Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 80

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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 80. Unintended Encounters Bring Trouble—Part 1
The girl who descended from the carriage was unmistakably En So Cheong. A guard named Jong Ri Su stood at her side.
“So Cheong!”
“Hmm?”
En So Cheong turned at the sound of Bang Jin Bo’s voice. Her pupils dilated visibly when she recognized him.
“It’s you… Jin Bo.”
“So Cheong, really is you.”
“What are you doing here? Oh, that’s right—you said you were coming to the Cheonha Jeil Roo too.”
En So Cheong’s face lit up as she strode toward him.
“Miss!”
Jong Ri Su called from behind, but it was no use. She closed the distance to Bang Jin Bo in an instant and seized his hand.
“Jin Bo.”
“Oh!”
“I’m sorry for leaving like that back then. My schedule got moved up suddenly—I couldn’t help it.”
“No, no, it’s fine.”
“I’m glad we could meet again at least.”
En So Cheong smiled brightly.
She seemed genuinely delighted to see Bang Jin Bo again. Her unguarded warmth brought a smile to his face.
En So Cheong’s gaze shifted toward Dam Ho.
“Have you been well, sir?”
“Mm.”
“Hehe! Still so quiet, I see. But you’re already leaving after eating?”
“Actually, we don’t have a reservation, so we were just heading back. They told us to come again next month.”
Bang Jin Bo answered in Dam Ho’s stead.
“Is that so?”
En So Cheong’s brow furrowed slightly. The burly men from the Cheonha Jeil Roo who had been standing by immediately tensed.
‘That fat fellow knew the Golden Treasure of the En clan?’
The En Ha Seong was one of the wealthiest families in Honam, counting among the Honam Five Great Sects, and was deeply connected to the Ui Seon Mun, which backed the Cheonha Jeil Roo.
Shim Woo Won, the leader of the Ui Seon Mun, was En So Cheong’s uncle by marriage and cherished her dearly. Offending En So Cheong in this land of Honam was nearly impossible without facing grave consequences.
En So Cheong’s eyes turned toward the burly men.
“Could you arrange seating for these gentlemen?”
“You really don’t have to—”
Bang Jin Bo was about to protest.
“Of course. I’ll have another table brought up at once.”
The same gruff man who had been so stubborn before answered hurriedly.
En So Cheong smiled knowingly.
“See? You can all come upstairs with us.”
“Even so—”
“It’s all right. Let’s go up. And since I feel bad about leaving back then, I’ll treat you this time.”
Bang Jin Bo looked toward Dam Ho with an uncertain expression. Only after seeing Dam Ho nod did a smile settle on his face.
En So Cheong and Jong Ri Su led the way, with Dam Ho and Bang Jin Bo following behind.
The interior of the Cheonha Jeil Roo was far more splendid than its exterior suggested. Furniture crafted by master artisans lined the walls, and ornate lanterns illuminated the space despite the daylight outside.
Well-dressed patrons sat around tables made of the finest wood, dining together.
There were many such groups. The first floor alone held easily twenty tables or more. With five people to a table, well over a hundred guests were dining here.
“Wow!”
Bang Jin Bo gasped aloud.
The aroma wafting from the dishes was extraordinary. The intense fragrance that tickled his nose made his mouth water involuntarily.
En So Cheong passed through the spectacle with composure, climbing the stairs. They ascended past the second floor, the third, the fourth, and finally arrived at the fifth—the topmost level—before her steps halted.
The fifth floor was open on all sides, offering an unobstructed view of Dong Jung Lake and the Yuan River. There were only five tables. Such a setting could only mean one thing: it was exceptionally exclusive.
En So Cheong glanced around and spoke.
“I’ve heard much about this place, but this is my first time actually coming to the Cheonha Jeil Roo.”
“Thank you!”
“There’s still quite a bit of time before my appointment, so I’ll stay with you until then.”
En So Cheong pulled Bang Jin Bo toward an empty seat.
At her behavior, Jong Ri Su’s expression grew troubled. There was some time before the guest arrived, but not that much to spare.
Yet he knew better than anyone that once En So Cheong set her mind to something, no one could dissuade her.
As they settled into their seats, an aged cook climbed the stairs.
