Chapter 285

Chapter 285
## Chapter 285. Qualification to Hold the Opportunity (1)

—

Having ordered his Sajes to scatter across the area, he made his way up to the peak of Mount Ju-dang. Sharpening his gaze, he carefully took in every detail of the landscape. After studying the mountain from one particular crest, he transitioned to an alternate vantage point to observe Mount Ju-dang from a fresh perspective. Though he hurried as fast as his feet could carry him, the sun had already passed its zenith by the time he wrapped up his observations.

“My skull feels like it’s about to split open.”

Gripping his throbbing temples, he made his way down Mount Ju-dang and went back to their quarters. His junior disciples had already made it back.

“Dae-sa-hyeong, we’ve completed the sketches.”

Eun-ho-Lee, speaking on behalf of the group, extended a heavy sheaf of parchments.

“Excellent work.”

“Dae-sa-hyeong. What kind of trick are you cooking up this time… I mean, what exactly do you plan to achieve with these drawings?”

What was he going to do? He glanced at the young man, the corners of his mouth curving into a smirk.

“I plan to put the opportunity up for sale.”

“The opportunity?”

“Precisely. The very chance that Jong-nam is currently keeping all to themselves.”

Those arrogant fools likely believed they were the only ones capable of hoarding it. He intended to exploit that exact blind spot. Eun-ho-Lee, unable to comprehend the scheme, looked utterly bewildered. He gave the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Just keep your eyes open, it will all make sense shortly.”

“But wait, not again…”

Was this punk entering a rebellious phase? As the youth opened his mouth to complain further, he casually tilted his chin toward the corner of the room. Stacked neatly in that corner were the iron plates and iron rings. Instantly, Eun-ho-Lee clasped his hands together respectfully.

“I have absolute faith in you, Dae-sa-hyeong.”

Naturally, there was no rebellion here. Of course not. With practiced, orderly movements, the junior disciple began displaying the maps they had sketched one by one. He scrutinized each page, ensuring no detail escaped his gaze. Following his exact guidelines, they had completely left out any human elements, focusing entirely on rendering the area surrounding the entry to the Thousand Copper Cave with meticulous precision.

“Fetch the map we acquired from the Beggars’ Union as well.”

Next, it was time to cross-reference their work with the counterfeit treasure map sold by the Beggars’ Union. The illustration provided by the Beggars’ Union only detailed about seventy percent of the Thousand Copper Cave. Even so, that was perfectly adequate. His primary concern was the topography around the entrance.

He shut his eyes tight. Utilizing the visual data he had gathered firsthand earlier, he constructed a miniature, three-dimensional replica of Mount Ju-dang inside his mind. By overlaying the layout from the Beggars’ Union with the diagrams his Sajes had produced, he sought to visualize the interior of the Thousand Copper Cave as well. To transform the flat, cross-sectional sketches of the cavern into a fully realized three-dimensional model, the specific maps drafted by his juniors were indispensable.

Reopening his eyes, he set to work assembling a three-dimensional representation of the Thousand Copper Cave, aligning the pages Eun-ho-Lee was flipping through with the document from the Beggars’ Union. As the true layout of the Thousand Copper Cave took shape in his mind, a wave of tension tightened the muscles at the back of his neck. The crucial step had arrived: fusing the two separate 3D visualizations of Mount Ju-dang and the Thousand Copper Cave into a single entity.

“Hmph…”

Gradually, the outer contours of Mount Ju-dang began to blur.

‘This is the spot.’

Using the three-dimensional map of Mount Ju-dang as his baseline, he aligned the projected Thousand Copper Cave with the precise entrance that the Jong-nam faction was currently blockading. Once the proportions were perfectly calibrated, the cavern mouth and the adjacent landscape came into sharp focus.

‘Success!’

He rotated the imaginary model, inspecting its details even more thoroughly. Right at that moment—

“…D-Dae-sa-hyeong!”

