Paradise.

It was a word that grated on my nerves, over and over.

“Paradise…”

I leaned back in the chair, recalling the conversation, my mind still restless.

Paradise.

A word that sounded beautiful, perfect even, but at this point, it didn’t sit well with me.

The problem lay in the fact that the one who had uttered it was none other than the Blood Demon.

‘He said he dreamed of paradise.’

Was it that he wanted to turn Zhongyuan into a paradise? Or that he intended to reach one?

I wasn’t entirely sure of the specifics, but it was clear that was his ultimate goal.

However—

‘The Myriad Realms is also called Paradise.’

If the place I was in now was referred to as paradise, could it have some connection to what the Blood Demon had spoken of?

And if so, what kind of connection could it possibly have? That was the part that kept nagging at me.

‘Especially his reaction to my mother.’

Hostility or perhaps wariness.

I hadn’t seen the Blood Demon many times, but he was always the type to watch situations unfold with amusement, regardless of what happened.

Yet the moment he saw my mother, he became sharply alert.

Mangye and the paradise the Blood Demon spoke of—there was undoubtedly a link between them.

The moment I felt certain of this—

Thud.

Something was placed on the table before me.

I looked at it, curious, and saw a teacup.

“Please drink.”

I turned my head at the sound of the voice. Naturally, it wasn’t human.

The speaker had black hair and beast-like ears.

He looked to be in his late twenties, but appearances clearly couldn’t be trusted here.

“And you are?”

I asked, and his brows furrowed.

“…I am Gubong, the first disciple.”

First disciple.

The phrase made me pull an odd expression without realizing it.

‘First disciple?’

It was the kind of term you’d expect in a martial sect.

No matter how I looked at it, it felt out of place here, but I didn’t let it show—or at least, I tried my best not to.

“I see. And this…?”

“It’s plum tea. The headmaster personally cultivated and prepared it.”

“…”

I couldn’t hide my expression this time.

‘Personally cultivated? That old man?’@@novelbin@@

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