The Heavenly Demon Cult Serial Murder Case: #5 — No Chinese Allowed, Ever
Seolgajik looked exactly the same as he had a week ago—nothing but skin stretched over bone, eyes sunken deep into their sockets. Yet somehow, he seemed… prettier?
Cheong’s powers of observation were exactly what you’d expect from someone of her background. If someone secretly moved into her house, rearranged the furniture, and slowly stole her food, she would probably chalk it up to her imagination and remain blissfully unaware for a solid week.
If even I noticed something, it must be a pretty drastic change. What the hell? Why does he look prettier? Did his nose bridge get narrower? His face shape seems a bit more delicate too.
Cheong stared intently at Seolgajik’s face. After a long moment, she finally pinpointed the decisive difference.
That’s right. The eyes!
Originally, Seolgajik had long, narrow eyes with pupils the size of millet grains, making him look exactly like some shadowy mastermind who never fully opened his eyes. But now those eyes… or rather, what the hell? Since when do a man’s eyes—
Cheong recoiled in utter disgust.
What the fuck are those eyelashes…?
Of course, Cheong didn’t keep that thought to herself. She wasn’t the type to hold back.
“Did you glue on fake eyelashes?”
Seolgajik answered in his usual dry tone.
“It’s a side effect.”
“The Shounu Huanxi Jing (Classic of Maidenly Delight) is technically a Fairy Art, but is it really that strong?”
Hadn’t the manual said from the very beginning that a fairy had created it? But did it seriously boost appearance stats like this?
Even if Cheong had chosen to play as male, the appearance stat would probably have worked the same way. In that case, raising it would have made her handsome, not pretty.
Seolgajik kindly resolved her confusion.
“It’s because I originally trained in the Taeeum Oknyeo Singong.”
“Taeeum Oknyeo Singong?”
Whenever Cheong didn’t know something, the entire world could instantly tell how ignorant she was just by looking at her face.
“It’s a nasty Demonic Art that turns you into a woman. I replaced it with the Ice Heaven Asura Demonic Art, but I never realized the Shounu Huanxi Jing (Classic of Maidenly Delight) was a legitimate orthodox teaching. I always thought the Hall of Ecstasy was nothing but a den of lewd harlots.”
The Shounu Huanxi Jing (Classic of Maidenly Delight) was a divine art that subdued demonic energy and converted it into pure, refined true qi. It was also a martial art that followed the Daoist principle of the Mean.
Because the Shounu Huanxi Jing (Classic of Maidenly Delight) had suppressed and purified the Ice Heaven Asura Demonic Art, the original Taeeum Oknyeo Singong that had been replaced was now reviving.
Oknyeo meant a woman as pure as jade—clean both inside and out. Taeeum referred to the most refined, supreme yin energy. In other words, it was the cultivation method of an upright and pure beauty. It walked the path of righteousness.
Which meant it was perfectly compatible with the Shounu Huanxi Jing (Classic of Maidenly Delight) through selective mutual generation.
“Uh… so what exactly does that mean?”
“It means the Ice Heaven Asura Demonic Art I barely managed to learn has scattered, and the accomplishments I once had in the Taeeum Singong have returned. No, actually, my achievement is even higher than before.”
Right. That’s what’s supposed to happen…
I’m the weird one. Just me. Alone.
Cheong forcefully swallowed the sudden surge of emotion threatening to burst out.
That was simply the natural characteristic of inner energy for the primitive natives of ancient China. Compatible true qi would be absorbed into the highest one, while the rest would simply dissipate. Only when their levels were equal would compatible mental techniques coexist through mutual generation without rejecting each other. Or, in rare cases like theShounu Huanxi Jing (Classic of Maidenly Delight), some mysterious arts that remained completely separate.
People like Cheong couldn’t just learn whatever they wanted. If incompatible true qi fought each other inside the body and wandered the meridians without the owner’s control, the Central Plains called that phenomenon qi deviation.
