I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind
Chapter 25
Chapter 25
The Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Hidden Mastermind
Episode 25
He had strictly warned the girl not to get involved with the Heavenly Demon Cult. Yet, he had no way of knowing what might happen if her name ever reached the ears of the Left Envoy of Light.
The Cult was currently preparing to emerge and spread its influence across the martial world.
Was the girl actually a member of a prestigious noble clan pretending otherwise, or perhaps the precious daughter of a transport guild? Or maybe she was a disciple of a wealthy, renowned sect?
Even the name she had given him, Soso, was such a common childhood nickname that it would be impossible to track her down.
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
He didn’t want her entangled with the Cult in any way.
The Left Envoy of Light knew well that once Ryang became this stubborn, his lips would remain sealed.
He smiled and unfurled his fan.
“Then I shall ask no more.”
“…….”
“However, I must look into the man with the exceptional lightness technique who took the child away. I will order the Centurion to investigate, so follow me. Ryang-ah.”
“…Yes.”
Ryang had been startled when she vanished so instantly before his eyes, inwardly fearing she might have been snatched by another faction within the Cult.
But it seemed her own companions had taken her.
‘What a relief.’
…….
Wait, why? Why was it a relief?
Left alone after the Envoy departed, Ryang slowly stroked his chest and blinked.
The image of the hand the girl had reached out toward him kept flickering before his eyes.
As if he had seen it somewhere before….
Becoming a flicker of a nonsensical illusion.
“Wow, Soso. Now that I look at you, were you still wearing this?”
Walking along a narrow path, Danhwi suddenly pointed a finger at my face.
I wondered what he was talking about all of a sudden….
I replied sullenly.
“You didn’t tell me how to take it off.”
He was talking about the human skin mask still stuck fast to my face.
No matter how pretty the mask was, it was incredibly uncomfortable; the moisture from when I had cried my eyes out earlier, thinking I was being kidnapped, was trapped underneath.
“Want some help?”
“Yes please….”
He sure took his sweet time offering.
Sshhh.
As Danhwi rubbed my jaw and the area near my ears, the human skin mask—which wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I struggled with my own hands—slid off in an instant.
“Whoa.”
“No wonder you weren’t taking it off. I’ll teach you how again when we get back.”
“Yes sir!”
Holding the discarded mask, Danhwi snapped his fingers. A spark ignited, and the false skin burned away without leaving a single trace.
“Oohhh….”
Rubbing my own cheeks for the first time in a while, I started walking after Danhwi again. But then….
“How much further are we going?”
It felt like we were headed too deep into the wilderness.
As we entered a split canyon in the rocky mountain, boulders were embedded everywhere like grim skulls. It was already dark and creepy enough, but then—
Wait….
“Uh…?”
That one is an actual skull!
I made eye contact with the hollow, gaping sockets of a skull, and goosebumps erupted all over my body.
Without thinking, I lunged toward Danhwi and gripped his sleeve tightly.
“We’re almost th—”
Looking back at my touch, Danhwi quirked an eyebrow and spoke with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Hand.”
I carefully took the hand Danhwi offered.
“Are you scared?”
“Of—of course I’m scared! Isn’t that a skull?!”
It was only natural for an eight-year-old to be terrified of a skeleton.
I looked at Danhwi as if he were the strange one. Danhwi chuckled softly, gripping my hand firmly as he muttered.
“Strange. You acted so affectionately in front of that Demonic Cult brat who reeked of blood, yet now you’re suddenly scared of a hollow skull….”
“…….”
He saw how I treated Ryang.
Not letting it fluster me, I glared up at Danhwi and said, “He was pitiful. He didn’t feel like the Demonic Cult at all.”
“Didn’t Master teach you what kind of people the Demonic Cult are?”
He did. And even without being taught, I already knew.
In this game, the ‘Demonic Cult’ was an organization that followed the law of the jungle so strictly that even the protagonist, who started as a slave, could become the Heavenly Demon.
Since they worshiped a human Cult Leader, they were essentially a cult—the problem was that once the leader reached the Realm of Demonic Ascension, they became strong enough to be dubbed the ‘Heavenly Demon.’
This was because those walking the Demonic Path feared nothing under heaven except the Heavenly Demon himself.
