By Zephyria 
‘Young-pa, I am your benefactor. And yet, you still act out like this?’
‘You are beyond saving, Young-pa. I count the days until your usefulness is spent and I can finally kill you.’
‘Young-pa, I am beyond tired of your desperate struggles; it has reached the point where it makes me nauseous.’
As those gloomy, dark voices echoed in his mind, Young-pa grit his teeth and trembled violently. He had learned his own name through the enemy he hated most. Had that man not called him by it, he would have forgotten his own name entirely.
Young-pa’s nemesis was one of the four directional gods, whose very name was radiant.
Black Tortoise, Ji Seo-gu. The king of the underground who ruled over serpents and aquatic creatures. While holding Young-pa captive, he never told him who he was or why he had become a prisoner. Yet, he claimed to be Young-pa’s master and forced him to serve.
‘You vicious human, I am your master. Stop resisting and kneel!’
‘I refuse, you son of a bitch. You kneel!’
‘You simply do not understand. Let us see how long you can keep resisting.’
‘Aaaagh… Aaaaaagh!’
For reasons unknown, Young-pa had been imprisoned from the moment his memories began. He suffered severe torture for being insolent. The more he resisted, the more intense the torture became. Since Black Tortoise possessed the ability to restore the body, healing a human body only to break it again was a trivial matter. Having endured such horrific times, it was only natural that his few remaining memories were filled with rage and murderous intent.
‘That hybrid serpent is asleep; this is my chance. I’ll do to him exactly what he did to me.’
Young-pa scrubbed his blood-soaked clothes as if he were pounding them, then stepped into the sunlight to dry them with wind sorcery. Afterward, he sat down calmly and laid out the items he had taken from Black Tortoise’s treasure vault.
Looking at them in the light, the helmet was so severely rusted that it was beyond repair. The wooden comb was as useless as the helmet, and he didn’t even want to touch the rotten serpent skin. All that remained was a small box.
Even when he poked at the gaps with his fingernails and twigs, the black box wouldn’t budge. A treasure of Black Tortoise would surely require a fitting method to open. When Young-pa placed his palm on it and poured in dark energy, the box slid open.
“What… is this?”
Inside was a simple-looking ring. Young-pa hooked the piece of jewelry on the tip of his index finger and examined it closely. The polished surface looked like jade or silver, yet it was faintly translucent.
‘It doesn’t seem like an ordinary object.’
He tried casting a few spells on the ring and carefully slid it onto his finger, but nothing happened. Eventually, in a fit of rage, he slammed it against a rock, but not a single scratch appeared. Though its purpose remained unknown, there was no doubt it was a strange mystical artifact.
Young-pa dug a hole and buried the items he had taken from the treasure vault. After smoothing the ground back to its original state, he set off. However, he had to stop before he had gone far.
‘Where am I supposed to go?’
Since he didn’t even know who he was, there was no way for him to know where to head. Remembering something he had forgotten, Young-pa returned to the pond where he had washed himself.
There lay two halves of a serpent he had failed to pack. He remembered that he had intentionally split the creature with clean precision rather than killing it. Young-pa aligned the two halves and breathed dark energy into the severed part to fuse them back together.
“Gwak, gwaaaaak!”
The silk snake writhed violently, then emitted a radiance and transformed into a small human man. He had a cunning impression befitting a serpent, and the hollows beneath his eyes made him look exhausted. The moment he saw Young-pa, he jumped in surprise and collapsed onto the ground.
“Ugh, uuu… y-y-y-you… you were in the lower prison….”
“Shut your mouth and only answer what I ask.”
As Young-pa growled low, the snake cave warden shut his mouth with a terrified expression. Young-pa plopped down in front of him. Then, he grabbed the man by the collar and barked.
“Where is Ji Seo-gu?”
“I-I don’t know!”
Boom!
The fist Young-pa swung narrowly missed the warden and slammed into the bare earth.
“I might have been a man who knew mercy once. But consider how my personality would be after being locked underground until I rotted away.”
As his triangularly narrowed eyes flared with hatred, the warden began to tremble like a leaf, cold sweat pouring down like rain.
