WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
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◈ Carefree Tale of Cultivation ◈
Chapter 32: Bait
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Jin Hyeon entered the restaurant and gave the interior a quick look around.
It was not a small place.
About fifteen wooden tables with slightly peeling paint filled the spacious room. Two attendants moved between them, serving the customers who occupied roughly half the restaurant.
He could also see stairs leading to the second floor. Beyond its railing were only closed doors, so those rooms were likely for people who wanted to eat without interruption.
Jin Hyeon looked around and took a seat in one corner.
As soon as he sat down, one of the attendants approached with a small teapot and cup, wearing a slightly stiff expression.
“Greetings, Senior! What would you like to order?”
Though the attendant was only at Qi Refining, Level 1, they were still a cultivator.
Their aptitude was probably poor. At best, they might have a quadruple spirit root. They could even be a fivefold spirit root cultivator, barely different from a mortal.
Otherwise, they would not be spending precious cultivation time earning spirit stones through such tedious, labor-intensive work.
Feeling once again the sorrow of the overwhelming majority of cultivators, Jin Hyeon examined the menu board the attendant offered him.
There was a great variety of food.
Simple vegetable side dishes, noodles, meat, soups, and more.
The prices were not low either.
Jin Hyeon's eye twitched when he saw that a plate of fried foreleg meat from a low first-tier Stone-Armored Bear cost two spirit stones.
He had accumulated plenty of spirit stones over the past few months, but this was the first time since entering the cultivation world that he was spending them on food. He hesitated for a moment.
Still, his full storage pouch and watering mouth persuaded him. Jin Hyeon ordered three dishes and one drink.
They did not offer set meals, that excellent invention from his previous life, so he simply picked things that looked reasonably good.
The attendant accepted more than ten spirit stones from Jin Hyeon, smiled brightly, and hurried into the kitchen.
Soon, the sound of sizzling oil rose from the kitchen along with aromas sharp enough to seize a cultivator's keen sense of smell.
While waiting for his food, Jin Hyeon leaned back in his chair and looked over the other cultivators eating nearby.
Most sat alone. Only two tables had several people gathered around them.
All of them were at lower realms than him.
Most had only recently entered early or middle Qi Refining. The one exception was a Qi Refining, Level 8 cultivator quietly eating in a corner with their face hidden beneath a bamboo hat.
Though they focused on their own food or conversations, all of them subtly avoided Jin Hyeon's gaze.
Even if his face looked young, the spiritual power they sensed from him told them he was not someone to provoke carelessly.
Instead of the envious and jealous looks he received from his Senior Brothers in the sect, he found this atmosphere of vigilance rather refreshing.
Before long, the dishes he had ordered arrived one by one in the attendant's hands.
There was the fried Stone-Armored Bear he had seen earlier, snowy white dumplings made with meat from a crow demon beast called Cheongo, and pale green noodles made from a spirit herb called Huisang Herb that contained water spiritual qi.
There was also a pot of sweet drink made from spirit fruit with an aroma similar to plums.
Jin Hyeon marveled at the delicious smells rising from each dish.
He first picked up a piece of fried meat, dipped it in the dark liquid that resembled soy sauce, and brought it to his mouth.
The crisp batter and tender meat, entirely free of the gamey smell one would expect from bear, delighted his tongue. At the same time, a cool thread of spiritual qi seeped out.
Jin Hyeon did not waste it. He guided it into his Soul Sea according to the formula of the Azure Thunder Soul-Carving Art.
The increase in spiritual power was, naturally, less than negligible.
His spirit root aptitude was poor to begin with. Even when swallowing medicinal pills densely compressed with spiritual qi, he could not make proper use of their effects.
There was no way he could meaningfully absorb the spiritual power from fried food that was not even equal to a single Qi Refining Pill sold to early Qi Refining disciples at Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
Still, Jin Hyeon found this spirit food interesting. Even after its ingredients had been fully cooked, it could still provide spiritual qi to the cultivator who ate it.
Since his cultivation relied entirely on the ability of the stone shard in his soul anyway, whether he ate medicinal pills or spirit food made little difference. He might as well choose the one that pleased his mouth.
As he bit into a dumpling and swallowed its rich juices, then slurped noodles from the clear, mildly spicy broth, Jin Hyeon thought it might be worthwhile to learn how to prepare spirit food like this.
