The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 67

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

The Introverted Heavenly Demon Episode 067
In This Place
“I fear I have stolen far too much of the Minor Sect Leader’s time. I shall take my leave now.”
Ha Yeon Ryeong offered her respects to me and Baek So Cheong, then hastily departed the back garden before Baek So Cheong could even reach out to stop her.
This came immediately after she had suddenly begun prattling on about how warm the sunlight was and how beautiful the sky looked.
The way she fled the moment Baek So Cheong appeared made me wonder if something had transpired between them.
Baek So Cheong watched Ha Yeon Ryeong’s retreating figure for a long moment before turning her gaze back to me with a helpless expression.
“Minor Sect Leader. Did you report well to Father?”
“I relayed everything faithfully. He seemed quite satisfied.”
Having successfully completed the task the Sect Leader had entrusted to me, my position should remain secure for some time to come.
To speak with some confidence, considering all that I have accomplished thus far, I wonder if I need worry about my standing at all.
“He did seem somewhat concerned about the deteriorated relations with the Tang Sect. He also instructed the disciples of Kangho to exercise greater caution regarding poison and assassination techniques.”
“I see. It was unavoidable.”
I had discussed with Young Ho Bin and others whether to tell the Sect Leader about the White Tiger.
In the end, I simply recounted that we had been pursued by the Tang Sect on our return journey and managed to defeat them after considerable hardship.
It seemed the White Tiger preferred not to reveal his identity.
Though truthfully, a perceptive Sect Leader like him likely already knew without my telling.
After all, anyone examining the tiger’s corpse closely would have noticed that a massive beast had killed it.
After exchanging a few more words regarding the previous mission, Baek So Cheong suddenly shifted the conversation and asked me a question.
“By the way, nothing unusual happened with Ha Yeon Ryeong before I arrived, did it?”
“Unusual? What could possibly be unusual?”
“You’re playing innocent? The atmosphere seemed rather peculiar….”
As she asked this, she regarded me with a mischievous smile.
“If you’re going to speak nonsense, then leave.”
When I declared this firmly and solemnly, she immediately pouted and narrowed her eyes.
Hmm, but now that Baek So Cheong mentioned it, I realized Ha Yeon Ryeong’s demeanor today had indeed seemed somewhat different from usual.
From the moment she first appeared in the garden, she had worn an expression of unusual determination, and she had even broached the subject of martial arts, something she rarely did.
Normally, she would have brought up various uncomfortable topics, and I would have left the place awkwardly in short order.
Wait a moment.
“Sister. Did you perhaps tell Ha Yeon Ryeong something?”
Now that I thought about it, not only Ha Yeon Ryeong’s behavior but also Baek So Cheong’s demeanor seemed subtly different from usual.
“No? How could that be?”
Seeing Baek So Cheong suppress her smile and playfully deflect, my suspicion became near certainty.
Baek So Cheong had definitely given Ha Yeon Ryeong some hint or advice.
Likely about how to approach me in a way that wouldn’t make me uncomfortable.
Though Baek So Cheong denied it with words, her continued interest in what had transpired between Ha Yeon Ryeong and me was evident as she grinned and asked me another question.
“Speaking of which, hasn’t it already been a year since you and Ha Yeon Ryeong became acquainted? What do you think about it, Minor Sect Leader?”
“What do you mean, what do I think?”
“You know exactly what I mean!”
Baek So Cheong gazed at me with eyes full of amusement.
‘Thirteen years old is an age where one knows everything, is it not?’
Perhaps it was because of the strange things the woman I had met in Chengdu had said.
When Baek So Cheong asked me this, it felt different from before in a way I couldn’t quite place.
What did I think of Ha Yeon Ryeong?
Looking back to when I accepted her request a year ago, truthfully, I had no particular thoughts about it.
To put it simply, I had thought: let things unfold as they will.
But.
“The one thing I’m certain of is that Ha Yeon Ryeong feels like nothing more than a younger sister to me….”
For some time now, I had been feeling guilty about keeping Ha Yeon Ryeong at the Sun and Moon Divine Sect like this—as if I were doing something wrong by her.
Ha Yeon Ryeong was a decent child, but I simply didn’t feel any romantic attraction toward her.
“Huh? What do you mean by feeling like only a younger sister?”
“Exactly as I said.”
“This sister doesn’t understand?”
“Then that’s how it is. Why are you prying into such details?”
I had inadvertently revealed my true feelings to Baek So Cheong….
But my honest heart was that Ha Yeon Ryeong, now only in her mid-to-late teens, felt like nothing but a child to me.
Wasn’t that natural?
Though my body was thirteen years old, considering my age from my past life, my mental age was already in my late twenties.
Baek So Cheong, who had been pondering my words, suddenly asked.
“Then does the Minor Sect Leader prefer a more mature woman?”
“….”
Her piercing question caught me off guard, and I found myself unable to respond, which Baek So Cheong seemed to interpret as an affirmation.
“Hmm…, I see. The Minor Sect Leader prefers a mature woman….”
“Enough. Stop asking such pointless questions. Even if you ask, I won’t answer.”
Baek So Cheong seemed momentarily cowed by my sharp retort, but before long, she had returned to her usual self.
“Oh! I brought something to give to the Minor Sect Leader, but I completely forgot!”
With that, she pulled something from her bosom and held it out to me.
“This is…!”
I snatched it from her hand with lightning speed.
“I kept thinking about this the whole time we were in Sichuan. You like it, don’t you?”
Without even responding to Baek So Cheong’s words, I quickly brought it to my mouth and bit down with a crisp crunch.
As the sweet and tart flavor of the candied fruit skewer spread across my palate, a smile naturally bloomed on my lips.
“Ha ha.”
Baek So Cheong gazed at me with that characteristic motherly smile spread across her face.
Inwardly, I felt somewhat embarrassed.
I needed to maintain a more dignified and solemn image of the Minor Sect Leader before Baek So Cheong.
Watching myself become completely disarmed by a single candied fruit skewer, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
If there truly was a method to becoming close with an introvert, perhaps the foremost among them would be to offer them their favorite food.
‘Baek So Cheong knows me far too well….’
And yet, another thought crossed my mind.
I wondered if Baek So Cheong had explained to Ha Yeon Ryeong the methods of growing closer to the Minor Sect Leader, yet perhaps she hadn’t anticipated this development.
One thing was certain—if Ha Yeon Ryeong had handed me the candied fruit skewer, the psychological distance between us would have narrowed considerably.
Which meant….
Even Baek So Cheong didn’t know me in such meticulous detail, did she?
“Eat slowly. There’s still plenty left.”
Baek So Cheong, unaware of my thoughts, simply gazed at me with that radiant smile of hers.

