Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Big Brother!
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"Since you've already been caught, how about coming out nice and easy?"
At my words, Pippi emerged from behind the gate where it had been hiding.
"Pip? (You knew?)"
"Of course. How could I not notice when you're following me so blatantly?"
"Pip, pip...? (B-bluntly? Who?)"
"You."
"Ppip! (Ugh!)"
Pippi let out a groan, struck right in the heart.
"More importantly, don't you have something to say to me?"
Pippi shuffled over hesitantly and bowed its head.
"Piiip.... Pip. (I'm sorry. I thought it was an easy path since I travel it often. I had no idea you'd get lost in the mountains.)"
'I was definitely planning to make it apologize if we met...'
But seeing Pippi so downcast made my heart ache.
"Fine, you're forgiven. And about that Immortal Herb... thanks for getting it for me."
"Pip! (If you want more, just say the word anytime!)"
'Ugh, get more of that? No thanks.'
It had been days since I stopped taking the Tang medicine, but the bitterness still lingered vividly in my mouth. Just thinking about it made my tongue curl.
"I've got enough from what I already ate. So please, no more. Anyway, I've got to head to the Heavenly Demon Cult now, so I'll be off."
I said goodbye to Pippi and turned in the direction marked on the map, but Pippi flapped its wings right beside me, following along.
"Why are you following me?"
"Ppik-pip? Pip! (What if you go to the Cult alone and get lost again? I'll tag along special-like.)"
Its dejection was short-lived; Pippi was back to its cocky self in no time.
'Definitely better with two than alone.'
"As long as you're not ditching me again, you can come along."
"Ppik! (To watch what you do!)"
'This damn bird...!'
It irked me, but I wasn't about to lose a hard-won companion.
'No choice.'
"Let's go. We've gotta hurry."
'There's a mountain of things to do once I reach the Cult.'
This time, Pippi didn't argue and flew off in the same direction as me.
"The map mentioned a rocky mountain, but..."
I stared in despair at the dizzying landscape that looked like it could send me straight to the afterlife with one slip.
'It didn't say anything about a cliff!'
Pippi, who had gone ahead, seemed to be resting after crossing the rocky mountain.
A narrow path wide enough for just one of my feet ran along the towering cliff.
'If I endure just a bit longer, the path widens again.'
I eyed the safe path visible beyond the cliff, clenched my fist in determination.
'How did I even get this chance to go to the Cult! I can't just turn back without trying! Here goes!'
Gripping a protruding rock with my hand, I cautiously stepped onto the narrow path.
'Don't look down. Don't look down...'
The mere thought of glancing below made me feel like I'd collapse, so I stared straight ahead and walked.
Plip...
Something crumbled beneath my foot.
"Wahk!"
'That was close—nearly died.'
I instinctively looked down and yelped aloud.
The spot my foot had touched was crumbling away.
'This is way too high. If I fall, I'm dead for sure.'
The cliff dropped endlessly into the abyss.
And with the morning mist thick in the air, it felt even more eerie.
'This is too scary. Can I really make it across safely?'
My instinct screamed to turn back, but Daddy's face—having cared for me through three sleepless nights—floated before my eyes, rooting my feet in place.
'Yeah! Don't give up. Even if you break, the important thing is to keep going! I can do this! I can!'
After repeating it endlessly in my mind, I hurried my steps until only one more remained.
"I can do it! Seol Cheon-seong!"
With a shout, I finally escaped the cliff's edge, only for my legs to give out as I collapsed in a heap.
"I did it! I really did it!"
The process had been grueling, but crossing the cliff on my own filled my chest with elation.
'Now I feel like I can do anything! I crossed a shortcut to the underworld—what can't I handle?'
Buoyed by newfound confidence, I shouldered my backpack and strode forward vigorously.
'Hungry and tired.'
After walking all day, the sky had already darkened.
"Pippi, let's camp here."
"Pip! (Got it!)"
'Camping in the mountains for a night was the plan anyway.'
That's why I'd come fully prepared!
"Pippi, watch this!"
"Pip? (What're you up to?)"
Pippi landed beside me at my words.
I pulled out straw and twigs I'd packed in my bag.
With quick handiwork, I spun the twigs until flames sparked to life.
"Ta-da! Nice, right? Now we can sleep warm."
"Pip, ppik. (A-amazing. First seven-year-old I've seen start a fire.)"
'Of course! I learned from Ik-seon's dad after getting lost in the mountains.'
"Eh, it's nothing special."
Despite my words, my shoulders puffed up as I took food from my bag.
"Rice balls for me, Red Fruit for you!"
"Pip? (For me too?)"
Pippi asked in surprise, as if it hadn't occurred to it.
"Yeah, I figured I might run into you, so I packed some."
"Pip...ppik? (For...me?)"
