The Heavenly Demon Who Reigns

Gasp-.

Cheon Myeong covered his mouth with both hands and held his breath.

But what good would that do?

No matter how he tried to cover his mouth after the fact, the words he had spoken could not be taken back by any means.

'Did he hear me...?'

No, there was still a sliver of hope.

He had let out a sound without realizing it because he couldn't overcome his frustration, but there was no guarantee that Cheon Seong had heard those words.

Since Cheon Seong would have been concentrating on his training, he might have heard the voice, but it was highly likely that he hadn't heard exactly what he had said.

"What did you just say? That's not how you do that motion?"

Ah, he must have heard.

To hear what he was saying so clearly from that far away during training, he must be a guy with very sharp ears.

I wonder what it would have been like if the talent that went into his hearing had gone a little more into his martial arts... I shouldn't think like this.

His inner thoughts almost came out of his mouth again, but this time he was barely able to hold them in.

"Did you just give me advice?"

"..."

"You, of all people?"

"Me, of all people...?"

Look at the nerve of this young punk talking to his older brother like that.

No, strictly speaking, he wasn't at a level to be called an older brother. Considering the life he had lived, he would have lived three times longer than Cheon Seong.

But to say 'you, of all people' to such an adult? Huh? 'You-of-all-people'?

Who on earth taught him to not only have no manners but to make a meal of it, I really wonder about his parents' faces.

'Ah, I know his parents' faces.'

Since Cheon Jin was his parent, was it inevitable that Cheon Seong would grow up to be such a rude child?

If so, then as his older brother, he had no choice but to teach his younger brother what manners were.

That too would probably be one of an older brother's roles.

Creak-.

Cheon Myeong opened the door and came all the way inside. And with a smile, he said to Cheon Seong in a gentle voice.

"My dear brother, don't you think it's a bit much to call your older brother like that?"

Although he wanted to take a switch right away and teach Cheon Seong some manners.

Since he understood Cheon Seong's situation to some extent, Cheon Myeong smiled as nicely as possible and said so.

Isn't there a proverb that says that a kind word begets a kind word?

If he spoke nicely like this, the other side would also...

"Brother, my ass."

"..."

"You coward, you still want me to treat you like a brother?"

...A nice word did not come back.

So not all proverbs are true.

He had never imagined that he would learn that fact through Cheon Seong.

"...I'll apologize if you were offended."

Although a very good answer did not come back, Cheon Myeong bowed his head first this time as well.

Even if he thought about it from the other's perspective, if a guy weaker than him were to give him advice on martial arts, he would feel quite bad.

Of course, the truth was not that, but since he was in a position of hiding his strength now, he would have no choice but to apologize like this.

"...Tsk."

As Cheon Myeong obediently apologized, Cheon Seong turned his head and clicked his tongue as if he were displeased with even that.

If he reacts like that even when he apologizes first, what on earth should he say to satisfy him?

It seemed that the very fact that Cheon Myeong was in front of him was displeasing.

"But why are you here? Didn't you know that I always use this place for training?"

Cheon Seong asked, turning his gaze back to Cheon Myeong.

"No, I knew."

"...Then just state your business quickly."

From his tone of voice, it was strongly felt that he did not want to deal with him for very long.

In this case, it would be better to state his business quickly.

Cheon Myeong said, taking out the pretext he had prepared in advance.

"I came to give you this."

Cheon Myeong said, taking out a medicine container.

Then Cheon Seong asked with a puzzled look.

"What's that?"

"It's an external injury medicine."

"..."

"I thought you might still be training while hurting your hands. I brought it for you to use."

Cheon Myeong said that and approached Cheon Seong.

Hmph-.

At that moment, a snort was heard from Cheon Seong's side.

Cheon Myeong heard that sound and stopped walking.

"Is it that again?"

"..."

"I'm sure I told you I didn't need it last time. Did you not understand me then?"

"You know the effect of this medicine well. No matter how much you dislike me, it would be better to use this so that it doesn't interfere with your training."

"How would I know the effect of a medicine I haven't even used?"

"...What?"

He hasn't used it?

He had definitely given the medicine container to Cheon Seong's escort then. And he would have told him to use this medicine on Cheon Seong's hands while keeping the fact that he had given it a secret.

Or did Cheon Seong notice that he had given it and ended up not using it?

Hearing his words until now, that thought came to him first.

"Did your escort not give you the medicine?"

"What did Hwang Dongyeong do?"

"..."

"I don't know what you've been talking about since a while ago."

That reaction seemed as if he had not received the medicine container in the first place.

That meant that Hwang Dongyeong had not even tried to give the medicine to Cheon Seong.

'...What happened?'

It couldn't be that he had forgotten, could it?

Or did Hwang Dongyeong think that he had given him something strange and had blocked it in advance?

Whatever the reason, it seemed certain that Hwang Dongyeong had not given the medicine to Cheon Seong.

"..."

If he could meet him in person, he would have wanted to ask him why he hadn't given him the medicine, but for some reason, Hwang Dongyeong's figure was nowhere to be seen nearby.

