Chapter 21 (Abandoned Disciple of Heavenly Demon)
Episode 21: To the Central Plains (2)
* * *
‘Hmm. There are more people than I thought.’
On the day of departure for Jungwon, Jin Myeong arrived at Heavenly Demon Castle and was able to see the people gathered for this mission.
‘Are there any other disciples of the Sect Leader?’
Soon, Jin Myeong saw the familiar face of his Martial Siblings, the other four disciples of Heavenly Demon, that he recalled as soon as he opened his eyes in this world.
‘I don’t know about the rest, but…’
There were other sect disciples, but Jin Myeong didn’t recognize them exactly. But he could tell one thing, which is most of them do not look kindly to him.
“When did you arrive, come here.”
The sharp-faced man called out Jin Myeong’s name and turned his head again.
“Get ready quickly. We’ll be leaving right away.”
The sect disciples face turned red at the man’s words.
“Is he Commander Neun Byeok-mun of Shadow Demon Unit?”
“I never thought that person would be the person in charge.”
Only after hearing the mutterings of the disciples did Jin Myeong realize who the sharp-faced man was.
Commander of Shadow Demon Unit. Heavenly Demon’s direct subordinate unit and the shadow of the Heavenly Demon.
A group of a thousand peak masters.
Since, this man who stood at the top of the Shadow Demon Squad, and someone Heavenly Demon trusted the most, along with Mad Demon Shin Ho-ryang.
‘He doesn’t seem to like it here very much.’
But other sect disciples seemed to not like the way the Neung Byeok-mun was ordering them around. Even though he was the Commander of Shadow Demon Squad trusted by Heavenly Demon, he was not of high status.
‘They are mostly young people, descendent of Elders or other high-ranking members.’
Most of the disciples gathered here were young, energetic warriors, and judging by their arrogance, they seemed to have high self-esteem.
‘Usually in novels, when a group like this move, problems arise.’
Jin Myeong thought it wouldn’t be too difficult since it wasn’t an incident mentioned in the original work. But looking at the group, he had a feeling that it wouldn’t be smooth sailing.
‘Commander Neung, must be having a hard time. It won’t be easy to lead such a group.’
“I will warn you just once. My top priority is to complete my mission. In the end, anyone who gets in my way will be beheaded”, said Commander Neung Byeok-mun, while looking at the disciples with cold eyes.
“He’s treating us like a piece of luggage.”
Contrary to Jin Myeong’s thoughts, Commander Neung, seemed to had no intention of leading the group,
“Why am I with these kids? It would be better if Shadow Demon Unit moved…….”, Neung Byeok-mun said, clicking his tongue.
He deliberately said it in low voice, but high enough to heard by everyone present here. Ignoring the angry gazes of all disciples, he ordered, “get ready. We’ll be leaving soon.”
At Commander Neung’s words, the other shadow demons also began preparing to leave immediately.
Jin Myeong looked around and found someone.
‘Mok Ja-gyeong.’
Mok Ja-gyeong, the oldest disciple of Heavenly Demon. With a friendly smile on his face, he was talking to his other disciples.
‘Strong. He is definitely strong.’
Jin Myeong could feel that Mok Ja-gyeong was hiding his strength. Although, he’s not as strong as a Sect Leader or Vice-Sect Leader.
After Commander Neung, Jin Myeong found Mok Ja-gyeong to strongest in the group. Making him more cautious than was.
‘The strongest one here is definitely Commander of Shadow Demon Unit.’
As if he wasn’t one of Heavenly Demon’s closest aides for nothing. However, Jin Myeong was more concerned about Mok Ja-yeong than Commander Neung.
“Oh. The Youngest, you have arrived.”
‘Did he felt my gaze?’
Mok Ja-gyeong approached Jin Myeong, smiling as their eyes met.
“It’s been a while.”
“Haha. Is it true that it’s been a while? I heard you lost your memory”, Mok Ja-yeong smiled at Jin Myeong’s answer and spoke.
“Yes. But I could recognize Eldest Martial Brother as soon as I saw him.”
“I see. But why are you here alone? Why don’t you come to where everyone else is gathered?”
Mok Ja-gyeong turned his head and looked at the place where he had been just a moment ago. There, the other disciples were watching the two.
“Ah. Is it because of the fourth one?” Mok Ja-gyeong nodded, guessing to himself.
Judging from the fact that Mok Ja-gyeong didn’t react while watching Gye Bu-il glaring at Jin Myeong, it seemed like he knew what had happened between the two of them.
