Chapter 236

Quest (5)

One’s body, hair, and skin are gifts from one’s parents.

It means that children should not treat the bodies inherited from their parents carelessly, but should keep them healthy and well maintained.

Regardless of time or place, a child growing up healthy has always been a parent’s greatest wish.

Furthermore, a child’s death—especially dying before one’s parents—is considered such a tragedy that it is called the worst act of unfilial conduct.

This culture of "filial piety" has been passed down since ancient times, but the tendency is particularly strong in the Central Plains.

Title: Looking at people from the Central Plains

Surprisingly, a lot of the men have long hair. Is it because of that saying?

└ Yeah. That’s why beheading is considered one of the worst punishments.

└ There’s a reason death by a thousand cuts exists as a punishment. These people treasure every last strand of hair.

└ You’d probably get cursed to hell the moment you got a tattoo.

└ Then what about hair loss? You can’t help going bald, can you?

└ Shut up.

└ You son of a bitch.

└ No, I was genuinely curious. Why are you swearing at me? ;;

However, as time passed, it was common for the original meaning to fade away and be interpreted in strange ways.

Moreover, with the existence of that highly peculiar cultural phenomenon known as the Gallery, people could unknowingly absorb distorted interpretations.

The saying "One’s body, hair, and skin are gifts from one’s parents" was no exception. Originally, it meant that growing up healthy was the greatest display of filial piety a child could offer.

At some point, however, it came to mean that even a single strand of hair had to be treasured, and it eventually reached truly bizarre extremes.

└ Look at the guys from the Green Forest. A surprising number of them have bushy beards but no hair on their heads.

└ Aren’t there a lot of bald people in the Western Kingdoms?

└ Yeah, particularly many. That’s why they’re far more sensitive about hair-loss treatments than people in the Central Plains.

└ I heard an emperor in ancient times rubbed goat dung on his head to cure his baldness.

└ Hair loss is one of the two worst diseases in history.

└ If it’s one of the two, what’s the other?

└ Dementia.

Title: Is it a crime to be bald in the Central Plains?

Fuck, my father is bald, so I’m losing my hair because of genetics, and people are already whispering about me.

I want to shave it all off while I’m at it, but I feel like that would make me look even stranger, so I don’t want to. ;;

Why are people in the Central Plains so harsh toward those who lose their hair? Should I just move to the Western Kingdoms?

└ Then what about the Shaolin Temple? Everyone there is bald.

└ They’re monks, while you’re just an ordinary person with no hair.

└ The Shaolin Temple stands somewhat apart from society. ;;

└ I’ve heard people call a monk who commits crimes a corrupt monk or an apostate, but I’ve never heard anyone call him a baldy.

└ Hardly anyone becomes a monk because they’re bald. Most of them shave their heads voluntarily.

Title: If necromancy were still thriving

Couldn’t it revive dead hair follicles?

└ NecromancyIsLove: Impossible. Necromancy merely moves the dead. It cannot restore them to life.

└ Who are you to say that?

└ NecromancyIsLove: We are Kazan, the Immortal King.

└ Didn’t Kazan also suffer from hair loss?

└ Yeah. That’s why he’s always wearing a crown in his portraits.

└ Even the Immortal King couldn’t escape it, lmaooo.

└ What if he became the Immortal King because people in El Dorado mocked him for being bald? Lol.

└ NecromancyIsLove: Silence, you insolent wretch!

As the meaning had become distorted even in the Central Plains, hair loss was often branded an act of "unfilial conduct."

Combined with the region’s conservative way of life, this inevitably caused people immense stress.

The stress then worsened their hair loss, creating a vicious cycle.

Title: Something fascinating

Among every race in existence, only "humans" suffer from hair loss.

I’ve never heard of an elf or demon suffering from it, and if a beastkin starts losing their hair, it means they have some other illness.

As for dwarves, they’re fine as long as their beards remain thick, and most of their hair loss is caused by accidents in the smithy.

