Surviving as the Heavenly Demon’s Concubine - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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‘Come to think of it, I heard that prospective concubines have entered Cheonryeon Palace.’

While Museong would never refuse any woman in a skirt, even he didn’t have the audacity to touch his father’s women, so this was a fact he had been intentionally ignoring.

“I apologize. I didn’t know I’d be getting such a young stepmother.”

“Oh, there’s not much possibility of that anyway.”

Riser, who had no intention whatsoever of receiving the emperor’s favor, drew a line with a smiling face.

“More than that, I’d like to continue hearing about the elixir. As far as I know, um. From what I’ve heard, it was definitely Byeokrok moss.”

“I heard the same thing. But it probably isn’t.”

Museong nodded while firmly denying it.

“It’s true that Mookang hyung’s Jukyeopchong is a rare medicinal liquor, but it’s lacking to be called an elixir. The grade of ingredients used is disappointing to begin with. It might have the effect of consolidating training results, but it’s insufficient to break through blocked realms. In other words, doesn’t that mean another elixir taken together played the main role?”

“That could be the Byeokrok moss.”

“Hehe. That’s absurd… ah, I’m sorry. You were serious.”

Museong burst into laughter without thinking, then quickly changed his attitude when he saw Riser’s serious expression.

Then he made an ‘hmm’ sound with the face of someone wondering how to explain such simple and easy content.

“Let me use the grains and vegetables we eat as an example. Generally, don’t roots and fruits have more nutrients? Medicinal ingredients are similar. Moss isn’t a very advantageous form for condensing spiritual power for long periods.”

Museong’s words were like the natural order of the world that everyone takes for granted.

It was an irrefutable logic that the more spiritual power something contains, the better the elixir, and the more years that have accumulated, the more precious it becomes.

‘Ugh. That’s not necessarily true though.’

Riser hesitated, wondering how to put it into words.

If she pointed out Museong’s preconceptions and said ‘Do you think getting precious ingredients is everything?’ or ‘Don’t study half-heartedly,’ he would definitely be offended.

“Ah…”

She had to say it as indirectly as possible.

In a situation where Cheonmu Kang was already grinding his teeth at Riser, she didn’t want to turn Museong into an enemy as well.

“…what would you do then?”

“Pardon?”

‘Ugh! That’s not what I meant to say!’

Riser hurriedly corrected herself.

“Th, that is to say! We don’t have any other candidates right now. So I was thinking, shouldn’t we first definitively rule out the possibility that it’s not Byeokrok moss? If someone tried the Jukyeopchong and Byeokrok moss together, wouldn’t that make it clear?”

“You’re saying to conduct an experiment.”

Riser nodded with all her might.

“Hmm. It seems wasteful… Even though only low-grade ingredients went into that Jukyeopchong, the production cost isn’t trivial.”

This man. Someone’s life is on the line and he’s sitting there worrying about money.

“Wouldn’t the Second Prince provide it? He seemed like a generous person.”

“I wonder. I don’t want to ask for money for an experiment that’s obviously going to fail. That would all end up as debt to me.”

Riser’s heart grew urgent at Museong’s lukewarm reaction.

“If that’s the case, I could cover the costs. More precisely, from Cheonryeon Palace…”

“You would, Miss Tang?”

Museong looked at Riser with a puzzled expression as she even brought out her Mukyeonsu Seonpae while persistently urging the experiment.

“Why are you so obsessed with Byeokrok moss? It’s somewhat… hmm. Questionable.”

“Th, that’s…”

At Museong’s question, Riser seemed to be at a loss for words and mumbled.

No matter how exceptional her enthusiasm for medicine was, being so fixated on a specific medicinal ingredient was rather unnatural.

‘Unless her family runs a Byeokrok moss farm… wait. Could it be?’

A lightning-like realization flashed through Museong’s mind.

Byeokrok moss was a medicinal ingredient with relatively low prices due to its minimal spiritual power compared to its rarity.

