Chapter 55: Let’s Choose New Names
“I will now create the Name-Changing Talismans.”
Palhwang True Immortal stood.
“All of you wait outside the hermitage.”
I immediately asked,
“How long will it take to make four?”
“First, I need to prepare the talisman material.”
“Then I must recite the True Words of the Eight Trigrams.”
Palhwang True Immortal thought for a moment.
“About two hours.”
“In the meantime, decide what names you want.”
Then he carried the Poison Blood Serpent Dragon’s blood and Thousand-Year Ice Fish skin toward an altar deeper inside the hermitage.
“Should we wait outside?”
“Yes.”
“Sure.”
“We have nothing else to do anyway.”
We left the hermitage.
Then we sat together in one corner of the quiet courtyard.
“You all worked hard.”
I looked toward Aize and the Heaven-Earth Rakshasa.
“Catching the Poison Blood Serpent Dragon and Thousand-Year Ice Fish wasn’t easy.”
Aize looked proud.
“We were amazing, right?”
Earth Rakshasa smiled.
“That’s true.”
“I doubt anyone else in Heaven has ever captured both of them within three hours.”
Heaven Rakshasa grinned and gave me a thumbs-up.
“But Inhwang was especially ridiculous.”
“When you killed the Poison Blood Serpent Dragon in a single attack, I almost couldn’t believe it.”
Then she laughed.
“You were so stupidly strong that the serpent couldn’t even open its mouth before you blew away the entire peak.”
“We almost lost the blood because of you.”
I pointed at Aize.
“I’m useless without her.”
“An Inhwang without the Black Spirit Demonic Spear isn’t really the Inhwang.”
“Hehehe.”
Aize’s smile stretched across her face.
“Really?”
“Really.”
I gently stroked her head.
“Anyway.”
I looked toward Heaven Rakshasa.
“What names are everyone choosing?”
“Princess Bokja first.”
Heaven Rakshasa no longer became angry when I called her Bokja.
Since the name was about to disappear forever, she had become much more generous.
“Hmm....”
She thought.
“I’m considering Yeonpung.”
“Gentle Wind.”
Aize immediately smiled mischievously.
“Oh.”
“Trying to match Heavenly Steel Chasa Cheongpung?”
“Cheongpung and Yeonpung.”
“They sound good together.”
I blinked.
“Wait.”
“What is the relationship between Heaven Rakshasa and Cheongpung?”
Aize grinned.
“Uncle Cheongpung taught the Heaven-Earth Rakshasa Heavenly Steel Martial Arts.”
“And Uncle Cheongpung was originally an incredibly handsome man.”
She looked toward Heaven Rakshasa.
“Maybe Heaven Rakshasa secretly likes her master.”
Honestly, it was hard to imagine Uncle Frankenstein as an extremely handsome man.
“Hey!”
Heaven Rakshasa shouted.
“What nonsense are you saying?!”
“How could I have impure thoughts about Lord Cheongpung?!”
I noticed something.
She called me just Inhwang.
But she called Cheongpung Lord Cheongpung.
Aize was probably right.
Earth Rakshasa suddenly leaned closer.
“Oh my.”
“Unnie, is that really true?”
“Of course not!”
Heaven Rakshasa crossed her arms.
Earth Rakshasa smiled strangely.
“Then I’ll remember you said that.”
“Hehehe.”
That smile looked extremely familiar.
It was almost exactly the smile I made after discovering someone else’s weakness.
I turned toward Earth Rakshasa.
“Then what name will you use?”
Then I remembered something.
“Wait.”
“What original name did the Jade Emperor give you?”
Earth Rakshasa’s head dropped.
“Malja....”
She spoke in a lifeless voice.
“Because I was the youngest of the triplets....”
I froze.
That might have been the most tragic name I had ever heard.
Now I completely understood why she had threatened to kill Heaven Rakshasa earlier.
“All right.”
