Chapter 7. Heavenly Demon Cheon Yugi (2)
I was completely screwed.
After careful consideration, that was the conclusion I reached.
I was screwed.
“These humble servants greet the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons!!”
When the Cult Leader appeared, every cult member dropped flat before him.
I also found the least noticeable place possible and pressed my forehead to the ground as sincerely as I could.
No, seriously... How the hell was I supposed to know that man was the Heavenly Demon?
Fine.
His boyish face could be explained by Rejuvenation.
But why was the ruler of ten thousand demons personally coming out to greet us?
“Cult Leader, why did you personally come all the way to Gansu?”
Listen to the dissatisfaction in the Left Envoy's voice.
He was clearly thinking exactly the same thing as me.
Why had the head of the entire Heavenly Demon Divine Cult personally come so close to Kongtong Sect territory?
Why?
“As I grow older, I seem to have developed a desire to wander. Staying inside the Demon God Palace all the time became suffocating, so I came out.”
The Left Envoy's face turned bright red.
If his subordinates had not been nearby, he probably would have lectured the Cult Leader all day under the excuse of giving loyal advice.
The Cult Leader ignored him and turned toward Wolyeong.
“How is your body?”
“I’m fine, Fath... Cult Leader! I survived because Great Hero Bi Anso saved me.”
Ah.
Please don’t mention me.
“Yes. The Left Envoy explained what happened in his letter.”
The Cult Leader looked toward me.
When he looked at his daughter, his eyes belonged to a warm father.
When he looked at me, they belonged to the terrifying Heavenly Demon.
“In very great detail.”
I was screwed.
That night, we set up camp in the middle of the plateau.
The Cult Leader called Wolyeong and me into his tent.
“...”
He silently looked down at the two of us.
This was unbearably uncomfortable.
“Why did you call us here if you aren’t going to say anything? Don’t you have anything to say to your daughter after finally seeing her again?”
“You have always resembled your mother more than this father. That is why I raised you with relatively more freedom. However...”
The Cult Leader's gaze moved to Wolyeong's stomach and then returned to me.
“This time, you caused a very serious incident. One that could shake our entire family.”
“If I weren’t carrying a child, you would immediately marry me to the son of another Demonic Clan, wouldn’t you?”
“I originally planned to marry you to the eldest son of the Sword Demon Clan. Even now, it is still possible if I desire it. It does not matter whose child you are carrying.”
“No man other than my husband will satisfy me.”
For the first time, the Cult Leader frowned.
“So you made a child before receiving your father's permission?”
“A member of the Cheon Family always opens their own path.”
“Countless families have sent matchmakers seeking your hand. Thanks to you, we may now become enemies with all of them.”
“An ornament remains only an ornament. The ruler of our Cult should be capable of standing above everyone even when alone. Was that not what Father taught us?”
“I can do that. But can you and your brothers?”
The Heavenly Demon was angry.
He did not visibly show it, but even the slightest movement of his enormous energy made the surrounding air difficult to breathe.
“Our Cult worships the doctrine of Respecting the Strong. While this father reigns, no one will dare rebel. But after I am gone? Countless hungry wolves will rush in to tear our family apart.”
“...”
“Strengthening the family is preparation for protecting our bloodline. You have destroyed that preparation.”
“No. If you truly wish to make our family stronger, then all the more reason to make my husband the Prince Consort of our Cult.”
“What?”
Wolyeong suddenly pulled me toward her and shouted.
“I promise you! This man will make our family even stronger! Even after Father passes away, the other families will not dare touch our bloodline!”
“And what is the basis for that claim?”
“Even Father has acknowledged my ability to judge people. Trust me and appoint this man as the Cult's Prince Consort!”
“So your basis is nothing but instinct.”
“And that instinct was inherited from Mother.”
The Cult Leader let out a heavy sigh.
The ruler of the Western Regions' martial world, a man whose martial arts had reached a divine realm, was being helplessly pushed around by his daughter.
I never imagined the Heavenly Demon could seem so human.
“Wolyeong, leave us. I wish to speak with this man alone.”
“If you hurt him, I’ll be angry.”
“I understand. Just leave.”
The Cult Leader shook his head in exhaustion.
Wolyeong smiled at me.
“Husband, I’ll see you later.”
After she left, only two men remained inside the tent.
An awkward silence filled the space.
“Um, Father-in-law... No, Cult Leader. About the arrow earlier, that was...”
“Bastard who deserves to be torn apart.”
“Pardon?”
“I will overlook the fact that you insolently fired an arrow at this Cult Leader. Your archery was fairly good, so I will forgive that much.”
It was strange.
When I first saw him, he had seemed less like a person and more like an immortal.
His pressure and presence were simply that overwhelming.
But after watching him speak with Wolyeong, the Cult Leader began to feel like a human being.
“I heard that you did not know Wolyeong's identity until the Left Envoy appeared. Is that true?”
“Yes. For the first hundred days, we did not even know each other's names.”
“Why?”
“From the moment I first saw her, I thought she was a woman of noble birth. I believed someone like her would have no connection with someone like me. That was why I never even asked her name.”
“You are not lying?”
“A lie should only be told to someone foolish enough to believe it.”
“Do not flatter me. It only makes me angrier.”
He really did not like me.