“W-well….”
“I told you to answer only what I ask!”
Boom!
Young-pa’s fist dug into the innocent ground once again.
“W-wasn’t that also a kind of answer?”
The warden muttered in a voice that sounded like a scream and squeezed his eyes shut. When Young-pa lifted the hand gripping his collar, the man was dragged upward. Young-pa pressed his forehead close to the man’s and growled low.
“Black Tortoise, where is he?”
“I-I don’t know, sir. How can I answer something I do not know?”
Young-pa chuckled and pulled the warden’s wrist. Trembling like an aspen, the man gave his hand without knowing why.
“Your fingers are quite pretty. They don’t suit you.”
“Aaaaaagh!”
In the next instant, the pinky finger snapped and broke off. The warden looked as if he couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality, utterly stunned.
“M-m-my finger! My pretty pinky! What on earth… Aagh! Aaaaaagh!”
Young-pa tossed the blood-soaked finger into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it, then asked with an expressionless face.
“Why does a mere serpent need a finger?”
“Aaaaaagh!”
“I will ask again. Ji Seo-gu, where is he? If you don’t answer properly, I’ll eat you whole!”
The warden shook his head, tears streaming down his face like rain.
“I-I don’t know, sir. I truly do not know. Where Lord Ji Seo-gu is… how could someone like m-me know? I am a mere grave robber. I only met him once at an ancient tomb in the Gangseo region… and even that was about two hundred years ago. Even if you take all my fingers, I cannot answer what I do not know.”
Young-pa frowned. It was strange; he had thought that someone like the warden of that damned cave would be in direct contact with Black Tortoise. This husk really seemed to know nothing.
“Since you’ve met Black Tortoise, you must be close, right?”
“T-t-t-that couldn’t be! I only saw him that one time, and since then, I’ve lived receiving orders through the high-ranking serpents.”
Young-pa clicked his tongue and glared at him.
“It’s true! I really know nothing. I only know that Black Tortoise recently entered hibernation…. Hieek! Please don’t look at me like that. I only overheard the high-ranking serpents talking while passing through the White Soul Cave passage.”
Young-pa had originally intended to torture him here and there before killing him in the most painful way possible. However, upon realizing he wasn’t Black Tortoise’s trusted subordinate but merely a disposable scrap, his interest waned.
Young-pa tapped the shoulder of the warden, who was lying flat on the ground, with the tip of his foot.
“Hey, did you buy your position with a bribe?”
“That is correct! How did you know! I bought the warden position by offering plenty of treasures to the high-ranking ones.”
“You, you’re a lesser dragon, aren’t you?”
The warden lifted his head, but upon meeting Young-pa’s eyes, he slammed his face back into the dirt.
“Y-yes, yes. That is correct. But… how did you know?”
“I saw your legs for a moment before you turned into a silk snake.”
“You are magnificent, Elder! In that brief moment… your observation skills are truly superb.”
A lesser dragon is a being born as a serpent but dreams of becoming a dragon. With long periods of cultivation, they may grow legs or whiskers like a dragon. If blood-curdling effort and luck combined, some would achieve ascension, but the vast majority lived and died as serpents. Despite this, they considered themselves part of the heavenly realm and looked down on the serpents of the underground.
Young-pa grabbed the warden’s head and yanked him up roughly.
“A mere earthworm who couldn’t even become a dragon, how did you manage to catch Black Tortoise’s eye?”
The warden sat up straight, then looked at his hand and looked as if he might faint.
“I… I am sorry, but the b-blood is flowing so heavily… may I tie a cloth around it before I speak?”
“Confess right now, or I’ll rip your throat out.”
“I was originally a most diligent and truthful lesser dragon who knew nothing of lies.”
The warden immediately began his story.
As it turned out, he was a lesser dragon named Lee Shim who had accumulated good deeds for a long time. By working diligently throughout his life, he had gathered treasures to obtain a wish-fulfilling orb and was on the verge of ascension.
