Chapter 16: How Far Can You Trust Me?
Chapter 16: How Far Can You Trust Me?
Yong Baekheon's memories contained that name too. But nothing came up behind it, as if a black cloth had been draped over it.
What the hell?
I asked Bongmareung if he knew anything about the name Yong Jeongheon.
But Bongmareung tilted his head.
[Yong Jeongheon? First time hearing that name.]
"Yeah? Seems like the same generation as Yong Baekheon, with the 'heon' character."
[The Yong Demon Clan's collateral bloodlines aren't few. Maybe some demon from his generation was involved in that mess?]
"Hmm..."
That made sense. The Yong Demon Clan was a massive house with a long history, so there were plenty of collateral relatives. They'd use the same generational name as the main house, so it wouldn't be strange at all if there were one or two more demons named Yong Jeongheon.
[By the way, why ask about that name?]
"Saw it in a hallucination."
I briefly explained the nightmare-like scene I'd witnessed while building up my qi.
A subtle sneer came back.
[You even saw that kind of hallucination? You must've shaken off the grim reaper himself. Lucky you came out alive. Nearly ended up a drooling corpse on the road to the underworld.]
"...I wasn't drooling at all, so quit saying that."
[Kuhahaha!]
Bongmareung laughed heartily. He was itching to check the seed of the Extreme Heaven Nine-Ring Art I'd created.
[Come on, circulate your qi around the circuit. Even I have never seen poison-forged accumulation before. And you've absorbed the Great Revival Pill too—truly exciting. What are you waiting for? Get to circulating!]
"I got it, quit nagging."
I set aside thoughts of the mysterious name and focused on my dantian.
'There it is!'
Rice-grain sized. A tiny seed of true qi.
This was the result of investing a full day and brushing death's door.
As I gently moved it per Bongmareung's instructions, an odd sound slipped from between my lips unbidden.
"Huuuuh... eep..."
[Yes, it'll hurt. That's why you're a rookie.]
"What kinda talk is that?"
[What I'm saying is, meridians are narrow at first, so qi flow hurts inevitably. Keep circulating steadily to widen them, and the pain will fade gradually.]
I had to endure it, in other words.
I grimaced fiercely, but Bongmareung sounded relieved instead.
[You're eighteen this year, right? By orthodox murim standards, you're way past due. They start prenatal training before kids can even walk. But the demonic path's different. Some side effects, sure, but they're fully compensable.]
Yeah, that figured for a pinnacle left-path demonic art.
I gritted through the pain as Bongmareung directed, continuing the circulation.
Whether from growing accustomed or the meridians widening, the ache began to subside bit by bit.
[The wound on your palm will heal in no time too. Among pinnacle demonic arts, it has peerless restorative properties...]
"Gah!"
The moment the qi flow tapped my crown and sank back down under my eyes.
I could only bulge my eyes wide.
A terrifying new sensation I'd never felt before engulfed my body.
I didn't even have time to notice the palm wound vanishing.
"What is this? What the hell?"
Strength surged through my limbs, my five senses expanding endlessly.
I could hear baby rats underground gasping for breath, see the veins on leaves fluttering high in the distant sky crystal clear.
The smells flooding my nostrils were so vivid, the scents of myriad plants and trees made my vision spin.
This was insane!
"No way. Warriors have been living with this all this time?"
Bongmareung chuckled.
[As if. The Extreme Heaven Nine-Ring Art isn't your average demonic art—it's the divine ultimate art left by the first Heavenly Demon. You've opened your demonic path with the greatest insights on qi circulation, so you reap extraordinary effects.]
"Ah..."
So it was because the Extreme Heaven Nine-Ring Art was that exceptional.
Bongmareung continued in a sly tone.
[Now deploy the Extreme Heaven Nine-Ring Art alongside the Ghostly Azure Divine Eyes. A new world will open.]
Both at once?
'Like this?'
I unfolded the Extreme Heaven Nine-Ring Art and Ghostly Azure Divine Eyes simultaneously.
Then strange phenomena began.
As if afterimages afflicted all creation, everything visible layered in multiple strata—a bizarre sight.
What now?
"Hold on. No way...?"
Realizing what it meant, I froze like a statue.
Even bulging my eyes couldn't convey my shock.
The demonic spirit laughed merrily.
[It's the power of foresight. Surprised?]
The Ghostly Azure Divine Eyes—literally eyes that saw the future.
In the diverging timelines, I could only let out a hollow laugh.
"This should be about the place..."
Geumran walked a mountain path in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
She bore a heavy pack stuffed with her clothes and belongings.
She was moving residences.
With newly appointed Young Cult Leader Yong Seryeong entering the Young Cult Leader's Palace, Geumran had to pack up too.
Yong Baekheon's former subordinates scattered to new postings.
Geumran had even received a tempting new role offer.
'Detachment leader of Death Forest Valley.'
A sweet deal.
If the Seven Demon Squads were the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's attackers, the Nine Valleys defended it.
Taking a key spot in one was huge.
'A massive promotion. Maybe a once-in-a-lifetime chance.'
But Geumran turned it down.
After deep deliberation, she'd chosen to follow Jang Hosam.
She'd stayed on as guard for "ordinary cultist" Yong Baekheon and now headed to his newly assigned quarters.
