Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 127

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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 127
In that instant, Peng Cheol Wui’s face went cold.
But it was not he alone.
The faces of everyone who had come with him twisted in unison.
The atmosphere chilled rapidly.
Glug, glug—
Cheon Hui paid no mind to their stares, and drained the remaining liquor from the cup.
“……!”
“This bastard!”
“Does he have any idea who we are!”
Just as the Post-Heavenly Cultivators’ expressions were beginning to twist into something fierce and sinister—not that he had even given them his name, and now he was ignoring them outright—
“To see you traveling without your retinue…. It seems the Dragon Phoenix Assembly has come round again.”
Yeora Shin Gwon shifted the conversation to diffuse their anger.
And the tactic worked.
Peng Cheol Wui’s gaze, which had been fixed on Cheon Hui’s casual drinking, turned away, and he nodded.
“Indeed.”
“Time flies. It feels like only yesterday the last Dragon Phoenix Assembly was held.”
Yeora Shin Gwon swept his eyes across the Post-Heavenly Cultivators.
Under ordinary circumstances, they would have brought their retinues along, but this time was different.
The Dragon Phoenix Assembly.
The regular gathering organized by the Bi Cheon Hoe itself—a social occasion exclusively for Post-Heavenly Cultivators—was composed of Post-Heavenly Cultivators from the very beginning.
It was the Bi Cheon Hoe’s intention that they forge bonds with one another and experience the Gangho.
“It will prove hardship enough.”
“That too is but fertile ground. Besides, when else would we have the chance to roam the Gangho among ourselves?”
“True enough. Then where shall this Dragon Phoenix Assembly take place…….”
Meanwhile, Cheon Hui drained the last of the liquor from the cup, paying no heed to their exchange.
‘Shall I take my leave now?’
And as he rose to depart—
“Were you not headed toward the Guryong Bang?”
He stopped at the words that suddenly reached his ears.
Guryong Bang? Has the rumor spread already?
Cheon Hui, who had been curious about the conclusion of the Guryong Bang affair, abandoned his intention to leave and lent his ear to their conversation.
And as if in response, Yeora Shin Gwon posed a question to Peng Cheol Wui.
“To the Guryong Bang? What do you mean?”
Peng Cheol Wui tilted his head.
“Were you not in Shenxi on account of the Guryong Bang matter?”
“I came for other business.”
“For what business, then…….”
“Never mind that—tell me, what is this matter you speak of?”
Yeora Shin Gwon asked urgently, as if he sensed something amiss.
Peng Cheol Wui hesitated slightly before answering.
“There is uproar—the Master of Guryong Bang has killed the Inspector of Cheonghasung and fled.”
“……?!”
Yeora Shin Gwon’s pupils flickered.
The Inspector of Cheonghasung was a figure of high rank even within the government.
‘But the Master of Guryong Bang killed the Inspector and fled……?’
Confronted with a fact that seemed impossible to believe, Yeora Shin Gwon swallowed and opened his mouth.
“Is—is that true?”
Yeora Shin Gwon’s voice trembled.
If what he said were true, it would be a matter in which the government could intervene directly.
“I have heard that both the government and the Murim Alliance are currently investigating the Guryong Bang.”
“How could this be…….”
The corners of Cheon Hui’s lips rose.
The scale had grown larger than he had anticipated, but the situation was unfolding well nonetheless.
‘There is no need to concern myself further.’
In the moment he wore a satisfied expression—
Crack—
Yeora Shin Gwon rose abruptly to his feet.
Then, looking at Peng Cheol Wui, he pressed his palms together in gratitude.
“Thank you for informing me.”
“Ah, no, that’s not it.”
As Peng Cheol Wui stammered in surprise at the sudden greeting, Yeora Shin Gwon turned to address Nahan Seung and the others.
“Let us depart for Guryong Bang at once.”
“Amitabha.”
“Understood.”
The monks rose in turn, and all hastened to prepare their departure.
“Ah!”
Yeora Shin Gwon turned to Cheon Hui with a question.
“Do you have somewhere you must go, young friend?”
Cheon Hui stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Somewhere to go.
There was no pressing destination at the moment, yet…
‘Still, I should make an appearance in Cheonghasung, shouldn’t I?’
