Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 95

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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 95

 

 

My insides are boiling with rage.

Bandits?

Bandits!

“I’m sorry. It’s all because I wasted a day…”

Mujin, who had squandered a day, felt like dying.

Of all times, why did he have to gain enlightenment then?

“A day? Even if we had arrived earlier, we would have been too late.”

“Pardon?”

“The attack happened two days ago.”

“Ah…”

Mujin, who had been stroking his chest in relief at Ham Young’s words, flinched at Zhuge Munhyeon’s cold stare.

“Are you pleased?”

“…”

“Are you happy? A village was just attacked?”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“Good grief, really…”

Zhuge Munhyeon sighed and asked Ham Young.

“Where is it?”

“Pardon?”

“We need to go to Danpung County.”

“Danpung County?”

“Should we just sit and watch?”

The Ascension Method I finally found is about to slip away?

“Surely you’re not planning to find the people kidnapped by the bandits?”

“Why? Is that not allowed?”

Zhuge Munhyeon’s mood was pure fury, combined with extreme fatigue and anxiety that he might not be able to meet the old man.

Since such feelings were clearly visible on his face, Ham Young was terrified and tried to dissuade him.

“Young Master, the opponents are Yangtze River bandits.”

“So what?”

“Well, no, even though the Zhuge Family’s influence has grown, there could be unnecessary friction with the bandits…”

“What does that matter?”

“That, that is to say…”

Ham Young could only hesitate while gulping nervously.

What kind of look is that…

And what’s with this killing intent…

“Where is Danpung County?”

“…”

“Where is it.”

His teeth clenched tight as he asked threateningly, making Ham Young’s knees weak as he hurriedly pulled out a map.

“These damn bandit bastards… Kidnapping? I absolutely won’t let this slide.”

Seeing him grinding his teeth and muttering, Mujin smiled and said to Ham Young.

“That’s the kind of person he is.”

“Pardon?”

“Others call him Violent Dragon, but he’s overflowing with justice like that. You could say he’s a righteous dragon.”

“Ah…”

“Now, let’s hurry. As Young Master Munhyeon said, we must rescue the attacked people as quickly as possible.”

“But if we accidentally create friction with the bandits…”

“Branch Manager.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t making choices based on chivalry regardless of the opponent what the Beggar’s Sect is about?”

Mujin smiled brightly and looked at Zhuge Munhyeon as he asked.

“Isn’t that right?”

“…Shut up.”

“Yes.”

Though he immediately shrank back.

Chivalry?

I don’t care about that stuff, I’m the type who must get what I want.

And they dare touch what’s mine?

These damn bandit bastards…

In my previous life, they begged so much that I let them live to maintain their lineage!

 

* * *

 

“That place is Danpung County.”

The place Ham Young pointed to with his finger.

It was a scenic spot where the Yangtze River’s current diverged from the main stream, curved inward, and flowed back out.

There would have been a small island in front of the riverside, formed by the winding water, and the scattered thatched cottages would have been quite charming.

But now, smoke was rising from unextinguished embers in what should have been a peaceful village.

And the figures of Beggar Sect members examining various places could also be seen.

They were probably searching for traces of the bandits.

However, only traces of small boats touching the riverside and scraping the sand remained.

Zhuge Munhyeon looked at the rippling river water.

They probably anchored a large ship in the deep waters and moved by small boat to attack.

Since they came by waterway rather than land, they emerged from water and returned to water.

They can’t be found.

Grind grind grind.

Naturally, his teeth had to grind.

‘These damn bastards… Just when I was finally going to look for the Ascension Method, of all the many places, they had to choose Danpung County…’

He was so furious that his clenched fists trembled and no voice came out.

Mujin, who had been reading the mood, asked Ham Young in a small voice.

“Branch Manager Ham.”

“Yes.”

“We can’t find traces, but we should be able to know where the bandits in the area are, right?”

“That would be difficult.”

“…”

“Our branch was established not long ago, and this area wasn’t under our jurisdiction…”

Ham Young trailed off with a troubled expression.

Hyogam, where he served as branch manager, was quite far to the north.

Since the Beggar’s Sect had only recently regrouped after being scattered, they hadn’t yet grasped information about areas outside their jurisdiction.

