Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 76

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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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Episode 76
The Changjiang River.
Most people think of the Changjiang as a vast river cutting across Zhongyuan.
But in the current Gangho, the Changjiang’s significance had never been more critical.
A boundary dividing the Orthodox from the unorthodox.
The reason was deceptively simple.
The Murim Alliance dominated north of the river, while Sa Heuk Ryeon commanded the south.
“Sigh. Today’s going to be rough too.”
Yeo Un Gi, leaning against the dock on the northern bank of the Changjiang, let out a weary breath.
It had already been half a month since he’d arrived at this river.
In all that time, there was only one thing he’d done.
Fighting off bandits.
But every time he boarded a vessel, the seasickness that followed made his head spin so badly that defeating enemies was anything but easy.
“Ugh, if I’d known the Hyeop Wi Dae did work like this, I wouldn’t have tried so hard.”
Still grumbling, he rolled his neck back and forth.
The Hyeop Wi Dae had been his goal for a long time.
And no wonder—as a martial artist from Cheol Hyeol Bang, a minor sect, it was the largest military division he could enter within the Murim Alliance.
So when he joined the Hyeop Wi Dae, he’d thought he’d handle famous techniques like Hyeop Haeng or missions to eliminate Ma In.
‘But here I am, just dealing with bandits.’
His first assignment after becoming part of the Hyeop Wi Dae had been laughably simple.
Escorting merchant caravans and trading houses that crossed the Changjiang!
‘At least the enemy isn’t your typical bandit—Su Ryong Chae. If I could just take down that old man, I’d build a reputation… but that’s impossible.’
Yeo Un Gi recalled the elderly bandit who radiated the most formidable presence among them.
‘Yeah, that won’t happen.’
His mouth turned sour, but he had to admit the truth.
With his current strength, he’d be lucky just to keep his head on his shoulders, let alone defeat that old man.
‘I’d be dead if I’d come alone.’
He deliberately rolled his neck even harder.
As the vertebrae cracked, somehow it felt oddly relieving.
“Ugh, I don’t want to do this.”
“What are you saying?”
Just then, a reproachful voice came from beside him.
“Oh, you’ve arrived?”
Yeo Un Gi scratched his head and looked at whoever had just scolded him.
“You haven’t forgotten what we’re supposed to do, have you?”
“Ha, no, I remember. I was just venting because this whole situation feels suffocating. Miss Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
The woman with long dark hair swept over her shoulders and a cold expression—Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa—regarded Yeo Un Gi with suspicion.
But only for a moment.
“Still, what do you think about today?”
She asked quietly.
Yeo Un Gi answered, watching her grip her sword more tightly in her arms.
“Well, since they didn’t come yesterday, maybe they won’t come today?”
Yeo Un Gi shrugged his shoulders.
Then he pushed off from the wall and spoke.
“Anyway, let’s get on board.”
“Understood.”
The two slowly made their way toward an old vessel moored nearby.
As they climbed aboard with creaking wooden planks beneath their feet, they greeted those already on deck.
“Yeo Un Gi, dispatched from the Alliance.”
“Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa.”
A portly middle-aged man came rushing over.
With heavy footsteps, he arrived with a broad grin.
“Welcome, welcome! I’m Son Wi, proprietor of the Dan Cheong Pyo Guk.”
“Ha, pleased to meet you. I’m Yeo Un Gi.”
“Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa.”
“I’m counting on you both.”
“Ha, we’ll do our absolute best.”
After the three had exchanged names and were conversing,
“This is no ordinary vessel to board.”
A commotion erupted beneath the ship’s deck.
“But I was told to board this vessel?”
“Who told you that?”
“Seol Geom.”
The moment those words left his mouth.
“What……?”
“The Deputy Commander?”
Yeo Un Gi and Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa, who had been listening to the commotion, flinched.
“Why, why do you ask?”
The Pyo Guk proprietor was taken aback by their reaction, but the two moved before he could respond.
“Pardon us, we’re coming through.”
“We’ll talk about this later.”
The two hurried past the Pyo Guk proprietor ahead of them and hastily peered down below.
There, a sharp-featured young man in black martial robes and a Pyo Sa were continuing their heated exchange.
“I’ve never seen this face before. Have you encountered him, Yeo Un Gi?”
“No. I haven’t either…….”
As Yeo Un Gi shook his head in reply, the young man’s voice rang out.
“……So you’re saying I’m supposed to protect this vessel from Su Ryong Chae’s attacks?”
* * *
A short while later, the ship set sail.
“Ha ha ha, so you’re Cheon Hui. A pleasure to meet you. I’m Yeo Un Gi.”
Upon reaching the stern of the ship, Yeo Un Gi greeted Cheon Hui, who had boarded late, with a broad smile.
