Chapter 116

Shin Dowoon hummed to himself as he waited at home, anticipating good news. Watching him, Shin Do Gwang—the Patriarch of the Shin Clan—tilted his head in confusion and asked, "Did something good happen? You looked like death itself just this morning." At his father’s question, Shin Dowoon pouted and replied, "You wouldn't listen, so I told Grandfather instead." Ah! He had forgotten. Shin Do Gwang’s face twisted in alarm. "Told him? Told him what?" Seeing his father’s agitation, Dowoon smiled, once again reaffirming how formidable his grandfather was. "What do you think? I told him about the guy who hit me. Grandfather’s probably giving him a proper lesson right now." "No!" Shin Do Gwang sprang up, shouting, then stormed over and seized Dowoon by the collar. "What did you say?! What did you just say?!" “Guh—Father!” “You lunatic little brat, what the hell did you do?!” Dowoon flinched in shock. He had never been grabbed by the collar before—certainly not by his father. More than that, he had never seen this kind of fury in his father’s eyes. Why? "Do you even understand what you've done?!" "W-What did I do, Father? I’m the victim here!" "Shut up!" Shin Do Gwang raised his hand, but couldn’t bring himself to strike. His body trembled instead. Dowoon was stunned. The man had really been about to hit him. At that moment— “That’s enough.” A saving voice ❖ Nоvеlight ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеlight) cut through the tension. “Grandfather! Please save me! Father’s going to kill me! I’m your one and only grandson, and he’s going to kill me!” “Yes, yes. We can’t let our precious only grandson die. So let him go.” At Shin Do Pyeong’s command, Shin Do Gwang finally responded. “Father! You’ve come at the perfect time. There’s something I must tell you.” “I already know.” “What?” “What you know, I know.” “Wait... Don’t tell me. You went to him?” “No. I brought him here.” “What?!” Brought... who? It couldn’t be... “F-Father? Y-You didn’t...” “That’s right. I brought him back...” Shin Do Pyeong walked slowly to his seat and slumped down. Somehow, the lines on his face looked deeper than ever. He stared directly at Shin Dowoon. “It seems we’ve coddled this brat for far too long.” “You’re right.” “It’s time to fix that.” “Yes! It’s something we must do—for the future of the Shin Clan.” Hearing the exchange between father and grandfather, Shin Dowoon felt a creeping sense of dread. Something had gone terribly wrong. “So, I’ve decided to entrust him to that person.” “I agree. It’s the right decision.” “Isn’t it?” “Yes!” Shin Dowoon blinked in confusion and finally asked, “E-Entrust me to who?” “To me.” Dowoon’s head snapped around. Yeon Woo Jin entered the room, hands clasped behind his back, three figures in tow. Dowoon’s mind went blank. He couldn’t make sense of the situation. Then something utterly unthinkable happened. “Shin Do Pyeong, paying respects to the Lord!” “Shin Do Gwang, paying respects to the Lord!” Both men fell to their knees and bowed to Yeon Woo Jin, addressing him as their sovereign. Shin Dowoon’s eyes bulged as if they’d tear open. “G-Grandfather? Father?! What are you doing?!” “You fool! This is the man you will serve from now on. Get on your knees!” “What?!” What was this? Was everyone playing some twisted joke on him? Dowoon backed away in disbelief. A nightmare? Am I dreaming? There’s no way this is real. “Aaaaagh! This is a dream! It has to be a dream!” Clutching his head, Shin Dowoon let out a desperate wail and sprinted out of the room. He was in shock. Shin Do Pyeong and Shin Do Gwang both trembled silently. Normally, they would have chased after him, tried to console him. But before they could move, Yeon Woo Jin’s voice rang out. “Don’t worry. He’ll be back to normal soon.” Strangely, the words reassured them. It was odd. They’d been forced into this master-servant relationship, and yet their loyalty only deepened. There was something about Woo Jin’s voice that made them want to believe whatever he said. It was calming, almost soothing. A bizarre sensation—but not an unpleasant one. “We trust only in you, Lord.” “Did you come to collect Dowoon?” “Yes. It’s time to make a man out of him.” “We leave him in your care, my Lord.” “Don’t worry. He’ll come back completely transformed.” As Woo Jin smiled faintly, both men shuddered. ‘May the heavens have mercy...’ They silently prayed for Shin Dowoon’s survival. **** “What the hell is this? How is any of this real?” For the past two days, reality had been nothing but a string of absurdities. Was he trapped in a nightmare he couldn’t wake from? There was no way this was real. He shook his head over and over, desperate to wake up—but the dream refused to end. “This isn’t real. It can’t be. It’s just a dream!” Just yesterday, his doting grandfather and stern father had completely changed. People didn’t transform like that overnight. It had to be a dream. Clinging to that belief, Shin Dowoon slapped himself and did anything he could to wake up. And then— “You know this isn’t a dream, right?” “Gah!” Yeon Woo Jin. The devil from his nightmare had followed him here. “D-Don’t come any closer! Stay away!” Flailing his arms wildly, Dowoon tried to drive him off. Thwack— “Gahurk!” Woo Jin flicked his forehead hard with a single finger. Dowoon dropped, clutching his head and rolling across the ground. “See? That hurts, doesn’t it? Which means this is reality.” But Dowoon refused to believe it. It had to be a dream. “You're tougher than I expected.” Thwack—! “Gyaaagh!” Crackle— Being struck again in the same spot felt like his skull splitting in half. “Still think this is a dream?” If he said yes... Through his blurred vision, he saw Woo Jin’s fingers curl again, ready to flick. “N-No! It’s real! It’s real! That pain proves it’s real!” One more hit and his skull would probably split open for real. He had so many things he still wanted to do. His forehead now stuck out like a horn. “This is nice. Efficient way to subdue someone without too much effort.” What kind of demon says something like that? “You belong to me now. Your clan agreed.” “W-What are you talking about?” “Exactly what it sounds like. Your family officially handed you over to me.” “T-That’s insane—” “Oh!” “Huh?” Thwack—! “Gyaaaagh!” Another brutal flick sent Dowoon tumbling in pain. As the agony faded, he looked up with a wounded expression. “What was that for this time?!” “Huh? Still haven’t come to your senses?” Woo Jin curled his fingers again. Dowoon panicked and tried to figure out what he’d done wrong. What the hell is it? What set him off? Shit! As Woo Jin stepped closer, Dowoon was frozen in terror. His body wouldn’t move. The finger neared his forehead again. He had to think fast. What did I do to piss him off? Wait... is it...? A realization hit Dowoon like a bolt. He cried out, “Se-Senior!” “Oho!” “I was wrong!” “Oho! Look at you. Quick on the uptake after all. What a shame.” What’s shameful about that? Dowoon looked up. Woo Jin actually looked disappointed. The hand that had nearly struck him again slowly lowered. Dowoon exhaled a sigh of relief. “Good. From now on, when you see your seniors, show them the same respect you’d show me.” He hated it. But he had no choice but to respond. “Yes, sir!” “Good.” “But... Senior, what do you mean by that? That my clan... gave me to you?” “It means they gave me permission to do whatever I want with you.” “What?” “Why? Hard to believe?” Would you believe it? “Huh? That face...” “W-What about my face?” “You just made a really disrespectful face. Like, ‘Would you believe that?’ or something.” Does this madman read thoughts, too? “Wait—does this madman read minds?!” “Ah?” “Oh? I just took a random guess, but I was right, wasn’t I?” “N-No, not at all!” “Watch that expression, too.” “Yes, sir!” As Dowoon bowed his head in submission, Woo Jin let out a quiet laugh and pulled something from his robes. Rustle— As he unfolded it, a document marked with the seal of the Shin Clan Patriarch came into