Chapter 132 – Saving Treasure (2)

[Jeokpa]
“You did a great job! Our Lord was praised for having such a good subordinate. Truly, you are the treasure of our Hidden Truth Corps.”
After Seol-Hwi chose to accept Songhwa, bright light heralded the change of his surroundings, and then he found himself in front of Jeokpa.

Jeokpa had a bright smile on his face. He was amazed that the situation, which was far more dangerous than reported, was handled so well by Seol-Hwi’s team.

[Jeokpa]
“Because the honor of the Hidden Truth Corps has increased greatly, I will give you two gifts as a reward. The first is a book called ‘Demon Zen Biography’. It was actually written not by us, but an outsider. It is a very precious book, that was recovered only recently.”
“If the author is an outsider, are you saying that they weren’t a Sect member?”

[Jeokpa]
“Yes. Even so, it’s important. Because the higher your awareness, the more you need to judge yourself with different perspectives and thoughts. Normally, it’s something only I cared for, but I’m giving it to you now because I think you will need it.”
Jeokpa held out a book with one hand, and then took out a small ring shaped object with the other.

[Jeokpa]
“The second thing is this, the Perennial Yin and Yang. When one reaches the level you have, you will inevitably experience being possessed by demonic nature. I feel that you will be fine on your own, but keep this just in case. For a day that you might use it.”
“Thank you.”

Seol-Hwi expressed his gratitude.

Being possessed by demonic nature? He thought that it would never happen to him, but there was no reason not to accept the gift.

[Jeokpa]
“I believe that no matter what other crisis comes in the future, you will be able to get through it.”
With those words, Jeokpa vanished, along with the rest of Seol-Hwi’s surroundings.

His eyes were blinded by light again, and when it was gone, Seol-Hwi could see his subordinates pass by him, as they walked together. They were with the young boy, Songhwa.

[Songhwa]
“U-um, thank you all for welcoming me.”
[Yong Jin]
“So you’re a legendary talent. I’ve heard of such things, but it’s my first time seeing it with my own eyes. It’s nice to meet you.”
[Yorim]
“I’ve heard that mystic arts can deceive normal people, but doesn’t the success rate fall, depending on the rank of the martial artist?”
[Jeok Song]
“That’s too narrow. There are also things like curses, illusions, and armor.”
[Imugi]
“Hey, but… if it’s a cloaking technique, is it like turning a person into an animal?”
[Seo Ryeong]
“You idiot… that’s the art of transformation. What we’re talking about now is a high ranking technique that is based on precise calculations, hides our position from the enemy, and one that we can use to turn the situation to our advantage.”
Seol-Hwi’s subordinates discussed the mystic arts. Meanwhile, Songhwa seemed polite, if not a little shy.

27, 26, 25, 24…

There was a timer that counted down the number of days left in the month.

Seol-Hwi wondered why the time didn’t stop here, or why he couldn’t do free actions during the month, after he completed his mission.

He felt a little disappointed about this, but there was nothing he could do.

And so, the last day of the month arrived.

<It is the last day of fate.>
It was now nighttime. The timer had stopped in Seol-Hwi’s room, and notifications appeared in front of Seol-Hwi.

<You have obtained ‘Demon Zen Biography’.>
<You have obtained ‘Perennial Yin and Yang’ x3.>
These were the rewards which were given to him by Jeokpa, so there must be something unusual about them.

Huh? This isn’t something that can be memorized instantly?

So far, what was unusual was that Seol-Hwi could not immediately learn the contents of Demon Zen Biography.

Like an actual book, Seol-Hwi had no choice but to simply read it.

Well, I have time…

Seol-Hwi opened the toolbox, and took out the book.

Knowing that at dawn, he would move to the ‘Main Story’ no matter what, Seol-Hwi intended to spend his entire night reading.

So he sat down at the table, opened Demon Zen Biography, and began to read it page by page.

‘Demon Zen’.

If the two characters were combined, it could be read as ‘God of Demons’.

Just by looking at this, one would think of a madman who went crazy, or an Asura who loved to fight.

But nowhere in the book was there anything about worshiping a God of Demons. Rather, ‘Demon Zen’ should be referring to a higher world.

“Hmm.”

In other words, it meant training towards a new path.

The main purpose of zen is that human beings study and understand their own nature, to attain further enlightenment.

And a ‘biography’ is a record of a person’s life, recording parts of the experiences of that individual.

The contents of Demon Zen Biography, which Seol-Hwi quickly read through, were as follows.

A total of 12 warriors appeared in the book.

The concerns they felt during their training process, their thoughts on how to get better in the future, and the values they were pursuing, were all written down.

Each of them devoted a considerable amount of choice on how to practice, and what effort to put in.

Strangely, no matter how much Seol-Hwi looked at the contents, there were no names of the warriors, only pseudonyms, and no explanations of what they were training.

