Chapter 4
“…Tell me what you want.”
“I need the Mad Demon’s extremely yang cultivation method. The Nine Yang Divine Art.”
The moment he heard what the Lust Demon, Wi Ilcheong, said,
Dokgo Jin furrowed his brow.
‘Why the hell is that bastard after the Nine Yang Divine Art?’
Judging by inner energy alone, the Lust Demon was always counted among the top ten martial artists by gossips in the martial world.
“You’re insane. Do you think a martial artist would hand over his martial arts?”
“That’s not it. I don’t need it myself; another child does. I came to ask if you might at least take them on as a disciple.”
“Nonsense…?”
At that moment, Dokgo Jin’s ears twitched.
‘…What was that?’
As Dokgo Jin’s expression suddenly twisted, Wi Ilcheong tilted his head.
“Miss?”
Dokgo Jin abruptly raised a hand to stop Wi Ilcheong.
“Shut up. Don’t even breathe. Stay still.”
“…”
Closing his eyes and focusing all his attention on his ears, he began to hear a wider range of sounds.
The sound of hooves pounding against the ground.
‘Several footsteps… No. Hoofbeats.’
Metallic sounds of armor rubbing against flesh and iron clanking against iron.
‘Weapons, armor….’
And finally….
[They can’t have gotten far yet! Their appearance is so distinctive, the trail won’t be hard to follow!! Search every inch of the mountain paths, and the Young Palace Lord will come with me to the nearby inn.]
[Understood!!]
The sound of footsteps scattering in different directions.
Dokgo Jin opened his eyes again and muttered under his breath.
“Fuck.”
“…Miss Dokgo?”
The Ice Palace’s pursuit squad had arrived.
‘They’re about 200 jang (600 meters) away. They’ll be here soon.’
Dokgo Jin looked at the Lust Demon.
“Hey, Lust Demon.”
“…Miss, perhaps you could choose your words a little more carefully….”
“If you’re not the Lust Demon, what are you? Did you think I’d call you Great Hero Wi?”
“Sigh…. What is it? Go ahead.”
“The people chasing the Mad Demon are here.”
“The Ice Palace? What are you talking about…?”
At that moment, Wi Ilcheong sensed several martial artists approaching the inn.
‘…Is this woman, who has Severed Meridian Syndrome and can’t even use her inner energy, more perceptive than me?’
Just as Wi Ilcheong was shocked, Dokgo Jin was also taken aback by Wi Ilcheong’s ability to gather information.
“…This is troublesome. The Ice Palace has come?”
“How did you know the Ice Palace was coming?”
“I heard the Mad Demon had brought down the Ice Palace. So I’ve been searching the inns where he might be staying.”
“…”
The rumors had spread faster than he expected.
‘…What? Can information spread this quickly?’
Dokgo Jin wanted to put this unease aside, but he was out of time.
To lose the Ice Palace’s pursuit squad with his current piece-of-shit body, he needed to flee as soon as possible.
“Severed Meridian Syndrome. Can you really cure it?”
“…Yes. The method may not be to your liking, Miss, but I can.”
“You mean I have to fuck you.”
“…That’s rather blunt, but yes.”
“Fuck.”
To think he had to spread his legs for some male bastard to use the pure yin energy in his dantian.
‘This is fucked.’
Rage welled up inside him, but Dokgo Jin suppressed it for now.
Then an incredible idea occurred to him.
‘…Wait. Maybe simply turning back into a man wouldn’t be so bad?’
He had undergone a physical transformation into a woman while taking in excessive yin energy.
If so, wouldn’t it be possible to undergo another physical transformation back into a man by taking in a corresponding amount of yang energy from outside?
At that thought, a faction came to mind for the Mad Demon.
Thunderclap Temple of Tianzhu.
The divine artifact said to have been used by the deity there.
Vajra Thunder Pestle (金剛雷杵).
Thunder qi, too, was born of yang cultivation taken to the extreme, so if that divine artifact was real, it would contain yang energy no less potent than the Ice Palace’s Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade.
‘…Or the Sun Palace in the Great Desert might work.’
In terms of location, the Great Desert was much closer.
But the fact that countless people had died searching for the Sun Palace, hidden somewhere in the desert, gave him pause.
“Hey, Lust Demon.”
“…Yes, Miss.”
