The Heavenly Demon Who Reigns

Chomp, chomp-.

It was a sound that made one hungry just by listening.

Who was eating so deliciously?

Yakhyeon thought so subconsciously and opened his eyes.

"Hmm...?"

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw someone eating.

His vision was still blurry, so he couldn't see the figure properly, and at the same time as he felt a strong impact on the back of his head, his vision cleared.

"..."

The person eating was Cheon Myeong.

Why was that guy sitting on the porch in front of him and eating so calmly?

For a moment, Yakhyeon had that thought, but he soon realized what had happened.

'Right, something hit the back of my head... and I have no memory after that.'

Yakhyeon still didn't know what had hit the back of his head.

But there was something more important than that.

Why was he lying on the ground in the yard, and Cheon Myeong was sitting peacefully on the porch eating?

Yakhyeon couldn't understand this situation at all because he had clearly ordered his subordinates to make Cheon Myeong kneel before him.

"What, you're up?"

At that moment, Cheon Myeong said, chewing his food.

"You... what are you doing there!"

"What am I doing? Can't you tell by looking? I'm eating."

"..."

That was obvious just by looking.

But that's not what Yakhyeon meant.

"Where are my subordinates? What happened while I was unconscious!"

"..."

Swish-.

When Yakhyeon asked that, Cheon Myeong silently pointed somewhere with his finger.

Then, Yakhyeon turned his head in that direction.

At that moment, Yakhyeon couldn't hide his astonishment.

'W-what on earth happened!'

Why were his subordinates thrown over there?

They were all lying in a disgraceful state, as if they had been beaten by someone.

"W-what is this..."

He was so surprised that he couldn't even speak properly.

And Yakhyeon immediately looked at Cheon Myeong and said.

"Who dared to do such a thing!"

"He's right in front of you."

"What...?"

In front of you? That means the person Yakhyeon is looking at right now... in other words, Cheon Myeong.

Was he claiming that he had defeated all his subordinates himself?

Of course, Yakhyeon didn't believe him.

"Don't talk nonsense! How could you do such a thing!"

"It's up to you whether you believe it or not, so I don't care..."

Saying that, Cheon Myeong got up from his seat.

And he came down from the porch and put on his shoes.

"You're up, and I'm full, so now we have to finish what we didn't finish, right?"

"What we didn't finish...?"

"You don't think it's over just because you got hit by a stone on the back of your head, do you?"

"A stone... you mean you were the one who hit the back of my head!"

Only then did Yakhyeon realize why he had fainted.

To think he would launch a cowardly surprise attack when he turned his back.

Thinking so, Yakhyeon's anger flared up.

"I won't let you get away with this!"

Yakhyeon said, jumping up from his seat.

Seeing this, Cheon Myeong smirked and beckoned with his finger as if to provoke him.

Fwoosh-.

He was already angry, and with the added provocation, Yakhyeon couldn't hold it in any longer and rushed at Cheon Myeong.

Cheon Myeong didn't make any move until Yakhyeon got close.

Thinking that Cheon Myeong's appearance was full of openings, Yakhyeon swung his fist.

'It's a hit!'

Yakhyeon thought so even as he swung his fist.

But at that moment, Cheon Myeong's face suddenly disappeared from in front of him.

And for some reason, Yakhyeon's body was flying through the air.

"...?"

Why was his body floating in the air?

Before he could find the answer to that question, Yakhyeon fell to the ground in a disgraceful manner.

Thud-.

A rather loud sound was heard as Yakhyeon's body fell to the ground.

At the same time, a scream was mixed in.

Yakhyeon was screaming, unable to bear the pain.

"Kuaaaak-!"

The pain was indescribable because he had fallen completely on his back without being able to break his fall.

Yakhyeon writhed in pain like a squid squirming on a hot plate.

Cheon Myeong was looking down at him from above.

"..."

The person who had thrown Yakhyeon was Cheon Myeong.

Originally, with Cheon Myeong's current strength, he wouldn't have been able to throw Yakhyeon so brutally, but it was possible because he had used Yakhyeon's own strength against him as he swung his fist.

As a result, he was able to inflict several times more pain than just swinging a fist, while Cheon Myeong himself was able to save as much strength as possible.

"How long are you going to lie there?"

"..."

"I haven't even settled the score for hitting me yet, and if I'm going to settle the score for hitting on Mihwa, you still have to get hit more, right?"

Those words no longer sounded funny.

Yakhyeon could now believe that his subordinates had been beaten by Cheon Myeong.

Stagger-.

Yakhyeon forced himself to endure the pain he felt in his body and got up from his seat.

And he rushed at Cheon Myeong again and swung his fist, but what didn't hit originally became even easier to avoid as he staggered and swung.

Swish-.

Cheon Myeong lightly avoided Yakhyeon's fist and this time kicked the joint behind his knee with his foot.

Then, this time, Yakhyeon fell face down on the ground.

Due to the impact, his nose was even bleeding profusely.

"Kuh..."

He couldn't even breathe properly because of the nosebleed.

Barely breathing through his mouth, Yakhyeon thought about what was happening in his head.

'Why aren't any of my attacks hitting!'

On the other hand, Cheon Myeong was handling him like a toy.

A completely different appearance from a few days ago.

Could it be that all his pretense of being weak until now was an act?

But Yakhyeon couldn't understand why he would need to do such a thing.

"Get up."

