Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 189

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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 189
“What? The Sipya Mun?”
Cheon Yi Gae let out a hollow laugh.
It was absurd on its face.
Perhaps some other Sapa faction might do such a thing, but the Sipya Mun never would.
Who was the Lord of the Sipya Mun, anyway?
The Sipya Mun Lord was more cunning and cruel than any master Cheon Yi Gae had ever laid eyes on.
He was far too shrewd a man to concoct a scheme so transparent and obvious.
‘Especially not him—he’d never stoop to hiding a Murim Public Enemy.’
Cheon Yi Gae, recalling the cold, cynical gaze of the Sipya Mun Lord as he had glimpsed it years before, fixed his stare on Man Byeong Gwae.
“Don’t spew such nonsense.”
His voice rose slightly.
“He is no fool. Are you trying to slip away by trading on the Sipya Mun Lord’s name?”
Man Byeong Gwae’s shoulders drew inward at the swift, methodical rebuttal.
The name of the Sipya Mun Lord was as vast as heaven itself to men like him—a supreme, unquestionable authority.
And if a Murim Public Enemy like him were to invoke that name and later be exposed as a liar, the consequences would be something altogether different in scale.
Cheon Yi Gae’s eyes bored into Man Byeong Gwae.
“Would I have lost my mind to gamble with the Sipya Mun Lord’s name?”
Man Byeong Gwae’s face hardened as he spoke.
He was already backed against the cliff’s edge.
The moment he had revealed that the Sipya Mun had sheltered him, he had made them his sworn enemies.
‘No—the Sipya Mun will ignore me.’
The outcome was obvious.
They would clam up entirely, deny any connection, and stick to their story of knowing nothing.
‘Then why did they leave me alone in Sayugok and depart? Did they sense beforehand that these people would come looking?’
His eyes turned cold.
As he thought it through calmly, something felt wrong.
Was there any reason they would suddenly leave him behind and abandon Sayugok?
There wasn’t one.
Yet they had left.
‘They were already planning to discard me.’
Man Byeong Gwae’s face twisted.
In that same moment, the last vestiges of hesitation drained away rapidly.
“The Sipya Mun is certain.”
“…Ha. You expect me to believe that now?”
“I saw the Sipya Mun Lord myself.”
Though he spoke with outward confidence, Man Byeong Gwae’s voice trembled—a fear lurking beneath the surface slowly crawling upward.
‘It’s not a lie.’
Cheon Yi Gae, having read the tremor in his voice, the flicker in his eyes, the shape of his expression, narrowed his brow.
He was the Elder of Gae Bang.
Reading psychology while tangled among countless people was his trade.
To such a man, discerning the emotions and inner workings of someone cornered so thoroughly was easier than anything else.
But the more he grasped this truth, the more he found himself trapped in contradiction.
‘The Sipya Mun Lord hiding a Murim Public Enemy? That meticulous bastard? Impossible. And yet—it doesn’t sound like a lie.’
His eyes pierced through Man Byeong Gwae.
Thanks to the Internal Injury Medicine he had been given and the Wound Medicine applied, the man seemed able to speak more freely, but he remained a critically wounded casualty.
‘This one wouldn’t sacrifice his life to keep faith.’
Cheon Yi Gae had met Man Byeong Gwae only twice.
Though those encounters had been brief, he had seen through to the man’s nature completely.
A selfish creature for whom his own life mattered more than anything else.
Such a man, staring death in the face, showed no sign of fabricating a lie.
Then the claim was true.
Suddenly his mind grew clouded.
‘Why? The Sipya Mun would risk danger for this? Could someone have impersonated the Sipya Mun Lord? Could this man have been deceived?’
A tangle of questions kept rising, knotting his thoughts like thread.
‘Since he’s not someone I can rely on, it only gets messier.’
If the man belonged to the Sipya Mun or had some clear connection, he would have known immediately.
