🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 30
[Is there any way to keep qi lingering in a human body?]
[If it’s something like that… maybe the pressure point technique martial artists use. But that’s strictly for subduing someone, and the qi you inject usually disperses over time and fades.]
[So you’re saying it isn’t normal for qi to stay in the body that long.]
[Unless it’s due to medicinal herbs or elixirs.]
And right here stood a human who was anything but normal—someone carrying qi that wasn’t even his own.
And why did I feel like I’d sensed this qi somewhere before…?
I froze mid-thought. I had managed to pull the source of this strange familiarity from an old memory.
‘Ah…’
A hollow laugh escaped me at the same time. How could I have forgotten?
The very fact that I forgot was ridiculous in itself.
‘Qi clinging to the body… a merchant group that mainly deals in medicinal herbs…’
As I mulled over the facts, I tried to suppress the grin threatening to show my teeth.
To think I’d run into a human entangled with a spiritual beast here. And one entangled with a spiritual beast I knew, at that.
‘Looks like the fox hasn’t noticed yet…’
For now, I’ll keep it hidden. There’s no rush—handling it later won’t be too late.
“Why is this tiger…?”
“It won’t hurt you. I stake everything I have on that. However, perhaps because its senses far surpass a human’s, it seems to be sensing something people can’t.”
The fox concluded his words with a smiling gaze.
“For example, something like the curse passed down in the family of the Silver Deer Merchant Guild’s master.”
A curse? Now that’s an interesting word.
‘When humans talk about curses, it usually refers to something that happens when bad qi clings to them.’
I had seen humans visit places where yin energy naturally accumulates due to the terrain, and they’d scare themselves half to death, insisting they saw ghosts.
In truth, they were simply more susceptible to hallucinations because of the yin energy’s influence, yet they insisted ghosts existed and avoided such places.
Eventually, humans avoided those yin-filled places altogether, and that turned into rumors about curses and the like.
However, the situation seemed quite different from what I’d expected—because Wijihak’s expression suddenly changed.
“Don’t even say that word—curse!!”
He roared, his eyes suddenly bloodshot.
“Curse? As if such nonsense exists! Gwang-ah is simply sick!”
“Generation after generation—affecting only the men, skipping one generation each time?”
When the fox retorted, the merchant master slammed the table with a bang, growling.
“Don’t speak carelessly when you know nothing! There’s no such thing as a curse! I, too, was often ill when I was young—Gwang-ah is no different!”
Panting in his rage, his eyes burned wildly.
“Yes, if you people hadn’t gone after those herbs, Gwang-ah might have recovered long ago.”
“…Ho. I didn’t expect you to admit that so brazenly.”
The fox replied calmly, as if he’d known all along, though his eyes cooled sharply.
“There aren’t many cases where Heavenly Moon Pavilion requires medicinal herbs—especially ones infused with qi. Tell me, why did you buy them?”
Wijihak’s attitude was utterly absurd.
‘Do herbs even have an “owner”?’
Whoever claimed something first owned it. And even if they had claimed it, if they couldn’t keep it, it could be taken.
Yet here Wijihak stood, confidently insisting the herbs I had eaten were originally his.
‘Is he so consumed with worry for his child that he can’t think straight?’
Breathing harshly like a cornered animal ready to bite at the slightest provocation, Wijihak looked barely sane.
“There’s no such thing as a curse… right, of course. Gwang-ah is just sick. Just like I was. If he only takes enough medicine, he’ll recover. To do that, I must gather every herb I can.”
Ignoring everyone in front of him now, he began rambling to himself. The fox frowned and whispered through sound transmission.
[He’s not in his right mind.]
[Even so, we need to check what this “curse” actually is.]
The fox rolled his eyes toward me.
[Why?]
[I don’t know if the qi clinging to that human is from a living being or an object… but it looks like it could help with recovery.]
[It doesn’t seem pure or gentle at all, though?]
The fox grimaced at my answer, but to me, it wasn’t anything surprising.
