Chapter 87 – Heavenly Demon’s Disciple (9)
[Chapter 5 – Verse 4] Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?
Whenever I entered a patient’s dream, without exception, I always started somewhere near the patient.
This time should be no different.
Meaning—if I’m lucky, I could run into him right away.
“Hmm…”
I quickly scanned my surroundings.
A dusty plain.
Not nearly enough information to determine the period or location.
‘…At least it doesn’t seem like I’m in immediate danger this time.’
My clothes were a white robe of fine silk, with wide sleeves.
Just like the starting location, my initial outfit wasn’t something I could choose.
But that initial outfit often gave indirect clues about what kind of world I had entered.
“Did I get it right?”
Nam Hae-soo also loved wuxia novels, but his dream world took place in the previous era—right before the introduction of P’s Aptitude Scanners.
So I’d been a little worried… but it looked like Mao Zai chose the “medieval” option just as we expected.
Then—
‘A group of people?’
My heart pounded hard.
Behind me, a long procession of carriages was approaching.
“This is…”
Should I run?
The carriages were guarded by a mixed force of infantry and cavalry, and judging by their worn-out appearance, they must’ve come straight from some fierce battle.
Whoooosh—
“State your identity.”
“…A traveler who lost his way.”
My heart nearly leapt out of my chest.
The man walking at the front of the procession vanished from sight—and reappeared right behind me.
Sring—
His blade was already touching the side of my neck.
‘When did he—?!’
Not even a moment to react.
“My apologies. I’ve behaved shamefully toward an untrained commoner.”
Sring—
He slowly sheathed his sword, then placed his left palm over his right fist and bowed politely toward me.
A fist-and-palm salute.
A classic wuxia greeting.
I still couldn’t be entirely certain, but this was almost definitely a wuxia world.
‘Though I can’t confirm yet whether this is the world of <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>.’
No need to rush and get myself killed pointlessly.
For now, I was satisfied knowing I had landed in the right era.
“Think nothing of it. I was the one blocking the road.”
“Hmm. This area is often plagued by bandits. You should turn back quickly. Curiosity can get a man killed.”
“I’ll keep that in mind!”
“…Then farewell.”
Flutter—
The man gracefully swung the sleeves of his loose blue martial robe and returned to the procession.
But parting like this would leave me with zero information.
So I approached him first.
‘In moments like this…’
I used a conversational technique recommended by Song Sun-young’s father—a lifelong wuxia fanatic.
“Great Hero.”
“Hmm. Great Hero is too grand a title for me. Young Hero will suffice.”
He said that, but his expression was honest—
Pleased. Very pleased.
‘It’s real! Just calling him “Great Hero” boosted his mood instantly!’
Great Hero (Daehyeop).
Literally “great chivalrous warrior.”
A title used for respected martial artists—but since the criteria were subjective, it was thrown around in wuxia worlds like “boss” or “sir” in the modern world.
“Since fate has brought us together, may I ask for the Great Hero’s esteemed name?”
“Great Hero is… ahem! I am Cheonghoon, first disciple of the esteemed Elder of Wudang, the Wudang Divine Sword, Changwol.”
“Gasp! To think you are the disciple of the Wudang Divine Sword—the very man who cut down countless evil-doers and forced the Sword Demon, the Heavenly Demon’s right-hand man, to the brink of death! I failed to recognize such a great figure. My apologies!”
Wudang Divine Sword, Changwol.
That confirmed it.
‘This really IS the world of <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>!’
The Wudang Divine Sword is basically the vice-chancellor of the Wudang Sect, a true heavyweight…
One of the three greatest “pushovers” who constantly passed down precious teachings to the protagonist despite the protagonist not being a Wudang disciple.
Wudang Divine Sword.
Mount Hua Divine Sword.
Imperial Divine Sword.
In the wuxia novel <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>, the three were called the Three Heavenly Swords.
But in the summary file Sun-young gave me, they were defined as the Three Pushovers—because they endlessly poured their wisdom onto the protagonist.
“Haha! Not at all. I’m simply amazed that someone outside the martial world has ears sharp enough to know such things.”
