16-240

EP.240 What You Must Do When Stranded on a Snowy Mountain Is Have Sex (1) 

“Alright, look this way.” 

“Uh… All clear. You may pass.” 

The gatekeeper lets us through without much inspection. 

Who would have thought the day would come when I’d use hypnosis on a man? 

It’s all Anastasia’s fault. 

I expected she’d be ambitious, 

but who could have guessed she’d be a second Stalin? 

Because I punched her in the stomach, 

Anastasia is currently traveling in a state of personality expulsion. 

Her body is in the box originally meant for the Sword Ghost, 

and her personality is stored in a glass jar the size of a human head. 

If I hide just the body, I might get away with it, 

but with a box just sitting in the carriage, 

there’s no way to avoid inspections. 

Still, thanks to using the hypnosis app, 

we’ve managed to get by without any problems so far. 

“Sigh, I really need to find a way to restore her.” 

“How about just burying her in the ground?” 

“Or feeding her to stray dogs would work too.” 

As I sighed, Hwayeon and Gayoun each offered their own suggestions. 

Different methods, but both were basically saying to abandon Anastasia! 

Honestly, I’d like to ditch her too, 

but it feels like a waste. 

She’s got big breasts and a great ass. 

“Master, I agree with them.” 

“Not you too, Nami…” 

Even Nami, who was driving the carriage, agreed. 

Rationally, it would make sense to leave her behind. 

Keeping Anastasia around is just selfishness on my part. 

But still… 

“Sorry, but let’s keep her with us as long as we can.” 

“Master…” 

Knowing it was just attachment, 

I couldn’t bring myself to let her go and gave a self-deprecating smile. 

You never know  

maybe we’ll find a way to restore her along the way. 

“Understood. If that’s your wish.” 

“I like it. A man should stick to his decisions.” 

“We’re just here to support you.” 

“Thanks.” 

Seeing I wouldn’t give up, 

the others finally surrendered. 

I’m truly sorry, but abandoning Anastasia just isn’t an option for me. 

We’ll keep her as long as possible, and if it’s really impossible, 

then we’ll let her go. 

But is she listening to us? 

Her personality, in the glass jar, seemed to jiggle excitedly. 

‘How should I store her body? If I leave it in the carriage, someone will definitely steal it.’ 

A box in an empty carriage? 

That’s just asking for someone to take it. 

But carrying it around all the time  

it’s pretty heavy with a person inside. 

I’d feel bad asking Gayoun or Hwayeon to carry it, 

since they’re so strong. 

‘Is there anyone I can trust with it?’ 

“Hm?” 

As I leaned against the carriage, looking out at the street, 

I suddenly locked eyes with a familiar figure. 

Why is she here? 

“Nami… Lin. Stop for a moment.” 

“…Understood. Please wait a moment.” 

At my order, Nami stopped in a safe spot. 

As soon as the carriage halted, I got out and approached the person I’d spotted. 

“Long time no see, boss.” 

“Oh my, what brings you here, customer?” 

The owner of the secret shop, pipe in mouth, 

smiled as if pleased to see me. 

Unlike last time, when she looked like a witch, this time she wore martial arts-inspired clothes. 

It suited her surprisingly well. 

As I admired the look, 

she exhaled a puff of smoke and approached, arms folded under her chest. 

“But why the sour face? Are you unhappy to see me?” 

“No way. How could I be unhappy to see a beauty like you?” 

“Hm. Then is it about what’s in your carriage?” 

“…” 

How did she know? 

We’d barely spoken, but she saw right through me. 

Is she on Saoling’s side too? 

I glared at her anxiously, 

but she waved her hand, telling me not to worry. 

“I don’t mean you any harm. I just thought you might need my help.” 

“Can you help us?” 

“I’ll have to take a look, but I can solve most things.” 

She spoke with confidence. 

Should I trust her? 

I hesitated, but realized I had no other options right now. 

‘Let’s just try to save Anastasia first.’ 

I nodded quietly. 

She strolled over to the carriage, 

and upon seeing the glass jar and the box with the body, she immediately understood. 

“Personality expulsion. Looks like you’re tangled up in something troublesome.” 

“Can you fix it?” 

“Who do you think I am?” 

She spread her arms wide, 

her breasts bouncing impressively. 

“I’m the owner of the secret shop. Personality expulsion is nothing.” 

“Wow!” 

“Come with me.” 

I never thought I’d find a solution so quickly. 

No reason to hesitate. 

I gathered Anastasia’s personality and body, 

and followed her into a building. 

At first, the interior looked ordinary, 

but the deeper we went, the more familiar it became. 

“This is the secret shop?” 

It was definitely the same secret shop I’d visited before. 

But we’re in China, not Korea. 

I must have looked confused, 

because the owner laughed and explained. 

“The door to the secret shop exists everywhere. In mountain valleys, deep underground, maybe even in your own house.” 

So that’s why it’s called the secret shop. 

At first, I wondered why it was called that when it was in the middle of the street, 

but now I understood. 

“Alright, put the body here and hand me the personality.” 

Once inside, she first checked the personality. 

She rolled the glass jar around, 

narrowed her eyes, and sighed. 

“Tsk. This is more complicated than I thought.” 

“Is there a problem…?” 

“They tampered with the personality itself.” 

She sighed at the sight of the personality in the jar, 

but quickly regained her confidence. 

“Still, I can fix it.” 

“Really?” 

“Yes. But it’ll cost you.” 

She made a circle with her fingers  

in other words, it’ll be expensive. 

A merchant is a merchant after all. 

