Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 45

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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 45
* * *
Time cannot be grasped, and so it slips away in the blink of an eye.
For a child, even more so.
The secluded life of Yeon-u and Namgung Unhy-eon.
Five years later.
Yeon-u had turned fourteen.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoom—
An Axe cleaved through the violent wind, spinning through the air.
It flew across a distance long enough to cross an entire ravine before embedding itself with a sharp crack into a towering tree.
Crack-snap!
In that same moment, a massive tiger passed by the tree. And then—
Thud!
A girl with her hair tied back tightly and a tattered satchel slung across her shoulder darted after the tiger.
Whoosh!
Racing after the tiger at breakneck speed, the girl plucked the Axe from the tree with effortless grace as she ran.
A beetle, no larger than a thumb, lingered near the groove gouged by the Axe—a mark that cut halfway through the tree’s width—before crawling downward.
Pound-pound-pound—
The tiger’s paws were heavy and swift.
Its massive strides trampled the undergrowth, scattering small animals in every direction, sending birds fleeing skyward.
A display of menace and unstoppable momentum.
And yet the tiger was running—fleeing.
From the ultimate threat to its life.
Crash—
Roar!?
The girl burst through the undergrowth, a bright smile on her face, appearing above the tiger’s head.
“Got you—”
The girl hefted the Axe. And then—
“—now!”
Whoosh!
* * *
Whishhhhh—
At the very peak of the towering Stone Mountain.
Namgung Unhy-eon was circulating his Internal Energy Cultivation at the summit, a place that was scarcely easy to even reach.
Dense clouds surrounded him entirely, and a blue aura wove among them, swirling about his form.
Shhhhh…
Unhy-eon opened his eyes.
As if reading something, his gaze had been lowered, and now his brow furrowed slightly.
Unhy-eon rose to his feet.
The rock beneath him at the summit had been worn away by ages of weathering, leaving only a narrow space barely sufficient for one person to stand.
After standing there a moment, Unhy-eon vanished into the clouds.
* * *
La-la-la—
A soft humming echoed through the forest as evening fell.
Shhhhh—
A massive shadow was pulled along the mountain path by something.
The boldness it had displayed just half an hour earlier had vanished, yet because it had once been the king of these mountains, animals still scrambled to hide at its approach.
And behind it, holding the rope attached to that shadow.
“Caught another tiger, have you?”
Yeon-u, who had been merrily dragging the dead tiger along, froze in place with a startled jump.
Her head turned stiffly to the side.
“G-grandfather…?”
Standing before her was Namgung Unhy-eon, his expression stern, his hands clasped behind his back.
Cold sweat began to trickle down Yeon-u’s brow.
“You said… you’d be late today…?”
“And what bearing does that have on my question?”
“Well, that is…”
Yeon-u’s eyes darted about nervously.
“I just happened to find the tiger dead on the path…?”
Namgung Unhy-eon narrowed his eyes slightly.
That’s not it….
“Oh, a tiger attacked me…?”
“You mean the dead tiger?”
Wait, I should have said it wasn’t that.
“Actually, it wasn’t dead—it was just sleeping…?”
“It happened to wake up and attack you?”
“Exactly!”
That’s precisely it!
“What do you mean, exactly!”
Crack—!
“Ow!”
Namgung Unhy-eon’s scabbard came down hard on Yeon-u’s head.
She reflexively raised her hands to block it, crying out as she did.
Needless to say, his strike was far too swift for her to stop.
“At this rate you’ll have caught every tiger on this mountain! I’ve told you plainly! Day after day, bringing home another tiger pelt!”
“But! Tiger pelts are the softest of all! When you lay them down, they’re so plush and warm!”
“Excess is Not Better Than Deficiency, as the saying goes! Your room and mine are already overflowing with them!”
“But the floor….”
“You mean to fill the entire house with your greed!”
Crack—
“Ow!”
“These hides are to be delivered through Am-yeong to those in need. Let that be understood.”
Yeon-u whimpered, squeezing out a few tears.
In truth, Yeon-u had not lied.
She had wandered the mountain, found a sleeping tiger, and had simply assumed it was already dead.
The tiger had charged first, and soon after, it had shifted tactics and fled—and she had simply chased it with delight.
Of course, she could have chosen not to chase it, but what was there to do when the image of a hard wooden floor came to mind?
In Yeon-u’s mind, a floor spread with tiger pelts gleamed so brilliantly.
That was the reason.
The tiger’s fault—for tempting her so.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Hearing Yeon-u’s tale, Am-yeong Ma-gun doubled over, clutching his belly with laughter.
Yeon-u regarded him with a cold stare—no help offered, only ridicule.
“What’s so funny?”
“The best story I’ve heard in ages.”
Am-yeong Ma-gun chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes.
“So that’s why you’re sitting there?”
Am-yeong Ma-gun pointed at Yeon-u.
She sat in perfect posture before a neat wooden desk, carefully copying characters.
