So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 46: Medical Ward (1)

BOOM!!!!

A massive explosion erupted as Il-mok’s sword clashed with Jang Hwi’s spear.

The three onlookers shared similar expressions of shock. They were all astonished because they knew how long Il-mok had been learning martial arts.

But after the initial shock, each face revealed a different emotion.

‘Damn it…’

Jang Hwi, who had been aiming for a killing blow, felt frustration. Having witnessed Il-mok’s incredible talent, his failure to eliminate him would now haunt him even more.

Meanwhile, concern shadowed both Jin Hayeon and Kwan Mu-yeol’s faces.

“Cough…”

Il-mok had managed to block the incoming spear, but the difference in skill was undeniable. He was pushed back about ten paces before coughing up blood.

“Young master!”

“Damn it…”

After spitting blood, Il-mok cursed with an expression of wounded pride.

‘Being able to manifest sword qi in half a year would be enough to call him a genius.’

‘Is his pride hurt because he nearly died?’

As Kwan Mu-yeol and Jin Hayeon were each lost in their thoughts…

“My realm… has risen again…”

Il-mok muttered with a wronged expression, then collapsed to the ground.

“…”

“…”

Amidst the strange silence, the trio—engaged in their fierce battle moments ago—stared in bewilderment at the fallen Il-mok.

***

‘A familiar ceiling.’

That was my first thought upon opening my eyes.

But it wasn’t Windrock Palace where I usually slept.

It was a place I had stayed once before—the medical ward’s ceiling.

“Are you feeling better, Young Master?”

Right on timing, Jin Hayeon’s voice reached my ears.

Turning my head, I saw Jin Hayeon looking down at me with her usual stoic expression, bandages wrapped around various parts of her body.

Master was also beside her.

“Five attacks in just half a year, three brushes with death, and two stays in the medical ward—what a busy life you have.”

I couldn’t help but smile bitterly at Master’s words.

From Eldest Brother’s rampage, to the crazed Branch Leader of Kuqa County, the bandit attack, the recent assassin, and now Jang Hwi—my days had been nothing if not eventful. But my bitter smile wasn’t because of that.

‘The old man conveniently left out what he did.’

The very first attack I faced, and the most dangerous moment of all, was undoubtedly when Master held a sword to my throat and threatened me to become his disciple.

In fact, all these troubles began from that moment, and moreover…

‘Honestly, compared to Master’s aura that day, the rest feel like nothing…’

He was the main culprit who unnecessarily inflated my courage.

“Still, I’m glad your achievements are progressing rapidly because of it. People naturally grow stronger through adversity, so don’t worry too much.”

“…Yes, Master.”

Did he develop a sixth sense after I cursed him so much?

But there was a more important matter at hand.

‘Right. My level has risen…’

The thought made my whole body itching for some actions.

To be honest, I couldn’t exactly remember how I had created sword qi. Only a vague sense of that feeling remained.

Which meant…

—I need to recapture that feeling right now!

—Grab a sword quickly!

—This is my only chance!

My obsessive-compulsive tendencies were flaring up.

While fiercely battling with some voice in my head, Master’s voice brought me back to reality.

“Though I’d like to order you to rest until you’ve fully recovered, there’s an urgent matter to handle first. Let’s take care of that and then you can rest.”

“An urgent matter, Master?”

“I’ve heard the full situation from Wan-pyeong and Hayeon. Wan-pyeong has completed all preparations, you should finish what you have started.”

“Ah…”

Only then did I recall what had happened before I fainted.

With Jin Hayeon’s support, I got up and followed Master out of the medical ward.

Outside, the sky was still dark.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Perhaps less than two hours, Young Master.”

After exchanging a brief conversation with Jin Hayeon, we soon arrived at the kitchen.

The place responsible for Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s foods and drinks.

However, the atmosphere was unusual.

‘Wow… it’s like a scene from a historical drama.’

Torches illuminated the center of the facility, and dozens of warriors maintained vigilant guard around the area, exuding a solemn presence.

In the center, several men and women knelt like criminals.

The scene resembled an interrogation straight out of a historical drama.