At that moment, Cheon Myeong said in a creepy voice from behind Yakhyeon.

At that moment, Yakhyeon's arms and legs began to tremble automatically.

It was a sight that showed that he had completely realized that he couldn't beat Cheon Myeong instinctively.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"..."

"I'll apologize like this, so please forgive me!"

Yakhyeon said, kneeling before Cheon Myeong.

To think that he would be the one doing this.

But because his will to live was strong, he had already thrown away all his pride.

"You know, there's a saying that a single word can pay off a thousand nyang debt, but I don't think so at all."

What does that mean...?

When Cheon Myeong said that to him, Yakhyeon cautiously raised his head.

"No matter how you say it, words are just words. Especially in the words of a guy like you, you can't find a single bit of sincerity."

"N-no! I'm really sincere..."

Swish-.

At that moment, Cheon Myeong put his hand in his pocket.

Yakhyeon watched the action with a puzzled face.

However, upon discovering what was in Cheon Myeong's hand, Yakhyeon's face instantly turned pale.

"..."

A dagger held in Cheon Myeong's hand. It was the dagger that Yakhyeon's subordinate had thrown away.

Cheon Myeong had picked up that dagger and had been keeping it in his pocket until now.

"W-what are you trying to do now!"

"..."

"S-stop! You can't kill me..."

"Do you really think so?"

He can't kill him, the son of the magistrate.

If Cheon Myeong did such a thing, his father would not let him get away with it, no matter what he did.

He was thinking that in his head...

Tremble-.

His body was very honestly showing its fear of Cheon Myeong.

A fear he had never experienced in his life.

Could this be killing intent?

It was a feeling he had never felt before, but Yakhyeon seemed to be able to tell right away.

"D-don't come!"

"..."

"I'm sorry! I'll sincerely apologize again..."

"You're looking down on the world too much."

"..."

Stab-.

The dagger was stuck.

However, the place where Cheon Myeong had stuck the dagger was between Yakhyeon's legs.

If he had stuck it a little further forward, Yakhyeon might have had to live as a eunuch for the rest of his life.

"..."

Cheon Myeong let go of the dagger and got up from his seat.

At that moment, Yakhyeon, who had been holding his breath due to fear, finally exhaled.

And the place where Yakhyeon was sitting suddenly began to get wet, as if it had rained.

"What, did you pee yourself?"

"..."

"You're making me lose my appetite."

Cheon Myeong said that, but nothing entered Yakhyeon's ears.

He was just relieved that he was alive.

Cheon Myeong said to Yakhyeon.

"Hey."

"...Yes!"

"If you ever come near my sister or me again, I'll crush your thing with my own hands."

"I-I will never even appear before your eyes!"

Yakhyeon was now even using honorifics.

It was a sight that showed that he was quite scared because of his recent actions.

If he had done this much, it didn't seem like he would appear in front of Mihwa or himself in the future.

"Then wake up your subordinates and get lost."

"Yes!"

When Cheon Myeong said that, Yakhyeon immediately got up from his seat.

And he forcibly woke up his subordinates and hurriedly left the main gate.

"Hey!"

At that moment, Cheon Myeong's voice called out to Yakhyeon.

"Try to live a good life from now on."

"..."

He didn't answer, but seeing him leave as if running away, it seemed that he would live quietly as if he were dead, at least while Cheon Myeong was in this village.

"It's okay to come out now."

When the figures of Yakhyeon and his subordinates had completely disappeared, Cheon Myeong turned around and said.

Then, Mihwa cautiously came out from inside the house. And she asked Cheon Myeong.

"Young Master... are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"..."

Well, it's natural that he's fine since he wasn't hit anywhere.

Mihwa knew that fact because she had been secretly watching from behind.

"But didn't you lose all your strength after that incident?"

After getting Qi Deviation and recovering his body, Cheon Myeong had not trained at all.

That's why Mihwa had thought that Cheon Myeong was in a weakened state until now.

No matter how much he had trained in the past, she had thought that he had lost all his strength in the process of falling into Qi Deviation and recovering his body.

Wasn't that why he had been beaten so badly by the Yakhyeon gang a few days ago?

But the Cheon Myeong she had just seen had shown an overwhelming appearance against the Yakhyeon gang, making it hard to believe that he had lost all his strength.

"But the basics were still there."

"Then why were you just getting beaten a few days ago?"

"At that time, I needed to hide my identity."

"Then you shouldn't have fought like this this time either..."

"I just thought that there was no need to endure it any longer when you were being treated like that."

That means the reason Cheon Myeong stepped forward was because of her...

Thinking so, Mihwa's heart swelled.

"I'm sorry, Young Master... because of me..."

Thinking that Cheon Myeong, who had a personality that hated fighting by nature, had been forced to step forward like this because of her, Mihwa shed tears of apology.

Seeing Mihwa's appearance, Cheon Myeong unknowingly reached out his hand towards Mihwa's head.

'Wait...'

Was he trying to comfort Mihwa right now?

To think that he was trying to comfort a woman by patting her head.

It was an action he would never have done if he were his original self.

'I reached out my hand reflexively. Was I influenced by the memories ingrained in this body?'

But soon, with a smile, Cheon Myeong lightly patted Mihwa's head.

'Still, it's not a bad feeling.'

There was no need to deny all the memories.

After all, he was himself.

So Cheon Myeong decided to just move as his heart led him.

(End of Chapter)