Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 253

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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 253
The morning of the second day.
As Cheon Hui prepared for the journey to the Murim Alliance, he felt an emptiness at his side.
Where two swords should have hung at his waist, only a single Demon Sword with its pitch-black scabbard remained.
“It’s frustrating, really. This blade’s Demonic Energy is too strong—I can’t even draw it.”
Cheon Hui murmured, stroking his chin.
He had a sword, but he couldn’t use it.
A useless thing, utterly useless.
“Maybe I should buy a separate blade.”
But the thought didn’t linger.
“Well, I’ll manage somehow.”
Cheon Hui decided to brush past it.
He could find a sword later—or not.
Dwelling on it here would only give him a headache, and it wasn’t as if a blade would suddenly appear.
Besides, he didn’t feel the need for one.
After all, his skills went beyond the sword alone.
“If worst comes to worst, I can always wield the scabbard itself.”
Having settled the matter loosely, Cheon Hui straightened the folds of his Sect Robe and slipped out of his quarters.
“It’s cold.”
Autumn was fading, and winter was drawing near.
The wind that brushed his skin cut like a blade.
“Before long, snow will fall.”
After savoring the chill for a moment, Cheon Hui channeled Internal Force into his lower body and deployed the Bicheong Movement.
Shortly after, he arrived at the Mountain Gate.
“Cheon Hui!”
“Junior Brother!”
“Junior Brother!”
Many voices greeted him.
Yet as Cheon Hui looked at his senior and junior martial siblings gathered to see him off, he narrowed his eyes.
“Hm? You’ve all finished your work?”
In that instant, the disciples froze mid-wave, then smiled awkwardly.
“Ha, haha. Isn’t it all right to offer a brief farewell before departure? Don’t you agree, Junior Brother?”
“Ahem! Senior Brother speaks true. How could we let our youngest brother depart for the Murim Alliance without even a proper goodbye?”
“Hmm… That doesn’t seem to be what’s happening here.”
As Cheon Hui regarded them with clear skepticism,
“A farewell seems only fitting, does it not?”
the Sect Master approached with a gentle smile.
“They’ve gathered because they worry for you.”
“Worry? For me?”
Cheon Hui studied each of their faces.
That’s worry? Where exactly are they seeing that?
Their expressions mimicked concern convincingly, but they couldn’t fool Cheon Hui’s eyes.
Wasn’t there unmistakable joy gleaming in their gaze?
“It looks less like concern and more like you’re all thrilled that I’m leaving.”
At his words, most of the disciples flinched like children caught in mischief.
“Hah, surely not.”
When the Sect Master came to their defense, insisting such a thing was impossible, Cheon Hui let out a soft laugh.
“Let’s say that’s true.”
Just as Cheon Hui was about to let the matter drop,
Tap—tap—
a middle-aged man in a sky-blue Martial Robe and black long coat approached.
He cut the figure of what might be called a pleasant man.
His features were sharp and well-defined, and his straight brows, drawn as if by a brush lifted at the end, curved into graceful lines.
The middle-aged man, Choo Gye Gwang, came to stand directly before Cheon Hui and performed a formal Fist Salute.
“It is my honor to meet the renowned Young Master of the Maehwa Divine Sword School, Cheon Hui.”
As he raised his head and met Cheon Hui’s eyes, his lips moved.
“I am Choo Gye Gwang, tasked with guiding you to the Murim Alliance.”
“I’m Cheon Hui.”
Cheon Hui exchanged greetings evenly, then swept his eyes up and down the man in a quick assessment.
‘So this is the Master of the Murim Alliance? He’s quite skilled indeed.’
Solid Internal Force, and the calluses on the hands gripping the sword hilt after making the Fist Salute—all of it spoke to his considerable skill as a swordsman.
Choo Gye Gwang, whose gaze had met Cheon Hui’s, was inwardly quite taken aback.
‘This young? Surely not.’
The Maehwa Divine Sword School—its master was known as a peerless expert who had surpassed the Crimson Flame Sword Army and toppled the Nok Lim Dae Je himself.
