WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 22: Act 4: Bamboo-Tube Beauty (3)

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The artifact merchant's strange reaction made Ise tilt his head, but he did not ask twice.

As the merchant had said, he listened to explanations for several artifacts, but most were far beyond what he could afford with his current Spiritual Stones.

“Could you recommend a consumable spirit artifact I can buy for ten Spiritual Stones or less? I need it for...”

* * *

Having quickly achieved his goal, Ise met Seolryeong outside, where she had been waiting for him.

“What did you buy?”

“Just a single-use protective spirit artifact. But Seolryeong.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s a dual-cultivation art?”

“Dual cultivation? ...It’s a cultivation method practiced by a man and woman together to achieve the union of yin and yang.”

“What would a man and woman do together while cultivating?”

“Who knows? Maybe they play hand-clapping games or something. More precisely... I don’t know either.”

“You seem like you know.”

“I said I don’t! Why are you even asking about that?”

Ise shrugged at Seolryeong’s scolding.

“You called it a cultivation method, so I thought we could try it together. That’s all.”

Seolryeong jumped back in horror at his words.

Why was she so aghast just because he had suggested they practice together?

The two quickly descended Cheongsan and headed for Namsangol.

It was not particularly far, and now that they had entered the Qi Condensation Realm, their speed and stamina were clearly beyond those of ordinary people.

Namsangol was one of the larger settlements near the Training Compound. Since it happened to be the Third Day Festival, the market fair had made the village even more crowded than usual.

The food-sampling market just outside the tavern street was especially full of women preparing for the flower-pancake festivities.

They passed through Namsangol’s busiest market street.

Cloth merchants had set up their stalls in the center, while grain sellers and fishmongers shouted around them. A little farther away, blacksmith stalls had been set up.

Whenever a savory scent drifted past, Seolryeong had to drag Ise along by the arm to stop him from following it as though bewitched.

“Aren’t you hungry? It’s already past mealtime.”

“...? We ate before we left.”

“It’s best to eat three full meals and at least two snacks a day. Remember that. A healthy body is a sturdy foundation. Strong power is built upon it.”

Why was she making such a serious fuss about this...?

“I get the logic, but humanly speaking, you eat way too much...”

“Those dumplings smell good. Let’s go.”

“Can you even hear me?”

Ise insisted on entering the tavern and only patted his stomach after finishing four plates of dumplings.

When he tried to pay the tavern keeper, Seolryeong stopped him.

“Auntie, this is a Misfortune-Warding Talisman. How about taking this for the dumpling money?”

“Hey. What are you doing in this sacred establishment?”

“Just stay quiet.”

The tavern keeper looked at Seolryeong suspiciously, then scanned both of them from head to toe. Her face immediately brightened.

“You’re Daoists from Great Exorcist Order! Oh, that sounds wonderful. What does this talisman do?”

“If you keep it on you, it will ward off one stroke of bad luck. Once its effect is used up, it will turn to ash and disappear.”

“Bad luck...?”

“It could stop someone from dying or getting hurt, or keep you from falling ill.”

“Thank you!”

The tavern keeper bowed deeply and tucked the talisman into her clothes.

As if that were not enough, she packed a large bundle of snacks and gave it to them.

After silently watching the exchange, Ise asked Seolryeong, “It’s not as if we have no money. Do we really need to waste valuable resources?”

“It’s not that valuable. I made that talisman for practice.”

“A Daoist scamming ordinary people.”

“Scamming? Its effect is certain! It might be useless to cultivators, but it definitely works for ordinary people. We get a free meal and do a good deed, while she gets a valuable talisman.”

“A good deed?”

“When you travel through the mortal world, build up as much good karma as you can. That way, you’ll have better luck.”

If that was the case, could she not simply give them away for free?

Ise was curious, but he did not ask.

He thought he understood her intention.

She was not telling him to give charity.

It was about naturally building up good deeds within karmic causality.

The moment a talisman obtained through fair payment prevented the woman’s misfortune, good karma would accumulate for the person who had given it to her.

Seolryeong certainly seemed less like a fraud than any other cultivator he had met.

“What? What is it?”

“What?”

“Your eyes look like they’re about to say, ‘How insolent.’”

“It’s nothing. More importantly, should I carry that bundle if it’s heavy?”

“No, thank you. I’m saving it for dinner.”

Seolryeong tucked the bundle tightly against her chest, as though worried he might snatch it away.

* * *

The Great Exorcist Order outpost in a secluded corner of Namsangol looked like nothing more than an ordinary gentry residence.

“They said we can just go in without knocking.”

“Yeah. I can sense people inside.”

The interior was quiet, but Ise’s Dokkaebi Senses detected quite a few presences.

