Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 216

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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 216
Four days had passed since meeting Je Gal Go Cheon.
The Je Gal Clan’s banquet had ended, leaving them buried in the aftermath, and most of the guests had already departed.
Though those lingering in the Je Gal Clan’s Separate Residence dwindled one by one,
“This is delicious.”
“There’s more here, senior.”
Cheon Hui and Dan Mok Lin remained in the Separate Residence, enjoying a life of leisure.
Today as well, Cheon Hui rolled sweetmeats idly on his tongue while gazing northward.
‘Struck out again.’
Over these four days, he’d tried sneaking out to see Je Gal Go Cheon several times, only to fail each attempt.
The Xiao Tian Zhi Sheng Jin Fa had already been broken, its location exposed, and the security had tripled as a result.
It was nearly impossible to get close.
‘At this rate, I won’t even think about approaching for days.’
Cheon Hui’s expression clouded slightly.
It had been so long since meeting an Unparalleled Master.
Yet he couldn’t even trade techniques with him, and watching time slip away like this felt stifling.
‘Maybe I should just act crazy and find him anyway?’
The impulsive thought crossed his mind, but in the end he could only shake his head.
The losses would outweigh the gains.
There was no reason to make an enemy of the Je Gal Clan just for that.
Even before departing, the Sect Master had hammered it home—under no circumstances cause trouble within the Je Gal Clan.
‘And if I do that, there’s only one chance, and I can’t squander it this foolishly.’
Cheon Hui thought coldly.
Je Gal Go Cheon’s Martial Prowess was exceptional.
No—exceptional didn’t even begin to cover it.
A supreme realm beyond the Heavenly Martial Realm.
Had he not reached the Martial God Realm, that realm beyond the heavens that they spoke of?
By contrast, his current self was far from ready.
He had yet to fully recover his previous life’s Martial Prowess.
To squander the single Life and Death Battle he’d been given with an Unparalleled Master in such an unprepared state would be too much to bear.
Better to step back now and wait for the next opportunity.
‘Tch, can’t be helped.’
Cheon Hui finished chewing the sweetmeat in his mouth and rose from his seat.
“Hm? Great Hero, you’re awake.”
“Where are you off to?”
Peng Cheol Wi and Hwang Bo So Hyeon, seated at a nearby table, turned to look at him with surprised eyes.
For the past few days, Cheon Hui had done nothing but loll about in bed and never once left the Separate Residence.
Which made sense—servants brought his meals to him anyway.
And with Dan Mok Lin hovering close by, attending to his every need, there was no reason to venture outside.
“I’m heading back now.”
At his sudden announcement, Peng Cheol Wi and Hwang Bo So Hyeon set down their teacups in alarm.
“So suddenly?”
“You’re leaving already?”
Their eyes widened as they pressed him.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Oh, well… it’s just….”
Hwang Bo So Hyeon hesitated.
“Yang has said she’s coming…….”
“Pardon?”
At the sudden name, Cheon Hui tilted his head, then his mouth fell slightly open as he recalled someone.
“Ah, you mean Miss Yang?”
Hwang Bo So Hyeon nodded.
On the very day she met Cheon Hui, she had sent a letter to Yang Se Ryeong at once.
And the reply had only arrived two days ago.
The reply was very brief.
[I’ll come right away!]
She’d never seen Yang Se Ryeong write in such an excited manner before.
When she first read it, she’d almost laughed. But now that Cheon Hui—the very person who could make Yang Se Ryeong write like that—was about to leave,
“Um, Great Hero…….”
Hwang Bo So Hyeon spoke carefully, her expression troubled.
“Would it be so terrible if Elder Yang only saw your face before you left?”
She spoke with longing, but Cheon Hui was not the sort to be swayed by such appeals.
“The banquet is over, and there’s no reason to linger. Since I’ve made up my mind, I should go now. Strike while the iron is hot.”
“But Elder Yang was hoping to see the Great Master…….”
“Is today the only chance? We can meet another time. Besides, everyone knows my background and name by now anyway.”
