Chapter 116: Stolen Goods (2)
Translator: bjgoofy
An old, long-abandoned Taoist temple on the outskirts of Chengdu, Sichuan, known for ghost sightings.
The temple had been deserted and forgotten for a long time, but now it was filled with people, accompanied by the strong scent of grass.
The people filling the temple were renowned experts and artisans in sericulture who had been scattered across the Central Plains.
Within the temple, filled with sericulture experts and artisans, a strange tension was in the air.
“This time, we must succeed. There aren’t many eggs left now.”
The sericulture artisans, kidnapped from all corners of the Central Plains, bowed their heads apologetically at the words of Shin Tu Gal Ji-hong.
Understandably so, for this time they absolutely had to succeed.
“We’re sorry, Elder.”
“Our apologies.”
Then, among the artisans, the eldest of them all bowed his head deeply and spoke.
“Is there even any doubt, Shin Tu Elder? I’ve carefully selected nearly all the grasses and leaves that grow around this time, so this time it will be certain. This old Baek has paid extra attention this time.
And that’s not all. From tender ones, tough ones, to even stems, I’ve prepared different types from each kind of tree or grass, so I will definitely make it a success this time.”
As the elder Baek, head of the artisans, said, the large bamboo tray was lined with countless varieties of leaves and grasses.
“That’s right. We want to succeed and go home too.”
“This time, it will be certain.”
Although they were suddenly captured and forced to work, it was well known that assisting Shin Tu resulted in rewards beyond expectation.
The artisans, who had dedicated decades to sericulture, clenched their fists with determined expressions, resolved to succeed this time.
For them, this task was a kind of challenge as well.
At first, the artisans had been quite flustered.
That was because Shin Tu Elder had suddenly captured them and asked them to raise a kind of silkworm they had never seen before.
However, after several failures, their youthful spirit of challenge reignited, and though the silkworm was unfamiliar, they united with the firm resolve to raise it and extract silk no matter what.
It absolutely was not because of the pile of gold Shin Tu Elder had tossed into a corner of the temple.
They were artisans, not the kind who were moved by mere money.
Though, the gold did glisten quite beautifully.
“Well then, let’s begin.”
“Yes, Elder.”
With the steely resolve of the men, who once again engraved the golden shine piled in the corner into their eyes, Shin Tu Gal Ji-hong gave the prepared leaves and grasses a final inspection, then took a small medicine box from his robe.
-Click.
Inside the opened medicine box were four large white beads.
Due to many previous failures, there were plenty of empty slots inside the box, but Shin Tu picked up one bead, placed it on his palm, and immediately infused it with internal energy.
After infusing internal energy and waiting for a moment, the bead slowly began turning blue.
As it absorbed internal energy, the bead in Shin Tu’s palm gradually turned blue, and soon its surface began to bulge.
-Ssss.
After a short while, as the bulging surface made a tearing sound, two sharp fangs sprang out.
From the bead’s shell emerged two sharp fangs, and soon the surface split open, revealing a large larva as thick as a thumb crawling out from within.
“It’s awakened.”
Pure white like snow, with two yellow horns protruding from its head, an unusual appearance.
The first thing the larva did upon emerging from its shell was to lick its body, covered in bodily fluid.
Once it finished licking itself and drying its body, Shin Tu promptly placed it on top of the tray.
As usual, the larva raised its head on the tray and began looking around.
As if searching for something.
-Gulp.
A tense situation.
The sound of the artisans nervously swallowing echoed throughout the Taoist temple as they watched.
It was then.
The larva suddenly began to squirm its way toward one side.
The larva crawled across the tray, wriggling toward one side, and soon clung to a certain leaf.
"Oh! I-is it a success!?"
“Q-quiet!”
The artisans cheered at a reaction they hadn't seen until now, but quickly shut their mouths at Elder Baek’s stern warning.
Though it was a reaction they hadn’t seen before, the larva had not yet eaten anything.
No matter how much it moved, if it didn’t eat something, it would wither and die like the others that had hatched before it.
“But what kind of leaf is that?”
“It’s white. Looks like Silvervine.”
The artisans, seeing the larva clinging to the white Silvervine leaf, broke into a cold sweat and shouted inwardly with desperation.
‘Eat it! Please eat it!’
‘Eat!’
But the hopeful moment didn’t last long.
Though it seemed to bring its mouth close to the Silvervine leaf, just like always, the larva dropped its head without taking a bite.