Regardless of how he’d dealt with the loose ends and left matters in Ha O Moon’s capable hands, the Sect Master had still entrusted him with a task.
And it would be good to show his face there, at least.
“I do, actually.”
“Why not travel with us, then?”
As Yeora Shin Gwon spoke aloud, he transmitted a subtle message through sound transmission.
‘While you journey in our company, Ilwol Moon won’t dare strike at you.’
It was a solution Yeora Shin Gwon had arrived at only after careful deliberation.
With such an arrangement, not even Ilwol Moon would be reckless enough to attack.
Unless they were willing to risk open war.
Cheon Hui regarded the concerned expression on Yeora Shin Gwon’s face and replied with firm resolve.
“No, thank you. I’ll manage.”
In truth, he was anticipating an ambush.
It would be an opportunity to witness the heterodox sects’ martial arts firsthand—and if they came at him of their own accord, he wouldn’t need to go hunting for Ilwol Moon and force a confrontation.
Two birds with one stone!
Unaware of such calculations, Yeora Shin Gwon managed a bitter smile.
‘What a pity.’
He felt only a melancholic sadness that Kangho’s paragon had fallen into such dire straits.
Yeora Shin Gwon placed his palms together in reverence.
“Amitabha. Do visit our mountain temple in the future, I beg you.”
Perhaps sensing this might be their last meeting, Yeora Shin Gwon’s voice carried an uncommon weight as he uttered these final words.
A genuine plea for him to visit Shaolin.
In other words—let us meet again, alive.
“I will.”
Cheon Hui nodded in assent.
Even without saying so, Shaolin was certainly a place he would have to visit someday.
‘If Shaolin possesses such martial arts, I must see them without fail.’
After all, there was a saying: All Martial Techniques of the World Come from Shaolin—and for good reason.
Their Buddhist Foundation Arts, Fist Techniques, Hand Techniques, Staff Techniques, and more.
He could not afford to miss the opportunity to witness such a wealth of martial knowledge.
“Well then, I shall take my leave.”
With those words, Yeora Shin Gwon offered his thanks to Peng Cheol Wui and departed the inn with Nahan Seung and the other monks.
Meanwhile, the Post-Heavenly Cultivators watched Cheon Hui with complicated expressions.
‘Who is this fellow, really?’
‘For the Great Master Yeora Shin Gwon himself to request traveling together…’
‘Who could he be?’
‘Someone from the Murim Alliance, perhaps?’
‘It’s impossible to tell.’
At that moment, Cheon Hui rose from his seat.
Whoosh!
The Post-Heavenly Cultivators tensed in alarm at his sudden movement, their guard up.
But Cheon Hui paid them no mind and slipped out of the inn.
‘To reach Cheonghasung, I’ll need to circle back toward Shenxi first…’
Walking along the main road, Cheon Hui changed direction.
‘I’ll have to avoid the Huashan Sect’s territory.’
* * *
With Cheonghasung as his destination, Cheon Hui’s pace was unhurried and leisurely.
There was no need to rush.
The Guryong Bang matter seemed to have been handled as planned, and So Hui and her party had been entrusted to Ha O Moon, so that part went smoothly.
Now it was simply a matter of getting himself there.
‘Might as well take in the sights of Zhongyuan while I’m at it.’
Cheon Hui savored the surrounding landscape as he continued along the westbound road, when—
“Mm…….”
He spotted an ornate inn and stopped.
Sightseeing through Zhongyuan was important, but then again.
“Sightseeing before eating is just putting the cart before the horse.”
Cheon Hui, who’d meant to push straight on to Cheonghasung, promptly turned and headed inside.
And shortly after.
Cheon Hui drained the Bamboo Leaf Green in one gulp, then began tearing into a duck leg and stuffing it into his mouth.
‘This is it!’
As the meat’s juices spread across his tongue, his chewing grew steadily faster.
‘What’s the point in searching for Peach Blossom Land for a hundred days, a thousand days? This right here—this is Peach Blossom Land.’
He scoffed at the words those Daoist monks chanted daily, then drank deeply of the broth.
While he was well into the duck soup.
“Still a long way to go, it seems.”
“But it’s pleasant enough, isn’t it?”
“Young Master Mo Yong was right. When else would we ever get a chance to roam so freely?”
