Chapter 35 Returning to the Cult
“Mm……”
I kept my eyes shut, not opening them.
Ever since falling into the world of Murim Returner—honestly, every single day—I had these thoughts. What if it was all a dream? What if I woke up back in my original semi-basement apartment?
Kim Dong Yun's life in reality had been a total dumpster fire, close to the gutter. He'd run off chasing his dreams only to slam into a brick wall. But at least, minute by minute, second by second, his life hadn't hung by a thread.
That realization made my eyes snap open on their own.
No moldy semi-basement ceiling greeted me. Instead, it was an old, Eastern-style one.
Of course. No way it was a dream.
I sat up, and a mirror by the bedside caught my eye.
It wasn't Kim Dong Yun sitting there. It was Sado Hwan.
“Hoo……”
I let out a long sigh.
The biggest weapon I had—me, with jack shit to my name—was sheer willpower. Grit, guts, that kind of thing.
To survive, I'd even killed someone. Sure, the guy was more monster than man. But I couldn't deny it. My goal was survival.
So I couldn't afford to lie here zoning out. To find a way out of this place, I had to keep moving relentlessly.
Pa Cheon floated idly before my eyes. Looked like no one was around nearby.
[Awake, are you?]
“Yeah. Where are we?”
[A small inn near the cave. You were out cold with no sign of stirring, so Tak Horak carried you here on his back.]
“How long was I out?”
[A day. You might as well have passed out. Can't be helped, though.]
The relic site had been the most intense ordeal since crossing into the Murim Returner world. I'd never truly “fought” anyone before. Plus, I'd taken some serious wounds.
Still, thanks to that……
The vague fear of clashing with real martial artists had eased a bit. Sure, I'd still get dropped in three seconds flat in a real fight, but my mindset had shifted. On top of reliable short-range teleports, I'd gained a puppet that could use sound transmission. Massive gains.
So.
Just like I'd planned before, it was time to head back to the real Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
First, tie up loose ends.
I stripped off my top. A smoothly sculpted body like a well-trained statue emerged. I unwound the bandages tightly wrapping my upper torso.
“Healing up nicely already.”
The shoulder wound from Sa Wol's stab had improved a lot. It had been a gruesome gash before, split wide open, but now it was mostly closed. Still restricted my movement some. Any violent motion would reopen it.
[As expected of the Asura Demon Emperor Divine Art.]
Pa Cheon said admiringly. I wanted to correct him—it was the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—but it wasn't the right time. His personality, or rather his entire life, had been fabricated. No way he'd accept that right now.
“What about the others?”
[Probably resting on their own. Oh, the Paeng girl said she'd head out around lunch.]
“……Isn't that now?”
I hurriedly dressed and rushed out, heading downstairs. Sure enough, noisy chatter filled the air.
“Eat up and get moving already!”
Paeng So So's irritated shout hit first. A crowd shoveled food like mad, while she scowled, nearly in tears.
“You're awake, sir.”
Sa Wol had appeared out of nowhere, bowing her head.
“Yeah.”
I half-acknowledged her and brushed past, sitting across from Paeng So So.
“Haven't left yet, I see.”
“Huh? Kim hyung, you're up?”
“Looks like everyone's eaten.”
“Gotta pay for these gluttons' meals. Leader's curse, I guess.”
She sighed deeply. Fair enough. No relic haul from the site meant total loss.
“Don't you have Jo Yang's stuff?”
Normally, taking a dead man's belongings wasn't kosher. But relic sites were different. Fair game, even a virtue.
Paeng So So shook her head.
“Everything but one was junk. There was a ring…… but it said ‘So Hyang’ on it. Creepy, so I chucked it off the cliff.”
So Hyang. The Little Sorceress's real name, Jo Yang's lover.
“Anyway, big trouble. These idiots only eat and shit.”
Blue Banner Crew was mercenaries Paeng So So had hired with Paeng family funds after bolting. They cried “big sis” in crises, but no money meant goodbye.
Back-to-back failures must've left her desperate.
“Need cash?”
“Hell yeah.”
Paeng So So sighed and continued.
“Honestly? I thought I had it in me. Good instincts too. Wait, no—even I missed Jo Yang being a fraud. Ha…… maybe relic hunting's not for me.”
