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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Possession (2)
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'First, let's assess the situation.'
As he kept moving, Jinmyeong soon found a place to hide.
There was a crack in a giant, old tree, just large enough for one person to squeeze into.
Jinmyeong crawled into the narrow space and curled up as small as he could.
'First of all, this seems to be more of a wuxia world than a fantasy one.'
The clothes Jinmyeong was wearing, and the sword he was holding, looked more like something out of a martial arts story than a longsword from a fantasy world.
'And the names aren't very fantasy-like either.'
The names he had recalled.
It was a stretch to call any of them fantasy names.
'The deciding factor is the memories that suddenly surfaced.'
Of course, there weren't a great number of them.
But he could at least grasp the most basic information.
This place was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, commonly known as the Demonic Cult.
'A disciple of the Heavenly Demon.'
He also remembered that he, Jinmyeong, was the youngest disciple of the cult's leader, the Heavenly Demon.
And the five people he had remembered were his senior brothers—the Heavenly Demon's other disciples.
'But there are no good memories.'
He remembered almost nothing about the Heavenly Demon.
Even his face was just a blurry image.
On the other hand, some things came to him with perfect clarity.
'Eyes that despised me.'
He couldn't clearly remember the Heavenly Demon, but he vividly remembered the contemptuous way his five disciples looked at him.
'I'm sure I've heard these names somewhere.'
While keeping his ears peeled for anyone approaching, Jinmyeong silently repeated the names of the five disciples.
It wasn't just because the original memories of this body were trickling in.
Even with those memories, he still felt more awkwardness than familiarity with this world.
'Where was it?'
It was the kind of familiarity one might feel from hearing names like Heavenly Demon Divine Cult or Heavenly Demon in a novel.
'A novel?'
The moment he thought of the word 'novel,' something began to surface in Jinmyeong's mind.
'Not all the names are familiar.'
But he clearly remembered the Heavenly Demon's first disciple, Mok Jagyeong, and his fifth disciple, Biyoung.
'The last novel I read.'
It was just a typical web novel.
It wasn't particularly exceptional, nor was it wildly popular.
It was the kind of novel he had turned to out of necessity after having read all the popular ones.
'The characters from that place.'
Mok Jagyeong was currently a disciple, but in the novel, he had already ascended to the position of Cult Leader.
And the fifth disciple, Biyoung, became entangled with the protagonist, eventually joining hands with him, only to be killed by Mok Jagyeong.
'Am I really in that novel?'
Even so, Jinmyeong couldn't be certain this was the world of that novel.
Because a character named Jinmyeong had never appeared in it.
'If he had appeared, there's no way I wouldn't know.'
If a character with the same name as him had appeared, he would have remembered, even if it were a mere extra.
Furthermore, since the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult only appeared late in the novel, the other disciples, aside from Mok Jagyeong and Biyoung, were never introduced.
'If this is that novel… this is not good.'
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult did appear in the novel, but it wasn't where the protagonist belonged, only making a brief appearance in the latter half.
On top of that, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was the very place that was destroyed by the protagonist.
'Then what should I do?'
As Jinmyeong pondered his next move, he abruptly held his breath.
Rustle!
It was the sound of footsteps on fallen leaves.
'Someone's coming.'
With a tense expression, Jinmyeong reached for the sword he had placed beside him.
He was ready to draw it and attack at any moment.
"Hmm. The trail ends around here."
"Hmph."
"To think Young Master Jin was skilled enough to kill him, I must admit, I'm surprised."
The conversation reached Jinmyeong's ears.
"He is still the Cult Leader's disciple, in name at least. Even with a body forsaken by the heavens, he must have had a trick or two."
"It's probably just because that guy was weak. He was nothing but a greedy fool."
The voice was nonchalant, but for some reason, a chill ran down Jinmyeong's spine.
'How many are there?'
There were only two voices, but he couldn't be sure of the exact number of people.
He couldn't determine their precise number from the footsteps alone.
Nor could Jinmyeong sense their presence.
'Please, just go away.'
It had been difficult enough to kill one person.
But from their conversation, the two men outside seemed stronger than the masked man he had killed.
Jinmyeong was certain he wouldn't be able to handle two of them and would surely die.
"Hm? What's that…"
At that moment, a voice sounded very close.
Thud! Thud!
The sound of footsteps approaching his location reached Jinmyeong's ears.
The footsteps sounded incredibly loud, but it felt as though the pounding of his own heart was even louder.
'Surely they can't hear it, right?'
He was trying his best to hold his breath, but his heart was pounding so hard he thought it might be audible outside.
'Ugh!'
Ready to draw his sword at a moment's notice, Jinmyeong stared fixedly ahead.
"Hmm. Not here, I guess?"
The voice came from right beside the tree where he was hiding.
'That hole?'
Before entering the tree, he had seen a small cave right next to it.
The entrance was so narrow that even he would have had trouble getting in.
Besides, the inside didn't seem very spacious, so he had given up on it and come here instead.
'I'm glad I chose this spot.'
He felt a sense of relief for some reason. But looking at the poorly covered entrance, he tried not to let his guard down.