Cheon Hui spoke with easy indifference, reaching for the sword beside him—then hesitated.
Dan Mok Lin was showing unmistakable signs of discomfort.
“What’s wrong? You don’t want to go? If you’d rather stay, you can come later on your own.”
“N-no, that’s not it!”
Dan Mok Lin shook her head rapidly from side to side, almost desperately.
After a moment, she asked carefully.
“Senior, who is this Yang person?”
“Someone I had a brief connection with. Why?”
At Cheon Hui’s casual reply, Dan Mok Lin’s expression brightened to its usual warmth.
“I was just curious.”
Meanwhile, Hwang Bo So Hyeon, watching this exchange, felt the world darken before her eyes.
Peng Cheol Wi, observing Hwang Bo So Hyeon’s reaction, asked quietly.
“What troubles you?”
“I think Elder Yang will suffer.”
Peng Cheol Wi nodded at once.
“She likely will. Still, there’s no need for excessive worry. Didn’t the Je Gal lord say so himself? An agreement has been made with Ilwol Moon…….”
Hwang Bo So Hyeon smiled bitterly at his words.
‘That’s not what I meant at all…….’
Hwang Bo So Hyeon had spent several days coming and going from the Separate Residence, and she was now certain of one thing: Dan Mok Lin was in love with Cheon Hui.
Usually cold as ice, but in his presence—warm as sunlight itself.
Most would have noticed.
All except one.
‘Peng is hopelessly dense.’
Peng Cheol Wi was sometimes frustratingly ignorant about matters of the heart.
But what could she do?
That was precisely why she found him endearing.
‘If this woman had been a rival…….’
Hwang Bo So Hyeon’s gaze turned toward Dan Mok Lin.
‘She’s truly beautiful.’
Her appearance naturally drew the eye.
That mysterious allure hovering between girlhood and womanhood, radiating from her face and bearing.
Jealousy didn’t even arise.
‘They’re different beauties entirely—Yang and she.’
Yang Se Ryeong was also a beauty.
Not for nothing was she called the most beautiful woman in Gansu.
But their atmospheres were opposite.
Where Yang Se Ryeong possessed the beauty of mature elegance, Dan Mok Lin radiated pure and unblemished innocence.
“Might you leave a little later…….”
“No, I’d rather not stay for any more pleasantries.”
At Hwang Bo So Hyeon’s reluctant words, Cheon Hui replied and turned his head away.
That moment.
Knock, knock.
A sound came at the door, and soon it swung open without ceremony.
“Young Master Cheon Hui!”
Je Gal Myeong strode in purposefully.
Entering without waiting for permission, he spotted Cheon Hui standing and widened his eyes.
“My, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you awake before.”
Je Gal Myeong spoke up immediately, but Cheon Hui ignored him completely.
Yet this did nothing to silence Je Gal Myeong’s tongue.
“Ha ha ha, so everyone was here after all! Good morning to you. Master Peng, Miss Hwang Bo, and Miss Lin as well.”
Words poured from him like a waterfall.
‘Noisy.’
Cheon Hui shook his head slightly.
He could have left more slowly, but one of the reasons he was departing now was precisely this Je Gal Myeong.
Ever since the banquet day, he had come calling every day, desperate to strike up conversation.
To be precise, he was simply talking at length by himself.
“The Daoists of Huashan must be taciturn. Perhaps you’re practicing a vow of silence…….”
As he prattled on without pause, even Peng Cheol Wi and Hwang Bo So Hyeon began to laugh uncomfortably.
“Brother!”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon came running urgently.
“Didn’t I ask you not to disturb our guest?”
“Disturb? What do you mean?”
Je Gal Myeong shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m merely building rapport. Isn’t that so?”
Cheon Hui, watching Je Gal Myeong speak with a bright smile, replied in a measured tone.
“No.”
His voice was cold and cutting.
Most would have sensed the chill and retreated, but Je Gal Myeong was different.
