CDF Chapter 27

“I’m suffocating, I’m suffocating!”

Seo Ryang grumbled incessantly as he boarded the carriage heading to his quarters.

Ma Dong-pil awkwardly said,

“Such disrespect towards the Cult Leader…”

“How is this disrespectful? Can’t I even say with my own mouth that I’m suffocating?”

“Still…”

“Besides, I didn’t say the Cult Leader was a suffocating person, did I? I just said the situation was suffocating, okay? You try sitting face to face with him, see if you don’t say the same thing.”

He could understand, somewhat. But no matter what, it wasn’t something he could agree with.

“Tch, at least I got some alcohol out of it.”

“Alcohol?”

“Yeah.”

Seo Ryang took out a wine bottle from his bosom.

“Really! This is funny too. Nevermind how stingy it is, but if you’re going to give a gift, why give something you’ve been drinking…”

Snatch!

Seo Ryang blinked.

Ma Dong-pil had quickly snatched the wine bottle and started examining it with serious eyes.

Considering how excessively polite he usually was, it was an incredibly rude action, but he didn’t seem to realize it.

Ma Dong-pil’s eyes, staring blankly at the bottle as if in shock, gradually became bloodshot.

Seo Ryang, blinking as he watched him, unconsciously rubbed his hands.

“Ouch, my hand stings.”

“…”

“It hurts.”

“…”

“Ahem! Dong-pil?”

Ma Dong-pil’s face had now transformed almost into a wooden puppet. Truly, not even an eyelash moved.

Seo Ryang kicked him.

“Hey, what is that thing that’s making you act like this?”

“…Six Heavenly Spirit Wine.”

“What spirit wine?”

“Th-This is Six Heavenly Spirit Wine!”

“Is it a wine you know? It tasted quite good.”

Ma Dong-pil’s mouth fell open.

“You don’t know Six Heavenly Spirit Wine? Six Heavenly Spirit Wine? It’s Six Heavenly Spirit Wine! I’m telling you it’s Six Heavenly Spirit Wine!”

“So what is it?”

“It’s the Six Heavenly Spirit Wine that the Cult Leader personally bestows!”

“So what is it, I’m asking!”

“It’s an honorable wine, isn’t it?!”

Seo Ryang was exasperated.

“An honorable and delicious wine, is that all?”

Ma Dong-pil looked at him with a pale face. His expression was so dramatic that it almost made Seo Ryang feel sorry.

“Six Heavenly Spirit Wine! It’s our cult’s highest-grade famous wine that only the historical Cult Leaders have enjoyed! It’s a wine specially bestowed to demonic cultivators who have achieved great merit, and drinking this wine itself is a glory of three lifetimes!”

“How can drinking a cup of wine be a glory of three lifetimes…”

“It depends on who gives it! Moreover, this is divine wine personally brewed by the Cult Leader! It can’t be valued in money, and it shouldn’t be!”

“But it’s still just wine, isn’t it?”

Ma Dong-pil foamed at the mouth.

“Young Master! Do you think our cult’s demonic cultivators would wish for spirit medicines bestowed by the cult, or the Six Heavenly Spirit Wine given by the god?!”

“Spirit medicines.”

“Urghhhh.”

Words weren’t getting through.

Ma Dong-pil happened to be from the Protector Court, which had the deepest loyalty and faith within the cult. On the other hand, Seo Ryang wasn’t even a demonic cultivator to begin with, so of course, he had no such faith.

Seo Ryang snatched the wine bottle back from Ma Dong-pil.

“Whatever it is, as long as it tastes good, that’s fine. Anyway, I’m glad I got a decent wine.”

Heretic! He’s a heretic!

Ma Dong-pil wanted to shout that. If his counterpart hadn’t been the Third Young Master, he would have really shouted it.

“Young Master, what on earth has happened to you?”

“What?”

“Didn’t you say you lost your memory after falling into qi deviation?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then why have you forgotten everything related to our cult? Your martial arts are amazing and your experience is abundant, but why have you selectively forgotten only the important things…”

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s have a drink when we get to my quarters.”

“That won’t do. My duty ends after escorting you to your quarters. I must return to the Protector Court.”

Seo Ryang shook the Six Heavenly Spirit Wine.

“You’re not going to drink this?”

“…!”

“Then suit yourself. The taste is exquisite, you know.”

Ma Dong-pil’s eyes wavered.

“Th-That precious thing… you said you’d drink it with me?”

“We’ve been together for a while, how can I just send you away because the job is done? That’s not how human relationships work, man.”

“…!”

