Chapter 301: Jade Kirin
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 301: Jade Kirin
A lizard's small brain.
No, now I was racking my brilliant human brain.
No matter how I looked at it, I was in human form.
I’d assumed I would revert to my lizard form upon fainting. Not considering otherwise was my mistake, if you could call it that.
I couldn't help it, having lived so long in a lizard's body.
And Master was the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?
Actually, it probably wasn't that strange.
With Master's level of martial prowess, it wouldn't have been odd for her to serve as both the Cult Leader and the Murim Alliance Lord.
Soyeong had badmouthed the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's leader so much that I figured my master couldn't possibly be such a villain. I just assumed it was someone else with a similar title.
I'd fallen for the tricks of those Orthodox Faction bastards.
Anyway, Master is the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
And I was being held in her arms in front of a bunch of burly-looking elders.
Not as a lizard, but in the body of a tall, handsome man.
So, what should I do?
“Master, I trust you have been in good health?”
I had no idea what it meant, but it was something Iron Head Dragon had said to me.
It seemed like the right thing to say in a situation like this.
“Your voice is quite pleasant to hear. If you could speak like this, why have you only used such a manner of speech until now? Gaeroon? Gaeron?”
“Hey, hey. Is this really the time for that? Our baby is so hurt… Huh? What? Why does he seem perfectly fine now?”
Of course I'd be fine. I recovered my energy thanks to Master's 'gerorong'.
My body was holding up, more or less.
But my physical condition wasn't the problem right now.
Look at this killing intent.
The elders of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, each one a formidable figure, were continuously directing their killing intent at me.
Grind.
Gnash.
Crrunch.
There were powerful masters who looked like old men, and others who still had young faces.
I could see a total of ten elders.
Among them, three were women and seven were men.
Master looked at them sending me their piercing glares and let out a short sigh.
“Elders, withdraw your killing intent. This man is my disciple.”
She resolved the situation with a single sentence.
That's my master for you.
To give such a clear-cut answer.
“The Cult Leader has a disciple?”
“How could you take someone who is not a member of our cult...!”
“This cannot be… This is unacceptable!”
Of course, it only got noisier than before.
From what I'd heard, Master had never taken a disciple before.
Her martial arts were different from anything that could be learned in the world, so no one could comprehend them.
Only I, with the body of a lizard and not a human, was able to receive her teachings.
So, I could understand why the elders were reacting this way.
After all, the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had just accepted an outsider—not even a cult member—as her direct disciple.
“Oh my, I think it's fine.”
“That's what I'm saying. He just said 'Myriad Demons Return,' didn't he? If he can say that even while half-asleep, doesn't that mean he's one of us?”
Still, it seemed not everyone was against it.
The opposition was in the majority, but should I say they were more or less split into two factions?
It bothered me that the opposition was mostly composed of drab old men, while the supporters were, for some reason, the 'gerorong'-ing women, but hey, what's good is good, right?
“Cult Leader, is this true? Even for you, Cult Leader, it is unacceptable to take an unproven man as your disciple!”
A bald old man stepped forward.
Does that old geezer have two lives or something?
Still, the fact that he could make such a statement in front of Master, and that she only frowned slightly, suggested he was a man of solid standing.
“You have never taken a single disciple, so to do this so suddenly is troubling! How can you forsake the countless followers of our cult and try to make such a man your disciple!”
Try to make me her disciple?
I already am her disciple, though?
“First Elder. Does the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult require the elders' permission to take a disciple?”
Master spoke in an icy voice.
The man called the First Elder flinched for a moment, but his spirit wasn't completely broken.
“That is not the case, but... To accept such a man as your disciple, passing over the many brilliant youths of our cult, fills this old one with no small amount of concern.”
The elder's point was this.
Someone of unknown origin should not become the Cult Leader's disciple.
If she, who has never had a disciple, were to take in an outsider, the followers' dissatisfaction would be immense.
At first glance, it was understandable, but his ulterior motive was likely related to his own position.
Being called the First Elder, he was likely the highest-ranking among them, and excluding Seol-hwa, he would be the next most powerful person after Master.
