Chapter 309: Heavenly Demon Moon Step
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 309: Heavenly Demon Moon Step
The Snake Queen and my master were suspiciously similar.
Of course, if you looked closely, you could tell the difference.
Their eye colors were different, and while they both maintained expressionless faces, my master’s felt much more rigid. The Snake Queen's expression sometimes faltered when she ate Okbong's honey or when I acted cute, but my master was never like that. She never showed any emotion beyond a slight lift of her lips.
That's why, on closer inspection, there were bound to be differences between them.
But if you looked even closer, you could find an unexpected similarity.
The comfort of their internal energy pouches was almost identical.
The pouch itself was slightly larger on the Snake Queen's side, and my master's body temperature was higher. But in terms of overall stability, it was safe to say they were evenly matched.
That's why even an expert like me found it difficult to distinguish between the two just by the gerorong. If their body temperatures had been the same, I wouldn't have been able to tell them apart at all.
Could this be a coincidence?
It's not something to brag about, but I've indulged in countless gerorongs. I can even feel the difference with Chodo and Soyeong. This meant these two, who were so suspiciously similar, must have some connection.
It was possible that the Snake Queen's master and my master's mother were the same person.
…Then what would that make our family tree?
“Geeeek…”
It seemed like it would get very complicated. A lizard's brain couldn't possibly sort this out.
“Chirp!”
Nothing was set in stone anyway, so I decided to just pet the cute Swish-Swish. I could figure out what to do after my master and the Snake Queen met.
Swish-Swish wagged her tail gently. She seemed happy to be on a family outing after so long.
Swish-Swish is the cute daughter.
The Snake Queen is the mom.
Then what about me?
I guess I had no choice but to be the dad.
“…Chirp?”
Of course, I'd heard some unbelievable things from the Snake Queen. Like how Swish-Swish thought of me as a younger lizard. And that when she sometimes flicked her tongue, it meant something like, ‘Hey, Gekgek-i! Big sis will treat you!’
“Hiek.”
Look at those innocent eyes. How could those be the eyes of someone older? She's just the cute Swish-Swish.
“Anyway, a wyvern. You command quite a fascinating creature.”
The three members of the reptile family were on their way to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, riding a wyvern. It seemed to be the Snake Queen's first time seeing one, too. There were pterosaurs like Pteranodons in the jungle, but they definitely looked different from wyverns.
“Kraw…”
Look at this guy. I looked closer and saw a carrot dangling from its left wing.
Where did you get that? And why are you waving it around?
“Gekgek.”
“N-No, sir!”
Right, behave yourself. I even prepared a high-class carriage and a place for you to sleep, didn't I? Where else would you find such a kind employer?
“Hmm…”
I turned my head to look at the Snake Queen. Unlike usual, she was wearing neat clothes. I'd gotten used to it, but the Snake Queen's usual appearance was so revealing you could say she barely wore any clothes at all. Even though a few scales provided some cover, it felt like you might see something if you looked from the right angle.
The Snake Queen was a devastating existence, capable of killing a man's virginity five times over. She probably had a significant stake in why my body had become like this.
And that's why I couldn't let others see her. The thought of other people looking at the Snake Queen with the same eyes as me made something surge within me.
So I had no choice but to wrap her up tightly.
“It's stifling, but I suppose I must follow my companion's wishes.”
“Chirp!”
I dressed Swish-Swish, too. She didn't really need to wear clothes, but it was a personal preference. Because if a cute snake like Swish-Swish wore cute clothes, her cuteness would be squared.
“We have the Mae-i-du-bok, so why do you forbid me from wearing it?”
“Gekgek!”
That's not allowed either! It's a dangerous outfit in many ways, whether the Snake Queen wears it or Swish-Swish wears it.
“Hmm… well, I heard the school swimsuit is about to be completed, so I suppose it doesn't matter.”
“…Geeeek?”
What did I just hear?
I knew our snake mother-daughter duo and my master were plotting something suspicious. I'd also heard they were going to recreate an outfit called a school swimsuit. But I wasn't too worried. I thought that, unlike a maid outfit, a school swimsuit would be difficult to create with the materials of this era.
But on second thought, my master is a Profound Realm master. To exaggerate a little, she's someone who can move mountains with a single gesture. It occurred to me, why wouldn't she be able to make a mere school swimsuit? Normally, a master of her caliber wouldn't make a school swimsuit, but my master was not normal.
