Survival Guide for the Reincarnated

Chapter 458

“Drink.”“Y-Yes... thank you!”

Eun Unsaeng patted the Red Demon on the shoulder after he drained the cup in one gulp, then looked back at Unhwi.

It was true that Eun Unsaeng was a broad-minded man.

But that did not mean he simply accepted everything and let it slide just because someone was his benefactor.

He drew a clear line between personal feelings and business.

“Still, there ought to be conditions.”

“Of course. We had no intention of using grudges and ties as an excuse to negotiate with you empty-handed, Senior.”

“Then shall I speak first?”

When Unhwi nodded, Eun Unsaeng set down his cup and began counting on his fingers.

“First, grain. You know this already, but crops don’t grow in the Great Desert. We need rice and wheat.”

They had established ties with the Heaven’s Will Alliance, but that alone could not sustain the entire Great Desert.

Without a word, Unhwi looked toward the Red Demon. The Red Demon nodded as if to say it could be done.

Watching the two of them, Eun Unsaeng continued.

“Second, spiritual medicines and cultivation resources. Medicinal herbs are scarce in the Great Desert. Especially wound medicine and spiritual pills—or resources capable of treating internal injuries.”

The Red Demon answered without the slightest hesitation.

“That is also possible.”

Red Spirit Court maintained merchant groups throughout the Central Plains. Procuring spiritual medicines and cultivation resources was not difficult.

“Third, iron. We need iron to forge weapons. The iron in the Great Desert is poor quality.”

This time, the Red Demon did not answer immediately.

Iron was a sensitive commodity. Above all, the Great Desert occupied a position similar to that of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace.

It resembled a nation, yet it was not truly a nation.

It resembled a sect, yet it was not truly a sect.

It existed somewhere between the two, and if large quantities of iron for weapon production suddenly flowed into such a place?

The attention of every nation would turn toward them and toward the Blood Heaven Sect.

And concentrated attention meant endless opportunities for trouble to arise.

Eun Unsaeng looked at the Red Demon.

“Is iron difficult?”

“...Not difficult.”

“Then why hesitate?”

The Red Demon slowly raised his head. His eyes met Unhwi’s.

There was not the slightest wavering in Unhwi’s gaze.

The Red Demon drew in a short breath before answering.

“We accept.”

“Good. And listen—I’m not asking you to hand things over for free either.”

Eun Unsaeng clapped his hands.

Clap.

At the sound, the doors opened.

Martial artists of the Soul-Killing Gate entered the hall.

Carrying several boxes.

They set the boxes down and opened the lids.

The Red Demon’s eyes widened.

“This is...?”

A crimson glow poured from the first box.

Blood Sand.

A red sand found only deep within the Great Desert. When used as an ingredient in spiritual medicine, it tripled the medicinal effect. In the Central Plains, it was more expensive than gold.

Recently, the Heaven’s Will Alliance had begun circulating some of it, but not in large quantities. The Red Demon himself had been thinking about it.

If there was one thing they absolutely had to bring from the Great Desert, Blood Sand was among them.

Then the second box.

Inside lay a blue mineral.

Hundred-Year Ice Sand.

A mineral mined deep beneath the Great Desert. It was as cold as the eternal snows themselves. It would not melt even in summer. To practitioners of ice-based martial arts, it was a priceless treasure.

Inside the third box were chunks of black metal.

Black Sand Iron.

A special iron found only in the Great Desert. Three times harder than ordinary iron and twice as light. Weapons forged from it became divine weapons.

“These are precious things, you know. Naturally, they aren’t part of the trade deal. Think of them as gifts.”

The Red Demon hurriedly offered a fist salute.

“Thank you.”

“That’s enough.”

Then came the fourth box.

Inside it was leather.

“The hide of a Sand Emperor.”

“A Sand Emperor...? Surely you don’t mean...?”

Eun Unsaeng grinned.

“A beast that lives in the Great Desert. A serpent over thirty feet long. There are quite a lot of them. We’ll include this as part of the trade goods.”

