Chapter 166: On the Road

“I do not even know where to begin with this.”

Walking through the hells ruled by the Ten Kings of Hell, Bodhidharma let out a deep sigh.

It was a simple task to investigate the martial artists who used black qi at the request of his disciple, Yeon Cheong-un.

However, the investigation hit a snag right from the start.

“Heh! Heh! Heh! What a mess.”

There was no way to find the soul his disciple had asked him to investigate. It was as if it had not been registered in the Underworld Registry from the very beginning.

Of course, that was impossible.

He had certainly witnessed the death through the Meridian Mirror, and it was the natural course of events for a deceased person’s soul to enter the Underworld Registry.

Yet, that soul was not there.

When he questioned the Underworld Messenger in his frustration, the reply he received was truly striking.

“It is just something that happens from time to time. With the number of people dying every day, mistakes can happen.”

“Are you calling that an excuse right now?”

“Our kids are also overworked every day with an excessive workload. We do not have the leeway to go on business trips to collect escaped souls. We are busy enough just handling the work piling up right now. Besides, with the Divine-Sealing Great Barrier deployed, going down to the earth is not as easy as before, is it?”

Summarizing the words of the Underworld Messenger in one word made it very simple.

Do your worst.

It meant that because it was already difficult enough to handle the pile of work right before them, they could not afford to care about a few missing souls out of so many.

“Anyway, just wait. Well, unless they are bound in the lower realm due to spell-related issues, they usually become earthbound deities or ghosts. They will come up on their own later.”

Even while speaking of a problematic issue, the Underworld Messenger was exceedingly confident.

It meant that since he was doing all of his own work anyway, it was not his problem.

In the lower realm, they kept quiet since talking about it would bring no good, and those above could not know unless they checked it precisely.

In fact, even Bodhidharma had only just found out for the first time that missing souls occurred one by one like this.

It was a typical example of what happened when public officials remained passive.

“Heh! Heh! Heh! I understand well.”

Since pressing him here would not yield any answers, Bodhidharma took a step back.

Struggling with a labor shortage was not a day or two’s matter, and he knew all too well why such words came out.

It was safe to say they were already at their limit.

“The situation is more serious than I thought.”

Therefore, Bodhidharma tried to understand the Underworld Messenger’s grumbling.

“Dammit. How annoying. If he is someone who believes in Buddha, he should just show off in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, so why the hell is he acting up here? It is pissing me off.”

If only he had not heard those words on his way back.

“Heh! Heh! Heh!”

Suddenly, the recent excessive workload flashed through Bodhidharma’s mind like a kaleidoscope.

Performing the tasks of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, helping with the chaotic tasks in Tibet, and occasionally supporting the tasks of the Immortal Realm and Hell where hands were short.

On top of that, there was his disciple’s request.

When one worked by squeezing oneself to the absolute limit of limits, a single day felt like ten years.

It was not a mere illusion, but really feeling the passage of ten years in experience.

Recently, such excessive work had happened more than once or twice.

For that reason, he had tried to understand the Underworld Messenger’s grumbling, but he could not accept the backbiting that followed.

Was he the only one busy? What was he saying to a Buddha who worked while even manipulating the flow of time?

“Heh! Heh! Heh! Fucking Amitabha!”

Bodhidharma’s hot temper flared up.

Returning as quickly as the speed at which he had moved away, Bodhidharma’s hand grabbed the collar of the Underworld Messenger who was grumbling.

“Charge it to my account.”

Crack!!

“Squeeeak!!”

Bodhidharma’s hand-sword, falling like lightning, smashed the Underworld Messenger’s head.

Of course, in this Underworld, one did not perish from just that. However, that did not mean there was no pain.

“I will pay you handsomely in karma.”

Bodhidharma threw the Underworld Messenger’s soul body, whose head had vanished, against the wall.

Naturally, because of that rampage, the karma Bodhidharma had to pay was quite heavy.

It was to the point where his accumulated piggy bank felt quite empty.

Thanks to that, the obstacle before his eyes felt even more bleak.

“Haha. This karma is truly…”

As the investigation into those who used black qi began in earnest, Bodhidharma felt that the cost of karma for the area he was about to touch was larger than expected.

For those who had ascended to heaven by their own power, they could easily distinguish between what was permitted and what was not.

Although they were transcendent beings who seemed capable of doing anything, even such immortals had restrictions.

The price to lift those restrictions was karma.

“Just what is it that…”

Judging by the magnitude of the karma that had to be paid alone, it was not something to be easily touched.

For the first time in a very long time since ascending to heaven, Bodhidharma felt a sense of alertness.

Meanwhile, a guest came to visit Bodhidharma.

The head of the Twelve Immortals of Kunlun, who was responsible for the core of Kunlun, one of the prominent factions in the Immortal Realm.

“What brings you here? For Adept Tai-yi to step all the way out of Kunlun?”

“I came to do some business.”

“What on earth does that mean?”

“It is about your disciple. What else could it be?”

From Adept Tai-yi’s mouth came the story of Yeon Cheong-un, the disciple who was the apple of Bodhidharma’s eye.

Bodhidharma stared at Adept Tai-yi with wary eyes.

Adept Tai-yi was a giant even in the Immortal Realm. For such a being to show himself so obsessed with his disciple Yeon Cheong-un.

“The Kunlun immortals who are watching through the Meridian Mirror asked me. They say they miss the Mount Kunlun of the lower realm. And is it not possible that your disciple will pass by that area soon? Since Mount Kunlun is on the way to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.”

Now that everything was closed off by the Divine-Sealing Great Barrier, even peering down at the earth was blocked.

With the sole exception of the Meridian Mirror, which reflected Yeon Cheong-un.

