Chronicles of the Demonic Cult Conversion-Chapter 21 : Chapter 21

Chapter 21. Can I eat to my heart's content?
‘He’s strong.’
Jin Yeong-in immediately realized that the young man called the Fourth Young Master was no ordinary powerhouse.
The demonic qi detection ability of the Heavenly Demon's Physique was second to none, comparable even to a mind's eye.
Yet, the young man called the Fourth Young Master stood out even more distinctly than the other demonic practitioners.
‘He is a great mountain.’
The demonic qi possessed by the Fourth Young Master materialized and unfolded before Jin Yeong-in's eyes.
A large, rocky mountain.
Moreover, it was a volcano seething with hot lava and sulfur.
"I greet you, Fourth Young Master."
Jin Yeong-in quickly came to his senses and showed his respect to Yeom Bi.
He didn't know who the man was, but seeing the reactions of those around him, he seemed to be a person of high status, so he decided to be polite first.
"You."
Yeom Bi opened his mouth.
"If you caused a disturbance in the Body-Fortifying Prescription, you must have been prepared to pay the price, right?"
"Ah, about that…."
Just as Jin Yeong-in was about to answer.
"I greet you, Fourth Young Master. I am Danmok Cheong of the Bat Squad."
Danmok Cheong quickly intervened.
"I am deeply sorry for the disturbance we caused in the Body-Fortifying Prescription."
"Why are you sorry to me? You should be sorry to the people whose training you disturbed with your ruckus. The training equipment was smashed because of you guys."
Yeom Bi glanced around the wrecked Body-Fortifying Prescription and frowned in displeasure.
"Your words are a hundred, a thousand times right. However, I ask that you please understand we had unavoidable circumstances."
"Unavoidable circumstances?"
"That Young Master Jin over there was personally approved for conversion by that person………."
Danmok Cheong cautiously approached Yeom Bi and whispered the details of the situation.
"Is that true?"
"Would there be any doubt?"
Yeom Bi turned to look at Jin Yeong-in.
"You, did you really convert from the Righteous Faction?"
"Ah, yes. It just happened that way."
Jin Yeong-in answered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"And those guys started a fight with you, using their grudge against your master as a pretext?"
"It seems so."
"If you were going to fight, you should have done it outside the Body-Fortifying Prescription."
"I couldn't reason with them, so I had no choice."
"Hmm."
Yeom Bi nodded as if he understood.
"If your opponents were the Ghost Soldier Corps guys, I can see why."
"Whatever the circumstances, I am deeply sorry for causing a disturbance in the Body-Fortifying Prescription."
"Are you saying you're remorseful?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Then it's fine."
Yeom Bi thought for a moment, then readily nodded his head.
It was clear he would not make an issue of it any longer.
"Welcome to our cult. Since you've converted, try to adapt well. It must be unfamiliar."
"Thank you."
"Ah, and don't ever fight in the Body-Fortifying Prescription again. It disturbs other people's training."
"I will keep that in mind."
As Jin Yeong-in replied, he felt that Yeom Bi was a rather decent person.
His speech was rough, and his tone was monotonous, making him seem blunt, but he didn't seem like a bad person.
His personality also seemed straightforward and cool.
Of course, since he was also a demonic practitioner who had learned a high-level demonic art, there was no telling how he might change if his emotions flared up.
"Ah, and."
Yeom Bi turned to the Ghost Soldier Corps members as if he had forgotten something.
"You two over there. Take the unconscious one to Elder Gongson. The rest of you, clean this place up. Quickly."
"As you command!"
At Yeom Bi's command, the Ghost Soldier Corps members began to move in perfect order.
* * *
"That was a close call. If the Fourth Young Master hadn't come, we would have been in real trouble."
Danmok Cheong approached Jin Yeong-in and said.
"I'm truly sorry, Young Master Jin. I was away for a moment and this happened… From now on, I will not leave your side for a single moment."
"There's no need for that."
"There are many in the cult who are hostile to converts."
"Yes, well. I suppose so."
Jin Yeong-in replied as if it were no big deal.
