Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 109

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 109
Haomun!
A faction that had named itself “the lowest and filthiest”—Haomun had existed in Kangho for merely two centuries, yet its influence was formidable.
Information networks that rivaled Gae Bang itself.
And a single, distinctive method of transaction.
A method that was wholly foreign and singular.
Namely.
“As long as you pay, they ask no questions about who you are or what information you seek—they simply sell.”
Whether it served Orthodox Sects or Heterodox Factions.
Or even if the buyer was a Public Enemy of the Martial World, Haomun didn’t probe into the purchaser’s identity.
Money changed hands, and information flowed.
How extraordinary a thing was this.
To have the audacity to do business with Orthodox and Heterodox alike, and even with those branded Public Enemies—it was unthinkable.
Had any faction learned that one of its own had sold secrets to a rival, Faction Destruction would have been the only answer.
Yet Haomun endured to this day.
There were many reasons, but stripped to essentials, four stood out.
First, they dealt only in transactions.
Second, by treating all parties equally—Orthodox or not—they had built unshakeable trust.
Third, everything about Haomun was veiled in absolute secrecy.
Who their faction leader was.
How many members they possessed.
Where their main headquarters lay.
And finally, the decisive factor—an event from the distant past.
Once, several hostile factions, bitter over information sold to their enemies, had conspired and attempted to ambush Haomun.
But Haomun learned of it—through means unknown—and fled. The attackers, left with nothing, withdrew in frustration.
Then, the very next day, the hidden vices and crimes of those factions that had attacked Haomun were laid bare across Kangho.
When the ugly face beneath the gentlemen’s masks was revealed, they crumbled.
And that was not the end.
To finish them completely, Haomun handed over all their weaknesses and secrets to those who had long coveted their downfall.
Within a fortnight, every faction that had attacked Haomun was obliterated.
Without Haomun lifting a finger.
After that incident, not even the Guzhou Three Great Powers dared touch Haomun, and all Kangho acquiesced to their existence.
Outwardly, the excuse was neutrality, but the truth was far darker.
No one knew Haomun’s true nature, so none dared attack them without fear of suffering the same fate as those before.
After all, no faction in the world could claim perfect innocence.
Thus, the Guzhou Three Great Powers and every other faction were forced to acknowledge and tolerate Haomun’s existence.
As the sole neutral faction of Kangho.
“Here, the Haomun Insignia—”
The man hastily withdrew from his sleeve a cloth bearing the symbol of Haomun and spread it before him.
“Look, please.”
When Cheon Hui saw the silk embroidered with the characters “Haomun,” he opened his mouth.
“So?”
Cheon Hui regarded the man fumbling in his sleeve with a glance that said ‘what are you talking about?’
Haomun? What sort of place was that?
It was only natural.
Haomun had begun to truly reveal itself in Kangho roughly two hundred years ago.
That was a span of three centuries before Cheon Hui’s rebirth from his past life into this present one.
So he had no knowledge of what sort of faction Haomun was, or what position it held.
But the man, ignorant of these reasons, stammered in confusion.
“I… I beg your pardon?”
“What does your affiliation with Haomun have to do with whether this matter concerns me or not?”
In that instant, the man’s words abandoned him.
Having never encountered such pointed questioning before, he found himself at a loss.
Meanwhile, Cheon Hui met his gaze.
Two eyes gleaming like a serpent’s.
When the man beheld that predatory stare, his pupils grew unfocused, and soon the muscles of his face went slack.
‘It’s been a while. This still works beautifully.’
Cheon Hui, having unleashed the Soul Capture Demonic Command Technique, spoke in a low voice.
“Haomun orchestrated this, didn’t it?”
“Hic! N-no, it wasn’t!”
The man’s fear of Cheon Hui had taken root deeply; each time the other’s fingers moved, he flinched and shrank his neck.
‘I have to say something, anything.’
Feeling the sudden grip of mortal danger, the man’s lips moved urgently.
“L-Lord! Do you perhaps not know of Haomun?”
“Never heard of it before… Ah!”
When Cheon Hui let out a short exclamation as if recalling something, the man laughed.
“Thank heavens, you do know of it—”
“It’s the place Chul Geom Ki Hyeop once told me to visit if I ever needed to find him.”
But at Cheon Hui’s next words, the youth’s laughter vanished as though wiped away.
Instead, his eyes widened.
“Good heavens! You’re an acquaintance of the Great Master.”
The youth’s expression relaxed smoothly.
More than that—he wore a bright, welcoming smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Sang Yeo, a Taoist of Haomun’s Shenxi branch.”
What?
Cheon Hui regarded Sang Yeo with bewildered eyes as the man suddenly affected familiarity.
At that moment, Sang Yeo spoke with visible excitement.
“If I may explain my business here—I received orders to investigate suspicious movements among those who recently purchased this inn. So I came to verify, and I found that most of them were masters—”
Sang Yeo spilled out information readily.
Not a wealth of intelligence, but something nonetheless.