Even as Jin Hyeon enjoyed a proper meal for the first time in a while, savoring both its flavors and spiritual power, more customers entered the restaurant.
One of them was an early Qi Refining cultivator who quietly took a seat and ordered food.
The other two were a little different.
“Attendant! One hard-scaled fish hot pot and a bottle of Cheonghyeong Liquor!”
The two men, at Qi Refining, Levels 5 and 6 respectively, had similar builds and faces. Their clothes were also of similar make, so they appeared to be brothers.
The moment they entered, they loudly claimed a table in the center of the restaurant and placed their order.
Jin Hyeon remembered that what they had ordered was among the most expensive dishes in the restaurant and glanced their way.
At the same time, he noticed the other cultivators were also discreetly watching the noisy brothers.
But perhaps the brothers did not notice the attention. They excitedly passed the alcohol between them as soon as it arrived and talked loudly.
After exchanging several cups, they suddenly lowered their voices.
“So, Brother, you're sure?”
“Ah, I am. Hic! I said I'm sure! And don't you dare tell anyone.”
“You mean a map showing the location of an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling will really appear in this auction?”
“That's right. It's recorded on some old, faded magical artifact shaped like a brick, so there probably won't be any other bidders. If we just get our hands on it, heh heh...”
‘?’
Jin Hyeon had just bitten into a piece of golden fried meat and poured himself a cup of cool drink when this sudden “secret conversation” caught him off guard.
Yet the brothers did not stop talking.
They were speaking in hushed voices, but there was no way it would go unheard by cultivators with enhanced hearing.
They continued talking about how an ordinary brick-shaped magical artifact to be auctioned off was actually the key to an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling, making the surrounding cultivators prick up their ears. If they acquired it, reaching Foundation Establishment would no longer be a dream for them.
The brothers let their imaginations run wild over mountains of spirit stones, ancient medicinal pills, and magical artifacts as they showed their anticipation for the auction.
They did not linger on the subject for long. Soon, they wolfed down the hot pot that had been served.
Before Jin Hyeon, who had arrived earlier, could even finish his meal, the two brothers left the restaurant with their arms around each other's shoulders and vanished into the crowds outside.
‘What was that?’
Jin Hyeon frowned at the strange scene that had unfolded in a place he had come simply to enjoy a meal.
He could not believe those two truly thought no one else would hear their conversation.
If that was not the case, what was their purpose in letting other cultivators hear such a story?
‘A peculiar sort of advertisement?’
Jin Hyeon knew about the auction the brothers had mentioned.
Around the time the exchange gathering he planned to attend ended, Pyeongeum City would begin its regularly held auction.
Since it was jointly hosted by the Three Great Cultivation Clans, it was an event that drew countless Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators like a swarm of bees.
But the more he thought about it, the less it seemed to need advertising. It was already a famous auction on a massive scale.
‘...Or was it bait?’
Jin Hyeon watched with slightly darkened eyes as the Qi Refining, Level 8 cultivator in the bamboo hat stood from their seat in the corner.
Half their food remained, but they immediately left the restaurant.
After hesitating briefly and turning their head, they headed straight in one direction, as though searching for something.
‘They're probably using spiritual perception to roughly locate those brothers and follow them.’
Jin Hyeon guessed at the cultivator's purpose.
They surely intended to catch up with the brothers and extract proper information from them.
When he looked around, he saw several cultivators in middle Qi Refining shifting restlessly in their seats as well.
Jin Hyeon clicked his tongue inwardly.
No cultivator would sincerely believe such an obvious, awkward story.
But Foundation Establishment was practically a lifelong dream for independent cultivators and those without talent. Even the faintest possibility could kindle hope and desire in them.
The Qi Refining, Level 8 cultivator had clearly risked following the brothers because they were confident they could win even if the brothers joined forces against them.
The other cultivators in the restaurant remained still because they lacked confidence in overcoming that Qi Refining, Level 8 cultivator.
However, Jin Hyeon thought the outcome would not be good whether that cultivator caught the brothers or not.
If such a magical artifact truly was being auctioned, it would be genuine bait.
Anyone capable of setting such bait would have at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator behind them. They would have more than enough ability to deal with a Qi Refining, Level 8 cultivator who became tangled up in the baiting process.
