Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 82

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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 81. Unintended Meetings Bring Trouble — Part 3
Bang Jin Bo held En So Cheong’s shoulder as he stared at Dam Ho. En So Cheong’s face had gone deathly pale. She was far too young and fragile to withstand the full force of Dam Ho’s Killing Intent.
Jong Ri Su stood before En So Cheong with his blade drawn—drawn without his own volition, swept up by Dam Ho’s presence.
Jong Ri Su clenched his teeth, glaring at Dam Ho. His palms were slick with sweat, though he himself seemed utterly unaware of it. That was how badly his nerves were fraying.
Dam Ho’s gaze shifted to Bang Jin Bo. Bang Jin Bo shook his head.
Not for his own sake. For En So Cheong’s. Dam Ho read the intention in Bang Jin Bo’s gesture.
Dam Ho’s eyes turned toward Shim U Won.
“You don’t lay hands on people carelessly.”
With those words, Dam Ho returned to his seat. Only then did the air, rigid as stone, finally break.
“Phew.”
Someone let out a breath of relief.
Shim U Won racked his mind desperately, trying to place Dam Ho’s identity. Then he recalled a rumor he’d heard recently—one he’d dismissed as too outlandish to believe.
‘A martial artist who destroyed Seo Cheon San Jang single-handedly, who displayed impossible Martial Prowess at Hongam San Jang, and who suppressed Nam Hak—the foremost disciple of Gong Dong Pa and a member of Gu Mu Ryong—in one fell swoop? I’d written it all off as nonsense because it seemed too absurd.’
The subject of that unbelievable rumor was said to wear a pitch-black long robe and walk with a slight limp.
That was why he’d dismissed it as a fabrication, but the man standing before him matched that description exactly.
Shim U Won’s firmly sealed lips parted.
“Shin… Kang Hyeol-seong.”
Now he believed the rumor.
No—he had no choice but to believe it.
The man before him was far more terrifying than what the rumors had painted. Even if his martial prowess were only half of what was whispered, it would mean Sect Destruction for Uiseonmun. Somehow, he had to smooth this over.
He spoke hastily.
“I-I apologize. I fear I acted rashly.”
For the sect leader of Uiseonmun, these were words that came with great difficulty. Yet Dam Ho’s reply remained as cold as ever.
“Your apology should be made to them, not me.”
Bang Jin Bo and En So Cheong still hadn’t recovered from the shock.
“I’m sorry. I should have explained the circumstances before speaking. If my words caused you pain, I ask your forgiveness.”
“No, no, it’s alright.”
“Uncle, we’re fine.”
This turn of events had left Bang Jin Bo and En So Cheong thoroughly bewildered instead.
En So Cheong’s confusion was especially beyond words. She had never once seen her uncle Shim U Won display such weakness.
Which only meant one thing: Dam Ho terrified him.
En So Cheong glanced sideways at Dam Ho.
He sat as if nothing had happened, calm and composed. Just as the eye of a hurricane brings peace while all around is devastated—so too did he embody that strange tranquility.
‘Just who is this man?’
But En So Cheong didn’t dare even think of asking.
Before her eyes lay a corpse transformed into a mass of blood. That horrific sight left her struggling to breathe.
It was Do Hak Gyeong who had become thoroughly unsettled by the situation. Do Hak Gyeong was now holding his breath, afraid to exhale loudly.
‘A… a God of Death stood right before me.’
He’d heard stories of martial artists being fearsome, but until now he’d never given them any serious thought. If anything, he’d scorned them as uncouth brutes incapable of appreciating the subtle world of fine cuisine.
All of that had been possible because Uiseonmun had steadily protected him. But now that that shelter had vanished, he was no longer the master chef with unshakeable pride—merely a frightened old man.
Dam Ho’s gaze turned toward Do Hak Gyeong. Do Hak Gyeong immediately averted his eyes. He lacked the courage to meet Dam Ho’s stare.
“Because of you, an innocent life was snuffed out.”
“…….”
Do Hak Gyeong’s eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck within them.
Part of him wanted to cry out, ‘How is that my fault? You’re the one who killed him.’ But facing Dam Ho, he hadn’t the courage to speak even if it cost him his life.
Shim U Won looked at Do Hak Gyeong.
“Tell me—did you make any mistakes while preparing the dish?”
“You know as well as I do that’s impossible.”
“Then why—”
That was when it came to him.
“Oh, did you perhaps add Tian Xiang Cao when making the Geum Sa O Ryong?”
Bang Jin Bo suddenly clapped, as if remembering. Do Hak Gyeong’s face went pale with shock.
Tian Xiang Cao was a rare spice found only on Cheon Shan. Even among master chefs, few knew of its existence, and fewer still knew how to use it.
He had added a small amount of Tian Xiang Cao to the Geum Sa O Ryong to enhance its flavor. Not even his fellow chefs knew of this secret.
“Now that I think about it…”
Bang Jin Bo murmured.
Watching him, Do Hak Gyeong asked, “How did you know about the Tian Xiang Cao?”
“I’ve tasted it before.”
“You’ve tasted Tian Xiang Cao? That precious thing?”

