Reincarnated Sword Ghost

An Unexpected Item

"What, what did you say...?"

Jeon Seok-gyeon muttered as he fell backwards.

It seemed he couldn't even think about getting up.

Then, his expression twisted hideously.

Madness flickered in his eyes as he snapped his head up and shouted at Jeong-un.

"You're just being used like a fool!"

"...?"

Jeong-un narrowed his brow as he looked down at him.

At that, Jeon Seok-gyeon forcibly curled his trembling lips into a twisted smile and continued.

"I don't know who put you up to this, but right now you're just being played, knowing nothing at all. Those who fear me don't want to step forward themselves, so they promised you a reward and encouraged you to swing your sword. But there's something you don't know."

"Go ahead, say it."

Jeong-un replied with an expressionless face.

He didn't look intrigued.

However, Jeon Seok-gyeon seemed to have been waiting for that answer and started speaking frantically, his eyes bulging.

"I have spent a long time building relationships with countless people in Kaifeng. You must understand, gaining as much influence as I have in a city this big is no easy thing. Even the beggars of the Beggar's Union can only whisper behind my back. Everything I hold is the fruit of my own labor!"

"Cut the nonsense and get to the point."

"There are people behind me you could barely hope to meet in your lifetime. Especially the one who rules Kaifeng District—he's my close friend."

"Your close friend?"

Jeong-un narrowed his brow and asked. Jeon Seok-gyeon nodded and went on urgently.

"The District Head, the District Head and I are very close."

"..."

"The District Head who governs Kaifeng District supports me. He is a nobleman from the Zhu clan. We meet regularly. No one else here has that kind of relationship with the District Head. If you lay a hand on me, that rage will fall entirely on you. It's impossible for anyone else to take my place."

Jeong-un looked down at him silently.

Jeon Seok-gyeon slowly got to his feet.

The tension and fear that had filled his face due to the unfamiliar danger had subsided somewhat.

Speaking had helped him regain his composure.

He looked at Jeong-un and smiled.

"Do you get it now? Do you realize what kind of trouble you've started?"

Jeong-un looked at him and scoffed inwardly.

'... He really is a pathetic fool.'

He'd thought that, being a leader, he would at least be somewhat clever.

He knew that none of these Dark Path types had mastered proper martial arts, but he'd expected at least some other skill.

But this guy was no different from his underlings—he simply had more greed.

It was absurd that a city this large had been led around by someone like this.

It also made Jeong-un realize just how much power the District Head possessed.

The mere fact that his name was linked to Jeon Seok-gyeon was enough for this insignificant man to enjoy such status for so long.

'A royal...'

Finishing his thoughts, Jeong-un opened his mouth slowly.

"First."

"...?"

"Before I kill you."

"Y-you're going to kill me?"

A crack appeared on Jeon Seok-gyeon's face.

Then he spoke with incredulity, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Didn't you understand what I said? If you touch me, the District Head... no, this entire country will..."

"Shut your mouth. If you want to enjoy even a sliver more of your life, be quiet."

"..."

Jeon Seok-gyeon clamped his mouth shut.

Unconsciously, he glanced at the sword Jeong-un was holding.

Blood was dripping from the snow-white blade. The blood was still warm.

Jeong-un asked,

"Is there a record book listing the silver coins you handed over to the District Head?"

"What did you say?"

Shock flooded Jeon Seok-gyeon's eyes.

How could this outsider know that he regularly bribed the District Head?

Did that mean Jeong-un had known everything from the start?

"W-who are you! You approached me even knowing about my relationship with the District Head...!"

"Just answer."

At Jeong-un's icy tone, Jeon Seok-gyeon flinched, his mouth half-open as he stared into Jeong-un's eyes.

Those eyes held no emotion whatsoever—they were cold, unfeeling.

Had anyone ever looked at him like that before?

The sensation was so strange that Jeon Seok-gyeon instinctively took a step back.

"I asked if you kept a ledger or something, a record of the bribes you gave the District Head."

"N-no. There's no way I would leave behind something like that. If anyone found out, it would be over from the start..."

"Yet it's common knowledge."

"Rumors aren't the same as solid evidence. I would never have made such a thing..."

"So there isn't one?"

Jeong-un frowned.

"If you'd at least kept a record, you could've used it if the District Head decided to throw you away."

"Throw me away? The District Head would abandon me?"

A ray of hope seemed to light up Jeon Seok-gyeon's face at Jeong-un's words.

"There's no way the District Head would abandon me! The amount of silver I've given him rivals the taxes he collects from Kaifeng! He's only human too. Why would he give that up?"

"..."

Jeong-un looked at Jeon Seok-gyeon with emotionless eyes.

"You're just like your underlings."

"What?"

"Do you really think that District Head cares about your safety?"

"...?"

Bewilderment washed over Jeon Seok-gyeon's face—he seemed to have never considered that.

Seeing that, Jeong-un murmured to himself inwardly,

'Well, it's just my guess.'

He only knew fragmentary information about the District Head.

People were complex, so he understood that it would be rash to judge based solely on what he'd heard.

'But still.'

The man was someone who accepted money from the Dark Path's boss.

It seemed impossible that he would refuse bribes from anyone else.

Especially with the upright sects tiptoeing around him, there was really nothing more to say.