Familiar voices reached his ears from the next table.
Without meaning to, he turned and found himself looking at recognizable faces.
Those people he’d seen a few days ago—something about the Five Peaks of Guryong, wasn’t it?
“There’s plenty to see in Shenxi too, where we’re headed…….”
The moment the talkative youth’s eyes met Cheon Hui’s, his words cut off sharply.
“Young Master Mo Yong, what is it?”
A vigorous-looking woman followed the youth’s fixed gaze and stopped, startled.
“That person…….”
Seeing the group’s expressions sour one by one, Cheon Hui let out a quiet laugh and averted his eyes.
Their conversation resumed after that, growing lively again.
‘That meal was decent too.’
After finishing his meal, Cheon Hui left the inn and continued down the road.
And the next day.
Having left Fangshan behind and finally arrived at Lin County, Cheon Hui was wandering through the crowded streets when he ran into them again.
“Again……?”
“We definitely took a different route…….”
The Post-Heavenly Cultivators laughed helplessly at the absurdity of it all.
Three meetings in two days.
Not even coincidence worked like this.
After parting ways, Cheon Hui and the group went their separate directions.
Ten days had passed since the journey began.
By his original pace, he should have reached Shaohuashan by now.
But Cheon Hui still lingered in the southern reaches of Shenxi Province, unable to move forward.
Part of it was the detour he’d made to avoid Huashan, but mostly because he’d spent considerable time visiting every mountain and scenic landmark he’d read about in old texts—a thorough tour that consumed far more hours than expected.
‘Just over this mountain and I’ll reach Yan’an.’
It was the moment Cheon Hui began climbing the mountain path to reach Yan’an County and leave the southern reaches of Shenxi behind when—
Patter, patter.
Raindrops began falling one by one.
‘Just as the clouds gathered so suddenly, I see.’
Cheon Hui quickened his pace slightly as drops struck his shoulders and head.
Then in an instant.
Whoooosh!
As if the sky had split open, rain came pouring down.
‘Should’ve thought to grab an umbrella.’
Cheon Hui deployed his Movement Technique and rushed forward to escape the downpour.
But fortunately, he soon spotted a dilapidated ruin partway up the mountain path.
‘Hm?’
Sensing a presence inside the ruins, Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
He recognized the auras—he’d sensed them several times before.
‘Best get out of the rain first.’
He kicked off from the rain-soaked ground.
A figure shot forward in one fluid motion, cutting through the downpour and reaching the abandoned house.
As Cheon Hui stepped inside,
“Hm?”
“Who are you?”
Cheon Hui regarded the Post-Heavenly Cultivators with their reluctant expressions, then moved to the opposite side of the room and shook the rainwater from his clothes.
After that, he drew upon his Internal Force with ease.
Hisss—
The garments that had been soaked through by the rain dried instantly, becoming soft and fluffy.
‘Dried perfectly.’
Having demonstrated such remarkable control of his Internal Force in mere seconds, Cheon Hui slumped down onto the floor.
As he was about to lean his back against the wall,
‘What’s this?’
His eyes narrowed at the changes occurring outside.
At least dozens of presences—perhaps more—were drawing near with deliberate silence.
Far too slow to be someone simply seeking shelter from the downpour in the abandoned house.
Moreover, the faint traces of Killing Intent that seeped out made it abundantly clear they had not come with benign intentions.
‘How convenient. They’re coming right to me.’
Cheon Hui smiled faintly and leaned his back against the wall.
Then he waited calmly.
For their attack to come.
‘No need to hunt them down myself. This works out perfectly.’
Meanwhile, the Post-Heavenly Cultivators who had arrived before Cheon Hui struggled to hide their astonishment.
“How did you just dry your clothes like that……?”
“Was that Sammai Jinhwa?”
“But is it even possible to dry only the garments with just Sammai Jinhwa? To do that, you’d need at least the Wuji Realm…….”
“Can you do it, Peng?”
“It is possible. But to accomplish it in such a brief moment? That is difficult.”
At Peng Cheol Wui’s words, everyone’s expression hardened.
Among them, Peng Cheol Wui was the only one who had earned the alias of Dragon.
If even he found it difficult……
“He is no ordinary man.”
“So that’s why the Great Master Yeora Shin Gwon requested his accompaniment.”
