Chapter 15
Chapter 15.
Geum of the Unhyeon Seo Clan
Seo Geum was sweeping the front courtyard of her master's cave abode, tense from head to toe.
“For Master to be that angry... What on earth happened in the Yao Immortal Gallery......”
Just yesterday, her heart had been touched by her master's kindness in offering to build her a cave abode, even though she'd repeatedly said it wasn't necessary.
But after sleeping through the night and waking up, she found her master's condition extremely strange.
She was pulling at her hair and faintly giving off a murderous air, so Seo Geum could hardly stay in the cave abode with her.
Though they hadn't been together long, Seo Geum had thought her master was more generous than she'd expected. Now, though, she wondered if that might not be true after all.
“All I can do is hope Master's anger subsides...”
As a servant, all she could do was prostrate herself and wait.
Even when Seo Geum found spirit herbs and treasures near the cave abode, her master had seemed completely unimpressed.
Perhaps that was because the treasures inside the cave abode were so extraordinary.
‘I need to do more.’
Only then could she earn her master's recognition.
If she earned that recognition, she'd be granted a little more freedom, and if she had freedom, perhaps one day she could leave this place and return to her clan.
‘There's a chance.’
Master of the eastern forbidden ground.
Gyo Ran was more generous in nature than Seo Geum had expected.
She was radiating murderous intent like that now, but normally she was considerate of Seo Geum's circumstances and tried to make things comfortable for her.
Even though Seo Geum was a thieving rat who'd come to steal her master's fortuitous opportunities.
‘She's my benefactor. I said I'd be her servant, so I need to serve her.’
Seo Geum hadn't volunteered to be a servant only to preserve her life.
The enormous Yao Vein, reaching the Fourth Realm, gathered in the cave abode. Simply absorbing it nearby would greatly help her cultivation.
Seo Geum, who was at the Second Realm, could rapidly raise her cultivation just by staying in the cave abode, so only a fool wouldn't volunteer to be a servant.
The first thing that had surprised her upon waking was that her cultivation had increased.
Thanks to the spirit fruit Gyo Ran had fed her, she'd risen straight from the third layer of ‘Yao Transformation’ to the fourth.
And so Seo Geum considered her a benefactor and decided to serve her.
Besides, this place was Golden Ring Immortal Paradise.
Even by searching the area around the cave abode, treasures would pop up here and there. If she went around all four directions with Gyo Ran, it was only a matter of time before she came across even more incredible fortuitous opportunities.
She was trapped here for a hundred years, but Seo Geum had no complaints about that at all.
Being separated from her younger sibling was heartbreaking, but by now Seo Hyeon would know.
That Seo Geum wasn't dead.
‘She must have confirmed the Life Lamp in the clan hadn't gone out. She'll come back to find me in a hundred years.’
By then, she could rely on her master's generosity and ask her for help.
Or she could invite her to the clan and show her hospitality.
‘Master seemed quite curious about the Lower Realm.’
She was a pampered young lady who'd grown up in Golden Ring Immortal Paradise. At a glance, she was clearly someone of unfathomably high status.
“I should consider serving by her side for the rest of my life.”
The clan was declining even without anyone interfering.
Perhaps Master might become the fortuitous opportunity that could help the clan rise again.
Just as she was sweeping the courtyard with that thought in mind.
Boom-!!
A sudden loud explosion rang out from inside the cave abode.
“What on earth...”
Startled, she hurried inside.
A huge hole she hadn't seen before had opened up next to the workshop.
“Master! What happened? Are we under attack?!”
Seo Geum drew a seven-piece set of needle-shaped magical artifacts and prepared for battle, but soon confirmed she couldn't sense any presence at all.
Except for one person.
“Master?”
The master of this cave abode.
Only Gyo Ran stood alone in the smoke.
“Why is this here?”
Gyo Ran said, looking down at the ground.
Seo Geum also looked down and saw a small gourd there.
“It's a Gourd Bug, isn't it?”
“Gourd Bug? You mean a gourd-bottle bug?”
“Yes, it's a spirit insect that carries a gourd around. It appears where energy gathers in abundance and absorbs spiritual or yao qi to brew spirit liquid inside its gourd.”
They weren't common, but one could occasionally be found underground or in places where fortuitous opportunities might exist.
“In the Lower Realm, seeing a Gourd Bug is considered a fairly auspicious sign. It also means there's a fortuitous opportunity nearby.”
Of course, it had probably appeared because Gyo Ran's cave abode was itself a fortuitous opportunity.
It had likely been quietly stealing the cave abode's energy underground.
“Why not open the gourd? It should have gathered enough spirit liquid to nourish your body.”
The bug that carried a gourd on its back.
The Gourd Bug was unconscious, perhaps because of the explosion.
Gyo Ran, having forgotten even her bad mood, picked up the Gourd Bug and opened it.
Then.
“It smells like alcohol?”
What was inside the gourd was alcohol.
At the mention of the smell of alcohol, Seo Geum tilted her head.
“Alcohol? That's strange. I heard Gourd Bugs usually have water that boosts your energy inside their gourds, and in unlucky cases, they contain poison.”
But alcohol?
This was the first Seo Geum had heard of it, too. But the moment she smelled the fragrance from inside the gourd, she felt her body, depleted from the loss of blood essence, begin to recover and her strength return. At the same time, she remembered a story from her childhood that she'd forgotten.
“This is... No, that can't be. Why is this...?”
When Gyo Ran asked what was wrong,
Seo Geum answered.
“This is one of the old stories I heard when I was little. I'm not sure it's true, so please just take it as a story.”
Long ago.
The villagers dug into the earth to make a well.
