Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 44

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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 44
“……Ha ha ha. Demons have gotten their hooks in me.”
Go Gye-yeong laughed with a hollow ring to it.
Again—again he’d been scattered by wind.
The buildings he’d barely managed to restore were now destroyed beyond any hope of repair, and what few halls remained intact had been burned black as char.
He’d thought he might finally catch his breath, but fortune had other plans.
‘When will we ever rebuild this?’
A dull ache throbbed through his skull.
It was in this moment that his father’s words—how he’d denounce Jianghu folk as shameless dogs—struck deep into his heart.
“Ha.”
A long sigh escaped him unbidden.
Looking at what lay before him now, the world seemed to darken at the edges.
The servants had thrown themselves into fighting the sudden fire that erupted in the dead of night; they were all utterly spent.
He watched them sprawled on the ground like corpses, gasping for breath, and lowered his gaze.
‘I cannot falter. Not now.’
He was the leader of this trading company—he could not afford to simply let go.
“Overseer.”
“You called for me, sir?”
The overseer, who had been waiting in the shadows at his back, bowed his head as though he’d been expecting the summons.
“Send word to the Uxiang Inn.”
“Understood, sir.”
The overseer nodded and withdrew.
“Well, we’ll be spending a fair bit of silver in the coming days.”
As he calculated the lodging fees for housing the servants at the Uxiang Inn—
“Master Go!”
A voice called from the distance.
Just as the overseer began to turn his head toward the sound—
Whirrr!
A violent gust of wind swept across him.
In the blink of an eye, a massive figure materialized before them.
It was Hyeon-do.
Go Gye-yeong started visibly at the specter-like arrival, though he kept his composure and spoke.
“I’m relieved to see you unharmed.”
Hyeon-do offered a rueful smile and spoke quietly.
“Forgive me for the delayed response. Once I learned that Baekgwi Fortress had set its sights on the Bifeng Trading Company, I should have been more vigilant than before…….”
“That’s not so.”
Go Gye-yeong shook his head.
“This is hardly the fault of Hyeon-do. All of it lies with Baekgwi Fortress and those wretches. Rather, I owe my gratitude for saving our company.”
“Master Go…….”
Hyeon-do fell silent, moved by Go Gye-yeong’s deft handling of the situation. A smile crossed Go Gye-yeong’s lips at that sincere response.
As the saying goes, when the stream above runs clear, the stream below runs clear—Hyeon-do’s reaction was as pure and beautiful as those of the Plum Blossom Sword Guards.
‘My choice was not wrong.’
His trust in the Hwasan Sect deepened.
“Is Go Hyeon-i all right?”
“Go Hyeon-i?”
Hyeon-do tilted his head in confusion before remembering that the Red Blade’s real name was Go Hyeon-i.
“The Red Blade is nursing a deep Internal Injury; Cheon-hwi is treating him now.”
Go Gye-yeong’s face turned grave.
To him, ignorant of the martial arts, the mention of Internal Injury sounded dire indeed.
“Is—is he going to be all right?”
“It’s not a critical Internal Injury. Only…….”
“His Qi Pathways were simply twisted.”
Another voice cut in.
Cheon-hwi, observing Go Gye-yeong’s pallid expression, added quietly.
“And by now, he’s nearly recovered.”
“Is—is that truly so?”
“If you’re so concerned, he’s out in the courtyard—go have a look yourself.”
Go Gye-yeong moved to leave, then hesitated.
“Such kindness. I don’t know how to repay you…….”
“Never mind that. Go on, hurry over.”
“Ah, understood.”
Hyeon-do watched Go Gye-yeong hurry off with a pleased smile.
“A fine father indeed.”
Then he turned his attention to Cheon-hwi.
“You finished the treatment faster than I expected.”
“I simply realigned the twisted Qi Pathways and had him take Internal Injury Medicine—nothing difficult about it.”
“Hmm, is that so.”
Hyeon-do nodded, though puzzled.
As one ignorant of medicine, he could only accept Cheon-hwi’s explanation as sound.
Yet had it been the Medicine Master who heard such words instead, he might well have collapsed in shock.
To heal twisted Qi Pathways so swiftly required mastery of both Meridian Point Striking and medical arts alike.
“The Internal Injury Medicine the Medicine Master provided before he left must have been extraordinarily potent.”
Hyeon-do laughed and scratched his head.
He recalled how he’d argued with the Medicine Master when he insisted on bringing the medicine, insisting it wasn’t necessary.
