Chapter 71: The World Where the Stars Died (3)

In her eleventh winter, Soh Baekhyang entered the demonic cult.

“No one will force you to do anything, Baekhyang.”

The old man brought her to the demonic cult’s headquarters. It was like heaven. She was served food morning and night even if she did nothing. A warm bed was provided, and there was no magistrate who whipped people.

“Eat, sleep, or play when you want to. Baekhyang, just live however you like.”

Soh Baekhyang couldn’t believe her ears. Perhaps this was the paradise she had heard of in the legends.

“The adults here are all kind!”

The children of her age smiled heartily.

“They don’t make us do anything.”

“Are they going to make us slaves?”

“Idiot! It’s been a year since I came here but nothing like that happened.”

There were many, many other orphans in paradise—over two thousand at least. More children entered the cult every day. One day during a certain famine, dozens of children arrived on the same day. Soh Baekhyang couldn’t believe how many orphans there were in this world.

“...How did you guys get here?”

The children stared at her in silence for a moment. And then they all spoke at once.

“They said that the harvest was so bad!”

“My mom worked in a brothel...”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Why should I tell you?”

“Thieves with knives went around the village at night!”

“The villagers suddenly got sick.”

“I ran away because they kept beating me.”

Hunger, work, illegitimate birth, thieves, plagues, abuse... Poison flowed out every time the children opened their mouths. It made Soh Baekhyang dizzy.

The poison that had been distilled by hunger was bitter. The stinging poison was from the grudge that started from demeaning work. An illegitimate child carried sharp poison. The thieves’ stabbing left behind cold poison. The plagues created nasty poison. The poison brewed from abuse and beatings was rotten.

“Are you...” Soh Baekhyang cautiously asked.

Why was the world filled with all sorts of poison? All of the bitterness, pain, sharpness, coldness, nastiness, and rottenness of the world seemed to have gathered here. Then what was this place? There was no way this place could be a paradise.

“Are you guys happy now? Do you feel okay?”

Soh Baekhyang thought about the story about the jar of gu poison. A toad, a viper, a poisonous spider, a centipede, a fire ant, a wasp... All kinds of poisonous creatures were put into the jar and sealed. The poisonous snake would bite the toad, who had already devoured the poisonous spider. The poisonous insects would eat each other, over and over, until only one survived. All of that was to create one extreme poison.

“Yes!”

The children beamed.

“I can eat every day.”

“I don’t have to fill in for Mom.”

“I’m always okay.”

“Yes. There are no thieves here.”

“The doctor treats me when I’m sick.”

“No one hits me, so it’s good.”

A toad, a viper, a poisonous spider, a centipede, a fire ant, and a wasp. The children of her age laughed, but they just looked like poisonous creatures in her eyes. Yes, this place wasn’t a paradise. It was just a jar to refine gu poison.

Soh Baekhyang quietly placed her hand on her chest. It was cold and couldn’t be warmed by the porridge she had in the morning, the soup she had in the evening, or a thick blanket. Unmeltable ice was embedded in the center of her chest, where her heart was.

In her heart, her mother was leaving and it was snowing. Her mother didn’t stop, so the snow kept on falling.

From that day onward, Soh Baekhyang didn’t hang out with her peers.

“Eat when you want to.”

Every morning and evening, she ate less of the provided food.

“Sleep when you want to.”

She went to bed early and woke up even earlier.

“Play when you want to.”

While the children were running around the hill playing, neutralizing their poison with their laughter, Soh Baekhyang didn’t hang out with them.

The children talked among themselves.

“Baekhyang is strange...”

“She always plays with farmers all of the time!”

“She’s weird.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t even eat—on purpose.”

“Why does she hang out with the farmers?”

“I don’t know.”

Soh Baekhyang ignored them.

“Just live however you want to live.”

After some time, the old man who had brought her here came to visit her. It had been quite a long time since then, but the old master martial artist of the demonic cult looked no different than he had on that winter day.

“It’s been a long time, Baekhyang.”

