novelGlobal Chapter 241 : At the Boundary
Chapter 241 : At the Boundary
Chapter 241: At the Boundary
Dog-Beating Dragon Dan Mujin.
It was a name capable of shattering the immovable heart of Murong Cheonghye, who would not so much as blink even after cutting down dozens of villains.
Like throwing a stone into a calm lake, the emotions she had long forgotten rose back up to the surface.
Over there, a new recruit of the Demon-Slaying Unit was chattering endlessly as if she were extremely close to Dan Mujin, going on and on about him.
“They’re saying he’s incredible. He hasn’t even learned any poison arts, yet he keeps chewing poisonous mushrooms nonstop.”
With an innocent voice, she unraveled one story after another about her connections with Dan Mujin.
Each one was so significant that even Jeok Unyeop and Namgung Jin, who had been quietly listening, let out hollow laughs.
“He rushed at a Human-faced Spider and tore out its poison sac?”
“And then stormed into the Tang Clan of Sichuan through the main gate while holding it……?”
They had heard the rumors, but nothing felt as vivid as hearing it directly from the person involved.
From their slightly awkward first meeting, to overcoming difficult moments together, and even the time they kicked down the main gate of the Tang Clan side by side.
Murong Cheonghye’s gaze remained fixed on Tang Yeo-hye, unmoving.
“He’s really someone you can’t predict at all. Sometimes he’s even more reckless than me.”
At the claim that he was more reckless than the infamous Venom of Venom Valley, the two men exchanged silent glances, finding it hard to believe.
The woman of the Tang Clan, excited to speak about her sworn younger brother after so long, poured out her words endlessly.
She grumbled lightly about how troublesome he was and how much effort he required, but as a fellow woman, Murong Cheonghye could sense the truth hidden beneath those words.
A strange warmth within the complaints, along with concern—and even a subtle sense of pride—woven into her voice.
Perhaps the others noticed as well, as Jeok Unyeop, who had been listening quietly, asked a question.
“Come to think of it, when passing through Sichuan, there were rumors that you dragged your fiancé into the Tang Clan. Could it be that man was Young Master Dan Mujin?”
At that question, Tang Yeo-hye, who had been speaking excitedly, suddenly clamped her mouth shut with a ‘Gasp.’
Between her swaying black hair, her reddened ears stood out clearly.
“Th-that is… my elder brother Tang Ak was trying to force me into a political marriage, so I had no choice……”
Unlike before, she now waved both hands frantically, stumbling over her words as if trying to deny a misunderstanding. Seeing the usually fearsome Venom of Venom Valley so flustered, the two men grinned.
And Murong Cheonghye, who had been watching the scene, also had her expression subtly change.
“Hmm.”
Where before she had merely regarded him as a reliable subordinate close to her younger brother, now she examined him as a prospective husband for her younger brother—like an elder sister-in-law scrutinizing carefully.
“A-anyway, it seems we’ve relaxed too much because of my story. We’re still in enemy territory, so let’s focus and move again.”
Humans could not live in constant tension at all times, so they had taken a brief moment of ease to exchange stories.
But as Tang Yeo-hye said, they were still walking through a deadly land filled with enemies.
By now, the enemy would likely have discovered the corpses or begun narrowing the tracking radius, so they could not afford to relax.
After thoroughly erasing all traces of their brief rest, they began moving again across the jagged terrain toward the Central Plains.
Treating all directions as hostile while moving quickly, exhaustion piled up during their escape.
Yet even in the midst of it all, Murong Cheonghye’s gaze never left a certain woman.
“Hmm……”
After crossing one mountain, another range appeared, and beyond dense thickets lay yet more forests.
With no traffic and complete isolation, no one had carved mountain paths or laid roads.
For weeks, I had simply been walking through what felt like a primitive jungle.
To relieve the boredom, I asked Captain Jang Jin about the Demon Cult we were heading toward.
“Why did the Demon Cult end up becoming enemies with the entire Central Plains in the first place?”
Even as he used movement arts to surge forward, Uncle Jang Jin kindly explained.
“It’s because the founding emperor cast them aside after using them.”
He spoke of the imperial family’s involvement with the Demon Cult.
“In the early days, they were called the Ming Cult and wielded considerable influence. But when that influence began to rival the authority of the imperial household, the emperor—who claimed to be the Son of Heaven—stepped in.”
As someone seeking to extend his authority over all of the Central Plains and elevate himself to godhood, the emperor had brutally oppressed and purged them.
Unlike where I came from, purges in this era meant completely eradicating three generations to leave no future trouble—a truly barbaric act.
“Anyway, that emperor—if he was going to purge them, he should’ve done it properly. Or better yet, not touched them at all. Now we get these constant Great Wars Between Orthodox and Demonic Factions, and the Central Plains keeps getting turned upside down. What a mess.”
The troubles had been caused by a distant ancestor emperor, yet it was people like them who had to deal with the aftermath, and the captain grumbled.
“Captain, you speak quite casually about the emperor. Most people call him the Son of Heaven.”
Not the Son of Heaven, but simply “emperor.”
From the way he spoke, it seemed he had no particular reverence for the imperial family.
“What god? He’s just a man made of flesh. They don’t even live out their full lifespans—eat, defecate, same as everyone else.”
Wow, this man was truly irreverent. If an official heard him, he’d be arrested on the spot.
But I liked it.
“So basically, all of this stems from seeds of disaster planted by the imperial court?”
Back where I used to live, if there was some strange conflict, blaming Britain was usually correct.
Here, it seemed the Central Plains’ court played that role.
