Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 44

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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 44
The three of them returned home at once.
There was indeed much to prepare, as Un-hyeon had said.
They had to gather the snacks scattered throughout the mountains for Yeon-u’s training, and pack away the dried meat and provisions they’d set aside.
“But where are we going anyway? To Zhong Yuan?”
Yeon-u asked while moving about busily.
Un-hyeon’s hands paused for a moment as he folded Yeon-u’s few clothes.
Un-hyeon smiled softly and ruffled Yeon-u’s hair.
“Not yet. We’re not ready to leave for Zhong Yuan just yet.”
“Really?”
Too bad. I thought we’d finally get to taste Mountain Sea Delicacy.
“It’s all right! Being here with Grandfather and Am-yeong is fun too.”
“Good. You’re a thoughtful child.”
Un-hyeon patted Yeon-u’s head gently once more, then returned to packing.
Am-yeong Ma-gun, who had been sunbathing on the veranda, chuckled and tapped the space beside him.
“Don’t go bothering them. Come here.”
Yeon-u bounded over and plopped down next to Am-yeong Ma-gun.
Am-yeong Ma-gun placed a hand on Yeon-u’s head and smoothed down the stray wisps of hair that had come loose.
“Were you lonely while we were away?”
“Hmm—a little? But Gu-yeong was here, so it was all right… Oh! That’s right!”
Gu-yeong! Where is Gu-yeong?!
Am-yeong Ma-gun pressed down on Yeon-u’s shoulders as he tried to jump up.
“He left.”
“He did?! Where?”
“I sent him on his way.”
* * *
The night before, before Am-yeong Ma-gun arrived home.
Am-yeong Ma-gun had encountered Gu-yeong on the way back.
Or rather, sensing the signs of a scuffle, he’d gone to look—only to find that the assassins sent by Yo-hwa Ma-gun had already fled.
‘So they really do hit and run well.’
They did indeed.
Clang.
When Am-yeong Ma-gun arrived, Gu-yeong was in absolute disarray.
A piercing wound through one shoulder.
Countless small gashes scattered across his body, and his clothes torn in places that spoke of a vicious engagement.
His spear lay scattered some distance away, and he himself was sprawled out flat on the dirt ground.
Pat. Tap-tap. Pat.
Am-yeong Ma-gun pressed a pressure point on Gu-yeong’s shoulder to stop the bleeding from the piercing wound.
Though Gu-yeong could have managed that well enough himself with only one arm injured, he hadn’t tended to it for some reason.
Even as the bleeding was staunched, Gu-yeong lay motionless with his arm across his eyes.
He might have seemed asleep, but Am-yeong Ma-gun knew he wasn’t.
“Should I put you out of your misery?”
At the question, spoken with a note of playfulness, Gu-yeong finally lowered his arm.
Because of the darkness of the hour, the distinctive beautiful eyes hidden beneath black hair weren’t visible—a pity.
He should have seen the expression of exhaustion and weariness.
“That’s quite enough.”
“After all this, you’re just going to forgive her? How magnanimous of you.”
“Yo-hwa Ma-gun holds her in high regard. It’s wiser to withdraw now rather than escalate the conflict further.”
“Am-hyang, was it?”
Am-yeong Ma-gun stroked his chin, gazing in the direction the assassins had gone.
“She’s your cousin?”
“…In a manner of speaking.”
“She’s your older sister?”
……
“You show no mercy to your own blood.”
Gu-yeong pushed himself up.
He leaned against a tree stump, gripping his injured shoulder in pain.
“The children of the Mu-yeong Family are taught to regard their own family and kin as enemies from the start.”
A family without shadow.
Children born into that house learn primarily the arts of protection and assassination, concealment—trained as someone’s ‘tool.’
A master is chosen by one’s own will, yet for the master one has chosen, one must become a being without blood or tears—capable of turning even on one’s own family.
One may refrain from choosing a master and remain bound to the family instead, but that too is merely a choice to serve the family.
Should one take a master other than the family, one must understand that at any moment, in any place, one could be forced to cross blades with one’s own blood.
Only then could one truly be called a member of the Mu-yeong Family.
“To preserve the family’s spirit by holding a blade to the family’s throat—no matter how many times I hear it, it’s merciless,” Gu-yeong said quietly.
He peered down at Am-yeong Ma-gun from beneath his black hat.
For him, who had carried the Mu-yeong Family’s creed in his mind since childhood, such words held no more power to move him.
“Still, it’s unexpected. Honestly, I thought you might have abandoned him.”
“I merely followed the Master’s command.”
“But the Master’s command wasn’t ‘protect the child,’ was it?”
Am-yeong Ma-gun regarded Gu-yeong with a playful smile.
Gu-yeong was the personnel Cheon-ma had entrusted to Am-yeong Ma-gun.
In other words, Cheon-ma’s only order was: ‘Act according to Am-yeong Ma-gun’s will.’
Of course, Am-yeong Ma-gun’s will had been to protect the child.
“If you’d thought this action might cause even the slightest harm to the Master, you wouldn’t have done it.”
And that was precisely what this was.
There had been enough reason to conclude that the child’s existence could become a threat to Shin-gyo and the Master.
“That wasn’t like you.”
“Then you wished for me to hand over the child?”
“No, that’s not it, but—”
He’d thought it was something you might have done.
……
A brief silence fell between them.
Am-yeong Ma-gun’s eyes shifted to regard Gu-yeong.
Gu-yeong sat slumped against a tree, his head bowed as if lifeless, for a long moment.
