The Missing Elixir
An elixir or a spiritual medicine.
It was a miraculous substance that could grant a massive amount of internal energy just by consuming it.
Whether it saved months or even decades of effort, the fact that one could bypass the grueling years of cultivating a mind method simply by swallowing something seemed absurd. Yet, it was the reality of this world.
That was why martial artists went mad chasing after elixirs and fortuitous encounters.
The problem, however, was that such elixirs could not be bought with money.
Not only were the alchemists capable of refining them few and far between, but creating even a single pill required an astronomical amount of time and wealth.
Granted, there are some elixirs that can be bought with money.
But those were highly inefficient. In truth, they were only purchased by filthy rich merchants who practically bathed in gold, using them as mere health supplements.
They're far too inefficient for a martial artist to use.
Because of this, people sought out genuine elixirs.
Things like the Shaolin Temple's Daehwandan or the Mt. Hua Sect's Jasodan—the legendary pills often referred to as divine elixirs.
Of course.
If they were easy to get, they wouldn't be called divine elixirs.
An ordinary martial artist wouldn't even catch a glimpse of them in their entire lifetime. I had heard that even direct descendants of the Five Great Clans couldn't easily obtain them.
And yet...
"Are you saying I get to eat one of those?"
Greed leaked into my voice without my permission. I was too excited to control it.
As expected...
"What a truly benevolent soul you are, Master."
When I spoke with utmost sincerity, Yoo Chun-gil, standing behind me, grimaced.
"...Seeing your reaction makes me want to take it back."
"Haha. What a jokester."
"I am not joking..."
He was even witty. My respect for him grew by leaps and bounds.
"...I have never seen anyone so shamelessly materialistic."
"Materialistic? Please, call it honest."
"You... never mind."
Yoo Chun-gil started to say something but shook his head as if giving up.
Right after leaving the dining hall, I had returned to my quarters with Yoo Chun-gil.
I had wondered why we were going back to my room when he said he was going to give me an elixir. When I voiced my doubt, Yoo Chun-gil had simply replied:
"It does not matter where we go. I have opened paths everywhere."
I didn't understand and asked for a detailed explanation, but he just told me I'd find out once we got there. So, I followed his instructions and returned.
At this point, I couldn't help but ask.
"...Are you really giving it to me?"
"You were singing my praises just a moment ago, and now you doubt me?"
"It's not doubt... just a slight curiosity, perhaps?"
"Your tongue is as slick as ever. If you want it that badly, shut your mouth and go into the inner chamber."
"...Yes, Master."
I went in without another word. There wasn't much to the inner chamber.
"What exactly am I supposed to do here..."
"Do you see that over in the corner?"
Yoo Chun-gil pointed at something. I looked and saw a chest of drawers that had been there since I first arrived.
"Move that to the left."
I was about to ask why I had to do such a thing, but I shut my mouth when I saw Yoo Chun-gil's expression.
He was serious. Excessively so.
Therefore, I lifted the chest and moved it as instructed.
"A bit more to the side. No, not that way... Ah, yes, right there."
After a few trials and errors, I managed to place it in the correct spot.
"Now, open the third drawer. Yes, just about that much."
I grabbed the drawer and pulled it halfway open.
By this point, I was seriously wondering what the hell we were doing.
"Wait..."
"Now, grab the first drawer."
"..."
I grabbed the first drawer. But then...
"Circulate your mind method before you open it."
"My mind method?"
"Yes. Open it while maintaining the Cheongwol Mind Method. There must not be even the slightest instability."
Maintain it without instability.
Wuuuung!
Hearing his command, I circulated my energy. Although it still felt somewhat unstable, my control did not waver.
Seeing this, Yoo Chun-gil smiled.
"Perfect. All that training paid off."
I narrowed my eyes at his words. That meant...
...Wait.
Before coming to Henan, he had given me a homework assignment. I had assumed it was a tool to prepare for my meeting with the Alliance Leader.
