Chapter 36: Marshall City and Gathering Herbs

Ki Jung keeps in touch with her three top students regularly, via the long-distance communications devices she provided each of them. In this way, she can keep up with how they are progressing and to find out about Auntie Pak, while telling them about her experiences. It isn’t the same as being there with them, but it is enough. After two years, she grew close to them.

As she is traveling between Chang Li and Marshall cities, Ki Jung often thinks of them. She is considering asking one of them to come out and meet her so she can provide each of them with a portion of the worm meat. Five cubic meters of the worm flesh is more than she’ll ever be able to use.

As evening approaches, she makes contact with Min Joon.

“Little brother, do you have time to speak with me now,” asks Ki Jung as she continues her trek across the wilds on her way to Marshall.

“Of course, big sister. What’s up,” he asks in response.

“Not much. I just want to see if any of you are able to take a few days off to come meet up with me to pick up an important package meant for the three of you.”

“I guess it is something you don’t trust anyone else to deliver. I’ll have to ask them if one of them can do it. Right now, I’m on the schedule for the next two weeks to teach. Otherwise, I’d be happy to head out that way right now.”

“I’d really appreciate it. And, you’re right. It is not something I dare entrust anyone with. One of you must pick it up. You’ll understand when you receive it,” Ki Jung tells him.

“Well, sister, you’ve always been good to us. Will it be for just the three of us, or Mother, too? I’ll be sure there is enough for her. That is if she wants it. Otherwise, it will be up to you how her portion is used. You may not sell it. It needs to go to someone you trust as much as me and no one else.”

“Oh, that’s a pretty big deal when you put it that way.

“Alright. I’ll go ask them. We were going to meet at the tea house tonight. That makes it easy.”

“Oh, have you found someone?”

“Ki Jung, what kind of question is that?”

“I’m being a nosy sister, that’s all,” she laughs at his fake indignance.

They chat for a moment more and then say their farewells and drop their connection.

Even as she is conversing with Min Joon, Ki Jung is aware of her surroundings. She can sense and read the terrain as clearly at night as during the day. Any creatures touched by the killing intent she purposely sends out do their best to stay out of her path.

She keeps a continual search going for anything that might be of interest to alchemists, and other crafters. This causes her to travel almost four times the actual distance between the two cities. This added distance comes from the back and forth sinewave pattern she’s running. She goes two kilometers to each side for each kilometer she moves forward. Then, if she finds something of interest, she stops and harvests it, or hunts it. Then, she is back running.

For the trip, she is wearing a pair of running shorts and a tank top from back home. Her feet are bare, but that poses no problem, even over sharp rocks, thanks to her body cultivation. She learned this when she tripped over an outcropping of rock and went skidding. Her clothes had been shredded, but her skin didn’t so much as bruise.

She doesn’t know how resistant she is to poisons, venoms, or other toxins. But, she is reasonably sure that she would be fine, as long as it wasn’t enough to bring down an elephant. Not that she intends to test that theory out.

The third day after she set out from Chang Li, Ki Jung arrives at the gates to Marshall city. As with the other cities, this one is walled. The entry fee is 15 silver, which she pays without blinking an eye. Bringing Sharpie into Marshall is easier than it had been back in Chang Li, mostly because she already has the necessary jesses attached to Sharpies’ leg and has gold in hand to grease the guard’s palm. She receives a year-long permit to keep the bird in this city.

Once inside, she seeks out a cartographer to get an enchanted local map of the city. With that in hand, she makes her way to a butcher, leather shop, and alchemist shop. At each one, she sells off the relevant materials from her trip.

Her skill in haggling increases, in part, due to interactions with new merchants. It also seems to affect her charisma and ability to interact with others positively. Though, she has no indication in her stat page to show any of this.

With the sale of her gathered materials out of the way, Ki Jung finds the local jobs/quest board. There, she looks it over for anything worthy of her time. Sadly, nothing is worth her time and effort. Hoping for better luck, she goes back to the alchemy shop and asks if there is anything they need that can be found locally. The owner comes out and speaks with her and after some discussion, he provides her with a drawing of three different herbs and gives her rough estimates of where they might be found. Gathering these items would usually be the work of a team of adventurers and an herbalist or alchemist. However, Ki Jung manages to assure him that she is capable of gathering the items on her own. With the drawings in hand, she heads out.

Once outside the gate, Ki Jung orients herself to the closest indicated area where the items might be found. There are a total of 13 possible areas where she may find them. Some may be in close proximity, but more often than not, they are far removed from one another.

The first stop is about twenty kilometers away. With her speed, the trip is a short jaunt. As she approaches the location, she stops and changes into her full armor kit. It isn’t because she needs the extra stats or the protection. She does it to keep from ruining her clothing.

As she expected, there is a beast in the clearing by the stream. Though the creature is a threat to most in the middle ring, to Ki Jung, it may as well be a Chiujua.

Casually she walks up to the first group of plants that match the drawings. The animal growls at her but doesn’t make a move. On the one paw, it wants to protect the plants, which help give it extra strength and energy. On the other paw it wants to live, and this invader gives off an aura of deadliness that makes it want to crawl into a hole and hide. So, it settles for growling and nothing more.