Chapter 723

One day. Two days. Then three.

The rain that had come to be called the Sacred Rain still fell across Nanman. Beneath the benevolent grace of the Earth Mother Goddess, nothing could stop its newly united people.

Thud! Craaack!

With a single swing of an ax from an older man, a massive tree snapped, while a thin woman casually hoisted a mountain of firewood.

Watching from the window, I muttered, “Wow. They got one hell of a buff.”

“A b-buff?”

The question came from behind me. I already knew I had a visitor, so I turned to answer.

“Nothing. What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be swamped right now?”

“I was passing by. Besides, I’m not as busy as I was. Everything is being put right in the blink of an eye.”

“Really?”

For an uninvited guest, Yayul Mok was a welcome sight. I looked at the Young Palace Lord of the Nanman Beast Palace and went on.

“That’s good news. Who do they have to thank?”

Yayul Mok shrugged.

“Father says it’s thanks to some Han Chinese man. He must be mistaken.”

“I don’t think he is.”

“He must be. A despicable Han Chinese man would never help us.”

“True. You can’t trust anyone from the Central Plains.”

“Now you’re speaking sense.”

A brief silence passed. Then, as if on cue, we both let out a quiet laugh.

“It’s all thanks to you, Jin Taekyung.”

“We all worked hard, but that’s true. I did contribute quite a lot.”

The smile on Yayul Mok’s face deepened at my shameless reply.

“Are all Han Chinese as lacking in humility as you?”

“No. Just me.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Why?”

“Because I think I could grow to like Han Chinese more than I do now.”

“Oh…”

I looked at him with fresh eyes.

I never thought I’d hear him say that. I’d noticed the change little by little, but the hostility toward the Central Plains that once filled him was gone.

“Don’t like them too much. Go there and you’ll find plenty of madmen.”

“You take me for a child. I know people are much the same wherever you go. In Nanman and the Central Plains alike.”

“Really? You didn’t seem to know that when we first met.”

“…That was because you turned the fields into a sea of fire.”

Looking a little embarrassed by the memory, Yayul Mok came over to the window. He gazed out through its half-open shutters, then spoke.

“It still doesn’t feel real. That all this could happen in the place where I was born and raised.”

“The disaster? Or the miracle?”

“Both.” After a moment, he added, “But this, too, must be a god’s will.”

“…You believe in the Earth Mother Goddess too?”

“I don’t know about that. But I believe a god exists. I’ve seen things I can’t explain any other way.”

Anyone who encounters something beyond understanding is bound to think of a god. You might not know who’s up there in that impossibly distant sky, but you’d figure they must be someone impressive.

I’m no different.

I kept that last thought to myself and changed the subject.

“So, how’s the cleanup going?”

“If you mean the restoration, we’re already in the final stages. We should see the finished results within a few days at the latest.”

Considering that the Inner Palace had been reduced to a wasteland and more than several hundred houses and pavilions in the Outer Palace had collapsed, it was a truly astonishing pace.

But instead of being surprised, I gave a small nod.

Well, that buff is incredible.

The rain falling even now carried the powers of life and purification. It was an area-wide buff that kept people full of energy and enhanced their physical abilities.

It’ll wear off when the rain stops, of course. But a few days is plenty.

They say even a sheet of paper is easier to lift when two people do it together. Here, tens of thousands of Nanman people were working day and night to rebuild their homes, to make a new start in the place where they belonged.

And their efforts were bearing fruit at an incredible pace.

“What about the other matter?”

Yayul Mok understood what I meant.

“We abolished the Great Chieftain system to remove the hierarchy and divisions that remained between the tribes. The Miao people and all four of the other major tribes agreed.”

“Good. Oh, what about Yohi?”

He nodded.

“She was the first to propose abolishing it.”

The tribal chieftains who had joined hands with Baeksang had been executed in front of countless witnesses, but Yohi alone had received a full pardon.

She had repented of her wrongdoing, however late. More importantly, she had led the beasts in helping the tribespeople escape the Outer Palace. No one had raised any real objection to her pardon.

“She said that she couldn’t leave behind the same precedent as Baeksang, Heugung, and herself.”

“She’s right. The Great Chieftains had too much power.”

“Father and the other tribal chieftains agreed. From now on, the Nanman Beast Palace will answer to the Palace Lord alone. The Tribal Grand Council will remain in case of an emergency. And…”

As I listened to the rest of Yayul Mok’s explanation, I realized once again that the Nanman Beast Palace had been reborn.

The Beast Miao King was now both Palace Lord and priest, with authority far greater than before. The appearance of the Earth Mother Goddess had calmed the people, and they had come together regardless of tribe or faith.

For hundreds of years, since the founding of the Nanman Beast Palace, this land had been divided into thirty-two pieces. At last, it was united.

You really could call it a small kingdom now.

Its tribespeople numbered in the tens of thousands, and its warriors nearly ten thousand. With the beasts they commanded as well, calling it a kingdom was no exaggeration.

Even allowing for the fact that the Nanman warriors were inferior to the martial arts of the Central Plains, they still represented an immense military force.

I looked at Yayul Mok with fresh interest.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Now that I think about it, you do look kind of noble. Turns out you’re a prince, or something.”

“…A prince?”

He repeated the word doubtfully, then let out a quiet laugh.

“What’s so funny? It’s not that far off.”

“I was just thinking what an honor it is.”

“What?”

“To be called a prince by the Apostle of the great Earth Mother Goddess. What else would you call it?”

“…?”

What was he talking about?

While I blinked at him, Yayul Mok took something from inside his robe and held it out.

