The Female Demon of Heavenly Grant Forest
Tang Myung and Tang Hong spurred their horses toward southern Yunnan.
The farther south they traveled, the denser the forests became and the more humid the air grew.
Both men could endure the heat with their inner energy, yet the oppressive humidity proved far more difficult to bear.
“Whew! The humidity here is no joke.”
Tang Hong wiped the sweat from his body with a cloth as he spoke, and Tang Myung nodded.
“Still, the environment is quite pleasant.”
As he spoke, Tang Myung leaned down and pulled something from the ground. A single medicinal herb rested in his hand.
“It’s a Heavenly Earth Leaf.”
“The forest is so lush that there are plenty of herbs around.”
Tang Myung brushed the soil from the herb and brought it to his nose.
“And the quality is excellent.”
Tang Hong nodded at his words.
“That’s why the main family sends merchant caravans to Yunnan to purchase herbs and poisonous plants.”
“These are in better condition than the ones that reach the main family.”
Tang Myung shook the leaf clean and placed it into a basket he had woven on the spot from tree branches.
Whenever he spotted clusters of herbs while passing through the forest, he gathered them without hesitation.
After crossing the woods, Tang Myung soon spotted a small village ahead.
“This must be Yukga Village.”
The two men had been scouring every corner of Yunnan in search of Heavenly Grant Forest.
Yet no one seemed to recognize the name.
In the end, they had begun combing through the region’s most famous jungle areas.
After all, a place called Heavenly Grant Forest was bound to lie within a heavily wooded region.
Now they had come to Yukga Village, home to herb gatherers living deep within the forest.
If the name was not an official designation known to outsiders, it might still be a local term used only by those nearby.
The village appeared to consist of roughly thirty households.
When Tang Myung and Tang Hong entered, children playing in the square turned curious eyes toward the strangers.
Tang Myung smiled and waved at the innocent faces.
“Hello.”
The children laughed and approached at his greeting.
“Who are you, uncles?”
“Where did you come from?”
“Did you come to buy herbs?”
As the children chattered their questions, Tang Hong grinned and pulled sweets from the bundle on his back.
“Here, eat these. Where can we find the village chief?”
“The chief is over there.”
One child pointed to a house at the center of the village, and Tang Myung and Tang Hong made their way toward it.
The structure differed slightly from those in the Central Plains.
It was two stories tall, with the first floor supported by pillars and the second floor suspended in the air.
Herbs hung from the eaves and walls.
‘They built it this way to avoid insects and snakes.’
In a village nestled within such dense vegetation, pests and serpents would be plentiful.
The door opened, and a small, bald old man stepped out.
“Visitors are rare in our village… Are you from the Central Plains?”
Tang Myung and Tang Hong clasped their hands and bowed at the elder’s question.
“We greet the village chief.”
The old man smiled at their courtesy.
“No need for such formalities with someone like me.”
Still smiling, the elder descended the steps.
“Judging by your appearance, you’re not here to buy herbs… What brings you?”
“Do you happen to know the name Heavenly Grant Forest?”
At Tang Myung’s question, a flicker of fear crossed the old man’s face.
“W-why are you looking for Heavenly Grant Forest? No, I don’t know anything. I don’t know.”
Tang Myung’s expression brightened at the reaction.
“So you do know. We’ve come to find Heavenly Grant Forest.”
“I-I don’t know! Leave at once.”
The old man hurried back inside and spoke in a rush.
“Don’t stay in our village. Go, quickly.”
With that, he slammed the door shut.
Tang Myung stared at the closed door, puzzled.
He called out toward the house.
“Elder, you only need to tell us the way.”
“I said I don’t know!”
The wooden shutters rattled shut in reply.
Tang Hong glanced around.
Doors and windows throughout the village were being hurriedly closed.
“They clearly know of Heavenly Grant Forest. That’s fortunate, at least.”
“The problem is they have no intention of telling us where it is…”
“They seem terrified of the place.”
“It appears so. Is it because of Great-Grandmother, or for another reason?”
“We cannot know yet.”
While they spoke, Tang Myung noticed children hiding nearby and watching them.
An idea seemed to strike him, and he turned to Tang Hong.
“Take out all the snacks.”
“Are you going to eat them?”
“Give them here.”
At Tang Myung’s words, Tang Hong produced the bundle filled with sweets.
During their travels through remote parts of Yunnan, the two had learned that sweet treats helped win people over.
Sweets worked especially well with children, so Tang Hong had stocked the bundle accordingly.
Each holding a piece of candy, Tang Myung and Tang Hong walked toward the edge of the village.
Tang Myung sensed villagers peering at them through the gaps in their shutters.
‘What exactly is Heavenly Grant Forest?’
He sat on a rock at the village outskirts, eating his candy while observing the settlement.
Children watched with drooling mouths as the two men enjoyed their sweets.
Though some had received candy upon their arrival, most had not.
Tang Myung gave Tang Hong a subtle signal, and the latter quietly unpacked more sweets and rice cakes.
The children’s eyes sparkled.
Tang Myung smiled.
“We have plenty. Come eat if you want.”
A few children glanced at one another before edging closer.
When one approached hesitantly, Tang Myung pushed the sweets and snacks toward him.
