I asked again.
“Sorry? A spirit beast shaped like a person?”
“Yes. Quite a few tribe members have already been attacked. Thankfully no one has died, but according to them, it looks completely human.”
“Then isn’t it just a person?”
He spoke with an awkward expression.
“They say it acts way too much like a beast to call it a person.”
Just hearing it like this, I really couldn’t picture it, so I could only tilt my head.
“Since when has it been showing up?”
“For about half a month now. No one has died yet, but everyone’s worried sick that if this keeps up, someone really will end up dead.”
Yeah, that’s definitely something to worry about.
But just because it’s worrying doesn’t mean I can sit still and do nothing.
If I wanted to fill my boxes with clean snow, I had to head much deeper in.
On top of that, the hunter tribe’s safety was also a problem.
We had to keep them safe if we wanted a steady supply of animal hides.
“For now, to keep our trading partners safe, Eunpoong Division’s warriors are going out with them on their hunts.”
“I see. A wise decision.”
“In any case, you really need to be careful.”
While I was talking with Branch Chief Su, someone’s urgent shout rang out.
“Branch Chief! Branch Chief! Something terrible’s happened!”
Branch Chief Su looked at me, and I nodded.
“Let them in.”
“Come in.”
An employee stumbled in, panting hard.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s terrible! The Eunpoong Division warriors who went out hunting with the hunter tribe were attacked by that bizarre spirit beast!”
“What?”
I asked the employee,
“Where are they now?”
“They’re still out there.”
At those words, Branch Chief Su spoke up.
“Gather Eunpoong Division’s warriors right now. I’ll go there myself.”
At that, I also rose from my seat and said,
“I’ll go too.”
.
.
.
A short time later, we reached the place where Eunpoong Division’s warriors had been ambushed.
“What’s the situation?”
At Branch Chief Su’s question, one of them answered in a weak voice.
“It ran away not long after. Thankfully no one died, but the injuries are bad, so I don’t think they can move easily.”
That one was in the best shape, but just barely able to stand. The other hunters and Eunpoong Division warriors were either lying or sitting on the snowy ground.
The red drops of blood scattered over the white snow immediately caught my eye.
Branch Chief Su had the wounded treated and their bleeding stopped, then ordered them to be loaded onto stretchers.
“Uh, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
The warrior bit his dry lips and spoke.
“It’s about that bizarre spirit beast. That thing… isn’t a spirit beast.”
“Not a spirit beast? Then don’t tell me…”
“Yes. It’s definitely a person. When most of us had already gone down, that person clearly spoke in a pained voice. They begged us to kill them.”
Asking to be killed…
Sounds like there’s a story there. Maybe they’ve been forced into something they never wanted.
“In any case, we need to move the injured quickly. They could get frostbite, and their wounds could get worse.”
“Understood.”
So we took the injured and headed back to the branch.
That night, I sat in my room, lost in deep thought.
The reason I came to the North Sea was because of the Commissioner of Land Affairs of Guizhou’s request. I came to collect snow.
So I could just head to the North Sea tomorrow, gather the snow, and leave.
But right now, some unknown person is threatening this branch and the tribe members.
If I claim I’m too busy and only take care of my own business before leaving, I’m not fit to be Deputy Merchant Lord.
A Deputy Merchant Lord has the duty to handle the Merchant Lord’s affairs in their place.
If I take all the authority and abandon the responsibilities, what will the rest of the Merchant Group think when they see that?
One thing’s certain – it won’t help the Merchant Group grow at all.
My goal is to turn the Eunhae Merchant Group into the greatest Merchant Group under the heavens. For that alone, I can’t just ignore something like this.
And even putting that aside, there’s another reason I have to deal with this.
That monster is appearing in Snow Wind Palace’s jurisdiction.
As a disciple of Snow Wind Palace, that means it’s my responsibility to handle it.
Once I made up my mind, I had breakfast, drank some tea, and said to Palgap,
“I’m going to the North Sea for a bit today, so you stay here.”
“You’re going to get the snow, are you?”
“No, that’ll have to wait.”
