Chapter 80
“…”
“…”
What was this sudden nonsense about how the Imugi had to stay here for both of us to survive?
Suspicious, I examined the Imugi’s expression, but it didn’t seem like she was playing cheap tricks just to stay here.
Feeling a bit tense, I swallowed dryly.
The being in front of me was an Imugi that had lived for at least several hundred years. Even if she had a Future Foresight Ability, it was at a level where I could just nod and accept it.
“Can you perhaps…, see the future?”
“I may look like this, but I’m on the verge of becoming a dragon. You think I can’t see the future? However, if I say any more, I’ll die.”
At my cautious question, the Imugi shook her head as if she couldn’t say.
To die if she said any more…, did that mean she would be punished by the heavens for Leaking Heavenly Secrets?
This left me troubled.
‘If the Imugi’s words are true, do I have to take this fellow in…’
At the very least, it didn’t seem like the Imugi was lying.
However, this dilemma of mine…
“More importantly…, do you perhaps have a little more to eat…?”
“…”
…was thoroughly shattered by the Imugi’s next words.
Smack - !
“Aah - !”
Unable to hold back at the Imugi’s words, I brought my fist down on her head.
“You fucker…! Do you know how many silver coins you’ve scarfed down so far? Do you think our food just falls from the sky?”
It was already hard enough to procure food deep in the mountains. We foraged some ingredients directly from the mountain, but there were things you absolutely couldn’t get in the wild.
Because of that, we had to pay extra distribution costs to eat the same ordinary food as others.
But just how much food was this fucking Glutton stuffing her face with?
Taking this Imugi in meant we would have to cover the food expenses for everything this fellow ate, didn’t it?
Absolutely impossible.
It’s a deficit, a deficit. Did she think I worked so hard to earn money just to feed and raise an Imugi?
Steeling my resolve, I stubbornly shook my head and declared to her.
“Rejected, rejected.”
“Re, rejected…? What does that mean…”
To the Imugi, who not only ate a lot but was also ignorant, I slowly and kindly explained.
“It means I’m not living with you. No matter how much I think about it, this isn’t right.”
“N-no, why…! I told you, I have to be here for both of us to survive…”
“I don’t believe in that kind of stuff in the first place. If I believed in that, I’d join the Wudang Sect. Why would I be a Bandit?”
“What’s the Wudang Sect - !”
“If you don’t know, get lost and go study the world, you Ignoramus. And I can’t give you any more food.”
“No way…!”
At the mention of no more food, the Imugi’s eyes widened incomparably wide.
As expected of this Beast, her goal must have been to eat more food rather than anything else.
When I saw that, the little trust I had plummeted even further.
I gathered energy in my hands and pulled up the Imugi, who was clinging tightly to the chair.
“Now, get up. We have no more business with each other, so please leave my mountain. If you want to coil up, go do it somewhere else.”
“…N-no! I have to be here to become a dragon! I-is it perhaps because I eat a lot? I-I was just really hungry today! I don’t usually eat this much…!”
“…How much do you usually eat then?”
“About half of what I ate today.”
“…”
What the Imugi ate today was three days' worth of rations for the dozens of people in our Muak Mountain Stronghold. Half of that would be roughly 1.5 days' worth…
It was a significant reduction, but taking the Imugi in would still more than double our Mountain Stronghold’s food expenses.
“Yeah, that’s still a lot.”
“I reduced it by a lot, and that’s still too much…? T-that makes no sense…! Aren’t you just being too stingy…?”
“I give you free food and you spout nonsense… A punk who can’t earn a single penny is saying what now?”
I put my full strength into my arms and pulled her up. At that, the Imugi fellow…
“Heup…, suddenly, what the fuck…!”
As if she had used the Thousand-Jin Weight Technique, her weight suddenly became insanely heavy. It seemed she could adjust not only her size but also her weight.
My arms and body trembled for a moment, but I wasn’t one to yield to this.
I immediately mobilized my Internal Strength to lift her even higher, and then…
“Gyaah - !”
Whoosh - .
…I threw her right outside.
“Hurry up and leave. Shoo!”
“…Such a heartless human.”
The Imugi looked at me with a tearful face.
Making such a pitiful expression, the young girl made herself look somewhat pathetic… But I had no intention of letting it slide.
For various complex reasons, such as the food expenses… and the Heavenly Demon Cult…, it was difficult to take her in.
Above all, it wasn’t like the Imugi and I had known each other for a long time.
I already had many mouths to feed. I didn’t have the leeway to take in a several-hundred-year-old Imugi on top of that.
“I’ll say it one more time. Head as far south as possible. Got it? So you don’t get caught by those guys again. Even if you do get caught, I won’t help you.”
“…Tch.”
When I maintained my firm Stance, showing no intention of changing my attitude, the Imugi clicked her tongue, and then…
Paat - !
