Chapter 4: I Became the Terminally Ill Master of the Heavenly Demon (4)

"First, I apologize."

Bi Wol didn't even have a chance to deal with the bandits. The situation was resolved as soon as I unleashed the Ice Spirit Technique.

"Second, Great Master."

The area was now covered in ice fragments as if we were on a snow mountain, with everything around us frozen solid.

"I'm sorry!! Great Master!!"

I made Sanpo, the bandit leader, crawl on all fours, then sat on him like a chair.

"Yes, louder."

As I coughed up blood, Bi Wol gently wiped my mouth with a cloth.

Using even a little martial arts caused my meridians to twist, resulting in this state. It was already uncomfortable enough having my body filled with yin energy, making it difficult to move and breathe.

The Extreme Yin Constitution, which could be considered a blessing in the North Sea Ice Palace, was now blocking nine of my meridians, slowly eating away at my life.

"I dare apologize with my life for not recognizing the Ice Dragon and trying to collect a toll!"

"...Just your life?"

Bi Wol, treating even the blood on my lips as precious, wiped it clean with the cloth before directing sharp killing intent toward Sanpo beneath me.

I didn't need his life. I was planning to hand these guys over to the authorities anyway, just collecting the small reward.

"Bi Wol, that's enough."

"But Master, these ruffians dared to make you move your precious body!"

I stroked Bi Wol's head habitually as I spoke. Hearing the "hehe" sound from her mouth, I suspected she was secretly enjoying this.

"I'm not that old yet."

"But the Nine Yin Blockage..."

"Even if I'm living on borrowed time, I don't intend to leave everything to my disciple."

I shrugged as I spoke. I had managed to maintain this thread-like life until now through intensive internal energy cultivation.

In this life, I wanted to live without regrets.

Besides, due to the karma of the Heaven-Killing Star, I thought it best to keep Bi Wol, a Heavenly Horse, away from killing and violence as much as possible.

"I'll never engage in banditry again! Great Master, please spare me just this once!"

Sanpo was apologizing while shedding tears. Judging by his trembling arms and legs, he seemed to be reaching his limit.

"I trust people who change their actions first rather than those who only change their words. I believe the only thing that can change oneself is one's own will."

I looked down at Sanpo indifferently. People who easily change their words can just as easily change them again later.

I had seen many such people in reality. Weak humans who lie to themselves and find comfort in excuses.

One of them was me, who had given up on the dream of being a writer.

"I'll turn myself in to the authorities! I'll return all the stolen goods in our hideout to their rightful owners!!"

"How will you do that? Do you have a ledger? When you rob people, do you write down whose belongings you're stealing?"

I was used to detecting such lies.

"Do you remember the names of the people who shed blood and tears because of you?"

I spread my palm in front of Sanpo's face as I spoke. He shuddered at the sight of my scarred palm.

"Name five, and I'll believe you."

I decided to test Sanpo, thinking I might give him one chance.

"Geumhwi, Jangil, Wangsam..."

After a brief pause, Sanpo started rattling off names like a machine gun, as if suddenly remembering something.

"...Wait, those with those names, raise your hands."

Noticing something odd, I nodded toward his subordinates who were being watched by Bi Wol.

They remained still, exchanging glances. A strange atmosphere circulated among them.

"Must I turn each of you into ice blocks before you'll tell me the truth?"

I threatened the bandits while dispersing yin energy. Sanpo, closest to me, gritted his teeth and trembled.

One, two, three.

After I gave them a moment, exactly three of Sanpo's subordinates raised their hands.

"I am Geumhwi."

"I am Jangil, Great Master."

"I-I am Wangsam!"

When Bi Wol verified their names with killing intent, they matched exactly what Sanpo had said. I nodded to her, indicating she had done well.

"You... you all...!!"

This was a simple deduction.

Before being transported to this world, I had worked as an academy instructor. I had seen many cases of students answering attendance for their friends.

"You're the type who would sell out your own subordinates to save your life."

I looked at Sanpo with pitying eyes as I spoke. I had hoped he might be different since he wasn't even a character that appeared in the novel "King of the Diamond Fist."

"N-no! Great Master!! It's just a coincidence that the names are the same!"

"Didn't the people you robbed beg the same way? Pleading to be spared just once, begging for their lives."

I couldn't forgive the fact that they had tried to harm Bi Wol in the first place. Judging by how they demanded money and women, this clearly wasn't their first time.

"You will use that three-inch tongue of yours to run to the authorities and confess your crimes yourself."

"Aaaaargh!!"

I grabbed Sanpo's nape and slowly froze his neck by releasing cold energy. Without restraining him like this, he would likely commit the same crimes again.

"If you don't release the people you've imprisoned in your hideout and return everything you've stolen..."

I covered him in ice up to just below his nose, making him thoroughly experience the sensation of death.

"Your head will turn into an ice block that very day."

With this mark left on him, he wouldn't be able to live normally even if he broke his promise.

"Hnnnngh...!! Hngh, hngh!!"

Sanpo nodded vigorously and begged for mercy while crying. He was so terrified that he even wet himself.

"Master, you seem too lenient. I think it would have been better to crush his manhood and make him a eunuch."

