The Heavenly Demon sat at the highest point of the Jade Hall, waiting.
The Heavenly Demon's duty before the representatives and the family was clear, to stay and protect.
But.
Not all of the family was here.
The Heavenly Demon's heart was outside the Jade Hall, outside the Heavenly Demon's palace, and outside Tai'an.
The highest power in Murim was currently worried.
The Second Steward was still sitting on the ground beside the beggar, the cloth that had been over his head had fallen, and the people around were whispering and pointing at him.
"Honorable Steward, are you aware?"
"Damn beggar, can't you see? Dongfang Dubai and the Second Guard are also in front of the gate, and they're going to come this way too, can we be any more conspicuous than this?"
The beggar laughed briefly: "Well, it seems it can't get more complicated than this."
Why not...
The crowd, as if feeling a cold blade in their sides and throats, moved aside and cleared a path.
The Four-Armed Demons assumed attack stances, and from the mist after the drizzle, that silver-haired and blood-stained woman walked through the direct path toward the entrance gate.
The Second Steward's and the beggar's mouths hung open in astonishment, and the First and Second Guards looked with surprise at something that was beyond explanation:
The young master, sleeping in Namgung's arms with her hair wrapped around him like a blanket, and Namgung, bearing the marks of battle on her body, was dragging something on the ground.
A maidservant was being dragged on the ground, her leg so broken that it looked more like a rope than a leg.
Dongfang Dubai stepped forward: "Lady Namgung, what happened? Are you coming from Lady Dung-i's villa?"
Namgung, as if holding back her tears: "I didn't dare go toward the villa, I'm sorry."
The Second Guard ran toward the exit of Tai'an without a word, and a few other guards who seemed to understand the situation followed him.
The Second Steward stood up while the beggar's eyes and mouth were still open and went inside the palace.
In the Outer Palace, all the servants and guards were looking with astonishment at the moving scene, the First Guard and Namgung and a child and a servant being dragged along, and the Second Steward walking at a distance behind them.
They continued the path to the Inner Palace and the door of the Jade Hall, no other destination was conceivable.
The guards quickly opened the door without needing any order.
Darkness and cold radiated into the Jade Hall, and Kang Long's gaze seemed to have fallen on a cold and endless horizon.
"The ceremony is over."
And the Heavenly Demon descended from his throne and disappeared before the eyes of those present.
No.
To be precise: the eyes of those present could not follow him.
Lan and Zhan recognized this tension and the smell of blood.
Zhan: "What do you think happened?"
Lan: "It's raining and there might be a storm, mother looks worried."
The Fourth Lady had never seen Geon-ma, but she recognized him.
Why should he be here in Namgung's arms? And where is Dung-i?
The Second Steward went to the First Steward and whispered a few words in his ear.
The First Steward returned to the Heavenly Demon's platform: "The ceremony is over, everyone except those who must remain, leave the Jade Hall, the guards will escort you."
A broken servant on the ground, and a bloody Dongfang Dubai, alongside a woman who was clearly from the Namgung clan, no one dared to ask, and they obediently left the hall.
---
The Heavenly Demon ran and ran until he reached the villa, and in front of the entrance, the Second Guard stood with ashamed eyes looking at the road.
The Second Guard was waiting for the Heavenly Demon.
Guards whose bodies were full of arrows, and a villa with a deathly silence.
Kang Long's steps grew slower and slower.
There was no longer any danger to rush for.
Only the disaster awaited discovery.
Slow steps, and a man hoping for fate's mercy.
Those few soldiers had arranged themselves along the path to the kitchen so that the Heavenly Demon would not need to speak.
But the Heavenly Demon recognized the smell of blood and needed no guide, yet he hoped the smell of blood was not for...
The mother's eyes were facing the door.
Directly facing Kang Long.
Full of regret.
Dung-i's eyes were open when she died, and she was following Geon-ma until the end.
Kang Long could see much better than others, he was the Heavenly Demon, heir to the blood of dozens of dragons and generations of hard training.
But.
Kang Long did not want to see anymore.
Clarity was the last thing he wanted when seeing something that claws at your heart.
He slowly approached and held Dung-i in his arms.
The Heavenly Demon's legs trembled, and he tried to gently fall to his knees.
No.
The Heavenly Demon's legs did not tremble.
The Heavenly Demon's knees did not bend.
It was Kang Long's knees that bent.
Kang Long held the greatest regret of his life in his arms, and with each moment, he drew closer to the ground.