Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Diamond Indestructible (6)
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Forgetting every memory related to this very moment was something regrettable for the other person, yet at the same time, it was convenient.
At least, it was for someone like me. When else would I get a chance to act cool in front of a beauty if not for an opportunity like this?
In reality, I had too many things to do, and I kept my identity hidden as much as possible to avoid any entanglements with the main storyline. Unless it was a special case like Seo Yul-hye, getting involved with key characters was utterly impossible.
In any case, the courage to use my full strength freely and say whatever I wanted stemmed from the fact that these experiences here would stay with me alone.
Against real people, swinging a sword or revealing my identity was something I would almost never do.
"Say something."
"……."
"Come on, what's really going on? Did I do something wrong?"
And so, this time spent with Seo Yul-hye was precious to me, offering a sense of liberation. Seeing her suddenly plunged into depression filled me with a frustrating stuffiness, like I was completely blocked up.
Seo Yul-hye. Age 20. She knew nothing of love.
From a very young age, her life had revolved solely around the goal of growing stronger, day after day.
Practicing martial arts and cultivating internal energy—that was her only purpose in life.
So even when the women of the Emei Sect gossiped about romance, she felt no interest whatsoever.
Occasionally, junior sisters who had descended the mountain for missions would return with thrilling tales of their hearts racing, but Seo Yul-hye remained utterly indifferent.
'Is holding hands really that great?'
Hands could be grabbed anytime during sparring.
Just use the Golden Claw technique.
When she said things like that, those around her would insist it was a shame not to pursue love with such a beautiful face, explaining how exhilarating it felt to clasp hands with a beloved man, like fireworks exploding in your mind.
Sometimes, they even brought pictures of dashing young masters from Sichuan Province.
Her reactions were lukewarm at best.
Honestly, she felt nothing.
They all looked so slick and flimsy, all similar in appearance, looking utterly powerless.
Living with men like that seemed worse than dying single.
Indeed, love just wasn't for her.
She had no desire to know it.
...But a few days ago, the fluttering in her heart forced Seo Yul-hye to retract her own thoughts.
'My junior sisters were right after all.'
It had started with a somewhat abrupt encounter. She had been trapped in hellish nightmares, reliving them over and over, when he suddenly appeared and thoroughly thrashed the villains who tormented her father.
Even knowing it wasn't real, the relief she felt in that moment was indescribable.
He was a man full of secrets.
His sudden appearance, his absurd strength.
Unable to think of a proper title, she called him "mister," but even his age was hard to guess.
He always wore a bamboo hat, and his thick-lined jaw and attractively tanned skin made him look around thirty, yet somehow also like a young man just past twenty.
He tossed out sweet words pretending to be a lecher, yet never laid a hand on her inappropriately.
Even with his lighthearted words and actions, she knew his true nature was different.
She was a bit surprised when he mentioned sneaking into the Emei Sect once, but surely there were circumstances. Yeah, that must be it.
...Before she knew it, every waking hour was filled with thoughts of the mister.
Her junior sisters had said this:
The more you want to know about someone, the more you love them.
Ridiculous.
Curiosity and love are different things.
Yet deep down, she admitted it. There was a desire within her to learn more about this mister.
Time passed in that state.
By the time she realized it, she was bombarding him with childish, trivial questions like a kid.
For example, his food preferences. The weapons he mainly used. His favorite season...
Such mundane things suddenly fascinated her.
Lately, she'd heard he had taken up mountain climbing as a hobby. She also learned he secretly placed a talisman under her pillow every night. She teased him as a pervert, but the moment she heard it, her heart tingled.
There are people like this.
A person who risked danger and ventured into adventure every time, just for these moments together.
If I'm to love, I want it to be someone like him.
Startled by the sudden thought, she didn't deny it.
Yes, if she were to love, it would be the mister.
That was her honest heart.
'But what's the point?'
For the first time, she recognized her feelings. For the first time, she was honest with herself. Yet cruelly, all those efforts would vanish into bubbles soon enough.
The mister had told her: Soon, they would perform a great ritual outside to revive him, and if it succeeded, all memories created here would disappear.