“That’s not it.”
It wasn’t that Jin Myeong didn’t want to associate with other Heavenly Demon’s disciples. It’s simply because of his trauma.
When Jin Myeong didn’t learn martial arts, they looked down on him, even bullied him.
The current Jin Myeong did not directly receive their contemptuous gaze. But when he possessed this body, the first thing he remembered was the cold stares of his martial siblings.
Even though Jin Myeong had not personally experienced it, his face would harden whenever he saw other disciples, showing how severely he had suffered.
Besides, he didn’t even know who tried to kill him. All of Heavenly Demon’s disciples are in a suspicious situation.
But he had to find out mystery behind it.
“Let’s get moving slowly!”
People began to gather little by little at the shout of Neung Byeok-mun.
“You have arrived too”, said Mok Ja-gyeong. He looked very pleased to see a woman among the gathered people.
“How about coming here?”
The woman thought for a moment at the Mok Ja-gyeong’s words, then nodded and approached the two men.
‘She looks cold.’
Jin Myeong looked at the approaching woman and searched through his memories. But nothing came to mind about her.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. How have you been?”
“Fine.”
The woman nodded and gave a short reply to the Mok Ja-gyeong’s words.
“You seem to have gotten stronger.”
“Haha. Thank you.”
“Nah, you worked hard. It’s your achievement.’
The woman who had been talking to Mok Ja-yeong immediately turned her head toward Jin Myeong.
“It’s been a while.”
“I’m sorry, but who are you…….”
“I had heard, about your amnesia. Even if you didn’t lose your memories, it’s been so long that you might not had remembered me.”
Jin Myeong nodded his head without realizing it as he watched the woman respond nonchalantly. Judging from the fact that it wasn’t in his memory, it seemed like he had hardly ever met this woman.
“I’m Shin Ye-hyang.”
“This lady here is only daughter of the Vice-Sect Leader.”
After hearing Mok Ja-yeong’s words, Jin Myeong looked at the sword hanging on her back.
‘I thought I’d seen it somewhere; it looks similar to the Vice-Sect Leader’s sword. Why didn’t I think of it right away?’
‘Come to think of it, the energy is similar to that of the Vice-Sect Leader. Is it because I heard that she is the daughter of a Mad Demon?’
Certainly, when Jin Myeong was watched carefully, he found her resemblance with Mad Demon.
‘They don’t look similar at all, but…’
Jin Myeong kept repeating the name Shin Ye-hyang. It wasn’t simply because she was beautiful.
‘I think I’ve heard that name somewhere.’
The name is Shin Ye-hyang.
It didn’t come to mind right away. But she looks familiar. If so, then it means that she is a character that appeared in the original novel.
‘Hmm. Did she fight the main character?’
It was possible, because the Heavenly Demon Sect was the place where the protagonist fought, but it didn’t seem to be because of that.
‘I don’t really remember the guys who fought and died with the main character.’
It was so bad that Jin Myeong can’t even remember much except for the Mok Ja-gyeong’s sermon.
‘Then what remains is… A person who helps the protagonist.’
‘To be exact, she is the person who takes the protagonist to the cave of destiny that Jin Myeong obtained instead. If it’s really her, then this woman…. She should be hating the Heavenly Demon Sect.’
‘At that time, her true identity was not properly revealed. But if she was the daughter of the Vice-Sect Leader….’
‘A daughter who hates the Vice-Sect Leader and the Heavenly Demon Sect, who do not even appear in the original work. More and more, things that did not appear in the original work were being predicted. It’s become quite interesting.’
A completely unexpected person appeared. Jin Myeong thought he could gain quite a bit from this mission.
* * *
A few days after leaving the Heavenly Demon Sect, they were able to enter the Kunlun Mountains.
‘I need company.’
And Jin Myeong desperately needed the presence of Yang Jeon to solve his doubts. He felt it even before he left, but Jin Myeong is accompanied by only young disciple here, almost stranger for him.
‘And it feels ten Shadow Demons are escorting the young warriors.’
Jin Myeong thought it was a pretty important mission since it was something that Heavenly Demon himself was personally ordering.
‘Too little.’
Even though there were disciples of Heavenly Demon and Shin Ye-hyang, the daughter of the Vice-Sect leader, they were all too young and untrained.
‘It’s strange that only these young people are going to such an important job.’
‘Even Commander Neung looks dissatisfied with them with this arrangement. Wouldn’t it have been fine if Shadow Demon Unit had just moved like Commander said?’
