Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 3

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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 3
The Hour of the Hare.
Hyun Ryeo woke before dawn, rushed through her breakfast with barely a thought, and made straight for the Medical Hall.
“He should be waking up today…….”
Worry clouded her eyes as she walked, and soon she stood at the threshold of the Medical Hall.
Moving with practiced ease toward where Tian Hui lay, she felt a sudden wrongness settle over her.
The silence inside was absolute.
Not a single breath could be heard.
Tap-tap-tap—
Her pace quickened. Reaching the door to the room where Tian Hui had been resting, she yanked it open.
“……!”
She rushed to the bed.
But Tian Hui was nowhere to be found. The mattress greeted her with nothing but emptiness.
“……He’s awake.”
Her expression brightened.
Only for a moment.
“But moving around already…….”
Her face hardened. She bolted from the room and threw open the surrounding doors one by one, searching frantically.
When she’d checked nearly every room—
Whisssh—
She spotted the back door standing open to the wind.
And there, in the distance, a small shadow.
Snap!
Without a moment’s hesitation, she deployed the Jade Ring Wonderful Step.
Whirrrrr—
“Hui!”
At her commanding voice, the shadow turned, and Tian Hui’s face came into view.
The alarm that had seized her when she found him gone began to fade, and color crept back into her features.
Whoosh!
She swept him into a fierce embrace.
‘What—what is this?’
Caught off guard by the sudden gesture—
“You’ve come to your senses.”
She pressed his face to her chest, voice trembling with suppressed tears, her arms tightening around him with mounting strength.
“Hack—kh!”
What had begun as a warm embrace grew steadily more painful. Now his head felt ready to split.
“I—I can’t……breathe…….”
“What’s wrong?”
“I—can’t breathe…….”
Hyun Ryeo hastily released him.
Free to breathe again, Tian Hui drew in a long, deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Pheeew…….”
“Forgive me.”
Wiping at her tears, Hyun Ryeo spoke softly.
‘Hm?’
The familiar voice made Tian Hui study her closely.
A striking woman of middle years, looking no older than her forties.
Her hair was neatly pinned, and she wore a Daoist robe embroidered with plum blossoms.
‘This is Hyun Ryeo?’
Since he’d regained consciousness, she had been the only voice to reach him without fail, day after day. He recognized her at once.
As he studied her face intently, she leaned closer.
Two eyes still wet with unshed tears filled his vision.
“Are you truly well now?”
“Of course I’m well, naturally I—ah.”
He caught himself mid-sentence.
“I’m……quite well, truly.”
He swallowed the words that had nearly tumbled out, forced the corners of his mouth upward into an awkward smile.
‘That I would find myself using formal speech with this Malko Taoist woman of all people.’
Gooseflesh prickled across his entire body.
Watching him, Hyun Ryeo tilted her head and asked gently, concern flickering in her gaze.
“You’re certain you’re all right?”
Tian Hui caught the doubt flickering across her face and smiled wider still.
“I’m…… truly…… just…… fine…… thank you.”
It was the effort of smiling, unfamiliar work.
His facial muscles felt ready to cramp.
‘Damn it. This is torture.’
Hyun Ryeo, listening to Tian Hui’s strained tone, hardened her gaze with suspicion.
“Still, let’s have the Medical Hall proprietor verify your condition properly.”
The moment those words left her lips.
Whoosh!
His body suddenly lifted from the ground.
‘That technique—is it the Malko Taoist’s? No, it’s different from what I knew.’
In the instant he recalled the elegant hand movement he’d glimpsed, Hyun Ryeo planted her feet and pushed off.
Swish—
The landscape retreated in a heartbeat.
Tian Hui’s brows furrowed.
‘What is this? Again? That’s definitely the Jade Ring Wonderful Step from the old woman who came with the Malko Taoist, isn’t it?’
The footwork she displayed was extraordinary.
Her movements were soft as plum blossoms drifting through the air, yet she left footprints of remarkable mystery in her wake.
Yet something about it troubled him.
‘Why is she performing it that way?’
As he tilted his head at the martial arts so different from what he knew, trying to unravel the footwork Hyun Ryeo was unveiling.
Tap.
The wobbling stopped, and two feet that had hovered in the air touched ground.
‘Tch, already finished?’
Even as disappointment crossed his lips.
“Tian Gao approaching.”
‘Tian Gao? Ah! The Medical Hall proprietor who treated me?’
Following her gaze, a sturdy-faced middle-aged man drew near.
“Master, that sound just now—…… Oh! Tian Hui!”
As the middle-aged man approached, Tian Hui’s eyes gradually lifted upward to meet him.
The man, Tian Gao, was built impressively.
His frame exceeded six feet in height, his skin deeply tanned.
And despite his warm smile, the body hidden beneath his Daoist robe was taut with muscle.
A physician?
While Tian Hui studied the middle-aged man with a skeptical eye, Hyun Ryeo spoke up.
“Could you examine his condition?”
“Of course, it’s what I ought to do.”
He knelt and pressed his enormous hand—large as a cauldron lid—against Tian Hui’s wrist.
