Chapter 10: Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng
The journey to Huangshan appeared to take roughly 15 days. This, of course, was if traveling by horse. If I were to walk without any plan, it would undoubtedly take over a month. Before heading to Huangshan, I felt the need to exchange the silver ingot I had obtained.
In this world, you can’t just present a silver ingot and expect people to bow in reverence. The moment you recklessly expose the ingot, opportunists and miscreants will start to flock, and soon, martial artists will engage in a scramble. I needed to hide this silver ingot as much as possible while also appropriately converting it to discreet funds.
‘This silver ingot is too conspicuous. It would be better to bury it in a suitable place and come back for it later.’
It was large enough to hold tightly to my chest, making it cumbersome to carry around. As I ventured deep into the mountains, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
‘Oh right! Should I search for the cave where I died in my previous life?’
The cave where I had no choice but to die due to a mechanical trap!
Perhaps it was because of the treasure (秘寶) inside that cave that I had been sent back in time.
‘I need to change my plans.’
With that thought, I couldn’t wait any longer. First, I stopped by a nearby village to buy a nail (丁), a bundle of ropes, and a copper shield. No one knew the geography of this area better than I did, so I could find my way straight even while wandering through treacherous forests.
I could go to Huangshan afterward.
First, it seemed best to uncover the secret of the cave.
Night soon fell.
I snapped dry branches to start a fire and prepared to camp for the night. Unlike three years ago, I had enough sleeping bags and equipment, and I could protect my body from the cold with my internal energy. With just the stones and pebbles cleared from the ground, I could lay down and get some sleep.
Krack, krack…
The fire started to blaze. I warmed myself by the fire and fell into thought.
Why had I returned to the past?
I had lost my life because of the mechanical trap, but at the last moment, I reached for the inside of that box.
I seemed to recall my hand gripping a book (冊).
Of course, my memory of those final moments was hazy, so I couldn’t tell what kind of book it was.
‘Could it be that I returned to the past because I took that book?’
There were too many uncertainties. I shook my head and decided to get some sleep. There would be time to think after I found the cave.
At dawn the next day, I began searching the mountain. I knew well where I had secluded myself for swordsmanship practice in my previous life. It was a mountain valley that had a household nearby but was not too precipitous. Soon, I discovered a familiar stream and the flat area where I had built and stayed in a small thatched hut.
Now, I just needed to find the ‘cave’ around here. I calmly traced my memory. I was descending the mountain path slowly, bathed in the sunlight rising over the mountain.
“……!!”
I stopped in my tracks. In front of me was a cleverly disguised three-length high cliff that looked like you could easily miss a step and fall. It was probably obscured by large branches growing thickly between the cliffs.
Peeking down, I saw the cave I had seen before. My heart pounding, I set the silver ingot aside for a moment. Since I would need to climb the cliff, I drove the nail into the ground and tied the rope around myself before starting to descend slowly. Feeling a foothold, I inched sideways and entered the cave, just as I had done before.
The inside of the cave was pitch dark. I untied the rope and walked a little further in, then noticed a light emanating from within.
Flare!
“Ugh… As I thought…”
Seeing the scene I had witnessed before my death, I gulped. A chest seemingly infused with mystery was shimmering in the cave’s light, and the inner space of the cave was fairly spacious.
‘There’s a mechanical trap here. The speed at which the arrows fly is incredible…’
Even with my current skills, it was questionable if I could dodge them easily. Tensing up, I watched the chest and then drew a short sword (短刀) from my sleeve and threw it at the chest.
Clang!
The short sword struck the opening of the chest accurately and flew aside. It seemed the mechanical trap did not activate unless a human body approached it. There were probably sensors on the ground or the walls, but it was beyond my skill to detect them. Only a professional thief or grave robber could do that.
“But humans can use tools.”
I slightly lifted the copper shield I had bought from the village blacksmith. Rather than relying solely on my footwork to dodge the arrows, it was more realistic to quickly protect vital points with the copper shield while advancing. Faced with such mechanical traps, pride in one’s skill was meaningless.
Clang!
‘Made it!’
An arrow clattered against the front of the copper shield and ricocheted off. The speed of the arrow was such that it was barely perceptible even to my dynamic vision, and escaping it with my current skills was out of the question. All I could do was position the shield where I anticipated the arrow would come from and block it.
Arrows fired by mechanical traps were several times faster than those shot by humans. Breathing a sigh of relief, I took another step closer to the chest.
There seemed to be no more mechanical traps. Carefully tapping the lid of the chest with my knife’s sheath, I then cautiously opened it.
Creak…
“……”
I took out the single book (冊) that was inside. For a moment, I wondered if removing the book would send me back to the past again, but nothing of the sort happened. Sitting down, I began to carefully examine the book.
The title of the book was “Cheonam Biseo (天暗秘書/Heavenly Dark Secretary).”
‘What is this…?’
It was a peculiar name, not quite fitting for a martial arts manual or a demon sect’s magic manual, nor did it feel like a righteous sect’s martial arts scripture. Tilting my head in confusion, I turned to look at the contents of the first page and was shocked.
