Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Leaving the Bamboo Forest (2)
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“Gasp! Gasp! Haaah! Oh god, I’m dying!”
Seo Ryang, who had flopped onto his back, was drenched in sweat.
Ma Dongpil hurried to his side.
“Young Master! Are you all right?”
“Do I… *pant*… look… *pant*… all right to you? *Pant*!”
Ma Dongpil quickly checked his limbs.
His skin was flushed red. It was clear how much strength he had exerted.
“Were you bitten anywhere?”
“*Pant*! No. *Pant*! No, I’m fine.”
His breathing wouldn't return to normal easily. He had truly dragged out and used every last wisp of demonic energy from his dantian.
Ma Dongpil sighed in relief.
But it was only for a moment.
“Young Master.”
“*Pant*! What? *Pant*!”
“That martial art from before… What in the world was it?”
“*Wheeze*! You brat, I can't even breathe and you keep talking to me. *Cough, cough*!”
“Ah, my apologies. Please forgive me.”
Seo Ryang squeezed his eyes shut and continued to focus on his breathing. Given his personality, he would have normally answered, so he must have been truly exhausted.
Ma Dongpil turned his head.
*Grrrrr.*
Menggeuk was baring its teeth, furiously scratching at the ground.
But it couldn't step out of the bamboo forest. It repeatedly extended a paw cautiously, only to flinch back in surprise, finally resorting to just scratching the earth.
And to Menggeuk's left and right.
*Pssssss.*
The corpses of the snakes were slowly, gradually sinking into the ground.
Ma Dongpil swallowed hard.
If things had gone wrong for even a second, the fangs of those vipers would have sunk into the Young Master's body.
What would have happened then? What would become of a person bitten by the fangs of those calamitous snakes, which evaporated all moisture in the area just by slithering?
‘All the blood and moisture in their body would drain out, leaving them a mummy.’
Wasn't it a horrifying death just to imagine? It would be better to be torn apart by Menggeuk's claws.
At the same time, he recalled the single move from Seo Ryang that had sliced all those vipers to pieces.
*Shudder!*
Ma Dongpil unconsciously stroked his neck.
‘It was an incredible slash.’
He had no idea how a human body could spin so fast, or how such a slash was even possible.
A saber art that was like a tornado, covering all directions.
‘They were sucked right in.’
It seemed he hadn't swung for defense, but for offense. Not just the vipers, but even the sturdy bamboo stalks had leaned into the gale named Seo Ryang and met a terrible end.
It was a martial art he had never seen before, one he couldn't have even imagined.
“Ugh.”
Just then, Seo Ryang pushed himself up.
Ma Dongpil hurried over to him.
“How about you? Is your stamina okay?”
“Of course. Thanks to you, Young Master.”
“Then stand guard.”
“Yes.”
Ma Dongpil said no more.
Honestly, he felt quite miserable. What could be more shameful than a bodyguard being protected by the one he was supposed to guard?
What was truly pathetic was knowing that if their roles were reversed, he wouldn't have been able to get Seo Ryang to safety like this.
*Squeeze.*
Blood dripped from his fist, which he clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
‘Stray thoughts are forbidden. For now, I must focus only on protecting the Young Master.’
Some time passed with Seo Ryang meditating and Ma Dongpil guarding the forest entrance.
*Wriggle.*
Ma Dongpil glanced down at his chest.
‘Ah.’
In his haste, he had forgotten about this tiny creature.
He reached into his robes.
*Pluck.*
He lifted it by the scruff of its neck, and the baby fox dangled there.
*Yaaaawn.*
It yawned, mouth wide open, looking quite cute. The way it wriggled its front paws, as if searching for its mother, would make anyone smile.
Ma Dongpil let out a heavy sigh.
‘You certainly had it easy.’
It was then.
The baby fox, which had been showing off its underdeveloped teeth while yawning, suddenly looked toward the entrance of the bamboo forest.
*Flinch!*
Menggeuk lowered its stance.
*Slither.*
‘Huh?’
Ma Dongpil blinked.
What? He was holding it firmly by the scruff. When did it get away?
The baby fox, now on the ground, waddled on its short legs toward the forest entrance.
*Grrr.*
Menggeuk's stance lowered even further.
