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Translator: uly
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: I Am the Heavenly Demon (3)
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This world saw monsters pouring out from places called dungeons, and at the same time, awakeners who transcended human limits were born to hold them back.
Thanks to that, even with monsters flooding out, the world remained relatively peaceful.
Humans coexisted with yokai, and even the Earth Gods who tread upon the land lingered in the human realm.
But only a tiny handful of the elite knew of the yokai and Earth Gods among humans.
"Definitely a different world. A place where yokai and humans live together in harmony…"
"We wouldn't call it harmony. Most humans don't even know we exist."
The Heavenly Demon nodded as he mulled over the knowledge transmitted into his mind.
"I see. I understand now. This is another world."
In truth, he had faintly suspected as much.
No young girl in his world would shatter a Diamond Body or summon a meteor.
The Heavenly Demon slowly rose and turned to the old man.
"Then what are you? A god? A yokai?"
"Who knows."
"Why is communication no issue? Earlier, I could even read the text perfectly."
"No idea."
The responses were half-hearted, but with those two faces peering from front and back, the Heavenly Demon couldn't bring himself to snap.
"Then how do I return?"
"How should I know?"
"What? Then how did you know I came from another world?"
The Two-Faced Ghost grandfather sighed and shook his head.
"There are monsters from other worlds that slip through spacetime rifts here. Ah, you'd call them magical beasts, I reckon…"
"And how do those magical beasts return to their original worlds?"
"Never seen one go back?"
A despairing answer.
As the Heavenly Demon's face hardened, the old man smacked his lips awkwardly.
"That… sorry if it's no help."
"Not at all."
The Heavenly Demon politely cupped his left fist in his right palm and bowed.
"It was most helpful."
Even if this was another world, he had a trump card to return.
The Two-Faced Ghost grandfather, glancing between Jang Chaewon and the Heavenly Demon, nodded.
"Helpful, my foot. Anyway, Manager Jang has a kind heart."
"Pardon?"
"You're helping the man who smashed up all your precious Spirit Trees."
"What do you mean…"
Jang Chaewon's expression chilled, and the grandfather blinked.
"You didn't know? Take a look."
The grandfather lightly pressed a glowing branch to her forehead.
A flash of light, and a massive meteor plummeted from the sky into the courtyard of a hanok building.
Boom!
The meteor hit the ground, forming a pattern of light, from which a man emerged—the Heavenly Demon.
"Am I injured…"
He wiped blood from his mouth and glanced behind him.
A massive tree emanated a mysterious glow.
"Perfect."
His face lit up. He who had consumed elixirs like daily meals recognized at once that the light pouring from the tree came from a spiritual herb brimming with divine power.
"So that's it…"
Approaching the tree, a mystical force halted his steps.
It was as if an invisible barrier encircled the tree.
All spiritual herbs possessed protective auras.
Those with potent effects could unleash formations rivaling master trapmakers.
"But I have a way."
His eyes blazed like torches as he stomped the ground hard and launched toward the glowing tree.
"Hup!"
Boom!
Using his Diamond Body, he shattered the mystical barrier outright.
"Urk."
Thin blood trickled from his mouth again, and his shoulder throbbed.
To inflict pain on a body harder than diamond? His internal injuries even seemed worse.
Staggering, the Heavenly Demon leaned against the tree trunk, breathing raggedly.
"This… was a mistake. Not an elixir."
No restorative energy emanated from the splintered tree fragments.
Chewing a piece, it was just like gnawing hard stone.
"You bastard…"
Having witnessed it all through the Two-Faced Ghost grandfather, Jang Chaewon trembled with betrayal.
Now she saw—the annex had been wrecked by this shameless thug who looked like Gouki.
"The Spirit Tree. You destroyed it."
She ground her teeth and turned, her eyes turning grim as a reaper's.
"And I let a thief sleep in my warehouse without knowing…"
"Wait. It's a misunderstanding."