The boy snatched them up and dashed away.
Tang Myung watched the children in silence.
While they ate at a distance, one child stepped forward.
“Why are you looking for Heavenly Grant Forest?”
“The adults seemed not to know about it. Don’t you know either?”
The boy snorted.
“Of course I know. I know it very well.”
“Oh? You know? That’s impressive.”
Tang Myung gently prodded the boy’s pride.
“Since you’re so impressive, I’ll give you another.”
“Wow!”
The boy cheered as he accepted the candy.
Tang Hong spoke softly.
“We heard Heavenly Grant Forest is a truly magnificent place.”
“Magnificent? No, it’s a terrifying place. A female demon lives there.”
The boy whispered as though sharing a great secret.
Tang Myung asked, “A female demon?”
“Anyone who enters Heavenly Grant Forest never comes out again. People say there’s a female demon who captures and eats them.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Of course. Our villagers used to gather herbs there, but now they can’t go in, so they only gather here.”
“Then Heavenly Grant Forest must not be far.”
“It’s far.”
“Far? Where is it?”
“You have to walk a whole day in that direction.”
“On your legs?”
“Yes.”
Tang Myung looked in the direction the boy indicated.
At a child’s walking pace, a day’s journey would not be far if one used lightness skill.
He turned back to the boy.
“But how do you know about such a terrifying place?”
“The adults go to Heavenly Grant Forest once a year and come back. I follow them sometimes.”
“Why? Even though the female demon might appear?”
“They’re showing us the way so we don’t go there by mistake.”
“What are you doing over there? Come here at once!”
A woman’s shout rang out from the village.
The boy glanced back hurriedly.
“Anyway, Heavenly Grant Forest is a scary place.”
He dashed back toward the village.
Tang Myung watched him go, then turned to Tang Hong.
“What do you think?”
“It’s only natural to warn people about dangerous areas, isn’t it? Even in the main family, we teach the children about forbidden zones whenever we can.”
Tang Clan Castle contained many perilous regions—poisonous herbs, venomous insects, toxic compounds—where merely approaching could prove fatal.
Once children reached a certain age, they were taken on tours of these zones and taught why each was dangerous.
“So if Heavenly Grant Forest were truly that dangerous, they would have warned us properly.”
Tang Hong’s words made Tang Myung fall silent for a moment.
He gazed in the direction the boy had pointed.
“Hmm…”
“What is it?”
“The child didn’t believe it.”
“Believe what? The demon?”
“He said it was scary, but there was mischief in his voice.”
“Well, demons might not feel real to children. It could just be a story to them.”
“Even so, the adults’ reaction to the name Heavenly Grant Forest was genuine.”
“Hmm…”
Tang Hong thought for a moment before speaking.
“There’s a difference here.”
“A difference?”
“The main family’s prohibitions are extremely dangerous, especially for children. Yet they are strictly managed. There are family members who enforce the rules and escorts who accompany the children. So while the zones are dangerous, they are not truly dangerous—because they are controlled.”
Tang Hong looked at Tang Myung.
“But if a real female demon exists in Heavenly Grant Forest, then no such management is possible.”
He turned his gaze back to the village.
“Therefore… the villagers have no reason to go there. There’s no point in deliberately entering a place that dangerous.”
“Yet they still go?”
“Moreover, they go once a year. That’s excessive if it’s merely for educating the children.”
Tang Myung nodded at Tang Hong’s reasoning.
“Let’s head to Heavenly Grant Forest. I believe the female demon is the person we’re looking for.”
“But if she’s a grandmother I’ve never heard of, she must be over a hundred years old by now… Could she still be alive?”
Even martial artists with extended lifespans rarely lived past a hundred.
“If the legend of the female demon still persists… then whether it’s Great-Grandmother or her successor, someone must remain.”
Tang Myung packed the sweets and rice cakes back into the bundle.
“We’ll know when we get there.”
Tang Hong nodded, then asked, “But… what if it really is a demon?”
“Do you believe demons exist?”
“The Mount Mao Sect uses ghost qi and talisman arts. If such unorthodox techniques exist, then demons and ghosts could exist as well.”
Tang Myung paused at his words.
The Mount Mao Sect indeed dealt in talismans and ghost qi.
And if he himself had regressed through multiple lives, then the existence of ghosts or demons would not be strange at all.
After a moment of thought, Tang Myung shook his head.
“Do we have any other choice?”
Tang Hong glanced toward the village.
Tang Myung placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Uncle, we are of the Tang Family.”
At those words, Tang Hong sighed and clasped his hands in salute.
“I let my concern for the family cloud my judgment. I apologize.”
Tang Myung nodded.
Tang Hong had considered kidnapping the village chief to force the information out.
And Tang Hong possessed hundreds of methods to make an old man talk.
Tang Myung smiled at him.
“If a demon appears, I will protect you, Uncle.”
Tang Hong laughed.
“Hahaha! You’re still no match for me, Young Family Head. I may not look it, but I am the leader of the Bicheon Unit.”
Tang Myung chuckled.
“Then I’ll trust in the Bicheon Unit Leader… and we’ll be on our way.”
Tang Myung kicked off the ground.
Tang Hong laughed and soared after him.