“It was before you were even born. Ten years ago, during the Orthodox-Demonic Great War, more commoners who knew no martial arts died than actual warriors.”
“Yes. I’ve heard.”
Danhwi continued in a low voice as he walked, holding my hand tenderly.
“The demonic arts passed down in the Cult fundamentally eat away at a person. Very few can maintain their sanity after learning them. If commoners are exposed to that demonic energy, nine out of ten will die.”
“…….”
In other words, a bloodbath followed wherever the Demonic Cult passed.
That was the reason why, even ten years later, the name of the Demonic Cult still reigned as a symbol of terror in people’s hearts.
‘Ugh.’
Recalling the scene I’d glimpsed through the crack in the wall—where a person’s head shattered like a gourd—I couldn’t help but shiver.
“Does the Demonic Cult have no heart? Like, sparing a child like me… or something? The boy I met earlier saved me.”
As I muttered that, Danhwi’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Soso-ya. Those in the Demonic Cult are raised to think of nothing else but serving the Heavenly Demon. There might be many reasons for serving him—lusting for the Cult’s power, admiring the rule of the strong. Or maybe…….”
“Because they were brainwashed?”
I asked, thinking of the Gu poison that had burrowed into Ryang’s stomach.
After a moment of silence, Danhwi wiped his face with his free hand and answered quietly.
“…Yes. There are likely cases of brainwashing. But once you enter the Cult, it is difficult to leave. Truly difficult.”
Danhwi continued, his words sharp and clear.
“So, you must never, under any circumstances, give your heart to someone from the Demonic Cult.”
“……?”
I looked up at Danhwi, puzzled.
“My heart? Me?”
“I just have a feeling I should worry.”
Danhwi looked down at me with narrowed eyes.
Realizing what he was misunderstanding, I gave him a bright smile.
“Hey, I can barely look after myself. And I have no intention of ever leaving Master or my senior brothers. I want to live a loooong time. More than anything, didn’t you say it would be dangerous if the Demonic Cult found me?”
“…That’s true.”
“So you don’t have to worry! Danhwi-sahyeong!”
When I leaned my weight against his arm, the corners of Danhwi’s mouth quirked up as he vigorously ruffled my hair.
“I really like how quick-witted you are, Soso.”
“Hehe.”
“Well, come to think of it, it’s not like you’ll ever run into the Demonic Cult again anyway. I just mean don’t harbor unnecessary pity. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Aww, that much was easy.
Soon, Danhwi began grumbling at our absent Master, saying he ‘didn’t know why Master would send a child on a mission where she might encounter the Demonic Cult in the first place.’
It probably wouldn’t help to tell him that I suspected this was exactly what Master had planned…….
Tap.
“Ah, we’re here.”
Why on earth did Master come up with a plan like this?
We had arrived at the residence of Master’s friend, who might hold the clue to that question.
However.
“…Is it really here?”
“Yes.”
“But….”
This is just a rocky mountain.
Specifically, a rocky mountain blocked on all sides by massive boulders.
While I tilted my head in confusion, Danhwi looked around, plucked a long blade of grass, and fashioned a grass whistle.
“Watch closely.”
He brought it to his lips and….
“……!”
—♩♪
The low sound of the grass whistle began to echo through the rocky valley.
Starting from that sound, the thick clouds in the night sky began to pull away, revealing a bright moon that shone down upon one particular large boulder.
And then.
Rumble, rumble….
“Gasp…!”
The massive boulder right next to me began to slowly slide aside, revealing a cave entrance within.
‘This is…….’
I knew this entry method!
Once the game reaches the mid-to-late stages, the protagonist learns sound-based arts to meet an NPC who is a diviner and geomancer known as the Divine Architect.
Could Master’s friend be…?
Thud.
Just as my thoughts reached that point, the boulder finished sliding away and Danhwi’s performance ended.
Taking the grass whistle from his lips, Danhwi signaled with a thin smile.
“Let’s go in.”
The interior looked like absolute, pitch-black darkness. But after walking for a bit, torches along the walls flared to life, revealing a space that was surprisingly dry.
Parting the bamboo screen that completely blocked the passage, Danhwi spoke respectfully.
“Lord Samok-seon. I have brought the youngest junior brother I mentioned.”