But looking at Yoo Chun-gil's reaction now, a thought crossed my mind that it might not have been just for that.
Did he make me do it just for this?
His instruction to circulate it without instability weighed heavily on my mind.
And for good reason—I had only managed to achieve that level of control yesterday.
It was as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
This old man...
He had seemed so nonchalant, but had he been waiting for the right time all along? Because I was focusing on circulating my energy, I couldn't see Yoo Chun-gil's face.
I could only hear the occasional chuckle escaping his lips.
And then...
...Why is this thing so hard to open?
The drawer was abnormally stubborn. It should have opened easily with my energy infused into it, but it wouldn't budge.
I wondered if it had been nailed shut.
"Pull harder."
At Yoo Chun-gil's command, I poured more strength into my arms and yanked it.
Meanwhile, I had to focus on keeping my energy from destabilizing.
After pulling with all my might for a while...
Creeeeak!
The first drawer groaned open, and at that exact moment...
Clack.
An unfamiliar sound echoed from somewhere.
Rumble, rattle!
"Whoa... Holy crap!"
Suddenly, the floor began to slide open. It wasn't an exaggeration; the floor was literally parting ways.
"...What is this?"
It was a sight straight out of a movie from my past life. Out of nowhere, the floor opened up to reveal a ladder leading down.
"What... what in the..."
I was too shocked to even formulate a proper response.
"Khehehe! It seems the mechanism isn't broken, thank goodness."
The old man burst into delighted laughter.
"...What... what is this?"
"Fascinating, isn't it? I paid a fortune for this setup, so feel free to marvel at it."
"No, wait..."
I stood there with a blank expression, not knowing what to ask first. Marveling was the last thing on my mind.
"How on earth does this even work?"
Why was something like this under the floor of my quarters? That was my biggest question.
Moreover...
"Did you predict that I would end up in this exact room?"
This was a guest room. Did the old man know I would be assigned to this specific quarters?
How could he have predicted even that? I asked, filled with suspicion.
"Hmm? How would I know that?"
"Huh? Then how is this possible?"
"Well, obviously..."
Yoo Chun-gil grinned mischievously.
"I installed it in every single building."
"...What?"
He installed this... in every single building?
"It cost me a pretty penny to set it up, but isn't it convenient? No matter which room you end up in, you can access it."
I stared blankly at Yoo Chun-gil as he spoke with pride.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't comprehend his logic.
"Why...?"
"Hmm?"
"Why would you go out of your way to install this everywhere?"
Why install it in every single building when doing it in just one or two would suffice? When I asked, Yoo Chun-gil looked at me as if I was the one who was crazy.
"Because it's fun."
"..."
"Do I need any other reason?"
Hearing that, I completely gave up trying to understand him.
It was clear.
The man was absolutely, undeniably insane.
I climbed down the ladder. It was dark and inconvenient, but I wasn't scared.
What was actually scary was what Yoo Chun-gil said next.
"The Tang Clan made this...?"
"Yes. It took me quite a while to coax that eccentric old man."
To think the creator of this absurd mechanism was the Tang Clan, one of the Five Great Clans.
I knew they were skilled in metallurgy, but I had no idea they could build something like this.
Moreover...
"And that... eccentric old man... was the former Lord of the Tang Clan?"
"Technically, the Lord before the former one. But yes, he was."
"..."
Not just any member of the Tang Clan, but a former Lord.
No wonder the craftsmanship was extraordinary.
I have no idea who that is, though...
The Lord before the former Lord of the Tang Clan was someone far beyond my knowledge. I didn't even know who the previous Lord was, so how could I know the one before him?
Whatever the case, he definitely wasn't normal.
Anyone who would install this mechanism in every single building just because they got paid was bound to be out of their mind.
After climbing down the ladder, a flight of stairs awaited me.
I walked down for what felt like a good fifteen minutes.
