The Yōma In The Royal Capital

My promise with Shunlin had only been until winter, so my instruction of her and the others came to an end. I had taught them the fundamentals they would need to continue training from here on, so the rest would depend on their own effort. I had also taught Shunlin Meimei Gong, Middle Transmission, so she should be fine up through the Tenth Tier.

However, since we had joined the same group, it looked like my master-disciple relationship with Haoxuen and Seiran would continue. From the morning, I got ready to go out and began descending Mount Gyorei. My purpose was to take the Golden-Fur Thread I had spun during the winter to a craftsman in town and have cloth woven for a cut-resistant vest and gauntlets.

When I arrived in town, I headed for the Lin Weaving Workshop.

“Welcome.”

I greeted Lanrei, the workshop head.

“Lanrei-obasan, I need another favor.”

“What kind of thread are we weaving this time?”

“It’s Golden-Fur Thread, tougher than Gōrō thread.”

When I handed over the bundle of Golden-Fur Thread, Lanrei frowned. Weaving cloth from thread spun from yōma fur required special tools such as treasure-tool scissors. Since those had to be used by channeling qi into them, it was hard work.

“So, how much cloth do you need?”

I specified that the amount of cloth needed for the cut-resistant vest and gauntlets would be half a tan. They said one tan of cloth was enough to make one garment. Half of that should be plenty.

“The weaving fee will be twelve gold coins.”

I had the money from selling the Thunder Bear pelt, so funding was not a problem. I silently handed over twelve gold coins.

“But Taoist practitioners really are something. At your age, being able to casually pay such a large sum.”

“We go through plenty of hardship for it too. I earned that money by defeating a yōma called a Thunder Bear.”

Lanrei nodded in admiration. After finishing that request, I went to Zhou the tailor.

“Taoist Practitioner Kou, it’s ready.”

What I had asked Zhou to make was a poncho-style garment. This poncho was made from cloth woven with Gōyō thread, and could be used in place of a rain cape.

I wrapped the poncho in cloth and went outside. Looking up at the sky, it looked as if rain might start at any moment. Maybe the timing was perfect.

“I’m hungry. I’ll eat something before heading back.”

I went into a nearby dining hall. Several merchants were there, eating while they talked.

“So what happened?”

A thin merchant asked. Then a merchant with a loach-like mustache began to speak.

“The soldiers ran all over the royal capital searching, but apparently they still couldn’t find the one who killed the daughter of Commandant Liu.”

If I remembered right, a Commandant was an official who commanded the palace guards. Something seemed to be happening in the royal capital, but it was far away, so it probably had nothing to do with me.

“The culprit might be a yōma.”

Hearing those words from the merchant, I became interested. If the culprit really was a yōma, Gyorei Cave might receive a request to exterminate it. Still, someone like me, who had only just become an inner disciple, would never be chosen as a member of a yōma extermination force.

After finishing my meal and starting back to Gyorei Cave, it began to rain partway along the way. I hurriedly took out the poncho and put it on. Since the poncho was gray, it did not stand out in the rain.

“Mr. Zhou’s skill really is first-rate. It doesn’t seem to leak anywhere.”

The poncho I had only just obtained performed well enough as a raincoat. The problem was that the shoes I was wearing became soaking wet. Since winter had only just ended, my feet became cold enough to feel frozen.

The shoes worn by Taoist practitioners had soles made from Armored Boar leather, while the rest was ordinary cloth. Their shape resembled kung fu shoes. It seemed that the water soaked in through that cloth portion.

When I returned to Gyorei Cave, I took off my shoes and hung them out to dry. Just then, there was a knock at the door. When I answered, Kanru, one of Elder Shanshi’s direct disciples, came in.

“Kou, Elder Shanshi is calling for you.”

“Understood.”

I went together with Kanru to where the elder was. Elder Shanshi was waiting in a great hall in the Main Hall, and Elder Mon and her direct disciple Chenfa were there as well.

“Good, everyone is here.”

Elder Shanshi began to speak. According to what he said, it was related to the yōma in the royal capital that I had heard about in town. Apparently, the yōma in the royal capital was using poison to kill people there. Among the victims was a royal princess, and Elder Mon was to go to the royal capital to treat her.

“So the reason we were summoned is to guard Elder Mon?”

When I checked, Elder Shanshi nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Are we not supposed to exterminate that yōma?”

Kanru asked.

“The yōma extermination will be handled by an extermination force led by the high disciple Daaren. You only need to guard Elder Mon.”

Apparently, the one handling the yōma extermination would be Daaren, the same man teaching Dragon Qi Sword Art to Yulong. He must truly have the skill for it.

“Does Elder Mon need guarding?”

When I asked that, Elder Mon’s beautiful eyes narrowed sharply. Seeing that, I hurriedly corrected myself.

“Ah, I’ve heard that Elder Mon is a user of Swallowtail Swordsmanship. Isn’t she stronger than we are?”

Hearing that, Elder Mon seemed to recover her good mood.

“On the way to the royal capital, we may run into a bandit group in the mountains. It is a precaution for that.”

In that case, I thought it might be better if Elder Mon did not go herself and simply sent antidotes, but apparently the type of poison had not yet been identified, so no antidote could be made.

The extermination force had already departed ahead of us, and Elder Mon, Chenfa, Kanru, and I were to go to the royal capital as the treatment team. It seemed I had been chosen because I had won the Elixir Competition Festival, so I would probably be able to help with medicine-making as well.