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Episode 18
A chilling aura pervaded the dense forest.
“Just for today, I thought I might finally sleep peacefully in bed.”
Standing all alone in the midst of it, Baekseon let out a deep sigh.
No—perhaps on a day like this, being alone was better. After wiping his face dry, Baekseon recalled the conversation he had earlier with Tang Jinmyeong.
“Go to Tangmun Tomb.”
“Tangmun Tomb? You mean the Tang family’s burial ground?”
“Yes.”
Why he was being sent there, or what he was supposed to do, Jinmyeong did not explain.
All he did was—
“Why are you still here? Get lost!”
With eyes filled with disgust, he had only driven him out.
“Suspicious…” Baekseon muttered, straightening the long sleeve of his robe as he began walking slowly.
Jinmyeong never trusted Tang Baekseon. Maybe because unlike his other brothers, Baekseon had never achieved anything noteworthy—or perhaps there was some other reason.
“But to have seen him secretly meeting a man, and still send me off like this?”
Something stank.
A foul stench of foreboding.
Could it be he was sending him to his death? Just as that thought crossed his mind, Baekseon unconsciously stopped walking, brushing his lips.
“…Cheonrang.”
Though he had used Jinmyeong as an excuse to escape, the warmth and sensation he had felt earlier lingered stubbornly.
“Why… why did Cheonrang do that?”
Biting his lip, Baekseon clenched his fist.
He knew well that people’s hearts could never be predicted, nor controlled by mere will.
But—
“Why me?”
Cheonrang was supposed to like Song Jeokrim. That was the way the story was meant to go. Yet strangely enough, despite coming down from Mount Aenoe, Cheonrang had never appeared.
“Did things change from the moment I decided to mess with the original plot?”
Even if so, Baekseon couldn’t recall ever doing anything that would make Cheonrang fall for him. He hadn’t saved him in a grand way, nor brought him food. On the contrary—he had stolen Cheonrang’s blanket and burdened him constantly with his frailty.
More a nuisance than someone to admire.
“Unless… this face is his type?”
After all, Tang Baekseon was rather pretty.
Touching his own face absentmindedly, Baekseon let out a long sigh.
“Idiot. Why couldn’t you just push me away…”
The moment he recalled that kiss, the sensations crept back vividly. Those large hands pushing through his hair as if he were no child anymore, holding his head firmly so he couldn’t turn away, the thick thigh pressing between his legs—
And the wet, intrusive push between his parted lips—
“Argh, stop!”
Crying out loudly, Baekseon ruffled his own hair furiously and rushed forward.
And then—
The instant his foot landed on a certain spot, demonic energy surged, seizing his throat. The familiar yet repulsive sensation made his face stiffen as he raised his head.
Through the trees, he saw it.
A grand tomb carved with the Tang family’s crest, flaunting its imposing presence.
“That’s strange. This is supposed to be Tangmun Tomb…”
So why was there a demonic sect barrier spread all around it?
Exhaling slowly, Baekseon froze as a flood of memories surged.
“Aaaahhh!”
“To be part of the Black Killing Squad, you must endure! An assassin must master patience!”
“Stop… stop, stop it!”
“Heavenly Demon’s Return! All demons bow in reverence!”
“The Divine Sect is undefeatable! The Demonic Path shall rule the world!”
Insane voices pierced his ears.
Back when he had been in Manyugang’s body, he hadn’t known this—those frenzied chants of the cult worshipping the Heavenly Demon.
They murdered, sacrificed children, committed atrocities in unison with those chants.
A hideous nightmare.
Though Baekseon himself had never lived it, those countless memories clung to him endlessly during the time he had inhabited Manyugang’s body.
“Haa…”
He exhaled sharply, feeling the prick of needles in his finger joints. At the same time, murderous intent rose within him.
“I’ll kill them all…”
At some point—he couldn’t tell if the words had been his own, back then, or Manyugang’s.
But he had wished for it, again and again:
The downfall of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The annihilation of all demonic sects.
That had become his one true goal.
When at last it came true, he would have no regrets.
Taking a deep breath, Baekseon stepped forward with a dazed look, fingers toying with the hidden throwing blade inside his sleeve.
“Who goes there!”
A man shouted near the tomb’s entrance.
The instant Baekseon heard his voice—
“…Heavenly Demon.”
The word escaped like a breath as white light sparked at his fingertips. With a flick of his internal energy, his meridians twisted painfully—but he ignored the blood rising in his mouth, eyes locked only on the man.
“Gah!”
The blade left Baekseon’s fingers and struck the man’s forehead dead on.
Expressionless, Baekseon walked past the collapsed corpse, fingering his weapon.
How should he kill them?
Surely more cultists lurked inside. If he rushed in, he could probably cut down five in one strike. If his dantian held, he could muster strength to slay five more.
‘If I do that…’
Unaware that his lips had curled upward, Baekseon took another step—
When suddenly—
“Well, well.”
A large hand covered his eyes, cold as ice, stroking gently across his cheek.
“Strange… you only entered my body after I left the cult.”
“…”
“Still, even when you used my body, you always grew furious at the sight of them.”
That soft, familiar voice.
It was Manyugang’s.
As Baekseon halted his wild advance, the hand fell away, tapping his chest lightly.
“Calm yourself, younger brother. I’m not saying you shouldn’t feel anger. But if you rush into that tomb in that fragile body, your disciple will grieve.”
At the word disciple, the crimson haze before his eyes instantly cleared.
“…Cheonrang.”
Baekseon whispered, breath hitching. Above his head came a soft chuckle.
“…Manyugang?”
“Yes, your elder brother has arrived.”
The shameless words made Baekseon’s brow twitch.
“Who’s your brother?!”
“What do you mean, who? We shared the same body for years. Can’t you at least call me brother?”
The friendly tone made Baekseon narrow his eyes.
The first time they met, he had been overwhelmed, unable even to speak properly. But strangely enough, today, facing him brought no suffocating dread.
“…Are you truly my elder?”
“Are you asking about age?”
Baekseon nodded, and Manyugang laughed aloud.
Truthfully, it was something he had always wondered. Inhabiting Manyugang’s body gave him access to memories and knowledge, but never his age.
Even after ten years, Manyugang’s face had never aged a day—like some timeless martial master.
“Honestly, I haven’t kept count for so long, I don’t remember my exact age.”
“…What?”
“And still you won’t call me elder brother?”
That sounded less like an elder and more like an old man’s union.
Baekseon swallowed the thought, while Manyugang smiled gently.
“Feeling calmer now?”
“…What?”
“Your face was tense. You looked nervous. If you’ve relaxed, that’s good.”
Taking a step back, he continued—
“When Tang Jinmyeong mentioned Tangmun Tomb, I came here first to scout inside.”
“You’ve already been inside?”
“Yes. And as expected, it has become a den of the demonic sect. I captured one and searched his mind. It seems the Tang family’s patriarch made a pact with them.”
A pact?
Baekseon frowned deeply.
“…For what purpose?”
“Who knows.”
Manyugang simply smiled, pointing toward the tomb entrance.
“Let’s go inside and find out.
