Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 13
* * *
Meanwhile, atop the Hill overlooking the Gwan Residence.
Am Yeong-ma Gun and Yun-hyeon crouched behind the underbrush, eavesdropping on the conversation between Gwan-yun and Yeon-woo drifting through an open window.
They wanted to see what manner of person had bought Yeon-woo, to hear what business was being conducted, to observe whether she explained the situation well.
Though they were already watching.
Yun-hyeon, peering at the Gwan Residence through the thicket, could no longer restrain himself and turned to Am Yeong-ma Gun.
“Do we have to do this? Wouldn’t it be better to watch from the sky like before?”
“Hush—sit, sit. Someone might see us.”
Am Yeong-ma Gun pressed down on Yun-hyeon’s shoulder.
The force was so great that Yun-hyeon, who had been trying to rise, could not move an inch.
“That’s exactly my point—someone might see us! By the look of it, the Gwan Residence hasn’t a master of that caliber…!”
“Shh!”
Am Yeong-ma Gun’s forefinger pressed against Yun-hyeon’s lips, silencing him.
Yun-hyeon scowled at the unwelcome touch and swatted the hand away.
Just as he was about to protest, Gwan-yun’s voice reached them.
“Then. Nothing unusual occurred?”
“……!”
Yun-hyeon’s gaze snapped toward the Gwan Residence.
“Unusual?”
Yun-hyeon swallowed hard.
Could Yeon-woo explain the situation of being targeted by assassins clearly?
What would the Gwan Family do in response to the threat against Yeon-woo?
With such thoughts, he and Am Yeong-ma Gun stared intently at the Gwan Residence.
“Nothing at all.”
At the same moment Yeon-woo’s casual reply drifted out, Yun-hyeon sprang to his feet.
Am Yeong-ma Gun, clutching his belly, was stifling a fit of silent laughter—kuh-kuh-kuh-kuh.
Nothing unusual indeed!
“I should head back inside myself.”
As Yun-hyeon set off directly for the Gwan Residence, Am Yeong-ma Gun waved him on with a flourish.
* * *
Knock, knock.
“Father, it’s Hyeok.”
At the voice from beyond the door, Gwan-yun smiled knowingly.
“Come in.”
Presently the door opened and someone stepped into the chamber.
He appeared to be about ten years old.
Gwan-hyeok, who still bore the softness of childhood, had inherited his father’s upright bearing and handsome features.
‘He’s the image of him.’
The thick brows, the round eyes, the straight nose.
How could two people look so identical?
As Yeon-woo stared blankly at Gwan-hyeok—a face that seemed to be Gwan-yun’s very mirror—something passed across the boy’s eyes.
“…….”
Gwan-hyeok glanced at Yeon-woo with a cold stare.
“……?”
It lasted only a moment, but the hostility was unmistakable and sharp.
Yeon-woo tilted her head.
‘……?’
Yet as if nothing had happened, Gwan-hyeok bowed respectfully toward his father and took the martial salute.
“Father, we have a visitor.”
“A visitor? Who?”
“An elderly person who claims to be this child’s guardian.”
“A guardian?”
Gwan-yun regarded Yeon-woo with interest.
“An old man?”
“Yes. However, he wears a half-mask, so I could not confirm his identity with certainty. What shall we do?”
“A half-mask?”
Gwan-yun’s brow rose.
He understood that an elderly man living with the girl had come, but a mask—what did that signify?
“Let him in for now.”
“Surely you’re not a dangerous person?”
“It’s fine—let him in. How many people in this area even know of Yeon-woo?”
Moreover, those who know Yeon-woo lives with someone are rarer still. If he’s taken it upon himself to be her protector, it must be that old man.
“Yes, Father.”
Gwan-hyeok bowed once more toward his father, then turned to leave.
In that fleeting moment, Yeon-woo felt his gaze upon her again—sharp, measuring.
“……?”
She chewed on dried fruit, watching his back until he left the room.
But at the sound of Gwan-yun’s voice, her attention snapped back to him.
“Your grandfather’s come, it seems.”
“Grandfather? Here?”
“Yes. He said to let him in, so he should be—”
In that instant, a chill ran down Gwan-yun’s spine.
He bolted upright without thinking.
His gaze snapped toward the door.
‘…What is this?’
Something was approaching.
A vast and terrible Qi.
Like a predator with sheathed claws, drawing slowly toward its prey….
Click—
His hand seized the bow he’d left behind him.
Thump-thump—
He drew a tense breath.
‘Before the door opens….’
Before that, I need to loose an arrow….
“Grandfather?”
“Wait—”
But before Gwan-yun could stop her, Yeon-woo sprang from her chair and dashed to the door, flinging it open.
Gwan-yun froze in shock. Then—
‘Too late!’
Just as he moved to assume a combat stance, the suffocating Qi that had seemed ready to throttle him an instant before vanished entirely, as if it had never been.
“!”
The old man stepped through the doorway at that exact moment.
– I apologize for releasing my Qi so carelessly.
The Mental Transmission reached him through his mind.
Gwan-yun swallowed hard, staring at the figure in the doorway.
A man in a black half-mask stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
“…….”
One could tell from his bearing alone.
This man was no beggar.
He was a martial artist skilled in Mental Transmission, and from the unmistakable refinement that radiated from him, likely nobility of a distinguished house.
