Chapter 96
Translator: TrueDetective
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: 28. Martial World Secret Tale (1)
The day of filming for [Dogs Go Garung, Cats Go Garung Too].
Teacher Namgoong Ryeo's cat with two tails, Miho.
Garung, the half-human half-bird disguised as a Samoyed.
The two of them sat nose-to-nose, staring intently at each other.
The Heavenly Demon took one look at Miho and gave his curt impression.
"It's a gumiho."
He'd suspected as much from the name Miho.
He'd figured it was a yokai!
But it really was a gumiho—that's why they named it Miho.
'So Miho's true form is a fox, disguised as a cat.'
As I watched the two of them getting into position for filming, lost in such idle thoughts.
Teacher Namgoong Ryeo confirmed it plainly, without needing any further prodding.
"She's still young and inexperienced, so she can't hide her tails completely."
"Garung went through that phase too."
"Really? What's Garung's true form?"
"A nine-foot-tall human-faced bird."
"Oh my."
No. Is it okay to have this conversation with the cameras rolling?
Maybe because the Heavenly Demon had settled into his odd, otherworldly concept, the production crew seemed to think Teacher Namgoong Ryeo was just playing along with his shtick.
Thanks to that, the Heavenly Demon and Teacher Namgoong Ryeo could chat freely.
"Garung likes vegetarians. So for a gumiho, it's livers, right?"
At the Heavenly Demon's nonchalant question, Teacher Namgoong Ryeo paused for a moment before smiling breezily and answering.
"Exactly. Miho loves the livers of herbivores too."
Teacher Namgoong Ryeo didn't hesitate to call a monk an herbivore.
...Teacher Namgoong Ryeo seems just as suspiciously shady as the president.
"By the way... I brought them here for the pet playground, but they don't seem interested at all."
"Those toys are beneath their level."
One corner of the Southern Wild Beast Palace had a play area set up for pets.
Little slides, obstacle courses, tracks made of traffic cones—stuff like that, so Miho and Garung showed zero interest.
The crew tried luring them with treats.
Miho at least half-heartedly pretended to go through the track, but Garung just snorted and knocked over a few cones.
Teacher Namgoong Ryeo chuckled softly at the sight, and the Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.
"What a personality on that one."
"They say pets take after their owners."
"I am not Garung's owner."
Garung was said to be the cherished pet of the North Sea Ice Palace's saintess, so the Heavenly Demon not being the owner was technically correct.
But it looked like he was just dodging because he didn't like being called foul-tempered.
"Well, these days people serve the animals they raise like masters."
As expected from Teacher Namgoong Ryeo, who'd been in charge of Kichi idol care, she neatly repackaged the Heavenly Demon.
She beckoned Miho over, picked her up, and added,
"But it's surprising."
"What is?"
"I wouldn't have pegged you as the type to cuddle up and call the pet you raise 'master.'"
The Heavenly Demon chuckled.
"Namgoong Family Head. You don't strike me as that type either."
"Do I? But taming something requires a certain level of respect."
Namgoong Ryeo gave a cryptic smile and asked,
"What about you, Heavenly Demon? They seem to follow you closely—how did you tame them?"
"Nothing to it."
The Heavenly Demon gently stroked Garung, who had climbed onto his lap, and Garung promptly rolled over to expose its belly.
"Like this... Beasts flip over to show their bellies and drop their guard. Conversely, if you show your weakness first, the beast will let its guard down too. Once it judges you weaker than itself, it'll try to protect you instead."
The Heavenly Demon paused, then smirked faintly as he continued.
"A pure, foolish kid."
...Did he just say that about me?
Teacher Namgoong Ryeo looked a bit surprised.
"You're blunt. Right in front of it."
"Smart head, but no street smarts."
Watching Garung rub its cheek against his hand, the Heavenly Demon smiled faintly and said,
"You're not here just to chat philosophy with me, are you?"
"That's true, but..."
Teacher Namgoong Ryeo glanced my way once, then continued her line.
"By the way, I heard the show name changes starting with this episode."
"I heard about that from the president."
"You must be thrilled."
"Why rejoice over such trifles? What I desire always comes to pass."
"Image improvement..."
"Must we discuss that now?"
Something vaguely meaningful passed between them midway.
But after that, only broadcast-friendly chit-chat followed.
Maybe because Teacher Namgoong Ryeo was there, the Heavenly Demon held back on any outbursts.
Just as I started to relax, thinking there'd be no broadcast disasters this time.
Someone tapped my shoulder.
"......?"
I whipped around reflexively and couldn't help but flinch.
It was early October, late summer with the heat still lingering.
But the man standing behind me was wearing...
...a shaggy fur coat.
A strong jawline and wild hairstyle.
His bronze arm muscles flexed as he asked me,
"I'll ask. Are you the Heavenly Demon's manager?"
"......"
Not long ago, I would've thought, what a lunatic.
But ever since the Heavenly Demon crashed through the fourth-floor office window, I'd learned to see the world without prejudice.
No need to overthink it anymore—I could tell.
This guy... he's the lord of the Southern Wild Beast Palace.
* * *
After filming for [Dogs Go Garung, Cats Go Garung Too] wrapped.
The Heavenly Demon and I ended up having a meal with the Southern Wild Beast Palace president, Namgoong Joo.
Namgoong Joo insisted people needed meat and dragged us straight to a rib joint.
At the mention of ribs, the Heavenly Demon followed without a hint of resistance.
He invited Teacher Namgoong Ryeo along too.
But she shut him down instantly with a "No thanks."
So at this moment.
The Heavenly Demon and I sat facing Namgoong Joo across a grill sizzling with ribs.