Cheon Hui watched Sang Yeo chatter on without pause, then calmly retrieved an unoccupied chair from beside him and settled into it comfortably.
“You’ve gone to considerable trouble.”
“Exactly what I mean! Even the branch commander should know how hard I’ve been working, running about day and night! In fact, if I give you the fuller details—last night, those men who bought the inn suddenly appeared out of nowhere and drove everyone out—”
The information Sang Yeo provided was quite valuable.
He had investigated for no short span of time, days and days, and his account was remarkably thorough.
“They were all formidable masters. I’ve always taken pride in my Concealment Technique, but most of them seemed to sense my presence somehow, so I had to stay hidden. Of course, compared to you, Great Master, I’m barely a novice!”
Sang Yeo continued to answer, and Cheon Hui interjected questions when curious.
Through several rounds of questions and answers, Cheon Hui gleaned considerable information.
“Do you know where they came from?”
“That I don’t know. They appeared suddenly, as if sprung from the earth itself.”
Sang Yeo shook his head as he spoke.
“All I can say is that they belong to the Heterodox Faction, not the Orthodox Sect.”
So they are Heterodox then.
Cheon Hui silently agreed with that assessment.
The martial arts of those who had attacked bore the distinctive killing intent and aura of the Heterodox Faction.
“Then you have no suspicions as to their identity?”
“In truth, there are a few places where I suspect their origins might lie—”
At that, Sang Yeo spoke with caution.
He glanced around, wary of eavesdroppers, then whispered quietly.
“Frankly, how many places in the world would have both the wealth to secretly send masters of this caliber and the means to purchase an inn outright at such short notice? There aren’t many to count.”
Sang Yeo paused to gauge the other’s reaction.
“It would have to be at least the Nine Factions and One Gang—the pillars of Guzhou Three Great Powers—or the Eight Major Clans, or perhaps the Five Immortal Sects. But it’s unlikely they would move so openly. If not them, there are precious few places left under Heaven—”
Sang Yeo fell silent for a moment.
“Which would that be?”
At Cheon Hui’s question, Sang Yeo’s body stiffened.
His eyes darted about before he leaned close to Cheon Hui’s ear and whispered with utmost care.
“…Heterodox sects beyond the pale, or the Imperial Family itself.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
It was as he had suspected.
The attackers had been targeting none other than So Hui, the sovereign lord.
“What did you yourself believe?”
“That is—”
Sang Yeo flinched as he began to answer.
His face went rigid at the same instant, his complexion draining to chalk-white.
‘Why did I speak so freely?’
Despite the mortal fear he’d felt, there was no sense in spilling information so readily.
For a Taoist of Haomun, information was worth more—and weighed heavier—than life itself.
And this was no trivial intelligence at that.
He should have flatly denied knowing, or found some other way, yet here he was divulging everything like water through a sieve—
‘This makes no sense… Unless—!’
The moment Sang Yeo snapped back to his senses from his shock.
‘Has he already regained consciousness?’
Cheon Hui regarded Sang Yeo, who had lost his wits, and stroked his chin once.
‘It seems the technique loses its potency without Demonic Energy backing it.’
The Soul Capture Demonic Command Technique worked by exploiting a target’s weakened mental state, compelling them to answer only the questions posed. But without Demonic Energy infused into it.
Perhaps that was why.
The technique unraveled faster than he’d anticipated.
‘But if I pour in any more power, his mind will collapse entirely.’
Cheon Hui studied Sang Yeo.
His face was already a wreck.
His unfocused eyes stared into empty space, and drool streamed from the corner of his mouth, soaking his collar.
‘Well, it wouldn’t matter if he died anyway. After all, an information gang like that……. Ah!’
In that instant, a thought flashed through Cheon Hui’s mind like lightning.
A sinister smile spread across his lips.
Cheon Hui released the Soul Capture Demonic Command Technique.
Moments later, focus began to return to Sang Yeo’s previously glazed eyes.
“Ugh, gasp!”
As he came to, he hastily wiped the drool from his lips, then clutched his head.
Cheon Hui watched him grip his temples and spoke.
“If what you said just now is true, then the attackers are from the Imperial Family. Or rather, they’re the ones pulling the strings.”
“……!”
Sang Yeo experienced the strange sensation of his headache vanishing in an instant.
At the same time, his mind raced sharply into focus.
‘How can he be so certain?’
His eyes widened visibly as the thought struck him, and he stared ahead in shock.
‘Could it be……!’
The youth before him, and his companions who had arrived with him—all of them were strangers he’d never laid eyes on before.
And they were formidable experts.
‘There are few places in All Under Heaven capable of raising masters like that. Only the Nine Factions and One Gang, the Eight Major Clans, the Five Immortal Sects, and…….’
Cold sweat beaded on Sang Yeo’s brow.
“……Were you people from the Imperial Family?”
Cheon Hui’s lips curled upward.
This was precisely the question he’d been waiting for.
“Do you know of So Hui?”