But there was a Gourd Bug that had been absorbing water qi for hundreds of years.
The people caught the Gourd Bug and opened its gourd.
But just smelling the fragrance cured their illnesses and made them younger.
The people called the Gourd Bug the Immortal Wine Gourd Bug and worshiped it like a god.
They offered it food and fresh water, treating it like a god, and the Gourd Bug, in turn, showed them mercy.
When someone fell ill or an old person bowed before it, it would open its gourd, cure their illness, and restore their youth.
As time passed, the village became famous as a village of rejuvenation. But as the story spread, it was twisted into a tale of being able to live forever.
So a high official who held sway over the area personally visited the village and even smelled the Immortal Wine Gourd Bug's fragrance.
His chronic illnesses were cured at once, and he regained his youth, so he was overjoyed.
But did human greed ever know satisfaction?
Unlike the villagers who'd worshiped the Immortal Wine Gourd Bug like a god for so long, the high official thought it was nothing but a mere spirit insect, stole its gourd, and drank all the immortal wine inside.
He was driven by his desire to become an immortal.
“So what happened?”
Gyo Ran's eyes sparkled like a child listening to an old story.
Seo Geum smiled and told her how the story ended.
“The high official grew younger and younger. He became a young man, then a boy, then a child, until he finally disappeared.”
“Ah... So that's how the story goes.”
And the Immortal Wine Gourd Bug lost all the wine in its gourd, languished, and died.
It was a devastating outcome brought about by one person's selfish greed.
“Is this that Immortal Wine Gourd Bug?”
“I think it probably is.”
Gyo Ran forgot even that she'd been angry over getting scammed and pondered the Immortal Wine Gourd Bug.
‘I was only trying to use Earth-Bone Fusion with Earth-Melting Art, and I didn't expect to find something like this. A fortuitous opportunity drawn here by the cave abode's own fortuitous opportunities...’
But the corners of Gyo Ran's mouth had already curled into a smile.
Tail-More had scammed her, but that scam had led her to a rare spirit insect.
She didn't know just how rare it was, but she was feeling pretty good.
She felt as if she'd realized something.
‘Ahh, is this what they call ‘sudden enlightenment’!?‘
Gyo Ran immediately opened the Yao Immortal Gallery.
The message board was filled with nonsense.
Among the posts was one from Tail-More, subtly making fun of Gyo Ran.
[Tail-More: Baby, I'm sorry ㅠㅠ]
-I never thought you'd be that much of a fool ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Yao Immortal (963.3): Aren't you afraid of heaven? Scammers all deserve to die!
└Yao Immortal (178.1): Why? Serves you right lol. Baby needs to get scammed at least onceㅋ
└SunshineIsThisWorld: Are you trying to incur the wrath of the owner of Purple Heart Grass Fruit and Purple Heart Pills? Tail-More, have you lost your mind? (I took Baby's side, so just one Purple Heart Grass Fruit!)
└TurtleTurtle: Guess it's karma.
Just looking at it made her stomach twist.
The prize of 200 spirit stones? It wasn't even much money to Gyo Ran. She could get that much by selling one or two Purple Heart Pills.
But the money wasn't the issue.
The problem was that she'd been scammed, and the scammer was rubbing it in.
That was the problem.
‘That's the problem with scammers. Thieves are always shameless like that.’
That's how people in general saw it, too.
Scammed by a scammer?
Instead of cursing the scammer, people blamed the victim for being careless.
This... was wrong.
It was the same kind of injustice as putting down a lump-sum lease deposit, only for the landlord to declare bankruptcy and run off.
Gyo Ran knew that injustice all too well.
For a whole week, she couldn't sleep, her insides rotting away with resentment.
It had been the same then, too.
‘Tsk, you should've looked into it more carefully.’
Why was the scammer not cursed, while the person who got scammed was blamed!!
This! World!! Is unfair!!
So I!!
“Will stand above the heavens.”
She'd play her trump card.
A stinging rebuke aimed at the Yao Immortal Gallery, all cluttered and full of grievances!
[Baby Jiaolong: I'm no longer selling Purple Heart Pills or Purple Heart Grass Fruit.]
-I was selling them because I wanted to help everyone, but to have this come back to me is a little sad. Maybe I've lost faith in the world a little. I'm leaving the Gallery for a while.
Secret technique: threatening to leave the Gallery.
Heh heh, this sort of thing wouldn't work on an ordinary anonymous user or an established account.
But I'm the one holding the Purple Heart Pill, the only pill that can dispel Slaughter Poison. If I leave the Gallery? That's something to take pretty seriously!
The Yao Immortals had been dispelling Slaughter Poison with the Purple Heart Pills I'd occasionally handed out.
That alone cleared blocked meridians, helped their cultivation progress, and let them prepare for the coming Heavenly Tribulation.
In other words, it was directly connected to their lives.
But what if they could no longer get them?
[HumansSuck: Emergency! Emergency!!!!!!!!!]
-Tail-More, apologize right now!!
A Level One Jindo alert was declared immediately.
└Yao Immortal (178.1): Emergency!!!!!!!!!! I'll hold my breath until Tail-More apologizes!
└Yao Immortal (963.3): Apologize! Apologize!!
└Yao Immortal (444.4): Apologize naked right now, and post proof too!! Ahem!
└Yao Immortal (456.3): Apologize! Apologize! I can't afford Purple Heart Pills anyway, but apologize! And give all the money back!
Of course, they were bound to go into an uproar.
“Even if they didn't know they were missing, once they've been hooked, they can't break free. Heh heh.”
Watching hundreds of replies start piling up, Gyo Ran decided to think about what to do with the Immortal Wine Gourd Bug.
