Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 41

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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 41. The Wind Always Blows from Where You Least Expect It—Part 1
People often speak of Famous Swords and Treasure Swords. These are words typically used when the masterwork of a seasoned artisan—who has invested years and poured their heart into its creation—proves satisfactory.
Famous Swords and Treasure Swords belonged to the human realm. They could be created, however rarely, depending on the artisan’s dedication and the quality of materials.
But a Divine Sword transcended the human realm—a rarity beyond mortal ken. It could only come into being when human obsession, the will of heaven, and the fortune of time converged in perfect harmony.
By that measure, the blade now held in Eun Ha-seong’s hand radiated an aura sufficiently formidable to be called a Divine Blade.
From the red blade that curved in a graceful sweep flowed both a killing intent that dominated the surrounding air and a crystalline clarity of spirit.
“At last…….”
A light of turbulent emotion gleamed in Eun Ha-seong’s eyes.
Jeokseong.
The name of the blade he had struggled so hard to acquire.
It was a Blade Among Blades—said to cut through anything, and whose aura alone could make its master an undisputed victor of an era.
Eun Ha-seong had spent five years pursuing Jeokseong. The effort and fortune he had expended during that time defied imagination.
His devotion had borne fruit. He had discovered it not long ago and, at last, brought it into his possession.
Zing!
As Eun Ha-seong ran his hand along the blade, Jeokseong sang of its own accord. At that clear, luminous blade song, Eun Ha-seong’s expression grew rapt.
“Now there is nothing to fear. Nothing and no one can stand in my way.”
Murmuring softly, Eun Ha-seong slid Jeokseong into its sheath.
Then it came.
“Master, it is Hyeol-san.”
The voice of Jo Hyeol-san, his trusted subordinate, came from beyond the door.
“Enter.”
“Master.”
Jo Hyeol-san hurried inside. Something in his expression seemed amiss.
“What is it?”
“The Protector…….”
“Gyeong Cheon-saeng—what about him?”
“It appears he has met with an accident. We received an urgent report that a body was discovered near Hapbil.”
“Is this certain?”
Eun Ha-seong rose abruptly without thinking. The news struck him like a blow.
Gyeong Cheon-saeng was his most trusted lieutenant.
Eun Ha-seong knew better than anyone how extraordinary his martial prowess was.
“Who? Who dared slay Cheon-saeng?”
“As yet, we have no information…….”
Jo Hyeol-san bowed his head apologetically.
Eun Ha-seong’s gaze grew distant and cold. Jo Hyeol-san bowed deeper still.
It was an expression of anger he had not seen in years—not since five years ago. The last time Eun Ha-seong wore that look, many died or were left crippled.
“Find the killer without fail. If necessary, deploy them.”
“Them, sir?”
“You already know who I mean.”
Jo Hyeol-san’s head snapped up. The word that had left his master’s mouth was that shocking.
“But if we move them carelessly, Hyeol-rin Sal-mak will not stand idle.”
“A wall that must be crossed eventually regardless. We are already under suspicion. There is no reason to hesitate.”
“Understood.”
“It always happens this way. Everything seems to be flowing smoothly, then suddenly you stumble over a stone cast in your path.”
His voice had grown colder and heavier than ever before.
The joy of obtaining Jeokseong had already vanished.
“Cheon-saeng, dead…….”
Sim Ok and Heuk-no sat facing each other by the window of the Separate Residence, savoring tea.
“The night wind is biting.”
“It likely flows down from Bakgyeok Dalbong.”
“How I wish our Hyeol-rin Sal-mak were in a place this cool.”
“Why not suggest to the Master that we relocate here?”
“I’d be the first one beaten to death for that.”
“True—the Master does not regard anyone as his children.”
“But treating a daughter this way—even a son deserves better than that, doesn’t he?”
“That is precisely the Master’s charm. He is impartial to everyone, is he not?”
“Impartial, my foot…….”
Sim Ok grumbled.
Heuk-no gazed at her with a look of affection—the sort of tender gaze one might bestow upon a headstrong grandchild.
Though their expressions remained cheerful and light as always, the hands of both moved with deliberate concealment.
Sim Ok dipped her finger into the tea and wrote characters on the table’s surface.
[Surveillance?]
[One at the ceiling, one outside the window. Two in total.]
Heuk-no answered in kind, writing with tea water on the table.
[Can you handle them?]
[Difficult, but not impossible, I believe.]
[Then I’m counting on you.]
