Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 227

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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 227
Cheon Hui looked up at Jin Gae, whose eyes betrayed an urgent desperation, and asked him a question.
“You’re saying the Tianxia Trading Company summoned me?”
“Y-yes, that’s right!”
Jin Gae answered with quick, sharp breaths.
“To be precise, Chief Officer O asked the Young Master and the Elder to…….”
He had meant to address Cheon Yi Gae, looking past Cheon Hui, but suddenly tilted his head in confusion.
What sat before him was not a rough, unkempt old man, but an elderly gentleman in neat clothes who looked surprisingly refined.
“……Elder?”
Only then, properly seeing Cheon Yi Gae for the first time, did Jin Gae ask with evident bewilderment, and Cheon Yi Gae’s expression darkened at once.
“What’s with that look in your eyes?”
“Gulp!”
At the irritation in Cheon Yi Gae’s voice, Jin Gae immediately shrank back and retreated, his neck tensing.
“N-no, that’s not it!”
Around the time Jin Gae began waving his hands in haste.
“Chief Officer O? What exactly is going on?”
Cheon Hui asked, looking at him.
At that, Jin Gae quickly lifted his head again and spoke.
“There’s been a major conflict with the Daen Trading Company, and the Young Master and the Elder’s help is absolutely essential.”
He’d wondered what grave matter had arisen, only to learn it was merely a dispute between trading companies seeking assistance.
Cheon Hui’s expression turned indifferent.
“But why do you need my help? The trading companies must have collided with each other more than once or twice before, haven’t they?”
“That fool’s got a point. And if Kangho martial artists get involved in a squabble between merchants, wouldn’t that be like pouring oil on a burning house?”
Cheon Yi Gae, his face twisted in displeasure, sided with Cheon Hui’s words.
“It’s best they settle their own disputes before things spiral out of hand. Tsk, tsk.”
Cheon Yi Gae clicked his tongue.
Usually, when trading companies clashed with one another, such confrontations arose from each side trying to seize greater profit.
And in such cases, the cleanest solution was for one party to yield a step, then reclaim equivalent compensation later.
But what if martial artists from Kangho were to involve themselves?
Then the situation would change in an instant.
From that point on, it would escalate into armed conflict.
“The Daen Trading Company is no small enterprise—it’s one of the Four Great Trading Houses of All Under Heaven. They’re not looking for a final showdown with anyone, so why would they seek help from us?”
Cheon Yi Gae spoke as though the matter were trivial.
While the Daen Trading Company lacked some of the standing of the Tianxia Trading Company, it was nonetheless a massive enterprise grouped with the others under the title of the Four Great Trading Houses of All Under Heaven.
So would they undertake such a reckless venture?
Yet despite such words, Jin Gae’s expression showed no sign of change.
Rather, his face remained gravely serious.
He then met Cheon Yi Gae’s mocking gaze directly and parted his lips to speak.
“Just as you say, Elder, it seems the two trading houses will likely see this through to the bitter end.”
“What nonsense are you——”
“The Daen Trading Company has already drawn martial sects into the conflict.”
“What did you just say?”
Cheon Yi Gae responded with a look of disbelief.
“No trading house master would attempt such a thing unless they’d lost their mind.”
“But it is the truth. And what makes it worse is that they’ve drawn in no ordinary martial sect…….”
Only then, sensing the gravity, did Cheon Yi Gae’s face harden as he pressed further.
“……Which one? What sect has now joined forces with the Daen Trading Company?”
At the question, Jin Gae drew in a deep breath.
Then, regarding him with a complex expression, he answered in a measured voice.
“Nok Lim.”
“……!”
Cheon Yi Gae’s eyes widened in shock.
The name that had spilled from Jin Gae’s mouth far exceeded anything Cheon Yi Gae could have imagined.
“N-Nok Lim has joined forces with a trading company?”
So startled was he that Cheon Yi Gae stammered as he repeated the question.
Watching Cheon Yi Gae’s reaction, Jin Gae felt a sense of shared dismay.
‘I must have looked just the same.’
For what manner of sect was Nok Lim, after all?
A group that blockaded the paths of trading companies and escort agencies, extracting valuables under the guise of tolls…….
In other words, bandits.
Yet bandit gangs like Nok Lim had joined hands with trading companies—the very prey they once hunted.
“That is correct.”
“How in the world…?”
“I cannot yet discern the precise reasons why Nok Lim aids the Daen Trading Company, but that they do so is beyond question.”
At Jin Gae’s crisp words, Cheon Yi Gae fell silent, his mind turning inward.
“So that’s why you’re asking me for help?”
Cheon Hui opened his mouth.
The situation was absurd.
The alliance between bandits and merchants—two forces one would scarcely imagine joining hands—was precisely the sort of thing to pique Cheon Hui’s interest.
“Indeed. And the Chief Steward has requested aid not only from the Small Cooperation and the Senior Elder, but also from the Huashan Sect separately.”
“Well, of course he would.”
Cheon Hui spoke as though it were obvious.
