Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 119

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 118. The Solitary Wanderer, the Way of the Lone Walker – Part 3
Sunset was descending upon Hua Shan.
From the upper palace at the summit of Yeon Hwa Peak, all of Hua Shan lay visible at a glance, awash in crimson. As dusk deepened, lanterns began to kindle throughout the mountain, casting their warm glow across the peaks.
Lanterns hung from the True Martial Palace atop Woon Dae Peak, from the Golden Heaven Palace midway up the slope, and from the Bodhisattva Palace as well. It was a sight of haunting beauty, yet Hyun Cheon felt no stirring of aesthetic pleasure at the view.
“What did you just say?”
A crack had formed across the face of the man whose composure seemed unshakeable even under a thunderbolt’s strike.
Before him sat Moo Gyeong and Woon Gyeong.
Moo Gyeong’s expression was no different from Hyun Cheon’s. The ease that usually marked his features had hardened into something rigid.
Woon Gyeong answered Hyun Cheon’s question with measured calm.
“They say Dam Ho is the Fist Demon.”
“The Fist Demon is Dam Ho?”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain you heard correctly?”
“I am certain. Master Hyun Mu sent word by letter, and the rumors spreading across the realm confirm it as well.”
“Hm!”
A low murmur escaped Hyun Cheon’s lips of its own accord.
His face laid bare the turmoil within him. For a man ordinarily so skilled at concealing his emotions, such visible disturbance was a rare occurrence indeed.
The news Woon Gyeong had delivered was that shocking.
Though Hyun Cheon dwelt in near-seclusion upon Hua Shan, he gathered intelligence from beyond its peaks with meticulous care.
The Fist Demon.
He was a master whose name currently rang through the Jianghu like a bell’s resonant toll. The infamy and renown he had accumulated could not be dismissed as merely those of an up-and-coming expert.
The Jianghu already counted him among the ranks of Absolute Masters. Indeed, many placed him even higher in regard than Hyun Cheon, the sect leader of Hua Shan himself.
Such a master hailed from Hua Shan? And that master was Dam Ho—the same cripple whom everyone had turned away?
It was a truth difficult to accept.
Hyun Cheon felt the roof of his mouth dry.
Woon Gyeong continued his explanation.
“He first appeared in Xinjiang. That is where Tian Jin Ma Yu lies—the place we pursued the Demonic Cult to before. He is assuredly Dam Ho. He is the one we…left behind at Tian Jin Ma Yu.”
“Hgh!”
This time it was Moo Gyeong who let slip a low murmur.
His face was haggard, more so than Hyun Cheon’s.
It had been Moo Gyeong who decided to leave Dam Ho behind that day. For years afterward, guilt had gnawed at him. Only recently had he managed to shake off the burden, yet now, hearing this news of Dam Ho, the nightmare had come crawling back to life.
“Fine. Let us grant that he is indeed Dam Ho. But he has renounced his ties to the sect?”
“That is…yes.”
“How dare he!”
Anger flashed across Hyun Cheon’s face.
Hyun Cheon had devoted everything to Hua Shan throughout his lifetime. The sect was the sum total of his existence. Nothing in this world held greater worth than the sect.
To such a man, Dam Ho—one who had spurned Hua Shan—could never appear in a favorable light.
Woon Gyeong, watching Hyun Cheon, offered a bitter smile.
He alone knew better than anyone else what manner of treatment Dam Ho had received at Hua Shan.
There was nothing he could say in defense. He had judged that Dam Ho’s early abandonment of martial training was for Dam Ho’s own good, and had unleashed harsh words without restraint.
“Where is Dam Ho now?”
“It appears he left Akyang, but his whereabouts remain unknown at present.”
“Hm!”
Hyun Cheon let escape another low murmur.
His mind churned with complexity.
The Demonic Cult had re-emerged onto history’s stage.
The Murim Alliance had been formed, yet ultimately it fell to Hua Shan itself to defend its own fate.
