Chapter 98
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: So, Mu, Husband (4)
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The idea was simple.
From the start, the Northern Bright Divine Art had been slandered as something akin to the Absorbing Star Great Law, even though it was a righteous martial art. It possessed the ability to control others' internal energy.
If not for the Northern Bright Divine Art, I wouldn't have been able to subdue that bandit from before—the one whose name I couldn't even remember. Anyway, that guy.
In other words...
By borrowing the power of the Northern Bright Divine Art, I was confident I could weaken Lady Hongryeon or render her completely powerless.
Even if, in the process...
To breach her defense system, I'd hastily fabricated affection for Lady Hongryeon in my mind, which caused the illegal resident in my brain to flail her arms in protest like a minor issue.
But not anymore.
Lady Hongryeon? Bullshit.
Just plain Sundeok.
"H-Husband? What on earth did you do?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just a regular paralyzing poison."
To think the poison pill I'd prepared beforehand would come in so handy so quickly.
I admit it.
Extreme Poison Purple Thread, you were a blessing in disguise for me.
As the Korean saying goes, what comes must go. Instead of endlessly draining Hong Sundeok's energy, I infused the Northern Bright True Energy with plenty of poison and pushed it in.
The result?
"Umm, my body won't move... No way! Are you planning to paralyze me like this and then r-rape your servant? Umm, wait, would that be considered marital rape then? Urgh, ahn. B-But, my strength is draining awaaay..."
Sundeok's mouth was still wriggling away.
But as the paralyzing poison rapidly circulated through her meridians and stiffened her entire body, she gradually fell silent.
Just as planned.
Her nearly depleted dantian, squeezed dry from her desperate thrashing earlier, began to ripple with massive waves once more.
And not only that.
The souls used to create Sundeok's body—their wailing had been giving me a slight headache.
On top of that, bits of Sundeok's tragic past and the tear-jerking story of how the Blood Cult had no choice but to corrupt trickled in.
I boldly hit the SKIP button and shoved it all into a corner.
The cliché setup of sympathizing with the villain's backstory and shedding tears after defeating them? Not my cup of tea.
If everyone got a pass for their sob stories, who in the world wouldn't?
Overcoming hardships, trials, and twists without losing one's goodness—that's the royal road, the path of human praise.
And...
If I could choose the genre of my own life...
I'd pick cheerful comedy over melodrama.
So...
"Sundeok, stop yapping and move on to the next life. Live a good one this time."
"Hiiing, you're so mean. You don't understand your servant's heart! But that cold, aloof side is kinda charming?"
Poisonous, really.
Even after pumping in enough poison to overwhelm her internal energy in her meridians—exaggerating a bit—and leaving her utterly unable to resist, her mouth kept floating on.
My left hand, which had been expelling the unusable turbid energy, was finally free.
I extended it and placed it near Hongryeon's heart.
"Kyaa! Husband, you're so bold!"
Kyaa my ass.
You're not even 0.5 of a real woman.
"No husband here. Try looking somewhere else."
I channeled my internal energy and gifted her the Crimson Crane Palm Force.
Kwachik!
The sensation of pulverizing her like dough was far more disgusting than I'd imagined.
But once I obliterated both the organ mimicking her heart and her middle dantian, life finally drained from Hong Sundeok's eyes.
And then...
Just like a blood ghost or vampire scorched by sunlight...
Her body began crumbling into powder and scattering.
Only then...
- Hic.
Even though there was no way her voice could reach me, I heard a hallucination.
The illegal resident in my brain, who'd been sulking anxiously until now, flashed a satisfied smile.
The moment I cut the shared vision, she puffed her cheeks and started protesting...
"Huuu..."
Anyway...
Enemy general! Defeated!
I savored the joy of survival for a moment.
"Wolfie!"
"Kiiing..."
Great job ambushing Hong Sundeok bravely earlier...
But after taking a counterattack, rolling across the ground a few times, and eating a direct hit from the flower explosion, Wolfie was out cold. I checked on her condition.
Fortunately, no life-threatening external injuries, but severe internal damage.
"Just hang in there a little longer."
Gathering energy in my dantian wouldn't help now.
