what was needed.
The leader, as naturally and sternly as possible, ordered all the Five Minerals Powder brought. Moments later, over half a guan was placed before them—three geun if compacted.
The leader spoke in a quavering voice.
"Elder."
"What?"
"...Spare my life. I'll never make Five Minerals Powder again."
"You've got two choices. Eat it all right here, or we destroy it all."
Naturally, consuming that much would kill him. Even a hundredth of it endangered life.
The leader crept over carefully, fetched two oil lamps, poured all the oil onto the powder, and dropped embers on top.
Before the four men's eyes, the priceless Five Minerals Powder began burning with an acrid stench.
Through the flickering flames, Yi Chung looked at the leader and said.
"One last question. Anyone else here know how to make Five Minerals Powder besides you?"
The leader shook his head. Yi Chung smiled contentedly and told him.
"Got it. Go."
Not just the leader, but Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae too looked at Yi Chung with expressions of 'Are you really letting him live?' Yet Yi Chung remained still, unmoving.
Joy spread across the leader's face. Kneeling, he bowed deeply and politely to Yi Chung.
"Elder. I'll live a good life from now on."
"Sure."
And as the leader began to fully rise, Yi Chung thrust his sword like lightning, piercing the man's throat.
Staring at Yi Chung, the leader spoke through blood-frothing gasps.
"Why...?"
"I said I'd kill you if you got up. You could've crawled out and lived."
The leader collapsed limply. Yi Chung wiped the blood from his sword on the man's clothes.
"Let's leave before any hassle starts."
The three quietly exited the room.