Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 18

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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 18
Blue moonlight descended on the late evening.
Rustle—rustle—
Jeok Geom pushed through the forest sprawling out from Hwa Mountain’s center, navigating through darkness so thick he could barely see ahead.
“Huff, huff.”
Having sprinted continuously, he exhaled breath that had grown cold at the back of his throat, then pricked his ears forward.
Night had settled in, and the surroundings lay silent.
Yet at intervals, the rustling of undergrowth mingled with the cries of insects drifted through the air.
“Phew—”
Bracing his knees with both hands as he steadied his breathing, Jeok Geom swept his gaze across the surroundings.
Outstretched branches and leaves completely obscured the landscape already buried in darkness.
Jeok Geom hastily drew up his Internal Energy through the Mei Hua Qi Gong, then infused his eyes with Inner Strength.
His vision grew gradually brighter.
‘That’s better now.’
As if faint light had descended through the pitch-black shadows, his slightly brightened vision made him nod and narrow his eyes with concentration.
“According to what I heard, it should be around here…….”
Jeok Geom scratched the bridge of his nose as he scanned the area.
What he was searching for in this place was something that had recently become a growing nuisance.
Wolves.
But there were none to be found.
His expression uncertain, Jeok Geom recalled the conversation he’d had with Cheon Hui after Hyeon Do had departed.
—First, then, bring me a wolf.
—……A wolf?
At his sudden demand, Jeok Geom had widened his eyes in question.
What he desired was martial arts training, not hunting.
But the reply had been firm.
—Why? Did you think I’d teach you martial arts right away?
—Ah, no, I suppose not?
—In your current state, martial arts training is pointless. A man so tense during martial competitions that he can’t even deploy his techniques properly—what’s the use of him training at all?
—That, that may be true, but I don’t see what it has to do with hunting wolves…….
—What you need most right now is Real Combat Experience.
Though Jeok Geom couldn’t see what Real Combat Experience had to do with hunting wolves, he hadn’t dared ask.
‘What are you doing? Get going.’
Cheon Hui had glared at him and issued a command bordering on an Absolute Command.
Then it happened.
Rustle—
The brush ahead thrashed violently, and a wolf emerged from the shadows.
“Finally, it’s shown…….”
Jeok Geom’s face, which had brightened at last encountering a wolf, grew rigid.
Illuminated by the blue moonlight, the wolf’s appearance was nothing short of sinister.
Grrr—
Savage growls poured from between bloodstained, razor-sharp fangs, and raw, ungoverned Killing Intent radiated from the beast.
‘I shouldn’t have underestimated this.’
Cold sweat trickled down Jeok Geom’s back.
Unlike his initial thought that it was merely an animal, the wolf now before him emanated such sinister Killing Intent that tension seized him without his knowing.
‘It’s just a beast, after all.’
Just as he’d managed to steel himself and was swallowing hard, something shifted.
Whoosh!
The wolf lunged forward like an arrow.
“Breath!”
Whip—
Jeok Geom hurriedly stumbled backward and drew the sword from his waist, swinging it in a wide arc.
Clang!
In an instant, sparks erupted as the wolf and Jeok Geom crossed paths. The wolf then wheeled about and landed gracefully on all four legs.
In that moment.
“Ugh!”
Jeok Geom cried out softly and lowered his head.
His right shoulder revealed crimson blood seeping through the rent in his Martial Robe where the wolf’s claws had torn into him, dripping to the ground.
‘I let my guard down.’
Watching the wound run deeper than he’d anticipated, his eyes darkened with intensity.
It was a mistake.
If he hadn’t let nerves cloud his mind, he could have sliced through the wolf without taking a wound at all.
In that instant.
“……!”
A bolt of clarity struck him like a thunderclap.
The blunder he’d just made—it was the same error he’d committed when he lost at the Five Yue Conference.
And now he’d repeated it.
In live combat, no less, where a single lapse could cost him his life.
“What an idiot.”
Jeok Geom let out a hollow laugh at himself.
Now he understood why he’d been ordered to hunt wolves.
To temper the mind—to endure pressure and tension.
To sharpen himself through real combat where death hung in the balance.
“I made the right choice asking my teacher for guidance.”
Understanding Cheon Hui’s hidden intention, Jeok Geom’s brows shot upward in a sharp arc, like twin crescents.
He tore his loose, fluttering sleeves away and bound his blood-soaked hands together with the hilt of his sword.
Then he attacked first.
Clang!
Bright sparks erupted beneath the moonlight.
While Jeok Geom grappled with the wolf.
Patter-patter—
Seol Ran pursued the snow-white rabbit fleeing at impossible speed, her brow furrowing in frustration.
“……Is the rabbit really this fast?”
She bit her lip, muttering to herself.
After chasing the creature for nearly half an hour, she shook her head hard and recalled Cheon Hui’s command.
—You bring me the rabbit.
—Why a rabbit and not a wolf?
She’d felt a surge of indignation then.
She’d assumed he’d given her the rabbit because he judged a savage beast like a wolf beyond her capabilities.
—Why? In your last Martial Competition, I noticed your Footwork Technique was sloppy compared to your Sword Technique.
