DR Chapter 8

“That little brat is lucky.”

“Is that so? Do you really think it’s luck?”

“Then do you think the child has such keen senses that he could detect the Qi Scattering Poison? He hasn’t learned any martial arts at all.”

The sky was cloudy. The moon, like an ink drop spreading on rice paper, was slowly fading behind the clouds.

It was a pitch-dark night where one couldn’t see an inch in front of them.

Three people stood on the roof of the highest pavilion in the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency’s branch.

Baek Rin Zhuge Rin, with his snow-white silver hair fluttering. Yoo Ho, the manager of the White Dragon Medical Pavilion who volunteered to be his servant. And the giant Woon Ji-sang, chief of the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency, with a sword at his waist.

“Your eyes are indeed different, Divine Doctor. I couldn’t find anything special about that young hero myself… His martial talent seemed ordinary too.”

“Then why are you so interested in him?”

“…”

Woon Ji-sang closed his mouth without answering.

To such a Woon Ji-sang, Zhuge Rin firmly but gently put his foot down.

“Chief. I’ll say this clearly now. That child will become my disciple. Who cured the Qi Scattering Poison?”

At those words, Woon Ji-sang let out a big sigh.

“Sigh… How could I go against the Divine Doctor’s wishes? Do you like that child so much?”

“Just as much as you do, Chief.”

“Tsk. It can’t be helped. It seems he’s not destined to be my disciple…”

“Oh… You were thinking of taking him as a disciple despite his lack of martial talent?”

“Despite his young age, he’s thoughtful and determined. And with those medical skills… Isn’t he a talent worth coveting? You know well that an escort agency can’t be run solely on martial arts skills, don’t you?”

“Indeed. That’s why I covet him too. By the way… It seems they’re starting to arrive.”

At Zhuge Rin’s words, Woon Ji-sang’s expression turned fierce.

Both of them saw a group of people gathering in the darkness in the distance.

“How dare they attack our escort agency…”

A dragon-like aura flowed from his body.

“We can’t trouble our guests. I’d be grateful if you two could wait here.”

“Have a safe trip.”

Woon Ji-sang jumped down from the pavilion roof. At the same time, figures in black clothes climbed over the walls of the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency branch in the distance.

They all wore masks, and even their blades were dyed black, perhaps to avoid reflecting moonlight.

It was clearly a night raid.

Inside the branch was quiet.

The servants weren’t visible, perhaps sleeping.

“Master. I sense demonic energy.”

“Practitioners of demonic arts… With those numbers, could it be the Demonic Sect?”

“Probably. I wonder if you’ve gotten involved in something troublesome.”

“But I have you, don’t I?”

“Hehehe, oh my. For someone who could slaughter all those people with a single sword stroke to say such things, I don’t know how to react.”

Zhuge Rin just smiled slyly instead of answering. It was the smile of a dragon hiding its claws.

Yoo Ho scratched his head.

“Master. You haven’t forgotten that you don’t have much life left, have you?”

“Of course I know. But isn’t it human nature to want to burn brightly, even if briefly?”

“I just want to be with you for a long time, Master…”

“It can’t be helped. By the way, it’s starting.”

Where Baek Rin Zhuge Rin’s gaze fell, a fierce battle was beginning.

***

Jin Cheon-hee was crouched next to the bed of Yeo Ha-ryoon, the future Heavenly Demon. Shouts rang out from outside. Screams and the sound of clashing swords could be heard.

Thinking that it must have started, Jin Cheon-hee glanced at Ha-ryoon’s closed eyelids.

‘This guy still hasn’t woken up.’

Considering his future life, it might be better if he didn’t wake up at all.

‘Isn’t it strange? That so many people have come to kill you.’

He’s a child. Just a little child.

Just a small child with a secret birth.

So many people have prepared to kill this child.

Ha-ryoon’s hands were still white. Hands that haven’t been stained with anyone’s blood. The world moved to kill this child.

‘The Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency is strong. Even if I hadn’t told them, they probably would have won somehow.’

Even if the high-ranking martial artists were poisoned with Qi Scattering Poison, there were still lower-ranking ones. The Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency’s strength was by no means weak.

However, much blood would have been shed, and that would have been a fatal blow to the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency.

If that happened, numerous escort agencies would fight to fill the power vacuum left by the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency that had controlled the Yangtze River, and that would be the beginning of future calamities.

“You sleep well even in this situation. Well, I’m not really trembling either…”

Jin Cheon-hee stared blankly at his own hands.

People were dying outside.

A normal person should be shaking in fear.

Because a sword-wielding person could appear at any moment to kill him.

Yet somehow, he wasn’t afraid.

‘Come to think of it, was I like this when distinguishing the living from the dead among the corpses too…?’

Jin Cheon-hee judged that something had changed. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be like this. Perhaps it was because he had already experienced death once.

‘Well, dying from being shot by rebels isn’t a common experience.’

At that moment, a groan escaped from Ha-ryoon’s mouth.

Was he having a nightmare?

Jin Cheon-hee was startled by the beastly groan that was hard to believe came from a child.

‘Should I wake him up? No, he didn’t wake up when I tried earlier.’

From what he had observed so far, sounds alone didn’t cause nightmares. Could it be because of the smell of blood from outside?

