Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 102

 

 

A small village between Wuhan and Akju, Yakhyeon.

Jeokju, who had earnestly rowed across the river, said he would bring Yacho and asked them to wait at the inn before hurriedly disappearing.

It was understandable.

How much hardship must they have endured while hiding as rebel forces?

It was more than understandable.

Above all, meeting Yacho was something Zhuge Munhyeon also desired.

Though he was burning with desire to search Dongho Lake immediately, it was better to have many people to use than to search alone.

He planned to use them to search Dongho Lake as a celebration for accepting Yacho.

It would be good for them to join the Yungjoongsan Beggar’s Sect and rely on the Zhuge family, and good for him to make searching easier.

Either way, it was all good.

“But telling me to wait at an inn, how would he know which inn I’m staying at…? He should have decided before leaving. No matter how urgent, this is too thoughtless.”

Zhuge Munhyeon, grumbling as he entered the village, soon realized his thinking was wrong.

A wide expanse of fields.

A single road cutting through them.

Among the village clustered alongside it, there was only one inn.

“Ahem. Mujin, let’s hurry.”

Feeling embarrassed for cursing unnecessarily, he urged them forward, but Mujin’s expression was strange.

He was straining like a puppy that needed to relieve itself…

“What’s wrong?”

“Well… even though it’s a small village, if there are demonic sect warriors, they might notice the Immortal Fragrance, so I think we should prepare for that.”

“…”

“Or should I wait outside the village? I can certainly manage sleeping outdoors.”

At his serious expression and words, Zhuge Munhyeon sighed.

Don’t worry, Mujin.

You don’t seem to know, but you look like a demonic sect member to anyone who sees you right now.

And an extremely vicious one at that.

The killing intent, the killing intent…

“It’s fine, so hurry and follow me. Come to think of it, I’ve been starving this whole time.”

“But we’re not far from Akju…”

I told you not to worry, didn’t I?

You look like a completely different person right now.

Should I say you look exactly like a famous demonic sect master out for a stroll?

But since words wouldn’t work, he just grabbed the back of his neck and dragged him along.

“M-Master. Just a moment.”

“Moment my ass, just follow me. I’m hungry. Since I don’t know how long we’ll have to wait, let’s have a drink too.”

“Master…”

Mujin, who secretly regarded Zhuge Munhyeon as his teacher, couldn’t refuse and was dragged along while desperately trying to conceal his aura.

 

* * *

 

There were indeed several demonic sect warriors with swords in the village. There were some inside the inn too.

But no one paid attention to Mujin.

Rather, because Mujin was frowning while trying to hide his aura, several startled people even bowed their heads in greeting first.

“Uh, um… what would you like to eat?”

Not a shopkeeper, but an elderly Inn Owner came directly to take their order.

“What do you do well here?”

“We make excellent Beijing-style shredded pork.”

“Good, then bring that as a side dish and a bottle of your best liquor too. Since I’m hungry, bring something that can fill me up as well.”

“I’ll do my best.”

The Inn Owner bowed deeply and scurried away.

“Um…”

Mujin cautiously spoke up.

From his sheepish expression, he seemed worried about spending too much money.

Well, Beijing-style shredded pork, liquor, and dishes too.

It was a lot for two people.

Having lived frugally as a Taoist, thriftiness must be ingrained in his body.

“It’s fine. We should enjoy ourselves when we can afford it. Unlike you who’s a Taoist, I’m from a martial family so my circumstances are comfortable.”

“That’s not it…”

“Hey! I said it’s fine, didn’t I?”

When he deliberately barked and stared, Mujin made a sullen expression and said,

“Instead of Beijing-style shredded pork, could you order that red-braised pork those people are eating?”

“Huh?”

“I like that better.”

“…”

“Anyway, you’re going to pay with the money we got from conquering the Water Bandit Stronghold…”

This bastard, I didn’t see him that way…

So he had preferences.

“Though you did help, the truth is I conquered the Water Bandit Stronghold almost entirely by myself… if you think about it, it wouldn’t be wrong to say I earned that money…”

Mujin hesitantly asserted his share.

His thought that Taoists would be frugal seemed to be his own misunderstanding.

He had raised a tiger cub.

And this was from someone who hadn’t even paid for the horse he sold at a bargain price.

Such a worldly Taoist!