Eun-ho-Lee’s panicked shout jolted him out of his concentration. The younger disciple’s face had abruptly lunged close to his own, twisted in sheer terror. Up close, the kid really looked gh—

“Blood… you’re having a massive nosebleed…”

Oh? Just as Eun-ho-Lee pointed out, when he raised a finger to his nose, a crimson stream was pouring out fast enough to fill a bucket.

“Ah.”

The moment he became aware of it, a wave of vertigo washed over him, making the entire room spin. It was an identical sensation to what he had endured in the past when he was forced to absorb massive amounts of data from the Mantong Bureau and the Sim-hyeon-gak against his will. Except,

‘To think I’m doing this to my own brain.’

Back then, it had been forced upon him by outside pressure, but this time, he was inflicting it on himself. While he sat there dazed, Sa-ryeon-Hong rushed over in a panic, pressing a cloth against his nose to stem the flow. Hey, a little softer next time…

“What on earth do you think you are doing?!”

Sa-ryeon-Hong looked like she was on the verge of tears, fighting back a sob. She truly had no equal when it came to worrying over nothing.

Gently brushing Sa-ryeon-Hong’s hand aside, he spoke up.

“You want to know what I’m doing?”

Grinning broadly while holding the cloth to his own nose, he declared,

“I am going to ruin Jong-nam’s entire day.”

The disciples gathered around him were staring with furrowed brows, looking at him as if he had completely lost his mind. How dare these punks gaze upon their magnificent Dae-sa-hyeong with such disrespectful expressions. Unbelievable. For a split second, he debated whether he should grab the iron plates and iron rings nearby to teach them some proper etiquette, but…

‘Eh, whatever.’

At this very moment, just imagining the sour, miserable faces the Jong-nam bastards would make when this plan succeeded was enough to make him chuckle out loud.

He-he-he-he.

—

### The Frustration of an Information Merchant

—

Meanwhile, Gye-ak-Ho, the manager of the Hao-mun Xi’an Branch in Shaanxi Province, could only sigh with deep regret as he watched the crowds of martial artists streaming past his establishment.

‘Ah, my aching stomach… if I could have sold something to even a tenth of that crowd, the profit would be…’

Highly skilled in bookkeeping, Gye-ak-Ho could calculate a revenue projection with a single glance at the passing foot traffic, and the numbers automatically tallying in his head only made his stomach churn with envy.

“Look over there, look over there, they’re approaching~ See them coming! The same beggar from last year~~”

Catching sight of the Beggars’ Union members strolling past, chanting their tunes as if purposely rubbing salt in his wounds, his irritation boiled over.

“Good grief~ The fine silk merchant is bound to starve because there isn’t a single customer in sight!”

“Hehehehe!”

Hearing the mocking words of the Beggars’ Union disciple, a prominent vein throbbed on Gye-ak-Ho’s forehead.

“How dare those swindlers who rip off their own clientele poke fun at anyone else!”

Still fuming, he grabbed a standard bucket of salt and flung handfuls of it three or four times into the street, which finally prompted the filthy beggars to scatter in a hurry. Yet, even as they fled, they didn’t stop shouting back taunts.

“Hmph! Who did we swindle? They fell for it themselves!”

“Stick to selling your textiles, silk merchant! Though who knows if anyone will buy them, hahahaha.”

Gye-ak-Ho stood there huffing and puffing long after the beggars had vanished from view. His temper remained thoroughly riled.

‘Confound it! I spent three whole years preparing for this…’

Having initiated his investigation into the Thousand Copper Cave a full three years before the Five Spirits Immortal Flower Oil was set to emerge, he was absolutely certain he could outsell the Beggars’ Union once the rare substance became available. He had meticulously documented every location where the Five Spirits Immortal Flower Oil had previously been discovered, and had even hired a specialized herb expert to pinpoint the exact locations where the oil was expected to manifest this time around. In Gye-ak-Ho’s view, any self-respecting information broker should provide at least that level of quality.

