Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Pure-hearted Man
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‘The Young Cult Leader seems to trust the Demonic Cultists a lot...’
I recalled how, when I mentioned the Central Plains poison incident, the Young Cult Leader had said that all Demonic Cultists revered and followed the Heavenly Demon.
‘That trust was almost like certainty.’
And that trust seemed to be what kept the Young Cult Leader going amid his grueling duties and exhaustion.
I set down the dumpling I was eating and glanced at the outer robe the Young Cult Leader had given me, lost in thought.
‘I hope nothing happens to shatter the Young Cult Leader’s faith.’
‘To think her father was the Heavenly Demon!’
Alone in a room without Seol Cheon-seong, the Golden Immortal Lotus lay on the bedding, staring blankly at the ceiling.
But her unfocused golden eyes seemed to be gazing not at the ceiling, but into another time and space.
‘The Heavenly Demon has only one child, a daughter. So that human baby back then was her?’
If that was true, then this wasn’t the first time the Golden Immortal Lotus had met Seol Cheon-seong.
‘In that case, the first time this body met that human was when I was still dwelling in the Immortal Realm.’
Even then, the Golden Immortal Lotus had loved that cave where she gave Seol Cheon-seong the flower seed.
‘The mountain’s spiritual energy is strong, the water is clear and serene...!’
Moreover, the small pond at the center was beautiful in shape alone, and fresh spiritual energy from the peak of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains flowed into it every day.
‘Even the sound of the water is pleasant.’
After breaking the Immortal Realm spirit beings’ taboo by saving a human child for the first time, the cave had become the perfect refuge from constant surveillance and rumors for the Golden Immortal Lotus.
After discovering it, whenever she came to the human realm for training, she would soak in the cave’s pond to rest before returning to the Immortal Realm.
The day she first met Seol Cheon-seong was no different.
While the Golden Immortal Lotus was resting in the form of a golden lotus flower in the cave, a commotion arose from somewhere.
‘Human voices?’
“Waaah!”
Feeling multiple footsteps approaching the cave, she heard a baby’s cry.
‘Another child’s cry? Why do humans torment their young? What vile hobby.’
But having already caused a huge uproar in the Immortal Realm by saving a human child before, the Golden Immortal Lotus vowed never to interfere in human affairs again and focused on floating in the pond.
“What’s with this kid’s cry? It’s so loud, my ears are gonna fall off!”
“You sure no one’s tailing us? If we get caught, the Heavenly Demon’ll kill us like dogs here. Got it?”
“Yeah, but how do we get back to the Tang Clan of Sichuan without getting caught? The kid’s crying too loud. The Heavenly Demon’s unbeatable even in the Central Plains—maybe we just take her to him and surrender? He might forgive us.”
“You idiot! Don’t you know there are Tang Clan collaborators even in the Demonic Cult? Even if we go to the cult, their spies’ll kill us first to save their own skins.”
“Then what do we do?”
“What do you mean? We gotta deliver the Heavenly Demon’s daughter to the clan head somehow.”
“Let’s hide in this cave first and head out when it’s safer outside.”
Soon, three men entered the cave, dressed in black with turquoise belts and black masks covering their faces.
‘Dressed exactly alike, like they planned it.’
In the arms of the burliest one, a pure white bundle revealed the shape of a baby.
‘Is that the Heavenly Demon’s daughter everyone’s talking about?’
Stories of the cruel, cold-blooded Heavenly Demon who had swallowed the Central Plains whole were quite famous even in the Immortal Realm.
‘Her pupils hold a vast ocean, just like that.’
The baby’s lake-clear eyes seemed to draw in anyone who looked.
Perhaps because of that, the Golden Immortal Lotus couldn’t easily tear her gaze away from the child.
“Waaah!!”
Then, the tiny white baby’s face flushed beet red, and she began crying even louder than before.
‘Aigoo, my eardrums are gonna burst. They say she’s the Heavenly Demon’s daughter—does she even use inner energy when crying? What if she brings down my sanctuary?’
As the Golden Immortal Lotus’s petals fluttered in unease, it happened.
“Are you Tang Clan dogs?”
A man with an extraordinary aura entered the cave.
‘Now who’s this?’
He was out of the Golden Immortal Lotus’s sight, so she couldn’t see his face.
All she saw were boulder-like muscled arms and hands large enough to crush a baby in one grip.
“Y-yes, we are. Might you be from the Demonic Cult...?”
As the masked Tang Clan assassin tried to confirm the man’s identity, he roared in a tiger-like savage voice.
“Do I have to reveal my identity to Tang Clan scum?”
