What Is The Prize? (1)

When the Yin Yang Twin Monster suddenly vanished, the elders fell into gloom.

When in history had the Tang family ever experienced such a miserable affair?

Tang So-cheon sat with his eyes closed, not moving a muscle.

One of the family elders cautiously approached him and spoke.

“If you give us the order, I’ll summon the elites even now. If we call for support from the Murim Alliance and deploy the Ten Thousand Fold Net…”

“Enough.”

“B-but…”

Tang So-cheon, frowning, cut him off and barked, “How much more do you intend to humiliate me? Our Tang family was defeated. That is all there is to it.”

With that, he abruptly disappeared.

With the person involved gone, what were a few elders to discuss among themselves?

Everyone stared listlessly at the empty space where he had been standing.

A short time passed in that silence.

Not far off, the clan head approached with a limping step; he seemed to have just regained consciousness after being knocked out by Yu Jinsan’s Tentacle One Hundred and Eight Strikes.

“Brother So-cheon is right. Do not argue further about this matter.”

One of the Tang family’s masters asked with a look of grievance, “Must we stand idly by after being treated like this? Everyone will mock us now.”

“No one died; we can pretend it never happened. If we all keep our mouths shut, no one will know,” one of the watching elders said cautiously.

“Judging by those brats who were talking about house prices, the Emei sect might be dangerous too. Shouldn’t we warn them?”

“Leave it be. You’d only disgrace us throughout the martial world.”

How could the Tang family, which once ruled Sichuan, ever speak of an incident where it was mocked by only two people? It was a humiliation they wanted wiped from memory.

“Understood. We’ll make sure they keep their mouths shut completely.”

A question crossed the clan head’s face as he nodded. “But did the Yin Yang Twin Monster come straight here from Shaanxi? Without stopping by the Southern Edge Sect?”

“If they’d been attacked first, wouldn’t they have told us? They would have even sent a courier.”

“Aren’t they slippery, deceitful rogues? Send someone to check. I’m curious if they’re unharmed.”

“I understand.”

Meanwhile, the grandfather and granddaughter who had left the Tang compound were walking along a quiet trail. Ginkgo trees lined both sides, giving the place a pleasant charm.

“The breeze is cool and pleasant.”

Their expressions contrasted. Yu Jinsan smiled while Yu Seol pouted like a duck—thoroughly sulky.

“I don’t know.”

“Why are you in such a sulk?”

“I want the house money! What if we just leave?”

Yu Jinsan patted his granddaughter’s shoulder and spoke soothingly, “Child, it’s the way of the world: born empty-handed, leave empty-handed. You needn’t cling to wealth.”

“Come like a beggar and leave like a beggar? I don’t like that.”

“Do you think being rich is that simple? A person with a rich heart is the truly wealthy one.”

Yu Seol, unconvinced, said solemnly, “So what’s the point? You can’t buy what you want to eat, and you don’t have a house. We must go back to collect the money.”

Having already seen the edge of life, Yu Jinsan had no greed for money, but seeing his sulking granddaughter, he couldn’t simply ignore her.

“It’s okay, child. Don’t be too disappointed.”

Yu Seol said nothing, only hanging her head low.

“Grandpa has a good idea.”

At last the granddaughter lifted her head; tears glimmered at the corners of her eyes.

“What method?”

“Isn’t there still one more place that owes us money?”

“The Emei sect?”

“Yes. Grandpa heard that the bhikkhunis have amassed quite a fortune.”

Yu Seol’s expression brightened instantly, joy shimmering over her face. “Ooh! So we’ll storm the Emei sect and demand the payment for our house?”

“If we take it like that, it’ll look like robbery. We’re not village thugs; we must consider our reputation in the murim world.”

“Then what do we do?”

Yu Jinsan lowered his voice and whispered, “We can quietly take it. No one needs to know.”

“Steal it?”

“Aha? It’s clearly for a righteous cause; you shouldn’t call it stealing. We’re only taking what is rightfully ours.”

No matter what his grandfather said, Yu Seol’s mouth was already stretched into a grin. “Hee hee hee hee.”

“Yes, I love it! I want to be rich quickly.”

“What will you do with all that money?”

Yu Seol already felt as if she owned the whole world; a pure smile never left her face. “I’ll buy a house again. This time I’ll get one that won’t burn.”

“Hmm. Then you’ll need to build it of marble. It’ll be terribly expensive, won’t it?”

“It’s fine. I’ll save a lot and buy it for you.”

Yu Jinsan asked slyly with a faint smile, “Instead, why not use that money to get back our Yu family house?”

“The old house?”

“Yes. They say it was seized by the local governor; we should repurchase it. It was your parents’ home, after all.”

It was a place full of memories for Yu Jinsan. Once everything was settled, he intended to retrieve it by any means necessary.

As expected, his granddaughter nodded eagerly. “Okay. Anything else you want?”

“Hmm. Buy me a boat with a pavilion. Sometimes we’ll float by the river to fish, nap, and enjoy leisure.”

