-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: A New Right Hand
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Unlike the bustling infirmary, where a person could disappear without anyone noticing, the outside was quiet.
Maeng Ak dragged Dang Hyeon-woo into an alley behind the building, a place where people were least likely to come.
His cautious nature still not satisfied, he peeked his head out to double-check.
It was a very brief moment.
For Dang Hyeon-woo, whose mind was racing with all sorts of wild imaginings, it was the chance of a lifetime.
Unfortunately for him, Maeng Ak turned his head back just as he was about to make a run for it.
The price for missing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was not small.
Unlike before, Maeng Ak's expression turned vicious. He then proceeded to demonstrate the art of beating someone senseless without leaving a mark, a skill he had mastered at the Fierce Tiger Fortress.
Dang Hyeon-woo, his vocal points sealed, was beaten soundly without being able to scream.
Whatever the technique was, not a single sound escaped as his entire body was pummeled.
After about a quarter of an hour had passed?
Maeng Ak released his pressure points, giving him a stern warning before interrogating him for information.
At that, Dang Hyeon-woo began to sob, blurting out information he hadn't even been asked for.
"*Sob, sniffle*. This is indeed the headquarters of the Demonic Cult remnants. And right now, they're in the process of selecting a new Young Cult Leader at the Divine Hall of the Latent Demon, a training institution for rising stars… Ah, I know much more than this. So please, just spare my life. There's something I must do while I'm still alive!"
The fact that this 'something' was revenge against the Sichuan Tang Clan remained Dang Hyeon-woo's secret alone.
He clung to Maeng Ak's leg, cursing the Demonic Doctor.
'That damned old man said no one knew the Demonic Cult hadn't been wiped out, yet he didn't even realize a spy was planted right here!'
Dang Hyeon-woo believed Maeng Ak was a spy planted by the Martial Alliance or the Sichuan Tang Clan.
That was the only reason he could think of for someone to go to the lengths of faking a near-death state to approach him.
The illegitimate son of the Sichuan Tang Clan's head, who had faked his own death.
That was his identity.
Thanks to this, Maeng Ak easily obtained some unexpected information. However, it wasn't what he wanted to know about the Green Forest and the Orthodox Faction.
Seeing no need to listen further, he tightened his grip on Dang Hyeon-woo's collar.
"Hey, we can talk about the Demonic Cult later. Tell me about the Green Forest and the Orthodox Faction.
First, what's the status of the Orthodox-Green Forest War?"
In truth, the war Maeng Ak spoke of had ended five years ago.
But his asking about its progress sparked a glimmer of hope in Dang Hyeon-woo's mind that perhaps he wasn't a spy.
'If he were a spy from the Alliance or one of the clans, he'd be digging for information on the Demonic Cult, not asking a question like this…'
*Squeeze.*
But first, he had to give the man the answer he wanted.
The grip on his collar was tightening with each passing moment.
"The Orthodox-Green Forest War…"
Dang Hyeon-woo's explanation continued for some time.
When he finished, a heavy silence fell, broken only by the sight of Maeng Ak, his expression grim and his lips pressed into a thin line.
'Not only did I, a man with an Indestructible Body, die, but the unified Green Forest scattered, and five years have passed?'
This was more shocking than the man's earlier claim that this was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's headquarters.
It was a difficult situation to accept at face value. However, as he listened, the details aligned perfectly with the information.
Besides, this kid didn't have the guts to feed false information to the man holding his life in his hands.
"If you are concerned about the reliability of my information, you needn't be.
In preparation for a situation like this, I have been buying information on the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic factions. Hehe."
The man giggled foolishly, as if he hadn't just been beaten to a pulp and crying his eyes out.
Maeng Ak guessed he must have had a tough life, struggling to survive from a young age.
It wasn't easy for someone who didn't even look twenty to be so skilled in the art of groveling.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him.
'Ugh. Is this from taking in so much unexpected information at once?'
The dizziness grew worse. It felt as if something was being squeezed out of him.
Fortunately, the intense pain didn't last long.
It subsided the moment a fragment of memory surfaced.
It was a forgotten memory from the final moments of the Orthodox-Green Forest War.
'Ah. So I really did die.'
The face of the Martial Alliance Leader, Un Geom, flashed through his mind—the man who had sacrificed two of his comrades to plunge a sword into his stomach.
The memory left a foul taste in his mouth, but it made one thing crystal clear.
He, Maeng Ak, had died once and, for reasons unknown, had awakened in this body.
Maeng Ak processed the situation using his recovered memories and the information he had just heard from Dang Hyeon-woo. He reached a single conclusion.
His grim expression softened.
"Ha. Haha. Bwahahahaha!"