Well, if a bastard who got my precious daughter pregnant were sitting in front of me, I would probably be furious too.
“You did not deliberately approach her?”
“I swear I did not.”
“It is difficult to believe words coming from a survivor of the Three-Nothing Sect.”
“Did Wolyeong tell you?”
“She sent me a voice transmission, but I had already realized you came from the Three-Nothing Sect before that.”
Come to think of it, the Cult Leader had said my archery looked familiar.
Could it be?
“Did you know my Master?”
“When I was the Young Cult Leader, your master attempted to assassinate me.”
Wow.
Master.
You are absolutely no help at all.
“We fought for about three days. Eventually, we became strangely fond of each other, shared a drink, and parted ways.”
I take it back.
Master was the best.
“I never imagined he had mixed Silkworm Poison into the alcohol. That madman even drank from the same bottle so I would not suspect him, and he nearly died from the poison himself.”
I take that back again.
Damn you, Master.
You are absolutely useless.
“Because of him, I cannot trust your words easily either. Did you truly not know Wolyeong was my daughter?”
“Yes. I swear on Master's na... No, on Eldest Senior Brother's name.”
“I commend you for not swearing on your master's name. Had you sworn on the name of that man who would die without his bluffing, my distrust would only have grown.”
The Cult Leader rested his chin on his fist and stared directly at me.
This was incredibly uncomfortable.
“Then I will change the question. If you had known Wolyeong was this Cult Leader's daughter, would you have stayed away from her?”
“No. Her being your daughter is not important to me in the first place.”
“What?”
“You may not believe me, but I tried to keep my distance from her. That is why I did not even ask her name for the first hundred days. However, just as green leaves naturally turn red when autumn comes, I also changed without realizing it.”
Even now, I found it difficult to believe.
In less than a year, Wolyeong's existence had completely filled my heart.
“A fish cannot survive without water. I was once nothing more than an empty wind drifting through the sky. But now I have become a fish that cannot survive without water.”
“...”
“So it does not matter whether Wolyeong is your daughter or the daughter of the Martial Alliance Leader. Whether her footsteps lead toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult or to the edge of the world, I only wish to desperately remain beside her.”
The Cult Leader appeared lost in thought.
I could not even imagine what was passing through the mind of that Demon God.
“Of all the answers you gave me today, that one was the least unpleasant.”
“Pardon?”
“Call the Left Envoy when you leave. I must discuss with him what to do with you.”
“Please show mercy...”
“I am becoming tired of looking at your face. Get out.”
“Yes, sir.”
Did I earn a few points at the end?
I should leave before he changed his mind.
I hurriedly escaped the tent and immediately found the Left Envoy waiting outside.
“The Cult Leader is looking for you. Looks like I didn’t even have to search.”
“I expected that he would.”
“As expected. Then I’ll be...”
“I temporarily removed the guards around the Princess's quarters. If you visit now, no one will notice.”
“Pardon?”
“Do not misunderstand. I did not do it for you. The Princess requested it.”
“...As expected, Uncle Left is the only one I can rely on.”
“How many times must I tell you not to call me that?!”
Oops.
I should hurry to Wolyeong before that irritable old man used a killing technique.
“Damned bastard! You never stop provoking me!”
The Left Envoy suppressed his boiling anger and entered the Cult Leader's tent.
“You called for me?”
“What do you think about our Cult's new Prince Consort?”
“Please do not speak such ominous words even as a joke. Even if this incident becomes known outside, the heads of the Demonic Clans will continue sending matchmakers.”
The Left Envoy was correct.
There might be gossip behind their backs, but marrying Wolyeong to the son of another Demonic Clan would not be difficult.
Very few men would refuse the position of Prince Consort of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“Yes. What they desire is not Wolyeong herself, but the position of Prince Consort. However...”
Now that a man had appeared who wanted Wolyeong herself rather than the title of Prince Consort, the Cult Leader found the other suitors somewhat unpleasant.
“Harden your heart, Cult Leader. The other Young Masters also have lovers, yet they accepted political marriages.”
“Yes. They can simply take their lovers as concubines. But can Wolyeong do that? We live in an age where a man loving beautiful women is called heroic, while a woman desiring a man is called shameless.”
Perhaps sensing the bitterness in the Cult Leader's voice, the Left Envoy spoke even more firmly.
“Even so, you cannot suddenly appoint Bi Anso as Prince Consort. The other Demonic Clans would strongly oppose it. Some might even rebel like the Black-and-White Demon Venerable.”
“Indeed. That is why I intend to give him an opportunity.”
“An opportunity? What do you mean?”
“Other than earning achievements, is there any better way for a man to prove himself?”
The Cult Leader thought for a moment.
“Assign Bi Anso to the Black Blood Unit.”
“The Black Blood Unit? Is that not the unit made entirely of criminals?”
“Is there a problem?”
“The Princess will strongly object. They are given only the roughest and most dangerous missions.”
“That child said something to me. She claimed that making Bi Anso the Prince Consort would cause the Cheon Family to prosper even further.”
“...”
“As you know, Wolyeong inherited her mother's powerful instinct for seeing through the true nature of people.”
A strange smile appeared on the Cult Leader's lips.
“So I intend to test him. I will see whether Bi Anso is a snake crawling through the dirt, or a hawk capable of soaring through the heavens.”
