Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 75

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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 74. We Meet Like the Waves of the Yangtze, and We Part—3
Ak Yang was laid out like a chessboard, its districts organized with meticulous clarity. Because of this, even a first-time visitor could navigate its streets without much difficulty.
Dam Ho was no exception. He found his destination without trouble.
It was a place the people of Ak Yang called Dong Myeong Ro.
Along the long expanse of Dong Myeong Ro, Gi Ru establishments lined the street in succession. Though it was still broad daylight, courtesans adorned in fine dress leaned from the windows of these establishments, tempting passersby with their presence.
“Come in here, gentleman. I’ll treat you well. Hehe!”
“This way, please. I, Jin Hong, will make you melt to your bones.”
The courtesans spoke without restraint, their words laced with suggestiveness.
Some men flushed at their advances, but most surrendered to the courtesans’ enticements and stepped inside the establishments.
The courtesans extended their invitations to Dam Ho as well. But he walked past in silence, unmoved.
As he ventured deeper into the district, the courtesans’ solicitation grew more aggressive.
“Come this way. Our Cheon Sang Ru is the finest here.”
“What are you saying? Hong Hwa Ru is the best.”
The courtesans rushed at him, tugging at his sleeves.
Dam Ho brushed their hands away and continued walking. At this, the courtesans’ faces twisted uglily—their pride wounded.
“This impotent bastard.”
“What’s wrong with us?”
The courtesans behind him who had been calling out grew bitter, but Dam Ho’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.
The deeper he went into the street, the more courtesans tried to seize him. Though they smiled coquettishly, Dam Ho didn’t blink once.
Most of the courtesans eventually tired and gave up, but one was different—a young girl who appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen.
This courtesan, her round eyes sparkling with an innocent smile, grasped Dam Ho’s wrist.
“You must be quite discerning, sir. Then what of our Cheon Sang Ru? There is no Gi Ru in all of Ak Yang that can compare to us.”
Though young, she spoke with bold confidence. For a moment, a flicker of interest crossed Dam Ho’s eyes before vanishing—but the girl didn’t notice.
“I’ll go to Cheon Sang Ru.”
“Really?”
The young courtesan’s expression showed surprise.
She hadn’t expected that Dam Ho, who had rejected every other courtesan’s advances up until now, would agree so readily to enter Cheon Sang Ru.
The girl’s face broke into a bright smile.
“You’ve made a good choice. I’ll show you the way.”
The courtesan led Dam Ho toward Cheon Sang Ru.
True to her boast, Cheon Sang Ru was extremely lavish. The courtesans waiting inside were also strikingly beautiful.
Whoosh!
As the courtesan opened the door, an ornately decorated interior revealed itself.
Antique yet elaborate furnishings were arranged throughout the space, and red silk lanterns cast a soft glow over everything.
“Please wait here, and Cheon Sang Ru’s finest courtesans will come to attend you. Is there any particular courtesan you’d prefer?”
Even as she spoke, the girl thought this unlikely.
She went out to the street every day to solicit customers. Anyone who had visited Cheon Sang Ru even once would surely be remembered by her.
If someone had never come to Cheon Sang Ru before, there was no way they could know any of the courtesans here.
But Dam Ho’s reply exceeded her expectations.
“What about you?”
“Pardon?”
“I want you.”
“Me…… sir?”
The courtesan stammered. Bewilderment was plain on her face. She hadn’t expected Dam Ho to ask for her specifically.
“I… I…”
“Why not?”
Dam Ho suddenly withdrew something from his breast and placed it on the table.
The object, no larger than a child’s fist, was a Myo An Seok—a gem that resembled the eye of a cat.
“Will this suffice?”
The young courtesan’s pupils dilated.
Though young, she knew how precious a Myo An Seok was.
A treasure that couldn’t be obtained even with ten thousand gold pieces.
And he had just produced such a treasure.
She could no longer refuse based solely on being a child courtesan.
“I… I…”
The young courtesan stammered.
