Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 55

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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 55
“So the Murim Alliance invited you and Cheon Hui to verify the rumors?”
Hyeon Do’s brow furrowed deeply.
He’d rushed to the Jade Harmony Pavilion at Jang Mun In’s summons, and this was what greeted him?
An invitation from the Murim Alliance?
Irritation flared in his chest.
“An invitation, now of all times?”
His displeasure colored every word.
What was the Murim Alliance to him now?
The object of bitter hatred—for ignoring the youngest disciple’s plea for vengeance, for turning away his disciples’ cries for justice.
“When our sect requested aid, they wouldn’t spare a glance.”
Hyeon Do’s words were edged with venom, his expression growing harsher still.
They’d never set foot here in months, and now that rumors of Baek Gwi Seong’s destruction had spread, they came scrambling. It was sickening.
He was done with them.
“Did you accept?”
“I wanted to hear your thoughts on it.”
“My thoughts?”
Hyeon Do blinked in surprise.
He’d expected Jang Mun In to order him to go to the Murim Alliance, regardless of his own feelings.
It was the Murim Alliance, after all.
“But will it truly be all right? If Sa Huk Ryeon shows its fangs this time, the Alliance will move to assist as a condition…….”
The Murim Alliance’s proposal was extraordinary.
They’d even sent an imperial decree promising that if Sa Huk Ryeon took issue with Baek Gwi Seong’s destruction, the Alliance would not stand idle but would lend its aid.
Coming precisely when Sa Huk Ryeon’s retaliation weighed on his mind, it was exactly what they needed.
And yet.
“It’s fine. It’s an appealing offer, but if you don’t wish to go, there’s no need.”
Jang Mun In respected Hyeon Do’s judgment.
“Do as your heart dictates.”
“But to receive the Alliance’s support…….”
“Have we ever relied on the Alliance’s aid before?”
Hyeon Do’s words caught in his throat.
Jang Mun In’s eyes grew warm.
“So there’s nothing to worry about. Besides, now that we’ve confirmed Baek Gwi Seong’s destruction, even if we refuse, the Alliance won’t press further. If anything, they’ll be anxious we might leave altogether.”
“……Ah.”
Hyeon Do exhaled a long, weary breath and pressed his palm to his forehead.
It was good that the sect leader trusted him.
But that very trust weighed on him.
“Still, isn’t this an offer too significant to refuse?”
His instinct screamed to decline, but reason demanded otherwise.
They’d already made their preparations for ascension.
Yet Sa Huk Ryeon remained a thorn in his side.
‘With the Alliance’s support…….’
His stomach churned.
For the sake of Huashan Sect’s future, the Alliance’s offer was far too tempting.
After long deliberation, Hyeon Do shook his head and forced his lips open.
“……I accept the invitation.”
“Are you truly at peace with this?”
“The past is past. Now is the time to think of what lies ahead.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jang Mun In closed his eyes slowly.
He’d given Hyeon Do a choice, but he’d known all along which path would be chosen.
“But what of Cheon Hui…….”
“Why did you call for me?”
As the saying went, speak of the tiger and it appears.
At the sound of Cheon Hui’s voice, both men’s heads turned.
In the chair that had been empty mere moments before, Cheon Hui now sat.
“You’ve arrived?”
“Indeed.”
Jang Mun In and Hyeon Do showed neither surprise nor alarm at Cheon Hui’s sudden, soundless appearance.
They’d witnessed it too many times before to be caught off guard any longer.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Jang Mun In met Cheon Hui’s gaze and explained the deal he’d struck with Seol Geom.
“So what you’re saying is, the Murim Alliance is inviting both you and Lord Baek?”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
Cheon Hui stroked his chin thoughtfully.
‘The Murim Alliance……’
The intricate web of conditions written in the letter failed to capture his attention.
Only one phrase held it: the Murim Alliance.
Those words alone kindled his curiosity.
‘Perhaps I should go have a look.’
He made his decision at once.
“I’ll do it. I’ll come to the Murim Alliance.”
“Are you certain?”
“It works out perfectly. I’ve been wanting to see the Murim Alliance myself anyway.”
“I’m grateful.”
Ten days passed after that conversation.
Two Daoists from the Huashan Sect descended the mountain in silence, unnoticed by anyone.
* * *
The beaded curtain hanging over the inn’s door swayed aside with a clear chime.
Small glass beads rattled loudly, but they drew no notice from the patrons crowded within.
The chatter of guests, the clinking of dishes, and the strains of music drifting through the open windows created such a bustle that the sound was swallowed whole.
“It’s quite crowded,” Cheon Hui observed.
“I’m not sure if there are any empty tables,” Hyeon Do replied.
As the two of them stood surveying the chaotic inn, a bright voice called out.
“Welcome!”
Jeom Soi rushed over from attending other guests, and his eyes widened the moment he caught sight of their appearance.
“Oh! You’re Daoists from the Huashan Sect!”
In an instant, the noisy inn fell silent.
“Huashan……?”