But he was a Murim Public Enemy—the very thing made his account hard to trust.
Cheon Yi Gae shook his head sharply.
What good would more thinking do?
More pressing than that was getting information from Man Byeong Gwae ahead of them.
Cheon Yi Gae furrowed his brow and asked.
“Then why did Sipya Mun take you with them?”
“They proposed a transaction with me.”
“A transaction?”
“They said if I infiltrated as the overseer of Sayugok and took control of the interior, they would hide me from the eyes of Kangho. And I…….”
Man Byeong Gwae swallowed his next words, his eyes widening as his voice rose with fervor.
“At the time, I had no choice. To survive, it was the only way.”
His entire body trembled faintly.
As a Murim Public Enemy, he had nowhere to set foot in Kangho—or indeed, all of Zhongyuan.
Even if he wanted to flee beyond the borders, word would spread in the meantime.
Death was certain.
Cheon Yi Gae’s brow furrowed further.
From Man Byeong Gwae’s reaction, it was clear everything he said was true.
But doubt remained.
“How do I believe that?”
“I spoke only the truth. And I have no evidence to prove it, nothing like that.”
“So it could all be lies.”
“That’s why I said it before.”
Man Byeong Gwae’s voice was flat.
“You’ll gain nothing from me.”
It was a cold statement. And an accurate one.
Man Byeong Gwae understood his position.
Disposable if his utility ran out.
He was precisely that caliber of pawn.
And Man Byeong Gwae accepted that position and never once overstepped that line.
That was why he had managed to hide so well despite his long years of misdeeds.
‘Just one mistake, that was all.’
Man Byeong Gwae bit his lip.
Bitterness filled his chest.
‘Damn! How could I have known that little brat was the granddaughter of the Hwan Yeong Mun Lord?’
He felt wronged beyond measure.
As usual, testing out his newly acquired weapon, he had cut down a passing child.
But that had been a mistake.
The child was not only connected to the provincial governors but was also the granddaughter of Hwan Yeong Mun, whose reach extended to the military itself.
When the Hwan Yeong Mun Lord discovered his granddaughter missing, he mobilized his connections and resources to find her.
And through that effort, Man Byeong Gwae’s tail was caught.
‘Damn. If only that brat hadn’t shown his face and drawn attention.’
He ground his teeth inwardly.
He had nothing but bitter resentment toward the child who destroyed his peaceful life.
‘Should have fed him to the fish!’
As he stewed in his anger,
‘The Sipya Mun Lord……. I don’t know who, but they’re cunning.’
Cheon Hui, listening to the exchange between the two, stroked his chin. Unlike Cheon Yi Gae, who still harbored doubt, Cheon Hui believed what Man Byeong Gwae had said was true.
The reason was simple.
Since Man Byeong Gwae was a Murim Public Enemy, if it were ever exposed that they harbored him, it would be easy to sever ties immediately.
Even if one were to reveal the truth directly, they could simply dismiss it as lies by asking, “You’re trusting the word of a Murim Public Enemy?”
‘And those who’ve lost their footing are easy to use.’
From Sipya Mun’s perspective, Man Byeong Gwae was perfectly convenient to employ.
Of course, if it failed, there would be suspicion like this.
‘But that’s acceptable.’
Cheon Hui thought naturally.
Taking risks and acting was the destiny and duty of one who led a faction.
But this carried very little risk at all.
Success meant expanding their power; failure meant only suspicion?
‘A good opportunity.’
Cheon Hui and Cheon Yi Gae differed in their thinking.
And such a subtle difference in opinion stemmed from whether one had led a major faction before.
‘Their conversation seems to be ending now.’
Watching Cheon Yi Gae lost in thought, Cheon Hui moved toward Man Byeong Gwae.
“……!”
Man Byeong Gwae flinched, his gaze snapping toward the direction where Cheon Yi Gae stood.
But.
‘……Damn it!’
Cheon Yi Gae was lost in thought.