“……!”
Sang Yeo went pale.
Who was So Hui?
She was the direct blood relative of the Emperor and a woman known as the Qinghai Castle Lord’s most treasured jewel.
And she had recently visited the Huashan Sect…….
His head snapped around.
Sang Yeo turned his head sharply.
“Surely you don’t mean that So Hui herself…….”
Sang Yeo’s lips trembled.
‘Damn it! Branch Chief! This, this is a serious mistake on our part!’
He’d sensed these sudden arrivals were no ordinary people, but this was far worse than he’d feared.
The Imperial Family was involved!
He swallowed hard.
His throat tightened as he gulped.
“I, I saw nothing…….”
The moment Sang Yeo tried to back away.
“It’s too late for that.”
Cheon Hui rose from his chair.
“What do you think will happen if the Imperial Family learns of this incident? So Hui was placed in danger, and you from Haomun simply abandoned her—I’m sure the Imperial Family would find that very pleasing.”
Sang Yeo’s complexion drained of all color.
He’d walked straight into a trap of his own making.
Saying he saw nothing meant he’d done nothing while So Hui was under attack—didn’t it?
Cheon Hui smiled as the situation unfolded precisely as he’d intended and opened his mouth.
“So, will you become enemies with the Imperial Family?”
Sang Yeo shook his head as if his neck might snap off. Enemies with the Imperial Family!
No sane man would agree to such a thing.
“Or would you like to hold my hand?”
“……!”
Sang Yeo’s eyes wavered.
Drawing close to the Imperial Family meant his life was now paved with gold.
At once, he pressed his forehead to the ground.
“I will do anything, anything at all.”
“You know the way to Qinghai Castle?”
“I know that much, but…….”
“Not the ordinary road — the hidden paths?”
“Hidden paths, you say…….”
“The ones only Haomun knows.”
Cheon Hui studied Sang Yeo intently.
If Haomun was an information faction rivaling Gae Bang, it was certain they possessed independent routes.
After all, that was how they could transmit intelligence swiftly and escape at a moment’s notice.
And that thought——
“……So I need only guide you there?”
struck true.
“That will do.”
Cheon Hui went on, adding more.
“And one more thing. Right now, pass along a message to your companions—from me.”
“A message, you say…….”
“Just tell them this.”
Cheon Hui spoke, then laughed softly.
* * *
“Phew, I’ve finished them all.”
“All of them—finished!”
So Hui patted So Ryeong’s head with an affectionate laugh, blood still smeared at the corners of her mouth.
“Well done, So Ryeong.”
“Mm!”
“And how about——”
Shim Wi Jin, who had been watching the two, turned his gaze toward Jeok Geom and Seol Ran—then stopped short.
‘So they really are the Maehwa Sword Masters.’
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran stood over the corpses in immaculate condition.
Were it not for the blood clinging to the blades in their hands, one would never have believed they had just been engaged in fierce combat—so pristine was their appearance.
Yet Jeok Geom and Seol Ran found themselves swallowing shock internally.
‘Was the Imperial Family’s martial arts truly that exceptional?’
‘The Sword Technique was remarkable, but that martial art wielding the Silver Thread with such freedom——’
Both their throats tightened.
Just then, sensing a presence from behind, they spun around sharply.
At their reaction, Sang Yeo threw both hands up and cried out.
“I am not your enemy!”
Shouting urgently, he caught sight of So Hui and immediately dropped to his knees.
“I bow before you, Lord So Hui.”
So Hui’s eyes narrowed.
“How did you know I am So Hui?”
“The Generous Hero told me.”
“The Generous Hero……?”
Who on earth was the Generous Hero?
While So Hui remained puzzled——
“And the Generous Hero has a separate message for you and everyone here.”
Before they could respond, Sang Yeo lifted his head and spoke rapidly.
“He says he will deal with the enemy forces behind the scenes, so you should go to Qinghai Castle first.”
In that moment, the entire company understood who this Generous Hero was that Sang Yeo spoke of.
“That scoundrel!”
“Ah, my teacher.”
“The Little Master?”
Meanwhile, separated from his companions, Cheon Hui savored his newfound freedom, humming lightly to himself.
“Luck seems to be on my side.”
A smile played at the corner of Cheon Hui’s mouth.
He had made the journey reluctantly enough, but truth be told, he had never wanted to go to Qinghai Castle in the first place.
To be precise, he didn’t want to be entangled with the Imperial Family.
‘Even just the Shin Gyo…’
The thought of it alone made him sick.
The schemes to obstruct his dealings, the spies and assassins sent sporadically.
The Imperial Family—those who would seize anything they fancied, whether person or object, by whatever means necessary, and destroy it if they couldn’t possess it.
‘There was nothing good about being tangled up with those Imperial Family dogs. This works out better.’
The man who had been smiling tucked the cloth Sang Yeo had pressed into his hands before departing into his sleeve.
“Still, I should keep my word for once, shouldn’t I?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————