Possessing Nothing

After learning that this barrier was a type of formation being maintained by some entity, Lee Sungmin and The Crazy Heavenly Demon’s actions were bound to become cautious. It was impossible to smash apart the trees that seemed to be the pillars of the formations, let alone jumping to the top and trying to escape them.

[It is impossible for the person screwing with my territory to maintain this kind of formation by themselves.]

Heoju confirmed the discrepancies within maintaining this kind of barrier.

[There is no one who can do this kind of thing that I know of. There are plenty of people who can destroy the entire forest, but it’s never possible to entangle the very space like this.]

“What if the other person is not human?”

[The same goes for the latter. This kind of formation is too strong to set up by one person alone. It could be a group of people, or the most likely scenario is that they’re using the power of the land itself to power it.], said Heoju.

Lee Sungmin thought it would be better to gather as much information as he could, so he called Neville and asked him if there was any information he could gather. However, Neville just cracked apart in the space and formed a connection with another sorcerer. Lee Sungmin recognized the sorcerer to be one of the few he had consulted about the curse on Wijihoyeon.

“Nice to see you again.”

The sorcerer with a disheveled beard smiled at Lee Sungmin, showing his yellow teeth. Lee Sungmin asked the question out of doubt.

“I’d like to ask you about the Forest of Temptation, but why am I talking to you?”, Lee Sungmin asked.

He was confused why this sorcerer would be of help when he couldn’t do anything about the curse laid on Wijihoyeon.

“You really don’t seem to know anything. Sorcerer’s specialize in certain fields. Curses aren’t my forte but I do know a bit about this forest.”

The sorcerer grinned and stroked his unkempt beard lightly.

“This is the forest where the great monster Heoju was based 400 years ago, and when that monster died, the forest’s fear of losing it’s ruler was embedded into the forest itself.” the old sorcerer spoke in a calm tone.

[…well.]

Heoju groaned at the disaster he inadvertently caused.

“For 400 years, the forest has transformed itself into a forest that conveys fear to everyone. Since the source of fear is the forest itself, it has resulted in people not being able to leave.”

[Now I get it.]

Heoju finally understood what had happened to the forest.

[The fear left by this old man has transformed the forest. Somehow I thought I was getting too excited thinking there would be some opponent to fight. I didn’t expect this to happen.]

‘You didn’t know?’’

[This happened after I lost my body. You couldn’t even differentiate me from the very epitome of horror.]

“Since the monsters realized the apex predator of the forest had left, they migrated back here and grew from the sources of fear produced by people who reside around here. But, to the sorcerers and wizards of old times, this was no secret.”

The sorcerer snorted with laughter. He looked at Lee Sungmin and said,

“If I may advise you, don’t stay here too long. I’m glad it’s not night yet. At night… it’ll be hard. You know that the darkness is a source of fear for most, right? You don’t know when or what’s going to pop out of it. If that fear continues… People go crazy. ‘I’m going crazy with fear.’ After that? You’ll be distracted by this and die in the woods, not by a monster or a human being.”

“…do you know about the monsters in this forest?”, Lee Sungmin asked again.

He was anxious. Even though he noticed this was caused by Heoju’s death, it was still dangerous to be in the forest.

“Do you know a monster called the Henemy?”, the sorcerer suddenly asked.

It was a name Lee Sungmin knew of, and one both he and Heoju were very wary of.

[Henemy? He’s the king of monsters in Predator, one the 5 beings in charge of it.]

“You mean the King of Beasts is here?”, Lee Sungmin asked the sorcerer, anxiety written all over his countenance.

“Henemy was the king of monsters who ruled over the other elders in Predator despite not being the being they worship known as ‘Predator of Massacre’. But a few years ago, Henemy was defeated and disappeared in a quarrel with someone. And now he’s here, in a forest of temptation.”, replied the sorcerer.

[Henemy was defeated?!]

Heoju’s voice was growing louder inside Lee Sungmin’s head in disbelief of the news he heard..

[No way. 400 years ago, he used to be as powerful as this old man. Who on earth defeated him?]

“…who defeated Henemy?” asked Lee Sungmin.

“It’s the nine-tailed fox that took over his body and controls the old monster now. I don’t know if it’s the real name or not, but some monsters called the nine-tailed fox: Yanachuan.”

