The Heavenly Demon Cult’s Strongest Maid - Chapter 109
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 109
“Do you know what’s most inconvenient about the Martial Arts Alliance?”
“…Meat?”
“Unfortunately, no. Amitabha.”
“Then what is inconvenient for you?”
“Wake-up time.”
“Wake-up time?”
“Yes, Benefactor Dang.”
“I don’t understand. I heard that monks’ lives are stricter than us martial artists.”
“That’s why it’s difficult.”
“…?”
“Do you know what time the day begins at Shaolin Temple?”
“What time is it?”
“The Hour of the Tiger (3 AM).”
“What?”
“I naturally wake up at the Hour of the Tiger, but I can’t get out of bed and have to lie there until the Hour of the Rabbit (6 AM), so my back aches terribly. Haha, we monks joke among ourselves that if someone were to invade our temple, the Hour of the Ox (1 AM) would be the best time, right before that. Hahaha, Amitabha.”
Hoo-hoo— Hoo-hoo—
At the owl’s cry, Dang Yeong-ryeong opened her closed eyes.
Seeing that the moon had waned, it seemed to be well past midnight, around the Hour of the Ox.
As she recalled a conversation with a warrior monk who had been dispatched to the Martial Arts Alliance during her Dark Four days, a bitter smile formed on her lips.
‘Was his dharma name Mujin?’
He had been unusually cheerful for a monk and quite talkative about everything.
‘By now, he must have risen to quite a high position?’
Dang Yeong-ryeong immediately shook off the old memory.
Now was not the time to indulge in such idle thoughts.
Time was of the essence.
She quietly rose from her spot and turned her gaze down the mountain. The scene of Shaolin Temple sleeping in the darkness came into view.
The quiet night of the mountain temple was calm, but within it lurked the power of a giant that could awaken at any moment.
‘As quickly as possible, swift and stealthy.’
She had to be careful not to wake the giant.
Taking a deep, tense breath, Dang Yeong-ryeong took out a mask and covered her face with it.
‘That’s the place.’
Even within the temple grounds that glowed dimly under the moonlight, in a secluded area. The pavilion located there was Yaksajeon.
‘Whoo.’
To calm her churning heart, Dang Yeong-ryeong closed her eyes for a moment.
Infiltrating Shaolin Temple was truly dangerous and, in some ways, reckless.
But she had come nonetheless.
There was one face that appeared clearly even in the darkness.
‘Father.’
Saving her father wasn’t a matter of ‘being able to’ but something she ‘absolutely had to accomplish.’
When she opened her eyes again, her heart was as solid and unwavering as ten-thousand-year-old cold iron.
Dang Yeong-ryeong gently launched her body down the mountain.
Did heaven help her?
As clouds covered the moonlight, even shadows were erased, making everything even darker.
Dang Yeong-ryeong didn’t miss that opportunity.
Her movement as she descended the massive cliff of Songshan that surrounded Shaolin Temple like a folding screen was as fluid and natural as flowing water.
The way she slid down, gripping rocks with her hands and stepping on stone protrusions with her feet, was like a ghost melting into the darkness.
In the back courtyard of Shaolin Temple grounds, the massive Taprim revealed itself before her.
In that place where hundreds of stone pagodas stood quietly in rows, she could safely hide her body for a moment thanks to the clouds blocking the moonlight.
Dang Yeong-ryeong held her breath and surveyed her surroundings.
Even as time passed, there was no movement.
‘Am I lucky?’
Confirming there was nothing wrong, she again slipped between the pagodas like a shadow.
It was such stealthy movement that she didn’t leave a single footprint.
However, as she approached the temple grounds, the security became stricter.
The presence of warrior monks stationed everywhere could be clearly felt.
While advancing by avoiding key points to evade their presence, her path crossed with a patrolling warrior monk.
Ping!
In the blink of an eye, Dang Yeong-ryeong flicked her finger and shot a feathered needle coated with Dream Powder.
As the feathered needle struck precisely into the warrior monk’s neck, his eyes slowly closed and he collapsed weakly.
Rustle!
Just before the warrior monk completely fell, Dang Yeong-ryeong quickly caught his body to muffle the sound.
‘I’m sorry.’
Then she quietly laid him in an inconspicuous corner and melted back into the darkness.
Once she fully entered the temple grounds, the warrior monks’ patrols became even more frequent.
Dang Yeong-ryeong moved as quickly as possible with her nerves on edge.
Then the patrol route and her path crossed again.
It was inevitable.