Why are humans the only ones who go bald? Did humans come from somewhere completely different?

└ Just think of them as a cursed race.

└ Humanity’s lowest point is infinitely low. I suppose their hair is the same.

└ Some scholar once said humans are genetically complete mongrels. That’s why they have more hybrids than any other race.

└ If they’re mongrels, why do they have the gene for baldness?

└ Because they’re mongrels. The other races filter that gene out.

└ Fuck, seriously, lmaooooo.

└ But aren’t there a lot of bald demons? I see them whenever I watch soccer broadcasts.

└ Most of them shave their heads to look intimidating. Demons already have pretty vicious-looking faces.

└ True. A skinhead with one of those faces would be terrifying.

In this manner, hair loss was such a peculiar condition exclusive to humans that it was even called a "racial disease." The proportion was especially high among men.

The problem was that it caused social issues both large and small.

People had long said that a man’s appearance depended on his hair, and countless people had suffered because of that single disease.

It could be prevented, but not cured. Even preventative treatments could do little more than slow its progression.

People even joked that whoever invented a cure would become the richest person in the world.

Is it truly that serious?

The Heavenly Demon, Yu Sowol, stared questioningly at the medicinal herb in her hand.

Physician Song had called it a miraculous herb, claiming that it was no less valuable than the Herb of Immortality.

As someone who lived partly removed from society, she could not help but find that puzzling.

Even if one’s body, hair, and skin are gifts from one’s parents, it is still nothing more than hair.

She could only say that because she had never experienced the anguish of losing it. At the same time, it also reflected how open-minded she was.

In the Central Plains, people currently regarded those suffering from hair loss very poorly.

It went beyond simple mockery. The condemnation was so severe that people would openly point fingers at them.

This problem had arisen because relatively few people in the Central Plains suffered from baldness.

Everyone else had thick, luxuriant hair, so why didn’t you? Had you perhaps mistreated the hair your parents gave you?

The victims would undoubtedly find it infuriatingly unfair, but that was simply how prejudice worked. Moreover, the Central Plains were renowned for being conservative.

Even in the Gallery, most people merely made baldness the butt of their jokes rather than feeling sympathy for those afflicted. In the Central Plains, however, they actively persecuted them.

The Shaolin Temple was treated as an exception, but only because its monks shaved their heads voluntarily.

If we can cultivate this, it could bring us tremendous wealth.

Yu Sowol contemplated the matter. If they could cultivate this medicinal herb, they would rake in every coin imaginable.

Her close aide, Wi Seorak, had also proposed adding a small lie: they would claim that this blessing had come entirely from the Heavenly Demon.

In other words, they would pass it off as the Heavenly Demon’s invention and distribute it widely.

If they did, it could exert an enormous influence not only over the Central Plains but also over the Western Kingdoms.

It would be especially effective in the Western Kingdoms, where the proportion of people suffering from hair loss was significantly higher than in the Central Plains.

Absolutely not. I cannot deceive my benefactor.

Yu Sowol, however, opposed the idea. It would be an act of betrayal toward her benefactor, Grylls.

Even if Grylls gave his permission, Yu Sowol’s conscience would not allow it.

If this truly was a miraculous herb, then Grylls deserved all the glory that came with it.

Despite her open-mindedness, Yu Sowol was also stubbornly principled, allowing her to make that resolution without hesitation.

[Wild Grylls: Hello, Heavenly Demon! I have some time now. Is there a problem with the medicinal herb?]

No sooner had she resolved herself than Grylls sent her a message.

Since she always kept the Gallery open, she could reply immediately.

[Heavenly Demon: It would be inaccurate to say there are no problems. If anything, it could be said to be far too remarkable.]

[Wild Grylls: What’s so remarkable about it?]

[Heavenly Demon: According to my aide and the physician, it is a miraculous medicinal herb. They say it can completely cure the disease known as hair loss.]

[Wild Grylls: Really? If that’s true, even calling it a miracle wouldn’t do it justice.]

