Ch.4Chapter 4 – I Became the Terminally Ill Mentor of Heavenly Demon (4)

“One, I apologize.”

There wasn’t even a chance for Bi-wol to step in to deal with the bandits. The situation was resolved as soon as I unleashed my Ice-White Divine Art.

“Two, great hero.”

The place was now covered in ice fragments as if we were on a snow mountain, with everything around us frozen solid.

“I’m so sorry!! Great hero!!”

I made San-po, the bandit leader, crawl on all fours, then sat on him like a chair.

“Yes, louder.”

As I coughed up blood, Bi-wol quickly wiped my mouth with a cloth.

Whenever I use even a little martial arts, my meridians twist and I end up like this. It’s already uncomfortable enough that my body is filled with yin energy, making it difficult to move or even breathe properly.

The Extreme Yin Body, which might be considered a blessing in the North Sea Ice Palace, was now blocking nine of my meridians, slowly eating away at my life.

“I didn’t recognize the Ice Dragon and tried to collect a toll fee. I’ll atone with my life!”

“…Just your life?”

After carefully wiping the blood from my lips as if it were precious, Bi-wol directed a sharp killing intent toward San-po beneath me.

I don’t really need his life. I was planning to hand these guys over to the authorities and collect a small reward.

“Bi-wol, that’s enough.”

“But Master, these scoundrels dared to make you move your precious body.”

I gently stroked Bi-wol’s head out of habit as I spoke. Hearing the “hehe” sound that escaped her lips, I suspected she was secretly enjoying it.

“I’m not that old yet.”

“But the Severed Nine Yin…”

“Even if I’m living on borrowed time, I don’t intend to leave everything to my disciple.”

I shrugged as I spoke. I’ve maintained this thread-thin life through intense internal energy cultivation.

So that I would have no regrets in this life.

Besides, I thought it best to keep Bi-wol, a Heavenly Demon, away from killing and violence as much as possible because of the karma of the Star of Heavenly Murder.

“I’ll never engage in banditry again! Great hero, please spare me just this once!”

San-po was apologizing with tears streaming down his face. Judging by his trembling arms and legs, he seemed to be reaching his limit.

“I trust people whose actions change before their words, not those who only promise to change. I believe the only thing that can change oneself is one’s own will.”

I looked down at San-po with indifference. People who easily change their words can just as easily change them again later.

I’ve seen many such people in real life. Weak humans who lie to themselves and make excuses to find comfort.

One of them was me, who gave up on my dream of becoming a writer.

“I’ll turn myself in to the authorities! I’ll return all the stolen goods in our hideout to their rightful owners!!”

“How would you do that? Do you keep records? When you rob people of their possessions, do you write down who you stole from?”

Detecting such lies was familiar to me.

“Do you remember the names of the people who bled and cried because of you?”

I opened my palm and held it in front of San-po’s face as I spoke. He shuddered at the sight of my palm covered in scars.

“Name five, and I’ll believe you.”

I decided to test San-po, thinking he deserved at least one chance.

“Geum-hwi, Jang-il, Wang-sam…”

After a brief pause, San-po began rattling off names like a machine gun, as if suddenly remembering.

“…Wait, let those with these names raise their hands.”

Noticing something strange, I nodded toward his subordinates who were being watched by Bi-wol.

They exchanged glances and remained still. A strange atmosphere circulated among them.

“Do I need to turn each of you into ice blocks before you’ll tell me the truth?”

I threatened the bandits by releasing yin energy. San-po, closest to me, chattered his teeth and trembled.

One, two, three.

After I gave them a moment, exactly three of San-po’s subordinates raised their hands.

“I am Geum-hwi.”

“I am Jang-il, great hero.”

“I-I am Wang-sam!”

When Bi-wol confirmed their names with a murderous aura, they matched exactly what San-po had said. I nodded to her, signaling she’d done well.

“Y-you guys…!!”

This was a simple deduction.

Before being possessed into this world, I worked as an academy instructor. I’d seen many cases of students answering roll calls for their friends.

“You’re the type who would sell out your subordinates to save your own life.”

I looked at San-po with pitying eyes. He wasn’t even a character that appeared in the novel “Diamond Fist King,” so I had hoped he might be different.

“N-no, great hero!! It’s just a coincidence of names!”

“Didn’t the people you robbed beg the same way? Pleading for mercy, begging for their lives?”

I couldn’t forgive him for trying to harm Bi-wol in the first place. Demanding money and women showed this wasn’t his first time doing such things.

“With that three-inch tongue of yours, you’ll run to the authorities and confess your crimes yourself.”

“Aaaaargh!!”

I grabbed San-po by the back of his neck and slowly froze his throat by releasing cold energy. Without such a leash, he would likely commit the same crimes again.

“If you don’t free the people you’ve captured in your hideout and return everything you’ve stolen…”

I covered him with ice up to just below his nose, making him thoroughly experience the sensation of death.

“Your head will turn into a block of ice that very day.”

This mark I left should ensure that even if he breaks his promise, he won’t live comfortably.

“Hnnnngh!! Hngh, hngh!!”

San-po nodded vigorously and shed tears while begging for mercy. He was so terrified that he wet himself.

“Master, you seem too generous. I think it would have been better to crush his manhood and make him a eunuch.”

