Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 203

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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 203
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed as he stared intently at Dan Mok Lin’s radiant smile.
“You’re going with the Je Gal Clan?”
“Yes!”
Dan Mok Lin answered brightly, her voice brimming with energy.
“I’ve never heard anything about that.”
“The Sect Master decided it.”
“The Sect Master?”
As if she’d been waiting for that very question, Dan Mok Lin’s eyes sparkled as she rushed ahead with her words.
“Yes! It’s not just any gathering—it’s a banquet at the Je Gal Clan itself. So the Sect Master said it would be better if someone familiar with the clan went along, and he asked me to assist you.”
Dan Mok Lin, unsatisfied with that alone, continued speaking in an excited tone.
“Traveling with me will be convenient. I may not be as skilled at serving as Jeok Geom and Seol Ran are… but I’ll do my very best!”
She spoke with desperate earnestness.
And rightly so—this was the chance she’d longed for, yearned for: traveling alone with Cheon Hui.
‘I absolutely cannot let this slip away!’
She clenched both fists tightly.
The opportunity to travel together, which had seemed possible only after becoming a Maehwa Sword Master, had arrived far sooner than expected. Unwilling to miss this chance, she gazed at Cheon Hui with a pleading expression.
“…Is it all right? I want to go to the banquet and meet the clan members too……”
She poured out even her last carefully reserved words, looking up at him.
For a moment their eyes met.
“Do as you wish. The Sect Master told you to, didn’t he?”
Cheon Hui tossed out his words with an air of indifference, then dropped into the seat across from her.
“Thank you, senior!”
At Cheon Hui’s consent, Dan Mok Lin’s face lit up brightly. In contrast, Cheon Hui maintained an expression of complete indifference.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
It was unexpected that Dan Mok Lin would come along, but truthfully, whether she followed or not barely registered with him.
‘She already knows I eat meat and drink wine, and she said she’d serve me like Jeok Geom and Seol Ran do anyway.’
Meanwhile, the moment Go Sam saw Cheon Hui take his seat, he roughly seized the reins and shouted.
“We’re departing now!”
He yanked hard on the reins along with the command.
Neigh!
With the horse’s cry, the carriage lurched and began descending the narrow mountain road.
“There are many people coming up, so the carriage will shake a bit.”
Go Sam, speaking cautiously to Cheon Hui and Dan Mok Lin, drove the carriage onward.
Countless carriages and merchants climbing up.
After passing them and descending for some time, Cheon Hui, who had been gazing out the window, squinted and looked ahead.
“How did they know to follow us.”
“Pardon?”
Dan Mok Lin, puzzled by his cryptic words, was about to ask.
Neigh!
The carriage lurched violently.
Startled by the sudden appearance of an old man, Go Sam jerked the carriage to a halt and furrowed his brow.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Go Sam spoke, struggling to contain his anger.
The old man blocking the carriage’s path—Cheon Yi Gae—scratched his oily hair.
“Ahem, ahem. I apologize for blocking the road so suddenly. But I’m in rather a hurry, you see.”
“What could possibly be so urgent that you’d block a carriage with your bare hands? Have you lost your mind?”
Go Sam turned his head along with the horse.
“My apologies. Someone suddenly blocked the road……”
As he offered his excuse, Dan Mok Lin’s eyes widened and her lips parted.
“……Are those the knots of the Gae Bang?”
She quickly counted the number of knots tied at Cheon Yi Gae’s waist and went pale.
Seven knots in total.
At that level, he would rank among the select few in the Gae Bang.
“That rank would make him……”
As she tensed, Go Sam’s face—which had been scolding Cheon Yi Gae—went deathly white.
“An, an Elder of the Gae Bang?”
He’d thought the old man was mad and spoken carelessly, but if he was an Elder of the Gae Bang, then Go Sam had made a grave mistake.
Cold sweat began streaming down his face.
“But why are you blocking the road like this?”
Cheon Hui thrust his face out the window and tossed a remark at Cheon Yi Gae.