This is exactly what it's for.
Back when we were tumbling around in bed with Wolfie, I'd already analyzed her physical structure—similar to human meridians—and the mechanism for forming her inner core.
I carefully infused energy and began healing her injuries while observing her.
And I noticed something curious.
They say a pet dog resembles its owner.
Whenever I circulated my energy for meditation, she'd climb onto my thigh and purr...
Upon closer inspection after a while, Wolfie's inner core now harbored the Northern Bright True Energy.
...Did she steal my internal energy from the side?
I set aside the reasonable suspicion for now.
Fortunately, since it had become the same type of true energy, treatment wasn't difficult.
"Kyauuu...!"
"Still a ways to go. Stay still."
As she started rubbing her face against my cheek once she felt a bit better, I restrained her and suddenly operated the Heavenly Beast Heart-Returning Art as well.
- My lord! I did good, right!
A chuckle escaped me.
"Yeah, you did great. I'll give you some jerky as a reward later."
"Kyau!"
After stabilizing her internal injuries to some extent and slathering golden sore medicine on the wounds here and there...
"Hm?"
I spotted something odd where Sundeok No. 2 had passed on.
Ding-a-lang—
It was a bell that gave off an eerie vibe.
* * *
"Huu, finally made it..."
"Kyau!"
With some external wounds still lingering on Wolfie, I hugged her close, shouldered the bundle stuffed with loot, and arrived in Kunming.
Kunming, also known as the City of Spring.
True to its name where spring lingers all year, even close to midsummer like Stone Forest, a cool breeze tickled the tip of my nose.
"Got those items? Wanna sell 'em to me?"
"No thanks."
"Tch."
I easily brushed off the peddlers eyeing the jewels in my bundle and soaked in the exotic atmosphere.
Then disappointment welled up automatically.
"Miao tribe, my ass...!"
Miao style—just stick on a pair of animal ears and it’s basically catgirl territory.
No nekomimi beauties in sight; just women even more sun-baked than a rotisserie chicken scurrying about.
Disappointment surged toward the mod creator.
"Kyau?"
"Hm."
I snapped back to reality looking down at Wolfie's face, as if asking what nonsense I was barking.
Anyway...
First, deal with the load on my shoulder.
I headed to the most trustworthy place around here.
"Excuse me!"
The Kunming branch of the Point Hall was beyond quiet—dead silent—so I announced my entrance loudly on purpose.
As I wandered the courtyard a bit...
"What brings you here, brother?"
He had an immortal sage vibe, but with his hair grown out horizontally like a scruffy lottery ticket, a Taoist popped out.
This was outside the Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress's influence.
"I'm Geum Sihyeon from the Hundred Flowers Academy. I have some questions and stopped by—hope that's alright?"
Upon hearing me...
"Oh dear, oh dear! A junior! What a delight! Come in, no, let's go in together!"
His somewhat listless expression bloomed into a smile, and he even slung an arm around my shoulder, leading me inside.
School ties jackpot.
This is guanxi.
As we moved from the outer to inner courtyard...
"Did you come for the graduation exam too, by chance?"
"Ah, no. It's because of this bundle on my back..."
Not sure where to start, I sat in the reception hall, accepted tea from the senior who'd introduced himself as Hakcheongja, and explained the items' origins at length.
"Oh dear, oh dear...! To think there's such an upright brother—er, junior! Splendid, splendid! The Primeval Lord of Heaven will surely be pleased!"
He grabbed my hand with a deeply moved expression and shook it vigorously.
A good man.
"We've been racking our brains over those jiangshi. A vicious bitch snuck into the area. Some evil demon called Ghostfiend. Just recently, an entire pursuit squad met a ghostly end at her hands. It's an emergency."
Ghostfiend, huh.
Sounds like Sundeok's story.
"Is this Ghostfiend a woman? With blood-red sheen in her hair?"
"Spot on. Goodness, have you encountered the Ghostfiend...?"
"Yes. Ran into her near Stone Forest and barely managed to drive her off."
"Drove her off...? The Ghostfiend...?"
Unbelief flickered in Hakcheongja's eyes.
Hm.
Rationally, it was understandable.
