When Chun Ma returned to tranquility, he got out of bed and headed to Jong Hyun's office.
'He wants to know what went wrong.'
The young scion was sure of his guess. His father was the main reason why his true nature remained concealed. More than anyone else, the man needed to know if there were any changes in his condition.
'The problem is, I don't know what happened.'
Before Chun Ma passed out, he was meditating in his private dojo. Despite his status as the villain, he wasn't stupid. The boy understood it was necessary to conceal his evil Ki. For that reason, he spent an hour every day to stabilize his emotions. When he was upset, the dark, viscous energy would rise to the surface.
'…now that I think about it, I'm becoming surer of the reason.'
It was strange, but the moment he conjured his hypothesis, he knew it was correct. He didn't know why he was so certain, but the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. It was almost like he could feel a sensation of 'rightness' in his soul.
'I was Chun Ma since the very beginning! For some reason, I just couldn't remember my past life until now. When I was meditating, something unexplainable happened. The 'me' from before was finally able to merge with the current 'me'.'
The process of his merger was continuing, even know. He was like a computer having its software updated. The feeling was very strange and difficult to put into words.
When he arrived in front of his father's office, he heard a voice through the thin wooden door. He didn't even need to knock.
"Come in."
Chun Ma directly slid the door to one side before stepping into the room. When he was inside, he closed it behind him.
Jong Hyun was already staring at his son from underneath his dark, wiry eyebrows. His expression was as deathly as the grave and thin, blue veins could be seen underneath his skin.
"What happened?"
The youth could hear the severity in his voice. It was clear that the issue was something that strongly provoked the man's anxiety.
Without worrying about eavesdroppers, Chun Ma provided an answer. He knew his father wouldn't have dared to discuss something like this in his office if it wasn't secure.
"I'm not sure, but I don't think it's a big deal."
He knew that reply wouldn't satisfy the man, but he didn't know what else to say. He didn't want to lie to him.
Predictably, Jong Hyun wasn't happy. With a frown, he steepled his fingers underneath his bearded chin.
"Tell. Me. What. Happened."
His voice was quiet, but there was steel in it.
Chun Ma had to swallow an exasperated sigh. He understood why his father was so unsettled, but in this case, there wasn't anything for him to worry about. The boy just didn't know how he was going to convince him of that fact.
"Like I said, I'm not sure. I was meditating when I suddenly lost consciousness. You don't need to worry, because I feel completely fine."
He tried to convey his sincerity without sounding overly emotional. Chun Ma had an introverted personality, even when he interacted with his parents. Truthfully, he was a sociopath who didn't see humans as 'people'. He treated his parents well, but only because he saw their utility. At his core, he was a predator that thought of humans as food.
However, he wasn't conventionally 'evil', in the same way a man-eating lion wasn't evil. They were both simply acting according to their natural instincts.
'…although that argument wouldn't matter to the person getting eaten.'
While Chun Ma was thinking his own thoughts, Jong Hyun was likewise preoccupied. After a few moments had passed, he stood and walked over to his son. When he arrived in front of him, he took the boy's wrist and pinched it with his thumb and forefinger.
"I don't sense any abnormalities."
The sect leader seemed to be talking more to himself, judging by how he was stroking his moustache while staring at his son's arm.
Chun Ma decided to speak up.
"Honestly, I feel better than ever."
He was telling the truth. There was a sense of completeness inside his chest, signifying the merger's resolution. He realized that, up to this point, he'd always felt slightly 'off', like something was missing in his life. Now he'd finally found what it was – himself.
"I'm a bit hungry, though."
When he said that, Jong Hyun finally snapped out of his daze. He almost looked relieved, having been presented with a problem that he was capable of solving.
"Yes, you haven't eaten for three days. You're growing, as well. It would be strange if your appetite didn't increase."
He exhaled slowly and some of the tension seeped out of his posture.
"Let's go, then."
After he'd spoken, he walked over to an inconspicuous wall at the other side of his office. When he reached the scroll-rack standing against it, he extended a hand and removed the contents of one shelf. He stuck his other hand into the hole and triggered an invisible switch.
Suddenly, a section of the floor retracted, revealing a flight of stairs that descended into darkness.
Chun Ma wasn't surprised. The pavilion had many hidden hallways, prepared as a method of escape in case of invasion. It also led to a hidden basement, one only he, his father and his mother knew the existence of.
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The Yooguai watched over his father's shoulder as a section of the stone passageway vanished. Through the newly created opening, he saw a dark room. A chilly gust rushed out of the gap, causing the temperature in the narrow hallway to drop by a few degrees.
When both he and Jong Hyun had entered, there was a soft grinding sound. The stone door had shut behind them. After scuffling around in the dark, the sect master located a smokeless oil lantern and lit it.
The surroundings were illuminated, revealing countless opaque, glass containers. To Chun Ma, it was a familiar scene.
"Enjoy your meal."
After that statement, Jong Hyun took a three-legged stool and sat down with his face to the wall.
