By Zephyria 
The floor of Eumbyeol Hall was uniquely constructed as an ondol system, made by layering yellow clay and stone. Several layers of animal hides were attached to the walls to block out the external cold. While expensive materials hadn’t been used, it was done with great care. It was evident that Ho-yeon had put a great deal of thought into it for the sake of the children.
“Is it a tradition of the North Sea to mistreat a benefactor who served as your hands and feet?”
“You… leaving is the best way to help me.”
Even the two moles beneath his tightly pressed lips seemed to embody his stubbornness. Mu-gyeong tilted his head slightly and crossed his arms.
Surrounded by the children, Ho-yeon’s aura was more resolute than ever, making him look like a fairly reliable guardian. To Mu-gyeong, who had only seen a Ho-yeon who was purely innocent and lacked any trace of maturity befitting his age—someone completely untainted by the world—this was a first.
It felt quite refreshing, yet he also felt as though he were being treated like a ferocious beast, as if Ho-yeon feared he might harm the children.
In the wild, male predators often kill the offspring of a female they encounter. This is because as long as offspring exist, the mother will not let another male into her territory. Thus, a beast with young is bound to become infinitely sensitive toward intruders, much like Ho-yeon now.
However, the difference between a wild male and Mu-gyeong was that he felt no need to kill the offspring. How wretched and trivial was the act of killing or suppressing young to achieve one’s desires?
Mu-gyeong could easily obtain whatever he wanted without resorting to such deeds. Except, perhaps, for the thirst to quench the cycle of his repeated lives.
Ho-yeon was busy chatting with the children, treating Mu-gyeong as if he weren’t even there. Meanwhile, Soho brought over some warm porridge and set it down on Ho-yeon’s bed. However, Ho-yeon didn’t even pick up the spoon, perhaps to keep his word that he wouldn’t eat if Mu-gyeong was present.
“Uncle, you must have had an empty stomach this whole time. Please eat at least a little.”
Soho handed the wooden spoon to Ho-yeon with a look of deep concern. Only then did Ho-yeon glance at Mu-gyeong, let out a small sigh, and take the spoon. He didn’t want to go back on his word, but he yielded out of consideration for Soho’s sincerity.
After moistening his mouth with warm tea, Ho-yeon took small spoonfuls of the white porridge, which had cooled to an appropriate temperature. The children watched him eat with sparkling eyes. Because his face was so fair, his pallor wasn’t overly apparent, but it was true that he was thinner than the last time they had seen him, so they felt relieved to see him eating something.
Having breathed a sigh of relief that Ho-yeon wasn’t gravely ill, the children finally shifted their attention to Mu-gyeong.
The youngest, Ha-dong, who was sucking on all his fingers—not just his thumb—climbed down from the bed, waddled over, and stared up at Mu-gyeong. Since his height barely reached Mu-gyeong’s thigh, he looked up so steeply that he couldn’t withstand the weight of his head and flopped backward onto his bottom.
“Ha-dong…!”
Ho-yeon reacted late, as he hadn’t expected the timid Ha-dong to approach Mu-gyeong so recklessly. Even though Mu-gyeong hadn’t lifted a finger and the child had simply fallen on his own, Ho-yeon’s shout made it sound as if Mu-gyeong had kicked him.
Ho-yeon, who had been about to spring from the bed, bit his lower lip at a tingling pain shooting up from his waist. At that moment, a dark shadow fell over Ha-dong, who was blinking while lying on his back. Mu-gyeong reached out, grabbed the child by the collar, and lifted him straight up.
“Stop it!”
Ho-yeon finally stood up from the bed and approached, teeth clenched. To grab him by the collar when he should have been picked up gently.
However, Ha-dong seemed to find being lifted high up exciting and burst into giggles. Forgetting his habit of sucking his fingers, he showed the tiny baby teeth inside his wide-open mouth.
“Ha-dong, come here.”
When Ho-yeon reached out his arms, Ha-dong looked conflicted for a moment, then let out a “huung” and raised both arms toward Cheon Mu-gyeong. Since he couldn’t speak much yet, Ha-dong usually expressed his emotions through gestures. It was a gesture asking to be put down and then lifted again, just as he had been.
Since Ha-dong had been abandoned as an infant without knowing who his parents were, Ho-yeon tended to indulge all his whims. But this time, he had to rescue him from Cheon Mu-gyeong’s demonic hand. Ho-yeon took Ha-dong into his arms.
Ho-yeon looked at Mu-gyeong resentfully, as if he couldn’t believe his behavior, before walking back to the bed. Why hold a grudge when he had no expectations of Cheon Mu-gyeong in the first place?
But then, Geum-hyeon, who was two years older than the youngest, stood before Mu-gyeong and murmured, “Geum-hyeon too….” Since the day they were born, the children had never seen a man as large as Cheon Mu-gyeong. Which young boy wouldn’t be envious of a man who could lift them up as easily as flying a kite?
