Chapter 122
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: You Can Still Breathe Even When Stuck in a Swamp (1)
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“As of today, the inspection of all departments within the Cult is complete. The inspection report will be submitted by the Office of the Grand Marshal in two days.”
“Good work.”
Go Gu gave a short bow.
“Then.”
Lee Cheonsang, who normally would not have even replied, spoke to him for some reason today.
“How are you finding life here?”
Go Gu paused.
“Life here, you ask…?”
“I mean your life within the Cult.”
He had never received such a question from the Cult Leader before.
Go Gu was flustered, but he didn't let it show. Even before the Cult Leader, his expression did not change easily.
“It is always the same.”
“Is that so.”
“…”
“Will you have a drink?”
Go Gu’s eyes wavered.
It was the first time the Cult Leader had kept him after a report, and now he was offering him a drink. Today, Lee Cheonsang was being quite unconventional.
“It would be an honor.”
Lee Cheonsang flicked his finger.
Whoosh.
A cup flew through the air and stopped right before Go Gu’s nose.
Though the cup was filled to the brim with liquor, it didn't tremble in the slightest. There wasn't even a tremor of the turbulent energy surrounding it.
Go Gu respectfully took the cup, turned his head, and drained it.
Lee Cheonsang, who had been watching him silently, spoke as if tossing the words out.
“How long has it been since you joined the Cult?”
Flinch!
Go Gu, who had been fiddling with the cup for a moment, spoke.
“It has been twenty-six years.”
“Twenty-six years.”
Lee Cheonsang nodded.
“Quite some time.”
“…”
“And how long since you took charge of the Hall of Punishments?”
“This year marks exactly ten years.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes.”
Lee Cheonsang leaned back comfortably in the grand armchair.
“I remember. When I appointed you as the head of the Hall of Punishments, the gazes of those around you were not kind.”
Go Gu remembered that time as well.
At the time, Go Gu was merely twenty-eight or twenty-nine. A young demon of not yet thirty had become one of the highest authorities in the Divine Cult, so naturally, many were jealous.
“You silenced all those uncomfortable stares with your skill alone.”
“…”
“Do you not regret it?”
It was a rather sudden question, but Go Gu understood what he was asking.
“I have no regrets.”
“Is that so.”
“Indeed.”
“Then that is a relief.”
Why was he bringing up the past?
Go Gu was genuinely curious. The Lee Cheonsang he knew was not one to indulge in useless sentimentality, nor did he have a hobby of sipping drinks while reminiscing.
Did he have another motive? Or was he feeling remorse for his past life?
“You’ve changed.”
“…Pardon?”
“You have changed.”
A faint smile appeared on Lee Cheonsang’s usually indifferent face.
Go Gu’s eyes widened. He had never seen Lee Cheonsang smile like that before.
“Has something shaken your heart recently?”
“…?”
“Your Ice Soul of the Forbidden Heaven, which is not easily swayed, has developed a crack.”
“…”
“Is it because you saw someone similar?”
“…!”
Go Gu’s expression changed drastically.
The smile on Lee Cheonsang’s face was soon replaced by his characteristic indifference.
“Cult…”
“You may go.”
“…”
“…”
“I will take my leave.”
As Go Gu turned to leave after a deep bow, his face was clouded with confusion.
‘Someone similar?’
Recently, there was only one person he felt was similar to himself.
‘…Could it be that the Cult Leader knows as well?’
No, does that mean ‘he’ truly entered this place through the same path as me?
Go Gu left the grand hall, his mind in turmoil.
As Lee Cheonsang watched Go Gu’s retreating back, a subtle interest flickered in his eyes.
“Still the same.”
Even after reaching a sublime realm that made him wonder if anyone, past or present, had ever attained such a state, the most powerful Demonic God of his era felt it.
The world had not yet lost its interesting corners.
‘Even though the same conflicts and the same foolishness are repeating, do I see this as different?’
The interest that had gradually waned upon reaching the pinnacle was now slowly stretching as he advanced to another dimension. The reason was that in the past, he had lived in the same world as ‘them,’ but now, he was observing them from a different world.
Lee Cheonsang did not deny it. The desire to dive back into their world was stirring within him.
He felt the urge to once again cast a giant's footprint upon that filth-ridden world, full of endless anguish and strife.
‘Perhaps that first step has already been taken.’
Sending his third child as an inspector to pull out the weeds was not out of interest, but out of a sense of responsibility as a god.
But at this moment, he felt a desire stirring within him to pull out the weeds with his own hands. He wanted to draw out the madness of the Heavenly Demon who had once shaken the continent with ruthless demonic power in the distant past.
‘Not yet.’
Lee Cheonsang closed his eyes.
‘Not just yet.’
No, rather, such a moment should never come. Not if he was to become a complete god.
“…Is a god truly necessary.”
* * *
“Would you like some water?”
“Yeah.”
Wi Hongryeon took the canteen from Ma Dongpil and tilted her head back.
Pouring all of the gushing water into her stomach, she smacked her lips.
“We'll need to get more water.”
“There is more.”
“Still, we should get more. We don't know what the next inspection will be like.”
“That is true.”
With a deep sigh, Wi Hongryeon leaned her back against a tree.
Ma Dongpil began to gather the scattered items around them.
“You rest. I'll handle the tidying up.”
“What's gotten into you, being so nice? It's creeping me out, Mr. Ma.”
“You've been through a lot.”
“You've had it just as rough, Mr. Ma.”
“If you think so, then lend a hand.”
“I'm sleeping.”
Ma Dongpil shook his head.
As he was organizing their supplies, Wi Hongryeon spoke again after a moment.
“How's your wound?”
“It's all healed.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
“You're made of steel. Your internal injuries were quite severe.”
“We didn't see it to the end.”
“That's true.”
