Chapter 39: Young Sect Leader, Kang In-ho-4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 39: Young Sect Leader, Kang In-ho-4
A summary of the previous chapter for our younger readers:
*
Deep within the Murim Alliance.
Sitting in a lotus position, Namgung So-yeon was focused on refining the energy of the elixirs she had consumed.
How many had she taken? Past the point of thirty, she had given up counting.
Twitch.
The energies of various elixirs, each with different properties and natures, surged through her meridians like the silt-laden runoff of a flooding river.
Some were refined medicines, while others were the internal cores of beasts that had lived for centuries.
It was an act that surely invited self-destruction, but she didn't have the luxury of time to be cautious.
‘The Heavenly Demon...!’
She had only one goal: the Heavenly Demon.
To kill the woman who had humiliated her, murdered her comrades, and kidnapped In-ho, So-yeon had resolved to use any means necessary.
She remembered.
Her comrade being consumed by the Black Flame.
She remembered.
In-ho’s despairing face as he was separated from her.
‘Young Master Kang...’
He had sacrificed himself. He offered himself up to save them all.
That alone was reason enough for her to save him.
But there was another reason.
How scared must he be? What cruelties was he enduring?
What foul humiliations was he suffering at the hands of that wicked Heavenly Demon?
In the life her imagination had conjured for him, In-ho was living worse than a slave.
Whenever she thought of Kang In-ho, her heart fluttered.
It was a feeling unlike any she felt when meeting other martial artists. It was as if a single flower bud was blooming near her heart, like a spring breeze brushing against her face.
She couldn't quite define what it was.
However, the existence of that emotion was clear and firm.
‘Please, just wait a little longer.’
Twitch.
The energy gathered in her body twitched once more.
She poured all her concentration into regulating the flow.
It’s just a large amount; I just need to cultivate as I always do.
That was what she thought.
And then she realized she was wrong.
Was it the result of her own arrogance? Or was it the influence of a Heart Demon born from her thoughts of In-ho?
Her concentration wavered for a split second, and blood erupted from her mouth.
Cough!
Once her body began to break down, the collapse became unstoppable.
Like a landslide triggered by heavy rain, her physical form began to crumble.
"Thunder Sword!"
As unstable energy radiated from the cultivation room, the physician waiting outside rushed in.
Namgung So-yeon had collapsed onto the cold stone floor and begun to convulse.
Gush!
A mouthful of blood surged from her mouth as she frothed at the lips.
"Get a hold of yourself! Thunder Sword!"
The physician quickly checked her pulse, then began striking her pressure points in an attempt to stabilize her.
"...Ugh... I..."
"Don't speak! Focus on expelling the energy!"
The physician's voice sounded as if it were coming from very far away.
Namgung So-yeon’s consciousness slowly began to sink.
"This is bad... the energy is too..."
The energy he couldn't neutralize in time boiled within her meridians. So-yeon’s body heaved as she spat out bloody froth.
"No. I have to do something...!"
Fortunately, the physician kept his head. He skillfully applied acupuncture to her pressure points, trying to avert the worst-case scenario.
He couldn't continue the treatment here.
He gathered Namgung So-yeon into his arms.
"Doctor..."
"Are you awake?"
At the sound of So-yeon’s voice coming from just below his chin, the physician looked down at her with relief.
Yellow eyes.
What he saw were brilliant, golden-yellow eyes.
He was certain Namgung So-yeon’s eyes weren't that color. Just as that thought crossed his mind—
Thuck.
Her fingertips pierced through the physician's throat.
"Kehek...! Gurgle...!"
The physician died instantly and slumped backward, with Namgung So-yeon landing on top of him.
She gripped the man's throat and exhaled raggedly.
"...It's... not enough...!"
The physician's blood surged through her hands.
A red steam spread through the cultivation room like mist, and soon the energy coalesced and flowed into Namgung So-yeon.
An hour passed.
The state she had been in earlier was gone. Namgung So-yeon had returned to her original appearance, but beneath her lay the withered, desiccated corpse of the physician.
"Ha...! What is this!"
Only now realizing what she had done, Namgung So-yeon slumped onto the stone floor.
"Thunder Sword! What in the world..."
The Daughter of the Tang Family, who had led a group here after hearing no news, murmured in utter bewilderment at the sight of the carnage.
*
The feel of a high-quality duvet and the sensation of soft skin.
The early morning sunlight was gently pestering my eyes.
"Mmm..."
Struggling to open my eyes, I saw the semi-nude Heavenly Demon hugging me like a bamboo wife.
"Are you awake?"
She must have been up for a while; she asked me while resting her face against my chest.
"Yes. Just now."
"I see. Did you have a good dream?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. I don't really remember."
"Really? You were mumbling so much in your sleep that I thought it must have been a very pleasant dream."
Maybe I was tired. I'm not usually the type to talk in my sleep.
Though I do snore a bit.
"I must have been noisy. Did you get any sleep?"
"Not particularly. I woke up an hour ago."
"I see."
Perhaps because it was the morning after we had slept together, interacting with her felt awkward.
We hadn't officially stamped ourselves as "lovers" yet, but seeing the way she treated me, it seemed to be an established fact.
While I was wondering how to proceed from here, she asked casually:
"Who is Lee Mina? What kind of bitch is she that she appears in your dreams?"
My brain stalled.