Surviving as the Heavenly Demon’s Concubine - Chapter 52

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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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“If you go to Cheonryeon Market over there, you’ll find many of your friends. Those tiny things with fur as fluffy as their bodies, making stupid faces, and when you get close, they reek with a foul smell.”

 

“Eek! Eeek! That’s not true!”

 

Namgung Yeonhwa’s face turned red and blue as she fumed.

 

In terms of teasing prowess, this was a masterpiece that even the imperial court’s top provocateurs would have to bow down to.

 

‘Stay strong, Namgung Sleepy Dog.’

 

It was the moment when the nickname that Namgung Yeonhwa would be consistently called during her 990 days at Cheonryeon Palace was confirmed.

 

“Stop playing around and answer me now. So how many kicks did I do?”

 

“Six times… no, seven times.”

 

“Ho. Your eyesight isn’t bad.”

 

“Was I right?”

 

“Not quite.”

 

Pachen Gwon chuckled as he teased the disappointed Namgung Yeonhwa, then turned his attention to the other girls and said.

 

“Anyone see more than seven times?”

 

Pachen Gwon couldn’t hide his unexpected joy and whistled.

 

“Well, well. This is better than I expected.”

 

The confident hands of the Cheonryeon Palace girls shot up here and there like bamboo shoots after rain.

 

To think there were this many people who confirmed Pachen Gwon’s kicks seven times or more with their eyes.

 

“Those who think it was eight times, put your hands down.”

 

Half of them lowered their hands.

 

Even so, the number of remaining girls was still in the double digits.

 

Pachen Gwon looked carefully at the faces of the girls with their hands still raised with a satisfied expression.

 

He was trying to remember the faces of trainees with exceptional martial talent.

 

“Those who think it was nine times, put your hands down too.”

 

This time, almost everyone lowered their hands.

 

Only three or four people remained. Among them was the Bota Temple Nun who had asked the question earlier.

 

“You have the potential to learn Pachen Gwon in the future.”

 

“…!!”

 

The leg technique specialists who had their talent recognized blushed with joy.

 

Well, for them, Pachen Gwon King Eom Cheon-geuk was like Peng Guyeon’s Sword Demon. It was worth celebrating to get the chance to learn the direct martial arts of a master they respected.

 

‘Though it doesn’t apply to me.’

 

Riser stood with her hand raised, wearing an ambiguous expression.

 

She couldn’t say she didn’t see what she saw, so she raised her hand for now, but she never expected to be in such a spotlight situation.

 

“Now. Those who think it was ten times, all put your hands down.”

 

Pachen Gwon was very satisfied with the Cheonryeon Palace girls who showed talent beyond expectations.

 

‘When I first received the request from the Princess of Heavenly Lotus, I honestly thought she was picking a fight.’

 

Become a training master for Central Plains-born prospective concubines? And for basic morning training at that?

 

When there wasn’t even enough time to teach the demons who would live their entire lives as warriors.

 

How could it make sense to use one of the Sadaecheonwang for menial tasks like having them do demon calisthenics, running, strength training, and counting numbers?

 

‘Only after hearing that the Sword Demon and Sangwan Baek each took on a subject did I realize it wasn’t a joke.’

 

Even so, his reluctant steps remained unchanged.

 

He only came out reluctantly because if the Sadaecheonwang was absent from something that even the Odae Mazong participated in and the Office of the Sangwan Baek stepped forward for, it might look like they were falling behind.

 

But worldly affairs were truly unpredictable.

 

In the morning training he was dragged to against his will, he discovered several talents with the potential to become direct disciples.

 

‘With such martial talent, I can’t let them become mere concubines. Blood flowers on the battlefield would suit them better than flowers blooming in the rear garden.’

 

Pachen Gwon recalled once more the faces of the girls who had kept their hands raised until the end and said.

 

“Then now let’s begin the basic martial arts that form the foundation of Pachen Gwon…”

 

“Master! There’s still someone with their hand up!”

 

Sleepy Dog… no, Namgung Yeonhwa shouted loudly.