“Geum-hyeon, the Great One hasn’t slept a wink. Uncle always told us to be polite to adults. You shouldn’t throw a tantrum like this.”
Geum-hyeon nodded vigorously and listened to Soho without further stubbornness. Ho-yeon felt inwardly relieved, but the words “hasn’t slept a wink” stuck in his mind.
“Since we don’t know when Uncle will wake up, the Great One ordered that fresh porridge be brought out every time it gets cold.”
This time, the words Soho had spoken earlier drifted back and clung to his other ear. Whether Cheon Mu-gyeong slept or not, or whether he ordered porridge for himself, it was of no concern to him.
If he had thought of him that way, he wouldn’t have forcibly stolen the energy from his dantian. Not only that, he had even pushed him into qi deviation in an attempt to forcibly wake him from his suspended animation.
If it weren’t for his body, which had become exceptional through the grace of the ice dragon, he would have died long ago. Ho-yeon didn’t know exactly what Cheon Mu-gyeong’s ulterior motive was in following him to the North Sea, but he was certain he would commit some wicked act. He pitied the man possessed by the fire demon, but that was the extent of it.
Even when he had deceived and tricked him, and when he had burned the letters, Ho-yeon had reached out his hand several times to try and understand him. And yet, what had returned was the exploitation of his yin energy.
Unless one was a truly heinous villain, how could they plunge a dagger into a hand extended for reconciliation? No, he was simply the master of the demon sect, acting according to his own whims. The rumors that the heavenly demon possessed no human emotions were not merely baseless gossip.
Ho-yeon completely lost his appetite. Having eaten less than half of the porridge, he sat curled up on the bed and repeatedly stroked Ha-dong’s back.
“Great One, there is no place in Eumbyeol Hall suitable for you to rest. Shall I look for somewhere else?”
As Soho noted, the bed Ho-yeon used was far too small for Mu-gyeong.
“Soho, as I said, he will be leaving soon—”
“Whether I leave or not is for me to decide, not you, Uncle Wi.”
Mu-gyeong cut Ho-yeon off. Uncle Wi… Ho-yeon could not hide his distaste at the form of address.
While Soho and the young children failed to read the subtle tension flowing between the two, only Hee-un noticed. Among the children of Eumbyeol Hall, Hee-un was the only one learning the ice art, yet she could feel no energy perception from Cheon Mu-gyeong. He seemed to be the kind of opponent her teacher had mentioned—a master of a high realm who knew how to conceal their internal power.
On the surface, it looked as though he had practiced external arts rather than martial arts, but Hee-un saw the part that Ho-yeon had missed in his fluster. That man hadn’t grabbed Ha-dong’s collar earlier. He had lifted him using void grasp.
“Elder, may I call you ‘Great One’ as well?”
At Hee-un’s use of the word “Elder,” Ho-yeon felt a strange sense of satisfaction. However, Cheon Mu-gyeong seemed completely unbothered, as if he truly were an elder.
“It doesn’t matter.”
As soon as the short answer came, Hee-un beamed a bright smile. The way she smiled, showing she had grown under Ho-yeon’s care, was the spitting image of Ho-yeon.
“Hee-un, I’m still tired and want to take a nap. Why don’t you go out with the children and buy some sweets?”
“Sweets!”
Ha-dong, who had been in Ho-yeon’s arms, let out a high-pitched shout. Then, as if he had never cried, he escaped Ho-yeon’s embrace and quickly clung to Hee-un. The other children did the same.
Ho-yeon slowly knelt toward the corner of the bed and reached his hand into the gap between the wall and the bed. Hee-un knew the location of the emergency funds wrapped in cloth, but since she hadn’t touched them, the feeling of them was exactly as it had been.
Just as Ho-yeon was about to take out some money to give them, Cheon Mu-gyeong handed a heavy pouch to Hee-un. Hee-un, who instinctively caught the pouch with both hands, widened her eyes. She looked more surprised now than when she was gauging Cheon Mu-gyeong’s martial prowess or identity.
“G-Great One. If you give me this much money….”
Seeing the heap of gold coins inside the slightly open pouch, Hee-un suddenly looked at Mu-gyeong with a gaze of deep emotion.
Ho-yeon was a man who had not played a single tune for free, even at the Jade Pavilion. He had been called a “shooting star” because he would leave without looking back once a performance ended; it seemed the children he cared for had inherited a great greed for wealth, as if to make up for the fact that they hadn’t been touched by Wi Ho-yeon’s habits.
“I will buy the sweets and carefully save the remaining money to return to you.”
“No, Hee-un. Return it now.”
Ho-yeon had intended to give only enough money for the children to buy plenty of sweets.
“It seems Uncle Wi has something to say to me.”
Clatter. The door of Eumbyeol Hall swung open instantly. It had opened on its own, without anyone touching it.
The children were now looking at Mu-gyeong with mouths agape, their eyes sparkling. To the children full of anticipation, Mu-gyeong spoke in a dry voice.
“You may spend everything you have before you return.”
It was the most wonderful eviction notice in Hee-un’s short life.