Chapter 12
“ So in the end, what’s needed is a person.”
The condition required for creating the life-and-death needle case.
It was a person.
Those who received treatment were important, of course, but the core reason was that Uiseon — a living person — stood beside it.
“Whenever I treated someone, I felt a warm energy flow into my body.”
That was one line from the life-and-death needle case’s flowing words.
At first I thought it was the merit or vitality one gains from treating patients, but I shook my head.
If mere merit alone could birth a divine artifact, there would be far more of them in the world than there are now — they’d be as common as the pebbles you kick on the road.
“But reality is different.”
A divine artifact is something an ordinary person might never encounter even once in a lifetime. It’s rare. That’s why people sometimes call a divine object a “treasure.” The process of treating patients certainly had an effect. But that alone probably wasn’t the identity of the warm energy the life-and-death needle case sensed. Most likely—
“Each time Uiseon took a needle from the life-and-death case and used it, he infused it with his own qi.”
That qi gradually settled into the case, and the merit accumulated from treating patients stacked onto it; from that, the life-and-death needle case was probably born.
“That means an ordinary object, depending on who uses it, can sometimes become a divine artifact.”
That was a method contrasting with mine, where I gathered random odds and ends that could potentially become divine objects.
Honestly, I hadn’t considered that possibility.
“It would take a terribly long time that way, and there’s no guarantee a divine object would be born.”
I still thought it inefficient. Had I not watched and experienced the process of the death envoy making a spiritual eye, I’d have kept thinking that way.
“But what if you don’t just shove spiritual power in, but do it in a way that satisfies certain conditions?”
I, as a human, had awakened the spiritual eye, and eventually even obtained the Bright Eye. If so, couldn’t a similar result be achieved elsewhere?
“It’s a method I never would have tried as a blade-life, but now things are different.”
When I was a blade, I never entertained the thought of sharing my spiritual power with someone else. I had barely any power to spare. At most I might help the elders of the Volcano School. Toward the end, I was so short of divine power I lived in fear of breaking — no need to say more.
But now, living as a human, it’s different. For one, I have plenty of spiritual power to use. My body and the level of Jahashin Gong are still low. I have a lot of spiritual power, but the vessel to contain it is still incomplete. I have enough left over to redirect elsewhere.
“This could actually work.”
So I decided to try it: the way Uiseon and the death envoy had used.
“Earlier you acted the part pretty well, so let me ask — is there any real pain or trouble for you? Anything uncomfortable?”
In that sense, the life-and-death needle case in front of me was a fine experimental subject.
To try infusing my spiritual power into it.
It had already been through the experience once, so even if I approached it incorrectly I could be corrected.
But this thing — clever enough to deceive its owner — was quick to catch on.
“I’m perfectly fine! Not a single ache! Really! Please believe me!”
I snorted at the way it tried to put distance between us just by looking at me. It didn’t know what I intended; it was reacting like that simply because I probably felt frightening to it. Had I scared it too much?
“If there’s no possibility of danger, that’d be a lie, but conversely it could be an opportunity for the case.”
But I couldn’t force it if it refused.
“Thanks for the informative time.”
“I feel the same!”’
When I signaled an end to the conversation, the life-and-death case eagerly replied. It seemed this time had been uncomfortable for it. That was understandable — there was still a death envoy watching from behind.
I gave it one last instruction.
“And don’t go telling others about today.”
It was still early; there was much to prepare. I didn’t want rumors I didn’t intend to spread getting out. Even seemingly trivial things could find their way to bad people.
“I have no intention of telling anyone, and there’s no one to tell. This is the first time anyone has spoken to me.”
I didn’t bother to mention that such encounters might happen often from now on. I only had guesses. Those Yeomra had asked me to handle were probably not ordinary.
“If you ever meet anything strange or someone odd, remember them and tell me.”
The case answered that it would, though puzzled. That finished that day’s conversation.
When I returned the (now restored) life-and-death needle case to Jegalmyeong, his expression changed.
“I’ll take responsibility for Master Gong’s father and make sure he recovers without issue. I’ll keep my promise.”
That night I parted from Jegalmyeong and spent my first night at the main residence. The next day, by morning and into the hour of O-sig-gyeong (early morning), the main household was in shock. News of what had happened overnight had reached the people — but it had been heavily distorted.
“Master Geum Danmok, the guildmaster of the Geumhwa Merchants’ Guild, was ambushed by assassins in the night and killed.”
That lie was the false report I’d had Songgok spread. I had my reasons.
“I suspected it from the beginning while the assassins had camped, but so there was another real mastermind behind this after all.”
I paused, polishing the Melak Sword with an oil-soaked rag as I reflected. Early that morning I had spoken with the overseer, No Wonpyeong. He was a quick-minded old man who knew more of the truth than others in the guild. I heard the identity of the mastermind from him.
