Chapter 13
The Spirit of Fire
“W–wait! Do you even know who I am?”
The struggling young man snapped his fingers, and with a chiik sound, Cheonma was blown several meters back.
“You—you’re still standing after that?”
The power in the young man’s fingers was enough to shatter stone and pierce through iron. Yet the gray rags Cheonma wore only bore a faint black scorch mark.
“Are you even human?”
“Hehehe… This is getting interesting.”
Watching the smoke rise from his battle robe, Gwangma Blood Armor, Cheonma bared his long fangs.
“Where’s the liquid from that cauldron?”
“Hmph, it’s already in my stomach.”
When the young man tapped his belly, Cheonma grinned.
“I see. So it’s inside your gut.”
“Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?”
Suddenly, Cheonma’s body flickered and vanished. The young man’s eyes darted around wildly.
“W–where’d he go?”
“Right here.”
Before he could react, Cheonma had crouched beneath his feet, fist clenched.
Pwoom!
His flaming fist slammed into the young man’s stomach and shot skyward—but the youth’s body, harder than steel, only staggered back a few steps, completely unharmed.
“Hmph. That all you’ve got?”
“Fist Demon’s Seventh Form—Rising Dragon on the Wind!”
In an instant, Cheonma’s figure split into dozens of afterimages, his fists striking in rapid succession.
Kwaaaarrr!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Becoming a gray storm, Cheonma struck the young man’s abdomen thirty-one times in a row.
“Guaaaagh!”
As he was pummeled by the technique, the young man spewed up a clear liquid from his stomach. Moving like lightning, Cheonma opened the cauldron lid and caught every drop.
Drip, drip.
When the last of it was expelled and the young man collapsed, Cheonma sealed the cauldron.
“No one under heaven steals what belongs to me.”
“Ugh…”
“Not even a single drop of water.”
As the young man wobbled to his feet, Cheonma tightened his fist again, his knuckles cracking like stones.
“You dared not only to steal, but to mock me? That’s a capital crime!”
Just as his fist was about to smash into the young man’s gut again—
Whoosh!
—another serpent shot up from underground.
“Stop!”
The snake transformed into a person—a white-haired old woman dressed in yellow.
“It’s all my fault…”
Looking sorrowfully at the young man, the old woman bowed her head.
“He only stole because of me. Please punish me instead.”
“What are you talking about? Who are you, old one?”
At Cheonma’s question, the woman sighed.
“We are Imoogi. We snuck in after hearing that the Spirit of Fire resides here.”
“M–Mother!”
“When we drink the water blessed by the Spirit of Fire, my illness eases for a time…”
“Hm.”
“So I beg of you, forgive this child.”
Cheonma looked troubled.
“That’s beyond my authority.”
“Please, I beg you.”
“Mercy, you say…”
Cheonma sighed deeply and pointed down the hill.
“If you truly seek forgiveness—beg it from the one you wronged.”
Before the beautiful flower garden stood Cheonma and the two Imoogi—mother and son.
Facing them were Jang Chaewon and a girl whose hair shimmered like sunlight—the Spirit of Fire herself.
“Lady Hwa,” Cheonma began. “These two are…”
“I know, Cheonma. I hear everything that happens within my domain.”
Turning her gaze toward the Imoogi pair, the Spirit of Fire continued softly,
“So that’s why the flowers and trees have been withering lately…”
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”
The young man dropped to his knees before her.
“My mother was so ill… I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway…”
“I understand your devotion to your mother. But because of that, countless plants have withered and died.”
“I’m really, really sorry.”
“You can call me heartless if you must.”
The Spirit of Fire sighed.
“But even maintaining the plants beneath my shrine is already taxing my power. If I were to help you, every tree and flower in this garden would perish instead.”
“I understand.”
“I won’t hold you accountable for what’s already happened. But… you must leave my sanctuary.”
“Yes, thank you for your mercy.”
The young man bowed deeply, and the old woman lowered her head as well. Slowly, they backed away and disappeared.
“You’ve done well, Cheonma. Not only did you carefully tend to my sick children, you even discovered the cause of my land’s blight.”
“I’m glad to have been of help.”
“You’ve done such fine work that… I’ll grant you an extra blessing beyond your payment. Thank you.”
