“Is it delicious?”

Ji Cheon Wu nodded in response to Nam Gung Lin’s question.

Although he knew that the food Nam Gung Lin offered was candy, it was Ji Cheon Wu’s first time tasting it.

He had always survived each day by eating leftovers or begging for food.

Nam Gung Lin finished the candy in her hand and wrapped the rest in a bundle, putting it in her pocket.

Then she grabbed Ji Cheon Wu’s hand. The action felt completely natural.

Ji Cheon Wu usually felt uncomfortable with physical contact.

The only time people touched him was when they hit him.

Those who hit him would look at Ji Cheon Wu with disgusted faces.

They would curse him, saying a curse would spread after hitting him.

But Nam Gung Lin’s touch didn’t feel uncomfortable. In fact, he sometimes thought he wanted to hold her hand.

Ji Cheon Wu felt unfamiliar with these feelings about himself. Nam Gung Lin started walking, leading Ji Cheon Wu along.

Ji Cheon Wu didn’t know how to act in these situations.

It wasn’t that he wanted to let go of Nam Gung Lin’s hand. He wanted to be closer to her.

He wanted to walk side by side, going down the same path.

How long had they walked?

They arrived at an old hut. He had heard that Dang Hae Jun and Je Gal Yu Ryong, who had been expelled from the Nam Gung family, were staying in separate lodgings.

Nam Gung Yu Cheong knocked on the door of the hut. Dang Hae Jun smiled at them, seeming genuinely pleased.

“If it isn’t young master Nam Gung Yu Cheong. What brings such an honored guest here?”

Nam Gung Yu Cheong’s gaze towards Dang Hae Jun was cold.

It was because he knew that Dang Hae Jun had recently been rude to Nam Gung Lin.

“I have something to deliver.”

Nam Gung Yu Cheong said, handing a letter to Dang Hae Jun.

As soon as Dang Hae Jun received the letter, Nam Gung Yu Cheong turned around.

“Then I’ll be going.”

Dang Hae Jun didn’t try to stop them.

The group started to walk away. It was then that Nam Gung Lin grabbed Ji Cheon Wu’s shoulder.

Ji Cheon Wu turned around with a surprised face.

Nam Gung Lin was looking at him with a faint smile.

“Ji Cheon Wu, you can go back without me, right?”

“What do you mean…”

“And one piece of advice. Don’t believe everything that happens from now on.”

“Lin?”

“You can do it.”

It was a statement with multiple meanings. That was the end.

Ji Cheon Wu’s eyes widened. Blood flowed from Nam Gung Lin’s mouth.

It was similar to when she had been attacked by the Hideous Demon. He saw Nam Gung Lin embracing him.

Ji Cheon Wu trembled slightly as the nightmare from that day resurfaced.

[This is the timeline separator] [Wake up!]

I regained consciousness at the urgent voice of Uncle Dagger.

In front of my eyes, Dang Hae Jun was walking away with a grin.

My head was dizzy.

Probably because my head had taken a hard hit.

Right after parting with Dang Hae Jun, Uncle Dagger had warned me.

That we had fallen into a formation.

I quickly blurted out a warning to Ji Cheon Wu.

Then I immediately lost consciousness.

It was because someone had attacked me.

[If your body had been even slightly better…]

Uncle Dagger muttered as if frustrated.

If my body had been in a normal state, the situation wouldn’t have gotten this far.

Things happened just when Uncle Dagger couldn’t move my body.

“What is this about?”

Dang Hae Jun looked at me as if puzzled by my words.

“How are you still awake? Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Dang Hae Jun was clearly a person from the Murim Alliance. It meant he was from the Tang family, the Tang clan.

‘Yet he’s doing something like this?’

If the fact that he kidnapped me became known, it was clear that the Tang family would face great trouble.

“What did you do to the others?”

“Except for you, they should be fine. I don’t want to make this too big, you see. They’re probably still wandering in the formation.”

“…”

“Ah, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely unharmed. They’re probably experiencing the worst nightmares of their lives.”

Dang Hae Jun giggled.

“I might be suspected too, but making Nam Gung Jin Cheon fall into a demonic state is more necessary for our great cause.”

A glint of madness flashed in Dang Hae Jun’s eyes.

“Sacrifices are inevitable for the great cause.”

He muttered like a madman. He was doing this even though it was obvious he would be suspected as the culprit.

I felt a chill run through my heart. There was something strange about his behavior.

It had appeared frequently in “Heavenly Demon Lord.”

‘Those who have learned the martial arts of the Blood Sect act beyond imagination.’

I became suspicious.

At the same time, cold sweat dripped down.

