Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Gluttony
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Despite Jeong-a's dissuasion, Yeon So-hyeon insisted on helping prepare the meal and even saw it through to the end together with her.
But she felt no particular surprise at his eccentric behavior.
Right now, Jeong-a was gripped by an inescapable, sticky sense of unease.
'How on earth does he slip out of my sight?'
Clearly, the Eldest Young Master was right in front of her, but the information her 'eyes' picked up was limited to just that.
What he was thinking, what emotions he was feeling, what he would do next.
Her 'eyes' read nothing at all.
"Come on, don't just stand there. You sit down here too."
"How could a lowly thing like me share a table with the Eldest Young Master?"
She had tried to dissuade him from the moment they began setting the table, but it was clear this Eldest Young Master had no intention of listening to her at all.
"Hey now. Didn't I tell you to sit?"
In the end, refusing her master's order wasn't an option for her.
With an internal sigh, Jeong-a squeezed her eyes shut and sat down across from the Eldest Young Master.
Who would believe she had shared a meal alone with the Luoyang Sword Clan's Eldest Young Master?
"Mmm. This seasoned dish is excellent. It has real flavor. Simple, yet perfectly soaked through."
"...It's hardly a skill worth mentioning."
She didn't know if the food was going in through her mouth or her nose, but for some reason, the rice went down especially easily.
Come to think of it, all she had eaten since dawn was a single bowl of porridge.
Or perhaps it was because the dishes on the table used ingredients grown directly in the Primordial Pavilion.
Thanks to the formation's effects, the pavilion maintained early spring temperatures even in the depths of winter.
"Hmm. Speaking of which, the formation doesn't make you dizzy anymore, does it?"
Jeong-a covered her mouth and replied demurely.
"Yes. It seems thanks to your care and concern."
Yeon So-hyeon nodded as if he understood something, letting out a thoughtful hum.
"Good. That's a relief. Some people are just sensitive to energies like that. Even without internal energy."
"I-is that so?"
"And eyes close to golden pupils... Hmm."
"......."
Jeong-a's composure wavered once more.
All she knew about her 'eyes' came from personal experience.
Anxiety that the Eldest Young Master might have noticed something about them mingled with anticipation that he might uncover the truth of what was essentially her heavenly punishment.
At that moment, Yeon So-hyeon, who had been mulling with his eyes closed, snapped them open.
"Hmm...!"
".......!"
Jeong-a suppressed her nervousness.
"Still, another bowl would be good. Bring it with high-quality rice this time too."
"...Yes, Eldest Young Master."
In the end, the Eldest Young Master ate five more bowls of rice after that, but he said not a word about her constitution during that time.
He merely chatted about trivial things.
"...Hmm. Feels a bit lacking."
The Eldest Young Master smacked his lips again.
"...My apologies. Shall I cook more rice?"
They had run out of the generously prepared rice, and he had even scraped the scorched rice from the pot and eaten it.
"No need. A moderate hunger is just right."
She couldn't see how it was moderate in the slightest, but Jeong-a nodded.
"Then I'll prepare plenty of snacks to go with after-dinner tea."
"Hmm. Tea is fine, but right now, liquor sounds better."
"...Yes. I'll bring plenty of side dishes as well."
"Haha. Quick on the uptake."
Jeong-a hid her awkward expression and headed back to the kitchen.
Preparing meals for such a voracious master would be more taxing, but it was still far better than someone who was picky about cold dishes or had discerning tastes.
After she withdrew, Yeon So-hyeon patted his belly and tilted his head.
"...Strange."
He was definitely someone with a small appetite.
Half a bowl of rice.
A few pickled or seasoned side dishes.
And a bowl of hot soup—that was more than enough to satisfy him, or so his clear memories told him.
Yet strangely, he still felt hunger now.
It wasn't a matter of big or small appetite.
Five bowls of rice, a whole pot's worth of scorched rice, all sorts of dishes, soups...
With this amount, he should feel some satisfaction, but what he sensed was only the faint emptiness right before a midnight snack.
If he had to guess the reason...
*The Earthly Immortal Scripture.*
An artifact of the ages, a demonic thing.
Woven from the sacrifices of three immortals who gave everything they had.
Was this hunger stemming from that demonic entity?
A moment later, Yeon So-hyeon let out a hollow chuckle.
'The price of obtaining a demonic thing that defies time and fate is an insatiable stomach?'
And even if so, what of it?
He was the direct heir of this obscenely wealthy clan.
Even as countless commoners withered and died from famine outside, he could eat until his belly was full.
