A moonless dark night.
I’m currently walking through a vast grassland.
The drunkard who touched me is now dying on the spot, stabbed by a spear and a sword while resisting against a coffin. He may not be the arsonist, but he was definitely the wildest one there.
Moreover, the area around the castle walls was not just burned, but the heat caused some deformation, leading to parts of it collapsing.
We need someone to blame.
Don’t you think?
And the way he died went against my predictions.
I thought he’d run away far with gold in hand, denying his crime. After all, he had grown physically stronger; I figured he could evade capture longer than most.
And as the captures increased, the later they were caught, the more attention they attracted.
What if that someone had unique hair and skin color?
An easy target.
If they were outright villains, it’d be easy to commit the fallacy of hasty generalization.
Especially in a time when information is scarce. Add to that the rumors of him possessing gold, and that spread would accelerate.
Thud, thud
Lost in those thoughts as I walked, the already dark night sky became pitch black. If at least the stars were visible, I could continue, but there’s not a speck of light in the cloudy sky.
We’re not living in a well-developed civilization, so the road is literally just dirt exposed on the ground, with no streetlights whatsoever.
When I glanced earlier, it was all grassland ahead with no place to rest. Just as I was pondering whether to sit right on the ground to rest,
I spotted a light in the distance.
Not a light in the sky, but on the ground.
If it’s a place where people live, I thought there might be somewhere to stay, so I headed toward it.
It was so dark that I stumbled a few times, but somehow, I managed to reach the location.
An old man was holding a small lantern.
“Hey there, where are you headed on such a night?”
He asked in a very hoarse and rough voice. Quite a unique tone. Since he asked, I replied.
“To Kunlun Mountain.”
“Oh ho, are you on your way to meet a master? From the looks of you, something must have happened.”
At his words, I glanced down at myself. My clothes were a mess, covered in dirt and dust from stumbling on the way here.
“I have business with the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.”
As soon as I finished my sentence, the old man stared at me intently. However, I couldn’t read his expression. He was making a face, but it was like a question mark in my memory that read “incomprehensible.”
His body emitted light. About the size of Hwangbo Cheon.
In short, that’s what it is.
“Ho ho ho, even the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign ain’t gonna save ya!”
His face twisted into a smile. And his body elongated as he moved closer to devour me.
Yep, this guy ain’t human.
When you think of Fishmen, it’s hard to imagine they’re the only peculiar beings. In fact, if you look into Tongcheon’s memories, there are various kinds of monsters and immortals in this world.
Daegon had once recklessly accepted them and challenged Kunlun Mountain. He lost in the end.
In other words, they’re native creatures of this world.
He approached me and bit down. Flesh tore, bones crunched, but—
So what?
I grasped the light and absorbed the warmth.
“Ah, ah, aah? Aah?! C-cold!”
As if even a monster couldn’t maintain its form, its whole body began bubbling up like it was boiling over, with arms and legs, eyes and ears—parts of its body that shouldn’t come out in that place popping out.
“What’s wrong? Why is it so cold? You, human, aren’t you? Huh? What? You’re not a person, are you?”
Now that I think about it, I’ve never tried doing anything to someone I stole warmth from. And, well, nothing was around.
And there it was, a poor native creature, twisting and trembling in the cold, screaming.
I got a chance to experiment.
Before I could regenerate my body, I grabbed the monster and forcibly shoved myself into the dark, stuck light. If Daegon was controllable, this should work too, right?
Crack!
But unlike Daegon, the light just turned into dust and disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
And the monster completely stopped moving.
Its body kept bubbling up, undergoing regeneration and disintegration, but its consciousness had vanished entirely.
Useless.
Or maybe it might still be useful.
The light wasn’t something produced as a tool; the monster transformed its own flesh to create it. Information from the light indicated it was born as a monster that eats people like that.
If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be acceptable to say it was born to emit light?
Let’s take only what’s necessary.
Grabbing the now almost corporeal creature’s body, I shattered reality to turn it into a lantern. Of course, I also healed Choseol’s body while at it.
Crack!
With a gruesome sound, the body was compressed into a lantern I could carry. At first, it looked like a lamp, but now it resembles a gas lamp.
Maybe it’s because my memories mixed in?
Mmm!
It’s quite bright.
It doesn’t feel hot from fire; it seems to glow by itself. It’ll be convenient to carry like this.
So I headed back on my path, carrying it.
Behind me, a faintly glowing small crack appeared in the pitch blackness. Judging by the size of the crack, it seems making the opponent into a lantern wasn’t akin to cracking a glass bottle.
It’s the size of cracks that appear when treating serious injuries.
Good things are good things.