I have to stop them. The snake mother and daughter in school swimsuits… that would be… truly…
“Gerong.”
It might not be so bad, actually.
While the good Gomodo and bad Gomodo inside me were fighting, we arrived safely at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
A brief commotion erupted when a spirit beast on the level of the Snake Queen suddenly appeared in the sky.
But who am I? Am I not Go-Hui, the direct disciple of Baek Yeon-yeong, the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?
After I cleared my throat a few times and said we needed to see my master, people scurried off to deliver the message, and the Snake Queen was granted an audience.
Even without me, since the Snake Queen, a key figure in our alliance, had come all this way herself, they would have naturally reported it to my master. Besides, the Snake Queen had been attacked by an unknown force, and she had chosen to evacuate the cultists before dealing with the Bixi. Public opinion of her was bound to be good.
Of course, the real reason she evacuated them was closer to getting hindrances out of the way of her attacks, but no one would know if I didn't say anything.
And so, Parsil and Swish-Swish went to meet my master.
I was about to wait, hoping things would go well, but…
“Oh my, Lord Hui!”
“Sir Hui!”
A crowd naturally began to gather. Usually, whenever I took human form, the cultists would slowly gather around. Well, I'm the cult leader's only disciple, so they must find me fascinating.
But today was a bit different. Should I say the crowd was larger than usual? And while the ratio was usually overwhelmingly female, now it was about half and half.
It was a situation that made me want to let out a "Geeeek," but I couldn't make lizard sounds in human form. If I opened my mouth and a "gekgegek" or "gerorong" came out, my dignity would vanish. I wondered when I ever cared about dignity, but right now I was in the position of my master's disciple, so I had to restrain myself.
"Indeed." "I understand." "Is that so."
Just as I was role-playing as a taciturn master, keeping my words to a minimum…
Step.
A group of men in blue clothes walked toward me.
I have no interest in men, but they were practically screaming for my attention. To be more precise, they weren't hiding their displeasure toward me.
I turned my head to look at the group of men. For humans, they were pretty decent. There were six of them in total, and five seemed to be at the Peak Realm. The one at the very front, I could tell, had even reached the Supreme Peak.
You might think the Supreme Peak is no big deal, but the man looked very young. He was a little younger than Tang Muyeong, and reaching that level at his age would be a tremendous achievement. Of course, I'm a lizard who reached the Transformation Realm in my second year of life, but anyone would look shabby compared to me.
Just as I was thinking he was impressive for a human…
“Lord Go-Hui. This humble one is Ma Hwi, the vice-captain of the Gwiindae.”
The man in the lead gave me a cupped-fist salute.
So your name is Ma Hwi. Nice to meet you, I'm Go-Hui.
I wanted to say that, but I was currently acting as a taciturn martial artist.
“Is that so?” I said, glancing at him indifferently. This was easy. I just had to imitate my master's usual gaze.
“I cannot express how glad I am to see you again, my lord. After all, you are the Cult Leader's only disciple. Do you know what this means?”
“I understand.”
“The other cultists are also very interested in you.”
“I see.”
Indeed, I understand, I see. Once again, I used the invincible Three Disasters Speech Method.
I listened without much thought. Why was this guy talking to me so much? Even others who seemed interested in me weren't this persistent, perhaps out of consideration for my status.
“…Therefore, I would be grateful if you would grant us the opportunity to witness even a little of your martial arts.”
I understood his purpose. It was a lighter request than I expected. It meant, ‘Show us some of the martial arts you've learned.’ He added some pedantic phrases about how it would be a great help to the other cultists, but he didn't need to say all that.
What's the big deal about showing off a martial art? So this is why he kept talking to me. Since I'm the master's only disciple, they must be curious about what kind of martial arts I use.
I felt the same way. Whenever I saw a strong person, I couldn't help but get excited about how they would fight.
I decided to demonstrate a martial art for them.
The moment I got into a stance…
…Do I have any martial arts I can use right now? All the martial arts I learned were for a lizard's body.
Ah, it'll work out somehow.
Ma Hwi laughed inwardly.
He was a peerless genius who had reached the Supreme Peak at the tender age of twenty. He had thought it was only natural that he would become the Cult Leader's disciple and dreamed of one day ascending to the position of the next leader.
But his dream was shattered. Because of that white-haired man who had appeared out of nowhere.
