Ti slowly passed by, like watching an inclined hourglassone hour, two hours.
Surrendering to the monts brilliant sparkle, ignoring the emptiness of its inevitable end. Enjoying the fleeting sweetness.
I waited for Cheondo to fall deeper into sleep as I stroked her lush hair.
Mmm.
Cheondo seed unwilling to let go.
Her thighs tightly wrapped around my waist, and her hands bound my back.
She fell asleep in such a manner, ensuring I could not escape.
I pulled the blanket up to my waist and draped it over Cheondos shoulders.
The inevitable sweat from sleeping soaked into our clothes.
I have to go to training today.
Feeling guilty about leaving the comfortably sleeping Cheondo.
Like a security blanket.
Thats exactly how it felt right now.
-Rustle.
She rubbed her cheek in her sleep talk.
As I tried to get up by putting strength into my body, the arm that was hugging tightened.
If I had a young and innocent sister, would it feel like this?
Hmm.
I wiped the sweat beaded on her forehead with my hand.
-Click.
Then Cheondo reached out, grabbing my hand on her forehead, and placed my palm against her cheek.
Did she wake up?
Watching her face closely, Cheondo grinned at the warmth of my hand, grinding her teeth.
She doesnt seem to be awake.
Corn sausage.
She brought the hand touching her cheek to her mouth. Crunch!
Eek!
I silently scread, pulling my finger out as saliva stretched between us.
Cheondos face turned sullen as the corn sausage left her mouth.
My poor index finger with clear teeth marks.
It throbbed as if burned.
anwhile, Cheondo seed to be searching for the corn sausage, grinding her teeth and groping my body.
If this continues, my whole body will beco corn sausages.
I extended a finger and placed it in Cheondos hand, loosening the grip of her arm.
Again, crunch!
I covered my mouth in sharp pain, freed myself from her embrace, and withdrew my finger.
Mmm.
Having lost sothing to grasp, Cheondo stretched out her hand and then fell back asleep as if nothing had happened.
Lets just go to training.
I was not feeling particularly sleepy.
After fondly looking at Cheondo, I put on my clothes and went outside.
-Thunk.
Carefully closing the door, I left her chamber and freely road the Dowon at night.
-Chirping, chirping.
The night here was quite quiet.
Listening closely, one could hear the sounds of insects.
There were hardly any lights like street lamps. Apart from a few lit houses, there was almost no light illuminating the Dowon.
I began moving towards the place where I always et the old man.
-Chirring.
As the forest deepened, the sound of insects grew.
Climbing a mountain thats not well-paved.
Occasionally, moths and such would spring from the bushes, but in my current state, they were nothing but a welco distraction.
Its peaceful.
Peace.
At the edge of my sight, the old mans back began to appear.
An old man sitting on a rock with the moon overhead instead of the sun.
A long pipe emitted wispy white smoke.
Gazing at the breathtaking view with a cigarette.
It would have been quite a picturesque scene, if not for the sll of blood at the tip of my nose.
Did you co again?
Yes.
The old man responded with a raspy voice to my question.
My life has beco quite cheap. To think theyre sending these kinds of people.
Bodies piled up next to the old man.
Only then did I turn my gaze to them.
A horrific sight.
Worthless chunks of at that defied description.
The old man chuckled dismissively as I shrugged.
Madman. Youre an enigma. Heavy at tis, frivolous at others. Your purpose is so blurred, its barely visible. A chaotic one.
What are you saying?
Im saying your ntal state is inconsistent.
Ignoring the old mans words, I looked at the nearby corpses.
Attempts on Cheonmas life.
The reason the old man had been unable to properly attend to mine and Cheondos training recently was multifaceted.
Hongyeon mocked that Cheonma did nothing, but the old man was already fully occupied with various matters every day.
These fools arent even worth the effort.
The old man stood up and kicked a corpse.
It rolled to my feet.
Wow
An involuntary exclamation.
It was almost as if he had ground up a person.
Indistinguishable to the point of not knowing what animal it was.
If this were to be reported, would it be dubbed as the worst grotesque murder in history?
You seem to have enjoyed it quite a bit, for what youre saying.
Dont talk back.
The old man hit my forehead with his long pipe.
Damnably hard, it hurt even more.
So, why did you co?
What do you an why I ca for training.
I dont understand how you keep showing up, beaten to a pulp every ti.
Because enduring was the only thing I was good at.
Scraping beneath my collarbone, I gathered all my magic power.
A smile appeared on the old mans lips.
If you keep this up, youll reach a new level in a year.
I had roughly learned how to conceal my strength. Now, most people cant gauge my full power.
Even the amount of magic power I possessed had seen a significant difference.
Now, more than a month later, I could laugh at my forr self.
Yet, it would take a year to earn recognition from this person.
Monsters, all of them.
True genius wasnt in Guan Yu or Zhang Fei but here.
By the way, Cheondo ntioned that you used to be very kind in the past.
I casually asked the old man while stretching.
He watched silently, then scoffed as if it were nothing.
Is that so?
They say youre not like that anymore. Is there a reason?
Do you need to know?
Not really.
I shut my mouth at the old mans stern tone.
Must be so personal reason.
He didnt seem inclined to share.
