Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 325

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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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325
Fire
Ting―
Ju Weol Hyang, proprietor of Hwacheonru, closed her eyes gently against the melody drifting up from below.
Four days had passed since the mysterious young master arrived and took residence.
In that time, he had played the Seven-String Guqin at precisely this hour every single day.
And each time, she found herself in wonder.
On the first day, the performance had shown subtle imperfections—flaws that caught her ear.
A misplaced note here, a rhythm gone slightly awry there.
But now it was nearly flawless.
Over these four days, not only had patrons begun arriving deliberately at Hwacheonru to hear this performance, but others had come seeking her out, desperate to learn the identity of the one who played.
It was an unprecedented surge of custom.
“Who in the world could he be?”
Ju Weol Hyang opened her eyes, savoring the crystalline melody that seemed to pour directly into her ears, and whispered the question softly to herself.
For those four days, she had set Cheong Hwa and Hong Hwa to investigating, trying to uncover his identity.
But they had found nothing.
Most martial artists in Kangho lived for fame—it was the nature of the breed.
Thus it was customary for a martial artist to advertise his affiliation or name openly, ensuring all would know who he was and where he came from.
They left signs: the crimson robes of Sorim or the plum blossom emblem of Huashan, each revealing something.
But this youth bore no such markers, nothing by which to guess at his sect or identity.
His clothing changed daily, making it impossible to identify; he wore no ornaments like tassels at all.
The only thing that stood out was the pair of swords he kept at his waist.
‘Two swords would make one think first of the Maehwa Sword Association—’
She recalled the young master who was now roiling Kangho like a tempest, then shook her head firmly.
‘Impossible.’
Though it was possible in theory.
If one were hunting Chil Yo Seon and the Heukgoe-dan, the Murim Alliance would be the first suspect.
But according to information she had received recently, the Alliance’s separate force to which he belonged had headed toward Mansumun.
Of course, the Myeoljjeol Corps, of which he was captain, was small enough that he might have separated from them.
Yet even considering that possibility, she was certain the youth was not from the Maehwa Sword Association.
The reason was simple: the young master currently performing indulged freely in meat and wine.
If he were a Daoist of Huashan Sect—the Maehwa Sword Association—such things would be utterly forbidden.
‘Impossible to pin down.’
Just as Ju Weol Hyang released a faint sigh,
“Miss Ju.”
A deep voice called from beyond the paper door, and a large shadow appeared.
It was Wi Jeok Yang.
“What is it?”
“I’ve gathered the information you requested.”
Ju Weol Hyang’s eyes opened wider.
“Come in.”
Creak―
The paper door slid open, and Wi Jeok Yang entered, carrying a stack of papers in his arms.
Step― step―
He approached Ju Weol Hyang and set the papers down carefully before her.
As he did, he added,
“This is the register of those who entered Muhyeol four days ago and have not yet departed.”
Ju Weol Hyang nodded.
“Go on.”
At her curt reply, Wi Jeok Yang bowed and withdrew.
As the paper door closed,
Swish―
Ju Weol Hyang’s eyes fell upon the papers.
If this youth had come to deal with Chil Yo Seon and the Heukgoe-dan, he could not have come alone.
“If that young man is from the Murim Alliance, there should be companions among these names…”
As she began reading through the papers one by one,
Ting―
Cheon Hui continued plucking the strings, manipulating the Plum Blossom Divine Art’s inner energy with exquisite precision.
The energy flowed from his right shoulder through the Jianyu Pressure Point, traveled down his arm past the Chizetec Pressure Point at his elbow, and gathered in his fingertips.
As he plucked each string, Cheon Hui imbued the flowing melody with this concentrated power.
A low, resonant melody amplified across all directions, echoing through the hall.
‘Now it flows naturally.’
Meanwhile, Cheong Hwa and Hong Hwa sat across from him, their eyes hazy and lost in the music.
The melody rang clear as if played at his very ear, tickling the delicate folds of their hearing.
They gazed at Cheon Hui in a daze.
With each pluck of the strings, the lamplight wavered and shimmered, scattering soft iridescence across the room.
Woven together with those hues, the sight of him playing the guqin was like a mountain spirit descending to earth.
Ting―
Suddenly, Cheon Hui’s hands stilled.
“Ah.”
A soft sigh rose in unison around the room.
Those gathered in Hwacheonru, listening to the performance, had exhaled their regret without thinking.
‘I wish I could hear more…….’
Cheong Hwa quickly pushed the thought away.
For four days now, he had begun playing this way, performed only one piece, and then set the instrument aside without hesitation or longing.
Soon she rose from her seat.
Moving close to Cheon Hui, she took up the Seven-String Guqin in his stead, and as Hong Hwa stepped forward beside her, she spoke.
“Master, I shall pour you some wine.”
While Cheong Hwa put the guqin in order, Hong Hwa poured wine into his empty cup.
The movement was swift and practiced.
Over four days of service, the two of them had attempted much in hopes of building rapport with the young master.
They had tried flattery and seduction both.
Yet none of it availed.
If anything, the more they tried, the more distant he seemed to become.
Not that he was particularly harsh or cold; rather, his manner drew a clear and unmistakable line.
After that, she abandoned flattery and seduction alike, offering only wine and food in their place.
That was when it happened.
“Hmm?”
The young master suddenly lifted his gaze to the ceiling, staring intently upward, and spoke.
“Finally here.”
“Master?”
“What do you mean……?”
Cheong Hwa and Hong Hwa exchanged bewildered looks at his cryptic remark, their eyes also turning toward the ceiling in that same moment.