And at that moment, Cheon Seong said to Cheon Myeong, who was still keeping his mouth shut.

"Anyway, I don't need the medicine you're giving me."

"..."

"In the first place, what's that bird on your shoulder?"

Cheon Myeong had brought Baekjo here as well.

Although he hadn't mentioned it until now, come to think of it, wasn't the sight of Cheon Myeong with Baekjo on his shoulder quite annoying?

As he thought that Cheon Myeong had not only given up on martial arts but was also peacefully raising a bird, Cheon Seong suddenly felt a surge of irritation.

"Are you trying to become a trainer now, not a martial artist?"

"I'm raising it because I have my reasons."

"Reasons... in the first place, why don't you throw away that sword you're wearing on your waist? It seems unnecessary for a coward like you. Why don't you wear a pouch with bird feed on that side instead?"

"..."

What on earth had made Cheon Seong so sharp?

But still, when he recalled his past memories, he had thought that Cheon Seong was not such a bad guy.

That's why Cheon Myeong had been trying to treat him as nicely as possible until now.

"It's a very stupid-looking bird. It suits you, a loser, perfectly."

Until the end, Cheon Seong said with a sneer.

Originally, Cheon Seong was not a person who would mock others like this.

But whenever he saw Cheon Myeong, it seemed that he would change into a completely different person without realizing it.

Because even Cheon Seong himself was surprised at how he was unhesitatingly making mocking remarks to Cheon Myeong.

However, it was not that Cheon Seong was continuing to act like that without any reason.

'Don't come to me anymore.'

Cheon Seong's mockery was coming from that heart.

Even from his own perspective, Cheon Myeong was now trying hard to mend their relationship. But he no longer wanted to go back to the old relationship with Cheon Myeong.

Because looking at his powerless brother, he felt that he would also become powerless.

In order to not even make Cheon Myeong think of making such an effort anymore, Cheon Seong had made up his mind and was deliberately continuing to make mocking remarks.

"Peep-!"

As it was being insulted for no reason, Baekjo cried out angrily.

Then, as if to calm it down, Cheon Myeong stroked Baekjo's head with his finger.

Although its anger had not completely subsided, because of Cheon Myeong, Baekjo had no choice but to calm down.

"It's a bird with quite a temper."

"..."

Cheon Myeong looked at Cheon Seong with an expressionless face.

A changed atmosphere.

As if he had felt that subtle change, the sneer that had been on Cheon Seong's lips had disappeared at some point. And Cheon Myeong opened his mouth for the first time in a long time.

"I've been trying to talk to you as nicely as possible until now. Because I thought that you had become like that because of me. I thought that the fault was with me."

"..."

"The younger brother in my memory was a very kind child. Since Cheon Seong is originally a kind child, if I continue to approach you first like this, won't you also open your heart to me someday? That's what I thought."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"But it seems I was wrong."

At that moment, the atmosphere changed for sure. Cheon Seong was now able to clearly realize the change he had been feeling subtly until now.

'What on earth is this...'

It felt as if his body was not moving properly, and he also felt a chill.

Cheon Seong had not yet properly recognized the cause of that change.

No, in the first place, there was only one cause for the atmosphere to suddenly change, but the thought that it had been caused by Cheon Myeong was not in his head from the beginning.

And Cheon Myeong delivered a sharp remark to Cheon Seong, who was flustered by that sudden change.

"You're just a rude bastard."

"What...?"

"You brat with no manners, do I look like a pushover because I've been treating you nicely?"

"..."

Although Cheon Seong was flustered by the suddenly changed atmosphere, he was even more flustered after hearing what Cheon Myeong had just said to him.

'A-a rude bastard...?'

Did that Cheon Myeong say such a thing?

The brother he knew was not a person who would ever say such a thing to him.

Since he was foolishly kind and timid, he had never seen him swear until now... that appearance now was so shocking that he had momentarily forgotten the memory of his past brother.

"B-brother...?"

Then, the word 'brother' came out of his mouth without him realizing it.

It was an appearance that showed how flustered Cheon Seong was now.

"Brother? Do I look like your brother now?"

"..."

"Then since I'm your brother, I'll have to fix your manners in my own way from now on."

Fix his manners?

Even until then, Cheon Seong did not know what Cheon Myeong was trying to do to him.

Swish-.

At that moment, something flickered in front of Cheon Seong's eyes.

For a moment, Cheon Seong thought that he had seen something wrong.

But even if he blinked his eyes, what Cheon Myeong was now holding in his hand did not disappear, and Cheon Seong, realizing that it was not a hallucination, asked Cheon Myeong.

"What on earth are you doing now?"

"What am I doing, you should also hold yours properly."

"...Are you in your right mind?"

"Of course. I've been in my right mind since I came here."

"..."

"I should have done this from the beginning. Right?"

Saying that, Cheon Myeong held his sword and took a stance.

And with a meaningful smile, he said to Cheon Seong.

"Let's settle this with swords, like martial artists."

(End of Chapter)