Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 235

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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 235
Datong, situated at the northernmost point of Shanxi Province, was a crucial military outpost defending against nomadic raids.
Perhaps because of this.
Soldiers patrolled every street where merchants seeking passage to Saeoee had congregated.
Clop-clop — clop-clop —
Into those streets of Datong came the sound of hoofbeats, followed by many people and several merchant carts.
And in that moment.
“……What’s that escort flag?”
“The Tianxia Trading Company!”
The merchants who spotted the Tianxia Escort Service banner fluttering above the carts surrounded by escort agents stirred with excitement.
The Tianxia Trading Company — the greatest merchant house under heaven.
The appearance of the Tianxia Escort Service, operated directly by that house, was more than enough to capture every merchant’s gaze and curiosity.
But that didn’t last long.
“……Eh?”
“But that’s…….”
Three worn carts trailing behind caused the commotion. Those who spotted them felt their pupils vibrate as intensely as if an earthquake had struck.
“Why are people pulling a cart…….”
“Have they lost their minds…… Mmph!”
In an instant, the merchant who had been about to ask if they’d gone mad hastily covered his own mouth.
‘That’s…… Huashan Sect robes?!’
Upon belatedly noticing the robes they wore, the merchant glanced nervously to the side.
Not only he, but the other merchants, too, upon confirming the Huashan Sect robes, stood frozen with their mouths agape.
‘Why are Huashan Sect Daoists pulling a cart?’
‘What on earth is happening?’
They exchanged bewildered glances.
Yet Hwa Ryeong Dan continued pulling the carts, oblivious to the countless stares now fixed upon them.
Or rather, they had no leisure to mind such looks.
“Huff, huff.”
“When…… will we…… arrive?”
With each step forward, their entire bodies screamed in agony.
While their consumption of Internal Force was considerable, their feet and — more painfully — the shoulders bearing the weight of the carts were racked with excruciating soreness.
‘Ugh, ugggh! I’m dying, I’m really dying!’
‘Is this something humans are meant to do?’
Their faces had already taken on a sickly pallor.
They had been pulling the carts for seven days and nights now.
The weight of the carts, packed solid with gold and silver treasures, was so substantial that all six of them had to deploy their Light Footwork continuously just to move it.
What did that mean?
That they had been continuously deploying their Light Footwork for seven days and nights to haul these carts.
At first, they had felt shame about it, but after seven days and nights of pulling, such thoughts no longer even crossed their minds.
They simply walked forward.
Praying only that it would end soon.
As they continued walking in this half-dazed state.
“Stop!”
Chong Pyo Du shouted loudly.
At his voice, the expressions of Hwa Ryeong Dan brightened, and they swiftly released the rope looped around their shoulders to pull the cart.
Then they collapsed onto the ground.
Though it was a street where people were passing, they felt no hesitation about lying down.
“It’s…… finally over!”
“We’ve arrived!”
As those lying on the ground raised both arms toward the sky in joy.
Whoosh —
A shadow fell over them.
Cheon Hui, who had stepped down from the cart, looked at them sprawled on the ground with utter contempt.
“These aren’t Huashan Sect Daoists at all — they look more like beggars from the Gae Bang.”
At those words, several members of Hwa Ryeong Dan flinched, but none rose.
Cheon Hyang and Dan Mok Lin among them.
They were simply too exhausted.
Cheon Hui, regarding them sprawled out with expressions of defeat, shook his head.
He should give them a moment to rest.
Turning his attention away from them, Cheon Hui approached O Chong Gwan and Chong Pyo Du, who appeared to be engaged in a weighty conversation.
“Great Master.”
Chong Pyo Du, who had been speaking with O Chong Gwan, noticed Cheon Hui approaching and offered a respectful fist salute before speaking.
“I must express my deepest gratitude for the assistance you have rendered to our escort service’s mission.”
Cheon Hui lifted his shoulders with a slight shrug.
“You don’t mean that’s all it’ll be, do you?”
Chong Pyo Du regarded him with a flash of surprise, then burst into hearty laughter.
“Ha ha ha! How could it be merely words?”
After laughing for a moment, Chong Pyo Du’s eyes brightened.
“Should you ever require the assistance of our service, you need only contact the nearest branch of the Tianxia Trading Company. Or perhaps…….”
He paused, his gaze turning toward O Chong Gwan, who stood a step back.
“You could reach out to O Chong Gwan directly.”
Cheon Hui nodded in agreement.
