Chapter 167

“No!”

What a set of lungs.

The shout rang out so loudly that it belied the speaker’s eighty years, and Cheongpung gulped down whatever was in his mouth.

“Benefactor, he really doesn’t want to do it, does he?”

I heard him, you idiot.

I’d heard he was pretty cantankerous, but I hadn’t expected this.

Still, if a few shouts were enough to make me back down, I never would have come this far in the first place. I calmly tried again.

“Elder, please calm down and hear me out—”

“What is there to hear? You want me to make you a weapon, don’t you?”

“Uh, well, yes.”

“You barge in on an old man who retired ten years ago, in the middle of the night no less, and ask him to make you something meant for killing people?”

Jang Taebo glared and shouted,

“Get out of my sight this instant!”

“Waaah!”

At the sound of yet another shout, the little boy in Jang Taebo’s arms burst into tears.

Holding the fire starter, Hyuk Mujin muttered quietly enough that only I could hear him.

“What a temper on that old man…”

I agreed, though it was also true that I’d been in too much of a hurry.

Judging by the way things were going, he wouldn’t accept my commission even if I died and came back to life.

This is a problem.

I had to be back by tomorrow for the New Year’s Day banquet.

As I hesitated, villagers alarmed by the commotion began poking their heads out of their doors one by one.

“What’s all this racket?”

“That was Old Man Jang’s voice, wasn’t it? I heard Hanga crying next door, too.”

“Elder, is something wrong over there?”

There was nothing to gain from having our identities exposed here. No—in fact, they were the ones who stood to lose.

Jang Taebo frowned.

“It’s nothing. Seems some young men got dead drunk and came to the wrong house.”

“Tsk, tsk. Young people these days are all like that. If you need any help…”

“Your concern is enough.”

At his firm reply, the open doors closed one by one, and the murmuring voices abruptly fell silent.

When the surroundings grew quiet, Jang Taebo fixed us with his bulging eyes.

“Go home. And don’t come back.”

His tone was gentler than before, and his voice had dropped, but icicles still seemed to fall from every word.

There was nothing to be done. I turned away and bowed toward Jang Taebo’s back as he soothed the whimpering child.

“I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”

“You’re hard of hearing, aren’t you? Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

“…Then we’ll be going.”

I was about to leave when another thought occurred to me, something that might move him even a little.

“I truly need the help of a Master Artisan. That’s why I came to find you, elder.”

But Jang Taebo answered without even looking back.

“Go west for one shichen and you’ll find a large village with a smithy. The owner there is fairly skilled.”

“Is he skilled enough to forge Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”

Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron—a mysterious mineral imbued with supernatural properties, the hardest and sharpest material in the world, capable of withstanding even Sword Energy.

It was so valuable and rare that even highly skilled blacksmiths could go their entire lives without ever laying eyes on it.

If anything could pique his interest, it would be Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.

But Jang Taebo’s reaction fell far short of my expectations.

“Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron? Then go to the Ironcraft Guild. Leave it with that Guild Leader fellow, and he should do a passable job. He learned a thing or two by watching me work.”

The indifference in his voice told me everything.

To him now, even a legendary metal like Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron was no different from copper.

“It’s late.”

It was an unmistakable dismissal. I had no choice but to turn away. Hyuk Mujin and Cheongpung followed me.

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean? I’ll keep pestering him until tomorrow.”

“Chomp, chomp, chomp.”

“He’s not just stubborn… By the way, where did you get the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”

“That’s a long story.”

“Chomp, chomp, chomp.”

“…”

“…”

Cheongpung cautiously studied the looks Hyuk Mujin and I were giving him, then held out a bundle.

“Would either of you like some? There’s still plenty left.”

We shouted in unison.

“We’re not eating it!”

We spent the night at a half-collapsed inn. As the only inn in the small village, it was old and shabby in every possible way, but it did have one advantage.

The innkeeper was a local who had lived in the Jang clan village for forty years.

He had been wary of the three of us, dressed as martial artists, but the moment I pressed a silver nyang into his hand, his grin stretched from ear to ear.

