The midday sun’s heat has grown intense.
My goodness.
Summer has come before I knew it, but nothing has happened in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Rather, things happened outside. In the place called Murim or Gangho.
To get to the conclusion, Oh Myeongseong finally became a harvester.
However, he didn’t become one after holding out until the end.
Whatever he did at the place where the monks were, my overlaying almost stopped.
Unknown techniques are scary.
But that’s also a place where people live.
Incidents happen.
A tournament was held to merge five mountain sword-wielding groups, and Oh Myeongseong participated. He was one of those swordsmen.
But when I say swordsmen, the faded man’s memories sparkle brightly. No, what’s strange about calling sword sects a group of swordsmen?
They’re just thugs in the end, right?
A very simple hierarchy competition where they gather among themselves to fight larger groups, selecting the strongest person to become leader.
He entered the competition.
There, once.
When he was defeated, I, who had been stopped by the monks, could move again.
And not long after, once more.
He was attacked by a man called Yoo Joyeong, who was said to be his former master. At that time, he couldn’t defeat Yoo Joyeong and collapsed with fatal injuries.
But when Yoo Joyeong tried to kill Gu Milmil, who was his lover and the daughter of Gu Seongyong who died here about a year ago, he called for me.
He didn’t specifically call for me, he just spoke to a frightening power. Just, he resolved to use it whatever the consequences might be.
Words have power.
So I recited the contract terms through the connection, and he agreed.
Yes.
Rising while regenerating all wounds, he immediately drew upon my power and killed Yoo Joyeong.
Somehow the faded man’s memories hand over the only summary he’d read, saying it’s different from what he knows.
No, why don’t you understand that the real world and works of fiction are different?
No matter how similar, when names are different, everything is different, right?
Anyway, things flowed interestingly.
The monk faction that had defended him so much branded him as a demon master, and the Five Mountains Sword Sect that Yoo Joyeong had unified branded him as a criminal.
Yes.
The killing and dying incidents began.
He fled with Gu Milmil, Gu Seongyong’s daughter. They were lovers after all.
But wherever he went to any village, swordsmen would rush at him declaring him a Murim public enemy. Oh Myeongseong, who initially controlled his strength and avoided killing people, eventually cut people down and killed them.
Because Gu Milmil was in danger.
The first time is difficult, but after that it becomes easy.
Immediately cutting down anyone who blocks the path.
Now he walks a path made of blood and corpses. Moreover, Gu Milmil beside him breaks his resolve by saying it’s natural to do so to enemies.
True to her Heavenly Demon Divine Cult upbringing, no matter how many good deeds she did, it wasn’t enough to break her ingrained notions.
Though she might have said such things to comfort him, if she wanted to return Oh Myeongseong to his original self, she should have scolded him there.
So Oh Myeongseong changes.
To survive.
At first, he killed those trying to kill him.
But gradually his heart grows numb. And after some time passes, now he kills even those who just block his path.
The figure who used to carefully distinguish between friend and foe, trying to avoid conflict through words when possible, is nowhere to be seen. Now he immediately cuts down anyone who shows even slight hostility.
It’s not strange for the mind to become desolate when pursuers try to kill you without rest, day after day.
It seems like they intended to wear him down to death that way, but he immediately started drawing ‘me’ in his upper dantian.
As long as he insists on living, his power won’t be depleted.
He can’t be stopped by force.
Therefore, the wheel of hatred, once started turning, rolls forward while gradually gaining speed.
A path of blood forms, enough to make me think about staying at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult longer to shake things up.
Five Mountains Sword Sect members come and die, monks come and die, and finally the whole world became his enemy.
They come towards this place, leaving trails of blood and corpses.
Of course, they’re not coming here in a straight line, but this is the place they know geographically that hasn’t been touched by the massive collective called the righteous Murim.
Strictly speaking, it’s the place Gu Milmil knows.
And Heavenly Demon knows this.
Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Since Gu Seongyong’s era, perhaps because they’ve been trying to grasp the martial world, they have means to obtain information.
Though Heavenly Demon was acknowledged purely through strength, in the year since that day, perhaps because she’s been doing what a Heavenly Demon Divine Cult leader should do without any particular issues, now the people of Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, including the hall masters, serve her as leader.
So when such information exists, she obtained it immediately without any particular barriers.
A purple-haired man staining the martial world with blood.
A strong one defeating all opponents with endless power.
People immediately think of Mushin. The legendary martial artist who entered the martial world as Heavenly Demon and left it as Mushin.
Such stories couldn’t not enter the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Besides that, there were stories about a blind person becoming the leader of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, about some sects closing their doors because too many people died, and rumors about a nearby sect disappearing due to a monster.
