Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: A Bizarre Deal
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Neung Un-bi, who had been staring blankly at Hyang-i, asked cautiously.
“How did you manage to leave your post? You, an assassin. You never know when an opportunity might arise.”
“You fool. The Cult Leader is far more of a monster than you know. To a degree that even I feel fear… Just one year? That’s nothing to him. It might be better to step away for a bit and prepare to take his head.”
Watching her casually sip her tea as she spoke, Neung Un-bi clicked his tongue inwardly.
*To my eyes, you’re the bigger monster.*
He couldn’t even begin to fathom the extent of her abilities.
“By the way, if we’re going to be together from now on, shouldn’t we at least exchange some personal information?”
“My personal information?”
“Yes. Shall I go first? My name is Neung Un-bi, age nineteen. The Cult Leader’s third…”
“Hmph, you really think I don’t know about you?”
“…”
At her patently mocking expression, Neung Un-bi pouted.
*What you know isn’t the whole story.*
Not that he had any intention of telling her, of course.
“Well, I suppose it would be good to know the basics if I’m to introduce you to my subordinates.”
“Hyang-i.”
“Is that your name?”
“It’s my surname and my given name.”
“Just Hyang?”
“Yes.”
Hyang-i nodded indifferently.
A single character for a name, without even a proper surname…
“Age sixteen.”
“Sixteen… huh?”
“I said, sixteen.”
“R-Right.”
It was unbelievable. An age where one would just be having their coming-of-age ceremony?
Of course, her appearance was youthful enough. In fact, based on her looks alone, he would have believed her if she said she was even younger.
But having witnessed her skills, how could he not be biased?
“That… is your real appearance, right?”
“Why?”
“Well, you’re so skilled at disguise, aren’t you? You became an old Taoist, then a young…”
“That much is basic for me. I can change into another form if you wish.”
“What?”
“Hmm, since you’re a man, I suppose this would be your preference?”
“…?”
After a moment of thought, Hyang-i brushed a hand across her face.
“Huh?”
For a split second, her body seemed to blur as if enveloped in mist, and then her physique changed.
In the blink of an eye, a beauty with a voluptuous figure and a mature aura stood before Neung Un-bi.
In a mere instant, she had changed not just her face, but her entire body.
“Gasp! W-What was that?”
“Hm? You don’t like it? Tsk, my mistake. Then perhaps your tastes lean this… way?”
“…”
She changed again.
In the middle of speaking, her form blurred once more, and even her voice grew raspy.
Neung Un-bi could only stare, his mouth agape.
A completely different appearance. This time, it was a man.
He had a neat appearance, looking to be in his mid-thirties. His build was average, but he seemed to lack strength; anyone would mistake him for a servant rather than a warrior.
“You, w-what in the…”
“Don’t worry. I’m very respectful of personal preferences. Unfortunately, the clothes are beyond my ability, but I can go change if you’d like.”
Sensing a hint of a smirk in her tone, Neung Un-bi snapped.
“That’s not what I meant, you idiot! That thing you just did! How in the world did you do it?!”
“Hm? The Disguise Arts and Bone Shrinking Arts… You don’t know them?”
“I know of them, I know! But were they actually real?”
“You just saw it with your own eyes.”
“…”
Yes, he had seen it.
He had witnessed it clearly with his own two eyes.
Furthermore, he knew of them.
Bone Shrinking, which alters the body by manipulating the abdominal joints with internal energy, and Disguise, which changes the face by essentially reassembling the muscles.
He knew such methods existed in legends.
But they were legends, weren't they?
Things are called legends because no human can actually achieve them.
And now, he was looking at a bizarre creature who performed that very legend with far too much ease.
“What in the world are you?”
“If you’re asking about my purpose, I believe you heard it earlier?”
“…”
“To kill the Cult Leader…”
“Hey, you punk! Who doesn’t know that? I’m asking why you learned such a thing!”
“It was a mandatory course.”
“What?”
“As I said, it was one of the essential martial arts one had to master in order to kill a monster like the Cult Leader. But in practice, it turned out to be quite useless.”
“…”
“Even if I changed my appearance, I couldn’t escape the Cult Leader’s eyes. Something about my presence being the same. Damn it, that blasted Cult Leader. He really is a monster.”
Hyang-i scowled in annoyance and gulped down her tea in one go.
“Ah, hot!”
“…”
“Damn it all! If it’s hot, you should have told me!”
“…”
His mind went blank.
He felt like he was looking at something not quite human.