“Haha, the young master is quite shy. There’s no need to be so embarrassed.”
His tone-deafness was truly remarkable.
‘I can’t exactly drive him away…….’
Had he been looking for a fight, that would be one thing.
But with no quarrel, only this cheerful insistence on building friendship, what was there to do about it?
It was then that Je Gal Seong Hyeon, reading the irritation in Cheon Hui’s expression, stepped in.
“Brother, didn’t Father say earlier that he was calling for you?”
“Oh, that’s right!”
Je Gal Myeong turned around hastily.
“Then I’ll come back another time.”
After Je Gal Myeong had his say and left, Je Gal Seong Hyeon exhaled a long, weary sigh.
“Ah. I apologize, truly.”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon felt a dull throb in his head.
It was he who had introduced them.
He had arranged this meeting thinking Cheon Hui and Je Gal Myeong might find common ground in discussing martial arts.
But this was unexpected.
“I never realized my brother could be so oblivious.”
He had always admired Je Gal Myeong.
His overwhelming talent in the martial way, and the commanding presence with which he led his household.
But in admiring him from afar and keeping their distance, Je Gal Seong Hyeon had never truly understood his brother’s nature.
Meanwhile, Cheon Hui gathered his sword with an air of indifference, whether Je Gal Seong Hyeon apologized or not.
“It’s fine. I was leaving anyway.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon was suddenly taken aback.
“Leaving? But where…….”
“Where else—back to Huashan.”
“You mean…… you’re returning?”
“Is there any reason to stay longer?”
“No, that’s not quite what I meant.”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon replied, somewhat flustered.
In truth, he had invited Cheon Hui partly because he wished to introduce him to his brothers, but the real reason had been Father’s interest in meeting him.
Yet now Father was too busy with some matter to even meet with him.
‘……I suppose we’ll have to meet next time.’
Je Gal Seong Hyeon, thinking of his father, simply nodded.
“Then please wait just a moment.”
* * *
A short while later, outside the gates of the Je Gal Clan estate.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Cheon Hui, seeing Go Sam greet him from the carriage driver’s seat, opened his mouth.
“You’ve been here at the Je Gal Clan all along, it seems.”
“The Merchant Lord instructed me to attend to you well when you depart.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
At this attentive treatment, Cheon Hui let out a faint smile.
“Y-young guest! Or rather, young master!”
Je Gal Myeong came dashing up, breathless.
Catching his breath after his hurried run, he looked up at Cheon Hui.
“You’re leaving already?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you in rather a hurry? Wouldn’t it be better to stay a few more days?”
Je Gal Myeong expressed his reluctance.
His face bore the bittersweet smile of one watching a dear friend depart.
Then his eyes brightened as he spoke.
“In that case, I’ll visit Huashan next time.”
Visit, he says.
Cheon Hui rejected the notion outright.
“There’s no need.”
“Ha, what are you being so bashful about?”
At Je Gal Myeong’s casual misreading, Cheon Hui let out an exasperated sigh and waved his hand dismissively as if irritated.
“Do as you wish.”
“Well then, I shall certainly make the journey.”
Ignoring Je Gal Myeong’s continued prattling from behind, Cheon Hui was about to climb into the carriage.
“Honored Master.”
Peng Cheol Wi and Hwang Bo So Hyeon approached.
“Please visit our household afterward. We’ll prepare a proper reception for you then.”
“And do visit the Hwang Bo Clan as well.”
“If time permits, I will.”
The same questions and answers as before.
Peng Cheol Wi and Hwang Bo So Hyeon, though slightly disappointed at receiving no firm commitment, nodded and withdrew.
Then Je Gal Seung Ho and Je Gal Seong Hyeon appeared.
“Honored Master, please accept this.”
Walking closer, he carefully offered a bundle wrapped tightly in brilliant silk.
Whatever lay within remained a mystery, yet the silk wrappings alone suggested something of considerable value.
“It is something Seong Hyeon and I have prepared.”