Would someone like that ever step up to protect just a single Dark Path martial artist?

Even if his income source dried up, Jeong-un couldn't imagine it.

"You can be replaced at any time. If he's worried about his wallet, someone else will step up to fill it."

"Nonsense! Who would ever replace me?"

"That's something you won't have to worry about once you're dead."

"Wh-what!"

'More importantly.'

Jeong-un's eyes swept the surroundings.

The reason he hadn't killed Jeon Seok-gyeon immediately was to figure out why he had rushed in here.

If it wasn't the ledger with bribe records, then there must be something else so crucial that he'd risk his life to retrieve it.

Jeong-un's gaze landed on the wooden box lying on the ground.

"...?"

He bent down and reached out his hand.

"No!"

Jeon Seok-gyeon charged at Jeong-un like a bolt of lightning.

It was a move powered by all his internal energy, triggered from a very short distance—he reached Jeong-un in an instant.

Whoosh!

Jeon Seok-gyeon raised his hand, now filled with true ki.

He had never gathered this much internal power in his life.

The sudden surge was so intense, blood threatened to burst up from within him.

But Jeon Seok-gyeon was actually grinning as he looked at Jeong-un, who was bent over.

'Got him!'

For a split second, his face shone with ecstasy.

Even experts sometimes die from a blind strike in battle; it meant that even those with the strongest martial abilities could still cross the river of death unexpectedly.

Jeon Seok-gyeon was sure this was the moment to prove that proverb.

Then something loomed into his vision at an unreal speed—

Thwack!

It was Jeong-un's hand. Somehow, he was already standing upright.

"Urgh!"

His breathing was thrown into disarray as he tried to thrust his true ki, and he coughed up blood.

Forcing his energy out had twisted up his energy stream into a mess.

He'd never actually learned proper martial arts to begin with.

Staring at Jeong-un's face, Jeon Seok-gyeon's eyes widened.

"So this is it. Even as you risk your life, you're trying to take this with you."

"...!"

Jeong-un had lifted him by the neck.

Jeon Seok-gyeon's attack had been so slow.

Of course, Jeong-un had already considered the possibility of him charging in.

After all, this was the man who'd thrown a poisoned dagger from his clothes.

There was no way he'd quietly accept death.

"M...mine..."

Jeon Seok-gyeon, neck gripped, desperately tried to form words, endlessly moving his mouth.

But the hand around his throat was already bulging veins—he couldn't even breathe, let alone speak.

Only ragged, wordless breaths came out.

Jeong-un spoke as he looked at him.

"Realize it now."

"...?"

"Nothing in this land was ever yours."

"...!"

He poured true ki into his grasp.

Crunch!

Jeon Seok-gyeon's eyes bulged one last time before his body went slack.

Instant death.

In a flash, all sorts of emotions flickered in his pupils, then faded.

Jeong-un gazed silently at the scene, then let him go.

Thud.

The corpse collapsed limply.

For someone who claimed to rule Kaifeng's Dark Path martial world, it was a pitiful end.

Jeong-un glanced at the corpse, which had fallen like a sheet of paper, the face contorted in fear, eyes wide open.

He'd enjoyed much more than what he deserved.

Jeong-un hoped that even in death, he would continue to suffer.

"...."

Jeong-un lowered his eyes to the floor.

Even at a glance, the wooden box was solid and well-made.

Instead of fleeing, Jeon Seok-gyeon had tried to grab this item—invaluable, perhaps a small fortune stashed inside.

Jeong-un slowly reached out for it.

'... This.'

But then, he stopped mid-motion, eyes wide open.

His fingers, which had barely brushed the box, curled slightly inward.

'Energy...?'

He could feel a powerful energy from the tip of his fingers.

Even with his heightened senses, he hadn't noticed it until just before touching it.

For someone with so much wealth, it made sense to store a precious item in a sturdy wooden box like this.

Jeong-un looked at his outstretched hand for a moment.

It was a familiar feeling—similar to when the Immortal Spirit Pill had been before his eyes.

'But not as strong.'

Still, it wasn't quite at the level of the Immortal Spirit Pill.

That pill radiated such presence that you could feel it just by being nearby.

Even considering that the box wasn't reinforced for the specific purpose of inciting martial artists to fight, the difference was clear.

'But even so...'

Jeong-un reached out again and picked up the box.

He could feel incredibly pure energy filling it.

His palm felt cool just from holding it.

It was certain that a highly refined vessel of internal power was inside.

Jeong-un slowly opened the box.

Creak.

"Huh..."

Upon seeing the contents, Jeong-un let out a hollow laugh.

Inside was a Human-shaped Ginseng. It was an artifact of legend.

It was said to have absorbed the mystical energy of mountains deep underground for thousands of years until it took human form.

Some even say that, at night, it truly transforms and walks around as a person.

'He actually got his hands on something like this.'

It was a treasure so precious that even most martial artists couldn't dream of possessing it.

If word of its existence spread, its impact on the martial world would rival that of the Immortal Spirit Pill.

Now Jeong-un understood why Jeon Seok-gyeon had rushed here instead of running away.

'I didn't expect this at all.'

Jeong-un closed the box and carefully placed it within reach. It was an unexpected windfall.