Even Grylls could not contain his amazement. Seeing his reaction, Yu Sowol took a lock of her own hair in her hand.

Her hair was as black as ebony.

It was soft and beautiful, possessing an almost enchanting quality.

Ever since she had reached the Profound Realm, her body had perpetually remained in optimal condition.

Of course, even before that, she had undergone bodily reconstruction several times, so there had never been a time when her hair was in poor condition.

What is perfectly ordinary to me may be incredibly precious to others.

Having gained that subtle realization(?), she immediately replied to Grylls.

The question now was what they should do with this miraculous herb.

[Heavenly Demon: If it truly possesses such effects, I would like to return it to you. I wish for you to distribute it yourself.]

[Wild Grylls: What? Why?]

[Heavenly Demon: If I simply accept this and distribute it widely, people will only say that I was the one who bestowed this miracle upon them. But that would mean deceiving the man who saved my life.]

[Wild Grylls: I appreciate you saying that, but wouldn’t that put you in a difficult position, Heavenly Demon? You said you already had a physician verify its effects.]

Grylls made a perceptive observation. If things went wrong, her identity as the person behind her fixed nickname could be exposed.

In truth, the Heavenly Demon had already anticipated that possibility.

Even if Physician Song did not use the Gallery, word of an herb with such miraculous effects would quickly spread.

He would naturally learn of the Gallery’s existence before long.

[Heavenly Demon: Indeed. However, I do not wish to disguise the miracle you discovered as a miracle of my own. I hope you will understand how I feel.]

[Wild Grylls: It’ll take a long time to distribute it as medicine anyway. It would be useless in my hands, so you should use it, Heavenly Demon. I’ll attach a condition to it so you can accept it with an easy conscience.]

[Heavenly Demon: Could you not use it to attract more people to your cause?]

[Wild Grylls: I don’t want to take advantage of sick people.]

Yu Sowol could only stare blankly at Grylls’s resolute answer.

It almost felt as though he were dumping something troublesome onto her. Of course, that could not truly be his intention.

[Heavenly Demon: Blessed with abundant hair?]

[Wild Grylls: It means I’m not bald.]

His answer was even firmer than before.

[Heavenly Demon: Could it be that your hair is also...]

[Wild Grylls: I have a full head of hair.]

[Wild Grylls: Anyway, objectively speaking, I don’t have the proper conditions to cultivate that herb. Besides, I’ve been spending most of my time exploring lately.]

[Heavenly Demon: Hmm.]

[Wild Grylls: And we’ll need help from people outside the forest to supply it anyway, right? Once we post it on the Gallery, it’ll sell immediately.]

[Heavenly Demon: You make a valid point. However, I do not know how to cultivate it either.]

[Wild Grylls: Try growing it yourself, Heavenly Demon. I’ll provide the soil.]

[Heavenly Demon: You are telling me to grow it personally?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. It’ll be surprisingly fun.]

It was an extraordinarily brazen answer. Nevertheless, a pleased smile appeared on the Heavenly Demon’s face.

All the concerns that had troubled her until moments ago suddenly felt pointless.

However, she refused to allow Grylls’s contribution to be buried. Someday, she would let the whole world know that Grylls was the man behind this magnificent discovery.

That would begin once the herb entered circulation and its effects became widely known.

When the time came, she could subtly connect it to the Forest of Four Seasons and naturally turn everyone’s attention in that direction.

Before that, I must prepare a flowerpot.

A large one would probably be best. With that thought, Yu Sowol summoned Wi Seorak.

Since Wi Seorak had been waiting outside the room, she appeared immediately.

"You summoned me, O Heaven?"

"I require a flowerpot."

"A flowerpot... you say?"

"I intend to begin cultivating this medicinal herb in earnest."

Yu Sowol showed her the herb in her hand.

The instant Wi Seorak saw it, she inwardly rejoiced.

They would have to investigate whether it had any side effects or other symptoms, but there was no doubt that this herb alone could earn them an immense fortune.