With that, Sim Ok swept her palm across the table. The characters written there vanished without a trace.
Heuk-no watched her with a worried expression.
He disapproved of her taking on this mission. The danger was simply too great. Yet Sim Ok had volunteered, and the Lord had approved it—the reasoning being that she was his successor and needed to be forged strong. He had no room to intervene. All that remained was to follow her orders.
There was nothing he could do but obey.
“I should get some rest now.”
Sim Ok stretched and rose from her seat.
“Then sleep well, miss.”
Heuk-no stood as well, his expression calm.
Shortly after, the lights in the Separate Residence went dark.
Only then did those watching the Separate Residence allow themselves to relax.
They had spent the entire day observing Sim Ok and Heuk-no. But the pair had simply remained confined to the Separate Residence, showing no particularly suspicious movements.
‘Doesn’t seem like anything to worry about…….’
It was the moment the watchers let their guard down.
Suddenly, one felt a sharp sting at the base of his skull and lost consciousness. Heuk-no caught the falling watcher’s body, cradling it silently so it made no sound.
After laying the watcher down quietly, Heuk-no subdued the other guards as well. It happened in an instant.
Once Heuk-no had incapacitated all the watchers, Sim Ok slipped out of the Separate Residence. Somewhere along the way, she had changed into a black night garment.
“Let’s go.”
Sim Ok vaulted over the wall behind the Separate Residence without hesitation. Heuk-no followed silently in her wake.
Without a sound, they slipped out of Seocheon Sanjang and headed toward Bakgyeok Dalbong.
Being confined to the Separate Residence did not mean they were blind to what happened outside. During their stay, they had learned that considerable quantities of supplies were arriving at Seocheon Sanjang.
And some of it was descending not from the base of the mountain, but from its peak. There could be no mountain other than Bakgyeok Dalbong. And by all reason, supplies should not come down from a mountain’s summit. Not from an ordinary sect, at any rate.
‘Something lies on that mountainside. Something we don’t yet know.’
That was the conclusion Sim Ok and Heuk-no had reached during their time at Seocheon Sanjang.
The two deployed their Lightness Skill and climbed the mountain.
“This way.”
Heuk-no pointed to the traces on the ground as he spoke.
What was clearly visible on the earth were the wheel ruts of a carriage.
“A carriage came up this far?”
Sim Ok surveyed the surroundings.
They had climbed at least five hundred zhang up the mountain. At such a height, even a footpath would be difficult to maintain, much less any proper road. The very notion of a path suitable for carriages seemed impossible.
Yet before their eyes, the impossible had become real. Narrow though it was, a path had been cleared for carriages to pass.
Seocheon Sanjang had used this route to bring something in from Bakgyeok Dalbong.
Once their conjecture proved true, the two moved with even greater speed. They arrived at a cave halfway up Bakgyeok Dalbong.
A cavern large enough for several adults to walk through shoulder to shoulder stood hidden from view. At its entrance, martial artists stood guard with torches lit, their vigilance absolute.
“Miss, we must be especially careful from here on.”
“I know. Just be careful yourself.”
“Then…….”
Heuk-no moved first.
Clad in his night garment, Heuk-no approached the entrance with the fluidity of water—natural and swift.
The martial artists guarding the cave had not noticed his presence until he was nearly upon them.
Soundless and without presence, Heuk-no seeped to the cave’s mouth like a phantom.
Fwish-fwish-fwish!
The moment his hand flashed, the martial artists collapsed as one. Gleaming coins were embedded in their foreheads.
They could not even scream before they perished.
It was a Secret Projectile Technique befitting the epithet “One-Hand Soul Severer.”
Among all the people Sim Ok knew, Heuk-no was the most proficient with projectile weapons. Some even said his Secret Projectile Technique rivaled that of the sect’s own martial masters.
Sim Ok followed quietly in Heuk-no’s wake. Though she usually treated him with ease, now she moved without question, following his lead.
The cave was vast. Torches hung on the walls, and clear traces of carriage passage marked the floor.
They ventured deeper into the cave. As they progressed, the passage grew narrower and darker. It felt almost as though they were walking toward the very mouth of hell itself.
‘What is this place?’
Sim Ok’s breath caught.
“Miss!”
Heuk-no’s voice came as a low whisper.
Sim Ok’s eyes followed Heuk-no. In that glance, the sight that caught her eye left her speechless with shock.
Her pupils trembled. The same was true for Heuk-no.
