Reverse Interview 1
After taking care of an old man named Dangcheolsan for about two days, the warriors of Sacheondangga came to us as he had said.
I thought it would take several weeks for the warriors to come back after recovering from their injuries from catching foxes, but they showed up in just two days.
The warriors were startled by the sight of a corpse covered with a straw mat at the entrance to the temple, thinking that it might be Mr. Cheolsan, but under my guidance, they met Mr. Cheolsan lying inside the temple.
“Go, go. What is this!?”
“This is a serious injury!”
The warriors were surprised by the sight of the old man with a pale face and dark circles under his eyes that looked like they were going to hit his feet.
As I helped the old man up, he began to explain to his men what had happened a few days ago.
“Blood-handed Nacha (blood-handed Nacha) Takunyang has appeared.”
“Yes!? If you’re talking about the blood-sucking Takwoonyang… Are you talking about the great demon head that fell down the coastal cliff after being hit by the sword of the Mandokshin Army in Heumju over ten years ago!?”
“That’s right.”
“Huh! Then, the corpse at the entrance?”
“That was a really close call. He must have been living in seclusion, cultivating his martial arts skills, and he’s reached a level close to that of his father.”
“That, that kind of···.”
The three warriors looked incredulous at the old man’s explanation, but then suddenly their faces brightened and they began to urgently congratulate the old man.
“Then, then!? Go! If you can make such a person a guest who will never return, then you have reached the realm of Mandok (萬毒). Congratulations.”
“Congratulations!”
If he caught such a great guy, then his skill must be higher than that.
I felt like it meant congratulations.
‘But it was just one punch from the old man…’
Then, Mr. Cheolsan shook his head.
The old man pointed at me with a smiling face.
“No. It wasn’t me who killed that guy, it was this syndicate… I received the grace of my syndicate’s lifesaving grace.”
“Huh!?”
“This, this is the small business?”
“Sohyeop is the bloodthirsty Takunyang!?”
To be exact, it wasn’t me who killed it, but it wasn’t wrong since it was my pet.
Originally, any accidents caused by a pet were the responsibility of the owner.
However, the warriors must have misunderstood something, because they bowed their heads politely to me and gave me a Zhongyuan greeting.
“Thank you for saving the head of the Sacheon Dang family.”
“Thank you!”
“By any chance, were you the deceased who had turned from old age to a young child?”
Then he asked me if I had done something like a half-life crisis or something.
‘What are you talking about? That? I wish I had watched more martial arts novels and movies in my past life. If only I had known what they were talking about…’
Then, Cheolsan Ajae made a face as if he couldn’t hold back laughter, as if he found the actions of the Tang Dynasty warriors funny.
As he furrowed his eyebrows, a chill ran down my spine and a noise began to come from my arms.
‘No, I told you not to do it suddenly···.’
-Tsrrrr!
That sound is a kind of warning sound that the Obans are angry.
Immediately, the Obanis jumped out from the collar of his chest and shook their heads like snakes, glaring at the old man Cheolsan.
“Ugh! This, this is!”
“Oh, Goku!?”
The warriors opened their eyes wide in surprise at the sight of the three yellow foxes.
And after a while, when the cold feeling on his spine disappeared, the Wukongs slowly disappeared into his arms again.
“That, that!?”
The warriors, surprised by the sight of Wukong, took a step back from me.
The old man answered the warriors’ questions on my behalf.
“It’s the baby of the Blue-Band-O-Gong. They say there was an egg in the hole where we caught the Blue-Band-O-Gong. They say the So-Hyeop hatched it, and those guys killed Tak-Woon-Yang.”
“T, that’s it!? Is, is poison okay?”
“Wow, you tamed the Blue and White Dragon!”
The reason why Mr. Cheolsan showed off his trick of making Wukong pop out was because of the information we found out over the past few days, which was the mechanism by which Wukong attacks people.
It was discovered in what situations the Wukongs attack people.
‘It responds to the word ‘living’. Isn’t it strange and wonderful?’
The day after I defeated that crazy guy named Tak Yun-yang, the Wukongs didn’t move from my arms for a while.
Well, it was natural since the baby foxes hardly moved from their mother’s body until they molted twice, but Mr. Cheolsan seemed to be curious as to why the foxes, who had taken human lives, were now still motionless.
That’s why I was lying down and asking with a curious expression.
