Chapter 98 – Heavenly Demon’s Disciple (20)
“Mount Hua Sect’s greatest prodigy… poisoned…”
“For them to reach from Emei all the way to Mount Hua!”
“The Blood Demon Guard was lying in ambush…”
“Fire Dragon’s death is a tremendous loss to the martial world.”
Members of the Mount Hua Sect came and carried away Fire Dragon’s corpse.
Everyone was devastated.
I wasn’t exactly feeling great either—someone had died right beside me.
‘Nothing I can do.’
I’m not the protagonist.
I don’t know how to fight while protecting comrades who rush around however they please, Nor do I have any intention of learning.
“…Something’s wrong.”
Little Fist King muttered the moment the Mount Hua members disappeared.
“What is?”
“How did the Blood Demon Guard know where we were and set up an ambush?”
“Uh… true.”
As someone with a modern way of thinking, I nearly brushed past it, but the martial world has no advanced communication.
If tracking people were that easy?
Then the Nine Dragons Five Phoenixes—including the geniuses—would have already been kidnapped or killed by the Blood Demon Guard long ago.
“There’s definitely a traitor inside Mount Hua.”
“So what?”
“Huh?”
“If even you know it, wouldn’t the Sword King have noticed too?”
There’s no way the Sect Leader of Mount Hua—who can win against the Heavenly Demon in Go—would be an idiot.
“Well… that’s true.”
“So we just stick to our original plan and go back to Sichuan.”
“You’re really not going to help Mount Hua? What about avenging Fire Dragon?”
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m sad he died too. But we’re stepping back out of consideration for Mount Hua—the ones who lost family.”
“Ah! I get it.”
Thus, we decided to completely wash our hands of this conspiracy.
Mount Hua’s future?
Not my problem.
My only priority is finding Mao Zhai and convincing him to wake up from this dream.
“Fire Dragon wasn’t a bad guy… A little unfortunate.”
Mi-bong spoke with a face that showed zero regret.
“Did you like him even a little?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Then let’s forget Fire Dragon and go find Ma-ryong.”
And so we returned to Sichuan once more.
We didn’t detour to the treasure locations the protagonist was supposed to find, so the trip didn’t take long.
‘Though… not that quick.’
We’d wasted a fair bit of time handing Fire Dragon’s body over to Mount Hua.
“Fist King.”
“What?”
“You’re close to the Beggar King, right?”
“What’s the point of being close to that old beggar?”
“I want to ask the Beggar King where Ma-ryong is.”
The Beggar Sect.
The classic information network of wuxia novels.
Since public safety and welfare in the central plains are awful, beggars everywhere act as eyes and ears collecting intel…
In other words, the Beggar Sect is an evil corporation exploiting beggar labor.
And the Beggar King is the CEO.
“Young Master Kang. I think I can help.”
“Oh? You can, Mi-bong?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Her answer surprised me. Mi-bong smiled sweetly.
“You’ll see.”
***
Romance has always been in demand, throughout East and West, ancient and modern.
And nothing draws more attention than the love life of a celebrity admired by the masses.
In the martial world of the Central Plains, Mi-bong—ranked the second most beautiful woman—was unquestionably a star.
“It is an honor to meet the heroes who defeated the Blood Demon Guard. I am Land Dragon, a minor chief of the Beggar Sect.”
Land Dragon (乞龍).
Successor to the corrupt enterprise known as the Beggar Sect.
A member of the Nine Dragons Five Phoenixes, and the perfect pushover whom the protagonist frequently exploited for information-gathering.
His face was quite handsome.
But because he was dressed like a beggar, his good genetics never saw the light of day.
“Sorry for calling you out of nowhere.”
“Not at all. If Mi-bong summons me, I must come running.”
“Thanks.”
“Think nothing of it.”
I had planned to use Fist King’s connections to contact the Beggar King, but Mi-bong apparently had a broad network of her own.
A fresh re-evaluation was needed.
In the original novel, she was the troublesome character who attracted men just by breathing.
“Slurp!”
Clack—
While the rest of us were finishing one bowl of noodles, Land Dragon had already inhaled four like a human vacuum cleaner.
Mi-bong was the one buying, but considering how much he loved freebies, watching him slurp felt like witnessing self-hatred among fellow beggars.