That’s when it happened.

“Branch Manager.”

“Yes?”

“You said the Wuhan area used to belong to Hanyang Prefecture, right?”

“That’s right… Ah!”

At Zhuge Munhyeon’s words, Ham Young suddenly seemed to realize something and opened his eyes wide.

The mention of former Hanyang Prefecture.

“I see. Then that would work. Since the current Bang Leader previously served as a branch manager, if the bandits’ stronghold location hasn’t changed, the Bang Leader might know about it.”

Hanyang Prefecture.

It was the place that Purple Ghost, who had currently established the Beggar Sect headquarters on Yungzhong Mountain with Zhuge’s help, had managed until he was driven out by the betrayal of those who had surrendered to the Black River Gate.

The Beggar Sect would have information about the bandits’ strongholds, so they would know the bandits’ locations.

“I’ll immediately send a messenger bird to the Yungzhong Mountain headquarters to request information about nearby bandits.”

Of course, that might be possible.

But that wasn’t the answer to what he had asked about.

Zhuge Munhyeon knew about bandits better than anyone.

Once, when he had come out to wander the Central Plains and had friction with them, he had smashed every single bandit stronghold along the waterways from Sichuan at the entrance of the Yangtze River to Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu, eventually receiving an apology from the Yangtze River Chief himself.

Moreover, bandit bastards typically don’t have just one stronghold.

They build several villages and use them, calling them true strongholds and fake strongholds.

That’s why even when government troops launch subjugation operations for public security purposes, they can’t even find traces and end up with futile efforts.

Most importantly, if what they find is a fake stronghold, they’ll never find the bandits’ real stronghold.

Because they feel threatened and hide.

So to find those bastards, you have to locate the real stronghold in one go.

But relying on the memory of Purple Ghost who was driven out?

That’s nonsense.

To find them, you need more reliable information, and there’s only one group that has such information.

“Where is the nearest Beggar Sect branch?”

“That would be us. For now, the Hyogam branch is closest to Danpung County.”

You fool, who asked because they didn’t know that?

It seemed he needed to change his question to get a more realistic answer.

“I heard there are Beggar Sect members who betrayed Bang Leader Purple Ghost and surrendered to the Black River Gate?”

“Pardon?”

“Wouldn’t those who have been active in the area until recently know the bandits’ locations best? Since they’ve already entered the shadow of the unorthodox faction. After all, birds of a feather flock together, and blood is thicker than water.”

“Well, they’re in Ezhou County across the river, but we won’t be able to get help from them. They’re bastards who have already switched sides to the unorthodox faction.”

“I see.”

“In any case, please stay in a nearby village, Confucius. As soon as we identify the stronghold’s location, we’ll contact the nearby Zhuge Family branch to plan an attack.”

When Zhuge Munhyeon nodded, Ham Young immediately began giving instructions to his subordinates.

But wait?

To send news by messenger bird to Yungzhong Mountain and start taking action according to various reporting procedures would take at least a day or two, and it would take quite a lot of time for the nearest Zhuge branch to gather warriors and come to Danpung.

In other words, even if they found the bandits, it would take five days before they could start moving.

But the ninety-year-old man was suffering hardships and his lifespan was shortening at this very moment… And why would the bandit bastards have kidnapped him in the first place?

To sell him.

What if they quickly found buyers and sold off the people?

They wouldn’t be able to find the old man.

The clue to the Ascension Manual that they had finally found would disappear.

‘I absolutely can’t wait. Damn!’

Watching Ham Young and the Beggar Sect members moving busily, Zhuge Munhyeon quietly gritted his teeth and spoke to Mujin.

“Mujin.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s change clothes first.”

“Change clothes… why? They’re not dirty yet.”

Mujin tilted his head in confusion.

But they had to change into new clothes.

Ezhou was unorthodox faction territory.

He couldn’t cause trouble in unorthodox faction territory while wearing his scholar’s robe.

Right now, I’m just out for some fresh air.

It would be better for the main house to know only that much.

Because it would just become troublesome otherwise.

 

* * *

 

This aged body of mine, is there no place to rest between heaven and earth?

 

These were words spoken by a Beggar Sect elder from some era, expressing satisfaction with his free life.