“What is this?”
Strange characters!
The book was filled with odd characters that I had never seen before, seemingly not of this world’s language. Judging from the careful writing, it was clearly a structured language, but the issue was that I had truly never encountered such characters. Even during my time working as a bodyguard, I had seen Sanskrit and Western scripts, but these characters were on a totally different level.
What was clear was that this “Cheonam Biseo” was a book entirely beyond my ability to interpret or read. However, it seemed undeniable that this book had somehow sent me back in time.
What should I do with this suspicious book?
Frowning, I stared at the book for a long while without reaching a conclusion. Eventually, I picked up the “Cheonam Biseo” and tucked it into my bosom.
“I have no choice but to carry it with me.”
In some sense, this book was far more important than the silver ingot. After making a round trip over the cliff to place the silver ingots inside the cave, I emerged with just one ingot for potential travel expenses.
What I thought would be an adventurous and difficult exploration of the cave turned out to be unexpectedly anticlimactic. Though some questions remained unresolved, I had only faced a single life-threatening situation. All I had gotten was a book.
Yet, an ominous feeling gnawed at me.
I had the sense that this “Cheonam Biseo” contained secrets far beyond a simple martial arts manual.
‘Later on, I might need to look for a scholar (大學者). Among the wise men (賢者) of the world, there surely is someone who could interpret this Cheonam Biseo.’
Once out of the cave, I initiated a journey directly toward Huangshan.
It had been a few days since I had robbed the village chief and taken his silver ingots, yet the constables didn’t seem to have any suspicion toward me. Either the wanted poster hadn’t reached this region, or the village chief had kept silent, which seemed more likely.
It made sense. The practical result of my actions was merely beating a few village hoodlums to death, with no witnesses to identify me as the perpetrator.
Moreover, if the village chief’s dealings with me became public, it would reveal his vast wealth. This would inevitably attract countless wandering warriors seeking his silver ingots, so the village chief wouldn’t be able to report me to the authorities.
‘Still, I can’t be too relaxed. It’s possible he might hire a martial arts expert to chase and kill me…’
However, that was just a possibility. Top-tier or peak martial artists, full of pride, rarely accepted commissions for money alone, especially not from someone as insignificant as a village chief. To hire someone capable enough to incapacitate me would likely cost the entire fortune I had stolen from the village chief.
In short, there was no immediate need to fear retribution from the village chief.
Tired of walking towards Huangshan, I rented a horse from a postal station along the way. The horse indeed made the journey three times faster and more comfortable than walking. A few days later, as I arrived at the village at the foot of Huangshan and gazed up at the mountain, it felt like the end of my hardships was near.
Clop, clop.
Sitting on the horseback, I couldn’t help but sigh. The foggy clouds surrounding the mountain peaks looked mountainous.
‘Hah… But given the grandeur of Huangshan, this won’t be an easy feat.’
Huangshan.
It was a renowned mountain on the continent, held in higher esteem than the Wuyue (五岳). There was even a saying, “No other mountain is worth seeing after viewing the Five Sacred Mountains, and no other mountains are worth seeing after viewing Huangshan,” highlighting its remarkable scenery.
Furthermore, Huangshan comprised seventy-two peaks (七十二峰), each one towering over five to six hundred meters. While human hands had somewhat tamed Huangshan’s peaks, there were still many treacherous areas yet unexplored by humans, requiring a cautious search.
Searching all seventy-two peaks!
All this to find the elusive Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng (千年雪蔘)!
It was an almost insane task, but I had no choice. Knowing about the existence of the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng in Huangshan through experience left me certain. Moreover, I knew three clues that could help find it.
First.
The Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng is not found on the external twenty-four peaks (二十四峰).
This is because the initial discovery of the ginseng by Danmokse’s young master, Danmokso, was said to have occurred among the internal forty-eight landscapes (四十八景). Unlike the external peaks, the internal ones are filled with many untouched scenic spots. This alone significantly narrows down the search area.
Second.
The ginseng is not located near the Huangshan Sect’s (黃山派) base.
According to what I had heard, the Huangshan Sect joined the scramble for the ginseng much later because their base was quite far from the discovery site. Eliminating the vicinity of the Huangshan Sect from the search area reduces it further.
Third.
The Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng was discovered in a place where “white and black lotuses bloom together.” Whether this is metaphorical or not, it was the most reliable clue, and keeping it in mind, I was certain I would find the ginseng soon enough.
Smiling, I anticipated the upcoming search.
‘Exchanging just one silver ingot at a nearby money changer should yield at least a hundred nyang (兩)… That’s more than enough for travel expenses and food. If I generously estimate that one year will suffice, I should be able to find the ginseng within that time.’
Excluding the area near the Huangshan Sect’s base would narrow the range considerably. If I searched one peak per week thoroughly, I should be able to find the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng within 1-2 years.
Just as I was feeling peckish and went into a nearby inn to have a meal, an ominous feeling crept over me.
