Chapter 104 – Heavenly Demon’s Disciple (26)
“Young Master Kang~!”
Boing!
Mi-bong, who had been tormenting the Shaolin monks with worldly desires, spotted me and leapt straight into my arms.
“Did you fare well?”
“Not at all! I missed Young Master Kang so much it hurt!”
(Dream or not, if your girlfriend catches you like this, it’ll be a sight to see.)
“…Miss Mi-bong, as I’ve said before, I already have a woman I love. Please refrain from remarks that others might misunderstand.”
“Second place is fine with me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Uwaa! The moment you return, you say something so cold. Did you grow tired of me in just a few days?”
“Not at all.”
Mi-bong looked up at me with teary, pitiful eyes.
This moment was torture.
“…Young Master Kang. Sob! Just answer this one thing honestly. Was there ever even a single instant when you liked me?”
“I like you even now.”
“Sniff! Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s enough.”
Surprisingly, Mi-bong accepted reality without further fuss.
(Don’t relax. She’s planning to sneak into your bedroom tonight and make a baby. This girl’s marriage prospects are ruined. Because of you, her standards for men are now impossibly high.)
“…Miss Mi-bong, I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
“The women and children I rescued from the Blood Demon Palace are outside.”
“Is the Number One Beauty Under Heaven among them?”
“Yes. Could you look after them for a few days? They’re exhausted.”
“Why me?”
Mi-bong’s face twisted at the prospect of caring for her future bedroom-invasion rivals.
“Please. You’re the only person around here I can trust with this.”
“Ugh… fine.”
She reluctantly agreed.
(I’m starting to question whether a man who immediately dumps hard work on the girl he just rejected even has a conscience.)
This is the last time.
(Really?)
There will be no more weak, wandering Kang Moon-soo in this dream!
(Heh heh! We’ll see about that.)
“…I’ll also need your help, Elder Fist King.”
“Got it!”
“I’m off to meet Land Dragon—”
“Openiiing— guh?!”
WHACK!
The little Fist King charged recklessly and ate a spinning back kick, collapsing instantly.
Pssshhh…
The inner energy that had been wrapped around his fists like armor—the same fists that once pacified the Green Forest—dissipated like smoke.
“As expected…”
Even though he had armored his entire body with qi, my kick went through as cleanly as if I’d struck a powerless child.
This is my world.
(Oho? I thought you were endlessly frustrating, but you’re the type who’s stronger in practice than theory.)
“Hmm…”
It wasn’t all good.
A slight ache in my leg.
Physical recoil that never existed when I protected myself with inner energy.
(There’s always a price for what you gain. Consider it the cost of ignoring the rules Mao Zhai set for this world.)
I’m aware of that much.
“Shaolin strictly limits women’s entry, so let’s descend Mount Song before nightfall.”
“Amitabha…”
“Amitabha…”
Even the heavy-bottomed monks of Shaolin came out to express genuine apology.
But what choice did they have?
The women we brought were some of the greatest beauties in the Central Plains.
Given how Mi-bong alone had shaken the entire temple, accepting all of them would keep even the Buddha himself awake at night.
This is all Mao Zhai’s fault.
‘Turning me into a cripple and dumping everything on me…!’
He abandoned every last beauty in the <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?> world—including the Number One Beauty Under Heaven.
A debt of the heart?
It was nothing more than an excuse to justify inducing the Blood Demon to summon the Blood God.
(I do feel a little bad for not protecting a junior who knows proper manners. If he’d summoned me earlier, I would’ve cleaned up both Mao Zhai and the entire Central Plains for him.)
The legend is real?
(A stupid question. What does a novelist gain by lying to his readers? Yes, I did bathe the Central Plains in blood.)
Why?
(Because I saw the future. A dark future where the descendants of the Central Plains turn Earth into a planet of death. If killing one million saves ten billion, isn’t that a profitable trade?)
Don’t expect me to sympathize.
(Hahaha!)
Once word spread that we were protecting the beauties kidnapped by the Blood Demon, sects and clans sent people rushing over.
“Junior sister~!”
“My daughter…!”
“Big sister!”
A tragedy that began with the author’s brainless setting that made the Blood Demon Guard weak only against the protagonist.
Contrary to his infamous reputation, the Blood Demon had apparently been quite affectionate to his wives, and the whole mess ended in the awkward form of a horde of his second-generation offspring.
(The Blood Demon was bound by restrictions too.)
What restrictions?
(The rules set by the original novel. He had to keep the beauties unharmed and well-treated until the protagonist came to rescue them.)
“Ah…”
An absurdly unrealistic constraint.