With the sudden appearance of Master's disciple, he had no choice but to be wary.
If I just kept my mouth shut, Master would mediate on her own.
But I was growing faint again; it felt like I was about to lose consciousness and collapse.
Since I couldn't replenish my 'gerong' with everyone watching, it would be best to resolve this matter first.
In a situation where I was being challenged, what could I do?
The best thing was to prove my worth.
I just had to show that the old man's challenge couldn't put a single scratch on me.
Fwoosh.
With a fluid motion, I reached into the Flame Dragon's robes.
“Th-that outrageous...!”
The First Elder was about to erupt in fury.
But he couldn't finish his sentence.
Because he had seen the two inner cores in my hand.
Holding the inner cores of the Thunder Bird and the Ice Dragon, I knelt before my master.
“Your unworthy disciple, Go-Hui, has returned after dealing with those who dared to look down on the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, as you commanded.”
I had hunted two Profound Realm spirit beasts. Who would dare challenge me now?
“Yes. It was a difficult task, but you have done very well.”
In contrast to the First Elder's face, which turned dark, Master's face brightened.
*
A short session of Master doting on and boasting about her disciple followed.
If my body had been perfectly fine, she seemed to be in the mood to carry me around on her back, but unfortunately, I was in a state where I needed treatment.
And so, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's meeting was dismissed for the time being.
I received treatment from the cult's most prized physician.
Strangely, I was overcome with drowsiness and was practically asleep during the treatment, but there was no major discomfort.
Just as I was thinking the physician's skills were quite excellent, familiar white cotton balls began to approach me.
“Kiooong!”
It's Tus and Pus, isn't it?
Tus and Pus rubbed their faces all over my body as if to greet me.
If Tus and Pus are here, that means...
“You shouldn't do that to a patient!”
So the cult's prized physician was Soyeong.
It made sense. When it came to healing the bodies of spirit beasts, there was no one more suitable than her.
“Kiong?”
“No, it's not just that. Miss Mijiju, Miss Wanjiju. How could you?”
“Kiooong?”
Mijiju, Wanjiju.
Pus has a tail, so she used the character for tail, mi (尾), to call her Mijiju.
Tus has thick forelegs, so she used the character for arm, wan (腕), to call her Wanjiju.
Such naming sense was just like Soyeong.
But what was wrong with what Tus and Pus were doing?
I wasn't seriously injured, so I could handle them rubbing their butts on me.
“Kiek?”
Tus's movements as she tried to find my tail felt a little disrespectful, but it was no big deal.
“Mmm-hmm.”
Just then, a fair, beautiful hand cupped my cheek.
Nephila stroked my face repeatedly, making a pleased sound.
“Even Miss Geumjiju...! No, are you all going to be like this? How could you? Miss Parrotbill even fainted just from seeing his face!”
“Huh?”
“I know he's handsome, but still! Did none of you have any self-control? If Hero Go finds out, you'll all be in big trouble!”
Nephila wore an expression that seemed to say, What nonsense is this human spouting now?
Could it be that Soyeong didn't know I was the Hero Go she was talking about?
Then again, that seemed normal.
I'd only been in my lizard form all this time, so it would be strange if she recognized me.
Of course, the spirit beasts seemed to recognize me without difficulty, but it would be a hard task for a 100% pure human Tang-something.
Anyway, Soyeong was in a situation where she thought I was some other man, not Gomodo.
I couldn't help but feel mischievous.
“Umm....”
I slowly sat up.
“Ah, patient. Are you awake?”
A physician is a physician, I guess.
Soyeong quickly rushed over.
“How long was I out?”
Soyeong's eyebrow twitched.
Why is this man speaking so informally?
That was the look on her face.
“Not long. Your body is so firm... no, I mean, sturdy.”
Soyeong quickly averted her gaze.
...Come to think of it, my clothes seemed a bit different.
My top was gone, replaced by bandages.
I didn't know why, but I could also see a few spiderwebs.
“My clothes... did you take them off?”
“Huh? Ah, well, yes. It was necessary to apply the bandages.”