A sigh escaped her.
'Is it okay for me to stay by his side?'
A question loaded with complications.
Jang Hosam, who'd seized Yong Baekheon's position after twists and turns.
It'd be a lie to say she wasn't scared to follow him.
'It's definitely dangerous.'
But what frightened her more was something else.
That she might endanger Jang Hosam.
Due to side effects from the qi art forcibly implanted when she became a demon.
Just then, a faint dizziness crept up from her gut.
'Here it comes again.'
Familiar symptoms for Geumran.
She halted, bringing the gourd at her waist to her lips.
A sip of its contents, and the vertigo vanished like a lie.
"Huuu..."
Deep breaths settled her qi and blood.
But her mind was a mess.
If not properly managed, this dizziness could escalate to severe mania.
She might rampage unrecognizably.
Become a madwoman.
'I might be the danger to Hosam.'
Yet after agonizing, she'd chosen to stay by his side.
Death Forest Valley detachment leader or madwoman.
Being trapped in the Hundred Thousand Mountains changed nothing.
'If I die, I'll die going back.'
Honestly, reuniting with her sect as a demon terrified her more than death.
But Jang Hosam's words had eased that fear.
—"I think you should be the one angry at the Emei Sect."
—"They failed to protect you. When a young disciple's kidnapped, don't they have to get her back on the sect's name? Victims aren't at fault. No shame."
Thanks to that, Geumran resolved to return to the Central Plains.
She pictured beloved Emei Mountain vividly.
'If only I could see it once more...'
Her only path was following Jang Hosam.
To escape the mountains for the Central Plains, she had to stay by his side in the Great Tournament.
'And I'm curious too. What happened to Hosam?'
He hadn't been that imposing, yet he'd gained a strange resolve.
Like after their Emei Sect talk.
—"I'll give you time to think. Stay or go, your call."
—"It's your freedom; I can't force you."
Honestly, she'd been disappointed. Secretly hoping he'd insist she stay.
When she was the one hesitating out of fear of facing the Emei Sect.
Geumran thought of her own contradictions and smiled bitterly.
'Hosam really changed.'
A major shift had occurred.
Personality, martial arts—everything.
Suddenly using the Ghostly Azure Divine Eyes, swordsmanship he'd never learned rivaling Yong Changheon.
What on earth had happened?
'Can dying and coming back change a person that much?'
As Geumran pondered, her destination appeared.
She stopped, looked up, and saw a weathered plaque on the gate.
—Wayong Hall.
A small annex owned by the Yong Demon Clan.
Tucked quietly in a narrow valley.
But its state was a sight.
A deep sigh leaked from Geumran's lips.
"No, I heard it was at least usable...?"
Wayong Hall's gate was a wreck from the start.
Cobwebs everywhere, plaque on the verge of falling.
One corner even piled with beast dung, doubling as their toilet.
'Gotta clean a place to stay first. Servants for repairs are coming, so wait.'
With that thought, Geumran passed the gate.
Entering the inner courtyard, she spotted a youth's back.
Various divine artifacts from the Young Cult Leader's armory piled haphazardly in one corner.
Gazing at the main hall with hands behind his back—what was Jang Hosam looking at?
"Young master?"
"Geumran."
Calling him cautiously like Yong Baekheon, Jang Hosam turned with a grin.
No wariness in his face—Geumran sighed deeply again.
"Hosam, walls have ears and eyes. Aren't you too lax?"
"What worry when all walls with ears and eyes are crumbled?"
"Well, that's..."
True enough.
Wayong Hall needed serious repairs.
Either way, Jang Hosam had to reside here and fend off five challengers.
No word from the Cult Leader's Palace on duration or schedule.
"No clue where to start. Checked inside the main hall?"
"Wait, Geumran!"
Curious about the interior, Geumran stepped forward.
But Jang Hosam grabbed her arm.
Something off in his narrowed eyes.
"..."
"What's wrong? Something happen?"
Jang Hosam nodded silently toward the hall; Geumran looked.
A black shadow-like thing flitted inside the building.
Her face hardened.
"What was that? What just went by?"
"Wayong Hall has a prior guest."
"Prior guest...?"
Having mastered the Extreme Heaven Nine-Ring Art, Jang Hosam gained senses on another level.
He'd sensed it the moment he entered the courtyard.
Something squatting in the abandoned Wayong Hall.
"Doesn't seem human? Running on all fours?"
Geumran also made out the shadow's boisterous form.
As she said, "it" bounded noisily through the hall on four legs, not human.
Actually, Jang Hosam had already gotten answers from Bongmareung.
[A spirit beast. A Three-Tailed Macaque. Exactly as named—monkey with three tails...]
Explanations poured in his head.
In summary: a clever beast that violently stole valuables from humans and hoarded them.
Now fully informed on the Three-Tailed Macaque, Jang Hosam nodded lightly.
'Perfect timing. Was itching to test foresight anyway—great chance.'
And he had things to discuss with Geumran.
A topic they had to cover before going forward together.
He'd use this opportunity.
Stepping toward the dilapidated hall, Jang Hosam spoke.
"Geumran, how far can you trust me?"
"Huh? What...?"
Right then, the black shadow burst from the main hall.