"You got me that Immortal Herb for my sake. But wait... are you crying?"
I hadn't expected a single Red Fruit to move it so much, but Pippi's pretty green eyes glistened with tears.
"Pip! (Birds cry too!)"
'Yup, definitely crying...'
Embarrassed at showing me that side, Pippi wiped its tears with a wing.
'I thought it was just a brazen bird, but it's surprisingly sensitive.'
"Whoa, so many stars!"
I'd looked up absentmindedly, and the night sky sparkled with countless stars.
"This really feels like a family trip."
"Ppik? (Family?)"
"Yeah, I've always wanted a little sibling to play with. Pippi, we've only been together a short time, but when you got the Red Fruit, and when I was sick... I thought, if I had a sibling, it'd be just like us."
'We fight, but in the end, we look out for each other.'
At the word "family," excitement lit up Pippi's translucent face.
"Ppik.... (I have a family too....)"
"Ah, sleepy. Pippi, gotta get up early tomorrow to keep going, so I'm crashing first. You sleep too."
Maybe from the packed day, I couldn't fight the drowsiness. I wrapped myself in the blanket I'd brought and lay by the fire.
'Feels like my body's melting.'
The warmth seeped in, and sleep came swiftly.
The deep darkness of the midnight mountains teemed with fearsome beasts.
Having spotted the fire, predators from the woods slowly approached Cheon-seong's position.
Pippi glanced at the soundly sleeping Cheon-seong.
'Sleeping so soundly in this dangerous spot. If I hadn't come, it'd be beast food for sure.'
The thought was logical, but imagining Cheon-seong devoured by mountain beasts soured Pippi's mood.
'Honestly, a human child's life or death means little to me.'
Then, Cheon-seong's words resurfaced.
"This really feels like a family trip."
'Right, a human child's life doesn't matter... but if it's family, that's different.'
Centered on where Cheon-seong and Pippi warmed by the fire, predators closed in from all sides.
At that moment, Pippi spread its translucent wings, and a powerful blue aura surged around it.
Overwhelmed by Pippi's presence, the encroaching beasts backed away in terror.
Pippi's green eyes gleamed sharply as it stared them down.
"Pip. (Scram.)"
"Ppip-pik-ppik! (At this rate, you're gonna break my back from the weight!)"
From morning, I rode on Pippi's back amid its grumbling.
'Of all things, the bridge we had to cross to reach the Cult is broken?'
But I didn't give up easily.
'Good thing I have Pippi.'
It had refused at first, but...
"Well, no choice. I'm not heading home till I reach the Cult, so even a broken bridge—we gotta cross somehow. If I get swept away, don't tell Daddy. He'd be heartbroken."
I stared dramatically at the swaying remnants over the raging river, pretending to sob.
"Pip..., pip! (No choice.... Hop on!)"
And so, for the rest of the journey, I rode on Pippi's back.
'If I'd known it'd be this comfy, I'd have asked sooner.'
Compared to crossing that near-death rocky cliff, putting up with Pippi's complaints was nothing.
"Oh! I see the Cult!"
"Ppip! (I'm free! My back!)"
It was just a bit annoying.
Anyway, far off stretched a horizontal mountain range.
Red flags emblazoned with an image like a black dragon cradling a star were planted everywhere.
'Come to think of it, Daddy's prophetic dream was of a dragon.'
I couldn't grasp the full symbolism, but I knew that flag represented Daddy becoming the new master of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
'Looks like I came to the right place.'
"Pip! (Landing!)"
Pippi touched down in a sunny spot on the range and set me down.
"One! Two!"
"A strong body harbors strong power! But forget not—even gaining immense strength, if your body can't endure, you'll lose your mind to qi deviation!"
"Yes!"
Hiding behind a large boulder, I peeked at the source of the voices and saw Heavenly Demon Cultists training vigorously.
'More wholesome than I expected.'
People usually think of the Cult as skipping proper qi cultivation for quick power through murder or harvesting souls—brutal methods.
'That's how most Demonic Cults were in the wuxia novels I read.'
But according to a brief mention in the original novel, after Daddy became the Heavenly Demon, the Cult changed completely.
'Still called demonic, but they emphasized qi training and banned wanton killing.'
That didn't weaken their prestige.
'Wanton killing stopped, but defying doctrine meant vanishing without a trace.'
With strict rules already, now enforcing diligent training too—the elite demonic arts practitioners who'd always been strong grew even more so.
Fewer deaths overall, but slanderers were swiftly snatched, raising their infamy higher.
In short: improved, but still ruthless!
'Even so, no choice if I want a cure for my frail body and soul! I'll make it happen!'
I stepped out from behind the rock, boldly blocking the proud Cultists mid-morning exercise, and shouted at the top of my lungs.
"Please accept me as a member of the Heavenly Demon Cult, Senior Brother!"