“Yes, it has been.” Baekhyang nodded.

“I came because I have a question.” The old man tapped the ground with his cane. “I heard that you don’t play with your peers.”

“Yes.”

“You also help the farmers so you can grow and harvest your own food.”

“I do.”

“All of your clothes and your blankets are also made by you.”

“Yes, I made them.”

“Why?” The old man tilted his head. “This is a paradise where the adults will farm and pick fruits for you. It isn’t extravagant, but you can live in abundance. And you’re just a child, so why do you volunteer to work?”

“Mister Mo, who used to farm at the foot of the mountain, lost two daughters to a magistrate.”

“Hmm?”

“Mister Choi works in the orchard, but he and his second son were called to build the castle walls. The work killed his second son. He felt like that was wrong, so he reported it to the government office. But his first son ended up dead after the questioning. After burying his two sons in his hometown, he and his wife joined this place.”

One by one, Soh Baekhyang told him all of the stories she had heard. All of the farmers who brought their crops to the orphans were victims of the world’s cruelty. None of their stories was fair—not a single one.

After reciting all of the farmers’ stories, Soh Baekhyang said, “This isn’t a paradise. They don’t feed and clothe us for free because they’re fools.”

“Then why do you think you can eat and sleep for free?” the old man asked.

“They want me and the children to take revenge for them. They’ll never forgive the magistrates and local governors who ruined their lives without reason, but they don’t have the power,” Soh Baekhyang said. “I heard that you have to practice martial arts from a very young age to flourish in the field. Those farmers who feed and clothe us are already too old and don’t have the potential to become great martial artists anymore. But they can farm for the children who can.

“We aren’t eating and sleeping for free. We’re here to take revenge on the world on their behalf.”

From the beginning, this paradise had always been the demonic cult’s headquarters, and that had never changed.

After a long silence, the old man said, “Baekhyang.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have something to say to the world?”

Soh Baekhyang nodded. “I do.”

The cold. The snowstorm on that winter day. The mother who had crossed the snowfield and made her child follow her. The mother who had hurried her steps despite hearing her child’s cries. The child who was left behind. The coldness in her heart. The hunger. The child who had been born in a brothel. The child who had lost his family to thieves. The child whose home vanished in a plague. The child who was abused and beaten. Their poison.

“There are a lot of things I have to say. A lot.”

The world was vast, and Soh Baekhyang had a million things to say to the world.

The old man closed his eyes. “Is that so? ...I guess you would.”

It was quiet.

“Then the world will have to listen to you.” The old man opened his eyes. “I am the Demonic Buddha, one of the cult’s Seven Elders.”

“Is there a Buddha in hell?”

“If there isn’t one in hell, what use would a Buddha be?”

Even though Soh Baekhyang called this place hell, the old man didn’t scold her. He actually responded as if that was the truth. Only then did Soh Baekhyang realize that her answer was right.

“Baekhyang, you’ve passed the cult’s inner entrance trial. Your poison hasn’t been nullified even with the abundant food and comfortable bed, so your poison will undoubtedly be clear. Call me Teacher. I’ll be your teacher from now on.”

Teacher.

“From now on, your sword will howl in place of countless people’s screams.” The old man held up his cane and placed it on the young Heavenly Demon’s shoulder. “Give me your Nine Bows, my disciple.”

On that day, Soh Baekhyang officially entered the cult at the age of thirteen.

***

“Get up.”

A whisper woke me up early at dawn. When I opened my eyes, the Heavenly Demon’s face was right in front of mine.

“Get up already.”

She stared down at me. She was so close that I could clearly see her eyelashes opening and closing like black curtains whenever she blinked.

“Uhm, Lady Heavenly Demon.” My mouth felt dry, maybe because I had just woken up. “If you stay there, I can’t get up even if I want to. I might hit your head.”

“Hmm. Judging from how you wag your tongue smooth like silk as soon as you wake up, I guess you’re fine.” The Heavenly Demon straightened. “Go into the hot spring and take a bath. Cleanse your body and mind.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll wait at the entrance of the cave.” The Heavenly Demon quickly turned around and walked away.