Ma Dongpil opened his mouth without thinking.
“Danger…”
Huh?
“…ous?”
Having uttered such a foolish thing unconsciously, his gaze was fixed on the entrance.
*Sshhh. Shhhhhh.*
Led by Menggeuk, the Nokchoks and Seongseongs were slowly backing away.
The sight of them retreating, whimpering as if terrified, was a spectacle. These demonic beasts, which had charged with madness rather than fear even in the face of Seo Ryang's divine swordsmanship, were now bowing their heads low and backing away.
Ma Dongpil's expression twisted strangely.
‘…Why are they acting like that?’
So out of character.
Standing behind, watching the beasts' baffling behavior, Ma Dongpil couldn't know.
That the baby fox's eyes were no longer the brilliant black orbs he had seen, but were now awash in a five-colored, radiant light.
He couldn't understand the immense majesty emanating from those Five-Colored Demonic Eyes, nor the reason why these mythical, fictitious creatures were retreating in fear.
Once all the demonic beasts had vanished from sight, the baby fox turned around.
“Hmm?”
The baby fox trotted toward Seo Ryang.
Ma Dongpil quickly snatched the fox by the scruff of its neck.
“No.”
The baby fox struggled, as if displeased.
But Ma Dongpil was firm. Even if it was the beast the Young Master had told him to save, there were limits.
“You must not disturb the Young Master. Stay in my robes.”
He tucked the fox back into his robes. The baby fox struggled a few more times, then went limp as if it had given up.
Some time passed like this.
*Fwoosh.*
Ma Dongpil's eyes lit up.
*Swoooosh.*
Red demonic energy billowed from Seo Ryang's body as he sat cross-legged. It was a demonic energy so dense that just looking at it sent a chill down one's spine.
‘Incredible. How can he wield such demonic energy...’
It wasn't about the quantity of the energy.
There was a limit to the density of demonic energy one could draw out with spiritual energy. The demonic energy Seo Ryang was currently emitting possessed a depth that one couldn't possibly draw out without a profound understanding of demonic arts.
Ma Dongpil was truly curious.
‘Just who is the Young Master?’
Despite having served him for eight months, there was still so much he didn't know about the Young Master.
How did he possess such vast knowledge, how could he grow so strong so quickly, and where had he learned to apply martial arts in such creative ways?
And… what was that unique martial art that produced that red demonic energy?
‘It's definitely not one of the Cult's arts.’
It was a gut feeling. While it had the feel of orthodox demonic arts, there was a sense of foreignness to it; it was clearly not the demonic study of the Divine Cult.
But it was also true that it possessed a depth rarely found in any other demonic art.
‘If the Cult Leader were to teach the Young Master directly, even now…’
Ma Dongpil swallowed without realizing it.
‘Perhaps the youngest Cult Leader in the history of our Cult might be born.’
It might have been a far-fetched thought. But the Young Master he had observed for eight months was someone who possessed something more than mere talent.
Ma Dongpil shook his head.
‘I shouldn't have such absurd thoughts. I just need to focus on my duty. The matter of the Cult's next succession is for those involved. It's not my place to worry about it.’
That was the proper mindset for a squad leader of the Hall of Protectors. Ma Dongpil shook his head roughly to clear his thoughts and resumed his watch.
Time passed.
Fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, an hour.
Soon, two hours had passed, and the sun was beginning to set in the west.
‘He's taking much longer than usual. Is it because he used up so much demonic energy?’
Usually, his meditation would finish not just within an hour, but sometimes as quickly as thirty minutes.
Ma Dongpil smiled bitterly.
‘He did overexert himself.’
It was then.
*FWOOOSH!!*
Ma Dongpil's eyes widened.
The red demonic energy rising from Seo Ryang's entire body. The energy intensified its firepower.
*SWOOOOSH!*
The pressure erupting from him doubled in intensity.
“Gasp!”
*Drip.*
Cold sweat trickled down Ma Dongpil's forehead.
The instantaneously surging demonic power overwhelmed his own demonic energy. His legs began to tremble and his heart pounded, as if he were a wolf standing before a tiger.
He had unconsciously retreated a dozen steps, his face pale.
‘What is this?!’
What in the world was happening?