‘……I suppose it doesn’t matter.’
When his hand reached out, Tian Hui could have withdrawn at any moment, but he let it pass.
What could someone who failed to recognize the Yin Yang Vital Spirit Severing Pulse Technique possibly discern?
He allowed his wrist to be held for only a brief moment.
‘Hmm?’
Tian Hui’s narrow eyes widened.
It was because of his unexpectedly superior skill.
‘Examining the meridians of the entire body…… he’s far more versed in medicine than I gave him credit for.’
He gazed back with a flicker of genuine surprise in his eyes.
He had dismissed him too quickly, swayed by appearances and his preconception of what a Daoist should be, but the man possessed remarkable skill after all.
Slowly—
Tian Gao carefully withdrew the hand that had been pressed to Tian Hui’s wrist.
Then, hand to chin, he fell into thought.
“Hmm…….”
At this, Hyun Ryeo grew alarmed.
“Has something gone wrong?”
“No, not at all.”
Waving his hand hastily, Tian Gao glanced between Hyun Ryeo and Tian Hui before smiling again.
“In fact, his physical condition is better than that of anyone else in our sect.”
“Truly?”
“Indeed.”
Hearing Tian Hui repeat his assurance, Hyun Ryeo’s eyes welled with tears as she bowed deeply with gratitude.
“Ah, the Heavenly Deity has surely helped us.”
“It was truly Heavenly Fortune that favored us.”
Watching the two of them bow respectfully toward the sky, Tian Hui felt utterly exasperated.
‘Heavenly Deity? What nonsense. Heavenly Fortune? None of it means anything. This was accomplished by my strength alone.’
Heavenly Deity, Heavenly Fortune—empty words.
Yet the thought that they dismissed his effort made Tian Hui’s exasperation deepen.
As he watched the two of them bow with an expression of utter bewilderment, Hyun Ryeo lifted her head.
“I must inform the Sect Master at once.”
Before her words even finished, Hyun Ryeo deployed the Jade Ring Wonderful Step she had just demonstrated.
Tian Hui watched as her figure vanished in a heartbeat, her back disappearing from sight.
Thump—
A thick hand seized his shoulder.
“What a relief, brother.”
Tian Hui turned to see Tian Gao smiling at him.
“Now I’ll be able to move about freely without worry.”
Tian Gao felt a deep satisfaction settling in his chest.
On bitter cold days like this, he had always ended up owing debts of gratitude to the Medical Hall because of his brother.
Each time it happened, his heart ached—but now he no longer needed to carry that burden.
His meridians flowed with strength, his muscles were supple and resilient, and vigor coursed through his entire frame.
The transformation was almost unbelievable compared to the frail, sickly body Tian Hui had possessed until recently.
‘Fortunately, thanks to the Purple Softwood Pill, even my humble medical arts were able to demonstrate their power…….’
As he reflected on those circumstances, a sudden doubt crossed his mind, and he rested his chin on his hand.
For a moment, his eyes traced carefully over Tian Gao’s body from head to toe.
‘Yet even with a Purple Softwood Pill, the results shouldn’t be this remarkable, should they? Unless—could it be that brother’s transformation came about precisely because he hadn’t cultivated martial arts before? Or perhaps there’s another property of the Purple Softwood Pill that I’m unaware of…….’
Tian Gao’s eyes glinted with an unsettling shine as his gaze swept unabashedly over Tian Hui’s frame.
And beneath that scrutiny, Tian Hui felt a chill creep up his spine.
‘What is this? That sticky gaze? Surely not—a man who prefers men?’
He quickly put distance between them, his face contorting.
Goosebumps erupted across his skin.
Having witnessed the behavior of such men during his time in the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, he was deeply unsettled.
Misinterpreting Tian Hui’s caution as a response to his curious gaze, Tian Gao tilted his head and opened his mouth.
“Hm? Brother? What’s wrong?”
Just as Tian Gao, having sensed something amiss, began moving toward Tian Hui again—
“Hehe, you’re truly well again.”
An elderly man with snow-white hair and a complexion of jade appeared.
Tian Gao, who had been stepping toward Tian Hui, froze upon seeing the old man and hastily performed a salute.
“We pay our respects to the Sect Master.”
“Hehehehe, it’s been quite some time.”
The old man chuckled warmly, then turned his gaze toward Tian Hui and smiled.
As Tian Hui watched the wrinkled elder’s eyes crinkle with laughter, his own brow twitched slightly.
‘Is this man truly the current Sect Master of the Huashan Sect?’
He tilted his head in confusion.
‘Is he really the Sect Master? Compared to the Malko Taoist from back then, he seems incomprehensibly weak.’
He drew a comparison with the Malko Taoist, who had appeared during the height of tensions between the Central Plains and the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
That man, who had identified himself as the Sect Master of the Huashan Sect, had reached the Heavenly Martial Realm and was an Absolute Master.
And what of his standing?
Though he had suffered defeat at that man’s hands thirty years ago and later fled vowing revenge, he remained revered throughout the Central Plains as the Plum Blossom Divine Sword.