The Red Demon swallowed hard as he touched the hide.

It was tough. Every single scale felt as hard as iron.

“If you make armor from this hide, most swords will bounce right off it. Not long ago, the Yang Empire came begging for it like lunatics. I drove them out, though.”

The Red Demon’s eyes shook.

...These are things that could never normally be obtained, and he’s giving them away this easily?

He looked back at Unhwi.

Without Unhwi, this conversation would never have happened.

Things impossible to acquire in the Central Plains.

No—not even things gold could buy.

Eun Unsaeng continued.

“I’ll show you the fifth item separately.”

“...Separately?”

“It’s outside.”

The Red Demon blinked in surprise as Eun Unsaeng slowly rose from his seat.

“Since we’re already talking about it, we may as well go see it now.”

Unhwi stood as well, and the Red Demon quickly followed.

They left the grand hall.

Outside stood a stable.

Eun Unsaeng pointed toward one of the horses inside.

Though calling it a horse felt questionable.

It was nearly two handspans taller than an ordinary horse.

Its muscles bulged thickly beneath its hide. Its coat was dark crimson-black, and its eyes were fierce.

“Iron Sand Horse,” Eun Unsaeng said.

“A famous steed found only in the Great Desert. It can run a thousand li in a day and keep going for three days without rest. Strong enough to carry two fully armed cavalrymen and still run.”

In the Great Desert, camels were considered more precious than horses, but that did not mean horses lacked value.

They could even be used for meat, and famous steeds like this could be sold for enormous sums.

“Very few have ever left the Great Desert. We treasure these beasts ourselves.”

Eun Unsaeng looked at Unhwi.

“Unhwi.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“I’ll give this one to you.”

Unhwi’s eyes widened.

“I was originally thinking of bringing it to the Heaven’s Will Alliance, but it became too troublesome.”

He chuckled.

“Since you came all the way here, raise it well.”

“...Thank you, Senior.”

“That’s enough.”

Waving dismissively, Eun Unsaeng smiled.

“Well then. Are the trade terms satisfactory now?”

Unhwi looked toward the Red Demon.

“Master. Are these conditions acceptable?”

The Red Demon snapped back to himself.

“...Yes! More than acceptable.”

He was nearly speechless.

This was practically a trade deal entirely in Red Spirit Court’s favor.

Blood Sand, Hundred-Year Ice Sand, Black Sand Iron, Sand Emperor hide, Iron Sand Horse.

The amount of Black Sand Iron and Iron Sand Horses might be scarce, but even the remaining goods alone were staggering.

Selling these in the Central Plains would yield profits several times over. More than enough to offset the cost of grain, spiritual medicines, and iron.

The Red Demon offered Eun Unsaeng another fist salute.

“...Thank you, sir.”

Eun Unsaeng waved him off.

“Sir? The only reason I’ve never had a favorable opinion of the Blood Heaven Sect is because of historical reasons. I’ve got no complaints about the current cult leader, the Martial Supreme. And naturally, I’ve got no complaints about Red Spirit Court either.”

Then he looked at Unhwi.

“As for this crafty bastard, all I owe him is gratitude. If I’m giving something, I ought to give it properly.”

Having suddenly become a crafty bastard, Unhwi merely smiled.

The Red Demon looked at Unhwi and spoke.

“...Thank you, Blood Heaven Arbiter.”

Unhwi nodded.

“Red Spirit Court is a branch of the Blood Heaven Sect. If the branch prospers, should not the main sect prosper as well?”

It was not wrong.

“Once the trade route opens, Red Spirit Court’s financial troubles will disappear. Then you’ll no longer be suppressed by the Jin family.”

The Red Demon lowered his head.

He had nothing to say.

Only a few days earlier—

when Unhwi first appeared at Red Spirit Court—

the Red Demon had remained cautious and merely observed.

What could that young brat possibly accomplish?

And yet now?

He had broken the Jin family’s blockade on the trade route. He had killed Maeng Jeung. And he had opened a new trade route with the Great Desert.

