Chapter 1809 – 1809. Ascent To The Light
I squatted down in front of the corpse, watching Baekran’s reaction. Whether it was a master or a trap, I had to take what I could get first.
‘Heavenly Jade isn’t just money. It’s a rare treasure that you can’t get even if you have money.’
Heavenly Jade was a bead containing spiritual energy. It couldn’t be absorbed like a spiritual medicine, but it was used in magical artifacts, crafting, and powerful barriers. It was also used as currency, with a value of 100 gold coins. Something that ordinary people couldn’t get their hands on even if they died and came back to life.
‘And I need this to raise my VIP level in the Heavenly Gang System.’
The first thing that came out of the merchant’s possession was the Ten Blood Claw Martial Arts Manual. A cursed martial arts manual, something about the Blood Wolf. It was trash, so I just threw it aside, but Baekran picked it up.
“Ten Blood Claw? Is this a martial arts manual?”
“Ah, that.”
Before I could even say it was cursed, she opened the manual. And exactly five seconds later, she closed it.
“A bait that any martial artist would fall for… They’ve cleverly set a trap.”
“You saw through it right away.”
“I’ve been through a lot with curses and black magic. Even if I can’t use them, I’ve studied them. Just knowing about them makes it harder to fall for them. Do you need this?”
“No, I don’t really need it.”
“Then I’ll burn it. It’s a useless thing to have in this world.”
Whoosh!
Samadhi Fire flared up and burned the manual in an instant. The remaining ashes were scattered by the wind.
“Do you know what kind of curse was on that book before you burned it?”
“Brainwashing. It’s one of the worst kinds of curses. It first takes over the subconscious, so you don’t even know you’re being brainwashed. Then it slowly brainwashes your mind… By the time you realize something’s wrong, it’s already too late.”
While listening to Baekran, I took out a pouch from the corpse’s possession. When I opened the pouch, there were four Heavenly Jades inside.
‘Only four?’
I clicked my tongue in disappointment. It was unexpected that a guy selling martial arts manuals would only have this much.
I moved to the side and went to another corpse. There were quite a few corpses that Baekran had killed. I searched their possessions, but there were no pouches. It was the same with the other corpses.
“Are these guys all broke?”
“Ah, I took their pouches. There’s no sin in wealth, is there? They say the more the merrier.”
I frowned and got up, glaring at Baekran.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?”
“I was having fun watching you, so I forgot.”
Baekran said with a smile on her face. She was shameless. But looking at her beautiful face, I didn’t feel that angry. I decided to let it go.
‘It’s not like I killed them… I can just kill other guys.’
I shook the blood off my hands.
This is a trap. I don’t know exactly what they’re trying to do by trapping me and Baekran, but they have the justification.
‘It’s actually good. It means I can kill and take without any repercussions.’
Baekran was staring at me intently. It was suspicious. I couldn’t read her thoughts. She was so suspicious that it wouldn’t surprise me if she was the one who designed this trap.
Of course, it was just a pointless suspicion. If she was really in charge of this trap, there would be no need for her to step forward like this. And she wouldn’t have killed these guys either.
“Baekran, I have a proposal.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s turn this trap around and split the spiritual medicines and magical artifacts, and everything else, 50/50.”
“You’re not thinking of escaping from here?”
“This is a trap that they put a lot of effort into. There’s no way they’ll let us go easily. We probably can’t get out because of the barrier.”
“That’s right. It’s an easy barrier to get into, but hard to get out of.”
“So, what do you say to my proposal?”
“I accept. But don’t be too relieved. They probably expect us to join forces.”
I nodded.
“Most of them are just average, but there’s a high chance that there are more martial artists who have reached the Five Qi, like Hong Ganghu.”
“There might even be an absolute master who has reached the Three Peaks.”
Three Peaks
The level of a sect leader of a major sect. In the Demonic Cult and the Martial Alliance, it would be equivalent to an elder.
“That seems a bit far-fetched. Why would an absolute master do something like this? Someone at that level would be treated well anywhere.”
“Everyone has their own circumstances. Don’t think logically. There’s no law that says an absolute master has to be human.”
That’s right. A monster could also become an absolute master. And monsters couldn’t mix with the martial world. It was rare for monsters to train in martial arts, and now that the Emperor ruled, it was the age of humans.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Not really. What about you?”
“Let’s just wipe them all out. If an absolute master appears… we’ll kill him together.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good idea. How about we think about it a little more?”
“…Can’t you think about it?”
“You said you’re going to become a Heavenly Demon. How can you become one if you can’t even come up with a plan like this? Use your head. If I think it’s reasonably good, I’ll follow your plan.”
I frowned. I didn’t like using my head. It was easier to just go and wipe them out. If I was with Baekran, I kept thinking that it would be possible. That’s probably what Yeom Guseok, who I was currently acting as, would think too.
‘…She’s staring at me so intensely. What does she expect from me?’
Anyway, it seemed like she was expecting something, so I had to come up with a plan. I racked my brain, which wasn’t working. What I could do, what they had, the current situation.
