WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 17: Abyssal Labyrinth (2)
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The two headed for a cluster of pavilions near the Heavenly Ice Palace's main gate, known as the Event Affairs Institute.
Outsiders and external affiliates gathered there to conduct business related to the Heavenly Ice Palace.
The area where wanted notices were posted and bounties paid out was relatively quiet.
It seemed bounty hunting was work that both outer disciples and independent cultivators avoided.
‘There are a lot of them.’
There were far more wanted criminals than Ise had expected.
Portrait sketches the size of books were posted on the wall, with the charges and relevant information written beneath them.
The notices covered an entire wall, and there seemed to be well over two hundred of them.
A few spaces held only scraps of paper, so it appeared that notices for resolved wanted cases were removed, leaving only the remaining notices.
The independent cultivators looking over the wanted notices gave them a quick glance before leaving.
The cultivators managing the pavilion neither stopped them nor spoke to them.
No one seemed to have the slightest interest in anyone else.
“Looks like there aren't any other procedures.”
“You just check the wanted notice and bring them in yourself. They don't expect the independent cultivators who come through here to catch anyone anyway. Most wanted criminals are caught after entering another city as wandering cultivators.”
“Can I copy down the details?”
“I don't think it matters.”
Ise looked over the notices, committing as much as he could to memory.
That way, he would recognize someone if they crossed paths on the road.
Qi Condensation Realm cultivators did not need to remember the portrait sketches precisely.
If they met a cultivator who looked similar, they could use the Mind-Reading Art and ask, ‘Are you a wanted criminal?’ That would settle the hunt.
The wanted notices for Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators were gathered on a different wall.
Among them, Ise stopped before one particularly clean notice, as though nailed in place.
- Jang Yeonggeol. Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.
- Charges: Failing to return the sealed map of the Bottomless Labyrinth, acquired with sect support, murdering a fellow disciple, then fleeing.
- Bounty for information on his location: 10,000 Spiritual Stones
- An additional 10,000 Spiritual Stones will be paid if the secret map is returned with its seal intact.
Ryu Seonghan noticed Ise standing still and approached him.
“Is there one that interests you? Ah, that wanted notice...”
It was the same notice the Heavenly Ice Palace cultivators searching nearby had shown them before they entered the Heavenly Capital Realm.
“Don't tell me you're going after a Foundation Establishment cultivator?”
“Why is the bounty so high?”
Most Foundation Establishment cultivators had bounties beginning at several thousand Spiritual Stones, but the criminal before him carried the highest price.
A full ten thousand. The amount Ise had barely managed to gather after hunting dozens of demonic cultivators from the Cheoryang Thunder Gate had been placed on a single Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“What comes to mind first when you hear ‘Foundation Establishment cultivator’?”
“There must be plenty of good things in their storage pouch?”
“...No. Well, that's probably true too. Think about it. Qi Condensation cultivators can't even dream of it, and even if someone is at the Foundation Establishment Realm, bounty hunting means first finding the criminal. Then they have to risk their life fighting a Foundation Establishment cultivator. That's naturally what people think.”
Ryu Seonghan added, “And if they're at the mid-stage, even late-stage cultivators can't treat them lightly. Nobody wants to step forward. That's why the bounty can only rise.”
The explanation raised another question.
If it was a map they wanted back badly enough to offer twenty thousand Spiritual Stones for, would it not have been better to entrust the matter solely to people dispatched from within the sect rather than search so openly?
It was practically an advertisement inviting predators to swarm.
Ise considered it before reaching a conclusion.
The Bottomless Labyrinth.
It was a kind of small secret realm within the continent, artificially created by ancient great cultivators with too much time on their hands to pass their cultivation methods down to later generations.
He had heard that twisted, bored old monsters often made them as a hobby. They wanted to pass on their methods, but did not want to teach just anyone.
‘Recovering it isn't the issue. It's a race against time. They have to find him before he breaks the seal on the map and loots the labyrinth.’
That was why the condition was information on his location, not execution or capture.
Even if someone decided to steal the secret map, a battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators would draw attention.
The Heavenly Ice Palace intended to use that disturbance to reclaim it.
‘This will be troublesome.’
Ise came to that conclusion.
Jang Yeonggeol had betrayed the Heavenly Ice Palace, the ruler of the continent, prepared to die after getting what he wanted.
He must have made extensive preparations and calculated everything carefully before grasping hold of a great fortuitous encounter.
Still, Ise had a feeling he could find him.
While searching for the entry disciple murderer at the Training Compound, Ise had realized that he was surprisingly good at reading people.
On top of that, he had the Spirit-Seeking Mirror he obtained from the wandering cultivator. It was a treasure artifact exceptionally well suited for finding hidden cultivators.
‘There isn't any other way for me to earn Spiritual Stones anyway.’
Ise decided to give it a try. He copied the contents of the wanted notice onto a blank bamboo slip, then drew the portrait sketch.
Ryu Seonghan, who had been watching him intently, let out an impressed sound.
“You're good at drawing.”
“I am.”
“Why didn't you become a talisman artisan instead?”
“I've been wondering whether I should learn some craft to earn Spiritual Stones.”
Immortal cuisine was an incredibly appealing craft, but people did not yet understand its appeal or benefits.
It was truly unfortunate that he had to follow the times and learn a skill simply to make money.
“Let's split up here. You earn Spiritual Stones your way and continue training to enter the Heavenly Ice Palace. I'll handle things on my end. Whenever I make immortal cuisine, I'll leave it in the cold-storage box at our residence. Leave me a message if anything comes up.”
“Yes. If it looks like I can enter now, I'll go in and continue my training.”