He could devour a cow a day without issue.
At that moment, he didn't hear it.
The small, sinister giggle emanating from his lower abdomen, his dantian.
And he polished off side dishes enough for five or six grown men.
* * *
"This is..."
It was already midnight, but Yeon So-hyeon couldn't sleep.
Hunger had returned.
"......."
He almost called for Jeong-a again but stopped himself.
No matter how much he teased her in various ways, he had no desire to appear not just as a glutton, but like a starving ghost.
And fundamentally, there seemed to be some clear cause for this hunger.
He had a few hypotheses, but for now, sating it took priority.
He rose from his seat and haphazardly donned his clothes.
In the past, when his chest felt stuffy and he couldn't sleep, he would wander Luoyang's night streets.
The tavern districts of Luoyang—one of the Central Plains' largest cities—were lit up like cities that never sleep, so quelling his hunger would be no problem.
If he slipped out of the main house quietly like this, a few escorts would follow while making no secret of their displeasure.
The old him, without a scrap of internal energy, had no way to evade the clan's watchful eyes.
But...
For some reason, today he felt no need to go out that way.
It was as if someone—no, something—was calling him.
Like turning reflexively when someone suddenly called your name from behind.
He took a step as if looking back.
"...?!"
And he found himself atop the highest coniferous tree in the Primordial Pavilion's formation.
It was the tallest and oldest tree among them.
"What is this...?"
Then the branch he stood on swayed faintly.
It was a frail, thin branch that would snap under a child's weight, yet it merely trembled lightly as if in the breeze.
Moreover, one would expect vertigo from the dizzying view below, but for some reason, his mind was utterly serene.
From his head vanished any thoughts of how he had climbed this towering tree or what skill allowed him to stand on such a delicate branch.
He simply felt a strange confidence that he *could*.
He didn't even know what 'it' was.
It felt less like his own thought or sensation, and more like a whisper from someone—or something.
[...Young one, you can do it.]
"...Yes. I can do it."
With that, Yeon So-hyeon stepped beyond the branch.
And in the next instant, he was treading the tiles of the Sword Clan's towering palace hall.
A voice slipped unbidden from his lips.
"So that's what it is."
Yeon So-hyeon felt it.
Intuited it.
This was moving from shadow to shadow.
Like the legendary shrinking earth technique, folding space?
Or passing through some kind of passage?
From his body oozed a viscous demonic qi that didn't belong to him.
A warped celestial art permitted only to those who lived and breathed in demonic qi.
The sole movement technique—not quite a technique—for the Earthly Immortal Scripture's inheritor.
[Dark Flow Transformation]
At the same moment, his body melted into the empty air.
On the moonlit roof tiles, faintly illuminated, no trace of him remained.
Only a faint wisp of demonic qi, swirling briefly before scattering on the wind, attested to his presence.
* * *
A certain inn in Luoyang.
Famed for its delicious food, word had spread by whisper, drawing many regulars and epicures alike.
There, a veteran errand boy, hardened by years on the job, was undergoing an indescribably bizarre experience.
He had always thought that at just twelve years old, he had seen it all—mountains and rivers, everything under the sun.
But what was unfolding before his eyes now?
He instinctively knew the situation was beyond him and dashed off to fetch his senior.
"What?!"
Hearing the young errand boy's tale, the senior decided he had to see it himself to believe it.
Gazing from the stairs in the direction of the boy's trembling finger, he nearly fainted.
This inn was renowned for food, not drink, so even late at night, patrons came for meals.
Encountering gluttonous epicures who lived for the feast was commonplace here, and he thought nothing could surprise him anymore.
But what was this he was seeing?
Watching the scene for a moment, the errand boy noticed something odd.
'Why are there so few customers on this floor?'
The patrons who remained were huddled as far from 'that table' as possible.
And even they were now rising to leave.
Normally, a voracious eater drew attention.
Cheers with each new bowl, words of encouragement, tsks of disapproval—but this was unprecedented.
'What in the world is going on?'
Moments after staring that way,
His legs gave out, and he collapsed on the spot.
"Hah...!"
Glancing aside, he saw the young errand boy had also gone pale and slumped down.
Without a second thought, he tumbled down the stairs.
No, he actually rolled down to the first floor.
"Hey! What happened?!"
The burly innkeeper, who prided himself on his build, strode over.
"Innkeeper sir...! Innkeeper sir...!"
The errand boy clutched at his pant leg and whispered urgently.
As if afraid someone might overhear.
"It's a hungry ghost...! A ghost from hell has appeared...!"