Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

Chapter 97: Destiny or Fate (1)

Hearing the voice, the boy, whose name was Kang So-san, trembled. 

But instinctively, he gripped the knife even harder. 

All he had to do was wait for a chance to use the knife. 

He wanted to give these bastards who bullied his sister a nice lesson!

The boy grit his teeth. 

At that moment, the sleazy one-eyed man struck him once again. 

Pow, pow, pow!

It was unbearable pain for a child and the boy’s determination wavered. 

The hand gripping the knife trembled with pain. 

Once more, the boy heard a voice in his ears. 

— Don’t let go of it. Hold onto the knife. The chance will come. 

It was a voice of power. 

The boy curled up into a ball to resist the kicking and looked around the inn, searching for the source of the voice. 

Of course, he did not forget to tighten the grip around the knife. 

The voice in his ears contained a powerful majesty that he could not help but follow. 

Kang So-san was able to find the owner of the voice with no difficulty. 

At the end of the stairs leading up to the second-floor living areas, someone was standing at the balcony, looking steadfast as a mountain. 

That person said nothing, but Kang So-san instinctively realized that man was the owner of the voice just now. 

If he weren’t in so much pain, the boy might have smiled. Instead, his eyes watered. 

As if to answer the boy, Woon-seong offered him a small smile. 

There’s a common saying that you should teach a man to fish instead of giving him a fish . 

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. 

That was what Woon-seong was trying to do.

If you want to survive in this cruel world, you must be ready to defend yourself.

If you wanted to protect what you valued, you needed to know how to wield a blade with determination. 

If you can’t, you would only continue to be stuck in the same miserable life. 

What Woon-seong wanted to see from the boy was action and determination. 

— Helping you is no problem, but I want you to show me at least one reason to help. Before I help you, prove to me that you can survive long after this. 

Woon-seong’s eyes flicked between the one-eyed man and the young boy. 

He did not forget to send a telepathic message to the boy. 

— Stay low and dodge his attack. 

Of course, the boy was not able to accurately pull off what Woon-seong was asking of him. But by instinctively trying to follow along, he was still somewhat able to protect himself from the incoming kicks. 

Seeing that, Woon-seong smiled slightly before speaking once more. 

— Your chance will come soon. Wait for it. 

People had habits.

Habits revealed when eating. 

Habits revealed when sleeping. 

Habits revealed when taking a rest. 

Naturally, people also had habits when fighting. 

As the one-eyed man continued to hit and kick, Woon-seong was able to pick up on his habits. 

— Just take a breath. Keep your head down and avoid the current attack. After three more kicks he will stop for a moment.

Woon-seong instructed the boy on how to use the one-eyed man’s habits against him. 

This habit was the only way that the small and weak boy would be able to strike the one-eyed man. 

— Here comes another kick. After that, he’ll take time to catch his breath. That’s your chance. 

And the chance came just as Woon-seong predicted.

— That’s when you will stab him in the stomach. 

Phew!

As fate would have it, the one-eyed man gave one more kick before stopping for a breather. He huffed three to four times. After that, the kicks would continue. 

For the inexperienced boy, stabbing the man at this moment would be highly advantageous. 

Now!

Woon-seong conveyed his thoughts through sound transmission. 

— Stab him!

The boy gripped the knife. 

He tried to stab the man standing in front of his eyes with the knife in hand. 

However, the boy was unable to move the knife. 

“You brat!”

Pah!

Once again, Woon-seong closed his eyes, not wanting to look at the boy who was once again rolling around and clutching his stomach. 

The knife was now lying on the floor. 

The one-eyed man soon started kicking once more, now even more violently than before. 

He didn’t stab… It’s over. 

I know it’s difficult to kill a person at such a young age, but there are times when you need to attack others to protect your people.

You need to toughen up. But if you can’t do that, there’s no use in me helping…

Woon-seong was about to leave, thinking that way. 

If Kang So-san hadn’t picked the knife back up, Woon-seong might have. 

Hmm? Woon-seong glanced at the boy. 

Once again gripping the knife, the boy stared at Woon-seong. 

Their gazes crossed. 

Within the boy’s gaze, Woon-seong read hatred. It was laced with determination and killing intent, much thicker than before. 

Are you asking for another chance?

Woon-seong did not think it was a bad thing to give the boy one more chance. 

After all, Woon-seong himself had been given another chance at revenge. 

— Then this is your last one. 

That was a warning to both the boy and also himself. 

Soon, Woon-seong sent another message. 

— Now!

Puchi—!

The sound of cold cutlery penetrating human skin. 

It was the sound of someone being stabbed.

The knife in the boy’s hand was now in the one-eyed man’s stomach.

“Ugh!”

The one-eyed man collapsed, holding his pierced abdomen. 

His colleagues threw the girl onto the ground and ran forward. 

“What?!”

“You little brat!”

Even at that moment, the boy was alternating between looking at the knife in his hand and the man lying on the floor. 

The boy was probably not feeling too good to see another person’s blood flow from his hands. 

No, considering it was the first time, it must have been shocking. 

It had been the same for Woon-seong. 