Thereafter, Beggar Sect members were not constrained by dwelling places.

Living with the sky as their ceiling and the fields as their floor, heaven and earth were their home.

While these words expressed being poor in body but rich in spirit, they didn’t apply to the Beggar Sect members in Ezhou who had taken refuge with the Black River Gate.

The main road crossing through the center of Ezhou County.

And on that road stood a massive pavilion built tallest of all, where two signboards hung.

Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

It was a rather elegant name derived from the characteristics of the region where the Xiao and Xiang rivers converged.

And the other was the Black Cat Sect Ezhou Branch.

This was the new faction name of the Beggar Sect members who had gone over to the Black River Gate.

“Well I’ll be damned, this is supposed to be a Beggar Sect branch?”

Having crossed the river and arrived in front of it, Zhuge Munhyeon couldn’t hide his sneer.

The Beggar Sect, which had beaten down the world’s villains and elevated chivalrous righteousness, now called itself the Black Cat.

If their predecessors knew, they would beat the ground and vent their indignation.

And they were the owners of a pleasure pavilion?

“Crazy bastards, have they decided to become the Hao Sect entirely?”

The Hao Sect was a force that dealt with Central Plains intelligence alongside the Beggar Sect.

They typically took over pleasure pavilions to collect intimate information exchanged during drinking sessions for their livelihood, and served as reliable support for unfortunate souls.

“Bastards who used to live in broken-down shrines have gotten really full of themselves.”

It was absurd.

Why would the Beggar Sect wear the heavily patched rags called Nine Hundred Patches?

Because they were poor?

Though the name has now disappeared, the Beggar Sect of old had accumulated tremendous wealth by selling information.

Of course, they spent most of it on relief for the poor.

The reason they wore Nine Hundred Patches was as a pledge not to be swayed by greed.

Because if you become blinded by wealth, you lose your original intention and gradually want more and more wealth.

The Nine Hundred Patches were an expression of their will to never forget their chivalrous spirit, even if they had to beg and wander the streets.

But these bastards who had become cats instead of dogs seemed to have decided to abandon their past.

Operating pleasure pavilions for income, eating their fill and accumulating grease on their bellies… under the unorthodox faction called Black River Gate, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to do bad deeds either.

It was obvious without even looking.

“No wonder they betrayed Purple Ghost. How much they must have hated the beggar’s life.”

“Indeed. Though they’re only divided north and south around Muju Official Road, the Beggar Sect’s atmosphere is completely different.”

“Beggar Sect? These bastards no longer have the right to use that name. They call themselves Black Cats.”

“That’s right.”

At Zhuge Munhyeon’s words, Mujin smiled bitterly and nodded.

“Let’s go in. Let’s go see these kitten faces.”

“Understood.”

Clicking his tongue at the hanging signboards, Zhuge Munhyeon strode into the pavilion.

“Welcome! This is Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Ezhou County’s finest pleasure house. What are you looking for?”

A smooth-talking shopkeeper asked with a bright smile.

Those who visited Xiaoxiang Pavilion usually came with the purpose of enjoying alcohol, courtesans, or gambling.

However.

“Is the Branch Manager here?”

“Huh?”

“I’m talking about your black master cat.”

“…”

In an instant, the smile disappeared from the shopkeeper’s face and a chilling coldness surrounded him.

“What are you?”

Frowning his eyebrows in different directions, he immediately took on a threatening attitude.

“My goodness, are these young punks’ eyes crooked? Don’t you know where this is?”

“I know, it’s the Akju Branch of Black Cat Faction.”

“You know and yet you’re looking for the Branch Manager? Is he your friend?”

“How could that be? A person and a beast can’t be friends… I don’t even keep black ones as pets because they’re unlucky.”

“What? You bastard!”

The enraged shopkeeper tried to swing his fist.

No, he only clenched his fist to swing but couldn’t actually swing it.

Grip!

A hand that suddenly grabbed his hair.

Then dragged him down and slammed him toward the ground.

Kwaaaaang!

Shattered floor, collapsed shopkeeper.

Zhuge Munhyeon’s eyes swept around the surroundings.

“Anyone want to tell me who the Branch Manager is?”

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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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