Lost in thought, Maeng Ak was oblivious to the fact that he was laughing like a madman.
'Have I been reincarnated…? Yes. Even the heavens must crave the blood of those wretched Orthodox bastards. Otherwise, there's no reason for me to be reincarnated into a body with the Heaven and Earth Body. And the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, of all places… could there be a better stage for my revenge?'
Watching Maeng Ak, Dang Hyeon-woo thought to himself.
'I think I'm in deep trouble.
I'd have been better off getting caught by a spy. Of all the people to run into, it had to be a lunatic like him.'
Was it because of the needle stuck in Maeng Ak's forehead that kept catching his eye? He shook his head.
'No, there's no way I created a madman like this with my own hands.'
After all, if that needle was the cause, then everything—the beating, the crying, the spilling of secrets—would have been his own doing.
He wanted to avoid self-blame in his already bleak reality.
Just then, Maeng Ak, who had been laughing maniacally, turned to him and spoke.
"Hey, kid! I have a few things for you to do."
Maeng Ak ordered Dang Hyeon-woo to bring him his student record, a diagram of the cult's current power structure, and information about the Divine Hall of the Latent Demon.
"If you can't find them, you know what to do, right? Make them. Oh, and you don't need to worry about anything else. I won't do anything to harm the cult. Just do as you're told."
Dang Hyeon-woo was dumbfounded. One moment the man was beating him, the next he was ordering him around as if he were his servant.
Just as a wave of injustice and frustration welled up from deep within him, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
'Wait, if this guy isn't a spy from the Alliance or one of the clans, then who is he? Why doesn't he know such basic information that he needs my help to get it?'
Perhaps because the sense had been knocked back into him, the seeds of suspicion finally began to sprout.
And they bore the fruit of deception and survival that had kept Dang Hyeon-woo alive until now.
"Of course, Sir. It is my duty to do as you command."
Dang Hyeon-woo acted with a natural ease, as if he had squeezed the fruit's juice and spread it over his face.
For now, he would play along, wearing a disarming smile.
The moment he was out of the man's sight, he would run to that monstrous old man and report this suspicious fellow.
'That's it, Hyeon-woo. Your brain is finally working again.'
Thinking this, Dang Hyeon-woo believed he would soon be able to slip away naturally, just as he always had.
But the man standing before him wasn't some foolish Orthodox warrior who could be blinded by a little flattery.
He was a cunning old serpent, a survivor who had weathered every storm imaginable during his eighteen years on the streets and decades in the Green Forest.
"Hold on. This is why you kids are so… If you're going to wear your intentions on your face, you shouldn't harbor dark thoughts."
'He found out! But how did he know?'
*Squeeze.*
Dang Hyeon-woo squeezed his eyes shut and flinched as Maeng Ak slowly approached.
"What's this? Playing the victim now? Hey, kid. I can't sense any demonic energy from you… you were lured into the Demonic Cult, weren't you? I'll grant you what you desire, so ditch the cult and join me instead."
Maeng Ak recalled information about the Demonic Cult he had read in old books in his past life.
They occasionally lured young martial artists to raise them as spies against the Orthodox Faction.
And the kid in front of him fit the bill perfectly.
Knowing that it would be difficult for either of them to trust the other, he chose to offer a practical deal.
Of course, threatening him again wasn't a bad option, but he had a different idea.
'It's better to win over a kid with a story like his. Beating him until he breaks would just be a headache.'
"Are your ears clogged? This body may look like this now, but…"
In truth, Maeng Ak's current appearance wasn't particularly impressive or trustworthy.
His torn martial arts uniform was proof enough of that. Perhaps because of it, Dang Hyeon-woo seemed to be hesitating.
Just as he was about to prove himself through action once more, Dang Hyeon-woo asked a question, his expression suddenly serious, unlike before.
"Can you destroy one of the Five Great Clans or the Nine Sects, One Union?"
'Hoh. His story runs deeper than I thought. His eyes are filled with a thirst for revenge.
…He reminds me of that Namgung U fellow. Interesting.'
The question reminded him of his right-hand man and Vice-Fortress Lord from his past life, Namgung U.
It was more than enough to pique Maeng Ak's interest.
Namgung U. He too was an illegitimate son, cast out by his family and left to drift into the Green Forest.
He despised discrimination based on birthright more than anyone and had eyes filled with venom. Just like the kid before him now.
Maeng Ak knew better than anyone the pain of being scorned for one's origins.
It was a kind of kinship he could easily recognize.
He had seen it in Namgung U's eyes in his past life, and he saw it now in Dang Hyeon-woo's.
"Hmph! You ask for a lot in return for a simple errand."
Dang Hyeon-woo took Maeng Ak's words as a refusal.
It was an expected reaction, and he had only asked without any real hope.