The Heavenly Demon raised a hand solemnly.
"When I found the tree, I was out of it. I thought I'd fallen into some nameless mountain valley."
"Then why deny it yesterday?"
"Well…"
Lost for words, he puffed his lips and declared grandly.
"Worry not. I am the Heavenly Demon. A mere tree is…"
"Oof!"
Jang Chaewon's fist slammed into his solid abdomen, and he collapsed to one knee with a wretched cry.
'Even with my qi intact, would it have been futile?'
Clutching his gut, the Heavenly Demon's eyes lost focus.
Diamond Body or not, he had achieved an external art rivaling the legendary Heavenly Gang Body.
Yet one punch from this frail girl had him kneeling?
At that moment, the furious Jang Chaewon wailed.
"This means… it's not a natural disaster… no compensation! What are you going to do?!"
"Manager Jang, I'll be off. Call when the workers are ready."
The flustered grandfather wiped sweat from his brow and vanished.
Jang Chaewon's eyes nearly turned white as she gnashed her teeth.
"You… psycho pervert trash-mouthed bastard."
One more inexplicable word tacked onto her earlier curse.
Glaring down at the Heavenly Demon with ghostly eyes, she spoke in a voice like the grim reaper.
"Come with me!"
Inside the Bokbok Interior shop.
Jang Chaewon sat at a round reception table, gripping a large calculator.
"Let's tally it up."
She glared at the Heavenly Demon across from her and rapidly tapped the calculator on the table.
"A Spirit Tree sapling costs 30 million won. But factor in three years of cultivation costs and effort. And now I can't take jobs… ughhh."
Clutching her head, she stared at the ceiling and screamed.
"It doesn't add up! It doesn't!"
She shot the Heavenly Demon a venomous glare, body quaking.
"Worse, I can't fulfill the Divine Requests properly now. The shop could lose its spiritual land status!"
"Divine Requests? Spiritual land? What's that mean?"
"Our shop is a spiritual land. We handle not just interiors but all sorts of jobs requested by the gods!"
Her blazing eyes seemed ready to spark flames.
"We were barely holding E-grade status… just three more years and we'd have made it…"
"What are you saying?"
"You wouldn't get it!"
She bit her lip, glaring with contempt.
"As a human, all you can offer is money. It takes three years for a Spirit Tree to bear fruit."
"I don't follow."
"Divine Requests… whatever! To grow a Spirit Tree enough for Divine Requests takes three years of my knowledge and power!"
'Requests from gods. No ordinary human, then.'
Only now did the Heavenly Demon grasp Jang Chaewon's fearsome power and abilities.
She clamped her mouth shut for a long moment, then spoke in resignation.
"Considering you're from another world, I'll settle for the minimum compensation. Got it?"
"Fine."
"Good. Straightforward, I like that."
She set down the calculator coolly.
"Exactly 100 million won."
A sum that would make most leap in shock.
But the Heavenly Demon shook his head calmly.
"Unclear on the unit. Can't gauge the amount."
"Oh? Playing dumb? Think I haven't read wuxia?"
Pulling out her phone, Jang Chaewon calculated the gold rate instantly.
"Current rate: 426 don of gold. That's forty-two nyang of gold bars."
"Forty-two nyang of gold? Trivial."
"What?"
The Heavenly Demon shook his head indifferently.
"I thought you were threatening with a huge sum, like a few famed liquors. But just forty-two nyang…"
Veins bulged on Jang Chaewon's forehead like worms.
"You have the money to pay?"
"Of course."
He declared proudly.
"The Ten Thousand Demons Palace has an armory only I can enter. It's piled with countless ancient weapons. Even Chu Geumsan, a top plutocrat of the demonic path, said he felt like a pauper seeing it."
"So…"
The veins on her forehead twitched.
"That Ten Thousand Demons Palace or whatever is in your world."