“Nah.”
“Huh?”
I said it with conviction.
“You've got talent for relic hunting. Hell, rare to find anyone as gifted.”
I knew Murim Returner's Paeng So So. Personality differed from this version, but she'd raided every famous site, even major sects' and Five Great Families' secret vaults.
Paeng So So blushed, embarrassed.
“What? Why the hype now?”
“Just facts.”
“Oho? Trying to wife me up after all?”
“Ahem.”
Sa Wol cleared her throat behind me. Loyal subordinate, voicing her master's discomfort.
“Cut the crap. Business.”
“Crap? I was serious.”
“Anyway. What do you need most right now?”
“Most……?”
Paeng So So tilted her head, then said.
“Money, duh. Feed these guys? Cash. Replace Jo Yang with a real formation expert? More cash.”
“I'll cover it.”
“You?”
She eyed me up and down.
“You look high-class, so probably loaded. But know how much running a crew like this costs? At least three hundred silver taels a month.”
In this Murim Returner world, one silver tael was about 100,000 won. Thirty million a month. Cheap for a big group.
“Forgot? I'm the Paeng family's darling daughter.”
“Planning to crawl back for funds?”
“That…… nah, probably not.”
Even a brute house like Paeng would punish swiping cash and running. Blue Banner might dissolve.
I pulled a silver toad-shaped plaque from my pocket.
“Know Silver Toad Exchange?”
“Yeah. Not huge, but solid…… wait, no way.”
“Token guaranteed by their Taeryeong County branch chief. Only about thirty in the entire martial world.”
Torn from Kwak Jin, the cultist who'd been Taeryeong branch chief.
Paeng So So's eyes were glued to it.
“Has limits, but enough for your needs.”
Of course, Kwak Jin footed the bill. Someone else's money, my glory. Their cash, not mine.
[Clever as ever, you demon.]
Call it strategy?
Paeng So So's fingers twitched toward it. I snatched it back.
“Not free, obviously.”
“What? Spill.”
“You owe me already, right?”
“……Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“So here's the deal.”
I explained.
“I'm ‘sponsoring’ you with this. In return, you list relic hauls—treasure artifacts, artifacts—and prioritize what I want.”
Like a king funding an explorer for new routes.
Modern terms? Outsourcing.
I had to return to the cult soon. Cult artifacts would help, but plenty scattered in the world. More the better for me.
Why not use a relic hound as my proxy when time was tight?
“You think that's fair?”
“Why not? No cash, no hunting.”
“True, but……”
Paeng So So's eyes sparkled.
“What if I take the money and ghost? Shut my mouth?”
“Paeng family's famed for integrity. You gonna sully that?”
“You trust me?”
I shrugged.
Couldn't fully. But back at the cult, Black Shadow Corps could track her easy. They specialized in it. Track, then leverage Sado family power to reclaim.
“No one's trusted me like this but Grandpa.”
She'd misunderstood perfectly. Eyes misty, touched.
“Deal. How do I contact?”
“Sa Wol.”
Sa Wol slammed a paper on the table with a thud. Map to a safehouse unknown save direct Sado kin and her.
Her face was blank. Hated dealing with “righteous” factions, probably.
“Contact here. Our deal stays secret.”
“Too many eyes for that. Massacre 'em all?”
“They're too busy stuffing faces.”
“Kidding. Anyway, relic tips? You seem knowledgeable.”
Perfect segue. To test her, I named two sites. Prove trustworthy, share better ones.
Paeng So So narrowed her eyes.
“Detailed for ‘kinda knowing.’ You a relic raider from the East?”
I shrugged again. Murim Returner vet deserved that.
“Any good formation experts?”
“Gotta spoon-feed you everything?”
“Tch. Fine, picky.”
Right on cue, Blue Banner finished eating. Unlike her teary face before, Paeng So So paid boldly.
“Later! Catch you, Kim hyung!”
And she was gone, cool as ever.
Felt like a storm had blown through.
“Sa Wol.”
“Yes.”
“Where's Horak?”
“At headquarters.”
“Right. Call him.”
I said.
“Tomorrow, we return to the cult.”
Pretending to Be the Heavenly Demon