They could expand their trade beyond the Central Plains and into the Western Kingdoms, granting them an enormous advantage.

Since it is an herb that grew in the Forest of Four Seasons, it will probably be difficult for anyone other than the Heavenly Demon to cultivate.

Given the choice, she would have plowed up all their farmland and grown nothing but this herb.

However, Wi Seorak was convinced that the herb had come from Grylls and the Forest of Four Seasons.

After all, such an herb had never been discovered before.

It would not be possible to cultivate it normally, and above all, it would probably consume an absurd amount of qi—or mana.

Considering that, cultivating it indiscriminately would be difficult. It would be better to entrust it to Yu Sowol.

"Understood. How large a flowerpot do you require?"

"Hmm."

Yu Sowol turned her head toward the window.

The audience chamber in which she resided had an overall gloomy atmosphere.

However, plenty of sunlight entered through its windows, so it was more than suitable for growing plants.

"One of an appropriate size to place beneath the window. That should suffice."

"I shall obey."

Wi Seorak carried out the order with impressive speed.

Less than ten minutes after Yu Sowol gave the command, she returned with a flowerpot of the desired size.

All that remained was to cultivate the herb. Yu Sowol plucked the fruits growing at the tips of the plant one by one.

"Further testing will be necessary, so give half of these to Physician Song. However, if someone is in desperate need, provide it to them immediately."

"Yes. Understood."

She planted all the remaining seeds. Incidentally, Grylls had given her an entire sack of soil.

Growing a plant was a novel experience for Yu Sowol.

It does not grow immediately.

Was it because this was an extremely rare herb that had never been discovered before?

Even in soil taken from the Forest of Four Seasons, it did not grow straight away.

Yu Sowol watched it with her arms crossed before slowly extending a hand.

An unprecedented wave of energy then flowed from her hand and enveloped the entire flowerpot.

Pop! Pop-pop-pop! Pop!

Something astonishing happened.

Cotyledons suddenly sprouted from the soil.

Yu Sowol smiled when she saw the new shoots.

Just as she had expected, infusing them with internal energy caused them to grow rapidly.

The soil from the Forest of Four Seasons had probably reacted with her energy and accelerated the herb’s growth.

This was only possible because she was Yu Sowol. Had an ordinary person tried it, there would not have been the slightest visible change.

I should make a post about this on the Gallery.

She felt that this was precisely the sort of thing one ought to post there.

She did not forget to photograph it from a subtle angle so that Wi Seorak would not notice what she was doing.

Title: This is a new plant I have begun cultivating

Heavenly Demon

(A photograph of a flowerpot filled with newly sprouted cotyledons)

I am cultivating a plant bestowed upon me by an honored benefactor.

I declare with certainty that this plant shall one day perform a miracle.

└ Isn’t that just a weed?

"What...?"

Yu Sowol flinched before she could stop herself.

The very first comment had struck deep into her heart.

She had endured all manner of contempt and mockery until now and had even witnessed horrifying photographs.

Yet, for some reason, she could not ignore that particular comment. It felt like a dagger piercing her chest.

Perhaps she would not have cared if someone else had given her the plant, but this was a plant Grylls had discovered.

She could not overlook a remark that seemed to insult both Grylls and the Heavenly Demon.

└ Heavenly Demon: What did you say? A weed? You would be wise to retract those words before I uproot you like one.

└ Triggered? Lmaoooo.

└ I think this is the first time I’ve seen the Heavenly Demon get genuinely triggered, lmaooo.

└ Hey, Heavenly Demon! Your flowerpot is full of weeds!

└ Saying you’re growing plants makes you sound like a real old-timer, lmaooo.

└ SwordMaster: How unusual. I never expected you to cultivate weeds.

└ LetUsGrowTrees: Don’t call it a weed! Once someone starts raising it, it isn’t a weed anymore!

"..."

The Heavenly Demon—no, the human being named Yu Sowol—furrowed her brow.