Chapter 135: Reunion-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 135: Reunion-2
My master’s master... so I should call her Grandmaster, right? Regardless, I followed the Grandmaster up the hill.
The two women moved forward as if they were gliding on a moving walkway, making it difficult to keep up.
"Hey, slow down a bit."
When I spoke, gasping for breath because it was so hard to catch up, the Grandmaster apologized and slowed her pace.
On the other hand, my master...
"Hmph, panting like that after just a little walk. Pathetic."
She pouted and grumbled.
Is she really my master? There’s a higher chance she’s just someone else who happens to have the same face.
Her behavior is a total brat's. Well, she is a kid right now, I suppose.
Currently, my master barely reaches my chin.
Considering she used to hover around the level of my nose, she’s definitely in an underdeveloped state.
Hmm... but it’s quite fascinating that I could come to the past.
Since I’ve always moved to different dimensions, I never really thought about time.
Did I come to the past? Or is this a parallel world?
There are these two possibilities, but for now, it’ll be easier on my mind to assume it’s the former.
If it were the latter, it would feel more bitter.
It would be sad if the person I worked so hard to build a bond with was a completely different person who just shared the same face.
"What are you doing? Hurry up!"
Hmm... maybe losing that bond wouldn't be so bad after all.
Damn it.
I hurried to catch up and asked the Grandmaster.
"By the way, where are we going?"
"We are heading to the Murim Alliance," the Grandmaster said, brushing back her hair, which had a faint reddish tint.
"The Murim Alliance?"
Bad memories resurfaced.
"Is the Murim Alliance located in a countryside like this?"
I don't know much about the Murim world, but this place is just the boonies. Once we left the cluster of houses, all I could see were farmlands.
The bustling areas in my memory didn't look like this.
"To be precise, it's a temporary camp," Master added.
"So-yu is right. The elites of the Murim Alliance are here to subjugate a particularly vicious Public Enemy of the Murim."
A Public Enemy of the Murim...
When I was possessed, my master was the Public Enemy. Does that mean there was another being like the Heavenly Demon?
"By any chance, is that enemy's name..."
But no one answered my question.
As we reached the top of the steep hill, everyone’s eyes were fixed on the landscape below.
There was an open clearing at the bottom of the hill.
The ground was unnaturally gouged, and burning flags and broken weapons were scattered around.
And just like what I saw in the village, there were shriveled corpses, along with bodies that had been pierced or crushed by something.
"Ugh..."
An unbidden retch rose up, and I spilled a bit of saliva—I couldn't tell if it was spit or gastric juice—onto the ground.
Seeing me like that, Master subtly increased the distance between us.
"It must be a shocking sight... I apologize. But I had no choice but to show you this to explain the current situation," the Grandmaster said, her voice tinged with bitterness.
"What happened here?"
"These are the people who sacrificed themselves to catch a single Public Enemy. Do you see him over there?"
In the very center of a massive crater, I could see a small figure sprawled out in a spread-eagle position.
That person's condition was worse than the others; for starters, he was drenched in blood from head to toe.
"That's him?"
"The Public Enemy. Blood Demon Do-uk. He was a great calamity to this land of Sichuan."
"Blood Demon..."
"The information we've gathered so far is that he consumed elixirs and internal cores without restraint to become stronger, and as a result, he became a monster that craves human blood."
The Grandmaster stepped onto the steep slope.
I expected her to lean forward because of the incline, but she stood in mid-air as if stepping on a platform.
"So-yu, come down with me."
Leaving those words behind, the Grandmaster slowly descended, walking through the air.
Master watched the Grandmaster descend without saying a word.
"......"
She slowly turned her head and looked at me.
"Tch."
As if something displeased her, she clicked her tongue and looked away.
"Hey, what now?"
At this point, even I was getting annoyed.
"Give me your hand. But don't hold it too tight. And don't you dare grope me."
When I tried to take the hand she offered, she pulled her arm back and spoke hurriedly.
I get that it's because I'm a strange man, but would it kill her to be a bit more polite?
"Sigh... fine, here."
I gently placed my arm over her hand, and she grabbed it and leaped.
"Agh!"
An unseemly scream escaped me involuntarily.
I closed my eyes tight, thinking I was about to go into a freefall, but for some reason, we were descending the hill slowly.
...I think it was like this when we went to the Black Sky Cult, too.
It felt somewhat nostalgic.
"Hmph, what a pathetic scream for a man."
Never mind, nostalgia canceled.
As we reached the bottom of the slope, my feet touched the wide clearing.
