Chapter 19 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Medicinal Immortal Cave Able Bear God (1)
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Ten Thousand Demons Palace had split into the Ten Demonic Halls after the Divine Demon Great Emperor's era, locked in endless power struggles.
And without fail, one of the direct disciples from the Ten Demonic Halls would be chosen as the successor.
As a result, Ten Thousand Demons Palace faced not only pressure from the orthodox sects but also constant infighting among the successors of the Ten Demonic Halls. There was never a peaceful day.
Then one day, an orphaned boy—abandoned without even a name—entered Ten Thousand Demons Palace.
An elder of Ten Thousand Demons Palace, out in the martial world, had recognized the boy as a once-in-a-millennium martial arts prodigy and personally brought him in by the hand.
"I'm heading to the Ice Cavern."
The boy who entered Ten Thousand Demons Palace went straight into the Ice Cavern, a place untouched by anyone, to train his martial arts.
The Ice Cavern, known as the Demon Vault, housed a comprehensive collection of the world's demonic martial arts and great laws.
However, since it excluded the pinnacle of demonic martial arts—the arts of the Ten Demonic Halls—no one ever bothered going in.
"Even if you master every martial art and great law in the Ice Cavern, you can never surpass the arts of the Ten Demonic Halls!"
The elder tried to dissuade him. With the boy's talent, he could easily become a disciple of one of the Ten Demonic Halls.
"I don't want to be anyone's disciple."
Leaving those arrogant words behind, the boy entered the Ice Cavern on his own.
For over a decade, he holed up there, surviving on dried rations and underground water.
"The greatest demonic sovereign of all time has been born!"
The boy who emerged from the Ice Cavern had become a sturdy man. He had mastered every martial art and great law inside. Moreover, he defeated even the successors of the Ten Demonic Halls—who possessed the supreme demonic martial arts—in single combat.
"Ohhh, Heavenly Demon!"
All the demonic sovereigns of Ten Thousand Demons Palace called him the Heavenly Demon, a demonic being sent from the heavens, surpassing even the Divine Demon Great Emperor and reaching the pinnacle of all time.
"Heavenly Demon! What the hell happened?"
Inside the Double-Double Interior office.
The Heavenly Demon, crouched in the storage room cleaning his toolbox, whipped his head around at the thunderous shout.
"It's the boss. What seems to be the problem?"
"What seems to be the problem?"
Jang Chaewon thrust a dangling strip of wallpaper right in the Heavenly Demon's face as he squatted there.
"You begged and pleaded to do the wallpaper job, saying you'd do it perfectly! Now the client's calling in a frenzy because all the wallpaper's fallen off!"
"Ah, you're talking about that."
"You knew?"
"Of course. The store even called last night."
"What? Then why didn't you tell me?"
Jang Chaewon blinked in disbelief, but the Heavenly Demon shook his head firmly.
"Because it was just a consumer reaching out without knowing any better."
"What? What does that even mean?"
The Heavenly Demon slotted the drill into the toolbox and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
"I applied the wallpaper perfectly, without a single flaw. I even kindly explained to the client that it takes about three days to fully dry."
"Then why did they call saying the whole thing peeled right off?"
"According to the client, the existing wallpaper turned out to be silk wallpaper."
Silence blanketed the storage room in an instant.
"You can't apply regular wallpaper over silk wallpaper, right? And you just went ahead and did it anyway?"
As Jang Chaewon stammered, the Heavenly Demon narrowed his eyes.
"Correct. But the client never gave me that information. It must have been an honest mistake."
Click.
Locking the toolbox lid, the Heavenly Demon stood up and continued.
"Don't blame the client. They didn't know regular wallpaper won't stick over silk..."
But Jang Chaewon's face had already turned Hulk-like, just before ripping her clothes.
"You think I'm blaming the client? I'm blaming you!"
"Why blame me?"
Jang Chaewon's forehead bulged with worm-like veins as she glared at the Heavenly Demon's brazen profile.
"How's the client supposed to know if it's silk or regular? You're the one who should've checked!"
"I did check. And I even suggested a groundbreaking application method to the consumer."
"What?"
Jang Chaewon's hands dropped, and the Heavenly Demon's eyes sparkled.
"There's a documented case where removing just the vinyl coating—the PVC layer—on silk wallpaper allows regular application, just like on any other surface."
He turned, pulling out an interior design book from the storage room shelf and opening it in front of her.
