Chapter 187. Eight Years of Hardship and Suffering (8)

Rocks continued to fly and hit Woo-Moon's whole body as he whined like a child.

“Agk! Argh!!! Stop it!”

That sight was so funny that Yeo-Seol covered her mouth and giggled.

After a while, Ma-Ra’s barrage ended. When that happened, Woo-Moon turned over to Yeo-Seol.

“When will the Ten Swords of the North Sea be joining us?”

“They’re expected tomorrow. We’ll have to wait until then... I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“It’s fine. Camping is part of my daily life, after all.”

Right then, a series of thuds echoed from afar as Eun-Ah came running over. She had passed out on the spot after using all of her energy to fight Sun Slayer Gam Ak and had only just woken up.

She was a rather interesting creature—in spite of her incredible power, equivalent to that of an Absolute Master, she had no qi cultivation to speak of, nor a neidan like the average spirit beast. It seemed that all her power lay in her physique, and she had to take a long, good rest once she was spent like that.

At the same time, Ma-Ra appeared in front of Woo-Moon, once more clad in her flower gown.

Growl!

Overjoyed at seeing Ma-Ra for the first time in a while, Eun-Ah rushed toward her, growling cutely with her tongue out.

Ma-Ra flinched as Eun-Ah approached.

Moving incredibly quickly, she kicked Eun-Ah right as the tiger got close.

Growl!!!

The blow had some aura behind it, so Eun-Ah was thrown to the side. She rolled back up before turning to look at Ma-Ra with tears in her eyes, clearly feeling betrayed. She had been so excited to see Ma-Ra after such a long time apart, only to get kicked down like that.

Ma-Ra tried to explain herself, uncharacteristically slightly embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. You were a little scary and gross.”

The last time Ma-Ra had seen Eun-Ah was when Eun-Ah was still a baby. Only remembering her tiny and cute appearance, she found it challenging to get used to the giant tiger.

After Ma-Ra apologized, Eun-Ah approached Ma-Ra again and opened her mouth. But the moment she stuck out her tongue to try to lick Ma-Ra’s cheek...

THUD!

Eun-Ah hit the ground once more.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were trying to eat me.”

In some ways, Ma-Ra’s reaction was natural. Eun-Ah had suddenly become huge and unfamiliar to her, and this giant, unfamiliar beast was opening its maw right at her. Her self-defense instincts kicked in.

Woo-Moon didn’t say anything and just stood on the side, chuckling to himself. Lately, Eun-Ah had been starting to develop an attitude while also forgetting she was not a tiny cat anymore.

This time, Eun-Ah got angry.

Then, her old ambition was revived. She had to recover her status in the family!

Roar!

Eun-Ah rushed toward Ma-Ra.

The next moment, however, her eyes widened, and she tilted her head in confusion as Ma-Ra suddenly disappeared.

She tried to find her through smell, but it wasn’t an easy task.

Even in front of a spirit beast like Eun-Ah, with an unrivaled sense of smell, Ma-Ra had reached the state where she could completely hide all signs of herself. The only ones who could notice her were Paragons, and even they had to be extremely close.

All of a sudden, two Silver Moon Discs flew toward Eun-Ah without her noticing, striking her in both buttcheeks.

Kya!!

Although Eun-Ah couldn’t be hurt by normal attacks, even those coated in aura, Ma-Ra’s attacks made her scream in pain.

Ma-Ra sneaked around her, caught the Silver Moon Discs, and then disappeared again.

Having become an Absolute Master through a death qi cultivation method, Ma-Ra was completely different from ordinary Absolute Masters.

She was most skilled at concentrating all of her power into a single point, and that concentrated power was easily able to hurt Eun-Ah.

Silver Moon Discs and various hidden weapons seemed to appear straight out of thin air and hit Eun-Ah's butt relentlessly.

Kyaaaang!

Eun-Ah screamed in pain, her usual majestic appearance nowhere to be found as she scrambled in all directions to avoid getting her butt struck by Ma-Ra.

Unfortunately for her, Ma-Ra had already decided that Eun-Ah’s bad habits had to be fixed here and now, so she simply continued to follow her around, spanking her.

In the end, it was only after being hit on the butt a total of a hundred and twenty-four times that Eun-Ah was able to break free from Ma-Ra’s lesson.

Shedding tears and whimpering, she returned to Woo-Moon’s side. However, her ambitions were ignited once again when she saw Yeo-Seol.