However, many lesser dragons whispered that if one bathed in the lake of a powerful dragon before ascending, they could become a more magnificent dragon. Enticed by this, Lee Shim sought out the lake where the Azure Dragon resided.
“Pfft. Someone like you in the Azure Dragon’s lake?”
“Can’t even a pathetic lesser dragon harbor grand dreams? I wanted to become a divine dragon that commands the world.”
Lee Shim watched obsessively from afar, noting when the Azure Dragon bathed, how long it took, and when it returned.
On the night the Azure Dragon finished bathing and ascended to the heavenly realm, Lee Shim entered the empty lake with the wish-fulfilling orb in his mouth. However, the moment he tried to splash around in earnest, he locked eyes with a pair of enraged eyes. The master of the lake had returned!
“The mad dragon roared so loudly that the land and water shook, and then he flung me out with those feet that had claws like iron sickles. As if I were some piece of horrific filth!”
“Hahaha! Serves you right!”
“Excuse me, Elder? Listening to this, you’re being too harsh! Is bathing such a mortal sin?”
Lee Shim barely escaped with his life by fleeing with all his might, but in the process, he dropped the wish-fulfilling orb into the lake. Unable to summon the courage to go back for it, he gave up hope of becoming a dragon.
“You cannot imagine how miserable a lesser dragon is after losing their dream. After spending a thousand days and nights in tears of resentment, I entered the underground, thinking I couldn’t live like this.”
Lee Shim led serpents, roaming through caves and tombs to steal, until he was caught by Black Tortoise. However, Black Tortoise, who hated the Azure Dragon as much as Lee Shim did, took a liking to his story and spared him.
Lee Shim lived as a subordinate of Black Tortoise, looting to his heart’s content, until he approached a high-ranking serpent, offered all the treasures he had gathered, and luckily obtained a key position that had become vacant.
That was how he became the warden of the snake cave.
“I thought happy days of drinking and lounging around would unfold. But, as you know, Elder, on my first day of appointment….”
Lee Shim looked sorrowfully at the sight of blood spurting from where his pinky finger had vanished.
“Do you intend to kill someone as unlucky and pitiful as me? This may be presumptuous, but perhaps it was because this humble one broke the chains while the great Elder was dying that you were able to escape… right?”
“Come to think of it, you did slap my cheek earlier.”
Whack!
When Young-pa struck his forehead, Lee Shim wailed, saying it felt as if a hole had been dug where he was hit.
“This wretch who deserves to die dared not recognize the great Elder and committed a wicked act. I am sorry! I am sorry!”
“Is being sorry with just your mouth enough, you killable bastard?”
When Young-pa struck his head once more, Lee Shim let out a long, mournful scream.
“Strike me until your resentment is cleared, Elder. I am fine!”
“Fine by me!”
Young-pa hit Lee Shim’s head two more times. Lee Shim’s posture became increasingly humble.
“Who exactly was dying? I simply waited for you to disrupt the energy of the chains.”
“Does that mean I didn’t break the chains?”
“I broke Black Tortoise’s arcane art; do you think you did?”
Whether he had intended to beg for his life using the pretext of having saved Young-pa, Lee Shim’s face turned pale. He prostrated himself and shouted loudly.
“Please just spare my life, powerful Elder! I will do anything!”
“What will you do once you’re alive? Either way, once Ji Seo-gu wakes from his sleep, you’re finished.”
“S-still, I don’t want to die right now!”
Young-pa looked down silently at the wailing Lee Shim. There was nowhere on the mortal realm to hide from Black Tortoise. The only place beyond Ji Seo-gu’s sight was the heavenly realm, but only dragons could ascend there.
In Young-pa’s view, Lee Shim was a fellow with mediocre abilities and a wretched personality. Still, he seemed quick-witted and cowardly, which meant he wouldn’t be too bad to use as a lackey.
“If you become my minion, I will spare your life. How about it?”
“Eh?”
“If I kill Ji Seo-gu, you can live too.”
Judging by the way Lee Shim’s jaw dropped, he clearly thought Young-pa was insane. Young-pa ignored Lee Shim’s expression and spoke.