“Old Man Jang?”

“Yes. The man who lives over the hill.”

The innkeeper immediately nodded.

“Ah, of course I know him. He comes to our inn from time to time.”

“Does he?”

“Yes. Sometimes he drinks by himself, and sometimes he joins a gambling game.”

“He likes gambling?”

“Not exactly. I think he only does it to pass the time. Usually, he barely leaves his house once every seven days.”

“He’s a homebody.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. I was talking to myself. Is he any good at gambling?”

The innkeeper thought for a moment before answering.

“He’s about average. If anything, he tends to lose a little each time. But considering he keeps coming despite not working for a living, I suppose he must have made a fortune in his youth.”

That made sense. Geeks never spared any expense when it came to their obsessions.

Every martial artist was a weapon geek in one way or another, and Jang Taebo was one of the best custom weapon makers in the world.

He had clearly earned more money than most.

So luring him with money is out?

I’d suspected as much after last night, but the man really was difficult.

A deal only worked when you could satisfy something the other party wanted, and Jang Taebo seemed quite content with his current life.

“Is there anything else? Does he ever make things, for example?”

“Make things?”

“You know, like kitchen knives or pickaxes.”

A repetitive life eventually became a habit. That had to be especially true of someone like Jang Taebo, who had spent his entire life working with fire and iron.

If I were in his position, I’d be too restless to sit still.

But the innkeeper gave me a strange look.

“Old Man Jang? He hates moving so much that he pays the Escort Bureau extra to deliver his winter firewood. I’ve never heard of him making anything.”

“…”

Escort Bureau rocket delivery, huh?

A homebody with a severe case of laziness. There wasn’t a single opening to exploit.

Hyuk Mujin and Cheongpung, who had been listening while they ate breakfast, suddenly joined in.

“He’s completely impenetrable.”

“Chomp, chomp. Wow, I’ve never seen anyone like that before.”

“…I’ve never seen anyone like you before, either.”

One of the inn’s flaws was that the food was absolutely terrible.

The state of the owner’s hands alone raised serious questions about the place’s hygiene, but Cheongpung swept up the remaining food as though none of that mattered.

“Is it good?”

“Yes! When I lived with Grandpa, all I ate was grass and fasting pills every day.”

“Ah, fasting pills.”

That, I could understand. I’d rather make pancakes out of Jinho’s vomit than eat those.

“…”

“Captain, why do you look like that?”

“Munch, munch. Benefactor, is something wrong?”

“…No. My stomach just feels a little queasy.”

On second thought, even that was going too far.

I rose from my seat after watching Cheongpung clean out the last plate.

“All right, let’s go.”

“Already? It’s only between seven and nine in the morning.”

“Can I have just one more dumpling?”

The innkeeper quickly cut in.

“Old Man Jang is getting on in years, so he doesn’t sleep late in the morning. And I’ll pack the dumplings for you right now.”

“There. Happy?”

I handed the innkeeper another silver nyang. He stood in front of the inn and waved until we disappeared from view.

“Elder, did you sleep well?”

Jang Taebo was standing in the courtyard. When he saw us, he frowned. More precisely, he frowned when he saw me.

“I believe I told you not to come back.”

“Could I really just leave after coming all this way?”

I gave him an easygoing smile.

Back when I was a lowest-level Hunter, people had hurled obscenities right to my face. This was nothing.

“It felt wrong to come empty-handed, so I brought you a small gift.”

“Hmm?”

“The innkeeper was quite talkative. Apparently, an acquaintance of his dug up a thirty-year-old He Shou Wu¹ not long ago.”

He Shou Wu was still used as a medicinal herb in the modern world.

Century-old and millennium-old He Shou Wu appeared all the time in martial arts novels, but here, even finding a thirty-year-old specimen was said to be as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.

In other words, it was hard to find in this area even if you had money.

“A thirty-year-old He Shou Wu… So?”

“I was worried you might be feeling weak lately. It made me think of you, so I brought it along.”