“The Huashan Sect?”
Hyeon Do, accustomed to such reactions, spoke without inflection.
“Do you have any empty seats?”
Jeom Soi, startled by the sudden hush, collected himself hastily.
“Yes, yes!”
“Then please show us to one.”
Cheon Hui and Hyeon Do followed Jeom Soi’s practiced guidance and took their seats at an empty table.
“What may I get for you?”
“Thin noodles for me.”
“I’ll have the five-spice sauce—”
Cheon Hui stopped mid-sentence.
Flick.
Hyeon Do was shooting him a sharp, warning look from across the table.
“Just thin noodles, please.”
“One moment, please.”
As Jeom Soi departed with the order, Hyeon Do leaned toward Cheon Hui.
“Well done. Bear with it for the journey.”
“Yes, understood.”
Cheon Hui replied curtly.
He itched to grab Jeom Soi as he passed and order something else—his mouth practically twitched with the desire.
But he had to endure it.
After all, hadn’t Hyeon Do pleaded with him countless times a day to be patient, to sneak bites if he must but above all not to be caught?
“Tea has arrived.”
Another server appeared and set down a teapot and cups.
Plink.
Cheon Hui poured the tea and turned to survey the inn.
By now it had grown lively again, yet something had shifted.
‘Is it because we walked in? Most of them are talking about the Huashan Sect now.’

To Cheon Hui’s sharp ears, the whispered conversations around him came through with crystalline clarity.
“……The Huashan Sect cooped up in Huashan coming all the way down here—seems that rumor was true after all.”
“Tsk! Still don’t believe it? Look at how the Jongnam Sect, who used to dismiss the Huashan Sect, is watching carefully now—doesn’t that tell you everything?”
As Cheon Hui listened in on the conversation, he recalled the day before they’d left.
‘It matches what Jang Mun In told me.’
Before setting out on the journey, Jang Mun In had shared several pieces of information with them.
That the Jongnam Sect had begun to regard their sect with caution, and that even the Bi Cheon Hoe had started showing interest in the Huashan Divine Sword.
Both pieces of information were quite astonishing, but they paled in comparison to what he’d learned about Sa Huk Ryeon.
The five great sects of Sa Huk Ryeon—which had been the Six Fiends but were now the Five Fiends—showed no interest in their sect whatsoever.
Perhaps it was the nature of evil sects.
They had begun internal warfare, each faction trying to steal even a scrap of the interests that Baek Gwi Seong had once controlled.
The sect that had destroyed Baek Gwi Seong paid them no mind at all.
For the Huashan Sect, who had feared Sa Huk Ryeon’s retaliation, it was nothing short of a miracle.
Yet they could not afford to relax.
Being an evil sect, they might seize on this incident as an excuse to strike at the Huashan Sect at any moment.
‘That’s why he said such things to me.’
He recalled the words Jang Mun In had earnestly emphasized before they parted.
—No matter what happens, you must not reveal the full extent of your power. Hide at least thirty percent, no—hide more than seventy percent.
At present, the eyes of the realm were fixed not on the Huashan Sect, but on the one who had felled Baek Sae Shin—the Huashan Divine Sword, Hyeon Do.
At first, most people had found it hard to believe that Baek Sae Shin had fallen, but once they learned his opponent was Hyeon Do, they began to accept it one by one.
There was some doubt, certainly, but he was one who had long been called the First Sword of Huashan.
Yet the truth was otherwise.
What if it became known that it was not Hyeon Do, but Cheon Hui, who had felled Baek Sae Shin?
Then the situation would certainly have been entirely different.
Sa Huk Ryeon would have abandoned their internal strife immediately to pursue the Huashan Sect and kill Cheon Hui, and the Bi Cheon Hoe would surely not have remained idle as they were now.
Just then, Jeom Soi arrived with thin noodles.
“Enjoy your meal.”
As the noodles were placed on the table, the two of them picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.
Slurp—
A short while later, they finished their meal and, guided by Jeom Soi, arrived at their room.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow.”
Watching Hyeon Do enter his room first, Cheon Hui’s lips curved into a sinister smile.
‘Should I go out for a bit?’
He opened the window that had been shut.
Gazing out at the street lanterns lighting the road and the throng of people below, in sharp contrast to the dark sky, he leaped out of the window without hesitation.
Tap!
Treading on the railing, he bounded upward and began moving westward across the rooftops.
Shortly after, he arrived at a building.
‘Is this the place?’
As he studied the plaque reading “Ilsin Trading Company,” a gatekeeper approached.
‘Hm? A Daoist? That robe……!’
The gatekeeper’s eyes swept quickly over Cheon Hui from head to toe, then brightened with recognition.
“A Daoist of the Huashan Sect—what brings you to our humble company?”
“I’ve come to collect some money.”
The gatekeeper asked again, respectfully.
“Are you here to conduct business?”
“No.”
Cheon Hui rummaged through his sleeve and produced a Gold Token he’d received from the head of Bi Feng Trading Company.