"It's something I'll have to deal with anyway, so you don't need to worry too much."
"But…."
"Although I've lost my martial arts, I am a martial artist."
"Ah."
Danmok Cheong understood Jin Yeong-in's meaning and was impressed.
"By the way, who is he?"
"Ah, are you asking about that gentleman?"
"Yes."
"He is the Fourth Young Master."
Danmok Cheong told Jin Yeong-in about Yeom Bi.
‘If he is Army-Breaker Yeom Bi… ah. So he was the Explosive Demonic Lord.’
Upon hearing Danmok Cheong's words, Jin Yeong-in immediately recalled Yeom Bi's identity.
Fire Demon Yeom Bi.
The protagonist of the tale who turned the elite martial artists of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance to a handful of ash during the Second Righteous-Demonic War.
Although he was said to have died during the Second Righteous-Demonic War, he was once a figure who had struck terrifying fear into the martial artists of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.
How fearsome must he have been for his alias to be compared to a Fire Demon?
‘Yes, if he’s the Fire Demon, he's worthy of being one of that person's disciples.’
Jin Yeong-in glanced at Yeom Bi, who had started his training without paying any mind to the mess, and nodded inwardly.
Yes, one would have to be a peerless demonic practitioner like the Fire Demon to be called a disciple of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God…….
"In any case, you should be careful from now on. We were lucky to get through today thanks to the Fourth Young Master, but the Ghost Soldier Corps are not the type to give up here."
"Are you saying they're persistent?"
"It's not for nothing that people in our cult avoid getting involved with the Ghost Soldier Corps."
"Indeed."
Jin Yeong-in nodded, recalling the grudge between Jang In-geol and his master.
"I suppose I'll have to see it through to the end one way or another."
"This has become a headache."
"It's not something I didn't expect, so I'll just have to live with it. And…."
Jin Yeong-in's eyes held a meaningful glint as he watched Jang In-geol being carried away by a member of the Ghost Soldier Corps.
"Next time, the setup will be different. I will finish it after I return from the Blood Wolf Corps."
"Pardon?"
"Grudges should be settled quickly. Especially if it's a deep one."
"Haha…."
Danmok Cheong thought Jin Yeong-in's words were absurd, but he didn't voice his thoughts.
Although Jang In-geol was merely a team leader in the lower-ranking armed group, the Ghost Soldier Corps, he was not a person to be taken lightly.
He was a veteran who survived the Righteous-Demonic War 30 years ago and a seasoned warrior who had been with the Ghost Soldier Corps for a long time.
No matter how promising a prodigy Jin Yeong-in had been, it would take him at least a few years to recover his martial arts.
How could such a Jin Yeong-in defeat Jang In-geol just by passing through the Blood Wolf Corps?
"Ah, this is for lunch today."
Danmok Cheong abruptly handed a cloth-wrapped bundle to Jin Yeong-in.
Recently, Jin Yeong-in had been living in the Body-Fortifying Prescription, dedicating his entire day to training, and thus often had a simple packed lunch like this.
The reason Danmok Cheong had briefly left Jin Yeong-in's side was to bring this lunchbox.
"I'll eat it in a little while."
"Why not eat now…."
"I still have more training to do. I'll finish up and then eat."
Jin Yeong-in had no intention of slacking off in his training.
Delaying a meal a little wouldn't kill him.
"Young Master Jin, you're really something else. Haha."
Danmok Cheong clicked his tongue as if he was fed up, then, not to be outdone, he began his own body-fortifying training.
* * *
Jin Yeong-in, along with Danmok Cheong, trained in the body-fortifying arts for about an hour before finally picking up his chopsticks.
"As expected, Ah-rin's cooking skills are second to none."
Danmok Cheong opened his lunchbox and couldn't help but admire it.
Inside the lunchbox were various seasoned vegetables, grilled beef, and boiled chicken breast.
Whatever spices and seasonings were used, the aroma was incredibly fragrant.
Meanwhile, there wasn't a single dish that was stir-fried or deep-fried in oil, making it an optimal diet for developing one's muscles and bones.
