Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – When I Opened My Eyes Again

How long was I floating above the world?

Following a sensation akin to being sucked into somewhere, my eyes snapped open.

“—you understand? What you must do on the day the Clan Head arrives?”

Bzzzzzzz—

A sharp ringing echoed in my ears.

On top of that, my hearing began to resonate, as if dozens of bees were swarming around me.

“You must remain calm, always calm. Remember your place. Show respect to the Clan Head when addressed, but always know your position and bow your head accordingly. Afterward, you are not to leave the White Pavilion, your residence, under any circumstances—”

As I struggled to regain consciousness, the sounds around me gradually separated.

The blurry world regained its clarity and colors.

A sharp-eyed woman glared at me (or rather, at the body I seemed to have possessed).

She held a bloodstained whip in one hand.

‘Wait, blood?’

Had I been scolded? But… what could someone possibly have done so wrong as to be beaten until the whip was soaked in blood?

It wasn’t a scenario I had anticipated, and an involuntary, dry laugh escaped my lips.

Fortunately, contrary to my fears, the Primordial God’s Fate Reversal looked to have succeeded without issue.

It was just that the new life I found myself in was as miserable as my previous one.

The Primordial God’s Fate Reversal can only be performed on a body that had recently died or was near death.

The technique works by replacing the position of the original soul, which meant the body I had descended into… had a dead owner.

No matter how much one might have despised the previous owner of the body, beating a person to the brink of death was another matter entirely.

Even a lowly servant wouldn’t be treated that way.

Unless, of course… was the original owner some unforgivable criminal? That would certainly be troublesome.

With that concern in mind, I quickly sifted through the body’s remaining memories.

The result, however, was far from what I had expected—biologically, the body was merely 17 that year, a child.

The woman in front of me was the child’s stepmother.

Looking down at my arms, I saw white skin covered in red welts and bruises.

Unlike the richly adorned woman in her elegant silk robes, my own clothes were filthy and reeking, suggesting they hadn’t been washed in ages.

It wasn’t hard to guess how the child had been treated.

‘What the hell…? Seriously.’

Even though I had lived among the scum of the unorthodox path, the sight of such people always filled me with disgust.

“Auntie…” I said.

“…What?” the voice, rattling off incessantly to itself, suddenly halted.

Like a broken toy, the woman froze. In her rigid pupils, she saw the unfamiliar child (who, by the way, I liked because he was handsome enough to rival me in my previous life) wearing a cold smile.

“Your breath stinks. Could you get out of my face?”

“…!!” Her face flushed bright red. It was immensely satisfying to watch.

* * *

“Don’t even think about leaving until you understand what you’ve done wrong!”

Bang!

I found myself confined in some unknown building.

“All of you, don’t you dare give that kid any food or water! If you get caught sneaking him anything out of pity, like last time, you’ll find yourselves locked in a chest and thrown into the well! Is that clear?”

‘Did this lady swallow a bugle?’ Her voice could shatter mountains.

Unlike me, laughing quietly, the maids trembled and meekly answered with weak voices. It seemed it wasn’t the first time such a thing happened.

“What on earth were you thinking, Young Master? You, of all people, should know the Lady’s temper better than anyone! Because of you, we’ll all suffer!” The steward, who’d been dragged there with me, let out a heavy sigh.

He cast a contemptuous, reproachful glare at me…

I couldn’t help but laugh. It was all simply too absurd.

Come to think of it, the fellow had been obediently following that woman’s commands.

“What are you looking at?” he asked me.

“Why? Can’t I just look?” I replied.

I hadn’t yet fully read the lingering memories, but understanding my situation wasn’t particularly difficult.

I had at least heard of the place during my time as the Junior Lord of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

‘The Nine Dragons Division of the Tang Clan.’

It was also known as the ‘Nine Dragons Branch Family’ and was a branch family operated by the Sichuan Tang Clan, who were famed for their poisons and assassination weapons.

The Nine Dragon Division was located in Jiulong County, an important travel point with a waterway that connected them to various regions: the Potala Palace of Tibet and the Kunlun School of Qinghai Province in the west; the Heavenly Dragon Monastery, the Diancang Sect, and Five Poisons Sect of Yunnan province in the south.