His chest, where the wound had been sutured with medicine and cloth, throbbed dully.
A sharp pang—
Then Cheon Hui suddenly extended his hand.
And resting on that palm was a pill.
“What is this?”
The moment Man Byeong Gwae recognized the pill, he swallowed hard and parted his lips.
“……That is a Shirhon Pill.”
“Is that all? You know perfectly well that’s not what I’m asking.”
“What do you mean—cough!”
Cheon Hui stepped down hard on his chest.
The wound, barely recovered with the medicine, tore open again in an instant.
Blood began to seep out once more.
“Aaaaagh!”
A scream tore through the air.
Yet Cheon Hui spoke calmly, as though he didn’t hear the screams at all.
“I recall telling you to answer the question.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes glowed with a subtle light.
“……!”
Man Byeong Gwae’s eyes went wide.
The moment his gaze met that overpowering stare, the pain that had been consuming him vanished, replaced instead by a terror that seized his entire body.
“If, if one consumes the Shirhon Pill, one can momentarily access Innate True Qi. But it devours the life force, yet g, grants a step higher in achievement.”
Man Byeong Gwae stammered desperately.
It was beyond resistance.
He was not strong enough to defy that overwhelming presence.
Neither in Martial Prowess nor in spirit.
“The energy eroding the Upper Dantian—what is it?”
Man Byeong Gwae’s eyes grew wide as saucers.
“H, how would I know th—”
“It’s perfectly clear to my eyes.”
Hearing Cheon Hui point to his eyes with his index finger, Man Byeong Gwae swallowed again.
“If one continues to consume the Shirhon Pill, Sagi invades the Upper Dantian and c, causes loss of c, consciousness. Eventually the mind deteriorates to less than that of an infant, so, so anyone can u, use them as they wish, they said!”
“Sagi invading the Upper Dantian… that’s nearly identical to Gu Du.”
Cheon Hui spoke, looking at the pill.
“Who made it?”
“I, I don’t know.”
Cheon Hui increased the pressure of his foot again.
“C, cough! I, I truly don’t know! All I, I know is that much……, cough!”
Even as Man Byeong Gwae continued to insist he didn’t know, spitting blood, Cheon Hui lifted his foot and spoke.
“So that’s why you deliberately fed it to the Valley Master. To bring Sayugok under your control.”
“Y, yes.”
“Well, that wouldn’t be all. Later, when escaping Sipya Mun’s pursuit, you could use him as a disposable piece. So whenever the opportunity arose, you handed it over without hesitation.”
“……!”
Man Byeong Gwae’s eyes widened.
His words seemed to have pierced straight through to the man’s deepest secrets.
“Am I wrong?”
“N, no—yes, that is correct. Sipya Mun has never been entirely trustworthy, so I prepared…… insurance of my own as well.”
“Now you’re becoming talkative.”
Cheon Hui pocketed the pill once more.
“Oh, that’s right—”
Cheon Hui narrowed his eyes to slits.
Simultaneously, a chilling murderous intent poured down upon Man Byeong Gwae alone, crushing him.
“Why did you attack the Hwa Yu Pyo Guk?”
“Th, they acted on their own initiative.”
“The reason?”
“Th, that I’m not entirely sure of…”
Cheon Hui was about to step forward.
“Yes, there is something I can guess at!”
Man Byeong Gwae, already pale from several bouts of agony, cried out with his eyes squeezed shut.
“What is it?”
“It’s highly likely that the Hwa Yu Pyo Guk recently took Baek Gwi Seong’s commercial territory and tried to seize it!”
“Baek Gwi Seong’s commercial territory?”
Cheon Hui let out a derisive snort.
“What. I thought you were trying to crush the Huashan Sect and Jongnam Sect to swallow all of Shenxi whole, but you’re telling me you went through all this fuss just to grab scraps from Baek Gwi Seong?”
……!