“It was simply…”
Gu-yeong’s lips moved.
That distinctive voice of his—low and toneless, yet unmistakably clear.
“A debt I owed.”
“A debt? To that child?”
“…Yes.”
Beneath his hat, Gu-yeong’s gaze rested quietly on his own chest.
There, nestled in his robes, lay the medicinal herb the child had given him during the day.
He had labored up the cliff face with difficulty, finally retrieving this herb that brought restful sleep.
Whoosh—
“…?”
Gu-yeong turned his head.
Am-yeong Ma-gun had suddenly drawn close beside him.
“The child has taken your fancy, hasn’t he?”
Beneath the mask, his eyes curved upward in amusement.
“I understand. He’s a peculiar one, after all.”
……
Gu-yeong’s thoughts turned vaguely to Yeon-u.
A bright child, his face clear and ingenuous in laughter—the first image that came to mind.
‘Come to think of it.’
I wonder if the child escaped safely.
“In any case, Gu-yeong, you’re free to return now.”
“…!”
Gu-yeong looked at Am-yeong Ma-gun.
“Now, you mean?”
At once?
He hadn’t yet confirmed whether the child was safe, and hadn’t properly said farewell…
“Is there any reason you cannot?”
He stared for a moment at the purplish eyes glinting with amusement behind the mask.
“…There is not.”
Gu-yeong rose to his feet.
As he reached for his spear, Am-yeong Ma-gun stood as well.
“Then.”
Spear in hand, Gu-yeong bowed respectfully to Am-yeong Ma-gun.
And at that very moment, just as he was about to turn and leave.
“Don’t regret it too much.”
“…?”
Gu-yeong turned to look at Am-yeong Ma-gun.
Am-yeong Ma-gun’s eyes sparkled beneath the moonlight.
“We’ll meet again soon enough.”
* * *
After gathering everything, the three of them left the house.
When it was all counted, Un-hyeon held only a Bundle in his hand, and Yeon-u’s worn Sack was everything else between them.
Am-yeong Ma-gun lifted Yeon-u into his arms.
They had to evade any pursuers that might follow, and their destination lay so far that the child couldn’t possibly walk the distance.
“Are we going far?”
“At least half a day’s travel, I should think.”
With Un-hyeon and Am-yeong Ma-gun’s Gyeong-shin Technique, a half day’s journey would stretch to four days for anyone else.
“You’ll find plenty of those Medicinal Herbs you like there.”
They were heading deep into places where no one ventured at all.
“Good!”
Yeon-u, knowing nothing of what awaited, simply giggled with anticipation.
Unaware that he wouldn’t return to this house for a very long time.
“Let’s go now.”
Am-yeong Ma-gun hurried Un-hyeon forward.
The Safe House where Yeon-u and Un-hyeon would stay was one Am-yeong Ma-gun had prepared.
Un-hyeon nodded and was about to take his first step when—
“…?”
Un-hyeon and Am-yeong Ma-gun’s heads turned toward the same direction at once.
A moment later, the sound of quick, small footsteps came rushing from that way.
“Yeon-u!!”
It was Gwan-hyeok, gasping and heaving as he sprinted toward them, his escort Baek-gang close behind.
Gasp— wheeze— gasp—
“Son? What’s wrong?”
“You, you…!”
Gwan-hyeok drew in harsh, ragged breaths.
Perhaps because he’d caught them on the very verge of departure, his breathing carried an unmistakable urgency.
He couldn’t even catch his breath before he cried out.
“You’re, you’re leaving…! Going far!”
The boy’s face looked as though he might cry any moment.
Yeon-u blinked.
“Yeah. But why are you crying, son?”
“I, I’m not crying, okay? It’s just….”
Gwan-hyeok rubbed his eyes self-consciously as he spoke.
“Where are you going…! We promised to have a Martial Practice Match every other month!”
“I know. I remember.”
“If you go far…!”
We won’t be able to meet every other month.
That’s what he’d heard from his father.
Yeon-u would retreat deep into the mountains, and wouldn’t return until he entered Ma Ryong Guan five years from now.
Honestly, he didn’t like it.
He’d only just found a friend to share martial arts with, someone he could hunt rabbits with sometimes.
There was so much he’d wanted to try together.
It would’ve been truly fun.
But Gwan-hyeok clenched his fists.
He couldn’t let himself whine like a child.
He understood that Yeon-u was going into the mountains for his own safety.
So there would be no more running back in terror, trembling as he had yesterday.
And so.
“Five years from now.”
With a sniff and a sniffle, Gwan-hyeok suddenly thrust something into Yeon-u’s hands.
Yeon-u’s face lit up immediately.
“Jerky! It smells like jerky!”
And his pockets were full of it!
“Come back in five years and we’ll have our Martial Practice Match. Understood?!”
Yeon-u accepted the pouch of jerky and nodded vigorously.
“Yeah!”
“I’m really going to train hard for five years! When we meet again, you won’t beat me even once!”
“And Yeon-u, when you come back, I’ll pulverize you!”
“Pul—! Don’t use such rough language!”
“Then I’ll smash you to bits!”
“That’s even rougher!”
Where on earth had he picked up talk like that?
Gwan-hyeok continued to bristle at the boy’s relentless, uncompromising antics right to the end.
Thanks to that, the tearless parting passed without ceremony.
“Go well! Make sure you come back!!”
Gwan-hyeok and Baek-gang stood before Yeon-u’s house, waving their hands in farewell as the three figures departed.
Gwan-hyeok’s hand did not stop waving until their forms had vanished from sight.

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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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