Chapter: 914
Since ancient times, when an agreement cannot be reached, it is considered a threat.
If threats don’t work, throwing a tantrum like that is the best course of action.
In that respect, that old man had something far more overwhelming than I did.
What this implies is:
“I really haven’t grown up yet.”
This also meant that even at that age, he was still immature.
Bang—!
“Ugh!”
I grabbed the back of my head.
“Why are you hitting me all of a sudden?!”
“You had that look of someone cursing inwardly.”
“When did I do that?”
Damn it.
Should I wear a mask or something? How the hell did he know?
Hmph.
Shin Noya shook off the hand that hit him and spoke to the turtle again.
“So please do it quickly.”
“Honestly, you are exceptionally shameless…”
The turtle sighed again and aimed his staff in my direction.
“The duration is three days, based on the standard of the full moon.”
“Excuse me?”
“Also, be careful. It might come undone if you move too vigorously.”
“What are you talking about right now…?”
Suddenly, what is he saying? Just as I was about to ask in confusion, Paaaak—!!!
Light burst forth from the tip of the staff just like before.
The only difference is that last time, it was blasted into the air.
This time, it was directed right at me!
“Ugh!?”
My eyes reflexively shut against the bright light.
Is this an attack? Should I counterattack? For a moment, I contemplated, but the light gradually faded away.
When I no longer felt the brightness, I slowly opened my eyes.
“Alright, that works.”
The turtle nodded as it looked at me. Next to him, Shin Noya was covering his mouth for some reason, his shoulders shaking.
It looked like he was trying hard to hold back laughter.
What the heck? What’s with that old man?
I was dumbfounded, unable to comprehend, when the turtle pointed behind me with his staff.
“That side won’t work at all, so this was the best option.”
Seeing that, my eyes moved on their own.
The location was where Cheonma was.
“Huh?”
I turned around to face Cheonma behind me.
“What.”
Cheonma looked strange.
Overall, she appeared the same, but… something was visible beneath her legs.
What is that?
No way…
“A tail…?”
Something fluffy and furry was attached to Cheonma.
That was definitely a tail.
Cheonma seemed to have noticed something was off with her body as she turned to look back at her own tail.
It wasn’t just a simple wag either.
Testing if it could move at will, Cheonma gently waved her tail.
“…Hey you.”
Why did you suddenly grow a tail?
“Huh?”
Without thinking, I also hurriedly glanced back at my own backside.
It wasn’t just Cheonma who was in a tail situation.
“Wha—crazy.”
There was something similar hanging from my butt!
A tail with deep blue fur.
As I tried to move it with force, my tail began to sway as if responding to my will.
…What is this?
In this absurd situation, I nearly lost my words.
“Ugh… Huh….”
I could hear Shin Noya’s laughter.
“That face, with a tail and ears…”
It must have been so funny that Noya turned red and barely managed to contain his laughter.
“…Noya. What is happening here?”
Just as I was about to question him, I suddenly remembered.
“Wait a sec….”
What did he just say about the tail?
“Ears?”
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead.
With trembling hands, I reached up to touch my head. At that moment—
Soft.
“…”
I felt a touch on my head that absolutely shouldn’t be there.
Soft. Soft.
“…”
Soft, soft, soft, soft.
“What the hell…?”
Why do I feel this?
I glanced back at Cheonma, but there was nothing on her head.
“Noya…?”
Confirming that, I urgently checked on Shin Noya.
Noya was still busy suppressing laughter. Yet, calming down a little, he looked at me and said,
“Phew… Turtle… Hmph! You heard what I said, but…”
“Just pick one—laugh or talk.”
“They said the duration is three days, so just come back by then. They mentioned it would come off if you moved too much, so try not to cause any accidents.”
“…”
When I told him to do one or the other, he stopped laughing like a ghost.
From the looks of it, he was probably just pretending to laugh to mess with me.
…Is he really a madman?
“What is this?”
What’s the deal with that soft sensation and the tail?
“It’s dangerous to just be wandering around, so I had to set this up. You should be grateful that I did this much to avoid any trouble.”
“What…? What the hell does that mean, suddenly telling me to wander around?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to know how to get back?”
“Excuse me?”
I momentarily closed my mouth at his words.
A way to return to the Central Plains. That’s something I definitely wanted to find.
“Also. I have plenty to tell you, said rookie. But I’m a bit busy right now. It would be quicker if you went and saw for yourself. Just go take a look.”
“What does that even mean…?”
“I’ve already arranged for someone to guide you. Have a nice trip, Turtle.”
“Oh my. What a fate I have.”
At Noya’s words, the turtle raised his staff again.
When I saw that, an uneasy feeling washed over me, and I shouted urgently.
“Wait, hold on! Explain things properly—!”
But—
Hwaaaak—!!
Before I could finish my sentence, there was a flash of light.
When I finally regained my sight, I found myself—
“…I asked you to do it, you damn old man.”
I had been flung back to the world I first arrived at just a few days ago.
And so, Gu Yang-cheon and the woman disappeared.
By the time only Shincheol and the turtle were left, the turtle leaned on his staff, looking at Shincheol.
“I did what you wanted, but is it really alright?”
There was an inexplicable look of distress on the turtle’s face.
Upon hearing that, Shincheol chuckled softly, looking at the turtle.
“What isn’t alright?”
“They gave me a mask, but that doesn’t mean it’s truly all-powerful. Especially…”
The turtle whispered quietly to Shincheol, “If it’s just the owner’s eyes outside, there is no need to say anything.”
Shincheol burst into laughter at the turtle’s words.
“You’re sounding weak for someone who claimed to have touched the heavens regarding sorcery. Wasn’t it you who said three days should be fine?”
“I say this each time. It’s a long story.”
