Reincarnator’s Stream

Chapter 205

In the darkened prison cell.

Un Hyang stared at Cheon Ryang, who was unconscious and bound by chains.

It felt as if her heart had been torn out and thrown to the ground. Seeing Cheon Ryang in that state, she felt as though night had descended upon her fate.

“…Release him.”

“I didn’t quite catch that.”

“I said, release him right now!”

*Crack.*

*Creak.*

As Un Hyang’s fury rose, the nearby warriors flinched.

Among them, only Pung Garyang, who was closest to Un Hyang, blocked her path.

“This is as far as you go.”

“Step aside.”

“I can’t let you go any further.”

Pung Garyang’s determined stance showed he would not back down.

“That’s an order.”

“…..”

Un Hyang bit her lip and looked past Pung Garyang at Cheon Ryang.

Given that he still hadn’t regained consciousness amidst all the commotion, he seemed in a dire state.

Her head grew hotter and hotter. She felt an overwhelming urge to sweep away all the warriors, including Pung Garyang, and rescue Cheon Ryang immediately.

Suddenly, just as Un Hyang was about to move her foot, “It’s best not to do that.”

A hand appeared on her shoulder.

The man who had suddenly appeared seemed to consume all of Un Hyang’s energy that was filling the prison.

When she turned to look at the man’s face holding her shoulder, her brows furrowed.

“Baek Lidan….”

“I’m the Vice Lord.”

With silvery hair and a tiger-like visage, the man, Baek Lidan, the Vice Lord of the Divine Dragon Group, understood Un Hyang’s intentions.

“If you cause a commotion here, you’ll kill that man. You know that, right?”

Un Hyang bit down hard on her lips.

Even Pung Garyang, a high-ranker who’s reached a formidable rank, was someone she couldn’t easily overcome. The other warriors were either rankers themselves or very close to it, and all were quite powerful.

It wasn’t an easy task to defeat them and rescue Cheon Ryang. To make matters worse, if Baek Lidan joined the fray, the fight wouldn’t even be fair.

‘If only there weren’t so many witnesses….’

Momentary conflict.

But soon, Un Hyang shook her head.

“Alright. I’ll hold off.”

“Follow me.”

Baek Lidan released her shoulder and turned around.

Un Hyang hesitated for a moment, watching his back before following him.

After climbing the stairs of the underground prison, they arrived at the Lord’s chamber — a place she least wanted to return to.

Baek Lidan dismissed the warriors of the Divine Dragon Group and Pung Garyang, who had followed them.

“I have something to discuss. Leave us.”

“Understood.”

Once all the onlookers were gone, only Baek Lidan and Un Hyang remained in the Lord’s chamber. She felt an odd sensation being alone with him.

She had anticipated facing Un Cheon-guk upon her return here.

“…Where is Father?”

Rather than feeling reassured by Un Cheon-guk’s empty seat, she grew more anxious.

Using Cheon Ryang to bring her here at such a crucial time, and yet he was missing.

It meant he had other schemes or that something equally important was going on.

Just as she feared, “The Lord is meeting the Heavenly Demon.”

Un Hyang’s eyes widened at Baek Lidan’s words.

“Meeting the… Heavenly Demon?”

“Are you that surprised?”

Her heart sank suddenly.

“It’s a secret that should never be revealed.”

“What do you….”

“You think I don’t know?”

What in the world…

Baek Lidan murmured coldly, staring at Un Hyang.

“You’re not the young miss; you’re the daughter of that demon!”

* * *

The peak of the Ten Thousand Mountains, covered with snow.

Un Cheon-guk arrived there with a drink in hand, where the bloodstains had not yet faded.

The cold wind of the mountain range cut across his face. Across from him, the Heavenly Demon, Jin Hwaryung, looked at his face reflected in his glass and spoke.

“You played a trick.”

Un Cheon-guk silently drank his liquor. Watching his calm face, Jin Hwaryung asked, “Do you regret it?”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I’m talking about Hwang Gyuseong.”

There should have been a reaction, but Un Cheon-guk still had a face that knew nothing.

“The price for borrowing Murim’s hand was cooperating to kill me.”

“Was that so?”

“What did the Divine Dragon Group receive?”

“It received points. A massive amount, at that. Paying the wages for the ones below was no simple task.”

*Thud.*

Un Cheon-guk put his glass down and immediately knelt before Jin Hwaryung.

“Regardless of the reason, I apologize for my actions causing trouble. If you wish, I will gladly offer my life.”

“Very well.”

For the first time, Un Cheon-guk’s shoulders trembled slightly.

It was a tiny tremor that would have been invisible to an ordinary person. But in front of the Heavenly Demon, even the smallest things held meaning.

The cold air of the snow-capped mountains filled his lungs for the length of time it took Jin Hwaryung to speak again.

“It was a joke.”

The subtle trembling of Un Cheon-guk ceased as if it were a lie.

“Still, be careful. I may be fine, but others may not be.”

“Yes.”

“There won’t be a next time.”

“…….”

Un Cheon-guk nodded and stood up from his place.

After he sat back down across from him, Jin Hwaryung looked down at the mountain range covered by clouds and said,

“They should have returned by now.”

“Are you speaking of Un Hyang?”

“Weren’t you planning to bring her back?”

Not long ago, Jin Hwaryung saw Un Cheon-guk looking at Un Hyang.

“It seems you miss your daughter a lot.”

“I need her.”

“For me? Or for you?”

“For both.”

Un Hyang.

She was the link between Jin Hwaryung and the Divine Dragon Group. Their relationship began on the very day Un Hyang was born.

