Frail Young Master Properly Raises a Heavenly Demon C4

Chapter 4

“I don’t see that beggar bastard in the dormitory.”

“Maybe he couldn’t stand being hungry and went somewhere to beg for food.”

“Or maybe he finally realized what he was and got the hell out of here.”

The dining hall was filled with the snickering voices of the newly admitted disciples who had gathered for breakfast after their dawn training. The boys who had been reprimanded by Murong Yeon the previous day were especially loud.

A disciple of the Murong Family began his day at the beginning of the Myo hour. They would stretch and warm up around sunrise, eat breakfast, and then begin their proper training.

However, the boys had deliberately refrained from telling Wi Hyeokrin when to wake up and secretly left the dormitory on their own. Wi Hyeokrin, realizing something was wrong only later, tried to follow them, but by then the door had already been locked.

It was all retaliation for what had happened the previous day.

They had gone back to check what sort of state Wi Hyeokrin had been left in, only to discover that he had disappeared.

“I feel so much better!”

“Exactly. How dare someone like him try to enter the Murong Family? Right, Muryang?”

Jo Muryang, who had quickly become the center of the group by handing out snacks and gifts to the other disciples as soon as he entered the dormitory, shrugged his shoulders.

“Well…… I’m not sure what we should tell the seniors if they come looking for him.”

“He ran away himself. Who’s going to blame us?”

The boy who had grabbed Wi Hyeokrin by the collar snorted.

“I think…… we should at least pretend to look for him.”

Gongsun Yu, who had been quietly listening, timidly joined the conversation.

Jo Muryang’s eyes gleamed.

“Of course we should. As his fellow disciple, it’s only right that we step forward.”

Several boys exchanged glances.

Their sinister eyes carried the same thought.

This is our chance to get Wi Hyeokrin kicked out of the Murong Family for good.

Having united behind the idea, the disciples left the dining hall.

But they had to stop when they overheard a maid talking to a senior disciple in the courtyard.

“Master Murong took that boy named Rin to serve as his attendant?”

“Yes. Young Master said that the boy would be staying at Baekungak from now on, so I was told to inform everyone accordingly.”

The maid was none other than the one who had been ordered by Murong Yeon to guide Wi Hyeokrin to his quarters.

The boys exchanged puzzled glances.

Only Jo Muryang’s eyes burned with jealousy and fury.

That bastard! He wormed his way up to Young Master Murong and became his attendant!

He hadn’t liked that bastard from the very beginning.

How arrogant had he been, despite being nothing more than a beggar who had survived on the streets, to hold his head high and stare at people like that?

And on top of that, after entering the Murong Family, he had snatched away all the attention that should rightfully have been directed toward him.

I’ll never let him get away with this!

Jo Muryang clenched his teeth.

Thud.

Murong Yeon tossed the book he had been holding onto the floor.

More precisely, he dropped it right at Wi Hyeokrin’s feet.

“My attendant doesn’t even know how to read. How embarrassing……”

“You! From now on, you’ll study for one hour every day. Keep that in mind.”

With that, he turned sharply and sat down at the writing desk.

Until then, Wi Hyeokrin was still standing there blankly, apparently unable to comprehend what he had just heard.

“Why are you still standing there?!”

At Murong Yeon’s sharp urging, Wi Hyeokrin picked up the book from the floor and hesitantly approached him.

“Are you saying that you’ll teach me?”

“Yes. I shall personally cure you of your illiteracy, so sit down.”

Despite the cold reply, Wi Hyeokrin’s eyes sparkled.

Then Murong Yeon was left utterly baffled by what he did next.

“What are you doing?”

Wi Hyeokrin had suddenly knelt down on the floor.

“……What?”

He even looked as though he genuinely didn’t understand what he had done wrong.

Murong Yeon let out an exasperated breath.

“I told you to sit on that chair.”

Anyone seeing this would think he was some heartless young master forcing a child to kneel on the floor!

“Don’t you dare show me such a filthy sight in front of my eyes!”

Murong Yeon snapped irritably.

Wi Hyeokrin cautiously got to his feet, glancing around as though checking Murong Yeon’s mood, and perched only the edge of his backside on the chair.

That was irritating to look at too, but Murong Yeon decided not to interfere anymore.

This is good enough. I’m maintaining the character consistency while getting what I want.

“Open the book.”

Murong Yeon maintained his cold attitude as he patiently taught Wi Hyeokrin for an hour.

Beginning with how to read basic characters and moving on to explaining their meanings, he went through everything carefully.

Wi Hyeokrin furiously took down everything he was taught.

Whenever Murong Yeon pointed out a mistake, the boy immediately corrected it on the spot, displaying remarkable intelligence.

After a week passed, he could memorize most ordinary words without making mistakes and read through most passages without stumbling.

Murong Yeon was inwardly astonished by his terrifying rate of growth.

As expected, the protagonist really is different!

From that day onward, Murong Yeon began taking Wi Hyeokrin with him in earnest.

On the surface, Wi Hyeokrin was merely an attendant serving his master.

In reality, it was no different from having a private tutor.