The only reason Cheong remained fine was because of character correction. Because this was a character’s body. Not a real person. Not me.
It was then that true qi suddenly flowed out from Cheong’s dantian.
It gently caressed every pressure point in her body, slowly spreading throughout her entire system and filling her with warmth. It was the great mercy and compassion of the Daejeong Seongong.
The image felt somehow like a gentle smile, and her gloomy mood melted away completely in an instant.
Yeah. I think, therefore I am. In this world, there are four races—Yellow, Red, Black, and those damn Chinese bastards. So I’ll just consider Seomun Cheong as the fifth one.
Cheong broke into a bright, cheerful grin and asked,
“Whoa. You escaped being a eunuch in one shot? Should I congratulate you?”
“Unfortunately, in the North Sea, they also call the Taeeum Singong the Stone Maiden Art.”
“Ah, so it’s basically the same thing. That’s too bad.”
Cheong offered her sincere condolences.
My friend is still a eunuch! Hmm. Actually, that’s kind of funny. Whoops, control your expression. Think sad thoughts…
Wait. Then doesn’t that make me a eunuch too?
A look of profound sorrow crossed Cheong’s face.
Seolgajik cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem. I already escaped being a eunuch. I’m just extremely insensitive. Still, because I hadn’t felt anything for so long, these days even the slightest brush makes my dick stand right up. In fact, it’s standing right now, so if you want to take a look—”
“If you ask me if I want to see it, there’s a chance this Seolgajik guy will turn into Seolganyeo. Any man’s dick I see gets chopped off immediately.”
Cheong spoke in a low, disgusted voice. No wonder his sitting posture looked so weird and hunched.
Seolgajik looked extremely satisfied. He seemed to think he had finally succeeded in sexually harassing her. After all, he had always delivered sexual harassment as naturally as flowing water.
Cheong simply hated the misguided friendship between two men, but she didn’t bother saying anything that would clearly fall on deaf ears.
For the first time, Seolgajik smiled as he pulled a booklet from his chest.
“Anyway, take this.”
The moment Cheong accepted it, her martial arts window flickered. It meant it was a manual. Since the title was written on the cover, she didn’t even need to check the window.
It was the secret manual for the Taeeum Oknyeo Singong.
She had been worried about how fiercely the Shounu Huanxi Jing (Classic of Maidenly Delight) was growing. Cheong’s internal cultivation methods had a clear limit to their growth. When even the Ice Heaven Asura Demonic Art alone wasn’t enough, a new technique to dull her senses was more than welcome.
“Whoa. A manual! You’re giving this to me?”
“I received one, so I’m simply returning one. Hmm.”
Seolgajik seemed to ponder for a moment before continuing.
“If you happen to meet anyone from the North Sea Ice Palace or the Snow Mountain, please pass it on. There’s no need to go looking for them. Just if you run into them by chance. That’s all.”
“Why don’t you deliver it yourself?”
“I have already forgiven the Ice Palace, but they probably haven’t forgiven me. So wouldn’t it be better if we simply never cross paths?”
“Ooh.”
Cheong was impressed by Seolgajik’s magnanimous demeanor. Truly befitting the vast tolerance of the Central Plains’ shining intellect. His only flaw was sexually harassing middle-aged men, but since Cheong herself enjoyed those kinds of jokes, it couldn’t really be called a flaw.
However—
“Well, it’s not that grand a thing as forgiveness. After I killed those damn bastards, set their palace on fire, and stole their manuals before running away, I felt completely refreshed. A man who has completed his revenge can sleep with his legs stretched out comfortably.”
Cheong looked at Seolgajik’s karma. It was a great demonic head with over four hundred evil deeds. Of course, in this neighborhood, the quiet ones who lived peacefully actually tended to have higher karma scores. It was the kind of place where killing your next-door neighbor counted as a good deed.