‘I should thank the Medicine Master properly next time.’
Even as he indulged in this misunderstanding—
“Master, if I may.”
Cheon-hwi called to him.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Where is Baekgwi Fortress located?”
Hyeon-do’s brow furrowed at once.
“Why do you ask?”
“Why do I ask?”
Cheon-hwi wore a puzzled expression as he added words heavy with menace.
“We should crush it.”
“Crush……it?”
“If we do nothing, we’ll only keep losing people. Better to uproot them entirely from the start.”
Cheon-hwi spoke without hesitation.
Hyeon-do asked, taken aback.
“You mean to march on Baekgwi Fortress?”
“To uproot them, we must.”
“But—your opponent is Baekgwi Fortress and Baek Sa-sin. You cannot simply rush in recklessly.”
“Then you’ll let it be?”
“No, I have no intention of that. Once Baekgwi Fortress laid hands on Bifeng Trading Company, war was already joined. Instead, I’ll inform Hwasan Sect and secure reinforcements before we wage this war.”
Hyeon-do’s words were logical and sound.
Their enemy was Baekgwi Fortress, a massive sect.
Thorough preparation was essential.
And yet—
“That will take too long. What if Bifeng Trading Company is attacked again while we wait?”
“That is……”
Hyeon-do’s words faltered.
He had been thinking only of Hwasan Sect, momentarily forgetting Bifeng Trading Company’s immediate future.
“Wouldn’t it be better to strike Baekgwi Fortress swiftly, without delay?”
“That may be true, but……”
Hyeon-do found himself agreeing despite his own reservations.
If word of these men’s fall reached the ears of Baekgwi Fortress’s lord, all-out war would begin immediately.
But if they moved first, reaching Baekgwi Fortress before the news spread……
‘Just as we caught our enemies off guard a moment ago, they too might falter in complacency……’
As Hyeon-do deliberated—
“Would you simply abandon vengeance?”
At Cheon-hwi’s follow-up words, Hyeon-do’s resolve hardened.
“……Very well.”
“Then where is Baekgwi Fortress located……”
Having persuaded Hyeon-do, Cheon-hwi immediately moved to ask for the fortress’s location—
“I’ll tell you on the way.”
“Sir?”
Cheon-hwi tilted his head, confused.
Then, as something occurred to him, he furrowed his brow.
“You intend to come as well, Master?”
“What do you mean? Did you truly think you’d go alone?”
“Yes. So you’re returning to the Hwasan Sect?”
“No. I’ll come with you.”
“You should return to the Hwasan Sect with the Plum Blossom Sword Guards.”
“They’re all capable enough to manage on their own by now. My presence isn’t necessary.”
Cheon-hwi’s eyes narrowed.
In truth, Hyeon-do coming along was nothing but a nuisance to his carefree wandering through the Jianghu.
‘There’s no helping it.’
Yet Cheon-hwi, finding verbal sparring even more tiresome, sighed and spoke.
“Fine. Do as you see fit.”
“Ha, don’t worry. I’ve grown stronger than before, all things considered.”
Watching Hyeon-do misunderstand the situation entirely, Cheon-hwi shook his head in resignation.
“I’ll tell those disciples to return to the Hwasan Sect first.”
Just as Hyeon-do reached this decision—
“That won’t work! That’s suicide!”
Ha U-jin came running over, shouting.
He’d apparently heard the entire conversation and immediately began inserting himself into the matter.
“Baekgwi Fortress isn’t just any sect. It’s one of the Six Royal Gates under Heuksaryeon! Fighting them is practically the same as fighting the Jongnam Sect directly, and you’re going to raid it with just the two of you? That doesn’t make any sense!”
Ha U-jin’s heated words came tumbling out with uncharacteristic urgency and speed.
Hyeon-do stepped forward to stop him. “It’s already decided.”
“It’s already decided.”
“But senior, if this continues, my master might end up dead.”
“That won’t happen.”
……
Ha U-jin stared at Hyeon-do with a conflicted expression, then bit his lip hard.
“Then I’m coming too.”
Ha U-jin spoke with the resolve of a man who’d made his decision.
“There’s no need for that.”
But Cheon-hwi cut him off flatly.
“This matter concerns our sect and Baekgwi Fortress. You have no involvement in it.”
Hyeon-do added the explanation immediately.
But Ha U-jin didn’t relent.
“I can’t lose my friend’s disciple.”
