Chapter 266 (1/2)

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The promised four days went by.

The Bull Demon King placed a bundle wrapped in cloth each on the shoulders of Su-hyeun, Sun Wukong, and the Roc Demon King.

He then said, “I’ve packed some snacks to eat on your way.”

“Are you sending us off on a picnic somewhere far away or something? You know we’re going there to fight, right?”

Although Sun Wukong said that, he was already drooling at the thought of food.

Before he could start undoing the bundle to take a look inside, the Bull Demon King snatched Sun Wukong’s hands away from it and shook his head in disapproval.

“Once you start, you’re going to finish them in one sitting, so don’t. You should instead enjoy them when you feel hungry when you get there.”

“But, big bro.”

“A no is a no. And stop whining like a child. It’s creepy.”

The Bull Demon King’s firm voice caused Sun Wukong to lick his lips from the missed opportunity.

The Roc Demon King stood tall with his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky, and spoke, “Let’s stop dithering about and get going already. What will you do if the Heavenly World suddenly had a change of heart and departed sooner than scheduled?”

“No way. Those idiots hate changing their plans the most, you know. Second brother, you think the Heavenly World is like you? Busy saying this and then quickly saying something else,” Sun Wukong grumbled while placing his hands behind his head. “If only I still had my Somersault cloud with me, going there would be hassle-free. Heck, if I knew this would happen, maybe I shouldn’t have given it away to the littlest here. Looks like things will get annoying as we go there.”

“You gave it to our littlest brother, so why are you blaming him? This won’t do. I must smack some sense into you before you leave,” the Bull Demon King tutted.

“Ah, big bro! I’ll die if you smack me, you know!”

“You’re an immortal, so why the fuss?”

“N—no, hang on a minute. If it’s you, big brother, you might really kill me, you know? Ahk! Someone save Sun Wukong!”

Su-hyeun grinned at the sight of Sun Wukong moving exaggeratedly as he dodged the Bull Demon King.

What with the weight of the quest they were about to embark on being so heavy, the atmosphere should also be equally grave, yet Sun Wukong didn’t act differently from how he normally did.

“If you’re worried about our transportation, I have a way, so you can rest easy. I shall take good care of you both, brothers,” Su-hyeun said.

“Eh? Really? Wait, did you figure out how to control the Somersault cloud already?”

“No way…Seriously?”

Sun Wukong and the Roc Demon King were stunned by that, their eyes growing wider.

They knew that Su-hyeun’s speed of mastering the Sage Arts was already amazing, but it would be another story altogether for him to freely wield the Somersault cloud in only a matter of days.

Su-hyeun continued on, “It’s still too early for me to transport all of you, but—”

“Hey, what the heck.”

“I thought as much.”

“You idiots! Will you listen to him until the end?”

Smack, bang—

Sun Wukong and the Roc Demon King formed deflated expressions before making identical sneers at Su-hyeun, only for the Bull Demon King to smack them in their heads.

They hurriedly covered their heads and crouched in pain. Although those smacks looked light, the resulting sounds were certainly not.

Su-hyeun alternated his gaze between Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King before addressing the former. “Have you forgotten how I got here back in the beginning?”

“Ah, that’s right.” Sun Wukong kept rubbing his aching head and nodded.

Now that he thought about it, the Heavenly World above the clouds was the place where he met Su-hyeun for the first time.

Su-hyeun turned toward the wide front yard and called out, “Hey, Miru!”

Split—

At his call, Miru poked his head out from the empty air.

Gya-ong, gya-ong—!

As soon as it appeared, though, Miru turned its head away from him and narrowed its eyes as if it was angry about something.

Even its cries sounded unhappy. Su-hyeun remembered that no event during the past half a year or so required him to summon Miru.

“I—I’m sorry, Miru. Are you angry?”

Gya-ong—!

The tone of the dragon’s cries didn’t sound so good.

Su-hyeun had to work hard for a while to mollify Miru by stroking its head.

On the other hand, Sun Wukong and the Roc Demon King stared on with puzzled expressions at the dragon’s unexpected entrance.

“A dragon?”

“So, it’s a dragon. I thought they went extinct a long time ago, but you were actually rearing one?”

In this world, dragons were seen as a subspecies of Yogoes that the Taoist gods reared as their noble divine beasts.

However, they went extinct many moons ago. The Bull Demon King, who had already lived for hundreds of thousands of years, apparently hadn’t seen one in such a long time.

“…I have a rough idea of a dragon’s mobility since I heard some stories about it, but isn’t this child a little too small for everyone to ride on?”

Despite being a dragon, Miru’s size wasn’t all that big on the outside.

Not only was there a question of how fast Miru could fly, but it was also not much bigger than a tiger. Therefore, having three people ride comfortably on its back seemed to be a tall task even if it was capable of rapid flight.

“Hey Miru, can you give us a ride?”

Gya-ong—!

Miru shot a glare at Su-hyeun with a sulking expression and then turned its head away again.

He wondered if the dragon would choose not to listen to him out of all that anger, but not too long afterward, Miru’s body began to gradually get bigger.

Kku-duck, kku-du-duk—

Its slender legs that stood on the ground lengthened and thickened. Even its face that looked juvenile was soon covered with thick scales, and eventually, its whole body took on the figure of a near-mature dragon.

Boom—

Rumbleee—

When its front leg stepped forward, the ground rumbled and quaked ever so softly. Its previously cute-sounding cries had also morphed into something that better suited a dragon.

Sun Wukong saw this transformation and asked the Bull Demon King, “I was wondering why it looked way smaller than the one I saw the last time, but this was why, eh? Now, that’s so mysterious. Big brother, have you seen anything like this before?”

A dragon that could freely alter the size of its physique.

Not only Sun Wukong, who didn’t know much about dragons, to begin with, but even the Bull Demon King found this sight unfamiliar to behold despite having seen dragons a few times in the past.

“Even I have not heard about such a thing before. Not only that…” The Bull Demon King studied the transformed Miru before carrying on, “As it’s a red dragon, this child must be a descendant of a divine dragon.”

“A divine dragon?”

“I only heard about some stories, and it’s also my first time seeing one. When I was a young boy, dragons still existed, and I got to see one every now and then. That…probably implies that even back during the height of the dragon race’s prosperity, there weren’t that many individuals in existence.”

Growl, grrrr—

Miru rubbed its head against Su-hyeun for a bit and then let him ride first on the back of its neck before shifting its head toward the Bull Demon King and the other two Yogoes.

“Miru’s telling you to climb aboard.” Su-hyeun waved his hand, signaling them to hurry.

While Sun Wukong and the Roc Demon King stood there staring at Miru in amazement, the Bull Demon King smacked them both in their backs and pushed them forward.

“Ouch! Why did you push us like that?”

“Be careful on your way and come home soon. I’ll prepare a tasty feast to coincide your return, so come back healthy, too.”

Sun Wukong grumbled loudly again, but the Bull Demon King just waved his hand slowly a couple of times before walking back inside the house.

His actions or expressions didn’t display much concern. Sun Wukong dazedly stared at the Bull Demon King for a second or two before smiling brightly. “Alright. We’ll be back soon, bro.”

“Indeed. Take care of yourselves.”