Swatting away the acrid smoke with our hands, Master and I followed behind the Grandmaster.
The Grandmaster was talking to some high-ranking-looking people.
Among that group of dignitaries was a man I had seen before.
"...I think I've seen him somewhere."
"You've seen Dokgo-nam, the leader of the Blue Dragon Corps? A mere villager like you?"
Namgung So-yu looked at me, her hand covering her mouth in mock surprise.
...I really want to give her a noogie.
Ignoring her reaction—she seemed to find me distasteful for some reason—I arrived behind the Grandmaster, and all eyes turned toward me.
"To think someone survived in the midst of this. Amitabha."
An old monk pressed his palms together in prayer.
"Hmm, since we have Yeom-jin’s guarantee, he's certainly not a spy sent by the Unorthodox Sect or someone related to the Blood Demon."
A middle-aged man with bushy eyebrows, leaning against a large axe, spoke as he flexed his muscles.
The Grandmaster replied with a deep smile.
"Do not worry about that. He has a good frame, but he's just an ordinary person without a lick of internal energy."
"That's impressive in its own way. The Blood Demon must have sucked the life force out of all the nearby villagers, yet he survived like that."
"He might naturally possess a lot of vitality, or perhaps he was lucky enough to be hiding somewhere."
They seemed to be coming to their own conclusions, so I didn't bother saying anything.
Besides, if they asked, "How did you survive?" I wouldn't have much to say anyway.
I'd have to start building up another story about amnesia, and I wasn't sure if they'd even buy it.
In fact, I might have been beaten for being even more suspicious.
In times like this, staying quiet was the right answer.
The conversation continued for a while.
Once it was over, the Grandmaster immediately prepared to leave.
"Now that the Blood Demon has been subjugated, we shall take our leave."
As the Grandmaster made a fist-and-palm salute, Master, who was beside her, did the same.
After saying their goodbyes, the Grandmaster began to walk away.
I instinctively followed behind the Grandmaster and Master.
After about ten minutes of following, the Grandmaster turned around.
"Ah, by the way, what is your name?"
She asked me with a gentle gaze.
"It's Kang In-ho."
I was finally able to introduce myself about an hour after meeting them.
"The place where you lived is in ruins. Do you have anywhere else to go? If you have relatives nearby, I will take you to them."
"I have no relatives."
"Hmm... that is a problem. Even if you return to the village, it's already in ruins and might be crawling with bandits..."
The Grandmaster's gaze scanned me from head to toe.
That look, as if she were scanning me, sent a chill down my spine.
"Perhaps..."
The Grandmaster trailed off.
"If you have nowhere to go... would you like to come with us?"
"Ah, as a porter?"
"Haha, we can carry much more than you can."
"Then?"
"I am asking if you have any interest in becoming a disciple of the Flame Wheel Art."
"What???"
I raised my voice at the unexpected offer.
"Master!!"
Namgung So-yu, who had been listening quietly beside us, shrieked.
"What is it, So-yu?"
"I mean! Master! How can you think of letting a beanpole like him, who hasn't even been proven, into the Great Flame Wheel Art?"
"First of all, it's because his physical development is excellent. His body has only done farm work at most, yet it's perfectly optimized for accepting martial arts."
"But he has no internal energy."
"Internal energy can be handled to some extent with cultivation and elixirs. And since he won't be heading out into the Murim immediately, we can take a long-term view on building his internal energy."
"But... but..."
Seeing Master’s face turn bright red, I could guess how angry she was.
She swallowed her words as if she hated to let them out, and the Grandmaster waited patiently for her to speak.
"But! The Flame Wheel Art is a single-successor inheritance...! How—how lacking am I that I have to be pushed aside for a man like this? Am I that inadequate?"
With tears welling in her eyes—no, she was on the verge of crying—she screamed at the top of her lungs.
As if screaming wasn't enough, she huffed and puffed to catch her breath. Seeing this, the Grandmaster burst into a roar of laughter.
"Pwahahahaha! You're right. The Flame Wheel Art is indeed a single-successor inheritance."
After laughing for a good while, the Grandmaster continued, rubbing the corners of her eyes.
Even as she spoke, her words were thick with amusement.
"And So-yu. You are my disciple. So, isn't the path already clear?"
"...???"
Namgung So-yu tilted her head, not understanding her master's meaning.
Ah, I think I have a rough idea of what's going on.
"From now on, that man is not 'my disciple,' but 'your disciple.'"
"......"
Silence.
One.
Two.
Three.
"Whaaaaaaaat?!?!"
My master could not easily accept this turn of events.