But the main content was about Oh Myeongseong.
And within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, they entered into deliberation about what to do with him.
But unlike there, here we were living our daily life.
Soo-oh can now use a sword quite sharply. Of course, she’s grown a bit taller too.
I grew taller too. I was already slightly above average height for a woman, but now I’m catching up to male height. And perhaps because my eating has improved, my body has gained a lot of flesh.
When Choseol was being treated as material, I was only fed nutrients close to porridge, so it’s natural to gain weight when eating proper food.
At this rate, it seems I’ll develop quite a feminine figure.
Anyway.
Late afternoon.
Heavenly Demon, who had given Soo-oh a task, came and sat on the porch where I was sitting. And suddenly brought up the name of someone who’s very famous right now.
“Do you know Oh Myeongseong?”
I turned my head to look at Heavenly Demon. I know why she’s suddenly asking this question. So I thought briefly about what to do, but decided to do as I always do.
“Yes, I know. He’s the man who obtained a part of me by using the Qi Absorption Technique on Eunchun.”
I told the truth.
As soon as I spoke, Heavenly Demon made an expression of realization. Did she want to ask how the contract was made? It’s a situation worthy of suspicion, right?
Once suspicion arises, it takes a long time to erase it, especially knowing what I am.
So I gave an understandable reason.
“How do you know his name?”
But Heavenly Demon threw an unexpected question.
Huh?
Why suddenly ask such a question? Of course, I was introduced… Ah!
I was never separately introduced to their names!
Hmm. While not lying, I need to hide that I can know many things. Being able to read the memories of those I contract with and see through harvesters’ eyes is my weapon. I can’t reveal that.
Alright.
Let’s speak as if I can only know names.
“What’s strange about knowing the name of someone I contracted with?”
Logically, people exchange names when making contracts. Of course, while some people deceive, I can push forward saying that part can be attributed to being an unidentified monster.
With that mindset, I faced Heavenly Demon.
“Do you know my name too?”
“Jeongha. Or should I say the surname ‘Im’ as well?”
Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened.
The faded man’s memories show clearly – demon eyes with shining pupils in black eyeballs.
“I don’t think I mentioned that surname.”
“Yes. You haven’t mentioned it. But I know.”
Because I have your memories. The moment I obtain memories is when they touch the light. So when a harvester dies and I take their warmth, I don’t separately obtain memories.
Because from the moment they become a harvester, I experience everything they see, hear, and feel together.
So while I know what they thought before becoming a harvester, I don’t know what they think after becoming one.
This is one of my weaknesses.
Physical reactions. I can guess what they’re thinking through what’s professionally called cold reading, but!
“So that’s how you knew Oh Myeongseong’s name.”
“Yes.”
I even know that he’s approaching this place. Of course, his direction goes here and there, and sometimes he crosses mountains or deep forests rather than roads.
Like air flowing from areas of high density to low, he’s slowly coming toward where there are fewer people pursuing him.
After answering like that, I stayed silent to let her ask if she had more questions, but Heavenly Demon didn’t ask.
“Master! I finished what you told me to do!”
“Do yesterday’s exercise 40 times.”
“Kwaaah!”
Soo-oh ran off again while screaming.
She’s so energetic even though it’s summer now. Whether it’s the power of Heavenly Demon’s special training or the Heavenly Demon Divine Technique, she has considerable resistance to heat and cold.
I guess since there’s a separate energy source called gi, she’s using it to control her body’s internal temperature.
Me?
I live with the heat when it’s hot, with the cold when it’s cold.
Though my body suffers, my mind isn’t particularly troubled.
If my body breaks down, I regenerate it.
While sitting watching Soo-oh go away, Heavenly Demon opened her mouth again.
“You don’t ask. Aren’t you curious why I mentioned Oh Myeongseong’s name?”
Well, maybe because I know more details than Heavenly Demon. I swallowed those words.
Right. For people to converse, there needs to be this kind of give and take. When someone brings up an unknown topic, it’s polite to ask what it is.
Feeling I might make a mistake if I keep talking, I decided to change the subject.
“Heavenly Demon. I’m going to leave here in a few years.”
While at it, I also included a nuance suggesting I’m not interested in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Though in reality, I’m very interested!
“Leave?”
“There’s no one here looking for me. I want to share myself, but there are no people. Shouldn’t I go outside then?”
Whether Heavenly Demon offers Heavenly Demon Divine Cult members after hearing this, or tells me to leave, it’s beneficial for me. The worst would be sealing, but I know she won’t make that choice.
She’s grown attached.
Heavenly Demon made an expression like a student facing a difficult question. Watching that, I urged internally.
Answer.
What choice will you make?