SYM 127

After Jeong-hyeon’s death, dealing with the remnants of the Hongbaek Sect was swift. Some cultists resisted fiercely, but their abilities were insufficient.

However, what was harder to suppress than the Hongbaek Sect was the fire. Even after using all the fire extinguishing water in the jars, the flames showed no sign of abating.

“Everyone, fall back!”

“His Highness orders everyone to stop fighting the fire and retreat!”

The servants who were fetching water from the nearby stream stopped in their tracks upon hearing the order.

Eun-hyeon was being carried by Cheong-un, leaving the Third Prince’s residence.

Worried about Cheong-un’s injuries, Eun-hyeon insisted on walking or receiving Amhon’s help, but Cheong-un wouldn’t listen.

In truth, Eun-hyeon was in no condition to walk, so he leaned his head against Cheong-un’s shoulder.

Cheong-un had erected a thick Qi barrier around Eun-hyeon, so he couldn’t feel the heat, but the acrid smoke was unavoidable.

“Cough.”

“Is it difficult to breathe? I’ll increase my speed to get us out of here.”

Cheong-un looked at Eun-hyeon with concern as he covered his nose with his sleeve and coughed.

“No, cough. There’s no need. I’m fine…”

Despite Eun-hyeon’s words that he was fine, Cheong-un’s movements became even faster than before.

It was when they had moved some distance away from the Prince’s residence.

“Ah, the flames…”

With a cracking sound, one of the buildings in the Prince’s residence collapsed.

Seeing the once grand and splendid Prince’s residence burning down to ashes gave him a strange feeling.

“It seems they intend to burn it all down.”

“For the entire grand residence to burn…”

“Fortunately, there are no other residences near the Prince’s residence. Although they have to completely abandon the residence, it’s actually the most rational approach. It also minimizes casualties.”

Cheong-un had just finished speaking when a voice rang out.

“I appreciate you understanding my intentions. It pains me to abandon the residence as well.”

“…Third Prince.”

Eun-hyeon and Cheong-un turned around to see the Third Prince standing with his guards.

The Third Prince looked exhausted, as if he had had a long night.

“Greetings are unnecessary. Today’s events are largely my fault. I will compensate for this later.”

As Eun-hyeon was about to greet the Prince, the Third Prince sighed and waved his hand. Cheong-un nodded once at the Third Prince’s apology.

It was true that the Third Prince was to blame for how things had gone awry today. He had provided incorrect information and failed to protect Eun-hyeon properly.

However, Eun-hyeon, unaware of the full story, was taken aback by Cheong-un’s arrogant nod. He subtly tugged at Cheong-un’s sleeve, but Cheong-un pretended not to notice.

“What happened to him?”

At the Third Prince’s question, Cheong-un nodded lightly. Then, Amhon, who was behind him, came forward and presented a wooden box to the Third Prince.

The Third Prince immediately recognized what was inside the wooden box.

“Ah, you took care of everything. I won’t forget this. I’ll convey everything to Father as it is.”

“Just don’t forget the promise you made earlier, Your Highness. You can handle the rest.”

It meant that there was no need to tell the Emperor every little detail about this incident. However, the Third Prince shook his head.

If he took all the credit for this incident, he might receive praise from his father, but it would be the same as handing Cheong-un the leash to his neck.

“Your merits are entirely yours. Father will reward you accordingly. Separately from that, I will offer a separate reward for the events that occurred due to my fault. As you can see, I’m a bit out of it right now.”

The Third Prince said, pointing to his residence, which was now completely burned down and the flames were dying out.

“Then we should rest, so we’ll be going now.”

“Do you have a place to go? If not, I can offer you one of my villas. It’s near Xiangshan, though.”

“Thank you, but I’ll decline. We have accommodations booked nearby. Where will Your Highness be staying? Where can I contact you?”

“I will be going to the Imperial Palace. If you have no means of contacting the Imperial Palace, I will send someone.”

