Revival Spirit Fruit (2)
The young man cupped his cheek with his hand and spoke.
"I'm sorry. I was talking nonsense."
"Well, that can happen. But how did you end up getting attacked by a tiger here of all places?"
At my question, the young man's face paled.
"Ah! Did you save me?"
I nodded lightly.
With that, the young man quickly knelt before me.
"Thank you for saving my life."
"No need. I just happened to pass by and helped out."
"Thank you so much. I want to repay this favor, but all I have is this."
He rummaged through his pouch and pulled out a money pouch, offering it to me.
But I hadn't saved him for money, and it wouldn't be right to take it from someone who'd suffered so much.
"No, put it away."
"Pardon? But..."
"I didn't save you expecting anything. Use that money for your travel expenses."
At that moment, the Iphil warrior asked,
"Why did you come to such a dangerous place?"
"Well..."
The young man hesitated for a moment, then let out a deep sigh before speaking.
"I came because there's something I need to find."
"...?"
The Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower. I have to find it."
At those words, my two warriors and I couldn't help but flinch.
It was another spirit herb.
His exact target differed, but his purpose was similar to ours.
"Why are you looking for that? Even if rumors say the Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower is on Jongnam Mountain, it's not certain if that's true."
"Someone saw it."
"...?"
"A merchant saw it here a few years ago. That's why I came."
I stood up.
"Go back. Jongnam Mountain is more dangerous than you think. Especially for an ordinary person like you seeking a spirit herb—it's likely to cost you your life."
"I can't! Even if I die here, I can't go back."
"...Why?"
Why did the young man before me have such desperate eyes?
I was curious.
"Truth be told, I'm from the Deokhaeng Merchant Group."
What?
"And the Deokhaeng Merchant Group has one peculiar tradition: they choose the successor based on who has the greatest luck."
Ah, right. That was it.
Deokhaeng Merchant Group.
True to its name, meaning "obtaining fortune."
They believed luck was the most important thing in business.
So they selected successors in a unique way.
They picked the child with the best luck, believing that fortune would extend to the entire group and bring prosperity.
Was that why?
They ranked fifty-sixth among the top hundred merchant groups announced by the imperial court this winter solstice.
Successive leaders of the Deokhaeng Merchant Group had many children.
Which meant many wives as well.
The current leader had six wives? Or was it ten?
They figured that with so many kids, at least one would be born with extraordinarily good luck.
Whenever a child was conceived, they began meticulously recording every instance of good fortune from that point on.
And they assigned scores to those events.
Early on, a lack of luck could put one at a disadvantage.
But turning the impossible into possible could reverse it all.
And the young man before me was risking everything to find the Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower for that very reason.
"I have thirty-two siblings above and below me."
Whoa, that's a lot.
"The one with the best luck inherits the group. The rest can choose in order of luck—work for the group or take some money and leave."
He continued with a bitter expression.
"I had no luck. Everything I did failed. I was truly cursed."
"But,"
I interrupted him.
"you were about to die to a tiger and survived. Doesn't that count as luck?"
"You're right, benefactor. But there's no way to prove it."
"..."
"My mother is the fifth wife. And I'm her only child. Because of my bad luck, she's suffered so much. When I'm cast out, she'll be cast out with me... Sniff."
He wiped his tears with his sleeve.
"I want to become the successor and let my mother live in luxury."
This young man was enduring all this not just for himself, but for his mother.
"I understand your situation fully. But if something big happens to you here, how worried would your mother be?"
"It might be better if I'm gone. If I die here, they'll pity her and provide for her living."
"..."
Come to think of it, something felt off.
No matter how much of a disfavored son he was, he was still the son of the Deokhaeng Merchant Group's leader.
Shouldn't he have at least one bodyguard?
"Did you come alone?"
"...Yes."
"Where's your bodyguard? Did you leave them behind?"
"Father took them back."
Now I understood the young man's state of mind.
He was backed into a corner. And in that precarious situation, he was doing his desperate best to survive.
Come to think of it, the one who obtained the Revival Spirit Fruit in my past life was the Deokhaeng Merchant Group's successor, wasn't it?
No way?
I said to the young man,
"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves properly. I'm Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group."
"Ah! I haven't told you my name either, benefactor. I'm Mun Ju-seong, the seventeenth son of the Deokhaeng Merchant Group's leader."
Wait.
What? Mun Ju-seong?
I clearly remembered the name of the one who brought out the Revival Spirit Fruit in my past life.
It was Mun Ju-seong.
Which meant the man I'd saved was the cause of the bloodbath triggered by the Revival Spirit Fruit.
In my memory, the one who obtained the Revival Spirit Fruit was indeed the Deokhaeng Merchant Group's successor.
Yet the young man before me, Young Master Mun, was far down the succession ranking right now.
In other words, he would obtain the Revival Spirit Fruit, return with it, overturn his disadvantaged position, and become the successor.
In my eyes, Young Master Mun was the ultimate lucky one.
His fortune just came late.
Becoming successor by obtaining the Revival Spirit Fruit.
And when the Deokhaeng Merchant Group lay in ruins because of that fruit, he was the sole surviving blood kin of the leader—another stroke of luck.
Wait.