Boom!
The ceiling suddenly shuddered.
Waves rippled outward from the center as if the very roof were undulating like water.
And then, in an instant―
Crash!
The ceiling collapsed inward.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Eek!”
Cheong Hwa and Hong Hwa wrapped their heads in their arms against the falling debris.
Bracing for the impact to come.
Yet strangely, no matter how much time passed, the falling fragments never touched their heads.
Cautiously, the two opened their eyes.
And at the sight before them, their eyes widened in astonishment.
Cheon Hui stood before them.
Around him, shattered splinters of wood spiraled and danced.
In the space where he and the two women stood, there was nothing.
“Master, was it you who saved us?”
“Master…….”
Realizing that Cheon Hui had protected them, the two women opened their mouths with grateful wonder in their eyes.
“So that’s where.”
But Cheon Hui paid no attention to their words, murmuring as he gazed in another direction.
The trace of whoever had just fled.
That was when it came.
“Your Excellency!”
“What has happened?!”
From outside, people came rushing in.
Startled by the sudden crash, Ju Weol Hyang and the servants of Hwacheonru came running.
They held their breath the moment they entered the room.
The instant their eyes met Cheon Hui’s half-lidded gaze, their minds went white.
Cheon Hui glanced at them, their mouths hanging open in shock, then closed his eyes and opened them again.
The light in his eyes vanished in an instant.
At the same moment, he looked at them and spoke casually.
“Just catching a few rats.”
“Rats……?”
Ju Weol Hyang’s expression stiffened immediately.
Rats was a metaphorical term.
“Wi Jeok Yang.”
She called out to Wi Jeok Yang quickly.
“Find out who the rat is.”
“Understood.”
Wi Jeok Yang hurried out, and Ju Weol Hyang approached Cheon Hui and bowed her head at once.
“I apologize. Had our organization maintained more thorough surveillance…….”
“No, it’s fine.”
Cheon Hui waved his hand dismissively.
“Even if you had been thorough, you wouldn’t have caught them anyway.”
…….
Ju Weol Hyang bit her lip.
It stung, but it was the truth.
No one had sensed a thing — not before the incident, not during the journey here.
Cheon Hui watched the crown of Ju Weol Hyang’s head as she wrinkled her brow, his lips moving slightly.
“Do you have another room available?”
Ju Weol Hyang turned her body immediately.
“Show the guest to another chamber.”
* * *
“Huff, huff!”
Seong Ung bolted from Hwacheonru without looking back, rushing forward urgently.
He was a martial artist of the Heukgoe-dan.
The Heukgoe-dan had long been a group that primarily undertook assassination missions, possessed of exceptional skill in suppressing their presence.
He was no exception.
He could move so covertly that even a master of the Mueuk Jigyeong would have difficulty detecting him.
Thus, he had entered Hwacheonru after being tasked with gathering information about the mysterious young master who had appeared in Muhyeol four days ago.
He hadn’t been greatly worried about an ordinary assignment, but though he had certainly infiltrated with utmost stealth and care, he had been discovered immediately.
‘I must tell the Chief at once.’
His heart pounded heavily.
Since arriving in Muhyeol, he had been lying low the whole time — there would have been no need to move this urgently even if someone had spotted him.
But he hurried nonetheless.
It was because of the chill in that man’s gaze, glimpsed for only an instant before his escape.
‘A monster!’
Meanwhile, someone was shadowing him from a distance.
“Outside Muhyeol, then?”
A young man clad in neatly tailored martial robes.
Ho Gwang Gae.
“It’s unfolding just as the Chief said it would, but I wonder if we should really be doing this.”
He scratched his head and took off.
The hem of his robes fluttered slightly as his form shot forward in an instant.
The Manli Chufung Sinbeop.
A technique renowned throughout Gae Bang as the swiftest of all martial arts.
“Well, I’ve got to do what I’m told.”
Their task was singular.
Those seeking to ascertain Cheon Hui’s identity would surely appear, drawn by the attention he had drawn — and when they did, they were to track them and discover where they came from.
“Hope we find them soon.”
How far had he pursued them?
“Hm?”
Ho Gwang Gae quickly suppressed his presence.
The man he was chasing had stopped.
“An estate grounds here?”
Ho Gwang Gae’s eyes narrowed.
The man who had fled Hwacheonru had slipped into what looked less like an estate than an abandoned ruin.
At the sight of it, the corners of his eyes curved upward.
“Found him.”
It was at that moment he clenched both fists.
“Found what, exactly?”
A cool voice scraped across his back.
“Gasp!”
Ho Gwang Gae spun in shock, pivoting on his left foot and lashing out with a sweeping kick.
It was the Spinning Gak technique.
Whoooosh!
The internal energy of the Baekgyeol Gong channeled through his shins and thighs, unleashing a vicious gale.
It was a strike that would have splintered bone in any ordinary martial artist.
Yet.
Snap.
His foot halted mid-strike with a sharp crack.
“What—!”
Ho Gwang Gae’s head wrenched around in alarm.
A filthy, dirt-caked hand had seized his ankle with brutal force.
The instant his eyes registered it.
Whoosh!
Ho Gwang Gae’s vision inverted.
Tremendous strength surged from the hand gripping his ankle, and his entire body was hoisted off the ground.
“Hgh!”
Suspended upside down, Ho Gwang Gae swallowed his shock, drawing up his chin to look overhead.
A shabby figure of a man held his ankle in an iron grip, staring down at him with murder in his eyes.
His voice dripped with lethal intent.
“Who are you?”

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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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