Chronicles of the Demonic Cult Conversion-Chapter 31 : Chapter 31

Chapter 31. You Are No Martial Artist
Jin Yeong-in’s ‘Making a Man out of Jang In-geol’ continued for about another hour.
“It broke again. Brother Dan, do you have any more wooden swords?”
“We’re out of wooden swords, but I have this instead.”
Danmok Cheong handed him a rather sturdy-looking wooden club.
It was obvious from a glance that he had rummaged through a pile of firewood and brought back something usable as a club.
“This will be more than enough.”
Jin Yeong-in grinned, swinging the club through the air with a whoosh.
Woosh, Whooosh!
The sound was quite sharp.
Being thicker and heavier than a wooden sword, it seemed more suitable for its purpose as a club.
“I, I was wrong! So please, stop! I said I was wrong!”
“Oh, now you sound a bit like a human.”
Jin Yeong-in blinked as if he hadn't heard properly.
“What did you just say?”
“I said I was wrong. Keuk!”
“About what?”
“Th-that is.”
Jang In-geol was at a loss for words.
“Still not human enough?”
“N-no! I am! I said I am!”
“Then what were you wrong about?”
At Jin Yeong-in’s question, Jang In-geol’s eyes darted back and forth.
He was clearly struggling with all his might to remember what he had done wrong.
“I think I can hear the gears turning in your head…”
“Absolutely not!”
“Then tell me what you did wrong.”
“Picking a fight with a defector to Our Cult, brazenly bringing up the grievances of a past generation, that was my mistake.”
“And?”
“There’s more?”
Thwack!
“Aargh!”
“Who was it that saved your life?”
“Jang Guk-p… no! It was the Great Heavenly Divine Warrior Chang!”
“That’s right.”
Only then did a satisfied smile appear on Jin Yeong-in’s lips.
“You showed mercy to an enemy you met on the battlefield, and you hold a grudge over it. Is that what a human being does?”
“…”
“Isn’t the one who let you off with just an eye an enemy, but a benefactor?”
At Jin Yeong-in’s sharp rebuke, Jang In-geol became like a mute who had eaten honey, unable to say a word.
“You held that in your heart for thirty years, only to take it out on an innocent disciple?”
“…I have no excuse.”
“You are no martial artist. You weren’t even a human to begin with. It’s a good thing my master passed away. If he had seen the one he spared acting like this, he would have been beating the ground in regret.”
Although he said that, Jin Yeong-in knew all too well that his master, the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior, was not such a person.
Beating the ground in regret… what nonsense.
‘Damn it! That bastard still hasn’t come to his senses, you say? Where is he? I’ll chase him down right now and give him a piece of my mind or finish him off!’
Given the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior’s personality, he would have thrown a fit, saying he needed to provide after-service.
“Get lost. You’re not even worth killing.”
Jin Yeong-in threw down the club and spat out the venomous words as if spitting phlegm.
‘Killing him will only stir up the Ghost Soldier Corps even more. It’s better to wrap it up moderately here.’
Since they had a life-or-death duel, the Ghost Soldier Corps couldn't make an issue of it even if he killed Jang In-geol, but Jin Yeong-in judged that there was no need to stir up trouble unnecessarily.
It also felt just a little bit distasteful to kill the man his master, the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior, had spared.
* * *
“Captain Jang, allow me to assist you.”
“Keuk!”
“Rise slowly, slowly.”
Danmok Cheong, showing some quick wit, helped Jang In-geol up.
“…”
Jang In-geol silently accepted Danmok Cheong’s support and left Jin Yeong-in’s house.
He was likely taken straight to the Life-Saving Demonic Dao, Gongson Chaek.
Jin Yeong-in watched Danmok Cheong and Jang In-geol’s retreating backs, then remembered the Blood Qilin was waiting and turned his gaze.
The Blood Qilin was leaning nonchalantly under the eaves, out of the morning sunlight.
“Sixth Young Master, it’s over. Sixth Young Master, Sixth Young Master?”
“…”
The Blood Qilin did not answer.
He didn't even stir, as if dead.
“Did you perhaps fall asleep?”
“…”
“Sixth Young Master?”
With his eyes hidden by the black spectacles, it was impossible to tell if they were open or closed.
The problem was his breathing.
The Blood Qilin showed none of the characteristic rising and falling of a living creature.
‘No way.’
It was unlikely, but just in case, Jin Yeong-in brought a finger to the tip of the Blood Qilin’s nose.
‘No breath!’
He couldn’t feel any breath.
‘His pulse, what about his pulse!’
This time, he carefully placed his fingers on the Blood Qilin’s neck, but there was no pulse.
‘What is this!’
Jin Yeong-in was startled.
A master of the Blood Qilin’s caliber wouldn't just drop dead suddenly, so why wasn't he breathing, and why was there no pulse?
In a moment of panic, just as Jin Yeong-in leaned his upper body to press his ear against the Blood Qilin's chest.
Swoosh.
“Got you.”
The Blood Qilin grabbed Jin Yeong-in and, for a moment, tried to bite his neck.
“…!”
A startled Jin Yeong-in spun his body around and broke free from the Blood Qilin.
“What are you doing?”
“Quick, aren’t you? Tsk. I could have had a bite.”
As a startled Jin Yeong-in shouted, the Blood Qilin grinned mischievously.
“W-what do you mean, a bite?”
“Who knows? What could it be~?”
The Blood Qilin playfully lowered his black spectacles slightly, revealing his characteristic red eyes.
“What happened last night? Did you go somewhere nice and have a wild tumble?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You seem to have gotten tastier overnight?”
“…”
Jin Yeong-in didn't even want to reply and just shut his mouth.
Putting aside the creepy behavior, he just couldn't get used to this bizarre and baseless way of speaking.
