Chapter 128
Chapter 128
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Black Wolf (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Why does it keep feeling like it’s getting farther away?”
“It seems to be moving nonstop.”
Cheol Woo and Noejeon, who had been chasing the Black Wolf’s howls, grew frustrated as the distance to it refused to close.
“What are you all doing?”
Sima Geon, who had caught up from behind, looked at them with utter disdain.
“The gap just won’t narrow.”
“Ha! It hasn’t even been that long since we left the Divine Demon Division, and you’ve already forgotten? Since when have we ever chased anything on foot?”
In an instant, Cheol Woo and Noejeon froze solid.
“We’re both idiots.”
Cheol Woo smacked his own forehead in self-reproach, while Noejeon kicked at a random pebble rolling on the ground as if searching for a hole to crawl into.
Sima Geon shook his head in disbelief, pursed his lips, and let out a long whistle.
The whistle, infused with his inner energy, spread far and wide.
Woooooo!
A wolf’s howl responded in kind.
The distant cries suddenly began closing in rapidly, and at last, the Black Wolf appeared, its back to the moonlight.
“Kuhahaha! Black Wolf!”
Cheol Woo burst into wild laughter and waved his arms enthusiastically. The Black Wolf, already charging toward them, picked up even more speed.
“Huh? There’s something on its back.”
Noejeon, who had been just as ecstatic as Cheol Woo, spotted the object clinging to the Black Wolf’s back.
“What? Oh, yeah, there is.”
Cheol Woo, who had been nonchalant until then, rubbed his eyes in surprise.
“It’s a person.”
“Yeah. A person.”
The two men’s excited expressions turned grave in an instant.
The Black Wolf’s temperament was far from ordinary. It only allowed those who had raised it from a pup—the Divine Demon Division members—to get close. Anyone else wouldn’t dare approach due to its ferocity.
For it to offer its back meant the person slumped over it, seemingly lifeless, had to be a Divine Demon Division member without a doubt.
The Black Wolf, which had barreled toward them at tremendous speed, began rubbing its face furiously against Sima Geon’s leg. It was probably expressing its joy, but everyone’s attention was fixed not on the Black Wolf, but on the person riding its back.
“Yeah, good to see you too.”
Sima Geon patted its face to calm the excited Black Wolf. In the meantime, Cheol Woo and Noejeon checked the identity of the person on its back.
“Oh, it’s Big Sis Surin.”
Noejeon, recognizing So Surin’s face, moved to embrace her happily—
“Back off.”
Sima Geon barked sharply. Startled, Noejeon stumbled backward.
“What the…?”
Cheol Woo was speechless at the poisonous aura emanating from So Surin, slumped on the Black Wolf’s back.
“You okay?”
Noejeon took several breaths before nodding at Sima Geon’s question.
“I’m fine.”
“You?”
Sima Geon asked Cheol Woo.
“I can handle this much. Still, it’s vicious.”
“Definitely no ordinary poison.”
Even Sima Geon, who had reached the state of being impervious to all poisons, issued a warning. The toxic energy pouring from So Surin’s body was terrifying. Even a brief exposure had already caused the surrounding grass to wither.
“What the hell has this woman been up to?!”
Cheol Woo snapped irritably, then quickly stroked the flinching Black Wolf’s head.
“Not talking to you, so don’t worry. Man, Black Wolf, you must’ve had it rough making it here. Good job.”
The Black Wolf seemed to enjoy the familiar touch after so long, growling softly and shaking its head lightly.
“You’re one tough bastard. Surviving poison like this.”
“But is it really okay? I know the Black Wolf isn’t ordinary, but even the Division Leader’s wary. Seems dangerous. Looks like it’s been exposed for a long time too.”
Noejeon gazed worriedly at the Black Wolf, which was happy to see them but wouldn’t approach as if aware of some danger.
“It’ll be fine. Forgot already? All the elixirs we’ve fed it bit by bit since it was a pup. If anything, it’s eaten way more than us. And that’s not all—wolves devour every herb, toxic plant, and venomous creature in sight. It’s nearly died from that more times than I can count. Plus, at the Ghost Gate Clan, that precious Celestial Pure Jade Milk…”
“That’s enough.”
Sima Geon said quietly.
“Ahem, anyway, in human terms, it’s gone through bone transformation and fetal rebirth. No way it’d fall to some poison.”
“Ha! Seriously. Stop bragging just because it shed its fur a bit. It’s not the first or second time.”
Noejeon rolled his eyes wearily, and Cheol Woo glared at him with a straight face.
“I’ve told you it’s no joke! I saw it with my own eyes—shedding fur, no, bone transformation right in front of me. And think logically. Why do you think we named it Black Wolf? Its fur was pitch black since it was little. You think it makes sense for it to turn silver-haired overnight?”
“Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”
Cheol Woo ground his teeth at Noejeon’s half-hearted reply.
That day, after wrapping up the fateful operation at the Ghost Gate Clan that even Sima Geon called destiny, while everyone was drowning in liquor, he had clearly witnessed the Black Wolf’s bone transformation. The problem was no one believed him.
“Damn, if the boss hadn’t been meditating, he would’ve seen it too.”
“Shut up and let’s head back.”
Sima Geon scooped up So Surin from the Black Wolf’s back.
“Boss, danger—!”
Noejeon started to warn him urgently but clamped his mouth shut.
Whether he hadn’t heard Noejeon or not, Sima Geon’s figure shot forward swiftly.
“Idiot. Who do you think the boss is?”
Seizing the moment, Cheol Woo ribbed him and followed Sima Geon, leading the Black Wolf, which wagged its tail happily.