“I’ve always admired martial heroes…”
I was very interested in martial arts that could smash boulders with bare hands and split the sea.
“I see. If you don’t have urgent business, how about traveling with us until we reach the city? As I said earlier, bandits frequently target merchant caravans here.”
“Would it really be alright for someone like me…?”
“Haha! Of course. Protecting the common folk is my duty as a disciple of Wudang. Wuliangshoufo.”
[TL Note: Wuliangshoufo” (無量壽佛) is a Chinese term for Amitābha Buddha, meaning “Buddha of Immeasurable Life” or “Buddha of Infinite Life”]
“Thank you very much.”
“No need to feel burdened. I was looking for someone to talk to anyway.”
He truly lived up to being the disciple of the famously generous Wudang Divine Sword!
‘How can someone be this kind…?’
As someone who loves free benefits, my affection toward this man skyrocketed instantly.
And I made another discovery.
The novel <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?> was unfolding in a completely unexpected way.
“It was an enjoyable conversation.”
“Great Hero Cheonghoon! Thank you for your kindness!”
“Haha! Be careful from now on.”
“I will!”
Tap!
As soon as we arrived at the nearest city, we parted ways.
I gave a natural fist-and-palm salute—something I had gotten used to in just half a day.
‘…Good.’
Not a bad start.
But in this survival-of-the-fittest world overflowing with martial artists, I was nothing but a weakling!
Until I gained martial arts myself, I had to stay extremely cautious.
Growl.
“……”
I needed money to avoid starving or sleeping on the streets.
When would this annoyance of starting penniless in every dream finally be solved?
The road ahead was long.
‘Without Sun-young’s summary file, I would’ve been totally screwed.’
The approach here needed to be completely different from the one in the romance fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family>.
Angelina Chimac (Kim Eun-jung) only cared about collecting handsome men.
And she was always wary of diverging from the novel’s original plot.
In the end, she failed because she didn’t perfectly mimic the protagonist.
On the other hand…
“This is troublesome.”
The current patient, Mao Zai, was not following the original plot at all.
He didn’t care if his spontaneous actions altered the future.
Because of that, I had no idea which volume the story was currently in.
A complete mess!
So the protagonist-focused events of “The Heavenly Demon’s Disciple” wouldn’t be helpful.
The only usable information was the unchanging settings such as—
Hidden locations of powerful martial arts manuals.
“If east is this way…”
Since the sun rises in the east, tree leaves and branches tended to grow slightly toward that direction to receive more sunlight.
Using that, plus the rough map of this world…
The location of the hidden treasure.
After comparing the two clues, I decided to head toward the treasure spot closest to this city.
Growl.
“…I’d better hurry.”
At this point, I wanted to steal a steamed bun from some street vendor and run, but I’d probably instantly be labeled as a “passing rogue martial artist,” so I gave up on that idea.
Then what about getting a part-time job?
I’d rather eat desert lizards and sleep outdoors!
‘Decision made.’
I headed toward the rocky mountain where the treasure was hidden.
***
All the major “great treasures” highlighted in the wuxia novel <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?> were probably already taken by Mao Zai.
But since he never expected to enter this novel world himself, there’s no way he remembers all 215 treasure locations clearly.
“…Bingo.”
A naturally formed cave entrance created by the cracks in the rocky mountain widening over countless years.
The cobwebs and dry vines draped across it proved that no one had visited for a long time.
Swish, swish—
Using the walking stick I had made on the way, I cleared the obstacles and went inside.
My clothes, already caked with dust, were tattered beyond repair.
My shoes—nothing like modern sneakers—had long since worn out, leaving holes everywhere.
‘I didn’t think about this part.’
It was dark.
A perfect, absolute darkness without a single speck of light.
Tap, tap.
I tapped the ground ahead with my stick like a blind man as I slowly progressed.
If I slipped in this darkness and fell off a ledge?
Even if I survived, I’d lose my way and starve to death wandering endlessly!
‘This is… really deep…?’
In the novel, the line was simply: “The severely wounded protagonist took refuge inside a cave.”
