Chapter 66
The vast underground black market itself was like a small city.
Hundreds of lanterns hanging from the ceiling cast a red hue over the entire space, and from stalls set up everywhere, all sorts of rare goods were being traded.
"Great hero. Over there, do you see that? They say it's a hundred-year-old lingzhi mushroom. And over there... oh! That armor is woven from celestial silkworm threads."
Lee Rin said in a low voice.
As expected of the largest black market in Guangxi Province, goods that were difficult to even glimpse under normal circumstances were lined up everywhere.
Jaseong walked slowly, surveying his surroundings.
His gaze remained fixed on only one place—the stalls selling medicinal herbs.
'The Silver Spirit Flower and Fire Dragon Grass... They have to be here somewhere.'
While Jaseong was wandering the black market in search of the Silver Spirit Flower and Fire Dragon Grass, his subordinates also looked around, enjoying the sights.
"Is this really the Wudang Sect's Taiji Sword Technique from Shaanxi? Isn't it a fake?"
Little Devil was bickering with a merchant, looking over a martial arts manual at a stall.
The vendor bared his teeth as he shot back.
"Hmph! How dare a country hick who knows nothing of martial arts belittle my goods!"
Silent Traveler flared his nostrils in front of medicinal ingredients with a peculiar smell.
Most of them were narcotic herbs.
Gu Janghu quietly disappeared into the shadows to gather information.
[I'll look for clues about the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower.]
Thus, the only one left at Jaseong's side was Lee Rin.
She walked close beside Jaseong, taking in the scenery of the black market.
In this moment, her heart fluttered as lightly as spring petals.
This underground black market, filled with rare goods, was a novel and fascinating experience—something she would never have encountered at the cold palace of the North Sea.
"Great hero, look at this!"
Lee Rin stopped in front of one of the stalls.
It displayed all kinds of ornaments.
"How about this hairpin?"
What she picked up was a delicate hairpin made of red jade.
Jaseong glanced over the hairpin with an indifferent face.
"A hairpin from the black market... I don't sense any unique energy from it."
"No, that's not what's important...."
Lee Rin puffed her cheeks slightly as she replied.
"I was asking if it would suit me."
Jaseong looked at Lee Rin with the same emotionless expression.
In his eyes, there was only the question, 'Why is this woman acting like this today?'
Because of this, Lee Rin's expression turned disappointed.
'As expected, this person isn't interested in anything except martial arts...'
But in the next moment, Jaseong spoke unexpectedly.
"That red hairpin isn't as good; this silver hairband would suit you better."
"Huh?"
"Lee Rin, rather than tying your hair up, it looks better when you let it down."
At that moment, a bright smile spread across Lee Rin's face.
'So he was paying attention after all!'
Despite Jaseong's indifferent tone, Lee Rin found herself smiling without realizing it.
'I really made the right choice coming to the martial world. Everything is so fun here. And... Mother met Father in the martial world too...'
Stealing a glance at Jaseong's profile, Lee Rin murmured inwardly.
The freedom and excitement of the martial world completely filled her chest.
Step, step—
It was then.
"Leader."
Gu Janghu approached quietly.
"I found a merchant carrying the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower."
Jaseong's eyes flashed sharply.
"Let's go."
The group followed Gu Janghu to the eastern side of the black market.
There, over a dozen buyers were already gathered before a stall.
Everyone's face was covered by black hoods or masks.
Soon the merchant appeared.
He was dressed peculiarly, his entire body wrapped in red silk, wearing a golden mask on his face.
"Now, honored guests of the martial world! Today is a special day! Both the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower are on display!"
The merchant produced two wooden cases.
The first case contained an orchid with tangled red stems resembling a dragon's scales.
That was the Fire Dragon Grass.
The second box held a flower with silvery energy swirling inside its ice-transparent petals.
That was the Silver Spirit Flower.
Since both herbs were renowned in the martial world, the buyers simultaneously produced thick purses of money, ready to offer enormous sums.
But just then,
Clack!
Jaseong took out four gold bars from his coat without hesitation.
"Two gold bars each for the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower. That should be enough, right?"
"...!!"
The crowd buzzed.
No matter how rare those two herbs were, four gold bars was an enormous sum—enough to feed three generations.
But in the next moment, someone outbid Jaseong.
"Three gold bars each for the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower."
A clear, cold female voice rang out.
When Jaseong turned his head, there were four women dressed in black clothes.
"Gasp...!"
"T-They're offering six gold bars...?!"
Everyone, of course, was even more shocked than when Jaseong had bid four gold bars.
But Jaseong was unfazed, and he pulled out more gold bars.
"Eight gold bars."
"...!"
"...!!"
Jaseong rapidly pushed up the price.
He couldn't let someone else snatch the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower he had finally tracked down.
To him, martial arts were more important than money.
Just as Jaseong produced eight gold bars, one of the women in black offered something other than gold bars.
A small jade box.
A chill rose from inside.
"Is that... North Sea Snow Ginseng?!"
The black market merchant's eyes went wide.
The buyers around also gasped.
"The legendary herb that lets even the gravely ill rise from their deathbed!"
"She's going to use that here?!"
As the reaction showed, North Sea Snow Ginseng was several times rarer than the Fire Dragon Grass or Silver Spirit Flower.
It was especially known for its excellent restorative properties.
There was nothing more valuable than health—so the price was beyond imagination.
'Just who are these women, to have North Sea Snow Ginseng?'
While Jaseong wondered, the merchant handed the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower to the women with trembling hands.
"North Sea Snow Ginseng... Of course it's sold!"
For Jaseong, it was a disheartening end.
He frowned, but there was nothing else he could do.
