“So… if I summarize what the elder said.”
Chwi Gon, who was sitting in the guest room, continued to speak while summarizing the previous conversation.
“I’ve spent my life collecting famous pills from all over the nation. Are you saying that among them are pills that can be found in places like the Deep Mountain Valley or Cheonli Mountain, such as the Green Jade Oil and the Millennial Purple Spirit Plant?”
“Something like that.”
Whisper
The guesthouse was crowded with many people passing by. Thanks to that, they could carry on their conversation even with people passing by.
“Right. It’s said that if you collect one more snow ginseng, three of the four greatest pills in the world will be in your possession. However, since the man has grown old, he decided it was impossible to steal the Great Soul Pill from Shaolin. So, he’s going to take refuge in Shaolin and steal that instead?”
“Yes.”
“The elder’s age is known to be three hundred and twenty. According to the report, it seems like he restored his body in a month or two, so he must have somehow found the snow ginseng this month.”
“I heard that.”
“…Hahaha. This sounds like a story from a book.”
Chwi Gon, who was drinking some noodle soup, eventually expressed his true feelings and, realizing the mistake he made, lowered his head.
But fortunately, there was a masked person in front of him. No, it was the old man who had taken off his mask during their journey, and he did not seem to care about him.
“I understand. It’s difficult to listen and comprehend what I said. But guess what? It’s true.”
“Ah… right, I understand.”
Chwi Gon laughed awkwardly.
He, who had once thought of the old man as insane, felt the need to change his opinion about this old man.
Perhaps to ‘a slightly mentally ill person’ or ‘a person who sees vain things.’
Oh, of course, it should be mentioned that he was impressive in fights.
“Nom nom. But elder…?”
Chwi Gon casually placed his hand on one of the dumplings and looked at the elder.
When the elder nodded, Chwi Gon quickly put the dumpling in his mouth and asked what intrigued him.
“Why are you collecting so many pills? Just because they are pills for internal energy, it doesn’t mean that it’s good to have them in huge quantities.”
“Hmmm.”
It was a very natural question.
In the ordinary world, all things referred to as pills contained excessive and concentrated amounts of Yin or Yang energy.
This was particularly true for the oil, which was a pill in a liquid concentrated form, stored for years. Because you could not be sure of its efficacy, it was easy to fall into the trap of having an internal energy runaway.
No matter how good something was, too much of it could pose a problem.
“Ah, I didn’t explain.”
The old man, Seol-Hwi, smiled kindly and clarified for him.
“There is this entity known as the Demon God. To defeat him, one must cultivate a strong growth in martial arts, and a pill is the best way. Of course, I need to cultivate them and then even gain enlightenment, but that is what anyone would normally have to do.”
“…Ah, right. So, in order to reach this great level of martial arts, one needs pills. The purpose is to fight the Demon God?”
“He’s no weaker than God. That is why he is called the Demon God.”
“Ah. Yes… right, Demon God.”
Chwi Gon laughed inwardly and simply agreed with what the other person said.
This person will be gone after a day.
Since his head was aching now, and he was saying such things which he seemed to firmly believe in, he decided to end this relationship.
The good news was that the attitude of the Murim Alliance had changed thanks to this old man.
Probably the warriors who had attacked them before. It seemed that sending a couple alive was effective.
Chwi Gon himself was a hostage now, and someone had killed the son of the alliance leader.
On the way to the Beggars Union, he was able to verify it directly through the inscription on the wall.
So, he was able to eat with many people, maintaining peace of mind.
But he was amazing in a fight. Is this what it meant for the strong to be insane?
He tilted his head and looked at the old man.
He had no idea what kind of training this old man had undergone, but he truly saw a unique shine in his eyes despite his age.
If he had been a warrior, he might have guessed him to be a clan leader, but Chwi Gon was an appraiser.
There was no man greater than this man. For some reason, he felt like if he asked more, he would get into trouble with this old man.
“Let’s get up if we are done eating.”
“Ah. Wait.”
Wheik!
At the old man’s words, Chwi Gon drank his soup. And after filling his stomach, he asked,
“So, where is our next destination?”
“Site.”
“Uh? What site?”
“Didn’t you say that my target was stolen? And the attacker wasn’t known. If you want to know what happened and how, we need to look at the scene for any clues.”
“No, that…”
Chwi Gon thought this was absurd.
Just looking at this, the old man seemed right. But would this person be able to find any clues when the previous investigators had not?
The place where the Doll Snow Ginseng was transported to required the Seven Star Escort Services. It was a place that held a lot of fame.
To be in a place like that and not be able to find out anything even after all efforts… meant it was difficult.
“There’s nothing to worry about. No matter who they are, they are simply kids to me.”
When Seol-Hwi got up and left, Chwi Gon noticed how awkward he felt.