Though I was a father myself, I couldnt begin to understand Cheonmas thoughts.
The old mans pipe tilted, and the tobacco inside spilled out.
The topic naturally shifted.
The Dowon will fall within a month or two.
Is that so?
My ti is not far off. I doubt Ill achieve my goal. A great calamity is about to occur.
Cheonma had initiated a war.
The World Tree, which ended that threat, cursed the Peach Tree family. Thats how history recorded it.
Cheondo referred to it as karma.
But the old man before didnt seem like soone who would initiate a war.
He appeared desperate to protect his sanctuary.
Was this what its about?
Historical records were thoroughly written from the perspective of the victor.
Heh, heh. Even knowing death is imminent, I guess I should put effort into nurturing future generations.
The old man stood up. Black magic rose from his body like tattoos being drawn.
I watched him and asked,
Cant we delay the destruction?
The old man looked at , lifting the corners of his mouth.
Why? Now you want to change the future? Well, there is one thing. The accelerated downfall of the Dowon is, in fact, partly because of you.
What do you an?
Young Demon. Dowon.
Thats the status I currently hold.
Perhaps the existence of such a being was why theres an urgent need to eliminate the threat of Cheonma.
I intuited what I had to do from one fact the old man shared.
Before you go back, you just need to die.
Two months.
I only had one month left to stay here.
Ti really flew.
Training, working, and mingling with the kids, a day felt like an hour.
Even though I had twice as much ti as other people because I didnt sleep, it still felt incredibly fast.
Despite the training getting more intense and the work becoming more demanding,
I could see myself gradually adapting to the hectic schedule.
-Madman. Youre an enigma. Heavy at tis, frivolous at others. Your purpose is so blurred, its barely visible. A chaotic one.
Co to think of it, I had heard that before.
Was it a roundabout way of saying I lacked principles?
I asked Hongyeon, who was handling official tasks beside ,
Hey.
As soon as I spoke, Hongyeon imdiately looked up from the docunts, a much softer gaze than two months ago.
What is it?
Do I seem like I have so kind of ntal disorder?
Uh? What, what?
Hongyeon doubted her ears at the sudden question.
As if wondering if I had eaten sothing wrong.
If I speak the truth, what will you do?
I wont say anything. Just tell honestly.
Since the first ti I t you, you seed like a madman.
Hongyeon carefully tried not to offend , then suddenly threw a straight pitch.
I didnt expect that answer.
Seeing my shocked face, Hongyeon hurriedly put down her fountain pen and waved her hands.
Its not ant as an insult. Theres sothing gripping about you, isnt that why I said it first?
She had a point.
Hongyeon looked at intently, then furrowed her brows as if trying to recall sothing. Then, as if she had found the right words, she clapped her hands and said,
Sotis your actions are incomprehensible.
Incomprehensible actions?
It seems like youre moving with sothing very important in mind But then you act leisurely. Umm. And sotis you obsess over sothing simple.
What was she talking about?
Even Hongyeon tilted her head in doubt as she spoke.
Filtering through her words, it seed like one word could explain it.
Psychopath! Yeah, you seem like a psychopath.
Hey.
While I could tolerate being called a madman, being called a psychopath felt a bit too harsh.
I flicked her forehead, and Hongyeon frowned.
You asked for honesty.
Sotis, I crave flattery and adoration.
A psychopath, huh? Thats not it.
But it seed Hongyeon was sincerely speaking her mind.
Maybe you should visit a hospital?
When have you ever cared about what I think?
Sotis.
Another flick on the forehead.
Ouch!
Hongyeon rubbed the front of her bright red hair, expressing her pain.
Her eyebrows slanted in frustration.
She tried to glare at with one eye but ended up looking down, defeated.
I regretted bringing up this topic. I didnt even know why I started it.
I got up from my seat and started getting dressed.
Are you leaving work now?
Yeah. It seems like things will run smoothly without . I was supposed to quit last month, but sohow I ended up staying until now.
Is that so?
Hongyeon gathered the docunts, tapping them on the desk, and shoved them into a corner.
Her face, which looked frustrated just a mont ago, now seed sowhat relieved yet bitter.
Today was my last day of work.
What will you do now?
Training, and start preparing to leave.
Youve certainly caused quite a stir.
From Hongyeons perspective, that would be the case.
Causing trouble in the Dowon, seeking out Cheonma.
Becoming the Young Demon, then opposing it and getting beaten for it.
Such a person suddenly took up managent and got involved, surprisingly turning out to be quite useful, always sticking around during work.
Now, without saying much, we took care of our tasks, making us decent political and business partners.
After putting away her fountain pen, Hongyeon also stood up.
I want to drink. I have much more responsibility now.
A roundabout way of asking if I was going to drink.
The more I saw it, the less I got used to the cautious look in Hongyeons eyes.
Later.
Drinking sounded good, but I had tasks piling up.
I had been helping with Cheonmas work for the past week and must keep my promise with Cheondo.
I also needed to resolve the misunderstanding with Baekdo.
Is that so? Make sure its later.
Hongyeon gave an awkward smile.
As she bent down to put away the docunts she was holding, her reddish-brown bangs covered her eyes.
Not much ti left.
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