SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 71

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 71. A World Where Stars Have Died (3)
6
Winter.
So Baek-hyang entered the mountain.
She was eleven years old.
—Child.
—No one will force anything upon you.
The Headquarters of the Demonic Cult.
The place the old man had brought her to was like heaven itself. Food appeared each morning and evening without her lifting a finger. Warm blankets were given to her. There were no officials with whips to beat her.
—Eat when you wish to eat. Sleep when you wish to sleep. Play when you wish to play.
—…….
—Baek-hyang, simply live as you wish to live.
So Baek-hyang was bewildered.
Perhaps this place truly was the legendary Peach Blossom Spring.
—The adults here are all so kind!
The other children laughed brightly.
—They don’t make us do anything.
—Do you think they’re raising us to be slaves?
—Fool! I’ve been here for a year and there’s been none of that.
The heaven was full of orphans besides herself. Very, very full. By rough count, more than two thousand. New children entered the sect one or two at a time every day. In years of famine, dozens had arrived in a single day.
Was there really so much suffering in the world?
—…You all.
So Baek-hyang opened her lips.
—How did you all come to be here?
Silence.
The children stared blankly at her.
Then, all at once, they opened their mouths.
—The harvest failed so badly!
—My mother worked in a brothel…….
—I don’t want to talk about it. Why should I tell you?
—Yes! Armed thieves tore through our village at night!
—Suddenly the villagers all fell ill.
—He kept hitting me. So I ran away.
Hunger. Corvée labor. Illegitimacy. Brigands. Plague. Abuse.
Each time the children spoke, poison flowed from their words.
—…….
So Baek-hyang felt dizzy. The poison of hunger, sharpened by want, tasted bitter. The poison of corvée labor, born of resentment, ached. The poison of bastard birth was merciless. The poison of blade-wounds from brigands was cold. The poison that grew from plague was foul. The poison steeped in abuse and beating was rotten.
—You all…….
What poison under heaven was ever so mixed? Had the world’s every bitterness and ache, cruelty, coldness, foulness, and rot gathered here? If so, what was this place? How could this be heaven?
So Baek-hyang recalled something.
—Are you all happy now?
Gu Du—the Poison Vessel.
—Are you well now?
One fills a jar with toads and vipers, poisonous spiders, centipedes, fire ants, wasps—every venomous creature. Then the lid is sealed. The viper bites the toad, the toad devours the spider, the creatures gnaw at one another, until at last a single one survives.
Refined.
To create a single, supreme toxin.
—Yes!
The children laughed radiantly.
—We can eat rice every day.
—And we don’t have to work instead of our mothers.
—I’m always fine now.
—Right? There are no thieves here, are there?
—When we’re sick, the physician heals us.
—Nobody beats us. It’s good.
Toad. Viper. Poisonous spider. Centipede. Fire ant. Wasp.
The children opened their mouths to laugh, but in So Baek-hyang’s eyes, her playmates were nothing but venomous beasts and venomous insects. That was it—this place was no heaven. It was merely a jar, breeding a single supreme toxin.
—…….
So Baek-hyang reached up slowly and placed her hand over her own heart.
It was cold.
A chill no warm morning porridge could heat, no evening broth could warm, no thick blanket could thaw—ice that would never melt, already lodged at the center of her chest. That was her heart.
Her mother was leaving.
Snow was falling.
Her mother did not stop leaving.
And so the snow did not stop falling.
……
From that day on.
So Baek-hyang no longer fit in with children her own age.
“Eat when you’re hungry.”
Every morning and evening, she reduced the food she consumed.
“Sleep when you’re tired.”
She went to bed early and woke even earlier.
“Play when you want to play.”
She did not play. While the other children roamed the hills with laughter, while their laughter neutralized their poison, So Baek-hyang did not belong among them.
The children whispered amongst themselves.
-Baek-hyang is so strange……
-She only plays with the farmers!
-It’s weird.
-Yeah. She doesn’t even eat on purpose.
-Why does she fit in with the farmers?
-I don’t know.
She ignored them.
“Only live as you wish to live.”
Time passed.
One day, an old man came to find her. It was No Go-su from the Demonic Cult, the one who had brought her to this place. Much time had elapsed, yet the old man looked no different than he had on that snowy day.
-It’s been a while, Baek-hyang.
-Yes, it has been a while since we last met.
-I’ve come because I have something to ask you.
Tap, tap.
No Go-su tapped his staff against the ground.
-I hear that you do not associate with children your own age.
-Yes.
