Surviving as the Heavenly Demon’s Concubine - Chapter 40

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Mujin’s voice was heard from outside the door.

Yakseol had already finished changing clothes and her hair was almost done, so she judged it would be fine to let her younger brother in and called out loudly in response.

“I’m awake. Come in.”

Mujin immediately threw open both doors wide and strode inside with large steps.

His gait was strangely rough, making him appear either urgent or angry about something.

“I thought you came for more songro tea. What’s so urgent?”

“Would I have bothered to barge into my sister’s house at this hour if it wasn’t urgent?”

Mujin let out a sigh and paced around anxiously, biting his lips.

He had been conflicted until the very last moment, but having made up his mind to come, he mustered his courage, squeezed his eyes shut, and held out a scroll to Yakseol.

“Take it. Quickly. Before I change my mind, quickly!”

“…? Go receive it.”

The servant put down the hairpin she was holding with a puzzled expression and approached Mujin.

Mujin let out a deep sigh with a relieved expression as if handing over a bomb, but at the same time with the particular anxiety of someone who had committed a terrible deed.

‘What could there be that would make him react so extremely?’

Even at this point, Yakseol couldn’t guess what Mujin had brought.

Swish. Untying the knot that secured the scroll.

Rustle. As the rolled-up scroll was unrolled lengthwise, Yakseol’s mouth fell open at what came into view.

“Mujin!”

“Don’t say anything. Please.”

Mujin had buried his face in both palms.

Meanwhile, Yakseol smiled broadly with a deeply moved expression.

“Look here. The brushstrokes that powerfully cut through the snowy field truly show a warrior’s spirit, and the restraint that knows when to advance and when to bend displays the profound demeanor of a gentleman. To capture the hero of an era in a single ink orchid painting—how could one not praise this?”

“Congratulations, Grand Princess.”

The servant, who knew how delighted Yakseol became when she acquired a work she liked, gladly offered words of congratulation.

“You say that now, but I know you’re going to sell it all.”

Mujin let out a sigh.

The reason he no longer painted pictures for Yakseol wasn’t simply because his own skills had declined.

That insufferably wicked older sister of his, under the guise of pure love for art and educational purposes for her siblings, constantly supported the young Magong-ja children in creating various works.

And then… she sold off all those crude creations throughout the Central Plains!

Regardless of the quality of the work, just being a creation of the Cheonma Bloodline was enough to fetch high prices from enthusiasts.

“It’s merely a transfer of ownership to someone who understands its value. Art is inherently half the creator’s role, and the other half is completed by the existence of the appreciator. Don’t be so petty.”

“Is that something to say after selling children’s scribbles as ‘paintings by the Cheonma Bloodline’ for outrageous prices?”

“Well-painted pictures and well-selling pictures are different things.”

Yakseol smiled slyly with a shameless face.

Right now, she was confident she could happily accept whatever Mujin might say.

Within Mount Shiwandai, there were twenty members of the Cheonma Bloodline, so rarity was diminished, but outside the situation was different.

To the external believers living in the Central Plains who followed the Demonic Sect, the mere fact that it was painted by the Cheonma Bloodline made it worth whatever price was asked.

“Think about how many artists you could support with a single ink orchid painting you’ve drawn. Isn’t that truly rewarding work?”

“It’s horrifying to think that an ink orchid painting drawn with my inadequate skills would be sold under my name beyond Mount Shiwandai throughout the Central Plains, becoming a spectacle for generations to come.”

“Ho ho ho.”

Yakseol, perhaps having some conscience, didn’t say otherwise.

“There’s no need to be so horrified already. I don’t plan to sell it off immediately.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Of course. For a while, I’ll have to hang it in the banquet hall and let every visiting guest admire it, won’t I? I’ll attach a plausible explanation and get reviews from renowned scholars to introduce alongside it, then word of mouth will start spreading. Around that time, people showing interest will appear… To make them anxious, I’ll need to work on it for at least a season. While teasing them by seeming like I might or might not sell, I’ll secretly spread information that royalty or wealthy people from other countries are coveting it, and eventually the time will come to receive the proper price. That’s when I’ll sell it.”

Mujin couldn’t hide his shock and gaped open-mouthed.

It was a plan that seemed like fraud but wasn’t quite fraud, yet was fraud-like.

“…Sister, you should definitely become rich.”

Cheonyang Seol might be able to exchange even a single stone for a gold ingot.

“I’m already rich, you know.”

Cheonyang Seol smiled slightly as she handed the scroll with the ink orchid painting to her servant.

“Since you came to your sister with an ink orchid painting despite finding it so horrifying, you must want something. You couldn’t find any trace of the courtesan you were looking for, could you?”

“Something like that.”

Mujin nodded and plopped down in a chair.

“Do you need more time to find her?”

Yakseol shook her head.

“Not at all.”

* * *

The young girls who had substituted their morning exercise with civic activities headed to Naeseondang to fill their empty stomachs.

On leisurely days, they could dine elegantly while being attended by servants at their temporary lodging—now properly established with the respectable name Cheonryeon-won as the prospective concubine quarters—but today was not such a day.

On busy days when classes were back-to-back, it was more efficient in terms of movement to have group meals at Naeseondang rather than bothering to stop by Cheonryeon-won.

The girls from Gupha, accustomed to communal living, didn’t find group dining particularly awkward, and the same was true for Sapa groups like Nongrim and Sadoryeon, so almost no one felt resistance.

“It’s like a marketplace. Too chaotic.”

“Really. I can’t tell if the food is going into my mouth or my nose.”

Almost none meant there were still some, in other words.

The few girls who voiced complaints were uniformly precious young ladies from martial arts families.

“And what’s with this carelessly slopped-together mess? It’s not pig slop.”

“Exactly. Are we livestock or what?”

“Just looking at it makes me nauseous.”

The girls from prestigious families, who had never had occasion to eat group meals in their lives, chattered complaints while looking at food that wasn’t prettily arranged.

‘Plating is important, though.’

Riser didn’t add her voice to the complaints and just ate her meal quietly, thinking “I suppose so.”

“Ugh, ruining my appetite. Calling human food slop!”

However, not everyone was so easygoing about letting it slide.

To the eyes of the Sapa girls who had lived roughly like stray cats, the family-born girls acting precious and making a fuss like misers were thoroughly unpleasant to watch.

“Hey there, Orthodox princesses. You only have one mouth, so just use it for eating. Okay?”

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