Chapter 487

After confirming the Gate’s existence, my thoughts had been a mess, but Jeok Cheongang’s help had cleared them right up.

“…”

Actually, screw that. It wasn’t help. He had beaten me so thoroughly that every joint in my body ached.

When I ran into Hyuk Mujin later, he saw me groaning and gave me a thumbs-up.

“Wow, as expected of you, Captain! You can still get back up after taking that kind of beating!”

“Mujin.”

“Yes?”

“Put that thumb away while I’m still asking nicely. Before I pound the top of your head and turn you into Thumb Princess.¹”

With my Strength, I could totally pull off a compression press.

He might not have known exactly what a Thumb Princess was, but the murderous atmosphere had clearly gotten through to him.

Hyuk Mujin hastily lowered his thumb and muttered, “He’s always picking on me. If only he’d stayed laid up with his injuries…”

“Mujin, what did you say?”

“I was saying that the Captain has risen rapidly to become a Morning Star of the Murim!”

“…”

Now that was a heartfelt lie.

It would not be an exaggeration to say he had elevated quick thinking to the realm of art. Feeling a sudden pang of pity, I patted Hyuk Mujin on the shoulder.

“Yeah. You hang in there too. You’ve been shooting up lately.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I heard it in the marketplace on the way here.”

Hyuk Mujin might be treated like a nobody here, but he was a martial artist who had earned the impressive sobriquet Swift Wind Sword after helping the Jin Family of Taiyuan pacify northern Gaoyuan.

And since he was always walking around with a blue-chip stock like me, his own stock had naturally begun to rise as well.

“Listening to the townspeople talk, you sounded like some battle-hardened veteran.”

“Ahem. Is that so?”

“Yeah. At least a Supreme Peak master. If that isn’t shooting up, what is?”

Hyuk Mujin had been grinning happily, but now he looked me up and down suspiciously.

“What’s with that disrespectful look?”

“I thought you might say I’d shot up, then hit me and leave me laid up.”

“…You crazy bastard.”

It was a decent scenario, though. Still, was my image really that bad?

Come to think of it, I have beaten him quite a lot.

I suddenly felt sorry for him. How many times had he been hit to develop this much of a persecution complex?

I gazed at Hyuk Mujin with pity, let out a deep sigh, and said, “No. I told you, I heard it in the marketplace myself.”

“Really? You swear on everything?”

“I stake both your balls on it.”

“Oh. I guess it must be true, then. At last, the fame of the Jin Family’s prodigy, the Swift Wind Sword Hyuk Mujin, has spread throughout the Murim—”

Hyuk Mujin, who had been grinning from ear to ear, suddenly stopped.

“Wait a minute. Something feels wrong.”

“What?”

“Why are you staking my balls?”

I answered calmly.

“Because they’re your balls, obviously.”

“What? Why is that obvious?”

“Because you’re Hyuk Mujin.”

“What the hell does that even mean…”

His expression was a sight to behold.

If I lost every single one of the countless bets I had made involving Hyuk Mujin, saying that even thirty balls wouldn’t be enough would hardly be an exaggeration. There was no need to spell that out.

“Ever thought about cutting one off and planting it? A tree might grow.”

“Plant what?”

“What else?”

Hyuk Mujin followed my gaze and stared at me like I was a lunatic.

“I’ve never heard of a tree like that.”

“That’s why you’d be the first.”

“I’ll leave that honor to you, Captain.”

“Enough. What were you doing that you only showed up now? You were nowhere to be seen earlier.”

Immediately after the Water God Dragon fell, we had split into two groups. Cheongpung and Hyuk Mujin had followed Zhuge Feng, so this was the first time I had seen them in exactly two days.

At my question, Hyuk Mujin shook the net he was holding.

“What’s that?”

“Fish. I’ve been capturing them.”

“Fish?”

“Yes. I’ve been catching them since yesterday, but it hasn’t been easy.”

Right. Of course. Catching fish must be so hard.

I looked back and forth between Hyuk Mujin and the net full of thrashing fish, then nodded faintly.

“I see. Our Mujin was busy fishing.”

“I’m not joking. These things are so violent and strong that they’ve nearly drained me dry—”

Smack!

“Gah!”

“Drained you dry? You abandoned your direct superior, the man you’re supposed to serve with undying loyalty, and came here to enjoy a little fishing? Just looking at you is draining me dry!”

Hyuk Mujin staggered backward, clutching his head, then shouted furiously, “That’s not what you think!”

“You dare raise your voice at me? You said you were catching fish, didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t fishing! It was capturing! Capturing!”

“Capturing? Cheongpung, capture this bastard!”

“Ah! Yes, Benefactor!”

Cheongpung, who had been lingering nearby, rushed over and seized Hyuk Mujin.

How could Hyuk Mujin possibly resist the grappling technique of Huashan’s Morning Star, a Supreme Peak master who had inherited the Sword Saint’s legacy?

I looked down at the helplessly subdued Hyuk Mujin and solemnly declared, “Even if the Murim perishes tomorrow, I shall plant a single testicle tree.”

“Wait. Wait!”

“I ask you: Is the left ball yours, or the right?”

“They’re both mine! What kind of bullshit is that?”

“You’re an honest fellow. As a reward, I’ll take both.”

“Let go! I said let go! You crazy bastards!”

Just then, as Hyuk Mujin’s screams rang through the air—

Hiss!

“If we bury them somewhere sunny, they’ll grow nice and strong… Whoa, that startled me.”

It happened in an instant.

Something long and pure white shot out of Cheongpung’s arms like a streak of light. Cheongpung immediately sprang to his feet, releasing Hyuk Mujin.

“Where are you going, Mimi?”

“Phew!”