In times such as these, a sect that possessed even one additional Absolute Master held a crucial advantage in survival. Hyun Cheon had learned this truth decades before.
“Does Hyun So still remain in strict seclusion?”
“He does.”
“I must visit Hyun So’s dwelling.”
“At once?”
“Yes.”
Hyun Cheon rose to his feet.
Since becoming the sect leader of Hua Shan, Hyun Cheon had seldom left the upper palace. The fact that he now moved of his own accord was itself evidence that a matter of grave consequence had befallen the sect.
Hyun Cheon departed the upper palace and made for Woon Dae Peak, with Moo Gyeong and Woon Gyeong following in his wake.
The procession of Hua Shan’s sect leader, first disciple, and second disciple drew the attention of all who witnessed it.
‘Where is the sect leader going?’
‘The senior and junior martial brothers traveling together? Has something grave occurred?’
They offered their bows to Hyun Cheon and his companions even as they failed to conceal the questions in their eyes.
Hyun Cheon came to a halt midway up Woon Dae Peak.
“Hyun So’s residence should be around here, shouldn’t it?”
More than several decades had passed since Hyun So had settled in this place, yet Hyun Cheon had never once come to visit. Naturally, he could not possibly know the exact location.
Woon Gyeong took the lead with a wry smile.
“We need to climb a bit higher, sir.”
“Then lead the way.”
“Yes, sir.”
In the end, Woon Gyeong guided them forward.
The narrow path leading to Hyun So’s dwelling was overgrown with vegetation. Hyun So never came outside, and his disciples never sought him out.
The dense undergrowth seemed like evidence of the severance between the Hua Shan Sect disciples and Hyun So, and it weighed on his heart.
Woon Gyeong pressed forward, searching his memory. After walking for quite some time, he finally came upon a small, dilapidated hut.
It was impossibly shabby and decrepit for the residence of a Hua Shan elder. The roof was nearly caved in, and holes riddled the walls so thoroughly that one could hardly believe anyone lived there at all.
Hyun Cheon’s brow furrowed.
‘Hyun So is in a place like this?’
For a moment, he was struck by remorse at how neglectful he had been toward Hyun So.
But that feeling passed quickly, and he soon cleared his throat and spoke.
“Ahem! Hyun So, are you in there? It’s me, Hyun Cheon.”
……
No answer came from within.
Hyun Cheon raised his voice again.
“Your elder martial brother has come. If you’re inside, please come out.”
Again, there was no reply.
“This fellow……”
Finally, Hyun Cheon grew angry and stepped into the hut. The moment he opened the door, his expression changed.
The hut was empty. There was no trace of Hyun So within.
The dwelling appeared to have been abandoned long ago.
“How can this be!”
Hyun Cheon’s bewilderment was written plainly across his face.
Though his visits had become infrequent, he had still assumed Hyun So was well. He had never imagined his elder martial brother had suffered such a grave wound as to abandon his dwelling and vanish without a trace.
“My grand master……”
“He’s left?”
Moo Gyeong and Woon Gyeong murmured in a daze.
They too had not known that Hyun So was absent from his quarters.
On the wall of Hyun So’s chamber, a phrase was written in bold, commanding brushstrokes.
See Profit But Not Truth.
“Ah! When one sees only profit, one fails to perceive the truth that lies within?”
Hyun Cheon let out a sigh.
The words seemed to rebuke him for seeing only what was advantageous to the Hua Shan Sect and failing to recognize the true worth of a talent like Dam Ho.
Hyun Cheon had been blinded by the prejudice that Dam Ho was a cripple, and thus had dismissed his potential.
The phrase left by Hyun So stung his heart like a whip.
For the first time, he felt shame.
“Woon Gyeong.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Find my martial brother. You must.”
“I understand.”
A sigh escaped Hyun Cheon’s lips.
His breath scattered on the wind.