She quickly punched numbers into a calculator, 

then handed it to me. 

“Here, this is the approximate price.” 

‘That’s insane.’ 

The price was in the hundreds of billions of won. 

An ordinary person could never earn that much in a lifetime. 

“Here.” 

“Huh?” 

I handed over my card without hesitation. 

I’m the man who conquered Korea and Japan of course I have that kind of money. 

Maybe because I didn’t hesitate, 

she looked a bit surprised. 

“Are you sure? That’s not a small amount.” 

“It’s fine for once.” 

If it comes to this, it’s fine for Anastasia to owe me. 

She’s lost her country and fortune anyway. 

To pay off her debt, she’ll have to become my plaything. 

Just thinking about it gets me hard. 

Once the payment was done, 

she picked up the jar and beckoned me to follow. 

“First, let’s clean the personality. That way, when we reinsert it, this won’t happen again.” 

“Clean it?” 

“!” 

Apparently, she could hear us. 

When she heard the word “clean,” Anastasia’s personality jumped in the jar. 

She tried to escape, but the jar was sturdy, 

and I held it tight, so there was no way out. 

“Will she lose her memories or anything?” 

“Come on, do you think I’d make a mistake like that? I’m just scrubbing off the problems attached to the personality.” 

She opened the jar, 

and dumped the personality into a machine that looked like a spin dryer. 

“Alright, switch on!” 

Whirrrrr! 

The machine started with a rattling sound, 

spinning like a washing machine. 

Anastasia’s personality spun wildly inside. 

Is this really okay? 

I watched anxiously, 

but the owner just smiled and told me to trust her. 

After a while, the once dark blue personality turned sky blue. 

She poured it into a new jar. 

“I don’t know what it is, but it looks cleaner.” 

“I scrubbed off everything that was stuck to it, so of course.” 

So now I just need to put it back in? 

I looked at her expectantly, 

and she pointed to the empty body. 

“Bring the body over.” 

“Oh, right.” 

I picked up Anastasia’s body and followed her. 

She brought out a bathtub just big enough for one person. 

“Put her in here I’ll take care of the rest.” 

I did as she said, 

and she sprinkled a special solution into the tub, 

which quickly filled with pink liquid. 

She poured the personality into it, 

and as the blue mixed with the pink, 

the liquid turned purple. 

“Leave her in there for about a day. That’s it easy, right?” 

That’s it? 

It seemed too simple, but 

it’s the only way to restore her right now. 

I sighed, resigned. 

‘This is more boring than I thought.’ 

With Anastasia left in the secret shop, 

I spent time there alone. 

Most of the shop’s wares were fascinating, 

but I’d already seen everything. 

I sat in a chair, bored, swinging my legs. 

‘Maybe I should just go back to Nami.’ 

It’s not like my presence here matters. 

I can just come back tomorrow. 

‘Might as well say goodbye.’ 

It wouldn’t be right to leave without saying anything. 

I wandered through the shop looking for the owner, 

and found her at a desk in the back. 

“Hmm, what I have isn’t nearly enough.” 

“…Is something wrong?” 

“Huh?” 

She was so focused she didn’t notice me approach. 

Startled, she looked up, 

then smiled in relief. 

“What are you doing, scaring me like that?” 

“I was about to leave, but I couldn’t just go without saying anything.” 

If a woman sighs, what man could just walk away? 

I glanced at her notebook, 

but couldn’t make sense of it. 

‘Why can’t I read this?’ 

Thanks to the common sense shift, 

I can read and write any foreign language without study, 

and converse without an interpreter. 

So why can’t I read this? 

She noticed my confusion and smiled. 

“It’s a special language customers can’t read it.” 

“Sorry for peeking.” 

“It’s fine. I wrote it in a special language so anyone could look and it wouldn’t matter.” 

So that’s why she left it out. 

Her witch-like appearance, the unreadable language, 

and the fact she made all the shop’s medicines herself  

it all made me wonder if she might really be a witch. 

“So, what’s up?” 

Whether she’s a witch or not, what does it matter? 

I asked lightly, 

and after a moment, she answered. 

“I need herbs and ingredients, but nothing good has come in lately.” 

“Hm.” 

Herbs, huh. 

That’s not really my thing. 

If it were ero items, I could find them in a flash. 

“Would you buy them if I found some?” 

“Buy them…?” 

You never know  

maybe with my luck, I’ll find what she wants. 

After thinking it over, she nodded. 

“Alright. If you find any good herbs or ingredients, come right away. I’ll pay you.” 

Honestly, I’d rather spend a night with her than get paid, 

but seeing her serious face, 

I couldn’t say it aloud. 

After rejoining my group, 

I glossed over the secret shop, 

and casually asked about herbs. 

“Are there any famous herbs around here?” 

“There are herbs everywhere.” 

“I’m not sure.” 

Even for martial arts masters, herbs weren’t their specialty, 

so the conversation ended without much progress. 

Or so I thought. 

“Oh, right! There’s that one nearby.” 

“That one?” 

“See that snowy mountain?” 

Gayoun pointed to a snow-capped mountain outside the window. 

“That mountain’s been famous for never melting, even when I was alive.” 

“There are herbs on a mountain like that?” 

Aren’t herbs usually found in warm places? 

It was hard to believe anything could grow on such a barren mountain. 

Even if there were herbs, 

would they be the kind the shop owner wanted? 

As I wondered, a cool breeze blew in through the window. 

‘Hm?’ 

There was a strange energy in the wind, 

as if something was calling out to me, 

asking me to come. 

Maybe I should trust Gayoun’s story.