The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 72 - The Return of the Mad Heavenly Demon (2)

 

‘This was bad.’ 

 

Both Han Yeong-won and Seo Do-hwan had completely immersed themselves in the stories where they had once been the protagonists. To be precise, they were experiencing every moment they had lived as protagonists as if it were happening all over again.

 

‘I had a feeling this might happen…’

 

Still, I had hoped their duel would end before things got this serious—but that was clearly wishful thinking.

 

‘It can’t be helped.’

 

With things having escalated to this point, neither Han Yeong-won nor Seo Do-hwan would stop until they had fully exhausted their strength.

 

‘I need to stop them before that happens.’

 

If either of them pushed beyond their limits, it could be dangerous.

 

“Cough!”

 

In the middle of the tense atmosphere, an awkward cough escaped me. 

 

They say you don’t catch colds in summer, but I guess all the stress lately has weakened my immune system.

 

I didn’t expect to catch a cold just from climbing Gwanak Mountain in the middle of the night. I thought I had recovered somewhat after a week of rest at the hospital, but…

 

‘No—wait.’

 

Something was wrong. This wasn’t an ordinary cough. When I carefully pulled my hand away from my mouth, I saw it was soaked in blood. It seemed Han Yeong-won’s poison arts had affected me as well.

 

‘Damn it.’

 

I hurriedly tried to wipe the blood off on my clothes before Lee Yoo-seong noticed, but it was already too late.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung!”

 

He had already seen the blood on my hand.

 

“What is that?!”

 

“Ah, this?”

 

Trying not to look flustered, I casually wiped my palm on my clothes and forced a smile.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“You call this fine?!”

 

Maybe because I’d collapsed from overwork before, Lee Yoo-seong panicked as he examined me.

 

“Shouldn’t we go to the hospital?”

 

“I said I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“But—!”

 

“I really am.”

 

Despite his insistence, I shook my head. 

 

Right now, the focus shouldn’t be on me—it should be on Han Yeong-won and Seo Do-hwan.

 

Rumble!

 

The clash between the two had grown so fierce, it felt like they could destroy all of Gwanak Mountain at any moment.

 

“Yoo-seong… can you stop Han Yeong-won and Seo Do-hwan?”

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung! Not now!”

 

“I’ll worry about my own body later. I’ll go to the hospital for sure. Just… help me, okay?”

 

Still, Lee Yoo-seong looked reluctant. I gripped his shoulders firmly and repeated my request.

 

“If we leave Han Yeong-won and Seo Do-hwan like this, they’ll both get seriously hurt.”

 

“And who’s the one that’s already hurt?!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong’s face twisted in anger. But in the end, he listened to me. Maybe he realized that no matter what he said, I wouldn’t back down.

 

“Fine. But you have to promise. Right after I stop those two, you’re going straight to the hospital.”

 

“Okay.”

 

I gave him an answer, at least, but of course, I had no intention of going to the hospital.

 

There’s no way modern medicine could treat internal injuries caused by poison arts. And if my grandfather ever found out I’d gone to the hospital, I’d be forced to go to some foreign country for “rest” immediately.

 

‘That can’t happen.’

 

I’d come up with an excuse later to avoid the hospital.

 

“Then… I’m counting on you.”

 

“Got it.”

 

Lee Yoo-seong clearly wasn’t happy about it, but he began to move. No sooner had he taken a single step than he vanished from my sight. The next time he appeared, he was standing in the empty space between Han Yeong-won and Seo Do-hwan.

 

“Lee Yoo-seong?!”

 

Seo Do-hwan called out in surprise as the boy raised his fist.

 

Boom!

 

A tremendous sound shook the ground, echoing across Gwanak Mountain. As I struggled to steady myself—

 

Rumble!

 

A whirlwind, like a sandstorm, swept toward me. I had no time to dodge and was thrown to the ground, rolling uncontrollably.

