Chapter 137: Soft, Cushiony, Springy, Smooth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 137: Soft, Cushiony, Springy, Smooth
Gaechalgoatal’s memories flashed by in an instant.
Shouldn’t one’s final memories usually be given time to be savored?
The evil before him hadn’t allowed even that brief moment.
There was no time to reminisce about the precious memories he shared with the Snake Queen.
The only memory that remained for him was something that had happened not long ago.
He had met a human.
A human with the surname Namgung.
*
“Did you say you were looking for a spirit beast friendly to humans?”
“That is correct.”
A lone human had entered the 100,000 Great Mountains.
His appearance was neither too shabby nor particularly neat.
He was just an ordinary human one might find anywhere.
The internal energy he exuded, even at a generous estimate, did not surpass the Peak Realm.
His eyes, so small you couldn’t tell if they were open or closed, also spoke of him being an ordinary human with nothing special about him.
But something was strange.
It was hard to explain in words, but he felt something far from ordinary.
Though it was the first time he’d seen the man’s face, he felt a sense of familiarity.
It could have just been a feeling.
But there was no harm in talking.
If the man was hiding something foul, he could just be made into a meal.
The two found they could converse better than expected, and eventually, Gaechalgoatal obtained information about a spirit beast friendly to humans.
A spirit beast friendly to humans.
The King of Birds replied with a bizarre smile.
“Is one not right here? This King of Birds, who is friendly to humans.”
The man before him was of the Namgung clan.
He didn't know the details of the place called the Central Plains, but Gaechalgoatal's master had told him stories about the outside world a few times.
The Namgung name had its uses.
After all, Gaechalgoatal’s ambitions didn’t end with conquering this jungle.
Take the Snake Queen, then take this entire vast mountain range.
After that, he planned to venture into the wide Central Plains.
“You have a fine sense of humor. There are more than a few beings clinging to your side.”
I’ll use this human in front of me.
That was Gaechalgoatal’s thought.
Brainwashing him would be good, but brainwashing a human was no easy task.
Besides, if he tried to brainwash this human who was hiding something he couldn’t comprehend and some side effect occurred, it would be a disaster.
A man who sought to negotiate rather than cower in fear upon seeing him.
To act in such a way meant he had something to rely on.
“Khuhuhut. You are a bold human. Well, I will look, but there are likely few spirit beasts friendly to humans.”
“That is fine. The significance lies in narrowing down the territory bit by bit.”
“Right. The unicorn. You could say he’s friendly, if you want to call it that… Of course, you won’t be able to catch him with any ordinary method.”
The unicorn.
Gaechalgoatal himself had tried to capture the unicorn several times.
But far from catching it, he couldn’t even observe it with his own eyes.
“A unicorn. It piques my interest, but that is not the one.”
“Not the one?”
“The being I seek is the one who will become closest to a dragon.”
The human-faced bird’s eyebrow twitched.
A dragon.
The legendary divine beast revered by all beings in this jungle.
Of course, there were countless beings here that could be called lesser dragons.
But they only resembled dragons; they could never be called true dragons.
“Closest to a dragon? Do you dare say such a thing in the presence of this King of Birds?”
Guuuuuu….
The King of Birds did not hide his displeasure.
He was the one closest to a dragon.
After him would be the Snake Queen.
Who would dare to get ahead of him?
“Calm yourself. I do not mean to insult you. The prophecy says so.”
“A prophecy?”
It was a rather intriguing word.
“Indeed. A tale that a divine and powerful being will be born in these 100,000 Great Mountains.”
A divine and powerful being.
The King of Birds laughed heartily at the story.
“Khahahat! Is that story not referring to me!”
He was the one closest to a dragon.
Therefore, the prophecy must be pointing to him.
“…That may be so, but there is a possibility that the prophecy speaks of more than one being.”
“Oho. And you wish to take this other one for yourself?”
Gaechalgoatal’s mind raced.
Another spirit beast that could become a dragon.
If the man’s words were true, it was like having a chance to obtain a rare inner core.
“You’re telling me to capture it. That will be a bit difficult.”
“There is no need to capture it.”
“Can I kill it? Then there would be no reason to catch it.”
“That is fine. If it dies, it means it was only that strong. In that case, you would truly be the one in the prophecy.”
Gaechalgoatal flapped his massive wings.
There was nothing for him to lose in this deal.
If he truly met a being close to a dragon, he would kill it and swallow it whole.
The man from the Namgung clan would have to acknowledge it.
That Gaechalgoatal was the being from the prophecy.
The man could be spouting nonsense.
Prophecies were, after all, interpreted however the listener wished.
But that was fine too.
Even just pretending to search would allow him to use the Namgung man.
And if no such being appeared, it would prove that he himself was the one from the prophecy.
A spirit beast friendly to humans.
The one closest to a dragon.
A pure curiosity also arose in him.
If there truly was a being closest to a dragon, he would recognize it the moment he saw it.
And killing it meant he could reach the state of a dragon.
He accepted the deal with the man.
What he gained in return was the man’s information, a trove of stories unknown even to him, who had lived for ages.
While the King of Birds used that information to devise a plan to completely subjugate the Snake Queen, he waited for the one closest to a dragon.
