Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 32

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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 32
* * *
“Yeon-u, mommy has to go out. Why don’t you eat these while you wait for me to come back?”
The woman pressed a box of chocolate confections into the child’s hands as she spoke.
“Oh—yes! I’m heading out now. I’ll be back soon~”
The child watched his mother leave, clutching the box to his chest.
She did not turn back to look at him once, not even as the door closed.
The child was used to it.
His mother often did not see him, even when they were together.
A great iron door, beyond the child’s reach, swung shut, and the child began to wait.
One day, two days, three days, four days, a week, two weeks.
The chocolate confections ran out quickly, and the child grew hungry.
He shoved anything edible into his mouth.
A month passed. A month and a half.
The child was hungry.
So hungry that he curled up, curled up tighter.
By the end, he no longer had the strength to gaze out the window, which he loved.
He only curled up, and curled up more.
The child’s mother never came back.
* * *
“Yeon-u knows.”
Thick tears spilled from Yeon-u’s eyes, one after another.
Ripples spread across the distorted face of the child reflected in the water.
“Grandfather never looked at me.”
Even when we were together, he saw only other things.
He never listened to what I had to say.
“He never came back.”
Yeon-u knows.
Yeon-u knows that grandfather will never come back again.
The axe slipped from the child’s trembling hands.
His arms shook so much from all the blows he had struck that he could not even wipe away his own tears.
“Ahhhhh—!!”
The child’s eyes were red as he lifted his head and wept bitterly.
That moment.
Whoosh—
“…!”
The child’s body lifted from the ground.
His clothes were caught on the end of a black spear shaft, and he dangled there.
Eyes wide with shock, Yeon-u hung suspended on the spear until his feet touched the earth again.
The surprise was so sudden that even his tears vanished.
Tap.
Yeon-u’s feet alighted gently on the ground.
Whisper—
Yeon-u stood face to face with the Child of Darkness before him.
For a moment, Gu-yeong stood looking down at the water-soaked child, spear tucked under one arm, the other arm crossed.
Flutter—
Gu-yeong removed the outer robe he was wearing.
Beneath the robe he removed, his undergarment was black as well.
While Yeon-u blinked in bewilderment, Gu-yeong knelt down in front of the child.
Then he draped the robe he had taken off across the child’s shoulders and tied the fasteners securely.
Through the thin Black Veil, Yeon-u gazed at the eyes faintly visible within it.
Black eyes that gleamed between long lashes.
Those eyes looked tired somehow, yet held a calm steadiness, and they were beautiful.
Faintly, but undeniably, beautiful.
Whisper—
“…!”
Gu-yeong raised his gaze to look at Yeon-u.
Feeling suddenly caught, Yeon-u flinched without meaning to.
“Shall we head back now.”
Yeon-u nodded.
Gu-yeong swept Yeon-u up into his arms without warning.
“Yeon-u—”
“Your clothes are too large; walking will be difficult. Lean on me as we descend.”
Gu-yeong wrapped the child’s cold frame carefully in the folds of his own garment.
That was when it came.
Dong-dong-dong-dong—
A bell’s call echoed from somewhere far below.
Yeon-u and Gu-yeong both turned toward the sound at once, listening.
Gurgle.
“Yeon-u is hungry.”
“Then shall we hurry?”
Whoosh—
Gu-yeong, still holding Yeon-u, broke into a run.
At a speed wholly incomparable to a child’s pace, he descended the mountainside in moments.
* * *
Tap-tap-tap-
Evening, touched with crimson.
Stretched out flat on the porch, Yeon-u swung his feet and drummed on his swollen belly.
A meal eaten while moving freely, with appetite—it was always the most delicious.
Un-hyeon did not know it, but the simple pleasure of eating well was one of the reasons Yeon-u pursued his training so earnestly.
Tap-tap-
Yeon-u, drumming his belly while gazing at the ceiling, turned his head.
In one corner of the yard, the Child of Darkness stood motionless, as he had since morning.
“Sir.”
Gu-yeong glanced toward Yeon-u.
Yeon-u tapped the porch twice, sharply.
The gesture of a child sprawled out, beckoning him over, drew a quiet, unguarded laugh from Gu-yeong.
Was it because he was still so young?
It was less insolent than it was, somehow, endearing.
After a brief moment’s hesitation, Gu-yeong approached the porch and settled himself beside a pillar.
His spine remained upright as ever, though some of its stiffness had begun to ease.
“Sir.”
Gu-yeong turned to face Yeon-u.
The child had already drawn near and lay prone beside him, chin propped on his hands.
“Why do you wear that?”
Yeon-u pointed to Gu-yeong’s Black Veil.
“Can you see in front when you wear it?”
“I can see.”
“Then why are you wearing it?”
Instead of answering, Gu-yeong simply studied the child.
The boy who had been weeping only moments before was now swinging his legs with an innocent expression, as though nothing had happened.
“Are you not tired?”
The child’s legs went still abruptly.
Then came a wide yawn.
“I’m sleepy.”
“Rest now. You should sleep well tonight.”
After all the exertion you’ve endured.
“But….”
Yeon-u’s lips twisted slightly.
He seemed well enough on the surface, yet the residue of emotion still lingered in him.
“Would you like me to press an acupressure point to help you sleep?”
“An acupressure point?”
