Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Two-Faced Bastard

The elders blanched, watching Woon-hwi’s sinister grin as he chewed what remained of Cheon Hajin.

‘Damn it all!’

‘That madman is at it again!’

‘This is exactly why we tried to remove him from the throne!’

It was the very same cursed smile!

A chill swept through them, and rage ignited in their chests while they stared at the wicked curve of Woon-hwi’s lips.

He was infamous throughout Jianghu with such titles as ‘The Two-Faced Bastard’, ‘Expert Troublemaker’, ‘King of Grudges’, and the list went on and on…

The rumors surrounding him were just as consistent.

“Whenever his sinister smile appears, a sect falls.”

“Never engage him in extended conversation. You’ll find yourself embroiled in disaster, your life ruined before you know it.”

The damn fool always played the victim, claiming he acted perfectly normal, but no one believed him.

If he were normal, how could anyone explain the endless calamities that plagued Jianghu?

Whenever that smile graced his face, a storm invariably followed.

They could only shake in fear before the impending disaster.

Tremble, tremble…

* * *

Boom! Kaboom!

The ghost pill detonated upon absorption.

Death ki was a force that a living being shouldn’t have been able to handle, but I was different.

Since I could control the dead, it was more like an elixir.

Treating the death ki as poison ki, I circulated the Poison Dragon Essence Art.

The death ki collided with the pre-existing inner energy of the Tang Clan Ki Cultivation Technique within my dantian and exploded.

I channeled the explosion toward my blocked pressure points.

Many of the pressure points opened up, and stagnant impurities dissolved, surging through my meridians.

My body turned blue. I looked like I was in a horrifying, toxic state.

In addition, the pain was so excruciating that it was hard to describe with words.

Still, I laughed. For me, it was pure ecstasy.

「He’s laughing even in his state…!」

「Junior Heavenly Demon, you truly are—」

“Silence. I trust you all understand what you need to do.”

If they didn’t want to become another morsel like Cheon Hajin, they would tell me everything about the mastermind.

A few of the more cowardly elders finally lowered their heads and stepped forward.

「They—」

「I’ll confess! I’ll tell you everything! So please stop this inhuman behavior!」

「Traitors! You think you’ll escape unharmed— Gah!」

“What nonsense are you spouting, jackass?” I yanked on the chains of those who resisted, shattering their heads.

With the interruptions dealt with, information flowed freely.

Had they been living humans, oaths or brainwashing would have hindered their confessions, but the dead were free from such constraints.

It was a tactic I had often used as ‘Yeon Woon-hwi’.

I was confident I’d learn much about the mastermind that time as well.

……

……

After a round of confessions…

“Ha!” I let out a hollow, disbelieving laugh. “So all you know is that they call themselves ‘Society’?”

It was utterly preposterous.

Society? Was that some kind of joke?

「It… It’s the truth!」

「Believe us, Junior Lord!」

「They firmly refused to reveal anything about themselves!」

“You became loyal dogs for some shadowy group that won’t even show their faces, even risking your lives to poison the Heavenly Demon on their orders? You don’t honestly expect me to believe that, do you?”

I abandoned all pretense of respect. If they wanted to be treated like elders, they needed to act like they deserved it.

The Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon was a religion, an evil cult that worshipped its lord, the Heavenly Demon, as god incarnate.

The Heavenly Demon’s words were divine decree—their decisions were absolute, the will of ‘god’.

Death for the cult was considered martyrdom, and war was a holy crusade for expansion.

There was a reason the Central Plains Martial Realm feared the cult and the way their fanatics charged into battle, fearless of death.

That’s why harming my master, the Heavenly Demon, should have been a tremendously nerve-wracking move for the elders.

The thought they’d taken orders from a completely unknown entity was ludicrous.

「It’s true! They claimed to be ‘true’ gods! Unlike the Heavenly Demon, who was merely a god in name…!」

I narrowed my eyes at the frantic elder. “Explain.”

Gulp!

The elder swallowed hard and continued,「Th-they performed miracles.」

“Miracles?”

「Yes!」

The other elders nodded vigorously in agreement.

「They were like the divine beings or immortal sages of legend! They flew on swords and controlled the weather with a wave of their hands!」

“High-level sorcerers can do that—”

「No! This was completely different! Sorcerers require immense mystic power and extensive preparation for such feats. Isn’t that right?」

“So?”

「They needed none of that! They accomplished it all with a simple gesture!」

“…And you’re sure you weren’t tricked by some illusion?”

「We may be at your mercy now, Junior Lord, but we’re no fools either. We can’t be so easily deceived!」

I couldn’t argue with them on that.

Before their betrayal, they were the apex of evil, the leaders of the Heavenly Demonic Cult’s golden age.

Martial prowess, ruthlessness, wickedness, scheming minds—they possessed it all.

Still, divine beings? How could anyone even believe that?

Something similar stirred in my memory—husk-shedders.

