Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 27

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

Episode 27. There Are Times When Everyone Must Stand Alone—2
Dam Ho asked him.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
Bang Jin Bo answered.
“I was scared at first, but I’m okay now. Hehe!”
Dam Ho found Bang Jin Bo strange. Even adults couldn’t meet his gaze directly, hastening to turn their heads away, yet only Bang Jin Bo circled around him endlessly, showing boundless interest.
In truth, Bang Jin Bo was curious about everything Dam Ho did. There were moments when fear gripped him, yet he remained certain that Dam Ho would not harm him.
“How did you end up in that place?”
“Where are you going?”
“How old are you?”
Bang Jin Bo pressed Dam Ho with question after question.
With each inquiry, the faces of Jo Su Gwang and O Gi O grew increasingly gaunt with worry—what if Dam Ho took offense and lashed out?
Yet Dam Ho gave no sign of irritation. All day long he lay in the cart, staring vacantly at the sky, while Bang Jin Bo chattered ceaselessly at his side.
When Bang Jin Bo’s questions ran out, he turned to telling stories.
He spoke of losing his mother in childhood, of wandering across Zhongyuan with his father, even of travels to the Western Region—every detail spilled from his lips.
The lonely boy Bang Jin Bo talked, and Dam Ho, accustomed to silence, simply listened.
Others thought their pairing peculiar—they seemed jarringly mismatched, yet somehow they fit.
When the sun reached its zenith, Jo Su Gwang ordered the party to rest briefly, giving the people of the Eun Ryeon Merchant Group a moment’s respite.
As everyone settled, Dam Ho approached Jo Su Gwang. His mere presence made Jo Su Gwang tense.
“What is it?”
“Can you dispose of this?”
Dam Ho withdrew something from his robes and handed it to Jo Su Gwang. The moment Jo Su Gwang saw the object in Dam Ho’s palm, his eyes widened.
A stone the size of a child’s fist, its surface resembling a cat’s eye, scattered light in all directions.
“Is this a Cat’s Eye Stone?”
Night Pearls have grades. The Cat’s Eye Stone, with its feline appearance, was the rarest of the rare among Night Pearls, possessing the highest value.
Even Jo Su Gwang had only heard of such things; this was the first time he had laid eyes on one.
“Please, might I examine it for a moment?”
Dam Ho handed the Cat’s Eye Stone to him.
Jo Su Gwang’s hands trembled as he held it.
‘This is genuine. A rarity that no amount of money can procure.’
If he brought this to Zhongyuan, nobles bearing tens of thousands of gold would flock to him. The Cat’s Eye Stone was a treasure coveted by anyone of wealth.
A gleam of greed kindled in Jo Su Gwang’s eyes.
If he could possess the Cat’s Eye Stone, he might commit murder for it. He could kill Dam Ho here and swallow the stone—an instant fortune of tens of thousands of gold.
But the moment he looked at Dam Ho’s face, such thoughts scattered into the distance.
Though obscured by his unkempt hair, Dam Ho’s eyes, which flickered with a faint brilliance, were utterly terrifying.
This was a man whom even O Gi O, trained in the Martial Arts, feared. Seizing it by force was impossible, and he had no wish to rashly provoke him and earn his enmity.
“Phew! I’ll speak plainly. This Cat’s Eye Stone is worth at least thirty thousand gold coins.”
“Thirty thousand?”
“Indeed. That’s the bare minimum. With the right buyer, you could fetch a hundred thousand.”
Dam Ho’s eyes brightened.
The Cat’s Eye Stone had been embedded in the ceiling of the Underground Cavern, one of the Night Pearls there. Before leaving, thinking he would need money outside, he had taken two of the finest specimens.
The one he had shown Jo Su Gwang was one of them.
“Can you dispose of it?”
“To dispose of this, you’d need to enter Zhongyuan.”
“Zhongyuan?”
“Yes! In a small prefecture, it’s out of the question. You’d need to reach at least the capital of a major province.”
“What if you purchased it yourself?”
“I’d like to, but all I have is ten thousand gold coins. That falls woefully short of the Cat’s Eye Stone’s worth. Even a merchant as greedy as I have some shame.”
“Then I’ll sell it to you for ten thousand.”