“How is she?”
Cheol Woo asked anxiously.
“Her qi and blood are all tangled up, and her true energy’s raging wildly. It’s a mess. How she made it here in this state is a mystery.”
Sima Geon gazed at the peacefully sleeping So Surin with pity.
“That bad?”
“Yeah. I forced it down for now, but it won’t recover easily. Something’s off.”
“What?”
“There’s a foreign energy in her body. A strong one. I don’t know exactly what it is, but the poison leaking from her might be tied to it.”
“She cultivated some poison art?”
“Not sure. She’ll tell us when she wakes. Let’s watch for now.”
Sima Geon stepped out briefly and gave the stunned group a short explanation about the Black Wolf, along with some instructions.
“…That’s how it is. It’s dangerous, so don’t even go near that room.”
At Sima Geon’s warning, Sima Hyeon and Sima Ho nodded with faces pale with fear. Manchu couldn’t even move. Their eyes were locked on the Black Wolf standing tall in the courtyard.
“What faces. It won’t bite. Relax. Get to know it—it’s as gentle and cute as they come once you do.”
Cheol Woo tossed it a hunk of meat from the butcher and grinned.
Perhaps starved for proper food, the Black Wolf devoured the chunks Cheol Woo threw in seconds.
“Want to try feeding it? You’ll be living together anyway—better bond over some grub.”
Cheol Woo waved them over with a playful smile.
Sima Hyeon, Sima Ho, and Manchu shook their heads in unison, but Gwa Yu stepped up beside Cheol Woo.
“That’s the spirit! A real man’s got guts. Here, don’t get too close though. Might bite.”
“……”
“Kuhuhu! Just kidding. It knows friend from foe perfectly. No worries.”
Not reassuring in the slightest.
Gwa Yu took the meat from Cheol Woo, hesitated a moment, then offered it to the Black Wolf staring intently at him.
He kept a calm facade, but sweat trickled down his back at the thought it might see his hand as the real meal, his limbs trembling.
As if mocking his fears, the Black Wolf snatched only the meat and spun away.
Cheol Woo and Noejeon chuckled, but those watching Gwa Yu from behind couldn’t utter a word.
Exactly one hour later, So Surin, who had fallen into a deep sleep, regained consciousness.
Sima Geon infused her with his inner energy to calm her rampaging true qi as she awoke screaming in agony.
“Haa! Haa!”
Finally free of the pain, So Surin panted heavily, drenched in cold sweat.
“You okay?”
Cheol Woo asked worriedly.
“Weird dream… a big bear hopping around. So it was you, Cheol Woo.”
So Surin grinned broadly.
“Crazy bitch! Boss, if she’s spouting nonsense like old times, she seems fine.”
“What nonsense? It hurts. Hurts a lot.”
As So Surin tried to sit up, Sima Geon gently pressed her shoulder down.
“Lie still.”
“Thanks, Division Leader. We finally met.”
“How’d you know we were here?”
At Sima Geon’s question, the corner of So Surin’s eye twitched up briefly before settling.
“That lunatic Yin Jeokso told me. Said you and this guy were here.”
“Yin Jeokso? Who the hell’s that?”
Cheol Woo asked, rummaging through his memory for the name.
“Lunatic bastard. Son of a bitch. The enemy I’ll tear apart with my own hands.”
So Surin’s venomous expression and voice made even Cheol Woo avert his eyes.
“Never heard the name. How does he know us?”
Sima Geon furrowed his brow.
“Said you killed him.”
“Who?”
“Yin Seolhui.”
“No way—Ten Thousand Poisons Valley?”
Sima Geon’s eyes widened.
“Yeah. Her little brother. Thought everyone from that valley’s bloodline was dead except her, but this bastard survived. He was always half-mad, but hearing his sister died sent him off the deep end completely. Now he’s rampaging for revenge against you, the one who killed her.”
Sima Geon clenched his fist without realizing it.
No explanation needed for where the madness of revenge-crazed Yin Jeokso was directed.
“The others are in his hands too?”
So Surin nodded.
“All twenty?”
“Yeah. How’d you know it was twenty captured?”
“Heard it from some rat. Thought you were locked in the Brain Prison—why’d you go to Ten Thousand Poisons Valley?”
“Wasn’t there long. Half a month maybe. Then straight to the valley.”
“Like handing fish to a cat.”
So Surin’s eyes sharpened at Cheol Woo’s words.
“Bullshit—are we the damn fish?”
“Just a figure of speech.”
“Ha! You, the damn deputy.”
So Surin turned away irritably and spoke to Sima Geon, who still wore a stern expression.
“From the day we arrived at Ten Thousand Poisons Valley, that psycho started all sorts of experiments on us. Two died the first day, five more in a week. But get this—funny part?”
So Surin stared at Sima Geon with eyes brimming with hatred.
“We all wished we were dead. Envied the ones who went first like nothing else.”
“You!”
Cheol Woo grabbed her shoulder.
“What the hell did he do to you?”
“Trying to crush my shoulder? Still showing off your brute strength like always, huh?”
“Ah! Sorry!”
Cheol Woo yanked his hand back in panic.
“Doesn’t matter. Back then I’d have screamed bloody murder, but now? Nothing.”
So Surin examined her hand, letting out a self-mocking laugh.
“That bastard said he’d make us impervious to all poisons and unbreakable as diamond. Not wrong, it seems. We’ve become real monsters.”
“You still haven’t answered Cheol Woo. What exactly did he do to you?”
Sima Geon asked in a low voice.
It might seem indifferent, but So Surin and Cheol Woo knew. Sima Geon was suppressing his rage with utmost restraint.