Chapter 85
Through this whole incident with the small sword, I came to realize something new—
that even grim reapers (jeoseung‑chasa) will intervene in human affairs when necessary.
Of course, it was clear enough that there were heavy restrictions tied to it.
For example, aside from Taeryeok sending one guy flying in the beginning, the grim reapers didn’t kill anyone, nor did they even injure anyone.
There must be some kind of boundary—one that I didn’t know about.
I asked Saheun directly about that boundary.
“Could you take Gilnang and rob the Middle King’s Treasury for me?”
It might have been a rather shocking question the moment he returned, but Saheun answered calmly.
‘To be honest… anything that officially belongs to the Middle King’s Palace, I cannot touch.’
“As expected, so it won’t work.”
I hadn’t been expecting much, but it was still disappointing.
But Saheun wasn’t finished speaking.
‘However, the wealth the Black Coin Squad offered to the Golden Flower Merchant Guild… that counts as the Guild’s property.
If you command it, I can take Gilnang and retrieve it.’
Recovering at least the amount we lost wouldn’t be bad.
But I hesitated—wasn’t I forcing him to walk too close to the edge, just so I wouldn’t suffer a loss?
Saheun must have read my thoughts, because he spoke first.
‘This much is well within the line I can handle.
If something does happen, I’ll just use your name—so please don’t worry.’
If he had simply said, “I’ll take care of it,” I probably wouldn’t have asked in the end.
But the bold way he declared he’d happily sell my name of all things—it weirdly inspired trust.
Right. My backing wasn’t just a grim reaper—it included Yeomra, the King of the Underworld himself.
There’s no way a situation this small would blow up into a real problem.
Besides, he’s only retrieving what originally belonged to us.
If someone took issue with it, then I’d have a bone to pick with Yeomra.
So I told Saheun:
“Use my name as much as you want. I’m counting on you.”
‘Give me Gilnang, and I’ll go right now. It won’t take long.’
Saheun was different from me.
As far as I knew, grim reapers weren’t affected by most formations, and even if it were a top-tier defensive array, they wouldn’t get caught.
All he had to do was go in, grab the goods, and leave.
Since it wouldn’t take long, I reconsidered my schedule.
Originally, I had planned to send Saheun to the Middle King’s Palace and then head to Changyeon Mountain myself to find Mubaek.
But if it wouldn’t take long… was there any need for us to split up?
The decision was easy.
“Let’s go together.”
We decided to stop by the Middle King’s Palace on the way to Changyeon Mountain.
Honestly, after meeting again after so long, parting immediately felt regretful.
Saheun seemed pleased as well.
He smiled and nodded.
‘Good. We can talk along the way.’
* * *
On the way to the Middle King’s Palace, Saheun told me many things—
most of which were things only a grim reaper would know.
In summary:
not only Honcheon Castle, but all of Tianqi (Heaven’s energy) had been shaken for unknown reasons.
Because of that, Yeomra’s kingdom had entered a state of emergency, and the grim reapers were tied down, leaving the underworld messengers like Saheun to handle most of the affairs of the living world.
‘Before I returned, Taeryeok told me to thank you on his behalf.
And he said the Soul-Binding Marble he left behind during his forced recall—return it to him when you meet again.’
Now that I think about it, I never saw those grim reapers who pretended to be beaten by the Demon Army afterward.
Looking back, that must have been the limit of their allowed interference in the mortal world.
Saheun’s next words reinforced that thought.
‘Even though Taeryeok was granted more authority than usual because of the emergency, the scale of the incident was simply too large. They couldn’t interfere more than that.
I wasn’t on-site, but… in a way, it’s like you left Yeomra’s Kingdom with a debt.’
His tone wasn’t casual—he meant it.
Saheun continued:
‘It’s a bit different from human society, but Yeomra’s Kingdom is the most powerful faction in the underworld.
If you ever need anything… the next time you meet Yeomra, don’t hesitate to ask.’
In short—
“If Yeomra owes you one, milk him for it.”
I had no intention of refusing.
Thinking of the Soul-Binding Marble in Gilnang, it seemed Yeomra’s Kingdom truly was formidable.
Since it was the only divine artifact of its kind in the underworld, they probably wouldn’t give it away even if I asked—
but there might be other divine artifacts…
Maybe they would give me one if I asked?
Anyway.
“Then is everything finally resolved now?”
Saheun made a wry face.
It wasn’t that the problem remained unsolved.
‘The problem has been resolved… but the cause hasn’t been found.
In other words, we failed to capture the culprit.’
He said it was the same not only in the underworld but in the mortal world as well.
I nodded instinctively.
“The people gathered there didn’t include anyone who seemed like the mastermind.”
Honestly, for an incident of this scale, the people involved were strangely mediocre.