“Land Dragon. I want to know where Ma-ryong is right now.”
“Hm. I already know Mi-bong’s bust and waist measurements…”
“That’ll be wrong now.”
“…Hm? You’re right. Did you perhaps undergo bone-refining in the short time since I last saw you?”
“Yup.”
At Mi-bong’s refreshing answer, Land Dragon paused, put his chopsticks down, and spoke slowly.
“You gave away such a massive piece of information so casually that I’m a bit stunned. There are countless heroes who obsess over Mi-bong’s private details.”
“Stop saying nonsense and tell us where Ma-ryong is.”
“Of course.”
Land Dragon glanced at me with a meaningful smile, then answered:
“He’s at Mount Emei Sect.”
“Ah!”
Emei Sect.
The sect to which Emei Divine Sword belongs.
The reason Ma-ryong went there was obvious without even seeing it.
‘Right! Because I told him to!’
I had explained that if he wanted Emei Divine Sword’s heart, he needed to defeat her fairly three times in a duel.
But would they even duel now?
In the Sichuan Martial Tournament, Emei Divine Sword had been beaten half to death by me. She was injured to the point where moving her body was difficult, let alone engaging in an honorable duel.
“Land Dragon. Thanks.”
“It was nothing. I happened to learn the info while investigating the horrific state of Emei Sect after the Blood Demon Guard’s attack.”
“I see.”
“I’m currently collecting rumors on where the Blood Demon Guard is headed after kidnapping Sword Phoenix, Emei Divine Sword, Emei Fairy, and Sichuan’s First Beauty.”
“…Busy man.”
We, who already knew exactly where the abducted women were taken, felt slightly awkward.
They really told us quite easily, after all.
Such is the difference between the strong and the weak.
Villains become bolder before the weak, and far more docile before the strong.
“My humble opinion, but… you should avoid visiting Emei Sect for now. They’re blaming you—Sichuan’s First Demon—for their humiliating loss, having lost all their top experts.”
“No shame at all.”
If losing two people is enough to cripple a martial sect, maybe they deserve to disappear.
If they feared losing strength, they shouldn’t have entered their disciples in the tournament in the first place.
Pathetic excuses.
“Young Master Kang. Did you meet the Heavenly Demon at Mount Hua?”
“I decline men’s attention.”
“The fact that you’re openly dodging the question means the Heavenly Demon is truly there.”
“……”
“And the fact that you’re still alive even after calling yourself his grandson means… it must be true.”
“…Young Master Land Dragon.”
“Please don’t mind me.”
“You’re making me want to expose your secret.”
It wasn’t that his attitude was bad — I just didn’t like him.
“I have no secrets. What secrets would a beggar possibly—”
“You don’t look anything like your sister. Your skin, your eyes, your hair.”
“…Hahaha! Young Master Kang! If you ever need information, just say the word! I’ll run to you no matter where you are!”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
The Blue-Eyed Princess’s half-brother smiled brightly.
***
We needed to find Ma-ryong before Mao Zhai, who was targeting the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, could reach him.
How?
“We’re going to rescue Emei Fairy, Emei Divine Sword, Sichuan’s First Beauty, and Sword Phoenix—women who are about to become the Blood Demon’s wives!”
If Ma-ryong was tracking the Blood Demon Guard to save Emei Divine Sword, then we would simply rescue her first and make Ma-ryong come to us.
Perfect.
Except…
Mao Zhai looted everything first!
When traveling from Sichuan to Shaanxi, all of the protagonist’s treasures were still untouched.
But on the way to Henan?
Empty caves. Empty chests.
Nothing left.
“We keep missing everything!”
“Looks like someone got there first.”
Spoiled by all the free opportunities I’d been handing out, Fist King and Mi-bong were disappointed.
“It’s the work of the Heaven-Earth Yin-Yang Body. He also knows where martial arts manuals and treasures are hidden.”
“Let’s catch him quickly!”
“I’ll help too!”
Blinded by greed, Fist King and Mi-bong also wanted Mao Zhai caught fast.
I want to catch him too.
But first, we needed to locate the Blood Demon’s hideout somewhere in Henan.
Even the original novel didn’t describe the exact location, so we had to search manually—
Ah!