The turtle spoke in a quiet voice.
“It’s one thing to say you’ve reached the heavens. What truly resides in the heavens operates on a different trajectory. Especially here.”
What you have touched and what it inherently is, are two entirely different things.
There was worry inherent in the turtle’s voice. Shincheol could not have failed to understand this.
That’s why Shincheol found the turtle’s concern even more amusing.
“Just now, you showed all that displeasure, yet now that I’m sending you away, you’re worried?”
He had just treated Gu Yang-cheon as a monster and now, after sending him off, the turtle’s demeanor seemed strange.
“Worried? It’s only natural to worry.”
The turtle calmly acknowledged Shincheol’s words.
Seeing that, Shincheol reacted in surprise.
He never expected the turtle to acknowledge it so easily.
“Jang Moon-in, you have no idea what binds that child you brought.”
“Hm?”
Shincheol tilted his head upon hearing the turtle’s words.
“I can merely label it a curse, but that word is a frame too narrow and weak to contain it.”
“Are you making things difficult again? Is it only when your store is collapsing that you speak easily?”
“It’s just one thread. Just one thread.”
One thread. The turtle emphasized those words.
“If that one thread, which is holding on by a thread, collapses…”
It can’t be helped.
The turtle had the ability to see the invisible. In his vision:
“A disaster will be born.”
Because Gu Yang-cheon really seemed like a monster.
As if to prove this,
What he was worried about wasn’t Gu Yang-cheon, but perhaps, rather, Mankye itself.
“Damn it.”
I covered my forehead and spat out a curse.
Why does it feel like I come here and never stop cursing?
“Oh, crap…”
I spat it out again.
I can’t feel better unless I do this. Of course, spitting this out isn’t going to solve anything either.
It’s merely a lament in response to my frustration.
“…What the hell…”
Just as I was about to express my frustration again.
“What the hell?”
“…”
I paused upon hearing those words. I hadn’t spoken.
That was Cheonma’s voice.
“What the hell is that?”
She asked me, her expression as indifferent as usual.
I never imagined she would ask this.
“What the hell?”
Cheonma was mimicking the words, tilting her head in confusion.
I couldn’t help but say to her, without thinking.
“…Don’t repeat after me.”
“Why?”
“If I say don’t, then don’t!”
“Alright.”
Cheonma nodded her head.
“Hah… Damn…”
With a sigh, I fought back the urge to curse again as I glanced at Cheonma.
Fortunately, she was just staring at me quietly and didn’t repeat after me.
Honestly, I didn’t care whether she followed my words or not; I just stopped.
Not that I was particularly averse to someone swearing, mind you.
Never.
Then, I checked the bizarre scene again and frowned.
“That damn old man.”
Couldn’t he at least give me some explanation before throwing me out?
What kind of absurdity is this, just sending me off without a word?
Even.
“What the hell is this?”
I almost let out another curse as I felt my ears and tail.
Everything else was alright, but this was the issue.
Soft…
I touched the protruding ear. It had a surprisingly pleasant feel to it, oddly comforting.
“Crazy.”
Suddenly, ears and a tail appeared where there were none before.
This felt even more absurd than getting kicked out.
“Hey.”
The horse that had been quietly watching me spoke up.
What?
“Can I touch it?”
“Get lost.”
I answered immediately.
“Can’t I?”
“Seriously, what makes you think that would work?”
“…Alright.”
Cheonma stepped back with a hint of regret. Her eyes displayed a considerable amount of disappointment.
This is absurd.
Crack.
I kept grinding my teeth. Why am I suddenly in this situation?
“What do you want me to do?”
Why did he abruptly send me out like this?
‘What did he say again? He said he was busy and didn’t have time to explain, so I should go see for myself?’
He definitely said that.
I questioned if that was truly the case, but since it actually happened, I attempted to comprehend it.
If I do, what the hell am I supposed to see?
Questions began to spring up.
“Is it impossible to go back in?”
I gazed up into the air.
Couldn’t I try finding something odd and drill my way in like last time?
Concentrating, I stared at it, but—
‘…Can’t see anything?’
Nothing felt present.
Even when I used my inner sight, it didn’t work. Last time, I was able to see, but not now. What’s happening?
‘Did the turtle do something?’
The crimson light that had spread from the tip of the staff.
Did he do something with it? If not, there was little else that I could think of.
‘What on earth is that old man?’
Am I right to call him an old man? The being that Noya referred to as a turtle.
What on earth is he?
What the heck… What’s going on with the use of magic like that?
It was a fascinating power.
The thought of it alone stirred a desire to see it again.
‘Can I do it?’
The countless flowers and feasts that unfolded at that time.
Just seeing them made my head ache with complexity, yet the massive information engraved within oddly piqued my curiosity.
‘How did it come to be?’
I contemplated the order and arrangement.
The ones that Zhuge Liang used looked basic but had many stems; this is different.
‘There were simply too many rules.’
Too many, and too complex. It wasn’t just made of a single thing.
Is that why there were so many colors?
With that in mind, I began to fidget with my hands.
Replaying the unfolding process step-by-step as if I were retracing it mentally.
Woof-!
The ring within my heart moved slightly.
Energy began to sprout like threads from the tips of my fingers.
I was stacking it up.
Slowly, the energy took shape.
I think it was something like this?
At that moment, while I was trying to solidify the shape more clearly,
“…Excuse me.”
“…!”
The voice from behind snatched my focus, causing the energy to dissipate.
I turned around quickly.
Hence, I missed it.
The fleeting moment when the dissipating energy shone like a rainbow.
“Startled me… What’s going on with you?”
I squinted at the figure that had suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
“Why are you here?”
“…”
The one speaking to me was Gu Bong, with dark bruises on his face.
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