Surviving as the Heavenly Demon’s Concubine - Chapter 16

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

“…!!”

Riser was so shocked that she covered her mouth with her hand.

After the light faded.

A single pale jade-colored lotus flower was blooming above Mujin’s head.

If Riser from her previous life had been a reader who mainly read orthodox martial arts novels, she would have said this.

【’Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown ! No, since there’s only one lotus flower, is it One Flower Gathering at the Crown ?’】

However, unfortunately, Riser preferred modern martial arts web novels where overpowered protagonists coolly killed a hundred people with one sword strike, rather than orthodox martial arts filled with tragic stories, fierce revenge, and difficult Chinese characters.

And these days, the trend was to explain martial arts realms with easy-to-understand expressions like first-rate, second-rate, and third-rate, rather than specialized martial arts terms like Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown or Five Energies Facing Origin .

“What, what is this?”

Therefore, Riser completely failed to notice that Mujin had entered a new martial arts realm.

‘…Should I just leave him and go?’

More than that, she wondered what was the point of worrying about the central nervous system or low blood pressure in a world where lotus holograms appeared above people’s heads.

‘I even used precious gunpowder to break through the wall and came over.’

Seeing Mujin sitting there with a flower on his head without any sign of appreciation for her concern, her desire to help completely disappeared.

Just as Riser was torn between thinking ‘Shouldn’t I at least check if he’s okay?’ and ‘He seems like he’ll recover on his own anyway, so let’s just proceed with the original escape plan,’ it happened.

-What’s this noise? Who broke the wall… Aaah! Third Young Master!

A guard who rushed in after hearing the explosion discovered Mujin practicing breathing techniques, then made eye contact with Riser, who was pacing in front of the collapsed wall.

“It wasn’t me!”

Riser quickly raised both hands, feeling an ominous premonition.

* * *

The alcohol that Mujin stole even at the cost of being imprisoned in Noeok was bamboo leaf wine.

If you entered any inn and said ‘Waiter, bring me a bowl of noodles and some bamboo leaf wine,’ you would rarely get the response ‘I’m sorry, sir, but our inn doesn’t serve bamboo leaf wine’ – it was cheap and popular alcohol.

However, this bamboo leaf wine was not ordinary bamboo leaf wine.

Pure white liquor that had burned away even its fire energy was infused with bamboo leaves grown in auspicious land, washed with dew, roasted with samadhi true fire, and soaked for exactly 33 hours before being removed.

Then Cheonnyeon Jukshil , bamboo fruit that ripens once every thousand years… or rather, Bancheonnyeon Jukshil that bore fruit after five hundred years due to impatience, was fully submerged and aged for one year.

Next, Ingyeongseotsam , ginseng that takes human form… well, not quite that good, but Dongjasam , a decent spiritual medicine, was steamed, dried, and added, then aged for three more years.

Finally, when sweetened with honey made by Daebong Janggun , a trusted subordinate of Cheonnyeon Bongwang , the legendary bee spirit said to command a million bees, ta-da!

A cost-effective spiritual medicine that Second Young Master Cheonmu Kang had painstakingly prepared to drink after completing 100 days of hellish training. The special bamboo leaf wine was complete.

Unfortunately, Cheonmu Kang himself never got to taste it.

‘I must be receiving punishment.’

In his hazy consciousness, Mujin thought.

Coincidentally, as soon as Mujin drank the alcohol he had stolen from Cheonmu Kang, the internal energy throughout his body began rampaging like a madman.

Originally, internal energy was like water – it should flow along meridians, pool in the dantian, or be intentionally shot out or poured forth. If each drop had different opinions and acted independently like this, it was no different from qi deviation.

It was fortunate that he managed to sit cross-legged and begin breathing exercises just before his solar plexus burst, but honestly, he had no memory of anything after that.

“Never again… will I steal…”

In the scattered scenes that came to mind, Cheonmu Kang, who had his precious bamboo leaf wine stolen, was beating the ground with a resentful face, wailing ‘My wine! How dare someone steal my wine!’

It couldn’t be called a life flashing before his eyes since it wasn’t something that actually happened, but Mujin felt almost the same way.

-Vice Hall Master! Third Young Master has awakened!

Along with voices that seemed to come from far away, he could feel several people moving busily in his blurry vision.

“Brother. Brother Mujin. Can you recognize me?”

Someone tapped Mujin’s shoulder and opened and closed his eyelids, and gradually his focus began to return.

“…Cheonmu Seong.”

“Good. Your mind is intact.”

Fourth Young Master Cheonmu Seong, Vice Hall Master of Yakwangjeon, the Demon Sect’s medical institution and fourth son of the Heavenly Emperor, breathed a sigh of relief.

‘I’m alive.’

Seeing Museong’s slick face made him realize he was truly alive.

Mujin resolved from this day’s lesson to never again carelessly eat or drink stolen items without properly checking them first.

“Congratulations on your advancement, brother.”

When Museong cupped his hands and smiled, Mujin frowned irritably.

“…Is qi deviation something to congratulate?”

“Qi deviation?”

Museong tilted his head.

And spoke as if puzzled.

“Brother drank suspicious poison wine and was hovering between life and death, when a righteous young lady who happened to be imprisoned in the next cell on false charges broke down the wall with her family’s secret martial arts, then used all the spiritual medicines she had to treat you, and miraculously a lotus flower of brilliant color bloomed above your head, or so I heard.”

“…?”

* * *

A few hours earlier.

Riser was startled.

The Noeok guard who rushed over at the sound of the prison collapsing discovered Mujin, who looked clearly unusual (he had a lotus flower on his head), and shouted this.

【”Who broke the wall… Aaah! Third Young Master!”】

It was truly something she had never imagined.

Though he had consistently claimed with his own mouth that he was Third Young Master Cheonmu Jin.

‘To think he really was a demon prince.’

The good-for-nothing Third Young Master who constantly skipped training and was only absorbed in alcohol and gambling.

The good-for-nothing Third Young Master who was on bad terms even with the demon lords due to neglecting rituals.

The good-for-nothing Third Young Master who had even been imprisoned in Noeok for speaking insolently to his own father.

That good-for-nothing Third Young Master, whom even the airhead Moyong Hye declined saying he seemed like he’d make women suffer, happened to be the criminal imprisoned in the cell right next to Riser’s….

“Report truthfully what happened here!”

“Yes, sir!”

At the guard’s threatening tone, Riser answered in a low posture with quick responses.

It was an attitude that implicitly conveyed the meaning ‘I have nothing to do with this incident, but as a good demon citizen who obeys public authority, I will naturally cooperate actively with the investigation.’

“Hmph. At least you answer well.”

Even though Riser showed a cooperative attitude, the guard’s – no, the unit commander’s – expression remained sternly hardened.

Come to think of it, being imprisoned in jail wasn’t exactly a condition that made one look like a good demon citizen.

“Who broke the prison wall?”

‘Oh no. The first question isn’t easy.’

Riser knew how dirty and underhanded this type of interrogation could be.

From her previous experience of getting involved through Sangwan Baek, concise, direct answers could easily create unfavorable preconceptions.

For example, like this.

“Well, I… I did break the prison, but I swear it wasn’t to escape. It seemed like Third Young Master in the next cell was in danger, so I was trying to help him. I even shouted – didn’t you hear me?”

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