Chapter 241: The Divine Beast of the Tang Clan, Gomodo
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 241: The Divine Beast of the Tang Clan, Gomodo
“Hah!”
He had only been unconscious for a moment, but Tang Muyeong quickly came to.
His mind had briefly shut down after receiving more information than it could process.
“Soyeong. I think I might be misunderstanding something, so I’ll ask again… This person, Hero Go… he’s a lizard, right?”
“That’s right.”
The Hero Go that Tang Soyeong spoke of was a lizard.
That fact seemed immutable.
“…A being with the status of a spirit beast, one that can transform into a human?”
Marriages between spirit beasts and humans were rare, but not unheard of. If both could take human form, it wasn't impossible.
He thought so, but he couldn't shake his doubts. Didn't she keep calling it a lizard? If she was calling a four-legged, scaled creature a lizard, wouldn't the much better name ‘dragon’ exist?
“Umm… I don’t think he can turn into a human.”
“Khhhk! Gasp, khaaa…”
Tang Muyeong desperately tried to calm his breathing.
Then did she mean a real lizard?
“Hey, but he’s still on a much higher level than most spirit beasts.”
There were a few high-level spirit beasts that didn't favor human form. Tang Muyeong wondered if this was one of those cases.
Of course, he still wondered why such a creature would covet a human woman.
“Looks aren’t that important, I suppose. Yes, as long as we can communicate, what couldn’t work…”
Hearing this, Tang Soyeong’s expression turned strange.
“…Don’t tell me.”
“Umm, I don’t think he’s very good at speaking human language yet.”
He can’t even speak human language!
If he can’t take human form or speak human words, isn’t he just a lizard?
Tang Muyeong had no choice but to accept that this ‘Hero Go’ was a lizard, plain and simple.
From what Tang Soyeong said, he wasn't just any lizard, but a massive one.
He'd somehow managed to accept that, so now it was time to clear up the misunderstanding.
“…So, was it that ‘Hero Go’ who did that to you?”
Tang Soyeong tilted her head. Her brother was being vague.
“The fact that your dear brother couldn’t recognize you at first glance.”
Only then did Tang Soyeong realize what he was talking about, her face turning slightly red.
“…How did you know?”
She showed a bashfulness that was unlike her. Wasn't she the tomboyish Tang Soyeong?
Tang Muyeong couldn't help but be shocked. He was seeing an expression he had never seen before, all because of that lizard.
“It’s a precious gift from him. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
She carefully cradled her chest.
“Kuaaaargh!”
Seeing that, Tang Muyeong had another fit.
“No! Over my dead body…!”
But then he saw a bit of dirt in Soyeong’s hand and immediately shut his mouth.
Still, if there was any good news, it was that he would get to see this ‘Hero Go’ fellow’s face.
It meant he could prepare a special poison and force that wicked lizard to reveal its true intentions.
The fact that it couldn't speak was a problem, but he would manage somehow.
The image of that lizard kept flickering in Tang Muyeong’s mind.
No, if it were a furry beast, he could have understood. Erotic paintings sometimes depicted… certain scenes with fox-eared women.
But a lizard.
And they had even exchanged wedding vows.
Why, of all things, a lizard?
At that moment, Tang Muyeong suddenly recalled something. Hadn't he heard that there was a being in these 100,000 Great Mountains impersonating Gomodo?
Could it be the same creature as the lizard presumed to be Tang Soyeong’s husband?
Now the pieces were falling into place.
The reason Tang Soyeong of the Tang Clan had fallen for him must be because he was impersonating Gomodo.
It also made sense why Tang Soyeong was hiding some information from him.
Kuddeudeuk.
Ominous poisons began to gather in Tang Muyeong’s dantian.
This was no longer just a matter of his sister’s marriage.
A wicked being who dared to impersonate Gomodo had even laid a hand on a member of the Tang Clan.
For the honor of the Tang Clan, and for Soyeong, he had to eliminate this creature.
Of course, Soyeong still considered him her husband, so he would have to meet him first.
“…What’s this building doing in the mountains? No, it seems bigger than most palaces.”
“It’s pretty nice, right?”
Soyeong giggled.
Gomodo’s nest was extraordinary from its sheer size alone.
After all, it needed space for massive spirit beasts like the Red Dragon and the Snake Queen to sleep.
The expert Gakisu had built a nest that would be satisfactory in any form.
Sturdy and comfortable.
“One husband, hehe…”
“One husbaaaand… one husband?”
The Gakisu were giggling before they tilted their heads.
“A… a Gakisu!”
They had spotted the stranger with Tang Soyeong.
“One husbaaaaaand!”
“No meeeen! One husbaaaand! One husbaaaaaand!”
Their behavior wasn't very spirit-beast-like, but judging by the power they possessed, the Gakisu, who could only be spirit beasts, showed a furious aura.
“Ah, don’t worry. My older brother is here to pay his respects to Hero Go.”
The Gakisu, who had been angry enough to ram him with their horns, instantly became docile.
“Hehe… Meeting the in-laws.”
“Hehe… One husband, many wives…”
They disappeared with a swish, wagging their tails like puppies.
Witnessing this series of events, Tang Muyeong could only be dumbfounded.