She retreated backward, hesitant. Dam Ho gazed at her in silence.
Their eyes met.
In that instant, the girl felt her entire body go cold.
Dam Ho’s eyes were terrifyingly expressionless. Within them lay not a shred of human emotion.
Only then did the courtesan realize that this guest she had solicited was an entirely different breed from the ordinary men who passed through her room.
She had never in her life met anyone with eyes like Dam Ho’s. For a girl still so young, the intensity in those eyes was utterly terrifying.
That was when it happened.
“Un Jeong’s brought in quite a frightening guest, hasn’t she?”
A woman’s voice drifted from behind the young courtesan’s back.
Un Jeong spun around at once. There, adorned in an ornate silk robe, stood a woman who had entered the room without a sound.
The woman wore her face concealed behind fine fabric, revealing only her eyes. Yet those eyes burned with an unfathomable depth and an almost hypnotic allure.
Un Jeong quickly bowed her head.
“Madam Ru, Madam Ru…”
“I am in charge here. You are not equipped to handle someone of this caliber.”
“Yes!”
Un Jeong left with her bow, slipping out of the room.
Now alone with Dam Ho, the woman studied him. From her entire being flowed an air of unmistakable authority.
She opened her mouth to speak.
“Where do you hail from, sir?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me. Very much so.”
“Not to me.”
“Then what does matter to you?”
“That this establishment is a branch of Ha O Mun.”
In an instant, the woman’s eyes—which had held such soft curves—turned rigid and cold.
“How did you know?”
Beneath the gentleness of her voice lay a thin edge of killing intent.
In that moment, Dam Ho could sense her weighing whether to let him live based on his answer.
“Does it matter?”
“For an organization like Ha O Mun to have its location exposed so easily—that suggests a problem.”
“That girl.”
“Pardon?”
“Un Jeong—she’s been trained in martial arts. Unlike the other courtesans here.”
Dam Ho felt the grip of her hand on his arm and sensed the flow of her Internal Energy. It was far beyond what an ordinary courtesan would possess. This was merely an educated guess on his part—that perhaps she was connected to Ha O Mun.
The woman shook her head slowly.
“Sending her out to cultivate her eye for people was a mistake, it seems. Yes, this is the Ak Yang branch of Ha O Mun.”
In the woman’s gaze now lay a faint glimmer of genuine admiration.
Few people knew that this place was a branch of Ha O Mun. Most assumed merely that a handful of the courtesans here had some connection to the organization.
The woman’s eyes shifted to the Myo An Seok resting before Dam Ho. At a glance, it was an exceptional specimen.
To brandish such a treasure carelessly in the Gang Ho was to court death itself.
Yet this man carried such a jewel as though it were nothing—either his confidence was staggering, or his recklessness was unparalleled.
The woman took her seat across from Dam Ho.
“My name is Ki Ye Hwa. And you, a person of the underworld—your name is?”
“Dam Ho.”
“An unusual name. Once heard, it’s difficult to forget.”
Ki Ye Hwa’s eyes gleamed with interest.
The man before her struck her as fascinating in every way—his intense appearance, the aura that clung to him, and above all, those eyes that held the depth of an endless abyss.
It is often said that the eyes are the window to the soul.
Ki Ye Hwa believed this to be true. Over the years, she had encountered countless people and read their hearts through their gaze.
But now, looking into the eyes of this man before her, she could see nothing at all.
‘One of two things, then. Either he has locked the door to his heart completely, or he is supremely skilled at concealing his feelings.’
Either way, he was a type of person she had never encountered before.
“Dam—one of the underworld—what business brings you to our Ha O Mun?”
“I’m looking for someone.”
“I’m not certain where you heard such rumors, but…”
“Seventeen or eighteen years ago. Bandits operating in Sham Seo Seong. Thirty-seven of them—no, thirty-six, since one fell. All mounted on horseback. Their leader was a man in his early thirties who wielded a Nang Ah Do. By now, he’d be close to fifty. A long scar marks his left cheek.”