view. “Here, look closely. It says Shin Dowoon is to be entrusted to Yeon Woo Jin for life.” For... life? N-No way. Dowoon stared in disbelief, reading the scroll again and again. It was unmistakably the Patriarch’s seal. And underneath it... His grandfather’s seal, too. There was only one meaning to that. Both his grandfather and father had signed off on it. Which meant— Woo Jin smiled at Dowoon. “Alright. Time to go.” “W-Where exactly...?” “You’ll see. It’s a nice place.” Nice place? It’s not the afterlife... is it? What if he said he wouldn’t go? “Why? You don’t want to?” Click click— Woo Jin snapped his fingers. “N-No... I’ll go.” “Not resisting anymore? You could try again.” He looked hopeful. Dowoon would never give him the satisfaction. Without a word, he followed behind. Woo Jin smiled. “Well, there’s plenty more fun waiting where we’re going.” Shiver— “Fun,” he says. What the hell does he mean by that? With the face of someone being led to slaughter, Dowoon followed after Woo Jin. **** “Senior is! The sky itself!” Up and down, over and over again—Shin Dowoon chanted as he trained. “Senior is the sky!” he shouted with robotic devotion. On his back, he carried a boulder nearly the size of his own body. “Huh? Slacking off?” “No sir!” “Yes, you are. You just slacked off. Start again. From the beginning.” You’ve gotta be shitting me. He wasn’t slacking. His legs had just buckled for a moment. It was unfair. Tears welled up in his eyes. “Oh? I thought I told you to keep your expressions in check?” “S-Sorry, sir!” “Dowoon, let’s do better, okay?” “Yes, sir! I’ll do better!” “Alright. Then start from the beginning.” “Senior is! The sky itself!” The other kids nearby clicked their tongues as they watched. “Phew... He’s seriously gotten on Woo Jin’s bad side.” “He wouldn’t be doing all this if he didn’t care, though.” “If that’s affection, two doses of it would kill a man.” “Hey, we all survived it. We went through the same thing, remember?” At Jang Woon’s words, everyone fell silent. It wasn’t that they didn’t remember. They just didn’t want to remember. “Think he knows? That what he’s doing now is the easiest part?” “No way.” “His cultivation’s high, and Woo Jin’s been keeping an eye on him. He’s not going to go easy. It’ll probably be worse than what we got.” “You think he’s the only one we should pity? Look over there.” Nearby, Dowoon’s old lackeys were climbing a cliff with boulders strapped to their backs. Yep, they’d all done this too. “Ugh. I still don’t know how we ever managed that.” “Stubbornness. All I remember is going at it like it was life or death.” “Though, yeah, it did make us stronger. If I’d known this was part of the training, I would’ve kept my head down and never acted up in the upper dorm.” “Same here.” “But the weirdest thing... Remember how we’d fall, but slow down mid-air and land gently?” “If you fell too often, you got a private session with Woo Jin.” “Ugh... I don’t even want to think about that.” “I still dream about it sometimes. He’d say it was all for our own good... and start channeling Reversed Muscular Flow...” “Stop. Don’t even go there.” Yeah. For those who fell too much, Woo Jin used Yugayeokgeunjin—the Reversed Muscular Flow technique. Inside it, the pain felt like your bones and flesh were being ripped apart. No one ever wanted to go through that again. That’s why they grit their teeth and endured the training afterward. “And now... they’re the ones going through it.” “Poor kids.” “Let’s be nice to them from now on.” “Yeah.” “Wait—someone’s falling!” All eyes turned to the cliff. One of the trainees was tumbling down. Even Dowoon, who’d been mindlessly repeating “Senior is the sky,” flinched at the sight. He thought, One of them’s done for. But the boy stopped midair, floating gently. The kids on the cliff jumped off one by one. Each one floated before hitting the ground. Dowoon stared in awe. Thwack—! “Guwaaaaah!” The burning pain in his forehead returned with a vengeance. “Who said you could rest? Get moving!”