Chapter 55
By the time the sun was setting, the stores in Cheongyakjang were starting to pack up or close one by one.
“Ugh, I’m tired. I can’t walk anymore.”
Eun Sowol plopped down on the ground.
She had walked non-stop since morning, and now she didn’t even have the strength to take another step.
“You barely walked at all.”
“Being carried around is tiring too, you know.”
Dok Go-ryong tried to pick a fight, but as usual, Sowol just ignored him.
“But still, we didn’t buy that much.”
Sowol sighed as she looked at the herb bundles in Dok Go-ryong and Dang Jin-ak’s hands.
They had walked around that huge market all day, and this was all they got?
There were lots of good herbs, but nothing I’d call a spiritual medicine…
“Uncle… where’s that black market those bandit guys mentioned? Are you sure it’s even real?”
She remembered reading in the original story that there was a black market hidden inside Cheongyakjang, where all sorts of powerful elixirs were sold.
But it didn’t say how to get in.
She had tried peeking into alleyways and suspicious corners all day, but found nothing.
And in a place so brightly lit, it was hard to believe something shady could even exist.
“The black market is where shady stuff gets sold… You think just anyone can go in?”
“Then how?”
Before Dok Go-ryong could say anything snarky, Dang Jin-ak gently answered her.
“There is a way to enter. But Sowol, you’re still young. Let’s go back to the inn.”
“Yeah, you can rest there, little one.”
“What about you two?”
“We’re going to the black market.”
“Then I’m coming too!”
There’s no way I’m letting you guys go somewhere fun without me!
“No.”
Dok Go-ryong rejected her flatly. Sowol puffed up her cheeks and glared hard at him before suddenly jumping up.
He crossed his arms and didn’t even look at her.
THUD
She suddenly flopped down flat on the street.
As both men stared at her in disbelief—
“Take me with youuuu!”
Sowol’s ultimate move: The Tantrum.
Throwing a fit in public wasn’t easy, especially with the mind of a grown woman. But this was the most “kid-like” and effective method she could think of.
All she had to do was suck it up and toss her pride aside.
“Take me! Take meee!”
As she rolled around and cried dramatically, people around started to stare.
Finally, Dok Go-ryong sighed and reached down to lift her by the armpits.
“Fine! Just shut up already. Before I smack you.”
He clenched his teeth.
“You’re taking me, right?”
Sowol blinked up at him, her eyes sparkling like she had never caused a scene.
Dok Go-ryong stared at her, then sighed again.
“…Yeah, fine. Let’s go.”
And so, the two had no choice but to take Sowol along.
The once-bustling market was now quiet.
The lights were off, and darkness filled the street, but Dok Go-ryong and Jin-ak kept walking.
Just when Sowol was about to ask where they were even going, she noticed one small shop still open.
It was so small she hadn’t even noticed it during the day. All the herbs looked wilted and worthless.
But the two men went right in.
“Welcome…”
An old man, looking like he’d collapse any second, trembled as he greeted them.
“I bought this herb earlier, but it seems off. Can you appraise it?”
Dok Go-ryong pulled out a Dansam root.
Huh? Isn’t Dansam supposed to be red?
But the one he showed was greenish, not red at all.
The old man examined it with shaky hands, then pointed to a door at the back with his cane.
“Please go that way.”
Dok Go-ryong nodded and carried Sowol through the door with Jin-ak.
Down the stairs, they found a wide underground tunnel.
Lanterns lined the stone walls, and the tunnel seemed to stretch endlessly.
It felt like a secret passageway, and Sowol snapped out of her awe.
“…Wait, was that the password?”
Jin-ak nodded.
“Yep. And the password changes every day. If you don’t know today’s password, there’s no way in.”
“Whoa… then how did you know it?”
“Hehe, did you forget what family I’m from?”
“You’re from the Sichuan Dang family!”
“Right. Our clan, the Jeildo Mun, deals with rare poisons and elixirs. Sometimes we use this market too.”
Ah, right. Of course the Sichuan Dang family would know about this.
“So did your clan give you today’s password?”
“Nope. That’s not something even our family can just hand over.”
“Then how did you find out?”