“An extra blessing?”
“Yes. A gift from me personally.”
With a shy smile, the Spirit of Fire extended her white hand toward him.
After finishing their task, Cheonma and Jang Chaewon returned to their car.
“Good work,” Jang said, fastening her seat belt with a warm smile.
“You handled that request beautifully. Haha.”
At that, Cheonma seemed to recall something.
“Didn’t you once say you couldn’t personally take on requests?”
“Mm, yeah, I did.”
Avoiding his eyes, Jang started the car.
“At the time, the Temple Spirit was unwell…”
The engine purred to life, but Jang looked as if something was still caught in her throat.
“But I’m fine now.”
Shifting gears, she pressed the accelerator lightly.
“Why do you ask?”
“You said that if I failed a request, the store’s reputation would suffer. That fewer clients would come.”
“That’s right.”
“I see.”
Cheonma looked out the window, his eyes glinting.
“Requests are also vital for restoring my inner energy. I can’t afford to fail—not even once.”
“You mean…”
“If the request isn’t something I can guarantee success in alone… how about we travel together for a while?”
The unexpected proposal made Jang fall silent.
“Well…”
She’d only accompanied him this time because it involved the Spirit of Fire—she had no plans to partner with him regularly.
As she searched for the right words to decline, Cheonma suddenly shouted,
“Stop the car!”
Down the rural road, they saw the Imoogi mother and son trudging along. The mother appeared human again, but the young man, still injured from Cheonma’s strikes, remained in his serpent form.
“Hm.”
Glancing down at his open hip pouch, Cheonma opened the door.
“Store Manager. Wait here a moment.”
“Huh? Why? Need the bathroom?”
“It’ll only take a second.”
Whirr!
In a flash, Cheonma used his footwork technique. Thanks to the divine power he’d just received from the Spirit of Fire, he’d gained five years’ worth of refined inner energy.
“So now I’ve got a total of fifteen years’ power.”
Crossing the road in an instant, Cheonma appeared before the Imoogi pair.
“Wh–what brings you here, sir?”
The startled old woman asked, but Cheonma simply extended a hand.
“Give me your right hand, elder.”
“Eh?”
“Quickly.”
Glancing at her son, she reluctantly offered her hand. Cheonma reached out with two fingers and felt her pulse.
“As I thought. Even monsters suffer the same afflictions.”
“What do you mean?” the young man asked.
“Your mother’s energy channels are blocked. That’s why she’s ill.”
Cheonma had mastered every demonic and martial technique in existence—his knowledge of meridians and bone marrow surpassed that of any physician.
“Don’t move, elder. My energy reserves are nearly empty.”
He gathered what little inner energy remained in his dantian and struck her Myeongmun point with a focused burst.
Papapap!
The fierce current of reversed energy burst through the blockages, and color slowly returned to the old woman’s face.
“Whew… As expected, this little bit of energy barely did the trick.”
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Cheonma continued,
“It’s not perfect, but it should help. Take care of your body. And…”
He pulled something from his robe—the egg of an X-Chimera he’d found in a dungeon.
“This is said to greatly improve blood circulation. Eat it, and you’ll feel much better.”
“An X-Chimera egg? That’s an incredibly rare relic…”
“It’s useless to me. Take it.”
The young man, overcome with emotion, dropped to his knees.
“Th–thank you so much!”
“There are good medicines in those dungeons. Why not fetch them yourself?”
“We can’t,” the youth said, bowing his head. “Monsters aren’t allowed inside. We’re not those corrupted kinds that live recklessly among humans.”
“I see.”
So monsters couldn’t enter dungeons, apparently.
“Why are you helping us?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Looking into Cheonma’s crimson eyes, the young man suddenly understood. He bowed low.
“You’re not human, are you? You must be a divine being. You even spent your own divine power to heal my mother… how could we ever repay that grace?”
“Hardly. I’m no god.”
“Then… what are you?”
Crossing his arms, Cheonma looked down solemnly.
“I am Cheonma.”
“Hm.”
From afar, Jang Chaewon murmured softly as she watched him.
“Well… maybe I’ll tag along with him for a while.”
Her whisper melted into the air, fading away like a sigh.
