Chapter 18. Guangming Right Envoy (1)
When I returned to the Black Blood Unit, the other members stared at me strangely.
They seemed shocked that I had survived a forty-point mission.
“That bastard is the one who bragged about aiming a bow at the Cult Leader, right?”
“He actually came back alive.”
“He grabbed a forty-point mission without knowing anything.”
“The Deputy Leader probably solved everything while he only followed behind.”
“He probably did not even manage that.”
“I heard from someone in the Military Strategy Department that all the points from this mission went to the Deputy Leader.”
“Kukuk. I knew it.”
“He must have been too busy trying to survive.”
“All that bastard has is empty bravado.”
Mocking voices came from every direction.
Honestly, it was irritating.
But I did not need to care.
Giving the achievements of this mission to the Deputy Leader was what I wanted in the first place.
Still, losing all the points to her hurt a little.
If nothing else, I definitely wanted a private training room.
No choice.
I would have to earn one through small, low-profile missions.
“Hey, lunatic.”
“What is it?”
The one calling me was the Deputy Leader.
She moved her chin, telling me to follow.
“Sorry, but I do not have time to play with you.”
“I have things to do.”
“I do not want to play with you either, bastard!”
“If you do not want to die, stop talking and follow me!”
What was wrong with this woman?
Why was she acting like this all of a sudden?
Should I follow?
If I sensed anything strange, I could just launch a surprise attack and run.
She led me into the basement of the headquarters.
Why was she taking me this deep underground?
“Here.”
She stopped in front of a door at the end of the underground passage.
Then she moved her chin, telling me to enter first.
“Deputy Leader, you go first.”
“What?”
“How am I supposed to enter when I do not know what is inside?”
“You crazy bastard.”
“Why are you suspicious about everything?”
“I went through the trouble of preparing a gift for you!”
“A gift from you?”
“Now I am even more suspicious.”
“Even if I die and come back to life, I am not going in first.”
The Deputy Leader sighed in exhaustion and opened the door herself.
Beyond it was a wide room filled with wooden training dummies.
Well-maintained weapons covered the walls.
“Lunatic.”
“This is your private training room.”
“...What?”
What was she talking about?
A private training room should cost forty points.
Could it be...
“Did you use the points from this mission for me?”
“Yeah.”
“I may be a crazy woman, but I am not a cowardly one.”
“It was your request, but if I swallowed all the achievements alone, I would feel too dirty to sleep at night.”
“At least you are aware that you are crazy.”
“Do not annoy me.”
“I am starting to regret giving you the training room.”
This was an unexpected gift.
Forty points in the Black Blood Unit were no small amount.
Not only did it take a long time to gather that many points, most members died before they could even earn twenty.
“Deputy Leader.”
“Do you like me?”
“Do you truly want to die?”
“If you have romantic feelings for me, give up.”
“I am already taken.”
“Shut up before I tear off your manhood and feed it to a dog.”
Hmm.
What a relief.
It seemed she had no romantic interest in me.
Still, this gift was perfect for what I needed right now.
After surviving the Martial Alliance's Heavenly Net fourteen years ago, I had barely trained my martial arts properly.
Because of that, I had become far rustier than when I worked as an assassin.
Archery was the only skill that remained sharp because I had used it while hunting.
To recover the martial ability I possessed during my days as an assassin of the Three-No Sect, and then become even stronger than I had been then, I needed a place where I could train alone.
“Deputy Leader.”
“I will not forget this favor.”
“Favor, my ass.”
“This was the proper share of your achievements.”
“The other members might complain if they learn about it, but with you, I probably do not need to worry.”
“And one more thing.”
The Deputy Leader pulled an orange pill from her clothes and handed it to me.
It was clearly a Demon Transformation Pill, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's elixir that normally cost thirty points.
“If you had not been there, I would never have completed my revenge.”
“If I had taken that mission alone, Jang Gal would not have died.”
“I would have.”
“I cannot accept this.”
“You already gave me a private training room.”
“The private training room was your proper reward for the mission.”
“This is my personal thanks.”
“Deputy Leader, as I said earlier, I am already taken.”
“Do you seriously want to die?”
“I am not interested in a weak-looking bastard like you either!”
A private training room and an elixir.
She was like a tree that kept giving everything away.
No.
A crazy woman who kept giving everything away.
“Deputy Leader.”
“Of all the crazy women I have met, you are the best.”
“Was that an insult or praise?”
“Just swallow the damn pill.”
“I’ll stand guard for you.”
“You are even going to protect me while I absorb it?”
“I am not a free person.”
“Sit down and meditate before I change my mind!”
I should buy this woman a drink someday.
I had a private training room and someone guarding me.
There was no reason not to take the elixir.
How long had it been since I last consumed an elixir?
This was the first time since my sect was destroyed.
Gulp.
The moment I swallowed the Demon Transformation Pill, I felt a warm energy travel into my lower abdomen.
Normally, I would first have to gather the energy spreading through my body and settle it into my lower dantian.
But the elixirs of the Demonic Cult seemed to possess a different nature.
The Demon Transformation Pill did not contain an enormous amount of energy.
However, its energy settled into the lower dantian far more easily than ordinary elixirs and began dissolving at a shockingly rapid speed.
People said Demonic Cult martial arts were practical and radical.
Apparently, even their elixirs were made in the same manner.
Good.
Half a day should be enough to complete a Small Heavenly Cycle.
It had been a long time.
Perhaps I should circulate the Eight Thunder Heart Art of No Homeland.
I recited the formula and poured true energy through my acupoints.
The energy of the Demon Transformation Pill rapidly dissolved.
By the time I completed a Small Heavenly Cycle, I could feel impurities being forced out of my meridians.
“Hoo.”
“How do you feel?”
I opened my eyes.
The Deputy Leader sat across from me, chewing on a meat skewer.
“I do not remember seeing those meat skewers before I began absorbing the pill.”
“Did you actually leave to buy food while guarding me?”
“Do you have a complaint after taking an entire day to complete a leisurely Small Heavenly Cycle?”
“Do not worry, bastard.”
“While I was gone, I asked the Unit Leader to guard you.”
“Come to think of it, I have never met the Black Blood Unit Leader.”
“What kind of person is he?”
“Maybe the only decent person in the Black Blood Unit.”
“The kind of man who could live even without laws.”
“At the same time, he is the only person I am afraid of.”
There was someone even this crazy woman feared?
And she asked the only person she feared to guard some ordinary member while she went to buy meat skewers?