“N-no, sir. I was rude.”
The Tang Clan assassins bowed low, sweating bullets in fear of the tiger-like man’s presence.
‘Stupid Tang Clan fool, why ask that? His aura alone is leagues beyond a mere assassin.’
The Golden Immortal Lotus found the situation intriguing yet worrisome.
‘Is that boulder of a man an enemy or ally to the child?’
If ally, the baby would live; if enemy, she’d die.
‘Even an adult would struggle against that aura.’
And if the target was a baby, the outcome was obvious without looking.
“That child is the Heavenly Demon’s daughter, Seol Cheon-seong?”
“Yes.”
“Let me see.”
The mysterious boulder-like man approached the assassin holding the baby, pulled back the swaddle, and peered at her face.
“Eyes blue and clear as can be, hair like silver threads. Definitely the Heavenly Demon’s daughter. She looks just like that woman.”
Confirming the baby’s face, the man extended his massive hand to the assassin.
“Hand over the child.”
“B-but the clan head ordered us to bring her specifically...”
“I said hand her over. Do you want your windpipe ripped out before even entering the Tang Clan grounds?”
Overpowered by the boulder-man’s bellow, the assassins trembled and glanced at each other, none daring to resist.
“H-here you go.”
Not wanting their windpipes torn out, the Tang Clan assassins reluctantly handed the baby over.
“Waa!”
Once in the boulder-man’s arms, the baby stopped crying.
She even reached out her hands as if glad to see him.
‘The child’s welcoming him like that, so he must be an ally.’
As the Golden Immortal Lotus felt relieved watching the now-silent baby, it happened.
“Yes, now I see why the Heavenly Demon’s so obsessed with you. But I can’t let you live. For the glorious future of this Demonic Cult! Die, Seol Cheon-seong!”
‘Not an ally after all?’
As the boulder-man moved to crush the baby’s throat with his massive hand, an inexplicable vision appeared before the Golden Immortal Lotus’s eyes.
“Yeon-hwa! You’re like a mother to me.”
“Golden Immortal Lotus, are you really gonna do this?”
“I’ll protect you!”
“Ow, my back hurts! Stop hitting!”
A beautiful woman with silver hair and blue eyes.
In the vision, the woman kept calling for the Golden Immortal Lotus.
‘Blue eyes and silver hair... could it be the child’s...?’
The Golden Immortal Lotus’s thoughts reached that point.
“Put down that child and get out of this body’s cave right now!”
Without realizing it, the Golden Immortal Lotus was rampaging to save the baby.
“What the...!”
“Aaack!!”
Golden light poured from the Golden Immortal Lotus’s body, instantly reshaping the cave and ejecting the assassins and boulder-man outside.
‘Damn... I interfered in a human child’s fate again. This time, I’ll surely be stripped of my status and exiled from the Immortal Realm.’
The Golden Immortal Lotus looked down at the baby now in her arms.
“Kya! Kya!”
‘This should feel utterly despairing...’
But the moment she saw Seol Cheon-seong’s smiling face in the swaddle, the Golden Immortal Lotus smiled too.
“Cheon-seong-ah!”
“Waaah! Wa!”
At that moment, a stranger’s voice came from outside the cave.
Hearing it, Seol Cheon-seong wriggled toward the sound, as if eager to go there.
‘Her father’s voice?’
“Wa! Wu!”
Seol Cheon-seong thrashed harder, as if understanding the Golden Immortal Lotus’s words.
“Alright, I’ll take you to your father’s arms.”
The Golden Immortal Lotus opened the sealed cave entrance, cradling Seol Cheon-seong in the swaddle, and transformed into a golden lotus flower.
“Cheon-seong-ah, there you are!”
‘That must be the famous Heavenly Demon. He doesn’t resemble his daughter at all, aside from his handsome looks.’
Watching the Heavenly Demon embrace Seol Cheon-seong in relief, the Golden Immortal Lotus prayed fervently.
‘May that child overcome whatever future she has and find happiness, even if fate itself stands in her way.’
After all, Seol Cheon-seong was the last human child the Golden Immortal Lotus had saved.
‘Passing through the Gate of Oblivion when exiled from the Immortal Realm must have erased some of those memories.’
The Golden Immortal Lotus clutched her throbbing head and sat up in the bedding.
‘Even after losing my memories, to choose that human child again with such pure-heartedness...’
Recalling how she had washed the still-blind Seol Cheon-seong’s face, the Golden Immortal Lotus realized she was smiling unwittingly.
‘I hate it so much...’
Shaking off the ominous premonition that she’d end up doing exactly what she loathed.