The Heavenly Demon Who Reigns

Cheon Myeong was silently training.

Sweat was still forming on his forehead, but compared to the beginning, his breathing was considerably stable.

The same went for his posture.

Even though the number of repetitions had increased, Cheon Myeong was able to finish the motion with a stable posture.

"Hoo..."

With a light sigh, Cheon Myeong stood in place. And after wiping his sweat with a pre-prepared towel and drinking water, he felt refreshed even though he was tired.

Of course, that towel and water were prepared by Mihwa.

At first, she opposed the training, but seeing Cheon Myeong's firm will, she continued to support him as much as she could.

'Now I seem to be somewhat used to this body.'

His body didn't change drastically after training for about three days.

Cheon Myeong's body was still small and insignificant.

However, as he circulated his energy and trained, the body that initially felt like wearing ill-fitting clothes now moved naturally, as if wearing clothes that fit perfectly.

With that alone, Cheon Myeong was feeling the results of his training to some extent.

'It would be fine to do this for about a month and then move on to the next stage.'

A more practical form of training.

In other words, instead of just repeating simple motions like this, he would move on to the stage of performing forms.

Even if he trained for only about a month, he would have a basic physical body to some extent.

Of course, he had to continue the same training as now, but it seemed okay to start looking ahead to the next stage.

Swish-.

Thinking so, Cheon Myeong put on the shirt he had taken off.

He wasn't particularly tired, but he was thinking of finishing his morning training at this point.

'What will come out today?'

The reason Cheon Myeong stopped training was because of food.

Eating on time was as important a training as moving the body.

If nutrition is not supplied properly, the growth of the body will inevitably slow down.

Especially in order to change such a small physique, the first thing to do is to eat a lot and gain weight.

'I hope there's at least one meat side dish.'

Of course, even if it wasn't a meat side dish, most of the food Mihwa made was delicious.

It was comparable to the food made by the cook of the Demonic Cult.

That's why Cheon Myeong unknowingly had expectations at this time.

"..."

Cheon Myeong sat silently like a child waiting for food.

But even after about fifteen minutes, there was no sign of Mihwa appearing.

'She seems a little late today.'

Could it be that he had mistaken the mealtime?

Growl-.

That didn't seem to be the case.

The stomach clock, which was more accurate than any other clock, was telling him that it was time to eat.

'What on earth is she making today that's taking so long?'

It seems she's late because she's making something very delicious.

Thinking so, his expectations swelled several times.

Cheon Myeong waited for about another fifteen minutes with such expectations.

However.

'It's too late.'

Even after a total of thirty minutes had passed, the door did not open.

In the end, Cheon Myeong couldn't wait any longer and called out to Mihwa towards the door.

"Mihwa!"

"..."

"Are you not done yet?"

With his current hunger, it seemed fine to eat even plain rice.

But even when Cheon Myeong called out to Mihwa eagerly, there was no answer from outside.

In the end, Cheon Myeong got up from his seat.

'Let's go to the kitchen.'

He couldn't wait like this any longer.

Cheon Myeong decided to leave the room himself and look for Mihwa.

Creak-.

Opening the door, the place Cheon Myeong headed to was the kitchen.

He didn't know why Mihwa was so late, but he was sure she would be in the kitchen and went there.

And as he got closer to the kitchen, a mouth-watering smell began to linger at the tip of his nose.

'...She's not here?'

Looking at the traces left in the kitchen, it seemed like she was cooking just a moment ago.

Where did she go in the middle of cooking?

Mihwa's figure was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen.

"..."

At that moment, a side dish caught Cheon Myeong's eye.

A glistening Dongpo pork was placed on a plate with a beautiful appearance.

And seeing that appearance, Cheon Myeong unknowingly drooled.

'So that's today's side dish.'

He had hoped for a meat side dish, and seeing the Dongpo pork in front of him was more than enough to satisfy his expectations.

And at that moment.

While Cheon Myeong was distracted by the Dongpo pork for a moment, a strange smell began to waft.

'What is this burning smell?'

A burning smell that didn't match the flavor of the Dongpo pork.

Cheon Myeong was able to find the source of the smell right away.

And at the end of Cheon Myeong's gaze, a pot was rattling with a dangerous momentum.

'Could it be...'

Cheon Myeong hurriedly approached the pot.

And after wrapping the handle with his sleeve, he opened the lid.

"..."

When he opened the lid, the burning smell that had been trapped inside flowed out all at once.

The top part seemed to be okay to some extent, but the bottom part smelled like it had been completely annihilated.

Even Cheon Myeong, who had never cooked before, seemed to know that fact.

'W-what should I do?'

He had never been in a kitchen in his life, so Cheon Myeong didn't know what to do in a situation like this.

But he immediately maintained his composure and began to take out the firewood from the furnace.

Fortunately, he was able to prevent the unfortunate incident of the rice burning all the way to the top.

"..."

After putting out the urgent fire, a thought suddenly came to him.

Where had Mihwa gone, leaving the rice to burn like this?

Considering her usual personality, she would never have let the rice burn.

'I have a bad feeling about this.'