Because of that, I underestimated it.
But now that I thought about it—evading someone as powerful as the Wudang Divine Sword, one of the top ten absolute monsters in the setting—of course it had to be this deep.
“……”
The deeper I went, the harder it was to breathe.
Even someone with lung capacity monstrous enough to terrify Olympic swimmers… even I was barely enduring it.
‘No…’
To martial artists who wield absurd powers, this kind of extreme environment would probably be nothing.
As the Wudang disciple said, the only reason this was hard was because I was still a powerless “commoner” who hadn’t learned any martial arts.
‘What if I die again at this rate?’
I was worried now.
It was too far to retreat. If I got lost here and died, I wouldn’t get another chance.
I’d respawn right here—inside this lightless suffocating cave—and have to start from hell.
Worst-case scenario.
‘If I die, my physical stats will drop again, and Sun-young’s carefully prepared summary will become useless.’
A crisis I never saw coming!
If I came all the way here only to die without any gains, my body might regress to average human level—and my athletic career would suffer.
Drip…
Cold sweat ran down my back—not from physical danger, but from sheer tension.
I had no idea how long I walked like that.
Flash!
“Whoa!”
A faint bluish light seeped into the pitch-black darkness.
Flicker, flicker!
And the closer I got, the brighter and stronger the light became.
‘A Luminous Pearl (Yagwangju)!’
A luminous pearl—a near-mandatory item in wuxia novels—is a gem that emits its own light. Basically, a fluorescent lamp that doesn’t need electricity.
These pearls are extremely precious and useful—rare enough that you usually can’t buy them even if you have money.
‘If it’s here…’
That means this is the place where the treasure I’m looking for is hidden.
Flicker, flicker!
“Oh…”
A wide chamber bathed in the soft green glow of luminous pearls.
Breathing was still hard, but a small pool formed from water trickling down the cave walls meant I could at least quench my thirst.
‘Can I eat that…?’
In the pool, large, pale-white fish as thick as my forearm were swimming peacefully.
They were never mentioned in the novel, so I had no idea if they were edible.
Since the desert lizard I ate earlier wasn’t fully digested yet, I decided to save these fish as a last resort.
“Well then…”
Now the real part begins.
This cave was the hideout the protagonist found by chance after escaping from the Wudang Divine Sword.
After narrowly shaking off pursuit, the protagonist found a martial artist who had quietly passed away here—and looted his belongings…
“Hello. Sorry the protagonist didn’t come, huh?”
“……”
The skeleton lying on the flat rock didn’t respond.
“The protagonist said your martial arts were shabby and just gifted them to his girlfriend. Pretty cruel, right?”
“……”
“But I’ll gratefully make use of them. Including the essence of internal energy you built up over your entire life.”
A pea-sized bead sat at the pelvis of the skeletal corpse.
The Essence of Internal Energy.
You could call it the crystallization of one’s strength.
Most martial artists die and that’s the end—but those who pass naturally with preparation sometimes leave behind things like this.
‘The protagonist used it like a healing potion…’
To someone like me who has nothing, this is like rain in a drought.
“Do I just eat it?”
But if I swallowed it and it simply turned into poop, I’d be worse than the protagonist, who at least used it as medicine.
“……”
As expected, the skeleton didn’t answer.
‘Ah, right. There should be an instruction manual!’
The martial arts manual!
A tragic martial technique completely forgotten because the protagonist gave it away to his girlfriend.
Carefully, I picked up the book that described in detail how to learn a martial art that never once appeared throughout 215 volumes of the novel.
“Hmm…”
Is this the cultivation formula?
— “The benevolent obey the teachings of those in need,
The malevolent serve as the wealth of the overflowing.
Revere the nameless king who follows the Way,
For his generosity spreads like dew upon the people.”
“I don’t get it at all.”
Song Sun-young’s nagging suddenly resurfaced in my mind:
‘You’re the most pathetic idiot in the world—someone who can’t make use of something even when it’s handed to him.’
‘Damn…’
I really am going to become an idiot at this rate.