 

To think a single punch could create such chaos… Lee Yoo-seong was, without a doubt, the strongest returnee I’d ever known.

 

***

 

“…Hyung! Yoon-hoo hyung! Are you okay?!”

 

I must’ve passed out for a moment. Struggling to open my eyes, I saw a worried young face looking down at me.

 

“Do you recognize me?”

 

“You’re Yoo-seong… Lee Yoo-seong.”

 

I gave a light reply to ease his worry and slowly sat up.

 

“And what about Seo Do-hwan and Han Yeong-won?”

 

“They’re over there.”

 

Following his gesture, I saw them both lying unconscious. Well, more precisely—they were impaled against the rocky cliff. Seeing them fused with the mountainside made me burst out laughing.

 

“Yoo-seong… you—”

 

“Yeah?”

 

I stared at the boy for a moment, then shook my head.

 

“No, it’s nothing.”

 

Lee Yoo-seong looked at me curiously but didn’t press the matter.

 

“Sorry, but can you get those two out of there?”

 

“…Let’s just leave them and go to the hospital. Besides, Do-hwan hyung and that woman don’t look too badly hurt…”

 

‘Huh… has he always been like this?’

 

By any measure, neither Seo Do-hwan nor Han Yeong-won was anywhere near okay. How could anyone call someone pinned to a cliff “fine”? Still, Lee Yoo-seong looked thoroughly displeased, so I gently patted his head and said, “Please.”

 

Pouting, Lee Yoo-seong gently lifted the unconscious pair off the cliff.

 

“Shall we take them to the hospital?”

 

“No.”

 

Both Seo Do-hwan and Han Yeong-won had sustained injuries, but they weren’t serious enough to require immediate medical attention.

 

“Let’s take them home.”

 

“Hyung too?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Lee Yoo-seong raised his eyebrows, clearly displeased, so I hastily added, “I’m having a doctor come to the house. I’m done with hospitals.”

 

“Come to think of it, Yoon-hoo hyung, you used to be in and out of hospitals a lot, right?”

 

I nodded, not entirely sure.

 

“Sorry,” he said, looking dejected, as if apologizing for not thinking it through.

 

Seeing him like that, poking at my conscience, I quickly said, “Yoo-seong, what is there to be sorry about? Let’s just go home.”

 

“Yes!” Lee Yoo-seong responded energetically.

 

The two—Seo Do-hwan and Han Yeong-won—being carried like sacks of rice, groaned as if trapped in a nightmare.

 

‘Well, it’s none of my business.’

 

***

 

“…B-Brother…!”

 

Han Yeong-won slowly opened her eyes. After blinking a few times, her vision cleared.

 

‘What happened?’

 

She had been in the middle of a fun sparring match with that red-haired bastard. She had thought the fight would be decided with just one more move.

 

“Lee Yoo-seong?!”

 

The boy who had been standing beside the rich bastard had suddenly intervened in the spar. Han Yeong-won gritted her teeth.

 

‘No one interferes until the sparring is over. That’s the code of the martial world.’

 

Then again, would that kid even know the rules?

 

‘First… I need to get up.’

 

She didn’t know what kind of sorcery the boy had used to put her in this state, but she couldn’t lie down forever. Just as Han Yeong-won was trying to push herself up,

 

“Brother! You’re awake!”

 

Black hair tinged with red brushed against her vision. Han Yeong-won’s eyes widened as she softly spoke the name of the woman greeting her.

 

“…Tang So-yeon?”

 

“Yes! It’s me!”

 

Tang So-yeon—the woman who had betrayed her clan and joined the Demonic Sect. The face she remembered from her memories filled her sight.

 

“You must’ve been having a pleasant dream. You kept smiling the whole time.”

 

Han Yeong-won pursed her lips.

 

“A dream…?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Tang So-yeon smiled brightly and chattered on.

 

“You looked so happy that I felt bad waking you up. But I did it anyway! After all, isn’t it better to experience something wonderful in reality than only in a dream?”