Whenever they visited Mangyeongheon, Murong Yeon would deliberately stop in front of the shelves containing martial arts manuals and books on weapons.

He would casually point out various books, make Wi Hyeokrin read their titles, and instruct him to skim through their contents.

“I never know when I might order you to bring me one of these books, so familiarize yourself with them so you won’t get confused.”

He never failed to provide such an excuse.

The same thing happened in the medicinal herb storage.

He would point out specific herbs, teach Wi Hyeokrin their names and effects, and train him to identify them not merely by sight but also by smell and even by the sensation at his fingertips.

Whenever Wi Hyeokrin completed a task successfully, Murong Yeon would casually move on to the next one.

If he made even a single mistake, however, Murong Yeon would coldly order him to start again from the beginning.

It was his tearful effort to raise the protagonist while maintaining the character consistency of a difficult and demanding young master.

Wi Hyeokrin was exceptionally capable in practical matters as well.

In less than a month, he had completely mastered the household affairs of Baekungak. From running errands for books to organizing medicinal herbs, he handled everything flawlessly.

But there was something else that pleased Murong Yeon more than anything.

《Main Story Progress》

《- Story Plausibility: 7/100》

《- Character Arc Development: 9/100》

《- Plot Thread Resolution: 0/100》

《- Satisfaction Index: 2/100》

《※Warning: Every choice is directly connected to your future and contributes to stabilizing the world.》

《Current Favorability with Wi Hyeokrin》

《- Current Favorability: 30/100》

《※Warning: Be careful not to let the favorability drop too rapidly. A penalty will be automatically imposed.》

At this rate, I’ll fill up Wi Hyeokrin’s favorability in no time.

Although it wasn’t increasing by ten points at a time, the numbers were steadily accumulating.

If nothing major went wrong, he could aim for over 70 within half a year.

Aside from the plot threads that remained unresolved, the other figures had also changed little by little.

Murong Yeon sat upright and took a sip of steaming medicinal tea before summoning the system.

“The reason the story plausibility and character arc development increased is because I behaved like Murong Yeon while keeping Wi Hyeokrin by my side, right?”

《Correct. By maintaining the consistency of the character while portraying the relationship in a convincing manner, you have contributed to stabilizing the story.》

To put the system’s explanation into simpler terms, Murong Yeon could increase both character development and story plausibility by helping Wi Hyeokrin while continuing to act cold and difficult.

“Hmm…… Then what’s the satisfaction index?”

《It is a numerical representation of how well Murong Yeon performs the original character, maximizing the reactions of surrounding characters and the immersion of the story to evoke interest and empathy.》

And apparently, even the reactions of the people around him affected the system’s metrics!

“This is more complicated than writing a novel!”

Murong Yeon put a hand to his forehead and groaned.

He felt as though his head had grown hot from excessive thinking.

“Young Master? Are you all right?”

At the sudden voice, Murong Yeon abruptly raised his head.

Wi Hyeokrin was standing by the doorway, watching his complexion.

“Ah…… I’m fine.”

Murong Yeon had told him to stay nearby as though he were neither there nor not there, and Wi Hyeokrin had followed that instruction to the letter.

He had been so quiet that Murong Yeon had completely forgotten about his presence after he had brought in the medicinal tea earlier.

That wasn’t a skill he had acquired simply from becoming an attendant.

“You may leave now.”

Wi Hyeokrin had lost his mother at a young age and wandered the streets, where he had needed to learn how to stay alert to his surroundings and hold his breath in order to survive.

Thinking about how that had become ingrained as a habit left a bitter taste in Murong Yeon’s mouth.

Such a miserable past was something that, for the sake of a fast-paced story, had only been mentioned in a line or two in the original novel.

But now that he could see it unfolding right in front of him, how could he not be affected by it?

“Understood.”

The moment Murong Yeon gave the order, Wi Hyeokrin quietly closed the door.

Murong Yeon watched his retreating figure before straightening his posture.

“It’s about time I teach him an internal cultivation technique and begin his martial arts training as well.”

Until now, he had focused on teaching Wi Hyeokrin how to read.

But now it was time to begin proper cultivation.

However, he couldn’t send him back to the Western Dormitory.

He’d just get bullied and end up saddled with all sorts of miscellaneous chores.

He had been the one who gleefully wrote the protagonist’s hardships, thinking that the greater the suffering, the greater the catharsis later on.

But he couldn’t do that anymore.

But it’s not as though I can teach him martial arts when I can’t even practice martial arts myself.

Even though Murong Yeon’s head was filled with martial arts theories from the Murong Family and various other sects……

Knock. Knock.

As he savored his medicinal tea, he heard a knock at the door.

“Young Master, the Chief has arrived.”

Murong Yeon’s willow-leaf-shaped brows rose at the unexpected visitor.

The “Chief” referred to Murong Gwak, the head of the Jinseongdae (鎭星隊), the family’s elite force responsible for its security.

“Why is my uncle here?”

That was unexpected.

Normally, Murong Gwak would contact him a day or two in advance to ask whether he was available.

“Show him in.”