He’d heard that his Martial Prowess had reached the Heavenly Martial Realm, but to be so young.
‘Could it all be hearsay……?’
Even as doubt began to bloom at such an unexpectedly youthful appearance—
“Lord of the Alliance.”
A heavy voice accompanied Hyeon Do as he strode toward Choo Gye Gwang.
“Everyone’s here now—what’s keeping us from departing?”
“There is still one person expected to arrive.”
Hyeon Do’s brow furrowed.
“Another companion besides the two of us?”
“Yes. Any moment now…….”
Choo Gye Gwang, turning his head as if searching for this other companion, seemed to spot him, and nodded.
“There he comes.”
Hyeon Do and Cheon Hui turned to follow his gaze.
In that same instant, the irritation that had tinged Hyeon Do’s expression vanished entirely.
It was Ha U Jin and Jong Hyeon, approaching across Taorin Field from a distance.
Ha U Jin, arriving shortly before Choo Gye Gwang, wore a gentle smile.
“Much obliged to you.”
“We are in your debt.”
After exchanging formal greetings, Ha U Jin approached Hyeon Do and opened his mouth.
“It’s been so long since we traveled together. Senior.”
“It truly has been an age.”
Hyeon Do broke into a smile.
Ha U Jin, and Cheon Hui as traveling companions—it stirred memories of that journey to Baek Gwi Seong.
“So you’re going as well.”
Ha U Jin returned Hyeon Do’s amused words with a laugh of his own.
“We are grateful for your company.”
Jong Hyeon, meanwhile, was glowing with excitement.
“Senior!”
Standing before Cheon Hui, Jong Hyeon lifted his head with a bright smile.
“This is my first time traveling with you!”
He made no attempt to hide his eagerness.
Understandably so.
To travel with the senior he so admired.
“A journey with my Master and my senior—I can hardly contain my anticipation. And besides…….”
Jong Hyeon chattered on, planting himself firmly at Cheon Hui’s side and refusing to budge.
Confirming that all the companions had assembled, Choo Gye Gwang turned and spoke.
“Then we shall depart.”
Just as the journey to the Murim Alliance was about to begin—
“Wait a moment.”
Cheon Hui’s voice cut through.
Choo Gye Gwang, whose mind had already begun to set foot on the road, felt his momentum collapse in an instant.
“……What is it?”
“Nothing pressing. But let’s stop by the Maehwa Inn before we depart.”
“The Maehwa Inn……?”
Choo Gye Gwang’s brow narrowed.
Time was of the essence now.
The Grand Assembly of Murim could only convene once Hyeon Do reached the Alliance.
“Is there a reason you must visit?”
“There are a few things I need to collect while we’re there.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes grew momentarily cold before settling into an unbothered expression.
“Besides, it seems everyone’s skipped breakfast. Why not stop for a proper meal?”
As Cheon Hui continued, Choo Gye Gwang watched with a blank stare, then Cheon Hui smiled and added—
“It’s better to set out on a full stomach, wouldn’t you say?”
* * *
Swish—
Pushing aside the curtain and stepping into the Maehwa Inn, Cheon Hui tilted his head at the sparse atmosphere inside.
“Why is it so empty?”
On a normal day, the place would be crowded, and there would be people lined up beside the counter waiting to purchase Tassels—but now…….
Just then, Manager O came rushing over.
“Great Master!”
He greeted Cheon Hui warmly, calling out to him.
“What brings you here?”
“Is Old Man Cheon in?”
“Ah! You mean Old Man? Please wait just a moment.”
Manager O finished speaking and called out.
“Ji-lyang!”
The Inn Attendant came scurrying over in an instant.
“Master, did you call for me?”
“Fetch Old Man for me.”
“Right away.”
The Inn Attendant turned on his heel and hurried out of the Maehwa Inn in quick steps.
Seeing this, Cheon Hui’s lips twitched.
“There really are no guests in the inn.”
“It’s nothing serious.”
Despite the unfavorable situation, Manager O spoke calmly.
“Rumors spread that Nok Lim attacked Huashan, so travelers have stopped coming for now. But word has also gotten out that Nok Lim was driven back, so guests should return in a few days.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Understanding the situation, Cheon Hui nodded.