“Yes!”
When Dam Ho had laid waste to Seo Cheon San Jang, Bang Jin Bo had tasted Tian Xiang Cao. Though years had passed, he remembered that flavor still.
So when he tasted the Geum Sa O Ryong that Do Hak Gyeong had prepared, something about it felt oddly familiar.
“Tian Xiang Cao is certainly meant to elevate the taste of food to its finest. But in this case, the flavor seems too strong.”
“You mean it was excessive.”
“That’s my opinion, yes.”
“Hmm.”
Do Hak Gyeong let out a low sigh.
He had not anticipated that the Tian Xiang Cao he’d added to enhance the fragrance would instead spoil the very taste he was after.
Do Hak Gyeong regarded Bang Jin Bo with fresh eyes.
“Have you studied cooking?”
“My father was a master chef. I learned from him.”
“Remarkable. To distinguish the taste of Tian Xiang Cao like that—you have a truly exceptional palate.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Forgive me. I blamed you without understanding my own mistake. I owe an apology to En So Cheong as well. But did En So Cheong know about the Tian Xiang Cao?”
“No. As I said before, I’ve tasted better Geum Sa O Ryong than this.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“To my taste, the Geum Sa O Ryong that Bang Jin Bo made is the finest. That doesn’t mean the kitchen’s cooking is without merit. It’s simply that his suits my palate better.”
“Hmm.”
Do Hak Gyeong exhaled another sigh.
Now everything became clear. They had not been scheming against him. It was all his own blunder, his own misunderstanding. But the price had been steep.
A man had died, and his own honor lay in ruins. And Shim U Won—he too had lost face so completely he could scarcely lift his head. How could he even face Shim U Won now?
Do Hak Gyeong gazed at Shim U Won and sighed.
“This is all my fault. My arrogance led me to blunder. I will take full responsibility and step down from my position as head chef. Please, punish me as you see fit.”
“No. The fault is mine as well. I condemned them rashly, without examining the circumstances.”
Shim U Won exhaled a quiet sigh.
How had things spiraled to this point? It felt as though he’d been bewitched by something, as though he were waking from a terrible nightmare. Yet this was all real, and all of it fell upon his shoulders to bear.
Dam Ho was watching him intently.
For now, held in check by Bang Jin Bo’s presence—but the moment changed, that expression and atmosphere suggested he would move.
Shim U Won cupped his fists toward Dam Ho.
“I apologize once more. Will you not agree that we both withdraw from this matter now?”
“Even though my subordinate is dead?”
“I will overlook it nonetheless.”
A tremor ran through Shim U Won’s shoulders. A shame too great to bear pressed down upon them both. Yet he knew he had to endure it.
He could not let anger drive him to make an enemy of someone like Dam Ho. If he did, the consequences would ripple far beyond his imagining.
This was not the time to make Dam Ho his enemy. Not now, at any rate.
Dam Ho rose from his seat and spoke.
“If your resolve changes, come find me anytime.”
…….
“But come prepared to stake the lives of all your sect members.”
A choked sound escaped Shim U Won.
At Dam Ho’s words—crude and merciless as they were—Shim U Won’s face contorted with rage. Yet he could not refute him. He felt the truth in Dam Ho’s words.
Dam Ho turned toward the stairs. He still favored his injured leg slightly, but the sight of him somehow seemed all the more fearsome.
Bang Jin Bo spoke to En So Cheong.
“I’m going.”
“But……”
“We’ll talk later.”
Bang Jin Bo offered En So Cheong his characteristic warm smile, then followed Dam Ho.
En So Cheong gazed after Bang Jin Bo’s retreating figure, dazed.
Thump! Thump!
The sound of their footsteps descending the stairs pressed heavy against Shim U Won’s chest.
“Sigh.”
Only when their footfalls had faded did Shim U Won regard the guests on the fifth floor. Now he had to contain the damage.
Do Hak Gyeong’s reputation could not suffer further, nor could the Uiseonmun’s name be tarnished.
Fortunately, Shim U Won possessed both medical skill and martial prowess—and the En family’s wealth besides. With such resources, there was little he could not resolve.
Now it was time to talk.
Bang Jin Bo suddenly turned to look back. Far off, above the hillside, Cheonha Jeil Lou gazed down at them serenely.
Just moments ago, Cheonha Jeil Lou had seemed so magnificent. Now, strangely, it no longer appeared quite so lofty.
‘So Cheong.’
He didn’t know what En So Cheong thought of him now. That uncertainty gnawed at him. But he couldn’t bear to leave Dam Ho alone either.
Dam Ho’s expression was blank, so utterly detached that one could scarcely believe he had just killed a man.
Bang Jin Bo approached his side.
“Brother!”
At the call, Dam Ho looked down at him.
“Why did you do that?”
……
“That Martial Artist from the Uiseonmun… did he really need to die?”
“It was necessary.”
“Why?”
“Most people won’t believe in hell even when they see it before their eyes — not until they experience it themselves.”
“Brother!”
“Have you looked into the eyes of the Uiseonmun Master?”
“Well, I…”
“The eyes of a typical opportunist. Such men are weak before the strong and merciless toward the weak. That’s why an example had to be made.”
The sort who seize on any hint of weakness in their opponent and grind them underfoot without mercy, yet bow and scrape endlessly before the powerful. The Uiseonmun Master Dam Ho had seen was precisely that type.
“Brother!”
“The shell of the Uiseonmun, the reputation in the world — none of that matters much. Strip away the robes of a Sect Master and what’s left of him? Erase the smile from his face and what remains? What matters isn’t what the eye can see on the surface. What truly matters is the essence of the man himself.”
Dam Ho spoke far more than was usual for him.
He wanted to teach Bang Jin Bo — how to live in this world, how to survive in its harshness.
Bang Jin Bo was far too innocent, and he believed the world was bright. But this world was neither as beautiful nor as luminous as he imagined.
Sometimes, the most brutal method is the truest course.
Dam Ho was conveying his beliefs to Bang Jin Bo through his very actions. How Bang Jin Bo would receive them was his alone to decide.

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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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