Episode 34: Our Child Has Changed
‘What was that sound just now?’
I’m certain it wasn’t just one sound.
‘Judging by the unpleasant sensation under my foot, the first sound was a bug being crushed. The second was….’
I felt the slimy remains of the insect and the sunken floor beneath my foot.
‘I barely applied any pressure, but the perfectly intact wooden floor shattered completely?’
Come to think of it, didn’t they say the Golden Lotus Concealment Art hides my power’s aura but doesn’t erase the power itself?
I couldn’t let anyone discover I now possessed the strength of a divine creature.
‘How do I explain this?’
“Ah, no wonder the floor felt old and weak! I barely touched it, and it collapsed.”
I forced an awkward laugh and spoke loudly to myself while staring at the gaping hole in the floor, ensuring Dad would hear.
Dad wore a baffled expression, as if refusing to believe the evidence before his eyes.
“The floors are maintained regularly. They were just repaired two days ago.”
‘Ah, no wonder the wood looked too pristine to be old.’
“Maybe they forgot to fix this spot by accident?”
‘Apologies to the repairmen for pinning this on you. I’ll compensate you properly when I’m older.’
To execute my grand scheme, I had to conceal my power at all costs.
If Dad learned I’d gained abilities from the Golden Lotus seed, my entire double life in the Demon Sect would unravel.
“How strange. I distinctly remember confirming the repairs…”
Despite my desperate efforts, Dad’s suspicion lingered.
Really now…
I hadn’t wanted to resort to this, but there was no alternative.
“Dad, I don’t want noodles today.”
“Why not? You always loved my handmade noodles!”
“I do! But I can’t!”
“Why?”
“If the floor broke from my weight, I must be getting fat! No more noodles!”
The moment I declared my breakfast boycott, Dad’s face turned grave.
“The floor was defective! Entirely the floor’s fault!”
‘Dad acts like the world ends if I miss a single meal.’
“But didn’t you check the floor yourself?”
“I… must have overlooked this section. The wood here was clearly rotten. Are you hurt anywhere, my star?”
Dad rushed over to inspect my feet.
‘He won’t suspect me now, right?’
“N-no injuries here…”
Just as I secretly smirked in triumph and glanced down, I saw it—a bug leg clinging to my sole.
“D-Dad! There’s a b-bug leg on my foot…!”
My stuttered words trailed off as Dad’s hand flashed like lightning.
The insect’s carcass disintegrated midair before the fragments even hit the ground.
‘Did that bug just… explode from Dad’s touch?’
“All gone now. Dad took care of it.”
He lifted me into a hug, his large hand soothingly patting my back.
‘Dad, I might’ve slipped up today, but you’re the one actually hiding your identity as the Demon Lord, aren’t you?’
Though burning with questions, I chose to let it go this time.
‘We’ll just keep each other’s secrets for now.’
“Dad, I’ll wash my feet fast and eat your noodles. I’m starving.”
“Really? Wise choice! I’ll have them ready instantly!”
Dad’s anxious demeanor vanished as if by magic, replaced by his usual cheer.
‘Time to relax and enjoy a steaming bowl guilt-free.’
As I imagined the savory broth, movement caught my eye—something observing us from the treetops.
‘Wait, isn’t that Pippi?’
I raised my hand in greeting, but the creature vanished in a flutter of wings.
‘Weird. I swore we made eye contact… Was I imagining things?’
I gazed at the distant speck until it disappeared.
An inexplicable melancholy settled in my chest.
“Another failure?”
Crash!
The Sichuan Tang Clan’s hall thrummed with lethal tension.
A white-streaked beard quivered above silk robes as the clan leader hurled a vase at the black-masked man kneeling before him.
“This unworthy one dares not face the Clan Leader.”
Vase shards sprayed outward, slicing the subordinate’s forehead.
The enraged thrower was Tang Daeju—patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Clan, architect of its dominance in the Martial Alliance, and father to the current Demon Lord, Tang Hwi.
“Enough groveling! Explain how the Demon Sect rats outsmarted us!”
The masked man trembled under Tang Daeju’s thunderous voice.
“Our spies were exposed by the Demon Sect’s new advisor before initiating the operation.”
“Unless they strip-searched everyone for Qing Sa Cho, how could they identify our agents?”
“That… remains unclear.”
“…Unclear?”
“But we have suspicions!” the subordinate blurted, sensing death in his master’s glare.
“Speak.”
“The advisor is reportedly an unparalleled martial master.”
“We have masters too! Did they simply use poison?”
“N-no! This master employs unknown techniques—beyond any recorded martial art.”
“What techniques?”
“He summons a phoenix through ritual fire offerings.”
“A phoenix? The mythical firebird?”
“Yes, Clan Leader. Our spies were annihilated by the creature instantly.”
“Phoenixes… real?” Tang Daeju’s knuckles whitened. “So this advisor commands divine beasts?”
“Precisely. His preternatural perception likely uncovered the spies.”
“Impossible! No such figure exists in the Demon Sect without my knowledge!”
The subordinate hastily recited intelligence: “He’s a recent recruit who rose rapidly due to his prowess. However…”
“However?!”
“The advisor… is a six-year-old girl.”
Tang Daeju’s laughter boomed like crashing boulders. The masked man shuddered as if hearing a demon’s mirth.
“Our elite spies… bested by a brat still sucking her thumb?!”
“Y-yes, Clan Leader.”
“Bring. Her. Here.”
“…Pardon?”
In one motion, Tang Daeju hauled the subordinate up by his collar. Bloodshot eyes bored into the mask.
“I’ll see this child myself. Fail again, and your head decorates my gate. Understood?!”
“Y-yes! No failures! I swear by my life, Clan Leader!”
Only when satisfied did Tang Daeju discard the man like rubbish. The subordinate scrambled away, robes flapping in his haste.
“A brat who summons divine beasts…” Tang Daeju flexed his meaty palm before clenching it into a world-crushing fist.
‘Come at me, whelp. My clan still has true experts—myself foremost among them.’
‘The Demon Sect will kneel beneath my feet. By any means necessary.’
“You summoned me, Demon Lord?”
Jeok-un entered to find Tang Hwi brooding—a rare crack in his eternal composure.
‘This concerns Cheon-seong,’ Jeok-un realized instantly.
Only the child could unsettle the unflappable Demon Lord.
“Iron spoon. Floorboard. Garden boulder.”
Tang Hwi listed objects like disconnected clues.
“I cannot deduce your meaning from these alone.”
“Today, our Star shattered these with bare hands. The spoon and boulder—crushed without tools.”
The Demon Lord’s piercing gaze pinned Jeok-un in place.
“Any theories?”
‘Theories…?’
An image surfaced in Jeok-un’s mind—a boy with golden hair cascading like sunlight, features too exquisite to be human.
