King Shura

It had gained approval from the scholars who had come to support the growth of the Sichuan branch of the church.

“This truly is an amazing deal, my lord.”

The middle-aged scholar who was analyzing the contract spoke excitedly.

He was Jung Yigun, who was temporarily taking care of the Sichuan branch of the church.

“We earned much more than we initially expected. If things keep going like this, we would be able to complete the expansion 2, or even 3 months earlier than expected.”

It was much easier to take over an existing business, rather than create a new one.

This was something that even kids knew.

The deal that Cho Ryu Hyang had just struck with Gal Mun Hyuk was just that useful to the church.

It was an amazing result.

However, while others were praising Cho Ryu Hyang endlessly for his feats, Cho Ryu Hyang himself looked at the contract with a concerned expression.

‘Something’s strange.’

Something got on his mind since a while back.

What was it?

Something strange dug at his mind, but he just couldn’t figure out what it was.

Something extremely filthy, and dangerous.

There was never a case where something good happened when he smelled this.

“…….Something’s strange.”

“Hm? Is there something wrong?”

Jung Yigun looked at Cho Ryu Hyang curiously.

Just what was the problem here?

Everything was going so well for the church.

Thanks to Gal Mun Hyuk, they were able to sell large quantities of salt in the black market, and since they managed to get the list of some of the greater merchants in the area, they were able to secure themselves firmly in the city.

So why?

‘Our young heir seems to be very greedy.’

Cho Ryu Hyang thought carefully as Jung Yigun thought this of the heir.

It felt like he missed something improtant.

’So what is that?’

After thinking for a long time, Cho Ryu Hyang closed his eyes.

He just felt nervous for now, but if he didn’t take care of the problem as soon as possible, it would most likely come at it like a giant sword.

‘What are you…?’

Cho Ryu Hyang concentrated as much as he could in order to take out something from the darkness.

How much time had passed?

Cho Ryu Hyang opened his eyes, and stood up.

He looked up at the ceiling, and opened his mouth.

“I’m going to need your help.”

[What is it, my lord?]

“Follow him. He definitely has something behind him.”

[Gal Mun Hyuk?]

“Yes.”

[How long do I have to watch him?]

Cho Ryu Hyang calculated something in his mind, then opened his mouth with a frown.

“Four days. If nothing happens during that time, you can come back.”

[Understood.]

As Un Hui tried to leave, Cho Ryu Hyang put up his hands to stop the man.

“Be careful. They might have a strong enemy on their side. No, if my prediction is correct, they should definitely have one. An expert that you wouldn’t be able to face alone.“

Un Hui made a concerned face.

He didn’t know how it worked, but the heir seemed to have the power to look into the future.

A person like that warned him to be careful.

This mission of his was definitely not going to be simple.

“This mission may endanger you life. But…….”

Cho Ryu Hyang stopped for a moment, and looked at Un Hui with a complicated gaze.

He bit his lips, and spoke with a determined face.

“Can I trust that you’d come back safely?”

Un Hui looked at Cho Ryu Hyang for a moment.

The boy’s eyes were clear and unshaken. Un Hui stepped down onto the floor, and bowed to Cho Ryu Hyang.

“…….Your guard promises to come back in four days.”

“I trust that you will.”

“Understood.”

Un Hui held his bow for a moment as he stared at No Jin Nyung with an unfaithful gaze.

He felt that No Jin Nyung was a bit unsuitable to protect Cho Ryu Hyang for now.

‘What the hell are you looking at?’

No Jin Nyung looked at Un Hui with an annoyed face as well.

‘I hope he breaks something when he comes back.’

Although the heir warned Un Hui that this mission would be exceedingly dangerous, No Jin Nyung was well aware of how strong Un Hui was.

He just couldn’t believe that such a cold blooded man could actually get beat up anywhere.

Un Hui looked at No Jin Nyung’s childish face, and sighed inside.

Even though No Jin Nyung was a bit lacking, the man was still a harmonious expert.

There was no way Cho Ryu Hyang could get in any real danger.

He still felt a bit nervous, but there was no choice.

Un Hui began to move as he tried to console himself inside.

Cho Ryu Hyang began thinking as he watched Un Hui fade off into the distance.

’This is dangerous.’

But there was no choice.

The other side had concealed themselves pretty well.

Cho Ryu Hyang sat down on his chair, and made a tired face.

’There was no way things were going to be this easy, anyway.’

