Frail Young Master Properly Raises a Heavenly Demon Prologue

Prologue

To define Murong Yeon, one could put it this way.

A genius with unparalleled beauty. Yet, born with the Taeeum Jeolmaek, a condition that made it impossible for him to learn martial arts, he developed an inferiority complex and took out his frustration on the members of his household, becoming a villain.

He was the mastermind who framed the protagonist, destroyed his dantian, and got him expelled from the sect. He was destined to meet the most gruesome end at the hands of the protagonist, who would later return as the Heavenly Demon (天魔).

In other words, he was nothing more than a supporting character in a male-oriented martial arts novel, necessary for the protagonist’s satisfying revenge.

“Damn it…… The problem is that I became that villain!”

He clutched his head and screamed, but the face reflected in the mirror before him was unmistakably Murong Yeon’s.

Skin as white as snow, devoid of a trace of color. Blue lips. Long, upturned eyes.

The very picture of a sickly beauty.

And then there was the system window floating before him.

**《Hello, Author!

You have successfully connected to the world of the novel Heavenly Demon, Peerless Under Heaven.

From now on, diligently complete your quests and create a high-quality ending that will satisfy the readers.

※ Warning: Every choice you make is directly connected to your fate.》**

“Haa……”

Heavenly Demon, Peerless Under Heaven was the male-oriented martial arts novel that had made him a huge success.

The story of a man who became the Heavenly Demon and slaughtered all manner of human scum and villains, whether they belonged to the orthodox or unorthodox factions. Its exhilarating battles and fast-paced plot had made it enormously popular.

It had also earned him plenty of abuse in the comments and online communities.

There are so many holes in the logic.

The villains are too one-dimensional.

Does the author even intend to pay off all those foreshadowing threads?

And so on.

But who cared?

For an entire year, his novel had never once fallen from first place on the serialization site.

He had made more money than he had ever dreamed of seeing in his lifetime.

He had even received an overwhelming outpouring of readers begging him to hurry up and release the next chapter.

“It’s not fair…… It’s so damn unfair!”

What good did any of that do?

He had died before he could even spend all the money he’d earned!

And now, on top of that, he’d ended up as the villain who was destined to be brutally tormented by the protagonist?

No.

Even that would have been fine.

There was something far more outrageous.

“What was wrong with my novel?!”

If the readers enjoyed it, wasn’t that enough?

To hell with a high-quality ending!

“Hah…… hah……”

He had only gotten worked up for a brief moment, but his sickly body immediately reacted.

His breathing became labored as though he’d just gone running. His fingertips turned cold as ice, and his vision grew hazy.

Unable to withstand the dizziness rising inside him, he moved his arm to press a hand against his forehead.

Something caught his elbow.

Crash!

A sharp shattering sound rang throughout the room.

“Master! A-Are you all right?”

A maid’s frantic voice came from outside the door.

“I’m fine. Don’t make such a fuss.”

His trembling voice, like a blade of grass soaked by rain, made it obvious that he was anything but fine.

Even so, the maid didn’t dare enter.

“Yes, Young Master.”

After hearing her obedient response, he sighed and looked down at the floor.

Just how viciously must I have treated them for her to obey that quickly?

The mirror he’d just used to see his face lay shattered into pieces.

It was obviously expensive, and he felt guilty about breaking it, but figuring out his current situation took priority.

“What point in time is this?”

Silk curtains. Mother-of-pearl furniture. The scent of medicinal herbs drifting from an incense burner. Empty medicine bowls.

Everything perfectly conveyed the setting of a sickly young master living in luxury.

But that was all he could determine.

From his reflection in the mirror, he could tell that he appeared to be in his late teens or so.

I can’t figure out the date.

Searching through the bookshelves and opening the wardrobe proved equally useless.

He was just about to turn around, intending to go outside and ask someone, when—

“Hm.”

A shadow fell across the threshold, followed by a quiet clearing of the throat.

“Yeon, may I come in?”

There were only two people in the Murong Family who could address him so familiarly.

One was Murong Yeon’s mother.

The other was his maternal uncle, who had once served as his master.

Once his thoughts reached that point, the possibilities narrowed immediately.

“Yes, Mother. Please come in.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than she opened the door and entered.

Her cool gaze and restrained movements, the fitted martial outfit hugging her body, and the long sword hanging from her waist all marked her as a martial artist.