“Huh? Then what are you going for? Don’t tell me you’re going to deal with that thing – whether it’s a spirit beast or a person?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s dangerous, it is!”
I shook my head and brushed aside his concern.
“I get that you’re worried, but this is something I have to do. This has to do with our Merchant Group’s branch too – can a Deputy Merchant Lord just sit on their hands? And these tribe folks trusted us, allowed us to build this branch, and kept trading with us. We can’t betray that trust.”
Palgap thought for a moment, then let out a sigh.
“You’re right, you are. But wouldn’t it be better to ask the Merchant Group for reinforcements?”
“It’d be too late. Even if we send a letter through Geumryeong, it’ll take more than a month for support from the main Merchant Group to get here, even if they rush.”
I continued,
“We’re lucky no one’s died so far, but there’s no guarantee no one will die from now on.”
“…”
I smiled gently.
“Don’t worry so much. You know what I can do.”
After reassuring Palgap, I left my quarters.
Oh…
There was Branch Chief Su, shirtless, vigorously swinging a long spear in the courtyard.
I’d heard he used to be from Eunpoong Division, but was his main weapon a spear?
No, more than that, I’d thought his body had gotten a lot better lately – so this was why?
Well…
There probably isn’t that much administrative work here, so he has plenty of time to train.
When Branch Chief Su saw me, he hurriedly cupped his fists.
“Deputy Merchant Lord, you’re here?”
“Good morning. Looked like you were training your spear technique.”
“It’s been so long since I held a spear that it felt all wrong, so I’ve been training in earnest.”
“I see.”
“Out here, we sometimes get attacked by beasts or spirit beasts just traveling along the road, so I’m relearning spear arts, if only for self-defense.”
“Somehow, that makes me feel a little guilty.”
At my words, he waved his hands quickly.
“Please don’t say that! Thanks to you, I’ve gotten really healthy. Hahaha.”
A little too healthy, if you ask me…
“How are the ones who were injured yesterday?”
“They’re being treated in the infirmary right now. Honestly, I was really worried because the wounds were deep, but the salve you gave us yesterday worked so well the bleeding’s stopped. I don’t think we need to worry anymore.”
“That’s a relief.”
The wounds were fairly deep and hard to stop bleeding, so I’d handed over some salve I’d made in advance.
It’s an oil you apply to protect wounds, and I mixed a little of Geumryeong’s spit into it.
Of course, that’s a secret.
“I’d like to hear that warrior’s testimony in a bit more detail.”
“Ah, you’re going to report it to the Merchant Lord, aren’t you? I actually already wrote up a report about it.”
“That’s not it… I’m planning to handle this myself.”
“Excuse me?”
My words startled him.
“You mean you personally, Deputy Merchant Lord?”
“Yeah. My escort guards are a bit on the stronger side. And waiting around for reinforcements will take way too long.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
I headed for the infirmary and got a more detailed explanation there.
“Their hair was a wild mess, and their eyes were red. In their hand theu held something like a broken piece of pottery, and their moved so fast my eyes could barely follow.”
“How tall were they, roughly?”
“They was hunched over, so I’m not sure, but they looked over six feet.”
“Were they large?”
“No. Very skinny. They wore black clothes, but they were all torn up, so you could see how gaunt their body was.”
Once I finished listening, I left the infirmary and spoke to my escort guards.
“From now on, we’re going to either kill that bizarre being or capture it. So if any of you can’t make that work, speak up. I’ll understand if you’d rather stay here.”
But not one of the six warriors raised a hand.
“We only follow wherever our lord goes.”
At Escort Guard Seo Wu’s words, the others nodded.
Escort Guard Myeong Jong and Escort Guard Chang Un agreed as well.
“We’re not cowards like that.”
“If we backed down from something like this, Mount Zhongnan’s name would cry out in shame.”
“Good.”
I nodded, feeling refreshed.
“Thank you for going along with my decision. Then, shall we go?”
Branch Chief Su had actually wanted to come along as well, but I insisted he stay behind.
If something happened and even the Branch Chief was gone, we’d be in real trouble.
So, with Branch Chief Su seeing us off, we headed toward the North Sea.