Jinho was always saying that the body started breaking down once a person passed thirty.

Your eyes got dry, your stomach started burning, and the day after you lent someone a USB, you could barely stand on your own legs.

If that was what happened to Jinho in the prime of his life, how much worse must it be for the elderly? A thirty-year-old He Shou Wu was perfect for looking after one’s health.

“Hmm. Why don’t you eat it?”

“Oh, goodness, me? No, no. I brought it for you, elder.”

The bait had caught his interest.

Feeling a tug on the line, I held out the He Shou Wu.

Properly consumed, it could provide about a year’s worth of internal energy, but I didn’t begrudge it in the slightest.

“Please, eat it. They say it’s best to chew it raw, roots and all.”

“Hmm. Should I?”

Yes, hurry up and eat it, then spit out a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron spear.

At my bright smile, Jang Taebo popped the He Shou Wu into his mouth and began chewing noisily. The atmosphere was completely different from last night.

Oh, this is looking good.

If I coaxed him gently while the atmosphere was this pleasant, then submitted my commission…!

But the next moment, I heard the sound of my hopeful future being abruptly cut off.

“Ptooey!”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

Hyuk Mujin, Cheongpung, and I stared at the half-chewed He Shou Wu lying on the ground.

He spat it out? A thirty-year-old He Shou Wu? Why?

When we stared at him in confusion, Jang Taebo asked as though nothing had happened.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong?”

“…Why did you spit it out?”

“It’s bitter.”

“Pardon?”

“I said it’s bitter.”

His unabashed answer left me speechless.

What kind of bullshit was that?

“Of course it’s bitter. It’s good for you.”

“Tsk, tsk. You’ve never eaten He Shou Wu before, have you?”

“…No.”

I had eaten Hundred-Year-Old Snow Ginseng once, but I hadn’t been in my own body at the time, so I couldn’t say.

When I found myself agreeing, Jang Taebo rummaged through his robes and tossed something at me.

“What is this?”

I caught it and found myself holding a wooden box about the size of a pencil case. Jang Taebo gave me a scornful smile.

“Open it.”

For a man who only gambled occasionally, he sounded exactly like a cardsharp.

I opened the wooden box with an inexplicable sense of tension.

“A fake! …Wait, no, it’s He Shou Wu?”

He Shou Wu?

And not just any He Shou Wu.

Its body and roots were thicker than those of the He Shou Wu I’d given Jang Taebo moments ago.

A fragrant scent struck my nose.

Item check.

Ding.

System

Item Window

Fifty-Year-Old He Shou Wu

Type: Spirit Herb

Grade: First Rate

Restriction: None

Description: He Shou Wu that grew in nature for fifty years and has finally begun to hold spiritual energy. If absorbed by a martial artist who has learned a cultivation technique, it can provide up to about two years of internal energy.

“…”

Even a thirty-year-old specimen was supposed to be difficult to obtain. Where on earth had he gotten one that was fifty years old?

I was too dumbfounded to speak. Jang Taebo gave me a triumphant smile.

“It comes through the Nine-Room Escort Bureau once every four months. The head of the bureau owes me a favor. He knows how to keep his mouth shut, too.”

“…I see.”

So it was a regular delivery from the Nine-Room Escort Bureau. No wonder the old man looked healthier than most young men.

“Enough with these transparent tricks. I’m a man who no longer needs anything.”

“You certainly seem that way.”

He had money saved up and had achieved professional success.

He even had a full head of hair.

The only thing he lacked was a family—but if I offered to introduce him to a pretty old lady, he’d probably try to kill me.

“What would it take for you to accept my commission?”

Jang Taebo dug his pinky into his ear.

“Bring me the Herb of Eternal Youth, and I’ll think about it.”

“Pardon?”

“You didn’t hear me? The Herb of Eternal Youth. The spirit herb said to grant eternal youth and immortality.”

Ding.

System

Quest In Search of the Herb of Eternal Youth has been created.

Would you like to accept the Quest?

Y / N

This time, I shouted,

“No!”