He was just curious and asking—he had no intention of interfering deeply anyway.
‘I know nothing of commerce.’
Commerce belongs to merchants. Martial arts to warriors.
That was his iron rule.
“Actually, this works out well. I was worried we wouldn’t have enough seating if too many people showed up.”
“You mean meals?”
Manager O glanced around quickly.
Somewhere along the way, more than ten tables had filled up with no fewer than forty people.
“In that case, I’ll have food prepared for every table.”
“Oh, right—there are several Daoists among them, so no meat or alcohol…….”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll serve them a new dish I’ve created.”
“A new dish?”
“The Maehwa Inn is connected to the Huashan Sect, after all.”
Manager O’s eyes gleamed.
“So I made it using only vegetables and greens that would be suitable for the Daoists to eat. I named it the Immortal’s Vegetable Dish—something that gives the feeling of a meal the immortals of Huashan would partake in.”
Ah, that’s clever.
Truly a merchant’s thinking.
It was food calculated through and through.
For guests who came yearning for the Huashan Sect, it was exactly the sort of dish they would order to experience the life of a Daoist.
“Excellent. Then serve that to everyone.”
“I’ll have Chef know right away.”
As Manager O left, Cheon Hui pulled up an empty chair and sat at the table where Hyeon Do, Ha U Jin, Jong Hyeon, and Choo Gye Gwang were already seated.
They were all busy studying their surroundings.
“Hmm, so this is the Maehwa Inn that our sect has dealings with.”
Hyeon Do in particular had only heard of it until now, and he was carefully examining the Maehwa Inn as if seeing it for the first time.
“It differs from the Maehwa Sword School’s Tassels only in color.”
Hyeon Do was murmuring as he gazed at a Tassel with an intrigued expression when—
“……!”
“This is……!”
Choo Gye Gwang and Hyeon Do both shot to their feet.
An indescribable, overwhelming aura was pressing toward them at that very moment.
‘Such a thick, heavy presence…….’
‘Surely this aura is……?!’
The two of them, hands now resting on their sword hilts, fixed their eyes on the entrance and tensed their bodies.
“Great Master?”
“Senior Hyeon Do?”
Everyone startled at the sudden movement and turned their eyes toward where the two were looking.
Creak—
The curtain parted at precisely that moment.
Through the gap came an old man, his hair and beard entirely white as fresh snow, moving with deliberate slowness.
“Hmm? What is this?”
The old man—Cheon Yang Gong—knitted his brow as he felt the concentrated stares bearing down upon him.
“You’ve finally arrived.”
He spotted Cheon Hui among those who were watching him and walked straight toward him.
Just as Choo Gye Gwang and Hyeon Do, startled by the frowning Cheon Yang Gong’s approach, began to move—
“I need to discuss something with him. I’ll be back shortly.”
Cheon Hui rose from his seat.
He exchanged a few words with the approaching Cheon Yang Gong, then the two of them climbed the stairs to the upper floor.
Watching them ascend, Choo Gye Gwang and Hyeon Do finally allowed their tension to ease.
‘If the Maehwa Divine Sword School knows him, he cannot be a demon cultivator… It was a false alarm after all.’
‘I’ve grown too wary of late. To mistake someone so intimate with Cheon Hui for a foe.’
The moment the two of them withdrew the aura that had been permeating the space, they glanced up toward that upper floor.
“If the Huashan Sect finds itself in danger, you are to prioritize helping the Huashan Sect’s Daoists above all else.”
Cheon Hui was speaking to Cheon Yang Gong, who sat across from him, with the tone of a directive.
“The Huashan Sect’s Daoists? That differs from the promise you made before, does it not?”
Cheon Yang Gong objected immediately.
“My role is solely to protect the inn…”
“Two.”
Cheon Hui cut him off abruptly.
He spread two fingers wide and twisted his mouth into a crooked smile.
“If you accept this proposal, I’ll teach you the second half—two sentences of the final secrets of the Guyu Mahwa Gong. How does that sound? Tempting, isn’t it?”

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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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