“But why did the Demon-Slaying Unit infiltrate so deeply into the Demon Cult? I heard the Murim Alliance’s spies were doing just fine.”
Namgung Sohye, the daughter of the Murim Alliance Leader walking beside me, answered instead.
“They were doing too well—that’s why we were dispatched. Once they established themselves, information began pouring into the Murim Alliance. Among it were individuals who absolutely had to die, and events that had to be stopped for the sake of the Central Plains……”
“So people were secretly deployed to carry out the killings or prevent those incidents?”
“Exactly. Spies excel at infiltration and gathering information, but when the opportunity comes, they lack the strength to act.”
In simple terms, when spies pointed a finger at a target, someone needed to act as the blade to strike it down.
That role fell to the Demon-Slaying Unit, which, carrying the Evil-Slaying Demoness, had been actively slaughtering villains among all combat units.
Everything seemed to be going well, and emboldened, they sent combat forces even deeper—
“Only to find out it was all happening in the palm of the Demon Cult’s hand?”
In such a closed-off place as the Demon Cult, it had been strange for the spies to succeed so smoothly.
The Demon Cult had identified them from the start and was even exploiting them.
“…It wasn’t entirely like that.”
Namgung Sohye defended the Murim Alliance, though her expression turned slightly awkward.
But in truth, the fact remained—they had been manipulated.
“Let’s just say that’s how it is.”
I shrugged while meeting Jo Harang’s eyes.
Annoyed by our reaction, Namgung Sohye narrowed her gaze.
Finally, I asked about the Heaven-Slaying Star that had appeared within the Demon Cult.
“The Heaven-Slaying Star of that era was considered a sacred relic of the Demon Cult—White Flame—and she was its guardian, the Divine Maiden.”
At the same time, she was the granddaughter of the Ming Cult Leader of that era—the one the Central Plains called the Heavenly Demon.
And this caused turmoil across the Central Plains.
Naturally, both orthodox and unorthodox factions demanded her elimination.
But the Demon Cult claimed they could suppress the Heaven-Slaying Star using their sorcery and forbidden techniques.
No one accepted that claim, and they issued an ultimatum.
When the Demon Cult refused, they fought fiercely against the entire Central Plains.
“Hmm.”
I silently stared at the palm-shaped mark burning red before my eyes.
‘……’
Until now, it would constantly talk about killing and insult me as a ‘foolish… thing’ or ‘stupid… thing.’
But now that the topic was about itself, it had suddenly gone completely silent.
‘Hey, Demon Cult Divine Maiden. Say something.’
‘……’
Well, would you look at that. What a rare phenomenon.
From what I heard, it had been something like a Flame Maiden who guarded the sacred fire of the Demon Cult.
And since it was the beloved granddaughter of the Heavenly Demon, all sorts of sorcery and forbidden techniques had been used on it.
So how did it end up like this—fallen and reduced to a killing-obsessed creature?
‘Hey, Divine Maiden. Say something.’
I tapped the floating palm lightly as I spoke.
‘……’
Even after setting the stage like this, it remained silent. Completely unlike it.
By now, it should have already thrown sharp insults at me.
“Hmm. What is it really?”
Come to think of it, what exactly was this thing?
The Evil Star seemed to be in a dormant state for some unknown reason, yet this one alone was awake, had a sense of self, and kept picking fights with me.
Was it some kind of vengeful spirit or ghostly entity? I had already seen corpses rise and attack through sorcery and blood arts.
“Something unknown attached to the Evil Star……”
Back when Hwang Geolgae had first examined me in that alley, he had glimpsed something inside me.
Unknown vengeful spirits trapped in a hellscape piled with corpses, shedding tears of blood. And something horrifying binding them.
He had withdrawn his hand in fear before that entity could recognize him.
After that, he had been too afraid to properly guide my True Qi or perform Vein Cleansing and Marrow Washing.
“Even though he did all sorts of things for Ilhong.”
When raising disciples, the worst thing is discrimination. That’s how I ended up as such a troublesome disciple.
“Mujin, what are you muttering about?”
Jo Harang, walking beside me, spoke after hearing me grumble.
“Just cursing the world a bit.”
“…Suddenly?”
Not suddenly. I did it regularly.
I just didn’t usually say it out loud.
“We’re in a hurry. Let’s pick up the pace.”
We had slowed down slightly while resting and talking—now it was time to move faster again.
Beyond this, in the Demon Cult’s territory, my real sister and sworn sister might already be in danger.
So I urged the slightly delayed group forward once more.
Meanwhile, Tang Yeo-hye found herself in quite a difficult situation.
The feared Evil-Slaying Demoness had stuck close beside her, interrogating her relentlessly.
“So, what exactly is your relationship with Young Master Dan Mujin?”
When asked if they were in a romantic relationship, she had given a vague answer, thinking it might be possible in the future. Now, the vice-captain of the Demon-Slaying Unit pressed further, eyes wide.
“Are you planning a lifelong union? How many children? You’re not thinking of registering them into the Tang Clan, are you? I absolutely won’t allow that.”
“…?”
Why was this third party talking about allowing or not allowing such things?
‘What is wrong with her, seriously.’
Tang Yeo-hye couldn’t understand the situation at all.
At that moment—
Srrr—
Black figures suddenly rose between the trees.
Men in black, wearing the uniforms of the Demon Cult’s Dark Command Unit.
“We’ve finally found you, you dogs of the Central Plains.”
“You hypocrites. Did you think you could kill Ming Cult members and escape unharmed?”
Having discovered the corpses and narrowed their search, the Demon Cult had finally arrived.
The Demon-Slaying Unit’s secret escape turned into a desperate pursuit.
“Attack……!”