Chapter 54
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Exorcism (2)
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The scent tickling my nose was unmistakably the smell of roasting meat.
Grrrrumble...
The moment I caught the aroma, my stomach started rumbling, demanding food right away.
I had been watching from a distance, but the smell drew me closer.
The open clearing was bustling like a marketplace, occupied by over fifty horses, more than thirty wagons, and around sixty people.
However, armed guards with swords stood watch around the perimeter of the clearing.
"Who goes there?"
The guards hadn't sensed my presence and startled, drawing their swords belatedly.
They were shocked, but I was just as flustered.
"Uh... just a traveler passing by."
The guards scrutinized me closely before sheathing their swords.
"Where are you headed so late at night?"
"I was on my way home to Huanin County when the firelight drew me here."
The suspicion in their eyes softened completely.
"If you're looking to rest, set up over there."
One of the guards pointed to a dark corner of the clearing.
"Thank you."
I moved to the spot he indicated, sat down, and settled in.
A short while later, bowls brimming with food were laid out by the campfire, and the group began their belated evening meal.
As I watched them eat, I noticed something odd.
Sitting beside a middle-aged man who appeared to be the caravan leader was an elderly man in tattered, worn clothes. The leader seemed to treat him with great deference.
"It's not the finest liquor, but the aroma is quite decent."
Heh heh heh...
The old man accepted the cup with a hearty laugh and drained it in one gulp.
Then, suddenly turning his gaze toward me, he rose from his seat.
The old man placed some rice and a few pieces of meat in an empty bowl and brought it over to me.
Up close, his true face emerged from beneath the grime, dirt, and tangled hair.
Despite the wrinkles of age, it was a strikingly handsome visage.
He had the refined beauty of a gracefully aging lady—his voice was the only thing that kept him from being mistaken for a woman.
"Should be edible enough."
I bowed my head politely and accepted the bowl.
The old man nodded silently and returned to his seat.
Delicious.
The salt-cured meat was salty, but the flavor was excellent.
The guards occasionally glanced my way, but the merchants gathered around the fire paid me no mind.
After returning the empty bowl, I leaned back against a cold rock.
They say worries bring on sleep.
Before I knew it, my head drooped, and drowsiness washed over me.
Tsk...
I jerked awake from dozing off, head snapping up to find a guard staring at me oddly.
That was close.
If I'd fallen into a deep sleep, the Great Heavenly Demon would have emerged.
I couldn't let them see me battling the demon.
I gathered myself, stood, and ventured deep into the woods.
Finding a spot far from the clearing, I sat down—only for sleepiness to assail me again.
Something was off about the Great Heavenly Demon facing me.
The ferocious aura that once forced my head to bow involuntarily had greatly diminished.
That wasn't all.
His eyes were bloodshot red, as if he hadn't slept for days.
Yet his voice remained unchanged from the night before.
"You've come."
I examined his face without responding.
"What were you doing?"
Irritated by my scrutiny, he bellowed.
But from experience, I knew he was different from usual.
"Are you hiding something from me?"
His thick eyebrows twitched like wriggling worms.
Swish.
I dodged the sword hastily and rubbed my neck with my palm.
Red blood stained my hand.
Lucky I moved first—otherwise, my head would've been severed.
"Something's definitely up..."
No sooner had I spoken than spiderweb-like streams of qi filled the space, hurtling toward me.
I drew my sword in a frenzy, trying to block the qi webs shredding at me like they would tear a rag doll.
Damn it.
Realizing too late I'd come without my sword, I tried to punch out—but the qi had already sliced through me piecemeal.
Ugh!
I perished without even a scream, rising in the pitch-black woods.
Something's definitely wrong.
The Great Heavenly Demon had rarely killed me in one blow before.
He'd toy with me like a plaything, tormenting me all night before ending it.
"No way..."
The exorcism ritual by Taoist Cheongpung from earlier flashed through my mind.
"It worked! It really worked..."
I was overjoyed beyond measure.
If the ritual had damaged the Great Heavenly Demon, maybe I could finish him off or drive him out entirely.
I wanted to rush home right now.
Back home to ask Cheongpung for another exorcism.
But first, I needed confirmation.
Leaning against a tree to sleep, I closed my eyes.
Worries bring sleep, but now joy and excitement filled me instead—sleep wouldn't come.
Lying on the cold ground didn't help; my mind grew clearer as time passed.
This is maddening.
After about an hour of tossing and turning, I finally drifted off.
The Great Heavenly Demon seemed deeply annoyed by the smile on my lips.
Bam!