If I couldn’t handle something like this, I never would’ve grown my inner core this far. I’d devised my own methods.
[There’s a way. Just because the qi is dirty and violent doesn’t mean it isn’t qi.]
[…I didn’t take you for that type, Mountain Lord… you’re harsher than I thought.]
[Harsh? Hardly. Once you know the trick, it’s doable.]
[And learning that “trick” is easy? That’s like saying, “Just try hard enough and you’ll ascend to heaven.”]
I chuckled at the fox’s grumbling.
[Want me to teach you?]
[No thanks. Even if I learn it, it’ll probably take me a few hundred years to master.]
Sharp as always. Well, that’s a fox for you.
Smiling faintly, I headed back to the cushion I’d originally been sitting on.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve felt the White Deer’s qi. Humans really are humans.’
Greedy, self-serving, rotten to the core.
Even so, I wanted to check, because the nostalgic qi I hadn’t felt in so long had been tainted.
‘There’s no smell of the Blood Cult. And yet… to think the White Deer’s qi has been defiled this badly.’
Could the Blood Cult be involved?
‘If those bastards learned anything about the White Deer… I won’t let the last trace of it fall into their hands.’
“If you insist it isn’t a curse, then so be it. However, you can’t exactly retrieve herbs that have already been consumed.”
At the fox’s words, a flash of murderous intent passed through Wijihak’s eyes. Too weak to make us even snort, but the madness in his gaze was memorable.
“However… I have seen someone with similar symptoms to your son.”
“…What did you just say? You’ve seen it?”
“Yes.”
At that, Wijihak shot to his feet.
“Is that true!!”
“Why would I lie about something like this?”
The fox leisurely lifted his teacup. But Wijihak neither rejoiced nor shed tears of relief. Instead, the madness faded, replaced by a cold composure.
“…Plenty of swindlers have tried saying the same thing, just to extort gold.”
Instead of hope or expectation, his face showed doubt and learned despair. The fox simply laughed.
“Heh, so I’m being treated as a swindler? I understand.”
With a soft smile, he continued.
“There are swindlers everywhere who prey on desperate hearts. And when the target is the great Silver Deer Merchant Guild, who wouldn’t drool at the chance? But, Guild Master, I believe you’re forgetting something.”
“Forgetting… something?”
“Who do you think introduced you to Heavenly Moon Pavilion?”
His expression shifted instantly. Watching that, the fox’s lips curled leisurely upward.
“Have you ever been given a proper introduction about who I am?”
His eyes narrowed cunningly.
“And furthermore… Heavenly Moon Pavilion has no need for male performers. Our patrons wouldn’t appreciate that, either.”
“…So you aren’t part of Heavenly Moon Pavilion.”
“Of course, feel free to spread word of this matter publicly if you wish. However, Guild Master, information can sometimes become a noose tightening around your neck.”
“…Is that a threat?”
“How could I possibly threaten the Silver Deer Merchant Guild? I am merely expressing concern that something unfortunate might occur. After all… no matter how desperate you are, if you let go of reason too easily, you only hand your opponent leverage. You’ve already given quite a lot, Guild Master.”
The human stayed silent. It seemed he finally realized he’d lost control and made mistakes; his face crumpled in dismay.
Satisfied, the fox continued with a pleasant smile.
“As it happens, I know someone well-versed in such matters. I can introduce him to you. You just need to treat him as a guest.”
“And why should I trust that? What guarantee is there he won’t harm my son?”
“You’re free to refuse. However, I must say—it’s quite insulting to lump me in with those random charlatans.”
Wijihak looked conflicted.
“…Can he really save him? Can you guarantee it?”
“If you refuse, the chances drop significantly.”
The man’s fingertips trembled. Even I could see his reason and his instinct to protect his child were clashing violently.
“…If he can be saved…”
After a long, silent struggle, Wijihak finally spoke.
On his face, stripped of repeated despair and disappointment, only desperation remained.
“If he can save my son! I’ll do anything! Anything within my power!!”
