The Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts - 35
Jeokmaryeong, the Yama King of the Surayeomrang, had not noticed the situation, it seemed. I would have been entirely clueless without Mumyeong’s comment about my extremely developed inner energy sense. He glared at us like a wounded wolf for a while. He raised his hand without a word. Following his gesture, the Demon Cultists retreated, leaving countless corpses in front of them. He had clearly decided to withdraw. Just like when they first appeared, they melted into the shadows, one by one, two by two, vanishing. “…” Jeokmaryeong said nothing as he retreated, no threat at all. He picked up the cracked mask that had fallen to the ground. Our eyes met. He spat out a single word. “You…” It was far more intense than a hundred threats. His eyes burned with hatred. Those eyes were aimed straight at me, alongside Eun Seollyeong’s. Even in death, he would never forget my face. After leaving behind countless corpses that covered the ground like a carpet, the first encounter with the Heavenly Demon Cult ended that way.
“I… survived.”
As the tension finally eased, my entire body felt like it had lost all its strength. I nearly collapsed backward and barely managed to lean my upper body against the nearby rock. “Ugh…” Even after healing my body once, it still felt as if nothing had happened, my whole form was in a mess. We had been flirting with death. This was the most intensely confronting death I had ever faced. ‘I never want to see that again.’
The Demon Cultists’ slippery, eerie movements that had danced before my eyes were so vivid I could have woken from a nightmare just looking at them. I turned to look at Eun Seollyeong standing behind me. She was staring at where the Cultists had disappeared, arms crossed as if she would not let her guard down even now. I whispered so she could not hear. “Mumyeong.” [He’s definitely getting farther away. You can relax. But they really do smell more like animals than humans. Is this what it feels like…? We missed this time, but next time we’ll definitely detect them.] Only then did I finally release the deep breath I had been holding. I turned my gaze to Eun Seollyeong and spoke. “It looks like everyone’s retreated. Maybe we can relax now.” “…” She showed no reaction at all. The hint that Mumyeong had dropped about no one around us treating her as a person bothered me. On top of that, the ruthless slaughter of the people from just moments ago. Honestly, if I wasn’t scared, I wasn’t even human. “Hey, we can relax….” No reply. I hesitated and muttered softly. “…Yeah.” “…” The wind blew. The thick fog that had filled the valley began to dissipate only as night fell and dusk settled. The surroundings started filling with moonlight. A darkness descended over the hideous corpses, and everything that had happened began to fade away. It was only after a long time without breathing, while I watched her, that I finally moved, more than an hour later. “What is it?”
I stood before her and muttered blankly. “…Did you faint?”
***
Tap-tap.
I tossed dry branches into the bonfire. Luckily, I had flint, so starting the fire was easy. Of course, the valley’s nature—filled with wet branches—made the smoke rise thick and dense. My eyes, nose, and mouth burned. The burning was so intense that tears streamed down, snot poured, and I sneezed. Every few moments, the wind would blow and suddenly redirect the smoke. In it stood a woman leaning against a wooden beam, head lowered. I sprinted over and blocked the path of the smoke. “Ugh.” It was instinct—thick smoke that would cause her to wake up coughing and smash my head in. I ran around the fire until it was fully settled, blocking the smoke with my whole body. My body was now filled with smoke scent, like smoked duck. “…”
I carried the fainted girl from deep in the valley all the way here. It did not seem right to leave her among the corpses. The entire journey, she had sweated like rain while I carried her on my back. The amount of sweat was so heavy that I could feel it sliding down her neck and soaking into my back. The sticky moisture made the sensation of carrying her body and the feeling on my hands even more vivid. Tap-tap.