“Truly, you mean it?”
Jo Su Gwang’s voice trembled involuntarily.
‘Not a curse, but a blessing?’
Dam Ho nodded.
In any case, he was traveling comfortably thanks to Jo Su Gwang and the Eun Ryeon Merchant Group. He had incurred a debt, and selling the Cat’s Eye Stone himself would be a tiresome affair besides. It felt cleaner to think of this exchange as repaying what he owed.
“Just a moment, please.”
Fearing Dam Ho might change his mind, Jo Su Gwang hurried to the cart he had ridden, where a pouch containing his entire fortune lay.
“These are the most trustworthy Continental Bank Notes from Zhongyuan. Six notes of a thousand gold each, and thirty notes of a hundred gold. The remaining thousand is in silver coins—please verify.”
Dam Ho nodded and placed the pouch in his robes without checking its contents.
Observing him transact ten thousand gold without so much as a glance inside, Jo Su Gwang’s expression dimmed briefly—he’d detected a total absence of financial sense in the man.
He thought he could have driven a harder bargain. But he shook his head and let the thought pass.
Moderation is best. If he pressed further and offended the other man’s sensibilities, there was no telling what trouble might follow.
Jo Su Gwang quickly tucked the Cat’s Eye Stone into his own breast, worried Dam Ho might change his mind and ask for it back.
“Where is the nearest town?”
“Why do you ask?”
“My presence will make things uncomfortable for your group. We’ll part ways at the next town.”
Jo Su Gwang’s face brightened.
“If we go a little further north from here, we’ll reach Turfan—a well-developed place that all merchants bound for the Western Region must pass through. Since we’re heading that way anyway, you might as well travel with us until then.”
“Fine.”
“If we hurry, we should arrive by this evening. Please bear with us a little longer.”
Dam Ho nodded and returned to his place. Bang Jin Bo was the first to greet him upon his return.
“Brother, this is for you.”
“What is it?”
“Dried meat. I made it myself. Hehe!”
Dam Ho regarded Bang Jin Bo for a moment, then accepted the dried meat.
“Thank you.”
“You can eat it whenever you get hungry. It should help.”
Bang Jin Bo, embarrassed after handing over the dried meat, hurried away toward the others. Bang U Gwang, standing nearby, watched his young charge’s retreating figure with a look of helpless sympathy.
Bang U Gwang bowed his head to Dam Ho.
“Thank you for accepting the kindness of a child. He hasn’t been shown much warmth.”
……
“I’ve tried to care for him, but he’s been terribly lonely, I’m afraid. That’s why he’s been acting this way toward you, I think.”
Bang U Gwang trailed off.
To him, the merchants of the Eun Ryeon Merchant Group were like family. Of course, they treated Bang U Gwang and his son well. But kindness alone could not dispel the fundamental loneliness that gnawed at them.
The merchants were each too busy with their work, and the bodyguards had no time to keep young Bang Jin Bo company. And Bang U Gwang himself, being reserved by nature, was not one to talk much.
In the end, Bang Jin Bo had no choice but to bear his loneliness alone. As that loneliness accumulated, perhaps it had made him curious even about someone as fearsome as Dam Ho.
Dam Ho was now leaning against a cart with his eyes closed, resting.
Bang U Gwang no longer found Dam Ho’s appearance frightening. Instead, he seemed solitary—hollow with a quiet sadness.
Sigh.
Bang U Gwang exhaled a long breath.
After a brief rest, the Eun Ryeon Merchant Group set out again.
Jo Su Gwang urged the group forward, and as a result, they were able to reach Turfan before evening fell.
Turfan was an oasis city formed in the southern basin of Mount Bagak, at the eastern edge of the Tian Shan Mountains. Water flowing down from the Tian Shan Mountains collected here, becoming a precious water source for the people who lived there and for travelers passing through.
Centered around the oasis, earthen buildings the color of loess stretched in neat rows. They were simple clay houses made from the local yellow earth. Because of this, Turfan’s landscape carried an air of desolate emptiness.
As they entered Turfan, Jo Su Gwang spoke on behalf of the group.
“This is Turfan. You should be able to find lodging in any of the buildings around the oasis.”
“Can you buy horses here?”