‘His strength cannot be measured.’
Whether he could stand against the man even if he gathered every warrior the Gwan family had—he hadn’t the faintest idea.
‘Who in the world….’
Who was he?
He’d never heard whisper of anyone like this in the region.
A hidden master living in seclusion?
Yet that incomparable grace was something that could not be concealed….
‘How could someone like this….’
How does she know him?
Gwan-yun glanced at Yeon-woo.
The man had released his Qi only toward Gwan-yun; Yeon-woo greeted him without a trace of fear.
– May I ask who you are, High Master?
– I’m afraid I cannot reveal that.
It was the answer he’d anticipated from the moment the man released his Qi before showing himself.
That oppressive pressure meant simply: do not ask, do not seek to know.
– I cannot tell you who I am, but if you harbor no ill intent toward Yeon-woo, then neither shall I.
Conversely, it meant that if Gwan-yun did intend harm, that formidable power could turn hostile at any moment.
At that moment, Gwan-yun drew upon his own Qi.
A rough, violent aura churned around him, stirring the fabric of his robes.
Can you handle all the martial artists of the Gwan Family?
At those words, Yun-hyeon’s Qi, which had vanished completely moments before, began to rise again.
Unlike before, it was quiet—yet vast enough to swallow Gwan-yun’s Qi in an instant.
Gwan-yun felt as though an endless expanse of sky had unfurled before his eyes.
Behind that lofty presence came a low voice through Mental Transmission.
Will you test yourself against it?
……
Their gazes locked in taut silence for a moment.
Whoosh—
Instead of answering, Gwan-yun withdrew his Qi.
Yun-hyeon’s Qi vanished without a trace just as swiftly.
Yeon-woo is an important child to the Main Family as well.
The Gwan Family has no reason to harm her.
It was his response to Yun-hyeon’s words.
Yun-hyeon nodded briefly.
Then he looked down at Yeon-woo.
Yeon-woo seemed puzzled by the half-mask Yun-hyeon wore, staring at him with her head tilted.
“Yeon-woo. Go outside and play for a while. I have something urgent to discuss with your father.”
Yeon-woo glanced back and forth between Yun-hyeon and Gwan-yun for a moment.
“Will you wait for me?”
“Of course. We’ll go back together when I’m done.”
“Okay!”
Yeon-woo answered briefly, then dashed toward the table and grabbed a handful of the remaining dried fruit.
“Uncle, I’m going!”
“Y-yes, go ahead.”
Yeon-woo waved at Gwan-yun and scampered out of the room.
Gwan-yun wanted nothing more than to hold her back, but the child’s innocent dash out the door only made him feel the weight of it all the more.
Bang!
The door closed, and only Gwan-yun and Yun-hyeon remained in the room.
Shhh—
The moment the child left, Qi enveloped the room as if it had been waiting.
Gwan-yun felt like weeping.
Was this what a rabbit trapped in a beast’s den felt like?
Though in this case, the beast had crawled into the rabbit’s burrow.
‘I should never have let him in.’
“I’ll sit, then.”
“Over here, please.”
* * *
“Hey, you little beggar.”
A voice tinged with mockery followed Yeon-woo as she left the building, chewing on dried fruit.
‘Where am I eating?’
“Hey!”
She was humming to herself as she walked when—
“You there, I’m talking to you!”
Yeon-woo finally turned around.
Before her stood two boys who looked to be about ten years old.
One was Gwan-hyeok, Gwan-yun’s son, whom she had seen in the Master’s Chamber moments before. The other was Gwan-hyeok’s Attendant.
As Yeon-woo turned, Gwan-hyeok smirked and spoke mockingly.
“So you’re the little beggar, huh?”
Yeon-woo stared at him for a moment.
Then she lowered her brows and tilted her head.
“Who are you?”
“I was just in the Master’s Chamber with you!”
Yeon-woo tilted her head again.
“Oh!”
The uncle’s son!
“It’s not ‘oh’! We saw each other less than fifteen minutes ago!”
Watching the indignant Gwan-hyeok, Yeon-woo popped another piece of dried fruit into her mouth.
“Son, do you need something from me?”
“Don’t call me ‘son’!”
“But he’s still your son, isn’t he?”
“That, well…!”
True enough, but…!
“I don’t want to be called that by someone younger than me!”
“Do you even know how old my son is?”
Yeon-woo wouldn’t know that.
“Father said three months ago he bought an eight-year-old beggar, so he must be nine now!”
A year had passed in the meantime!
“I see. Thank you for telling me.”
I’ll remember that.
Gwan-hyeok bristled with indignation watching her chew her words so brazenly.
Yeon-woo raised an eyebrow.
What on earth was his problem?
“Anyway…! Come with me!”
“Why?”
“No more questions—just come!”
Gwan-hyeok huffed and strode ahead into the distance, while the Attendant trailed behind him, gauging Yeon-woo’s expression.
Yeon-woo hesitated.
‘How bothersome.’
She’d wanted to go eat.
Then, in a flash of realization, Yeon-woo’s eyes widened.
Yeon-woo grinned and chased after Gwan-hyeok.
The bright, bounding footsteps of a child racing ahead echoed across the Courtyard before Master’s Hall.
“You’re trying to give me something delicious, aren’t you??”
“I’m not!!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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