“Yes. I will kill Ji Seo-gu. I will bind that osari serpent, stab him with a knife, sear his flesh, tear him to shreds, grind him in a mortar, and then drink him.”
His fist tightened instinctively. Though he had no memories, a rage that made his body tremble boiled up from deep within.
It wasn’t just Black Tortoise. White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Azure Dragon. Just thinking of the four spirits ruined his mood; it seemed he had a grudge against every single one of them.
Young-pa’s lips twisted maliciously as an eerie voice flowed out.
“Since I’m at it, I’ll take revenge on the Azure Dragon too.”
A sneer appeared on the face of the watching Lee Shim. However, seeing the blood bubbling up from where his pinky had been, he hurriedly corrected his expression.
“T-the Eastern Azure Dragon is my enemy with whom I cannot live under the same sky. If you take revenge for me, I will give you my liver and gallbladder. From this moment on, I am the Elder’s minion.”
Lee Shim bowed his head politely.
Young-pa stared at him for a moment, then grabbed his wrist and pulled. Lee Shim trembled violently in surprise, but Young-pa held him by force and placed his hand over the spot where the pinky was missing.
A mysterious black smoke appeared from Young-pa’s fingertips and gently enveloped the wound. Lee Shim stared blankly as the wound, where blood had been gushing and bone had been protruding, began to heal. Although the lost finger did not return, the raw red flesh was covered by skin.
“B-body restoration… is Black Tortoise’s power, how can a human possess a deity’s divine power….”
“Shut up.”
As Young-pa’s face turned menacing, Lee Shim shut his mouth. He instantly erased any trace of suspicion and exclaimed with exaggerated admiration.
“Truly amazing! Elder is truly no ordinary human. I am breathless at the Elder’s mercy.”
“Quiet.”
“Um, Elder. Come to think of it, I don’t know what to call you… may I venture to ask your precious name?”
“Young-pa.”
“Young-pa… is it?”
Lee Shim frowned as if something were off.
“Is there a problem?”
“How could there be? It’s just that it’s a common name among humans.”
Lee Shim gave a soft, forced smile.
“You may call me Lee Shim. Since you look so young, it would be suspicious if I called you Elder, so from now on, I shall call you Brother.”
“Do as you wish. I shall call you Earthworm. Since you are neither a dragon nor a serpent.”
Lee Shim’s mouth twitched as if his insides were twisting, but he was in no position to complain.
“Where do we go now?”
“I told you I’m going to kill Black Tortoise.”
“Eh? How can you kill him when you don’t even know where he is?”
Young-pa shut his mouth with a stiff face.
There was nothing wrong with Lee Shim’s words. Young-pa’s chest burned with hot rage, but that was all. He had no idea where to find Black Tortoise, where to start, or whom to ask; it was incredibly frustrating.
Ridiculously, at that moment, his mind was filled with an intense desire that pushed even revenge to the side.
“First, I need to eat.”
“A wonderful idea! I was just feeling peckish myself.”
As Young-pa dusted off his pants and stood up, Lee Shim followed him.
“Earthworm.”
“Yes, Brother?”
“Do you have anything on you?”
“Do you mean jewelry…?”
“I hope you have plenty. Otherwise, I might have to roast and eat you.”
Lee Shim let out a sigh so small it was barely noticeable and fiddled with the ornaments he carried on his person.
≋ ≋ ≋
Rats hear the words of the night, and birds hear the words of the day. And birds are a breed that loves to spread rumors. Thus, it does not take long for the whole world to learn of a significant event.
“Noble Immortal Flower, I hear there has been an incident near Daedun Mountain.”
The one reporting to the man while crouching was a tiger. The man was sitting on a silk cushion, his long, shimmering silver hair flowing freely as a servant groomed him. From head to toe, the only dark spot on the man dressed in pure white was a mole on the left side of his jaw.
After a long while, Noble Immortal Flower slowly opened his eyes. His silver-gray pupils, nearly white, exuded a calm and gentle atmosphere.
“Daedun Mountain is the serpents’ territory; what happened?”