The Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts - Chapter 209
I turned my gaze from the passing scenery outside the palanquin to the one calling my name.
“What have you been thinking about so intensely since earlier? Forgot something?”
Jeogalsea sat facing me directly.
“...That’s right.”
I instinctively reached for my left hand.
Jeogalsea caught the motion with a quick glance.
“There it goes again. You know this is the seventh time, right?”
“Ah. It’s just become a habit. Even if I don’t want to, I can’t stop.”
I pursed my lips, tapped the back of my hand once, then clenched and unclenched my fist for no reason at all.
If it had been under normal circumstances, every time I performed this motion the Chiljongheukjusa-gap would have provided its signature resistance and the faint clink of iron would have rung out.
After the great clash with Ilmanhyeolje, the gauntlet—along with the orphan it had been tied to—had been shattered beyond repair.
“...”
I slowly traced my right hand from the elbow of my left arm all the way to the fingertips.
Since my entire life had been lived without expecting anything from anyone, this hand might have seemed like nothing more than a lifeless object to others. Yet to me it had, in the end, become closer than any comrade—however brief the time.
I shook out my left hand, crossed my arms, and looked once more at the landscape outside the palanquin.
Outside the window, vast forests whipped past at terrifying speed.
Rivers flashed beneath me.
The wind that struck my face was heavy with the scent of wild herbs.
This method was never something I had even imagined.
I was riding inside a palanquin, borne by the White Jaos of the Namgung Family.
White-masked shadow guards of the Namgung Family, fastest and most elite in the murim world. Borne by them, the palanquin vanished into the sky like a ghost.
—Kwadududu...
Those fellows, their faces hidden behind white masks all the way to the nose, carried the massive palanquin on their shoulders. Their white martial robes fluttered as they trampled through thickets and branches like cotton, moving as though they were flying through the sky.
Namgung Sogyo shrugged with a grin.
“This is the proud White Flash Leap of our Namgung family. Since the family lord personally granted the honor, you must receive a separate thanks when we meet later, Uncle.”
I felt my breath catch at the sheer weight of that name.
From what I knew, the White Jaos were the Namgung family’s absolute strongest escort corps.
When I first met her, the Black Jaos—ranked just below the White Jaos—had guarded her like shadows. And the fact that those Black Jaos had not dared utter a single word and obeyed without question was proof of the White Jaos’ position within the family.
Moreover, any escort force of this caliber could never be ordinary.
People without a single brain cell simply gaped at their own luxury and swelled with pride.
Those with empty heads would thank anyone who treated them like superiors and think they had become the greatest being alive.
I had tasted the bitterness of that truth far too many times.
Every time I had received something, I had learned there was always something I would have to repay.
I looked at Jeogalsea sitting beside me.
I looked at Namgung Sogyo sitting across from me.
“I will give you the thanks for real. It’s just that I worry you’re going to do it on such a grand scale, Sogyo.”
“Giving thanks is the right thing to do, but it’s not like the White Flash Leap is that special, Uncle. If you think I’m being overly favored, you’re making a mistake. Just use it when a little-known VIP comes by, that’s all.”
“Then I’m relieved. Anyway, that’s not the point.”
I felt my shoulders lighten slightly and exhaled in relief.
“Didn’t I clearly say it wasn’t the Uncle who found me at the start?”
“So, Uncle?”
I paused a beat, then spoke calmly to Namgung Sogyo, who sat facing me.
“It’s not the Uncle. It’s Namgung Sogyo.”
Jeogalsea, fanning herself with her feather fan, clapped her palm.
“You don’t look the least bit sorry, bro. Come on, call her Uncle at least once. I want to hear it.”
“No, that’s not it at all. I was just saying we should let the misunderstanding go.”
Jeogalsea clicked her tongue and leaned against the side of the palanquin.
“If it were me, I would have simply given up and said, ‘Fine, I’m the Uncle.’ With the stubborn pride of a martial artist, though… look at this, and you’ll understand why you don’t need to hunt for Eun Seollyeong’s personality elsewhere. I, as a scholar, still can’t wrap my head around it. You shouldn’t let someone else’s gaze dictate you and just live flexibly, right?”
I stared at Jeogalsea and muttered one word.
“Auntie.”
“...Get off right now, you brat. Not getting off?”
“Excuse me, miss, this is our family’s palanquin.”
Just as the three of us were bickering, the palanquin shook violently.
“Chief?”
One of the White Jaos, still carrying the palanquin on his shoulder and performing light footwork, muttered with clear displeasure.
“Unbelievable. Even when we first met, it was eerie, but now it’s a whole different dimension… I can’t even call it the same person. How, what kind of training… No, not training. How can anyone survive such hellish mental anguish and trials like that?”
Looking up at the palanquin with eyes full of disbelief was Jin.
“There’s always this hazy feeling that keeps blocking my view… Could there be even more power hidden behind it? No way.”
“Chief.”
Jin looked down at his subordinate when called.
“Chief…? Are you all right? You’re sweating.”
“I’m fine. What is it?”
The subordinate whispered to the tenth chief, who was performing light footwork beside him.
“The chief has been guarding Miss Namgung Sogyo since the old days, so he shouldn’t have any complaints. Of course, as a White Jao I must obey orders, but even that feels impossible to understand.”
Jin frowned.
