“Perhaps that would be better…”

Unable to listen any longer, Na Rin shouted angrily.

“You ungrateful brats!”

“Gasp!”

“We’re sorry!”

Na Rin’s eyes, who had jumped up angrily, met those of the black-robed men who had reflexively apologized.

“…”

“…”

[Did she just hear our telepathic communication?] [No way, that’s impossible.] [Right? That can’t be, can it? It doesn’t make sense.]

“…”

Na Rin’s eyes rolled over to the boy sitting next to her, who was sobbing.

Sorry. But there’s nothing I can do. Blame your luck for sitting there.

Thwack!

“Owww!”

Na Rin’s kick struck the rear of the boy sitting next to her.

Of course, if she had kicked with her full strength, the poor child’s pelvis would have shattered, so she kicked gently without using her inner energy.

“Stop crying! It doesn’t even hurt!”

“M-me?”

The boy who was kicked on his bottom asked back with a wronged expression, his thick eyebrows furrowed into a ‘八’ shape.

“Yes! You should be grateful for getting to sit and ride! Be thankful!”

“Huh? Uh? But-”

“Shhh!”

“S-sorry…?”

“If you understand, then shut up!”

Fortunately, the black-robed men seemed to have fallen for Na Rin’s act, turning back around with expressions that said ‘that’s more like it’.

Na Rin sat back down on her bundle with a satisfied look, having successfully fooled the black-robed men.

Needless to say, even the crying of the other children stopped at the sight.

‘There’s a crazy one.’

‘Oh no. She’s scary.’

‘Does she have to come with us too?’

It was fortunate, at least, that the children’s thoughts couldn’t be heard by Na Rin.

[This is the timeline separator] [Name: Ju Na Rin
Age: 4 years old]

She had turned four years old.

‘It’s been a full half year since then.’

Having grown a little, her baby talk had decreased somewhat, though it was still hard to understand.

Even so, it couldn’t quite be called clear and articulate speech yet.

Several months ago.

The group that had been traveling by horse-drawn carriage switched to riding two-humped camels midway through their journey.

Some children cried in surprise at the sight of camels they had never seen before. But there were times when they couldn’t even ride camels, depending on the situation.

Naturally, meals were not plentiful, and there were many times when even water was not given in sufficient quantities.

Yet, not a single person had dropped out during this journey.

That was all thanks to Na Rin’s noble efforts.

“Elder brother. I’ll give you a massage.”

“Huh? Ah, no. I’m really fine, Na Rin.”

“Hurry up.”

“…Okay.”

At the end of each day’s journey, when everyone was exhausted, Na Rin would pick out children who looked like they might drop dead and give them nightly massages under the guise of acupressure to unblock their meridians and boost their energy with her inner power.

It wasn’t like she particularly cared about wasting her overflowing inner energy when there was no need to fight.

Rather, it was more difficult to watch young children die before her eyes.

‘If it weren’t for me, these children would have entered the Huashan Sect.’

Perhaps she felt a bit indebted to them.

The responsibility of turning these young sprouts, who should have been cultivating in pure training grounds and growing up to be righteous heroes of the martial world, into little demon cult members to suit her circumstances… Wait, something’s not right here.

‘Shouldn’t these kids be grateful to me?’

Thinking about it carefully, that really was the case.

These children were born with the fate of becoming martial artists one way or another. If they had followed their original life path and become disciples of the Huashan Sect, wouldn’t they have just died meaninglessly in the battle against the great demon cult?

No, that’s right! I put them on the winning side for free, so they should be grateful!

Thinking like that, she found the resistance of her fellow disciples who complained about pain to be extremely irritating.

‘What’s so cute about them that I’m even using my inner energy to take care of them!’

Thwack!

She unconsciously put more strength into her massaging fists.

“Ugh! Na, Na Rin!”

“Please, ah! Ah, please! Stop!”

“Be quiet. Shut up.”

Seeing this, the tall black-robed man spoke to Na Rin.

“Did you mean ‘it hurts’ or ‘shut up’?”

“Both are fine.”

The name of this man, which Na Rin had learned over the past half year, was Ma Jung.

It was common in the demon cult not to have a surname, and if one didn’t have one, they would use the character ‘Ma’ (魔) meaning ‘demon’ as their surname and live like a family.

For reference, the skinny short one was named Bi Cha, using the surname Bi, and the bulky one’s name was Ma Dae Heung.

‘Ma Dae Heung is one thing, but Ma Ma Jung? Really?’

“Pfft! Hehehe!”

Na Rin couldn’t help but burst into laughter whenever she thought of Ma Jung’s name.

Meanwhile, Na Rin’s seemingly unprovoked laughter appeared quite strange objectively, but Ma Jung chose not to point it out.

To the guides, Na Rin was originally, usually, always, and today as well, a strange child.

“Ahem. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“Me?”

Na Rin rolled her round eyes.

It was an adorably cute expression that would make one’s heart ache, but to Ma Jung, who had experienced Na Rin for the past half year, it was simply a chilling expression.

“To be frank, where do you want to go?”

Once again, it was the matter of Na Rin’s placement.

Throughout the long journey from Xi’an to Xinjiang over the past half year, the black-robed men had discussed it several times but couldn’t decide which organization Na Rin should belong to.

