Chapter 97
One of the prestigious martial academies in the murim, the Mount Hua Sect—that's where I heard about Mao Zai from the Heavenly Demon himself. The protagonist had real talent, but he flunked out due to the wrong knowledge he'd picked up in the modern world and his lack of mental fortitude.
'What a shock...'
The realization that I'd have to scour the entire Central Plains murim to find Mao Zai made my head spin. Here's the problem: Ranubel patients wake up if they strongly deny the dream world, but Mao Zai, who failed to become the Heavenly Demon's disciple, was still trapped in his dream.
"So he hasn't given up on his dreams and hopes yet..."
"Mi-bong, miss~!"
Just then, a young man's voice—one who'd been unceremoniously dumped on us by the Mount Hua Sect leader—snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Hwarong, young hero. One more step, and I'll slice you."
Hwarong. Ever since I'd said I was heading to the Mount Hua Sect to chase the Heavenly Demon, Mi-bong had been on high alert around this member of the Nine Dragons and Five Phoenixes. Shut his mouth, and he'd be the kind of flower boy women swooned over.
"Still so shy."
"...Think you can dodge like old times, and you'll die."
"Haha! Mount Hua's martial arts are renowned throughout the world... Whoa!"
Whoosh! Ignoring her warning, Hwarong barely dodged Mi-bong's slash, which came at him with enough force to cleave his waist. His pristine white daoist robes emblazoned with plum blossoms fluttered as he leaped back.
"That was your warning."
Mi-bong's brazen attitude, sword in hand and a sweet smile on her lips, was no joke either.
"Haha! Mi-bong, miss! You've improved so much you're unrecognizable!"
"No next time."
"Haha! I'll work harder so you can't catch me."
"Just die."
"Haha!"
Would Hwarong keep laughing until Mi-bong stressed herself bald? I was tempted to teach her that guys like him were best ignored or reported to the cops, but I held back.
"Kang, young hero. Why are we heading back to Sichuan?"
The little Fist King asked as he followed along, swinging heavy metal lumps—like ancient dumbbells—one in each hand.
Why back to Sichuan? Simple.
"Because the guy I'm looking for is in Sichuan."
"The Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Body?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Because Ma-ryong, the Heavenly Demon's disciple, is in Sichuan."
"Hm?"
"Mao—the Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Body hasn't given up on the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. He's planning to take it by force."
But challenging the Heavenly Demon was suicide, so he'd target the relatively easier Ma-ryong instead.
'Now it all makes sense.'
The first place I'd opened my eyes in this wuxia novel world, Is This Heavenly Demon For Real?, was right in the middle of a road leading to a city in Sichuan. Starting points were near the patient. So I'd figured martial arts fanatic Mao Zai would enter or watch the Sichuan Greatest Martial Arts Tournament.
"So you're targeting Ma-ryong?"
"Yes."
"Aiming for the Heavenly Demon Divine Art because he couldn't become the Heavenly Demon's disciple... that's a stretch."
"Feels like speculation, right?"
"Yeah. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is impressive, no doubt, but there are plenty of martial arts that rival it."
"Well..."
Murim folk with pride in their own arts wouldn't buy the Heavenly Demon Divine Art as the absolute best. Even in the original novel, plenty of characters said stuff like the little Fist King just did.
But, 'The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is the top martial art as set by the author.' An objective truth only a reader of Is This Heavenly Demon For Real? would know.
Similar example: Ask who the most beautiful woman in the Central Plains is, and you'd get different answers. Supreme Beauty, Mi-bong, Wall-Eyed Princess... But line up the candidates, and the rankings would be Supreme Beauty #1, Mi-bong #2, Wall-Eyed Princess #3. Why? Because that's how the world-building author designed it.
"The Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Body thinks he needs the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to get revenge on the Heavenly Demon. It's a one-person transmission art, after all."
"Ah! That could be it!"
"Young Master Kang! Let this girl join the conversation too!"