There was no way he could like that man. How could someone who wasn't even a member of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult become the Cult Leader's disciple? He'd heard that the man's martial prowess was exceptional, but from a common-sense perspective, it was a story that made no sense. How could a human body hunt a Profound Realm spirit beast? He didn't know for sure, but it was likely thanks to that spirit beast called the Dragon Person of Mount Hua. The man was claiming the kill as his own achievement, and everyone else had been completely fooled.
He couldn't help but think so.
He was pretending to be taciturn, but Ma Hwi had clearly seen it: the sight of his emotionless blue eyes moving restlessly, his gaze focused on the women's chests. How could those be the eyes of a noble master? He was no different from a common thug who lusted after women.
He had exposed this fact, but no one believed him. No, there were even some who thought it was fine.
“The Cult Leader's disciple is a womanizer and he looked at my chest?”
Women wearing revealing tops unsuitable for the season began to appear one after another. Seeing this, Ma Hwi's anger could only grow.
Not only him, but the other men felt the same. What exactly were they lacking compared to Go-Hui? His martial arts were at a high level, his voice was pleasant, his skin was clear, his face was rather handsome, he was tall, his muscles were well-proportioned and pleasing to the eye, his thick forearms were especially impressive, and on top of that, as the Cult Leader's only disciple, his future was paved with gold—but, they thought, if you excluded all those things, they weren't inferior at all.
That's why Ma Hwi thought of a way to embarrass him. The current Go-Hui was full of hot air. There must be something exaggerated about him. The internal energy he felt wasn't that great, and you could tell just by looking at that pale skin. Common sense dictated that someone with such powerful martial strength couldn't possibly have skin that pale. It was no different from the face of a scholar who had never seen the sun.
And what about that right hand? In contrast to his thick forearm, yet harmonizing with it, was a beautiful hand. How could that be the hand of a martial artist? He was clearly up to some trickery.
Ma Hwi was even feeling a sense of mission. He had resolved to reveal the whole truth for the peace of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
And that led to the current situation.
A flicker of bewilderment crossed the face of Go-Hui, who had said he would demonstrate a martial art. He couldn't even bring himself to start the demonstration.
Thinking his hypothesis was correct, the corners of Ma Hwi's mouth lifted. He was all show and no substance.
Should I provoke him into a duel and crush him in front of everyone? I could even slaughter him so he can't utter a single word.
Jing-jing-jing.
Ma Hwi's fist vibrated with power.
And at that moment, Go-Hui moved.
He walked slowly toward the lake a few steps away. The cultists all held their breath and watched his actions. After all, it was a martial art being shown by the Cult Leader's disciple. Ma Hwi suspected that he might stage an accident by falling into the water to defuse the situation.
And then.
The cultists let out gasps of admiration.
“…Walking on water!”
Hui's feet touched the water, but his ankles didn't get wet. He literally looked like he was floating on the water. A lightness skill also known as Susangbi, or the Water-Treading Lightness Skill.
Ma Hwi clicked his tongue. A lightness skill of that level meant he wasn't a complete fraud. But you never know. He could be the type who only ever practiced lightness skills. And besides, he himself could perform a lightness skill of that level without much difficulty.
Just as he was about to observe him further…
“…Huh, huuk!”
“How can this be so divine!”
The surrounding cultists screamed. Walking on water. It was difficult, but not entirely impossible.
But what was Hui doing?
He was standing still on the water. He walked slowly, then stopped again. Seeing their reaction, he walked once more.
Susangbi was, literally, a lightness skill. It was a technique that allowed one to run on water by moving one's feet with profound principles. But what about that man? Wasn't he floating on the water as if it were the most natural thing in the world?
The cultists were flabbergasted.
But Hui's eccentric behavior didn't end there. As if pleased by their reaction, he proceeded to demonstrate a footwork technique that the people of this era could not possibly comprehend.
“Huuk, keoheok!”
“This… this can't be…!”
“Incredibllllle!”
Ma Hwi's pupils, which had been searching for his weakness, dilated. He couldn't believe it. How was this even possible? No, was that even a human movement?
“He's… he's walking backward!”
“But he's clearly… moving forward… what is happening?!”
Some people even fainted. That's how divine the footwork he displayed was.
Heavenly Demon Moon Step.
In Hui's world, it was a footwork technique called the moonwalk.