It was even listed in the strategic report drafted by the cult, identified as a key area to occupy in case of war with the Wulin(Martial Realm) of the Central Plains. Naturally, I remembered it.

Unsurprisingly, the Tang Clan had to keep a close eye on the area to maintain their hegemony.

Thanks to that, the acting head of the Tang Clan, Dark Sovereign Tang Moon-hyuk, had entrusted the protection of Jiulong County to Tang Ho-san, his right-hand man who had fought alongside him across Sichuan during their youth.

Tang Ho-san, also known as the ‘Wild Wind Rampager’, established the branch along with some members of his Wild Wind Brigade, which he led. That was the beginning of the Nine Dragons Branch Family.

Tang Ho-san was a hero of great renown in the martial realm, a figure instrumental in defeating the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei School of the Nine Sects, resulting in the Tang Clan’s dominance over Sichuan.

The number of cult members who had lost their lives to his hidden weapons wasn’t small. There was even a report saying he had to be eliminated…

I had reincarnated as his son?

The body I inhabited, ‘Tang Woon-hwi’, was the illegitimate child of Tang Ho-san, born to a maid after a drunken one-night stand.

In other words, a bastard child.

Tang Ho-san had taken in Tang Woon-hwi out of a sense of responsibility, but he never truly treated him as a son.

The only martial art passed down to him was nothing more than the basic Tang Clan Ki Cultivation Technique, typically taught to outsiders.

With such a status, it was only natural for the other household members to neglect Tang Woon-hwi, especially the matron, Namgung San-yeong (that old auntie from earlier). She went out of her way to find faults in him and even resorted to beating him.

“……”

As much as I would have liked to protest against the random reincarnation, I couldn’t deny that my luck had led me to such a sorry state.

That was why I had always avoided gambling, be it dice or shell games… Ahhh!

Father, Mother, family situation—it felt like I could challenge my past life to a contest over who had it worse.

The only silver lining was a half-sister who occasionally showed kindness to Tang Woon-hwi, though she wasn’t at the branch at that moment.

“Stop babbling nonsense and tell me, how do you plan to handle this? What are you going to do about this mess?!” To make matters worse, even the steward, my supposed servant, showed no sympathy for the pitiable boy. Instead, he berated me for daring to resist.

It reminded me of the neighborhood kids who used to pick fights with me during my younger days.

Back then, after becoming my master’s disciple… how had I dealt with them again?

Step, step—

“…?”

As I silently approached, the steward stared blankly, as if asking what I intended to do. His gaze remained filled with contempt.

Smack!

Without a moment’s hesitation, I struck him across the cheek.

“Young Master…?” The steward clutched his reddened cheek, staring at me in disbelief.

“Clench your teeth,” I warned.

“What are you—?”

“I told you to clench your teeth.”

Smack!

His head turned the other way.

“If you keep this up, I won’t—” he tried to protest.

Smack!

“If the Lady finds out—”

Smack!

“P-please stop!”

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

I mercilessly slapped him, alternating sides, holding him by the nape when he tried to bow his head to escape.

My hand ached as though it might fall off, but… well, I wasn’t one to suffer without striking back.

If punched, I would return the favor by throwing a big rock. That had always been the way of ‘Yeon Woon-hwi’.

Later, as the disciple of the proud Divine Sword Heavenly Demon, I threw those who tormented me behind bars. Once I became the cult’s junior lord, I further condemned those tormentors to hard labor in the mines.

Master once chastised me, asking if I really needed to go that far. He said a future cult leader should be magnanimous, capable of forgiving the wrongs of his followers.

But me? Then and now, my thoughts remained unchanged. Master, I respected your teachings, but I couldn’t compromise on such matters.

A head for an eye; the full set for a tooth. If I didn’t pay back someone tenfold, I always ended up being targeted again.

SMAAAACK!

“P-p-please spare me, Y-Young Master…!” The steward, swollen like a steamed bun, clung to my leg.

