Chapter 77
Unaware that the Haomun Leader and I were watching tensely, the Youngest strode right up to the Imugi.
Then, standing before the Imugi, he smiled pleasedly.
“By the way, this kid is really cute.”
“…Is she?”
“Yes. I’ve always wished I had a cute younger sister like this, so…”
The Imugi’s face was indeed cute enough for the Youngest to say that. Should I call it the textbook definition of a perfect, beautiful young girl?
Moreover, her eyes looked so large and innocent… No matter who looked at her, it would be hard to imagine she harbored any dark intentions.
The Youngest must have felt the same, as he lifted her chin without a shred of suspicion and began to untie her muzzle.
Rattle - .
“What a good girl.”
“…”
The muzzle must have been tied in a complicated knot, as it took the Youngest quite a while to undo it. But even then, the Imugi just waited quietly without causing any trouble.
Eventually, after a little more time…
Rattle, clack.
Thud.
…He must have succeeded, as the muzzle came loose and dropped straight to the ground.
“…!”
And the moment we saw that, the Haomun Leader and I raised our weapons.
However…
Rub, rub - .
“She’s really gentle.”
Even though the muzzle was off, the Imugi didn’t make a move. Instead, she accepted the Youngest’s petting without any resistance.
“Ah…”
“Phew…”
Seeing that, the Haomun Leader and I were able to relax and lower our weapons.
Showing no reaction to the Youngest’s petting, she seemed to be a human-friendly Imugi.
Looking at her again, I thought, the Imugi did look quite cute. Her hair was black, but didn’t those big, bright eyes look just like a golden retriever’s?
With a calmer mind, I approached the Imugi and gestured to the Youngest.
“Youngest, that’s enough now, step back. Let me have a chat with her.”
“Ah, yep. That’s enough…”
It was then.
CRUNCH.
“…”
“…”
Hearing the gruesome sound of flesh tearing, I turned my head to the side and saw the Imugi biting into the Youngest’s arm with her unmuzzled mouth.
“Hssss - .”
…The innocent eyes from just a moment ago were gone, replaced by the vertically slit pupils unique to snakes.
“Hssssss - !”
…She was even hissing.
Clack.
There was nothing more to see. I hurriedly drew my Saber to save the bitten Youngest. However…
“Ah, it’s fine, elder brother.”
“…”
…The Youngest raised his other hand to stop me, as if to say he was fine.
“She seems a bit nervous. But she must have a good heart, because the bite doesn’t hurt at all. If we just wait a little, she’ll relax and be fine.”
Smiling as he spoke, the Youngest really did seem fine. But as the Haomun Leader and I watched him, our expressions couldn’t help but rot further.
I carefully asked the Youngest again.
“Youngest…”
“Yes, elder brother.”
“Are you sure you’re really okay…?”
“Of course. It doesn’t hurt at all.”
“But your arm is…”
“Pardon?”
When I pointed at his bitten arm, only then did the Youngest’s gaze follow.
And there… was the Youngest’s left arm, turning pitch black.
[That’s supposed to be fine right now…?]
No matter how I looked at it, he seemed completely fucked…
“Uh, this is…”
But even seeing that, the Youngest’s expression was truly nonchalant. It was enough to make me wonder if he really was okay.
The Youngest stared at his blackening arm, then lifted his head with his usual bright expression.
And then…
“Elder brother.”
“Yeah, Youngest…”
“I think I’m in big troub -, urrrgh…”
…He collapsed right then and there.
“…Youngest!!!”
Seeing that, I forgot all about my Saber and just raised my fists, lunging at the Imugi.
“Hey, you snake bastard! Let go - !”
Smack - ! Smack - !
Then I channeled Internal Energy into my fists and just kept pummeling her.
Pow - !
But what was this sensation? It felt like I was punching a rock wall.
“Hsssssss - !”
Enduring my punches, the Imugi must have felt the pain, as she finally spat out the Youngest’s bitten arm.
I immediately pulled the Youngest away and laid him on the floor. The poison had thoroughly set in, as his arm was growing blacker by the second.
“Fuck, what do I do…!”
I stared at it in a panic before turning my head to call the Haomun Leader.
“Wolhwa!”
“Yes, yes. Great Hero…!”
“H-hurry up and detoxify him! You’re from the Sichuan Tang Family, after all.”
She wasn’t just from the Sichuan Tang Family; she had lived her entire life as a Poison Master. I judged that she would be able to detoxify the Youngest’s arm right now. However…
“Well, that is…, I’m no longer a Poison Master, so I can’t transfer it to my own body… And Imugi poison varies wildly from individual to individual, so this is my first time seeing this kind of poison…”
…She mumbled, lacking confidence.
“Argh, you’re useless! I knew it from when you were babbling about ghosts earlier. Fuck! If it was going to be like this, you should have brought Munseok instead of coming yourself!”
“G-Great Hero! That’s too harsh…”
At my outburst, the Haomun Leader teared up, seemingly genuinely hurt. Of course, all the while, the Youngest was dying.