After deliberating, Jin Cheon-hee rummaged through a shelf and lit another scented candle.

He didn’t know what scent it was, but he hoped it was strong enough to mask the smell of blood.

After lighting three scented candles, Ha-ryoon’s expression gradually calmed down again.

Watching the groaning sounds slowly subside, Jin Cheon-hee let out a small sigh.

‘Be good to me, you brat.’

He’s the protagonist after all, so it would be good to make a good impression from now on.

‘He’s still a kid, so there might be room to tame him.’

Outside, the battle was still ongoing. Jin Cheon-hee watched over Ha-ryoon’s night like this.

***

The battle at the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency branch didn’t last long.

Realizing that the Qi Scattering Poison hadn’t worked properly, the masked figures retreated after taking some damage.

Finally, the sun rose.

During that time, Jin Cheon-hee had stayed awake all night.

Even though he had dropped into the heart of the martial world, his mindset was still that of an ordinary Korean.

He wasn’t thick-skinned enough to sleep comfortably while people were dying outside.

Even if he wasn’t afraid, he wasn’t insensitive.

He could hear the sounds of bodies and patients being carried outside. He also heard the sound of guard martial artists coming to protect them.

‘It’s over.’

The fight was over. The Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency branch was safe. And an event where many people should have died had been changed.

‘Well then… what should I do now? Observe or assist? I have to choose one of the two.’

With slightly sunken eyes, Jin Cheon-hee glared at the door.

‘If I just observe, my abilities won’t be revealed. That’s safer. The other doctors already seem to have a lot of questions because of the emergency treatment I used on this guy.’

Jin Cheon-hee glanced to the side.

The Heavenly Demon Yeo Ha-ryoon was sleeping.

‘If I step in to treat people, some who might die could possibly be saved. It’s not like Baek Rin can use cloning techniques, and there must be a limit to the number of people he can save. But that’s not more important than my safety.’

It’s a settled matter.

‘My medical skills are definitely alien and strange. I might even be suspected as a spy. Yeah. Let’s do that. I’ll just stay here and then leave. Then I can work a bit for the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency and live as a doctor in this world. Yeah. That’ll do. If I save a lot of people then…’

As he was continuing this line of thought, Jin Cheon-hee suddenly recalled a face while looking at the sleeping Heavenly Demon Yeo Ha-ryoon.

The face of a young child bewildered by the rebels’ gun muzzles.

The child that Jin Cheon-hee himself had embraced and protected from the bullets.

Did that child survive?

-Why should people be saved? Why did they have to be saved to that extent?

-Why didn’t I abandon them on the mountain?

-I don’t know. I really don’t know, Director.

“Damn it. I really…”

Only then did Jin Cheon-hee rise from his seat.

That’s right. Even then, he couldn’t turn a blind eye. So how could he rationalize and ignore it now?

He approached Ha-ryoon.

He intended to check the patient’s condition once before leaving the room.

‘No. Why is he suddenly like this again?’

This time, he seemed to be having an even worse nightmare than before, even sweating cold sweat.

He was breathing heavily, and then his breathing stopped.

‘Sleep apnea… maybe?’

1 second, 2 seconds… 30 seconds… 1 minute.

He didn’t breathe for a full minute.

At this point, wondering if he was alright, Jin Cheon-hee reached out to grab his shoulder and shake him.

At that moment.

Thwack-!

The boy’s white hand wrapped around Jin Cheon-hee’s wrist.

Then his eyelids slowly opened.

They were red.

In a hoarse voice like a rusty sword scraping the ground:

“…Who sent you?”

Killing intent spread out from Ha-ryoon.

Creak-

‘Damn. This little brat already has such killing intent…’

Jin Cheon-hee smiled, intending to calm down this future Heavenly Demon kid.

“I am…”

“Enough.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll kill you and ask your corpse.”

At that moment, Ha-ryoon’s other hand gripped Jin Cheon-hee’s neck.

Crunch-

His neck was grabbed as if being sucked in irresistibly.

Under the powerful pressure, Jin Cheon-hee gasped, “Ughk.”

‘Dammit… I never imagined he’d be this crazy.’

Jin Cheon-hee knew.

One of the reasons Yeo Ha-ryoon later becomes the Heavenly Demon in the novel.

The blood of the Heaven-Killing Star.

In modern terms, would it be called the disposition of a serial killer? No, it was beyond that.

The Heaven-Killing Star is basically described as a being with genius in killing people, and the more people they kill, the stronger they become.

That’s not all. They also have innate talent in learning martial arts, so they become stronger than anyone else.

Literally, they could be called a heaven-sent killer.

As great as this talent is, of course, it has its drawbacks.

Later on, they go mad, consumed by the madness of the Heaven-Killing Star, but Ha-ryoon, befitting the novel’s protagonist, completely overcomes his madness by controlling it and becomes the strongest under heaven.

‘An ability that puts modern science to shame… No. This isn’t the time for such idle thoughts. My head is starting to hurt as my throat is blocked, so then…’

Could it be due to the crisis? The blood that had been sleeping until now seems to have awakened.

But he couldn’t just let this happen.

Even if he wanted to call for help, no voice came out as his throat was being squeezed.

Jin Cheon-hee twisted his body. And with that movement, the scented candle he had lit earlier fell to the floor.

‘Great!’