Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 143

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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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Chapter 142. Those Who Forget the Past, Those Who Cannot—Part 2
A feast had begun.
In a vast clearing, an enormous bonfire blazed, and hundreds of straw mats and wooden platforms were spread across the ground. Each was heaped with mountains of food.
“Ha-ha-ha!”
“Wonderful!”
Smiles bloomed across every face.
With a feast so rare these days, the joy people felt ran deeper than usual.
Dam Ho and Muk Il Gwang claimed a place by one of the platforms—positioned near the bonfire.
“Let me offer you a drink,” Muk Il Gwang said.
He filled Dam Ho’s cup to the brim. Ever since the day he’d decided to honor Dam Ho as his senior, Muk Il Gwang had treated him with utmost care.
Dam Ho poured for Muk Il Gwang in turn.
“Thank you,” Muk Il Gwang said with gratitude.
His expression grew tender with emotion.
Dam Ho studied him briefly, then raised the cup and drank.
The fierce, potent liquor from the Mountain Stronghold burned down his throat with searing intensity. Yet Dam Ho’s face remained unmoved—he drained the cup in one unwavering gulp.
Muk Il Gwang followed suit, emptying his own cup.
“Ahhh!”
An involuntary exclamation burst free.
The sharp bite of the harsh liquor made his return to Paewangcae feel suddenly, vividly real.
That was when it happened.
“Huzzah!”
“The Chaejoo!”
Amid the roar of the crowd, Hwang Gyeong Moon appeared. Hwang Hye Ryeong and Yun Choong followed in his wake.
As the people cheered, Hwang Gyeong Moon raised his hand to quiet them.
“Are you all enjoying yourselves?”
“We are.”
“There is plenty of wine and food. Enjoy this night to your heart’s content.”
“Huzzah!”
The roar that erupted was tremendous.
Hwang Gyeong Moon waved once more to the crowd, then took his seat on the raised platform. The senior members of Paewangcae—including Hwang Hye Ryeong and Yun Choong—gathered around him.
A smile played at Hwang Gyeong Moon’s lips.
“Bring it out now,” he commanded.
“As you wish.”
One of his men darted away. Moments later, a group emerged into the clearing.
“Wow!”
“What is that?”
Gasps of wonder spilled from those who saw them.
Four men carried a whole roasted pig, threaded on a massive wooden pole and balanced across their shoulders, into the clearing. Bang Jin Bo followed behind them, along with women bearing baskets.
“Heave!”
The men set the pig down on the ground.
Its belly was split open and hollow. The women emptied the baskets—herbs, fruits, and vegetables of every kind—into the pig’s cavity.
The belly, which had been thin and empty after the entrails were removed, quickly swelled full and round. The women then stitched it shut with twine, binding it tightly.
“Heave!”
The men hoisted the pig again and laid it across the roaring bonfire.
“Magnificent!”
Bang Jin Bo’s eyes widened as he watched from nearby.
He had never seen a cooking method quite like this.
Crack-crackle! Crack-crackle!
The pig’s skin turned golden-brown in the fierce heat, and a savory aroma began to drift through the air.
The oldest of the women spoke to Bang Jin Bo.
“Now all you need to do is wait. Go take your seat and be patient.”
“How long will it take?”
“Well, the pig is so large—I’d say two hours at least.”
“Two hours?”
“Ha-ha! Once you sit down and start sampling all the other dishes, the time will fly by.”
“Understood. Thank you for all your hard work.”
“You did well yourself, Jin Bo. Thanks to you, things have been much easier.”
“What did I do? It was nothing, really.”
“Ha! If you don’t have a sweetheart, shall I introduce you to one of my daughters?”
“Eh?”
Bang Jin Bo’s eyes widened at the woman’s unexpected remark.
“Come now! The lady’s daughter is only five years old, isn’t she?”
“What’s wrong with five? Just close your eyes and wait a few years. How about it?”
“No, thank you.”
Bang Jin Bo didn’t even hear the rest, rushing toward the platform where Dam Ho sat.
The woman watched his retreating figure with a warm smile.
Though she’d spoken half in jest, she found Bang Jin Bo genuinely likable.
