The Girl Who Was the Mad Demon (5)
…So there was a bandit stronghold here too.
Weaving between the trees, Wi Ilcheong confirmed the glow of firelight and launched himself toward it. Leaping down from a high branch, he applied the principle of the Thousand Catty Drop, stamping a powerful foot technique that planted him squarely in the center of the camp.
KWA-GWA-GWANG!!
“Wh… what the hell?!”
“What’s going on?!”
Startled by the sudden thunderous crash, the bandits burst from their quarters and scrambled to find the source. Wi Ilcheong swept a hand through the air, dispersing the rising cloud of dust, and spoke.
“Pardon the intrusion. I’m looking for someone—have any of you by chance seen a red-haired young lady?”
“…”
At his words the bandits began exchanging uneasy glances, fingers fidgeting over the hilts of their weapons. The corner of Wi Ilcheong’s mouth curved upward ever so slightly.
Looks like I came to the right place.
Chang!
With a flick of his arm he drew out a supple soft sword and called out,
“I have no desire to spill blood. Simply return the young lady unharmed and I will do nothing further. I hope you will make the wise choice.”
“Wh… who are you?”
One bandit, tense as a drawn bowstring, stepped forward and demanded.
“D… do you know this is the stronghold of Blood-Wealth Ghost Jo Chang?!”
“Blood-Wealth Ghost Jo Chang…”
Hearing the name, Wi Ilcheong tilted his head for a moment.
“…I’ve never heard of him.”
“He only recently rose to a seat among the Ten Great Bandits of the Green Forest! Once he arrives—”
“Hahaha! The Ten Great Bandits of the Green Forest?”
Wi Ilcheong suddenly threw his head back and laughed, throwing the bandits into confusion.
“Let me tell you something—I can say with certainty that man is no member of the Ten Great Bandits. I have never once heard of any among them who wields an axe.”
“H-he only recently ascended to the seat! If you are a martial artist yourself, you must know how heavy the name of the Ten Great Bandits is… Turn back! The crazy bitch you’re looking for isn’t here!!”
“…Crazy bitch?”
“Hup!”
The moment he heard those words, Wi Ilcheong was certain.
Dokgo Jin was here.
“…So Young Lady Dokgo is here after all.”
“Young Lady Dokgo…?”
“You don’t seem to know who she is. That woman is the daughter of the Mad Demon.”
“Th… the Mad Demon!!”
“Holy shit!!”
At the mere mention of the Mad Demon’s name, despair flooded the bandits’ faces.
“Th… the Mad Demon who stormed the Tang Clan alone?”
“To my knowledge, the only one who bears the title of Mad Demon is Elder Dokgo Jin.”
“…”
“And you gentlemen are truly unlucky.”
KWA-GWA-GWA-GWAK!!
Wi Ilcheong suddenly unleashed the presence he had been concealing, pouring out his inner energy. One by one the bandits dropped to their knees.
“K… kugh!!”
“Wh… what kind of internal energy is this…!”
Wi Ilcheong stepped up to the bandit who had spoken to him first.
“I am called Wi Ilcheong. Martial artists tend to refer to me by the title ‘Lust Demon.’”
“Lu… Lust Demon!!”
“You are holding a woman with whom I have made a pact. Do you understand the situation a little better now?”
The bandit’s face twisted with pure misfortune as he lamented inwardly.
H… how in the world did we manage to offend both the Mad Demon’s daughter and the Lust Demon at the same time…!
The Mad Demon—who hated martial artists and single-handedly rampaged across the entire Murim. The Lust Demon—who, no matter how difficult, always kept every promise made to a woman. To have earned the enmity of both at once… the bandit felt a sudden urge to bite his own tongue and die.
Just then, Wang Bong—the first bandit to have discovered Dokgo Jin—opened his mouth.
“Th… the young lady is in the boss’s tent!”
“Wang Bong, you crazy bastard…!”
“Crazy? We have to stay alive first, don’t we?! If we’d known she was the Mad Demon’s daughter we never would have laid a hand on her!!”
“Kugh…!”
Wi Ilcheong looked at Wang Bong.
“Where is the boss’s tent?”
“Th… that largest tent over there.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
Wi Ilcheong courteously cupped his fist in salute; Wang Bong hurriedly returned the gesture. But the words that followed from Wi Ilcheong’s lips were ice-cold.
“If the young lady has come to any harm, I will kill you.”
“…What?”
“I am a man who has never once broken a promise made to a woman. Yet today may be the first time I do so.”
“What kind of—!”
Chwaak!
