Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Actually, My Master Is (5)
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After enjoying some thorough sex with Tang Hye-won until the sun went down, I returned to the Tang Family compound.
I'd already had dinner with Tang Hye-won, so all that was left was to wash up and sleep...
But the timing of the night felt all wrong.
Mother was in the early stages of pregnancy, and even with her inner energy protecting her, I still felt uneasy about it. Plus, there was this strange reluctance to have physical relations before coming clean about everything.
To put it bluntly, my master might as well be a criminal.
I wasn't the type to spill every single secret. For example, no need to mention that I wasn't from this world but some other one.
That day might come someday, but for now, it didn't matter if it stayed hidden. No one would get hurt by it.
But I couldn't let it slide until the world found out I was the Blood Demon's disciple and it became irreversible.
I'd hold onto her no matter what. But the choice had to be made after she knew everything.
"Son...?"
Mother had come out just outside her quarters. She must have been waiting, knowing I'd return around this time.
"Have you eaten dinner?"
"Yes, I have."
I walked the short distance to her quarters with Mother. She'd spent most of the day dealing with Gwak Cheong-ra, apparently, and had plenty of stories about her.
"She seems to really enjoy chatting... a lot."
Having dumped Gwak Cheong-ra on her so I could meet Tang Hye-won after so long, I listened with an awkward smile.
We soon arrived at my quarters, and as I went to open the door, I realized Mother was right behind me, pressed close.
"Mother...?"
"Well, um, son? It's not that your mother has other ideas or anything..."
Mother couldn't meet my eyes, fumbling awkwardly until she finally buried her face in my chest.
"What am I to do... This is all because of you, son...!"
Mother had obviously expected me to visit her last night.
She'd gotten me all riled up for sex, but now that I wasn't following through, she was fidgeting restlessly.
"Mother, could you wait just one day? Tomorrow, we'll all get together—the four of us—and there's something we need to talk about."
At the word "four," Mother's expression turned serious as she caught on.
"That story you said you'd tell me before?"
When the Sword Saint had appeared, I'd promised to explain why traveling with him later would be a problem.
I nodded, and Mother pulled away from me reluctantly.
"Don't make me wait too long, alright?"
"...Yes, I understand."
Mother hurried off to her quarters, and I apologized to her inwardly.
But even after the talk, Mother probably won't go through with it.
She'd understand the reasons why not, but she wouldn't be satisfied.
I fell deep into thought about how to explain things tomorrow to smooth it all over.
A day passed, and Mother, Peng Yeon-hwa, and I each left the Tang Family separately. Going out together was fine, but our destination was Tang Hye-won's secret residence.
We gathered without drawing eyes, and since the servants had been dismissed in advance, we could speak freely.
"The baby's grown so much..."
"Yes, sister..."
All the women had pregnancy experience, but they oohed and aahed over Tang Hye-won's swollen belly like a bunch of unmarried virgins gossiping.
I hoped this scene would continue even after my explanation...
As the chatter died down and a lull hit, I slowly opened my mouth.
"The reason I gathered you all is..."
I started explaining hesitantly, beginning with my sect.
In ancient times, those who trained their bodies, those who made and consumed elixirs, those who copulated with the opposite sex. They sought enlightenment to shed their mortal forms and become immortals.
And those who copulated with the opposite sex were persecuted by the other two groups.
Everyone realized this was the story of my sect—the third group—and they fell silent, listening intently.
It was, in a way, the hidden history of my sect.
"And so, blending it with martial arts, it was passed down and developed through generations."
To them—descendants of the persecuted, inheriting the victors' legacy—the history of the Color Heaven Sect might sound fascinating.
"I see... So it's a kind of sex art, then?"
Peng Yeon-hwa nodded.
Typically, sex arts like the Ascending Immortal Art were mutual benefits, not stealing others' cultivated energy, so she probably hadn't thought of it that way until now.
"Exactly. Now, as for what this has to do with what I have to say today..."
Tang Hye-won watched me worriedly. Ah, coming out as the Blood Demon's disciple was scary.
My mouth went dry. Praying her affection for me outweighed the infamy of my master, I began.
"Actually, my master is..."
Thankfully, no one cursed me out the moment they grasped it. Mother and Peng Yeon-hwa looked uneasy but listened patiently.
I explained that I'd been at Ami Mountain—though I wasn't sure myself—and learned martial arts with my master's help.
That I'd cultivated based on those arts, including relations with women.
That it had built my current strength, and I'd never used it for evil.
"Son..."
After hearing it all, Mother gently stroked my head.
That gesture, like asking if it'd been hard, told me she'd accepted my explanation.
"Moth..."
