Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 47
>Chapter Title: Hospital Ward (2)
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While Il-mok remained lost in a deep slumber—or rather, unconsciousness—various events were unfolding at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's main headquarters.
Those involved in preparing the midnight snack for Third Young Master Seo Wan-pyeong, as well as the interrogation and investigation of Jang Hoe, who had ambushed Il-mok, continued unabated.
Jang Hoe had avoided instant death, though his side was slashed by Gwan Mu-yeol's sword and his thigh had suffered such severe frostbite from Jin Ha-yeon's palm technique that it required amputation.
Yet as the interrogations and investigations progressed, the evidence began pointing toward a certain culprit.
That investigation, however, came to a rather anticlimactic end.
* * *
Late at night.
In their usual meeting place, two elders sat together.
The elder on the right, who had been keeping watch over the empty seat normally occupied by the Doctrine Protector Leader, addressed the elder in the center.
“I never expected you to step in personally.”
“With the Doctrine Protector Leader involved, I couldn’t very well leave it to someone else.”
After a moment’s hesitation, the elder on the right responded to the central elder’s reply.
“But of all things, to disguise it as suicide. Do you really think the Heavenly Demon would fall for such a petty trick?”
Jang Hoe and one of the two who prepared the midnight snack for Seo Wan-pyeong belonged to the Doctrine Protection Hall.
Moreover, during the investigation, the black bean demonic tea in his possession was traced back to the Doctrine Protector Leader.
And this black bean demonic tea—coffee—was something the central elder had personally given to the Doctrine Protector Leader.
Naturally, any investigation or interrogation of the Doctrine Protector Leader would inevitably implicate the central elder as well.
So the central elder had decisively eliminated the Doctrine Protector Leader.
He had gone to him directly, killed him, and disguised it as suicide by poison.
Even forging a fake last will in the man’s handwriting.
And the central elder, who had orchestrated it all, replied in a completely nonchalant tone.
“If it’s the Heavenly Demon, of course he won’t be fooled.”
“!?”
Regardless of the right elder’s shock, the central elder continued with a composed expression.
“But what does it matter? The tail has been cut off, so it’ll be hard for them to trace it back to us now. The dead don’t speak, after all.”
“Ah….”
The right elder let out an exclamation laced with various emotions before hastily composing himself.
‘…He’s even more dangerous than I thought.’
Disguising it as suicide by poison meant there wasn’t even a trace of resistance left behind.
He must have ambushed the unsuspecting Doctrine Protector Leader, but even so, the man was one of the top experts in the cult.
To kill someone like that without giving him a chance to fight back and make it look like suicide.
As the right elder struggled to suppress his shock and fear, the central elder spoke.
“However, this incident has no doubt sharpened the Heavenly Demon’s temper, so it would be wise to lay low for a while. On top of that, losing a valuable piece like the Doctrine Protection Hall will cause setbacks in our greater plans.”
“…I never imagined things would spiral like this over that one brat.”
Both elders simultaneously recalled the Heavenly Demon’s youngest disciple.
In the ensuing silence, the right elder noticed something peculiar and asked.
“By the way, how did they find out the origin of that black bean demonic tea? You said no one would know, but it’s hard to believe some inn errand boy figured it out.”
At the question, the central elder’s expression turned icy for a moment.
Not out of anger toward those who had received the black bean demonic tea.
‘…Come to think of it, black bean demonic tea isn’t something a mere errand boy should know about.’
It was something that had only begun trending in the distant Western Regions, barely known in the Central Plains or even this Xinjiang area.
Even scouring the entire Central Plains, only a handful would know of it—certainly not some innkeeper or errand boy.
The problem was that pointing this out to the Heavenly Demon would be tantamount to confessing their own guilt.
‘…Should I contact them and have them investigate the youngest young master’s past?’
After a brief moment of contemplation, the elder shook his head.
He couldn’t show weakness to them. Displaying incompetence—being toyed with by a mere fifteen-year-old boy and failing to even gather proper information—could become a vulnerability later.
Besides, there was no real need to investigate the youngest young master’s past.
Having sorted his thoughts, the central elder lifted the corner of his mouth in a cold smile.
“More important than the origin of the black bean demonic tea is how we deal with that brat, wouldn’t you say?”
“Didn’t you say we’d be laying low for a while?”
In response to the right elder’s question, the coldly smiling elder turned his head toward the west.
“There’s no need for us to move at all. For instance, an unfortunate accident could happen during his training at the Demonic Path Academy, couldn’t it?”
“…….”
The right elder, who hadn’t anticipated the man’s influence extending to the Demonic Path Academy, could only shut his mouth.
* * *
A few days later.
Il-mok awoke in the infirmary, ate the meal Jin Ha-yeon had brought as usual, and let out a deep sigh.
Then, with the face of a condemned prisoner facing his fate, he closed his eyes—only to open them moments later with a puzzled expression.
“What are you doing?”
Jin Ha-yeon furrowed her brow at Il-mok’s question.
“What do you mean?”
“The fainting. You’re not going to knock me out?”
For the past few days, aside from mealtimes and bathroom breaks, Il-mok had been forcibly put to sleep around the clock by Jin Ha-yeon.
“According to the Demon Doctor, your body has fully recovered now.”
“Haa.”
Il-mok let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.
Watching him for a moment, Jin Ha-yeon spoke in her usual curt tone.
“So, you can return to Wind Rock Hall now. I’ve prepared your things.”
Il-mok rose from the bed and left the infirmary with her.
On the way back to Wind Rock Hall, he learned from Jin Ha-yeon about the events that had transpired while he slept.
How a massive investigation into the Doctrine Protection Hall had been underway when the Doctrine Protector Leader was found dead by suicide, along with a last will.