Dang Hae Jun probably wasn’t the only one involved in this.

Dang Hae Jun covered my eyes and dragged me along. I frowned involuntarily at his rough handling.

Not being able to see was quite uncomfortable and frightening. I was being taken away without knowing where I was going.

It seemed we had walked for quite a while.

My weak body quickly began to tire.

My breathing became labored.

I was on the verge of collapsing.

Uncle Dagger habitually tried to reassure me.

[It’s alright, don’t worry.]

If it weren’t for Uncle’s voice, I might have fainted again.

“You brat, how dare you give me such an insult.”

[He’s crazy.]

“Look here.”

The cloth covering my eyes disappeared. I slowly opened my eyes.

And I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the sight before me.

Where I was standing was a cliff.

A cliff from which, if I fell, I would never return alive.

‘Is this for real?’

My face turned pale.

Because I realized what Dang Hae Jun was trying to do.

‘How did that Ji Cheon Wu survive falling from a place like this.’

Ji Cheon Wu had a record of surviving a fall from a cliff.

Of course, I don’t know if it was the same cliff as where I’m standing now.

They say the protagonists in novels often survive falls from cliffs, but that only applies to protagonists.

If I fell from here, I would disappear without leaving a trace.

Dang Hae Jun muttered while looking at the cliff whose end was nowhere in sight.

“Our sect has sent investigation teams to this cliff many times, but no one has ever returned alive.”

I frowned at Dang Hae Jun’s words.

The term “our sect” bothered me. My suspicion gradually turned into certainty.

‘The timing is strange. It’s too early compared to the original work.’

There was a similar incident in the original work.

The Blood Sect, Ji Cheon Wu’s main enemy, had planted spies in the Murim Alliance.

‘Is it only the Murim Alliance? The Blood Sect’s people must be hiding in other clans too.’

However, their full-scale activities were supposed to start in the more distant future.

[With such a steep cliff, and a formation set up, no one could have returned alive.]

‘A formation?’

[Yes, this is a place that cannot be entered without permission.]

I felt puzzled.

It was because Uncle Dagger spoke as if he knew this place well.

Unaware of my conversation with Uncle Dagger, Dang Hae Jun was grinning.

“Since you’re going to die anyway, shall I tell you why?”

“…”

“Not long ago, Nam Gung Jin Cheon’s level increased, right? By overcoming the demonic state.”

I listened to his words while holding my breath. I was suspecting that Dang Hae Jun was a member of the Blood Sect.

‘The original story might have changed, causing the Blood Sect to become active earlier.’

The fact that Grandfather was experiencing a demonic state was a secret even most people in the clan didn’t know.

‘There were rumors about Grandfather reaching a higher level, but…’

I was bewildered.

‘How much does the Blood Sect know?’

The main content of “Heavenly Demon Lord” was about the overpowered protagonist Ji Cheon Wu defeating the Blood Sect without much difficulty.

The author skipped most of the complicated circumstances.

He repeatedly described and praised Ji Cheon Wu’s martial arts.

‘That’s why it received so much criticism. People said the content kept repeating. They said they understood how strong Ji Cheon Wu was, so stop writing about it.’

In short, due to the unfriendly content of the novel, I was in a state where I didn’t know much about the Blood Sect.

Dang Hae Jun tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand.

“It was strange. Originally, Nam Gung Yu Cheong should have lost his talent, and because of that, Nam Gung So So should have become crippled.”

I felt chills down my spine. That was the content of the original story.

“It was all to deepen Nam Gung Jin Cheon’s demonic state.”

I let out a shaky breath.

If things had gone as Dang Hae Jun said, Grandfather would have been unable to maintain his sanity as he intended.

He might have eventually been consumed by the demonic state and fallen into madness.

But everything changed.

Because of me.

Because of me, Nam Gung Hwa Su brought Ji Cheon Wu instead of being jealous of Nam Gung Yu Cheong. The Hideous Demon chose Ji Cheon Wu as well.

That wasn’t all.

Grandfather escaped from the demonic state after hearing the words I gave him.

“I don’t know where that sudden expert came from.”

Dang Hae Jun shrugged.

“But since it all became useless, it’s right to create another demonic state.”

“…”

“It’s strange that Nam Gung Jin Cheon cares for a worthless and foolish thing like you, but it worked out well.”

I realized that Dang Hae Jun’s insult towards me was a deliberate act.

Through that incident, he noticed that Grandfather had affection for me.

I felt my hands trembling. At that moment, I realized something. My father’s disappearance, which was never properly described in “Heavenly Demon Lord”.

It might be deeply connected to this incident as well.