While he wore a red apron emblazoned with "World's Best Jeogalbi" around his chest.
Namgoong Joo, tongs in hand as he grilled the ribs, tilted his head slightly and asked,
"Young master, why do you keep eyeing the apron?"
"The rib joint's name feels ominous."
"What's odd about a rib joint called World's Best Jeogalbi?"
"Yes."
"Haha, no need to think it's weird. The owner's name is Jeogalbi, that's all."
That's the part that's worrying me, that's the—
The Heavenly Demon had been staring entranced at the grilling ribs, then snapped to and asked,
"You're the Southern Wild Beast Palace lord?"
"Indeed."
"You've come to thank me, so these ribs are on you."
"Of course. Eat your fill."
"Ox, I like this one."
"It's amazing no one's tried kidnapping you for food yet, Heavenly Demon."
"Who says no one's tried?"
Don't tell me he's already been kidnapped before?
"But I have a question."
Namgoong Joo asked in a tone brimming with pure curiosity, no malice.
"Is Jeom So-ui your real name?"
You're the first person to ask me that directly.
"...Yes, hard to believe, I know."
"Jeom... Jeom. Is there even a Jeom clan?"
It's right in front of you.
"Jeom... Jeom... Ah! Just to check, your parents aren't from the Jeomchang Sect, are they?"
"......?"
What the...
I stared at him blankly, unsure how to react, when the Heavenly Demon snapped in my stead, bristling.
"Watch your mouth, you outsider scum. Ox has no parents."
The Heavenly Demon was just as tactless as Namgoong Joo.
"...Shut up and eat your ribs. Idols can't act like that."
"Fine, hand over some perilla leaves."
As I wrapped a ssam for the Heavenly Demon with perilla leaf, Namgoong Joo gave me a strange look.
"Hmm... No martial artist scent on you..."
...Martial artist scent?
After handing the ssam to the Heavenly Demon, I asked calmly,
"Just to be sure—are you perhaps a Murim expert who got isekai'd here?"
"No."
Not a Murim guy even though you seem super suspicious?
I eyed him suspiciously, and Namgoong Joo flexed his arm muscles as he added,
"I'm not an isekai'd Murim expert. I'm a soul possessor."
"...Pardon?"
"It's been about a year since I possessed this body. Took a lot of work dragging this scrawny wreck to this level."
You built that body in just a year?
No, that's not the point.
"...So you possessed President Namgoong Joo's body?"
"That's right!"
Namgoong Joo slammed his fist on the table with a hearty reply.
The Heavenly Demon, who was stuffing ribs into his mouth, jolted and went wide-eyed.
No, please.
Calm down, you Murim maniac.
"So what happened to the original President Namgoong Joo?"
At my question, Namgoong Joo answered without hesitation.
"The original owner of this body took his own life in despair over business failure."
What?
"But after dying, he regretted it and called me in to fulfill the dreams he couldn't."
Not the best thing to say in front of the late president's body, but...
It's textbook possession plot.
First a reincarnator, now a possessor.
All that's left is a regressor.
"Now just a regressor and it'd be perfect."
The Heavenly Demon next to me voiced my exact thoughts, word for word.
Looks like he knows about reincarnation, possession, and regression tropes too.
"I'll grow this business as the owner wanted."
Namgoong Joo said, eyes gleaming.
"But what do I know, having trained in martial arts my whole life? As I built up this body and pondered what to do, the Nine Great Sects rented out the Southern Wild Beast Palace and brought in crowds. On behalf of this body's original owner, I'm grateful."
Ah... so that's why he came to give thanks.
But.
"Didn't the Heretic President say anything?"
"Heretic? Oh, that... Kichi sect leader?"
It was the president who told us the Southern Wild Beast Palace owner wanted to thank us.
The president would've spotted that Namgoong Joo here was a real Murim expert.
"We met. But I didn't tell her about the possession. I even mimicked the original owner's speech patterns."
Namgoong Joo pointed his tongs at me and the Heavenly Demon in turn.
"You're the only two who know I'm a possessor."
Why tell us that?
"Why tell just us?"
"I was doubtful at first. But that Heavenly Demon there seemed real."
"......!"
He could tell the Heavenly Demon was real...?
The Demonic Cultists who served him up close all denied he was their Heavenly Demon.
How did Namgoong Joo recognize him?
The Heavenly Demon tilted his head.
"I don't know you."
"You may not know me, but no one in the Central Plains doesn't know the Heavenly Demon's face. Though... I didn't think it was the same person at first. How'd your face change so much?"
So not recognizable at a glance after all.
Just how did the Heavenly Demon live in the Central Plains that all Murim folk insist he looks different?
"So how did you know?"
"I sniffed it out here and confirmed you were the same person."
...By smell?
The "martial artist scent" wasn't a metaphor—he literally meant smell?
"The reason I revealed my identity only to you two... it's not just for thanks. I have something to ask."
"Something to ask?"
I jumped to conclusions, thinking maybe he was seeking a way back to the Murim world too.
But unexpected words came from Namgoong Joo's mouth.
"Heavenly Demon, who killed you?"
The question was a first for me—and apparently for the Heavenly Demon too.
Neither of us could react for a moment.
The Heavenly Demon frowned first and shot back.
"What nonsense is that?"
"If you fell here like me, shouldn't you be the same?"
"Same how?"
Namgoong Joo's expression turned grim.
Yeah, the face that says, 'You didn't know that either?'
The expression that unnerves me most.
Namgoong Joo spat out ominously.
"All the Murim folk who come here... they're all dead from the Central Plains, aren't they?"