Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Faintly, Fleetingly (10)
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Taking off my completely shredded clothes and spreading them out on the floor made the end of today's training feel all too real.
The black training uniform soaked with blood.
No one could tell if those deep, dark stains were from sweat or blood.
Still, gazing at my tattered uniform after training wrapped up like this always drove home the fact that I'd burned through the day.
A smile tugged at my lips, my spirits riding high.
"Come down slowly. And don't use that power recklessly."
"I know. But do you put Cheon-do through the same kind of training?"
I replied as I started down the mountain path after the old man, then asked him directly.
"Why do you want to know?"
His cold response came right away.
I shrugged and gave an awkward laugh.
"Just curious. Besides, don't you know better than anyone what kind of person she is to me?"
My one and only master. The one who'd picked me up when I had nothing.
"Picked me up" sounded off, but it was the only way to put it.
Cheon-do had valued her disciple—me—to the point of risking her life. Not many would throw away their life after just a few weeks of connection.
A grateful person.
The old man stared down at me for a long moment before speaking flatly.
"What kind of person? What, you her fiancé or something?"
"Huh? No, not like that."
His sudden jab caught me off guard for a second.
I hadn't meant it that way. Had he been harboring those thoughts on his own? But the old man just continued impassively.
"Cheon-do knows how to push herself. Can't compare her to an ignorant fool like you."
"You seem to know your daughter pretty well."
"You trying to play word games with me right now?"
"Wouldn't dream of it."
People like this were surprisingly common.
Fathers too strict to express their emotions properly—straight out of some outdated drama.
Cheon-do of the present missed her father.
The way he treated me showed he wasn't without affection.
Look closely, and you'd see he smiled plenty.
He just restrained it as much as possible.
"...On a different note, I heard from Hong-yeon that you've stepped away from Peach Blossom Land. Why's that?"
I laid out my questions one by one.
Beating around the bush wouldn't work with him, so I went straight to the point.
"Not something you need to know. Didn't you come here for training?"
"Just curiosity."
Sure, heading back like this wouldn't be bad.
In terms of growth, it was a huge win.
But whether that was the only reason I'd come to the past... who knew.
Even the World Tree of Time had vaguely sent me back with no clear goal stated.
"Like I said before, I don't have a specific purpose. But leaving without knowing would leave me with restless nights."
"A guy who doesn't even sleep, talking nonsense."
The old man turned his back and paused.
I sat on the rock, waiting leisurely for his answer.
"I created Peach Blossom Land to rest, not to pile on more work."
I already knew the origins of Peach Blossom Land from my investigations.
"Is that the answer?"
"What more do you want to know?"
"Well, something worth abandoning Peach Blossom Land for—a dream you want to chase, or a reason to bother with a successor."
"Your tone is really grating. Fine... a dream? Hah, it's been a while since I last said that word."
Then the old man spoke.
"I have a dream."
Those words.
Just that simple four-character sentence pierced my chest with déjà vu.
-I have a dream.
Cheon-do's words from the Purgatory.
All those emotions packed in, I hadn't even grasped the meaning—thought it came out of nowhere.
She never explained after, leaving me frustrated. Could she have just echoed her father's words?
I straightened up respectfully.
"The reason I became the Heavenly Demon was to kill off the bastards I couldn't stand. World Trees, humans—didn't matter."
"Bastards you couldn't stand?"
"Hypocrites. I'd seen too many good people die for no reason. Hated that."
The old man said.
"It's nothing grand. Childhood dreams rarely come true. That's the kind."
"A world without villains, where the good could pursue their paths unburdened."
For the Heavenly Demon, it sounded like pie in the sky.
The kind of dream only a child would have.
"Strange?"
"Pretty strange for the Heavenly Demon."
"Back then, I believed it was possible. Thought power alone could do anything. Too young."
A world without villains. Utterly absurd.
But I got the gist.
"I won't mock it. I once ranted about becoming a politician to build a better world."
Shivers now, thinking back.
Why'd I ever think that?
I chuckled, then sighed.
"Did you tell Cheon-do the same?"
"Hah, talked plenty. Used to talk till my mouth went dry. But never told her to carry it on."
"Good thing. But what sparked those thoughts? Must've been something."
"...You're awfully curious."
"Hear that a lot."
"The trigger?"
Surprisingly, the old man opened up honestly.
Maybe because I was from the future. Or some unspoken feeling since I was his daughter's disciple.
Or just from sparring and bonding.
"The trigger... yeah. You heard I was abandoned by my family."