But when his disciple said he wanted to eat something, how could a teacher just sit still?

“Inn Owner! Add an order of red-braised pork here!”

When he vigorously shouted to add to the order, Mujin brightened up and grinned.

“But can you eat meat? Didn’t Wudang forbid eating meat with the Ten Precepts and such?”

“Ah, when was that? Long ago, after an ancestor cured his sick teacher with chicken, Wudang has eaten meat. That person also permitted alcohol, so they even brew it directly at the Main Mountain. Some even get married occasionally. That ancestor set a good precedent. Infinite Buddha.”

“Ah…”

There must have been such a Taoist.

Curing illness by feeding chicken to his teacher.

He probably wasn’t a normal Taoist… Huh? Wait.

“Mujin.”

“Yes?”

“When did that ancestor live?”

“Quite long ago.”

“Before Hyeoncheon Master?”

“Oh my, much earlier than him.”

“…”

That damn Hyeoncheon bastard.

He recalled what he had said when he went to find him for Ascension to Immortality.

 

-Tsk tsk, alcohol in a Taoist Temple?

 

‘This bastard, if he didn’t want to give it, he should have just said so.’

It meant he was living off alcohol from the beginning.

Was it really that precious to him?

Just as Zhuge Munhyeon was pouting his lips in disappointment, Mujin spoke.

“By the way, perhaps because it’s a small village, the people are quite kind-hearted. Not only does the inn owner personally attend to us, but he’s so courteous. Those men look like wandering warriors, yet they greeted us first.”

It’s because of you.

No matter how small the village might be, would people running an inn have seen many demonic sect martial artists coming and going?

Since you’re emanating an aura incomparable to those petty thugs, it’s only natural that the inn owner came out personally.

If he carelessly sent a servant and they made a mistake, the entire inn could be destroyed.

And the warriors’ greetings are also perfectly natural.

Even third-rate fighters can sense killing intent, so in their eyes, Mujin must have seemed like a demonic sect master traveling in disguise.

Well, thanks to that, there won’t be any trouble.

Since the inn owner said he’d do his best, the food should taste quite good too.

Now I can relax…

‘Hmm, no wait. This place is also close to Dongho Lake, so there should be various rumors.’

The inn owner happened to be quite elderly.

Having thought that far, Zhuge Munhyeon called the inn owner again.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes! Did you call for me!”

The inn owner rushed over at a speed unbefitting his age and bowed respectfully.

Thanks to Mujin.

How convenient.

The red-braised pork is worth its price.

“By any chance.”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever heard any rumors circulating around Dongho Lake?”

“Rumors?”

“For instance, seeing five-colored auspicious energy one day, or strange whirlpools suddenly appearing in the water, or a woodcutter throwing his axe and a spirit appearing to give him a golden axe and silver axe… you know, things like that.”

“A woodcutter throwing his axe?”

The inn owner tilted his head while reading the mood.

“That was just an example. I was wondering if there were any similar stories.”

“Well…”

“Anything will do, so please tell me. I make it a habit to listen to such rumors wherever I go.”

“Hmm… well…”

The inn owner was restless.

He didn’t know why this person was curious about such stories, but he couldn’t give a careless answer to a question from such a fearsome master…

‘Damn it, I thought I’d have good luck after dreaming of shit last night, but these monster-like youngsters appeared to torment me like this.’

It was then that the inn owner, who had to say something to avoid offending them, was struggling and even digging into his childhood memories.

Clink.

“…?!”

It was a sound that made his eyes flash open and ears perk up… the sound of shit, no, money.

“Please tell me. Anything will do. If the story is interesting, I’ll pay handsomely.”

“…”

How many years had he lived?

Dealing with merchants was easier than eating cold porridge.

Look, when he deliberately set down his money pouch to make a loud sound, didn’t the inn owner show exactly the reaction he wanted?

Zhuge Munhyeon smiled and slyly opened the mouth of his money pouch.

Whoosh!

Brilliant radiance poured out.

It was yellow.

Because some gold ingots were mixed in.

When he had raided the water bandit stronghold, he had deliberately collected some of the yellow ones.

Greed appeared in the inn owner’s eyes.

Greed also appeared in the servant’s eyes.

Greed also appeared in the eyes of the demonic sect warriors seated nearby.

Of course, he couldn’t leave it like that.