When she first met Seolgajik, she had spared him because he seemed both entertaining and useful. After that, as she came and went, she grew fond of him and found him useful, so she never considered killing him.
To Cheong, karma was nothing more than a qualification. If it reached three digits, the person could be killed. From the very beginning, her evil-slaying had nothing to do with world peace or chivalry.
The reason Cheong had started slaying evil in the first place was, in this order: to gather training points, become stronger, and survive. Second, to live in economic abundance. Third, because it was fun.
During the ten days she had gone completely insane and rampaged around, fun had temporarily taken first place, but survival had always been above it. The reason she tensed up and crouched down whenever she saw someone with high karma like Eon Yeonyeong was ultimately a desperate struggle to stay alive.
She had never played the role of an executioner who hunted down bad people, nor did she intend to in the future.
Cheong hadn’t fully realized it yet, but in her current classification system—which only had “people” and “villains”—a new category called “friends” was imperfectly squeezing its way in.
Cheong spoke to her friend.
“Ah. Speaking of which, I’ve realized something lately.”
Seolgajik’s face brightened. He thought she was finally showing the clear, refreshing eyes befitting a righteous heroine of the orthodox faction. That she was finally going to stop her meaningless slaughter.
“Oh. That’s welcome news. Then from now on—”
We’re on the same wavelength!
Cheong happily finished his sentence.
“I need to pick and choose properly before killing them. I’ve been killing literally anyone and everyone, right?”
“……?”
Seolgajik doubted his ears. Did he hear that wrong?
Whether he did or not, Cheong continued.
“So could you make me a list of the guys in the Demonic Cult who are absolutely necessary? That way, when the time comes, there will be plenty of holes in their organization.”
This was the part Cheong had regretted the most after regaining her sanity. It was good to run around looking for escape techniques. But fundamentally, ensuring survival at the moment of escape was the top priority.
“Hmm. Sorry for changing my words, but could I have that manual back? If you end up dying a dog’s death, the manual will fall into the Demonic Cult’s hands. I’d rather not get dragged into it.”
“Hey now, a spilled drink can’t be put back in the glass, you know? Is a man really going to go back on his word?”
“Even when I wasn’t a man, I wanted to live so badly that I poured water over myself every night. How much more so now?”
As expected of Seolgajik—there was nothing he could say to refute that.
So Cheong immediately got to the main point.
“The thing is, in about a month… or around that time…”
Cheong revealed everything she had learned. About Jijon Hosoin and the Cheonma Tomb. And how she planned to pretend to cooperate obediently, then smash the Heavenly Demon Soul and run away. So in preparation for that moment, she needed to take out the important figures in advance.
Cheong readily admitted her own shortcomings. Therefore, she had no shame in asking for advice from a friend who possessed a shining intellect.
Seolgajik, who had always casually called them “those damn Demonic Cult bastards,” nodded at Cheong’s plan.
“Indeed. You do have a knack for that sort of thing. Even if you run away now, the Demonic Cult won’t give up on you since you’re the key. But you’re not strong enough to fight them head-on, so you want to inflict as much fatal damage as possible before escaping. Correct?”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm. Let’s see…”
Seolgajik slowly stroked his chin.
“The best method would be to create your own faction.”
“Like you did, Seolgajik?”
Seolgajik’s eyebrows moved up and down once each.
“Well, you’re free to think whatever you want.”
“What? We’re friends, aren’t we? You’re abandoning your friend? You won’t be my friend anymore?”
“Friends cannot always be on the same side. Not betraying trust is the true virtue of friendship. Blindly taking someone’s side no matter what only creates a bad friend who ends up covering each other’s eyes.”
It was a valid point, so Cheong had nothing to say. She simply scrunched up her face.
“Ugh. You always leave me speechless. So explain it properly. What do you mean by making my own side?”
“You’re young, have outstanding beauty, and your breasts are quite large, so if you seduce a few demonic heads—”
“Rejected.”
Cheong gave an immediate answer.