When they opened the door and stepped into the courtyard, a man smoking a long pipe noticed them and approached.

“Welcome, Cultivator Ise and Cultivator Seolryeong. I was informed you were coming.”

A faint trace of spiritual energy came from the man as he gave them a small bow.

Still, it was far too faint for him to be in the Qi Condensation Realm. It seemed he had given up on immortal cultivation due to a lack of talent and lived as an external affiliate instead.

“My name is Hong Sadeuk. I’m the external affiliate in charge of this outpost. You may call me Hong-ga.”

“Ah, yes. Could we hear the details right away?”

“Of course. Everyone, leave us.”

At Hong Sadeuk’s words, the women sweeping the floor and cleaning the wooden veranda quietly left.

It seemed Hong Sadeuk was the only external affiliate living at the outpost, while everyone else was a servant.

They said external affiliates lived lavish lives... It appeared that was not wrong.

“You may think of Hajin Guesthouse as a group based in Namsangol that manages several inns in the surrounding area. The mountain pass up there is the route most often used by Hajin Guesthouse’s inn brokers. Lately, though, anyone who takes that route returns ill. It is likely the work of an evil spirit.”

“Ill? What exactly are the symptoms?”

Seolryeong asked, her eyes brightening.

“Since I knew you were coming, I brought in one broker who has the symptoms. Would you like to see him yourself?”

“Let’s do that.”

In the small annex they entered with the external affiliate, an old man wearing the clothes of a guesthouse employee lay on a bed.

When they entered, the man sat up, his complexion dark and ashen.

His eyes were sunken, and traces of foam remained around his mouth.

He looked so frail that he might cross over to the Yellow Springs at any moment.

They were typical signs of an attack by demonic qi, but...

“Doesn’t seem like he has any particular symptoms.”

Ise agreed with Seolryeong and spoke to the old man.

“You seem to have been weak by nature already. When you return home, have someone brew you a dose of medicine to restore your strength. At this rate, you won’t last long.”

“Ah... Yes, Daoist.”

“Please tell us exactly what happened.”

The old man took several deep breaths as though trying to calm his chest, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Well... I was crossing the Namsangol pass when I entered a forest. It was some kind of bamboo forest, and all of a sudden, I heard a woman crying. I thought something must have happened, so I went closer.”

After pausing briefly, he continued.

“But no matter how much I searched inside the forest, there was nothing there. I was just about to turn back when... an enormous black ghost pounced on me. I don’t remember anything after that.”

The old man shuddered as though he did not even want to think about it.

“By ghost, do you mean an evil spirit? What did it look like exactly?”

“Well...”

The old man held his throbbing head and tried to recall the demon that had attacked him, but his memories were hazy.

“It was like a dark cloud, or maybe mist... I don’t think it had any particular form.”

Ise and Seolryeong asked the old man every question they could to get more detailed information, but learned little.

They even thoroughly reviewed the information Hong Sadeuk had gathered beforehand, including the records of interviews with those who had encountered the demon. It was all just as vague.

“That’s strange.”

“What is?”

When Seolryeong asked, Ise added, “Tabaro is cold even in winter, and Namsangol is high in elevation, so it would be difficult for bamboo groves to grow naturally here. Unless someone transplanted them artificially.”

“Hmm... You’re right. I’ve never actually seen a bamboo forest. My hometown is much farther north.”

“The bamboo forest itself might be a phenomenon connected to the demon.”

Ise quickly pulled up the information he had memorized about demons associated with bamboo.

“Ten-Thousand-Year Bamboo. Red Orchid Three Maidens.”

Seolryeong tried to follow his train of thought by searching her memory, but these were not demons she knew well.

“Those are... mid-grade demons... right?”

“Ten-Thousand-Year Bamboo is low grade. But it isn’t an evil spirit, it’s a monster. The Red Orchid Three Maidens are evil spirits, but they’re high grade. None of the information matches.”

Ise asked the elderly broker, “When did that bamboo grove first appear?”

“Come to think of it, when I was young, it was just an open field. Then, at some point, bamboo began growing there. If I remember right, it must have been around fifty years ago...”

“How large is the forest?”

“About three or four times the size of this estate.”

“What was it like fifty years ago?”

“That... That... Perhaps it was much like it is now...?”

Ise became certain.

“This is definitely an abnormal phenomenon caused by a demon. Given the nature of bamboo, it would be impossible for a grove that large to form naturally in this climate. Let’s proceed on the assumption that it is an undiscovered demon.”

“Mm-hm.”

Ise smiled with satisfaction.

The <Great Exorcist Order Basic Handbook> clearly stated that the first person to capture an undiscovered demon would receive an additional reward.

Of course, that also meant they would have to handle it with greater care.

Footnotes:

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