The Maehwa Guest House that the Chief Steward had established maintained close ties with the Huashan Sect.
“And did the Huashan Sect provide assistance?”
“I heard that the Maehwa Sword Masters came down the mountain a few days ago.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Cheon Hui scratched his chin with his index finger.
Once the Huashan Sect was entangled in this matter, it could no longer be dismissed as trivial.
“I need to hear more details.”
At his affirmative answer, Jin Gae’s expression brightened.
“Where should we go?”
“Taiyuan.”
“Good. Before we talk, go wash up and change clothes. I’m not having you board the carriage looking like that.”
“I… beg your pardon?”
Jin Gae was taken aback by the unexpected remark.
But Cheon Hui, heedless of his confusion, turned to Dan Mok Lin and spoke.
“Do we have spare garments?”
“Yes, we do.”
Dan Mok Lin, who had been watching quietly all along, withdrew a clean gray Martial Robe from her bundle.
Cheon Hui tossed the robe to Jin Gae.
“Take it.”
“Eh?!”
Jin Gae caught the robe without thinking and stood bewildered, whereupon Cheon Hui spoke softly.
“Go on, be quick about it.”
“I…”
As he hesitated and glanced toward Cheon Yi Gae, the latter’s mouth opened.
“What are you waiting for? Go.”
“Ah, understood!”
Jin Gae finally jolted into motion, startled into action.
A short while later, once Jin Gae had bathed and changed into fresh clothes, the carriage set out.
Clatter-clatter—clatter-clatter—
Sitting in the carriage, Jin Gae remained utterly dumbfounded.
‘What in the world is this?’
Here he was, freshly washed and dressed in clean garments, sitting beside Cheon Yi Gae as though it were the most natural thing.
Who could have imagined such a turn of events?
While he sat in stunned silence, a voice cut through his haze.
“Now tell me properly what’s happened.”
“Ah, yes.”
Jin Gae swallowed hard.
“I don’t know all the details, but from what I understand, the Tianxia Trading Company and the Daen Trading Company have clashed over trading territory rights in Shanxi.”
Jin Gae’s account was far less remarkable than one might have expected.
It was nothing more than the most common cause of conflict between trading companies—a dispute over trading territory rights.
Yet that was not where it ended.
“But as the conflict persisted, something odd came to light.”
“What was that?”
“Suddenly, Nok Lim doubled—more than doubled—the tolls they collect.”
“You concluded that Nok Lim stands behind them based on that alone?”
Cheon Yi Gae let out a scoff.
Jin Gae, as if anticipating such a reaction, spoke at once.
“But what if this pattern repeated itself four times throughout Shanxi?”
“Four times……?”
Cheon Yi Gae’s brow furrowed.
However much Nok Lim were mere bandits, they still had their wits about them.
But four times in Shanxi……
As the crease between Cheon Yi Gae’s brows deepened, Jin Gae drove home the final nail.
“And for some reason, they did not levy tolls from the Daen Trading Company.”
“……Hm.”
Cheon Yi Gae clicked his tongue.
It was damning suspicion made flesh.
“Yet to do so so brazenly……”
As Cheon Yi Gae spoke with evident confusion, Cheon Hui opened his mouth.
“They had no intention of hiding it.”
With these words, Cheon Hui glanced at Jin Gae.
“But if you’re confident enough to believe Nok Lim is aiding the Daen Trading Company, then there must be more suspicious circumstances than just this, yes?”
Jin Gae swallowed hard.
Cheon Hui’s eyes were blank, yet the pressure radiating from him made breathing difficult.
“The truth is, it’s less a basis for certainty and more a dangerous pattern we discovered—we’re taking precautions out of an abundance of caution.”
Jin Gae, hurriedly catching his breath, glanced furtively toward the driver’s seat.
At that glance, Cheon Hui spoke.
“No matter how loud you are, he can’t hear. So continue with what you were saying.”
At Cheon Hui’s words, Jin Gae’s eyes widened.
‘Could it be that incredible……?’
Jin Gae swallowed and began again.
“Recently, we learned that the Chief Bandit Lord of Nok Lim has been making covert contact with someone.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes grew sharp.
“Who?”
Jin Gae leaned his head forward conspiratorially.
Then, as if worried someone might overhear, he whispered in the smallest voice.
“Samdo Gwi An.”
“……!”
“D-Did you say Samdo Gwi An?!”
Cheon Yi Gae and Dan Mok Lin clapped their hands over their mouths, startled.
But unlike the two of them, Cheon Hui tilted his head and asked.
“Who is that?”
“Y-You don’t know, sir?”
Jin Gae’s face grew bewildered, and Cheon Hui frowned.
“I don’t know, so I’m asking. So who is he? Some famous person?”
“N-Not just famous. He serves as the Deputy Military Commander of Sa Hyuk Ryeon……”
“What? Deputy Military Commander?”
Cheon Hui replied flatly.
He’d thought it must be some extraordinary figure, but here they were making such a fuss over a mere Deputy Military Commander?
