Surviving as the Heavenly Demon’s Concubine - Chapter 48

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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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‘What, what’s this?’

 

Mujin flinched his shoulders at the unexpected situation and crouched down even more. His figure melting into the darkness trembled. He never expected someone to come out to the rear garden in the middle of the night like this.

 

“What do you know! Ahhh!”

 

Mujin’s brow furrowed deeply at the scream-mixed cry flowing along the wall.

 

Riser’s sobbing became a sharp blade cutting through the air, and Mujin trembled at his fingertips before this blatant outpouring of emotion.

 

‘Hmm. I’ve seen something I shouldn’t have seen.’

 

Mujin held his breath and stood still like a statue in the shadowed corner.

 

He was at a loss, filled with guilt and bewilderment at secretly watching someone’s intimate sorrow.

 

‘Fortunately, the guards seem to have passed by…’

 

If he tried to climb over this wall now, he would obviously be caught right in the sight of this woman who seemed out of her mind. He had no choice but to hold his breath and endure without being discovered.

 

“I’m not strong enough for that…”

 

‘Has she calmed down a bit now? Since her crying has subsided, she’ll go inside soon.’

 

Mujin inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

 

He gradually relaxed the muscles that had been taut with tension.

 

As soon as Riser turned around and disappeared into the main hall, he planned to immediately end this hellish standoff and climb over the wall.

 

As he shifted his weight to his heels and gauged his escape route.

 

“Huh?”

 

In that instant, Mujin’s heart plummeted to the ground.

 

Riser’s gaze, which had been lowered, slowly drew an upward line and pierced precisely through the center of the darkness where he was hiding.

 

The moment their eyes met, goosebumps rose all over Mujin’s spine. Along with the thought ‘Oh no,’ warning alarms rang loudly in his brain.

 

“…!!”

 

Riser’s wet eyes widened in shock. Her reddened, swollen lips trembled and parted, and her chest heaved greatly as if trying to pull up a scream from deep within her lungs.

 

The momentary description of her throat moving as she swallowed air was etched in Mujin’s eyes like a slow-motion freeze frame.

 

‘No!’

 

Mujin’s figure explosively shot out, leaving a faint afterimage.

 

It was closer to a beam of light folding through space rather than human movement.

 

Before Riser could even utter her first word, Mujin’s palm, which had rushed through the cold night air, firmly covered and pressed down on her lips.

 

“Shh. Don’t scream.”

 

The distance was barely a span. At the too-sudden proximity, Riser’s head tilted back as if about to touch Mujin’s chest.

 

‘Blue…!’

 

Riser’s eyes widened as they met Mujin’s lake-colored pupils head-on.

 

Riser’s hot breath, coming in rough gasps, tickled Mujin’s palm, and Mujin felt his heart beating so violently he was afraid she might hear it.

 

“I’m not a thief. Not anything else… nothing at all. Really.”

 

It didn’t sound very trustworthy to Riser’s ears.

 

After all, didn’t he have a record of theft?

 

But there probably wasn’t anything in Cheonryeon Palace that Mujin would covet anyway.

 

“Can you stay quiet?”

 

Riser nodded without hesitation.

 

Mujin was slightly worried by her too-easy agreement, but confirming that there was surprisingly no fear in Riser’s eyes, he slowly lowered the hand covering her mouth.

 

“Uh, um…”

 

And then, well.

 

“Ahem. Why are you here at this late hour…”

 

It was awkward.

 

“…I was going to the privy.”

 

“Ah! That makes sense. Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

“Then, well. Do you want to go now?”

 

“…”

 

“Sorry…”

 

It was really terribly awkward.

 

If it had been a development like ‘It’s a thief!’, ‘Tsk, I’ve been caught! Just you wait!’, it would have been refreshingly finished by climbing over the wall.

 

Riser had witnessed Mujin sneaking into the rear garden of the concubines’ quarters, and Mujin had seen Riser crying and wailing like a widow who had lost her husband.

 

Having seen everything but pretending not to have seen it, unable to even make eye contact and only rambling about irrelevant things, there was no way it wouldn’t be awkward.

 

Unable to bear the uncomfortable atmosphere any longer, Mujin scratched his head vigorously and spoke roughly.

 

“I can’t do this anymore. I’ll just say it. Why were you crying so pitifully? Did someone die?”

 

‘To ask such a sensitive question so directly?’

 

He was a man who had absolutely no delicacy whatsoever.

 

The best strategy for questions you don’t want to answer is to respond with questions you don’t want to answer.

 

“Then why did you climb over the wall of the concubines’ quarters at such a late hour?”

 

“To find someone. Now it’s your turn.”

 

When Mujin answered too easily, Riser looked up at him in confusion, blinking.

 

“You, you need to be more specific. That’s only fair, isn’t it?”

 

“You didn’t even answer but you want so much. Fine. I’m looking for a woman named Dang Ri-seo.”

 

Riser’s heart sank with a thud.

 

When her own name came from Mujin’s mouth, she felt as if all the blood in her body turned cold, but she instinctively suppressed the trembling of her pupils.

 

‘Why is the Third Prince looking for me?’

 

If it were Cheonmu Kang, who might be grinding his teeth over losing the Ilhwa Chwijeong, that would be understandable.

 

But wasn’t Cheonmu Jin in a position where he just sat there (literally sat) and benefited?

 

‘Don’t tell me it’s one of those developments where you save someone from drowning and then they demand you hand over your bundle?’

 

Even if that were the case, Riser had something to say.

 

If you save someone’s life and even raise their martial arts level, isn’t that like giving them ten more bundles? What reason would Mujin have to look for Riser now?

 

‘I’m not sure, but… let’s pretend I don’t know for now!’

 

She gathered her widening pupils and bit her lips tightly, putting strength into her legs that unconsciously wanted to step back.

 

“Do you happen to know her?”

 

Riser tilted her head slightly to the side as if she didn’t understand and lightly shook it. Her fingertips trembled, but Riser gripped her sleeves tightly to hide it and tried to put on an indifferent expression.

 

“There are more prospective concubines living in Cheonryeon Palace than you’d think. Since they’re all from the martial world, there’s a cold atmosphere between them. It’s not easy to be friendly with everyone…”

 

“It’s fine. I didn’t expect much anyway. It’s not really urgent either.”

 

Mujin didn’t mind much.

 

‘She’s probably sleeping by now anyway.’

 

There’s an appropriate time for repaying favors too.

 

If he visited again tomorrow and formally requested to find someone, she would be summoned and come out, so there was no need to wake someone who was sleeping.

 

Riser tilted her head, unable to quite understand Mujin’s nonchalant reaction.

 

“If it’s not urgent, why at this hour…?”

 

“Uh… well…”

 

Mujin trailed off. It had been a while since he’d encountered such a difficult question to answer.

 

“But, but you! You have to answer now! Why were you crying?”

 

‘No way, this can’t be?’

 

To use the exact same method he’d been subjected to.

 

Riser couldn’t help but realize the meaning of the saying that you reap what you sow.

 

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”

 

Not wanting to go into detail about why she had cried, Riser turned her body slightly and replied sulkily.

 

“That’s for me to figure out.”

 

Mujin plopped down on the long stone bench by the pond and gestured for Riser to come over.

 

“…”

 

The sky was overcast so even the moon wasn’t bright, but was there really a need to go to such a dark place?

 

There wasn’t really anywhere else suitable to sit, and if he was determined to hear it, this wasn’t a story to tell while standing around awkwardly.

 

“You’re going to sit anyway, so why delay?”

 

When Riser reluctantly sat on the bench, Mujin chuckled and teased her.

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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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