“You might die.”
“I know.”
Ha U-jin’s voice was steady. Seeing the resolve in his eyes, Hyeon-do nodded and looked toward Cheon-hwi.
“I think it’s better if he comes with us.”
……
Cheon-hwi sighed once more.
It was too late to stop him now.
He had no choice but to repeat what he’d said to Hyeon-do moments ago.
“Do as you see fit.”
Then he turned his head abruptly and asked, “At least tell us what you know about Baekgwi Fortress.”
Ha U-jin answered immediately. “As for information, there’s a Successor of the Open Sect prowling this area recently. If you ask him, you’ll learn far more details than I could tell you.”
* * *
In front of the Uxiang Inn, a beggar was bowing and scraping before a middle-aged man.
“Haha, so what happened to those attackers?”
“What do you think happened?”
The middle-aged man puffed out his chest with pride, though the deed wasn’t his own.
“That person drew his sword just once, and all the attackers fell dead.”
“Ha, haha……”
Jin-gae, the beggar, laughed awkwardly while inwardly cursing the man.
‘So he’s a servant of Bifeng Trading Company. I thought I might extract some useful information, but all he does is spout nonsense.’
Even for a master of high skill, there were limits. How could a single sword strike kill dozens of people in one breath?
To achieve that, one would need to reach at least the Infinite Realm, if not the Heavenly Martial Realm itself.
‘In all of Seonjin, only two have reached the Heavenly Martial Realm: Baek Sa-sin, the master of Baekgwi Fortress, and the sect leader of the Jongnam Sect.’
But he kept his thoughts to himself. If he revealed them, he might lose any useful information he could still extract.
‘Just endure. Endure. There are at least dozens of others vying for the Successor position in the Open Sect besides me. If I pass this information along now, I’ll be one step closer.’
Soon, having calmed his mind, he returned to the humble and obsequious manner he’d grown accustomed to during his years as a beggar, and rubbed his hands together.

“Then might you happen to know the Daoist’s name?”
“Ahem, well, that’s rather sensitive, you see.”
The middle-aged man cleared his throat and turned his head away.
Yet his half-lidded eyes glinted as he cast a furtive glance in his direction.
‘Curse it all! May you choke on a flea’s liver!’
Catching the drift of that stare, he felt bile rising in his throat—but already his face had settled into a servile smile.
He wrung his hands with frantic speed, like a fly circling dung, pleading.
“Sir, I’m afraid this lowly one has run out of funds…….”
“Then I suppose there’s nothing to be done.”
The middle-aged man spoke with chilling finality and began to turn away, when Jin-gae’s teeth clenched.
In desperation, he rummaged through his clothes, producing something he had hoarded and treasured, and spoke in urgent haste.
“W-what if I offer this instead?”
The moment the middle-aged man saw the glimmering ornament, his hand shot out with the speed of lightning and snatched it away.
“Hmm, this is…….”
As the middle-aged man examined the ornament minutely, he let out a loud, theatrical cough.
“Ahem, ahem—I didn’t expect to receive something like this…….”
Snap.
The tendons in Jin-gae’s forehead twitched.
“I-is th-that, per, perhaps s-satisfactory?”
“Ha ha ha, now where was I in my tale?”
“The Daoist’s n-name, per. You’d st-stopped speaking before—s-saying it…….”
“Ahem, ahem, quite right. So the Daoist’s name was…….”
The middle-aged man continued his account.
After nearly two hours of laying bare everything that had befallen the Bifeng Trading Company, the middle-aged man rose from the ground.
“……So that’s how it came to pass. Yes?”
The middle-aged man gazed at the sky beginning to break with dawn, then spoke with an air of sudden realization.
“My, how the night has fled. I really must be going now.”
“Oh, do take care on your way, sir.”
The middle-aged man waved his hand and departed.
As he receded into the distance, Jin-gae spat after him with a sharp ‘Ptui.’
“Blast it all! A wretch not worth speaking to. With nothing left to squeeze, he’s sucked this pitiful beggar completely dry.”
Jin-gae vented the rage he had suppressed.
After grumbling for some time, his fury seemed to cool a little; he brushed off his threadbare rags and turned.
“That man called himself ‘Cheon-hwi,’ didn’t he?”
“When did you come to know his name?”
The sudden voice made Jin-gae start.
Before him stood three Daoists.
The young man in their center approached slowly, twisting his lips into a smile.
“You’re Jin-gae, aren’t 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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