*Sizzzle!*
White smoke was now rising from the ground where Seo Ryang sat.
The intensely Yang Dark Shadow Demonic Qi gradually raised its temperature until, at some point, it erupted with explosive heat.
*FWOOOOSH!!*
Seo Ryang, trapped within the flames of crimson demonic energy.
Unexpectedly, Seo Ryang's expression was calm. Despite emitting a heat so intense one had to be at least ten paces away to breathe, not a single strand of his hair or a thread of his clothing was burned.
A truly mystical sight.
But contrary to what it looked like, the atmosphere spreading around them only grew more menacing with time.
*Fwoooosh!*
The flames slowly began to spread.
At the same time, the air in the Solitary Bamboo Forest roiled violently.
*Whooosh!*
Ma Dongpil felt it become difficult to breathe.
It wasn't because of the heat from the Dark Shadow Demonic Qi. Nor was it because the air was being consumed by the intense heat.
It was the consumption of the spiritual energy in the air.
A massive amount of spiritual energy scattered in the vicinity was being sucked into Seo Ryang's body. The speed was so fast that even a master of Ma Dongpil's level felt dizzy.
A moment later.
*Flash!*
Seo Ryang's eyes opened.
*Fwoop!*
The air instantly grew cold. The high-temperature demonic energy was being rapidly sucked back into Seo Ryang's body.
The demonic energy that had been gathering in his lower dantian could no longer find space and rose to his solar plexus, the middle dantian.
*Sizzzle!*
“Ugh!”
A groan escaped Seo Ryang's lips.
A round hole burned through the chest of his robes. The demonic energy was spinning at high speed, condensing the qi.
But even that was at its limit.
Even after completely filling the two vessels of his lower and middle dantians, the demonic energy still overflowed.
*Pop! Pop! Pop!*
Seo Ryang's body twitched violently. Unable to find another vessel, the demonic energy began to forge a path, breaking through not only the meridians throughout his body but even the minor channels.
All the acupoints in his body were unblocked in an instant. It was as easy and fast as pressing a hand into tofu. Due to the heat of the Dark Shadow Demonic Qi, he didn't even feel the pain of his meridians being cleared.
*Fwoooosh!*
The demonic energy circulated and circulated.
The demonic energy that had filled his entire body finally found the one remaining vessel.
The upper dantian.
The place where the soul resides, the body's greatest repository of potential, said to grant mystical abilities if properly cultivated.
The demonic energy penetrated his upper dantian.
*Whoooosh!!*
“Aaargh!”
A scream tore from Seo Ryang's lips. It was a pain so immense that even he, who wouldn't bat an eye at most agony, thrashed about.
But that moment was brief.
Thankfully, Seo Ryang's upper dantian was a capacious vessel, and he was able to contain all the remaining demonic energy in an instant.
“*Cough!*”
After spitting up a mouthful of dark red blood, Seo Ryang collapsed.
Ma Dongpil's eyes widened.
“Young Master!”
Rushing to Seo Ryang's side, he soon let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his pulse was normal.
*Pop.*
The baby fox pushed its way out of Ma Dongpil's robes and sat quietly, watching Seo Ryang.
The beast's eyes held an inscrutable meaning. Within its pupils, a five-colored, radiant light seemed to flicker in and out of existence.
And so, the two men and one beast completely left the domain of the bamboo forest.
Seo Ryang, who had grown by fighting imaginary spiritual beasts for eight months.
Having trained his martial arts through a method that could literally only be found in one's imagination, he was now incomparably stronger than before.
***
Three days later.
“Third Squad Leader?”
“I trust you have been well.”
Ma Dongpil's face was utterly impassive as he knelt and bowed his head.
Mu Dam's eyes deepened. He sensed that the Ma Dongpil before him now was vastly different from the one who had come to report a month ago.
“Have you come to report?”
“I have come to deliver a message.”
“A message? What do you mean?”
Ma Dongpil raised his head.
Even the Great Protector, Mu Dam, flinched at his gaze, which was impassive yet colored with an intense spirit.
“The Third Young Master has left the forest.”
“……!”
“He said he will proceed directly to the Palace of the Demonic God. Please speak to the Cult Leader and obtain a permit for his entry.”