That had bothered me from the beginning.
“So there must be someone else.”
Thinking that way made everything make sense.
But even I had no idea who that someone might be.
Still, there was no need to rush.
“If someone wants something badly enough, they’ll show themselves again.”
If something similar happens again, I won’t let them slip away.
Thinking and talking like this, we soon reached the Middle King’s Palace.
“Well then, I’ll be back.”
Saheun received Gilnang, soared into the sky, and disappeared inside the palace.
All I did was wait half a shichen or so.
Then, just like when he left, Saheun flew back out of the sky.
‘I collected everything in the treasury that was related to the Golden Flower Merchant Guild and stored it inside Gilnang.’
“I’m grateful… and sorry for making you do something like this.”
‘Not at all. It really wasn’t difficult.
More importantly, would you like to check if anything is missing?’
I shook my head.
I never told him what exactly had been taken from us.
But apparently, everything was obvious to the eyes of a grim reaper.
With that kind of ability, there was no need for me to check.
“That aside—did you see that man named Gongjin I mentioned?”
‘Yes. He was guarding the treasury.’
As expected, he hadn’t been there just for a single day.
Then…
“When you took back the goods… did it make the treasury noticeably emptier? Enough for them to notice?”
What worried me was whether Lady Seol would blame Gongjin once she realized the treasury had been robbed.
Gongjin himself wouldn’t face mortal danger, but I could easily imagine that vicious woman giving him hell.
Fortunately, Saheun shook his head.
‘He stole so much that he won’t know what he’s missing even after he dies and stands trial.
What I took was only a tiny fraction. He won’t notice.’
Hearing that, I felt I could stop worrying.
But his words made me wonder—
just how big was the Middle King’s treasury?
“How does it compare to the Golden Flower Treasury? Give me a hint.”
Saheun smiled and shook his head.
‘Knowing would only make you greedy.
I’ll keep quiet on this one.’
He refused to answer—but that only made the answer obvious.
In other words, even with our own Golden Flower Treasury, I would still be tempted by theirs.
As he said, there was no need to know unless I wanted to drool over it.
Either way, that concluded our business with the Middle King’s Palace.
We wouldn’t be entangled with them again for a while.
“Now all that’s left is to visit Changyeon Mountain.”
It was my first time going, so I didn’t know the exact path—but I had a rough idea of the direction.
“Somewhere north, I think.”
At that moment, the grim reaper who had been silently watching stepped forward.
‘I’ll look for it.’
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Having experienced their versatility, I had no reason to refuse.
‘Found it. If you go straight that way, you’ll find a path.’
As expected of a grim reaper—
he simply flew high into the clouds and came back down, having scouted the entire area.
He entered and exited the Middle King’s Palace as casually as walking into his own house.
Truly convenient.
For a moment, I felt a pang of desire.
‘And to learn this power… what did he say was required again?’
But then I remembered what Saheun told me, and once again tasted bitter resignation.
I wasn’t about to choose the underworld just so I could fly.
Well—
not completely resigned.
‘There must be another way somewhere.’
I did have a few ideas already.
But those were methods for the future, not now.
And so, we left.
* * *
The original plan was to use footwork techniques all the way to Changyeon Mountain.
But after seeing the well-maintained highway nearby, I changed my mind.
Using qinggong on a crowded road would only draw attention.
And a highway, by nature, had many travelers.
It wasn’t like we were rushing to handle an urgent matter, so there was no reason to be flashy.
“It might be a good opportunity to buy a horse.”
So I looked for a stable.
Conveniently, not far from the road lay a village famous for breeding fine horses—Bima Village.
By walking when the road was crowded and using qinggong when empty, we reached Bima Village in less than half a day.
“All I see are horses.”
Truly, the name wasn’t for show.
Every household had at least one horse—and not just any horse, but one of considerable value.
“I heard even a normal horse costs a commoner a year’s income—and that quality horses are priceless. Impressive.”
I didn’t see any legendary steeds, but there were plenty of well-bred, high‑grade ones.
Naturally, my expectations grew.
If common households kept such horses, then the village’s main stable must be even more impressive.
“Excuse me, let me ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
After asking around, I located the village’s most famous stable.
Ten‑Thousand Horses Pavilion.
Manmajang.
But when I arrived, something unexpected awaited me.
Hiiiiiiing! HIIIIIIING!
“What’s wrong with this one!?”
“Hold it tight until it calms down!”
“Damn it! Do something! At this rate we’ll be trampled before the horses are!”
Even before I entered, I could hear panicked whinnies and the frantic shouting of handlers trying to subdue them.
The problem was—I knew exactly why the horses were panicking.
“…Why are you guys here?”
Slipping into the pavilion amidst the chaos, I found myself face-to-face with—
Grrrrowl.
A violet tiger.
