Chapter 147: Fire Carp (2) (Illustrated)
Translator: bjgoofy
A blue sky stretching high overhead and a blazing sun.
And a cool breeze blowing across the gunwale.
Just as the briny smell of the sea flooded into my nostrils, an unwelcome sound reached my ears.
-Bleurgh.
It was Seol noona, clinging to the side of the ship and retching up everything she had eaten.
She had already been barely holding on while we traveled down the river, but now that we were out at sea, it was clearly more than she could bear, having never once set foot on a boat in her life.
On the river, the waves only hit from front to back, but out here on the ocean, they crashed in from every direction.
"Are you alright? Seol noona?"
"Unnie, are you okay?"
"Ugh.... I, I'm fine...."
She said she was fine in response to our worried questions, mine and Hwa-eun's, but her face was ashen.
After rinsing her mouth with the water I brought, noona grumbled.
"Honestly, if this is supposed to be a reward for doing the princess a favor, shouldn't the princess be the one catching that Fire Carp and bringing it to us?"
The trip had been fun up through Yueyang, but now that they were out on the open sea suffering like this, the irritation must have gotten to her. She was asking why the princess, who had offered the Fire Carp as a reward, wasn't catching and delivering it herself.
I scratched my head and answered.
"I asked the princess to just tell me where it was. I told her I'd go catch it myself."
"What? Why!?"
Noona stared at me with an expression that said my words made absolutely no sense.
She seemed baffled that all this suffering was my doing.
But I had good reason.
"Well, this is just between us, but the Fire Carp is meant to feed Yeondu, right?"
"Right?"
"But Yeondu isn't the only one who needs an Inner Core."
"Ah, that's true. There's Hyang too, isn't there?"
We needed not just one Inner Core, but two.
Hyang had seen how big her older sisters had gotten and declared she would absolutely never evolve, but the kind of promise where a daughter says she'll live with her daddy forever was the kind of lie you should never believe.
When most daughters say they'll live with daddy forever, it just means they haven't fallen in love yet. Applied to Hyang, it meant she simply hadn't encountered an Inner Core tempting enough to covet.
So if the Fire Carp's Inner Core that we were going after turned out to be something not only Yeondu but also Hyang would covet, a fight could break out.
"Yes, that's why I said I'd go myself."
"Still, I don't understand. Can't you just feed it to one of them? For example, Hyang?"
Noona naturally suggested putting her own daughter first, but while I had been a bit rough with Yeondu back when she wasn't part of the family, now that she was one of us, I couldn't play favorites no matter how much Hyang held the daughter position.
"If I did that, Yeondu would be hurt. She already gave up an Inner Core once before."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, that's why I told the princess I'd go in person, to get a closer look at where the Fire Carp lives. To see if there might be another one, and if there unfortunately isn't, to study the surrounding area carefully and look for similar places elsewhere in the Central Plains.
Fish and venomous creatures only ever live in environments that suit them, after all."
We needed two Inner Cores right away.
I had been absurdly lucky to have already found one, and with the princess's lead, I was about to find another, but I had heard plenty from the adults that even one Inner Core was a once-in-a-lifetime find.
So needing one more was a matter with no guaranteed timeline.
That was why I figured it would be better to search places with similar habitats and environments rather than just flailing around blindly, which was why I had volunteered to go catch it myself.
If I was lucky enough to catch one more Fire Carp, and luckier still if they turned out to be a mated pair that could breed, then we might never have to worry about Inner Cores for our future baby venomous creatures.
"Ah, so that's what you were thinking, Ryong?"
"Yes."
"Hah, but this is just too much. Bleurgh...."
Just as noona couldn't hold it in and stuck her head back over the gunwale,
my father-in-law approached with an amused expression he couldn't quite suppress, extending his fist full of something toward noona.
"Here, take these, Young Miss Seol."
"What is it?"
"Dried ginger. Nothing works better for nausea than ginger."
"Thank you, Elder."
