Lost Things, Left Behind
A faint scent hung in the air.
It was similar in nature to the smell I once knew from the Poison King's Hall of Elder Dam So-cheon, the Poison King of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
This place had the feel of an apothecary in a physician's clinic — the kind that treated wounded martial artists.
First things first: assess my condition.
I sat cross-legged on the bed and turned my awareness inward, observing the interior of this body. It didn't take long to understand.
My dantian was empty.
As if internal energy had never existed here at all.
I'd expected as much, to some degree. The Heavenly Demon Wiji Yeon had clearly lived out his natural lifespan. This body must be the one born after reincarnation.
Which raised new questions.
Why do the memories of my past life continue unbroken?
Why is this not the body of a newborn infant?
An instinctive resistance against the force that sought to wash my soul clean. The moment I became capable of perceiving this physical form. Thoughts rose and vanished through my mind in succession.
I shook my head once.
You've fallen into heart demons, Wiji Yeon.
This is not the time to dwell on what was lost. I need to take stock of what remains.
I haven't fully assessed it yet, but this body is small and fragile beyond measure. Still, inconvenient as it is, I can at least move my limbs. Perhaps I should count myself fortunate that the moment I escaped that eggshell wasn't as a newborn.
In that case, all the better.
My mind still holds countless breathing methods and internal energy cultivation arts. I can lay a foundation with pure, orthodox techniques. No need to practice something like the Reverse Blood Art that the lower-ranked demonic practitioners of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult used to rapidly accumulate internal energy.
The Reverse Blood Art certainly allows one to build internal energy quickly, but it has the side effect of letting demonic qi seep into the bone marrow. One becomes all too easily what the orthodox sects call a "demonic practitioner." Even the Wiji Yeon of the past struggled most with resolving that demonic qi.
I will operate internal energy arts to build this body's foundation, then obtain a physique suited for combat through the Rebirth of Bone and Muscle.
From the fragmentary glimpse I've had of this room's structure and style, this place is clearly not the Central Plains. Or perhaps long ages have passed since the era in which the previous Wiji Yeon lived. Who knows what threats may exist. I must recover my power as quickly as possible.
Did I not feel it even before becoming the cult leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult? In any world, without power one is only scorned and used.
Setting that aside for now — the most important thing is the qi in the surrounding air.
I opened my eyes and reached toward the elongated object on the table some distance from the bed.
With a sharp whoosh, the black object flew into my hand in an instant.
Void Object Seizure.
A technique of wrapping distant objects in one's own qi and moving them. It can't compare to sword-flight arts or sword-riding techniques, but it's convenient for fetching things that are out of reach.
"As expected."
I spoke softly, then immediately shut my mouth and grumbled. This thin voice is utterly impossible to get used to. Is it because of the child's body? Even among boys, this pitch is on the high side.
A slight dizziness made me furrow my brow. Because the body hasn't fully matured. But with this, I've confirmed what I needed to.
How else could I, with not even a handful of internal energy in my dantian, perform such an advanced technique?
The answer lay in the mysteries of the Natural Realm.
An uncharted realm that even the insights of the first Heavenly Demon left no trace of — a realm that existed only on the lips of enthusiasts. Upon reaching this realm, one can handle not only one's own internal energy but the qi of nature itself as if it were one's own limbs.
The three supreme realms beyond the peak: the Harmony Realm, the Profound Realm, and the Natural Realm. When one reaches the end of what a human can attain, one gains enlightenment and sheds humanity itself.
"So the mysteries of the Natural Realm are bound not to the body, but to the soul itself."
I murmured softly and nodded. I hadn't wanted this, but it became an opportunity to reconfirm the power of the Natural Realm — a power that in the martial world had never even found a proper target to use against.
Of course, that doesn't mean I can neglect physical and internal energy training. In the end, even the mysteries of the Natural Realm require a body sturdy enough to withstand their use. With a body this frail, I can't freely wield them.
Just then, I sensed two people approaching. I immediately stirred the ambient qi to identify them.
The ones who pulled my body from that glass shell, perhaps. One was second-rate at best, even being generous. But the other was at the Peak Realm. Elder-level of a sect, or among the top of the next generation's rising talents.
So Peak experts still exist even in this era.
A click of the door opening, and they strode into the room without hesitation, beginning to whisper about me.
I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at them. As an old monster of long experience, I feigned composure — but inwardly, I couldn't help being a little surprised.
Oh? What's with those hair colors?
The young lady's is gold, and the young man's is blue. Come to think of it, I occasionally saw golden hair among the foreign merchants who visited the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. So are these people foreigners? Their facial features do somewhat resemble those of Central Plains folk, though.
As I stared at them openly, the woman suddenly lit up and started approaching. I instinctively manipulated my qi. I saw the woman's body flinch to a stop.
I kept my gaze fixed on them, fiddling with the ambient qi — ready to forge a blade of pure will, the Mind Sword, at any moment. My current body is fragile beyond measure. I cannot casually permit others to approach. Not only interrupting my cultivation, but freely trying to close the distance on a martial artist?
Should I kill them?
Unlike the woman, who didn't understand why she'd stopped, the man was clearly on guard and preparing to raise his internal energy. Truly a Peak expert. He instinctively sensed that the air in this place was dangerous.
But the unspoken rule against interrupting another's cultivation is a matter of the martial world. The common sense of this place may differ from the Central Plains.
I turned my head and withdrew my qi.
"Pwah...! What kind of look is that for a little kid...."
"A-are you okay? Did big sister and big brother startle you? ...If you need the bathroom, just say so! I'll be nearby! Sh-should I bring food first? Yeah! I'll go get some food!"
"W-wait!"