Several long lines were suddenly carved into the ground right in front of where Wang Bong stood.
H… when did he—?!
“Pray that the young lady is unharmed. If anything has happened to her…”
“Hey, Lust Demon!!”
“…then what?”
Wi Ilcheong turned his head toward the voice.
From that direction, Dokgo Jin was walking out with a grin, something clutched in her hand.
“Y… Young Lady Dokgo?”
“You’re spewing your internal energy so damn fiercely I couldn’t even come out.”
“I… see. Are you injured anywhere?”
“Almost had to suck some tiny-dicked bastard’s cock. Ugh, fuck. Got any booze?”
“…”
Wi Ilcheong had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
“…I have water.”
“Don’t need that. Here—present.”
Dokgo Jin tossed whatever she was holding. When it landed in the firelit clearing, the bandits’ eyes bulged.
“B… Boss?”
“Bastard’s neck was so fucking thick it was a pain in the ass to cut.”
“Wh…?”
That “something” was Jo Chang’s head.
While the bandits stood slack-jawed at the unbelievable sight, Dokgo Jin bellowed,
“You fucking bastards dared to kidnap me?!”
“H… hiiik! Spare us!!”
“Fuuuuck, I’m so embarrassed I could die—who the hell are you asking to spare?!”
“Y… Young Lady Dokgo. Perhaps those words could be a little…”
“What, you little shit?!”
“…”
Dokgo Jin’s eyes flashed as she scanned the surroundings, then pointed at a bandit prostrate on the ground.
“Hey, you.”
“…Yes.”
“You’re the bastard who locked me in that cage earlier and laughed at me, right?”
“…No.”
“The hell it isn’t, you son of a bitch!”
Chang!
Dokgo Jin uncoiled the soft sword bound around her hand; the bandit slammed his forehead to the dirt and cried,
“I… I really didn’t! I was the one who carried the young lady here!”
“…That so?”
“Yes…! It’s true!”
“…”
Dokgo Jin continued to stare at him with suspicion, so the bandit hastily added,
“I… if I’d known the young lady was the Lust Demon’s woman, I never would have touched her.”
“You crazy bastard—who the fuck said I was that guy’s woman?!”
“Keheok!”
Dokgo Jin charged and kicked him square in the head.
“Fuck off. You looking to die? Do I look like some bitch who’d sleep with a guy like that?! Huh?!”
“…”
“Bunch of uneducated bastards who’ve done nothing but banditry until your brains went soft…”
Chang!
She flicked her hand again and the soft sword coiled neatly around her arm once more. Watching this, Wi Ilcheong remarked,
“…You seem to have grown quite accustomed to that new sword.”
“Hm? Aah. This thing’s actually really nice. Can I have it?”
“Pardon?”
“Give it to me. As a bonus I’ll teach you the Saber of Asura Rakshasa on top of the Nine Yang Divine Art.”
“…I am a swordsman.”
“Ah, come on! A guy with balls being this petty.”
“Haa… very well.”
“Heehee, thanks.”
Wi Ilcheong clutched his head.
…Is this really the kidnapped young lady?
Watching Dokgo Jin speak as lightly as if she had merely stepped out for a stroll around the neighborhood made his temples throb. He almost looked like an idiot for having worried and rushed over so frantically.
Just then Dokgo Jin approached him and spread both arms wide.
“…What do you mean by that, Young Lady?”
“Carry me.”
“…Pardon?”
“What, you want me to fucking walk all the way back to the inn from here?”
“Ah… my apologies. When a woman asks me to hold her, it tends to sound like something else.”
“You… crazy bastard!”
“…I’m sorry.”
Dokgo Jin huffed and kicked at Wi Ilcheong’s leg. Taking the blow only deepened his confusion.
Just how weak was that Jo Chang fellow to have been killed by such a delicate young lady?
Biting back the laugh that threatened to escape at the childlike kick, Wi Ilcheong took hold of Dokgo Jin’s hand.
“Shall we go?”
“Yeah, hurry up. I’m so tired I could die.”
“Then…”
The instant Wi Ilcheong gathered strength in his toes to launch into lightfoot technique again—
“Wait! Wait wait wait. Still got something to do.”
“…What is it?”
“Wang Bong…? Wang Bong, right? Wang Bong, you son of a bitch—get your ass out here!”
At Dokgo Jin’s sudden shout of his name, every bandit’s eyes swung toward one man.
“Hey, I said get out here—why are you just standing there like an idiot?”
“Y… Young Lady, why me?”
“Hand it over.”
Dokgo Jin held out her palm; Wang Bong tilted his head.