I too had heard in my previous life that ginger was good for motion sickness, so I thought it was a sound remedy. Just then, my father-in-law gazed toward the Central Plains and spoke.
"In any case, the princess ought to be hurrying things along...."
"Ah, you mean the Blood Cult business?"
"Indeed."
The princess needed to relay the information to the imperial court quickly so the Murim Alliance would strike the Blood Cult's base, and only then would we, the Tang Family, and the Beast Palace all be safer in turn.
I was nodding along beside him when something I had been forgetting suddenly came back to me.
'I told her to make sure she brings a Sound Arts master along, so she'll do that, right? It'd be a disaster if there are Strange Screaming Tigers. And besides those things, there's also.... Ah!'
I had advised her to bring a Sound Arts master in case the Strange Screaming Tiger that the Five Poisons Sect called Gweong was present wherever the Murim Alliance planned to attack.
While thinking about that, I suddenly remembered the Toad Squad, the Five Poisons Sect's combat unit that had pursued us before we even encountered the Strange Screaming Tiger.
"Oh no, I meant to ask about that and completely forgot until now.
Father-in-law, last time we encountered that woman from the Five Poisons Sect, the combat unit that chased us wasn't affected at all by Cho's venom. Would you happen to know why?"
"By Cho's venom?"
"Yes, they called themselves the Toad Squad. Even when Cho's venom was sprayed on them, they suffered no harm whatsoever."
The Tang Family had been deeply researching the venoms of the creatures I had acquired, and my father-in-law, as the clan head, was every bit as versed in the Tang Family's Poison Technique and toxicology as Grandfather, the Divine Poison Lord.
After gripping his chin in thought at my question, my father-in-law struck his palm with his fist and answered.
"Ah! Did those men happen to have something smeared on their bodies?"
They had been wearing leather combat uniforms, but I didn't know whether they had smeared anything on them.
I shook my head as I answered.
"Hmm, I'm not sure. They were wearing leather combat uniforms with hoods covering even their heads, but I couldn't really tell."
"Leather? Did they happen to be carrying torches?"
"No. Come to think of it, dawn was breaking, but even though the surroundings were still dark, they weren't carrying any torches."
At my answer, my father-in-law nodded and replied.
"I'll need to confirm it when I return to the estate, but it seems those men soaked their leather in Toad Oil."
"Toad Oil?"
Toad Oil, meaning oil rendered from toads.
At my baffled expression, my father-in-law continued his explanation.
"It's well known that centipedes and toads are natural enemies, a case of Mutual Destruction. So it's possible these men who named themselves the Toad Squad coated their bodies in Toad Oil to block the centipede's venom.
Centipede venom is said to have no effect on toads."
"Really? Then our children need to be careful if they ever encounter toads or the Toad Squad."
'What!? I thought our daughters were invincible! Brought down by mere toads....'
I spoke calmly enough to my father-in-law, but inside, the news that our daughters might be vulnerable to toads of all things left me genuinely rattled.
My father-in-law shook his head at my words.
"No, that's not how Mutual Destruction works. When the two meet, they destroy each other.
Even the toad, which devours everything, cannot escape death if it swallows a centipede. Both sides must be wary of each other."
So they wouldn't lose, but they couldn't win either.
That was better than simply losing, but I still made a mental note to warn them to be careful around toads.
Just as my conversation with my father-in-law ended,
Seol noona, chewing on her dried ginger, came over to ask.
"Chomp-slurp.... By the way, Ryong. Where exactly is this Fire Carp supposed to be?"
"Ah, apparently it's at Sacred Peak on Mount Putuo."
At that, Hwa-eun and noona looked at each other, blinking in surprise.
"Sacred Peak?"
"Sacred Peak, you say? I heard about it from my father. Botaam Temple already only has Buddhist Nuns, making it a Male Prohibition zone, but they'll allow guests in if absolutely necessary. Sacred Peak, though, is a place no one but women may ever set foot on. How do you plan to get in? Were you going to ask the nuns to go fetch it for you?"