That was why the beings of heaven went wild over Yeon Cheong-un’s moves.

Listening to the story where the desperate longing of those who missed their hometown could be felt, one’s heart could not help but be moved.

…Or so a greenhorn might have thought.

“Are you also going to ask him to sprout immortal roots for any promising cultivators he encounters on his way to Mount Kunlun while he is at it?”

“That would indeed be exactly what I hope for.”

Adept Tai-yi smiled brightly.

“Good grief.”

Bodhidharma also knew well beforehand that the heavenly beings were highly interested in his disciple Yeon Cheong-un.

Although there were many who simply enjoyed the sight of his disciple and the earth shown through him, a significant number of them also held expectations that the possibility of a new immortal might open through his disciple’s hands.

In fact, since the boy named Gong-ryo opened up the possibility of shedding his mortal coil, the department head of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss had even implicitly reduced his workload. By a whopping three percent!

Even though the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss had turned into a pandemonium due to the workload exploding from the chaos in Tibet, there was still some consideration in task allocation.

What this meant was clear.

“There are many problems.”

Both the Underworld and the Immortal Realm were at their limits. It was impossible to even gauge how anxious the Celestial Realm had become.

While Bodhidharma felt proud of his disciple Yeon Cheong-un’s actions, he was also worried on the other hand.

“Of course, I am not asking for a favor for free.”

Seeing Bodhidharma’s expression darken slightly, Adept Tai-yi slung an arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner.

“I hear you have been looking into something interesting lately?”

Bodhidharma’s eyes widened in surprise at what quietly flowed in from Adept Tai-yi.

“This much karma?”

“Keep it, keep it.”

His words and actions were like those of a corrupt official accepting a bribe.

Bodhidharma, who had no intention of selling out his disciple, tried to shake him off, but Adept Tai-yi’s next words stopped him.

“On the ‘surface,’ it is a sponsorship for your disciple. However, the matter you are investigating is something worth supporting for me personally as well. It is not solely because of your disciple.”

It meant Bodhidharma was not the only one who felt that there were many problems in the Immortal Realm.

“Crucially, the old fogies are too quiet. While it is true that there are quite a few immortals defending your disciple, those old fogies I know are not the type to care about such opinions. That is why they are called old fogies. Naturally, I expected at least some noise and was preparing for it in my own way, but they have all shut their mouths.”

“You mean those who should be stubbornly stuck in their ways like old fogies are exercising restraint for some unknown reason.”

“Indeed. As if they have some other thoughts in mind. My guess is that the matters you are looking into might be connected to them.”

What Adept Tai-yi saw and spoke of was the perspective of one looking down from above.

“If that is the case, would it not be better for you to move directly?”

“If I move, the matter will become too big. It might create a situation where we gain nothing and only provoke the old fogies who were staying quiet. Thus, you are the right fit.”

Bodhidharma could feel Adept Tai-yi’s strong determination to leave the task to him.

Thanks to that, the definition of the word ‘old fogy’ became confusing.

No matter how he looked at it, this fellow seemed to have no small amount of that temperament himself…

“Well then, take care. Pass on my words to your disciple as well.”

Having finished his business, Adept Tai-yi’s figure vanished in an instant.

“Haa…”

Left behind all alone, Bodhidharma let out a sigh.

“I wish I had two bodies.”

Bodhidharma looked up at the sky and rubbed his head.

His barren bald head made a squeaking sound, representing Bodhidharma’s state of mind.

***

One of the three essentials in human life is eating.

However, when one went out of the house and did things like sleeping outdoors, one tended to neglect this.

Nevertheless, if one possessed cooking skills, one could make up for it to some extent.

“Sister, you are still good at cooking.”

“Thank you. Eat up.”

The food Sister Seol-ah made was a simple dish using dried beef jerky flavored with simple spices, but a deep flavor could be felt from it.

One might say internal energy could be felt from it.

Sister Seol-ah had possessed considerable cooking skills since long ago.

Whenever I visited occasionally, she would cook for Baek Mu-ho and me, and every single dish was excellent.

Perhaps she was talented in cooking as much as in martial arts…

“What do you mean, ‘still’? You only ate the well-made ones, but the countless failures produced in the process were all… Kuek!”

“…”

‘Is he okay? It looked like his jaw got dislocated for a second.’

It was a clean blow that elicited admiration.

Sister Seol-ah, who turned the cheeky Baek Mu-ho into a well-behaved child in an instant, spoke in a gentle voice.

“There is a mosquito.”

“…In spring?”

“Let us just call it a flying insect then. The name is not what is important.”

It seemed she was implying that the type of insect to smash did not matter that much.

Come to think of it, it felt as though Sister Seol-ah had sometimes looked at Baek Mu-ho with the eyes of a mother catching a cockroach.

Well, that was also a form of sibling affection.

I was extremely envious of Baek Mu-ho, who got along so comfortably with Sister Seol-ah.

At that moment, a worry came to mind.

‘If it is a place where bandits gather, it will probably be mostly men, right?’

Sister Seol-ah was a beauty by anyone’s standards.

There was a high probability that those bandit bastards would hit on Sister Seol-ah.

It was questionable whether I would be able to tolerate that sight.

‘I should try to endure it.’

At the same time, another worry followed.

Yi Hwa, who followed me like a fanatic, Old Man Jong, and the demons who were stealthily tagging along.

The chances were also high that some bandits would do something stupid to gain the upper hand when we faced them.

If I were mocked, would they be able to hold back and let it pass?

‘I should tell them not to move under any circumstances until my order is given.’

For now, getting the job done is the priority.

Revenge could be taken after the agreement fell through.

I practiced engraving the character for patience in my mind beforehand.