Her reaction is a bit strange.
Soyeong is supposed to be bubbly, but should I say she's become a bit cold?
Did something bad happen to her?
Let's try complimenting her.
“Anyway, your skills are really good. I fell asleep without even realizing you were treating me.”
“I hear that a lot.”
Look at this.
The Soyeong I knew would have giggled and been happy.
Tap, tap.
I patted the blanket I was sitting on.
“...What is it?”
“What do you mean, 'what is it'? I'm telling you to come here.”
Soyeong shook her head.
“Excuse me, you seem to be acting this way because you trust in your looks. But that won't work on me, you know?”
Soyeong said, slightly averting her gaze.
“I am already spoken for. You should try those tricks on someone else.”
Tang-what's-her-name said something shocking.
Wait, Soyeong was married?
So... with that body, she was a married woman?
“Spoken for? What, you were married?”
“We're not married yet, but you could say our relationship is even deeper than that. ...But why are you speaking so informally? You're not angry because you can't be with me, are you?”
“Jjaeaek?”
It was more shocking than when I found out that Pteranodons and Mosasauruses weren't dinosaurs.
I felt strangely weird for no reason.
“Ah... I'm sorry, but please refrain from making that face. Miss Parrotbill, who just woke up, fainted again because of it.”
“Jjaekrororong....”
Why does Chirpy keep fainting?
“Anyway, I'm sorry. There is already someone I have promised my heart to.”
Who decided she was spoken for?
The lifelong physician of the Gaegaek Cult.
“Who is it?”
“It's Hero Go... No, what's the point in telling you this. Anyway, just know that's how it is.”
Yeah, that figures.
Well, since she's a follower of Gaegaek, maybe it's not so strange for her to say she's married to Gaegaek.
“Hero Go?”
Now that the unidentifiable anxiety had vanished, it was time to tease Soyeong.
Judging from her reactions so far, it seemed she had no idea that I was me.
“Does Hero Go treat you well?”
“Huh? Ahem, ahem. Of course. He treats me so well. He listens to everything I say, and when I tell him to come here, he comes. The only problem is that other people get jealous because he likes me so much, but what can you do? It's not my fault I've captured Hero Go's heart.”
“Ki... kiong?”
Pus made a face as if she'd never heard such a thing in her life.
“Pfft.”
If it were up to me, I'd have watched a little longer, but after hearing such lies, I couldn't hold it in anymore.
“...Why are you laughing?”
“No reason. I was just wondering if I really did all that.”
“Huh? What nonsense are you spouting....”
Soyeong couldn't finish her sentence.
She stared back and forth between my face and my body, her own face turning red as a beet.
“N-no way... A-a-a-are you Hero Go?”
Not Hero Go-go-go-go, but yes, I'm Hero Go.
“Yeah.”
At that, she leaped up on the spot like a cat.
“Hyaak! Wh-what is this form? It's a foul... a foul! No, why didn't you tell me right away, why did you lie....”
She gulped and took a stance as if she were about to pounce at any moment.
Then she shook her head.
It seemed she was trying to hold something back.
Seeing her hands twitching, it looked like she wanted to do the 'Illuwat' [Come here] gesture like she did when she saw my smaller form, but perhaps she felt burdened doing it to a human body instead of a lizard's.
It was such a Soyeong-like thought that I couldn't help but laugh.
I brought my face a little closer and said playfully.
“Why? Aren't you going to tell me to 'come here' this time?”
Soyeong's dumpling-like hair buns started flapping wildly.
“Uwek....”
Her small body trembled, showing she was completely flustered.
“Illu... Illu...!”
Soyeong, about to strike the 'Illuwat' pose.
Whenever she struck that pose, I would always respond with a 'Kkang'.
But now, I didn't have a tail, so I couldn't give her a 'Kkang'.
So, for Soyeong, this might have been the perfect opportunity.
Kkang!
But despite that, the sound of a 'Kkang' rang out.
“Hgyak!”
As if wanting to escape the situation, Soyeong hit herself on the crown of her own head.
Truly, a very Soyeong-like conclusion.