Was she jealous of my deep discussion with the little Fist King? Mi-bong scurried over, pleading.
"Mi-bong, miss. Jump in anytime—no need to hold back."
If I could help it.
"Haha! Mi-bong, miss! Look at that pair of bluebirds perched on the branch. Doesn't it feel like our future?"
"Ahh, really...!"
Hwarong's tenacious meddling wouldn't quit even with outright rejection! Mi-bong snapped irritably but still humored him.
"...Peaceful."
It hadn't been long, but we'd crossed all sorts of terrain: mountains, forests, plains, rivers, deserts... Yet we hadn't run into a single bandit or river pirate, those staples of wuxia tales.
"Of course not."
"Why?"
"Because this old man is the Fist King who pacified the Green Forest Bandits with a single fist!"
"How do we know you're the Fist King? You're a kid now."
"I have proof."
"Proof?"
"The crescent blade you borrowed and never returned."
"Oh, this."
A crescent blade from the Fist King was still strapped to my waist. I'd wondered why a bare-handed fighter like the Fist King carried a sword—it was his ID.
"When are you giving it back?"
"I will."
"Huh? That easy?"
"You never asked, so I kept it."
Clack. I handed the Green Forest Eighteen Paths blade back to the little Fist King.
"...You keep it."
"Why?"
"You're so short now, it drags on the ground."
"......"
It felt like watching a kid too small for the rides. Quietly, I strapped the Green Forest Eighteen Paths blade back on.
"No bandit in the Central Plains would miss the Green Forest Eighteen Paths."
"Cool."
"If a bandit attacks knowing I'm the Fist King, it means they think they can win."
"Has that happened?"
Is This Heavenly Demon For Real? was told from the protagonist's first-person view, and he ignored anyone who wasn't a 'beauty,' so info on them was scarce! Even his master, the Heavenly Demon, was no exception.
'No clue.'
There'd been no mention in the original novel that the Heavenly Demon had a wife and daughter. I fiddled with the red bookmark tucked between the books I'd gotten back from him.
"Blood clouds hang low, and the purple shrimp weeps."
Something not in the original novel. If the protagonist had given this book he'd found in a cave to the Heavenly Demon instead of his wife? Pointless what-if.
"...Hm?"
Something pinged on my senses, sharp enough to dodge a sniper's bullet.
"Young Master Kang."
"Yeah. Looks like these guys aren't scared of the Fist King."
"They're not bandits, so they don't know me."
"Really?"
"Definitely! For real!"
"Got it, so stop swinging those."
We were surrounded.
* * *
"Hand over Mi-bong. We'll grant you a painless death."
Suspicious masked figures who skipped introductions and stated their goal bluntly. We'd just met them today, and they hadn't said a word, but I knew who they were.
"What? It's the Blood Demon Guardians, out hunting for the Blood Demon's bride."
"...You saw wrong."
"Nah, it is."
"......"
"......"
"...Sichuan's Greatest Demon. Looks like your tournament win wasn't just luck. Yes, we are the Blood Demon Guardians, who rule over death. We've been waiting for you to bring us Mi-bong, vessel for our great leader's seed."
The man I pegged as their leader admitted it.
Blood Demon Guardians. In Is This Heavenly Demon For Real?, a group that staked their lives on kidnapping the beauties the protagonist had slobbered over. They had a knack for endless reinforcements, no matter how many you wiped out.
"Blood Demon Guardians?!"
"Gasp! The Blood Demon Guardians?!"
"Blood Demon Guardians..."
And a special effect: strong only without the protagonist around. Sword King, Spear Queen, Hidden Dragon, Martial Dragon... In the original, tons of guys got taken out by them, their infamy sky-high!
Learning their identity from me, the Fist King, Hwarong, and Mi-bong's faces stiffened with tension.
"Hand over Mi-bong."
"Pass."
"Then die."
Clang! Clang! Clang! Masked figures gripping poison-coated daggers in both hands closed the net.