Unfortunately, a strict directive had come down from the organization’s leadership explicitly prohibiting the distribution of any maps concerning the Thousand Copper Cave. He had attempted to change their minds, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

‘Curse it all…’

Initially, the restriction made no sense to him. He was well aware of the immense difficulties the Hao-mun had faced after selling maps of the Demon Spirit Plateau. However, the Thousand Copper Cave was completely different from the Demon Spirit Plateau, lacking any hazardous supernatural formations or illusions. It wasn’t until he learned the real reason behind the ban that all the energy drained from his body. They couldn’t possibly sell those maps knowing full well that the Jong-nam sect intended to seal off the entry to the Thousand Copper Cave. They could have feigned ignorance and sold them anyway, much like the Beggars’ Union did, but the Hao-mun operated under a different set of risks. If the customers discovered they had been cheated, they wouldn’t dare challenge the Beggars’ Union easily, but they wouldn’t hesitate to take out their anger on the Hao-mun. Unlike the penniless beggars who owned nothing, they had businesses and livelihoods to protect.

‘We can’t take that risk.’

For the sake of his fellow Hao-mun members who relied on their shops, such a disaster had to be avoided. One only had to recall how many of their brethren were ruined during the fallout of the Demon Spirit Plateau incident. And yet—

“Sigh…”

Because the potential earnings kept flashing through his mind, Gye-ak-Ho could no longer bear to stand by his stall. To make matters worse, noticing the same Beggars’ Union members who had run off earlier slowly creeping back only made his blood boil further. Just as he was contemplating closing up shop early to roast some chestnuts—

“I am looking to submit a special request.”

Hearing that unusual voice from behind, his attention instantly locked on one specific phrase.

“Special Request!”

Gye-ak-Ho whipped around to face the speaker. The person behind the voice was none other than—

“Oh? Is that you, Young Master Jin?”

The current individual holding the title of “Guest” (Sik-gaek) within the Hao-mun, as well as the Academy Representative, the Black Flame Dragon, the Black Maitreya, and the notorious Black Dragon Bandit Chief—So-un-Jin himself.

“Indeed, it is.”

…The young man was standing there in an incredibly bizarre condition, with both of his nostrils stuffed tight. What in the world… He already knew the young master was eccentric, but this visual was truly surreal.

“Ahem.”

Gye-ak-Ho gathered his wits.

“May I ask what happened to your nose…?”

“Shopkeeper, do you happen to have a moment?”

“A moment?”

As Gye-ak-Ho tilted his head in confusion, So-un-Jin pinched his left nostril shut and exhaled forcefully through his nose.

“Yes. If you can spare some time.”

A tightly rolled piece of paper shot right out of his right nostril. Immediately after, So-un-Jin clamped down on the opposite side and blew hard once more, launching another paper projectile from his left nostril. It was a spectacle that defied description.

“Let’s partner up for a map venture.”

“……”

Wow, this was even more staggering than the nose trick. Gye-ak-Ho found himself caught in a dilemma, wondering whether he should prioritize the directives of the clan leadership or comply with the “Guest’s” proposition.

—

### An Unconventional Venture

—

“Young Master Jin, regarding that… what sort of map are we talking about exactly?”

“What else could it be? Is there any other topic of interest right now besides the Five Spirits Immortal Flower Oil?”

“……”

Naturally, he understood that. But why bring it up out of nowhere? Gye-ak-Ho phrased his response carefully.

“Um… Young Master Jin, I truly apologize, but I believe that will be impossible for us.”

“For what reason?”

“Well… how should I explain it?”

After a moment of hesitation, Gye-ak-Ho retrieved the document he had drafted.

“I have already compiled a detailed map of the Thousand Copper Cave myself. However, the leadership has strictly forbidden its sale.”

So-un-Jin reviewed the chart with a keen eye.

“This is remarkably precise work. Did you draw this entire thing yourself, Shopkeeper?”

“Yes. I spent a considerable amount of time preparing it.”

“Was this produced via woodblock printing?”

“Excuse me?”

Startled by the unexpected inquiry, Gye-ak-Ho blinked. So-un-Jin, keeping his eyes glued to the layout, clarified.

“I simply assumed a map with this level of accuracy couldn’t have been replicated by hand one by one.”