'What is this, some kind of martial arts girls' academy....'
When the princess had told me about it, I had thought only Sacred Peak was off-limits to men, but apparently the whole of Botaam Temple itself was essentially the murim equivalent of an all-girls school.
Since I hadn't yet mentioned the part about having to disguise myself as a woman, noona and Hwa-eun were staring at me with expressions that demanded to know what exactly I was planning.
"The Fire Carp is supposedly as big as a human head. How would the nuns bring something like that back alive? They've probably never transported a living fish before. Only a group like our Tang Family would have any chance of managing something like that. Anywhere else, it would be impossible."
The Fire Carp was said to be near Sacred Peak on Mount Putuo.
What needed to be transported was a carp the size of a human head.
Perhaps the Tang Family, who occasionally captured things like pufferfish while collecting venomous creatures, could manage it, but a place like Botaam Temple would obviously have no way to bring it back alive.
It wasn't as if water trucks existed in this era, and they likely didn't even know how fish breathed underwater.
"No, so what I'm asking is, what are you going to do?"
"Exactly. Soryong, what's your plan?"
I had tried to deflect, but the two of them were telling me to cut the nonsense and answer the question.
I squeezed my eyes shut and answered their twin interrogation.
"The, the princess told me to d-disguise myself as a woman. She said she'd send a letter ahead to the Sect Leader of Botaam Temple...."
"Disguise as a woman?"
"As a woman?"
At the words "disguise as a woman", noona and Hwa-eun looked at each other with wide eyes.
Their gazes shifted to me, sweeping over me from head to toe.
Then they spoke almost simultaneously.
"Now that sounds like great fun."
"That does sound fun."
'Why!?'
I had no idea what they could possibly find fun about this, and I was flustered.
***
We docked at a harbor on the largest island in the Zhoushan Archipelago, then transferred to a small ferryboat heading toward the little island where Mount Putuo was said to be.
"That over there is Mount Potalaka."
"Mount Potalaka? Not Mount Putuo?"
"Nakga Mountain and Mount Putuo sit together, so around here people usually call it Mount Potalaka."
A peculiar island formed of two landmasses joined together.
It looked to be about three hundred meters tall. As the island drew closer, the woman piloting the ferry looked us over again, me, Hwa-eun, and Seol noona, and said with a grin,
"Surely none of you three young ladies is secretly a man? If I ferry a man over there, there'll be hell to pay. Haha, well, you're all so lovely, there's no chance of that, is there?"
At the boatwoman's words, Hwa-eun and noona exchanged glances, trading smug, satisfied expressions.
They had spent the entire morning dressing me up in outfit after outfit and fussing over tying my hair in women's styles. Their finished product, namely me, seemed to please them greatly.
After all, even the boatwoman hadn't suspected a thing.
'Then why do I feel so sad?'
Perhaps because my skin had become so smooth after eating the Golden-Furred King Bee's royal jelly, just changing my clothes and tying up my hair had been enough. Even I had to admit I looked like I could be Hwa-eun's younger sister.
The moment the small boat touched the little dock, two Buddhist Nuns with hair grown out came leaping over from within the island using Qinggong and pressed their palms together in greeting.
"Namo Avalokitesvara. Where might you young ladies be from?"
"We are Tang Hwa-eun and Tang So-eun from Sichuan's Tang Family. And this is Young Miss Seolpyo of the Beast Palace from the Southern Barbarian Lands."
"Ah, sisters from the Tang Family and a young miss from the Beast Palace? What brings you here?"
Hwa-eun's plan to introduce me as her younger sister went off without a hitch.
'Should I be happy about this or not?'
While I was having an identity crisis, Hwa-eun handed the letter I had passed to her over to the nun and spoke.
"Guandao Princess has sent this letter. Could you deliver it to the Sword Empress?"
"From the princess!?"
At the mention of a letter from the princess, the two nuns startled visibly.
When Hwa-eun nodded, one of them clutched the letter and flew off toward Mount Putuo, while the other addressed us, still standing on the boat.