If only I'd had a corpse, I could've dragged it here for proof, but she turned to green tea powder...
"Ah."
Come to think of it, I had something trophy-like.
I rummaged through the bundle at my side, pulled out the bell I'd tossed in, and showed it.
"This thing—"
"No, that's... the Spirit Phantom Bell...!"
Cutting me off, Hakcheongja reached out hastily to snatch it but suddenly shuddered.
"Such immense deathly aura..."
I could guess what came next.
"How—"
"My internal energy is of a pure lineage. Feel my pulse to confirm."
He probably meant how could I carry such a thing unscathed.
After my preemptive display of my brilliantly shining sword energy, trust settled back on Hakcheongja's face.
"I see, I see! No matter how I look, you seem only at Peak realm, yet carrying such an item—nearly misunderstood you! Anyway, so the Ghostfiend is really...?"
"Mm, probably not the main body. She said her own body was a jiangshi. Made it a tough win thanks to that."
"Kyau!"
As if agreeing with me, Wolfie poked her head from my embrace and let out a bark.
"Oho... A wolf spirit beast? She carries incredibly pure energy. Can't doubt the words of a junior followed by such a spirit beast!"
Seemed Wolfie earned more trust than my words—a bit upsetting.
Eh, good is good.
"No time to dawdle. Need to urgently send word. Wait a moment."
Hakcheongja tossed the bell into a wooden box plastered with talismans like it was filth, slammed the lid shut.
And then...
Click—
Took a photo and hammered away at his smartphone keyboard.
"A Ten Thousand Gold Hall product."
"Hm? Not sure. Supplied from headquarters."
"..."
Sigh.
Is this how a corporate exec feels visiting a remote African branch?
With tears in my eyes, I downgraded my evaluation of the Point Hall by one level.
* * *
"Ahhh..."
Hongryeon let out a low groan as she rose from the icy coffin where she'd been lying.
The sensation of her forcibly contained soul being expelled and her true self returning was always hard to adjust to.
Especially since this new body had been created just a few months ago—the side effects hit even harder.
But aside from that...
"Auuuh...!"
The thrill of her long-numbed soul heating up pierced her entire body.
Who else but her could feel this?
Giving not just her blood and internal energy, but her aspirations, memories, and even a fragment of her soul to the man she loved—this ultimate pure love...!
And during the dispersal into powder, it must have entered through his nose and mouth, bones and all.
Undoubtedly, Husband had accepted all of her...!
Hongryeon was about to sink into ecstasy...
"No, no, no. What if that Poison Demon harms our Husband...?"
Her thoughts drifted to the Poison Demon, and she pulled her soothing hand away from below, reaching for the smartphone by her head.
Even starting now to craft another Ten Thousand Spirit Jiangshi would take at least three more months to head back to the Central Plains.
He was the most awkward man to contact first...
But since Husband still prided himself on being righteous faction, preventing potential clashes was also the duty of the principal wife.
* * *
Poison Demon
If you run into a guy named Geum Sihyeon
Absolutely, absolutely, do NOT harm him
He's the man who's going to be my husband
"...That old hag's finally lost it."
The Poison Demon snorted and ignored the messages.
"Doctor, did you say something?"
"Nothing. The acupuncture's done, snake venom's out too. You'll be right as rain in five days."
"Aigoo, how can I ever thank you enough...! You're a true divine doctor, divine...!"
He waved off the honest young man's repeated bows like it was a hassle, even refused the herbs offered as payment.
"I didn't do it expecting reward. Silver and gold cycles come around anyway."
"How could you say that..."
"Hmm..."
The Poison Demon stroked his beard and paused.
Then...
"Do you know where that Beast Forest is, where the old Beast Palace was? Heard there are potent herbs growing wild nearby. If true, I could save more people."
He tossed the same question no one around had answered to the honest youth.
As the youth tilted his head, Poison Demon thought it'd be another bust...
"That... the forest with the divine spirit?"
"Divine spirit...? Tell me more."
"It was when I was a kid, so memories fuzzy, but..."
Listening to the youth's explanation...
Finally grasping the end of his long-held wish...
The Poison Demon unwittingly nodded and smiled contentedly.