“I was told that if I showed this, they’d give me money, so I came.”
For a moment, the gatekeeper’s brow furrowed with suspicion as he stared at the Gold Token Cheon Hui held out—then his eyes went wide.
“Gasp!”
Trembling as he looked at the Gold Token, the gatekeeper hurriedly bowed his head.
“I-I shall report this to the company master at once.”
The gatekeeper pushed open the door and disappeared inside.
‘Hm? Was it worth more than I thought?’
Cheon Hui examined the Gold Token.
The token was made of gold, but otherwise there seemed to be nothing particularly special about it.
Yet judging by the gatekeeper’s reaction just now, it was clearly no ordinary Gold Token.
‘I’ll find out later what it is.’
He brushed it aside without much concern.
To him, the Gold Token was merely a means to obtain money.
He tucked the Gold Token back into his sleeve, and shortly after, the gatekeeper appeared.
“Please, come inside.”
A moment later, Cheon Hui entered the room under the gatekeeper’s guidance.
“You’ve arrived.”
A portly merchant master, who had been sitting in his chair, hurried forward with an anxious shuffle.
“I am Son Mu, master of the Ilsin Trading Company.”
The merchant bowed respectfully, then ventured to speak in a cautious tone.
“I hope it’s not presumptuous, but might I examine the Gold Token?”
“Here it is.”
Cheon Hui immediately produced the Gold Token and handed it over.
“Thank you.”
The merchant, scrutinizing the Gold Token for some time, nodded vigorously up and down.
“What is it that you wish for?”
Cheon Hui took back the Gold Token as he spoke.
“Money.”
“Money, you say?”
In that instant, the merchant’s heart quickened.
And well it should have — the man before him was the owner of a Gold Token, given only to the select few by the Tianxia Merchant Alliance.
For a trading company as yet unable to wield significant influence like Ilsin, there was no request he could refuse.
Whether he was asked to procure some rare medicine.
‘Our Treasury isn’t particularly full right now…….’
Cold sweat beaded on his back, dampening his clothes.
He had drawn quite heavily on the Treasury recently due to a major transaction.
“Gulp. H-how much would you require?”
Cheon Hui stroked his chin.
He had only thought about receiving money, but never about how much.
When had he ever needed to receive money and use it before?
In his days as the Absolute Heavenly Demon, his subordinates had handled everything without his concern.
And now, having secluded himself within Huashan Sect, he neither understood nor cared for the value of money.
‘How much was it that Jeok Geom spent before?’
Cheon Hui recalled the amount Jeok Geom had calculated during his emergence into the Jianghu, and spoke.
“Ten silver taels or so?”
“I-is it ten taels?”
The merchant faltered, repeating his words in confusion.
‘Merely ten silver taels?’
Certainly, ten silver taels was a considerable sum.
One silver tael was equivalent to a month’s living expenses for a family of four.
Yet for the owner of a Gold Token, it seemed woefully inadequate.
The merchant stole a glance at Cheon Hui.
But his expression betrayed nothing.
‘What good fortune!’
He pressed his hand to his chest with relief and smiled.
“Then I shall prepare ten silver taels for you.”
Cheon Hui nodded, then hesitated.
“Ah! And is there a famous inn in this area?”
“What sort of establishment would you prefer? One that serves Hubei cuisine, or…….”
“If possible, somewhere that excels at meat dishes and also sells good wine.”
“I beg your pardon?”
The merchant, thinking he had misheard, cleaned out his ear and let out an awkward cough.
“Ahem, forgive me. Perhaps I’m tired and hearing things. A Daoist asking for wine…….”
“No, you heard correctly.”
The merchant’s eyes widened.
A Daoist of Huashan Sect requesting meat and wine — by his understanding, this was utterly incomprehensible.
“Are you…… certain? Even if Huashan Sect is closer to the secular world than most, meat and wine are still forbidden in Daoism…….”
“Ah!”
Cheon Hui lowered his gaze to examine his Sect Robe.
“Your trading company has clothing, does it not?”
“We do, though…….”
“Then give me just one.”
“You mean clothing?”
Cheon Hui nodded.
“If I take off my Sect Robe, how would anyone know whether I’m a Daoist or not? Isn’t that right?”
Cheon Hui met the merchant’s eyes.
“Even if you knew, only you and I would know. Wouldn’t that be so?”
The merchant’s mind went blank.
When had he ever heard a Daoist speak so brazenly about breaking protocol?
Then, in an instant, a chill ran down his spine.
That last remark he’d made.
‘That only the two of us would know…’
His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.
It was a warning, plain and simple—don’t tell anyone that he’s going to the inn.
“Y-yes, that’s quite right.”
The merchant, who had been nodding along moments before, wiped sweat from his brow that he couldn’t say when it had first appeared.
He would have to pretend not to know.
‘Still, he certainly picks up on things quickly for a merchant.’
Cheon Hui regarded the merchant with satisfaction and spoke.
“So then, which inn would you recommend?”

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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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