Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 30

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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 30. Neither Gratitude nor Grudge is Forgotten—Part 2
The young man’s legs trembled.
Anyone could see he was in no condition to fight.
Bang Jin-bo watched him, his eyes glistening with tears. This youth was someone he knew well.
So Cha-myeong—that was the young man’s name, and he was one of the few who had treated Bang Jin-bo with genuine kindness.
“Brother!”
Bang Jin-bo called out to So Cha-myeong. But So Cha-myeong seemed not to hear him, his gaze fixed on the man before him.
That man’s name was Geum Ju-sang, and he and So Cha-myeong had been close as brothers once. Yet the eyes that Geum Ju-sang now turned upon So Cha-myeong held none of their former warmth, none of the brotherhood they’d shared.
So Cha-myeong had to die for Geum Ju-sang to live.
That single thought consumed Geum Ju-sang’s mind entirely.
“Forgive me.”
Geum Ju-sang lunged forward, sword raised, toward So Cha-myeong.
“Nngh!”
Though fear gripped him, So Cha-myeong drew his blade instinctively to parry the strike.
Clang!
The sound of steel meeting steel rang out into the night.
“Ha ha ha!”
“I’m putting silver on the older one.”
“Aw, come on! That doesn’t seem fair. The young one looks so frail.”
“Fine! I’ll wager a tael of silver on the younger one.”
The bandits of Hyeol Rang laughed and shouted, placing their bets.
The lives of Geum Ju-sang and So Cha-myeong had become nothing but entertainment.
“Such… cruel men!”
“Brother!”
The caged prisoners and Bang Jin-bo wept as they witnessed a scene from hell.
Just half a day ago, these same men had cherished one another as siblings. Now they were locked in a fight for their lives—a sight no less than damnation.
“This can’t be real. Why… why is this happening…?”
Tears streamed down Bang Jin-bo’s cheeks.
The world he had known was crumbling.
The world that had sheltered him, that had been his refuge, was collapsing.
His father was dead, and his friends were now fighting for their lives against one another.
“This is a dream. It must be a dream.”
Bang Jin-bo lowered his head and murmured.
Unable to face the horror before him with a clear mind, Bang Jin-bo was fleeing into denial.
Slash!
“Ahhh!”
As Geum Ju-sang’s blade carved across his wrist, So Cha-myeong cried out in agony. Blood poured from the wound, but before he could even stanch it, Geum Ju-sang pressed his attack again.
“Die! Please, just die for me! Cha-myeong!”
Geum Ju-sang spoke with eyes bloodshot and wild.
So Cha-myeong gasped.
“How can you do this to me, brother Ju-sang?”
“I’m sorry. But I have a family.”
“I have a wife and children waiting for me back home.”
“That’s why I’m sorry.”
Geum Ju-sang roared and swung his sword like a demon possessed.
The bandits howled with laughter at the sight.
“See? The older one’s the better fighter, isn’t he?”
“Damn it!”
So Cha-myeong was already drenched in blood.
Deep gashes marred his shoulder and abdomen; he swayed on his feet, his stance crumbling.
Geum Ju-sang raised his blade for the final blow.
“Aaaahhh!”
His anguished cry pierced the night sky, and So Cha-myeong fell still.
Geum Ju-sang crumpled to the ground, his body wracked with sobs.
“Curse it! Curse it all!”
His hands shook violently.
The weight of what he had done—killing with his own hands the man he had called brother—finally struck him. Now Geum Ju-sang understood the horror of his own act. He collapsed onto the ground, weeping bitterly.
“Forgive me, Cha-myeong. Forgive me. Ugh… hngh!”
He pressed his bloodstained hands against the earth, scrubbing at it, but the stench of blood would not fade.
“Tch. How disappointing.”
Dong Ja-choo clicked his tongue.
His face was twisted with irritation. He’d wanted a more entertaining fight, but Geum Ju-sang had won far too one-sided.
He turned his gaze to Jo Bok, who nodded and approached the cage where the prisoners were trapped once more.
The captives averted their eyes from him. None of them wanted to kill their own companions by their own hand.
The sound of Geum Ju-sang’s sobs was so harrowing that they felt their hearts being torn to shreds.
‘Damn it! I don’t want to do that.’
‘I won’t live like that, no matter what.’
They didn’t want to be chosen by Jo Bok. But the god of fate was cruel, indifferent to their wishes.
“Get those two out of there.”
This time, Jo Bok’s choice fell on two merchants in their early forties. Both belonged to the Eun-ryeon Trading Company and shared a deep bond with each other.
Jo Bok threw them a sword again.
“Hehehehe! Fight.”
“You vile creatures! I will never be your entertainment!”
Yeom Pyeong, the merchant with an unusually strong backbone, glared at Jo Bok. Jo Bok clicked his tongue and turned to look at the other.
Ju Seol-cheon also shook his head.
“I’d rather die. I cannot commit such inhumane acts.”
When both men stood firm, Jo Bok’s expression grew troubled, and he looked toward Dong Ja-choo.
Dong Ja-choo laughed.
“Hehehehe! So there are still some men worthy of the name. Yes, the world does have such fellows sometimes.”
He rose abruptly from his seat. The bandits turned to look at Dong Ja-choo with keen interest in their eyes.
A strange excitement flickered across their faces. They imagined what would come next and raised their voices.
“These bastards dare refuse our amusement?”
“Hehehehe! How will the Great Chief kill them, I wonder?”
“I’ll wager a silver coin he severs their heads in one stroke.”
“Then I’ll stake a coin he beats them to death.”
A gambling pool erupted on the spot.