“A pressure point that brings sleep.”
“Then yes, do it!”
Yeon-u pushed himself up on his hands, his upper body suddenly rigid.
He didn’t know what it was!
But if it made you sleep!
“Maybe it’s like a lullaby!”
Gu-yeong paused. Then his brow furrowed slightly, and he clenched his jaw.
“Perhaps it is.”
In that sense, it’s the same principle—lulling someone to sleep.
“Then let’s go in!”
Yeon-u jumped to his feet and bolted toward his room, footsteps thundering.
Gu-yeong slipped off his shoes and followed in Yeon-u’s wake.
“Come on in, come on in.”
Yeon-u’s room was small.
Yet even so, it held an emptiness that seemed to press down on a child who dwelt there alone.
Yeon-u, who had entered first, moved busily about, arranging his bedding.
Similar moments had happened often enough with Am-yeong Ma-gun and Un-hyeon, so laying out blankets and lying down was familiar work.
As Yeon-u bustled about, Gu-yeong stepped into the room.
……
Gu-yeong stopped in his tracks.
At his feet lay a scrap of paper, crumpled and folded carelessly.
Crackle.
Gu-yeong picked it up and unfolded it.
……
In the meantime, Yeon-u, who had finished laying out the blankets, was fluffing the pillow with quick pats and glancing over at Gu-yeong.
“What is that?”
Yeon-u tilted his head curiously.
Gu-yeong looked at him.
“You haven’t seen it?”
“I saw it. It was right above Yeon-u’s head.”
“Do you know what it says?”
“Can’t read.”
“I see.”
Gu-yeong held the paper and sat down beside the blanket Yeon-u had laid out.
Yeon-u quickly lay down, pulled the blanket up to his chin, and gazed up at Gu-yeong with bright, curious eyes.
For a moment, their eyes met—the innocent gaze of a child.
“I don’t think we’ll need the Acupressure Point technique.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“There’s something much better.”
Gu-yeong rustled the paper between his fingers.
“It’s a letter left behind by the Sword Emperor.”
“Grandfather?!”
Yeon-u bolted upright.
Gu-yeong nodded.
“Lie down and listen. I’ll read it to you.”
……
Yeon-u obediently settled back onto his blanket.
Gu-yeong unfolded the letter.
As Yeon-u watched Gu-yeong unfold the paper, a thought crossed his mind.
Such beautiful fingers.
“First, I owe you an apology.”
……!
As Gu-yeong began to read the letter, Yeon-u’s ears pricked up at once.
The low, calm voice spread through the quiet room like a lullaby.
“Forgive me for not telling you before I left, Yeon-u. I couldn’t say anything because if word got out about my movements, it could bring trouble.”
Un-hyeon had been worried that the Demonic Cult would restrict his actions.
The reason he couldn’t tell Yeon-u he would be back soon was his fear that the Demonic Cult might send warriors to stop him.
“I won’t go far. There are still many things I wish to teach you, so I will surely return.”
“He’s coming back?!”
Gu-yeong paused briefly in his reading and nodded to Yeon-u.
The child’s eyes gleamed with sudden brightness.
Gu-yeong continued reading the letter.
“My boy, don’t be too anxious about this. I’ll be back before you know it. In the meantime, if you can, continue the Training we’ve been doing together.”
Yeon-u nodded, yes, yes.
“But don’t strain yourself. If it becomes hard, rest whenever you need to—do as you wish. And if you’d like, go out and gather the medicinal herbs you enjoy.”
Yeon-u nodded again, yes, yes…
Perhaps it was relief at learning that Un-hyeon would return. Perhaps it was his tired body sinking into the warmth of the blanket.
The child’s eyes were slowly closing.
“I’ve already left word with the officials—they’ll look after you properly. Don’t skip meals; make sure you eat regularly. If you stay healthy and wait for me….”
At the sound of his varied, soothing tone, Gu-yeong glanced toward Yeon-u.
The child had already fallen asleep, clutching the blanket tightly to his chest.
“I swear… I’ll come back.”
Rustle.
Gu-yeong set down the letter.
The sleeping child’s face was utterly serene.
Watching the boy for a moment longer, Gu-yeong rose and extinguished the flickering lamp.
The darkness of early evening—the sun having only just slipped below the horizon—was not yet deep.
Click.
The door closed.
Inside the small room, only the soft, steady breathing of a sleeping child remained.
* * *
Han-eum Valley, at the boundary between the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and the Central Plain.
A day before the appointed meeting with his son Nam-goong Ho-yeon, Un-hyeon arrived at Han-eum Valley.
With the black half-mask received from Am-yeong Ma-gun worn upon his face and a bamboo hat pulled down over it besides, all trace of Un-hyeon had vanished.
When he’d first received the half-mask, he’d been somewhat skeptical of it, but it proved to be quite a useful thing.
‘Still…’
Had Yeon-u seen the letter?
He’d left it carefully beside the boy’s pillow before departing the room.
“….”
Though now that he thought about it….
‘Can the child even read?’
The moment that thought struck him, cold sweat began to trickle down his spine.
Un-hyeon swallowed hard.
‘A mistake.’
I was in such a hurry leaving….
— Father…?
“…!”
Un-hyeon’s body went rigid.
From behind him, in the distance, he sensed someone’s presence.
Un-hyeon turned around slowly.

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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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