← A Demonic Cult Elder, Disguised and Employed as a Righteous Sect LaborerHyeonmyeong stood on the sandy courtyard. The other disciples had already taken their places. There were three of them. All were older than Hyeonmyeong. One was a man in his early twenties, and two were girls in their late teens. They laughed when they saw Hyeonmyeong.
"Another new one."
The taller girl said. Her name was Jinan. Hyeonmyeong had learned this the previous night while skimming through Seoun's records.
Hyeonmyeong bowed his head. "Hello."
"We don't do that kind of formality here. We're family."
The man said. His name was Song Jun. He had a bright personality. It was the same in the novel. He was destined to die three years from now, caught up in a hidden power struggle at the orthodox sect's main headquarters.
Hyeonmyeong remained calm even knowing this fact.
"You need to learn cultivation. We'll start with the basics of sensing qi."
Seoun spoke from one end of the courtyard. He held a wooden stick like a bamboo rod in his hand. Isul stood beside him. A girl with sharp eyes and black hair tied in a single braid. Fourteen years old. This was Hyeonmyeong's first time seeing Isul in person.
In the original work, Isul played the role of suspecting Hyeonmyeong, a supporting character. And later, she surrendered to Kangho. She was the most important variable.
Isul looked at Hyeonmyeong.
That gaze was different from the other disciples'. It wasn't simple curiosity, but a measuring gaze. As if weighing something placed on a scale.
Hyeonmyeong avoided her eyes. Clumsily.
"Good. Then let's begin."
Seoun raised his hand.
The basic cultivation was simple. It was about concentrating consciousness on a point below the abdomen called the dantian (丹田), and gathering qi there. That was the first stage of qi sensing.
Hyeonmyeong closed his eyes. Like the other disciples.
But internally, he wanted to laugh.
When Hyeonmyeong was an elder of the demonic sect, he had already reached the stage of qi circulation in qi cultivation. Gathering qi in the dantian was like child's play. But now he was in a weak fifteen-year-old body.
The problem was the qi.
Hyeonmyeong sent his consciousness to the dantian. In an instant, something in his body responded. There was qi. Weak and scattered, but it definitely existed. It must have been the qi that the original owner of this body possessed.
Hyeonmyeong began to slowly gather it.
'I can't control it.'
A fine tremor appeared in his fingers. Hyeonmyeong immediately withdrew his consciousness.
"Good. That's enough."
Seoun said. The cultivation had lasted about ten minutes.
The disciples opened their eyes. Hyeonmyeong also slowly opened his eyes, pretending. Fatigue was evident on his face. There was none in reality, but he made it appear that way.
Isul looked at Hyeonmyeong.
"Your hands were trembling."
It was an observation. Not a question.
"Um... it's my first time."
Hyeonmyeong answered. As clumsily as possible.
"It's normal for your hands to tremble if it's your first time."
Jinan laughed and pushed Isul. "Why do you keep talking to the new kid?"
Isul didn't laugh. She just looked at Hyeonmyeong.
At that moment, Hyeonmyeong realized something.
This girl was not ordinary. She was far more perceptive than what he had read in the novel. Hyeonmyeong had shown slight signs of abnormality, and Isul had caught them. A simple structure.
'I need to be careful.'
Hyeonmyeong thought.
As afternoon came, Hyeonmyeong delved deeper into the daily life of the sect. Seoun kept him by his side and gave him various chores. Drawing water, chopping firewood, sweeping rooms, and helping with cooking.
Hyeonmyeong did everything naturally.
He pretended to struggle with his weak body, but in reality, all his movements were precise. The demonic sect elder had already transcended physical fatigue. Understanding the limits of a fifteen-year-old body wasn't difficult.
"This child is obedient, but..."
Seoun muttered. It was when Hyeonmyeong was cooking rice.
"Yes?"
Hyeonmyeong asked.
"Nothing. Just... I felt like you're somehow different."
Seoun smiled. It was a positive evaluation. And a dangerous one.
'A supporting character shouldn't stand out like this.'
Hyeonmyeong thought. He needed to make himself more transparent. He needed to become the background. It was best to let Seoun think of him as a weak child.
As evening came, Hyeonmyeong went out to the courtyard. The other disciples had already gone to their rooms, and Seoun said he had gone to talk with Elder Cheongmok.
Hyeonmyeong was alone in the courtyard.
Well, almost alone.
Isul appeared. She was holding a lantern. Hyeonmyeong felt it but didn't react first.
"What are you doing?"
Isul asked.
"Just... getting some air."
Hyeonmyeong answered.
Isul stood beside Hyeonmyeong. Still with that measuring expression.
"You're adapting fast for someone coming here for the first time."
"Am I?"
"Yeah. Jinan and Song Jun couldn't even eat properly for the first week. You're already answering Dad and doing chores naturally."
Isul said. Hyeonmyeong couldn't tell if it was praise or suspicion.
"I'm trying my best."
"But why did your hands tremble? Can't you sense qi?"
'Direct.'
Hyeonmyeong thought.
"Ah. That's just... because it's my first time."
"Trembling hands don't prevent qi sensing. It's about concentrating your mind. Trembling hands means your mind was shaken."
Isul said. It was an accurate observation.
Hyeonmyeong remained silent.
"Is there something worrying you?"
Isul asked.
At that moment, Hyeonmyeong looked directly at Isul. The girl was fourteen, but her eyes looked much older. It was a question as if an adult were looking at a child.
'Why did this child betray in the original work?'
Hyeonmyeong thought.
In the novel, Isul initially resisted Kangho. But eventually, she surrendered. It could have been because Kangho was stronger, or because her father Seoun was weak. Or there could have been another reason.
"There's nothing to worry about. It's just... unfamiliar because it's my first time."
Hyeonmyeong answered.
Isul laughed at that.
"Or maybe you came from the orthodox sect?"
At those words, Hyeonmyeong's breathing became steady. His expression didn't change. But internally, an alarm went off.
'She's asking so directly.'
"The orthodox sect? No."
Hyeonmyeong answered.
"Then where are you from?"
"From a village below the mountain."
It was a lie. Since coming to this world, Hyeonmyeong had never come from anywhere. But in Seoun's records, it was written that way. Hyeonmyeong had naturally inherited that lie.
Isul stopped laughing.
"But why would a child from a village have their mind shaken at the moment of sensing qi?"
It was a sharp question.
"I don't know."
Hyeonmyeong answered.
"Think about it until you figure it out. What your own heart is afraid of."
Isul said. And she turned around.
"And you... what's your name?"
"Hyeonmyeong."
"Hyeonmyeong hyung, do you know what Dad expects from you?"
Hyeonmyeong didn't answer.
"To take in a weak disciple and raise him. That's what looks good to the orthodox sect. Weak disciples are loyal."
Isul said.
"So you need to be weak. Not pretending to be weak, but actually weak. Dad can't tell the difference."
"But..."
Isul continued.
"I can."
With those words, Isul took her lantern and left. Hyeonmyeong was left in the courtyard.
The night deepened.
Hyeonmyeong sat at one end of the courtyard, looking at the path below the mountain. It was the path the inspector would come. But now Hyeonmyeong's mind was elsewhere.
Isul, a variable.
In the original work, she was just a supporting character who betrayed. But the real Isul he met was different. More sophisticated. More dangerous.
'This child could become a problem.'
Hyeonmyeong thought.
But at the same time, another thought came to him.
'Or... this child could be my only way out.'
Hyeonmyeong wiped away his smile. And he put his hands in his pockets and looked out at the night of the sect.