Man Byeong Gwae’s mouth fell open at Cheon Hui’s bold words.
Then Cheon Hui continued.
“So what you’re saying is, the Sipya Mun manipulated Sayugok from behind the scenes to seize the power that Baek Gwi Seong possessed, yes?”
“Y-yes, that’s correct.”
“And then you made a move to check the Hwa Yu Pyo Guk as their influence kept expanding?”
“That’s… probably what happened.”
“Oh, look at you. You touched the Huashan Sect for something so trivial?”
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
In that instant, ghost fire flared in his gaze, then vanished as swiftly as it had come.
“K-keh, keh!”
The moment Man Byeong Gwae’s breath caught at the sight of it, Cheon Hui spun around sharply.
“Ugh!”
Man Byeong Gwae let out a groan.
The pressure that had been bearing down on him vanished, and the pain came rushing back in its wake.
Uhhh—
As Man Byeong Gwae whimpered, he looked toward Cheon Yi Gae and moved his lips with effort.
“Tr-treatment… when… will it—”
Cheon Yi Gae, who had been lost in thought, came to his senses and nodded.
“Don’t worry. I keep my promises.”
Cheon Yi Gae deftly tore a length of cloth.
‘Is he stopping the bleeding…?’
Man Byeong Gwae thought he was being bandaged over the slightly opened wound, and exhaled with relief as he slowly opened his hands.
But then—
“Ack!”
Cheon Yi Gae shoved the cloth into the mouth of Man Byeong Gwae, who had collapsed on the ground, then bound it tightly around his face with another length of cloth torn in a long strip, leaving barely any room for movement.
It was the Binding Technique, perfected through long years in the Kangho.
……Mgh, mgh!
Man Byeong Gwae’s eyes flew wide open.
His gaze stabbed at Cheon Yi Gae as if to say: what is the meaning of this?
“I’ll treat you as promised. I can’t have you dying here.”
Cheon Yi Gae smiled coldly.
“You need to meet the families of those who suffered at your hands in the Thunder Prison, don’t you think?”
“……?!”
Veins stood out in Man Byeong Gwae’s eyes.
He could see with perfect clarity what would befall him should he meet them.
Especially if he were to face the Hwan Yeong Mun Lord.
Mgh! Mgh!
As Man Byeong Gwae felt the chill run down his spine and began to struggle—
Tap.
Cheon Yi Gae pressed a pressure point on Man Byeong Gwae’s arm.
Then, looking toward Cheon Hui, he spoke.
“I’ll take custody of him, as we discussed earlier.”
“Do as you please.”
Cheon Hui didn’t spare a glance at Cheon Yi Gae or Man Byeong Gwae as he spoke.
He had already extracted all the information he needed.
And even if there were more, Cheon Yi Gae had said he would pass it along.
There was nothing to regret.
‘Besides, there’s work to be done soon enough.’
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
By attacking Sayugok, it was as though war had been declared against the Shin Ju Sa Pae.
After all, hadn’t they recently gathered and pooled their strength together?
But now Sayugok has been destroyed?
They had no choice but to move.
‘Once word spreads through Kangho that Sayugok has fallen, they’ll make their full move.’
Now there were only two paths ahead.
They could surrender.
Or wage all-out war.
And Cheon Hui naturally assumed the latter. They must also have backing forces pulling strings behind them, just as Sayugok did.
‘There’s no chance they’ll offer surrender.’
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed to slits.
But only for a moment.
‘Well, that’s a problem for later. First, I’ll take the Bi Geom Dan and Hwa Ryeong Dan…….’
Just as Cheon Hui was about to turn and leave.
“Master!”
“Teacher!”
At that very moment, Jeok Geom and Cheon Hyang, leading the Bi Geom Dan and Hwa Ryeong Dan, came rushing over, having finished clearing out Sayugok.
Upon seeing them, Cheon Hui smiled.
“Let’s head back to Huashan Sect.”

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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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