Chapter 103

The next day.

Today, I’m hanging out with Soo-oh.

That’s because today is the first day of the main tournament after the preliminaries have ended. It’s Promotion Battle time, so the Celestial Demon Sect is all busy.

Of course, everyone else is busy too.

First off, Gapjae and Byung-il are participating. Gapjae is burning with passion to climb higher, while Byung-il is fighting to hold onto his current position.

Jungjae-woo only attended as an escort for the head of the Azure Palace, and the Moonmaker Sect doesn’t usually show up for these kinds of events anyway.

Unhappy?

There’s no one in the Celestial Demon Sect who’s unhappy with the Moonmaker Sect. The heads don’t have any business with them since they’re at such a low level, and anyone lower? They just go missing.

So, they get processed into mountain offerings used in Hematoma Mystic Arts, then taken to meet their end somewhere along the way—splash.

That’s how it’s been running underhandedly.

I’m starting to think I should learn this kind of operation.

A proper pseudo-religion that can supply warmth.

But let’s put that aside for now. Since no one was coming over today, we started a major cleaning spree.

“Why do we have to clean on our rare day off?”

“Yeah, but this is the best time. Let me teach you step by step.”

I’ve got the memories of experts like Joanna when it comes to cleaning. I know all about it—I mean, unlike cooking, cleaning isn’t culture-specific.

So rather than assigning tasks, I taught Soo-oh methods while we cleaned the small house together.

Like how to remove stains or ways to preserve clothing for long periods.

All sorts of useful life knowledge.

There’s so much information that might come in handy someday.

If you can, it’s better to learn as much as possible.

Because there’s so much we haven’t learned yet that we really need to.

How to talk to people.

How to distinguish between what you should and shouldn’t say in a conversation.

How to get back up after being hurt.

How to comfort someone else’s pain.

Combined, it’s called social skills.

Until society evolves further, it’s hard to go far alone.

For my sake, if nothing else, I hope you live a long life.

Isn’t there always that saying?

Die young and become a hero, or live long and become a villain.

Neither the Celestial Demon Sect nor I have had enough normal socialization.

So, we’ll have to either learn later or be taught early.

With that thought, we thoroughly cleaned the entire house.

And once that was done…

The sky was blushing red beneath the broken fence where a visitor stood.

A guest has arrived.

A woman wearing the old uniform of the Celestial Demon Sect.

It’s Gumi-lmil.

Those clothes that Celestial Demon wore once before tossing them aside in some corner—when I think of how carefully she handled them, I guess there was some attachment.

Looking at the person standing in front of me, I think I understand.

Celestial Demon must have had some thoughts about Gumi-lmil.

“Welcome, Gumi-lmil-san.”

At my greeting, she looked incredibly surprised.

“Oh, you’re that kid who was here before?”

Finally, she remembered.

I’ve changed quite a bit since then—it would’ve been hard for her to recognize me.

“Who?”

Soo-oh jumped down from the roof. I’d sent her up there to tidy things, but I don’t know if she finished.

“Wasn’t there someone who gave you medicine to get rid of the bugs in your body?”

“Oh! That person! Wait, weren’t you an old lady?”

Soo-oh stared at Gumi-lmil in surprise. But surprisingly, there wasn’t much gratitude on her face—mostly curiosity.

I pointed to the porch, and Gumi-lmil walked inside.

Gumi-lmil came in and tried to enter one of the rooms.

Huh?

Oh right, normally guests go into the room.

“It’s better not to go inside.”

“Is the house run-down? I don’t care about that, ack!”

As soon as she opened the door, she groaned.

It’s scorching hot in there.

Sure, it’s nice in winter, but unbearable in summer. No exaggeration—you’d die of heatstroke in there.

She looked baffled and pointed at the room.

“Are you trying to kill someone?”

“There’s a structural flaw since the kitchen is connected directly. Fine in winter, but impossible in summer.”

“You can’t even enter!”

I pointed to the porch again, and Gumi-lmil nodded and sat down.

“Soo-oh, go fetch some water.”

“But Choseol, we only have one bowl…”

That’s right—we didn’t use separate cups.

Having the water jar near the hearth is great because the residual heat slowly warms it without needing to boil it separately. Plus, nothing weird ever grows in the water.

It almost feels like you could build a steam engine with just a touch—but the ever-burning fire is a bit conspicuous…

Guess I’ll have to take care of it.

I left Soo-oh sitting in my place and went into the kitchen.

I went out the back door, grabbed two stones from the ground, and twisted them.

Cups complete.

Cracks appeared that were barely visible unless you looked closely. I’ll have to ask Celestial Demon for some tableware soon.

Thinking that, I opened the appropriately warm jar lid, poured two glasses of clear water, and returned to where Gumi-lmil and Soo-oh were.