I walk toward Kunlun Mountain, holding the lantern that brightens the dark night.
The path is clearly visible.
With this, walking on a starless night will be safe.
*
As time passed, the dark sky faintly illuminated, and the sun began to rise over the horizon.
When the morning sun rose, the lantern I was holding came into view. It looked similar to a black gas lamp, but instead of fire, strange liquid swirled inside, emitting light.
And the body, which I initially thought was similar to steel, was more like a leather-like material.
The texture of the handle felt quite soft, making me wonder if it had been covered in leather, but it was just the body itself.
It might as well be considered a talisman-like thing.
If it can be used, that’s all that matters. If it can be used.
As I continued walking, wide rice fields appeared on either side. Most of them were dry, probably because it was still spring.
And soon, a large city came into view just beyond the farmland.
I really hope this city doesn’t block the way.
I thought to myself as I approached the entrance to the city. Should I create gold to give to them? I don’t want to waste time.
Huh?
To my surprise, I entered with ease. Unlike the previous city which had blocked me, this one let me in without any obstruction.
I didn’t even need to use the gold piece I had prepared just in case.
Once inside, before heading straight through the city toward Kunlun, I looked for accommodation. I can force my body’s condition to recover, but what if the glass bottle breaks before I reach Kunlun Mountain?
Choseol’s body is that of a person.
Even if I’m inside, I need to take a break.
Actually, I was supposed to stop and rest at the last city, but…
I didn’t get to rest and had to take a long detour, wasting more time. They stole my time, so I wanted them to pay.
It wasn’t a huge price, just a little stir that ended quickly, but still.
I’ll remember the failed choices and take it step by step to achieve my goal.
Current goal: rest.
I recalled the memories of the master I had visited in this area and chose a decent accommodation before heading there.
At the entrance, I ordered a one-night stay and two days’ worth of preserved food, tossing some gold at the owner, who I told not to worry about the change.
The lodger smiled widely at me.
I could see desire gleaming in his eyes, but thankfully, it wasn’t the kind that crossed the line to kill and steal.
It felt more like he wanted to appease me to get more, so it’s quite healthy.
I followed him upstairs to my room. The interior was pretty clean, just like in my memory. Unlike the faded memories of what usually comes to mind with hotels or motels, this room was a bit smaller. And there was no place to wash up inside at all.
Still, it’s a fairly decent place for the price around here.
After unpacking my things, I asked the guy who took gold for a place to wash up. He led me there as if he had been waiting.
It only had hot water and towels, but that was enough for me.
When I came back outside, I noticed my clothes had been slightly changed since entering the washing area. No matter how much I rummaged, there was nothing worth stealing, so I put my clothes back on without worries.
The only thing that might have been stolen was the monster-made lantern, but he seemed to have assumed it belonged to the hostel and left it alone.
I was about to move on but the light strangely flickered brightly, sending my attention back.
There was a man’s face emerging in the previously absent glowing part, slowly melting away.
Ah.
Fascinating. I kinda figured out what had happened. But I pretended I didn’t notice and returned to my room holding the lantern.
As soon as I entered my room, the guy who had given me the gold came in with a bright smile, asking if I liked the washing area and brought me food.
I praised him, and he beamed as he left.
To be honest, I thought he was the most likely to break in and steal.
Mmm.
Guess I was wrong. It seems someone had sneaked in after seeing me give him gold and became fuel.
Good things are good things.
I enjoyed a proper meal for the first time in a while and rested well in the accommodation.
While resting, I organized my current situation.
Unlike me, plodding along, the leaders of Hwasan, Taesan, and Sungsan sects, including Hwanhu, Cheonbaek, and Sema Baek, sped toward their sects using their techniques.
I didn’t think much about them being martial artists, but it seems they might reach their sects faster than the rumors suggest.
Just as I expected, I hoped to see them clash with people from the Murim Alliance or the Taoists of Cheonggyo along the way.
If I had been a bit smarter, I wouldn’t have made such a mistake…
Then my obvious target in the previous village wouldn’t have been so effective.
Anyways.
The distances from Hwasan, Taesan, and Sungsan are similar, so the arrival times won’t differ much.
As faded memories flickered, I wondered why Kunlun Mountain isn’t at the western end but in the very middle, thinking this isn’t the Murim I know, it glimmers faintly.
It’s glowing after a long time.
Whenever such memories arise, I think about it, but the geography differs completely from ancient China in my faded recollections. Thus, it makes no sense to base my thoughts on those memories, so why is it glowing like this?
While watching the three, who would soon reach their respective destinations, through their eyes, Choseol’s body took a good rest.
Once I enter Kunlun, there won’t be any time to unwind anymore.