Gal Mun Hyuk was a man who controlled up to a thirty percent of the salt in Sichuan.

A man like that actually succumbed to a child’s threats?

’There’s no way.’

All this so far was just a suspicion.

A suspicion of a person who encountered a huge stroke of fortune.

Right then, he realized something.

Why did Gal Mun Hyuk try to side with the church?

‘Did he really just want to monopolize the salt?’

It seemed plausible, but when he thought about it, it was too big of a risk to take.

After thinking a bit more, Cho Ryu Hyang reached a conclusion.

There definitely was someone at Gal Mun Hyuk’s back.

When he realized this, all of his questions were resolved.

Even so, Cho Ryu Hyang desperately wished that his prediction was wrong.

‘Crap…….’

If his prediction was correct, Un Hui was going to be in great danger.

After thinking a bit, Cho Ryu Hyang stood up.

“I’m going to rest a bit.”

“…….What shall we do with the contract?”

When Jung Yigun carefully asked this, Cho Ryu Hyang opened his mouth.

“We’ll hold it off for four days.”

“Yes, understood.”

Cho Ryu Hyang left Jung Yigun behind, and headed outside.

At the back of the building, there was a garden that greatly resembled the one in the church. There was even an artificial pond that used to be outside his shelter.

It was all created due to the kindness of Gongson Chun Gi.

Cho Ryu Hyang sat on the edge of the pagoda of the garden, and closed his eyes.

No Jin Nyung looked around carefully, trying to see if there was any danger.

Right then.

Cho Ryu hyang, who had been sitting dazedly on the pagoda, suddenly stood up.

He ran to the other side of the pagoda, and began looking somewhere.

No Jin Nyung made a strange face at Cho Ryu Hyang’s actions.

“Is something wrong?”

“…….”

Cho Ryu Hyang didn’t say anything, and looked at No Jin Nyung with a pale face.

No Jin Nyung became confused.

‘What, is he scared?’

If No Jin Nyung was right, the heir was pretty afraid right now.

Why?

Wasn’t the heir someone who fought him head-on unhesitatingly?

So why was he making such a face?

No Jin Nyung calmly walked up to the place that Cho Ryu Hyang was looking at.

When he walked over, a small, cute rabbit jumped out of the bush.

“Nn?‘

What?

The heir actually got afraid of something like this?

‘Pff! So the young master can be like a child at times.’

No Jin Nyung thought CHo Ryu Hyang’s actions to be quite cute, and tried to hug the rabbit.

Right before he did so, however, Cho Ryu Hyang shouted.

“Stop!”

No Jin Nyung felt the urgency contained within Cho Ryu Hyang’s voice, and looked back.

He could see Cho Ryu Hyang walking towards him.

“What do you want?”

“What?”

Cho Ryu Hyang motioned No Jin Nyung away with his hand as he glared at the rabbit.

The rabbit looked at Cho Ryu Hyang with an innocent face.

But then.

[Kehehe, don’t be so scared, kid. I’m not going to hurt you.]

Cho Ryu Hyang flinched when he heard the rabbit’s voice in his head.

The rabbit just kept acting like a normal ‘rabbit’ on the outside.

It picked its nose using its cute front paws, and opened its mouth.

[Kid, let’s make a deal.]

“What deal?”

[It’s kind of problematic for me to fight you here, actually. I still haven’t recovered completely….. It would be troublesome to fight the people here.]

Cho Ryu Hyang narrowed his eyes.

He was trying to discern the rabbit’s motives.

[Keke, don’t look at me like that. My objective is simple. I desperately need that dragon’s pearl in your body.]

Dragon pearl?

Cho Ryu Hyang thought of the bead inside his dantian.

He had suspected that it might be a dragon pearl, but he didn’t actually think that was the case till now.

‘A dragon’s pearl……’

Cho Ryu Hyang looked down at his dantian with an amazed face.

The rabbit continued talking.

[I had tried to take the pearl by force…… but I managed to find a different way to do things.]

The rabbit needed the pearl in order to recover.

That was why it had entered the boy’s dream, but when it did so, it got horribly beat up by that strange old man.

‘And I made a ‘promise’ with the old man in there.’

The rabbit scratched the back of its head.

A promise between beings like those were worth more than a thousand gold.

The demands of the old man was simple.

It was to simply observe the growth of the child without causing trouble.

‘And the reward for that is……’

The old man promised not to interfere if it took the dragon pearl after the boy’s death.

