Chapter 92
Translator: TrueDetective
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Kunlun is Always Doomed (2)
The rooftop of a building at Jianghu Academy.
In this district lined with dilapidated structures, we were waiting for the exiled disciples.
The Heavenly Demon stood there with arms crossed, sending a transmission somewhere.
-Are you really not planning to return and just keep being an idol?
The Heavenly Demon's response to that question was neither what Senior Hyun-seong had expected nor what I'd hoped for.
-If that's what you want.
-It's neither a yes nor a no...
I had no idea what the Heavenly Demon was thinking.
Had he noticed I was testing him?
Or was he genuinely planning to stay if I wanted him to, and go back if I didn't?
If it meant the summoned one was swayed by the summoner...
Since I was the Heavenly Demon's summoner, maybe the worries Senior had wouldn't come to pass.
...Was that too optimistic?
Just then, the Heavenly Demon suddenly looked up.
"They're here."
Following his gaze, I saw three figures leaping down from a nearby building.
So three had answered the Heavenly Demon's call.
After the last tracking incident, we'd learned firsthand how risky it was for them to move in groups.
It was actually a relief that not all the exiled disciples had come together.
We'd brought Namgung Mu, Baek Nah-an, and Dang Sa-cheon with us.
Namgung Mu was here because this was about finding Namgung Jun.
Baek Nah-an was to let the exiled disciples know she'd joined our side.
And Dang Sa-cheon had just tagged along on his own whim.
"Long time no see, bro."
Yuk Jong-nam stepped forward from the group of exiled disciples that had landed, greeting us.
Emerging from the shadows next was Yu A-mi, her face coldly composed.
And then Kim Tae-heo of the Kunlun Sect, staring blankly into space with unfocused eyes.
Tae-heo looked like a madman who'd barely managed to straighten his clothes.
"We heard the story. You need Tae-heo, right?"
As he said that, sweeping his gaze over us, Yuk Jong-nam's eyes lingered on Baek Nah-an for a moment.
"...Isn't that Nah-an?"
The exiled disciples still thought the Masked Expert was either the Alliance Leader or Nah-an.
So it made sense they'd be wary of her being here.
"Nah-an being here means... the Masked Expert was the Alliance Leader bro?"
I shook my head slightly.
"I don't know if it's the Alliance Leader or Nah-an who's the Masked Expert, but our goals align, so we're cooperating."
"Our goals align?"
"Nah-an's master wants to stop the representative."
"...Nah-an had a master?"
"Yeah. Senior Hyun-seong."
"Oh. Same name as our old team leader."
"It's that team leader."
"......? ......??"
It must've been confusing, but I couldn't explain everything right here and now.
"...But is Tae-heo in his right mind right now?"
Tae-heo's condition didn't look good.
Even as we talked, he wasn't looking our way but murmuring endlessly at thin air.
His fingers twitched now and then.
Yuk Jong-nam, who'd been watching Tae-heo for a moment, let out a small, despairing sigh.
"...He's awake right now, but his mind isn't fully there. Talking to him won't be easy."
His mind wasn't fully there...
Did that mean his sanity hadn't fully returned?
No... it wouldn't be strange if he'd taken hits while his mind was unstable.
"Before that."
Dang Sa-cheon stepped forward then.
"What about tracking Shin Tae-eul's traces?"
"...You're still dragging this guy around."
I could sense undisguised hostility from Yuk Jong-nam toward him.
No, how was this idiot Dang Sa-cheon tangled up with the exiled disciples?
"For now... we've confirmed the body found in the Han River wasn't Shin Tae-eul."
The body wasn't Shin Tae-eul...?
"You're sure?"
"Yeah. The damaged areas looked different from ours. Not even sure it was 'human' to begin with."
"What does that mean?"
"It resembled a human corpse... but didn't feel human. Like... something that popped out of nowhere?"
I'd encountered something like that recently...
The Left and Right Protectors.
Those things called monstrosities.
"If only we could've brought back even a part of the corpse... but that was impossible."
"That's enough for now."
We hadn't found Shin Tae-eul.
But knowing the Han River body wasn't him was sufficient.
Whoever staged it to look like Shin Tae-eul couldn't have replicated the exact damage from the Transfer Swap Technique.
Even the cult representative probably hadn't noticed the difference.
He didn't even seem aware the spell he'd used was the Transfer Swap Technique.
Yuk Jong-nam, who'd been watching me quietly, spoke lowly.
"Just because it wasn't Shin Tae-eul's body doesn't mean he's definitely alive, right? You know that."
"...Yeah. I do."
"Good. Then let's talk about Tae-heo. You want to find Namgung Jun through him, right?"
"Yeah."
"As you know, we don't know Namgung Jun well. Tae-heo probably doesn't know his face either."
They didn't know Namgung Jun?
Then how did they know Dang Sa-cheon?
The Heavenly Demon spoke as if it were no big deal.
"That's no issue. His twin brother is right here."
"Ah, yep, that's right."
Namgung Mu, whose face had stiffened inwardly, reacted to the Heavenly Demon's words by bowing politely to the exiled disciples.
"Couldn't properly greet you last time. I'm Namgung Mu."
Yuk Jong-nam flinched in surprise at the greeting.
"...Your presence is incredibly faint."
Sudden critical hit?
Namgung Mu's expression grew hazy.
"Sorry for having no presence..."
"No, not like that. I literally didn't sense you until you spoke."
Didn't sense his presence?
I glanced at the Heavenly Demon, who furrowed his brow slightly.
"Why do you look at me whenever you don't know something?"