But what would happen if rumors spread that it was the key secret formula that elevated Magong-ja’s realm?

‘Obviously its value would skyrocket!’

Thinking that way, everything fit perfectly.

Now that he looked at it, wasn’t her insistence on an obviously doomed experiment also a scheme to use Yakwangjeon’s name to promote Byeokrok moss’s efficacy?

“Tell me the truth. It would be better to confess honestly while I’m giving you the chance.”

Museong pressured Riser with sharp eyes like interrogating a major economic criminal.

‘Why is he suddenly speaking so scary?’

Overwhelmed by Museong’s chilling aura, Riser unconsciously flinched and hunched her shoulders slightly.

His gaze was sharp as if trying to see through to the truth.

Riser reluctantly moved her lips a few times, then glanced around as if checking her surroundings. Then, as if resolved, she whispered secretly in a very small voice.

“Actually… I’m that ‘righteous young lady.'”

Museong’s brow twitched briefly upon hearing that confession. A moment of silence passed. But the response that came back was not admiration or surprise, but cold cynicism.

“I wonder. To my eyes, you look more like a calculating young lady. Or perhaps a cunning young lady.”

Museong’s gaze remained coldly settled as if he still didn’t trust Riser. Riser straightened her chest and added as if protesting.

“I don’t mean my character is righteous! I mean the ‘righteous young lady’ who treated the Third Prince in Noeok. That’s me.”

“Hmm. Is that so.”

No matter how small the world is, isn’t this too contrived?

A young lady who coincidentally met Mujin in Noeok, coincidentally saved his life, coincidentally came to Yakwangjeon to receive medicinal ingredients, coincidentally encountered Mookang, and coincidentally heard about Byeokrok moss.

“Miss Tang, even novels get criticized if written like this.”

“But what can I do when it’s really true? And if you look closely, there aren’t that many coincidences. The cause and effect relationships are clear!”

Riser felt wronged and frustrated, but convincing Museong wasn’t easy.

From an outsider’s perspective, all the events were fitting together perfectly in a series of convenient situations.

“Fine. Let’s say, giving you the benefit of the doubt, that you saved Mujin hyung. But I find it hard to agree with rating Byeokrok moss, which is merely moss, so highly. If perhaps your family runs a Byeokrok moss farm…”

“That’s not it. I harvested it directly from Noeok!”

Riser sighed.

Where on earth did the idea of a Byeokrok moss farm come from?

The fortunate thing was that proving that the elixir Cheonmu Jin took was Byeokrok moss wasn’t that difficult.

‘I have about a bowlful of Byeokrok moss set aside, so if I just had Jukyeopchong, I could verify it right away.’

However, worldly matters weren’t that simple.

“…What did you say you make how?”

“You burn away the fire energy from clean white liquor, wash bamboo leaves grown in auspicious land with dew, roast them with Sammae Jinhwa fire, then soak them for 33 hours and remove them. Then you soak Bancheonnyeon Jukshil, bamboo fruit that ripens once every 500 years, and age it for 1 year. Next, you add steamed and dried Dongjasam and age it for 3 more years. Finally, you flavor it with honey made by Daebong Janggun to complete Mookang hyung’s special Jukyeopchong.”

Riser was so dumbfounded she collapsed with a thud.

‘The ingredients aren’t the problem.’

A grand journey requiring over 4 years just for aging.

No wonder Museong didn’t want to experiment. There was no reason to conduct an experiment that cost money, took time, and had a high possibility of failure.

By the way, why is that called Jukyeopchong? It seems like the bamboo leaves were only soaked for 33 hours.

“Um, Vice Hall Master.”

“Please speak.”

Riser opened her mouth with difficulty.

“Before the Jukyeopchong is completed, if the Second Prince finds out I’m the ‘righteous young lady,’ would my life be in danger?”

“I’ll keep it secret for you.”

So it would indeed be dangerous.

Riser resolved that she must never let Mookang discover her identity.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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