So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 51: Foundation (1)

“!?”

Ignoring their shock, Jin Hayeon immediately sat in a lotus position and began to regulate her breathing.

She needed to control the demonic energy of the White Hand Demonic Art that went berserk due to the sudden change in her emotions.

The catalyst for her near descent into Qi Deviation was rage.

To think he had been acting that way toward her because of something as trivial as love. It felt as if all her hard work had been reduced to nothing because of her appearance. She felt utterly humiliated.

And he even has the audacity to say that he will forsake his family for her?

As a member of one of the Five Great Families that led the Demonic Cult, his lack of concern for saving the suffering masses was utterly pathetic.

That’s why the fragments of emotions she had frozen deep inside had risen up.

Since her White Hand Demonic Art hadn’t yet reached the Extremity stage, she couldn’t completely eliminate her emotions. She had merely buried them deep and frozen them with the cold energy of her art.

Those emotions had risen violently, making it difficult to bury and freeze them again.

Jin Hayeon, who had been trying to control the demonic energy and her emotions, realized this and made a decision.

Instead of burying and freezing them, she would pull them out.

She gathered all the scattered fragments of her emotions.

The envy and jealousy she had felt toward Ouyang Mun since their days at the Hall of the Demonic Way. Even the small fragments of camaraderie that had formed over the past two years.

To that, she added the contempt and disgust toward Ouyang Mun that were boiling at this moment.

She contained all these emotions together with the cold energy of the White Hand Demonic Art. But the mass was too large to expel through her meridians.

So, she pushed it out in a different direction.

“Cough.”

After spitting out a mouthful of rotten blood, she observed her internal state again.

With the intense emotions directed at Ouyang Mun gone, a semblance of calm returned.

Among what remained of them, what particularly caught her attention were her emotions toward Il-mok.

‘When did it become like this…?’

Compared to her faith in the Heavenly Demon and the Cult—which were her greatest pillars—or the emotions she had just expelled regarding Ouyang Mun, these feelings were minuscule. Yet, they were now second only to her feelings for her parents.

Considering they had only been together for half a year, it was quite significant.

She wanted to examine exactly what these emotions were, but she had to quickly stabilize her internal energy first.

Her Qi Deviation wasn’t over yet.

The moment Jin Hayeon, who had barely managed to control her rampaging internal energy, opened her eyes, pure white cold energy raged in her eyes before quickly receding.

By expelling the huge lump of emotions along with the rotten blood, she had overcome the Qi Deviation and broken through a barrier in her White Hand Demonic Art.

The first thing she saw with her newly elevated perception was the garden, now a mess of water and ice. It was a mess created by her rampaging demonic energy.

Standing guard amidst that chaos were Ouyang Mun and Il-mok.

“Hayeon!”

“Miss Jin. Are you alright?!”

There wasn’t any emotion left in her gaze as she looked at Ouyang Mun, who was looking at her with concern.

Rising to her feet, she said to Ouyang Mun.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I no longer feel anything for you.”

With that, she turned and walked into her quarters, closing the door behind her.

Faced with her icy attitude, Ouyang Mun stood awkwardly, then turned around and asked.

“…What should I do now? Young Master.”

“…She said thank you, didn’t she? That’s enough for now, isn’t it?”

“Is, is that so?”

Of course, it wasn’t, but Il-mok couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth.

He didn’t want to witness Qi Deviation twice in one day.

***

The next morning, Jin Hayeon conducted the lesson as usual, her demeanor as impassive as ever, as if nothing had happened the previous night.

Because of that, I felt like I was dying of discomfort.

Finally, I couldn’t stand it and spoke first.

“Ahem. I’m sorry about last night.”

“I’m not bothered by it at all, so it’s fine.”

Her emotionless answer somehow sounded scarier than a reprimand.

“Ahem. Since we’re living together, I thought I’d try to ease the tension between you two a bit. I told Ouyang Mun to give you space and not to bother you.”

I tried my best to explain and clear up her misunderstanding.

Honestly, I felt a bit wronged.

I clearly told Ouyang Mun to keep his distance from her since she was in a bad mood. Who knows that this crazy bastard would misinterpret my advice and launch a confession attack.

“I’m truly fine, Young Master.”

Still maintaining her cold demeanor, Jin Hayeon added.
“I no longer feel anything toward Ouyang Mun. Thanks to him, I’ve even advanced in my cultivation. Why would I be angry?”

“I, I see.”

I couldn’t tell if her coldness was due to her advancement or her suppressed anger.

Only one thing became clear:

‘His love life is doomed.’

In love, nothing is more frightening than apathy.

But I couldn’t muster up any sympathy for Ouyang Mun.

While the start was a misunderstanding, it was Ouyang Mun himself who had hammered the final nail in the coffin.

***

That afternoon.

Master who came as usual to give lessons glanced at Jin Hayeon and said, “Oh. You’ve grown so much overnight that the phrase remarkable progress doesn’t do you justice.”

As expected of someone of his caliber, he immediately recognized Jin Hayeon’s achievement.

In response to Master’s praise, Jin Hayeon bowed deeply and humbly replied, “It’s all thanks to Young Master Il-mok and Ouyang Mun, Heavenly Demon.”

When my name was mentioned from her lips, I couldn’t help but flinch.

‘She’s definitely angry….’

The words she said this morning seemed like lies.

Ouyang Mun, who had been unusually subdued today, also flinched.

Unaware of the details, Master looked at me and muttered, “Hoh.”

“Hohoho. After Jin-hak and Wanpyeong, now Hayeon too. It seems everyone who spends time with you makes rapid progress.”