As I stood up from the filthy spot and moved away, Bi-wol immediately clung to my side with puffed cheeks.

“…Isn’t that too extreme?”

I shuddered at her words. I don’t recall teaching Bi-wol such language or behavior.

“Not recognizing the Ice Dragon of the Ice Dragon Fate Sect is a sin that must be atoned for throughout one’s life. This girl hopes you will punish that San-po or whatever his name is as an example.”

Without responding to her words, I slowly stroked Bi-wol’s head. The reward from the authorities would be enough.

“There’s no need for that. These bandits have lost trust in each other and will fear committing crimes.”

San-po and his gang won’t be able to continue their banditry. They’ll tremble at the mere mention of my sect’s name and be too afraid to act, fearing when I might appear.

“I just wanted my one and only disciple to remain unharmed.”

“Master…”

Bi-wol seemed moved, covering her mouth with both hands and bouncing in place. In truth, I had also spared them because of her nature.

“Great hero! Thank you for earlier!”

The coachman made a fist salute toward Bi-wol and me in gratitude. He said he hadn’t recognized that I was the famous “Ice Dragon.”

Bowing deeply and even shedding tears, he appeared genuinely sincere, completely opposite to San-po.

“This humble one failed to recognize the great Ice Dragon hero! Thank you for sparing my life!”

Of course he wouldn’t recognize me.

I rarely leave my sect except when my condition worsens and I need medicinal herbs or spiritual items, or when major events from the novel occur.

“This is a silver tael I have! Please accept it!”

“Your gratitude is enough.”

The coachman took out a silver tael from his pocket and offered it to me. I waved my hand, intending to refuse.

The reward from the authorities would be enough to fund my journey west to meet Verdandi.

“…I’ll accept it with gratitude.”

Just then, a small hand snatched the silver tael like a cat catching a fish.

“Bi-wol, give it back.”

“I refuse. Master, you’re too stingy about accepting others’ goodwill.”

The owner of that hand was Bi-wol with her red eyes and black hair. She stuck out her tongue slightly, showing defiance to my words.

“Who knows? I might need money for wedding gifts when I get married.”

“……”

If that really happened, I might cry. Imagining Bi-wol getting married stirred something in my chest.

Is this what a father feels when raising a daughter?

* * *

Bi-wol and I had now traveled to the edge of the Eastern Continent and boarded a ship heading west. The salty sea breeze and the cries of seagulls tickled my ears.

“Master! It’s so sparkly…!”

Bi-wol ran around the deck, pointing at the sea reflecting sunlight. For her, this was the first time seeing a view different from streams or lakes.

“Don’t run. There are other passengers.”

“But Master! Everything is so fascinating to me! It’s my first time seeing the vast ocean, and my first time riding such a ship!”

Bi-wol bombarded me with questions about how such a large wooden object could float on water whose bottom couldn’t be seen.

Suppressing the urge to say, ‘Ah, you don’t know. It’s called buoyancy,’ I stroked Bi-wol’s head to calm her down.

The way she quieted down when I patted her head reminded me of a village dog. She looked fierce as if she might bite someone, but she would rub against me wanting her head to be patted.

“Bi-wol, engrave this scenery in your eyes.”

I slowly opened my mouth toward Bi-wol.

“This is the world you should look at from now on. It’s a vast flow that cannot be understood with a narrow perspective.”

In my real life, when I was troubled by college entrance exams, I impulsively went to Busan.

Looking at the sea at Haeundae Beach, gazing at that wide horizon made my worries seem like nothing.

“…This girl doesn’t understand what you mean.”

“Compared to that vast ocean, our worries and prejudices are mere specks of dust. The waves break dozens, hundreds of times a day, only to reform again.”

Looking at that ocean, I once screamed that I wanted to become a writer.

I hated giving up my dream for university or employment. I wanted to write.

The night sea at Haeundae with no passersby. The dark ocean, black as the night sky, silently listened to my concerns.

“Even if I die tomorrow, the waves I’ve created won’t stop. The traces, life, and teachings I’ve left for you will lead you to a broader world.”

I wanted to share that experience with Bi-wol. I wanted her to have someone to confide in when she had worries.

“I only need you, Master. Why are you saying such things…?”

“…Get used to this. You need to see new things, feel them, enjoy them, and live among many people.”

I tapped Bi-wol’s head with my finger as I spoke matter-of-factly. To be honest, I didn’t know how long my life would last.

In this way, we always had to prepare for farewell.

“…That’s interesting. Are you a magician?”

Just then, I heard a chuckling sound beside me.

“That’s exactly what they say when teaching about the ocean at the Blue Magic Tower. But the energy surrounding your body isn’t mana, it’s qi, right?”

A woman with golden eyes and blonde hair looked at me while sipping her drink. Seeing her drink what looked like wine straight from the bottle, she seemed quite the drinker.

Could she be someone I know?

My brow furrowed at her familiar appearance. She closely resembled a supporting character from the novel I had written.

“Nice to meet you, person from the East?”

The woman extended her hand for a handshake. From her smiling face and peculiarly unique appearance, I could deduce her identity.

“…Gold Tower Master, Wolfram Alchemista.”

A supporting character from “I Need To Kill The Hero,”

“Oh? How do you know who I am? I haven’t even told you my name yet.”

She was originally a character who was supposed to be killed by Verdandi.