Do I just run now?
For a moment, those feelings flared like a flame, but it was difficult to escape the eyes of the old man, regardless of the martial arts or situation.
He followed helplessly, thinking it would be safer to run later when he had a better chance.
Doll Snow Ginseng—
Chwi Gon remembered that day in detail. A top pill which only appeared in everyday stories and books.
He felt it right away when he saw that thing. It had a lot of weight behind it. Getting involved with such a thing seemed very dangerous.
The size of a newborn infant, and as the name suggested, it was this large doll-sized snow ginseng, which had twisted legs at the end.
“We will call different people to determine this, but… is this genuine?”
He asked a strange man in a bamboo hat.
“Right.”
Actually, the result of the identification was not important whether it was real or fake.
If it was a genuine thing, it went without saying that to the person holding this item that it was a very precious thing, and if this were a fake one, it would bring back huge bad luck for playing a prank like this.
In that case, it was clear that this was not an object any individual would want to hold or move.
“What do you want from me?”
Chwi Gon got to the point.
Once he took on the task, he began to record everything.
He knew from long experience that if he made any mistake now, he would be in danger even if this item was out of his hands.
“I have a separate place to send this. To a place other than Forbidden City. Chwi Gon. If you have been an appraiser, I think you can give me some advice now.”
“…”
Chwi Gon closed his eyes tightly at that time. A naturally precious item should be presented as a gift to the emperor of the land.
But the man in the bamboo hat said no. Maybe he wanted to send it to someone who helped him? Or someone he served.
Either way, it felt like treason… it was bad, shameful, and the person deserved to be imprisoned.
This was why Chwi Gon did not want to get involved in this.
“If we think about it, then it can be two.”
“Oho… two?”
Chwi Gon continued speaking, not wanting to look at the strange-looking bamboo hat.
“Yes. One way was to entrust it to one or two members and have them transport it. I chose someone who was skilled and loyal. We had the advantage of sending them secretly without anything getting out, and because there was a small number of people, they could move fast.”
“If there is an advantage, there are disadvantages too.”
“…Yes. The problem was that this was more than just precious. No matter how trustworthy one was, even if they lived an honest life, if what they were transporting was this then…”
They could just eat it and pretend to go into hiding. How could that be avoided then?
If he went into seclusion for 20 to 30 years after having it, and stepped into Kangho after everyone was dead, who would know the truth?
“Right. What was the second one?”
“Transport through port. The most commonly mentioned one.”
To hide a leaf, throw it into a forest.
If one acquired several expensive things like silk or spices and had them transported in large merchant ships, and if one placed a few more boxes among them, which should not be opened, who would know? A valuable item could be delivered without the knowledge of the ship owner.
“The downside was that the transportation cost would be high and it would take long. A lot of effort.”
“If there are disadvantages, then what are the advantages?”
“You could feel more at ease, and if something went wrong, we wouldn’t be held accountable. There was a huge difference in being reliable individually and as an organization.”
The escort service member would be alone.
Out of greed, he might end up taking the goods alone. But a service of an organization?
“Family, relatives, work, and business… it would not be easy to abandon them. An organization with a long history and credibility. If we let those people handle this, we could be at peace.”
“Hmm.”
The man seemed to be pondering what Chwi Gon said.
Sending goods using an individual was like openly revealing that there was suspicious transportation around.
The cost also doubled. In any case, it could have been stolen by the wrong robbers who were greedy for new things.
Well… that was so.
“Any recommendations?”
“There is a branch called Seven Star Escort Services. It’s a place with over 200 years of history, so it would be difficult to find another place like this.”
While the man thought for a moment, Chwi Gon had an answer.
“Nice. Then go with them.”
“I will inform you about the issue of payment later. There needs to be a prior discussion about the terms.”
“…That is how things happen. But I got hit. It seems like the information has leaked out.”
“Hmmm.”
Seol-Hwi, who heard the process from Chwi Gon, soon arrived at what appeared to be the scene.
Step. Step.
The forest was not too deep. But the view to the left and the right was significantly blocked by the tall pine trees around.
It certainly seemed like a perfect place to attack.
“Six broken carriages…”
There were tree branches and debris around. And the path was stained with blood and corpses.
Since a lot of time had passed, the smell of decay lingered in the air.
“Ugh, this smell…”
Chwi Gon covered his nose and glanced at the top of the cart. There was nothing left in the cart which the services should have taken.
It was not just one thing, the thieves targeted the entire cart.
And after the incident, it seemed like no one had used this road. Should he consider this as a blessing? Or a misfortune?
“It is the Seven Star Escort services.”
He looked down at the cart and checked the pattern engraved on the broken spear, and said that.
There was no doubt that this was the scene.