“If you really can’t, then it can’t be helped. I guess organizations have their rules.”

Seo Ryang put the bottle back into his bosom.

Ma Dong-pil bowed his head deeply.

Out of the fifty years he might have left in the Divine Cult, this could be the moment of greatest glory, but should he just let it pass?

Does he really have to?

“…I’ll report the end of my mission and come back.”

“There’s a time for celebration. If you come back after getting permission, it’ll already be in my stomach.”

“…”

“It’s okay. There are so many good wines in the world besides this one.”

Ma Dong-pil raised his head.

Seo Ryang’s expression, which was about to tease him with a grin, filled with pity.

In that brief moment, he looked like he had aged ten years from how intensely he had been struggling with his thoughts.

“…Would it be alright if I had just one cup here?”

Seo Ryang chuckled.

“Sure, go say you’re taking a break and come back. We need to prepare some food too.”

“Th-Thank you! Thank you, Young Master!”

“You’ve been speaking quite rudely to someone you’re so grateful to, haven’t you?”

“Ah…!”

Ma Dong-pil bowed his head deeply.

“I apologize. I was too excited and showed disrespect to the Young Master.”

Kid, there’s a subtle pleasure in teasing you.

Seo Ryang laughed heartily and was about to pat his shoulder when Ma Dong-pil got down on the floor and knelt.

“Please kill me.”

…I shouldn’t joke with him anymore in the future.

After spending quite some time calming him down, Seo Ryang suddenly turned his gaze to the side.

“This one really has a good stomach.”

Next to Seo Ryang, the baby fox was lying down, sound asleep. It hadn’t woken up even once since before entering the Demonic God Palace’s great hall until now.

‘Its nose has a nice texture.’

As he stroked its nose bridge and tapped its nose, it raised its front paw to block. Looking at it, it was truly adorable beyond words.

Finally, the carriage reached the front of Seo Ryang’s quarters.

“Alright.”

As he got off the carriage and saw the scene before him, Seo Ryang smiled bitterly.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this.”

The surroundings were quite desolate. The original owner of this body must have wanted to live in seclusion, as unlike the other houses clustered together, this one was quite far from the inner palace area.

It was a sight he had desperately wanted to return to while in the Desolate Bamboo Forest, but also one he had equally disliked.

Ma Dong-pil, who got off the carriage with him, bowed his head.

“This is where my official duty ends.”

“Oh, alright.”

“I apologize once again for any hardships you may have endured due to my inadequate protection.”

“Don’t say such things.”

“And I am eternally grateful for your broad-mindedness in overlooking my faults.”

Seo Ryang waved his hand as if disgusted.

“That’s enough. Don’t you want to drink later? Let’s not act like we’ll never see each other again.”

Ma Dong-pil smiled.

“Yes. Then I’ll stop by the Protector Court and come back. Please rest well.”

“Alright. Be careful on your way.”

Seo Ryang watched as he got back on the carriage and drove away, then stretched widely.

“Yap!”

Hearing the cute yelp, he looked down to see the baby fox, now awake, sitting at his feet and looking up at him with bright eyes.

Seo Ryang chuckled.

“Cute little thing. Alright, since I picked you up anyway, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Yap!”

“Hey, you can’t really understand what I’m saying, can you?”

“…”

“I guess not.”

He picked up the baby fox and held it in his arms.

“Come on, let’s go in. Let’s get cleaned up nicely and lie down on a warm bed!”

Creak.

As Seo Ryang put one foot inside after opening the main gate.

That’s when it happened.

Flinch!

Seo Ryang stopped abruptly and cast his gaze through the open door.

‘…Huh?’

The quiet interior.

It wasn’t dark yet as it was still the hour of the rooster, but something felt strange.

The house looked perfectly normal, but it felt as if there were burn marks etched somewhere.

Seo Ryang tilted his head.

‘Why does it feel so off?’

It shouldn’t be because he hadn’t been home in a long time.

Whoosh.

His qi sense expanded rapidly.

‘One person. Just one. Their martial arts are unremarkable and their inner force is minimal. It’s Aenghwa.’

The only human presence felt in this entire place is Aenghwa. There’s no doubt when viewed with the mind’s eye of Supersensory Observation, one of the techniques of the Heavenly Naked Six Senses.

But why does it feel like there’s someone else?

‘…There’s definitely no one else here.’

There ‘was’ someone.

There was a reason he could read past traces even though there was no presence, nothing visible or audible.

It was the smell. Unfamiliar scents that shouldn’t be here were rising from the rooms and storage areas.