On terms overwhelmingly favorable to them.

All of this in only a matter of days.

...He’s a monster.

The Red Demon finally realized it.

Seol Unhwi.

This man was a monster.

Among ordinary martial artists, very few truly used their heads.

Most solved everything with a blade.

Yet in a world overflowing with such people, Unhwi possessed not only martial skill, but intelligence as well.

And beyond that, he had connections and decisiveness.

A man like that had taken the seat of Blood Heaven Arbiter.

The Red Demon could no longer imagine what the Blood Heaven Sect would become.

“Now then, let’s go finish our drinks.”

The Red Demon’s expression brightened.

“Yes, sir!”

***

Time passed, and midnight came and went.

The banquet had ended long ago, yet the time shared by two men had not.

Those two were Eun Unsaeng and Unhwi.

The night sky above the Great Desert glittered as though the stars themselves might pour down from heaven.

Beneath it, Eun Unsaeng tilted his cup and asked,

“Speak honestly.”

“What would you like me to say?”

“What is going on?”

Unhwi looked at Eun Unsaeng.

“What makes you think that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Leaving Snow Palace aside, any ordinary person would have assumed your next destination would be the Heaven’s Will Alliance.”

The reason was simple.

“You built its foundation yourself, and now the Heaven’s Will Alliance has become a force capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the Murim Alliance. And its leader, Hwa Munyeom, has grown far older than people realize.”

It was not because he had reached the Supreme Void Realm that he could see it.

He had noticed it long ago.

Hwa Munyeom was old.

The reason he chose to wash his hands of worldly affairs at the Soul Demon Flame Palace was not simple ambition. No matter how active he remained, the time left to him was limited.

“If you went there, the position of Alliance Leader would naturally pass to you, and you would... well, stand shoulder to shoulder with the monsters of the martial world.”

Though he was already doing so in some ways.

Watching Eun Unsaeng mutter that, Unhwi smiled faintly.

“You overestimate me.”

Eun Unsaeng’s eyes gleamed.

“If anything, I’m underestimating you. From what I’ve seen with my own eyes, you’re someone destined to become the Martial Supreme one day.”

“Is that so.”

Unhwi brushed the matter aside casually, and Eun Unsaeng relaxed his posture before asking again,

“Anyway, instead of the Heaven’s Will Alliance, you entered the Blood Heaven Sect. And on top of that, your position is Blood Heaven Arbiter?”

“Yes.”

“One man beneath heaven, above ten thousand others?”

“That’s correct.”

Eun Unsaeng snorted with amusement.

“What sort of grand design are you drawing? Opening trade routes, entering the Blood Heaven Sect, all of it.”

Unhwi fell silent for a moment.

As he filled Unhwi’s empty cup with liquor, Eun Unsaeng casually added,

“I’d say the relationship between you and me runs fairly deep by now, wouldn’t you?”

“That would not be inaccurate.”

“Then can’t you tell me?”

Unhwi lifted the cup and drained it in one swallow.

Silence lingered briefly.

What should he say?

After thinking for a moment, Unhwi slowly opened his mouth.

“There is a man.”

“Mhm.”

“That man is skilled at hiding himself. He also has a dream he wishes to achieve. And he possesses the ability to make it happen. In pursuit of his goal, he does not care what methods he uses.”

“As most martial artists do.”

“Yes. I’m not speaking of whether his actions are right or wrong. Whatever he wishes to accomplish has nothing to do with me. But.”

“But?”

A sharp light flashed through Unhwi’s eyes.

“He tried to destroy what I wished to protect.”

“...I see.”

“And in truth, it was destroyed once. Or nearly destroyed. I managed to stop it, but... you know how the martial world works.”

Eun Unsaeng grinned broadly.

Even here in the Great Desert, Eun Unsaeng was still a martial artist.

As a martial artist, there was no way he would fail to understand the nature of the martial world.

“If someone wrongs you, you pay them back.”

Grudges and ties.

“That’s right. So I intend to repay him.”