When she first heard that, she was glad.
Now, even seeing her parents' corpses stirred nothing in her. She was terrified of herself like this.
Compared to who she was a year ago, she felt like a completely different person. Her own death, others' deaths—they barely registered. Even if someone died before her eyes, she probably wouldn't care much.
Rather than this version of herself awakening, her master would prefer the her who had lost those memories.
Her master, who had adored her tender heart that grieved even over a small bird's death.
So everything was for the best.
Better to erase these painful memories quickly.
That's what she'd thought...
Seo Yul-hye's eyes glared briefly at the man in the bamboo hat. Somehow sensing it, he spoke to her in exasperation. It had been nearly three days like this. She didn't want to talk.
Since she'd forget everything anyway, any words now would mean nothing.
"Mister."
Yet in the end, Seo Yul-hye opened her mouth. The seated man turned his head.
"When I wake up, will you come find me?"
"No, I won't."
He seemed slightly surprised by her sudden words, but his voice was flat.
It was the answer she'd expected. The longer their time together, the more she realized: His presence here was for the sake of her current self, not the her who would awaken.
Probably some task only he could accomplish here. So once her eyes opened, their brief connection would end.
"I don't like that..."
Did that fact make her anxious? Or did the thought of forgetting everything give her courage? Seo Yul-hye grabbed the man's collar. Drawing closer until she could see the face beneath the hat, she pushed up the brim with a flick to his forehead.
"Mister."
"I'm listening."
"After I wake up... can't you confess to me?"
The man's expression turned peculiar. She shook her head slightly, as if that wasn't quite it.
This wasn't what she wanted. If this was the end, she had to say everything. The true feelings she'd held back out of fear of his reaction. In a small, trembling voice, she poured out her heart.
"If I say... I don't want to wake up like this... will you get angry?"
Hummm─
A low resonant hum emanated from the Diamond Buddha's Divine Armor. Golden energy poured out ceaselessly.
When they placed the divine armor over her body—her hands demurely clasped like a corpse—it seemed to understand its role, steadily channeling sacred power into Seo Yul-hye's body.
Anyone could see it was working. The problem was that this had been going on all day.
Jeongam Satae asked anxiously toward the side.
"It'll be fine, right?"
Geumseon Grandmaster, slightly less anxious than her, forced a smile to comfort his worried disciple.
"Can't you see? The treatment is underway."
"...It's taking too long. Demonic possession can be cured in an instant, even if it's plagued someone their whole life. Could you perhaps examine her condition, Grandmaster?"
"Of course, of course."
Geumseon Grandmaster of Shaolin.
It was said that his mastery of the Heavenly Eye among the supernormal powers of the flesh surpassed even the abbot.
With a hearty chuckle, he sat by Seo Yul-hye's head and cautiously brought his fingertip to her crown. In an instant, golden light flashed, and a tiny spark of lightning crackled.
Startled, Geumseon Grandmaster stared at his finger.
How could someone unconscious in demonic possession repel the connection of the Heavenly Eye?
'...I see. So that's what it is.'
His expression suddenly one of realization, Geumseon Grandmaster looked at the even more anxious Jeongam Satae.
"Was that just now—did something go wrong—?"
"Listen, Jeongam. The treatment is already complete."
It had been just a moment, but he knew. Her shattered upper dantian had been perfectly repaired. Even larger and sturdier than before.
So her current state wasn't demonic possession—it was simply sleep. Not ordinary sleep, of course, but structurally no different.
Jeongam Satae hurriedly asked.
"If it's done, why hasn't Hye-ah woken up yet? Is she trapped for some reason?"
Geumseon Grandmaster stroked his beard once. A low hum carried his reluctance. He hesitated on whether to say it.
But under her urgent gaze demanding he spit it out, he finally spoke. Jeongam Satae's face froze solid upon hearing it. Seeing that, Geumseon Grandmaster burst into laughter.
"Listen well. Your disciple isn't waking up for a different reason."
Seo Yul-hye wasn't trapped right now.
"It's simply because she herself doesn't wish to awaken."
Would you call it being "trapped" when the homeowner locks the door from inside?