With a diet this fresh and delicious, it seemed there would be no reason for Daoists to go out of their way to avoid cooked food and munch on grain pills.
"Indeed, Young Lady Baek's cooking skills are superb."
Jin Yeong-in also strongly agreed with Danmok Cheong's opinion.
Generally, food that is good for the body is tough and tasteless, but Baek A-rin had a talent for making such things as delicious as any rare delicacy.
He even thought that if she had studied cooking professionally, she could have become the best cook in the cult and been in charge of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God's royal table.
"Young Master Jin, please eat."
"Ah, yes. You too, Brother Dan, enjoy your meal."
Jin Yeong-in's chopsticks paused in front of the lunchbox.
"What's wrong?"
"You go ahead and eat first."
Jin Yeong-in said that, picked up one of the lunchboxes, and headed to a nearby table.
"Gasp?"
Danmok Cheong was startled.
There, Yeom Bi was ferociously tearing into some boiled beef.
Judging by his appearance alone, he looked as dignified and neat as the scion of a renowned Murim family, but the way he was eating was no different from a Green Forest bandit.
"What is it, do you need something?"
"If it's not too rude, would you like to try some?"
Jin Yeong-in offered the lunchbox prepared by Baek A-rin to Yeom Bi.
"If you're pitying me, I'm eating like this on purpose. To get the full effect of external arts training, it's important to eat a lot of meat with little fat. It's tasteless, though."
"Haha. How could a mere common disciple like me dare to pity the Fourth Young Master?"
"Then?"
"I'm offering it purely because it's delicious."
"I told you. I'm eating like this on purpose."
"These are dishes made by my personal maid, Young Lady Baek, and they are exquisite. They are dishes that are both helpful for body-fortifying training and delicious, thanks to different cooking methods. So you don't have to worry."
"There's a cooking method like that?"
Yeom Bi showed curiosity.
"Sit there. Let's eat together."
"Will it be alright?"
"What's not alright about it? Hmm. It doesn't look bad."
Yeom Bi examined the meat in the lunchbox and, after confirming it was low in fat, wore a satisfied expression.
"I can't refuse your kindness."
Yeom Bi said so and picked up a piece of grilled beef with his chopsticks.
"Hmm?"
Seeing the subtle expression on Yeom Bi's face as he chewed the meat, Jin Yeong-in became slightly tense.
‘Don't tell me it's not to his taste? That would be a huge problem.’
But his worry was merely a groundless fear.
"What is this?"
Yeom Bi opened his mouth with a look of utter disbelief.
"Is it not to your liking?"
"That's not it."
Yeom Bi shook his head.
"This is grilled, isn't it?"
"It is most likely grilled."
"Then why is it so juicy?"
"Pardon?"
"It wasn't just grilled, so how is the juice still preserved? It has a smoky flavor, and the seasoning isn't sweet, yet it's delicious. The savory taste is excellent too."
The expression on Yeom Bi's face as he said this was like that of someone who had received a shock.
"What have I been eating all this time?"
"Umm?"
"If I had known there was food like this, I wouldn't have lived my life chewing on this garbage."
Yeom Bi glared at the beef he had been eating as if in disgust.
His expression said he never wanted to put it in his mouth again.
"You said your name is Jin Yeong-in, right?"
"Yes."
"Can I eat to my heart's content?"
"I brought a lot, so you can eat as much as you like."
Quantity was not an issue.
Baek A-rin was generous, so she always cooked more than necessary.
That's why she packed a lunchbox that was closer to five servings when two would have sufficed, so adding one more person would not be a problem.
"Then I won't be polite."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yeom Bi's chopsticks began to move busily between his mouth and the lunchbox.
The time it took for the lunchbox to be emptied was less than a cup of tea's time.
"…."
Jin Yeong-in was dumbfounded by Yeom Bi's appetite.
Who would have thought he would devour all that food in the blink of an eye?
Jin Yeong-in himself had barely had a few bites…….
"You."
"Yes?"
"You seem like a decent fellow."
Yeom Bi expressed his favor towards Jin Yeong-in.