“It’s to be expected.”

Seol-Hwi could guess the reason why. If the name of a person in the current Sect, or a famous person of the past, were included in the book, it wouldn’t have been in the hands of outsiders at all.

If there was also one of them who was a master of Demonic Martial Arts, then it would be like leaking secrets of the Sect.

In particular, although it’s a bit abstract, it seems that the author of this book was also someone who had reached a fairly high level, given that he was able to clearly describe everything.

“Count the number of leaves…?”

After reading for about an hour, Seol-Hwi tilted his head.

There was a person who called himself Hu-myung.

Seol-Hwi thought that this had to be someone in a good position, or someone who once had a good position. His words and expressions were like a recollection after being dispatched somewhere, and then returning.

Anyway, he said that one day, he was sitting in a forest and thought about this…

How many leaves were there in the forest? And how can I count them all?

From what was stated in the book, the forest near Hu-myung’s home was as vast as the sea.

How much more then were the number of leaves on the trees?

It must have been an innumerable amount. A number that would last a person’s entire life, jif they counted them one at a time.

Hu-myung would be aware of this, so why did he want to count the leaves all of a sudden?

“…He must have wanted to attain enlightenment.”

Seol-Hwi thought about his actions in the past.

At that time, he was longing for what it meant to be a perfect warrior. After realizing that this ‘line of perfection’ was something which is determined by the heart, he was able to take the first step.

Maybe this was something similar to that? Thinking about how to move forward when you hit a higher wall…

Seol-Hwi could feel for what was being desired by Hu-myung.

Then how should I proceed from here?

And it naturally brought him back to his own problems.

But there was no one to lead, nor answer him.

That’s why Seol-Hwi continued to read.

A new day dawned after Seol-Hwi had completed reading the book twice. As he stood up to look out the window, an unexpected person appeared.

[Geum Man-jung]
“I’ve obtained amazing information! The news is that there are various strange treasures hidden in the central, southern, and northern parts of the country. This is a chance for us. If you give me the right amount, I will definitely get these things.”
Seol-Hwi received a lengthy greeting, and then he saw a list of items spread out in front of him.

<What would you like to purchase?>
[Knuckles] Phantom Handcuffs – 1,000,000 G
[Sword] Heavenly Dragon Sword – 1,000,000 G
[Blade] Supreme Heavenly Blade – 1,000,000 G
[Spear] Blood Demon Spear – 1,000,000 G
[Bow] Ghost Face Demon Bow – 1,000,000 G
[Clothes] Yin Yang Double Dragon Robe – 1,000,000 G
[Accessory] Sun Folding Fan – 1,000,000 G
These prices…!

They were ridiculous!

One million gold per item?!

Not only did he not have that much money, it was an amount that he wouldn’t even be able to save!

So he thought something was wrong.

He couldn’t afford to buy these anyway, so Seol-Hwi decided to give up.

[Geum Man-jung]
“Quite unfortunate. If we miss this time, maybe we will have another chance…”
When he saw Geum Man-jung vanish after saying a few strange words, Seol-Hwi didn’t like it.

But if I move to the Main Story, it will be difficult to see Geum Man-jung later.

Seol-Hwi thought that he could maybe visit the merchant in person after earning that much money, but then he quickly shook his head.

Just by looking at the list, he could tell that they were Divine Weapons.

They weren’t easy to buy, and it was hard for Seol-Hwi to believe that he managed to even get his hands on a few already.

“And…”

In case things go wrong – when he encounters a huge wall and cannot cross it, Seol-Hwi wondered if he’d come back here.

He wanted to believe that he would not, but he couldn’t help feeling anxious all the same.

“In this life, I’ll do better.”

Seol-Hwi took one step at a time.

First, he had to save Ma Taryong, and after that, a future he didn’t know would unfold.

Everyone has to overcome a crisis by their own decisions.

<Moving to Main Story>
Seol-Hwi stood in front of the door, ready to leave soon.

<Would you like to equip your subordinates?>
<The abilities of your subordinates are shown in order of combat power.>
Seol-Hwi was satisfied with his subordinates’ abilities that had grown. However, one thing caught his attention: Songhwa, who was not on this list before.

Songhwa [Subordinate_6 of Seol-Hwi]
Normal physical state
Health: 30,000/ 30,000
Internal energy: 20,000/ 20,000
Combat power: Unknown
Songhwa’s stats were unusual.

His health and internal energy were low, and his combat power was judged to be ‘unknown’.

I suppose I’ll get to see more of his talents later.

Since there was no way for Seol-Hwi to know more, he did not look further.

<Do you want to proceed?>
<Going to Main Story…>
<Arrived at Earth Demon’s Office>
Like before, Seol-Hwi’s destination was the Fourth Disciple’s office in the Hidden Truth Corps.