-I hear that you help the farmers and grow and harvest your own food to eat.
-Yes.
-I hear that you make your own clothes and bedding as well.
-Yes.
-Why is that?
The old man tilted his head.
-If you so desired it, you could live comfortably, without excess. This is Utopia. The adults here farm the land and harvest fruit for you children. You are but a small child yourself—why do you labor as you do?
So Baek-hyang opened her lips.
-The Mao family, who farm the fields below the mountain, lost their two daughters to the magistrate.
-Hmm?
-The Choi who works in the orchard was conscripted to build the City Wall, and his second son died there. In his outrage, he reported it to the magistrate’s office, but under interrogation, his firstborn was also killed. After burying both sons in their hometown, Choi and his wife came to dwell here.
……
So Baek-hyang listed them one by one.
The farmers who brought food to the orphans had all been wounded by the world. Each one carried wrongs they could not forgive. Not a single exception.
-This is not paradise.
After recounting the farmers’ circumstances in detail, So Baek-hyang spoke.
-They are not fools, feeding and clothing us for nothing.
-Then what?
The old man asked in return.
-Why do you suppose you children eat and sleep for free?
-Because they hope we will avenge them instead.
……
-Because they have been wronged, and wronged again. Because they cannot forgive the magistrate and his officers who destroyed their lives. Because they wish to take revenge, but have no power to do so.
So Baek-hyang said.
-I have heard that martial arts must be learned and mastered from childhood to reach true mastery. Those farmers, the ones who feed and clothe us, are already too old to cultivate martial arts deeply.
But.
-They can still farm to nurture children who are capable of learning martial arts.
……
-We are not eating and sleeping for free.
That was the truth of this paradise.
It existed to take revenge on the world in their stead.
It was the Headquarters of the Demonic Cult.
The old man fell silent.
After a long stretch of silence, No Go-su spoke.
-So Baek-hyang.
-Yes.
-Do you have words for all under heaven?
So Baek-hyang nodded.
-Yes.
About the cold. About some winter’s blizzard. About a mother who followed her child across the Snowy Plain that day. About the mother who quickened her pace even as she heard her child’s screams. About the child left behind. About the cold.
About someone’s heart.
-I do.
About hunger. About a child born in a brothel. About a bastard. About a child who lost family to bandits. About a child whose village vanished to plague. About a child beaten and abused.
About their poison.
-I have so much to say.
The world was vast.
-So very much.
What needed to be spoken was boundless.
No Go-su closed both eyes quietly.
-Is that so? Then it must be so.
Silence hung in the air.
-If that is the case, then the world must listen to your words.
The old man opened his eyes.
-I am one of the Seven Elders of this sect. I am the Demonic Buddha.
-Is there a Buddha even in hell?
-If there were no Buddha in hell, what use would a Buddha be?
Though So Baek-hyang had called this place hell, No Go-su did not reach for his book. Instead, he replied as if it were only natural. Only then did So Baek-hyang understand that she had stepped upon the right path.
-Baek-hyang, you have passed the Trial of Entering the Sect. Your mind remained undimmed by abundant food and comfortable rest. Therefore, your poison must be clear. Take me as your master, and address me as teacher.
Teacher.
-From this day forward, your blade shall ring out in place of countless screams.
The old man lifted his staff.
And placed it upon the shoulder of the young Heavenly Demon.
-Perform the Nine Bows of Reverence, my disciple.
That day.
So Baek-hyang entered the sect.
She was thirteen years old.
7
“Wake up.”
I came to consciousness in the early dawn.
A voice whispering close to my ear.
When I opened my eyes, the Heavenly Demon’s face was right before me.
“Well, why do you not rise?”
……
It was truly that close. So near that I could see every one of the Heavenly Demon’s eyelashes. When she blinked, they moved like a dark curtain, soft and whispering open and closed.
I was lying on the floor. The Heavenly Demon looked down at me steadily.
“Um, Heavenly Demon.”
Perhaps because I had just woken, my mouth felt parched.
“If you keep standing there like that, I won’t be able to get up even if I want to. My head might bump into yours, I’m afraid?”
“Hmm. To speak so smoothly the moment you wake — your body is sound, at least.”
The Heavenly Demon straightened up.
“Go to the hot spring and bathe. With all sincerity, cleanse both body and spirit.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The seat holder waits at the Cave Entrance.”
The Heavenly Demon turned and walked away. I had no chance to say anything. Her small back vanished into the distance.
Left in the cave was me, standing there stupidly.
And my companions, still lost in sleep.
“Nnnngh, uhhh…….”