“Lady Mi-bong.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t leave my side.”
“Oh my! If that’s the request, I can do it as naturally as breathing!”
Smack!
Mi-bong wrapped both arms around my forearm and beamed.
“Young Master Kang. You think the Blood Demon Guard will target Mi-bong again?”
“Of course.”
In the original story, the Blood Demon Guard never gave up.
Is the Blood Demon’s marriage more important than thousands of subordinates?
Hard to understand, but it was certain: the Blood Demon Guard—or the Blood Demon himself—would come for Mi-bong again.
So the plan was to provoke them by appearing in obvious places.
“Should we go boating? We can split the cost half and half.”
“Okay!”
We headed to the ferry crossing on the Yellow River.
***
Upon hearing that Mi-bong was boating on the Yellow River, the Blood Demon immediately realized it was a provocation.
A challenge directed at the Blood Demon himself!
But responding exactly as they wanted would hurt his pride.
So instead—
“Let’s see how skilled the river bandits are.”
He decided to use water bandits instead of acting personally.
“Just wait. Heroes will soon come defeat you.”
Sitting beside him, where the river was clearly visible, was a proud and elegant peerless beauty.
The First Beauty Under Heaven.
A woman who had never spared a glance at any man.
Now kidnapped by the Blood Demon Guard, she was trapped in a situation where she could meet no man except the Blood Demon.
“Puahaha! I’ve been ‘waiting’ for several years already, but no one’s come.”
“J-just wait!”
With her hands and feet tightly bound, the First Beauty Under Heaven could do nothing but glare at the Blood Demon, who was mocking her.
The Blood Demon enjoyed her anger — even that was beautiful — and sipped his drink as he watched the yellow river outside the window.
It’s begun.
Water bandits appeared, riding large and small boats. They quickly surrounded the boat carrying Sichuan’s Number One Demon and Mi-bong…
BOOM—!
Columns of water and sprays exploded everywhere as the bandits were annihilated in an instant.
“…What just happened?”
The river, yellow just moments before, turned red with the blood of the bandits.
Floating everywhere—
Shattered boat debris, bandit corpses so dense they covered the surface of the water.
The boat, surrounded by all this, did not escape unharmed—but not because the bandits attacked it.
Sichuan’s Number One Demon.
When he wiped out the water bandits with his martial arts, the boat had been grazed just slightly.
“Cult Leader! Your command!”
“Hm…”
“Sichuan’s Number One Demon is tired after fighting the water bandits. This is the perfect moment!”
“……”
That had indeed been the plan.
“The Blood Demon Guard is lying in ambush on the riverbank under your orders. We will kill Sichuan’s Number One Demon and present Mi-bong to you!”
The Blood Demon glanced sideways at the overly enthusiastic subordinate.
“Your command!”
“…Answer me honestly.”
“Yes, Cult Leader!”
“At present… do you think this lord lacks women?”
“……”
“Answer honestly.”
“N-no, Cult Leader! You already have the First Beauty Under Heaven at your side, and from the Emei Sect we captured Sichuan’s First Beauty, the Emei Divine Maiden, the Emei Fairy, and Sword Phoenix. At our base, we also have—”
“Enough.”
“My apologies, Cult Leader!”
Just as the loyal subordinate said, the Blood Demon Guard had kidnapped countless beauties from across the Jianghu and delivered them to him.
Honestly, at this point—
He had more than enough.
In the original novel, the protagonist constantly interfered and prevented these kidnappings, causing the Blood Demon Guard to fail again and again.
But without the protagonist?
The Blood Demon Guard succeeded smoothly every time, delivering beauties from all over the land to their master.
As they had been, all this time.
Even the reason the First Beauty Under Heaven remained the Blood Demon’s quasi-lover(?) was because the protagonist had never come to rescue her.
“Tell the Blood Demon Guard to withdraw from the ambush.”
“…What?”
“Mi-bong can be ignored. I already have more than enough women to bear my children.”
“A-at once! I will relay the order!”
“And tonight, prepare Sichuan’s First Beauty. I wish to catch up with my old friend after so long.”
“I will prepare her immediately!”
“I’m already looking forward to it.”
Kang Moon-soo’s provocation had been completely neutralized by the Blood Demon’s realistic judgment.