Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Emergency
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I approached the brothers of Paeng Daesan sprawled across the floor.
I began rummaging through their pockets. I pulled out heavy money pouches one by one.
Clink— clink—
As expected from the young masters of one of the Five Great Families, the pouches were stuffed full. It was more than I had anticipated.
Gathering the money pouches in one hand, I glanced toward the inn's door. Through the splintered gap, a terrified face peeked in—the waiter who had fled earlier.
I crooked a finger at him.
"Come here."
"Pardon?"
I clicked my tongue briefly and repeated myself.
"I said come here."
The waiter hesitated for a moment before approaching cautiously. His eyes were still filled with fear.
I shoved the hefty bundle of money pouches into his hands. His shoulders buckled under the unexpected weight.
"Use this to fix the inn."
The waiter stared blankly, alternating between the pouches in his hand and my face. A flicker of greed passed through his eyes.
"I don't care if you run off with it or not,"
I said, lightly tapping his shoulder.
"But this is right under the nose of the Murim Alliance, and I'm the deputy leader of the Azure Dragon Squad. I've got your face memorized, so watch yourself."
The greed that had flashed across his face turned to regret in an instant. It was quite a sight, watching him smack his lips.
"Well... you can skim a little off the top."
Color bloomed on the waiter's face.
"Yes, sir! Th-thank you, young master!"
He bowed so deeply it looked like his back might snap. I waved him off dismissively, then turned back to Paeng Daesan's brothers on the floor.
They were still motionless, sprawled out.
"Hey, you lumps. I'm gonna count to three."
But there was no response from them.
"Anyone who doesn't get up by three gets their muscle meridians severed and their dantian shattered."
I murmured softly.
"One."
Crash!
No sooner had the word left my mouth than the massive hulks, who had been playing dead, shot up and knelt before me in the blink of an eye. Impressively swift. About time.
I looked down at them and asked,
"Which of you is the oldest?"
But no one stepped forward to answer. They just glanced at each other and kept their heads bowed.
I opened my palm. Pure Demonic Energy, dormant within me, began to stir, soon forming a short dagger of dark, ominous energy in my hand.
Four of them simultaneously pointed at one guy.
"H-Him! He's the oldest!"
The pointed-out one panicked and shouted,
"Wh-What nonsense is this, you traitors?!"
What a disloyal bunch. I clicked my tongue inwardly and dispersed the Demonic Energy in my hand.
I placed my hand on the brow of the designated one. Then I forcibly rummaged through his memories using suggestion.
"Gaaahhh!"
A agonized scream burst from his mouth. As he convulsed, eyes rolled back, the other four paled. Useless lumps.
I quickly scanned various bits of info from his memories before roughly shoving them aside. The interesting part? Even this guy didn't know exactly how many brothers he had. I could guess how much seed the Paeng family head had sown around.
And from peeking into his memories, the other so-called brothers were all the same kind of scum.
I implanted a command laced with suggestion into the five trembling on their knees.
"Return to the Paeng family right now."
Their eyes glazed over blankly.
"Go back and play the vile wastrels you all wish to be. Poison your brothers' food, fight until your sides split, lust after your father's women... use any means necessary to turn the Paeng family into a cesspool."
Part of me wanted to herd these worms together, brew them into a gu poison, and order them to slaughter each other—brothers, father, mother, grandfathers, the works. But they were still Paeng Daesan's brothers. If he wanted it later, there'd be time enough. This would do for now.
Once the command was given, they rose like puppets with cut strings, stumbling out of the inn.
After they were gone, I easily hoisted the unconscious Paeng Daesan from the floor.
Stepping outside, cool night air brushed my face. Stars dotted the sky, and the earlier commotion seemed like a dream—the streets were silent. A perfect night.
I carried Paeng Daesan back to the Azure Dragon Squad quarters and tossed him roughly onto his bed. Then I headed to my own room.
Stopping at the door, I froze.
On the already cramped bed, three women lay sleeping soundly. Bang Soso with her black hair splayed on one side, Haeun with her short blue hair on the other, and in the middle... the white rabbit.