Supersensory Observation. A miraculous technique that dramatically enhances the body’s five senses to a level beyond that of beasts. Before it, detecting recent smells was child’s play.

‘Judging by how much scent remains, it hasn’t even been half a day.’

Seo Ryang’s eyes narrowed.

‘Someone secretly hid here and then disappeared? Why?’

He couldn’t understand the reason. Since he was the owner of the house, the reason for hiding and waiting should have been related to him, so why did they suddenly disappear?

‘…Hmm.’

After pondering for a while, Seo Ryang shrugged his shoulders.

He hadn’t developed a hobby of worrying while sniffing the scents of people who had disappeared. Moreover, it wasn’t even a woman, but men.

He felt a bit annoyed by the unfamiliar traces detected in the house he was returning to after eight months, but well, he’d think about that later.

Clearing his thoughts, he entered through the gate.

“Hey! Aenghwa!”

Suddenly, the door to the main room flung open and Aenghwa came running out in a hurry.

“Y-Young Master?!”

“Yeah. I’m back.”

Aenghwa prostrated herself on the spot.

“The Divine Demon Cult is invincible, ten thousand demons submit! Aenghwa greets the Third Young Master!”

Seo Ryang scratched his head.

“Hey, do you really have to greet me like that? It’s so grand that I don’t know what expression to make every time I receive it.”

“Young Master…”

“Hehe. Get up. It’s good to see you, kid.”

Anghwa rose politely.

Seo Ryang’s expression softened warmly. Though he had spent three hectic months, in terms of days it was almost a hundred days.

Moreover, wasn’t she the one who had taken care of him comfortably, as if she were there but not there, during his stay here? Of course, he couldn’t help but be glad to see her.

“Huh? What’s this? You seem to have lost some weight since I last saw you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There you go apologizing again. Are you eating properly?”

“Yes.”

Anghwa’s eyes reddened.

Seo Ryang scratched his head. While he might be glad to see her, Anghwa’s reaction was unexpected. She must have had a hard time taking care of someone who was practically out of his mind.

He messed up Anghwa’s hair roughly.

“Kid, you’ve braided your hair into a work of art again.”

“Y-Young Master.”

“It’s more human when it’s a bit messy. From now on, be comfortable, be comfortable. Got it?”

“Yes, yes!”

Her face brightened instantly, and after hesitating for a moment, she squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.

“Y-Young Master, you’ve become more handsome too!”

For her, it was a statement made by scraping together all her courage, both existing and non-existing. How could she dare say such a thing to the Cult Leader’s disciple?

However, based on her memories from eight months ago, the Young Master seemed to prefer a moderately friendly attitude over excessive politeness.

Indeed, her prediction was correct.

“Right? Man, I really went through hell to build this body. You noticed.”

“You’ve changed so much.”

“Do I look a bit brighter?”

“Yes! You look amazing!”

“Hahaha! Thank you!”

Seo Ryang looked around.

“The house was left empty for eight months without its owner, but it’s clean?”

“Yes! I came by every other day to clean. So you could rest comfortably whenever you returned.”

Seo Ryang’s eyes curved into crescents.

“Is that so.”

He was genuinely moved.

Ma Dong-pil was one thing, but Anghwa had been separated from him for eight months. It would have been grateful enough if she just hadn’t forgotten him during that long period, but she even cleaned regularly.

It was the first time he had received this kind of care from someone. He was grateful for the effort and touched in his heart.

“I’ll close the main gate first.”

“Huh? Oh, I can do that.”

Before he finished speaking, Anghwa was already running towards the gate. Her retreating figure was full of energy.

A warm smile spread across Seo Ryang’s face once again.

That kid, she’s really hardworking.

Thud!

After closing the gate, Anghwa quickly ran back.

“Young Master, I received the notice late so I haven’t prepared warm water yet. Would you like to eat first?”

“No, bath first.”

“Ah, yes! Please wait a moment. I’ll heat up the water.”

“Shall we?”

“Yes!”

“Alright. Let’s go in for now.”

Anghwa followed behind Seo Ryang with small steps as he walked ahead.

While maintaining a polite posture, Anghwa kept glancing at Seo Ryang.

More precisely, not at Seo Ryang, but at the baby fox in his arms.

‘It’s cute.’

She wanted to ask where the Young Master had brought that fox from, but she should hold back for now. She needed to quickly prepare the hot water.

Entering the building, Anghwa hurried off to heat the water.

Seo Ryang stretched widely. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this relaxed.

“Alright!”

Let’s think later, and today, let’s eat, drink, and fall into a deep sleep without any worries!