It was difficult to exchange messages with the Imperial Palace unless one had acquaintances within. In other words, the Third Prince was testing whether Cheong-un had influence within the Imperial Palace. Then, Cheong-un smiled at the Third Prince.

“I will contact the Imperial Palace.”

“Very well. I’ll await your contact.”

“Then, we’ll take our leave first. Farewell.”

With those words, Cheong-un leaped into the air.

Watching Cheong-un lightly fly over the rooftops, the Third Prince chuckled.

* * *

Cheong-un headed to the Demonic Sect’s secret branch recently established in Beijing.

Having noticed that something unusual was happening in Beijing, he had quickly prepared the branch, and the Demon Physician and other members of the Demonic Sect were already waiting.

“Demon Physician, what is his condition?”

“…I am sorry.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize. Just tell me the condition as it is.”

Even at Cheong-un’s words, the Demon Physician couldn’t open his mouth easily.

Cheong-un bit his lip as he looked at Eun-hyeon, who was lying on the bed with a pale complexion.

Eun-hyeon had lost consciousness again on the way here.

While carrying Eun-hyeon, Cheong-un had constantly poured his Qi into him. But it was like pouring water into a broken jar, to no avail. No matter how much Qi he poured in, it all scattered and didn’t remain in his body.

“Haa, Heavenly Demon. To be honest, I don’t know what to say. His body is already weak, and even his Innate True Qi has been damaged.”

“So? What can be done? If he takes an Elixir? I’ll have them bring the Shaolin Great Elixir Pill if necessary.”

“It won’t work now. He’s in a state where he can’t even absorb it…”

“Then what should I do, Demon Physician?”

He had already half-guessed the truth as he watched Eun-hyeon, who couldn’t receive his Qi.

At Cheong-un’s words, the Demon Physician made a troubled face and shook his head.

He had never seen a body in such a mess before. What good would it do to give him good Qi or an Elixir if he couldn’t receive it?

“…First, you should treat your own body, Heavenly Demon. After all, his body is not something that can be healed in a short amount of time.”

“I’m fine.”

“I know very well that you can heal perfectly without my help. But wouldn’t it help his treatment if you recover quickly?”

The Demon Physician had been watching Cheong-un for a long time and knew him well. Cheong-un eventually revealed the wound he had been hiding under his clothes.

The Demon Physician was surprised that the wound was larger than he had expected, but he tried not to show it.

“Demon Physician, so what should I do?”

The Demon Physician sewed up Cheong-un’s wound with sterilized thread and a needle before raising his head.

Cheong-un wasn’t talking about his own condition. He still didn’t care about that.

“…To put it in perspective, that body is already a broken and shattered porcelain.”

The Demon Physician continued, wrapping a bandage over the wound after neatly stitching up the Heavenly Demon’s injury.

“Until now, we’ve been forcibly piecing together the broken porcelain to maintain its condition, but this incident has caused the broken parts to crack and fall off again.”

“Then we can just put it back together. I’ve heard that there’s a way to repair broken porcelain.”

The Demon Physician sighed as he heard the answer that was no different from what he had expected.

“If you put it that way, I should say that the body has already been broken and reassembled several times. Moreover, some pieces are now missing.”

“…What does that mean?”

“It means that his Innate True Qi is damaged. The Innate True Qi he was born with was already terribly weak, and now it’s been damaged… That’s why even if you put in good Elixirs, they slip right out.”

“Then can’t we just put something in to replace the Innate True Qi?”

At Cheong-un’s words, the Demon Physician shook his head.

“Innate True Qi is a Qi that one is born with, like one’s destiny assigned by the heavens. What can you replace it with? It might be possible, but even if you put in someone else’s Innate True Qi, it’s uncertain whether it will fill the broken pieces.”

“…I understand. Demon Physician, you may return and rest.”

The Demon Physician bowed deeply towards Cheong-un.