Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 74

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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 74
* * *
Footfall. Footfall. Footfall.
Gwi-ya-gaek walked down the silent corridor with measured steps before coming to an abrupt halt.
“If you have something to say, speak.”
A figure emerged from behind one of the massive pillars of the Gyotdu Pavilion.
It was Gu-yeong, who had been waiting for him to emerge.
“Did you kill them?”
The low voice seeped into the corridor like mist.
Gwi-ya-gaek turned partway, regarding him with a measured gaze.
“Am I obliged to account for that?”
“Had I not gone, those two disciples would have been found as corpses.”
“….”
Gwi-ya-gaek turned his gaze away, considering for a moment.
Finding the logic sound, he gave a short nod.
“I killed them.”
“You must have identified who stood behind them.”
To become an instructor at Maryong Hall requires two conditions.
One is a recommendation from a Demon General or higher rank, and the other is the approval of the Master.
Which meant there was a Demon General who had recommended Byeok Sa-an. And in all likelihood, the Demon General who sponsored him was connected to this incident.
“Who is it? The one who brought Instructor Byeok into Maryong Hall?”
Gwi-ya-gaek fixed him with an icy stare.
Clear silence.
It was a gaze that refused to speak.
Yet Gu-yeong did not back away.
Beyond the Black Mask, his eyes held steady and unwavering, still demanding an answer.
Gwi-ya-gaek ruffled his hair in exasperation as he spoke.
“I cannot say. As I stated when we convened, this matter is closed. I have no intention of blowing it out of proportion.”
“One moment.”
“Even if you did discover who recommended him, the chances of that person being behind this are extremely slim. You know it as well as I do. So finding out changes nothing.”
Poisoning food is never a light offense.
Would someone orchestrating such a dangerous scheme leave obvious traces of their involvement?
If a record of the recommender remained when Byeok Sa-an was caught, wouldn’t they draw immediate suspicion?
“If Silent Poison was used, they had no immediate goal in mind. They were laying groundwork, and we were fortunate to uncover it early.”
“It is entirely thanks to Disciple Yeon-woo.”
“I know. No need to belabor the point.”
Gwi-ya-gaek’s expression darkened with displeasure.
“Is that explanation sufficient?”
After a brief silence, Gu-yeong made the Fist Salute.
He had not learned the name of the Demon General who recommended Byeok Sa-an, but he acknowledged the truth in the Master’s words.
Gwi-ya-gaek nodded shortly and turned to leave.
It seemed best to promptly reward that young one for his service.
* * *
Before dawn, in the hours when the sun had yet to rise.
Yeon-woo, sprawled carelessly across the bed in deep sleep, suddenly opened his eyes.
The habit of waking early from his days with Oon-hyeon had settled into his bones—at this hour, his eyes opened of their own accord.
For a moment he stared blankly at the ceiling, blinking, before sitting up with a rustle.
Then he remained there on the bed, motionless and vacant-eyed for some time.
“…?”
Yeon-woo’s gaze turned toward the window.
Someone had come.
He was calling to Yeon-woo through his vital force.
Yeon-woo climbed down from the bed and rushed outside at once.
A deep forest scent.
Not through his vital force, but through the faint fragrance that drifted toward him, Yeon-woo recognized who had arrived.
Just as Yeon-woo dashed toward the Back Garden of the Dormitory, he suddenly came to a stop.
“Master!”
Gwi-ya-gaek stood before the small Pond, where two great turtles dwelt.
Feeling Yeon-woo’s presence, he turned his head slowly.
Yeon-woo rushed toward him in quick succession.
“What’s happening here?”
The sudden, unfamiliar tone made Gwi-ya-gaek’s brow furrow slightly.
His narrowed gaze lingered on Yeon-woo for a moment.
“…?”
As Yeon-woo tilted his head with a blank stare, Gwi-ya-gaek spoke.
“How did you know the food was poisoned?”
Silent Poison—colorless and odorless.
It shouldn’t have been so easily detected.
“I studied Pharmacology diligently.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“That’s what I was told to say.”
“Who told you?”
“Man-cho, my instructor.”
Yeon-woo frowned, as if something was odd.
When it became clear that the advice had come from someone else, a strange expression crossed Gwi-ya-gaek’s face as well.
Yeon-woo hummed in thought before speaking.
“But I can’t tell you. He said I should keep it hidden if possible.”
“Who else told you—”
No, wait.
‘Why is your speech like that?’
Was he rebelling against being told to use formal language?
But looking at Yeon-woo’s serious expression, that didn’t seem to be it either.
Someone had clearly taught him something strange.
Gwi-ya-gaek rubbed his throbbing temples.
‘In any case.’
This small creature had secrets too.
Well. At Maryong Hall, it was good to have something to hide if you wanted to survive.
And.
‘How obvious.’
Behind this child stood Am-yeong Majun.
It was a fact already circulating quietly among those of Demon General rank.
Was it the same reason he’d seen through the Illusion Formation?
For the first time, Gwi-ya-gaek wanted to abuse his authority as master of Maryong Hall and examine this child’s Blood Meridian thoroughly.
But that was unthinkable.
He was the master of Maryong Hall.
His role was merely to manage it so that the Hall fulfilled its function—he had no right to meddle in a disciple’s private affairs.
“Tell me what you want.”
Yeon-woo looked up at Gwi-ya-gaek as if confused.
“You saved the disciples’ lives. More than that, thanks to you, I’ve been spared a troublesome situation.”
If word had spread that poison had been found in the disciples’ meals, there would certainly have been complaints from all quarters.
“So tell me what you want.”
“What I want?”
Yeon-woo pondered with a soft hum.
What he wanted, what he wanted…
“There isn’t anything.”
The truth was, life here at Maryong Hall was more than satisfying for Yeon-woo.
Compared to life in the mountains, Maryong Hall’s existence was luxurious beyond measure.
Though yesterday he’d missed dinner for reasons beyond his control, there was always plenty to eat in the Dormitory regardless.
Abundant food, a comfortable bed to sleep in, and the chance to learn martial arts on top of it all?
“But still.”
Yeon-woo, who had been thinking seriously, suddenly seemed to remember something and raised a finger with an ‘Ah!’
“There is one thing.”
“What is it?”
Rare martial texts from a distant sect? A Spiritual Medicine that could grant a decade of cultivation? Perhaps a weapon forged from precious materials?
Gwi-ya-gaek was prepared to grant whatever he wished.
Unaware of his thoughts, Yeon-woo smiled brightly.
“Please feed the other children well.”
In that instant, Gwi-ya-gaek’s expression softened.
After all his deliberation, what Yeon-woo had remembered was the listless silhouette of Sa-ma Hyeon returning the previous night.