Before I could say anything, the Heavenly Demon’s small figure disappeared. All that was left in the cave were me, who was standing blankly, and the deeply asleep Hunters.

It looked like they had spent all night studying the virus. Tools were scattered around the Chemist and the Medicine King. The Viper’s arms were crossed, and he was smiling from ear to ear as if he was having a good dream.

What kind of dream could they have that made them sleep so soundly? I opened up their character windows.

State of mind:

Yes, I'm right. Why in the world do I have to explain something this easy? You won't understand even if I did. Anyway, since I'm right, just do as I say. Gosh, I’m seriously going to go crazy. You foolish water fleas... N-no, people, that isn’t what I was trying to say... If you have a brain—no, give it a little more thought. You should be able to figure out something this simple right away, so why can't you understand it? I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry...

State of mind:

This is my 100th victory against you, Marcus... I've also won my 999999th victory over that little Chemist girl or whatever she’s called. Is there truly no one who can stop my rampage? I, Shawn McCallister, became the last man standing in the saddest way...

State of mind:

Mwahahahehehehe! Bwahahahahahehehehehehe!

I shouldn't wake them up,

I thought.

I had an especially strong feeling that I shouldn’t go anywhere near the Viper, to whom the third character window belonged. I quietly washed myself and left the cave. Shiny and the Guardian made no sound the whole time.

The white sky, softly lit by the rising sun and laced by the winds, watched over us.

* * *

I found the Heavenly Demon standing in the middle of the endless snow. She scanned me from head to toe, arms crossed.

“Did you scrub every last corner?”

“Yes. I cleaned myself to the heart, so I feel very clean.”

“I hate smooth talkers.” The Heavenly Demon’s brows furrowed. “And you’re a very smooth one. Your tongue is like a snake. A cunning one. I see more of a conman in you than a promising young man, so I’m worried. ”

“Huh?”

Was I? I never really felt like I had any talent for talking, but even the Black Witch, the Rank 2 Hunter, would always comment that I was a smooth talker. Had I been born with a talent that I wasn’t aware of?

As I let myself lose in such thoughts, the Heavenly Demon’s frown deepened even more, as if something was upsetting her even more, so I pulled up her character window.

State of mind:

His tongue is sly, but his face is truly naive. He’d make a perfect leader of the Xia Wu Sect

[1]

.

What was the Xia Wu Sect?

“Follow me.” The Heavenly Demon gestured at me.

I followed her through the snowfield.

While we crossed the snowfield, she said, “You have to pass numerous trials to be part of the demonic cult. Although you’ve proven your qualifications, that doesn’t mean you’ve passed all of the trials. The first trial of my cult is—”

“It’s the Trial of Comfort, yes?”

I might have been mistaken, but it looked like the Heavenly Demon had lost her balance for a moment.

“The cult provides food, clothes, and shelter for free to those in the trial. The children who settle there are called the outer family and are raised as farmers, craftsmen, and messengers,” I continued.

They were in charge of the cult’s mundane affairs.

“But if they pass the Trial of Comfort, their role changes. They’re recognized as the disciples of the inner family. Only then do they officially become part of the cult. They’re the only ones who get to learn the demonic martial arts. At that time, they say that they have finally entered the demonic cult.”

“...How do you know that?” the Heavenly Demon asked in disbelief.

I couldn’t say that she had killed me last time and that I had seen her trauma. Therefore, I just smiled. “I know a lot of things.”

“Ahhhh. The heavens are truly heartless! They brought you, a Xia-Wu-looking bum, at the end of my fate. Am I really supposed to accept you as my disciple?” She sighed.

—Yeah, you really are like those bums from the Xia Wu Sect, Zombie!

The Guardian stood beside her and nodded.

I guess the Heavenly Demon has to have a good eye for people.

What are you talking about...?