“Take it.”

This is…

“We decided to call it the Mother Goddess Scripture. Father asked me to give it to you.”

I took the bundle of bamboo strips, still bewildered.

Ding.

System

— You have acquired Mother Goddess Scripture.

— Mother Goddess Scripture is a scripture containing records of the Earth Mother Goddess.

— A god can exist only when someone believes in it.

— The Earth Mother Goddess has become known as the One God of Nanman!

— Countless believers who follow the Earth Mother Goddess are ecstatic!

— According to the records in Mother Goddess Scripture, your name has become known anew!

— You have achieved Religious Reformation, an achievement that makes one wonder whether anyone would actually go this far!

— You have acquired the Title Apostle of the Earth Mother Goddess!

Holographic windows filled the air along with the System notifications.

I stared at them for a moment, then hurriedly unrolled the bamboo strips. After reading the tiny writing on them, I burst out laughing in disbelief.

“What is this?”

Seeing my reaction, Yayul Mok shrugged.

“It says exactly what it means. The Earth Mother Goddess has been with this land since ancient times as its mother goddess, and whenever Nanman fell into crisis, she personally sent her apostle to save the people…”

“And that’s me?”

“Of course. Three hundred years ago, it was my ancestor, the first Palace Lord. And two hundred years ago, it was the Sect Leader of the Fire Gate Clan at the time—the clan you belong to.”

They’d managed to fit it all together.

Sure, I’d given them a few hints. I just hadn’t expected to find my name written out in full.

No, not just my name. Our names.

Rustle.

I skimmed the rest and found plenty I recognized. Jeok Cheongang, of course. The Fire Dragon Pavilion members. Even Namho.

This was supposed to be something like a Bible. Could they really put us all in it?

“I know it was thrown together in a hurry, but this is ridiculous. Who the hell came up with this setting?”

“My father.”

“No wonder it’s so impressive. How did he manage to make the setting this detailed?”

“…”

I avoided Yayul Mok’s gaze and tucked the bamboo strips into my robe.

The Apostle of the Earth Mother Goddess.

I’d somehow become an apostle of a god, a role that certainly hadn’t been written in my fate. But I didn’t feel bad about it. In fact, right now it was a major gain.

It should ease some of the resentment Nanman’s people hold toward the Central Plains.

Yayul Mok suddenly spoke, interrupting my thoughts.

“So, are you ready?”

“Hm?”

“To leave Nanman.”

“…!”

After a moment’s silence, I smacked my lips.

“You’re sharp.”

“It would be strange if I hadn’t noticed.”

“How did you find out?”

“Even if I ignored everyone else, that huge fellow has been frantically gathering food since yesterday. As if he’s preparing for a long journey.”

There was no need to ask who he meant by “that huge fellow.” Guessing the culprit, I sighed.

“Taishan, you crazy bastard. I told you to move quietly.”

“Your master, Fire King Jeok Cheongang, made off with five jars of fruit wine.”

“…”

Oh, come on, Old Master.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Yayul Mok’s voice reached me anyway.

“You should at least say goodbye before you go. Everyone’s waiting.”

It wasn’t until we neared the North Gate that I realized Yayul Mok hadn’t been exaggerating when he said everyone.

This is…

Thousands of people. Maybe tens of thousands.

Among the countless people filling the field outside the North Gate, where fresh grass and flowers had spread thanks to the life-giving downpour, I saw several familiar faces.

Jeok Cheongang stood in front of a cart loaded with jars of fruit wine, pretending nothing was out of the ordinary.

Taishan held meat in both hands, looking solemn. Beside him were the Fire Dragon Pavilion members, each mounted on a beast.

And then…

“You’ve finally arrived.”

Yayul Cheok, the Beast Miao King and master of the Nanman Beast Palace, spoke with a stern face. He stood here on behalf of everyone in this land.

“Why were you going to leave without a word?”

I scratched the back of my head.

“I was going to tell you.”

“You were?”

“Well… in a letter.”

“Just a letter?”

“You looked so busy…”

“Do you think that makes sense?”

“…”

Was this what they called a question-mark murderer?

I couldn’t find an answer. The Beast Miao King, a full head taller than me, gazed down at me.

“Blazing Flame Divine Dragon Jin Taekyung.”

It was a quiet summons. The Beast Miao King continued in a solemn voice.

“You came to our homeland for a reason. You had a purpose here, did you not?”

“…”

“And now you mean to leave without a word, though you have not achieved that purpose. You faced death countless times in an unfamiliar land and saved countless lives. Yet not once did you ask for the reward you were owed.”

His gaze and voice were fixed on me, but everyone gathered there could hear him. Everyone was watching.

“Why?”

I found myself answering.

“I was just one person trying to save other people.”

“…!”

“I didn’t do it for a reward. And I couldn’t ask anyone to make another sacrifice. That’s why I was going to leave.”

Silence fell.

Tens of thousands of people stood together, yet I couldn’t hear a single breath. Against that silence, the rain falling on our heads sounded louder than ever. Beyond it, the Beast Miao King’s towering figure moved.

Rustle.

His back was as firm as a pillar—the back of the Palace Lord of the Nanman Beast Palace, a man who should never have had to bow to anyone. Now it bent toward me.

Before all his people, he offered me a deeply respectful clasped-fist bow.

“I, Yayul Cheok, the Beast Miao King, on behalf of everyone who lives on this land, formally petition Great Hero Jin Taekyung, Fire Dragon Pavilion Master, for our admission into the Murim Alliance.”

It happened on a day when the rain was slowly easing.