As if reading Cheon Hui’s thoughts, Cheon Yi Gae quickly spoke up.
“With the Supreme Commander in seclusion, he’s the one effectively running Sa Hyuk Ryeon. That such a man would abandon Sa Hyuk Ryeon and meet with Nok Lim is no ordinary matter……!”
Mid-speech, Cheon Yi Gae’s eyes went wide and he whipped his head toward Jin Gae.
“Could Sa Hyuk Ryeon be trying to……”
Jin Gae nodded, completing what Cheon Yi Gae could not speak aloud.
“It appears they mean to draw Nok Lim into Sa Hyuk Ryeon.”
* * *
Hangshan, in Shanxi.
Though Hangshan was studded with sheer, jagged peaks, those who had made their home there a century prior remained.
Hangshan Stronghold!
A visitor had come to the Hangshan Stronghold, famous among all the scattered bandits of Nok Lim for its peculiar distinction—it harbored only remnants of routed armies.
“It has been a long time.”
Wei Zhong Ran, the chieftain of Hangshan Stronghold, studied the young man before him intently.
‘A subordinate of the Deputy Military Commander, they said?’
A crimson robe, skin pale as snow.
Wei Zhong Ran’s lips parted slightly as he observed this handsome youth whose delicate features seemed as if a woman had dressed in men’s clothes.
“It truly has been long.”
“Thank you for welcoming me so graciously.”
Go Hong, the young man in crimson who offered a light fist salute to Wei Zhong Ran, smiled.
“I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but the Huashan Sect is supposedly helping the Tianxia Trading Company.”
“The Huashan Sect, you say?”
The corners of Wei Zhong Ran’s mouth curled upward.
His beard, which had grown down to his chest, bristled with the motion, and a heavy laugh rumbled through it.
“Haha! How curious. The Huashan Sect—the very ones who toppled Baek Gwi Seong—comes to help fill the seat we promised to that post….”
Then Wei Zhong Ran’s laughter stopped abruptly.
“Too perfect to be mere coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
“I was truly shocked as well. Perhaps fate really does exist after all.”
Wei Zhong Ran’s eyes, which had been fixed on Go Hong, turned glacial.
But only for a moment.
Wei Zhong Ran closed his eyes, then opened them, and spoke.
“Has Sa Hyuk Ryeon sent any support?”
Go Hong opened his mouth as if startled.
“Support? Is it necessary?”
“So you believed we could face the Huashan Sect alone?”
“I did think that we could….”
Crack!
Wei Zhong Ran’s displeasure flashed as he applied pressure, and the armrest of the chair shattered at once.
Wei Zhong Ran, his fist clenched around the splinters of the broken armrest, glared at Go Hong.
Go Hong chuckled at that gaze.
“However… of course there is.”
Wei Zhong Ran dropped the pieces from his hand, scattering them, and wetted his lips.
“Who comes?”
“The Black Shadow Squad.”
Wei Zhong Ran’s eyes widened.
The Black Shadow Squad were among the most formidable fighting forces of Sa Hyuk Ryeon.
“Unexpected.”
“Surely such support is only natural? We are aiding those who will join the new Six Imperial Sects.”
Go Hong smiled in an alluring manner.
“Hmm. I suppose so.”
Wei Zhong Ran’s lips curved into a smile.
The words “the new Six Imperial Sects” were enough to lift his spirits considerably.
Go Hong, seeing this, bowed once and spoke in a formal tone.
“I hope this demonstrates that we too are sincere in this undertaking.”
“I understand perfectly.”
Wei Zhong Ran, his face suffused with satisfaction, nodded as if convinced, and Go Hong bowed smoothly before retreating.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
“When will the Black Shadow Squad arrive?”
“They should be here within four days.”
“Four days. Excellent.”
Go Hong raised his fist in salute once more and departed from the room.
In that moment, Wei Zhong Ran’s gaze transformed.
His eyes, gleaming with cold ferocity, revealed a faint smile in the darkness.
“Sa Hyuk Ryeon grows desperate, it seems.”
A smile played at the corner of his mouth.
Most righteous sects had always looked down upon Nok Lim, dismissing them as mere bandits.
Yet Sa Hyuk Ryeon had sought them out directly, expressing a desire to bring Nok Lim into their fold.
And they had offered the very seat that Baek Gwi Seong had once held.
In days past, such a thing would have been unimaginable.
But times had changed.
Since Baek Gwi Seong’s fall, Sa Hyuk Ryeon had grown considerably weaker compared to the Murim Alliance and the Bi Cheon Society.
And in such circumstances, Nok Lim was a prize beyond measure.
“Nok Lim as one of the new Six Imperial Sects….”
Wei Zhong Ran, murmuring to himself, slowly rose to his feet.
A moment later, he seized the Fang Tian Ji hanging behind him and let out a cold, mirthless laugh.
“Hehe, at last the age of Nok Lim—the age of the Chief Bandit Lord—has come to Kangho.”

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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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