Thinking so, Cheon Myeong left the kitchen.

And he went around the house looking for Mihwa, but in the end, he couldn't find her.

Thump-.

The house was quite large, but not so large that he would miss Mihwa.

That meant that Mihwa was not in the house.

Cheon Myeong immediately went out to the yard.

'She's not in the yard either...'

If she's not in the yard, does that mean Mihwa went outside?

It might be better to wait here than to go out looking for her rashly.

Thinking so, Cheon Myeong was about to go back inside.

'Wait... what is this sound?'

At that moment, a noisy voice was heard from somewhere.

Listening intently, he could tell that the sound was coming from beyond the main gate, and Cheon Myeong tilted his head and turned his body again.

Creak-.

At that moment, the main gate opened and Mihwa's figure was seen.

But the person seen was not only Mihwa.

"Go back."

"Don't be like that, let's have a drink of water and talk for a bit."

"You're so shameless to say that after what you did to my brother."

The person seen through the open gate was a face Cheon Myeong also knew.

'That guy...'

Was his name Yakhyeon?

Even though it was a quite chaotic situation, he clearly remembered the guy's face.

That's how shocking the situation was for Cheon Myeong.

It would be more accurate to say that he couldn't forget it even if he tried.

"That's why I came here to apologize."

Yakhyeon said with a sly face.

"Apologize? No thanks. If you're really sorry, please don't appear in front of my brother again."

"Well, if you play with me instead, I'll do that."

"As expected... your apology to my brother was also a lie, wasn't it?"

"A lie? I'm so sorry that I'm trying to make his sister happy."

When Yakhyeon said that with a smile, Mihwa looked at him with a contemptuous gaze.

No matter how much she talked, she couldn't communicate with this man.

Mihwa thought so and was about to go inside.

Thump-.

But at that moment, Yakhyeon grabbed Mihwa's wrist as if snatching it.

In the end, Mihwa had no choice but to stop walking.

And she looked at Yakhyeon again and said.

"What is this?"

"You were about to go in without answering, so I grabbed you without realizing it."

"My answer is the same. Don't even come near me and my brother in the future."

"Are you sure you can say that?"

"If you do this again, I will formally report you to the authorities."

When Mihwa said that, Yakhyeon started laughing.

The same went for the gang behind him.

In that laughter, there was a clear mocking attitude mixed in.

"Did you just say you'll report me to the authorities?"

"...What's so funny?"

"The magistrate of this village is my father."

"..."

Hearing those words, Mihwa's eyes wavered slightly.

Certainly, if Yakhyeon's father used a little bit of his power, her own statement, which had no power, would be easily dismissed.

"So, if you want your brother to be safe in the future, it seems you have no choice but to become close to me."

"..."

"You're a rare beauty in this village, so I'll treat you very well."

Yakhyeon said that and looked Mihwa up and down with a lecherous gaze.

Mihwa wanted to shake off Yakhyeon's hand.

But Mihwa, who had not learned martial arts, could not overcome the strength of an adult man.

'If only Elder Soyeon Sang comes back, it will be resolved somehow.'

Until then, she had no choice but to humor Yakhyeon.

In case Yakhyeon might harm Cheon Myeong again.

If he was injured that much again, there was no guarantee that Cheon Myeong would be safe.

"...Okay."

When Mihwa answered that, a smile spread across Yakhyeon's lips.

"So just go for today."

"Why? We're trying to get close, and you're trying to send me away so coldly?"

Saying that, Yakhyeon grabbed both of Mihwa's arms with both hands.

And he pushed Mihwa against the door as it was.

Thump-.

When Yakhyeon pushed her like that, Mihwa was pushed back without much resistance.

Maintaining that state, Yakhyeon said.

"Let's play a little more, since we're close."

"..."

She could have resisted if she wanted to.

If she lifted her leg and kicked him there, Yakhyeon would have no choice but to let go of her hand.

But Mihwa couldn't bring herself to do that when she thought of Cheon Myeong.

'I have no choice for the Young Master's sake...'

If she resisted here, the gang behind them would rush into the house in an instant.

Then, with Soyeon Sang not here, she would be putting Cheon Myeong in danger again.

Mihwa thought it would be much better for her to endure it here.

Swish-.

In the end, Mihwa completely relaxed her body.

Seeing this, Yakhyeon was about to lean his head towards Mihwa.

But at that moment.

Thwack-.

A stone that flew from somewhere accurately hit Yakhyeon's head.

"Kuh...!"

Yakhyeon stepped back, covering the area hit by the stone with both hands.

Thanks to that, Mihwa's hands were freed.

And Mihwa looked at Yakhyeon, who was covering his head in front of her, with a bewildered face.

'Who on earth...?'

Thinking so, Mihwa turned her head in the direction the stone flew from.

"..."

A person was leisurely throwing and catching a stone in the yard.

Thump-.

At that moment, the stone that was flying up stopped.

"You should know who you're messing with."

"..."

"Get up, you're not done getting hit yet."

Cheon Myeong said to Yakhyeon with a cold gaze.

(End of Chapter)