He was skilled at cooking and had a good temperament; working with him in the kitchen made time disappear without notice.
“What a shame. He’d make an excellent son-in-law.”
By then, Bang Jin Bo had reached the platform.
“Brother!”
Bang Jin Bo sat down in front of Dam Ho with a bright grin, his face radiant with happiness.
His laughter was the kind that lifted everyone’s spirits.
“This place is truly remarkable. The cooking itself is impressive, and the scale is unbelievable—I’ve never seen such vast quantities prepared before. And the medicinal herbs that grow only on Hua Shan are incredible. Even a pinch changes the flavor of the food entirely. The aunties gave me a little bit to take with me. Ha ha!”
Bang Jin Bo shook the Bamboo Container he held. Inside the well-sealed vessel lay finely ground medicinal herbs from this place alone.
As Bang Jin Bo chattered away excitedly, Hwang Hye Ryeong approached with Muk Il Gwang.
“Jin Bo seems to be in fine spirits.”
“You bet! It’s absolutely incredible.”
Bang Jin Bo thrust his thumb upward, and Hwang Hye Ryeong burst into laughter.
She settled onto the platform and looked at Dam Ho.
“How are you finding it, older brother? Are you managing comfortably?”
“It’s fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
Hwang Hye Ryeong smiled.
“Since this is a feast that doesn’t happen often, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. I’m glad.”
……
“Have you attended many feasts like this, older brother?”
“Once, when I was young.”
“Really? Where was that? In your hometown village?”
“Yes.”
“How did your village hold feasts? Did you slaughter cattle and pigs the way we do?”
Hwang Hye Ryeong pressed him with questions, her face flushed with curiosity.
Dam Ho closed his eyes for a moment. Hwang Hye Ryeong watched his face intently.
With his eyes still closed, Dam Ho spoke.
“The place where I lived was terribly remote. We couldn’t afford to slaughter cattle, let alone a single pig.”
“Then how did you hold feasts?”
“My father knew how to hunt. Even in the midst of demanding farm work, he’d slip away whenever time allowed. He usually brought back small game—rabbits, deer—but once he brought home a great wild boar. That was when our village held a feast.”
It had always been a impoverished hamlet. Eating meat was a luxury so distant it seemed impossible to even dream of. Those were times when the family struggled merely to feed itself.
And yet his father was never stingy in giving to others. No one would have blamed him for keeping all the meat for his own family, but he freely offered the wild boar to the villagers.
A feast descended upon the starving village. Smiles bloomed on faces for the first time in ages, and savory aromas trembled through the entire settlement.
His father and mother were consumed with preparing the boar, while young Dam Ho had to look after an even younger sibling.
Yet it was good. For the first time, he could eat meat until satisfied.
He tore the meat into small pieces and fed it to the child.
Those rosy cheeks working as the child chewed, and those eyes crinkling when looking back at him.
All those memories now felt faded and distant, like old wallpaper bleached of color.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Hwang Hye Ryeong’s round eyes fixed upon him. Nearly twenty years had passed, yet the face of his sibling from memory was perfectly reflected in her features.
‘Thank goodness.’
That was Dam Ho’s sincere thought.
If Hwang Hye Ryeong had lived an unhappy life, he could never have endured it.
“Older brother.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you sure we’ve never met before?”
“Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that your eyes don’t feel unfamiliar to me.”
Hwang Hye Ryeong reached out and touched Dam Ho’s face gently.
The warmth radiating from her small hand felt familiar. If he could, he wanted to keep her close, to see her often.
But Dam Ho spoke with cold precision.
“It must be a mistake.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
She was his sister now, bound to live as Hwang Hye Ryeong rather than the daughter of Dam. Dam Ho believed this was the path he’d chosen for her sake.
Hwang Hye Ryeong withdrew her hand. Yet the shadow of doubt lingering in her eyes did not fade.
Everyone called him a murderer—Dam Ho.
How much more fearsome could a man be, to earn such a dreadful epithet as Gwonma? His nature matched the brutality of his title, and all who knew him trembled in his presence.