[Kumiho… …that tricky bastard.], Heoju, quipped seemingly in knowledge of the real identity of the monster that had defeated Henemy.

The fox, Kumiho, which had lived for a long time, grows its tail one by one and grows it’s power by each tail it grows until it becomes a nine-tailed fox.

“That fox isn’t the only one here. There are monsters that used to be famous in the south. But the most dangerous thing is not the fox that’s taken over Henemy’s body. There’s a monster of immortality in this forest.” the sorcerer continued warily.

“What the hell is that?”

Lee Sungmin questioned even more, seemingly confused as the entity of something that could be even stronger than the nine-tailed fox, Kumiho that had defeated a monster at the caliber of Heoju.

” It’s liiteral. It’s a monster that is immortal and was born in this forest. I don’t know what it looks like or it’s name, but I’m certain that thing is living in the Forest of Temptation. That’s all I know about the beings or mysteries about the forest. No other sorcerers would know anything else.”, the sorcerer grinned as he continued. “I repeat, beware of nightime. Or, just leave the forest. It’s probably not too late yet.”

The connection with the sorcerer ended there. Lee Sungmin kept his mouth shut. He couldn’t find any fault with Heoju since this had all happened after he had died.

[What are you going to do?], asked Heoju.

Lee Sungmin knew that continuing to explore the forest to find the methods Heoju had left behind to control his power was risky in many ways. He knew he absolutely must not come across the Monster of Immortality nor should he go looking for the nine-tailed fox controlling the body of Henemy, the King of Monsters.

‘Your treasures. Are they worth embracing these dangers?’ he asked Heoju reluctantly.

[Absolutely.], Heoju answered with confidence and conviction.

[Though this old man’s treasure is no money. If you continue the path you are walking with martial arts, it will certainly be a great help for you going forward.]

It was Lee Sungmin who had to worry here. Currently, Lee Sungmin had three jobs to do in the South. First, to visit the southern tribes and learn how to handle their forces. Second, to go to the Forest of Beginning and kill Qian Zun who was hiding there. And lastly, to recover Heoju’s treasures. He wanted to prioritize killing Qian Zun and saving Wijihoyeon from her curse but since he was already here, he might as well retrieve Heoju’s treasures.

‘It’s dangerous for sure but, if you’re certain your treasures are here then we will go get them.’, Lee Sungmin smiled bitterly.

Since the rewards were here he decided to take the risk. He just had to be absolutely careful not to run into the 2 beings that could kill him on a whim. Regardless of all that, he had acquired information on the forest nobody knew of, which could be useful in getting rid of the pursuers.

‘So where should we go?’, he asked the yokai.

[If the form of the forest hadn’t changed completely, there would be a mansion in the middle of the forest where I used to live.]

‘It’s been 400 years, you sure your mansion is even in one piece? What if somebody already ransacked it for the treasure? You already know there’s a lot of monsters in this forest’, Lee Sungmin questioned Heoju skeptically.

[No, it wouldn’t be possible. The mansion is probably in shambles, but the treasures absolutely could not have been taken. It’s impossible for someone else to steal the treasure.]

Heoju had said so many things with certainty, so Lee Sungmin was pretty much forced to believe the old yokai. He decided to rest, since he was wary of what the old sorcerer said, and keeping a healthy mind would be key to surviving in the forest.

[You and that old moron are lucky.], Heoju spoke.

The moron he was referring to, was the Crazy Heavenly Demon.

[You two are embedded with this old man’s strength. Like it or not, it’s already at the border between humans and monsters. You won’t go crazy here, but you will feel the fear that’s accumulated from others in the forest.]

Heoju in particular was extremely confident in Lee Sungmin not going crazy. Of all the beings he had seen, even in his lifetime whilst alive, he had never seen anybody with a mind as powerful as Lee Sungmin’s. This was once again due to the sheer willpower and time Lee Sungmin had spent in Denir’s trial.

[The pursuers who followed you however, will have an unfortunate experience.]

Heoju burst out into laughter thinking of the idiots who were troubling even him at this point like a mosquito he couldn’t swat. Lee Sungmin could care less for them, but in the back of his mind he was a bit worried for Namgung Heewon, the person he had once called ‘brother’.

‘I can’t help it.’

Namgung Heewon came here to kill Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin was in no position to think of other’s safety especially if they were here to threaten him.

Eventually nightfall came.

