Da-byeol Mountain (2)
There are countless people in the world who enjoy liquor, and accordingly, there are all sorts of varieties.
And right now, there's a special liquor to be found here on Da-byeol Mountain.
Cheonhyang Dew Liquor.
It's the liquor that gathers in the flowers of a spirit herb called Cheonhyang, or Heavenly Fragrance.
They say its aroma is so enchanting—truly the fragrance of heaven—that once you've tasted it, you'll never forget it for the rest of your life.
And it's also a miraculous cure for a certain special ailment.
"So you're saying there's Cheonhyang Dew Liquor here on Da-byeol Mountain?"
I nodded at Seo-u Warrior's question.
"That's what it said in the note I saw. That's why we're going to check it out. Of course, one might be real, but the other could be fake."
I continued.
"But if we don't check and it turns out to be true later, we'll just regret it, thinking, 'Ah, we should've gone then.'"
Everyone nodded at my words.
They all had experiences like that.
"So everyone agrees to go look for the Cheonhyang Dew Liquor?"
Yeo Eung-am Warrior answered my question.
"We merely follow wherever our lord wishes to go."
The other guards nodded in agreement.
Palgap scratched behind his ear and said,
"Honestly, what power do we have to tell the young master where to go or not? And even if we tried to stop you, you'd go anyway, right?"
"Palgap gets me. You know me too well."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, your inner thoughts slipped out."
I smiled and said,
"Then let's go."
The Cheonhyang Dew Liquor was at the foot of Da-byeol Mountain.
The spirit herb Cheonhyang itself only grew at the mountain's base, and its flowers bloomed only in autumn, making now the perfect time.
We'd have to wander the pitch-black foothills, but that was no issue.
We had night-luminescent pearls, after all.
About an hour's walk later, we caught a certain scent.
It was an indescribably wonderful fragrance.
If the aroma had been visible, you'd have called it beautiful without hesitation.
"Could this be... the fragrance of Cheonhyang?"
Yi-pil Warrior asked in astonishment.
"Seems like it. It's my first time smelling it too."
I nodded and headed toward the source of the scent.
There bloomed purple flowers the size of a person's head, with a depression in the center pooling a purple liquid.
"It's Cheonhyang."
"Cheonhyang really exists. What the hell was that note?"
I chuckled at Yi-pil Warrior's words.
"Probably some hidden expert scribbling for fun. And honestly, fortuitous encounters don't come with logic anyway."
"True enough."
Seo-u Warrior clicked his tongue as I pulled a gourd bottle from my pouch.
"You're thorough."
I grinned and said,
"Shall we fill this with Cheonhyang Dew Liquor, then?"
In my previous life, this Cheonhyang Dew Liquor had been squandered in the most ridiculous way.
A man got lost wandering Da-byeol Mountain and stumbled upon the Cheonhyang.
He drank the pooled Dew Liquor and bottled the rest to take down.
A passing master caught the scent and advised him,
"That's an incredible spirit elixir called Cheonhyang Dew Liquor. If you can't properly safeguard it, better hand it to someone who can."
Someone overheard, the rumor spread, and disaster followed.
Conflict erupted in the man's village over the Dew Liquor, turning neighbors into mortal enemies.
But today, since I'm taking every drop, that village won't descend into enmity.
"Young master, what happens to these flowers after we harvest the Dew Liquor?"
"Whether we take it or not, they wither by late October anyway, and won't bloom again for another five hundred years."
"Whoa! Must be insanely expensive, then."
"You bet! It's priceless."
"But what good does drinking this liquor do?"
Jin Yu Warrior answered Palgap's question.
"Ever heard of meridian blockage syndrome?"
"Yeah, something like the Nine Yin Blocked Meridians or Nine Yang ones."
"Right. It's a cure-all for any meridian blockage. Doesn't matter the type."
Jin Yu Warrior continued,
"That's why we must keep silent about this until our lord permits otherwise. If word gets out that we have Cheonhyang Dew Liquor, a bloodbath could ensue."
"Eek!"
Palgap shuddered and looked at me, eyes pleading for confirmation.
I nodded emphatically.
"Just like Jin Yu Warrior says."
In my previous life, a desperate father seeking a cure for his son's Solar Meridian Blockage approached that man.
The man handed over the liquor, but it had no effect.
It turned out to be fake—the neighbor, a liquor lover, had secretly drunk it and refilled with cheap booze.
Humiliated and enraged, the man fought his neighbor and stabbed him dead.
The neighbor's son went mad with vengeance, but in the chaos, killed an innocent bystander trying to intervene.
Thus, a bizarre chain of revenge engulfed the entire village.
"All filled up."
The Cheonhyang Dew Liquor filled three gourd bottles completely. I pocketed two and offered the third to the guards.
"Aren't you curious what it tastes like? Take a sip each."
Palgap and the four guards waved their hands in refusal.
"No way!"
"How could we touch something priceless!"
"Those who need it more should drink it."
"Exactly. And we can't drink on duty—how could we imbibe while protecting our lord?"