“There’s a livestock market outside the town. If you go there and mention you came with the Eun Ryeon Merchant Group, they’ll treat you well.”
“My thanks.”
“Then I wish you safe travels.”
Jo Su Gwang quickly clasped his fist in salute, then put distance between himself and Dam Ho.
He wanted no more time in Dam Ho’s presence. He feared the man might change his mind about the stone.
He led his group toward a fairly large inn deeper within the oasis—a place they always stopped at whenever passing through.
Bang Jin Bo approached Dam Ho.
“Brother, are we parting ways already?”
His face looked ready to cry at any moment.
Dam Ho thought the boy was tenderhearted. So he spoke more coldly.
“We were never meant to travel together. It’s better we part sooner rather than later.”
“Brother?”
“Learn cooking well from your father.”
With that, Dam Ho turned away. Bang Jin Bo stood motionless, staring after his receding figure.
Then someone placed a hand on Bang Jin Bo’s shoulder.
“Are you so disappointed?”
“Father?”
“As he said, he’s not someone who belongs with us. Traveling together would be uncomfortable for him and for us.”
“But…….”
“He’s a Martial Artist. There’s nothing good that comes from being tangled up with them. You know how vicious they are, don’t you? Your mother was—”
“I understand, Father.”
Bang Jin Bo cut off his father’s words.
Bang U Gwang then realized his mistake and looked away into empty space. Bang Jin Bo seized his father’s hand and pulled him along.
“Come on. Everyone’s waiting.”
“Then do as you will.”
Bang Jin Bo turned back suddenly, but Dam Ho had already vanished from sight.
‘Brother!’
Turfan lay nestled between Zhongyuan and the Western Region, a waypoint where merchants traveling between the two had no choice but to stop. Finding an inn was hardly difficult.
Dam Ho entered a small inn tucked away in a quiet corner. Jeom So Yi flinched at once.
Dam Ho’s appearance was pitifully disheveled.
His hair stood on end in wild tangles, his face unrecognizable beneath the grime, his shoulders caked with dust.
‘A beggar, surely?’
That was the thought that crossed Jeom So Yi’s mind in that instant.
Then Dam Ho drew a silver coin from his pouch. Jeom So Yi’s eyes gleamed.
Jeom So Yi rushed over at once.
“Welcome, honored guest.”
“Give me a room.”
“How many days will you be staying?”
“Two.”
“Of course. You’ll be taking meals as well, I presume?”
“Yes.”
Dam Ho nodded.
“Very good. If you’ll follow me.”
Jeom So Yi led him to the room.
It was bare except for a wooden bed set against walls of packed earth—crude and rough-hewn, yet warmth seemed to emanate from it.
Jeom So Yi smiled.
“And if you open this……”
Jeom So Yi swung open a door attached to one side of the room. A well came into view.
“You can bathe there.”
“Good.”
“If you need anything else, just call for me.”
“Bring me scissors and a knife.”
“At once.”
Dam Ho flicked his fingers. A silver coin flew toward Jeom So Yi.
“Will that suffice?”
“More than enough.”
Jeom So Yi grinned widely and bounded out the door.
One silver coin from Dam Ho was enough to cover lodging for more than a month. Yet Dam Ho meant to stay only two days—a windfall for the innkeeper.
Dam Ho had lived almost entirely cut off from the world, and so had no sense of money’s true worth. He did not know how much power the coins in his possession wielded in this realm, nor what value they truly held.
Dam Ho undressed and approached the well.
Splash!
He doused himself with water from head to foot.
The dust caking his skin seemed to wash away along with his exhaustion.
Still dripping wet, Dam Ho stood motionless for a long while, not moving until the wind had dried his body completely.
After a time had passed, Dam Ho returned to the room.
The scissors and knife Jeom So Yi had left lay waiting on the bed.
Snip, snip!
Dam Ho began cutting away the hair that had hidden his face. Strands piled high at his feet.
As the hair fell away, a face emerged from beneath the tangled locks and beard.
Dam Ho picked up the knife now. The blade traced the line of his jaw.
Slice, slice!
Between the wild strands, a beast’s bright eyes gleamed—a knife-edge nose, and below it lips drawn firm and hard, crowned with a sculpted, angular chin.
After twelve years, his face was being revealed to the world once more.

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