“Ha. Hahaha. It’s, it’s just a coincidence.”

It wasn’t modesty.

Jin Hayeon’s gaze was so scary that I didn’t dare to boast.

Fortunately, the celebration for Jin Hayeon didn’t last long.

“Since time is short, let’s start training now.”

Saying so, heavy pressure emanated from Master the moment he drew his sword. And as usual, I was trashed like a dog throughout the entire training session.

“Huff. Huff.”

Master’s vast and suffocating demonic energy paired with his killing intent made my hair stand on end. A single thought crossed my mind as I faced him.

‘…Is he taking out the stress of being the Cult Leader on me?’

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“Nothing, Master!”

What a sharp old fogey.

After an hour of trashing disguised as combat training, I collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.

“Huff. Huff.”

Unlike my dogshit appearance, Master hadn’t even broken a sweat and still immaculate as usual. He looked down at me and said, “Clean yourself and come to the Heavenly Demon Palace. We have something to discuss.”

“T-This disciple understands. Huff.”

After Master left, I immediately received a bath and massage from Jin Hayeon.

“Miss Jin? You seem… colder than usual…?”

“My apologies. My sudden advancement has made it difficult to control my strength.”

“I, I see.”

It didn’t seem like that was the reason, but I couldn’t bring myself to question her.

After cleaning myself, I headed to the Heavenly Demon Palace, with Jin Hayeon and Ouyang Mun by my sides.

“……”

“……”

The walk was excruciatingly silent.

Jin Hayeon coldly scanned our surroundings, while the usually talkative Ouyang Mun kept glancing at her, his mouth opening and closing without a word.

He looked like a puppy abandoned by its owner on a rainy day.

‘Come to think of it, if Ouyang Mun could be likened to a hyperactive but somewhat dumb puppy, then what of Jin Hayeon? An aloof and prickly cat?”

While entertaining such trivial thoughts we soon arrived at the Heavenly Demon Palace.

After being escorted inside by the guards, we reached Master’s residence.

“Come in. I figured you hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so I had a meal prepared. Let’s talk while we eat.”

I sighed inwardly at Master’s welcoming words.

‘He’s going to talk work over food again.’

The thought made my stomach churn. I had a feeling I’d need to visit the kitchen for a late-night snack later.

“Sit.”

“Yes, Master.”

As soon as I sat down, Master got straight to the point.

“I called you here to discuss the new medical ward you mentioned a few days ago. You’ll be in charge of setting up its system until you enter the Hall of the Demonic Way.”

This crazy old man was trying to dump the entire job on me.

“…The entrance exam for the Hall is less than six months away, Master. I’m worried it might interfere with my preparation.”

But Master easily deflects my excuse.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Was he going to use his authority as the Cult Leader to just put me in the Hall of the Demonic Way?

But that hope was quickly dashed.

“Your realm had skyrocketed after the recent attacks. Although your enlightenment has become blurry since you fainted after that, if you properly consolidate that enlightenment in the remaining time, your entry is as good as guaranteed.”

“B-But what if preparing the new infirmary hinders my training and prevents me from consolidating my enlightenment?”

“Hahaha, what’s to worry when this old man is your master? Until you fully consolidate your enlightenment, I’ll do my best to teach you.”

It meant he would thrash me like a dog, as he did today, or even worse.

If my skills didn’t grow?

Then he would pressure me with more intense demonic energy and killing intent, and if that didn’t work, he’d probably thrash me and start stabbing me with his sword for real.

What’s worse, in this damned cult that reveres martial arts above else, being stabbed by the Heavenly Demon would be considered a great favor.

‘Damned cult!’

Although I was cursing out storms inside, but outside, I had no choice but to show a face full of gratitude.

“I don’t know how to repay your grace, Master.”

“Hahaha. It’s only natural as your teacher, so don’t worry about it. Ah, I’ve been talking too long. Eat comfortably.”

As Master kindly offered the food with a gentle smile, I moved my chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat and stuffed it into my mouth.

But just as I started eating, Master said, “First, I’ve instructed the Cult’s members to collect and investigate medical texts and folk remedies, but it will inevitably take a long time. So, it’s best to start preparing for counseling first.”

Let me eat in peace!!!

I quickly chewed and swallowed the meat in my mouth and replied, “Then, as I mentioned before, should I inform the physicians about the conversations I had with Eldest Brother and Third Brother?”

“In addition to that, tell the physicians about Hayeon as well. I’ve completed the selection of physicians who will work in the new medical ward, so I’ll introduce them to you tomorrow.”

And so, I was forced to endure another hour of discussing the mental health ward while barely touching my food. At this rate, what I needed wasn’t a late-night snack, but digestive medicine instead.

***

After the hour-long dinner meeting, Il-mok departed.

“The First Squad Leader of the Hidden Guard Pavilion greets the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons.”

A woman in black stealth clothes appeared from the darkness.

“Any unusual signs?”

“There have been no suspicious movements so far.”

Il-mok, Ouyang Mun, and Jin Hayeon hadn’t noticed at all, but she had been following them from Windrock Palace to here.

Il-mok’s current situation was somewhat strange.

Despite being an assassination target twice, he currently only has Jin Hayeon and Ouyang Mun as his official guards.

But those two are just a ruse to hide the true situation. In reality, the Heavenly Demon had assigned hidden guards from the Hidden Guard Pavilion to guard Il-mok.

In other words, the Heavenly Demon was using Il-mok as bait.

He wasn’t the type to let his guard down just because a rat had committed suicide.

Not after his disciple was targeted twice.