He couldn't forcefully rob someone who had bought them fairly at auction.
All he could do now was send a secret message to the black market merchant.
[Find the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower again. I'll pay a thousand gold.]
At that, the black market merchant bowed and whispered, hands pressed together.
"I'll do my best. Heeheehee."
Afterward, Jaseong turned to leave the black market.
But as he looked over his shoulder, he noticed something was wrong.
"Lee Rin?"
Lee Rin, who had been by his side just a moment ago, had vanished without a trace.
* * *
"Where did Lee Rin suddenly disappear to?"
Jaseong asked.
Gu Janghu replied with a face that also showed he had no idea.
"I'm not sure. She ran off somewhere in a hurry, so I thought she might have gone to the restroom... But she hasn't come back."
Jaseong waited for a long time at the black market for Lee Rin to return.
But she never appeared.
"Let's go outside for now. She might be waiting outside the black market."
Jaseong led his group out of the black market.
He chose a quiet nearby guesthouse as a place to wait and to get something to eat.
"If you see a woman wearing a mask like this out on the street, tell her we're at this guesthouse."
Jaseong handed a few silver coins to an errand boy along with these instructions.
The errand boy bowed at a ninety-degree angle and went out into the street.
After that, Jaseong took a private room in the guesthouse and began his meal with his black mask off.
But then,
Knock, knock—
Someone knocked on the door of Jaseong's private room.
Jaseong thought it might be Lee Rin, but just in case, he put his black mask back on.
But when the door opened, it was the last people he expected.
"...?"
It was the four people in black clothes who had earlier snatched up the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower at the black market.
"What's this about?"
Jaseong asked warily.
"We saw how much you coveted the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower earlier."
One of the women in black produced the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower from her clothes.
The red flames of the Fire Dragon Grass and the silvery petals of the Silver Spirit Flower lit up the room.
"Well? Do you want them?"
"What...?"
"It seemed like they were absolutely necessary for you."
Jaseong could not understand these women's actions.
Why show up out of nowhere and suddenly thrust the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower at him...?
"What's your game?"
"The method for getting these is simple. Return the young miss."
"... The young miss?"
The four women took off their black clothes.
Beneath the black clothes, pale, flawless skin and stunning beauty of indeterminate age were revealed.
"We are the guardians of Lady Lee Rin, the young mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace."
"... Lee Rin's guardians?"
"That's right. And I am Han Soweol, the nursemaid who has served Lady Lee Rin since she was a child—even among the guardians."
"......!"
"At the moment, the young miss has run away from the North Sea Ice Palace under the pretense of 'traveling the martial world.' Now she's running around avoiding us."
Fatigue colored Han Soweol's voice.
"She ran away again as soon as she spotted us in the black market just now. Whatever movement technique she learned in the Central Plains, her footwork is incredibly fast."
At Han Soweol's words, Jaseong finally felt all the pieces fit together.
Why, despite Lee Rin's noble status as the young mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace, she wandered without a guardian—and why she had vanished suddenly at the black market.
"The young miss is the only blood relative of the Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace. For someone of such noble birth to wander this dangerous martial world alone... Of course she must be returned to the Ice Palace."
"......"
"But she keeps running away, so we need your cooperation."
"What kind of cooperation?"
Han Soweol took out a small medicine vial from her clothes.
"Put this in the young miss's food."
"What kind of drug is this?"
"A sleeping draught."
"......"
"When the young miss falls into a deep sleep from the sleeping draft, just give us the signal."
... To think they would use even sleeping drugs to bring the young mistress back to the Ice Palace.
It was an incomprehensible approach.
At this moment, Jaseong suddenly recalled the madams of the Red Light District often referring to certain children as 'extremely difficult to raise'.
"Anyway, if you just do this, you'll get the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower. How about it? Simple, isn't it?"
Jaseong's eyes were drawn to the Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower.
They were elixirs he desperately wanted.
However,
"Whether Lee Rin goes back to the North Sea Ice Palace or not is her own decision. It's not for me to comment on."
Jaseong said.
He could never stoop to the level of tricking a companion he'd traveled with, drugging her food with a sleeping draught.
Naturally, the guardians' faces hardened at this answer.
"Leader of the Hao Sect. We've been watching you. You've been using Lady Lee Rin, the young mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace, as your subordinate, acting with great insolence."
"......"
"Fine then. Frankly, I wanted to cut you down right this moment."
Han Soweol raised her energy.
Despite being a nursemaid, she carried an intimidating presence.
Anyone could see at a glance that she was a peak expert from the North Sea Ice Palace.
At that moment, Jaseong's bodyguard Gu Janghu stepped up.
"No matter if you are guardians of the North Sea Ice Palace, your confidence is excessive."
But just as Gu Janghu said this and tried to gather his internal power—
"?!"
Suddenly, Gu Janghu's face froze.
His internal power would not move at all.
Watching this, Han Soweol smiled coldly.
"We saw your skills clearly at Black Wind Pavilion. In particular, branch leader of the Hao Sect, your martial arts even gave me some trouble. That's why we mixed Ki Dispersing Poison into the wine and tea you all consumed."
"What...?!"
Ki Dispersing Poison sealed the movement of the dantian, rendering one unable to use internal power for more than two hours.
What made it particularly fearsome was that it had no color or smell and could not be detected prior to consumption.
"You look like someone whom the young mistress cares for, so we will not kill you."
"......"
"But you must pay for the crime of treating the young mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace with such disrespect."
Han Soweol's icy murderous intent bore down on Jaseong.
And yet, for whatever reason—
Heh—
Even in the midst of this crisis, Jaseong let out a sudden, quiet laugh.