“You’re so quiet and well-behaved, do you know how these guys attacked Tak Yun-yang?”
“Well? Me too.”
“Does anything come to mind?”
I knew for sure that it was poisonous, and I thought back to that time because I was worried that I might get bitten.
If you bite me by mistake, I will die too.
‘I definitely washed my body… and then I got grabbed by the nape of my neck… and then these guys clearly didn’t react at that time… and then…’
“Um… I went to wash myself in cold water to get these guys off, but that doesn’t seem to be the case… Ah! Now that I think about it, when Tak Woon-yang or that guy grabbed my neck and tightened his grip, my spine went cold and I started to sweat… Could it be because of the sweat?”
It is common for insects and animals to react to human sweat.
I thought maybe he was reacting to the smell of sweat, but it seemed like Mr. Cheolsan had a different idea.
“Huh? You said your spine felt cold? Maybe so?”
Mr. Cheolsan made an expression as if he had just remembered something.
Immediately afterwards, a chill ran down my spine, just like when Tak Yun-yang grabbed my neck.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
-Tsrrrrrr!
Then, strangely enough, the Wukongs began to emit warning sounds, jump out from under their collars, and start glaring at the old man.
The surprised cry of the old man with the protruding iron mountain.
“Reacting to life!”
“Yes? To live?”
Mr. Cheolsan was excited as if he had discovered something great by seeing the appearance of the Wukongs.
After hearing the explanation, I learned that usually, the will to kill is an aura that is revealed in a person’s facial expression or attitude that makes them want to kill or harm others, but for martial artists, it’s a little different.
It’s closer to the feeling of a life-or-death spirit from a previous life, but the life-or-death spirit of a martial artist is an intangible energy that can actually intimidate or even kill a person.
But the old man explained that the Wukongs seemed to be reacting to that killing intent.
Is that cool air that was on my back a little while ago alive?
‘No, isn’t that dangerous? I feel like I got shot with an empty gun.’
No matter how curious I was, I saw Mr. Cheolsan again when he said that he had shot me with a live bullet, but I was able to appease my disappointment when he said that he had shot me with a very weak bullet.
And with some experiments, we were able to figure out the exact attack mechanism of the Wukongs.
According to the old man Cheolsan, the aura of life can be used in two ways: spreading it around and directing it at a specific target. However, the Wukongs did not respond to the aura of life that was spread around, but only to the aura that was directed at them.
Like an automatic turret.
They run behind me for fear of getting bitten, but at the same time, they are the ones who protect me?
For now, we’ve decided to keep the secret about this mechanism between me and you.
It’s a bit weird because it feels like we’re secret friends.
That was when I was thinking about the attack mechanisms of the Wukongs.
Overheard conversation.
“······That’s why I’m thinking of taking you in as a member of my family.”
“Huh! Family? Then our baby called Wolgye (月季)···”
“Yes. Although Sohyeop hasn’t made up his mind yet.”
“““Ohhh!”””
The conversation between the Tang family’s warriors and the old man Cheolsan was moving towards the idea that the old man Cheolsan was trying to scout me, and I asked for a few days to think about the old man Cheolsan’s offer.
I had to be careful here too, because I had to organize things and it felt like I was entering a job for life.
But I couldn’t help but ask about the word laurel, which I had never heard of before, and which seemed to be related to that story.
Because I had a feeling that if I became a member of the Tang family, something would be connected to me.
“But what is laurel?”
Then everyone looked at me.
The old man from Cheolsan and the warriors all looked at me with bewildered expressions, and the one who seemed to be the oldest among the warriors answered with a mischievous smile.
“Is this your first time hearing about laurel?”
“Yes? Yes. Is that also teenage poison?”
The faces of the people in the family all changed to smiles as I continued to ask questions.
Musa’s explanation continued.
“No. It’s a laurel flower. It has thorns, but it’s a red and beautiful flower. Have you ever seen it?”
“Ah! I see what you mean.”
The word laurel probably means rose in Chinese.
If it’s red and has thorns, it’s probably a rose.
“Yes, I know. People say that the peony is the king of flowers, and that it is also the fragrance of the country, but they don’t know what they are talking about. No matter what anyone says, isn’t the laurel the best flower?
Peonies that bloom for one season will soon wither, but laurels bloom all year round and make people happy. Of course, they can be called the best of flowers. Well, that’s right. And how red is it?”