He was an elderly man with a goat beard, his features sharp and weathered. He strode toward En So Cheong.
“You’ve come from the En Ha Seong?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmph! No wonder Roo Joo told me to come up and check myself.”
Do Hak Gyeong clicked his tongue as if thoroughly displeased.
He took immense pride in his cooking. He considered everything in the kitchen his domain of excellence, and he thought it only natural that others paid a steep price for the dishes he prepared.
Among the things he despised most was when nobility of high standing sought him out. That hollow feeling of having one’s rhythm interrupted mid-preparation—only a true chef knew such frustration.
Because his pride in the profession of chef exceeded that of almost anyone, Do Hak Gyeong found such situations absolutely unbearable.
“I am Do Hak Gyeong, head chef of the Cheonha Jeil Roo. What dish would you care for?”
“Will you prepare anything I ask for?”
“Hmph! There exists no dish in this world that I cannot make.”
Do Hak Gyeong folded his arms across his chest. At his arrogant bearing, En So Cheong’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.
She could acknowledge his pride as a chef, but the way he looked down on everyone around him was difficult to bear.
Do Hak Gyeong asked once more.
“What shall it be? The En Ha Seong’s prized delicacy.”
“First, I’d like the Golden Silk Oolong.”
At En So Cheong’s request, Bang Jin Bo’s expression shifted to one of bewilderment. The Golden Silk Oolong was the very dish he had prepared for her when they first met.
Do Hak Gyeong, unaware of the circumstances, snorted.
“Hmph! That’s not a difficult dish. What else?”
“The rest I’ll leave to your discretion.”
“Very well. Wait just a moment. I’ll have it ready shortly.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Do Hak Gyeong turned and descended the stairs without a backward glance.
Bang Jin Bo finally released a relieved sigh as he looked at En So Cheong.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“The Golden Silk Oolong.”
“Because it was the most delicious dish I’ve ever eaten.”
“Sigh!”
Bang Jin Bo sighed once more, but a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“Still, En Ha Seong is quite impressive.”
“I’m sorry! I should have told you sooner.”
“No, it’s not that! I was simply taken aback. Your station is so elevated that I wondered if I even had the right to speak with you like this…….”
“What does station have to do with it? We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Friends?”
“Yes! Friends. I think of you as my friend—don’t you think of me that way?”
“I, I…….”
“I don’t have many friends. I’d like it if you would be my friend.”
At En So Cheong’s bold words, Bang Jin Bo’s face flushed. But soon enough, he nodded his head.
“Yes! We’re friends.”
“Ho ho ho!”
En So Cheong’s crystalline laughter rang out.
Watching her, Jong Ri Su shook his head slowly.
En So Cheong was the prized treasure of En Ha Seong. Though perhaps not quite the most exalted person in all the realm, there were precious few in Honam who could claim a station to rival hers.
She might have been a touch arrogant and still been excused, yet En So Cheong was remarkably unpretentious. Her bold nature led her to form friendships with those whose status seemed entirely mismatched with her own elevated birth.
Just as she was doing now.
‘If the clan leader found out about this—a friendship with a boy whose identity isn’t even certain—he would be appalled.’
An angry edict might well come down.
En Il Myeong, the patriarch of En Ha Seong, possessed such a fierce pride that he despised seeing those beneath his family’s dignity come into contact with his daughter.
Mediating between En Il Myeong and En So Cheong was one of Jong Ri Su’s responsibilities. Yet reconciling two people so fundamentally at odds without collision was an extraordinarily difficult task.
Jong Ri Su’s gaze turned toward Dam Ho.
Since arriving at the Cheonha Jeil Roo, Dam Ho had scarcely opened his mouth. That taciturn nature and the peculiar aura surrounding him weighed on Jong Ri Su’s mind.
At first he had given it little thought, but the more carefully he studied Dam Ho, the more there was about him that troubled him. So Jong Ri Su maintained his vigilance without let-up.
‘His name is Dam Ho, isn’t it? I’ll need to have separate inquiries made about this fellow later.’
It was En So Cheong and Jong Ri Su who had come straight down to this place shortly after parting with Dam Ho. Because of that, they had heard almost none of the rumors circulating through the world. So they had no way to deduce Dam Ho’s true identity.