And yet Hwang Hye Ryeong found him strangely unafraid. More than that—she felt a peculiar closeness to him.
That very closeness struck her as odd.
‘Am I the only one who feels this way?’
She had so many questions to ask him. But Dam Ho had already turned his gaze elsewhere, his attention fixed on something beyond her sight.
She was about to call out to him again when—
“Brother—”
“Men are coming up the mountain.”
The bandits guarding the entrance suddenly cried out.
Hwang Gyeong Moon, who had been savoring the festivities, furrowed his brow.
“What is it?”
“Men are climbing toward the stronghold, sir.”
“Men? First, identify who they are.”
“Yes!”
The doors of the mountain stronghold swung open, and a contingent of bandits rushed out.
The festive mood that had filled the air moments before evaporated in an instant. The faces of the bandits hardened with tension.
They were the elite of Paewangcae—men honed by Hwang Gyeong Moon’s rigorous training, always ready for battle.
That was when—
“Brothers from Heuksujae are climbing up, sir!”
A loud voice carried from outside the stronghold.
Hwang Gyeong Moon’s eyes flickered with interest.
“Heuksujae?”
“Yes! Along with brothers from Geumhochae, Baeklokchae, and Cheonggangjae. What should we do?”
“Hmm!”
Hwang Gyeong Moon’s eyes gleamed with sharp calculation.
‘That man.’
Heuksujae, Geumhochae, Baeklokchae, and Cheonggangjae—all four were among the most powerful strongholds of the Nok Rim Sippal Chae. Though individually none could match Paewangcae’s strength, the combined force of these four would overwhelm all the remaining strongholds of the Nok Rim Sippal Chae put together.
‘To draw even Cheonggangjae into this… his talent for tactics is formidable.’
It was a meeting that had been expected sooner or later.
Though the timing was inopportune, there was no way to turn them away.
“It seems they’ve heard of our festivities. Prepare seats for our guests.”
“Yes!”
As Hwang Gyeong Moon’s order rang out, the servants bustled about to welcome the arrivals.
Shortly after, the stronghold doors opened wide, and hundreds of bandits poured into Paewangcae.
“Ha-ha! A feast was underway, I see!”
“Did the Total Chaejoo arrange this celebration knowing we would come?”
The hall erupted in lively chatter in an instant.
They were all brothers of Nok Rim. Though their various strongholds kept them apart and visits were rare, the simple bond of being Nok Rim members was enough to foster quick camaraderie.
Among the hundreds of Nok Rim members, a few stood out in particular.
“Ha-ha! Gwak Sam, Chaejoo of Baeklokchae, pays his respects to the Total Chaejoo.”
A massive, broad-shouldered man of middle years, dressed in a lavish tiger-patterned robe, strode forward with a hearty laugh and clasped his fists in salute to Hwang Gyeong Moon.
Behind him came an elderly man in his early sixties clad in crimson robes, followed by a voluptuous beauty who appeared to be in her thirties.
“O Jong Sam, Chaejoo of Geumhochae, pays his respects to the Total Chaejoo.”
“Yi Ga Heun, Chaejoo of Cheonggangjae, offers my respects to the Total Chaejoo.”
They were all Chaejoos of the Nok Rim Sippal Chae.
Among the most exalted ranks in all of Nok Rim—there were only eighteen of them.
At the sight of these guests, Hwang Gyeong Moon rose to his feet.
“It has been far too long, my friends.”
“Ho-ho! The Total Chaejoo appears even more vital than before. Perhaps you’ve discovered some elixir of vitality?”
“If I had, I would certainly have shared it with all of you. But your faces tell me you’ve all been thriving.”
Hwang Gyeong Moon’s gaze swept across them one by one, finally settling on the last man.
He was a man who appeared to be in his early fifties.
A great Nangado hung at his waist, and a long scar, as if traced by a blade, ran down his left cheek.
The man opened his mouth, meeting Hwang Gyeong Moon’s eyes.
“Jo Yun San, Chaejoo of Heuksujae, pays his respects to the Total Chaejoo.”
The man’s name was Jo Yun San, Chaejoo of Heuksujae.
A thin smile played at the corner of his mouth.

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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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