'It may be crude, but did they really not find it?'
Remembering how soldiers used leaves for camouflage, he had blocked the entrance in a similar fashion.
It seemed to have been a crucial decision.
"Hehe. Just when you think you're safe because I looked away! Right here!"
But suddenly, that voice spoke up right in front of the entrance.
Hearing the voice laced with laughter, Jinmyeong realized the man had been toying with him.
"The trail ended here, and it's so poorly hidden. Did you really think I wouldn't notice, Young Master?"
A hand suddenly shot through the crudely camouflaged opening.
With a rustling sound, the hand began to clear away the branches and leaves covering the entrance.
'I have to kill him!'
Thinking instinctively, Jinmyeong began to slowly draw his sword.
'If I can kill this one with a surprise attack…'
He thought he might be able to handle the remaining one somehow.
Trying to draw his sword as quietly as possible, he stared ahead, ready to lunge with his blade at any moment.
'Now!'
Just as Jinmyeong was about to leap forward and thrust his sword.
"Hey!"
"Yes!"
With the sudden shout, the hand clearing the entrance froze.
"I already checked there. There's nothing."
"What? You've already checked?"
"Yes. So go check over there."
"But still…"
Despite the order, the owner of the hand did not readily withdraw it.
His voice was filled with reluctance.
"Are you disobeying my order?"
"That's not it, but…"
"If you find him, I'll give you all the credit."
"But with just that…"
It seemed that alone wasn't enough for him.
In other words, the owner of the hand was convinced that Jinmyeong was hiding here right now.
"If you must, I'll give you that Demonic Dragon Pill you were eyeing before."
"Hehe, in that case…"
The Demonic Dragon Pill was a legendary elixir that any practitioner of demonic arts would covet.
Only after hearing the promise of the pill did he withdraw his hand and slowly move away.
'What in the world just happened?'
The sudden turn of events left Jinmyeong with a bewildered expression.
It was only natural, as the one who gave the order had never checked this spot.
'I can't let my guard down yet.'
But Jinmyeong didn't relax.
The owner of the hand had certainly moved away, but for some reason, he felt that the one who gave the order would remain.
Thud! Thud!
And just as he predicted, the sound of footsteps approached.
Rustle!
"Hah!"
The entrance Jinmyeong had concealed was cleared in an instant, and at the same time, his eyes met the man's.
Jinmyeong instinctively gasped and thrust his sword forward.
"Tsk."
Despite the sudden ambush, the man quickly stepped back, dodging the attack.
"Hoo."
The man looked at Jinmyeong, who was crouched inside the tree, and let out a sigh.
But he didn't even draw his sword. It was as if he had no intention of attacking Jinmyeong.
"Are you wondering why I'm not killing you, Young Master?"
"You're not going to kill me?"
"That's right. I will not kill you."
The man took off his mask, revealing a face with sharp features.
Jinmyeong couldn't take his eyes off the long scar on the side of the man's face.
'Surely I didn't do that, did I?'
He wondered if the man held an immense grudge against him and intended to torment him as much as possible.
"I was indebted to your father, Young Master."
The man said, caressing the scar on his face.
"Thanks to him, I was able to escape with my life, with only this. So, I will pretend I didn't see you."
Thanks to a father whose face he didn't even know, Jinmyeong's life had been spared.
"But you won't be able to return to the cult. If you come back in your current state, you'll just be killed again."
The man stared intently at Jinmyeong.
"Leave the cult. If you can escape safely, you might be able to live."
The man was certain that Jinmyeong would not be able to escape the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
But he had no desire to kill him with his own hands.
"I will leave this place with my men, so you can start moving tomorrow morning. After that, you're on your own."
The man turned his body sharply.
"But if you return to the cult, then I will truly have to kill you with my own hands."
Feeling the killing intent emanating from the man, Jinmyeong swallowed hard and nodded.
Seeing this, the man's figure vanished in an instant.
'Did I survive?'
Jinmyeong slumped against the wall of the tree and let out a deep sigh.
'He's letting me live now, but it seemed like he thinks I'll die eventually.'
The man's eyes had said as much.
He was simply salving his conscience because of the debt he owed his father.
He hadn't provided any means for survival, yet he spoke as if he were doing a great favor, which didn't sit well with him.
'That's not what's important right now. I need to find a way to survive immediately.'
Jinmyeong began to recall the fortuitous opportunities the protagonist of the novel had obtained within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
'The protagonist's own martial arts were so good that he didn't use the ones he found in the Demonic Cult.'
In the novel, the protagonist acquired a tremendous amount of martial arts through fortuitous encounters, but he didn't utilize all of them.
Rather, the increase in his internal energy from the elixirs obtained through these opportunities was what helped the protagonist the most.
'The protagonist found two opportunities here.'
One was inside the cult's compound, but the other was outside.
'I can't go inside right now, so I have to find the one outside.'
Of course, the one inside the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was one of the greatest martial arts in the novel, alongside the protagonist's own.
But he couldn't afford to be greedy right now.
'The opportunity outside was also an outstanding martial art. It will be a great help to me.'
Jinmyeong began to desperately try to recall the location of the opportunity within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.