“Wh… what do you mean?”
“The money pouch you got from that Jo Chang bastard earlier, you shit. The one you got for selling me.”
“Th… that, why…?”
“Fuck off. Hey, you bastard—that’s money you made by selling me, right? So originally it’s mine, isn’t it?”
“…What?”
When Wang Bong only tilted his head again, Dokgo Jin’s temper snapped and she kicked him square in the groin.
“Kkeuuugh…”
“When someone nicely tells you to hand it over, you hand it over.”
She rummaged through the waist of the frothing, collapsed Wang Bong and quickly found the pouch she had seen earlier. Opening it revealed a satisfyingly heavy load of silver coins.
“Oh… for a bunch of beggar bandits, you’ve got some cash.”
“…”
Watching her rob the bandits instead, the men wore vacant expressions; Dokgo Jin glared at them once more.
“Bastards, eyes down. Want me to make every one of you a one-eyed freak?!”
“…No.”
“Fuck. If this pouch had been light, every last one of you would’ve died. Got it?!”
“…Yes.”
Dokgo Jin took the pouch and walked back to the Lust Demon; Wi Ilcheong caught her by the legs and lifted her into his arms. She casually laced her fingers behind her head and settled in, leaving Wi Ilcheong staring at her in bewilderment.
“…Young Lady?”
“What?”
“P… please hold on somewhere. You’ll fall.”
“Ah, whatever. I’m so tired I could die. You figure it out.”
“…”
“Oh right! Hey, bandit bastards!”
Dokgo Jin looked back at the bandits and said,
“Make that Wang Bong bastard the next boss. Hey, that guy—I just kicked him and felt it: he’s fucking heavy. About ten times denser than Jo Chang.”
“…”
“You lot wouldn’t like having some tiny-dicked shrimp as boss either, right? So just make it Wang Bong. That bastard’s huge.”
“…Young Lady. If a lady continues to put such words in her mouth…”
“Fuck off. Let’s go.”
“…”
Wi Ilcheong simply gave up on saying anything further to Dokgo Jin.
Elder Mad Demon… just how did you raise your daughter?
The Lust Demon sighed, then stamped the ground and soared into the air.
When Dokgo Jin opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was a woman.
A somewhat sleepy-looking woman with a vacant expression was reaching a hand toward her face. Their eyes met; the woman’s mouth opened.
A moment later—
“Ah.”
“Fuck, this is so frustrating. Why do you talk so damn slow?”
“…”
“Ugh, my head. Give me some cold water…”
“Here…”
Sitting up, Dokgo Jin accepted the cold water from the woman and drank while recalling the previous night.
The inn… I got there, drank, and passed out. Fuck, this body is weak against hangovers too.
The more she learned about it, the more she thought this body was pure garbage.
Just then the vacant-looking woman spoke.
“Um…”
“What?”
“I’m… Baekri Sohyeon.”
“…And?”
“I’m… close with Young Master Wi.”
“So?”
“…”
When the conversation stalled, Dokgo Jin’s temper flared again.
“Fuuuuuuck!!! You talk so damn frustratingly!!”
“…Sorry.”
“Haa…. So what are you, then—that… Lust Demon’s woman?”
“…Yeah.”
Baekri Sohyeon answered bashfully, cheeks flushing. The vacant look from moments before vanished, replaced by a strangely mature allure that left Dokgo Jin oddly flustered.
“…Right. So where’s the Lust Demon?”
“Outside…”
“Doing what?”
“…Morning training.”
“That’ll take a while. Bring me some breakfast.”
“…Okay.”
Baekri Sohyeon obediently followed Dokgo Jin’s words. Watching her patter out the door, Dokgo Jin tilted her head.
…Is she an idiot? No—more importantly, does the Lust Demon actually keep a woman around?
She had heard plenty of rumors about the Lust Demon, yet knew almost nothing concrete.
Then the door opened and Wi Ilcheong entered together with Baekri Sohyeon, who was carrying food.
“Young Lady Dokgo. You’re awake.”
“…Yeah.”
“May I join you for the meal?”
“Whatever.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Wi Ilcheong sat down smiling, and Baekri Sohyeon set the food tray between Dokgo Jin and him.
“Thank you, Young Lady Baekri.”
“Mm…”
Watching the two exchange greetings so naturally, Dokgo Jin picked up some food.
…So he really does keep a woman around.
Stuffing whatever was nearest into her mouth, Dokgo Jin said,
“So, Lust Demon.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Let’s finish the talk we didn’t get to yesterday. About the deal.”