A martial prowess and prestige enough to eclipse the shame of defeat.
‘Because of that Malko Taoist alone, even the Shaolin Temple and the Wudang Sect conceded ground.’
Yet the man standing before him now—Hyun Sang—was another matter entirely.
Tian Hui’s head turned almost involuntarily.
The current Sect Master’s strength might not match the Malko Taoist’s.
But Tian Hui had never expected the man to possess such a faint presence.
‘The Huashan Sect Master is this weak, and one of them prefers men? Tsk tsk, they said Huashan would grow stronger, but look what’s happened—they’ve made a complete mess of it.’
Had the Plum Blossom Divine Sword heard such words, it would have caused an uproar.
Whoosh—
Hyun Sang smiled and took a step forward.
In an instant, his Daoist Robe fluttered dramatically.
His thick white hair, bound at the back with a pristine white cloth, swayed like a horse’s tail for just a moment before Hyun Sang cut through space itself in a flash.
Presently, the man standing before Tian Hui reached out with a wrinkled hand and patted his head.
Stroke, stroke.
“Are you alright?”
He seethed inwardly at being treated like a small child by Hyun Sang, but he held it in.
‘Right now I’m Tian Hui…… I am Tian Hui. I am Tian Hui of the Huashan Sect right now, for God’s sake!’
His insides twisted, but he suppressed it with iron will.
After hastily settling his turbulent mind and spirit, he lifted his gaze to meet their eyes.
“S-Sect Master…… I am hon…… ored to greet you.”
“It is all thanks to our elder sister for permitting the Purple Softwood Pill.”
Hyun Ryeo arrived belatedly and interjected.
She watched Hyun Sang pat Tian Hui’s head, her expression softening into a gentle smile.
“Without the Purple Softwood Pill, recovery would not have come so swiftly. Wouldn’t you agree?”
In response to Hyun Ryeo’s question seeking agreement, Tian Gao clapped his hands and answered with vigor.
“Heavens, of course it is so. More than that—not only has the disciple recovered, but it seems Heavenly Fortune has smiled upon us, and he should suffer no more collapses.”
“Heh heh, what a relief, truly a relief.”
Hyun Sang broke into a bright smile. In that moment, Hyun Ryeo gave Tian Hui a subtle wink.
—You should thank them, shouldn’t you?
The meaning behind those eyes—gentle yet unyielding—sat ill with him, but he had no choice but to speak.
The Purple Softwood Pill had indeed been helpful, after all.
“……Thank you.”
“No. No matter how precious a miraculous elixir may be, can it be more precious than the future of our sect?”
As he spoke, Hyun Sang stroked his long white beard that reached to his chest.
Then, withdrawing the hand that had been patting Tian Hui’s head, he continued.
“So do not trouble yourself over it.”
‘Of course not. Why would I?’
That was what he thought anyway, without needing to be told.
‘The Purple Softwood Pill was only, only, only a tiny bit of help. It was my superior knowledge that healed the body.’
Presently, Hyun Sang spoke again.
“Then, is Tian Hui well now?”
“Yes, I am.”
Tian Gao nodded firmly.
“He is in a state where he may move about immediately.”
“Heh heh, it seems the Heavenly Deity has lent us aid.”
Hyun Sang looked down at Tian Hui.
“What shall we do then?”
In that instant, his eyes gleamed.
It was the question he had been waiting for all along.
* * *
“Are you truly certain?”
‘……This is so tedious.’
This was precisely the sixth time the question had been asked.
All the way here, Hyun Ryeo had done nothing but repeat the same question over and over.
Yet he showed no sign of annoyance. Instead, watching Hyun Ryeo’s worried gaze, he forced a smile.
“Ha, ha ha. I am fine.”
“Understood.”
Hyun Ryeo glanced between Tian Hui and the small Pavilion that emerged behind him, shaking her head with a look of regret.
“You still haven’t forgotten the disciple…….”
‘What?’
She swallowed the rest of her words, as if catching herself in some misunderstanding.
“Then let us go.”
With that, she departed.
Yet something seemed to nag at her, for she turned back to look several times—nearly five times—before she finally vanished.
“Phew, at last she is gone.”
Watching the hillside where not even a shadow remained, he shook his head slowly.
“Why does she coddle him so?”
For one who had spent his entire life in the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, it was utterly incomprehensible.
“She will tire of it soon enough.”
He dismissed the vexing thought.
“There are more pressing matters anyway.”
Entering the Pavilion, he found that despite its shabby exterior, the interior was unexpectedly neat and orderly.
‘I thought the interior would be a complete mess, but at least it’s clean.’
He glanced around casually, then collapsed into a sitting position at the center of the Pavilion.
‘Let me check the state of my body.’
He drew his breath in slowly and deliberately.
The air flowing through his mouth and nose spread gradually through all his Blood Vessels, and in that moment, the entire inner landscape of his body became visible to him as if he could grasp it in his hand.
‘What? What is this?’
Bewilderment escaped him.
The state of his body was completely different from when he had first recovered it at dawn.
It had departed entirely from what he had anticipated.

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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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