I covered her with the blanket I had taken from the pack on the upper floor and sat a short distance away, tending the fire. Her black hair spilled to one side as she slept with eyes closed. The fierce appearance from earlier had completely vanished. ‘I can’t connect that at all with what she looked like before.’ The scene of sweeping through the Demon Cultists who had slaughtered the escort warriors of the upper floor flashed again, making me shiver. Unlike my past self, my current self was no longer blind to martial arts. That was why it terrified me more. Looking into the endless abyss of the ocean beneath the sea, that must be how it feels. “…”
The bonfire crackled. The faintly warm firelight danced and illuminated me and her. Her body leaned slightly to the side. …I think I’ve shrunk quite a bit. Beneath the flickering flames, I could see her sweat-damp cleavage, her stretched neck, the long white fingers visible beneath the loosened silver bandages… ‘Would my head fly off first if she slapped me with that hand, or would my teeth?’ ‘If she kicked my knee with those long white shins, they’d snap like skewers.’ ‘If we played rock-paper-scissors and she hit me with a palm, how many slaps before my forehead cracked?’ All sorts of bizarre thoughts raced through my mind. And there was one thing that bothered me. She had shown no emotional fluctuation even while fighting the Demon Cultists. Except for once. ‘I’m sure she was furious when she snatched that silver bell.’ I remembered clearly. When she arrived in front of me, her shoulders had trembled faintly. If a top master at her level could run until her breathing was disrupted, I could only imagine how urgently she had come. …What on earth was that bell? ‘My head hurts.’ And why had she suddenly fainted? I also did not know why she would suddenly pass out after showing off that destructive martial art. I scratched my head, staring at the fire, then at Eun Seollyeong. She was looking at me. “…” I nearly shouted. She sat with her upper body tilted sideways, silver eyes wide open, watching me without a single movement. “Um… so.” What was I supposed to say? Facing such a beautiful woman alone across a bonfire, I was not tongue-tied out of fear. I was speechless out of terror. “Hello…” I quickly continued after a beat. “…sir?” “Did I faint again?” The word “again” from her stuck in my throat. I wanted to ask if there was some special reason, but my mouth refused to move. “How long has it been?” I quickly counted on my fingers and looked up at the sky. “About… two hours?” The silver eyebrows on her white face wrinkled faintly, as if drawn with a brush. “That weird speech pattern. Same as back then.” For a moment I thought what she meant. As I blinked, Eun Seollyeong’s silver eyes blinked with me. She opened her mouth. “Have you eaten your fill of the meat that was once a wish?” “…” Only now did I realize that her question referred to the time when we first met at Cheonsubaekryeonsa, when she had spoken in both familiar and respectful speech. “…You remember?” Hearing my murmur, Eun Seollyeong shook her head with an exasperated look. “That’s taking the joke too far. Even something from tens of years ago, and you’re remembering just a few days ago?” Her tone and inflection felt like someone from a different era. The feeling of a figure from the Jianghu era when chivalry and righteousness still mattered, the kind that old storytellers spoke of. “I thought you might not have recognized me back then. When we met for the second time at Cheonsubaekryeonsa.” “I didn’t even try to pretend I knew. There was no point.” Something in her words felt understandable, yet it was sad. Still, that speech pattern and inflection… I hesitated for a long time before speaking. “Hey, sorry, but how old are you?” She probably did not know how much courage it took me to say that casually. “Age…? With a serious face, what kind of question is that.” She said it with a small sigh. “Have you seen the ginkgo tree in front of the entrance of Cheonsubaekryeonsa? There are six enormous ginkgo trees standing there.” “Ginkgo tree? I remember.” I recalled the ginkgo tree whose trunk was twice as thick as an adult’s arm, growing right beside the entrance. I had heard from Physician Haseo that it was an important tree with meaning tied to the history of Cheonsubaekryeonsa. “I planted one of those six as a memorial tree.” “…” If I were someone else I would have been shocked enough to say ‘What?!’, but I was not even surprised. “Ah… well, right.” As far as I knew, Cheonsubaekryeonsa had been established almost a hundred years ago. Planting a memorial tree back then meant it was a sapling that could already hold a minimum of a spade, not even a baby. My mind went hazy. “……So, Eun Seollyeong…” Calling someone by name without knowing their age felt like a violation of conscience. After hesitating, I managed to say. “Elder.” She looked at me quietly. “Elder?” “Just