“It’s settled if you need her.”

Jin Hwaryung, who had been fiddling with the glass, handed the bottle forward.

Familiar with the act, Un Cheon-guk held out his glass to receive the drink, while Jin Hwaryung, as always, applied pressure with a calm voice.

“Remember this.”

*Rumble.*

The falling drink felt heavy. It was like a mighty waterfall gathering at a single point and dropping all at once into the small glass.

“No one else should know about that child’s true identity besides you and me.”

“…Yes.”

Nodding with difficulty, Un Cheon-guk received and drank the liquor.

The drink he brought himself tasted incredibly bitter, as if it were poison.

* * *

It felt as if her entire body was being sucked into the crimson abyss.

The magnificent scenery of the Lord’s chamber did not enter her eyes; everywhere looked like a hell filled with blood and darkness.

Her heart pounded as if all the secrets of her life had been exposed.

Everyone has at least one secret they’d never want anyone to find out.

Scandalous incidents, deep and ugly thoughts they’d rather not reveal to others, inherent traits and circumstances they cannot overcome with effort or ability…

The secret that had just come out of Baek Lidan’s mouth was precisely all of those things.

What did I just hear? Did I hear it wrong?

Although she tried to deny it in his mind, it was too clear to be a mistake.

Heavenly Demon. Daughter.

What further explanation was needed?

“It was true.”

It was true… Repeating the same words, Baek Lidan soon burst into maniacal laughter.

“Uh-ha, haha, uh-hahahaha!”

Laughing heartily, he stood up and began to pace around the Lord’s Hall.

His excitement seemed uncontainable, and despite his erratic behavior, Un Hyang remained frozen, unable to do anything.

*Step, step.*

After a frantic walk, Baek Lidan approached Un Hyang.

The shadow of his large frame covered her completely.

“Once I take over the Lord’s position, I planned to take you as well… but it looks like I’ll need to change my approach.”

Take over the Lordship.

The shocking realization snapped her back to clarity. Baek Lidan had been eyeing the Lord’s seat ever since his long tenure as the Vice Lord of the Divine Dragon Group.

Un Hyang glared at Baek Lidan with fierce eyes.

“Do you think you can take down my father?”

No matter how skilled Baek Lidan was, he was no match for Un Cheon-guk.

“It would have been difficult, indeed, if it weren’t for you.”

“Even with me, you don’t stand a chance.”

“… Really?”

He smirked mischievously, like a snake.

He took a step closer, scrutinizing her face slowly.

“Keeping this secret until now shows that you and Heavenly Demon are clearly the Lord’s weaknesses. This also makes it his weakness.”

“Rubbish. Who’s whose daughter…?”

“If you’re so confident, why don’t you go out and announce it now? Tell them all that you’re the Heavenly Demon’s daughter?”

“……”

“See? You don’t want it revealed, do you? That you’re the spawn of that demon.”

Her body stiffened.

Baek Lidan’s words jabbed mercilessly at the old wounds Un Hyang had long feared.

“Your friends who risked their lives to find you, the orphans you grew up with, your cherished coworkers, even that streamer you adore so much.”

Faces flickered in her mind.

From Cheon Ryang to her old friends she’d lost contact with, and finally, to Lee Suhyuk.

“How do you think they would react if they knew you were the demon’s daughter?”

Those faces all turned to her with looks of disgust.

Her throat parched, lips dry, as if she hadn’t sipped water in days.

Un Hyang had long dreamt a terrible dream.

A nightmare where her loved ones despised her. It had kept her from sleeping for many nights.

Now, hearing it from another’s mouth, this fear, which should have remained a nightmare, crept into reality.

“I know. The Lord is using those fools and your friends to control you. Isn’t it scary? Seeing your friends die because of you.”

Baek Lidan circled Un Hyang.

Each word he uttered ripped open deeper wounds. She couldn’t muster a response or even resist.

“I can do even worse.”

“… Worse?”

“Don’t believe me? If you don’t, I’ll wake your friend up right now, reveal your identity, and tear him apart. Others will get the same treatment. They’ll hate you, and they will die because of you.”

Un Hyang stood at a crossroads.

“If you don’t want that, help me. Kill the man you call father.”

“Kill my father…”

“He isn’t your real father, anyway. Only a man you’ve always despised.”

*Clench.*

A hand the size of a cauldron lid grabbed her face.

She couldn’t summon the will to shake off the rude, repugnant hand as she normally would.

Baek Lidan pulled her face closer with greedy, sticky eyes. He whispered in her ear with a small voice.

“Remember this, you bitch. From now on, until the day you die, you are mine. Your body, your mind, even your soul. All of it.”

With that, Un Hyang finally felt the reality of returning to the hell known as the Divine Dragon Group.

Un Hyang closed her eyes. And in the darkness, a scene came to mind.

“Are you still hiring?”

The dream had begun that day.

After barely escaping hell, she experienced a dream that couldn’t last forever.

“Really? This is all I have to do?”

“Yes. Monitor streams, find decent streamers, and connect them.”

“Connect…you mean kidnap them?”

“… Aren’t you here to relax?”

So, even such a world existed.

A world without broken limbs, bleeding, or terrifying threats.

Adaptation was quick. It’s always easier to get used to comfort than to hardship.

She was happy, even if briefly.

Doing what she loved with friends and streamers she adored brought immense joy.

It felt unreal, so much so that it seemed like a fantasy.

Gradually, Un Hyang opened her eyes again. She found Baek Lidan’s face grinning wickedly in her line of sight.

Yes. She was happy for a moment, but now it was time to accept it.

That place was a dream.

Her reality was here and now.