Seeing the child grieve despite hunger, unable to eat his fill, Yeon-woo found himself grieving too.
He himself received more than enough, so why couldn’t the other children eat?
Why were they hungry?
Why couldn’t everyone be satisfied together?
“…What are you…asking for?”
Gwi-ya-gaek, as if he’d misheared, asked again, and Yeon-woo repeated himself.
“The way you give me plenty of delicious food—I want you to feed the other children like that too.”
So they wouldn’t be hungry. So they wouldn’t be sad.
So everyone could be happy together.
“….”
Gwi-ya-gaek’s mouth fell slightly open.
This surprised him far more than hearing the boy wanted nothing at all.
‘If it were any other disciple….’
They would surely have named something needed to surpass their rivals.
Martial texts, Spiritual Medicine—the sorts of precious things he’d been turning over in his mind just moments before.
Such precious things…
“….”
Gwi-ya-gaek studied Yeon-woo in silence for a moment.
“I could give you Spiritual Medicine or martial texts. If you wished, I could even provide you weapons forged from Dark Steel.”
Why was it? He had the sense this boy didn’t speak because he didn’t know—not because he didn’t want them.
And why—
Why was he subtly offering these things now?
“You can’t eat those things anyway,” Yeon-woo said, his brow furrowing, pressing the point again.
He spoke as if indifferent to Gwi-ya-gaek’s consideration.
“Give us something everyone can eat together.”
Yes. He’d foreseen this too.
This boy would not demand, even if he knew.
Gwi-ya-gaek felt a peculiar weariness settle over him. He sighed and dragged a hand across his face.
Then he reached into his robes and produced something, extending it toward Yeon-woo.
“Take it.”
“What is this?”
“It’s a Proof Token that should have been given by Instructor Byeok.”
“A Proof Token?”
Yeon-woo accepted the token and examined it.
On a wooden tablet the size of a palm was carved a single character: “Bow.”
“What is a Proof Token?”
“Each instructor grants it only to disciples he recognizes.”
In other words, a tablet proving the instructor’s acknowledgment.
Yeon-woo’s brows rose slightly.
“What can I do with this? Can I trade it for delicious food?”
“It’s something needed at critical moments—more important than that. Keep it well. It’s not easily obtained.”
Yeon-woo gazed down at the tablet, his lip curling slightly.
“That’s not what I was asking for….”
“One month.”
“…?”
“For one month, the disciples will be provided adequate meals and rest. Until before the second examination.”
Yeon-woo’s eyes widened.
One month?
The boy’s lips curved upward in a wide smile.

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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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