Chapter 38: I Will Regard You as My Lifesaver

“What are you doing here, you brat?”

I felt my strength drain away.

I, who had almost fallen into a state of qi deviation, used the snot-sized primal energy I had barely gathered to move my tongue.

“What’s the matter, old man?”

The Eccentric Immortal got angry at my retort.

“I asked you first, you brat. What the hell is this? Is there dragon shit buried in there? Get up quickly, won’t you?”

Even though I didn’t move a muscle, I felt the Eccentric Immortal, who had been panting, sit down with a thud, contrary to my expectation that he would pour out curses.

“I see you’re also exhausted and lying there like that. I’m about to die because of you. I flew nonstop for a whole day. A whopping four thousand li, you brat. If my lungs are torn, it’s all your fault.”

I guessed the whole story. The one who had sent the Eccentric Immortal here must have been Jin So-wol. The Eccentric Immortal, while groaning, poured out a long-winded speech.

“That child was so worried that I came out just in case, and to think you really came this far. Are you in your right mind, you brat? Do you think the Iron Demon School is the same as Inwoodang? It’s a good thing I arrived just in time, but what would you have done if I hadn’t? You would have surely been beaten to a pulp by those ignorant people who think a person’s body is made of iron.

Even if you had somehow managed to save your life, what were you going to do about the Orthodox Alliance’s summons? Don’t you know that you’ll be branded a public enemy if you don’t appear at the Hall of Law Enforcement by the hour of the monkey tomorrow? Do you think those pedantic people will take your circumstances into consideration? Why are you so thoughtless? It’s none of my business if you die while running around like a hungry wild boar, but why do you make me, who has done nothing wrong, suffer so much? Answer me quickly, won’t you?”

Although I wanted to ask back exactly what question he wanted me to answer, since I was not in a position to open my mouth, I remained silent.

“By the way, if you’re going to lie down, shouldn’t you do it on the mountain or at least in the grassy field? What’s with leaving your legs all out? What are you going to do if the iron lumps of the Iron Demon School pass by? Don’t tell me you did it on purpose? Pretending to be a madman to induce carelessness and then…”

Although the paralysis had not yet worn off, since the sensation in my tongue had returned, I spat out the words that had been stuck in my throat.

“Let’s go quickly, old man. The demonic people might come in droves.”

Thud. A strange sound was heard. The Eccentric Immortal must have jumped up.

“What? What do you mean, you brat?”

“I’ve already had a go at the iron lumps. I’ve chased away the ones who were chasing me, but…”

“Why are you telling me that now, you brat? Let’s go quickly.”

Swoosh. It was the sound of the Eccentric Immortal moving away. Swoosh again. It was the sound of the Eccentric Immortal returning to me.

“What are you doing, you brat? Get up quickly, won’t you?”

“What’s wrong? You know everything.”

“What do I know?”

“If I could move, would I be like this?”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I’ll be in your debt.”

“You rotten brat…”

Grind. It was the sound of the Eccentric Immortal grinding his teeth.

While pouring out curses, the Eccentric Immortal pulled me out of the grassy field. Then, he carried me on his small shoulder and used his lightness skill toward the Goryun Mountains. Since I was much bigger than him, my forehead and the tips of my feet hit the ground every time he landed. I shouted.

“Ah, come on! Carry me in your arms and run.”

“Shut up, you brat. If you don’t like it, run on your own feet.”

“Damn it, we’ll see.”

“What do you mean, we’ll see, you brat? If you keep grumbling, I might just leave you behind.”

I shut my mouth. It wasn’t because I was worried that the Iron Demon would come back with his subordinates. Although the possibility was not entirely absent, it would be at most one penny’s worth.

The reason I had yielded was because of the need to please the Eccentric Immortal.

Although my movement technique consumed little internal energy, I was not in a state to use my lightness skill even if my primal energy recovered. The short, fierce battle with the Iron Demon had left not only internal injuries, but also unexpected injuries. Not only both my arms, but also, strangely, the bone of my left leg had a problem. Although it was not a fracture, it would surely break if even a little shock was applied.