—

Although there was a risk of being noticed by Ghost Gun, Zhuge Taeryong was forced to make fire to settle camp and recover his fatigued mentality along with his group members.

While they ate, Zhuge Taeryong glared at Aladdur with disapproving eyes. Knowing that Zhuge Taeryong didn’t think well of him, Aladdur was sitting away from Zhuge Taeryong, stuffing food into his mouth.

“Not so scary for the fabled Forest of Temptation.”, said Dang Ah-Hui, sitting near Zhuge Taeryong, smiling.

It was as she had said. Although it was hard to navigate and avoid wandering, this forest didn’t feel as dangerous as Aladdur said. They had met wild animals, but no monsters yet. In fact, it didn’t matter if they ran into monsters, they thought. No matter how powerful a monster may be, 50 first-rate martial artists and a few peak levels would be able to kill anything that comes their way.

“It’s just a bunch of woods that nobody knows about. It’s not worth caring for at all.”, she continued, ”But it is true that it’s annoying because of how hard it is to navigate. I’ve even caught myself wandering a couple of times.”, Dang Ah-hui said smiling coquettishly.

“We can’t really do anything about it though. This forest is affected by some weird formations or barriers. If I had known this would happen, I would have come with my uncle.”, Zhuge Taeryong sighed while keeping his haughty atmosphere.

“You’re much older and bigger now aren’t you? Do you remember what it was like when we were younger?”, Dang Ah-hui continued her flirtatious actions with Zhuge Taeryong.

Sitting near Zhuge Taeryong, Murong Seojin silently gazed at the bonfire. Even if they were married, there was zero affection, and under the current circumstances, it was becoming more prominent as Zhuge Taeyrong was openly flirting with another woman in front of her. But, she couldn’t express herself. Murong Seojin gave up and raised herself with a sigh.

“Where are you going?”, Namgung Heewon asked Murong Seojin, noticing she got up to leave.

Zhuge Taeryong and Dang Ah-hui also stopped talking, as they saw Murong Seojin standing up. As attention of those at the bonfire focused in on her, Murong Seojin coughed out a short cough and turned her face to the side.

“…to the bathroom.”, she replied meekly.

“My foot!”, Dang Ah-hui burst into laughter on the spot when she heard Murong’s reply.

Zhuge Taeryong, with an irritated look on his face, picked up a branch and poked at the bonfire.

“Hurry up and come back. Because the forest is dark.”, Taeryong grumbled in irritation.

‘You’re ashamed of me.’ Murong Seojin thought to herself. However, she didn’t resent Taeryong over it because such petty emotions were lost long ago.

“I’ll come with you.”, Namgung Heewon raised himself up as well.

“…Yes?”, she said in astonishment and embarrassment.

“The night time in this forest is dangerous. Especially since this is a grove of monsters, you need to be on guard at all times.”, he replied flatly.

“Are you saying you’re going to follow her to the bathroom?”, Dang Ah-hui grumbled and continued to speak.

“Your husband, Zhuge Taeryong, seems to have a heavy butt, so can I take care of him instead?”, Dang Ah-hui shot out her remark in utter contempt.

Zhuge Taeryong’s face cooled down and smiled flirtatiously at Ah-hui. Murong Seojin felt at a total loss and didn’t know how to react, then turned around trying to suppress her feelings of sadness that she was openly humiliated by seemingly everyone.

“…I’ve learned martial arts, too. It’s like a child compared to you, but I still have the power to protect myself.”, she then said to Namgung Heewon, averting his eyes.

“But…”, Heewon stuttered.

“Don’t follow me. Are you trying to insult me as well?”, she shot back at him venomously.

Namgung Heewon backed away, feeling embarrassed and a little irritated with how the camp was treating her. Dang Ah-Hui who was looking at the conversation between them smiled cruelly.

“Why are you doing something useless?”, Dang Ah-hui asked.

“Worry about yourself.” Heewon said coldly to her.

Zhuge Taeryong glared silently at Namgoong Heewon’s face. If this wasn’t the Forest of Temptation, and if it weren’t for everyone else here… Zhuge Taeryong laughed at the thought of how badly he would beat Heewon’s face to a pulp.

Only

Silence ensued after the awkward exchange between Ah-hui and Heewon.

Before long…

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A scream came from somewhere not far away.

———————————————————————————————————————