 

Han Yeong-won frowned at the woman’s smiling face, which carried no trace of worry.

 

“Are you angry that I interrupted your dream?”

 

“…No.”

 

“Thank goodness!” Tang So-yeon said brightly. “How are you feeling? You don’t usually drink, but you really overdid it this time… Is the hangover okay?”

 

She clicked her tongue briefly, as if exasperated. Han Yeong-won was bewildered. It was already shocking enough that Tang So-yeon was standing right in front of her—but why had the Murim Alliance even shown up…?

 

‘Don’t tell me… I’ve returned to the Heavenly Demon’s body?’

 

With that thought, she hurriedly examined herself. What she saw was clearly Han Yeong-won’s body. Yet to Tang So-yeon, it seemed different—she treated her as though she were still the Heavenly Demon.

 

“You don’t even have an indestructible body, so please take better care of yourself. No matter how you’re called the strongest under heaven, you’re still human. You could—”

 

“—die at any time. So please be careful. Is that what you were going to say?”

 

Han Yeong-won cut in.

 

Tang So-yeon’s eyes widened, then she burst into laughter.

 

“You remembered?”

 

“Hah.” Han Yeong-won let out a soft sigh and continued, “You nagged me about it so much it made my ears bleed.”

 

Even if she hadn’t wanted to remember, the words had etched themselves into her mind. She’d forgotten them as time passed in the world she returned to—but strangely, the moment she saw Tang So-yeon, her habitual scolding resurfaced vividly.

 

“Well, I do tend to nag a lot, don’t I?”

 

“Very much so.”

 

“Tang So-yeon… I won’t die.”

 

“You will someday. Whether it’s from old age, or getting stabbed while walking down the road.”

 

“What an awful thing to say.”

 

Tang So-yeon giggled. At the sound of her clear laughter ringing in her ears, Han Yeong-won allowed herself a faint smile. Even if the traitor of the Sichuan Tang Clan before her was nothing more than a remnant of memory, it was enough.

 

“Big Brother.”

 

Hearing that voice she thought she would never hear again, and seeing the face she thought she would never see again, Han Yeong-won took it all in.

 

“You’ll always protect the Sect… won’t you?”

 

Even in her dreams, such a sudden concern weighed on her. She couldn’t help but wonder—after she left, had the Heavenly Demon continued to lead the Demonic Sect? And Tang So-yeon… had she kept calling her “Big Brother,” acting so familiar?

 

‘Fleeting thoughts,’ Han Yeong-won muttered to herself, letting out a faint, careless smile. Then she answered,

 

“Of course.”

 

Tang So-yeon’s face brightened. With bright eyes gleaming, Han Yeong-won placed her hand on Tang So-yeon’s head.

 

“Big Brother? No matter how annoying my nagging is, that doesn’t give you the right to pull my hair!”

 

“You’re noisy.”

 

With that teasing reply, Han Yeong-won lightly flicked her forehead instead of patting her head.

 

“Ouch!”

 

Tang So-yeon winced in pain, prompting Han Yeong-won to chuckle softly before turning away.

 

“Big Brother? Where are you going?”

 

“It’s time to wake up.”

 

Han Yeong-won stopped in her tracks and looked into Tang So-yeon’s face. Would there ever be a day when she could see her again—not as the Heavenly Demon, but as Han Yeong-won herself?

 

It was a question with no answer. Even if The Return of the Mad Heavenly Demon might have been just a novel to some, it was not to Han Yeong-won. That’s why she didn’t offer any explanation to Tang So-yeon and simply moved on.

 

“Let’s go together!”

 

A voice called hurriedly from behind, but Han Yeong-won didn’t stop. She just kept walking. That was how she woke from her dream. As she gathered her senses, Kwak Yoon-hoo came into view.

 

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” he asked gently.

 

Han Yeong-won’s face crumpled like paper at the soft, polite greeting from the rich bastard.