The way they looked at Cheon Hui had changed.
Until now they had thought him a man lacking in courtesy, but he was clearly no ordinary person.
Then.
“We seem to meet rather often.”
Je Gal Seung Ho, the youth with a gentle countenance, spoke calmly without any sign of surprise.
“Wasn’t this the fourth time?”
At Je Gal Seung Ho’s words, everyone fixed Cheon Hui with reluctant stares.
The first time had been at an inn in Hang San.
The second at an inn on the road to Gwan Do.
The third in Gwan Do itself.
And now this was already the fourth encounter.
Far too frequent to be mere coincidence.
Yet his behavior remained consistently negligent, making it difficult to call it anything but chance.
“Could our paths simply be overlapping?”
Then Peng Cheol Wui suddenly raised his hand and whispered in a very low voice.
“……Did you all feel that just now?”
Peng Cheol Wui whispered quietly.
His eyes swept rapidly across the surroundings before his expression turned cold.
“Enemies.”
“……!”
At Peng Cheol Wui’s words, everyone startled and quickly exchanged glances.
And in the same moment,
Swoosh!
Peng Cheol Wui drew the Great Sword he had placed beside him, while Je Gal Seung Ho produced a Folding Fan from his robe and took a defensive stance around them.
Then.
Crash-boom!
Hidden Projectiles rained down from all directions.
Yang Se Ryeong, gripping a Triple-Section Staff, cried out as she shielded Hwang Bo So Hyeon, who still didn’t understand the situation.
“So Hyeon! Get ahold of yourself!”
It was only then that Hwang Bo So Hyeon, grasping the situation at last, was about to fasten her Hand Armor when—
“Not so fast!”
Peng Cheol Wui hurled himself in front of them, sweeping his Large Blade in a wide arc.
Whoosh!
As the Ohho Danmun Blade’s Il So Poong Saeng technique cut through the air, the Hidden Projectiles lost their force and clattered to the ground.
“Huh.”
As Peng Cheol Wui exhaled with relief at having repelled the ambush so cleanly,
“The Ohho Danmun Blade of the Peng family, I see.”
A cold voice rang out.
At the same moment, ten men appeared, and Mo Yong Sang gasped in shock.
“Those clothes—what are they?!”
Martial Robes stark in black and white contrast.
Heroes’ Crowns bearing the Half-Moon emblem.
These two things were the very symbol of terror in Kangho.
“Ban Wol Dang!”
“Why Ban Wol Dang?”
The other Post-Heavenly Cultivators trembled, cold sweat beading their foreheads.
Ban Wol Dang—the most notorious armed faction of the Ilwol Moon.
The strongest faction within the Ilwol Moon?
No, that wasn’t it.
The Ilwol Moon harbored armed groups more powerful than they.
Then why their fame?
Because of their cruelty so appalling it was nearly unbearable to witness, and a fanatical madness that feared not even death itself.
“What in heaven is this—”
“Ban Wol Dang attacking us?”
When the Post-Heavenly Cultivators erupted in bewilderment at this unexpected assault from the Ilwol Moon,
“A bit late, perhaps, but I’ve arrived.”
Cheon Hui, the one orchestrating the attack, rose slowly, regarding the assailants around him.
“You’ve come from the Ilwol Moon?”
“……Do you still not understand, even seeing us?”
“I don’t understand.”
The Ban Wol Dang members narrowed their eyes.
Everyone who beheld them was seized by terror—yet this man before them remained utterly composed.
“To face Ban Wol Dang like that—”
“And attempt such madness.”
The Post-Heavenly Cultivators, too, stared at Cheon Hui in disbelief.
It was inconceivable that any martial artist dwelling in Kangho would not know Ban Wol Dang.
Yet here was Cheon Hui, genuinely ignorant of what Ban Wol Dang truly was, asking them a question.
“So you’re from the Ilwol Moon or not?”
“Does that matter to you?”
“Of course it does.”
“Why?”
“Because the Ilwol Moon needs to come right now.”
The Ban Wol Dang members stared at him, perplexed.
His words made no sense to them, so they simply watched him in silence.
Then, slowly, his lips parted, and a grim smile spread across his face.
“If you aren’t the Ilwol Moon, then I’ll have to go find them myself.”

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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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