"So, in the end, you're the Blood Demon's disciple."
But Peng Yeon-hwa's voice had an edge; she clearly hadn't.
I flinched from responding to Mother and turned to her.
"Yes... You're right. I'm truly sorry..."
"You don't owe me an apology. It's just... haa..."
Peng Yeon-hwa couldn't find words, sighing in frustration as if her thoughts were a mess.
With her rigid personality, she was probably thinking of all my master's crimes, the victims, and how the world talked about it.
To her, I must look like some mafia heir taking over a criminal empire. Unavoidable.
Mother and the now-approaching Tang Hye-won gently held my hands, and Peng Yeon-hwa sighed again at the sight.
"Is that all you had to say?"
"...Yes."
"Thank you. For not giving me two headaches instead of one."
And that ended our exchange.
Peng Yeon-hwa's darkened expression didn't change for the rest of that day, our last meeting.
Two more days passed since I'd revealed I wasn't some hidden master's disciple but the disciple of the world's worst great demon.
I'd hoped we'd resolve things amicably and get back to harmonious nights, but Peng Yeon-hwa clearly didn't feel that way.
"Lady Peng is a bit... today."
A guard I'd gotten familiar with while passing through the training grounds was turning down my visit, looking apologetic.
Officially, it was because she was busy with training and family duties, but who would buy that?
"Haa..."
Of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want sex, but more than that, being rejected like this hurt.
I'd hidden this from her, and used my master to reach this banging relationship...
But she hadn't kicked me out immediately, so she probably needed time to sort her thoughts. Once she did, maybe we'd find closure?
I hope it ends well.
As I loitered near Peng Yeon-hwa's quarters before retreating, I spotted a bald head approaching from afar. Naturally, it was Mong-a.
"Young hero, what are you doing here?"
"I had a bit of business with Lady Peng..."
"Ah, so this must be Lady Peng's quarters."
Guests to a clan usually greeted the patriarch over the matriarch, so Mong-a had never been here.
"Shall I show you in?"
"No need. I'm leaving soon anyway; what would be the point?"
"You're leaving?"
She'd stayed longer than expected, just for recovery. Four days, no less.
My head was exploding with my own issues, so Mother had handled them mostly.
"Back to Ami Mountain, right?"
"...I have other business."
Off wandering again? I groaned inwardly, imagining her ambushed by unknown assailants again.
"...Just stay at Ami Mountain. From what I've seen, your wandering causes trouble for everyone..."
"That's none of your concern."
Gwak Cheong-ra hadn't exactly traveled with her either; the nosy woman had just helped out.
Once Mong-a returned to her Jeonchang Sect in Yunnan, she'd be alone again.
"Will you be okay? Just last time with those guys..."
"I can handle it!"
Mentioning the masked attackers who'd cornered them in tandem, Mong-a bristled and cut me off.
Hey, if you're fine, just say so—why snap?
"Hmm... I think the same as you, young hero..."
Switching to Gwak Cheong-ra, I got the sensible response I'd expected.
She couldn't understand Mong-a's extreme aversion to meddling either.
"Lady Gwak, what's your plan from here?"
"Me? I've come all the way to Sichuan, so I should head back to the sect. I've rested plenty here; can't worry my husband and son any longer."
Yet she'd eagerly toured the Tang Family and Sichuan markets quite a bit.
Anyway, their paths diverged completely now, so traveling together was out.
Should I tag along?
Stepping away from the Tang Family briefly suited me too.
With me hovering, Peng Yeon-hwa couldn't sort her feelings about me.
What if I vanished completely for a bit?
"...So, you called me to teach you stealth techniques?"
"Who else can a disciple rely on but their master in times like this?"
My master looked at me like Doraemon eyeing a bruised-up Nobita after getting beat by Fatso.
Wait, was I seeing him that way because I thought of him like Doraemon?
If I follow honestly, he'll spot me and chase me off right away.
There was something about Mong-a. Something she wouldn't tell others.
No matter how I thought about it, no one goes around beating people just to have hands reaching for her everywhere.
What am I even doing, minding my own stone nose...
Whether he knew my self-mocking thoughts or not, Master furrowed his brow in contemplation.
"There are a few techniques worth teaching. But relying on such petty tricks will never make you a true master..."
Even as he taught stealth, he didn't make it easy—mixing in lectures. The stealth he taught was truly about hiding.
Hiding your presence and using terrain to conceal yourself.
It wasn't chameleon-like blending, which he said true masters could do naturally through communion with nature, without petty tricks.
Simple to use once you got the knack, so I wasn't sure how useful it'd be...
But for now, I just wanted to leave the Tang Family. That was all I could think about.