…her figure vanished just like that, heading off somewhere.
* * *
“Great Hero, I have brought some information regarding the Imugi.”
“…The position of Haomun Leader must be more leisurely than I thought. You are bringing me information I didn’t even ask for. No, more importantly, how long are you going to stay in our Mountain Stronghold?”
“Because you need me, Great Hero, I plan to stay here for as long as possible.”
“No, I don’t need you right now.”
“Because you need me, Great Hero.”
“…”
When I denied it, the Haomun Leader replied like a broken NPC.
As expected, her goal was to squat here just like Yoo Somyung.
“Ugh…, why are there so many leeches around these days?”
“But aren’t I at least a helpful Leech? Compared to that…”
Saying so, the Haomun Leader pointed outside the door.
And then…
-…!
Rustle - .
…as soon as the Haomun Leader pointed her finger in that direction, there was something that hurriedly hid its body, thinking it had been caught.
“It seems she’s putting less effort into hiding now.”
“Tell me about it, fuck.”
It had already been two weeks since the Imugi was kicked out for a Dine and Dash.
During that time, heavy snow had fallen, and winter had deepened.
Even so, the Imugi hadn’t left our Mountain Stronghold and was still hovering around.
No, she wasn’t just hovering around…
Clack - .
“Oh, Hyungnim. Young Lady Imugi is outside, did you see her?”
…she had even gotten close to some of our Green Forest Members, like a military Mess Hall Scavenger would.
Youngest entered my room, smiling brightly with one arm wrapped in bandages.
For reference, Youngest had been recuperating ever since he was bitten by the Imugi a while back. The detoxification was clean, but apparently, it would take some time for the sensation to return to his arm, which had been damaged as the poison coursed through it.
Anyway, despite experiencing such a thing with the Imugi, Youngest was the closest to her.
Whenever I asked because I couldn’t understand him, Youngest would always answer like this.
“But, Youngest, what’s so great about the kid who messed up your arm like that?”
“Well, she’s cute.”
“…”
…sometimes I think that punk is out of his mind too.
“Speaking of which, I should go see her again. Oh, elder brother, Mister Jeokyeom asked me to bring this to you, so I’ll just leave it here!”
“…right.”
After saying that, Youngest really just put down what he brought and went to look for the Imugi.
The Haomun Leader watched his retreating back with me before opening his mouth.
“He really seems to like the Imugi.”
“Tell me about it…”
“It seemed she was on good terms not only with him but with the other Green Forest Members as well. So I was thinking: How about you just accept that Imugi here?”
“…What are you talking about?”
When I frowned, the Haomun Leader pulled out several books from her robes and showed them to me, as if she had expected this.
They were all worn out, looking like old texts.
“You said the Imugi spoke as if predicting the future, right? So I looked into it…, and it seems that Imugis of a certain age truly do possess the ability to read Heavenly Secrets.”
“…”
“I don’t know the reason why, but a spiritual creature as friendly to humans as that Imugi is rare. We don’t know how many more mysterious abilities like future foresight she might have…, and perhaps her very existence could be of help to the Green Forest. No matter how I look at it, there’s a lot to gain, so taking her in…”
The Haomun Leader’s words were mostly correct.
Among spiritual creatures, there were none that allowed themselves to be handled by humans.
But that Imugi was strangely favorable toward us and kept burrowing into our embrace. If we accepted her into our Green Forest, her very existence would be a help to us.
Rumors of our taming a spiritual creature could spread, raising the prestige of our Green Forest throughout the world.
In fact, if that happened, the food expenses wouldn’t be that big of a problem.
If I just made the Imugi dance and charged people money to watch, that would also be a fairly profitable business.
However, what still bothered me was…
“Is it because of… the Demonic Cult?”
“…”
The Haomun Leader was one of the people who knew that I cared a great deal about the Heavenly Demon Cult.
She continued speaking in a way that told me not to worry.
“Of course, I was also surprised by their unimaginable military strength…, but don’t worry too much. The Murim Alliance has already sensed their danger and is strengthening the Border.”
“…”
“Above all, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and this Hunan Province are thousands of li apart. They cannot move enough troops here to invade the Green Forest. It’s obvious they would be discovered by the Murim Alliance along the way.”
I knew that too.
I had purposely settled in the south to make it difficult for the Heavenly Demon Cult bastards to approach.
But…
“Huu…”
“…”
Even so, it was hard to hide my reluctance.
Because I didn’t want to get entangled with them in any way…
As I continued to frown and hesitate, the Haomun Leader seemed to think this was her chance and cautiously opened her mouth.
“Um…, Great Hero. May I perhaps ask you one thing?”
“…Ask.”
At my permission, the Haomun Leader hesitated before continuing.
“Why do you care so much about the Demonic Cult, Great Hero?”
“…”
And I had no choice but to remain silent for a moment at her question.