And upon arriving at Wind Rock Hall, the one who greeted Il-mok was, surprisingly, the Heavenly Demon.
“I heard from the Demon Doctor. Now that you’re healed, it’s time to start training properly, don’t you think?”
“…….”
To push a patient who had just gotten out of bed. The old man was ruthlessly relentless.
As if reading his thoughts, his master added.
“Your body must be itching from the side effects anyway. Better for this old man to supervise than for you to overdo it alone.”
“Ahem. I am simply grateful for Master’s consideration.”
Pretending to be moved, he bowed and immediately drew his sword.
Separate from the brutal training schedule, his body really was itching.
“Huu.”
After deep breaths to steady his mind, he recalled the events of that night.
The spear Jang Hoe had thrown hurtling toward him. The sensation of the world slowing down.
The majestic flow of internal energy that had raced from his dantian through all his meridians.
But.
Whiiiing.
The sword drawn alongside the Soul-Stealing Ready Sword let out only a sharp ring.
It failed to produce the clear sword aura from before.
How to put it? His mind vaguely remembered, but his body couldn’t keep up.
No, it didn’t even feel properly ingrained in his mind.
The massive enlightenment had surged and exploded all at once, so even in his head, the flow hadn’t been properly organized.
And after passing out for days amid that, all those insights had grown hazy.
‘Damn it. Should I have trained right away back then?’
He repeated the Soul-Stealing Ready Sword several more times, but it still felt lacking.
Watching him, his master prescribed an extreme remedy.
“Hm. It seems time has passed and the enlightenment has faded.”
“…It seems so.”
“Then, recreating the same situation as back then might bring back some of that insight.”
“The same situation as then…?”
As Il-mok made a puzzled face.
Suddenly, an enormous aura swirled around his master, and a terrifying killing intent began crushing his entire body.
At the same time, his master’s already-drawn sword was closing in on his heart.
“Eek!?”
Il-mok let out a shrill scream and swung his sword instinctively.
Snikt.
Absurdly, his sword—without sword aura—snapped clean in two.
His master halted his blade, now pressed against Il-mok’s chest, and spoke.
“It seems you grow stronger faster in life-threatening situations, Il-mok. So until you regain that night’s enlightenment, we’ll train like this.”
“Gulp….”
Il-mok swallowed dryly without realizing it.
He wasn’t some Dragon Ball Super Saiyan who powered up every near-death experience!!
“H-Haha. M-Master? N-No matter what, real combat and training are different, aren’t they?”
At his protest, his master withdrew the sword from his chest and smiled brightly.
“Hohoho. The human body is simpler than you think. Even if your mind believes you won’t die, your body will react on its own, won’t it? And above all.”
His smile fading, his master unleashed another overwhelming wave of killing intent and aura as he spoke.
“Can you truly be so sure you won’t die?”
Il-mok’s blood ran cold, every hair on his body standing on end.
More intensely than when Jang Hoe had ambushed him that night.
* * *
“Huff. Huff.”
Only about an hour had passed, but his exhausted body was drenched in sweat like a downpour.
Facing his master’s immense killing intent and aura for that full hour had drained not just his body, but his mental energy to a critical degree.
“Hahaha. See? It worked, didn’t it?”
In exchange, sword aura had formed on his blade once more.
Whiiiing.
It scattered like a mirage the moment his focus wavered.
Thanks to his master’s threats forcing his concentration higher, he could produce it sporadically.
Of course, maintaining that forcibly elevated focus doubled the mental drain.
On top of that, there was another subtle benefit.
‘Being this exhausted is calming the side effects a bit.’
Whether from partially catching up to that night’s achievement or sheer fatigue, the other self that had been rioting in the corner of his mind had quieted somewhat.
“Today’s training is enough. Take a rest.”
His master, who had driven him mercilessly for the hour, had returned to his gentle demeanor.
“Master. Before you go, could we talk for a moment?”
Even in his exhaustion, Il-mok forcibly held his master back.
With the side effects somewhat subsided, now was the time to discuss a few things he’d planned ahead.
“Speak.”
“I heard the gist from Miss Jin, but something feels off.”
At his remark, his master nodded.
“This old man is aware of that issue as well. But the Doctrine Protector Leader’s suicide has broken the chain of evidence. We can’t very well torture and purge everyone in the headquarters, can we?”
Il-mok had no choice but to accept his master’s explanation.
Given the atmosphere and his master’s temperament he’d observed so far, he wasn’t the type to let it end like that.
He was probably investigating discreetly, waiting to catch the real culprits—perhaps the masterminds—in one fell swoop when they moved.
“I’ll keep watching that matter, so you focus on your training. The Demonic Path Academy entrance exam is only half a year away.”
Before his master, who had said this and turned to leave, Il-mok hurriedly grabbed him.
“Master! There’s something else I need to say.”
The Doctrine Protector Leader business was just a question born of unease after hearing Jin Ha-yeon’s account. The real point was elsewhere.
“Do you remember that black bean we found as evidence last time?”
“How could I forget? To ordinary people, it’s just tea, but to some, it amplifies depression like a poison. To our Divine Cult, it’s no different from deadly venom.”
“Exactly. Conversely, things like the poisonous mushroom the alliance warrior ate exist—poisons that can actually be medicine.”
“…What are you getting at?”
His master looked at him with eyes gleaming with anticipation, as if he’d caught on.
To meet that expectation—and more importantly, for his own future safety—Il-mok shared the plan he’d diligently devised during his infirmary stay, minus the fainting spells.
“Like the black bean or poisonous mushrooms, there are foods and herbs in the world that affect the mind. So, it would be right to establish an institution to research them. On top of that, we should train specialized healers and counselors for those suffering side effects from demonic arts.”
In other words, the proposal to establish a mental health ward in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.