At his words, she’d fallen silent. It matched exactly what Cheon Hyang had once advised her.
But that wasn’t all.
Cheon Hui’s explanation that followed pierced her chest like an arrow, striking true.
—What matters most to a Martial Artist is Eye Power and footwork. As it happens, evening’s fallen. To hunt a swift rabbit in this light, you need sharp eyes and nimble feet. Surely you understand this much, don’t you?
Struck by words as cutting as a blade, she flushed and bowed her head low.
Ignorant as she’d been, she was the one who had sought his teaching.
Yet she’d not only dismissed the efficient method her teacher had laid out, but had tried to refuse it altogether.
Shame flooded through her—she didn’t know where to put herself.
But at his next words, her embarrassment evaporated like mist, replaced by wounded pride.
—Bring it to me before dawn breaks.
The way he spoke made it sound as though she’d never catch the rabbit before dawn, and something stubborn flared in her chest. She’d immediately set out with renewed urgency.
And now.
Whoosh!
She channeled her Inner Strength through her soles and hurled herself at the fleeing rabbit.
Dust scattered in all directions.
With her face buried in the earth, Seol Ran found no sensation in her palms whatsoever and lifted her head, her brow creasing.
Hop—hop—
Far away, the rabbit bounded in place and looked at her, then seemed to laugh.
When their eyes met, it bolted.
This was the fourth time now.
Watching the rabbit bound into the distance, her face turned cold and hard.
The fleeing rabbit suddenly stopped hopping, then didn’t run far—it kept its distance, watching her intently.
As if it were toying with her.
“…….”
Seol Ran stared at the rabbit as it tilted its head at her. A chill crept into her voice.
“……I won’t let you escape.”
* * *
While the two of them struggled, Cheon Hui lay sprawled across a boulder, humming to himself.
“Hmm, hmm. At this rate, I’ll have some proper meat tonight.”
The purpose he’d given his two disciples for hunting had one singular aim.
He wanted meat.
But he’d feared they might resist if he ordered them to hunt, so he’d given them a plausible excuse instead—and it had worked.
“Well, it’s not wrong, at least.”
Cheon Hui muttered the words under his breath.
Because it was true, after all.
As he imagined the succulent meat he’d soon taste, saliva pooled at the corner of his mouth.
“Mmm. When will they get here?”
Just then, he sensed footsteps drawing near, and Cheon Hui pushed himself upright.
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran were climbing the mountain path with considerable difficulty, both looking thoroughly exhausted.
“Huff, huff. Master!”
“Master.”
Their voices reached him at the same moment.
Looking closer, he saw that Jeok Geom was covered in blood, while Seol Ran was caked in dirt.
“We’ve brought it.”
“……We’ve caught it.”
Having clearly gone through considerable hardship, the two of them approached Cheon Hui in their grimy state and carefully set a wolf and a rabbit on the ground before him.
Jeok Geom, who had been kneeling, lifted his head with brightened eyes.
“I’ve grasped your intention, Master.”
He gazed up at Cheon Hui with luminous, admiring eyes.
‘……He’s just like Gwi Ma.’
Facing Jeok Geom’s burdensome gaze, Cheon Hui found himself overlaying the image with that of Gwi Ma.
‘No. Gwi Ma is gone now.’
He shook his head slightly, pushing away the memory of the man who’d joined Cheon Ma Sin Gyo out of admiration for him.
The man was not only a figure of the past, but someone with whom his current self had no connection whatsoever.
“Good. As long as you’ve understood.”
Cheon Hui answered off-handedly.
“Just as expected of Master Cheon Hui.”
Yet Jeok Geom gazed at even that casual response with admiration, breaking into a smile.
‘I was right to ask Master for this.’
Around the time Jeok Geom was growing satisfied.
“……My skill was lacking.”
Seol Ran also offered an apology.
At first, she too had wondered what sort of command this was, but now she could only marvel—and be in awe—at Cheon Hui’s discernment.
‘It’s been tremendously helpful.’
For over an hour, she’d chased after that infuriating rabbit as it fled, and in doing so, she’d awakened to her own shortcomings.
‘I never realized Footwork Technique was so important.’
She had always believed that Mind Technique and Sword Technique were what mattered most in Martial Arts.
But now everything was different.
The importance and efficiency of Footwork Technique.
If the sword one swings cannot reach the opponent, what good is formidable Internal Energy or superior Sword Technique?
Cheon Hui looked at her sparkling eyes, then glanced down at the wolf and rabbit lying cold before them both.
‘Tsk. What? Only one of each?’
Cheon Hui’s expression darkened.
He’d thought they might not catch anything, but one of each—that was all?
But immediately he corrected his expression.
‘Still, it’s better than nothing.’
He chose to think of it positively.
It was meat, after all.
Compared to the Bigu Pills he’d been eating continuously for nearly ten years while unraveling the Eternal Immortal Ruler Supreme Method, and compared to the grass and weeds he’d eaten since taking this form, it was a feast.
Recalling those flavourless things that served only their purpose, a bitter, astringent taste lingered in his mouth.