With a clamor of noise they vanished, and I felt a slight pang of guilt. Come to think of it, they pulled me out of that place. They're clearly well-intentioned people. I may need to rely on them until I recover my power, or until this young body grows to a certain point.
Do I have to play the part of a young child? I, an old monster who has lived three hundred years?
But the me of now is not the Heavenly Demon who commanded countless demonic practitioners. I am merely a child. For now, I must set aside my pride and seek their cooperation as much as possible to adapt to this unfamiliar era. Living as one pleases is something only the powerful can afford.
Wiji Yeon — return to your beginnings. Recall the days when your power was meager, when you struggled to survive in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
By the way, as expected, the language isn't Central Plains speech. There's something vaguely familiar about it, though. And yet I can understand it without any difficulty. Is this related to that force that tried to burrow into this body's brain while I was inside the glass egg?
I was lost in thought for a moment where they'd disappeared, then felt the call of nature.
"Umm...."
Having been born in a human body, the inevitable physiological needs must be addressed. At last, the time had come to walk with this body for the first time.
"Nngh."
Grunting, I moved my body down from the bed and shuffled my stubby little feet out the door. This tiny physique is truly hard to get used to.
I walked with my eyes wide open, constantly looking around. I looked every bit the country bumpkin who'd just arrived in the capital of Kaifeng. But I couldn't help it. A corridor stretched out, straight and proper as if measured by a ruler — an unfamiliar interior landscape. And somehow, I could also read the characters written on each room.
"Treatment room, examination room... restroom, is it. This place?"
Even if the era has changed, or ages have passed, the unmistakable feel of a latrine cannot be hidden. I could easily tell this was the place I was looking for.
"Hm?"
The doors split left and right. On small plaques, figures of people were drawn — a human wearing a skirt, a human wearing pants.
"This side, then."
I strode without hesitation through the door with the pants-wearing figure.
And a short while later, I, Wiji Yeon — for all my three hundred years of cultivation — could not help but cry out in utter shock.
"Kyaaaah!"
Boom! Crash!
Na-yeon, who'd come back carrying porridge for the child and a few snacks for herself, realized the treatment room was empty — and immediately an explosion echoed from down the corridor.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
It's definitely that girl. I only took my eyes off her for about ten minutes, and this happens? What am I going to tell Oppa?
The sound came from the medical center's restroom. Na-yeon sprinted there in a frenzy.
Whooosh!
The sound of water gushing from a burst pipe. But... the men's restroom?
"Kid! Are you oka— hah!"
A girl sat drenched on the floor of the men's restroom, coming into view. Her blankly open eyes were unfocused, and she kept muttering something.
"It... it's not there. Why...?"
"What's wrong? What happened? Hah!"
The restroom was a disaster. Cracks spiderwebbed across the walls in places, and water from the burst pipes flooded the floor. Na-yeon quickly scooped up the sitting girl.
Thud-thud-thud!
A short while later, another visitor arrived at the scene of the catastrophe.
"What the!? An explosion from this direction...!?"
"S-So-rim Unnie!"
"Good heavens...."
A female hunter with brown hair in a ponytail — Han So-rim, Guild Master of the Sorim Guild and an A-class hunter. She stared at the wrecked men's restroom and let out a dazed groan.
Na-yeon wore an awkward expression.
"Th-that's...."
Na-yeon's mind began spinning at an unprecedented speed. Whatever the actual reason, it was clear this girl had done it. A girl discovered in an underground laboratory, subjected to who-knows-what experiments. She was clearly at the center of some vast conspiracy. Even the somewhat dim Na-yeon knew she couldn't drag others into this.
"Ah, the kid went into the wrong restroom, got startled and was about to fall, so I rushed to catch her and accidentally used my ability."
Na-yeon scratched her head, spinning the best excuse she could. So-rim looked at her with a dubious expression.
"...You used your ability?"
"Y-yeah. I'm still not great at mana control, right? I was running toward the kid and accelerated for a second, and my mana just discharged. The restroom is spacious, so... hehe."
"Ugh.... Why would you do that? No matter how urgent the situation, if you can't control unnecessary mana discharge, you can't become an excellent hunter, you know? It's a blessing the kid wasn't hurt by the aftermath rather than by falling."
"Y-yeah.... I'll be careful."
"Haa. Anyway, I'll have to call a repair crew right away."
"Sorry Unnie, sorry!"
"What is there to be sorry about? I'm going to collect the repair costs properly, you know?"
"Hah!"
Na-yeon jumped at the statement that came with So-rim's wink.
"What? Were you planning to smash the fixtures and not pay?"
"N-no...."
"You made a lot on this expedition, didn't you? Heh heh. Maybe as a student, but now that you're clearly a working adult, you have to take responsibility for what you do, right?"
"Yeah...."
Na-yeon wilted. She was a hundred percent right. But she couldn't say she hadn't been the one who did it.
"Anyway, another kid you picked up outside the city barrier? Haa, are you two siblings planning to open an orphanage? I let you use the medical center without asking questions for now, but make sure you properly entrust her to a facility later, okay?"
"Yeah. Always grateful, So-rim Unnie."
I'll make Oppa pay for all of this.
With that resolve, Na-yeon carried the still-dazed child back to the hospital room.
Creak.
Closing the water valve, So-rim gazed at the wreckage of the restroom and sank into thought.
C-class hunter Na-yeon is a transformation type. Saying she used her ability means she temporarily transformed into her ultimate technique form, Aegis's Shield. Since Na-yeon is still inexperienced with mana manipulation, she couldn't move quickly unless in that state.
But this building is a facility used by hunters, so of course it's reinforced with mana stones. It's not a facility that would be wrecked by the mere aftermath of an inexperienced Na-yeon's mana discharge. Of course, an A-class hunter could easily blow away even a reinforced building's outer wall.
"...But Na-yeon is definitely a C-class hunter."