“M-Master?”
“Elder brother?”
At his blunt words, Go Sam and Dan Mok Lin looked up in alarm, their eyes fixed on Cheon Hui.
An elder of Gae Bang was among those rare few in Kangho whose rank could be counted on one hand.
To address such a man so casually—no wonder they were startled.
Dan Mok Lin was about to intervene when—
“What? Why are you stopping him? This insolent pup. You don’t even know what he’s talking about?”
Cheon Yi Gae grumbled.
More petulant than truly angry, his expression made Dan Mok Lin and Go Sam exchange bewildered glances between the two men.
“I’ve cleaned up every last mess you’ve left behind.”
In the meantime, Cheon Yi Gae stepped closer to Cheon Hui.
“You’re leaving without even telling me?”
“Why? Is there a problem with that?”
……
For a moment, Cheon Yi Gae’s words caught in his throat.
By his own logic, there was no law that said Cheon Hui had to inform him before leaving.
But Cheon Yi Gae refused to back down.
Who was he, after all?
A man stubborn and cantankerous beyond compare in all of Kangho.
He calmly donned a mask of composure.
Then, trembling with exaggerated fury, he bellowed.
“Would it hurt to say something, at least?!”
A roar that bordered on a shout.
With nothing left to argue, Cheon Yi Gae tried to press the point through volume alone, but—
“No? Why should I? It’s not as if I need your permission to leave.”
Cheon Hui, idly cleaning his ear, ignored him entirely.
“Besides, stop blocking the door and step aside, would you? You’re making it difficult for me to leave here.”
Cheon Hui spoke while glancing at Go Sam.
Go Sam, frozen and helpless, was unable to do either one thing or the other. Cheon Yi Gae clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Tch! This brat isn’t listening to reason!”
Cheon Yi Gae, snorting with exasperation, smoothly opened the firmly closed carriage door and tried to slip inside.
Thump.
But Cheon Hui’s hand blocked his path.
“What are you doing?”
“……I intend to accompany you. Haven’t I already said I’d provide you with information? Along the way, I’ll give you plenty of details about the Je Gal Clan.”
As he spoke, Cheon Yi Gae ducked his head beneath Cheon Hui’s blocking hand, attempting to slip into the carriage again.
But this time, a foot suddenly appeared and stopped him in his tracks.
Veins rose prominently on Cheon Yi Gae’s forehead.
“You find my companionship unsuitable?”
“That’s not it, but trying to stop you won’t keep you from following anyway.”
“Then why are you blocking me from entering……”
Cheon Hui, pinching his nose, replied.
“The stench.”
“What?”
Caught utterly off guard, Cheon Yi Gae’s mouth fell open in blank confusion.
“It’s a long journey to the Je Gal Clan estate. You mean to share a carriage in that condition?”
Cheon Hui appraised him from head to toe as he spoke.
His clothing—whether deserving the name or merely a filthy rag—and hair slick with grease.
The stench that assaulted the nostrils before he’d even entered the carriage hardened Cheon Hui’s gaze into resolve.
“If you want to board, wash yourself first.”
“Are you truly telling an elder of Gae Bang to go clean himself?”
“Yes.”
Though Cheon Yi Gae spoke as if the suggestion were absurd, Cheon Hui didn’t waver in the slightest.
How was he supposed to endure that smell?
Walking separately or riding a horse would be one thing, but inside a carriage it made all the difference.
“Are you ordering me to violate the Gae Bang Code?”
“If you refuse, then ride up with the driver, or follow along separately.”
“You—! It’s a shame I show you any respect at all!”
“You should only show respect to those who deserve it.”
Cheon Hui ignored Cheon Yi Gae’s thrashing, pushed him aside, and gently closed the carriage door behind him.
Then he turned to Go Sam.
“Let’s depart at once.”
“But… are you certain that’s wise?”
Go Sam asked carefully, watching Cheon Yi Gae’s eyes boring into the closed door.
“It’s fine. If anything happens or he tries to block the road again, I’ll handle it.”