Living in the Demonic Cult, he had seen all sorts of madmen and those who did all kinds of strange and grotesque things, but he had never seen anyone like this.
And… she’s been drinking it this whole time, so why is she yelling at me about it being hot?
“What is your true identity?”
“…I cannot tell you that.”
“What?”
“If you knew, I’d have to kill you.”
“…Huh?”
Her gaze instantly turned chilling. Neung Un-bi flinched and leaned back.
Those eyes of hers…
For a moment, he felt a cold sensation on his neck.
“Alright, alright. I won’t ask.”
“Good. But you will find out one day. If you truly become the Cult Leader.”
“…”
Watching her pour more Longjing tea into her empty cup, Neung Un-bi let out a sigh.
*You have many secrets too. Just like me…*
“But are you really sixteen?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not just pretending to be?”
“…Why? Do I look old?”
“No, absolutely not. I was just asking because you look much younger than your age.”
As she narrowed her eyes and asked, Neung Un-bi frantically waved his hands.
“Is that so? Well, I do have a baby face. I’ve been told that often.”
“…”
Her satisfied smile was surprisingly innocent.
*Who on earth raised this person?*
And what kind of education did she receive to have such a capricious personality?
One moment she’s radiating killing intent, the next she’s beaming.
And she even brightens up at the mention of her youthful looks.
But he was truly curious.
She was younger than him, yet possessed skills outstanding enough to aim for the neck of a monster like the Cult Leader.
It was as if a thousand years of history had been crammed into one person.
“Incredible. Both you and the ones who raised you…”
“So I thought. But I still haven’t surpassed the Cult Leader.”
“…”
Hyang-i’s eyes were filled with self-reproach.
But was there any need for that?
At just sixteen, an age younger than his own, wasn’t she one of the most skilled individuals in the Demonic Cult?
Even the Cult Leader himself probably hadn’t possessed such skill at her age.
And the Disguise and Bone Shrinking Arts he had just witnessed.
The ability to freely change one’s appearance and even voice at will was something anyone would covet.
Only someone like the Cult Leader could notice it, who else would know… Huh?!
Suddenly, Neung Un-bi’s eyes widened.
“Hey, that Disguise and Bone Shrinking Arts you mentioned earlier.”
“Those trivial skills?”
*Trivial to you! Only to you!*
You’re probably the only person who would belittle such profound techniques by calling them trivial.
But a use for them had just popped into his head, so Neung Un-bi didn’t argue and got straight to the point.
“Can the Great Protector easily see through them too?”
“Yang Seon?”
“Yeah.”
“A little, maybe? But he can’t be as certain as the Cult Leader.”
“…”
Amazing.
Wasn’t the Great Protector Yang Seon considered one of the top masters in the Demonic Cult?
“You said you weren’t going to use them, right?”
“Use what?”
“Those… trivial skills.”
“Hmm, I wonder? I probably won’t use them for anything other than this, right? I’ve realized they’re useless for killing the Cult Leader, after all.”
“Then teach them to me.”
“Hm? These?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
As Neung Un-bi nodded, Hyang-i stared at him intently.
“Why you?”
“Huh?”
“You’re the Cult Leader’s disciple. You shouldn’t have any need for such trivial skills.”
“Well… that’s true. But you never know what life will throw at you, right?”
“…?”
As Hyang-i tilted her head, her eyes filled with suspicion, Neung Un-bi quickly began to add more explanation.
“You know, right? How many assassination threats I face? I can’t sleep well because of it. I’m always suffering from insomnia, I tell you.”
“You seemed to sleep just fine.”
“…”
“You ate well, relieved yourself well… You didn’t seem particularly worried.”
“How would you know, you punk!”
“I believe I told you?”
“…?”
“A person with senses like mine doesn’t miss even the slightest change in an opponent, let alone the flow of the air. You weren’t anxious at all.”
Hyang-i repeated what she had said before, without missing a single word.
With a very serious expression, full of conviction.
*Yeah, yeah. You’re so great, you bastard!*
But was he going to give up here?
His face was known throughout the entire Central Plains. Even if he disguised his identity and changed human-skin masks, he would be caught eventually.
But what if he learned Hyang-i’s trivial skills—no, her legendary arts?
It would be perfect. No one short of a monster on the Cult Leader’s level would ever be able to see through it.
In other words, he could take one step closer.
To ‘her,’ as a completely new person, not as Neung Un-bi.
“You like… favors, right?”
“Hm?”
“I’ll grant you one, no, two more. If I become the Cult Leader.”
“…Do you even know what kind of favors you’re promising?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Neung Un-bi said, his eyes filled with determination.