At that sight, Elder Baek shouted hastily.
“Elder, to the next tray!”
He was telling them to move it to another tray with different leaves.
Since no one but the one who infused it with internal energy could touch the creature, the request had to be made to Shin Tu.
It seemed the leaves on the first tray had failed.
“Understood.”
At Elder Baek’s words, Shin Tu picked up the larva and moved it from tray to tray, but just like with the first, it only looked around, raised its head, and then dropped it again.
“Damn it! N-next tray!”
“Next!”
“T-this is the last one…”
They tried all ten or so prepared trays, but the larva did not take a bite from a single leaf.
The same response as before.
Shin Tu Gal Ji-hong spoke with a grim expression.
“Another failure… only three eggs remain, this is serious…”
In desperation, the artisans hastily plucked flower petals and other things and offered them to the larva, but it didn’t budge and, like the other larvae, withered and died within two days.
It was another failure.
***
The Beggar Emperor rummaged through the large pouch at his waist and popped a larva of the Yellow Powder Bug into his mouth.
-Crunch.
And then came the savory flavor of the Yellow Powder Bug, spreading throughout his mouth.
Truly, the Yellow Powder Bug had a unique taste.
It was somewhat like dried shrimp, but after eating, a rich and savory oiliness, unique to the Yellow Powder Bug, lingered in the mouth, evoking the flavor again and again.
That’s why he couldn’t quit.
At first, he only meant to eat what he had received.
After all, it was beneath the Beggar Emperor’s dignity to go hanging around the Tang Family’s medicine shop just to get more.
Even as the emperor of beggars, it didn’t sit right to go begging at the Nine Great Sects or the Seven Great Families.
But perhaps they knew he’d come back, when he lingered nearby just in case, a Tang Family warrior came rushing over.
「“We greet the Beggar Emperor, one of the Three Emperors!”
“H-hey, keep it down, keep it down. Alright, what is it?”
Startled by the warrior’s thunderous greeting and worried someone else might overhear, he calmed the man down.
Then the warrior handed over a large pouch.
“Soryong-nim and Young Miss Hwa-eun asked me to be sure to give you this if you returned…”
“Hm? What’s this?”
“It’s dried Yellow Powder Bug. If you need more, please let us know at any time and we’ll bring it to you.”
“Hmph… Hrm… These young ones really know how to respect their seniors in the murim.”」
Just as he was recalling how he’d received more Yellow Powder Bug, he reached into the pouch again.
There wasn’t much left, and now he had to dig deep inside to find any.
As he thought to himself that he’d have to stop by the Tang Family’s medicine shop again soon, he sensed an irritating presence.
“Hyung-nim. Hehe…”
"Ah, that guy is here again."
His sworn brother, Shin Tu Gal Ji-hong, had come looking for the Beggar Emperor once more.
When he had asked to find artisans skilled in sericulture, the Beggar Emperor had already handed over the list of renowned sericulture masters from across the Central Plains multiple times, but here the guy was, back again.
The Beggar Emperor threw another Yellow Powder Bug larva into his mouth and asked irritably.
That was because he knew this guy had kidnapped most of the people on the list and was keeping them in an abandoned Taoist temple, trying to produce Heavenly Silkworm Thread.
“Why again? Was locking them up in an abandoned temple after kidnapping them still not enough for you?”
At that, Gal Ji-hong waved both hands and put on a serious expression.
“W-what do you mean kidnapped! Hyung-nim! If someone hears you, they’ll mistake me for a human trafficker.”
“You brat! How is what you’re doing any different from human trafficking?!”
“Come on, Hyung-nim, you know my situation. It’s only because of the rules, but I plan to pay them all generously before sending them off.”
“Tsk… and you have the nerve to act like you’re not a thief.”
“Ehehe… there you go again. Come on, stop scolding me and let’s wet our throats.”
With his usual cheeky grin, Gal Ji-hong scooted in beside him and pulled out a bottle of liquor.
The Beggar Emperor, pretending to protest, gave in and sat down.
It looked like he had come to ask for another favor, but the Beggar Emperor didn’t mind too much, he’d just been thinking that a cool drink would go well with the greasy Yellow Powder Bug larva he was eating.
Yellow Powder Bugs were oilier than expected and went surprisingly well with a refreshing drink.
-Gurgle gurgle gurgle.
He sniffed the liquor poured into a bamboo cup, it was Bamboo Leaf Liquor, brought by his sworn brother Gal Ji-hong.