Ki Ye Hwa’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Why are you telling us this…?”
“Find him for me.”
“Sir Dam!”
“Take whatever time you need. But find him. I’m certain of it.”
In that moment, Ki Ye Hwa felt as though she had plunged into ice water, and a chill shook through her entire body.
She understood it instinctively.
That she could never refuse this man’s request. And that his words were no mere plea—they were an absolute command.
“Sigh!”
Ki Ye Hwa exhaled softly.
From the moment Dam Ho entered, she had been yielding control, pulled along in his wake. She disliked this position, yet the truth was she had no ready way to break free.
‘Troublesome.’
Ki Ye Hwa realized the time had come for her to make a decision.
“Very well. I’ll look into it. But you should know—the price for Ha O Mun’s involvement is steep.”
Dam Ho silently pushed the Myo An Seok across the table toward her. Ki Ye Hwa exhaled again.
“Sigh! This much should suffice, I suppose. But this is the last time, Dam Ho. If you presume to treat us with such disrespect again, I won’t be so forgiving.”
“I’ll remember.”
With that, Dam Ho rose from his seat.
He turned his back to Ki Ye Hwa and walked toward the door. His gait was uneven—one leg limped noticeably. At the sight of it, Ki Ye Hwa’s eyes glittered like a morning star.
Click.
Dam Ho closed the door and vanished.
Left alone, Ki Ye Hwa opened her mouth.
“Seol Hee.”
“Yes, miss.”
At the reply, an antique piece of furniture in the corner shifted slightly, revealing a concealed passage. From it emerged a woman of small stature.
Her petite frame matched her delicate, lovely face.
Her name was Cho Seol Hee—she and Ki Ye Hwa had spent many years together.
“What’s your impression of him?”
“I cannot say. He is utterly inscrutable.”
“To that extent?”
A flash of surprise crossed Ki Ye Hwa’s face.
Though small in frame, Cho Seol Hee was a formidable martial artist. Among everyone Ki Ye Hwa knew, few possessed martial skill greater than hers.
“If you fought at full strength?”
“It would be hard to say without trying. But I doubt it would be easy. Did you see that gaze of his—like frozen ice? More lethal than a viper’s stare.”
“Indeed.”
Ki Ye Hwa nodded and gazed out the window.
Dam Ho was walking away, still limping on one leg.
“Two days ago, I received information that seemed impossible. It concerned a crippled martial artist.”
“What?”
“A one-legged martial artist single-handedly destroyed Seo Cheon San Jang, the place where the Hegemon of Shin Kang Seong once dreamed of dominion.”
“Surely not?”
“Unbelievable, I know. When I first heard it, I thought the rumor had been exaggerated. But then a second account reached me—this time from Hong Am San Jang in Gan Su Seong. With over a thousand warriors watching, this same crippled man brutally crushed Nam Hak, the first disciple of Gong Dong Pa.”
“Nam Hak—you mean one of the Nine Dragons? He really defeated him?”
“I couldn’t believe it either. That’s why I felt confirmation was necessary.”
“Nam Hak is formidable. His true martial power runs far deeper than what is commonly known. The idea that a one-legged cripple defeated him is absurd.”
“Which is why most people dismissed the rumors as distorted accounts. I did too.”
Dam Ho’s figure had completely vanished from sight, yet Ki Ye Hwa’s gaze remained fixed on the street where he had disappeared.
“The Blood Star descended upon Shin Kang.”
Simply speaking that name was enough to conjure the reek of blood.
“From now on, the Ak Yang branch of Ha O Mun will mobilize all resources to prioritize his request. And Seol Hee—I want you to uncover everything about that man. Where he comes from, where he was raised, his martial lineage, what he loves, what he despises—every last detail, no matter how small.”
“Understood, miss.”
Ki Ye Hwa bit her lip.
Wind blew through the open window. What should have been a refreshing breeze felt strangely suffocating.

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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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