At Cheon Hui’s words, Go Sam swallowed hard.
“Understood, sir.”
The moment Go Sam reached for the reins—
“Wait, hold on!”
Cheon Yi Gae cried out in alarm.
“Before we head down, let’s stop at an inn so I can wash up!”
“You should have said so from the start.”
* * *
Shortly after, the carriage descended Huashan and pulled into a modest inn along the roadside.
Swish—
As Cheon Hui parted the curtain and stepped inside—
Hush.
“The… the Huashan Sect!”
The eyes of the guests taking their early meal shook as though struck by an earthquake.
Those who had witnessed firsthand the Huashan Sect’s Daoists stirring up Shenxi in recent days gazed upon them with admiration and reverence burning in their eyes.
Some were openly staring by that point.
“Ah, welcome, welcome!”
The innkeeper approached hesitantly.
“… Have you come to dine?”
At his question, Cheon Hui gestured to Cheon Yi Gae and Dan Mok Lin behind him and replied:
“That person there needs to bathe, and I’d like to acquire some simple clothing for three people. Is that possible?”
“It’s possible, but the price—”
The innkeeper’s voice trailed off uncertainly when—
Clink.
A small pouch dangled before his eyes.
Dan Mok Lin had approached, smiling warmly, and handed the pouch to him.
“There are two silver pieces here.”
The innkeeper’s eyes widened.
Two silver pieces exceeded the inn’s daily earnings.
He quickly rubbed his hands together.
Like a fly, his palms worked against each other as he broke into a brilliant smile.
“I’ll prepare everything at once!”
“And we’d also like to order some food.”
“Of course! I’ll prepare it right away! Please, sit anywhere you like! And sir, if you would follow me this way.”
“Very well.”
Cheon Yi Gae followed the innkeeper away, his expression still brimming with discontent.
“Leave this to me, brother!”
Dan Mok Lin declared, puffing out her chest.
Rather than become a burden on their journey, she wanted to be useful, and so she had stepped forward before Cheon Hui could.
“So you had money set aside.”
“The Main Clan House gave it to me.”
She smiled softly.
When she had announced her intention to join the Huashan Sect, the Dan Mok Clan had opposed her fiercely, yet despite everything, they had quietly pressed money into her hands as she departed.
It wasn’t a vast sum.
After all, considerable expenses had been incurred for her medical treatment.
Yet it was more than sufficient—indeed, abundant—for the needs of their journey.
“This journey will be comfortable then.”
Cheon Hui smiled with satisfaction.
With someone handling both the attendant duties and finances, there was nothing more to worry about.
“Let’s sit over there, brother.”
Dan Mok Lin pointed to a table in the corner.
Shortly after, the two sat at the table, and a server carefully set down their meal.
“… Tsk, nothing but vegetables.”
Cheon Hui’s nose wrinkled slightly.
Perhaps it was because he was a Daoist.
The attendant had taken care in his own way, deliberately excluding meat and bringing only vegetables, thin noodles, and tea.
“There’s no helping it now.”
Cheon Hui moved his chopsticks.
Just as the two of them were settling into their meal, absorbed in eating—
“Never thought I’d come to this state.”
Cheon Yi Gae emerged, muttering under his breath.
After finishing his bath in haste, Cheon Yi Gae approached and sat beside Cheon Hui.
“Well? Better now?”
Cheon Yi Gae scratched his head vigorously.
Thanks to having scrubbed himself clean, the dandruff that should have been piled thick on his shoulders was entirely gone.
“Much better now, I’d say.”
Cheon Hui looked satisfied.
The stench that had stung his nose whenever he’d been nearby had vanished completely.
Dan Mok Lin, who had been eating, opened her eyes wide at the sight of Cheon Yi Gae.
“Is this really you, sir?”
“What’s odd about it?”
“Nothing odd at all. Quite the opposite—you look neat and pleasant.”
Dan Mok Lin offered her praise.
And with good reason.
Cheon Yi Gae had always had a sturdy frame for his age and an upright bearing.