“Mmm, hmm…….”

“Hmph…….”
Had they been absorbed in viral research until late into the night? Around the Pharmacist and Medicine King, who slept soundly, tools lay scattered in disarray. The Viper wore a bold, thick smile, arms crossed, as if dreaming some pleasant dream.
What kind of dream could make them sleep so contentedly?
I decided to pull up the mental state of all three.
「Yes, I’m right. No, why do I even have to explain something so simple? You wouldn’t understand it anyway. In any case, I’m correct, so just do as I tell you. I’m going insane, absolutely insane. You ignorant fools, as simple as water fleas……. Ah, no, everyone, what I meant to say was……. If you’d just think a little harder, use your heads a bit, you’d grasp this trivial principle instantly, so why can’t you? Ugh, I’m sorry, so sorry, terribly sorry…….」
「Hah, with this I’ve secured my hundredth victory, Marcus……. And as a bonus, I’ve notched my nine-hundred-ninety-nine-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-ninth victory over that little brat of a Pharmacist or whatever. Ahahaha, truly, is there no one who can block the victory road of Sean McAlister? I’ve realized the loneliest possible meaning of ‘I alone am supreme beneath heaven’…….」
「Mwehehehehet! Puhihihihkekekeum-huhihihi!」
Mm.
‘Better not wake them.’
Especially that last one—I didn’t dare even touch him.
I washed carefully and emerged. Sparkling and the Backhoe Spirit had held their breath the entire time. Dawn and snow-wind mingled as a pale sky looked down upon us…….
8
As we exited the cave, a snow-covered world lay before us.
The Heavenly Demon stood in the heart of the Snowy Plain. She looked me over from head to toe, arms folded.
“Scrubbed every corner clean, did you?”
“Yes. I’ve washed away even the stains of the mind—I feel entirely clean now.”
“I despise men who speak well.”
The woman’s brow furrowed in displeasure.
“And you speak far too well. Your tongue is glib, exceedingly glib. You possess more the qualities of a charlatan than of a great man, and that troubles me greatly.”
“Hm.”
Is that so?
I had never felt I possessed any talent for speech. Yet the Black Dragon Lord, ranked second, would sneer at me whenever the chance arose, saying ‘you do speak well, I’ll grant you that.’ Could I have inherited some talent unknown even to myself?
As I fell into such contemplation, the Heavenly Demon’s brow only narrowed further, displeased.
I pulled up her mental state as well.
「His tongue is cunning, yet his face is so vacant—truly a simpleton. Like something drawn from a picture, a perfect likeness of Hao Wen Zhu.」
What is Hao Wen Zhu?
“Follow me.”
I followed the Heavenly Demon through the snowy path.
As we crossed the snowfield, the Heavenly Demon spoke.
“Originally, to don the robes of the Demonic Cult, one must pass through numerous trials. Though you have proven your qualifications, that does not mean you have passed the trials. The first trial of our sect is…….”
“The Trial of Comfort, correct?”
“…….”
Thud.
Whether it was mere fancy or not, the Heavenly Demon’s footstep seemed to catch slightly.
“We provide food freely, clothe freely, shelter freely. Those children who are satisfied and content with such comfort are called the Outer Family—they are raised as farmers, artisans, and merchants.”
They manage the entire livelihood of the Demonic Cult.
“But those who pass the Trial of Comfort—it is different. They are acknowledged as disciples of the Inner Family. Only those disciples who formally study the Demonic Art belong to the Inner Family. It is at this point that one is said to truly enter the Demonic Cult.”
“…But how did you know that?”
I’d seen it in my previous loop, witnessed it as a trauma before you killed me.
Since I could hardly say that aloud, I simply smiled wryly.
“I happen to know quite a lot.”
“Ah! Heaven is heartless indeed! And the final thread of fate brings me this cunning wretch as a disciple. Must I truly accept such a fool as Hao Wen Zhu into my sect…….”
The Backhoe Spirit nodded beside me.
-Yep. This zombie does seem like quite the fool of a Hao Wen Zhu type! For a Heavenly Demon, you’ve got a sharp eye for people.
‘What in the world are you talking about……?’
-If he were a complete fool, I wouldn’t bother paying attention. But the problem is he actually tries to do things sometimes, so it’s hard to dismiss him entirely. Makes him all the worse!
Is that praise or insult? When I can’t tell if someone is complimenting me or cursing me, I choose to take it as praise.