Our response...
"Behold the might of the Fist King who pacified the Green Forest with one punch!"
Whoosh! The little Fist King charged straight ahead, fists clenched tight.
Hey, wait—
"Mi-bong, miss. Watch closely. This is Mount Hua's martial art!"
Flail~ Hwarong flopped his limbs and trailed behind the Fist King.
Mi-bong?
"Better to end it here than become the Blood Demon's wife!"
Shing— She pressed her sword to her throat, ready to suicide.
"...Mi-bong, miss."
"Don't be too sad. Even in death, this girl's body and heart are yours, Young Master Kang."
"I'll take the heart."
"So mean!"
"Scary girlfriend waiting at home."
Bzzz— My small but precious internal energy, gift from my bone master. If I hadn't yielded the protagonist's treasures to the Fist King and Mi-bong, I'd have several times more now—but no regrets.
Because...
"Gah! What?!"
"What the—?!"
"Sudden wind?!"
Just running kicked up mini-storms around me, and slash!
"Huh?"
My swings killed before they noticed, and
"Mount Hua—hngh?!"
"You bastard! Enough!"
"Eek! Young Master Kang~!"
A little internal energy, and allies nearby got caught or hindered.
Didn't need much anyway.
'Not like I'm taking it back to reality.'
That was the big reason. Same as dream money—gone on wakeup.
Thud. Splatter. Clean sweep, sparing only the ones around the shirtless-charging Fist King and Hwarong.
"Retreat—cough?!"
"Hold up."
Grab. I snatched a fleeing masked guy's neck.
"Cough?!"
"You're an officer too, huh?"
Their leader died in my first strike, but another ordered retreat.
"......"
"Loyal. Gonna die with the secrets?"
"C-can't... breathe...!"
"Sorry."
Loosen. The masked guy yelled the second I eased up.
"Spare me, and I'll spill every secret I know!"
"...In Henan City, right?"
"Pardon?"
"Don't know?"
"N-no! Our leader has a cherished hideout!"
"Correct."
The Blood Demon Guardians were gentlemanly: stash kidnapped beauties in their Henan City hideout untouched until the Blood Demon arrived. Comfy beds, tasty food, kind maids, spotless hygiene... Tempting enough for a kidnapping or two?
"Great hero! Spare me!"
"Last question. Where's the Blood Demon now?"
My bone master advised: meet the Blood Demon to develop my true calling.
"Heading to the Henan City hideout!"
"Who's there?"
"Yes. Recently raided the Emei Sect—kidnapped Emei Fairy, Emei Divine Sword, Sword Phoenix. And Sichuan's Supreme Beauty surrendered to protect her disciples."
"Wait! Sichuan's Supreme Beauty's a grandma, right?"
"Same age as our leader."
"R-right."
Same age? Fair enough! Sichuan's Supreme Beauty. Modern terms: the most famous teacher from the Central Plains' top girls' school, Emei Sect. Rejuvenated like the little Fist King—looks early 20s! Sichuan's rep beauty, but one the protagonist skipped.
"Spare me!"
"Sure."
I let the masked guy go.
"...Huh? Great hero, you're really just releasing me?"
"Don't want to? Die then."
"No!"
The surviving Blood Demon Guardian bolted without looking back.
"Young Master Kang! If that's true, we're in deep trouble!"
"Cowards. Attacking Emei Divine Sword and Emei Fairy when they were hurt!"
Mi-bong and the Fist King, who'd overheard, looked anxious beside me.
Hwarong?
"Heh heh! Even I, Mount Hua's top prodigy, got careless..."
Thud. He dramatically swept back his messy bangs and collapsed.
"...What."
"Poison. Pathetic. Got careless and poisoned."
The little Fist King diagnosed.
"He gonna die?"
"Probably. Blood Demon Guardians' infamous poison."
"For real...?"
Better steer clear of Mount Hua until he wakes up from the dream.