* * *
The following morning, Baek So Cheong and I stood before the Mountain Gate of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
We had come to bid farewell to Ha Yeon Ryeong as she returned to the Kunlun Sect.
“Sister… I’ll miss you so much. We’ve only just returned.”
“I apologize for the sudden announcement. But this was something I’d been considering for some time.”
“Still, you’ll come back again, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
It was Baek So Cheong who seemed most disappointed by the abrupt news.
For her, who had lived such a barren existence within the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, the time spent with Ha Yeon Ryeong had become a profound source of support.
“Master, I’m truly grateful for everything over this past year. I’ve learned so much because of you.”
“I’ve done nothing worthy of such thanks.”
“That’s not true. In fact, thanks to you, I’ve come to understand the direction I should pursue. Not only in martial arts, but also… as a woman.”
Ha Yeon Ryeong, who had clasped hands with Baek So Cheong in farewell, suddenly turned to look at me.
“Watch me. I’ll train diligently so as not to fall behind you, Master.”
“Minor Sect Leader! I know you’re watching, but please say something to her too.”
Baek So Cheong pushed my back toward Ha Yeon Ryeong, who was ready to depart.
I found myself standing awkwardly before Ha Yeon Ryeong, but what was I supposed to say?
Even after considerable deliberation, the only words that came to mind were these.
“You have chosen wisely, Lady Ha. To refine the fundamental martial arts you have learned, training alongside your masters and senior disciples at the Kunlun Sect would prove far more effective.”
“Ah… haha.”
At my stiff farewell, Baek So Cheong closed her eyes slightly and shook her head with a look of regret.
Yet, to my surprise, Ha Yeon Ryeong let out a soft laugh and broke into a full smile.
“Minor Sect Leader, might I ask one favor before I depart?”
“If it is within my power, I shall grant it.”
“I will do my utmost to return to where you are. So please, don’t go anywhere… or rather, don’t go too far away… Just stay here, on this path, as you are now.”
“Mm….”
“You will, won’t you?”
Ha Yeon Ryeong’s request, spoken with her head tilted slightly as she gazed into my eyes, contained a meaning far more ambiguous than I had anticipated.
I wanted to ask what she meant, but even someone as socially deficient as I could sense that this was not the moment for such a question.
“I shall do so.”
Her request that I remain here was not difficult to grant, and besides, aside from my position as Minor Sect Leader of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, I had nowhere else to go.
“Thank you.”
Ha Yeon Ryeong, who had worn a slightly melancholy expression throughout the morning, now smiled with her usual refreshing brightness.
Shortly after Ha Yeon Ryeong departed.
I set out toward my destination for the first time in ages, with both body and mind fully prepared.
“I intend to undergo wall-facing cultivation for approximately five days, so please ensure I am not disturbed unless the Sect Leader himself seeks me out.”
“Yes, my lord. Shall I prepare meals as usual?”
“During cultivation, I will often lose track of time. Sustenance pills and dried provisions will suffice.”
“Understood.”
After giving Young Ho Bin thorough instructions, I entered the Hall of No Mind and surveyed its characteristically serene atmosphere.
Perhaps it was because I had been engaged in external activities for so long that my body and mind had not yet fully recovered from fatigue.
As I sat in lotus position facing the towering cliff, I felt my mind settle into tranquility.
‘Yes, cultivation is good, but first….’
As I always did, I sprawled backward and stretched my arms and legs languidly.
Given my current position, five days of wall-facing cultivation required no approval from the Sect Leader.
Knowing that the next five days held no obligations, I felt a surge of exhilaration befitting an introvert.
I had truly missed such moments, and I desperately needed this respite.
Thus I savored time entirely to myself—doing nothing, saying nothing, thinking nothing.
After considerable time had passed, when I finally rose and resumed the lotus position….
-It has been a while, yet you remain utterly unchanged, you rascal.
‘Haha. Myeong Joon, have you been well all this time?’
In truth, I had sensed it from the moment I entered the Hall of No Mind.
Because I had left this place vacant for so long, Myeong Joon’s protective presence had been revitalized.
-Hmm…, no. Now that I observe more closely, you seem quite changed. Has something transpired during your absence?
‘Indeed. Quite a bit has occurred. I have met many people as well.’
The events of the past several months had been tumultuous, yet I had endured them, not merely survived but grown from them.
Of course, what I am most proud of is that through all of this, I did not change who I am.
Even facing absurd crises, I pressed forward while trusting myself and remaining true to my nature.
And naturally, I intend to continue doing so.
In this place, upon this path….
-Good. Have you rested sufficiently? Observing the meridians of your body, the summit draws near.
‘Yes. I was about to begin cultivation anyway.’
As always, I closed my eyes peacefully and drew in a breath, then released it slowly.
With this, a quiet, invigorating energy began to circulate throughout my entire being.

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