Before Jin-ak could answer, Dok Go-ryong jumped in.
“You wouldn’t get it.”
“Why not?”
“Because it takes a bunch of steps to figure it out.”
Sowol frowned, not understanding, so Jin-ak explained further.
“Do you remember some shopkeepers suggesting other stores while we were buying herbs earlier?”
She thought for a moment. Maybe…?
“If you follow those suggestions, you eventually get led to a shop selling useless junk.”
“Ah! Then that junk was…!”
“The password, in a sense. And if you find a shop still open at night with green lanterns, that’s today’s entrance.”
So even finding the password was like a test to prove you were worthy of entering the black market.
“Why change the password every day, though?”
“Because it’s a huge black market. Of course they care about security. If they didn’t, the government would’ve shut them down long ago.”
Just what kind of shady stuff do they sell in there…? Sowol wondered, but then remembered—I need something shady too.
They kept walking through the long tunnel in silence.
After what felt like nearly half an hour, they reached a giant door.
Guards with fierce expressions stood watch.
Their stares were sharp, and Sowol instinctively clung to Dok Go-ryong’s neck.
But the two men walked past them like it was nothing.
When they stepped out of the tunnel—
They were at the edge of a steep cliff with jagged rocks all around.
Just a moment ago, they had been in the city of Kunming.
Where were they now?
“This is Kunming’s hidden black market: Heuksigok (Black Market Valley).”
Jin-ak’s words made Sowol’s jaw drop.
Mountains surrounded them completely. Stairs clung to the cliffs like threads. Somewhere nearby, a waterfall roared, but its source couldn’t be seen through the dense landscape.
Heuksigok was hidden deep in the mountains.
The valley was so secluded that even with bright lights glowing, none escaped the walls of the cliffs.
With a setup like this, even the authorities wouldn’t dare touch this place.
Compared to this, Cheongyakjang was like a neighborhood convenience store.
“We’ll be here a while. If you get tired, just say so—”
Jin-ak looked down in concern, but Sowol’s eyes were sparkling with curiosity and wonder.
The two men exchanged glances and chuckled before walking carefully down the narrow cliffside path into Heuksigok.
The moment they stepped inside, Sowol’s eyes darted everywhere.
Heuksigok was even more overwhelming up close.
“Uncle, look! That monkey just jumped through a ring of fire!”
“Is that a Night Pearl? It’s my first time seeing one!”
“They’re selling centipedes—eww! People are eating them!”
She kept chattering nonstop, not realizing how excited she was.
But then she noticed—this place was very different from Cheongyakjang.
“They sell more than just elixirs here, huh?”
“The main focus is rare elixirs, but like all black markets, you can find all sorts of rare items.”
“Then why are there so many animals?”
Though most stalls were herb sellers, there were also hunters selling live animals.
At first, watching monkeys and parrots doing tricks was fun.
But behind the sellers, she saw cages filled with animals—captive and cowering.
“There are lots of valuable medicines that come from animals. Like deer antlers, bear bile, turtle shells, even snake venom.”
“Some of these might even be mystical beasts, right?”
There were twin-tailed snakes, huge golden beetles bigger than pumpkins, and frogs with three eyes.
Rare creatures—spiritual beasts—popped up here and there.
“The inner cores of spirit beasts sell for a lot. Though none of these are super rare, they’re still hard to find in normal markets.”
“…Poor things.”
Sowol looked at the animals with sympathy in her eyes.
They all had blank, lifeless expressions.
“What’s there to pity? Some of what you need comes from slicing those animals open.”
Sowol glared at Dok Go-ryong in horror, then grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged hard.
“What a sweet thing to say to your lovely niece, huh?”
Did he really have to say it like that?! What a mean uncle!
“I thought it was a pretty good line.”
Dok Go-ryong smirked shamelessly.
Sowol ground her teeth.
Ugh, whatever. What was I expecting from the Mad Demon anyway?
Still… he wasn’t wrong.
Even though she felt bad, some of those animals carried rare and powerful ingredients.
Not wanting to feel worse, she turned her head away and wrapped her arms around Dok Go-ryong’s neck.