Though a cool breeze blew in to offer relief from the heat, Hyun Cheon felt only a chill.
The farmer’s name was Jang Il.
Jang Il invited Dam Ho and Bang Jin Bo to stay the night. Dam Ho accepted his offer.
Though he appeared rough on the surface, Jang Il possessed a warmth of spirit that few others could match. He offered them an unused spare room.
Late into the night, Dam Ho stepped outside alone.
After walking for some time, he found himself halfway up a small hill.
Dam Ho stood atop a high rock and gazed out across the vast expanse of rice paddies below. A breeze drifted across the land. The rice stalks swayed in the wind.
Beneath the soft moonlight, the rippling movement of the rice looked just like waves breaking on a midnight sea.
After standing for a long while, gazing at the fields, Dam Ho suddenly spoke.
“Come out now.”
……
“Should I drag you out?”
“I’m coming out.”
Then someone answered from the darkness.
A black shadow emerged from behind a massive tree in the forest—a tall, refined Daoist in his mid-twenties, clad in a Neng La Robe.
The young Daoist clasped his fist toward Dam Ho in salute.
“Boundless Buddha! Your junior disciple Myeong Gyeong pays respects to his senior martial brother.”
“Myeong Gyeong?”
A flicker of recognition crossed Dam Ho’s eyes.
Twelve years had passed since he left the Hua Shan Sect, yet there were names he could not forget. Myeong Gyeong was one of them.
How could he forget?
When Dam Ho wandered the precipice between life and death, it was Myeong Gyeong who became a disciple of the Zhenren Hyun Gyeom.
This was his first time seeing him in person—though he had glimpsed him once at the Akyang Sword Sect, he had not known then that he was Myeong Gyeong.
Myeong Gyeong approached Dam Ho.
“Senior martial brother.”
“I’ve said this already. I am no longer a disciple of the Hua Shan Sect.”
“Before coming here, I heard the circumstances from the Master. I truly had no knowledge of such matters. Allow me to apologize on behalf of my master.”
Myeong Gyeong bowed his head to Dam Ho, but the eyes that gazed upon him held no warmth.
“So you came skulking after me like a thief to apologize?”
“You knew?”
Dam Ho did not answer, but his silence was answer enough for Myeong Gyeong.
A faint blush colored Myeong Gyeong’s face.
He had followed in secret shortly after Dam Ho departed Akyang.
It was not mere curiosity, nor was it to apologize on his master’s behalf as Dam Ho suggested.
From the moment he first laid eyes on Dam Ho, his blood had boiled with unbearable heat.
In Dam Ho, Myeong Gyeong beheld the image of an absolute master he had only imagined in dreams—formidable martial arts and a powerful presence that overwhelmed all around him.
The figure Myeong Gyeong had yearned for even in sleep, Dam Ho displayed before countless masters. That sight of Dam Ho became a tremendous catalyst for Myeong Gyeong.
He wanted to fight Dam Ho. He wanted to prove that his master’s martial arts were supreme.
Dam Ho’s eyes narrowed. He had sensed the fighting spirit in Myeong Gyeong.
“What do you want?”
“Teach me a move, senior martial brother.”
…….
“Aren’t you curious? About the Zhenren Hyun Gyeom’s sword?”
“Not curious.”
“Senior martial brother!”
“I told you. I am not your senior martial brother.”
“What does it matter how I address you? The important thing is the will to fight, is it not?”
Myeong Gyeong’s fighting spirit blazed forth.
Whoosh!
The blade at his waist let out a faint cry—the Sword Cry.
A phenomenon that appeared when Sword-Body Unity was achieved; proof that Myeong Gyeong was not some reckless youth merely burning with ambition.
Dam Ho’s eyes grew cold.
“You really want to fight that badly?”
“I must prove my master’s martial arts.”
Shing!
Myeong Gyeong drew his blade.
In the moment Dam Ho’s eyes turned glacial, Myeong Gyeong lunged forward.

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