Eun-Ah was aware that Yeo-Seol had become a part of the family. So, she thought it was only fitting for her to make the new girl’s place in the family clear.

Just as she was about to use a little force to teach Yeo-Seol her place, Woo-Moon glared at her.

Woo-Moon and Eun-Ah were spiritually connected. There was no way that he couldn’t sense what Eun-Ah was thinking, especially considering how close they were.

“Do you want to die?”

Huff...

Eun-Ah, frightened, whipped her head around and let out a sound that made her appear like the pitiful baby she once was.

Yeo-Seol, utterly oblivious to how Eun-Ah felt about her, just felt sorry for the tiger. She walked closer to Eun-Ah and stroked her head.

“It’s okay, don’t cry, don’t cry....”

Eun-Ah was incredibly moved by Yeo-Seol’s kindness.

Huff.

Forgetting about her wannabe rank, Eun-Ah rubbed her body against Yeo-Seol and shed tears of gratitude.

Woo-Moon was dumbfounded as he watched her immediately change attitudes.

“The only thing big about her is her size... whew... what a brat.”

Ma-Ra immediately appeared at Woo-Moon’s words and scolded him.

“You’re exactly the same. Don’t badmouth Eun-Ah.”

“What about me is the same?”

“Woo-Moon, the only thing adult about you is your body.”

“Yes, so, why?!”

“Selfish jerk.”

“...”

Woo-Moon knew full well what greed she was referring to, leaving him entirely unable to retort like an idiot.

After all, it was clear as day that there wasn’t only one, but two women by his side now.

“It’s not fair that only men can have three wives and four concubines. I’m going to do the same.”

Woo-Moon immediately looked incredibly shocked.

“No!”

“Why?”

“I know it's not fair, but you can’t. Even if I do it, you and Yeo-Seol can’t. You can only love me.”

Yeo-Seol was also listening to their conversation. She obviously agreed that it was unfair, but her heart raced strangely and her cheeks blushed when she heard Woo-Moon say “you should love only me.”

“I never do that. All I need is you, Gege,” Yeo-Seol said while Ma-Ra grumbled.

“As expected, you’re a bad boy. A selfish bastard. A greedy little bastard.”

Woo-Moon grinned.

"That's right. I'm a bad boy. Didn’t you know? I thought you knew this from a long time ago.”

“Hmph!”

While Ma-Ra complained about the situation being unfair and touted how she wanted to find another man, truthfully, she didn’t even have the slightest desire to do so. She had taken years to get her human emotions back and feel anything for Woo-Moon, and she wouldn’t possibly invest that amount of time and effort into another relationship.

“Then, we should leave for the Imperial Palace tomorrow.”

“The Imperial Palace?” Yeo-Seol asked, to which Woo-Moon nodded.

“Yes. I heard that the crown prince really wants to meet us.”

“Wow.”

Suddenly, Yeo-Seol’s face lit up. It seemed she had a lot of anticipation.

“The Forbidden City! It must be really big, right? And the architecture must be magnificent. Hehe, are you taking me, too?” she asked cutely.

Yeo-Seol was acting more and more cutesy in front of Woo-Moon these days. She herself was surprised by her change.

‘Ugh, I just want to bite your cheeks.’

Of course, he couldn’t really bite her. So, Woo-Moon just settled for lightly pinching Yeo-Seol's plump cheeks.

“Owie! Why did you do that?”

“Because you’re cute. Yes, if you’d like to come, I’ll take you with me.”

“But, the Imperial Palace is where the emperor lives... Is it really okay for you to just take another person inside of it like that?”

“Who cares? I don't really like the emperor in the first place, and I’m not afraid of him or whatever. Besides, the crown prince himself called me because he regretted not meeting with me, so it's not like he can complain, anyway. If they complain, I’ll just turn the place upside down and leave.”

“Wooow....”

After hearing those words, Yeo-Seol looked at Woo-Moon with sparkling eyes and let out another exclamation.

Woo-Moon already seemed larger than life to her. But now, he seemed even larger.

“Hehe. As expected, Mr. Attendant, you’re the best.”

Yeo-Seol gently leaned her head onto Woo-Moon’s shoulder.

She never could have imagined this in her wildest dreams when they first met. Never had she expected that Woo-Moon would have become this important to her.

Of course, the reason she had first fallen in love with Woo-Moon, a mere inn servant at the time, wasn’t because she was in awe of his abilities. It was just that he was nice to her with no ulterior motives, and he even made her disciple-sisters suffer for bullying her.