「Do you understand now, Vice-Lord? Do you see why we became their obedient dogs? What could mere mortals like us do against divine beings?」

The elder looked utterly defeated, but one emotion lingered in his eyes…

Terror.

“This is insane.”

A fear that surpassed even the weight of the Heavenly Demon’s name? How was that possible?

The realization that the mastermind’s power far exceeded my expectations filled me with unease.

Countless questions swirled in my mind, but the conclusion remained…

‘Master is in danger.’

The situation was far more urgent than I’d anticipated. I needed to determine how much time had passed during the Primordial God’s Fate Reversal and what had transpired in the meantime.

Fortunately, the hour I’d given Hyeong-sam was almost up.

“Fine. You’ve said enough. As promised, I’ll release you.”

「R-really?」

「Thank you, Junior Lord!!」

Relief finally washed over the elders’ anxious faces.

“Into my stomach, that is.”

「…!!」

「…!!」

「Wh-what are you talking about?!」

「But you promised—」

“What can I say? I’ve never been good at keeping promises.”

No matter how frightened they were, they were traitors who had betrayed my master. There was no chance I was going to let them go anywhere.

Without a second thought, I yanked hard on the chains.

「You damned, two-faced bastard!!」

Crack!

Their heads snapped, one after another, coalescing into ghost pills, making them much easier to store without worry of their energies dispersing.

I smiled coldly. Though they were traitors in life, in death, they would become loyal servants dedicating their souls to the cult.

Not long after…

Knock, knock.

“S-Second Young Master. It… It’s me, Hyeong-sam. M-may I enter?”

“Come on in.”

Hyeong-sam entered, carrying a stack of documents.

* * *

Two months passed quickly.

A strange rumor spread among the servants and maids of the usually tranquil Nine Dragons Branch Family.

“The Second Young Master has been confined to the White Pavilion for over two months.”

“On the Grand Matron’s orders, no food or water whatsoever has been allowed.”

“Yet, the Second Young Master has never complained of hunger or thirst.”

“They say that strange, choking screams can be heard every day at the White Pavilion.”

Woon-hwi had been confined to the White Pavilion in full view of the servants, following the Grand Matron’s outburst.

The servants had expected the usual—Woon-hwi would wail and plead for forgiveness for days, and only once he was on the brink of death would the Grand Matron personally retrieve him.

Things went differently that time.

Not only that, he had been locked up for two months without sustenance.

How was that possible?

Perhaps a master of inner energy could endure it, but Woon-hwi, no different from an ordinary person, should only survive five days at most without food or water.

A new rumor began to circulate.

“The real Second Young Master died long ago, and the one in the White Pavilion is a double placed there by the Grand Matron to conceal the truth.”

“She’s trying to avoid gossip before the upcoming clan head’s visit.”

The rumor of Woon-hwi’s possible death eventually reached Namgung San-yeong, enraging her.

“Which vermin dares spread such lies?! Bring them to me at once!”

A grand event was taking place throughout the Sichuan Tang Clan, including the Tang Clan Village (the home of the main family) and all branch families.

The clan head, the illustrious and mighty Dark Sovereign, was on a tour of the Sichuan region.

As for why? There was a simple reason…

Suspicious activities were increasing in the Tian Shan Mountains, the den of the evil cultists. The Dark Sovereign planned to personally form a special unit, so all branch families and divisions were to gather their most talented individuals.

A special unit! Personally commanded by the Dark Sovereign, no less!

Anyone bearing the Tang name felt their heart race at the prospect.

If they impressed the Dark Sovereign and learned even one of his techniques… or even became his disciple…

They could become rising stars in Sichuan’s martial society.

That was why Namgung San-yeong was so anxious. Though she hailed from the Namgung Noble Clan, she understood the significance of the clan head’s position within the Sichuan Tang Clan.

The Namgung Noble Clan had those like the Grand Elder and the Guardian Councillor, who rivaled the clan head in authority, but the Sichuan Tang Clan had no such equivalent.

The councilors, elders, and executives were all subordinates, completely subservient to the clan head.

The position of Tang Clan Head was reserved for the strongest, a throne of absolute power!

The Tang surname was merely a requirement for entry. Even an outsider who married into the family could contend for the position.

It was no wonder the martial realm sometimes referred to the Sichuan Tang Clan as the ‘Little Demon Cult’.

It was an event where one could gain the attention of such a powerful figure. There was no way she could allow a lowly, illegitimate son like Woon-hwi to participate.

Of course, a fool like him could never impress the Dark Sovereign, but… what if, by some miracle, he did?

‘It must be them! Woon-hwi’s backer! Whoever they are, they must be plotting something!’

Namgung San-yeong’s paranoia festered, conjuring up imaginary enemies.

Just then…

“Please calm yourself, Mother. I will handle this.”

The doors to Namgung San-yeong’s pavilion opened, and a young man leisurely strolled in.