“Ptui.”
He spat onto the ground with a grimace and uncrossed his arms.
‘If it weren’t for the Martial Arts manuals at Man Gyeong Gak, I’d have tasted this long ago.’
In truth, he could have hunted whenever he wished, but his hunger for martial knowledge—which far exceeded his appetite—had drawn him to Man Gyeong Gak instead.
Because ambition took precedence over hunger.
Cheon Hui licked his lips again.
“Well then. This is your second command.”
Both, startled by his sudden spitting, snapped their heads up to meet his gaze at his next words.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Hearing their answers, Cheon Hui leaped up and descended from the rock with graceful ease.
Just as Jeok Geom and Seol Ran were about to marvel at his astonishing Footwork Technique, light as a feather settling to ground—
His teeth flashed white.
A grin spread across Cheon Hui’s face.
“Build a fire!”
“Sir?”
“Sir?”
Both of them blinked in confusion.
Cheon Hui raised an eyebrow at their dazed expressions and repeated himself.
“Are you deaf? I said build a fire.”
“A, a fire, sir?”
“Yes, understood!”
Spurred by his impatience, the two who had stood frozen suddenly moved with perfect coordination, quickly gathering kindling and igniting the flames.
A moment later.
Crackle, crackle—
Over the smoking campfire, a wolf and a rabbit skewered on thick branches roasted golden-brown.
“Mmm, mmm.”
Cheon Hui stared at the roasting meat and began humming to himself.
‘Yes, this smell—this is it!’
While Cheon Hui savored the aroma without attempting to hide his pleasure, Jeok Geom and Seol Ran on the opposite side grew increasingly anxious.
The two of them, roasting the meat, held their breath for fear this moment might be discovered, their eyes darting rapidly and meticulously across their surroundings.
A faint breeze whispered past.
Both of them flinched at the slightest gust, then exchanged careful glances with their eyes.
‘Brother…’
‘Sister…’
‘Brother should be the one to speak…’
Jeok Geom, overwhelmed by the pressure in Seol Ran’s gaze, had no choice but to surrender.
“M, Master.”
“What is it?”
Perhaps because Cheon Hui was finally indulging in meat after so long, his tone remained generous.
“However lenient our sect’s discipline may be compared to other Daoist schools, surely roasting meat and eating flesh here at Bon San is somewhat… excessive.”
“And so?”
Flinch.
At the sudden coldness in Cheon Hui’s voice, Jeok Geom’s neck shrank inward.
Yet Cheon Hui’s words were far from finished.
“You’re telling me not to eat?”
Sweat beaded on Jeok Geom’s forehead as he watched Cheon Hui.
Cheon Hui’s eyes, frozen with an icy chill, seemed to sink like an bottomless chasm, reflecting Jeok Geom’s image back at him.
“G-gulp. N-no, not at all.”
“Then stop spouting nonsense and move your hands faster.”
“Yes, understood.”
Jeok Geom hastily turned the meat over the flames.
Shortly after, as the meat finished cooking, a delicious aroma began to drift outward.
Gulp.
Seol Ran and Jeok Geom both swallowed the saliva pooling in their mouths.
After years of eating nothing but vegetables until they were sick of them, the sudden rush of meat’s fragrance was overwhelming.
As both of them grew dizzy from the scent, Cheon Hui immediately reached for the meat. The moment he bit into a golden-brown piece—
‘This is it!’
The juices began to dance across his tongue.
Grinning widely, Cheon Hui chewed the meat in his mouth, then began moving his hand faster and faster.
Having devoured half the meat in a single stretch, he patted his belly and laughed.
“Mmm, what a treat after all this time.”
After picking a bone fragment from between his teeth, Cheon Hui glanced at Jeok Geom and Seol Ran, then let out a quiet laugh.
“What are you doing? If you want to eat, do it now.”
“But Master, eating meat here at Bon San is surely too much… gulp.”
“Eating flesh at Bon San is…”
“If you don’t want to eat, then don’t.”
Just as Cheon Hui was about to toss the remaining meat into the forest with a mocking gesture—
Snap.
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran, who had been watching, urgently seized the hand holding the meat.
“But, but surely we’re not just throwing it away, are we?”
“You’re right, elder brother.”
“But you said you wouldn’t eat it. So what else would we do with it? Leave it to rot?”
Their eyes wavered helplessly, and within moments both of them reached toward the meat.
And carefully placed it in their mouths.
“……!”
“……!”
As they swallowed the meat with hesitant chewing, their pupils dilated wide.
Soon they began devouring the remaining meat desperately.
Gulp, gulp— Swallow!
A moment later, Cheon Hui approached the two who stood satisfied beside the remains—nothing but bones and charred fragments—wearing a contented expression.
“It was delicious, wasn’t it?”
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran startled.
Blinded by hunger, they had forgotten what they were eating: meat.
As guilt for succumbing to appetite drained the color from Jeok Geom and Seol Ran’s faces,
“So then…….”
The two trembled and looked up, and beneath the pale moonlight, Cheon Hui’s brilliant white teeth filled their entire vision.
“Now you’re accomplices too, aren’t you?”

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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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