With that in mind, it wasn’t like any woman would dislike the fact that the person she loved was so outstanding.

Woo-Moon shrugged his shoulders as Yeo-Seol complimented him.

“How smug.”

Ma-Ra's cold words came from thin air, and Woo-Moon's face turned red.

“W-who said I was feeling smug!”

After a while, they went to get Yu Yu, who was engrossed in her training elsewhere. They found a place to camp and settled in for the night.

Yeo-Seol tensed up for a moment when she saw the new girl but soon smiled brightly after hearing that Yu Yu was Woo-Moon’s disciple.

***

Si-Hyeon let out a small sigh.

When she had obtained the power of the Heavenly Demon and succeeded in taking over the cult, she had thought that she would be able to do as she pleased.

However, in the end, it was still the Heavenly Demon Cult.

It wasn't easy leading such a vicious group that only revered power.

It would be easier if everyone was treacherous. Someone who was cowardly and two-faced, someone who only flattered her because of their own powerlessness, would have been much more convenient to deal with. However, the cult wasn’t like that. They were all genuinely loyal to her.

Thus, they said whatever they felt without hiding it.

Moreover, loyalty to the Heavenly Demon Cult and loyalty to the Heavenly Demon came before loyalty to Yeon Si-Hyeon.

If she really wanted to, she could force them into submission. However, Si-Hyeon couldn’t fathom how many cultists she would have to kill in the process.

It wasn’t that she had a problem killing people. If they were her enemies, if they were Martial Heaven, then she had no qualms exterminating as many as she saw in front of her. However, it was never an easy task to hurt those who pledged their loyalty to you.

Moreover, it wasn’t that they didn’t like her personally. They very much did, and they would have protected and cherished her regardless. It was only that their loyalty to the cult was far greater.

‘So, in the end, I’m forced...’

The engagement.

The elders had wanted to go through with the Marriage of the Heavenly Demon immediately. However, Si-Hyeon refused to compromise on the timing, at the very least. Thus, they decided that she would just get engaged for now.

Instead, the marriage was set for one year later.

On this day, in one year, the Heavenly Demon would get married.

In her black robes, Si-Hyeon was truly beautiful.

She emerged from her chambers with a blank expression. As soon as the numerous cultists saw her, they all quickly got out of her way, shouting expressions of loyalty.

After a while, she was standing next to her betrothed, the Blood Heaven Asura Captain Hwi Ji-Gang.

She was only just going through the motions for her engagement. During the entire time, she never once glanced at Hwi Ji-Gang.

Still, Hwi Ji-Gang was happy. He had admired and had feelings for the Heavenly Demon for quite some time and was still excited to be engaged to her, even with things as they were.

After the engagement ceremony, Si-Hyeon returned to her chambers and lay down on her bed with a blank expression, and fell asleep as if nothing had happened. She had realized as of late that if she buried all of her emotions, she wouldn't be in pain.

***

The Ten Swords of the North Sea ranged in age from mid-twenties to late thirties. Just as Woo-Moon had expected, they were all Transcendent experts and quite strong at that.

After greeting all of them, they departed for the Imperial Palace. Princess Mok Yong and the three Absolute Masters of the Imperial Palace had already departed ahead of them.

Because the Ten Swords of the North Sea were so sharp and exuded a chilling fighting spirit, the party was not bothered by any crazy people. If anything, mountain bandits and the likes praised the gods and buddhas that Woo-Moon’s group didn’t bother to look for trouble with them.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive.

“We’re finally at the Imperial Palace! Wow, it’s so big!” Yeo-Seol said in an excited voice.

She seemed entirely enraptured by the sheer size and grandeur of everything in the Forbidden City. Even the Ten Swords of the North Sea following her were amazed, their eyes shifting frantically from side to side.

Since they had lived their entire lives in the barren North Sea and spent all of their time cultivating, to them, the Forbidden City was a fascinating place.

Yu Yu was the same, and all she could say was “Wow, wow!”

Woo-Moon walked toward the main gate of the Forbidden City.

"Stop! Please identify yourself.”

“My name is Song Woo-Moon. I’ve come at the crown prince’s request...”

Hearing the name, the gatekeeper was startled and flustered. He asked Woo-Moon to wait for a moment before hurrying inside to convey a message.

Then, only a short while later, a group of eunuchs and court ladies led by the Saber Emperor himself emerged to meet them.

“So you’re here, you little rascal.”