I nodded at their words.
"Then, back at headquarters, you can have some, right?"
"……."
Their hesitation meant they wanted to.
Of course.
They're human too—they have desires.
Declining my offer showed tremendous self-control.
The liquor's aroma was as seductive as a peerless beauty's allure.
And repressed desires need gradual release to avoid backlash.
"Truth is, when drinking it as liquor rather than medicine, you can dilute it a hundredfold and the fragrance remains the same."
Honestly, it's more like an aged elixir than booze.
Mixed into drinks, it'd enhance any liquor perfectly.
"So when we get back to headquarters, let's have a company party with this."
Only then did they nod, visibly relieved.
"We thank you for your generosity, my lord."
"Shall we head back?"
I fiddled with the pouch containing the Cheonhyang Dew Liquor as we returned to camp.
Tomorrow, we'll reach that village.
The village of the father who needed this Dew Liquor in my previous life is the one we'll arrive at tomorrow.
I plan to give him the Dew Liquor and make a deal.
Someone might call it bargaining with a life, but I see it as fair trade.
In the previous life, without it, his son died young.
And what I demand in return isn't much for that father.
Plus, it'll save many lives.
A day's swift journey from Da-byeol Mountain lay a village.
Its name: Minjang Village.
Near Suwon, it was fairly prosperous.
Most of the village land belonged to a major landowner named Min Ik.
Villagers farmed his fields as tenants; even house plots and shop sites were his. In a way, he held more sway than the county magistrate.
The magistrate bowed first when Min Ik visited the county office.
Even this worry-free man had a concern: his second son.
The boy was a prodigy, memorizing the Thousand Character Classic at three, but he couldn't tolerate heat.
He even skipped heating in winter's chill.
After countless physicians' examinations, the cause emerged.
"Your son has Solar Meridian Blockage. He harbors the sun within—how could he not overheat?"
"Solar Meridian Blockage?"
"Yes. His potent yang energy grants genius and martial talent, but it's so intense it burns his innate essence... Most die before twenty."
"W-what must we do? How can my son live?"
"He needs a spirit elixir."
"Pardon?"
"Something like millennium snow ginseng from the snowy peaks, or Cheonhyang Dew Liquor that cures any blockage. Nothing else works."
"Such things!"
"Having someone with extreme yin constitution nearby might prolong his life, but such people are rare..."
From then, Min Ik scoured for elixirs to save his son.
But only con artists came knocking.
Day by day, he wearied, yet never gave up.
How could a father abandon his child's life?
Time slipped away futilely.
October waned.
Winter would ease his son's condition—a small mercy.
He was calculating this year's harvest in his study when—
Creeeak.
The closed window flew open on its own.
"……?"
Wind? But then a letter fluttered to the floor through the open pane—not wind's doing.
He rose, flung the window wide.
No one in sight.
'My study's on the third floor—how?'
He called to the guard outside.
"Did anyone come by just now?"
"No one, sir."
"The window opened suddenly."
"Must've been a gust."
The guard was loyal and skilled; he had no choice but to believe.
'Damn... if only the guard hadn't stepped away.'
'Did they know that?'
He picked up the letter and unfolded it.
Tonight, I shall visit your study with an elixir to cure your son's illness.
That night.
I'm staying at an inn in Minjang Village.
The village's named after Min Ik Jangju, who owns most of the land here.
And the one needing Cheonhyang Dew Liquor is none other than Minjang Village's de facto lord, Min Jangju.
I sent him a letter via a golden bellbird, announcing my night visit.
Time to go.
I took only Jin Yu Warrior to the Min estate and approached.
"I'll go alone from here. Jin Warrior, you... handle yourself."
"Understood."
Anyone would object to me going solo, so I brought him.
His past as an assassin means he'll shadow me from afar.
If Palgap masters that secret manual the old bookseller recommended, I'll ask Jin Yu Warrior next.
I vaulted the Min estate wall.
Using Shadowless Step at peak proficiency left no trace—no footsteps, no presence detected.
I slipped past the others' auras toward Min Jangju's study building.
Planning to enter via the window.
Master's training made wall-climbing and roof-walking effortless.
Master's basic conditioning was brutal, though.
Anyway, at the third-floor study, I glanced up.
Traces of someone on the fourth floor.
Guards pulled back in advance, huh.
I nudged the window.
Creeeak.
Through it, Min Jangju at his desk—just as I remembered.
"Heave-ho."
I vaulted in; he looked up.
I straightened my robes and cupped my fists.
"Greetings, Jangju."
"You're the one who sent this letter?"
I nodded at the letter in his hand.
"Yes."
"You could've just come—why the letter?"
"To protect both you and me, of course."
"……."
"You're seeking an elixir, but if you actually got one, imagine the hassle."
"Fair point."
I pulled a gourd from my pouch and set it on the side table.
"Cheonhyang Dew Liquor."
"……!"
"As you know, the cure for all meridian blockages."
Min Jangju composed himself and asked calmly,
"What do you want?"