Na Rin tilted her head quizzically.

“Shouldn’t you decide that…?”

“I know. We know. It’s our right and duty as guides. In fact, we’ve already decided where the other children will go. But you…”

Ma Jung heaved a deep sigh.

In one way, it seemed like she could adapt well enough no matter where she went, but from another perspective, nowhere seemed to fit her perfectly.

So what else could they do?

If they couldn’t find a place that perfectly suited Na Rin anyway, they might as well prioritize her own wishes.

“Decide by tonight. You’ll be entering tomorrow.”

Na Rin blinked her round eyes, seemingly surprised.

‘This is unusual.’

She had thought it would be fortunate if she didn’t end up as material for some suspicious drug.

Who would have thought she’d be able to choose which part of the demon cult she’d belong to herself.

“Where can I go?”

“Right. That’s where we start.”

Bi Cha chimed in.

He had been looking like he wanted to add something for a while, apparently waiting for the right moment.

Bi Cha sat down in front of the campfire and handed Na Rin a freshly baked wheat pancake as he spoke.

The wheat pancake, made by mixing coarsely ground wheat flour with salt and sesame oil and then baking it over the campfire, wasn’t particularly delicious, but it had a subtle nutty flavor that was quite appealing.

“Just because it’s within the cult doesn’t mean you can go anywhere. The places we guides can recommend go up to the ‘Halls’.”

“Halls?”

“Haven’t you heard it mentioned in passing? Like the Hidden King Hall or the Sword King Hall.”

Na Rin nodded.

She certainly remembered hearing about them.

Nom nom.

Na Rin bit the edge of the tasty wheat pancake and pulled it.

She bit and pulled the long, torn pancake several times, popping it into her mouth and chewing it deliciously.

Bi Cha continued speaking.

“But that’s just the starting point. Where you ultimately want to go will completely change your direction.”

“Bi Cha. Is it necessary to say such things…”

“Why? You don’t think Na Rin will end up as just a lay believer, do you?”

Bi Cha picked up a twig and drew on the ground as he explained.

“The original name of our demon cult is the Celestial Demon God Cult. Cool, right? It’s not particularly demeaning to call it the demon cult, but when showing respect, we should call it the Celestial Demon God Cult.”

“I understand.”

Na Rin nodded, her eyes shining.

Bi Cha smirked at Na Rin, who was rarely so attentive, and the other children who were pretending not to listen but were actually paying attention.

“You all should listen too. It’s information that won’t hurt to know.”

“Yes.”

As the children gathered in small groups, Dae Heung, who had been pretending to be uninterested while tending to the camels, also reluctantly joined the group.

Bi Cha had a storyteller’s disposition and sometimes made up or exaggerated things, so Dae Heung was there to correct any misinformation if necessary.

“The Celestial Demon God Cult is broadly divided into three factions. One is the ‘Cult Leader Faction’ led by the Celestial Demon and the four Guardian Sages, another is the ‘Demon Ancestor Faction’ following the Seven Great Demon Ancestors, and the last one is the ‘Elder Faction’ centered around the Twelve Elders.”

Cult Leader Faction. Demon Ancestor Faction. Elder Faction.

Na Rin nodded quietly, her eyes sparkling.

“The first thing to do is to choose one of these three factions. Changing factions once you’ve decided is so difficult that it would be faster to be reborn, so you need to be careful.”

Na Rin crossed her arms and made an “hmm” sound.

‘The Cult Leader Faction. Thinking simply, that might be the best option.’

Even though Na Rin was the daughter of the demon cult leader, she couldn’t just barge in claiming to be his daughter. In that case, it would be better to be in a place where she could at least hang around near the cult leader. That way, she might have a chance.

‘But the Cult Leader Faction has the Guardian Sages…’

Na Rin recalled Jeok Gun Ak of the Four Evils, who had been her mortal enemy in her past life.

Even though she had been reborn, could she really get along well with someone she had tried so hard to kill?

Honestly, she wasn’t confident.

Na Rin’s hostility towards Jeok Gun Ak had been so strong that the official charge cry of her unit had been “Die! Jeok Gun Ak!”

Dae Heung, who had been listening to Bi Cha’s story, snorted and sneered.

“If you explain it like that, how is the child supposed to choose?”

“Then how should I explain it?”

“Which faction is easier to settle into, where promotion is faster. Which one has better benefits and prospects. You should tell her things like this so she can choose.”

That was indeed a very valid point.

Dae Heung, who played the role of the sensible one among the three guides, continued the explanation after Bi Cha.

“The Cult Leader Faction is, in a word, meritocratic. Combat divisions like the Hidden King Hall and the Sword King Hall belong here. You can learn high-level martial arts, and if you have achievements, promotion is fast. But many people die during missions, so there’s always a shortage of personnel, and the workload is also heavy, so it’s not easy. Still, there are quite a few people who apply to the Cult Leader Faction out of a desire to be of help to the cult leader. Because of this, there’s a lot of gatekeeping, and if your martial arts are weak, you’ll be looked down upon.”

Even from a brief description, it sounded like a terrible job.

‘It’s like the Murim Alliance Search Party.’

Na Rin realized how harsh the working conditions had been in her past life.

“If I go to the Cult Leader Faction, can I meet the cult leader?”