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Chun Ma silently stared at his back. Even after fifteen years, his father and mother were still extremely uncomfortable with his lust for human flesh. Neither of them were willing to watch him while he ate.
Not hesitating further, he turned and faced the countless beakers stacked inside the room. He knew what they contained – human blood, skinned and deboned limbs, organs and bone marrow.
He walked over to a collection of long cylinders, sealed at their ends by layers of wax paper. He picked one up and easily opened it with a long, black fingernail, like a shard of obsidian.
Inside the cylinder, a dark liquid, almost black in the dim lighting, slowly rippled. Chun Ma tilted his head back and poured the contents into his mouth.
When the blood hit his tongue, goosebumps spontaneously broke out all over his body. The thickness, combined with the salty taste almost drove him crazy. He inhaled deeply through his nostrils, trying to draw in as much of the wonderful aroma as possible.
When the beaker was empty, he immediately grabbed another one. He was like a man in the desert who stumbled across an oasis. Before long, the shelf had been restocked with cylinders, only without their contents.
However, he wasn't satisfied. He moved on to the next shelf and cracked open a square-shaped glass container. Inside it, countless hearts were stacked, from the bottom to the top. If someone looked at it in a hurry, it would almost resemble a jar filled with red apples.
He stuck his hand into the gap, lengthening his fingernails until they pierced the juicy, red meat. When he firmly held the flesh in one claw, he brought it to his mouth. His jaw opened widely, exposing two rows of wickedly sharp teeth. With relish, he bit down on it before enthusiastically chewing on the springy, muscled organ. Crimson fluid dripped down his chin and ran down his neck, but he didn't seem to notice.
Soon, the reason for Jong Hyun's avoidance became clear – the more Chun Ma ate, the more inhuman his appearance became. If someone were to watch him feast, they would have no choice but to conclude that he was an abomination, something that went against nature.
His face, cast in shadow, started changing. The most obvious difference was his eyes – the whites were infiltrated by a dark substance, like a drop of ink in a glass of water. As his meal continued, they darkened to crimson, so deep it was almost black. His brown irises started to glow, shifting in hue until they were shining with a burning, sulfurous color. His pupils narrowed into slits, like that of a reptile.
One claw plunged into the jar, searching for another morsel. Black veins bulged on the back of a pale palm, running down a sinewy wrist until they disappeared beneath a red-stained sleeve. Underneath the thin cloth, the limb bulged as countless muscles sprouted and grew, like writhing snakes. It wasn't large, not even the size of an adult human male, yet it contained an unholy strength that defied all common sense.
When the jar was emptied, the demon reached for another, eager to continue its feast. A beaker was pried open, this one being filled with human lungs, folded and packed tightly like the intestines inside an abdominal cavity. To it, the airy, porous organs were light and delicious, like strawberry sponge cake.
The single lantern started to dim as a shadow suddenly covered the room – the thing that had once been Chun Ma underwent another change. Its hair lengthened until it was long enough to touch the ground. However, before that happened, the thin strands of black silk started floating, like they were underwater. Now and then, the hair would jolt and stiffen, like an electric current was running through it, but then it would return to its usual lazily-drifting state.
After half an hour of voracious eating, its meal was finally concluded. The demon drew in a deep, long breath, savoring the scent of blood in the air. When it exhaled, the changes receded one after the other until Chun Ma was standing there once more. When he turned around to face Jong Hyun's back, he discovered that his father had turned around at some point!
In an instant, the disgust and fear on the sect master's face vanished, but it was too slow to escape Chun Ma's sight. The youth smiled at his father, pretending like he hadn't seen anything.
"I'm done. We can go back now."
While he delivered that statement, he ran a finger across his chin before popping it into his mouth. The only problem was his sleeves and the hem of his robe – it was stained red. If it wasn't for that, nothing would've looked out of place.
For a long moment, Jong Hyun didn't say anything. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet and slightly hoarse.
"You must've been hungry."
Chun Ma had eaten far more than his usual fare. Normally, he would've stopped after a few pieces of meat, washed down with a single vial, but today was different. Whenever his son deviated from his normal behavior, the Mount Hua sect master couldn't help but feel unsettled. Not for the first time, he agonized over his decision to spare the boy. Ultimately, it was his wife who'd refused to end the child's life – when he'd suggested the unthinkable, all those years ago, she had gone berserk.
In an instant, he felt like he'd aged ten years. He knew it was far too late for him to be having second thoughts, but he couldn't help it.
Still smiling, Chun Ma nodded.
"I was. I didn't even realize it until I started eating."
The youth leasurely stretched his arms above his head. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that he felt like a million dollars. After he'd finished eating, he realized that the faint irritability and anxiety at the back of his mind had completely vanished.
Jong Hyun eyed his son warily. He was a lot more upbeat and talkative than usual, but rather than making him feel at ease, it only disturbed him further.
"…well, let's be on our way then. Your mother should've woken up by now."
After he'd unsealed the basement, the two of them left, with Chun Ma trailing behind his father.
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