Some people might insist you carry drinks on a tray, but we’re not living well enough to worry about that.

And Gumi-lmil, judging by her appearance, isn’t the type to expect much from a poor place like this.

So, as I brought out the water, I saw Gumi-lmil and Soo-oh chatting.

They were asking if Soo-oh’s body was okay. She answered politely but awkwardly.

At least she’s learned how to deal with adults from Celestial Demon.

She’s cautiously conversing without much discomfort—luckily, she’s gained some basic social skills.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you. But why are the two of you living in such a place? Wouldn’t it be better to go back to the village?”

It sounds like a casual question, but looking at Gumi-lmil’s expression, she’s carefully observing both Soo-oh and me.

Is she preparing to dismiss it as a meaningless comment if we react negatively?

“Nope. We can’t risk going back and getting infested with bugs again.”

“Aah, right. That’s true.”

The Celestial Demon Sect typically lives with parasites in their bodies. For Soo-oh, who has a strong aversion to bugs, it’s a cruel environment.

“It’d be tough to live anywhere else, huh…”

Gumi-lmil’s gaze subtly fell on Soo-oh’s hair. That’s right. Right now, the Harvester is a notorious evil master in the martial arts world.

After becoming fully Harvested at the temple filled with monks, they immediately cast him out. There’s a good chance they can identify Harvesters.

Maybe we should aim for that place when we leave.

Anyway, let’s refocus on Gumi-lmil.

“Did you come to learn about the mutation of Omyeong-seong?”

“Yeah, that’s right. You mentioned knowing something about it. Does that mean you know about the Reverse Celestial Demon Energy?”

Hmm, now that I think about it, monks occasionally used terms like that.

“What is Reverse Celestial Demon Energy?”

“You don’t know? It’s originally energy only Celestial Demon can use. Even Father couldn’t fully understand its wicked nature.”

Gyeong-yong never told Gumi-lmil about Eunjai’s traces.

So, she doesn’t know exactly. But the fact that this ominous name is attached to me is somewhat accurate.

Let’s clarify things one by one.

“First, the reason Omyeong-seong mutated is because he used the Heupsung Grand Law.”

Immediately, a sword extended from Gumi-lmil’s hand.

No, it stopped halfway.

“What are you?”

Soo-oh’s hand froze right in front of Gumi-lmil’s carotid artery. Just moments before releasing her killing intent.

I raised my hand to stop both of them.

“Okay, calm down. Soo-oh, learning the Heupsung Grand Law automatically makes someone public enemy number one in the martial arts world. It’s natural for Gumi-lmil-san to react sensitively.”

Soo-oh furrowed her brows but withdrew her hand from Gumi-lmil’s neck when I waved mine. She stepped back and drew her sword.

“In just one year, you’ve become an incredible expert.”

Gumi-lmil looked astonished as she slowly sheathed her sword. She must remember checking Soo-oh’s insides when she removed the bugs last year.

“It’s because she has a great teacher.”

I deliberately avoided mentioning Celestial Demon and shifted the topic.

“Omyeong-seong stole what you call Reverse Celestial Demon Energy from someone who uses it. If his mutation was due to that, does that make sense?”

In response to my words, Gumi-lmil frowned and shook her head.

I see.

Then it’s time to reveal the truth.

“I share myself with people. Those who accept me heal all wounds, become smarter, stronger, and their hair turns purple.”

Gumi-lmil looked at me like she didn’t understand.

After a long pause, she finally grasped what I said.

“So you’re the Reverse Celestial Demon Energy?”

She understood.

“Do you prefer calling me that?”

“Are you okay with that?”

Thus, I turned the question back to her.

Heaven-defying Demon Energy.

You could see it that way. I was about to explain the contract to her, but Soo-oh interrupted me faster.

“Choseol isn’t anything like that!”

Soo-oh shouted loudly.

She approached me from behind, hugged me, and pointed a dull-edged sword at Gumi-lmil.

“She’s my benefactor and my family. Don’t call her that.”

Somewhere along the line, Soo-oh dropped her polite speech.

An unseasonably cold breeze passed, and Gumi-lmil assumed a formal bowing stance used for greetings in this world.

“I apologize, Miss Soo-oh.”

Soo-oh glared silently at Gumi-lmil, then lowered her sword. She sighed softly and pointed at me.

“Not me. Apologize to Choseul.”

She reverted to polite speech. Well, Gumi-lmil is technically older by a couple of years.

“I’m sorry, Miss Choseul. Is it okay to address you this way?”

I nodded.

“Yes, I don’t care what others call me. Anyway, let’s continue the story. Gumi-lmil-san, I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

And I returned to the tale of Omyeong-seong.

Preferably, this story will shake the Celestial Demon Sect significantly.

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