The road to Wonjung, where the Orthodox Alliance was located, was a long journey of three thousand li. If I pushed myself, it was not impossible to get there in time, but it would be troublesome if something went wrong. In a severe case, I might suffer permanent damage to my knee.

So, for now, I was in a position where I had no choice but to rely on the Eccentric Immortal’s help. It would be awkward if he was mischievous.

The Eccentric Immortal, who was running frantically, not knowing my situation, entered the mountain and, before he could even reach the middle, threw me down roughly as if I were a useless piece of luggage.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re asking because you don’t know, you brat? Look there. Let alone the iron lumps, there isn’t even a speck of iron dust, is there?”

I turned my head while lying down and looked down at the field. The field, which was bathed in the late autumn sunlight, was draped in a yellow hue, as if a huge cowhide had been spread out.

“The story about having a go at them, it was a red lie, wasn’t it, you brat?”

“Damn it, what do you take me for? I was fighting a life-and-death struggle with the Iron Demon until a quarter of an hour before you came, old man. Weren’t you perhaps watching from the mountain and then came down after the situation was over?”

“Look at this brat. Where are you spouting such nonsense? But did you really fight with the Iron Demon?”

“Ah, I told you so. That’s why my body is paralyzed, isn’t it?”

“You must have won, right? Well, that’s why that guy left you alone and went back to his den. By the way, why did he chase you alone? There must have been many useful guys in his den.”

I knew that the Eccentric Immortal, just like Jin So-wol, did not properly know the Iron Demon’s true martial power. I was about to explain about the Iron Demon, but I brought up the question that was on my mind first.

“Why are you so afraid of them?”

The Eccentric Immortal flinched. It meant I had hit the mark. The Eccentric Immortal’s behavior of fleeing in a hurry at the words that the demonic people were chasing was hard to understand. With his martial power, there was no reason to be so afraid.

“What nonsense are you talking about, you brat? Who’s afraid of whom?”

“Don’t play dumb and tell me honestly, old man. Have you ever fought with the Iron Demon and lost?”

The Eccentric Immortal, who I had expected to deny it, hesitated. “I understand you, old man. I also almost died. He was really a monster.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, you brat. That never happened. But are you saying he was stronger than you? That can’t be.”

“Then why did you run away frantically like a rat with its tail on fire?”

“The Iron Demon’s martial prowess is known to be the lowest among the Eight Demons. If it were the Blood Demon or the Saber Demon, I might not know, but that iron lump shouldn’t be your opponent, right?”

We, who had been talking about our own things, shut our mouths and glared at each other. I, who was more generous and polite than the Eccentric Immortal, yielded.

“I also knew that. But it wasn’t like that at all. If that monster hadn’t been careless at the beginning, I wouldn’t have survived. I can say with certainty that the Iron Demon was one step above you or me, old man. If we had fought a formal duel, it was a difference where I couldn’t have avoided a certain defeat. The reason I survived was thanks to my innate talent for exerting my strength in a real battle and some luck.”

The Eccentric Immortal’s complexion darkened. Now it was his turn to answer my question, but I did not rush him and waited. It was because the Eccentric Immortal was showing a more serious expression than ever before.

Just as my patience was about to run out, the Eccentric Immortal opened his mouth.

“I cannot fight with the demonic people.”

“Why?”

“Because they are my natural enemies.”

“…?”

“This is a secret, so you keep it to yourself and don’t tell anyone else. Originally, it was the opposite. In the early days of the martial world, the martial immortals were known as the grim reapers to the demonic people. They would throw them into the King of Hell’s hall as soon as they were caught. But as time passed, the tide turned. It was from the time when the Demonic Lord, who had reached the ‘super-demonic realm,’ appeared eight hundred and fifty years ago. By current standards, he was at most at the middle level of the supreme realm, but at that time, he was known as an absolute master of the heavens beyond the heavens. The martial immortals were helpless against the Demonic Lord, who could use firm energy at will.

The martial immortals eventually could not overcome the Demonic Lord. Not only the Demonic Lord, but they also began to avoid his small fries. And over hundreds of years, it became a kind of tradition. Then, from one day, the martial immortals realized that they couldn’t even hold their own against the demonic people who were far below the Demonic Lord’s level. When they encountered a certain level of demonic energy, their immortal power would shrink.