—If you were really a bum, I wouldn’t give a damn about you. But when you do something, you somehow insist on trying to do it right, so it’s hard to ignore you. That’s why you’re the worst!

Was that a compliment or an insult? It was better to assume it was a compliment when it was unclear. In this dreary generation, compliments became rare, so at least I should interpret other people’s words with a kind heart.

That still applied even if the words were from a ghost who was always eccentric and pessimistic like the Guardian.

—This is exactly why I’m calling you a bum, you zomsparrow!

I really had no idea what he was saying.

“...This will do,” the Heavenly Demon murmured.

She led me to a huge pit. The floor was as dark as midnight because the light of dawn couldn’t reach into its depths.

“Rejoice.” The Heavenly Demon turned around and looked at me. “I shall accept you as my direct disciple. The Heavenly Demon Cult is the heaven of

murim

, and heaven doesn’t reject a follower as long as you are qualified.”

“Ah! Then—”

“However, I can’t officially accept you as my disciple yet.”

“Eh. Lady Heavenly Demon, that’s unfair! I came all the way from outer

murim

to become your disciple, and I’ve also shown you that I’m qualified. But now you’re telling me that I’m not good enough to officially become your disciple? What is this!?”

“... First of all, I find all of your claims very suspicious.” The Heavenly Demon stared at me. “I question whether you actually came from the outer

murim

. I’m not sure if your admiration is real. Based on my intuition, it all feels like a lie...but your nature doesn’t seem too evil, so I haven’t done anything to you.”

Why was this martial artist so perceptive?

“Honestly, it’s odd because you also seem kind by nature. Yes, you’re truly strange. It’s hard to tell right now whether you’re lucky to meet me or vice versa.”

“... What is the trial?”

The Heavenly Demon pointed to the bottom of the pit. “I’ve thrown a

jiangshi

soldier down there. He used to be a promising member of my cult and a Peak-Tier master quite renowned in

gangho

. Defeat that

jiangshi

. Then I’ll accept you as my disciple. But...” She crossed her arms. “...feel hunger while you fight.”

“What?”

“I meant that literally. Fight the

jiangshi

soldier, but you should only feel hunger and the pain of hunger. No other emotions or thoughts should be on your mind,” the Heavenly Demon intoned. “Can you do it?”

I realized then that she already considered me her disciple. All of her talk about how I wasn’t officially part of her cult or her disciple was hollow—in her mind, I was already her disciple and the inheritor of her cult’s teachings, including the Demonic Heaven Arts.

“Every movement of your sword must be driven by hunger,” the Heavenly Demon said. “Recall everything about the hungry. Their voices, their painful moans, and how their arms and feet move. Engrave them in your heart, and make them your drive. Through this, you shall swing your sword with just hunger. Only then can you use the Demonic Heaven Arts with its full power.”

I looked down at the pit.

A zombie was howling at the bottom of the hellish-looking pit. It was wearing a black training suit that was old and worn but definitely the uniform of the Heavenly Demon Cult. I could say that the zombie was my senior brother.

I slowly opened my mouth. “What happens... What happens if I can swing my sword with only hunger?”

“You can cut down someone who has never starved in one strike. Half of the martial artists of the Righteous Faction will be reduced to corpses in one strike,” the Heavenly Demon calmly stated. “These forms are created to claw the world.

“Learn Starvation Death first. Next will be Thirst Death. You’ll learn to swing your sword based only on thirst and be able to slay those who have never withered in one blow. After that, it’ll be Drowning Death. You’ll learn all of the Nine Sword Forms, and they’ll show you the paths that can cover the world.”

My heart pounded. I squeezed my sword’s hilt. “That is quite tempting.”

The Heavenly Demon smirked. It may have been the only time I had seen her smile. She probably liked my fighting spirit.

“Then why are you hesitating? Hurry up and dive into hell,” she said.

I jumped into the zombie pit.

1. The Xia Wu Sect is an organization of criminals. The Heavenly Demon is saying that Gong-Ja would make a great criminal. ☜