As I got up from my spot due to the filth, Bi Wol immediately clung to my side and puffed her cheeks.

"...Isn't that too extreme?"

I shrank back at those words. I didn't remember teaching Bi Wol such behavior.

"Not recognizing the Ice Dragon of the Ice Dragon Flower Banquet is a sin that must be atoned for life. This girl hopes you will punish that Sanpo or whatever his name is to set an example."

I didn't respond to her words and just slowly stroked her head. The reward money from the authorities would be enough.

"There's no need for that. These bandits have lost trust in each other, and they'll fear committing crimes."

Those bandits led by Sanpo would never be able to continue their banditry. They would tremble at the mere mention of my sect's name and be too scared to act, fearing when I might appear.

"I just wanted my one and only disciple to remain unharmed."

"Master..."

Bi Wol, seemingly moved, covered her mouth with both hands and bounced in place. In truth, I had also held back from killing because of her nature.

"Great Master! Thank you for earlier!"

The coachman made a fist salute and expressed his gratitude to Bi Wol and me. He said he hadn't recognized that I was the famous 'Ice Dragon.'

His deep bow and the tears in his eyes seemed genuinely sincere, completely opposite to Sanpo's behavior.

"This humble one failed to recognize Ice Dragon's noble face! Thank you truly for sparing my life!"

Well, that was understandable.

I rarely ventured outside my sect except when seeking medicinal herbs or spiritual items due to my poor health, or during major events from the novel.

"This is the silver I have! Please accept it!"

"Your gratitude is enough."

The coachman pulled out a silver piece from his clothes and offered it to me. I tried to refuse it with a wave of my hand.

The reward money from the authorities would be enough to fund my journey to the Western Regions to meet Verdandi.

"...We'll gratefully accept it."

Just then, a small hand snatched the silver piece like a cat catching fish.

"Bi Wol, return it."

"I refuse. Master, you're too stingy about accepting others' goodwill."

The owner of that hand was Bi Wol, with her red eyes and black hair. She stuck out her tongue slightly, showing defiance to my words.

"You never know, right? I might need money for wedding gifts when I get married."

"......"

If that really happened, I might cry. Imagining Bi Wol getting married stirred something in my chest.

Was this the feeling of a father raising a daughter?

***

Bi Wol and I had now traveled to the edge of the Eastern Continent and boarded a ship heading to the Western Regions. The salty sea breeze and crying seagulls tickled our ears.

"Master! It's so sparkly...!"

Bi Wol ran around the deck, pointing at the sunlight reflecting off the sea. For her, it was the first time seeing scenery different from streams or lakes.

"Don't run. There are other people here."

"But Master! Everything is so fascinating to me! It's my first time seeing the great sea, and my first time riding such a ship!"

Bi Wol bombarded me with questions about how such a large wooden vessel could float on water whose bottom couldn't be seen.

Suppressing my desire to say 'Ah, don't you know? That's called buoyancy,' I calmed her by patting her head.

Her quieting down at my pat reminded me of countryside dogs. She was similar in many ways - appearing fierce enough to bite, but then rubbing against me asking for head pats.

"Bi Wol, engrave this scenery in your eyes."

I slowly opened my mouth to address her.

"This is the world you must look upon from now on. It's a grand flow that cannot be understood through narrow views."

In my previous life, when I was troubled about college entrance exams, I had impulsively traveled to Busan.

Looking at Haeundae's sea and its vast horizon made my troubles seem insignificant.

"...This disciple doesn't quite understand your meaning."

"Compared to that vast sea, our worries and prejudices are mere specks of dust. The waves break and reform hundreds of times each day."

I had once shouted at that sea about wanting to become a writer.

I hated giving up my dream for university or employment. I wanted to write.

The night sea at Haeundae, empty of passersby, dark as the night sky, had silently listened to my troubles.

"Even if I die tomorrow, the waves I've created won't stop. The traces, life, and teachings I leave with you will lead you to a broader world."

I wanted to share such experiences with Bi Wol. I wanted her to have someone to confide in when I was gone.

"I only need you, Master. Why do you speak like this...?"

"...Get used to these things. You must see new things, feel them, enjoy them, and live among many people."

I spoke while casually tapping her head with my finger. Honestly, I didn't know how long my life would last.

Like this, we always had to prepare for farewell.

"...Interesting words? Are you a mage?"

Then, I heard chuckling beside me.

"That's exactly what they teach at the Blue Magic Tower about the sea. But the energy around you is qi, not mana?"

A woman with golden eyes and hair looked at me while sipping her drink. Seeing her drink straight from what looked like a wine bottle, she seemed quite fond of alcohol.

Could it be someone I knew?

My brows furrowed at her familiar appearance. She matched exactly the description of a supporting character I had written.

"Nice to meet you, person from the East?"

The woman extended her hand for a handshake. From her smiling face and peculiar appearance, I could deduce her identity.

"...Gold Tower Master, Wolfram Alchemista."

A supporting character from "I Must Kill the Hero,"

"Oh? How do you know who I am? I haven't even introduced myself."

After all, she was originally supposed to be killed by Verdandi.