(Do you have a plan?)
“Hmm…”
A plan? I’m going to track down Mao Zhai, who murdered Sword Phoenix and vanished.
‘It might actually be easier than expected.’
The parents and clan of Sword Phoenix will be scouring the land with fire in their eyes for revenge against the Hidden Dragon. Thanks to Tang Sayang, I already know his current nickname.
Hidden Dragon (潛龍).
I’ve already put in a request with Land Dragon, who controls the Central Plains’ information network, and he’s keeping tabs on the Heavenly Demon’s location—Mao Zhai’s next likely target.
“Things are going smoothly…”
Now I just have to wait leisurely for Mao Zhai to make his move.
Ahem! Lust Dragon Kang Moon-soo, receive the imperial decree~!
A plump, jolly-looking official suddenly showed up and bellowed at me.
“…Lust Dragon?”
(Suits the lust-devil-possessed pervert that you are.)
“Ahem! Still standing?! Lust Dragon Kang Moon-soo, kneel at once and receive His Majesty’s sacred command!”
“Excuse me, there seems to be a mistake. My nickname is the Number One of Sich—”
“Receive the imperial decree~!”
“Yes, sir.”
Thud.
I dropped to my knees and decided to accept the emperor’s order for now.
“Lust Dragon Kang Moon-soo, who displayed dazzling prowess at the Sichuan Martial Tournament, is hereby commanded to attend the Imperial Banquet!”
“Ah…”
I had completely forgotten about that.
“Respond!”
“I humbly receive the imperial command.”
(Heh heh! Be honest. Between Song Sun-young and the blue-eyed princess, whose figure do you prefer?)
Please shut up.
***
Lust Dragon (色龍).
The womanizing dragon!
It was the nickname that spread because I had rescued dozens of top beauties from the Blood Demon Palace.
“Mao Zhaaaaai…!”
My grudge against him deepened even further.
(According to my calculations, Mao Zhai will move soon.)
What calculations?
(The time it takes for him to fully assimilate the power he stole from me with the Star-Absorbing Great Law.)
Surprisingly logical.
‘Speaking of which…’
The banquet hosted by the emperor who rules the Central Plains was extravagantly splendid.
The relationship between the emperor and the martial world?
Pretty much like modern governments and corporations. They pay taxes regularly and cooperate on the surface, but the moment the emperor meddles In internal affairs, everyone gets prickly.
Like water and coffee, maybe?
(Even that’s a skill. It’s not easy to make metaphors as bad as yours.)
I ignored the Blood God’s nonsense and looked around.
“Heehee, my lord~”
“Long time no see!”
From chubby old men to lovely young maidens, an incredibly diverse crowd was enjoying the banquet.
Their common traits: luxurious silk robes, and the sharp expressions and tones they used to keep the nearby guests in check.
‘This atmosphere feels familiar.’
It was exactly like the political arena of nobles when I was acting as Count Amolang in the romance-fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family>.
Smiling faces while plucking hairs from the neighbor’s head, so to speak!
(This metaphor I actually like.)
Thank you.
“…”
I could feel the gaze and interest of the blue-eyed princess seated near the emperor. There were too many eyes and too much distance for conversation, but every time she looked at me, she kept whispering to the woman beside her.
‘Her mother, I suppose.’
She had the same snow-white skin and sapphire eyes as the princess, but with the unmistakably pure Western features of someone unmixed.
“This is awkward…”
Feels like a job interview.
(Don’t worry. The blue-eyed princess’s heart is actually with Mao Zhai, not you.)
“Huh?”
What is that supposed to mean?
(The emperor wants you—the Heavenly Demon’s grandson—as his son-in-law, but the princess has been secretly meeting Mao Zhai for years and is being blackmailed by him.)
What kind of blackmail?
The Blood God, who can freely peek into anyone’s mind, generously spilled the princess’s secret.
(She gave her first time to the guy.)
So what?
(A beautiful princess is the emperor’s finest political commodity. What do you think happens if the emperor discovers that commodity is damaged?)
He’d be furious.
(And then?)
If Mao Zhai isn’t accepted as son-in-law, neither of them will come out of it alive.
(Correct.)
“…This is unsettling.”
I glanced down at the treasured sword the emperor had bestowed upon me.
Weapons were forbidden in the banquet hall due to risks of assassination and rebellion, but this sword—an imperial gift—was the sole exception.
A token of trust.
Proof that the emperor desperately wanted a connection to the setting’s strongest being, the Heavenly Demon. This wasn’t my speculation; it was canon character background from <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>, so there was no room for doubt.
(You’ve got good instincts.)
What?