“The elder Doosanbaek of the Gujunghoe is suspected to be the mastermind here. He’s also the teacher of the second and third young masters.”
Gujunghoe.
I hadn’t anticipated the name of a righteous-sect to pop up as the mastermind. Outside of Gupailbang and the Seven Great Houses, Gujunghoe was a respectable name among the righteous orders. But thinking about it, it wasn’t surprising: corruption runs deep even within the righteous sects, as my blade-life had often shown me. I’d dealt with such rot many times.
It was time to focus not on the fact the mastermind was a righteous sect, but on how we would deal with them.
The problem was their strength — far stronger than Heukjeonbang. Moreover, even the disciples were effectively hostages.
“I see why they tried to swallow Geumhwa Merchants’ Guild slowly like this.”
The Geumhwa Guild was too big a target to be consumed in one gulp — and if anything stirred up noise, they’d be criticized across the martial world. So they took a drawn-out approach.
“I understand now why the Guild seemed so helpless and kept collapsing.”
Gujunghoe and Geumhwa Guild: this was not a case of eggs against a rock. The imbalance of power was glaring. So Geum Danmok had been unable to find another way but to buy time. Had I been around earlier, things might have been different.
“First, I have to get my brothers out of there.”
Blood relatives held as hostages meant I could do nothing otherwise. The problem was the other side knew this and wouldn’t willingly let the brothers go. I heard they had already refused several requests from the Geumhwa side — Doosanbaek had declined, saying it was an important training stage and they couldn’t send them. Training that could be done elsewhere — clearly an excuse.
“In that case, we must make demands they cannot refuse.”
That was where Geum Danmok’s fake death notice came in. A death notice — even a sham — would be hard for a self-styled righteous sect to ignore.
“Doosanbaek himself is likely to come.”
Someone would come, probably bringing my brothers as a show of faith, so we could more accurately grasp the situation. But for now I wouldn’t think further than rescuing my brothers. And there was one more thing I intended.
“Until my brothers return, as their elder brother I should at least clean up the house.”
Of course I didn’t mean sweeping actual dust and washing the floor. I meant cleaning up the household in the figurative sense. In my past life I attended many meetings as a companion to the Volcano School elders. Although this is my first life as a human, I knew this much: such things cannot proceed without internal collaborators. Geum Danmok’s fake death was an extreme move, but it was also a setup for that end.
“You cleaned up pretty well for a first try.”
I set the cloth down and lifted the Melak Sword.
“I look forward to the day you become complete.”
I’d help it reach that point. If needed, I’d try the same experiment I had performed on the life-and-death needle case the day before, but this time on the Melak Sword. It had only just begun to rank among divine items, so it might be premature. A faint vibration emanated from the Melak Sword that had been quiet until then. Whether from my polishing or from the future dealing with villains, I couldn’t say, but a thin smile appeared at my lips.
Good news then arrived.
“Young Master! As you said, they’ve begun to move!”
Songgok, who had been tasked with one part of the “clean up,” came to report.
Many groups exist in the martial world: sects, clans, companies. Among them, the groups most tied by mutual interest are the merchants’ guilds. They gather for money, and because of money. That trait might make them seem less cohesive than other groups, but that’s a superficial take. Money makes even ghosts obey, as the saying goes. There’s little that can’t be bought with money — only cases where the right price isn’t paid.
In that light, Geum Danmok, the guildmaster of the Geumhwa Merchants’ Guild, was a fairly conscientious businessman. He didn’t spare money when it came to buying the loyalty of those around him. So the cleaning wasn’t as vast a task as I’d feared.
“Five in total, right?”
The Geumgum Unit. That was the organization the martial guards who entered Geumhwa Guild belonged to. Among them, the deputy captain — the unit leader of second rank — and four men who followed him were the ones who had betrayed the guild.
“Eldest young master, I’m being wronged.”
“We’re being wronged too.”
“We only tried to lend a hand in catching the culprit; we had no other motive.”
I had ordered nobody to leave until we identified the identities of those who targeted Geum Danmok. Even so, some who attempted to sneak out were caught and cried their innocence. They had broken orders, but they seemed confident there was no evidence tying them to the conspiracy.
Indeed, there was no hard evidence. But did that matter? I was already sure of what I’d seen.
“I’ll give you a chance. Confess now and I’ll let you leave the guild alive.”
I wasn’t bluffing. I wanted to give them a chance. Although they’d cozyed up to outsiders, they hadn’t directly acted against Geumhwa — at least not all of them. At least four of the five had not done anything overt.
“But the deputy captain—”
At that moment I saw clearly.
“No — Yang Chung.”
I saw his name. And—
“You die here.”
I saw the time he would die. And—
“The chief apparently disappeared suddenly, and you killed him. When you go to the netherworld, apologize to him.”
I even saw the murder he committed. This was the power of the Bright Eye — one of the true merits of the eye that only Yeomra possessed.