Even as Jong Ri Su was thinking this, the conversation between En So Cheong and Bang Jin Bo continued.
“So you have a meeting arranged here?”
“Yes! He was the one who set up the meeting here.”
“He must be quite an important person, arranging meetings in a place like this.”
“Well, you could say that.”
En So Cheong smiled knowingly. Bang Jin Bo’s face grew red.
It was at that very moment.
“Your food is ready.”
The servers came out carrying trays laden with dishes, Do Hak Gyeong leading the procession.
They busied themselves laying out course after course on the table where the four sat, until it could hold no more.
The aroma alone was enough to cloud the mind.
“Begin with the soup dumplings, if you please, then move to the poached fish. After that, try the five-treasure sea cucumber—the flavors will deepen considerably.”
The soup dumplings were juice-filled and called for an unusual technique: one sipped the filling through a thin straw inserted into the delicate skin.
The poached fish was a study in precision—fileted, lightly fried, then tossed again in a medley of spices and aromatics.
Both were rarities in ordinary kitchens, but the five-treasure sea cucumber was rarer still.
Made with sea cucumber and minced meat as its foundation, it demanded exquisite timing; a moment’s carelessness and the ingredient would shrivel, its essence lost. Few cooks dared attempt it.
Do Hak Gyeong explained his creations with the ease of one assured of their merit, and Bang Jin Bo and En So Cheong followed his instructions, drawing the filling up through the straws with audible sips.
Fine-minced filling rose along the hollow reed.
Both their eyes widened at once.
“Extraordinary.”
The exclamations burst forth simultaneously, and Do Hak Gyeong responded with a self-satisfied snort.
The flavor was a revelation, and both faces glowed with rapture.
Dam Ho, by contrast, ate without expression, and Do Hak Gyeong’s brows twitched at the sight.
‘Hmph. The man is clearly a dullard when it comes to culinary art.’
Such people existed—those who couldn’t distinguish one flavor from another, assuming anything expensive must taste fine.
Do Hak Gyeong placed Dam Ho squarely in that category.
The second course came: the poached fish, fried then tossed again, yet every fillet remained perfectly intact.
Bang Jin Bo and En So Cheong lifted the delicate pieces to their lips with care.
It dissolved the moment it touched the tongue.
The flesh melted instantly.
Sweet heat filled the mouth—a numbing spice that chased away the richness of the first course, leaving the palate refreshed.
“Ah!”
Again they cried out in unison, discovering a new realm of taste.
‘Truly remarkable. He deserves his reputation as a master craftsman.’
Only now did Bang Jin Bo understand why Bang Woo Gwang had been so eager to sample Do Hak Gyeong’s cooking.
Superior ingredients, perfect seasonings, living flame, and masterful technique—all harmonizing to birth something entirely new.
‘Never tasted anything like this before……’
Tears of wonder glistened in Bang Jin Bo’s eyes.
Without thinking, he glanced at Dam Ho. The man was eating too, but his face betrayed nothing—no pleasure, no surprise.
‘What’s wrong? Doesn’t he like it?’
In the past, Dam Ho had always shown his preference clearly when dining on Bang Jin Bo’s own cooking. This silence unsettled him.
Bang Jin Bo dismissed the thought and turned his attention back to the plate.
He took another spoonful of the poached fish. Still divine.
Then something nagged at him—a flicker of recognition. The taste seemed familiar somehow, though he couldn’t place it.
‘My imagination, surely.’
Do Hak Gyeong’s voice cut through his thoughts.
“Now, the final course—the five-treasure sea cucumber. Sea cucumber, meat, and stir-fried vegetables, all together.”
Bang Jin Bo and En So Cheong obeyed, raising their spoons.
Do Hak Gyeong watched them with arrogant anticipation, waiting for their shock and delight.
“It’s good.”
But En So Cheong’s response fell short of his expectations. Do Hak Gyeong’s expression faltered, and he turned to Bang Jin Bo hopefully.
“Mm.”
The reply was lukewarm at best.
The flavor was there, certainly—but it was not new. It tasted like something already tasted.
‘Where have I had this before?’
Then it came.
Clack.
En So Cheong set down her chopsticks abruptly and looked at Bang Jin Bo.
“Yours tasted better.”
The temperature in the room dropped in an instant.

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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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