"Because it seems like you'll explain."
"You think I'm some speedwagon."
What's a speedwagon?
The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue but gave a quick explanation anyway.
"His name is Mu—Nothing. The Namgung family head who named him might've infused it with sorcery."
So his unusually faint presence might be due to the sorcery in his name?
"Anyway... thanks to that, even the cult didn't notice him. Could be a blessing."
Come to think of it, the cult representative didn't seem to know Namgung Jun had a twin.
Makes sense—they were adopted into different families from the start.
Even a cult rep wouldn't dig into Namgung Jun's collaterals.
I hadn't known either until Dang Sa-cheon sold Namgung Mu out.
As we talked, I cautiously observed Tae-heo's state.
With his vacant expression, he'd tilt his head ever so slightly toward whoever was speaking.
But no big reactions.
Just grinning creepily now and then.
Even the Heavenly Demon must've seen he was off, as he tsked lightly.
"The Kunlun Sect guy looks properly messed up. How's he supposed to help like that?"
"I have a question, Speed Demon."
"You're not getting on my nerves without flinching. What is it?"
"For the other exiled disciples, we can just burn their bodies... but what about Tae-heo?"
The Heavenly Demon had said he'd find the exiled disciples' bodies in the Central Plains and burn them to send them back.
But Tae-heo had lost his mind, not his body.
I'd never heard of burning a mind.
"Offering severs the link of lingering thoughts, not matter. Don't be deluded by the physical."
"...What about Namgung Jun then?"
At my question, Namgung Mu startled.
"Y-You're not saying we have to burn my brother whole, right?!"
"What kind of sane talk is that? There's a clear path to this world. Why burn him? Tell him to walk through himself."
True enough.
...Why did a pile of eyes from the North Sea Ice Palace tumbling out of a scroll flash in my mind?
Not sure if Namgung Jun had actually tried crossing via the scroll.
For now, we needed to confirm if Tae-heo's mind had indeed gone to the murim world.
"Tae-heo. Do you remember me?"
Tae-heo nodded with his blank face.
"Promotions... manager... old fogey."
Never mind the weird speech—why was there something off in his memory of me?
Then Baek Nah-an stepped forward with hands clasped.
"I've heard you sometimes lose your mind, sir."
"...Nah-an. Speech. Weird."
"Your speech is plenty weird too, sir."
Nah-an, why point that out!
"Do you have any memories from while your mind was transferred?"
Tae-heo nodded as if he did.
"Can you tell us what you saw there?"
Tae-heo looked up at the sky with empty eyes.
"Dragon..."
"Dragon?"
"Like dragons... walking through the clouds... people..."
Nah-an murmured as if she understood up to there.
"Kunlun."
"Kunlun?"
"Probably saw the Cloud Dragon Eight Forms."
"Cloud Dragon. Yeah."
If he'd seen the Cloud Dragon Eight Forms... did that mean Tae-heo's mind was really connected to the murim world?
"Anything else?"
"Demon..."
Tae-heo muttered softly.
"Demon... realm... supreme..."
We all turned to the Heavenly Demon at his mumbling, and he shrugged.
"Seems his mind did cross to the murim world."
"What do you mean by that?"
"What else? The murim beyond is a demon realm supremacy."
"You're the Heavenly Demon. What do you think I was doing before crossing to this world?"
No, so...
He'd massacred the orthodox Ten Thousand and... opened the demon realm supremacy?
If so, there'd be no reason not to go back...
Dang Sa-cheon met my eyes and gave a look like, 'Let's send him back quick.'
"That's enough now, Kunlun Sect scum. Get a good look at this face."
As the Heavenly Demon said that and reached out, Namgung Mu's body floated lightly.
"Seen anyone like this over there?"
The Heavenly Demon pulled Namgung Mu right in front of Tae-heo with Air Grasp.
Tae-heo stared intently until Namgung Mu was sweating awkwardly from embarrassment.
After a long observation, Tae-heo gave his answer.
"Don't know. This face."
Disappointment flickered across Namgung Mu's tense face.
Reading it, the Heavenly Demon released the Air Grasp on him and said,
"Don't be disappointed. The Central Plains is vast. You think a guy whose mind flickers can know everyone there?"
"Th-Then..."
"Now that he knows your face, when his mind goes back, have him sketch a portrait and ask around."
Tae-heo's eyes were still unfocused, but he nodded as if he understood the Heavenly Demon's words.
Dang Sa-cheon, who'd been listening quietly, chimed in skeptically.
"Is that even possible? With just his mind over there, I figured it'd wander like a ghost."
I had the same doubt, but Tae-heo muttered softly.
"Possession..."
"Possession?"
The Heavenly Demon reacted most skeptically first.
"Possession, huh. Using someone else's body carelessly would draw suspicion."
"Kunlun. Taoists. Know. My existence."
What was this now?
"The people there, the Kunlun Sect people—they know you're from another world?"
"Kunlun, si—"
Suddenly, Tae-heo's body jerked to a halt.
His hands moved fluidly into a strong fist salute.
"Whoa—hey now, I was just gonna listen quietly! Can't stay out of it~!"
It was definitely Tae-heo's voice.
But it prickled the skin with wrongness.
This was...
'Possession?'
Dang Sa-cheon reached for the sword at his waist, but whatever had possessed Tae-heo's body curved its lips in a curious smile.
"No need to be so startled."
That tone and inflection... were absolutely not Tae-heo's.
'It' opened its mouth.
"If I may introduce myself, I'm Kim Gara, a lowly Kunlun Taoist."