“A pity, but there’ll be another chance to eat you. The more delicious the food, the better it tastes when you save it for later. Fufufu.”
“What exactly are you planning to eat?”
“Imagine it for yourself. It’s no fun if I tell you. Oh, and call my family's palanquin bearers. I’m going home.”
“Isn’t it just a stone’s throw away?”
Jin Yeong-in said, dumbfounded.
How far could it be from here to the gate of the Sacred Blood Clan…
“I’m too sleepy to walk. And the sunlight is too strong.”
“…”
As Jin Yeong-in stood there dumbfounded, Baek A-rin quietly stepped forward.
“Young Master, I will go to the Sacred Blood Clan and call the palanquin bearers.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
While Baek A-rin went to the Sacred Blood Clan.
“You won’t see me for a while.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“As punishment for killing those vermin yesterday, I’m under house arrest for three months. Does that make sense?”
What part of it didn’t make sense…
Even as a disciple of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, it was an incredibly lenient punishment for tearing three people apart in broad daylight.
“Anyway, I won’t see you for the next three months.”
“It’s six months.”
“Why?!”
“I am scheduled to enter the Blood Wolf Corps in three months.”
“No!”
The Blood Qilin shouted.
“Then what am I supposed to do!”
“What do you mean, what are you supposed to do?”
“Does it make sense that I can’t see you for six months? Then what am I supposed to do with my boredom? Do you want to see me die?”
As if they had known each other forever…
If being this clingy after just a second meeting was a skill, then it was a skill.
“Don’t go.”
“I’m going.”
“Can’t you not go?”
“If I don’t pass the Blood Wolf Corps, I can’t become a martial artist of Our Cult. Will you take responsibility for that, Sixth Young Master?”
“Being a martial artist is no big deal. All they know is how to kill people.”
“That’s not a martial artist, that’s a butcher.”
“Anyway, don’t go!”
“I refuse.”
While Jin Yeong-in and the Blood Qilin bickered meaninglessly for a while, a red palanquin soon appeared and stopped under the eaves.
‘They are.’
Jin Yeong-in’s eyes gleamed as he saw the palanquin bearers.
The palanquin bearers of the Sacred Blood Clan all had red eyes, and exuded a sticky, gloomy, yet strangely charming and unique atmosphere.
Also, all of them wore wide, flat bamboo hats to shield themselves from the sunlight.
‘Is it a characteristic of the Sacred Blood Clan’s martial arts?’
Just as Jin Yeong-in thought that.
“Young Master, please hurry and get in.”
A maid who seemed to hold a rather high position urged the Blood Qilin.
Like the other members of the Sacred Blood Clan, she had red eyes, but a slight difference was that her hair was a bright yellow blonde, like that of a Westerner.
She too was protecting her skin from the sunlight with a wide bamboo hat adorned with a veil.
“I’m leaving.”
“Please travel safely.”
“You have to be well while I’m gone. Don’t get hunted by other guys.”
“Yes, well. I’ll try.”
“Don’t get too close to Senior Brother Yeom just because I’m not here. It makes me jealous. Don’t forget, you’re mine.”
“…”
“Anyway, Senior Brother Yeom is a boring person, so you’ll get tired of him soon. Haaam!”
The Blood Qilin yawned like a lounging cat and slipped into the palanquin.
“…What on earth kind of person is he.”
Jin Yeong-in watched the palanquin heading towards the manor across the street and shook his head.
He couldn't even begin to guess why the Iron-Blooded Demonic God had taken such a hooligan as a disciple.
It wasn't just Jin Yeong-in.
The Iron-Blooded Demonic God taking the Blood Qilin as a disciple was one of the Ten Great Mysteries of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult…
* * *
“Young Master, are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”
“That’s a relief.”
“The problem is that over there.”
Jin Yeong-in pointed to the front gate and frowned.
Scattered there were dozens of wooden fragments, the remains of the shattered gate.
“I should have gotten the money for the gate before sending him off.”
Regretting not having emptied Jang In-geol’s pockets, Jin Yeong-in picked up a broom that was in the corner of the yard.
“I’ll clean it up. Young Master, you should rest.”
“Let’s do it together.”
“But…”
“How can you clean this all by yourself? Let’s do it together.”
Jin Yeong-in had no intention of working Baek A-rin to the bone just because she was a maid.
“You are very kind, Young Master.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t treat me carelessly just because I’m a maid, and you help me when I’m having a hard time.”
“Isn’t that natural?”
“Pardon?”
Baek A-rin’s eyes widened like a surprised rabbit’s.
“Is it perhaps natural in the Central Plains to help a maid?”
“Usually, they just work them.”
“Then it must be true that you are kind, Young Master.”
“Is that so? But why are you so surprised? There must be people here who treat their maids well.”
“It’s very rare.”
Baek A-rin shook her head.
“Our Cult operates strictly on the principle of the law of the jungle. It is perfectly natural for a superior to order around a subordinate.”
“They should do it in moderation. Subordinates are people too.”
“That’s not how most people think. Still, I’ve heard it’s gotten much better now.”
“What was it like before?”
“They weren’t treated as human.”
According to Baek A-rin, in the past, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult treated not only maids but almost all women as objects.
Especially for maids of low status and rank, they were no different from livestock, and it was commonplace for them to be beaten and killed at the drop of a hat.
She said the extent of their exploitation was beyond measure, as they did chores during the day and served as their masters’ sex slaves at night.
Baek A-rin explained that this trend of disregarding human life changed after the current Cult Leader, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, came to power.
“She is a being revered by all women. Thanks to her, all the women of Our Cult have come to live like human beings. Especially for a woman of low status like me, I have no choice but to respect her even more.”
As she spoke, Baek A-rin’s eyes shone with absolute loyalty to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God—respect, admiration, and envy.