“Very well.”
Chong Pyo Du then set about offering his respects to the Maehwa Sword Masters.
He was not alone in this.
The escort agents and laborers alike approached the Maehwa Sword Masters and exchanged greetings.
Several of them also came to Cheon Hui, offering their thanks.
“Great Master, we owe our lives to you.”
“We shall repay this debt.”
“Should you ever have need of my services in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.”
As they continued to express their gratitude, Cheon Hui answered them dismissively with “Very well” and “Repay it later,” barely paying them mind.
Yet they seemed satisfied with even this, and stepped back with contented expressions.
Once all the farewells were completed.
O Chong Gwan approached Chong Pyo Du, who was preparing to mount his horse and conclude the escort mission.
“I trust you’ll see this through to the very end.”
“Fear not.”
Chong Pyo Du offered a fist salute and smiled.
“I shall stake my very life on it.”
As he faced O Chong Gwan, he gazed upon the Great Wall of Ten Thousand Li that lay before him and drew a deep breath.
Then, turning to look behind him, he spoke.
“Is everyone prepared?”
The moment his words ended, the escort agents and laborers, their faces taut with concentration, moved in perfect unison and formed their ranks.
Chong Pyo Du surveyed them with satisfaction, bowed his head once toward Cheon Hui, and pulled at his reins.
“We depart.”
Shortly after they left, only Cheon Hui, O Chong Gwan, and the members of Hwa Ryeong Dan and Dan Mok Lin, who lay on the ground, remained.
Cheon Hui addressed Hwa Ryeong Dan.
“Then shall we return to Huashan?”
Yet despite these words, the members of Hwa Ryeong Dan showed no sign of moving, as though they were glued to the earth beneath them.
Only Cheon Hyang and Dan Mok Lin managed to pull themselves up with great difficulty.
“L…… et’s go.”
Cheon Hyang spoke in an exhausted voice.
“…….”
The others kept their eyes closed, not budging an inch.
‘What’s this now?’
Cheon Hui watched them brazenly feigning indifference and lifted his scabbard.
“So you wish to conduct martial arts training here and now?”
Whoosh!
Since it was clear that unilateral violence disguised as martial training was about to unfold, the members of Hwa Ryeong Dan’s eyebrows quivered.
The mere thought of it was agonizing.
Yet they kept their eyes tightly shut.
‘If we yield here, we’ll have to keep dragging ourselves like this.’
‘What sect practices training like this?’
They steeled their resolve.
No matter how much they wanted to grow stronger, there were limits.
Look at this.
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
These fellows who had been compliant until now were suddenly showing defiance.
A glance told him that Cheon Hyang looked equally taken aback.
‘So that’s how it is?’
At that moment, Cheon Hui’s lips curled upward.
“From an escort agency.”
When everyone looked puzzled at this sudden, out-of-nowhere remark, Cheon Hui continued.
“They’d left behind horses they originally meant to give us. But since we need twelve horses to pull the merchant cart, it was awkward before—though it works out now. I don’t mind taking the cart myself, so I’m out. That leaves six horses, and for now…”
Cheon Hui raised his hand, wiggling five fingers, then slowly folded down his thumb as he spoke softly.
“Wouldn’t it be right for the eldest and second-eldest of us, who moved first, to ride? That leaves four horses after that…”
The Hwa Ryeong Dan finally grasped what those fingers meant.
In that instant, all of them scrambled forward without hesitation.
“Me, I moved first!”
“Master!”
* * *
Murim Alliance Shanxi Branch.
The place that had been peaceful as nowhere else for decades, untouched by incident, now bustled with unprecedented activity.
“Hurry, lock them in the prison tower!”
“C-careful!”
The administrators managing the Shanxi Branch’s prison tower could not ease their vigilance for even a moment as they led the bound prisoners forward.
These were no ordinary people.
They were the Heukyeong Dan, the military force of Sa Hyuk Ryeon.
A faction capable of razing even mid-sized sects without leaving a single blade of grass behind in a single night—such was their cruelty and strength.
“This is maddening.”
Kang In Hyo, the branch director of the Shanxi Branch, watched through the window as the Heukyeong Dan were led into the prison tower, his head spinning.
‘What in heaven is happening?’
More than forty years had passed since the Three Supreme Powers era had arrived.
In all that time, the three supreme powers had not refrained from clashing with one another. Yet there had been no major confrontations; most disputes were settled when agreements were struck to stabilize the situation.