It’s not my boast, but I am considered the strongest among the martial immortals who have appeared in the last thousand years. But I can’t even stand up to a demonic person with the martial power of the upper level of the master realm. It’s a fact I confirmed by infiltrating the territory of the demonic alliance and checking on the demonic people of the Iron Demon School before I came out to the martial world. Even though I was just exploring from a distance, my limbs trembled on their own and I felt a chill. Then I was discovered and almost went to my grave. If the ones who had chased me had been of the supreme demonic leader level, I would have been in trouble that day.”

“…!”

I finally understood the part of the Eccentric Immortal’s actions that I hadn’t been able to understand.

The Eccentric Immortal, who was true to his nicknames of ‘the martial world’s number one meddler’ and ‘the world’s number one wanderer,’ would go in and out of not only the neutral zone and the Orthodox Alliance, but also the territory of the Unorthodox Faction as if it were his own living room, meddling in all sorts of things and causing all kinds of commotion. But strangely, he never even went near the border of the demonic alliance. There were various rumors about this, but the speculation that he was afraid of breaking the prohibition was accepted as the established theory.

Although he had been involved in all sorts of trouble, the Eccentric Immortal was famous for never having killed anyone in his twenty-odd years of activity in the martial world. Although he had a fundamentally good nature, there was a considerable risk that he would break his principle of not killing if he met the demonic people, whose nature was evil. It must have been the best policy for the Eccentric Immortal to keep his distance so that such a situation would not occur at all. That was the general perception of the common people regarding that matter.

I did not mock the Eccentric Immortal as a ‘half-wit.’ On the contrary, I gave him a heartfelt thank you.

“Thank you, old man. To think you came all this way to save me despite your circumstances.”

Suddenly, the Eccentric Immortal got angry.

“Do you think I did it because I wanted to, you brat? As I said before, that beautiful child was so worried about you that I had no choice but to step in. Not only were my lungs torn while coming four thousand li, but my liver also shrank. It’s not because I’m a coward. No matter how much I try not to, it just happens, so I’m going crazy myself.”

I couldn’t help but ask the question I was curious about.

“Why didn’t you pass it on to the Mad Guest? At the very least, if you had come with him…”

“The time was too tight, so one of me and him had to carry out that child’s arrangement. I really wanted to take on that job, but since that illiterate doesn’t know the geography of Seyeon and this place, there was no way, was there? What a useless man.”

I did well not to say that he could have just confessed and switched missions.

“Anyway, thank you for mustering up your courage. I was saved thanks to you.”

Since he had arrived after the situation had ended, I had not received a life-saving grace from the Eccentric Immortal, but I decided to consider it as such. What was important was not the result, but the motive. The Eccentric Immortal must have flown to the Goryun Mountains with all his strength, despite his instinctive fear that made his liver shrink. Considering his lightness skill speed and the distance, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he had run without a single break.

“Hmph, that’s enough, you brat. Lie with a straight face.”

“It’s not a lie. From today, I will regard you as my lifesaver.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Well, if you insist, I won’t refuse.”

“But I think we need to hurry a little.”

“What? There isn’t even a shadow of the iron lumps at the end of that field.”

“I mean the Orthodox Alliance. There’s only one day left until the summons deadline, isn’t there? As you said, old man, I don’t think those pedantic people will take into consideration the circumstances of me being late because I was dealing with the evil demons of the evil and demonic factions.”

The Eccentric Immortal, who had understood my words, contorted his white eyebrows.

“So? Are you telling me to carry you, who are heavier than a bear, and go four thousand li? In one day?”

“Three thousand eight hundred li.”

“You brat!”

“Please, old man. Contrary to my appearance, my insides are a mess. My bones are also injured.”

“Then why did you do such a reckless thing? You not only suffered a loss, but you almost lost your capital, didn’t you? I mean your life.”

It was a wrong metaphor. Although I had bet my only life, in the end, it was a hugely profitable business for me. But I did not retort the Eccentric Immortal’s words and just grinned.

[End of Chapter]