call me by name.” “No, even so, how can I—” “…” “Understood.” I felt like I might get killed if I kept being polite any longer. I awkwardly took out the food from my bag. Some kind of rice ball and dried meat. “You…” She stared blankly at the meat and rice ball I offered. “Do you know what I’m thinking right now?” “W-well, what?” Her silver eyes said it coolly. “I’ve been wondering what kind of person would lend the ‘Covenant of the Sacred Mountain’ token to such a pathetic person.” It was a needle so cold it would freeze the spine. “But listen well. If it weren’t for that bell, I would have no reason to come here or any reason to save you. What happened today was pure coincidence, and I have no need to bother talking to you because of it.” Reality quickly snapped back into focus. She never touched the meat or rice ball I offered. “Whether the reason is unknown, first, as the one who saved my life, I will express my gratitude. And regarding the silver bell…” I packed the cold rice ball and meat back into my bag. “If I made you feel uncomfortable unintentionally, I’m sorry. My master said to use it when the situation was about to kill him. I never imagined it would be something related to you.” She touched her clothes and sat upright neatly. “Master? Who was your master?” “The instructor of the Cheonsubaekryeonsa Joint Meeting, also known as Pahwanggun.” “Was he from the Joint Faction?” “Yes.” Eun Seollyeong closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. “Ah, since that person was also from the Joint Faction… I understand now.” She took out the crumpled silver bell from her pocket and stared at it. “Whew.” Eun Seollyeong put the bell back in her bosom and gazed at the stars in the sky. “From now on, all connections with the bell are severed. When will I ever have to do this again…” I looked at her profile as she gazed up at the twinkling stars. Her silver pupils remained fixed on the stars. In a dry voice, she murmured faintly. “Maybe I should have just died.” Divided half by the bluish moonlight and half by the red firelight, her figure looking up at the sky appeared endlessly hollow. “Are you a master who has experienced Fanluohuandong and Huanggoltaitai?” The words that she was the Guardian of Mount Hua could not be false. Her martial prowess, more vivid than a hundred explanations, proved everything was true. If I traced backward from there, many questions arose. Why was the Guardian of Mount Hua appearing as an executioner of Cheonsubaekryeonsa? How had she appeared here, far from Cheonsubaekryeonsa? “Assuming that.” She answered flatly. I continued. “You entered Cheonsubaekryeonsa as one of its disciples while hiding your identity?” “Assuming that.” “Why? You’re the Guardian of Mount Hua. A high-ranking position like that, wouldn’t you be staying in Mount Hua and receiving respect?” “Assuming that.” …Damn it. [Don’t ever say that curse out loud. The moment you do, we’re all dead.] It was so intense that even Mumyeong heard it. I swallowed hard and tried to calm myself, organizing my thoughts neatly. The face of Jin Muje shouting “Selective anger management disorder” flashed before me, but I forced it away. I kept my lips tightly shut as Eun Seollyeong glanced at me. ‘Maybe I should have just stayed ugly.’ The long eyes that looked like those of a winter silver fox. The problem was that the gaze was never kind, filled instead with irritation and weariness. Someone once said that the contempt received from ugly people hurts less than the indifference and irritation from beautiful and handsome people. I think I know what she meant. Eun Seollyeong looked up at me. “So, why did you come here?” I hesitated and answered. “…Somehow, I ended up starting the first trial sooner than I expected.” “You started the first trial already?” “This valley is where you come back after finding the Seongryeonhwa.” Huang Bosu had told us that if we fought with his group and got disciplined, we were dead anyway. This was pride as the last man. More than that, as a martial artist, fighting with weapons and then getting disciplined from behind by sitting on a chair—it was something I could not even admit. “What does that mean? You’re supposed to bring Seongryeonhwa here as part of the trial?” She tilted her head. Rather than her reaction, I was the one who was confused. “Why, why? Of course that is the trial given to me.” “I’ve seen countless trials while living until now.” She said. “But not once has any trial instructed a disciple to bring Seongryeonhwa here. Who gave you this trial? No, was it definitely something received from Cheonsubaekryeonsa?” There was no need to dig through memories. I had personally received it at the waiting hall. “The young male clerk at the waiting hall gave it to me directly.” “There must be some mistake.” “What?” Eun Seollyeong blinked her silver eyes. “As far as I know, there is no young male clerk at Cheonsubaekryeonsa’s waiting hall.”