“Ah… that is correct. I have an acquaintance who…”

“Then we are in business.”

Wait, what did he mean by that? Gye-ak-Ho offered a strained groan as he explained further.

“The higher-ups issued a strict ban on selling it because Jong-nam is currently blockading the entrance. As much as I wanted to capitalize on this opportunity… my hands are tied.”

Ah, just reflecting on it made his irritation flare up all over again.

“Oh, there is absolutely no reason to worry about that.”

What?

“Because our clientele won’t have any reason to complain.”

“Our clientele…?”

As Gye-ak-Ho stared at him with a bewildered expression, So-un-Jin unrolled a massive sheet of paper directly over the shopkeeper’s map.

“This is the map we are going to put on the market.”

“Pardon me…?”

Staring down at the illustration, which bore a closer resemblance to a traditional scenic painting than an actual map, Gye-ak-Ho looked back and forth between the parchment and So-un-Jin.

“Um… are you certain this is a map?”

By definition, a proper map required clear geographic data and a flat projection using standard cartographic markers.

‘This is entirely unorthodox.’

The document So-un-Jin displayed lacked a flat perspective and featured no standard symbols. However,

“Take a closer look.”

Hearing that voice radiating absolute certainty, Gye-ak-Ho focused his attention on So-un-Jin’s drawing, gradually recognizing familiar landmarks within the brushwork.

“Th-this is…!”

This was a landscape Gye-ak-Ho knew like the back of his hand, having traversed its paths relentlessly over the past three years.

“It’s Mount Ju-dang…”

“Exactly.”

“But you intend to sell a drawing of it?”

Mount Ju-dang wasn’t a particularly renowned peak, aside from the fact that it yielded the Five Spirits Immortal Flower Oil. Even grand landscape paintings depicting the Five Peaks, the most majestic ranges in existence, or Mount Sung, the revered pillar of the Murim, rarely received acclaim unless rendered by a master artist. Let alone attempting to sell a sketch executed with such unpolished technique. No matter how legendary the man before him was—as the Hao-mun’s Guest, the Academy Representative, the Black Maitreya, and the leader of the Black Dragon Bandit…

“Hmm, this seems rather risky…”

Despite his own growing skepticism, observing So-un-Jin’s unwavering poise made Gye-ak-Ho secretly wonder if the young master was attempting some sort of con.

“Um, Young Master Jin… by any chance, are you short on funds?”

In response to the shopkeeper’s query, So-un-Jin simply pointed his finger at a specific spot on the paper rather than giving a verbal reply.

“Observe here. …And look right here.”

Gye-ak-Ho’s eyes closely tracked the path of So-un-Jin’s finger. The coordinates the young man indicated corresponded to the known entryways of the Thousand Copper Cave… However,

“And right over here.”

At the spot where the finger finally rested.

“Huh…?”

There was an additional cavern opening depicted that simply did not exist in reality.

“This location is…”

“This path is the exact information we are selling.”

“W-wait just a moment, Young Master Jin.”

Gye-ak-Ho re-examined the illustration. Yet, no matter how long he stared at it, the reality of the mountain didn’t alter. Regardless of the restrictions placed on him, he had spent a solid three years surveying the area. Mount Ju-dang was a place he had treated like his own backyard for three years just to complete his map.

“Young Master, I have climbed up and down Mount Ju-dang hundreds of times over the last three years, and I can assure you there is no such thing as a third entrance to the Thousand Copper Cave…”

“Of course there isn’t one right now. That’s because it is about to be built.”

“Excuse me?”

What on earth was he talking about… The next words out of his mouth were even more preposterous.

“Before the sun rises at the Miao hour (Myo-si) the day after tomorrow, this brand-new entryway will come into existence.”

“What do you mean by…”

Moments later, an incredibly sly and completely confident grin spread across So-un-Jin’s face.

“Because I am the one who is going to make it.”

“…You are going to make it?”

Gye-ak-Ho’s jaw dropped, and he could only stutter in disbelief as he stared at that smile.