"Please wait a moment. Word will come shortly."
It wasn't just men who were barred from entering; entry to the island itself was strictly controlled.
After waiting about thirty minutes, the same nun came running back and granted us permission to land.
"Namo Amitabha, entry is granted for all three of you. Please disembark and ascend Mount Putuo. The Sword Empress awaits."
And so we arrived at a hall within Botaam Temple.
Stepping inside, we found a formidably stern-looking middle-aged woman waiting for us, and the expression on her face was far from pleased.
"So, that child has gone and done something outrageous again...."
She looked like she had a splitting headache.
Pointing to the letter, she spoke.
"Ah, I should introduce myself first. Namo Amitabha. Young ladies, and Young Hero. Forgive me, I'm a bit flustered, but may I ask a question first? Is the content of this letter true? It says she received assistance from you, Young Hero, so would you care to speak?"
I was about to answer the Sword Empress's question, but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Seol noona.
When noona brought a hand to her own chest in a gesture asking if she meant her, the Sword Empress nodded.
"Yes, you there, Young Hero."
At that, Seol noona made a face of utter disbelief.
Seeing her reaction, the Sword Empress replied with an apologetic look.
"You had your legs exposed, so I assumed you were a man. Ahaha. Then this one here must be the Young Hero."
This time, the Sword Empress's gaze turned to Hwa-eun.
Hwa-eun and Seol noona, who had been so delighted dressing me up as a woman, now wore expressions of extreme displeasure.
'But why am I also feeling offended?'
And my mood soured right along with theirs.
***
The letter laid out in detail the princess's plan, how she would enter a marriage of convenience and how she intended to become the Sword Empress's successor.
It was clearly the first time the plan was being revealed, conveyed through me.
I learned for the first time that day that even a martial arts master could collapse from high blood pressure.
Because when I nodded in confirmation, the Sword Empress swayed on her feet.
"What kind of nonsense...."
But the water was already spilled.
The Sword Empress spoke as though resigning herself.
"Is this... fate...."
Yes, best to think of it that way.
After pressing a hand to her forehead and spending a long moment composing herself, the Sword Empress addressed us.
"In any case, thank you for helping my disciple. You saved my successor, so gratitude is owed. But I'm afraid there's an unfortunate complication."
"What do you mean?"
I worried she was about to say she couldn't give us the Fire Carp, but what came next was something rather unexpected.
She told us the Fire Carp had no Inner Core.
"The Fire Carp that Ji-ryeon felt so indebted over and wanted to hand off to you...
She probably assumed it had an Inner Core and wanted to repay her debt, but that fish doesn't have one. It's still too young, it seems...."
-Hiss!?
'Are you kidding me? I dressed up as a woman for this?'
From inside my robes came the equally incredulous cry of Yeondu.
It was like a red bean bun with no red bean filling, a fish-shaped pastry with no fish inside.
Having gone through the ordeal of crossdressing only to hear there was no Inner Core was absurd, but I quickly composed my expression and replied.
"Th-that's alright. It's not about the Inner Core. I like raising Spiritual Creatures, so I wanted to take it in regardless."
Even if there was no Inner Core now, I could still check the habitat. And even if it was a young one, maybe if I took it home and raised it, an Inner Core might form eventually. Even a tiny one....
The Sword Empress nodded slowly.
She called out toward the entrance.
"Is that so? Then that should be fine. It won't be possible to take it right away, so go have a look at it first. Cho-a, escort these guests to the Moon Reflection Pool on Sacred Peak."
"Yes, Sword Empress."
And so, following the young nun, we climbed to a large pond at the place called Sacred Peak.
With the news that there was no Inner Core, Yeondu's spirits inside my robes seemed to have plummeted, so I hadn't gotten my hopes up. But the Fire Carp swimming in the pond we arrived at was enough to stun me.
'Th-this is the Fire Carp!?'
Because this was no Fire Carp at all.
*****
Join our Discord for announcements or to report any mistakes.