“Elder brother…, King Yama says to come with me…”
“Fuck, he’s on the verge of dying! Where’s my Saber…! Move! If you can’t do it, I will!”
After that, I was able to haphazardly detoxify him using Miji Pageom (Unknown Sword-Breaking).
* * *
Even though I had slashed away all the Poisonous Qi that had settled in the Youngest’s body using Miji Pageom (Unknown Sword-Breaking), I couldn’t heal the physical damage the poison had already caused.
Therefore, the Haomun Leader, who was somewhat proficient in medicine, left to treat the Youngest, and in the end, only the Imugi and I were left in my room.
“…”
“…”
“Grrrrr…”
“You wicked little brat…”
As if her innocent face from earlier was all a lie, the Imugi glared at me with blatant hostility now that we were alone.
Looking at the Imugi, I began putting on leather gloves like a scene out of a movie.
They were deerskin gloves the Haomun Leader had handed me before she left. She said that wearing these would provide some immunity to the poison even if I made Physical contact with the Imugi.
Snap, snap.
With the crisp sound unique to leather as my background music, I put on a fierce expression to match the Imugi’s and attempted to converse with her.
“Hey…”
“Grrr…”
“First off, I’m trying to have a conversation with you. Do you have any intention of responding?”
“Hssssss - !”
…It seemed she didn’t.
More importantly, could she even speak human language? Seeing her just growling like a caveman earlier made me doubt if she could speak at all.
[Well…, I suppose I can find out starting now…]
Step, step, swish.
I went to the corner of my room and pulled out a club.
It was the one I had used when Sparring with my Subordinates over the past 100 days.
This club contained the blood, sweat, and tears of my Subordinates, as well as their endless pain and resentment.
“…!”
Noticing that the club was no ordinary object, the Imugi stopped hissing the moment I brought it out.
And when I brought the club over and placed it right in front of her, she stared at me with a blatantly tense expression.
I spoke to her in a quiet, measured tone.
“Let’s do this the nice way. If you think about it, you and I are kin. I was born in the Sinsa Year, the year of the snake. That means I’m a snake bastard just like you.”
“…”
“Phew…, yeah, you probably don’t know what that means. I’ll make it easier to understand from now on. First things first.”
Thump.
I asked as I set the club down with a loud thud.
“First off, what’s your name?”
“…”
“Heh, you won’t even open your mouth for the simplest question?”
When the Imugi showed no intention of opening her tightly sealed lips, I stood up and swung the club through the air a few times.
“I despise young brats acting up, but that doesn’t mean I respect someone just because they’re old.”
“…”
This was a declaration that I wouldn’t go easy on the Imugi just because she was old.
“Not to mention, there are no animal protection laws here. Let’s start with a beating.”
Saying that, I imbued the club with Aura / Gang Qi.
If it were a normal human, getting hit by a club imbued with Aura / Gang Qi would kill the person in a single strike.
But what if it were an Imugi?
…I didn’t know whether she would live or die.
But what did it matter? That Imugi bastard tried to kill the Youngest anyway, didn’t she?
“Now, clench your teeth. You might just puke up your dragon orb.”
Whoosh - .
I warned the Imugi and raised the club high. The moment I was about to bring it down…!
“I-I don’t know.”
“…”
“…A name. I don’t know anything like that.”
Only right before it hit did the Imugi’s stone-tight lips finally open.
“I knew you could speak.”
As expected, whether it’s a kid, an adult, an immortal, or a Beast, a beating is the best medicine. Since she answered anyway, I lowered the club.
More importantly, she didn’t have a name…
Actually, when I thought about it, it was obvious.
A spiritual creature was still a Beast at the end of the day, so unless a human gave her one, there was no way she’d have a name.
This was just a probing question before getting to the main point anyway, so it didn’t hold much meaning.
I immediately started asking the things I was truly curious about, one by one.
“Where did you originally live?”
“South of here… Much further South… A place with broad leaves and plenty to eat…”
“Much further south than here…”
A place further south than here with broad leaves…
Perhaps it was even further south than Guangxi or Guangdong. In other words, she might have come from the Territory of the Southern Tribes.
“I get that… What’s your relationship with the Demonic Cult?”
“Demonic Cult…? I don’t know anything like that.”
“Hmm…”
The Imugi’s expression didn’t particularly look like she was lying as she said that.
Is she then unrelated to the Heavenly Demon Cult…? No, perhaps this Imugi simply doesn’t know the concept of the Demonic Cult itself.
To get the information I wanted from this Imugi, I needed to ask more intuitively. I pondered for a moment before asking in a heavy voice.
“The guy who captured you… what kind of guy was he?”
“…!”
Shiver.
“…”
As soon as I asked that question, the Imugi’s body began to tremble like an aspen tree.
The fear dwelling in her eyes was incomparable to the fear I saw when I raised the club.
[There’s something there.]
Noticing this, I waited patiently until an answer came from the Imugi’s mouth.
Eventually, the words that came out of her mouth were…
“…Blood, poison, and rotting corpses.”
“…Hmm?”
…Something rather cryptic.