Chapter 93
Translator: TrueDetective
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: 26. Kunlun is Always Doomed (3)
“There’s no need to be so surprised. If I may introduce myself, I’m Kim Gara, a lowly Daoist of Kunlun. Everyone just calls me Daoist Kim.”
The martial artist possessing Taeho’s body introduced himself as a Daoist of Kunlun.
Even after that elegant introduction, we didn’t drop our guards, so Daoist Kim scratched his cheek as if embarrassed.
“I held back on saying hello all this time because I figured you’d react like this~ But I’ve been watching over you all along. Every time your bodies swapped with Young Master Taeho’s!”
“That means…….”
I barely managed to find my voice and asked.
“Every time Taeho’s mind was wandering, you were transferring into his body?”
“That’s right! I didn’t step forward until now because it was someone else’s body, but this is something I couldn’t just let slide.”
Taeho’s eyes slowly turned toward the Heavenly Demon.
“The worst criminal in Jianghu history. Why is the Heavenly Demon traveling with Young Master Taeho’s friends?”
“How should I know? Even I was summoned and dragged here.”
The Heavenly Demon didn’t even blink at being called the worst criminal in Jianghu history.
Daoist Kim chuckled as if amused.
“Until now, I quietly lent my body to Young Master Taeho because he carried an aura that resonated with our Kunlun. But what’s this! Our precious little Taeho is rubbing shoulders with a demon that enrages heaven and earth. What kind of nonsense is this~?”
As things started feeling off, Yuk Jong-nam stepped forward.
“It’s no nonsense. We’re just trying to recover our lost bodies and brothers. It has nothing to do with Jianghu grudges.”
“…Lost bodies?”
Daoist Kim tilted his head, then muttered something incomprehensible.
“I thought it was just coincidence… but those divine relics came from another world too, huh.”
…Divine relics?
“Hmm, probably not something to discuss with the Heavenly Demon here. Anyway, what you’re looking for is the twin of that presence-less guy, right?”
I figured this martial artist had been seeing what Taeho saw.
But then Daoist Kim made an unexpected proposal.
“In this era where survivors are few and far between, finding one person isn’t hard at all. I’ll gladly help you out.”
“Wait, survivors are few?”
“Yes, there aren’t many survivors left—neither people nor sects. Countless orthodox martial arts were lost to the Heavenly Demon’s ravages, and even those that remain struggle to carry on because of the Mad Demon.”
Mad Demon—what’s that?
What the hell is going on in the Central Plains?
“Compared to tracking down lost manuals, finding one young man is easier than downing cold leaf tea. However, in exchange for my help, I’d like you to grant me one request.”
“…A request?”
“Yes. That demon over there.”
Daoist Kim bared his teeth in a grin.
“Send the Heavenly Demon back to the Central Plains.”
“……!”
It was an unexpected demand.
I’d assumed he’d tell us not to send the Heavenly Demon back.
“You want us to… send the Heavenly Demon back to the Central Plains?”
“I was wondering why the Heavenly Demon suddenly vanished from the Central Plains. But seeing him alive and well makes me happy.”
Happy that the Heavenly Demon is alive and well……?
Before I could recover from the baffling words, sharp remarks poured from Daoist Kim’s mouth.
“You can’t trample my Kunlun and then die by someone else’s hand before I get my revenge.”
“You filthy orthodox scum, daring to speak of revenge in front of me?”
The Heavenly Demon spat out the words as if he couldn’t stomach it anymore.
“It was your Nine Great Sects that first crushed my master’s ideals. I merely exacted rightful vengeance.”
“Trying the same pathetic act to bewitch these naive youths. It fooled the world’s greatest, but not me. So.”
Daoist Kim grinned widely and extended a hand toward the Heavenly Demon.
“Hurry back to the Central Plains. So our Kunlun can tear you apart.”
The Heavenly Demon stared at Daoist Kim with emotionless eyes.
Then, indifferently, he raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, Taeho’s body crumpled like a puppet with cut strings.
Yuk Jong-nam urgently caught the falling body.
“Taeho!”
I rushed over in shock, and saw Taeho gasping in agony, unconscious.
As I carefully laid him on the floor, a shadow fell over us.
I looked up and met the Heavenly Demon’s eyes as he gazed down at us.
Jong-nam instinctively shielded Taeho from him.
But I grabbed Jong-nam’s arm and shook my head.
“Heavenly Demon…….”
I offered Taeho to him. The Heavenly Demon, who had been watching me do so, extended a long, elegant finger and lightly tapped Taeho’s forehead.
A moment later, the furrowed brow relaxed, and Taeho’s breathing finally returned to normal.
“Thank you.”
The Heavenly Demon merely snorted at my gratitude.
From the earlier conversation, it was clear his mood had soured.
He wasn’t trying to lighten the air with that flippant meme speech.
But since he’d tended to Taeho, his anger wasn’t directed at us.
Still.
‘What was that about his master just now?’
Did the Heavenly Demon have a master too?
I had so many questions, but now wasn’t the time.
“Taeho’s mind…….”
Yuk Jong-nam, peering at the unconscious Taeho’s face, murmured quietly.
“He really was in the Central Plains.”
It was what we’d suspected.
But what happened after was an unexpected turn.
A real Kunlun Sect martial artist had hijacked Taeho’s body—even if just briefly—to deliver a message.
The demand to send the Heavenly Demon back lingered in my mind, but……
What bothered me most was something else.
Was it really coincidence that Taeho’s Kunlun-obsessed mind had possessed a Kunlun Daoist’s body?
“If everything we lost is in the Central Plains, then all the better.”