"Mind your tongue. The Ten Thousand Demons Palace is the demonic path's foremost palace, built by the Divine Demon who founded it. How dare you speak so irreverently."
"Whatever. How will you pay?"
"How? I promised compensation."
"How? That money's in your world!"
Jang Chaewon eyed him suspiciously.
His ragged clothes made even his claim of wealth dubious.
"I am the Heavenly Demon. Nothing is beyond this body's grasp."
"You can bring money from your world?"
"No."
"Are you joking?"
"Far from it."
Crossing his arms, the Heavenly Demon smiled with pride.
"I have a way to return."
"Really?"
Grrrowl.
Just then, a loud rumble echoed from the Heavenly Demon's stomach.
"…Hungry?"
"Ahem."
He cleared his throat and straightened up.
"I am the Heavenly Demon. Seven days without food leaves my stamina unaffected."
Grrrowwwwl.
Another long growl, and he hung his head.
"But battling that bastard cost me eight days without a sip of water."
"Enjoy your meal!"
The deliveryman, having unpacked the food from metal containers, bowed and left.
On the round table steamed jjajangmyeon and sweet-and-sour pork.
Relieved by his claim of a return method, Jang Chaewon had generously ordered the pork too.
*Slurp.*
Seated at the round table, the Heavenly Demon gripped the round bowl, chopsticks flying ceaselessly.
Sucking up every bit of sauce from the noodles and pork, he set the bowl down with a gulp.
"Exquisite."
He smacked his lips at the empty bowl. Jang Chaewon gnashed her teeth in displeasure.
"I didn't order it 'cause it's cute. Only because you promised compensation."
"Fear not. I'll compensate fully."
His calm demeanor suggested no lie.
Arms crossed, she eyed him suspiciously.
"But no jjajangmyeon there? Seems like it'd be more authentic over there."
"Similar dishes exist. But none with this umami."
Fed now, Jang Chaewon returned to the point.
"So, you'll go back and fetch the money?"
"Yes."
"But how? You don't even know how you got here."
"I've mastered not only the Heaven Demon Supreme Art but also the secretly transmitted Demonic Gate Great Law. Among them is a secret art that rends spacetime."
"Ooh, you really human? Impressive."
Pleased with the smooth talk, she tossed in praise.
But the Heavenly Demon's expression darkened as he continued.
"Why the long face?"
Staring at the gleaming lights, he shook his head at her question.
"But I must fully restore my inner power first."
"Inner power?"
"Yes. The Heaven and Earth Infinite Spirit Communion requires power equivalent to ten jiazi."
Unclear on details, but his face said it wasn't possible now.
"What? So you can't go yet?"
The Heavenly Demon nodded.
"Several meridians are mysteriously severed; I can't muster any power. No clue why I'm in this state."
"What?"
Jang Chaewon clenched her teeth and balled her fists.
"You tricked me!"
"Tricked how?"
"You said you could return."
"I can. I just didn't mention needing to restore power."
This dark-hearted bastard seemed trained in twisting guts.
"Say that first! Who're you toying with?"
"Toying? Unfathomable. What makes you think that?"
"You can't compensate now. That's what you should've led with."
"Is that so."
His blinking face only twisted her insides more.
"So what now? I'm racking up losses. No Spirit Tree means stalled Divine Requests. Lose spiritual land status, and where do I get blessings?"
"Divine Requests? Blessings? Explain."
"Jobs from gods and yokai gods are Divine Requests. Blessings… whatever, you wouldn't get it."
Grasping half of it, the Heavenly Demon propped his chin.
"So, compensate the immediate losses."
"Yes."
As Jang Chaewon rolled up her sleeves, the Heavenly Demon waved her off.
"Hm, severed meridians are my issue… fine."
After pondering, he spoke gravely.
"But when I return, I'll compensate tenfold—no, a hundredfold."
"A hundredfold? 10 billion?"
He nodded boldly at her blinking eyes.
"Yes. I'll give you the Demon Essence Chain Sword."