Jin Myeong wondered if there was a reason why they made it look like they had about ten Shadow Demon Squads, and these young nobles for this sect mission.
“Hmm!”
Jin Myeong frowned at the sudden presence. It seemed that Jin Myeong wasn’t the only one who felt that presence. Most of the sect disciples also stopped in their tracks and reached for their weapons.
“What are the people of the Heavenly Demon Sect doing here?”
And soon, people wearing clothes that were an exquisite mix of white and blue appeared. Before they could react, they had been surrounded.
‘Is that the Kunlun sect?’
Jin Myeong could tell that they were Taoist priests of the Kunlun Sect that protected the Kunlun Mountains.
“What do you think, it meant for us to be here?”
Commander Neung Byeok-mun shouted at the middle-aged Taoist monk who had asked the question.
This road was ultimately the road that the Heavenly Demon Sect took when heading to the Central Plains, so coming here means that they are trying to go to the Central Plains.
“So, why did the people of the Heavenly Demon Sect suddenly want to enter Central Plains?”
The middle-aged Taoist, Sage Heo Woon, asked again with a calm look on his face, as if he was not even angry.
“We are escorting these young’uns for experiences, broadening their horizon.”
At Neung Byeok-mun’s answer, Sage Heo Woon narrowed his eyes and looked at the group of Heavenly Demon Sect.
“Haha. Isn’t that what the Orthodox Alliance does too? Young warriors travelling around the Central Plains to gain experience. Are the people of Heavenly Demon Sect also trying to do that too?”
“If you guys really trying to gain experience…….”
But Heo Woon Jin-in’s gaze was directed towards the two people. They were Mok Ja-yeong and Shin Ye-hyang.
“Aren’t there some individuals who are too strong to be considered as gaining experience?”
“Strength and experience are different.”
“Haha. If you claim that your young warrior needs to gain experience while travelling with Laughing Blood Demon, everyone will laugh at you.”
Laughing Blood Demon, it’s nickname Mok Ja-yeong have. He had once been involved in deadly skirmishes with Unorthodox Alliance’s warriors in the Central Plains.
And he killed more than ten Unorthodox Alliance warriors by himself. At that time, Mok Ja-gyeong laughed so happily in the place soaked in enemies’ blood that, thus getting name Laughing Blood Demon.
“Isn’t there even Mad Wind Flower there?”
Shin Ye-hyang, she did not become famous for her deed in the Central Plains like Mok Ja-gyeong.
However, as the only daughter of the Vice-Sect Leader, Mad Demon, and as she was not at all inferior to the disciples of Heavenly Demon, she was considered a person of interest even by the Orthodox Alliance.
“But there isn’t lot of people?”
“But…….”
As Neung Byeok-mun had said, there aren’t enough people moving to start a political fight. There are only about thirty people moving around.
However, because of the fact that they are disciple of Heavenly Demon Sect, Sage Heo Woon wanted to prevent them from crossing the Kunlun Mountains.
“Surely Kunlun Sect and the Orthodox Alliance aren’t afraid of this number of warriors, are they?” Mok Ja-gyeong blurted out, perhaps noticing that Heo Woon Jinin was worried.
At those words, Sage Heo Woon’s face twitched. He couldn’t just ignore those words that mocks Kunlun and the Orthodox Alliance.
“How dare you talk nonsense you dirty, filthy demon cultist!”
But it wasn’t Heo Woon Jin who was angry. He turned his head away with a puzzled expression. When, a young Taoist priest leapt forward with a face full of anger.
Translator’s Note:
It was one of the most difficult chapters to translate.
Name of Character, Position as well as other details were mixed, which got clarified slowly later. If there’s any problem, please comment. I will try to fix it.
I had looked at trend up until now. There are two things, which I would want to discuss as well as clarify few things.
- English isn’t my mother tongue. Most of books and schooling had been in English, but it was just okay. If you find any errors, or is there a sentence which could had been written better. Please share it with me, the least it would do, is improving my vocublary, I can also improve my understanding. While it may improve later translation (unless AI would hijack this too).
- It seems I had compromised in quality a lot, even with my own standard. I am thinking of weekly upload to 3 chapters for both novels. Maybe there would be bonus chapter on ‘Buy me Coffee’ channel, but don’t worry I would try my best to maintain proper balance.
- Also, I am working on my own web novel series. I will try to upload it from Next year. Wish me luck for that.
- From today 15 Oct 25 onward, I would try my best to add some comments on each translation I would do.