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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Something cold landed on his forehead.
*Drip, drip*
The rhythmic dripping made him frown.
“Ugh….”
A green canopy filled his vision. He was lying in the middle of a lush forest.
He slightly raised his head and looked at himself.
*Rustle*
Excessively soft fabric. It was definitely the clothes he had been wearing before he fell.
‘So I’m not dead.’
He had been sure he’d died and been transported to another dimension.
It seemed he’d survived the fall, probably caught by a tree branch.
‘My back hurt, though.’
“Ugh…”
As he regained consciousness, fatigue and pain struck his body all at once.
He had to get up, staying here would get him nowhere.
“Oh? You’re awake.”
He heard a voice not too far away.
At the edge of his vision, there was a woman poking at a burnt tree.
Her clothes were tattered, and her face was covered in soot.
She definitely didn’t look like she was in a normal state.
“A beggar?”
“I am not a beggar!”
She snapped at his observation.
At a loss for words, he simply stared at her. She continued with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“Ah, of course, I don’t think badly of the Beggars’ Sect. I respect them, actually… but being called a beggar is a little…”
“I wasn’t thinking anything like that.”
“Gasp! Then you think the members of the Beggars’ Sect are lowly and insignificant! You bigot!”
“Hey, stop it, you idiot.”
He cut her off, anticipating the same pattern of conversation as before.
“Idiot?! I’ve never been called that, even in the Alliance!”
“Enough, where are we?”
“Even if you ask where we are out of the blue… We’re near Henan.”
“Ugh… Henan? Is that Henan City in Gyeonggi-do?”
“Gyeonggi-do?”
An unexpected question came back.
He examined her appearance again before asking about the village.
No matter how he looked at it, her clothes weren’t modern. And there was the scabbard at her waist, also the strange movements of the group chasing him yesterday…
‘Don’t tell me this is…murim?’
Was it the murim he knew?
That would explain a lot.
“Haha…”
“Um… are you alright? Did you hit your head hard when you fell…?”
She looked at him with a concerned expression.
“Let’s introduce ourselves first. I’m Kang In-ho.”
“So you’re Master Kang. I am Namgung So-yeon. But… why are you offering your hand?”
She looked at the hand he had extended for a handshake with a puzzled expression and cupped her fists in greeting.
Was this the standard here?
He fumbled a bit, then mirrored her gesture.
An awkward silence hung between them, like after introductions on a blind date.
“Um… can I call you Miss Namgung?”
“Ah, yes. Sure…”
Why was she blushing?
“I’m a bit disoriented… Do you know the way to the nearest city? Or village?”
“Ah, I’m on my way there too. Let’s go together. But…”
“???”
“It seems like it’ll be difficult for you to travel far in those clothes.”
She pointed at his voluminous attire.
“I don’t have any other clothes.”
“Ah, then try these on.”
She pulled some clothes out of her pack.
“Oh, thank you.”
He had been worried they might be women’s clothes, but thankfully they were for men.
Though he didn’t know why she had men’s clothes with her.
“I’ve worn them from time to time. They should fit you.”
Namgung So-yeon’s voice came from a distance, as if answering my unspoken question.
So, she cross-dressed?
After changing his clothes.
“Are you readyyy~?”
She called out in a cheerful voice.
“Yes… let’s go.”
He hurried after her as she skipped along.
With not a single person to rely on in this unfamiliar world.
His life was certainly turning out spectacular.
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Five days after the intruder was first sighted.
The Heavenly Demon returned to the Cult with the Shadow Demon.
“We greet the Cult Leader.”
As soon as she stepped foot into the palace, a huge crowd prostrated themselves before her.
It was a sight that would have been overwhelming for someone less confident, but it didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest.
Without a glance at the prostrated figures, she headed straight to her quarters.
The Heavenly Demon Palace.
The residence of the Black Heaven Cult’s leader.
Only a select few who had earned the Cult Leader’s recognition could enter; most members of the Black Heaven Cult had never seen the inside.
Her seat resembled a grand throne, high and wide like that of an emperor.
“We greet the Cult Leader.”
“Enter.”
A soft, delicate voice was heard, and the Cult Leader replied.
A slender man entered and prostrated himself before her. The woman on the throne exerted a slight pressure with her presence.
“Head Administrator. So… did you find out?”
“I am ashamed to report that I have not yet discovered their identity.”
“You’re no different from those other vermin.”
With a tremor, the man’s head slammed into the ground.
“I apologize. However, after interrogating the guards, I’ve recorded their appearance. But…”
Even while being crushed by the immense force, the man continued speaking, his voice was unwavering.
“But? I dislike roundabout answers.”
Her eyebrows rose in displeasure.
“The face did not match any in the registry.”
“I thought some crazy righteous sect member had snuck in, but it seems that’s not the case.”
“That is what has been revealed so far.”
“Other factions?”
“Surely, Cult Leader, you know better than anyone that no other faction would dare to intrude upon our Cult.”
Well, after all, she had burned them all down.
She chuckled softly.
“Then who is it? I didn’t come here to listen to this kind of report. Did the intruder fall from the sky?”
“It’s similar. May I explain the details at the younger disciple’s palace?”
“Very well, if you insist, I can’t refuse.”
The Cult Leader followed the Head Administrator to the younger disciple’s palace.
As if preserving a crime scene, the younger disciple’s palace remained exactly as it had been during the intrusion.
The Cult Leader couldn’t hide her rage at the sight of the muddy footprints everywhere.
The stone pillars trembled with cracking sounds. As if this were perfectly normal, the Head Administrator showed no reaction.
The Head Administrator removed his shoes and bowed twice, then entered the palace.
He pointed to the broken coffin.
“The traces indicate it was broken from the inside out. Since there are no signs of the barrier formation being activated, we can conclude there was no intrusion from the outside.”
“So, it seems they didn’t fall from the sky, but rather sprouted from the earth.”
The Cult Leader slowly approached the coffin and gently swept away the broken fragments.
Watching the tenderness in her movement, the Head Administrator cleared his throat and pulled out a piece of paper from his robe.
“This is the intruder’s appearance.”
“Let’s see what this face looks like.”
The Heavenly Demon froze as she unfolded the drawing the artist had prepared.
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