But this—
Kang In Hyo’s head snapped around.
“Great Leader, what is the meaning of this?”
Cheon Yi Gae met Kang In Hyo’s gaze and drained his tea in one breath.
“As I told you, the Heukyeong Dan moved to annihilate the Huashan Sect entirely.”
“Ah.”
Kang In Hyo pressed his forehead.
‘So it’s true.’
His head throbbed.
He’d heard it from his subordinates beforehand, but he’d asked anyway, just in case.
Kang In Hyo bit his lip and spoke.
“And there were Nok Lim bandits as well, I hear.”
“Yes.”
“…They joined hands?”
Cheon Yi Gae nodded.
“And the Daeeun Trading Company joined in as well.”
“The Daeeun Trading Company!”
Kang In Hyo’s eyes widened.
He had grasped the covert movements of Nok Lim and Sa Hyuk Ryeon to some degree, but the Daeeun Trading Company was entirely unexpected.
“You didn’t know?”
Cheon Yi Gae reproached Kang In Hyo.
The Tianxia Trading Company had moved directly upon sensing irregularities in the movements of the Daeeun Trading Company and Nok Lim, yet here was the branch director of the Murim Alliance, clueless.
Kang In Hyo laughed bitterly.
“With so many incidents erupting recently, my intelligence gathering has fallen behind.”
Only sighs came forth.
How many incidents had burst forth in a single year?
Beginning with the destruction of Baek Gwi Seong, the collision between Ilwol Moon and Shinchangyangga, the clash with officialdom over Guryong Bang, and the Shenxi War where the Orthodox Sect and Sapa forces collided.
If one counted all the minor incidents besides these, they were too numerous to count on one’s fingers.
Cheon Yi Gae, watching Kang In Hyo lost in thought, brought his palm down on the table.
Thud!
“You’ve reported this to the Murim Alliance?”
“I have.”
“And their response?”
Kang In Hyo shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Damn it!”
Cheon Yi Gae’s expression grew tense as he continued.
“Before this grows any larger…….”
But before he could finish pouring out his urgent words.
“Aaarrgh!”
“Hack!”
A sudden scream pierced the air.
“What is it?!”
“What’s happening?!”
Startled by the screams drawing steadily closer, Kang In Hyo and Cheon Yi Gae bolted to their feet.
And the moment they looked toward the window.
“…….”
The screams that had been approaching abruptly cut off.
As an eerie silence settled over them and dread began to creep in, a sharp, metallic scent carried on the wind assailed their nostrils.
Both their pupils dilated.
“This is…….”
“Blood scent?”
As the terrible realization sank in and their unease deepened, they swallowed hard.
Creak―
The locked gate slowly swung open.
And through it walked someone with unhurried confidence.
A middle-aged man with an air of leisure about him.
With long hair spilling loose, flecked here and there with white, he had the bearing of a beast as he surveyed his surroundings.
Yet his lips pressed into a firm line and his brows tilted upward at the ends spoke volumes of his temperament.
“……!”
“That, that man is…….”
When the two who saw him could not hide their shock, the middle-aged man’s sealed lips parted.
“Where is the branch commander?”
His voice emerged as if from deep underground, resonant and heavy.
The martial artists of the branch who had rushed over at the screams were overwhelmed by that voice, and held their breath without managing a reply.
“It seems the Murim Alliance only accepts mutes.”
The middle-aged man glanced about the room.
Swish―
Those whose eyes met his trembled violently, lowering their gaze.
Then.
“May I ask your business, sir?”
Kang In Hyo stepped forward before him.
“Are you the branch commander?”
“Y-yes, that I am.”
The middle-aged man’s gaze pierced through Kang In Hyo.
“……Hah!”
Kang In Hyo’s vision swam.
It felt as though a keen blade were gouging out his very eyes.
‘This, this kind of aura…….’
As he began to tremble.
“That’s enough.”
Cheon Yi Gae stepped between them.
“So it’s you…….”
The middle-aged man’s lips slowly rose into a smile.
“It’s been a long while.”
Facing the middle-aged man, Cheon Yi Gae broke into a cold sweat.
Simply by standing before him, the man’s overwhelming presence was sapping away his vital force.
“Yes, it has been long indeed.”
With those words, Cheon Yi Gae met the gaze of the middle-aged man looming above him, and with difficulty pried apart lips that resisted parting.
“Nok Rim Dae Je.”

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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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