There was a reason it was called the Thousand-Year Shaolin.
Dang Yeong-ryeong again held her breath and hid in the darkness, watching the warrior monk passing in front of her.
‘Now!’
Swish!
Dang Yeong-ryeong shot forward, crawling along the ground.
She quickly covered the warrior monk’s mouth with her hand and, before he could cause a disturbance, precisely stabbed a feathered needle coated with Dream Powder into his neck.
“…!”
The warrior monk struggled and tried to make noise, but the powerful effects of Dream Powder manifested immediately. With a short groan, he quickly lost consciousness and went limp.
‘Phew.’
Cold sweat broke out.
The warrior monk’s internal energy seemed deep, as he didn’t immediately lose consciousness to the Dream Powder.
His brief struggle nearly let sound escape.
Dang Yeong-ryeong exhaled deeply and released her sharp tension for just a moment.
But that was only for an instant.
She knew all too well that she couldn’t let her guard down for even a moment.
She steadied her breathing and silently moved toward Yaksajeon.
After overcoming several more close calls, she finally arrived at Yaksajeon located within Shaolin Temple grounds.
‘The Daehwandan is inside there…’
Dang Yeong-ryeong tried to calm herself as she hid under the eaves of Yaksajeon.
Then she carefully and slowly opened the lower window.
Perhaps due to its good maintenance, the window opened smoothly without any sound.
Dang Yeong-ryeong pushed her body through the open lower window and entered Yaksajeon.
She pressed her body against the wall as much as possible and surveyed her surroundings.
Rustle!
At the sound of fabric rubbing, she held her breath and lay flat on the floor.
Then, drawing up her ki sense to the maximum, she opened her ears wide.
“Mmph— Hmm!”
There was the tossing and turning of a patient who couldn’t sleep deeply due to pain, but it soon became quiet as if he had fallen asleep.
After that, fortunately, only the shallow breathing of patients could be heard.
No other signs of human presence could be felt.
As she cautiously entered the main hall, the first thing to greet her was the statue of Bhaisajyaguru Buddha looking down upon all living beings from atop the Buddhist altar.
Though it was a Buddha who rescued the world from illness and disaster with a gentle expression, Dang Yeong-ryeong felt as if it were scolding her.
Guilt welled up from deep within her chest.
Though she didn’t believe in Buddha, she pressed her palms together and bowed her head.
She felt compelled to apologize in this way.
‘Please… do not forgive me.’
To the left and right of Bhaisajyaguru were seated the Suryaprabha Bodhisattva and Candraprabha Bodhisattva.
Peculiarly, the gazes of the two bodhisattvas were directed not straight ahead but to the left and right sides.
Following their gazes, Dang Yeong-ryeong saw that one side faced the hospital rooms where patients lay, while the other faced the Medicinal Preparation Room where medicines were made.
The thoughtful consideration of whoever designed this place and arranged the Buddhist statues was evident.
It seemed to contain respect and symbolism for the space dedicated to caring for and treating the sick.
Dang Yeong-ryeong’s heart grew heavy once again.
But she must not forget her purpose.
She steeled her resolve once more and moved toward the Medicinal Preparation Room on the left.
The slightest pressure would cause the wooden floor to creak.
This was a situation where even the smallest sound was unacceptable.
She concentrated all her attention on muffling her footsteps as much as possible.
Arriving in front of the Medicinal Preparation Room, Dang Yeong-ryeong pressed her ear to the door and heightened her hearing.
Here too, no sound could be heard.
She felt no presence whatsoever.
‘In that case.’
She boldly opened the door and entered inside.
Hundreds of medicine cabinets were the first thing to catch her eye.
And medicinal herbs, pharmaceutical materials, and refined medicines were neatly organized.
But this wasn’t what she was looking for.
Daehwandan.
That which was called the world’s greatest elixir alongside the Mudang Sect’s Taecheong Divine Pill.
Such a precious medicine wouldn’t be placed out in the open.
Dang Yeong-ryeong began searching for something secretive.
She thought there would be a safe or treasury made with mechanical formations, or perhaps a hidden secret chamber.
She opened the medicine cabinets one by one, and also felt around the walls and decorative objects.
She calmly searched for any hidden devices or passages.
Perhaps it was because she was too absorbed in searching for any possible clues.
Suddenly, she felt a chilling presence behind her.
“What manner of Night Visitor might you be?”
A low, cold voice rang in her ears.
“Are you perhaps trying to indulge your greed by seeking the Daehwandan?”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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