The Heavenly Demon Cult’s Strongest Maid - Chapter 274

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

Chapter 28

After finishing the massage, I had come outside alone for a moment to clear my complicated thoughts.

When I saw Gong-heo Daesa coming up the narrow path beside the hermitage, I quickly stood up and pressed my palms together.

“Guanyin Bodhisattva.”

“Amitabha Buddha.”

Gong-heo Daesa’s expression as he returned the greeting was as complex and subtle as mine.

‘It’s probably because of us.’

I could guess why he had come all the way here without needing to ask.

“Elder Buljon is inside.”

“…Grandfather?”

Gong-heo Daesa’s eyes wavered with shock at the words I had unconsciously blurted out.

As I hurried to apologize, Elder Buljon’s voice flowed out from inside.

“I’ve decided to take her as my granddaughter.”

The door swung open wide, as if telling him to stop talking nonsense and come in.

“Gong-heo Daesa, it’s still before the morning meal, isn’t it?”

Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, I smiled stiffly and asked.

“I was just preparing the meal in the kitchen. While you two talk, I’ll bring it to you.”

Though I can’t guarantee the taste.

“…Benefactor Tak is working hard.”

Gong-heo Daesa expressed his gratitude in a somewhat sheepish tone and went inside.

“I wonder if the cooking is going well?”

Feeling anxious, I quickly ran to the kitchen.

“Hey!”

At Hyeol-nyeo Jeon Hye-yun’s shout, Cheol Jang-woong, the eldest of Sanseosam-don, startled and turned his head.

Green vegetables were cooking deliciously in the pot he held.

“When someone calls you, you should answer! Huh? Don’t my words sound like words to you?”

Jeon Hye-yun poked Cheol Jang-woong’s side with her great sword.

“N-no, they do!”

“If it’s not tasty, you die.”

“I-it’s delicious!”

At Jeon Hye-yun’s murderous threat, Gwang Pung-woong, the second brother who was helping with cooking, shouted while standing at attention.

“Delicious?”

“Yes! It’s really delicious!”

“What if it’s not delicious?”

Just then, Gwang-nyeo Ma A-jin entered the kitchen with her arms crossed.

With the number of witches doubled, the two brothers tensed up.

“I-it really is delicious.”

“Have you tried it?”

“Yes, while tasting for seasoning…”

“No, not you – have I tried it? I need to taste it to know! Do you know my taste preferences?”

Thwack!

Ma A-jin suddenly kicked Gwang Pung-woong in the shin.

“I-I don’t know!”

“Then what nerve do you have saying it’s delicious?”

“I’m sorry! I’ll correct myself!”

Whether from the sharp pain, moisture began to well up in Gwang Pung-woong’s eyes.

“Are you crying?”

“N-no!”

“Why isn’t this guy wiping his tears quickly?”

As Ma A-jin swallowed her saliva with a gulp, Gwang Pung-woong quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“Hehehe!”

Meanwhile, Gwi-nyeo Im Cheong, who had quietly infiltrated the kitchen, secretly tasted the finished dish.

“Hieek!”

Her eyes rolled back and her waist bent like a reed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Is there poison in it?”

As Im Cheong trembled, Jeon Hye-yun and Ma A-jin simultaneously glared at the Sanseosam-don brothers.

“P-poison?!”

“Absolutely not!”

“P-please believe us!”

They had already been beaten enough by the three witches.

Clutching their aching joints, Sanseosam-don quickly retreated to a corner.

“It’s delicious!”

That’s when Im Cheong shouted.

“What did you say?”

“Delicious?”

Jeon Hye-yun and Ma A-jin rushed over and tasted it following Im Cheong.

“Huh?”

“Why is this delicious?”

“Hey, you pig bastards. What are you that you cook so well?”

“W-well, our parents ran a restaurant when they were alive!”

Cheol Jang-woong barely managed to answer Jeon Hye-yun’s question.

“Oh ho? Really?”

“Not bad?”

“If it was tasteless, I was going to beat you to death again using that as an excuse.”

Ma A-jin clicked her tongue as if genuinely disappointed.

“The Abbot of Shaolin just came up, so do even better. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“We’ll do our best!”

“Just leave it to us!”

Having barely escaped violence, Sanseosam-don put even more effort into their cooking.

At that moment, Buljon Gak-yeon slowly took his time to carefully brew tea.

“…”

Gong-heo Daesa sat in silent silence until tea was poured into the cup placed before him.

“You came here from the morning breeze, so why aren’t you saying a word?”

In the end, it was Gak-yeon who broke the ice first. He looked at Gong-heo with his characteristically sharp gaze.

“You don’t tell me when I ask, and you tell me even when I don’t ask – isn’t that who you are, Uncle?”

“It’s better not to know what you don’t need to know, and better to know what you should know.”

“Yes, yes. That’s exactly right.”

Gong-heo Daesa’s tone in response was quite blunt.

“This fellow?”

When Gak-yeon put force into his eyes, Gong-heo pretended not to notice, lowered his gaze, and picked up his teacup.