But what was more important is the boy had taken the first step to becoming strong on his own. 

Meanwhile, the men had hurried to save their stabbed friend and surrounded the area. 

As the men were large and ugly, Kang So-san once again became afraid. 

But the boy did not let go of the knife in his hand. Hatred continued to flow from his eyes. 

‘Hit me if you want, kill me if you can’, his eyes seemed to say. 

Instead, the boy seemed excited that he would be attacked once more. He wanted to prove himself more. 

That determination was what Woon-seong wanted to see. 

Woon-seong made a move. 

“Stop there.”

Woon-seong slowly made his way down the stairs. 

All the men surrounding So-san turned their heads to look at the sudden intruder. 

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Don’t you see what’s going on?”

“We only left you alone because you were staying quiet! Fuck off!”

Those were some obvious threats. 

And their scare tactics might have worked… 

If only Hyuk Woon-seong had not bludgeoned a man to death when he was even younger than So-san. 

People of the Black Way were used to people being frightened by their threats. 

What about Woon-seong?

Woon-seong laughed in their faces. Then, he walked very naturally and stood in front of the boy. 

He did not forget to lower his head and make brief eye contact with the boy, commenting, “You did a good job. They say Kangho is a place where only the strong survive, but it’s also a place where those who struggle to survive will become stronger.”

Woon-seong then turned to look at the men of the Black Way. 

They were also looking at him. 

None of them had bothered with the young man sitting in the corner, since he had just been looking so far. But now he had interrupted them!

“It looks like you have a death wish!”

The other man took out their weapons. Soon, the inn was filled with the smell of dirt and rusting iron. 

But Woon-seong didn’t care at all. 

He continued to speak with Kang So-san, who was standing behind him. 

“You were weak until now, but you just took your first step away from staying weak. Then I shall show you. What you can do when you can become strong…”

Woon-seong raised his fingertips. 

At that moment, one of the Black Way couldn’t stand his anger anymore and swung his blade at Woon-seong. 

“What the fuck are you babbling about?!”

Rushing over, the man swung directly in front of Woon-seong, the blade whistling towards Woon-seong’s forehead. 

Woon-seong hadn’t even drawn his spear yet. 

His head will split in two. The skull will burst as blood and brains spew everywhere! Imagining the horrific outcome, Kang So-san suddenly scrunched his eyes shut. 

However, an intangible energy gripped his eyelids, forcing them open. 

— Take a good look.

That powerful voice rang in his ears. 

Puchi!

Something pierced his head. 

Of course, it was the Black Way man’s head that was pierced, not Woon-seong’s. 

The weapon seemed to be a bamboo chopstick, like the ones used by guests. 

“Ugh?” The man with the new bamboo headpiece muttered to himself, not understanding what had just happened. 

But what could someone stabbed in the brain say?

Thud!

The man fell back, crumpling to the floor. 

Woon-seong then spread his arms out. 

Shh, shh, shh. 

A mysterious energy spread throughout the inn and bamboo chopsticks floated into the air. 

“W-What the hell?! The chopsticks… Are in the air…?”

One, two, three, four…

Kang So-san, who was counting the number of chopsticks, soon lost track. 

Soon, all the bamboo chopsticks the Golden Sunset Inn owned were floating in the air, aimed at the men of the Black Way. 

“Uugh…?”

“W-What?”

The men had just seen one of their colleagues skewered by a chopstick. 

Somehow, the chopsticks floating in the air seemed sharper than they remembered. 

At this point, they had realized the young man before them was an unimaginable monster. 

They wished that they had been sick and hadn’t stopped by the inn, wishing to be at home and in bed with their wives instead. 

But it was always too late for regrets. 

There was a man who spoke with difficulty: “A-Are you doing this knowing who’s behind us?” 

Woon-seong smiled. 

The men had entered the inn speaking loudly about themselves. 

“We’re part of the Black Law Sect.”

“I know.”

“I-I see. So you didn’t…” The man was furious at Woon-seong’s words. How could he still have that attitude? “Wait, you know? You did this even while knowing that?”

Was there anyone in this neighborhood who could stay calm even after hearing the name of the Black Law Sect?

“Y-You seem to be an outsider, but if you mess with us, the Black Law Sect will be after you.”

In response, Woon-seong leisurely sat down on one of the guest chairs. Crossing his legs, he sniggered, “There’s a saying my master used to tell me…”

Woon-seong was speaking of Nok Yu-on. 

“If you’re going to clean up the trash, don’t only do so with what’s in sight, but clean up the whole street.”

Suddenly hearing a story about masters and trash, the men of the Black Way made faces. 

Ignoring their expressions, Woon-seong continued to speak. 

“In Kangho, resentment is no light matter, so don’t pull out your sword so easily.” 

As he said so, Woon-seong lifted his hand into the air. 

Woo-hoo—

The chopsticks floating in the air trembled. 

“But if you did… do not leave any trouble behind. Especially when you’re facing trash.”

With a flick of his hand, dozens of chopsticks fell from the sky. 

Crack—

That day, in an area near the Qilian Mountains, a faction known as the Black Law Sect disappeared into flames.