A few of his teeth had been knocked loose, making him look like a fool.

“Why should I?”

“I overstepped my place! Please, have mercy—”

“So why should I spare someone who doesn’t even know their place?”

“Th-that’s—!”

A proper threat should strike true terror. It needed to push the target to the brink, to where they believed they might truly die.

Only then would my voice resonate in the depths of their soul.

Sizzle—

Suddenly, violet light flared from my pupils like an ominous fire.

The Violet Mystic Eye was a spell to shake the opponent’s spirit, leaving an unshakable imprint of my presence.

It was a technique I often used to subdue my followers as the Junior Heavenly Demon.

The steward likely saw me as a ghost in human guise at that moment.

Tremble, tremble, tremble…

The steward shook like a tree in the wind, his pallid face froze in terror. He couldn’t even look directly into my eyes.

“Hyeong-sam, you were chosen as my personal steward because of your mother’s friendship with the Lady. You were plucked from a life destined to end as a lowly servant. Instead of gratitude, this is how you behave?”

“I… I will never act insolently again! Please, have mercy!”

Even though the Nine Dragons Division was a branch family of the Tang Clan, it still bore the Tang name.

The Sichuan Tang Clan was renowned for having some of the most stringent rules in the martial realm, and that strictness extended to the branch family.

Insubordination was a capital offense. Even disrespecting a superior could result in crippling punishment and exile.

Exile wasn’t the end of it. Who would dare employ someone cast out by the Tang Clan?

In the lands of Sichuan, the Tang name carried overwhelming weight.

Watching Hyeong-sam grovel in sheer terror, I finally felt he was ready to truly listen.

“From now on, you’ll do everything I say, won’t you?”

Hyeong-sam nodded fervently, his head bobbling like it might fall off his shoulders.

* * *

‘The Young Master! The Young Master has changed!’ As soon as Hyeong-sam left the White Pavilion, he started running with his feet pounding the ground as if someone was chasing him.

“I’ll give you exactly two hours. Within that time, bring me every single item I ordered. If you fail… well, figure out what happens yourself.”

The flickering gaze had burned like Will-o’-the-Wisps, and the voice had chilled him to his core like the Northern Sea.

The image of Woon-hwi etched into his mind was completely unlike the weak and fragile boy he had known before.

Whether it was a side that had been hidden all along or if the Lady’s abuse had built up and finally exploded, Hyeong-sam couldn’t tell.

His only concern was that Woon-hwi’s terrifying wrath could very well turn on him.

Because of that, he completely forgot the Namgung San-yeong’s strict instructions: “If the second young master does anything suspicious or acts strangely, report it to me immediately.”

‘I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die…! If I fail to do what he asked, I’ll be devoured alive!’ Hyeong-sam was certain of what he saw—behind Woon-hwi had been the looming face of a massive demon. Its jagged, toothy maw seemed ready to snap shut and devour him at any moment.

Of course, it was surely an illusion, but once fear like that sunk in, it was impossible to shake off.

He was only given two hours.

To complete everything within that time, Hyeong-sam had no choice but to move as quickly as possible.

* * *

“Ugh. Using dark arts without proper mystic power leaves my head throbbing.” After sending Hyeong-sam on his errand, I collapsed onto the bedding, rubbing my temples with my fingers.

The mystic arts I learned in my past life relied on the Mind Gate, or the Upper Dantian, but using such an advanced spell like the Violet Mystic Eye in a body devoid of proper martial training came with significant backlash.

Still, in a place like that, where I had no allies, I needed at least one slave I could completely control.

Hyeong-sam would likely never defy me again. The fear I’d imprinted on him ran deep, cemented by the spell-induced hallucination of my supposed demonic visage.

“Now then, time to take a closer look.”

When the pounding headache eased, I straightened my posture, sitting cross-legged with my back upright. It was time to fully inspect my new body.

If my guess was correct, there was one advantage the body held over the crippled one I’d possessed in my previous life.

Focusing inward, I directed my awareness to the spot just below the navel.

There, slightly to the right, was something I immediately recognized.

I had a dantian.