But there were no significant findings.
At best, he had once seen a lizard with dragon scales, but such creatures were a dime a dozen.
It was a weak being that posed no threat.
The King of Birds sat in his nest, conserving his strength.
He had gotten what he needed from the man, so there was no need to actively seek out that being.
Unless it appeared before him of its own accord, he could ignore it for the time being.
That was Gaechalgoatal’s thought.
*
The Tai Sui had gone berserk, and he had failed to kill even a single lizard.
In the final moments, as the flame of his life flickered out, he saw it.
The very lizard he had tried to kill was crawling into the arms of a human.
It was a ridiculous story.
Lizards do not drink milk.
Yet, it was making such a movement while unconscious?
Only then did he realize.
What a spirit beast friendly to and close with humans meant.
And what the spirit beast who would become closest to a dragon meant.
In that fleeting moment, Gaechalgoatal understood the source of that power.
A truth he had desperately tried to deny.
He was not a dragon.
The dragon was that black lizard.
The filthy lizard that had fainted between a pair of breasts was the one closest to a dragon.
It was absurd, yet there was nothing he could do.
Would the future have been different if he had killed it the moment they first met?
Would the result have been different if he had acted himself instead of leaving it to the Jian Birds?
It had walked into his grasp several times on its own, but Gaechalgoatal had missed every single chance.
Regretful to the very end, the King of Birds closed his eyes for eternity.
*
I can’t open my eyes.
All I can do right now is find the most comfortable place possible.
“…Do you like this so much?”
Soft and squishy.
Fluffy and cushiony.
I found the optimal position.
One hand grabbing the soft and squishy.
The other hand grabbing the fluffy and cushiony.
Springy.
I liked it very much.
It was like slipping into a bed with the electric blanket already turned on in the middle of winter.
My mind and body were at ease.
Even when I fidgeted, it just jiggled without any real disturbance.
“Gek-gek-gek.”
Sometimes when I nibbled, I could chew on something.
Nice, very nice.
But there was one drawback.
It was a bit too warm.
It wasn’t bad, but I felt like I needed to go out for a breath of air at least once.
I squirmed my way out of the cozy space.
Before returning, however, I found another space that was just as alluring.
“Ohohot, yes. I knew you would like it.”
Swoop.
This place was amazing too.
Soft and squishy.
Sleek and smooth.
The difference from before was that this one was cool.
It was the perfect place to cool down my heated body.
I nibbled here and there, rolling around and smearing my saliva all over before coming out once more.
Something else was calling to me.
It wasn’t very big.
If what I had experienced so far was a bed, this was more like a pillow.
“Chirp…”
It felt like a pillow stuffed with high-quality duck down.
It was fluffy and warmed my head.
A fluttering fanning motion kept the temperature just right.
It tasted pretty good, too.
Not bad.
Shwok.
I pulled myself away from the pillow.
There were many beds and pillows waiting for me.
I have to try lying on all of them at least once.
Swoop.
“Swish-Swish…”
A sleek, smooth sensation enveloped my entire body.
It was neither a bed nor a pillow.
Right.
This is a blanket.
It felt similar to Bed No. 2.
And this one was even cooler.
I didn’t feel anything massive, but the texture was in no way inferior.
I even felt something damp caressing my body.
Somehow, it felt like my body was recovering.
But it had a fatal flaw: it was a little hard to breathe.
I’ll put this one on hold for now and move on to the next.
Chomp.
Ooh.
I like this.
This one could be called a bamboo wife.
Its overall size was similar to mine, and the temperature was moderately cool.
The sleek texture was quite nice as well.
It even seemed to have an acupressure function, as it gently chewed on my head…
“Keeeeek…”
I heard a familiar sound.
I peeked my eyes open to see a triangular face glaring at me.
“Kekekekek!”
…It was Old Man Compy.
“Gek-gek-gek!”
Whoa, that scared me.
What’s the old man doing here!
The old man glared at me as if he would not forgive me.
…….
Was I just hugging that old man?
Then what about Bed No. 1 and No. 2? And the pillow and the blanket?
“Shhhlick…”
Swish-Swish flicked her tongue.
“Chirp!”
Chirpy flapped her wings.
Both of them looked a bit damp, as if covered in someone’s saliva.
….
Don’t tell me it was me?
Were they the ones I’ve been hugging all this time?
Then what about the beds?
“My dear. Are you finally awake?”
The Snake Queen smiled faintly.
Her daring outfit was always a sight to behold, but I had grown somewhat used to it by now.
The problem was the blue-eyed woman sitting next to the Snake Queen.
My master, Baek Yeon-yeong.
Unlike her usual self, something about her was… magnificent.
Her naturally disheveled appearance.
She was covered in drool here and there, and her clothes were loosened.
“To have your clothes undone like this… I do not understand your intention. And why have you smeared so much saliva on me?”
…Did I do that?
“Every time I tried to fix them, you would gek-gek and try to bite my fingers.”
I have no memory of that.
“It seems I must teach you again from the very basics.”
This is unfair.
“Huiya, are you prepared?”
There’s a saying that when a lizard dies, the elixirs that went before it are waiting.
I really believe that story now…
“Gek-ge-ge-gek!”