Money was truly a dangerous thing – when visible, one never knew what people might do…

“Mujin.”

“Yes?”

“Release some killing intent.”

“…Yes?”

When told to release it rather than suppress it, Mujin looked puzzled.

“Release it.”

“I really don’t understand why…”

“Come now!”

Though Mujin frowned, thinking that Zhuge Munhyeon wouldn’t ask for no reason, he released the energy he had been suppressing.

Crack!

As the long-suppressed power suddenly spread out, the nearby desk and chair split like they’d been struck by an axe.

Excellent.

Of course, it had no effect on the inn owner.

Because he protected him with internal energy.

Zhuge Munhyeon smiled with satisfaction and looked at the warriors who had shown greedy gazes.

“Don’t worry. If you speak well, part of the money in this pouch will be the inn owner’s. But if I hear that someone stole or robbed it, I’ll track them down to the ends of the earth and strip them of their skin.”

That was a warning to the warriors.

I’ve memorized all your faces clearly – if you do anything terrible to the inn owner after I leave, I’ll turn you into pieces like that split desk and chair…

The warriors who had briefly shown greed abandoned it and quietly got up to flee.

It was quite a bit of money, but Mujin’s killing intent carried even greater power.

“That’s enough now. Suppress it.”

“Yes.”

Though Mujin didn’t understand the reason at all, he could only comply.

“Now, please tell me.”

“Hmm… I understand. Since you said any story would be fine.”

The inn owner began recounting the extraordinary stories he had heard while living near Dongho Lake, and Zhuge Munhyeon listened like a child hearing old tales from his grandfather.

These weren’t just any stories.

Among all these tales, there might be traces of that immortal bastard living in the water.

So squeeze out everything you can.

Take the money from my pouch.

Throughout the serving of food and addition of alcohol, the inn owner tried hard to squeeze out stories even from his childhood days.

Every time the fearsome master showed interest with an ‘Hmm,’ another silver coin was added to his hand.

Since no gold coins had appeared yet, how his heart must be burning.

Day turned to night, the stories continued, the servant lit the lamps, and everyone else left until the inn was completely empty.

“Young Master, aren’t you wasting too much money on these absurd stories?”

While the parched inn owner disappeared to fetch another bottle of alcohol, Mujin whispered with an expression of dying regret.

You worldly fool who only eats red-braised pork, are you trying to be frugal now?

You don’t understand.

How precious these stories are to me right now.

Though they might sound ordinary to your ears, to me they contain the yearning for something I couldn’t achieve even after living a lifetime.

The money in the pouch?

What use would all of that be?

After all, it was taken from the Water Bandits anyway.

I had already gained several things more valuable than money from that absurdity.

Like the bamboo grove where human voices could be heard whenever the wind blew, or the spring water that was said to cure long illnesses when consumed…

It was around the time when the inn owner’s eyes were bloodshot with greed and the money pouch was nearly empty.

“By the way, do you know about the kidnapping of children?”

“Kidnapping?”

“Yes. It’s quite a famous story around Dongho Lake, where infants who haven’t even been weaned, less than a hundred days old, have occasionally been kidnapped. Just from what I remember, it must have happened three or four times.”

“Hmm.”

My brow furrowed, but that wasn’t particularly surprising.

I could roughly guess who would kidnap newborn babies that couldn’t even be sold.

It was likely the work of vicious martial artists.

Some for assassins, others for the Demonic Sect, and still others for…

What a tragic fate.

“Let’s stop here.”

“What? But there’s still more I need to tell you…”

The inn owner looked disappointed.

But it couldn’t be helped.

It seemed a guest had just arrived.

“Excuse me, innkeeper.”

“Yes! Master warrior.”

“Do you happen to have a place to stay other than the inn?”

“Pardon?”

“I’d like to rent the entire inn for one night.”

When Zhuge Munhyeon finally took out a gold ingot from his money pouch and placed it on the desk, the inn owner’s gaze became fixed.

“Would this amount be sufficient?”

“More than sufficient!”

When Zhuge Munhyeon grinned and gestured, the inn owner and shopkeepers left the inn.

And shortly after, the sound of footsteps creaking on the old inn’s floor could be heard.

“You have better instincts than I expected.”

A middle-aged beggar wearing Nine Mends Hundred Patches entered the inn.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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