“Fine. Deal.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll spread my legs once, if that’s all it takes.”
“…”
As Dokgo Jin suddenly agreed to the deal so readily, unease began to creep into Wi Ilcheong’s heart.
“Do you really know the Nine Yang Divine Art?”
“I know the whole formula. But I have conditions.”
“Go ahead.”
“First. Draw those Ice Palace bastards’ attention away.”
“…How?”
“Figure that out yourself. If I run into those Ice Palace bastards now, I’ll die, you know?”
“Then we can go find the Mad Demon.”
“Would that man sit still if his daughter died? He already can’t stand martial artists, anyway.”
As Dokgo Jin spoke of his own situation, his face turned a little red.
But he soon decided it was worth enduring the embarrassment.
Wi Ilcheong answered with a somewhat stiff expression.
“…The Mad Demon would absolutely do that.”
“Don’t forget. As long as you’re part of the martial world, do you think my father will listen to you so easily?”
“…I don’t think he would. Then what will you do, Miss?”
“Run away. Oh, and hide that sword too.”
“What?”
Where Dokgo Jin pointed was the executioner’s blade he used.
“Father went out for a bit to buy a new one because his sword was old. But is there anyone else in the world who uses a sword like that?”
“…I don’t think I can hide that.”
“Then make sure they can’t get in here. You handle that however you want. Anyway, I’m running away, all right?”
“If you’re going to run anyway, wouldn’t it be better for me to carry you and use the Lightness Skill?”
“The Ice Palace Lord is here.”
“…”
Wi Ilcheong’s eyes widened.
“Are you confident you can shake the Ice Palace Lord?”
“…If I use the Lightness Skill for three days and nights…”
“And I’m supposed to last three days in your arms without eating or drinking?”
“…I’d forgotten Miss is more frail than an ordinary person.”
“So do as I say. There’s another shabby inn about half a day south of here. Do you know where it is?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Let’s meet there again. We’ll talk about the rest of the deal then.”
“…Miss, will you be able to make it there?”
“My senses seem better than yours.”
“You’re right…. With perception that good, you should be able to make it even in a woman’s body.”
“Anyway, we’ll meet there and discuss the rest.”
The footsteps of the Ice Palace warriors drew closer and closer.
Just as Dokgo Jin was about to jump out the window to get out a little faster, he realized something.
‘Ah, damn it.’
If he jumped from this height with his frail body, he’d break his legs.
“Miss Dokgo.”
“What.”
“…Are you going down through the window?”
“Then should I go down the stairs? Those bastards are almost here.”
“…I’m a little worried about sending a woman off alone.”
Shing!
Wi Ilcheong shook his arm, and the bracer tied around his wrist transformed into a supple sword.
The Lust Demon approached with the sword and hooked it around Dokgo Jin’s wrist; it changed back into the form of a bracer.
Dokgo Jin examined his arm, impressed.
“…It’s incredibly light.”
“It’s a rare weapon. Light enough for a woman to use, and sturdy enough for a man. Consider it a token of my trust—a gift to mark the deal.”
“…”
Dokgo Jin raised his wrist and looked at the flexible sword Wi Ilcheong had given him.
‘…It may be distasteful, but I got a decent weapon.’
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Dokgo Jin raised his fists in a martial salute, and Wi Ilcheong returned it with a smile.
‘What an obnoxious bastard. His smiling face makes me want to punch him.’
He could be grateful for one thing and still dislike another.
At that moment, Dokgo Jin’s ears twitched once more.
[We should search that inn first. Seorin, go check it.]
[Yes, Father!]
‘Damn it, it’s too dangerous to stay any longer.’
He stuck his head out the window and looked down. Right below him was a pile of hay gathered to feed the horses.
After spotting it, Dokgo Jin put one foot on the windowsill and said to the Lust Demon,
“Anyway, see you there, Lust Demon. Keep the Ice Palace busy!”
“…I wish you luck.”
“Luck my ass.”
Dokgo Jin scoffed and jumped out the window.
Pffft!
“God, it stinks. What kind of hay is this…?”
Brushing the straw off his body, Dokgo Jin began trudging south.
Watching Dokgo Jin’s red-haired figure recede into the distance, Wi Ilcheong let out a hollow laugh.
“Well, damn. She really is the Mad Demon’s daughter. What a fierce young lady.”
