Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 43

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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 43. The Wind Always Blows from Unexpected Places—3
“Please!”
Geum Jung-gwang and the workers gazed into the enclosure with desperate expressions. Inside, Heuk-gwi stood motionless. A sleek white mare circled around him.
She was the finest brood mare they kept at Geum Ma Farm—a thoroughbred with the best bloodline. She’d come into heat and needed to be bred.
Though the mare swished her tail and circled, Heuk-gwi stood as though entirely indifferent. Geum Jung-gwang’s face had gone ashen.
Over the past several days, he’d brought countless mares to Heuk-gwi’s stall. Yet the stallion had never once mounted any of them.
It occurred to him that perhaps the previous mares hadn’t met Heuk-gwi’s standards. So he’d brought his very best—the finest mare in the stable.
“This time, please….”
Geum Jung-gwang yearned for Heuk-gwi’s bloodline. If he could breed horses carrying Heuk-gwi’s strain, he’d not only earn considerable wealth but elevate Geum Ma Farm’s reputation immensely.
People often spoke of the old saying: South Ships North Horses. The southern regions had developed waterways and relied on boats, while the north, lacking such infrastructure, depended on horses—hence the phrase.
Horse farms concentrated across the northern reaches of the continent, and numerous operations competed fiercely to breed superior stock.
A farm’s competitive edge lay in breeding animals of excellent lineage. Unfortunately, Geum Ma Farm had yet to possess bloodlines notably superior to its rivals.
This breeding was crucial. Even a single foal carrying Heuk-gwi’s blood could be used to raise many more offspring.
Given just one generation, Geum Ma Farm could stand shoulder to shoulder with the most prestigious operations.
“Please! Please!”
Geum Jung-gwang’s hands were worn raw from his entreaties.
At last, as if his desperate wish had been answered, Heuk-gwi mounted the mare. Geum Jung-gwang’s face suddenly brightened with hope.
“Finally, for us too….”
He decided he would owe Dam-ho a substantial debt of gratitude.
Dam-ho sat on an ordinary rock in the center of the farm, gazing toward where the well stood.
At the well, Bang Jin-bo was preparing food. The farm workers, having tasted his remarkable culinary skill, had become his fervent admirers.
Over the past days, Bang Jin-bo had displayed his talent, creating various dishes. His creations were things rarely seen in this place, and to people accustomed to sparse fare, they came as a revelation.
Eventually, Geum Gwan-cheon granted Bang Jin-bo permission to cook freely during his stay and opened the storehouse to him.
Bang Jin-bo seized the opportunity to prepare dishes recorded in the cookbook his father had left him. With unlimited ingredients at hand, there was no reason to hesitate.
A genuine smile bloomed on Bang Jin-bo’s face—not forced, but the expression of someone who truly enjoyed making food.
The women helped him while learning cooking techniques over his shoulder.
Bang Jin-bo had another devoted follower.
“Brother!”
Geum So-hye, the precious jewel of Geum Ma Farm, was following him like a chick after a hen.
Captivated by Bang Jin-bo’s cooking, Geum So-hye trailed him everywhere. Bang Jin-bo found her charming beyond measure.
It was a scene of happiness suited to a painting. Yet Dam-ho had no place in it.
No one approached him easily. The workers kept their distance. They instinctively sensed that Dam-ho was different from ordinary men, and they were wary.
Then it happened.
“Great Master!”
Geum Jung-gwang came rushing toward Dam-ho, breathless.
Seeing his face flushed with joy, Dam-ho intuited that his wish had been granted.
“It’s done. Finally, Heuk-gwi and the mare….”
He didn’t need to hear the rest.
Geum Jung-gwang announced with barely contained excitement that Heuk-gwi had successfully bred. His face glowed with a broad smile.
“This is all thanks to you, Great Master. I shall repay this debt thoroughly.”
“Enough.”
“With the bloodline of a Han Bloodline Horse, the Hua Shan School and the Gongdong School will surely covet it. They’re desperate to expand their influence these days, after all.”
“The Hua Shan School?”
“We visit the Central Plains once a year to sell horses. Given that Gansu Province and Shaanxi Province are relatively close, we pass through now and then.”
…
“The Hua Shan School has been the most prosperous sect in recent years. We naturally cannot overlook them.”
Geum Jung-gwang rambled on about the Hua Shan School without Dam-ho having asked.
“Since Jang Mun-in became the Profound Immortal, this is likely the sect’s greatest period of glory. A brilliant young martial master named Myeong-gyeong has emerged and risen to the rank of the Nine Martial Dragons, and their power has expanded beyond all previous measure.”
Myeong-gyeong was the finest young martial master the Hua Shan School had produced in recent years.
He held his place among the Nine Martial Dragons with full justification.
“The Nine Martial Dragons?”
“They are called the greatest rising talents of the Jianghu.”
The people of the Central Plains called this age the Blessed Era.
Heaven had sent not merely one or two prodigies, but nine—nine talents had emerged in this very age.
Martial masters whose individual achievements had already elevated them to the ranks of the Jianghu’s greatest. Nine such warriors appearing at once meant the Jianghu enjoyed its most glorious period.
The Jianghu, which had fallen into ruin following the war with the Demon Cult, had recovered its former vitality and was now thriving with far greater dynamism than before.
Countless martial schools had opened, and skilled masters poured forth. The Nine Martial Dragons were the most outstanding among them—rising masters whose presence and martial prowess were unquestionable.
Wudang School’s Peerless Sword, Jin Mu-yeong, whom they had nurtured with all their might, and Shaolin’s martial monk So-cheon with his One-Fist Mountain-Shattering technique were exemplars of such masters.
Myeong-gyeong was one of them.