I nodded solemnly.
“You definitely have the right to change your name.”
“Thank you, Inhwang.”
Her face brightened slightly.
“What new name are you choosing?”
She smiled.
“I think I’ll use Yeonhwa.”
“I’ll take the Yeon from unnie’s Yeonpung.”
“Yeonhwa.”
I nodded.
“That’s a beautiful name.”
“Hehehe.”
Earth Rakshasa smiled brightly.
Seeing how happy she was made me want to punch the Jade Emperor if he were standing in front of me.
“Then what do we rename Bingshin?”
Now it was my turn.
Aize immediately answered.
“Let’s just use Bongshin.”
“Baekhee’s ability is also called Bongshin.”
“Bongshin....”
I nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Technique names should probably be simple.”
Then I looked at Aize.
“Finally.”
“What name do you want?”
“Hmm....”
Aize became extremely excited.
“What should I choose?”
I loved that innocent, bright expression.
“What about just Aize?”
I had called her Aize for so long that I didn’t dislike it.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“I don’t want Aize.”
“Why?”
“I want a name worthy of the Inhwang’s Demonic Spear.”
I almost wanted to hug her immediately.
Why did she always know exactly how to say things that made me happy?
“Then what would be good?”
I thought hard.
Nothing came to mind.
I might be better than the Jade Emperor, but naming was not exactly my specialty.
Aize suddenly smiled.
“I think I’ll choose Heukhee.”
“Heukhee?”
“Yes.”
She looked directly at me.
“The Inhwang’s Black Princess.”
“What do you think?”
Heukhee....
I liked it.
It matched the Inhwang’s black image.
It also matched the dignified appearance of the Black Spirit Demonic Spear.
I grinned widely enough to show my teeth.
Aize grinned back.
As expected.
We really were thousand-year partners.
Still...
I decided I would only call her Heukhee when summoning the Black Spirit Demonic Spear.
In ordinary life, Aize felt more familiar.
And in the living world, the name Aize sounded far less strange than Heukhee.
We spent the next two hours talking and laughing.
Coming to the Underworld had already solved something we had wanted for a long time.
As a bonus, I had become much closer to Heaven Rakshasa and Earth Rakshasa.
Honestly...
I was glad I came.
Knock, knock.
“Yes. Come in.”
The door opened.
Jangryeong, commander of the Royal Guard Chasa and royal steward, entered Arang’s office.
The office was located inside the highest tower of King Yeomra’s Palace in Hell.
“Ahem.”
Jangryeong looked toward Arang.
“Princess Arang.”
“Do you have a moment?”
Arang sat behind a mountain of paperwork.
Her face looked exhausted.
“What is it?”
“I’m extremely busy.”
“The Underworld database is still a mess.”
“All manually updated documents need individual approval.”
She pressed a hand against her forehead.
“I’ve been working constantly, and I still think this will take another day or two.”
“If you brought more work, leave it on the desk.”
Jangryeong adjusted the stiff collar of his steward’s suit.
“Hahaha.”
“I understand.”
“Since becoming Woljik Chasa, I don’t believe Princess Arang has ever been this buried in work.”
Whenever Jangryeong had something good to tell Arang, he often fixed his collar like this.
Arang noticed.
“Grandpa.”
“Did something good happen?”
“Ahem.”
Jangryeong pretended to hesitate.
“You seem so busy that perhaps I should not tell you....”
Arang immediately understood.
“If it’s good news, I’ll massage your shoulders for twenty minutes.”
Jangryeong’s eyes brightened.
“Is that so?”
“It feels slightly insufficient.”
“But for the sake of relieving Princess Arang’s work stress, I suppose I should tell you.”
Arang laughed.
“What is it?”
Jangryeong smiled.
“A report arrived from a Chasa in the Heaven-Passage Great Hall.”
He paused.
“The Inhwang has entered the Underworld.”
“What?!”