As Wi Ilcheong sat back down and prepared to finish the food he’d left, his gaze fell on the Mad Demon’s executioner’s blade.
“…What am I supposed to do with that huge thing…?”
Wi Ilcheong placed a hand on his forehead and sighed.
“Sigh…. Getting mixed up with the Mad Demon for no reason….”
Lamenting his predicament, he wondered what he should do with that enormous sword.
*
“Haa…! Haa…!”
As he followed the path he remembered, Dokgo Jin regretted two things.
One was this piece-of-shit woman’s body.
He got tired after running only a little, and the blisters on his feet stung.
Back when he was the Mad Demon, Dokgo Jin hadn’t cared much even when cut by a blade, but now he was in the pitiful state of holding back tears over a few blisters on his soles.
The second thing he regretted was his own stupidity.
‘You idiot.’
The distance that should take half a day was based on the stride of ‘the male Mad Demon, Dokgo Jin.’
He’d been a hulking man, a head and a half taller than most people, with a correspondingly long stride.
But this piece-of-shit body he had now was a head shorter than most adult men, and about two and a half heads shorter than ‘the Mad Demon, Dokgo Jin.’
On top of that, the useless inn attendant had put him in some stupid pretty dress that restricted his stride, claiming they’d pick out something nice. He’d torn it off ages ago, but now twigs and rocks kept catching on him instead.
“Haa…! Fuck…!”
He couldn’t even imagine how many days it would take to reach the agreed meeting place in this piece-of-shit body.
No, he wasn’t even sure he’d make it there.
“Haa…! Haa…! Cough…!”
Before he knew it, the sun was starting to set, and his throat was getting parched.
‘Damn…. There should be a river somewhere around here….’
He cursed his own stupidity for not at least bringing some water.
‘I’d better get out of this piece-of-shit body as soon as I can.’
The pure yin energy in his dantian?
He was so enraged he felt like he’d die of a fit before that mattered.
“Huff…! Cough…!”
Just then.
As Dokgo Jin leaned against a tree and coughed dryly, he heard the sound of water.
‘Water…!’
Enduring the pain in his blistered feet, Dokgo Jin headed toward the sound, and there was the river, flowing just as he remembered.
Dokgo Jin dashed over and plunged his face into the river.
Gulp…. Gulp….
His throat bobbed nonstop as Dokgo Jin gulped down the river water.
“Khk…! Cough…! Cough…. Blegh! Goddamn it!”
He’d choked because he was drinking too fast.
‘Fuck, even drinking water is hard with this useless body.’
Once again vowing to reach Thunderclap Temple in Tianzhu and steal the divine artifact if necessary to get his male body back, Dokgo Jin slowly scooped up river water with his hands and drank.
Then the moonlight, which had been hidden behind the clouds, illuminated the riverside.
As Dokgo Jin reached down to scoop up water, he momentarily lost himself admiring his new face reflected in the river.
“…Unnecessarily beautiful.”
Though he’d fallen several times along the way and gotten dust on his face, that beauty remained unblemished.
‘…What a shame.’
A beautiful face, but useless to a martial artist.
No, it might even be a liability.
Just as he wryly thought that and went to scoop up more water.
Trickle.
“…Huh?”
“Eek! Fuck. Wh-what is it?!”
A man dressed in rags was pissing beside him without him noticing.
“Y-You fucking bastard! Hey, you crazy bastard! Ugh…!”
The moment he thought of the man’s piss mixed into the water he had just been drinking, Dokgo Jin started gagging.
“You… who are you?! How long have you been there?!”
“Ugh…! You bastard! I came here and was drinking water, and you piss right in it?!”
“A-A ghost?”
“Fuck ghosts. I’ll chop your head off right now and show you whether ghosts exist!”
Just as Dokgo Jin approached the man pissing, emitting a fierce aura—
“Hey, Wang Bong! Why are you taking so long to piss…?”
“…”
A group of men burst out of the forest.
The moment their eyes met, Dokgo Jin felt a chill run down his back.
“B-Bandits?”
“A m-monster? No, a fairy?”
“…Fuck.”
Just as Dokgo Jin muttered under his breath and turned to run away—
CRUNCH!
A heavy pain struck his stomach, and his vision went black.
‘F-Fuck….’