“Your complexion is terribly pale. Have you taken your medicine?”

Just as she asked the question in a seemingly indifferent yet affectionate voice, another system window appeared before his eyes.

《Favorability with Murong Seoran, Head of the Murong Family, has been updated.

— Current Favorability: 52/100

※ Warning: Please ensure that favorability does not drop too rapidly. A penalty will automatically be imposed.》

Favorability? A penalty? What’s that supposed to mean?

《Favorability is a numerical representation of how much trust and affection the other person has toward you. Penalties are assigned randomly. Details will be provided when they occur.》

What a completely useless courtesy.

If he couldn’t find out what the penalty was until it actually happened, he might as well ignore it for now.

At the moment, he had to worry about Murong Seoran, who was concerned about him.

“I just took it.”

He answered obediently while secretly studying Murong Seoran.

She was a beautiful woman with a cold aura, immediately recognizable as Murong Yeon’s mother at first glance.

She was somewhat slender, but the firm presence forged through years of martial arts training was unmistakable in her physique.

In her youth, she had traveled the martial world, performing acts of chivalry.

At the age of thirty, she became pregnant with Murong Yeon and returned to the Murong Family.

Because the identity of the child’s father was never revealed, she was subjected to malicious gossip and disapproving looks from society.

Yet she had given birth to and raised the child alone.

Even then, Murong Seoran had already been a master at the Transcendent Peak realm.

She had never neglected her training, soon reaching the Transformation Realm, and was now respected as the head of the Murong Family.

“How are you feeling?”

Her simple question carried both strength and tenderness.

The original Murong Yeon had never recognized it.

“Much better. More importantly, please don’t stand there. Come sit here.”

“All right. Don’t push yourself. Take care of your body first…… Sit?”

Murong Seoran, who had been speaking gently, suddenly widened her eyes.

Murong Yeon had been born with the Taeeum Jeolmaek, a cruel condition that made him incapable of practicing martial arts.

His hands and feet were always cold, and his heart beat slowly.

Running was out of the question; even walking was difficult.

Even sitting was exhausting, so he spent most of his life lying down.

The room was kept warm all year round, yet he constantly suffered from the cold and was almost perpetually afflicted with chills and colds.

No matter how you look at it, I can’t forgive someone who blames their own mother for their weak body.

The most foolish people in the world were those who blamed others for their own misfortune.

What could they possibly gain from doing that?

As a result, when Murong Yeon was framed by a scheme orchestrated by one of the protagonist’s subordinates, he received neither Murong Seoran’s nor the Murong Family’s active protection.

Worse, because he had distanced himself from them, when his life later hung by a thread, he had no one to turn to for help.

Thinking about what Murong Seoran must have felt when she eventually discovered that she had unknowingly driven her own son to the brink of death……

I feel a little guilty.

“Yes. I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

“No, no. You’ve only just gotten up, so you should rest. The tea can wait…… Yes, after your body has recovered a little.”

Her expression remained calm, but her eyes shimmered with quiet emotion.

Murong Seoran was originally a martial artist of noble character and unwavering will, much like her name suggested.

But apparently, even she couldn’t help being emotionally affected when it came to her son.

I’m sorry……

I made your son into such a character.

I’ll do my best from now on, as though I’ve truly repented.

He nodded while saying things he couldn’t honestly confess to her.

Actually, his body felt even heavier than before.

Damn this body.

If he was going to transmigrate into his own novel, couldn’t they at least have made him a master born with peerless martial arts talent?!

The only reason he could pretend to be fine right now was entirely because of his own formidable mental strength.

Perhaps sensing his suppressed frustration, Murong Seoran soon spoke as though she were about to leave.

“Actually, I was just about to go out. I heard a new disciple is coming, so I was going to take a look. Now, you should lie back down.”

“A new disciple?”

“Oh, I mentioned it before, didn’t I? Your maternal uncle happened to discover a child with exceptional aptitude at the market.”

A market.

A child with exceptional aptitude.

Something clicked in his mind.

“……Could I meet him too?”

Rest wasn’t the issue.

He needed to confirm whether the person he was thinking of was actually the one.

“You’re still feeling weak. Are you sure you can manage?”

“If anything, walking around a little should help me recover.”

Murong Seoran fell silent for a moment, considering his request.

Then, at last, she nodded.

“All right. Then let’s do that.”