“But isn’t the North Sea under North Sea Ice Palace’s jurisdiction? Why would North Sea Ice Palace just leave someone like that alone?”
The one who answered Chang Un’s question was Escort Guard Jin Yu.
“This area wasn’t originally under North Sea Ice Palace’s jurisdiction.”
“So they pay relatively less attention to it.”
“Most likely. North Sea Ice Palace manages a much broader region farther up north.”
Then Escort Guard Myeong Jong asked,
“Does that mean there used to be someone else in charge of this place?”
“Yes, there used to be a place called Snow Wind Palace.”
Unlike the other escort guards, Myeong Jong and Chang Un were here for the first time, so of course they didn’t know about Snow Wind Palace.
Or that I was a disciple of that place.
That was something that had to remain secret to the outside world, so Escort Guard Jin Yu held back as well.
It meant he still hadn’t fully made up his mind about Myeong Jong and Chang Un.
It hadn’t even been a full year since they became my escort guards, so that was only natural.
Even if they felt a bit hurt about it, there was nothing I could do.
Trust isn’t something you hand out easily, and it’s not something you earn easily either.
But if we keep stacking up that trust like this, someday they’ll be fully my people.
Soon, we stepped into the North Sea.
For about the next three days, the Snow Wind wouldn’t blow, so we had to settle this within those three days.
“We should rest here for a bit.”
“That sounds good.”
We took wooden planks from our packs, laid them down, and lit a fire on top.
Warmth began to spread out in all directions.
Just like Escort Guard Jin Yu had said earlier, this area had originally been managed by Snow Wind Palace.
If Snow Wind Palace were still standing, would that kind of monster ever have been allowed to roam around freely?
Some indescribable emotion welled up inside me, and I pushed it down as I looked up at the sky.
Tap,
A light touch on my cheek.
Snow was falling.
They said that monster was definitely appearing in this area, but they had no idea when.
Which meant we had no choice but to camp here and wait.
But we couldn’t just run around searching for it.
We had to conserve our strength.
Whether you’re a first-rate warrior or a Peak expert, compared to nature you’re still weak.
And cold like this is a serious obstacle.
We waited the whole day like that, but the monster never showed.
“Mm, I’m getting hungry.”
“Same here.”
“Should we grill some jerky?”
At my suggestion, Escort Guard Seo Wu nodded.
“That sounds good.”
We each took out some jerky.
Thanks to the cold northern weather, the jerky here didn’t need to be dried as hard and still wouldn’t spoil easily.
So the jerky here was soft and chewy, and grilling it over a fire made it a real treat.
We skewered the jerky and held it over the flames, then blew on it as we ate.
Yeah, that hits the spot.
That was when it happened.
“…!”
A chill ran through me – the cold, prickling sensation you get when a predator’s eyes lock onto you.
At the same time, I felt something like my very flesh was being sliced.
It was different from murderous aura.
Murderous aura felt like being poked with countless needles.
But I couldn’t sit there in a daze.
I threw aside my jerky skewer, jumped to my feet, and drew my sword.
“What’s wro…”
Escort Guard Seo Wu, about to ask what was wrong, froze mid-sentence.
He’d sensed it too.
Someone was coming.
The other escort guards quickly took up defensive positions as well.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Soon, someone walked toward us.
Wild, tangled hair. Torn black clothes. And eyes gone completely red.
The being that had been called a spirit beast in human form.
Finally showed up!
There was no doubt this cutting sensation came from that person.
I bit my lip at that vivid, skin-crawling feeling.
At the same time, I could tell for certain that this was a human being.
And those eyes told me they were nowhere near sane.
“Kill… me…”
What did they just say?
“Kill… me…”
A bizarre appearance and bizarre words.
If Palgap were here, he’d be making a huge fuss in terror.
Just imagining Palgap freaking out actually calmed me down a bit.
Right, focus.
I shouted to everyone,
“Stay sharp!”
“Yes!”
In that instant, the monster charged at us.
Whish–!
Fast!
But I’m no slouch when it comes to speed either!
–TL Notes–
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