Book 21 Chapter 18

The Road to the Underworld, Comfortably

— A Voice in the Darkness

"Snap out of it, you brat!"

A voice echoes from somewhere far away. A familiar voice. But it wasn't one I wanted to hear often.

'Ah, it's noisy. Can't I at least go to the underworld comfortably?'

A voice calls out again from beyond the darkness. It was a desperate voice.

"You can't die! You mustn't die! Don't die!"

'Huh? Are you sad? Then you should have treated me well when I was around.'

The desperate voice quickly turned rough.

"You insolent pup, do you intend to die without permission?!"

'Well, isn't dying something you can do as you please? Of course, I had no intention of doing so this time.'

In hindsight, it was my own doing. I had prayed for Rin's safety, but the scream I heard faintly at the end lingered in my mind. However, now, on the road to the underworld, it was best to shake off regrets as much as possible.

'They say if you have too many regrets, you become a vengeful spirit. Hmm. Then I should stick with my master.'

"You impudent whelp! Open your eyes, can't you? You still have much to do!"

The darkness grumbles again.

'Work? I knew it. Sad? Ha. And please, old man, don't get so worked up. I don't want to see you again as soon as I get to the underworld.'

"You rascal, are you slacking off because you don't want to work! If you die before me like this, I'll hunt you down later and make you regret it a hundred, a thousand times! Hmph, how about I exploit you for a hundred thousand years, huh?"

A heartfelt sincerity could be felt even from beyond the darkness.

'Ah, I absolutely refuse! Please forget about me!'

I've had enough of this tiresome, fated connection.

"If you're not here, who will feed me? Hurry up and get your head straight, we have to go earn money! If you don't get up immediately, I'll increase your workload by thirty thousand years every half-hour! And twice as much as now!"

Flash!

At that moment, my eyes shot open reflexively, and bright light flooded in.

Familiar ceiling, familiar air… but my body felt heavy and numb. I could only move my eyeballs.

"Are you awake?"

I turned my gaze and looked beside me. I saw the familiar, tiresome beard. Next to it was a medicinal pot, oddly out of place. What was being brewed? I couldn't tell now.

"Mas… ter…"

"What?"

The old man retorted gruffly.

"Our fated connection… was it to end in the underworld after all."

*Clack!*

Stars twinkled before my eyes, as usual. Somehow, it felt welcome.

"Violence… even in the underworld…"

"Shut up! Do you want me to hit you more if you spout nonsense?"

His angry face looked pale. Was he very surprised? Nah, surely not.

"Am… am I alive?"

It seemed this wasn't the afterlife after all.

"Of course. Do you think you can die without my permission? Hmph, no chance, not a chance at all."

He was the same master as always, but something was slightly different. He looked not just displeased, but serious.

"Get up!"

The master said gruffly.

"Ugh, I'm a critical patient. Master, sometimes show some compassion."

"Do you want to be hit more?"

The master subtly raised his fist. My body moved as if by magic. The power of the human spirit, or rather, the power of fear, was immense.

This was the power of repeated learning!

Little by little, the senses I had lost were returning. Along with tearing pain.

"Krugh!"

"Drink!"

As I managed to sit up, the master gruffly thrust a bowl at me. A black, viscous liquid with a dangerous smell was steaming.

"It looks so black… like poison."

"Poison? Nonsense! It's medicine! Drink it quickly, it's cooling down."

"If it's medicine, is it… a death potion…?"

It was understandable to be suspicious, as nothing like this had ever happened before.

"So you want to be hit, do you."

I'll hit you as much as you want! His tightly clenched fist seemed to say so.

"No. It's a misunderstanding."

I politely declined and took the medicine. The white bowl and the black liquid showed a stark black and white contrast. After gazing at the foul-looking black liquid for a moment, I closed my eyes and gulped it down.

"Ugh, it's bitter. Huh?"

As I set down the empty bowl, something caught in my mouth. I nudged it out with my tongue, and it turned out to be a familiar-looking white scale.

"What on earth did you boil this with?"

Even with the concentrated taste, there was a suspicious fishy flavor hidden within the bitterness. Even though it had turned into a black broth, I could roughly guess what it originally was.

"Ah. That? Come to think of it…"

*Thwack!*

A powerful blow, not at all a playful tap, landed on my head.

"Ouch!"

"You fool! Be thankful that the Baijiao was right next to you! I warned you that no medicine works on Baijiao venom, were you sleeping then? Huh?"

"Then the antidote…"

"The poison and the antidote are close. Baijiao venom is calmed by drinking the Baijiao's blood on the spot, then completely eliminated by boiling a handful of its scales and its heart for three days and nights. If even a moment was late, you'd be on your way to the Yellow Springs!"

I didn't want to hear the master's taunts, but I had nothing else to say. Recalling the speed at which the poison spread, the master's words weren't false. If he hadn't treated me then, I would never have returned.

As I rejoiced in my narrow escape, concerns began to arise one by one.

"By the way, what happened to the girl who was next to me?"

"I don't know. The riff-raff probably took her away."

He said it with a tone of complete indifference.

"Riff-raff? Wasn't she hurt?"

The master's eyes narrowed, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards slightly.

"Hoho, already lusting after her? I thought you seemed a bit giddy lately."