“…Were Gakisu always like this?”
“I was a little surprised at first too, but you get used to it after a while. Though the way they suddenly appear and disappear is still surprising.”
“Is this Hero Go fellow commanding the legendary Gakisu? Tsk, looking at this alone, he seems decent… No, no.”
Someone who could command the Gakisu. He had never heard or seen of such a being.
Seeing him handle such powerful spirit beasts, he could tell that even a fake Gomodo was no ordinary being.
‘Then again, someone with mediocre power couldn't possibly impersonate Gomodo.’
“Here, could you wait in this room for a bit? I’ll check if Hero Go is back from his hunt and let him know you’re here.”
Tang Soyeong guided him to a room near the entrance.
The furniture seemed to be sized for a human body, but the door was several times larger. It seemed to be a clear statement that Tang Soyeong’s husband was not human.
“Kioong.”
“Kieng.”
He blankly watched as two spiders served him tea.
The Tang Clan had a close relationship with spirit beasts, but the ones here felt foreign even to them.
How on earth could a spider serve tea?
And looking closely, they seemed somewhat familiar.
His throat parched, Tang Muyeong gulped down the hot tea.
One of the spiders, watching him intently, offered him tea again, but this time it was cool, not hot.
Traditionally, drinking cold tea was considered uncultured, but for Tang Muyeong right now, it was more than welcome.
It could cool his burning insides, if only a little.
“W-wait. It must have come from the same teapot, so why is it cold?”
The question came too late; the spiders had already left the room, chirping “kieeeng.”
Still, thanks to them, his insides had calmed down somewhat.
Tang Muyeong contemplated how to act when he saw the lizard.
Should he unleash a deadly poison the moment he saw its face?
No, he was still Soyeong’s husband; he couldn’t take its life.
If nothing else, a new life was already growing inside her belly.
The thought made him depressed all over again.
If it hadn't impersonated Gomodo, he might have been able to rationalize it somehow, but if it had crossed that line, he had no choice but to fulfill his duty to the Tang Clan.
Still, it didn't seem to have said so itself, and Soyeong had called him Hero Go, not Hero Gomodo, so there was a chance this was all a misunderstanding.
Or, with a very, very, very low probability, he was the real Gomodo.
It was as absurd a notion as the chests of the Tang Clan's women growing larger.
A sound came from outside the door.
“Is it okay to meet him right away?”
“Gekgek.”
“That’s Hero Go for you. Ah, what are you doing?”
Gekgek? What a strange cry, he was thinking.
“No! My precious thing…! What will I do if you take that!”
A desperate scream rang out.
“Give it back! I said give it back! The gift I received from Hero Go… it’s more precious than my life!”
Tang Muyeong had no more time to think.
He kicked the door open and rushed toward Soyeong.
“You baaaaastard!”
He quickly took a stance to protect Tang Soyeong and drew up his poisonous aura.
Tang Soyeong was in tears.
Seeing her clutching her chest, that black lizard must have done something too terrible to speak of.
Just as he was about to launch himself at the lizard…
‘…Her chest?’
Why was she clutching her chest?
Tang Muyeong’s gaze fell on Soyeong once more.
Looking closely, hadn't she returned to the form he remembered?
“My Plumpness Pill! Give it back, you lizard!”
Plumpness Pill?
Then the precious gift she had received from the lizard wasn't a child, but a Plumpness Pill?
Was that why she seemed to have gained weight?
Even so, nothing changed.
He had abandoned the thought of killing it with poison, but it still had to pay the price for daring to touch his sister.
The precious jewel of the Tang Clan.
For making her cry, a punishment of having all that white fur plucked out should be appropriate.
‘…White fur?’
It was clearly a lizard, so why did it have fur?
Tang Muyeong’s gaze turned to the black lizard.
It was a creature far too massive to be called a lizard.
Its hard, black scales, no different from a dragon’s, were intricately patterned like the night sky, and its unconcealed, sharp claws were each like a peerless treasured sword.
Fur doesn't grow on lizards, but this one had a long mane of pure white fur running down its back. Moreover, he could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary fur, but of the same material as the fur of a Fire-light Beast, which repels fire energy.
Furthermore, for a mere lizard, it had two horns, and there was even a Dragon Pearl floating around it.
How could one possibly call that a mere lizard?
Most importantly, there was its long tail, about twice the length of its body.
The lizard had many distinctive features, but if he had to pick just one, it would be that long, beautiful tail.
Tail.
The word echoed in Tang Muyeong’s mind.
Gomodo means ‘Old Death with a Tail’.
Most beasts have tails, so why was the character for ‘tail’ specifically in Gomodo’s name?
Tang Muyeong instantly realized the answer to his question.
Fwoosh.
Tang Muyeong, who had been leaping as if to fly, hastily lowered his center of gravity.
Chwaaaak!
Tang Muyeong dropped to the ground with incredible speed.
His head was bowed, and his knees touched the earth.
In other words, a full prostration.
Taking a posture that could be called the height of reverence, Tang Muyeong spoke to the black lizard before him—no.
He spoke to the Divine Beast of the Tang Clan.
“Tang Muyeong, the young head of the Tang Clan, greets the Grandmaster!”