Yuk Jong-nam looked up at the Heavenly Demon.
“Ami’s tongue, the Demon Sword’s nose, Taeho’s mind… and my leg.”
At the word “leg,” my eyes involuntarily drifted to his lower body.
He’d always worn long pants, so I hadn’t realized the missing part was his leg.
So that’s a prosthetic.
Yuk Jong-nam continued in a trembling voice.
“If the Heavenly Demon returns to the Central Plains… we can get them all back, right……?”
His voice trailed off pleadingly. The Heavenly Demon stared at him silently for a moment before speaking leisurely.
“Yes… if I return, you could reclaim them easily.”
“You’ll go back, right?”
“…….”
“Please go back. To your demonic reign over the world.”
Yuk Jong-nam knew we’d planned to find Namgung Jun through Taeho and offer him as a body for the Heavenly Demon.
But now that the linked Kunlun Daoist had firmly demanded the Heavenly Demon’s return, it was understandable that Jong-nam’s resolve was shaken.
‘This is tricky.’
To test the Heavenly Demon’s sincerity, I’d urged him to keep idoling.
If Namgung Jun could fill in for him, there’d be no need to return.
But now the Kunlun Daoist who could track Namgung Jun was demanding his return.
I was at a loss for how to respond.
For the sake of Wave Sect disciples, it’d be right to firmly declare here and now that we’d send him back.
But if he had no intention of going… or some ulterior motive.
If I declared it outright, who knows what he’d do behind my back.
‘Can’t let that happen…….’
I can’t control what the Heavenly Demon does out of my sight.
With precedents like Brother Zhang’s faction, I had to prevent any victims outside my view.
…I hope his initial request to know how to return was genuine.
I hope his hesitation to leave is purely for the fans.
-The way he most enjoyed slaughtering orthodox folk was infiltrating them by posing as an innocent youth.
-Trying the same pathetic act to bewitch these naive youths.
If both the martial artist senior from Jianghu and the Kunlun Daoist said the same thing.
I couldn’t help but doubt the Heavenly Demon’s true intentions.
‘But…….’
I closed my eyes briefly, then slowly raised my lids and asked the Heavenly Demon.
“What do you want to do?”
“You’re asking me?”
The Heavenly Demon looked puzzled at the question, as always.
“I already told you. If that’s what you want…….”
“You did say before that you planned to return.”
I cut him off, and he paused before replying curtly.
“…Yes.”
“But you also said you had no intention of leaving right away—that you’d stay until your idol shelf life ends.”
“What are you getting at?”
“It’s true fans have appeared who adore the Heavenly Demon in this world. If you return to the Central Plains, Wave Sect disciples can resume idol activities, but conversely, fans will grieve your disappearance.”
As I said that, it hit me.
Senior suggested testing him by telling him not to go back.
But deep down, I seemed to genuinely want the Heavenly Demon to stay and keep idoling.
It wasn’t some grand reason like trusting him despite the hurt, like with Zaha.
“I just hate sacrificing the few for the many.”
“You’re starting to sound more and more like that guy.”
At this point, I was curious what kind of person this Sword Saint was.
“Child…….”
The Heavenly Demon spoke in a soothing tone, like placating a kid.
“There’s no such thing as everyone happy without sacrifice.”
He sounded like someone who’d seen such an ending.
“Still asking me that means you haven’t learned your lesson yet.”
“But I can’t just tell you to rush back to a place full of people waiting to rip you apart.”
“Have you forgotten I opened the Demonic Reign there? You think those fools can touch a hair on my head?”
“As a Haomen member yourself, it’s only natural your sect leader worries.”
The Heavenly Demon laughed aloud at being called a Haomen member, then wore a wry smile.
“Fine. Commendable, but… eventually, a moment will come when my choice matters most. Don’t whine then.”
Jeez, whining? What does he take me for?
Still… I got what he meant.
With Wave Sect disciples’ bodies gone.
It’d be hard for me to make rational choices every time.
When the moment came, I’d undoubtedly choose for Wave Sect.
And that choice wouldn’t accommodate the Heavenly Demon.
He knew that well.
He’d been watching me ever since learning my identity as rep.
“Hyung… if we don’t send the Heavenly Demon back, the Kunlun Daoist won’t help us.”
Yuk Jong-nam, who’d been listening anxiously to our exchange, spoke up.
Namgung Mu also gazed desperately our way.
For him, it was a chance to find Namgung Jun—he wouldn’t want to miss it.
“We can get the Kunlun Daoist’s cooperation another way.”
“Another way?”
“We don’t even know how to send the Heavenly Demon back right now. You were gonna promise something we can’t deliver?”
“Well, that’s true, but…….”
Thinking coldly about the Daoist’s proposal.
Sending the Heavenly Demon back wasn’t something I could promise him.
We didn’t even know when we could use that scroll… or if it would really send him back.
“We need to talk to the Kunlun Daoist again.”
“Taeho’s out for days once he passes out. Not possible right now.”
Days unconscious?
Was Taeho off doing something in the Central Plains in that Daoist’s body?
“Then contact me next time Taeho wakes up.”
“Got it. I will…….”
“Um…….”
Namgung Mu spoke up after Yuk Jong-nam’s weak reply.
“If not sending the Heavenly Demon back, may I ask what you plan to offer the Kunlun Daoist for cooperation……?”
“We have something. The Namgung family manual, hailed as one of the pinnacles of orthodox martial arts.”
If orthodox manuals have vanished from that world beyond.
What could be more effective for recovering the next head of the Namgung family?
“I’ll hand over the Emperor’s Sword Formation.”