"Eek! Khh!"

As I tried to get angry, my breath suddenly hitched, and cold sweat broke out. It seemed to be the residual effect of the poison. Or perhaps after-effects of the full power release.

"Calm down. You'll start foaming at the mouth. Anyway, you kept calling her 'young lady, young lady,' but what kind of young lady was so noisy?"

He shook his head with an air of annoyance. It seemed he wouldn't give a proper answer if I asked more, but judging by his tone, the feared outcome hadn't occurred.

'Was the scream I heard at the end a delusion?'

If so, there was only one other thing I was concerned about that I could ask the master.

"Baijiao… are the remaining parts still there?"

"Are you crazy? They're all dismantled and sold off everywhere. They're rare and sell for a good price. *Cough*. The heart would have fetched a high price too, what a waste to use it instead of selling it…"

His absurd muttering made me frown.

"Still, I caught it…"

It was an argument that I should have some say in its disposal. The response to my argument was a snort from the master.

"Hmph. Whoever finishes it off cleanly is the owner, what nonsense. You who have died and come back, just be grateful for this master's boundless grace. You know how great a debt of life is, don't you?"

"Ugh!"

Indeed, the master was not easy to deal with.

'Well, for him to boil medicine in his lazy state is a miracle in itself.'

Acceptance was quick and simple. I even felt a bit strange, wondering if I should be a little grateful to the master.

"Ah! Regarding that debt of life."

As if his mood had brightened, the master's voice softened slightly. I had a feeling that this gratitude would soon vanish.

"Pay it back by working!"

As expected, it vanished.

***

"I really thought Yeonbi was going to die back then."

Nayeon said with a shudder, as if the memory was still vivid.

"I thought so too. While I did incur a debt, I fortunately survived."

"A debt? Surely not because of the medical expenses…"

When she was young, she hadn't thought of such things, but looking back, Yeonbi was already selling music and dance performances at the time. It was possible she had incurred debt because she couldn't afford medical expenses in her already poor situation. Thinking about how much Yeonbi must have suffered unknowingly, Nayeon's heart felt heavy as lead.

"Hehehe, don't worry. It's just a mental debt that my master forced upon me."

"Really, Yeonbi?"

"Of course."

Yeonbi smiled brightly.

"Ah. Is that elder doing well? Thinking about it, he's a precious benefactor to me too, and I feel sorry."

Yeonbi flinched.

'Precious benefactor? And what's with the apology?'

"He saved not only Yeonbi but me too, and I was so rude… Ah, now that I think about it, when I met Yeonbi afterward, I was just happy and couldn't explain things properly."

Yeonbi nodded. To be precise, she was so overcome with joy that she was sobbing and couldn't speak properly.

"At that time, when Yeonbi collapsed and the Baijiao was attacking me, the elder stopped them. Like this."

Nayeon chuckled lightly, raised one hand upwards, and casually flicked her hand as if swatting away a fly.

"With that one gesture, the Baijiao died on the spot. Even though it was already dying, he was truly an amazing person. That's why Yeonbi has been so strong since then, right?"

Instead of laughing, Yeonbi's face stiffened. To swat away an opponent who had threatened her life and death with a single fly-swatting gesture—he truly was a monstrous master.

"But instead of thanking him, the people who rushed in at the time misunderstood my crying…"

The rest was obvious.

'They must have thought I was the villain and attacked. Well, I was the villain.'

"Were those people hurt?"

"…They were mostly fine. Considering they were sent flying."

"Sent flying?"

At Yeonbi's question, Nayeon, with a slightly bewildered expression, demonstrated the fly-swatting gesture again. Yeonbi sighed.

"And then immediately, he poured Baijiao blood into Yeonbi's lips. At that time, the people knew they had misunderstood and were about to apologize, but the elder just left. He carried Yeonbi on his back, dragging the Baijiao along."

Only then did Yeonbi understand why the master had been displeased when she asked about Rin.

"Is that elder still healthy? He's a benefactor to me too, so if it's not rude, could I know his name and where he is?"

"That… I haven't received explicit permission to reveal it. As for his health, he's probably so robust he wouldn't die even if you killed him."

It was a rather strange answer, but Nayeon readily accepted it. It was common for reclusive individuals to forbid their disciples from revealing details about their sect. In such cases, it was considered polite not to pry unless they revealed it themselves.

"I see. I regret not being able to properly thank him back then and wish to see him again, but somehow, I have a feeling I will meet him again at least once."

For a moment, Yeonbi froze like a stone. It was only a little later that she felt blood coursing through her body again.

"Next time I see him, I'll be sure to thank him politely."

Yeonbi grabbed Nayeon's shoulders with both hands, her face contorted in shock.

"No, Rin! Get rid of that thought immediately! Such a terrifying past is a great misfortune to have just passed through your life! And to meet him again, then even Rin will be unhappy! Never speak such dreadful words again! Understood?"

She didn't know why, but it was an atmosphere that couldn't be refused. She had a resolute attitude of making sure to get a promise. Yeonbi had never shown such extreme fear before.

"Ah, I understand."

Nayeon nodded dazedly. As if finally relieved, Yeonbi straightened herself and smiled brightly.

"Haa, that's right, Rin!"