How could a mere student possibly fulfill his dream?
But the man before him was not someone he could so easily judge.
Just as Dang Hyeon-woo was about to say something else, Maeng Ak continued.
"Even if you hadn't asked, those Orthodox bastards are destined to fall by my hand.
But I get the feeling that's not what you truly want.
Instead, I will teach you martial arts."
Maeng Ak's confident declaration of such an outrageous claim.
Dang Hyeon-woo was surprised by the unexpected response, but he dismissed it as the empty bravado of an arrogant man.
Sensing Dang Hyeon-woo's disbelief, Maeng Ak decided to demonstrate a technique.
*Shwoooong.*
Without any preparatory stance, he simply clenched his fist. A strange energy, seemingly a mixture of demonic and malevolent qi, rose from his entire body.
The energy then flowed backward along his slowly drawn-back elbow before erupting forward with a sudden punch.
*Kwagagagagang!!*
Though no such sound was actually made, it was as if a deafening roar echoed in Dang Hyeon-woo's ears.
He had seen and felt the technique from right in front of him.
If the man hadn't withdrawn his full power at the last moment, the infirmary behind him would not have survived intact.
Even to an unskilled novice like himself, it was a technique that could only be described as a divine art.
Maeng Ak, who he had thought was just another student, maybe a year or two older, now seemed as immense as a great mountain.
Dang Hyeon-woo couldn't help but shout.
"I'll go prepare it right away!"
* * *
*Flip.*
"Hmm. So this is how it is."
Maeng Ak quickly skimmed through the documents Dang Hyeon-woo had brought: information on his new body, a diagram of the cult's power structure, and details about the Divine Hall of the Latent Demon.
Before him sat Dang Hyeon-woo, who had long since erased the Demonic Doctor from his mind.
He sat with a posture so straight it was as if he'd been ordered to, his eyes sparkling as he awaited the words of Maeng Ak. No, his master.
The Demonic Doctor had only bossed him around for six months without teaching him a single technique, whereas Maeng Ak had shown him what could only be called a divine art from their very first meeting. It was no wonder he reacted this way.
'This kid. He's the spitting image of Namgung U. This time it's the Tang Clan, not Namgung… well, this should be interesting too.'
The sight of Dang Hyeon-woo reminded Maeng Ak of his right-hand man from his past life, and he began to speak.
"You said your name is Dang Hyeon-woo?"
"Yes, sir!"
It was a crisp answer, sharp with discipline, yet not so thoughtless as to be a shout.
His demeanor was so good it made Maeng Ak think that winning him over had been the right choice.
"I will use this information you've given me to take control of the Demonic Cult.
That will make it easier to strike at the Orthodox bastards. First, I will re-enter the Divine Hall of the Latent Demon and become the Young Cult Leader."
*Gulp.*
To any third party, his words would have sounded absurdly delusional.
On the surface, Maeng Ak was a student who had been carried into the infirmary on the first day, gravely injured.
And now he was claiming he would re-enter the Divine Hall and take the position of Young Cult Leader. It was utter nonsense.
However, Dang Hyeon-woo had felt Maeng Ak's technique with his own skin. His words no longer sounded like empty boasts.
He had never felt such a thrill, not even from the head of the Tang Clan, the strongest warrior he had ever seen.
To him, Maeng Ak was now more than a master; he was a god. The one and only god who could help him achieve his dream.
As Dang Hyeon-woo listened intently, Maeng Ak continued.
"Therefore, you will build your foundation with the internal art I am about to teach you.
Since you work in the infirmary, it won't be difficult for you to have contact with me, a student. Once we've built more trust, I will teach you the forms and the rest."
"Your disciple, Dang Hyeon-woo, will obey your command, Master!"
As Dang Hyeon-woo answered boldly, Maeng Ak saw the flickering flames of vengeance in his eyes.
The words escaped his lips before he knew it.
"…The path of a warrior consumed by revenge does not end well. Do not lose yourself in it."
"Your disciple, Dang Hyeon-woo, will engrave your words in his heart, Master!"
Afterward, Dang Hyeon-woo returned to the infirmary as Maeng Ak had ordered.
Watching him go, Maeng Ak mulled over the words he had spoken unwittingly.
'The path of a warrior consumed by revenge does not end well, huh… Was I speaking to myself?'
*Brush.*
He didn't dwell on the thought for long. His goal was set, and there was a mountain of work to be done.
Maeng Ak brushed the dust from his pants, shaking off his idle thoughts as he rose to his feet.
He looked in the direction of the student records office that Dang Hyeon-woo had told him about and said.
"Hoo. Shall we start by laundering my identity?
The original owner of this body was an orphan… I hope this doesn't take too long."