WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 26: Episode 4: Bamboo-Tube Beauty (7)

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“If you've rested enough, let's get up.”

The two rose.

It was already early evening, but cultivators only needed around four hours of sleep each day.

They had limited themselves to one week, so they needed to make the most of their time.

Using a recently acquired map of the area, Ise decided to mark the peaks and search the mountains one by one.

First, they would focus on the hazes of spiritual energy visible through spirit sight.

A blessed grotto was more likely to form where spiritual energy flowed abundantly.

They had considered splitting up to search, but Ise quickly changed his mind.

If they encountered an independent cultivator who bore them hostility, having greater numbers might make the enemy hesitate before attacking.

* * *

It was the fourth day of their search.

Each morning, they stopped by the Great Exorcist Order outpost, reviewed the information Hong Sadeuk had gathered, and got some sleep.

After taking a brief nap of around four hours to recover their strength, they searched mountains farther and farther away. That was their entire routine.

The work was not physically exhausting, but it was interfering with their cultivation.

Unable to cultivate properly, Ise felt restless and frustrated at every wasted moment.

Time, ignorant of his regret, passed without mercy. The fourth day ended with nothing to show for it.

“We've come quite far. Going back and forth now would waste more time. Let's camp for the remaining days and search more thoroughly. Spiritual energy feels denser around here in general.”

They had grown used to traveling together.

While Ise prepared a place to sleep, Seolryeong built a fire and prepared simple fasting pills to stave off their hunger.

“Yeah. Ughhh. I have a feeling we'll suffer for a whole week and get nothing out of it...”

“Then we'll have to accept that as her fate too.”

“Oh? You're getting pretty good at saying things a Daoist would say.”

Seolryeong chuckled. Having spent the past few days together, they seemed to have grown much closer.

After filling his stomach with a few fasting pills, Ise sat cross-legged.

Seolryeong quietly watched him.

After observing him for several days, she could only describe him as a cultivation fanatic.

Other than eating, sleeping, and relieving himself, he did not waste a single moment.

Whenever he had even a little free time, he immediately began cultivating to draw in heaven-and-earth spiritual energy.

Through spirit sight, Seolryeong could see that he had gained a considerable amount of spiritual energy compared to before they had set out from the Great Exorcist Order.

In many ways, he was a fellow disciple worth learning from.

After cultivating in a state of complete absorption for some time, Ise opened his eyes. Seolryeong spoke to him.

“Ise, do you like life at Great Exorcist Order?”

“It hasn't been long enough to call it a life, but I'm fairly satisfied. I don't like that there's no one to guide us, though.”

“True. Everyone fending for themselves is fine, but cultivation feels a little... like trying to grasp clouds.”

“If a sect accepts disciples, shouldn't it clearly separate masters and disciples? The people cultivating together should become fellow disciples too. That would give everyone more of a sense of belonging and make them closer. I don't understand why they don't do that.”

“They say competition is unavoidable because of resource distribution, but the system itself is probably related to how Great Exorcist Order was founded.”

“How Great Exorcist Order was founded?”

Ise tilted his head at Seolryeong's explanation.

“Great Exorcist Order was originally formed when sects active in the Three Peninsula Kingdoms joined together. You could call it a kind of super-sect. Sects like Nangwol Sect, Jucheon Clan, and Yeongsan Manor, where the current Hall Masters once belonged, came together. The core disciples of each sect preserve their own cultures under the name of the Eleven Inner Halls. The disciples who cannot belong to those halls are left to themselves with only minimal oversight. They need a supply of new blood, after all.”

“It sounds like an organization that could split apart like paper at any moment.”

“That's why it feels bound together more by contracts and binding spells than by genuine loyalty. I don't like it either. It feels so cold.”

Seolryeong chattered on, eagerly sharing everything she knew.

“As expected of a child from an illustrious clan. It's nice that you know so much.”

“...R-right. Thanks.”

The sudden, honest compliment caught Seolryeong off guard. She stammered for a moment and looked away.

“What kind of place is your clan?”

“The Seol Clan is...”

A wistful expression passed over Seolryeong's face, but she soon smiled playfully.

“I'll tell you when we get closer.”

* * *

On the sixth day of their search, Hong Sadeuk finally brought them useful information.

“A healer at an apothecary in Cheongrim Village, roughly fifty li northwest of Namsangol, testified that they saw someone who matched the portrait sketch. It was about half a month ago. The healer said the person looked to be in their fifties, so I believe this is likely the independent cultivator you seek.”

Ise and Seolryeong exchanged looks.

If he looked to be in his fifties, he was probably, as expected, a cultivator of poor or ordinary talent.

The higher a cultivator's realm, the younger they appeared than their actual age. Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, they even underwent a complete bodily transformation.

Just as Seolryeong had predicted, he was likely stuck at his first minor realm boundary, unable to advance any farther in cultivation.

Even so, he was still a cultivator of a far higher realm than the two who had only just stepped into the cultivation world.