Even if the cultivator failed to find the brothers, attended the auction, and somehow obtained the artifact, they might be attacked by a Foundation Establishment cultivator the moment they left the auction house.
Just as Jin Hyeon himself had once been attacked by the black-clad cultivator immediately after leaving a market.
By spreading rumors like this, they could make a profit merely by robbing the small fry who got hooked on a what-if.
‘Of course, maybe I'm just overthinking it. That magical artifact might really record the location of an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling. The brothers might have stumbled onto that information and let it slip while drunk. Perhaps this bait, and the Foundation Establishment cultivator behind it, are nothing but fantasies.’
But whatever the truth was, Jin Hyeon had no interest in it.
His position differed from that of independent cultivators or people with poor aptitude.
If he diligently cultivated in the sect, then in a few years received teachings about Foundation Establishment from his master, he would be able to attempt Foundation Establishment without too much difficulty. That “secret” held no value for him at all.
It only soured his appetite with unpleasant speculation.
“Can't even eat a meal in peace. Is there any place in the cultivation world where one can live peacefully?”
As expected, unless something came up, the best choice was to stay inside the sect.
Jin Hyeon emptied a cup of his drink and sighed.
He wanted to leave quickly and rest before the exchange gathering.
Still, it would be a waste of the spirit stones he had paid, so he scraped up every last bit of food. It was delicious.
* * *
Near Pyeongeum City's eastern gate.
Jin Hyeon arrived before a building with round ornaments attached all over its walls.
Five stories high and backed against a rocky mountain, the broad building was an inn for cultivators operated directly by Pyeongeum City.
Not every cultivator in Pyeongeum City was a resident of the city itself, so naturally, lodging businesses were thriving.
Cultivators might train on the stone floors of cave dwellings, use nature as a bed and the sky as a blanket, but they liked comfort no less than mortals did.
Jin Hyeon passed through the entrance, which was covered in gaudy decorations trying hard to look ornate, and entered the building.
“Greetings, Senior. What kind of room are you looking for?”
“There are different kinds of rooms?”
Jin Hyeon tilted his head.
The female attendant at early Qi Refining smiled lightly.
“It seems you have not used a place like this often, Senior. Pyeongeum City offers two types of rooms to Seniors and Fellow Daoists.”
She pointed to the broad staircases on either side of the first floor and a long corridor.
“Those seeking comfort may choose ordinary rooms, while those wishing to focus on cultivation may use the cave dwellings constructed by our establishment.”
The ordinary guest rooms filling the floors above the second were simply for short rests.
Those planning to stay for long periods to cultivate rented cave dwellings instead.
Jin Hyeon wore an expression of understanding.
As the home of cultivation clans, Pyeongeum City had been built atop a spiritual vein, much like Blue Willow Sect.
The countless independent cultivators who gathered here did so not only to trade, but also to benefit their cultivation through spiritual qi denser than that outside the city.
Of course, the cultivation clans were not charitable organizations that would merely charge entry fees and help independent cultivators cultivate. The areas that could truly benefit from the spiritual vein had been occupied in this manner, with usage fees charged for them.
Jin Hyeon sensed spiritual qi flowing abundantly beyond the corridor that must connect to cave dwellings carved into the rocky mountain.
‘They probably collect taxes from cultivators who run shops throughout the city as well... The greater the force, the greater the scale of what it earns.’
Even if several small markets like Suyeop Market were combined, the spirit stones flowing through this place would probably still dwarf them.
Without hesitation, Jin Hyeon chose an ordinary room.
“I plan to stay for three days.”
Jin Hyeon handed spirit stones to the female cultivator and received a brass-colored metal token.
“You may use the third room on the fourth floor. The token can control the formation protecting the room, so please return it before you leave.”
Jin Hyeon accepted the token and entered his room on the fourth floor.
It was simple, clean, and not excessive, furnished with a bed, a few pieces of furniture, and light refreshments.
After looking around for a moment, Jin Hyeon noticed a paper-covered window in the wall.
He immediately approached, opened it, and looked outside. The entire street near Pyeongeum City's eastern gate spread out before him.
Watching the countless cultivators and mortals bustling below, Jin Hyeon leaned against the window and rested his chin on his hand.
As the cool breeze washed over him, he looked forward to whom he might meet and what knowledge he might gain at the exchange gathering.
‘At least I hope the exchange gathering is free of trouble...’
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