Before the Blood God could finish, chaos erupted outside the hall.
“Intruder!”
“Protect His Majesty!”
“What the hell is this?!”
BOOM!
The grand doors of the banquet hall burst open and a man strode in.
Mao Zhai.
Behind him followed a group of martial artists like retainers, and among them were faces I recognized.
‘Land Dragon, Ma-ryong…’
I was surprised Ma-ryong was still alive, but I never expected even Land Dragon, the information broker, to have deceived me.
(Wow, even I got played.)
You didn’t know?
(I make it a rule not to peek into the minds of sweaty males.)
Fair enough!
As a fellow man, I understood the Blood God perfectly.
“Your Majesty. It has been a while since I last paid my respects.”
Mao Zhai stopped in the center of the hall, looked up at the emperor seated on the jade throne, and greeted him boldly.
“You again. I clearly told you my decision hasn’t changed.”
The emperor responded with obvious irritation.
“Of course, I remember. That is why I brought the Heavenly Demon’s disciple with me today.”
“…What is that supposed to mean?”
“Ma-ryong has knelt before me and sworn loyalty. Is that not proof that I am more suitable to be Your Majesty’s son-in-law than the Heavenly Demon’s disciple?”
The Blood God offered additional commentary.
(Mao Zhai plans to marry the blue-eyed princess and aim for the next throne, but he’s tripped up by the original novel’s setting.)
“Ah…”
The original novel’s setting.
“The Emperor wants to create a connection with the Heavenly Demon and uses the blue-eyed princess for that purpose.”
That is the rule of this world.
Even in the romance-fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family>, there were emperors and princes who loved the protagonist blindly.
Their common trait: from volume 1 of the original work, they were locked into “love” by pure setting, regardless of the protagonist’s actions.
For example?
“The Emperor of the Empire loves Angelina Chimac, whom he met as a child.”
Because of that, the emperor even betrayed the empire to protect the protagonist “Kim Eun-jung.”
Right now, the same thing is happening.
‘Even though Mao Zhai started as the protagonist, he failed to become the Heavenly Demon’s disciple.’
If Mao Zhai had begun as the Heavenly Demon’s disciple in volume 1 of the original novel, none of this would be happening.
But he failed!
He is the protagonist yet never became the disciple. That’s why this absurd situation is unfolding.
“Your Majesty. This humble one has subdued the Heavenly Demon’s disciple and even mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Is that not sufficient qualification to become the princess’s consort?”
Mao Zhai was desperately trying to persuade the emperor.
A persuasive argument!
“Hmm. The Heavenly Demon may be the strongest warrior I know, but it seems he lacked the talent to teach others.”
Yet it was not enough to overturn the original novel’s setting.
“No! Ma-ryong is—”
“Sneaking into the imperial palace, touching my treasures, and now ruining my banquet? You must have a death wish.”
“…”
Mao Zhai shut his mouth the moment the emperor revealed he knew their dirty secret, and the blue-eyed princess turned ashen.
What happens now?
(Mao Zhai is planning to kill the emperor right here and start a rebellion. He’s still hesitating, but if the emperor provokes him one more time—)
“Your Majesty.”
I rose from my seat.
“Who dares—oh! The Heavenly Demon’s grandson!”
“Please permit me to speak.”
“Permission granted!”
The emperor showered me with limitless favor simply because I was the Heavenly Demon’s grandson.
“Would it not be fitting to show Your Majesty’s magnanimity to this arrogant wanderer who defeated my grandfather’s disciple and grew overconfident?”
“Indeed…”
Stroking his chin, the emperor showed deep interest in my proposal, boosted by the original setting’s favoritism.
Meanwhile,
“Do you want to die?”
Mao Zhai’s face twisted into something truly vicious as he glared at me.
I cleanly ignored him.
“Your Majesty. If I defeat this wanderer, please grant me the blue-eyed princess.”
“Hahaha! The Heavenly Demon’s grandson is a true man! But should we not also respect the wishes of our dear princess?”
Bow!
Pretending to care for his daughter, the emperor smiled warmly. The blue-eyed princess answered swiftly in an ecstatic voice.
“From the moment I first saw him at the awards ceremony, I have admired him deeply!”
(She’s fighting for her life. She desperately hopes you kill Mao Zhai.)
I don’t need the commentary—I can read the room that much.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
I have zero interest in someone whose legs are shorter than Song Sun-young’s.
“…Kang Moon-soo. Don’t expect mercy this time.”
“Mao Zhai. Don’t whine later that it was best-of-three.”
(Tch. Shame there’s no popcorn.)
We faced each other once more, killing intent thick in the air.
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