Finally freed from Cheongpung’s hold, Hyuk Mujin pointed at the net he had dropped and shouted, “Capture! Not fishing—capture! See for yourself!”

As it turned out, Hyuk Mujin’s protests were pointless.

The moment Mimi sprang from Cheongpung’s arms and darted toward the net, my gaze had already locked onto her.

And as soon as I saw the scene unfolding before me, a single thought crossed my mind.

Just one problem after another.

Hiss! Chomp!

Flicking her tongue, Mimi slipped between the gaps in the net and tore into one of the fish’s gills.

Though I wasn’t sure that thing should even be called a fish.

Thud! Flap-flap!

Its eyes were bright blood-red. Its teeth were sharp as saw blades, and its body was larger than an adult man’s forearm.

And on its tail… Fuck. What the hell was that?

I stared in disbelief and muttered, “…A spike?”

Hyuk Mujin, who had gotten to his feet while panting, answered gruffly, “You may be hard of hearing when people talk, but your eyesight is excellent.”

“What kind of fish has a spike on its tail?”

“Maybe it’s a special weapon.”

“…Are you going to keep talking bullshit?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Fishing, my ass. It was capturing. Capturing! How could you catch something like that with a fishing rod?”

“Huh.”

Capture. Now that I heard it again, there really was no better word for catching something like that.

Grumbling to himself, Hyuk Mujin walked over and picked up the net he had dropped. Only then did I realize it wasn’t an ordinary net, but a heavy mesh woven from iron and steel.

“What the hell is that?”

“As you can see, their teeth are incredibly sharp. One bite would tear through an ordinary net—”

“I’m not talking about the net. What are those things inside it?”

“Oh.”

Clang!

Hyuk Mujin frowned at the creatures thrashing violently enough to nearly tear the metal mesh apart.

“For now, everyone calls them Blood Fish.”

“Blood Fish?”

“Yes. Because their eyes are blood-red.”

Blood Fish. It was certainly a fitting name for their sinister appearance. But I wanted to know the exact name of these grotesque creatures.

Qi Sense.

Whoosh… Beep.

The wave of Qi Sense spread outward from me and reached them. A System notification appeared, and Level windows rose above their massive bodies.

System

Level 5 Mutated Minnow

• A new fish species has been discovered!

• Information on Mutated Minnow has been updated!

Item Window

Mutated Minnow

Type: Fish

Grade: None

Restriction: None

Description: A mutated species born from exposure to weak magical power. It has grown incomparably stronger and possesses considerable toxicity, but it might taste delicious once cooked.

“…”

This is a minnow?

I stared at the thing, which was larger than an ordinary adult man’s forearm.

What happened to the minnows I know?

They might as well tell me this isn’t Dongting Lake but the Amazon.

First, I was shocked that this monster of a fish was Level 5. Then I was shocked all over again by the System window’s bullshit claim that it was incredibly strong and poisonous but might taste good.

It might taste good once cooked? You just said it was poisonous, you crazy bastards.

Still, there could only be one cause.

This transformation had undoubtedly been caused by the magical power leaking from the Gate.

The Water God Dragon had sacrificed itself to absorb most of the Gate’s magical power, but it couldn’t have done anything about the residue.

And from what I had personally confirmed just one or two shichen² ago, the Gate was still leaking a faint trace of magical power despite having ceased to function.

What happens if things like these spread throughout the world? What if it’s contagious?

I already knew the answer.

We’d be fucked. That’s what.

The tributaries of Dongting Lake flowed into the Yangtze, and the Yangtze was both a vast natural ecosystem and a waterway traveled by countless people.

I wasn’t part of some environmental organization, so the destruction of the ecosystem was a secondary concern. But if some infectious agent caused mutated creatures to flood onto land, then it would be the end of everything.

“…This is driving me insane.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Benefactor, are you all right?”

“No. Not even a little.”

I answered firmly and turned toward Cheongpung.

“Cheongpung, how many of these things are there?”

“I wasn’t assigned to this area, so I don’t know. But Mimi likes them. They must taste good!”

Cheongpung gazed adoringly at Mimi, who had already swallowed a Blood Fish several times larger than her own body.

“Eat lots, Mimi!”

“…Right. Asking you makes me the idiot. Then, Mujin.”

“Yes. We’ve captured around a hundred Blood Fish so far, but we haven’t determined how many more there are.”

I never knew the presence of a normal person could be this comforting.

I looked at Hyuk Mujin with deep emotion and asked, “Great Hero Zhuge Feng knows about this too?”

“Of course. As soon as the Blood Fish were discovered, Great Hero Zhuge Feng ordered the waterway at the entrance completely sealed off.”

“What about the Blood Fish that already escaped?”

“Well, for now, it seems there were hardly any.”

“What?”

According to the past I had glimpsed through the Memory Fragment, the Gate had opened at least a month ago.

Judging by the fact that it was still leaking faint magical power, a considerable number of fish should have mutated by now…

“Are you sure?”

“It’s just a guess, but they were fighting one another.”

“Fighting?”

“They’ve become so ferocious that they seem to have lost any concept of allies. They’re probably still killing one another right now.”

“…”

Should I be happy about this or not?

Their ferocity made them dangerous, but since they had started a war among themselves and were reducing their own numbers, it was certainly something to celebrate.

At least that’s a relief.

I had just let out a sigh of relief when—

“There you are, Young Master Jin.”

A clear, infuriatingly sweet voice came from behind me.

When I turned, Mungyeong was already standing there, looking at me.

“They’re looking for you.”

“I’m busy. The grown-ups are working, so wait.”

“…I was told to bring you no matter what. They have something to say to you.”

“Who?”

A murderous Sound Transmission bored into my ear.

Me.

“…Oh.”

Then I had better go.