At least for now.

One thing was certain.

The gap between them and their unknown opponent now felt close enough to touch.

* * *

Cheongrim Village was roughly twice the size of Namsangol.

When they rushed straight to the apothecary, the elderly healer greeted them with a smile.

“I heard you would be coming, Daoists.”

Hong Sadeuk placed a pouch of silver coins before the elderly healer and told them to ask whatever they wished.

After checking the pouch, the healer's smile brightened even more.

Ise repeatedly expressed his gratitude for all the support they were receiving.

“Thank you. Please keep a record of the expenses, and I will repay them later.”

“Ha ha. To Great Exorcist Order, mortal money is no more than stones lying on the ground. No matter how much I spend, headquarters will replenish it. Please don't worry.”

So he was not spending his own money.

That was a relief. Ise thought that once he became stronger, he would surely repay this debt. Then he asked the healer,

“Do you remember what that person was wearing?”

The healer at the apothecary seemed reluctant to reveal information about a patient. Yet after Hong Sadeuk gave them a meaningful glance, they immediately began recalling the details.

“There was nothing especially distinctive. I believe he wore clean white clothing, and a loose Daoist robe like yours.”

Loose robes were a typical feature of cultivators.

It was only natural when they needed to conceal all kinds of spirit artifacts on their person.

“What medicinal ingredients did he buy?”

“Let me think... I believe they were mostly mountain herbs. Heartleaf houttuynia, white atractylodes, atractylodes roots, haeeum herb...”

They received the list of ingredients, but it was difficult to discern his purpose.

A cultivator would not be trying to fortify his body with ordinary tonics. Most likely, they were ingredients for pill refining...

The world of pill refining was vast and varied. They said that many cultivators attempted to create something even from mortal herbs that were not worthy of being called spiritual herbs.

“He hasn't given up on cultivation yet.”

“Strictly speaking, he's only lived half his life. It may be too much to hope for, but some people encounter fortuitous opportunities in their later years.”

Having experienced a fortuitous encounter himself, Ise seemed unable to stop hoping.

“Do you know which direction he went after leaving?”

“That much, I don't...”

“I understand. By the way, can you obtain Cold-Center Herb from this apothecary?”

“Cold-Center Herb? Isn't that a poisonous herb?”

The healer stared at Ise in surprise.

“Do not question him. Only state whether it can be obtained.”

At Hong Sadeuk's interruption, the healer flinched and nodded.

“How much do you require...?”

Ise held up all ten fingers.

“At least ten roots.”

“I can obtain some immediately, but I will need to ask the surrounding apothecaries about the rest. Shall I acquire them...?”

“Please do.”

Ise agreed lightly, and Hong Sadeuk interrupted again.

“I will assign people to it. Have them delivered within one hour.”

“Y-yes.”

He could be a little excessive. Ise gave Hong Sadeuk a look of thanks before speaking again.

“May I use your brazier and cauldron?”

The healer glanced at Hong Sadeuk, their eyes rolling nervously.

Then, looking as though they might burst into tears at any moment, they nodded.

“Should we wait at the tavern across the street until the ingredients arrive? We can eat something.”

“Yes, Cultivator Ise.”

Unlike Hong Sadeuk, who answered obediently, Seolryeong added in exasperation,

“Eating again?”

“We're not going just to eat. We're going to gather information. Kim Siwon might have stopped there. Even if he didn't, tavern doors are always open, so we might be able to infer which direction he went.”

Of course, they would eat too. Ise did not bother saying that aloud.

The moment they stepped outside the apothecary, Hong Sadeuk approached Ise and spoke in a cautious tone.

“Cultivator Ise, you should not treat mortals with too much respect. I can only be grateful to receive such respect myself, but the Great Exorcist Order and its disciples must maintain their dignity. That way, mortals will not harbor improper thoughts.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“You will grow used to it with time. I have heard a high-ranking cultivator say that the higher one's realm, the more mortals come to resemble insects endlessly leaking turbid qi.”

Hong Sadeuk laughed heartily as he entered the tavern in front of the apothecary.

After they had eaten their fill, they showed the tavern owner the independent cultivator's portrait sketch.

The tavern owner did not remember the independent cultivator's face, but they did remember a man wearing a white robe.

Not many people walked around dressed like that, so he had stood out.

“Which direction did he go?”

“Let's see. Was it this way? No, that way. I'm certain he went that way.”

The direction the tavern owner pointed to was northwest.

Several peaks rose in that direction.

The terrain was rough, but if they searched from deep within the mountains, they should find him soon enough.

After thanking the tavern owner, Ise took a talisman from Seolryeong's equipment pouch and gave it to them as a token of gratitude.

“It's a talisman that wards off misfortune.”

“This tiger-nosed Daoist is building good karma with someone else's talisman...”

Seolryeong grumbled.

That boy really did have an annoyingly good ability to learn.

Footnotes:

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