A warrior who makes long speeches because he is a rose maniac.
I was a little embarrassed, but I couldn’t point the finger at someone who’s crazy about poison.
I decided to respect her taste and answered with a smile.
“I like laurel the best too.”
Then suddenly the people in the party became noisy.
“Oh! Really!?”
“You like laurel the best!?”
“Yes? Yes···. Well···. I learned that the thorns on the laurel tree are to show its dignity and majesty, so that no one dares to pluck it without permission.”
“Oh! You know something!?”
As expected, the warrior who was trying to grab my hand because he was really into roses flinched at the thought of Wukong.
He looked at the head of the family, Mr. Cheolsan, and said.
“Then that is really great. I heard that you haven’t made up your mind yet, but if you do, I am sure the head of the household will give you the most beautifully blooming moonflower in our family.”
“Yes? To me?”
‘Oh, is that what it means to welcome?’
It is known that the people of the Central Plains like the color red and think it is auspicious.
It seemed like they were replacing the welcome with red flowers.
But even if I became a member of the Sacheondang family, there was no need to pick useless flowers.
“Elder. Even if I decide to become a member of the Tang family, I don’t think you will have to pick the laurel for me. Flowers are all alive… Shouldn’t you be careful not to do that?”
But something strange happened.
The family members of the party were laughing heartily at my answer.
And among them, Mr. Cheolsan wiped the smile off his face and spoke with a serious expression.
“No. Small talk. It’s going to be a big deal. I’m just giving you the laurel as a gift. You have to pick it. And even though it’s okay now, you’ll probably want to pick it when you get to Sacheon, so don’t worry. Oh, and be careful of the thorns.”
“yes?”
These were people who were just talking nonsense.
‘Is there a meaning to roses that I don’t know about?’
***
The story I heard at the end of my conversation with the people in the Tang family was somewhat unexpected.
“Are you saying you’re going to search Haenam Island?”
“That’s right. I need to move as soon as I feel like it. I don’t want to be late.”
“Why? Is there anything left to find?”
I thought that Mr. Cheolsan would leave for Sacheon as soon as he got better, but Mr. Cheolsan said that he would go to Haenam Island as soon as he got better.
When asked the reason, Mr. Cheolsan said with a serious expression.
“It’s the story of Tak Yun-yang, the bloodthirsty sage. He is said to have lived in seclusion here and raised the level of his martial arts skills. I’m trying to find his hiding place.”
“Are you talking about that bastard’s hideout?”
The old man explained as he made a face asking why he had to go to the house of a dead man.
“The martial arts he learned are called Blood and Water Poison Claws, a terrible evil art. To reach a higher level, human blood and marrow are absolutely necessary.”
“Human blood, blood and marrow?”
“That’s right. He’s a boatman who has to dip his hands in blood and marrow and suck it out….”
‘What kind of crazy martial arts is this?’
“then?”
If a person who has mastered a martial art that requires immersing his hands in human blood and marrow raises the level of his martial arts, it means that he has probably committed mass murder.
When I looked at Mr. Cheolsan with an expression of disbelief, he nodded.
“That’s right. If he left behind a secret or had disciples, we must deal with him and eliminate any future troubles. We must prevent that cruel master from ever coming back to the martial arts world. And if there are people who are being held captive, shouldn’t we help them?”
If it is a martial art that can make you a serial killer if you learn it without knowing it, then it would be right to find it and eliminate it like Mr. Cheolsan said.
As I nodded my head, thinking that Mr. Cheolsan was a more righteous person than I thought, the old man asked me for help.
“So, could you help us out a bit? I guess you’re familiar with the geography here.”
It’s true that I’m well-versed in the jungles of Haenam, just as the old man said.
I nodded immediately at the old man’s suggestion.
“Okay, I’ll help you as soon as you feel better.”
The reason I immediately accepted the old man’s offer was because it was a decision about my lifelong career, so I thought of it as an internship and decided to go with it.
If it’s a company you’re applying to, the rule is that you should do an internship to get a feel for the company atmosphere and see what kind of person the CEO is.
Besides, didn’t they originally say that people’s true colors come out when they suffer?
So, I was planning to thoroughly evaluate Sacheondangga during this journey.
‘Just wait. I’ll evaluate you thoroughly.’
After all, competent people are the ones who do reverse interviews.
