A World with Radishes and Cooperation – 2

A cold sensation touches my forehead.

-Tap, tap.

The rhythmic tapping makes me involuntarily furrow my brow.

“Ugh…”

Greenery fills my vision. I’m lying in the middle of a dense forest.

I lift my head slightly to examine my body.

-Swish.

The fabric is excessively soft, definitely the clothes I was wearing before I fell.

‘So, I didn’t die.’

I was sure I had died and moved to another dimension.

It seems I survived the fall by getting caught in a tree. Though my back hurts.

“Ugh…”

As my mind clears, fatigue and pain simultaneously assault my body.

I need to get up. Staying here will lead to nothing good.

“Oh? You’re awake.”

A voice reaches me from nearby.

At the end of my gaze, a woman is poking at a burnt tree.

Her clothes are tattered, and her face is covered in soot.

She clearly doesn’t look normal.

“A beggar?”

“I’m not a beggar!”

She gets angry at my observation.

Lost for words at her reaction, I stare blankly. She continues, looking a little sheepish.

“Ah, of course, I don’t think badly of the Beggars’ Sect. I even respect them… but being treated like a beggar is a bit…”

“I wasn’t thinking anything like that.”

“Gasp! So, you think the Beggars’ Sect is lowly and contemptible! You chauvinist!”

“Hey, stop it, you idiot.”

I cut her off, anticipating the same pattern.

“Idiot?! I’ve never heard that even in the Alliance.”

“Never mind that, where is this?”

“Why are you suddenly asking where we are… It’s near Henan.”

“Ugh… Henan, as in Henan City in Gyeonggi Province?”

“Gyeonggi Province?”

An unexpected question comes back.

Before bringing up the village, I re-examine her attire.

No matter how I look at it, her clothes aren’t modern. The sword at her waist, the mystical movements of the group chasing me yesterday…

‘Could it be martial arts…?’

Is it the martial arts world I know?

That would make sense.

“Haha…”

“Um… are you okay? Did you hit your head hard when you fell…?”

She looks at me with great pity.

“Let’s introduce ourselves first. My name is Kang In-ho.”

“You’re Gang Gongja. I’m Namgoong Soyeon. But why the hand?”

She looks at my outstretched hand, meant for a handshake, with a puzzled expression and performs a fist and palm salute.

Ah, is this the norm here?

I awkwardly try to imitate her gesture.

Like introducing ourselves on a blind date, an awkward atmosphere lingers between us for a while.

“Um… should I call you Namgoong Sojeo?”

“Ah, yes. Well…”

Why are you blushing?

“I’m a bit disoriented… Do you know the way to a nearby city? Village?”

“Ah, I’m heading that way too, so let’s go together. But…”

“???”

“It might be difficult to travel far in those clothes.”

She points to my large outfit.

“I don’t have any other clothes.”

“Ah, then try wearing these.”

She takes out some clothes from her bundle.

“Ah, thank you.”

I was worried they might be women’s clothes, but thankfully they’re for men.

I don’t know why she has men’s clothes, though.

“I used to wear them sometimes. They’ll probably fit you.”

Namgoong Soyeon’s voice reaches me from afar, resolving my question.

So, why is she cross-dressing?

After changing clothes.

“Are you ready~?”

She speaks in a lively voice.

“Yes, yes… let’s go.”

I hurriedly follow her as she skips along.

To think I have no one to rely on in this strange world.

My life is truly spectacular.

Five days since the intruder was sighted.

The Heavenly Demon returns to the cult with Youngma.

“Greetings, Divine Doctor.”

As she steps into the palace, a massive crowd prostrates themselves to greet her.

It would be an overwhelming sight for someone timid, but she doesn’t even seem to notice.

Without giving the kneeling people a single glance, she heads to her residence.

Heavenly Demon Palace.

The place where the Divine Doctor of the Black Heaven Cult resides.

Only a select few acknowledged by the Divine Doctor are allowed to enter, and most of those in the Black Heaven Cult have never seen the inside.

The seat she sits on is high and wide, like an Emperor’s throne.

“Greetings, Divine Doctor.”

“Enter.”

At the sound of a thin, soft voice, the Divine Doctor opens her mouth.

A slender man enters and prostrates himself before her. The Divine Doctor, seated on the throne, adds a bit of pressure to her voice.

“Chief Manager. So… have you found out?”

“I regret to say, we have not been able to determine their identity.”

“You’re no different from those maggots.”

With a tremor, the man’s head slams into the ground.

“I apologize. However, we interrogated the guards and recorded their appearance. However…”

Even as he is crushed by a powerful force, the man continues speaking in an unchanged voice.

“However? I hate beating around the bush.”

Her eyebrows arch upward, as if displeased.

“Their face did not match any in the registry.”

“I thought some crazy righteous sect member had wandered in, but it seems that’s not the case.”

“That is what has been revealed.”

“What about other factions?”

“You know better than anyone that no other faction would dare to invade our cult.”

True, I burned them all. She chuckled.

“Then what is it? I didn’t come here to hear this report. Are you saying the intruder fell from the sky?”

“Something like that. May I speak in more detail at the Disciple’s Palace?”

“Very well, if you say so, there’s no reason for me not to listen.”

The Divine Doctor follows the Chief Manager to the Disciple’s Palace.

As if preserving the scene of the incident, the Disciple’s Palace remains in the same state as it was during the intrusion. The Divine Doctor cannot hide her anger at the sight of the muddy footprints.

Thanks to this, the stone pillars shake with creaking sounds. As if this situation is perfectly normal, the Chief Manager doesn’t even flinch.

The Chief Manager takes off his shoes, bows twice, and enters the palace.

Following the path, he points to a broken coffin.

“The traces of destruction are from the inside out. Since there are no signs of the Mystic Formation being activated, we can say there was no external intrusion.”

“So, they didn’t fall from the sky, but rose from the ground.”

The Divine Doctor slowly approaches the coffin and caresses the broken fragments with a look of longing.

Watching her affectionate gesture, the Chief Manager clears his throat and takes out a piece of paper from his chest.

“This is the intruder’s appearance.”

“Very well, let’s see what their face looks like.”

The Heavenly Demon’s hand, which was unfolding the painting drawn by the artist, stops abruptly.