It would seem that the rabbit lost a lot from this exchange, but that wasn’t the case.

A human’s lifespan was quite short.

And the kid could die from outside matters as well.

Also, the rabbit would still be able to recover faster than normal just by being near the pearl.

It wasn’t that bad of a deal.

‘But who really is that old man?’

The old man was a person who had surpassed human limits since long ago.

And since the old man had thrown away his mortality using a completely unconventional way, the rabbit felt extremely uncomfortable fighting the man.

Although it didn’t want to admit it, it was true that it was easier for it to accept a deal like this rather than fight that old man.

‘Just what is it thinking?’

Cho Ryu Hyang looked at the rabbit with careful eyes.

It would be dangerous fighting that monstrous rabbit without Un Hui.

He knew very well No Jin Nyung wouldn’t be able to fight the thing.

But calling others here to fight this thing would cause too much commotion.

He didn’t want to do any of this.

“What is your purpose?”

[I’m planning on taking the pearl after your death. How is it?]

“…….Is that all?”

This was too simple.

When Cho Ryu Hyang frowned, the rabbit spoke.

[But, I’m going to have to observe you from close by at all times. It would be troublesome if you left.]

Cho Ryu Hyang began to think.

It would definitely pressure him a bit to have such a monster near him at all times.

But…… once he thought of something, he was able to smile.

“You said this was a ‘deal’, correct?”

The rabbit nodded.

Cho Ryu Hyang’s smile grew wider.

The smile resembled the evil smile that Gongson Chun Gi had on his face when performing a prank on Cho Ryu Hyang.

“I accept your proposal. But I have a condition as well.”

[What is it?]

“You must act like a normal rabbit no matter what. When I’m near you, at least.”

The rabbit tilted its head in confusion.

[Is that it? That’s simple enough. I accept.]

Cho Ryu Hyang quickly spoke.

“Good, with this, the deal is complete. Also, I had heard that deals or promises like this was worth your own lives for beings like you. Is that true?”

The rabbit began to feel a bit uncomfortable, but it nodded calmly anyway.

For beings like it, promises were worth their own lives.

[Are you trying to scare me, damn kid?]

“Did you actually think that? I was just confirming things.”

Cho Ryu Hyang smiled strangely as he responded.

The rabbit felt uncomfortable when it saw that smile.

‘The conditions given to me are very easy. Nothing’s wrong with it.’

The rabbit tried to organize its thoughts.

At that point in time, however, everyone in the area sensed a presence, and looked sideways.

“Ah? Lord heir, so you were here?”

Cho Ryu Hyang erased the smile off of his face when he saw the person who had appeared.

‘Gongson Ahri…….’

Cho Ryu Hyang tried hard to erase the strange feelings he got when looking at Gongson Ahri.

“Why are you here?”

“Ah, I came out for a short walk. I like how much this place resembles the church.”

Gongson Ahri smiled innocently as she said this.

Cho Ryu Hyang turned away without realizing it when he saw the girl’s smile.

Gongson Ahri spotted a rabbit at that moment, and widened her eyes.

“Eh? A rabbit? Is it something you’re taking care of?”

“Ah…… yes.”

[Crazy bastard. You? Raise me?]

When the rabbit frowned in displeasure,

Gongson Ahri asked a question.

“Can I touch it?”

“…….Yes?”

Gongson Ahri seemed to take Cho Ryu Hyang’s surprised response as a ‘yes’.

She smiled brightly, and rubbed the rabbit’s cheeks.

Screen Shot 2016-05-09 at 11.54.05 PM.png

“Heeh, it’s very soft. What’s it’s name?”

The rabbit widened its mouth out of extreme surprise because of how Gongson Ahri was treating it.

Cho Ryu Hyang quickly gathered himself.

Then, he looked at the rabbit’s face, and smiled evilly.

“Maksu…… it’s name is Maksu.”

[……!]

The rabbit’s eyes shook greatly.

It remembered Sun Wukong’s words when hearing Cho Ryu Hyang’s words.

– If you get lucky enough to find a person who renames you in the future, you might be able to become unsealed a bit faster. Have hope, cutie.

As the rabbit looked at Cho Ryu Hyang with a dumbstruck face, Gongson Ahri simply kept rubbing its cheeks.

“Maksu…… what a nice name.”

[…….]

The rabbit.

No, the being that was to be called Maksu from now on, just sat there with a depressed expression.

It was just looking at its new name over and over again in its mind.