"I see it."
We had reached the bottom. A rusted iron door stood waiting for me.
The heavily rusted doorknob felt unpleasant to touch, but I grabbed it anyway.
At the same time, I circulated my energy.
"Oh. I did not even tell you to use it, yet you knew."
"It just felt like I should."
It seemed my intuition was correct.
Creeeak!
I pulled with all my strength, and the door finally groaned open.
I opened it just enough for a single person to squeeze through and slipped inside.
However...
"What is this now..."
The interior was far darker than the passage outside. Should I have brought a lantern?
"Focus your energy into your eyes."
"Into my eyes?"
"Yes."
"...And how do I do that?"
"..."
Damn it. Even in the pitch-black darkness, ghosts were perfectly visible, which meant I could clearly see Yoo Chun-gil looking at me with utter disdain.
Bloody hell.
"Hey, I might not know. Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ah, was it that obvious?"
"...Maybe fix your face before you speak?"
"...Tsk. Step aside."
My body felt light as if floating. It was the sensation of Yoo Chun-gil possessing me.
Wuuung!
My energy began to move. It circulated along its pathways, and then a strand of it split off and flowed toward my eyes.
A slight warmth enveloped my eyes, and in an instant, my vision brightened.
It was fascinating.
Just moments ago, it had been pitch black, but now I could see as clear as day.
"Do you understand now?"
While I was marveling, Yoo Chun-gil had already left my body.
"Yes."
"Good grief, having to spoon-feed you every little thing is exhausting."
...Damn it. Should I apologize for my lack of talent? My pride was too wounded for that.
Regardless, with my vision cleared, the interior came into sharp focus.
"...Whoa."
A gasp escaped my lips. The space was much larger than I had anticipated.
I couldn't believe such a vast area existed underground.
"...What is this place?"
"To put it nicely, you could call it a Secret Vault... but to put it bluntly..."
"To put it bluntly?"
"It is a snack pantry."
"...Excuse me?"
A snack pantry? The name felt incredibly out of place.
Actually, whatever. The name didn't matter.
"...So there's an elixir here, right?"
"Yes."
"But why is an elixir kept in a place like this?"
"I told you. It is a snack pantry. I built this place to sneak down and eat them whenever I felt tired."
"..."
So, he built this entire underground space just to munch on elixirs when he felt tired...?
His reasoning was utterly ridiculous.
...No, think positive.
As long as I benefited from it, who cared? Thanks to his childish whims, I was about to get my hands on an elixir, so that was all that mattered.
"So, where is it? My elixir?"
"...Why is it your elixir? It is mine."
"Where is it?"
"You are not even listening anymore..."
Yoo Chun-gil pointed to the left in resignation.
At the end of his gaze sat a single box.
I rushed over to it.
"Is this..."
The resting place of my precious elixir.
"It looks expensive and rare just by looking at it."
"I bought that box for a few pennies in town."
"Extremely high-class."
"Listen to me—"
"Can I just open it?"
"...Damn it. Do whatever you want."
I heard him mutter, Is it really okay to give this to him? but I didn't care and opened the box.
Perhaps because I didn't need to use my mind method this time, the box opened easily.
As the lid lifted, the fragrant scent of herbs seemed to brush past the tip of my nose.
My anticipation soared.
Is my life finally going to turn around with this?
Yes, after being dragged around all day by this damn ghost, I deserved at least this much compensation.
Filled with excitement, I opened the box completely.
And then, I looked inside.
"Wow..."
"Ohhh."
Yoo Chun-gil and I let out exclamations of awe as we stared at it.
We had no choice.
After checking the contents of the box we had traveled all this way to find, I turned to look at Yoo Chun-gil.
"...My respected elder."
"Yes."
"What is the meaning of this?"
With trembling hands, I lifted the box and showed it to Yoo Chun-gil.
The inside of the box I showed him...
"...Why is it empty?"
It was completely empty.