“Hey, young man! Nice to see you!”
At the entrance of the inn, a man dressed in flowing black clothes waved at me, pretending to be friendly.
‘Who is that?’
I intended to ignore him since he was someone I had never seen before, but his next words were impossible to ignore.
“Uh, what’s your name… Baek Woong (白熊), right? There’s a bounty of about 500 nyang on your head. Why don’t you make it easy and just extend your neck for me?”
Clank! Clang!
At that moment, the loud sound of swords being drawn resonated from the first and second floors of the inn. From the noise, I sensed that there were at least twenty to thirty warriors present.
“……!!”
“Why the face?”
The black-clad warrior chuckled as he spoke.
“Don’t worry. We don’t have a hobby of torturing people; we’ll make it quick and just lop off your head.”
That was no comfort at all.
‘I can’t win this!’
Seeing the level of the warriors surrounding the inn, I felt my entire body freeze, and my mind began to feel faint. Their stances, the killing aura they emitted, and the power of their internal energy—none of it belonged to mere third-rate fighters. These were well-trained elite martial artists, each one a force to be reckoned with. It was doubtful I could handle even three of them, let alone ten or twenty. If they all attacked at once, I would be skewered and killed without any chance of resistance.
They were incredibly strong!
The real question was why a sect capable of mobilizing such elite warriors was targeting my life. I asked in a trembling voice,
“Who… who are you? And who hired you to kill me?”
“Of course, I’ll tell you. Killing a young man like you doesn’t sit well with me.”
The black-clad warrior, now seated properly, propped his chin up as he spoke.
“We are the Assassination Squad (殺手組) of Black Night Gate (黑夜門). Have you heard of us?”
“… Mado Eight Gates (魔道八門)!!”
“Oh, you know us.”
I shouted in astonishment.
Mado Eight Gates!
This referred to the eight prominent sects in the demonic and unorthodox paths, considered as formidable as the Nine Schools and the Five Great Clans. Among them, Heugyamun was a sect specializing in assassination contracts, and its members were reputed to be the most skilled of the Mado Eight Gates. The Assassination Squad was so feared that even the orthodox sects compared them to grim reapers.
Even a supreme master couldn’t survive if targeted by Heugyamun’s Assassination Squad. That reputation had spread throughout the martial world, becoming an accepted fact. My vision darkened, but I managed to steady my swirling thoughts and asked,
“By the way, I am the Squad Leader (殺手組長). Nice to meet you, Baek Woong.”
The man in black clothes grinned as he introduced himself. Of course, his introduction was anything but welcome.
“Who hired you?”
The Squad Leader shrugged.
“You should know. There’s only one person you’ve wronged recently.”
“The village chief…”
“Exactly. The client suffered a significant loss, but he seemed determined to avenge himself on you, even if it meant spending his entire fortune.”
I glanced at him and said,
“If you spare me, I’ll give you double that amount. Honestly.”
The Squad Leader burst into loud laughter.
“Hahaha… Even if that’s true, we can’t accept it. If we betray our clients for more money, who will trust us with contracts? Use whatever unused money as your fare to the underworld.”
As the Squad Leader was about to give the order, I urgently called out again.
“Then I have another proposal!”
“What is it?”
“If I defeat you in a one-on-one duel, you call off the pursuit.”
Since the Squad Leader would be the strongest among the Assassination Squad, he wouldn’t easily refuse such a proposal. This was also the reason why Heugyamun, despite being an assassination sect, wasn’t attacked indiscriminately by other martial sects. They claimed to be martial artists, so they didn’t refuse challenges or duels from other sects.
“Ho… Bold!”
Murmur.
The warriors of the Assassination Squad looked at me as if I were insane, while the Squad Leader simply chuckled as if amused.
“Well, if that’s your wish… Anyway, I was planning to take your head myself, so it saves me some trouble.”
Ssshing.
The Assassination Squad Leader drew the long sword (長劍) strapped to his back and slowly stood opposite me. The other squad members surrounded the inn, ensuring I couldn’t escape. Clenching my teeth, I gripped my iron sword with one hand and mustered my fighting spirit.
I had to survive.
Somehow, I had to use all the martial arts skills I had learned up until now to survive.
I couldn’t die here without even searching for the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng properly!
“Shall we begin?”
The Assassination Squad Leader smiled brightly and then lunged with his sword.
Swsh, swsh, swsh!
Sshk!
Within mere ten seconds, my sword broke, and my solar plexus was struck by an invisible force palm (隔空掌), sending me flying through the air. The gap in our skill levels was so immense that I momentarily couldn’t comprehend it.
‘Huh…?’
I had felt this sensation before somewhere…
Swoosh, swoosh.
“Farewell.”
In the next instant, as I saw the blue glow of the sword energy (劍氣), I finally understood. The Assassination Squad Leader was either on par with or superior to Master Jin So-cheong, a peak martial artist.
Soon, my head flew off.
Flooded with memories amidst excruciating pain cutting off my breath.
‘Ah, damn it….’
This was my second death.
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