"Yeah, so you left home."
"Right."
The old man stroked his wrinkled chin, reminiscing.
"When I first left Peach Blossom Land, I wandered. Knew nothing, had nothing, no power."
"No power? You?"
"Not many born as dragon-humans. Poor Cheon-do was weak at first too. My girl, who cried picking flowers."
A cute story.
His face softened a bit talking about his daughter.
"Anyway, after leaving home, I lived like a beast in the mountains. A scrawny kid trying to settle in—didn't go well. Wolves bit me bad, nearly died... then someone helped. Total pushover."
I listened intently, watching his back.
The morning sun began to rise, illuminating him.
"Saved a worthless brat like me, nursed me day and night. I bled for two days straight—miracle I survived."
"Impressive guy."
"Impressive? Heh heh, idiot didn't know his own path. Got scammed, lost his life savings paying debts."
"Ah."
"He died eventually. Don't wanna say why. Too stupid."
Kind, but naive.
Sad stories like that still happened plenty.
Friends you trust implicitly, only to get conned.
News like that now? Internet comments mock the fool.
"Dumbass got what he deserved."
"He was a moron. Met more like him. Got sick of it."
"Yeah."
"Scammers lived high, hated that."
Life in the gutter anyway.
He'd killed all the ones he despised, who blocked his way.
The old man pulled out his pipe as he spoke.
Golden smoke rose in the dawn light.
"Plenty more. Over a century, wanted to do something for those fools."
-Tap tap.
He knocked his pipe on the boulder, ash spilling out.
"Killing lunatics, they started calling me Heavenly Demon."
"And the dream?"
"How to achieve that? No real goal—just venting."
True enough.
"When I snapped out of it, enemies everywhere. Killed indiscriminately, turned out big names were all rotten."
Not all, but few lived purely good lives forever.
Me, him—we'd strayed from morals long ago.
The old man stood, self-mocking.
"Thought only idiots around me. Turns out the biggest was me."
Heavenly Demon—such an ironic name.
"Lived wildly, now shamelessly want rest. Try raising kids like they say. Settled back in Peach Blossom Land."
"So that's why you built it?"
"Built? It grew on its own. Picked up kids for fun, one became leader, expanded it."
Hong-yeon's face came to mind.
Said Heavenly Demon picked her up. Knew of a few adoptees.
The old man turned to face me.
"Tried making this Peach Blossom Paradise, but it's done now."
"Peach Blossom Paradise?"
"Legend from the plum tree clan. Ideal world... ring a bell?"
Vague, but got it.
Asia's utopia, paradise—heavenly realm stuff.
I nodded, and he let out a deep breath.
"If you want to make it, go ahead."
"Peach Blossom Land falls first."
Peach Blossom Land falls.
I knew that future, but hearing it from Heavenly Demon hit different.
"...Pardon?"
"Made too many enemies. Whether I live or die, it'll be targeted."
"Makes sense."
Heavenly Demon's deeds—no, disasters.
Too many to count.
Smashed nearly a whole nation—plenty harboring grudges.
"Even if I defend, it's just who dies less or more."
"That's why you stepped away?"
"No."
Overthought it.
The old man muttered blankly.
"Just had a lot to do."
Lots... yeah.
I recalled a line from a book.
-To subjugate the Heavenly Demon, the World Tree Foundation and many hunters joined the war.
Most recent disasters in my present: Wood Spirit King and Heavenly Demon.
Second hadn't happened yet.
His "lots to do" was probably prep for that.
'...Trying to save Master?'
Didn't know survivors exactly.
Clan abolished. Only three I knew survived.
'Tch.'
Bitter taste; I clicked my tongue inwardly.
His solo war—a desperate thrash?
Knowing the end, that's how it felt.
"Got all my questions answered."
"Wouldn't have said if you slacked on Peach Blossom Land. Tch. Cut the nonsense now."
"Yes... I'll reflect."
He called it nonsense, but liked my work there—knew it.
Old man descended with a scowl. I stayed, pondering his words silently.
Changed into fresh clothes, heading down—still the same.
-A world without villains, where the good could pursue their paths unburdened.
Hard to grasp for the Heavenly Demon.
'Whatever. As long as I thrive.'
Uncovered Cheon-do's secret—felt good.
Couldn't stop Heavenly Demon's death or Peach Blossom Land's fall.
But I'd do what I could.
Starting to get a feel for this past.
'If my present reflects this past...'
Not certain, but it seemed so.
And if right, I still had work left.