“Then you’ll take me too, right?”

“Of course. While grandpa catches and cooks the fish, Seol, you’ll sing from the back.”

“Puhuhu. Okay. Then I’ll buy the boat too.”

Although they had no wealth yet, Yu Seol’s heart was already that of a prosperous rich person. Seeing his granddaughter happy, Yu Jinsan’s heart warmed.

“Thank you for buying the boat, child. Truly, there’s no one like my granddaughter.”

“Heehee. But grandpa, won’t you duel at the Emei sect? Didn’t we say we’d beat them all?”

“There must be someone to fight. They’ve already been soundly dealt with by us once, so there’s no point.”

When they escaped from the Blue Dragon Troops’ training ground in the past, they had been pursued by the Emei sect’s elder warriors. Those who had been defeated by Yu Seol then were finished off by her own hand. The Emei sect’s leader would be under the Murim Alliance’s protection, so Mount Emei now had no formidable opponents waiting.

“So we just need to go and take the treasure?”

“Well, something like that. Besides, Mount Emei isn’t far from here, so we’ll have to wait until night…”

The sun was still high, so there was time.

She wasn’t the kind of granddaughter who would just sit and wait.

“Then what shall we do until then? What shall we play?”

There was nothing in particular he had planned. He couldn’t spend the whole day playing hand-in-hand with his granddaughter. After a moment of thought, Yu Jinsan came up with a suitable destination.

“If we’re in Sichuan, we should visit the streets of Chengdu.”

“Chengdu?”

“Yes. Our ancestor Liu Bei established it as the capital of Shu; that’s Chengdu. It’s long been prosperous and rich, called the ‘Land of Abundance.’”

“Wow… What’s there to see if we go?”

“Well, it’s especially famous for theater. Music flows through every street; it’s a city overflowing with culture.”

“I want to go and see it soon.”

Yu Jinsan nodded as if he had expected that. “Alright, let’s go. Grandpa will set off first!”

Yu Jinsan pushed off the ground and leapt. Yu Seol followed alongside him, matching his stride as he demonstrated aerial steps. She chattered nonstop, clearly delighted.

“This will be fun, right? When will we arrive?”

“At this speed we’ll arrive within half a watch. Shall we run a bit faster?”

His foot pushed off a tree and he sprang into the air again. Running through the air, Yu Jinsan repeatedly stepped on trees to launch himself anew—such was the limit of his aerial stepping. In contrast, Yu Seol moved like a bird, able to linger at high altitudes for a very long time; it was a light-footwork skill one couldn’t even dream of unless they reached the Profound Realm.

After running for a while, Yu Jinsan looked upward and called, “Child! How is the air up there?”

“It’s cooler here. You can see very far.”

Yu Seol was running several times higher than him; he was envious but did not show it. “If we keep going this way we’ll arrive more or less. Tell me when you see the city.”

Indeed, Yu Seol was already scanning eagerly. Shortly after, a faint sight appeared in Yu Jinsan’s view as well.

The vast, wealthy city of Chengdu came into view. The cultured heart of Chengdu was more splendid than any other city—pavilions hung with lanterns stood in rows, people of all sorts crowded the streets, and everywhere there were plays based on the Three Kingdoms and face-changing performers with masks.

They stopped at a stage where a medicine peddler performed tricks. The masked apothecary danced briskly to fast music. Watching, Yu Seol, evidently pleased, bobbed her shoulders along.

“Puhit. Exciting!”

It had been a long time since the granddaughter looked this happy. As he watched with a pleased smile, the apothecary suddenly looked their way and shouted, “Hey, lively pretty little girl! Please come up here for a moment.”

At that, the shoulder-bobbing Yu Seol froze and looked around, flustered—there was no other little girl nearby.

“M-me?”

Shy now that she was singled out, Yu Seol hesitated, then climbed onto the stage. Seeing his granddaughter blush, Yu Jinsan burst into laughter for the first time in a while. “Heh! Seol, they’re calling you up. Go on, get up there.”

The apothecary gathered the audience’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen! From now on I’ll properly demonstrate the effects of this Hobi pill!” Having finished speaking, he placed a club into Yu Seol’s hand. “From now on, use that to strike this man’s belly with all your might. Don’t worry—hit him with everything you’ve got!”

Yu Seol, who had expected something fun, sighed. Did they think she was some kind of Vajra Indestructible? From the aura she sensed, he seemed to be from the murim world, but at best he had learned a few clumsy outsider techniques.

“No, I can’t. You’ll die.”

“It’s fine, I tell you. If he even groans, I’ll give you this as a prize!” The apothecary pointed to the prize.

Now that she was interested, Yu Seol’s expression subtly changed. “Are you really going to give that?”

“Of course! If you meet the condition I mentioned, I’ll give it right away.”

Yu Seol didn’t accept immediately. She pretended to ponder, then sneaked out two fingers. “I’ll do it if you give me two.”