A barren age. A time when praise has grown scarce. Shouldn’t I, at least, accept others’ words graciously? Yes, even if the speaker is as perverse and strange and negative about all things as the Backhoe Spirit…….
-That right there is exactly the fool-like quality I’m talking about! You simpleton bird!
I truly have no idea what he means.
“…This should suffice.”
Where the Heavenly Demon led, a pit had been dug. An enormous pit. Its center was carved out like a colosseum, and because the dawn light could not reach it, darkness reigned as if at midnight.
“Rejoice.”
The Heavenly Demon turned to face me.
“I intend to accept you as my disciple. The Demonic Way Dominion! When one’s qualifications are sufficient, heaven does not refuse its followers.”
“Ah! Then…….”
“However, I cannot yet accept you as a formal disciple.”
What.
“No, Heavenly Demon, surely you jest! I traveled far from the Outside Region to become your disciple. I’ve proven my qualifications. Yet you say I’m still unfit to become a formal disciple? What manner of thing is this!”
“…Your words are highly suspect to me.”
The Heavenly Demon studied my face with an unwavering gaze.
“It is suspicious that you truly came from the Outside Region. It is doubtful whether your admiration for me was ever genuine. By my intuition, it all seems like a lie—and yet, your nature does not appear to be particularly vicious, so I shall let it be for now.”
No.
What kind of martial artist has intuition this sharp?
“Looking at your temperament alone, you even seem good, which is strange. Yes, you are truly a peculiar one. Whether you will be a stroke of fortune for me, or I for you, I cannot yet determine.”
“What is this trial, then?”
“There.”
The Heavenly Demon pointed to the bottom of the pit.
“At the bottom lies a Hopping Corpse—a late-stage expert who showed much promise in our sect, a peak master of considerable renown in the martial world. Defeat that corpse, and I shall accept you as a disciple of the Inner Family. However.”
The Heavenly Demon, arms folded, added a condition.
“You must fight while experiencing hunger.”
“Pardon?”
“Exactly as I said. When you clash with the Hopping Corpse, your mind must contain only hunger—only the agony of hunger. No other emotion or thought shall be permitted to intrude upon your mental state.”
The Heavenly Demon’s voice resonated.
“Can you do it?”
……
And in that moment, I understood.
She already regarded me as a disciple.
All talk of not yet being a formal disciple, of not yet belonging to the Inner Family—it was merely empty ritual. In the Heavenly Demon’s heart, I was already the disciple destined to receive the teachings of the Demonic Cult, the successor to the Heavenly Demon Divine Technique.
“Your every sword stroke must spring from hunger.”
The Heavenly Demon spoke.
“Envision the voice and groans of a starving person, the movements of their arms and legs—all of it. Plant it in your heart. Make it your heart intent. By this intent alone, only through hunger, shall you wield your blade.”
……
“Only then will the Heavenly Demon Divine Technique achieve its true power.”
I gazed down into the pit.
A terrible, hollow screech erupted from below.
At the bottom of the pit, a corpse let out an agonized wail. Clad in a black robe, tattered and worn with age, the creature nonetheless bore the unmistakable garb of the Demonic Cult.
A pit that resembled hell itself.
Perhaps this corpse could be considered my senior brother.
“If…”
I opened my mouth.
“If I can wield the blade only through hunger, what becomes possible?”
“You can cut down in a single stroke one who has never known starvation.”
The Heavenly Demon spoke with calm certainty.
“In this way, half of all righteous martial artists fall to the status of one-technique opponents.”
Therefore, it is said:
A claw that rends the world.
“First, master the style of starvation. Next comes the style of death by thirst. You must learn to wield your blade through thirst alone, and thereby cut down in a single stroke those who have never withered. Then comes the style of drowning. You shall master nine blades in all, and those nine paths of the sword shall be sufficient to shroud the entire world.”
I gripped the hilt tightly.
“That is…”
My heart quickened.
“That is quite appealing.”
“Mm.”
The corner of the Heavenly Demon’s mouth rose.
It seemed to be the first smile of hers I had ever seen in this life.
Perhaps my resolve had pleased her.
“Then why hesitate? Descend now into hell without delay.”
And.
I leaped into the corpse pit.
S-Rank Hunter Who Must Die to Live (Serialized)
Author | Shin No-ah
Publisher | Kim Ju-hyung
Published by | J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing | Han Jae-hyuk
Address | 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelyung Post Tower 1st)
Email | [email protected]
Website | www.jayplemedia.com
© Shin No-ah 2019
※This work has been published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and no part of its contents may be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher and author.
Violation of this restriction may result in criminal and civil liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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