“Impossible to understand? Is there even a word ‘impossible to understand’ in the White Jao group?”
The subordinate’s eyes held a faint trace of dissatisfaction.
“The truth is, the White Flash Leap that Miss casually mentioned has only been used three times in the past five years. We proud ones were summoned, yet the target was not a royal highness or any distinguished person—simply some shabby, unknown man. Moreover, judging by the destination, he wasn’t even a murim expert, let alone a young talent at Cheonsubaekryeonsa…”
“Shh.”
The tenth chief placed a finger on his lips.
“Leaving aside speculation about that man’s strength, the fact that he hasn’t even been noticed as a dangerous presence shocks me as chief.”
“Ah, that, that’s—”
“Return to your post. Submit your application for re-examination of the White Jao unit with your personal details on my desk. As chief, I’ll have to personally re-verify everything about you before the end-of-year rank review.”
“...What?”
Jin returned to his place.
Only a subordinate who looked deathly pale and was only performing light footwork remained.
***
“We came straight here without detouring anywhere, as promised. Take this too. Just in case.”
I accepted the small pile of silver coins Jeogalsea handed me.
“Thank you. I won’t forget the help you gave me this time.”
We had reached the edge of the dense forest.
It was a clear day, so the two distant mountains that formed a gorge were visible in the haze.
Far ahead, the White Jaos had already set down the palanquin and were waiting.
Namgung Sogyo looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
“Uncle, I really wanted to bring you all the way to the front gate of Cheonsubaekryeonsa, but I can only take you this far. I’m sorry. If Jeogalsea had brought you, she’d be the one making things complicated for you.”
“If Jeogalsea says so, it’s true. And just bringing me this far is more than enough thanks. I can cover the rest with light footwork.”
“Light footwork…? Well, yeah, that’s true. I’d walk and starve to death, though.”
Jeogalsea scratched her chin with the feather fan and scanned the surroundings.
“Uncle, I’ll go first. Jeogalsea, come in quickly.”
Namgung Sogyo grabbed her reddened nose and hurried back toward the palanquin.
When I straightened my waist, Jeogalsea handed me a thick stack of documents.
“What’s this?”
“Nothing special. The bugs have been causing trouble, so I cleaned up your recent record in case something could be used against you.”
Jeogalsea added more explanation as I took the papers.
“Even if they tried anything, it wouldn’t affect my three variables. Still, I prepared ten variables just in case—integrated and distributed the actions as Biryu, the actions as Moyong Bi, the variables, and the records—so there’s nothing left for anyone to find.”
I opened my mouth.
Jeogalsea continued.
“Especially the Discipline Committee at Cheonsubaekryeonsa, right? Even if other places are unknown, that department seems to have the upper hand against anyone trying to harm you. You can’t just sit back and take it—you have to prepare.”
I recalled the first time I met her under the name Zhu Lian.
She had appeared before me as if she had foreseen the future.
When I asked how she knew I would appear here, she answered that she had predicted the variable I would appear as and eliminated the rest, standing before the remaining variable. An answer I couldn’t understand even if I heard it ten times.
Jeogalsea kept talking.
“The compensation for what you did for the jianghu is genuinely amusing, but I did my best, so I hope it helps.”
“...”
I looked at Jeogalsea.
Jeogalsea smiled.
“When a strong kid gets beaten around by insignificant bastards, it pisses me off. But I can’t just slaughter the entire Cheonsubaekryeonsa leadership in the middle of the orthodox world, either.”
“Haha.”
I laughed without realizing it.
Why not? I can do it. Let’s do it.
It was fortunate that Mumyeong’s voice only reached me.
Jeogalsea said, “This is the fork you asked for in advance. Exactly right?”
Jeogalsea pointed north, then west.
Then east.
“What’s over there? Who do you want to meet? One is definitely Cheonsubaekryeonsa. The other two directions I can’t figure out. One is a lake called Namcho-ho, and the other is Inhyeon Gorge. Why go there?”
“Just for a short stop. It’s nothing special.”
I trailed off.
This was something I definitely did not want to explain in detail to Jeogalsea.
Especially not to someone as smart as her.
She tilted her head and continued.
“Anyway, you can reach wherever you want in each direction within ten shifts. Of course, you’ll need about a day anyway. A full day is required for all your whereabouts to be neatly sorted.”
“That’s enough. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Jeogalsea suddenly asked in response.
“Really? Can I believe you mean it when you say thanks?”
“Suddenly?”
I looked at Jeogalsea.
“I don’t trust people at all. Especially not in the chaotic jianghu these days—there’s no one in the world who trusts the word of chivalry as little as I do.”
“...Then?”
“But you’ve been fed so much lately that even if you didn’t want to, you’d have to believe it. There’s been too much commotion lately… especially regarding your brothers.”
“My brothers?”
A cool wind blew along the gorge.
Under the white wind, Jeogalsea covered her mouth with the feather fan and spoke calmly.
“Normally a brush is just an ordinary thing, but once in a while, before a mad sword dance that leaves everything behind, even the finest calligraphy brush is useless. At times like that.”
Jeogalsea looked at me.
“Among the strongest and most reliable people I’ve met until now, I’ll remember you with Eun Seollyeong. Is that okay?”
“...”
I looked down at the thick document she had given me.
I met her red eyes.
“Whatever you say.”
(So Yeomgyo illustration)