Master walked through this grim spectacle, sat down in the prepared seat at the head position, and commanded.

“Begin.”

I expected an interrogation to start, but what followed was unexpected.

Two of the kneeling individuals—a man and a woman—stood up and suddenly began brewing tea and preparing refreshments.

“Il-mok, watch carefully the ingredients and tea those people are handling.”

Understanding the situation, I approached them with Jin Hayeon’s support and began examining the ingredients they were using.

As I observed the process of preparing the refreshments, one thought dominated my mind:

‘Well… I fucked up.’

I don’t know if it’s because my head isn’t working properly as my injuries haven’t healed yet, but honestly, I couldn’t discern anything unusual.

To my eyes, they were just using ordinary ingredients to make ordinary snacks and brew ordinary tea.

‘Should I just pin the blame on someone? Or should I honestly say I don’t know?’

Yes, considering Jang Hwi’s sudden attack and everything else, something suspicious was definitely going on.

Maybe if I just made something up, it would work?

While I was pondering this, the refreshment table was fully prepared.

“How is it?”

When Master’s question reached my ears, I felt as if eons were passing.

After countless deliberations, I made my decision.

“I didn’t notice anything unusual.”

I couldn’t risk causing trouble with false accusations.

Upon hearing my answer, Master made a strange expression and looked at Third Brother, who had been waiting beside him.

“Taste it.”

“Yes, Master.”

Third Brother gave me a glance before approaching the prepared refreshment table.

“First, the appearance is similar to what was served that day, Master.”

After saying this, he took a bite of the refreshment and then lifted a teacup to sip the tea.

“…The taste and aroma are different from what we had that day, Master.”

I inwardly sighed with relief at Third Brother’s words. It seemed I had made the right choice by being honest.

Master’s face darkened in anger.

“How dare you mock me now?”

The two who had prepared the food prostrated themselves, crying out,

“We’re innocent!”

“We prepared it exactly as we did that day! The taste of food can differ depending on one’s mood. Third Young Master perceives it differently because you suspect us!”

Killing intent surged from his body upon hearing their defense.

“You dare treat me like a fool in front of Master? The refreshments and tea today look and taste similar to that day, but something is missing. That day, the sweetness and flavor were much stronger, and the tea was likewise much more bitter and intense.”

His words triggered a memory.

‘Come to think of it, even coffee or carbonated drinks can be dangerous for sensitive people if they drink too much. Could it be that they didn’t use anything special, but instead made the tea much stronger to enhance its effect?’

It was possible, but that alone seemed insufficient.

‘Senior Brother said something was missing from the taste of the snacks too, so there must be more to it.’

While I was contemplating whether to interject, the two accused were still proclaiming their innocence against Third Brother’s accusations.

Suddenly, several men emerged from the darkness.

One of them had a face familiar to me.

‘Master’s personal guard.’

The man who had driven the carriage when Master first abducted me. The leader of Master’s elite guards and the Pavilion Lord of the Shadowless Pavilion.

They each presented something they had retrieved.

“These are the items we found after thoroughly searching the kitchen and the quarters where they stay.”

Master nodded at the  Pavilion Lord’s report and then instructed me,

“Come and examine these.”

As I approached Master with Jin Hayeon’s support, a thought crossed my mind.

‘Master is meticulous.’

He had quickly gathered the suspects to prevent them from destroying evidence, then had his direct subordinates collect evidence.

As I reached them, I began examining the various items they presented.

Most were unfamiliar to me, but there was one thing I recognized among them.

‘Wow. I can’t believe this actually exists in this era.’

Dark brown, bean-like objects with a sweet yet bitter aroma—coffee beans.

***

Like most Korean office workers drowning in work, government employees also enjoyed coffee during morning commutes or after lunch.

I often drank coffee with fellow officials in my department, and Lee Ji Yeon was no exception.

But from a certain day, she stopped drinking coffee.

—”I’ll buy the coffee today.”

—”Jihoon, I’d like chamomile tea instead of coffee, please.”

—”Hmm? Now that I think about it, you haven’t been drinking coffee lately, Ji-yeon?”