The rabbit-turned-human was tall enough to tower over me by a head. With that bulk claiming the center, our already tight bed for me, Soso, and Haeun was utterly packed.
There wasn't even a sliver of space for me to squeeze in.
"Ha..."
This was a double room. No space for a bigger bed, and excluding the barracks where Paeng Daesan and the squad stayed, this was the largest in the Azure Dragon Squad lodging. The squad leader's room was bigger, but the deputy couldn't just steal it. What a mess.
I'd need to get separate quarters inside the Murim Alliance soon. That'd cost a pretty penny, though...
Suddenly, I recalled the heavy pouches I'd handed to the inn waiter. Ah, should have held some back. I said he could take a cut, but who knows how much he skimmed.
Couldn't exactly crawl into the rabbit's old hutch. Floor it was.
I quietly shut the door and entered. I stripped off my outer robe, tossing it in a corner, and tested the floor. As expected, the night chill seeped into my palm. But I could handle it by adjusting my body temperature with self-suggestion.
Before bed, one last task.
I dragged over the heavy iron box I'd gotten from Jegal Seo earlier that day. Opening the lid released a chill, revealing three dark blades with bluish edges.
Mad Demon Swords.
I laid them all out on the floor. Gripping the hilt of the nearest one, I closed my eyes.
The Demonic Energy slumbering inside me stirred. Black energy flowed up my arm, drawing out the Demonic Energy infused in the Mad Demon Sword.
Gulp— gulp—
Like a starving beast, my senior Demonic Energy voraciously devoured the junior energies within the swords. One blade, then another. After absorbing the third, the Demonic Energy writhing inside me felt distinctly different.
The total amount had roughly doubled. I'd already absorbed one before, so three more should make it quadruple by simple math—but it wasn't. Instead of quantity, quality had changed. The density was incomparably higher.
I opened my palm. The condensed Demonic Energy writhed atop it, soon forming a sword shape.
Shing—
The black energy blade differed from typical murim swords. Slightly curved blade, sharp tip, single-edged. It resembled the katanas from the island nation across the eastern sea.
Sharp-looking.
I twirled the Demonic Energy sword in my hand. Thanks to the higher density, it stretched thinner and longer than before, yet its strength had increased. Far tougher than those notoriously fragile single-trick katanas. Unless Paeng Daesan—possessed by Byeok Cheonwi—slashed it, it wouldn't break.
I dispersed the energy in my hand. The black sword vanished like smoke.
Fatigue crashed over me. My feet naturally turned toward the bed. I had planned to drift off kneading Soso's soft, ample breasts as usual. But my steps halted.
"......"
The bed was still full. With a small sigh, I just lay down on the floor. The hard, cold sensation pressed against my back, but exhaustion won out. Eyes closed, deep sleep claimed me instantly.
How long had I slept?
"...Shadowless."
A faint voice pulled me slowly awake. It was early dawn, darkness not yet lifted. The sleepy voice was a woman's.
I sat up and glanced at the bed. Soso, Haeun, and the rabbit—all still deep asleep. The call came from outside the door.
Jegal Seo, maybe?
Perhaps here to finish flashing her breasts from the archive yesterday. Nah, unlikely. Head fuzzy, I called toward the door,
"Who is it?"
After a brief silence, a cold, familiar voice answered from outside.
"Your master."
Sleep vanished in an instant.
⚠️ EMERGENCY ⚠️ EMERGENCY. EMERGENCY. EMERGENCY.
Warning alarms blared madly in my head.
Master? At this hour? What the hell?
I scrambled up and shouted,
"J-Just a moment, Master!"
I quickly checked my state. Sniffed myself—no odd smells, thankfully.
I went to the bed and pulled the blankets up to cover the three women still deep asleep. Then I tiptoed to the door, cracking it open just enough to slip out without a gap.
Outside, in the cool dawn air, my master waited. Her hair neatly pinned up, clad in black robes as always.
But her expression brimmed with dissatisfaction as she looked at me.