As he inhaled the scent of his favorite Bamboo Leaf Liquor, the Beggar Emperor asked,
“So? What is it this time? Things not going well?”
At that, his younger brother Gal Ji-hong scratched his head and replied.
“I think I’ve been thinking about it all wrong.”
“Thinking wrong?”
“Yes, Hyung-nim. I gathered the artisans to hatch Heavenly Silkworms and draw silk, but... it turns out that Heavenly Silkworms and the regular silkworms they raise are completely different. Seems like I approached this all wrong from the start.
It’s not someone knowledgeable in silkworms that I needed, but someone who knows insects.”
-Gulp.
“Aah… good stuff.”
The Beggar Emperor swallowed the Bamboo Leaf Liquor his brother had poured, the liquor cutting through the greasy aftertaste in his mouth.
Then he took a handful of Yellow Powder Bugs from his pouch and popped five or six into his mouth.
-Crunch.
“So you want me to find someone who knows insects well?”
“Hehe… something like that, yeah? But seriously, just like last time, what is that stuff you keep eating?”
As expected, he was asking for someone well-versed in insects.
If he’d brought roast duck like last time, maybe he’d be more willing, but a single bottle of Bamboo Leaf Liquor didn’t feel like enough.
“What? This? It’s a bug. What, Hyung-nim, are you having a rough time begging these days? Why are you eating bugs?”
Gal Ji-hong widened his eyes and stared at the Yellow Powder Bug the Beggar Emperor was eating.
Looking at him pitifully, not knowing a thing, the Beggar Emperor smiled and said,
“You fool, just try one. It’s one of the greatest delicacies under the heavens.”
“This thing?”
Still skeptical, sworn brother Gal Ji-hong stared at the Yellow Powder Bug for a while.
Then, shutting his eyes tightly, he placed it in his mouth.
-Crunch.
His face twisted at first, but then gradually relaxed, and by the end, his eyes opened wide in disbelief.
“W-why is this so delicious?”
He began eagerly snatching Yellow Powder Bugs from the Beggar Emperor’s hand and popping them into his mouth.
The Beggar Emperor clutched the bugs tightly and shouted.
He had said he’d give him some whenever he came, but if he came too often, people would notice, and now his brother Gal Ji-hong, completely unaware, was shoveling them into his mouth.
“Y-you brat, eat slower! You have to savor these…”
“Come on, Hyung-nim. It’s just bugs, what’s there to savor?”
“Hey! Do you know how hard these are to get?”
“But seriously, how did you get these? Teach me where to steal some too. They’re insanely good.”
“Why, you little-!”
Just as he scolded him for asking where he could go steal some, the face of the kid who had introduced him to the taste of Yellow Powder Bugs came to mind. And thinking about it, that boy was the eccentric who walked around with the massive spiritual creature, the Blue-Spotted Centipede, wrapped around his body.
Moreover, that boy not only knew that the delicious Yellow Powder Bug could also be used to kill someone.
But according to recent accounts from martial artists who had stayed at the Tang Family estate, even the Golden-Furred King Bee was flying around inside.
Also, information even came that they had caught a Human-Faced Spider from the Namgoong Family in Mount Huang.
All this suggested he was likely highly knowledgeable about insects and spiritual creatures alike.
Gal Ji-hong couldn’t think of anyone who might know more about insects than him.
“Hmm…”
Just as he was considering what kind of rich meal he could earn today by sharing this information, he glanced over at Gal Ji-hong.
And what he saw was the bastard’s hand slipping into his familiar pouch.
“You little-!”
The Beggar Emperor quickly stretched out his foot and stomped on Gal Ji-hong’s hand as it reached into the pouch, shouting.
“Now you’re stealing from your sworn brother’s pouch!?”
“Come on, let’s share a little.”
“Sigh… I was just thinking up someone who knows a lot about insects for a brat like you…”
“Oh!? There is someone? Someone who knows insects?”
As he answered, the Beggar Emperor kept Gal Ji-hong’s fidgeting hand pinned down with his foot and nodded.
“There might not be another soul in the Central Plains who knows more about insects than that boy. And isn’t your Heavenly Silkworm a spiritual creature too?
He’s already raising multiple spiritual creatures. He’ll be just the person you need.”
“Ooh! Who is it!?”
To Gal Ji-hong’s eager question, the Beggar Emperor smiled.
“First, let’s start with two roasted ducks.”
A deal between a beggar and a thief was underway.
*****
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