But filth had hidden that; now that grime was gone, his true form shone through.
His white hair and beard, which had once splayed wildly in all directions when unwashed, were now neatly groomed, and he wore clean clothing besides.
He looked far better than before.
Yet despite their words, Cheon Yi Gae continued to grumble with a discontented expression.
“Tsk, I never thought I’d end up looking like this. It’s the shame of my life—a disgrace.”
Cheon Yi Gae writhed at the dishonor.
He had lived his whole life as a beggar.
And he’d taken pride in it too. But now, not only had he washed himself clean, he’d put on fresh clothes—for him, it was nothing short of humiliation.
“Lord, if the other Gae Bang members saw me like this… ugh. How mortifying.”
He trembled, grumbling as he was, but soon picked up his chopsticks again.
Crunch, crunch.
Despite his clean appearance, his habits hadn’t changed; he ate voraciously, his mouth busy with barely a moment’s rest.
“Smack smack, but why’s there only vegetables, gulp. Huh? Sure, tastes all right, but munch munch—”
With food still in his mouth, bits of it sprayed from his lips as he spoke.
Clink—
Dan Mok Lin’s expression turned awkward; she set down her chopsticks and laughed uncomfortably.
“Gulp, why’re you stopping?”
“I’m full now.”
Cheon Yi Gae glanced at Dan Mok Lin’s bowl.
“Smack, and your mouth’s awfully, gulp. Short on words.”
“You should eat quietly.”
That was when Cheon Hui cut him off.
“Gulp, why’s that?”
“The table will be covered in spittle.”
“Bah, how much spittle could spray anyway?”
……
Cheon Hui gazed at Cheon Yi Gae in silence.
Under that wordless stare, Cheon Yi Gae retreated like a dog with its tail between its legs.
“Smack. Fine, fine. I get it.”
As Cheon Yi Gae settled into quiet eating, Cheon Hui resumed his meal.
“This is much better.”
Dan Mok Lin, who had been watching cautiously, let out a breath of relief, picked up her chopsticks again, and continued with her vegetables.
They ate in peace for a moment.
“Honored guest…”
The innkeeper approached carefully.
He held out a plain gray robe to Cheon Hui with cautious hands, his face troubled as he spoke.
“I’ve brought you some clothing. I did my best to find something suitable, but this was all the cloth merchant had—”
He stammered as he spoke.
Though he’d rushed to the cloth merchant, this gray robe was the only decent option he’d been able to find.
Cheon Hui received the clothing.
The rough texture made it clear the material was of poor quality.
“It’s fine.”
He didn’t mind.
Cheon Hui wanted the clothing not to feel refined, but to slip past people’s eyes and enjoy a moment of freedom before arriving in Je Gal Clan territory.
“Here, you wear this too.”
He handed clothing to Dan Mok Lin.
“Yes.”
Dan Mok Lin didn’t understand why she needed to change, but she accepted it without question and rose from her seat.
After finishing their meal and changing into fresh clothes, the three climbed into the carriage.
“Ahhh, this is good. Very good.”
Cheon Yi Gae, who sat neatly dressed and patted his belly with a belch, looked ahead.
“Oh ho.”
Seeing Cheon Hui and Dan Mok Lin in matching gray Martial Robes, he grinned wickedly.
“Look at that. Anyone seeing you two dressed like that would think you were husband and wife.”
Dan Mok Lin’s face flushed crimson in an instant.
Cheon Hui, by contrast, paid it no mind and asked him plainly.
“Let’s skip the foolish jokes. Do you know the roads around here well?”
“The roads? Well enough, I suppose.”
“Then show the driver a proper route.”
“A route? If you just follow this main road straight, you’ll reach it without trouble. What’s the—”
“If we were just going to follow the main road, why bother changing clothes? Since we’ve started this journey to Zhongyuan, shouldn’t we do it properly?”
Cheon Hui’s eyes crinkled with a wide smile.
“We should visit all the famous wine houses and inns along the way to Je Gal Clan.”

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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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