For some reason, the conversation felt superficial.
Naturally, Wi Hongryeon had no interest in such bland chatter.
“What's the problem?”
“…”
“Why have you been so down since we left the snake's den?”
“I haven't been down.”
“Just because your mouth is running doesn't mean your mood isn't sour. You're completely deflated.”
Ma Dongpil shook his head.
“My mood isn't sour. I'm just wondering.”
“About what?”
He silently looked towards a large tree off to one side.
There, Seo Ryang was sitting cross-legged, deep in meditation. And beside him, a giant golden fox sat guarding him like a tutelary deity.
Wi Hongryeon whistled without realizing it. Every time she saw it, she couldn't help but marvel at its form.
Though they belonged to a beast, its deep, clear blue eyes were like those of an enlightened high monk.
A lustrous golden fur covered its entire body, but beneath its chin was a thick patch of white fur in the shape of an inverted triangle. And though it was clearly a fox, its legs looked as flexible and powerful as a cat's or a tiger's. Indeed, sharp claws were hidden inside its paws.
A giant spirit beast that seemed like a mix between a tiger and a wolf, yet was unmistakably a fox.
“You're telling me that's really the same tiny fox cub?”
“It seems so.”
“Does that make any sense? There's such a thing as common sense in this world. How did a fox that was barely bigger than my forearm get so large?”
Ma Dongpil shook his head.
“I don't know. The one thing that's clear is that their relationship hasn't changed from before.”
“It still follows the Young Master?”
“Yes. You saw it too, Commander Wi.”
Wi Hongryeon’s expression hardened.
“I saw it.”
Even if she hadn't been paying close attention, she couldn't even follow its movements with her naked eye. It appeared like a golden whirlwind and killed Hong Sang-ho in an instant, and none of the experts there could react.
That's right. Those were not the movements of a beast.
“After killing the House Lord, it nudged its head against the Young Master. Just like when it was a cub.”
“…”
“…So spirit beasts really do exist in this world.”
She had always thought they were just tall tales spread by gossips who loved to talk. How many people would actually believe that things like the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp, the Single-Horned Flood Dragon, or the Human-Faced Spider truly existed?
To think a spirit beast from myths, legends, and fictional tales would actually appear.
“You said he found it in the Solitary Bamboo Forest?”
“Yes.”
“Then the Solitary Bamboo Forest is crawling with spirit beasts like that? How did you survive in there?”
Ma Dongpil did not answer.
‘Back then…’
He recalled a time in the past.
When they had cut down a spirit bamboo in the depths of the Solitary Bamboo Forest to absorb its spiritual energy, a horde of demonic creatures had appeared.
It was as if every demonic creature in the entire forest had descended upon them; their numbers were too great to subdue with force. The two of them had no choice but to flee.
At the edge of the forest, Geumho had approached the demonic creatures that were growling incessantly. At its approach, all of them had scrambled backward in terror.
Countless demonic creatures that even a peak expert would struggle to handle were afraid of Geumho, who was just a cub at the time?
‘Was that tiny Geumho truly the most powerful demonic creature in the Solitary Bamboo Forest?’
He didn't know. There was too little information to analyze.
One thing was certain: as long as Geumho was around, the Young Master was safe. Geumho, who had killed the Lord of the Red Snake House in a single bite, was truly the best bodyguard one could ask for.
“See, you are feeling down.”
Ma Dongpil turned to look at Wi Hongryeon.
Tying a bandage around her forearm, she spoke.
“Are you feeling awkward because something far better suited to be a bodyguard than you has shown up?”
“I can't say that thought hasn't crossed my mind.”
“Come on. If you're going to compete, compete with a person. Even if it's a spirit beast, that thing is still an animal.”
“I have no complaints about a more suitable bodyguard appearing. After all, my only wish is for the Young Master's safety. As long as he is safe, it doesn't matter if it's me or not. That is enough.”
“Then why the long face?”
Ma Dongpil sighed.
“It's just that now, I don't know what I'm supposed to do.”
Since joining the Cult, he had lived his entire life as a protector and a bodyguard. Geumho's existence was more than welcome, but he now felt as if he had no role left to play.
Wi Hongryeon understood him. She could have just told him to keep doing what he was doing, but the words didn't come out easily.
Just then, Seo Ryang's eyes opened.
Srrk.
The faint red glow spreading from his eyes slowly subsided.
“Ugh.”
His Demonic Arts had properly settled, but his head still felt heavy.
He had lost a bowlful of blood from the battle at the Red Snake House. On top of that, the wound on his abdomen was large. Although he had realized the existence of the spirit bamboo and accelerated his healing, his injuries were still severe enough to be called critical.
Nudge.
Geumho rubbed its head against Seo Ryang's shoulder.
Seo Ryang smiled.
“You helped me at just the right time. Thank you.”
Grrr.
“This guy… your voice has gotten raspy too.”
Seo Ryang patted Geumho's head a few times before walking over to Ma Dongpil and Wi Hongryeon. Geumho followed right behind him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Ma Dongpil bowed his head.
“You're awake, sir.”
“Yeah. Are you okay?”
“Of course.”
“And Commander Wi?”
Wi Hongryeon slapped her own forearm. Thwack!
“Alive and kicking.”
“That's a relief.”
Massaging the back of his neck, Seo Ryang spoke.
“There's a lot to talk about, but let's put it off for now.”
“Yes, sir. Shall we head to the Giant Whale House right away?”
“We should. But there's something to do before that.”
“Something to do?”
“Yeah.”
A faint killing intent flickered in Seo Ryang's eyes.
His murderous gaze turned to the carriage where the tightly bound Bang Ryeong was thrown like a piece of luggage.
“I need to find out why that bastard crawled into the Red Snake House.”
And where the Flying Demon King is now.