In other words, Yeon-u was being punished.
Made to copy the Thousand Character Classic as her penalty.
Five years ago, shortly after moving to her quarters, Namgung Unhy-eon had asked Yeon-u if she could read correspondence.
She had innocently answered that Gu-yeong read it for her, and her inability to read was exposed far too easily.
From that day forward, Namgung Unhy-eon taught her letters alongside her Martial Arts training.
They say Heaven is fair.
Though Yeon-u possessed a natural gift for Martial Arts, she unfortunately had no aptitude for studying letters.
“I don’t wanna write—help me, please—”
“If I help, it’ll just double your punishment.”
Am-yeong Ma-gun let out a chuckle.
“Speaking of which, the Supreme Swordmaster caught a pheasant today, didn’t he?”
“Really?!”
Yeon-u’s eyes sparkled with light.
But then they quickly darkened.
“Didn’t he say I can’t eat until I finish writing all this?”
“Well, you’d better write quickly. Since you’re writing anyway, try to remember what you write.”
“How can I remember what I can’t understand! These squiggly worm-like things, what—!”
What kind of characters are these!
But for Yeon-u, there was nothing more important than food.
Knowing this, Am-yeong Ma-gun had told a lie.
The moment he mentioned pheasant for dinner, her whimpering stopped and her hands flew across the page—surely that counts as success.
‘Well, she’s working hard at her studies, even the ones she dislikes.’
If I bring back a few pheasants, it won’t be a lie.
Am-yeong Ma-gun stretched his body and stood from his seat.
“Where are you going—!”
“Just accept your reward gracefully—”
I’ll be the one bringing back the pheasants.
As Am-yeong Ma-gun left with a smile, Yeon-u’s whimpering protests echoed behind him.
* * *
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
Each time Namgung Unhy-eon’s hand shuffled the cup five times, Yeon-u’s hand lifted and overturned one of the six cups.
Both their eyes were fixed solely on the rapidly moving cups.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
Each time Yeon-u lifted and replaced a cup, a smooth white stone appeared and vanished again.
And so, for some time.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
Yeon-u’s palm confidently settled onto the center cup.
Yeon-u glanced at Namgung Unhy-eon with a swift turn.
Her mouth curved upward in a grin.
“That makes a hundred.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
The moment Yeon-u reached to lift the cup with certainty.
Thump!
“…!”
Namgung Unhy-eon’s hand pressed down on the back of her hand.
“Child, you must not release the tension of vigilance until the very end. Are you certain?”
Yeon-u’s brow furrowed, contorting slightly.
Is it this one? It seems right… or is it not?
A different one…?
As Yeon-u’s hand began to slide toward the cup beside it.
“Once you have decided upon a path, do not turn back from it. If you cannot trust yourself, how will you carry through your resolve?”
Yeon-u let out a strained groan and returned her hand to the original cup.
“When you first chose this one, you were certain.”
“That’s true….”
“How were you certain?”
“Hmm….”
Yeon-u tilted her head slightly.
“I saw it…?”
The cup containing the white stone had moved back and forth, and then surely moved to the center….
“Did you truly see it? Or were you merely guessing?”
“Yes! I definitely saw it! I—”
“Did what you see match the truth?”
Yeon-u looked at Namgung Unhy-eon.
The girl’s gaze, now stripped of playfulness, held a seriousness unlike any moment before.
“Yes.”
Facing such a Yeon-u, Namgung Unhy-eon withdrew his hand.
Yeon-u lifted the cup.
Inside lay a pristine White Stone.
After five years, she had finally achieved a perfect hundred out of a hundred.
“Grandfather.”
“Yes.”
Clink.
Yeon-u set down the cup and picked up the White Stone.
“Perhaps the answer itself doesn’t matter much.”
“Then what does matter?”
“I don’t know. But….”
Yeon-u clenched the White Stone tightly in her fist.
She felt the solid warmth of the stone within her grip.
“I knew I could do this.”
I already knew it.
Perhaps that’s why the joy isn’t as great as I expected.
“Right?”
Yeon-u laughed softly.
Namgung Unhy-eon’s mouth curved upward in a faint smile as well.
In truth, Yeon-u already knew.
She would never find all one hundred of them.
The more she practiced Martial Arts, the more she understood.
Namgung Unhy-eon’s Realm lay at a distance so vast she could never reach it.
If he merely willed it, even a single White Stone would escape her notice.
So she understood.
‘When the day comes that I find all one hundred.’
That day….
….
A bitter smile spread across Yeon-u’s lips as she gripped the stone.
‘Yeon-u doesn’t want that.’
* * *
Click—
The night a bright moon hung luminous in the sky.
Namgung Unhy-eon turned to look at Am-yeong Ma-gun as he emerged from the room.
Crack-crack-crack—
Watching him stretch his neck wearily, Namgung Unhy-eon asked in a low voice.
“How is Yeon-u’s condition?”

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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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