"Plus, the walls at that site were uneven. Removing the silk and reapplying regular would've ruined the existing liner backing. So to level the walls with regular wallpaper, I proposed this method."
Jang Chaewon's jaw dropped.
To think the Heavenly Demon knew specialized application techniques that even pro wallpapering experts might not.
"So that's what you were doing with those books spread out—not just for show."
"Heh heh heh. This sovereign mastered one hundred eight thousand martial arts and great laws in the Ice Cavern. Devouring interior design books is child's play."
"Then why did the wallpaper fall off?"
The Heavenly Demon's confident smile faded at Jang Chaewon's question, his face darkening.
"In all phenomena of this world—no, this universe—there exists a discrepancy."
"Huh?"
"Knowing something doesn't mean you can do it well. Throughout history, knowledge and practice have always been worlds apart. If you closely examine the structure of experience, it's ultimately a clash between one's subjective biases and innate nature..."
Jang Chaewon sighed as the Heavenly Demon droned on like a stone statue spouting nonsense.
"So basically, you screwed up the job."
"Call it the gap between knowing and doing."
"What is this? With that face screaming 'born for manual labor,' you have less handiwork skill than me?"
The Heavenly Demon seemed like he'd have innate talent for physical work.
Unexpectedly, he was a bookworm type—and a total klutz at interior jobs.
"Go fix it right now. Grab your tools!"
"Understood."
At Jang Chaewon's shout, the Heavenly Demon wordlessly pulled out fresh wallpaper rolls and a cutter from the storage room.
"Ahh, I'm beat."
Glancing at the clock, it was already past noon.
After a morning of wallpaper drama with the Heavenly Demon, Jang Chaewon rubbed her sore shoulders and checked the time.
"Already lunchtime. Jjajangmyeon again?"
The Heavenly Demon, tidying up the wallpaper rolls, nodded.
"Is there any meal better than jjajangmyeon?"
"How about pork stir-fry set? Try something different for once."
"For lunch, simple noodles are best. Save the meat for dinner."
With no arguing that ironclad logic, Jang Chaewon reluctantly pulled out her phone. Just then—
Ring ring ring.
The antique phone on the desk erupted in bell tones.
Jang Chaewon stared at it blankly before clearing her throat and picking up the trumpet-shaped receiver.
"Yes, Double-Double Interior speaking. Ah, hello? Yes, yes?"
Her expression turned peculiar as she spoke into the mouthpiece.
"Yes?"
A few days later, on a bright summer day with a pleasant breeze stirring the air.
Vroom.
Jang Chaewon's van sped along the highway.
Wearing sunglasses behind the wheel, she had the Heavenly Demon—clad in a gray training robe—hunched in the passenger seat beside her.
"A bear, huh."
The Heavenly Demon muttered softly, staring blankly at the cars whizzing past.
"Bears run restaurants too?"
"Watch your mouth. Say that in front of Able Bear God, and we'll get kicked out on the spot."
She glanced at him with a dissatisfied frown while driving.
"By the way, how'd you pull this off?"
"What do you mean?"
"Black Bear Uncle. Did you clean for him or something? How'd he recommend you—specifically naming you—for Able Bear God's job?"
The call a few days back had come from Black Bear Uncle, the vampire client's downstairs neighbor, vouching for them.
"He said he was moved by your diligence and clean work... Does that even make sense? All you did was strip his wallpaper and punch a pipe hole to the upstairs unit."
"Ah, that."
The Heavenly Demon shrugged it off casually.
"From what Black Bear said, the upstairs vampire never once came down to apologize. I simply taught him the ways of the jianghu."
"The ways of the jianghu?"
"Indeed. If you cause harm, you offer equivalent compensation, a sincere apology, and a promise not to repeat it. That's the principle, isn't it?"
"He did compensate for the damage. Sure, the landlord handled it."
The Heavenly Demon crossed his arms, his eyes deepening as if recalling the scene.
"Compensation is the bare minimum. But Black Bear—downstairs with a family—couldn't even properly complain and has been silently enduring it all this time just because they paid up."
"So?"
"I simply urged the vampire to offer proper compensation, plus a heartfelt apology to Black Bear and his family. Oh, and I ordered him to clean the bloodstained mess himself."
Jang Chaewon's eyes widened.
"He's a vampire, arrogant as hell... And you humiliated him like that?"