Known as the Solitary Sword of Hua Shan, he had made his name resound throughout the Jianghu.
Geum Jung-gwang continued to speak of the Nine Martial Dragons afterward, but his words fell on deaf ears as far as Dam-ho was concerned.
“What of the situation within Hua Shan School?”
“The situation?”
“The movements of Jang Mun-in and the elders.”
“Well, how should I know such things unless I were a disciple of Hua Shan School myself? But from what I understand, they are getting along without any particular troubles.”
Dam-ho’s pupils flickered for the first time.
That was enough. Even a master with little presence would be managing well as an elder of Hua Shan School.
Geum Jung-gwang’s eyes brightened.
Geum Jung-gwang was a man who had spent his entire life with horses. He had met countless people to sell them, and had weathered tremendous hardships. His intuition had naturally developed to an extraordinary degree.
‘He must have some connection to Hua Shan School.’
He had said much, but Dam-ho’s reaction had been only to the words Hua Shan School. Yet Geum Jung-gwang was not particularly troubled by this.
Hua Shan School was a great sect belonging to the Nine Great Sects. As one of nine major sects dominating the Central Plains, Hua Shan School had cultivated countless connections throughout the land. It would not be strange at all if one of those many ties extended to Dam-ho.
Dam-ho rose from the rock.
He moved away, leaving Geum Jung-gwang behind.
Geum Jung-gwang gazed steadily at Dam-ho’s receding figure. His back, solid as ancient stone, somehow seemed lonely. Perhaps it looked all the more so because he walked with a slight limp.
“Huh. Even a man so forceful as that has such a side to him?”
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“Huff, huff!”
Rough breath poured from Sim-ok’s mouth, and with it came the stench of blood. Her face was flushed crimson, and her chest heaved with labored breathing.
Sim-ok steadied her breath and looked back over her shoulder.
Far off in the pitch darkness, a few torches flickered and wavered. They were drawing closer to her at alarming speed.
The sound of dogs barking mixed with the shouts of men echoed through the night.
“This way.”
“Release the dogs.”
Woof! Woof!
Sim-ok’s complexion turned ashen.
She had already suffered severe internal injuries and considerable external wounds. That she had managed to flee this far was in itself fortunate—but Heuk-no had been granted no such luck.
Had Heuk-no not thrown himself wholly in her defense against Eun-ha-seong, she would never have made it this far.
‘Miss, flee!’
Heuk-no’s voice still rang in her ears as clearly as if he were crying out in this very moment.
Sim-ok possessed considerable martial skill in her own right, yet Eun-ha-seong was not an opponent she could dare face. Had Heuk-no not seized Eun-ha-seong’s ankle with every last shred of his strength, escape from Blood Demon Tower would have been impossible.
What had become of Heuk-no, Sim-ok did not know.
“I’m sorry, Heuk-no!”
Sim-ok wiped at her eyes.
Ordinarily fearless, now that she found herself suddenly alone, she could not grasp what she ought to do.
Only now did Sim-ok understand how much she had relied upon Heuk-no.
First, she had to shake off their pursuit and make her way back to Blood Forest Fortress. But they had cleverly sealed off her escape routes entirely.
In practical terms, it was impossible to slip through their perimeter and reach Blood Forest Fortress.
Sim-ok made a decision.
“I have to lose them first.”
Since the westward path was completely blocked, her only option was to move east.
“Heuk-no, wait a little. I’ll come back soon.”
Sim-ok began to move again.
She deployed her Light Body Technique and rushed eastward. Her figure vanished into the darkness in an instant.
Long after Sim-ok disappeared, a band of men appeared at the spot where she had stood.
“It was here.”
They were warriors from Seotcheon Mountain Estate, pursuing Sim-ok.
At their head stood Jo-hyeol-san, Eun-ha-seong’s most trusted lieutenant.
“Stubborn woman. To flee this far despite such wounds.”
Jo-hyeol-san clicked his tongue.
Even accounting for the fact that she was the fort-master of Blood Forest Fortress, her martial prowess exceeded his expectations.
“If that woman returns to Blood Forest Fortress, matters will grow complicated. We must eliminate her before she reaches it, by any means.”
What Eun-ha-seong had obtained thus far was only the Way of Blood Demon. He had not yet secured the true secret teachings. Should Eun-ha-seong acquire the methods as well and perfect his martial arts, there would be no need to fear Blood Forest Fortress.
Eun-ha-seong’s ambition stretched far beyond mere dominance of the barren Xinjiang Region. To venture into the Central Plains and establish his own school—with the supreme teachings of the Way of Blood Demon mastered, even the Nine Great Sects would hold no terror for him.
Until that time, he must buy time.
Jo-hyeol-san questioned his subordinate.
“What lies ahead if we go this way?”
“There is nothing until Ga-yok Gate. Ah, there is one horse station in between.”
“A horse station?”
An urgent light dawned in Jo-hyeol-san’s eyes.
If Sim-ok managed to procure a horse at the Geum Ma Farm, it would be a disaster. Should she slip across the Ga-yok Gate and enter the Central Plains, there would be no way to track her.
“If we’re not careful, that woman will overturn the entire board.”
A considerable distance had already opened between them. In their current situation, Jo-hyeol-san couldn’t guarantee they could catch her before she reached the Geum Ma Farm.
Even amid the urgency, Jo-hyeol-san’s mind turned with a clarity sharper than ever.
He suddenly recalled that there were capable reinforcements nearby he could use.
“Release the carrier pigeons and have everyone assembled at the Geum Ma Farm. If that woman crosses the Ga-yok Gate, the entire game is lost.”
“Yes, understood. I’ll send the carrier pigeons at once.”
The subordinate answered hurriedly.

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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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