“It should be worthy of the Little Master’s attention.”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon, now standing beside Je Gal Seung Ho, rolled his broad shoulders expansively.
“I’ll take it then.”
Cheon Hui accepted the wooden box wrapped in its careful silk covering.
“Travel carefully.”
“We’ll send word later.”
As Cheon Hui was about to climb into the carriage, observing the two men’s respectful salutes, something changed.
……
An icy silence suddenly fell.
Everyone clustered near the gate, who had been gossiping loudly just moments before, fell silent.
Not merely silent.
Their faces had stiffened like stone, their eyes wide and unblinking, fixed upon something distant—as though they had forgotten to breathe.
The oppressive silence stretched on.
Step—step—
Footfalls echoed.
Perhaps it was the suffocating quiet that made it so.
The footsteps, growing distinctly louder, drew ever closer to the gate.
Slide—
People began quietly backing away.
And from between them came an old man with white hair, dressed in a worn grey robe, his hands clasped behind his back, walking with deliberate slowness.
Everyone gasped.
Especially those of a certain age—their jaws hung slack, their eyes drawn to the old man as if enchanted.
“G-Grandfather?”
Je Gal Myeong cried out in shock and rushed forward.
And with that, the silence shattered, and people released the breath they had been holding, crying out in voices barely short of screams.
“…The…the Tyrant?!”
“W-why have the Eight Martial Gods suddenly—”
People’s bodies trembled.
Some staggered as if about to faint, cold sweat pouring down their faces.
Je Gal Go Cheon, observing Je Gal Myeong’s approach, offered a gentle smile.
“You’ve grown much.”
“Have I?”
Je Gal Myeong could not conceal his bewilderment.
He, who had always conducted himself with confidence in any situation, now faltered for the first time, his words stumbling forth hesitantly.
“But Grandfather, why are we here……?”
“I came to meet someone.”
“To meet someone?”
Je Gal Myeong asked in alarm.
“There he is.”
Je Gal Go Cheon smiled faintly upon spotting Cheon Hui, then walked past Je Gal Myeong.
And he addressed Cheon Hui.
“Are you leaving now?”
Cheon Hui stopped midway to boarding the carriage and met the eyes of Je Gal Go Cheon standing before him.
“It’s awkward to stay any longer.”
“This person you were going to meet—a Daoist of Huashan?”
“Who is this Daoist that……?”
Everyone gasped at the exchange.
It was already astonishing that Je Gal Go Cheon, who had been silent for decades, had emerged from the Inner Sanctum, but the person he claimed to meet was none other than a Daoist of Huashan.
While those around them stood in shock, watching the pair with incomprehension written across their faces—
“You took your time coming out.”
Cheon Hui grumbled.
“You should have come sooner, if you were going to.”
“I could only emerge now because it is now.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Cheon Hui nodded in acceptance.
Even now, didn’t the mere fact of his emergence draw every eye in the vicinity?
Had he sought out Cheon Hui before this, it would have been far more than mere commotion.
“Are you just going to exchange greetings and leave?”
“What else would there be to do?”
“That’s a shame, really.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes brightened even as he spoke.
“But don’t you get bored up there?”
“Bored? What do you mean?”
Je Gal Go Cheon tilted his head in puzzlement.
“From what I saw, there’s nothing but a garden plot.”
At Cheon Hui’s reply, Je Gal Go Cheon’s eyes widened in understanding.
“Ha! That little garden does provide its share of amusement. Though these days, it’s become hard to tend even to that.”
“In that case, why don’t you come visit Huashan sometime?”
Cheon Hui grinned.
“There’s not much to see, admittedly, but the plum blossoms are quite beautiful.”
“Ha! Plum blossoms—now that’s something to look forward to.”
Je Gal Go Cheon broke into laughter.
“I’ll make a visit later then. Until then, see that you care for those blossoms well.”
“Of course I will.”
The two stood facing each other for a moment.
Then Cheon Hui quickly climbed into the carriage, a smile playing at his lips.
“Then I’ll be waiting.”
“Take care until then.”

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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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