Young Master Mun was fated to wander here and obtain the Revival Spirit Fruit. So if I moved with him, I could easily get it too.
I knew it was around here, but not the exact spot.
I'd been prepared to wander a bit.
If I offered Young Master Mun compensation equivalent to the Revival Spirit Fruit, wouldn't it balance out for both of us?
Having finished my thoughts, I said to Young Master Mun,
"No helping it. If we part now, you'll surely run into trouble again, so let's travel together."
"Pardon?"
"I'm looking for something too. While I'm at it finding mine, I'll help you find the Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower."
"Ah! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
We set off again.
We climbed rocks and crossed ravines following Young Master Mun's lead.
A little later, I smiled faintly.
A cave with fierce winds lay before me. The place where Young Master Mun obtained the Revival Spirit Fruit.
"After wandering for hours, I heard a strange sound. It was the wind. I headed there and found a cave with raging gales. The spirit medicine was inside. The one that destroyed my family..."
In other words, Young Master Mun was fated to set foot here.
But the Revival Spirit Fruit inside couldn't go to him.
"I'll check that cave myself."
"No, my lord, let me..."
I shook my head.
"You two are exhausted. I'm still fresh."
At my words, the Yeo Eung-am warrior and Iphil warrior said,
"I didn't know your stamina was that good, my lord."
"I never imagined it either."
This stamina that surpassed even my two bodyguards was all thanks to my master.
Daily physical training.
Just when I thought I could handle it, he'd ghost-like increase the intensity, rapidly improving my endurance.
The number of times I'd screamed "I hate you, Master!" inside my head was over ten thousand.
Now my two bodyguards acknowledged my stamina.
"Then I'll be off."
"Be careful..."
I stepped forward, and the sound of their voices scattered in the wind behind me.
I concentrated my inner energy in my legs.
Using the principles of Thousand Catties Fall, I advanced step by step.
How on earth did Young Master Mun pass through here?
Suddenly, the gale stopped.
And before me appeared a single tree, bearing fruit.
Red fruit resembling cherries.
The Revival Spirit Fruit.
But there weren't just one fruit.
"Two fruits? I remember there being only one here... Ah!"
I chuckled.
In my past life, how did Young Master Mun know this was the Revival Spirit Fruit?
He must have researched it, so he wasn't completely clueless, but it looked no different from a cherry, making it hard to recognize at a glance.
So the answer was simple.
He ate it.
In his burning thirst and hunger, he ate this fruit and realized.
What it was.
And took the remaining one back to the group.
I took out a box from my red pouch.
Plucked both fruits, placed them inside, and returned the box to the pouch.
Now both Revival Spirit Fruits were in my hands.
I exited the gale-swept cave.
"How did it go?"
I shook my head at Young Master Mun's question.
"Nothing there."
"Ah..."
His face filled with disappointment softened my heart a bit.
I'd achieved my goal on Jongnam Mountain, but he hadn't.
What would happen to Young Master Mun's future if he returned home like this?
He was a lucky one.
So even without the spirit medicine or herb, his luck wouldn't vanish.
It would manifest in another form.
No way?
I decided to test one thing.
"Young Master Mun."
"Yes?"
"Why the disappointment? Didn't I promise to help you?"
"But I'd be too shameless..."
"Don't say that."
I told him,
"Let's head somewhere else now."
"Understood."
Palgap would worry if we were late, but I was glad I'd left him behind.
Night fell, we camped overnight, and set out again the next day.
My two bodyguards quietly asked me,
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Yes."
"Then why?"
"I wanted to test something."
We wandered Jongnam Mountain, and as dusk fell, we arrived before a cave.
It was summer, but chill emanated from the cave.
I instinctively knew.
What Young Master Mun sought was here.
The Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower was a spirit herb of cold energy, blooming where chill lingered.
"Let's go in."
"Yes."
At my words, Young Master Mun nodded tensely and slowly stepped forward.
Ice coated the cave interior.
Feeling the biting cold, we pressed deeper.
Thud.
I stopped.
"What's wrong?"
I pointed ahead, and Young Master Mun looked.
"...!"
His eyes widened.
Translucent petals shimmering like five-colored glass.
The Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower.
"Ah! Aah! Finally! Finally!"
He knelt right there, tears of joy streaming from his eyes.
I fully understood his feelings.
I approached the Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower and carefully harvested it.
Truth be told, I was astonished.
It proved Young Master Mun was truly a man of great fortune.
I'd suspected, but it was real?
If he hadn't found the Revival Spirit Fruit in my past life, he would have found this Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower and returned instead.
Either way, Young Master Mun was fated to become the Deokhaeng Merchant Group's leader.
Kinda jealous.
I handed the Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower to Young Master Mun.
"You found it. Congratulations."
"Ugh! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
He bowed repeatedly to me.
"Now you can return to your family."
"Yes."
I smiled.
"But, Young Master Mun, do you have the confidence to protect that Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower from those who would covet it?"
"The group's warriors will..."
"If word spreads about this flower, the group will be turned upside down. It has the power to dispel the demonic qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, after all."
"Ah..."
Young Master Mun wasn't foolish, so he grasped my meaning.
"So, how about selling that Five-Colored Ice Crystal Flower to me?"