The raucous voices of the bandits echoed across the clearing, and those trapped in the cage shrank further into terror.
Bang Jin-bo’s head lifted at the noise.
He saw Dong Ja-choo approaching the merchants. His face was twisted like that of a demon.
“Hehehehe! You dare defy my word, you worms?”
“Is this what a human does? You force your own companions to take up swords and fight one another?”
“So you refuse?”
“I would rather die.”
Yeom Pyeong came back hard.
He was among the merchants of the Eun-ryeon Trading Company known for his singular strength of will. He showed no fear even before Dong Ja-choo.
An ordinary person would have flinched under the force of Yeom Pyeong’s unflinching gaze. But his opponent was none other than Dong Ja-choo.
As the Great Chief of Hyeol Rang, he had been a bandit in these lands for years. There was no reason his spirit should be broken by a merchant’s eyes.
“You’ve got some gall. So you won’t fight?”
“That is correct!”
“Then you’ll die.”
Dong Ja-choo’s smile turned cruel and thin.
Bang!
“Gahhh!”
In an instant, Yeom Pyeong’s temple caught the full weight of Dong Ja-choo’s massive fist, and he crashed down.
Yeom Pyeong convulsed, foam flecking at his lips.
Dong Ja-choo seized him by the collar and hoisted him upright.
“It’s good to have spine, but you need to pick your battles wisely. Hehehehe!”
Dong Ja-choo forced their eyes to meet.
Yeom Pyeong was already unconscious. He couldn’t meet Dong Ja-choo’s gaze. Yet Dong Ja-choo wrenched his chin up by force.
“Not knowing your place and speaking out of turn—that is your reason for dying.”
“I…….”
Crack!
Dong Ja-choo’s fist snapped Yeom Pyeong’s head to the side. But he didn’t fall. Dong Ja-choo still held him by the collar with his other hand.
Dong Ja-choo drove another fist forward.
This was no ordinary man’s blow—it was the fist of one trained in Martial Arts. It was no different from a weapon.
Crack! Crack!
Dong Ja-choo’s punches came in succession, each one slamming into Yeom Pyeong’s face.
Flesh tore and blood sprayed. His face swelled grotesquely within moments, rendered unrecognizable.
Yeom Pyeong had long since lost consciousness. Yet Dong Ja-choo’s fists did not stop.
“How dare you, you worm…….”
Dong Ja-choo’s eyes gleamed with madness even in the darkness.
At the sight of him—like a rabid beast—people held their breath. The bandits placing wagers were no exception.
They sensed instinctively that Dong Ja-choo’s mind had snapped. They knew all too well what calamity might befall anyone reckless enough to touch him now.
“Stop, I beg you!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Ju Seol-cheon pleaded with Dong Ja-choo. But he didn’t so much as flinch, continuing his merciless assault.
His violence ended only when Yeom Pyeong ceased to react at all.
Thud.
Yeom Pyeong lay broken beyond recognition, like a lump of meat well-pounded into submission. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest betrayed that breath still clung to him; no other sign of life remained.
Dong Ja-choo’s eyes, flickering with killing intent, swept across the people trapped in the cage.
“Is there anyone else foolish enough to defy me?”
……
Everyone held their breath.
None possessed the audacity to contradict him.
“Hehehehe!”
Dong Ja-choo’s laughter clawed at the hearts of all who heard it. The captives shrank further into themselves.
His gaze swept methodically across each person trapped in the cage, until it came to rest on the one holding Bang Jin-bo.
“Drag that fat one out.”
“Yes!”
His underlings hauled Bang Jin-bo from the cage and dragged him before Dong Ja-choo.
Dong Ja-choo’s mouth twisted into a smile as he looked at him.
“Tell me, fat boy—do you want to live?”
“Yes! I want to live!”
Bang Jin-bo nodded eagerly. Dong Ja-choo then pressed a sword into his hand.
“Then kill that one.”
He gestured toward Yeom Pyeong, clinging to life by a thread.
“I… I can’t do it.”
“Refuse, and you die.”
“How can I kill a man……”
“Hehe! Surely that meat isn’t worth more than your own life? Kill him, and you’ll live to see another day.”
Dong Ja-choo grinned wickedly.
Bang Jin-bo saw a demon in that face.
Dong Ja-choo seized the wrist holding the sword in both his hands and forced it toward Yeom Pyeong.
“No, please!”
Bang Jin-bo shook his head desperately, straining against the force. But the young boy could not hope to match the raw strength of a martial artist like Dong Ja-choo.
Trembling, trembling.
The sword hand shook violently. Yet inch by inch, it drew closer to Yeom Pyeong.
“Please……”
Bang Jin-bo clenched his teeth and shook his head. But Dong Ja-choo paid no heed, tightening his grip.
“Wahaha!”
“Do it! Kill him, fat boy!”
“Our chubby friend’s getting quite the education today.”
The bandits burst into laughter at the spectacle.
The merchants trapped in the cage could only weep as the terrible madness consumed the space around them.
“This is hell.”
All of them prayed only that this hellish moment would end.
Whoosh.
The blade in Bang Jin-bo’s hand touched Yeom Pyeong’s throat.
One more push, and his breath would be no more.
As Bang Jin-bo trembled at the human sensation beneath the blade’s tip, closing his eyes, a sound interrupted—
Thump.
A peculiar noise suddenly pierced the air.
Though soft, it somehow scraped at everyone’s nerves with unsettling clarity.
Dong Ja-choo’s expression hardened slightly.
He turned his gaze toward the darkness.
Thump. Scrape. Thump. Scrape.
The sounds grew sharper, more distinct.

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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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