“Alright.”
Setting a time to meet would only restrict their movements.
The two left their residence as a point of contact and went their separate ways.
Ise stepped out into the street alone and organized his thoughts as he walked.
When searching for a target, setting the initial direction was more important than anything else.
One thought led to another, each linking logically to the next.
‘Think from the wanted criminal's perspective. What would he need to do to ensure his safety and find a way to break the seal?’
The first answer that came to mind was escape.
He could move to another city and leave the Heavenly Ice Palace's sight.
‘Too dangerous. Rule it out.’
For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, moving to another city would only make him stand out more.
Wandering cultivators were supposed to be reported upon discovery.
Considering that most wanted criminals were caught after making that choice, the risk was too high.
The second possibility was wandering.
Roaming the snowy plains limited the information he could obtain, but it was relatively safe.
That was likely why the Heavenly Ice Palace had dispatched cultivators to the outskirts of the Heavenly Capital Realm.
They probably believed scattering wanted notices throughout the inner territory was enough.
‘Then, ironically, the safest place would be inside the Heavenly Capital Realm.’
The most dangerous place was the safest place.
Right under their noses.
The territory was as vast as a nation. If he put his mind to it, there would be countless places to hide.
He would disguise himself, conceal his realm, slip inside, and search for a way to break the seal.
‘He can't have already broken it.’
If it were such an easy seal to break, the Heavenly Ice Palace would not have expected to recover it in the first place.
One thing did not add up, though. There was a disconnect between its value and the choice he had made.
The Heavenly Ice Palace had offered a total bounty of twenty thousand Spiritual Stones. Even considering that some of it was punishment for killing a fellow disciple, they had judged the secret map to be worth less than that.
It was too paltry a reward for betraying the sect that ruled the continent and becoming a wanted criminal, especially considering Jang Yeonggeol's realm.
It was certainly a great deal of money... but Ise would never have made that choice.
‘Why? Why did Jang Yeonggeol choose to murder a fellow disciple and betray his sect over a secret map worth, at most, twenty thousand Spiritual Stones?’
Ise thought it over, then reached a conclusion.
‘He reported it falsely.’
Before betraying them, he had intentionally reported the secret map's value as lower than it truly was.
The instant Jang Yeonggeol examined the secret map, he must have known its worth.
It was worth betting his entire life of immortal cultivation on.
So he had falsely reported its value, killed the fellow disciple who had carried out the mission with him to silence him, then fled.
He had used the tendency of cultivation sects to act according to an item's value to keep the great cultivators from becoming involved.
‘Then this is a secret map that even Core Formation Realm cultivators would covet.’
Ise's eyes shone.
‘This might turn out to be quite a profitable haul.’
At first, he had only intended to claim the bounty, but he changed his mind.
He would obtain the secret map and enter the Bottomless Labyrinth himself.
Ise wandered through the central area of the Heavenly Capital Realm near the Heavenly Ice Palace, bought several talismans that could remove disguises, then obtained a map of the territory.
There were a few spirit artifacts he wanted as well, but he decided to conserve his Spiritual Stones just in case.
‘If I'd known this would happen, I would've brought more Spiritual Stones.’
He thought he had brought enough, but they were slipping away faster than he expected.
He bought several maps, cross-checked them, filled in each one's missing details, made a complete map, and looked down at it.
‘He won't be able to ask spirit-artifact merchants or spirit-artifact artisans directly. Above all, secrecy and safety will matter most to him.’
Ise placed himself in the wanted criminal's position once more.
He had betrayed his sect for a great fortuitous encounter.
He had to break the seal on the secret map without word reaching the Heavenly Ice Palace.
‘He'll seek wisdom.’
If it were Ise, he would find somewhere he could obtain relevant knowledge.
From people or books.
‘What about seeking out retired cultivators?’
Cultivators whose lives were nearing their end, or who had given up cultivation because breaking through a major realm boundary was beyond their reach.
Older cultivators usually knew a great deal.
They were also lonely, so if someone kept them company, there was a good chance they would teach them this and that.
Then where would such old cultivators be?
Cultivators who had lost hope of extending their lives by breaking through a major realm boundary usually tried to enjoy the wealth and luxury they had missed out on.
They mostly sought cities of mortals, where dangerous cultivators were scarce.
‘No, that's not it.’
Ise changed his mind.
He remembered the greed of the old cultivator he had encountered at Silver Dragon Mine.
Those who had given up cultivation because a major realm breakthrough was out of reach were precisely the ones with an enormous, desperate greed for fortuitous encounters, great enough to willingly put even their own families in danger.
Such things had happened on the Eastern Continent. This place followed the law of the jungle even more, with plunder running rampant.
He could trust no one.
Jang Yeonggeol would try to break the seal through his own power somehow.
‘This is difficult.’
Ise shared the wanted criminal's sense of helplessness.
What if he first hid, waited for the Heavenly Ice Palace's attention to loosen, then calmly searched places he could approach?
There were secret-manual bookshops in every city.
After enough time passed, the Heavenly Ice Palace would assume the labyrinth had already been looted and ease its search.
‘The most important thing is not drawing attention.’
‘But the great fortuitous encounter in his hands is too sweet. He would be burning with impatience if he hid for too long.’
‘A market town that isn't too big or too small. Somewhere as far as possible from the Heavenly Ice Palace's headquarters.’
‘But not completely on the outskirts. The Heavenly Ice Palace could anticipate the same strategy. A place at an ambiguous distance would be safest.’
‘Gather information quietly somewhere safe until the surveillance loosens.’
Ise's brush marked a total of fourteen market towns.
Footnotes:
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