 

Only then did Pachen Gwon turn around to look toward where the girls were lined up.

 

Riser, who had been caught red-handed while sneakily trying to lower her arm while watching others, flinched and stretched her arm straight up again.

 

“You saw eleven times?”

 

Pachen Gwon made an expression of disbelief.

 

“That’s impossible.”

 

Riser seeing eleven or more kicks wasn’t a story that could end with ‘Wow! Amazing talent!’

 

Because Pachen Gwon had only kicked exactly ten times.

 

‘To say she saw something that didn’t even happen.’

 

Did she want to hear praise for having excellent eyesight in front of the other children?

 

Baseless bravado was a typical obstacle that hindered a warrior’s growth.

 

Pachen Gwon felt disappointed inside and erased Riser’s face from his mental list of top disciples.

 

“Did you really see eleven kicks?”

 

When his already fierce face asked again with a threatening expression, Riser avoided his gaze with an uncertain look.

 

“Well, I think there might be something wrong with my eyes.”

 

‘Ha. That must be it.’

 

If she had any sense, the best strategy would be to back down even now.

 

Just as Pachen Gwon was turning away from Riser with disinterested eyes…

 

“What I saw wasn’t eleven times, but fourteen times.”

 

“?!?!!”

 

Pachen Gwon suddenly turned to look at Riser with tremendous force.

 

He turned his waist so vigorously that just rotating his upper body created a whirlwind around him.

 

“Fourteen times? Are you certain it was fourteen times?”

 

In just one step, Pachen Gwon’s fierce face thrust right up to Riser’s nose.

 

Eek! So hideous! Riser squeezed her eyes shut.

 

“Answer me!”

 

“I’m not confident!”

 

“No. You are confident. You’re confident but pretending not to be, how adorable. Hehe! Hehehehe!!”

 

At Pachen Gwon’s sudden mad behavior, not only Riser but the other girls were also horrified and slowly backed away.

 

If they got caught up in such madness, they surely wouldn’t even be able to collect their bones.

 

“Name.”

 

Pachen Gwon was looking down at Riser with eyes that seemed even more unhinged.

 

“Name!”

 

“Da, Dang Ri-seo…”

 

“Dang Ri-seo.”

 

Just calling her name was scary enough to make her knees weak.

 

Pachen Gwon gave the terrified Riser an even more frightening smile and said.

 

“The four kicks you said you saw were my mental projections.”

 

“I’m not curious…”

 

She was so scared that her true feelings came out unconsciously.

 

But she didn’t regret it. She really wasn’t curious at all and wanted to go home.

 

“Master, did Young Lady Dang see the mental projections?”

 

However, it seemed Riser was the only one who wasn’t curious at all.

 

The Bota Temple Nun showed emotions of surprise, doubt, and envy complexly intertwined as she urged Eom Cheon-geuk for an answer.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Pachen Gwon noticed that the other girls were also carefully watching the situation and answered loudly so everyone could hear.

 

“It’s certain that Dang Ri-seo saw the mental projections!”

 

The deliberate roar shook the entire Yeonmujang.

 

That single statement became the spark, and the quiet venue was instantly turned upside down.

 

“Waaah!”

 

The cheers erupting from everywhere were enough to make one’s mind dizzy.

 

It might have been less if it were an unknown name, but this happened to be about Dang Ri-seo, a famous person at Cheonryeon Palace. The girls each added their words as if they had been waiting, and the rumor spread like wildfire in real time.

 

‘I seem to be caught up in quite the gossip these days.’

 

Riser stared at the scene with a dazed expression.

 

Those words had come from none other than Eom Hwiak, the Pachen Gwon King himself.

 

It was far too late now to wave his hands and deny it to salvage the situation.

 

Perhaps sensing Riser’s dismayed gaze, Eom Hwiak shot him a cold look and asked.

 

“It seems you don’t understand what it means to read intentions.”

 

Under the overwhelming pressure emanating from his mountain-like massive frame, Riser’s shoulders involuntarily flinched. Riser awkwardly scratched the back of his head and subtly averted his gaze.

 

“No. I roughly understand.”

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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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