A vast underground cavern stretched out before them. Within it, countless people were digging at the earth under the watch of martial artists.
They looked terribly wasted from long labor in the subterranean chamber—gaunt faces, shoulders caked with dust, breath ragged and labored.
“Move faster over there!”
“No slacking!”
Whenever they so much as paused to catch their breath, whips cracked down from the guards.
Crack!
“Ahhh!”
The sharp bite of the whip tearing into flesh and the cry of agony echoed simultaneously through the cavern.
The sound was so piercing that all the laborers went rigid at once. Then the whips fell upon them without mercy.
“Kragh!”
As another scream tore through the chamber, the workers scrambled frantically back to their pickaxes.
The guards showed no compassion. At the slightest sign of flagging effort, whips lashed out, and each time a fresh chorus of anguish rang through the cavern.
To Sim Ok’s eyes, the underground chamber was hell itself.
“What in the world are they mining?”
At first she’d thought they were digging for gold. But the workers were only swinging pickaxes—there was no sign they were actually extracting anything.
“It seems all the merchants and travelers who went missing have been brought here and enslaved.”
Heuk-no’s eyes gleamed with fierce intensity.
For some time now, countless people had vanished while traveling to conduct trade with the Western Regions. Some had been found as corpses, but most had simply disappeared without a trace.
Sim Su-myeong, the leader of Hyeol-rin Sal-mak, had taken notice of this mystery.
If public anxiety grew and trade with the Western Regions faltered, the damage would ultimately fall squarely upon Hyeol-rin Sal-mak itself.
It was only recently that Sim Su-myeong had uncovered evidence linking Seocheon Sanjang to the disappearances. Already viewing the estate’s rise as an eyesore, he had dispatched Sim Ok and Heuk-no to investigate the truth of the matter.
If Seocheon Sanjang truly was behind the disappearances, there would be ample justification for reprisal.
“So Seocheon Sanjang was behind it all.”
“The question is: what exactly are they after with all this?”
Heuk-no was straining to contain the fury boiling within him.
“Truly a disobedient child. I told you to stay in the Separate Residence, yet here you are, all the way down here.”
A voice neither of them had anticipated came from behind them. The two spun around in shock and saw a familiar silhouette.
It was none other than Eun Ha-seong, master of Seocheon Sanjang. Behind him stood his trusted aide Jo Hyeol-san and a line of the estate’s martial artists.
Sim Ok glared at Eun Ha-seong.
“Why did you bring them here? How could you commit such a heinous act?”
“I had no choice. It was the only way to locate the Blood Demon’s remains.”
“The Blood Demon? You can’t mean—”
In that instant, Sim Ok’s face went pale. A smile played across Eun Ha-seong’s lips.
“You’ve guessed correctly. Sleeping here is the Blood Demon who once drenched all of Xinjiang in blood a hundred years ago.”
Though little known in the Central Plains, in Xinjiang the very name Blood Demon was synonymous with death.
How else could the rumor persist that even the Demonic Cult had sought to recruit him?
But for reasons of his own, the Blood Demon had declined the Demonic Cult’s offer and confined his activities solely to Xinjiang.
In those days, numerous sects of Xinjiang fell to ruin at the Blood Demon’s hand. Though he was pursued relentlessly by countless martial artists, he eluded them all and vanished without a trace.
The number of Xinjiang martial artists slain by the Blood Demon alone exceeded a thousand. It was devastation so immense it seemed impossible for a single person to inflict.
For that reason, the name Blood Demon still lingered in the minds of Xinjiang’s warriors as pure terror.
Eun Ha-seong turned toward Sim Ok and Heuk-no, his smile cold with murderous intent.
“You have witnessed what you should not have seen, and learned what you should not have known.”
“You committed such an atrocity merely to find the Blood Demon’s remains?”
“Merely? Could you still speak so carelessly after seeing this?”
Shing!
Eun Ha-seong drew the blade at his waist. As he did, Jeokseong released an ominous aura that rippled outward in all directions.
Depending on its master’s will, Jeokseong could become a Divine Blade or a Demonic Blade.
“That blade—”
“The Divine Blade Jeokseong, the Blood Demon’s cherished weapon. I recovered it not long ago from the Blood Demon’s Tomb.”
From every inch of Eun Ha-seong’s body, a chilling killing intent exploded outward. It was a magnitude of aura Sim Ok had never once experienced in her entire life.
In that moment, Heuk-no stepped forward, shielding Sim Ok.
“Miss, you must flee.”

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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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