I dodged the massive qi-infused sword cleaving down at my head and raised my hand urgently.
"Hold on a moment."
Swish.
His reply was my severed wrist floating in the air.
"I said hold on!"
I clutched my stump and shouted.
"What is it?"
He paused his sword, eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
Kuh huh huh... Ha ha ha ha ha...!
Pain seared from my wrist, but triumphant laughter burst from my lips.
In response, the Great Heavenly Demon unleashed savage killing intent and raised his sword.
But I stepped forward, thrusting my neck toward him.
"Go on, then. Cut it off. No matter how agonizing this night, come dawn, you'll vanish from my dreams forever."
Kuh huh huh... Ku ha ha ha ha...!
This time, the Great Heavenly Demon burst into laughter.
He laughed so heartily that his ferocious aura vanished entirely, swallowed by the sound.
For some reason, it soured my mood.
Unsettling dread seeped into my heart, displacing joy and excitement.
With his killing intent fully withdrawn, he smirked mockingly at me.
"So, you thought a pathetic shaman's talisman scared me into acting that way?"
The elation filling my heart evaporated.
"Then... what was it?"
Tsk tsk tsk...
"I dominate your unconscious, but I overreached trying to seize your conscious mind. I was too hasty."
Though a vile demon, the Great Heavenly Demon never lied.
It was the pride of the strongest in the martial world.
"Damn it..."
A curse slipped from my lips.
During the ritual, he'd forced that laugh through my mouth— that must've been the trigger.
I'd foolishly thought Cheongpung's exorcism had wounded him badly.
"A filthy, annoying thing comes crawling."
With those words, the Great Heavenly Demon vanished from sight.
The moment he disappeared, I hung my head.
Hoo...
Leech bastard.
I opened my eyes, sensing someone approaching.
Too lazy to get up, I kept them shut—but the presence sat down beside me.
"Why lie here? Sleeping on cold ground will twist your guts."
I realized it was the strikingly handsome old man I'd noticed earlier.
"Thank you for the dinner."
As I sat up, he chuckled softly.
"I'm just a guest traveling with the caravan since our paths align."
"I see."
This old man felt different from ordinary folk.
His womanly handsome face contrasted with eyes dulled by life's trials, like those of an enlightened Daoist.
Master...?
He didn't resemble my late master at all, yet he evoked his memory somehow.
This old man is from the martial world, after all.
No ordinary elder would venture deep into these woods at night without fear.
I stole a glance at the bright pearl staff in his hand.
"I heard you cursing at someone while looking for you... Nightmare?"
Ha ha...
A wry laugh escaped me unwittingly.
How could this old man know of the nightmare that haunted me nightly?
"Yes. Nightmares every night."
Heh heh heh...
"Must be ghosts showing up in your dreams every time."
"A demon among demons. And it's trying to drive me from my body, take it over, and drown the world in blood."
Though a stranger, I confided freely about the demon.
It was just a dream story, after all.
"So, did you fight and defeat that dream demon?"
"He's too strong. I lose every time. No choice but to threaten suicide."
Hmm.
The old man pondered briefly, then fixed his turbid eyes on me.
"Are you afraid of dying to the demon, or of him staining the world red?"
"Death doesn't scare me much."
"Then you worry needlessly. Block it with death if it comes. No need to fret over what hasn't happened—that's why the nightmares plague you."
His words lightened the weight of worries in my chest.
"Thank you."
Pleased by my gratitude, he let out a hearty laugh.
Heh heh heh...
"What an amusing young man. Do you live in Huanin County, by chance?"
"Yes."
"Then, do you know the hunter brothers there?"
I couldn't hide my surprise at his question.
How did he know about me and Gwang-u?
Was he here to kill us?
Yet he didn't seem hostile.
"I'm the older of those brothers."
He wasn't particularly shocked.
"I see. Quite the coincidence running into you."
"Who are you, elder? How do you know of us?"
"Just a wandering beggar. A close friend mentioned you, so I thought I'd learn your faces on the way to check."
The brief lightness in my worries grew heavy again.
Our names were circulating among the martial folk.
Calling himself a beggar meant he was from the Beggars' Sect.
If even they knew, it was only a matter of time before all Jianghu heard.
Haa...
A deep sigh escaped me like a lament.
It was all over now.
"Who is this friend of yours?"
"A greedy monk from Shaolin."
First the Beggars' Sect, now Shaolin knew of me and Gwang-u.
The old beggar rose to his feet.
"Good I spotted you here. See you around."
There was nowhere left to run, nor did I want to anymore.
"Indeed."