He was planning to run away anyway, so what did it matter what the favors were?
Even if she came looking for him, it wouldn't matter.
Thirty years had already passed.
Knowing her, she must be in a high position.
A position so high that even someone like Hyang-i couldn't easily approach.
So he could promise ten, twenty favors, as many as she wanted.
It wasn't deception. After all, he had attached the condition ‘if I become the Cult Leader.’
“Hmm, two favors… That’s not a bad offer.”
“…”
At her positive reaction, Neung Un-bi gulped.
But then, she shook her head.
“I don’t mind teaching you, but no.”
“…Huh?”
How could her words contain both affirmation and negation at the same time?
*Why! Why the hell not!*
*You called them trivial skills! You said they were useless!*
“You can’t learn them yet.”
“What?”
“Because you’re weak.”
*Weak… This little brat!*
*Just because you’re strong enough to try and take the Cult Leader’s head, who do you think you are, looking down on his disciple!*
“Weak?”
“Yes, weak. The techniques I know, no matter how trivial, require at least surpassing the realm of Blade Aura.”
“…Bl-Blade Aura?”
“Yes.”
“…”
His head spun.
Blade Aura? What kind of nonsense was that?
She called them trivial skills!
“You don’t seem to understand. I don’t know what the future holds, but right now, the skill gap between you and me is stark. To me, they are trivial skills, but to you, they are profound arts you cannot even begin to grasp.”
Her tone was calm, but her words were dripping with condescension. Openly so.
The point was, ‘You are not ready yet.’
“If I try hard!”
“Try hard? Do you think Blade Aura is such an easy realm to reach? It’s not the realm of martial arts you know, but the realm of True Martial Arts.”
“…”
“Even for you, who has entered a state of Contemplation, there’s no telling if it will take ten years or twenty to realize Blade Aura. Or if you’ll ever achieve it in your lifetime.”
Hyang-i’s harsh assessment ignited a spark in Neung Un-bi’s heart.
“…You did it. You said you’re only sixteen, right? So I can do it too.”
“Hmph. Ridiculous. I told you, you and I are incomparable. And the training I’ve undergone is not something a human can endure.”
“I’ll do it! I said I’ll do it! So teach me!”
“Throwing a tantrum won’t make it happen.”
“Damn it! It’s not a tantrum, I’m telling you I’ll really do it!”
At the sight of Neung Un-bi stubbornly insisting like a child, Hyang-i, who was much younger, let out a sigh.
“Hah, fine. Let’s do it this way. If you manage to attain Blade Aura while I am by your side, I will surely teach you. Without any price, as your effort is commendable.”
“You promise?”
“I do not go back on my word. I swear on West Lake Longjing tea.”
“…”
Swearing an oath on mere tea was absurd, but what mattered was that he had secured her agreement.
*I’ll work hard.*
Hard enough to wipe that smirk off your face.
“I just can’t understand it. Attaining Blade Aura is a worthy goal, but to be so hung up on such a trivial skill… And I never thought the Cult Leader’s disciple would beg like this.”
“…”
“Alright, I’ll help you with one more thing.”
“Hm?”
“The way to attain Blade Aura.”
“Huh?”
At the unsolicited offer of help, Neung Un-bi’s eyes shot open.
There was a way to attain Blade Aura?
“Though I don’t know if it will work or not.”
“What is it?! What do I have to do?”
Seeing Neung Un-bi’s eager reaction, Hyang-i let out a smirk and said.
“Awaken the sixth sense, beyond the five.”
“Huh?”
“Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. When you become free from these five human senses, the sixth sense awakens.”
“…”
“You look like you don’t understand. But if you think about the process through which you entered Contemplation, you’ll find the answer.”
“Contemplation… the seeing eye?”
“No, the eye that sees through.”
“…”
Neung Un-bi’s pupils trembled slightly.
An old memory flashed through his mind.
The seeing eye. The long, arduous training process he had gone through to cultivate it, the memory of those painful days made him grimace.
“Oh, right!”
“Hm?”
“Starting tomorrow, you’ll be my servant, so please decide on a definite appearance. A sickly scholar? Or perhaps a plump…”
“…?”
*Ah, so the comment about my preferences was because of that misunderstanding?*
“That’s not what I meant earlier…”
“It’s fine. You don’t have to make excuses.”
Hyang-i smiled awkwardly and scratched her head.
“Hmm, it’s my first time meeting a man who’s into other men… But don’t worry, I’m not one to judge. It’s possible to have that kind of preference.”
*Shut up!*