Arang shot to her feet.
“Where is he now?”
“I heard he left with the Heaven-Earth Rakshasa....”
“With Bokja and Malja?!”
Arang’s voice became even louder.
“Yes.”
“The Chasa believes they are heading to meet Palhwang True Immortal....”
Arang didn’t wait for him to finish.
She rushed toward the window.
WHISTLE!
Then she let out a long whistle.
“Pungwang! Hurry!”
Far away, near a cliff opposite King Yeomra’s Palace, a tiny black dot suddenly launched into the sky.
It rapidly grew larger.
Soon, it became an enormous winged dragon-bird the size of a house.
Arang leaped from the window onto its back.
“Pungwang! Full speed to Palhwang Peak on Mansu Mountain!”
The moment she sat in the saddle, she shouted.
“SKREEEE!”
Pungwang spread its wings.
Then it shot into the sky.
Jangryeong watched Arang rapidly shrink into a dot.
“Tsk, tsk.”
“She is always so impatient.”
He shook his head.
“What did that brat call her personality?”
“Hot-headed?”
Then he looked back toward the office.
“Maybe I should have negotiated for a one-hour shoulder massage.”
Recently, Jangryeong had felt the body he created from soul power slowly weakening.
Sometimes, Arang massaged his shoulders and helped him relax.
He loved those massages.
It felt almost like receiving care from his own daughter or granddaughter.
Then Jangryeong suddenly remembered Kang Hyunwoo.
“That brat would have negotiated for three hours.”
He smiled without realizing it.
“He probably would’ve asked for three one-hour free coupons.”
Then he looked toward the desk.
“Does that mean those documents are mine now?”
Arang’s sudden departure had scattered papers everywhere from the wind created by Pungwang’s wings.
Jangryeong sighed.
For a moment, he regretted telling her.
But...
Whether he eventually entered the Pure Land or fell into the Infinite Dark Cavern...
Until that day came, he would do anything for the happiness of Arang, whom he treasured like his own granddaughter.
One of the oldest beings in Hell rolled up his sleeves.
Then he walked toward Arang’s desk and the mountain of paperwork.
“Palhwang True Immortal.”
I stood when he emerged from the Ancient Hermitage.
“Are they finished?”
He looked exhausted.
Apparently, creating the talismans had not been easy.
All of us waited with anticipation.
“Yes.”
Palhwang True Immortal sighed.
“They’re finished, you brats.”
“Woooooo!”
“YES!”
We all cheered together.
Compared to our celebration, Korea reaching the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup looked ordinary.
Even the loud patriotic cheers of Independence Movement Day couldn’t compare.
“Hahaha.”
Palhwang True Immortal shook his head.
“You ridiculous children.”
Then he became serious.
“To change the names, we will move to the Heavenly Altar.”
I blinked.
“Heavenly Altar?”
Heaven Rakshasa explained.
“The Heavenly Altar is located in Cheonwon, the center of Heaven.”
Cheonwon.
The center of the world and Heaven.
There was said to be a staircase there that seemed to reach the very end of the sky.
At the top stood an altar built by the Immortals of Heaven while looking toward the Pure Land.
That altar was the Heavenly Altar.
“If we need to go, we go.”
I shrugged.
“We’re changing the names no matter what.”
Then I pointed toward the two White Winged Tigers resting in the yard.
“But we only have two White Winged Tigers.”
“If two of us ride each one, there’s nowhere for Palhwang True Immortal.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
Palhwang True Immortal smiled.
“I have my own ride.”
“Your own ride?”
I had no idea what he meant.
Aize’s eyes suddenly widened.
“What?!”
“Are you going to summon one of the Five Ancient Dragons?”
Heaven Rakshasa and Earth Rakshasa looked equally shocked.
I stared at all of them.
I had no idea what they were talking about.
Ever since entering the Underworld, it felt like I was surrounded by things I knew absolutely nothing about.