‘They’re not tracking us. If they knew our location, they would have sent their full force to deal with us. Do they think that even if they don’t track us, things will eventually go their way?’
Thinking about it made me feel frustrated. I took out a can of cola and drank it. The sweet carbonation slightly relieved my frustration.
“…That smells sweet. Is that a bottle made of iron? Hmm, it doesn’t seem like it… It’s a bottle made of a unique material. Is that… a thing called cola? Are you going to be so stingy and drink it all by yourself?”
“One Heavenly Jade for one.”
“That’s expensive. But I have a feeling that if I miss it, I’ll never get to eat it again… Ummm.”
After thinking for a while, she took out a spatial artifact from her possession. I handed her a cola before she could. I didn’t want to act like a thug towards her.
“I’m just kidding. Just drink it.”
“I’ll enjoy it.”
She looked at the cola can, then opened it like I did earlier and drank the cola. A smile appeared on her lips.
I crushed the empty can with my foot and said,
“Disguise.”
“Huh?”
“We’ll disguise ourselves and hide in the market. We’re not the only ones who have fallen into this trap. We’ll hide our appearances and find the head of the Yuun Trading Company and kill him. Or negotiate. Of course, negotiation is the last option. We can also kill merchants or steal their pouches.”
“That’s much better than an all-out war. It’ll save us some strength. How are we going to disguise ourselves?”
I took out human skin masks and clothes from my spatial artifact.
“I can lend you some if you need them.”
“It’s alright. I have some too.”
Human skin masks and clothes also came out of Baekran’s spatial artifact. The human skin masks she had looked much higher quality than the ones I had.
“You carry those around?”
Is she really an assassin raised by the royal family?
“Why are you so surprised? You carry them around too, don’t you?”
I had no response. From her point of view, I might look like a weirder guy. Since I had steak, cola, and other strange foods. If we were to play a mafia game, I would be at a disadvantage, so I just let it go.
We separated and disguised ourselves in a place where we couldn’t see each other.
The disguised Baekran completely hid her original dazzling beauty. She disguised herself as an ordinary male martial artist. Her skills were so perfect that even I had a hard time telling the difference.
“Amazing. It’s not like you’ve only done this once or twice.”
“I was about to say the same thing. Looking at your perfect disguise, it seems like you’ve done a lot of undercover work.”
“There’s still more to do.”
There’s a saying in the martial world that you should be careful of children and the elderly. It means that you shouldn’t judge your opponent by their appearance and be wary of them. And skilled martial artists don’t judge their opponents by their appearance.
‘I have to hide my aura.’
Baekran and I were at the Five Qi. A realm where you realize the attributes of Qi and begin to control it in earnest. Hiding our aura was an easy task.
• • •
“Father!”
Hong Ganghu turned his head at the sound of his son calling him. Hong Jeyu was clenching his fists anxiously, looking at him.
“What is it?”
Hong Ganghu asked, even though he knew the answer.
“Baekran! We must capture her as soon as possible!”
“Hah. Calm down. Once she’s in the market, she can’t get out. The trap has already caught that woman’s legs. You know that too, don’t you?”
“If she’s captured too late, I won’t have time to enjoy her! And other guys might covet her! Father!”
“Wait. We can’t ruin things because of your greed. Don’t forget that the prey is still flowing in.”
Hong Ganghu sighed. His son, Hong Jeyu, was completely infatuated with a woman from the royal family named Baekran. It was understandable. Baekran’s beauty was superior to any beauty he had ever seen in his life. Even if her white hair was ominous, it couldn’t hide her beauty.
‘Even so, he’s too infatuated with a woman. His training is lacking.’
His son, Hong Jeyu, was a martial artist who had raised his level with spiritual medicine. He wasn’t a genius, but he had some talent. However, because he had less time to train compared to his level, he wasn’t mature. He had never experienced any real danger, so he was naive.
‘I know that coddling him isn’t the only answer. But…’
Hong Jeyu was too careless. If he was left alone for even a little bit, he would probably die a tragic death.
‘At least he needs to reach the Five Qi level for me to be completely at ease.’
And he would reach the Three Peaks.
“…Father. I’ve been thinking, isn’t it about time I had children?”
Hong Ganghu immediately narrowed his brows.
“Don’t tell me you’re talking about that woman…?”
“Doesn’t Baekran have both beauty and talent? She’s qualified to be my wife!”
“No! That woman is prey! The plan is already underway, so there are no exceptions! Jeyu, the world is wide. There are plenty of women like that, so give up your dangerous greed! Do you understand? Answer me!”
Hong Ganghu shouted, and Hong Jeyu reluctantly answered, shrinking his shoulders.
“…I understand.”
Hong Ganghu carefully patted his son’s shoulder.
“Don’t be discouraged. There are plenty of women in this world who are better than that woman.”
“Yes.”
Hong Jeyu’s eyes, which were lowered, shone dangerously.