—”Ah, yes… it doesn’t suit my taste anymore.”

It seemed strange that someone who had been drinking coffee just fine for months would suddenly claim it didn’t suit her taste.

And that afternoon, I learned the reason from her colleague, Kim Changwan.

—”I think the stress from dealing with civilians’ complaints was too much. She recently went to a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with depression and panic disorder.”

It was quite shocking news, and I felt sorry for her, but I was also puzzled.

—”But what does coffee have to do with depression?”

—”I’m not entirely sure, but apparently drinking coffee when you have severe depression can cause heart palpitations and increased anxiety. It can also make you feel like you’re about to have a panic attack.”

—”I see…”

After hearing that story, I vaguely remembered searching the internet out of curiosity about the side effects of caffeine and foods that worsen depression.

Of course, since I didn’t have depression at the time, I just looked it up once and moved on. The details were hazy in my memory.

Also, there was no guarantee that those people had actually fed coffee to Senior Brother. I didn’t even know if coffee existed in this era.

So I was worried something I didn’t recognize might appear, but as luck would have it, coffee was exactly what they had used.

It was absurd in many ways, but now there was a more pressing matter.

“Third Brother, was the missing taste and aroma similar to this?”

I held out the coffee beans to Third Brother. He sniffed it and then popped a bean into his mouth.

“Yes! This is the missing taste and aroma!”

At his exclamation, I turned to Master.

“Master, this is originally an ingredient used to make a type of drink by pouring boiling water over it. This drink enhances mental acuity and improves concentration, but it also has side effects such as insomnia, heightened anxiety, and potentially worsening feelings of depression.”

“Is that what you learned from the innkeeper?”

“Yes, Master.”

I apologized mentally to the late Uncle Taehyun, since I couldn’t reveal my past life memories, I had to improvise.

Satisfied with my explanation, Master nodded and issued orders.

“Imprison them immediately and interrogate them to find out who’s behind this. Also, investigate all their past activities to find anyone involved, and determine the source of those evil beans.”

“As you command!”

As the assembled individuals bowed their heads in obedience, the accused cried out in indignation,

“This is slander, Heavenly Demon!”

“Third Young Master! I’ve served you for over ten years—how could you do this to me? And didn’t I also eat the same refreshments that night?! This is unjust!”

“Didn’t you hear him? It amplifies depression! It may be medicine for healthy people, but it was revealed to be poison for me! How dare you wag your tongues!”

But the enraged Third Brother wasn’t fooled by their act.

After watching them being dragged away for a while…

‘So, is my job done now?’

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, further interrogations and investigations would be needed to reveal who was behind this, but that wasn’t my responsibility. I didn’t particularly have talents for such things anyway.

And above all, I had no time for such things right now.

“Master.”

Right now, I had something more urgent than anything else.

“Speak.”

With Master’s permission, I answered in a rather serious tone.

“Then, I shall return to Windrock Palace for training.”

Since waking up, my mind had been constantly replaying the memory of creating sword qi.

I wanted to swing a sword right away, and this bizarre interrogation was driving me mad.

But Master frowned as if he couldn’t understand my words.

“Training?”

“Yes. I must immediately internalize the insights I gained…”

Before I could finish my explanation…

Darkness consumed my vision.

***

Thud.

“Young Master?”

Jin Hayeon, who had been supporting Il-mok, murmured with a puzzled tone as he suddenly lost consciousness mid-sentence.

What jolted her from her confusion was the voice of the Heavenly Demon, who was like a god to her.

“I pressed his pressure point.”

Now she understood that the Heavenly Demon had knocked out his youngest disciple.

“Having overwhelming talent comes with its own problems. To suffer such side effects…”

The Heavenly Demon examined the unconscious Il-mok with a sympathetic expression, then instructed Jin Hayeon.

“Until the injuries he sustained today are fully healed, wake him only for meals, and force him back to sleep after he finishes eating. His body could be damaged by excessive training.”

Supporting Il-mok, Jin Hayeon responded to the Heavenly Demon’s command.

“I will follow your orders.”

For the time being, Il-mok wouldn’t be troubled by insomnia.