“But what’s this sudden ‘grandfather’? And what’s this about a ‘granddaughter’? I didn’t know Uncle harbored such desires.”

“What do you mean what? It’s exactly as it sounds. At this age, do I need to explain the meaning of grandfather and granddaughter too?”

“Are you truly saying there’s no other meaning?”

Gong-heo Daesa asked with emphasis, as if he absolutely had to hear the reason if there was one.

Then Gak-yeon put down his teacup and spoke.

“Because you keep catching my eye. You keep catching my eye.”

“…Pardon?”

“That young child is carrying a burden too heavy for her to bear alone.”

What settled around Gak-yeon’s eyes was worry for Seolha.

“Gong-heo.”

“Yes, Master.”

“In the future, after I have departed…”

“Master! Why do you speak such words?”

“I have lived long enough.”

“Master…”

“Shh.”

Gak-yeon shook his head firmly, telling him not to interrupt anymore.

“Even if I am not here, please trust that child.”

“…”

This was not simply a story about a grandfather and granddaughter.

His Master was one who could read the heavenly signs.

There was surely a hidden meaning that the current Gong-heo Daesa could not even dare to guess.

“Can you make this promise?”

“…I shall do so.”

Gong-heo Daesa had no choice anyway.

“You must not forget that promise.”

“Yes, Master.”

It was then that Gak-yeon had firmly secured a promise from Gong-heo Daesa.

“Elder Buljon, please have your meal!”

“Oh my, did you bring it yourself? Without calling this old man!”

At Seolha’s voice from outside, a smile bloomed on Gak-yeon’s face, which had been serious all along.

Gong-heo was having quite a day of surprises.

To think that his Master, famous for being stubborn and cantankerous, would so kindly open the door himself.

It was truly something to see after living so long in this world.

“Why did you go to the trouble of preparing so much?”

“You must eat a lot. That way you’ll stay healthy and live for a long, long time.”

“I already have my departure date set.”

“No, Grandfather! We just met, so if you leave early, I’ll hate you! Waaah.”

“Hehe, alright. This old man will pray to Buddha to let me live a little longer.”

“Really? You’re promising me, right?”

Gong-heo Daesa watched Gak-yeon and Seolha conversing like real grandparent and grandchild for a long while without saying a word.

In his mind, the Master’s words from earlier kept circling without leaving.

After finishing the morning meal and even Gong-heo Daesa had gone down from the hermitage, Elder Buljon gathered the Phoenix Corps.

“Everyone, come into the Dharma Hall.”

It was a small Dharma Hall attached to the hermitage.

When all of the Phoenix Corps including myself entered the space that Elder Buljon had used alone, the Dharma Hall was packed with people.

“Sit comfortably.”

Elder Buljon, who said this, was kneeling before the Buddha.

Seeing that, how could we sit comfortably?

Moreover, the Phoenix Corps and I were members of the Cheonma Sect.

Until now, we had pretended to be Cheon-sin-mun and recited anti-demon mantras, but with everything exposed, it wasn’t easy for demons to enter a Dharma Hall.

On top of that, with Shaolin’s greatest Elder saying he would personally give teachings because even Daehwandan was insufficient, the Phoenix Corps couldn’t help but be flustered.

Still, they couldn’t disobey my orders, so they followed for now, but everyone was glancing around nervously, wondering if this was really okay.

“You there, young lad. I hear you’re quite good at striking the wooden fish?”

Elder Buljon gestured to call Eok Hwi-gyeom.

Eok Hwi-gyeom seemed very surprised, almost in a daze.

“Yes, how is your father doing?”

Why would Elder Buljon suddenly ask such a thing?

Well, I had told him.

With my identity and the fact that we were demons all exposed anyway, what did Eok Hwi-gyeom’s status matter?

Since things had come to this, I had even asked him to scold the immature brat.

Elder Buljon had chuckled, saying he’d lived long enough to scold even the Cheonma’s son.

“I, I don’t know what you mean…”

“I’m talking about your father.”

Eok Hwi-gyeom’s pupils shook like a lost lamb.

“You, you wouldn’t even know who my father is…”

“Why wouldn’t I know? Eok Yeo-gwang, the Cheonma, isn’t he?”

“Aaaah!”

Eok Hwi-gyeom screamed and fell backward in a faint.

The kid was weaker-willed than I thought.

“Eok Hwi-gyeom! Eok Hwi-gyeom!”

Only after Yang Ha-rin slapped Eok Hwi-gyeom’s cheeks a couple of times did the boy finally open his eyes.

“Nu, Nunim!”

“Yes, Gyeom-ah.”

Tears had already welled up in Eok Hwi-gyeom’s eyes as he looked at me.

“You didn’t sell me to Shaolin Temple, did you?”

What is this kid saying?

If I sold you, would I get money for it?

“Stop talking nonsense and get up to grab the wooden fish. I don’t tolerate slacking off, you know?”

We had already lost quite a bit of time traveling from Luoyang to Shaolin Temple.

Thanks to that, we had encountered an opportunity that money couldn’t buy, but there was no more time to dawdle.

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