"Humiliated? Why is assigning cleanup humiliating?"
"That guy's a high-ranking yokai. And his kind have massive pride."
The Heavenly Demon looked mildly surprised.
"High or low, it doesn't matter. If you've done wrong, you make it right. Isn't that the law of the jianghu?"
Narrowing his eyes as if reminiscing faintly from the past.
"Even this sovereign, after battling that damned orthodox fool and destroying the sacred Wuyuan Silent Sect, paid massive reparations and offered deep apologies. I, called the greatest of all time."
"Y-Yeah. I see."
Jang Chaewon let out a pitying sigh.
Imagining the vampire grabbed by the scruff, apologizing, mop in hand, scrubbing away.
Jang Chaewon and the Heavenly Demon arrived at Jirisan Mountain.
Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she walked side-by-side with him through the forest.
The Heavenly Demon eyed her curiously as she hiked briskly in mountaineering gear. She traversed the steep trails like flat ground, just like him.
"Hmm."
But Jang Chaewon gazed at the dense forest canopy.
"Climbing these trails on foot is still a pain."
As she muttered low, the Heavenly Demon asked.
"Then how did you climb them before?"
"Obviously with the spirit trees..."
Her eyes lit up as she looked at him.
A far sturdier, broader mount was right in front of her than any spirit tree.
"Ahem."
Clearing her throat, Jang Chaewon pointed at the Heavenly Demon's shoulders.
"Wanna give me a piggyback?"
"Refused."
"What, why? Afraid I'll be too heavy? I'm not that heavy."
The Heavenly Demon shook his head resolutely.
"No one mounts atop this sovereign's body."
"What kind of talk is that? Why not?"
Raising one finger skyward, the Heavenly Demon intoned with majestic gravity.
"That is the martial law this sovereign has decreed."
He spun on his heel and strode ahead.
"Hey, you're really just going?"
Jang Chaewon smacked her lips, watching his back recede.
"That heartless jerk."
Sure, she could get there quick with her strength, but she didn't want to—and more than that, she wanted to ride those broad, sturdy shoulders.
"Fine. No lunch for ten days but black bean noodles and sweet-and-sour pork!"
The Heavenly Demon's stride hitched by half a beat.
Catching it in that split second, Jang Chaewon tensed her core and yelled.
"And the tiling technique you wanted to learn last time!"
"...Since it's a law this sovereign decreed, it can be changed anytime."
Backpedaling, the Heavenly Demon knelt loyally before her.
The Heavenly Demon hurried onward with Jang Chaewon on his shoulders.
Riding the all-muscle shoulders felt like a fun amusement ride.
"Ahh, should've done this from the start."
Perched atop, Jang Chaewon savored the beautiful mountain vista and fresh grass scent.
In high spirits, she glanced at the Heavenly Demon's rocky profile and chuckled.
"Always like this?"
"Like what?"
"Acting all cold and heartless."
"I don't follow."
"Thought you were a real ice-cold guy at first. Now I see you're just bad at being honest."
The Heavenly Demon halted, blinking. Jang Chaewon grinned.
"You helped that imugi-hat kid, remember."
"Helped?"
"Stop being embarrassed."
Jang Chaewon laughed, patting his shoulders.
"I saw it all. You cured his mom's illness and even gave him an X Chimera relic for better blood circulation."
"That's just obvious, isn't it?"
"Right?"
See? Warm-hearted deep down.
Her pleased smile vanished at his follow-up.
"You have to heal the body somewhat to extract the inner core later."
"What? Extract what?"
"Didn't you know? Imugi inner cores are potent spirit medicines."
Jang Chaewon's eyes shook like she'd faced a horror movie villain.
"Don't mess around."
Forcing a smile, she asked in a quavering voice.
"You cured her illness, right?"
"Correct. I injected my Reverse Extreme True Energy to clear her meridians."
Striding on with smug confidence, the Heavenly Demon added.
"Judging by the wrinkles around her eyes, she'll form her inner core soon. With my Reverse Extreme True Energy inside, tracking it down will be easier than pie..."
Thwack.
The Heavenly Demon's head snapped forward ninety degrees from Jang Chaewon's punch to his nape.
"What was that for?"
"You call that helping? Extract what?"
Jang Chaewon hopped off his shoulders, yelling in disbelief.
"You weren't planning to hunt down that imugi grandma later, were you?"
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