“Indeed, Deputy Commander. Seeing that we were short-handed on this assignment, you’ve sent reinforcements right away. Much obliged.”
His face brightened.
Since this mission wasn’t yet a proper one, those dispatched here numbered barely a dozen or so in total.
But was the Changjiang River even narrow?
It was far too vast to manage adequately.
Because of this, Yeo Un Gi and Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa had to carry out their duties day after day without respite.
Yet the arrival of reinforcements meant——
“Might I ask if anyone else came besides you?”
He asked with a bright face, but the reply that came back was one that shattered his expectations.
“Just me.”
“……Pardon?”
In that instant, Yeo Un Gi’s face went blank, and a deflated sound escaped him.
Then he quickly shook his head left and right, collecting himself.
“Surely you didn’t come alone…….”
As he waved his hand while speaking, he swallowed hard while staring at Cheon Hui’s expressionless face.
“Surely you came alone?”
“Yes.”
……
Yeo Un Gi’s expression darkened immediately.
“Sigh.”
Then, releasing a sigh as though the ground had opened beneath him, he leaned his back against the swaying ship’s railing without strength.
“For crying out loud! I thought I’d finally get some rest, and now I’ll be running around all day again. Ugh.”
Cheon Hui watched him as if amused.
Most of the Orthodox Sect members he had seen thus far were either reclusive masters or people of great clans.
Because of that, this reaction felt refreshingly different.
One could plainly see the weariness written all over him.
‘Better than those rigid types.’
Having observed Yeo Un Gi thus, he recalled the purpose of his coming and opened his mouth.
“Do you know where Su Ryong Chae is located?”
“Their headquarters remains unknown.”
The answer came not from Yeo Un Gi, but from another.
Cheon Hui turned his gaze toward Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa, who had answered, and asked.
“They’ve attacked repeatedly, yet you still don’t know their base?”
Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa’s brows furrowed slightly.
“……They are not such an easy opponent.”
‘What? They said they’re not an easy opponent?’
Finding it absurd, a hollow laugh escaped him.
Su Ryong Chae, or the river brigands of the Changjiang——
After all, they’re just Su Jeok.
‘Since they’re struggling with mere Su Jeok, there’s nothing more to gain by asking.’
Cheon Hui lost interest in both of them at once.
Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa closed her mouth, offering no further words.
The atmosphere chilled in an instant.
“Ha ha. Miss Cheong Hwa. We’ll be working together from now on—wouldn’t it be better to get along rather than be so distant?”
Yeo Un Gi, hoping the situation would drift peacefully, spoke up to lighten the mood.
But.
“Must we become close just because we’re working together?”
Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa refused outright.
“My, my! That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Cheon Hui immediately agreed.
‘They don’t seem worth the effort anyway.’
He had no desire to waste time or emotion on this mission.
“Ha, ha ha.”
It was Yeo Un Gi who found himself in an awkward position.
‘Sigh. I thought adding one more person would make things a little easier than before.’
As he was about to let out a sigh laden with conflicting emotions.
Splash—
The water’s surface suddenly grew turbulent.
The advancing boat was swept up by the violent current and shook violently, and sensing the ominous atmosphere, Yeo Un Gi sprang to his feet.
At the same moment.
“Su Ryong Chae! Su Ryong Chae!”
A sharp cry erupted from the bow.
“Miss! Young Master!”
Yeo Un Gi whirled around, shouting urgently, but—
…….
Both were already gone.
“Miss Cheong Hwa can’t be helped, but…”
Watching the two vanish before he could even notice, he shook his head.
“Young Master Cheon Hui is quite the formidable master, too.”
Feeling keenly that he was just an ordinary martial artist, he exhaled deeply and kicked at the swaying wooden plank.
“Well, I’d better do my part.”
Meanwhile, the first to move, Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa, fixed her gaze on the gaunt old man before her.
“It’s you again, Heuk Ya No.”
“And you—always coming back for more beating, aren’t you?”
Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa’s brow furrowed at his sharp words, and she glanced back slightly.
“Everyone, get back.”
Her voice was small, yet it carved itself clearly into every ear.
“Y-yes, understood.”
“All of you, fall back.”
Seeing the Pyo Guk’s Pyo Sa and porters scrambling backward, Heuk Ya No’s eyes widened.
“Hehehehe. Think I’ll let you go peacefully?”
He raised his hand sharply.
“All of you, attack!”
In that instant, the placid river water surged upward, and from all sides emerged figures like drenched rats.
“Rob them all!”
“Leave nothing—strip them bare!”
The Su Jeok quickly drew bizarre weapons and rushed forward as one.
Heuk Ya No, who had issued the command, laughed.
“Huh, will you just leave them be?”
“My opponent is you.”
Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa drew her sword from its sheath.
The moment the Transparent Sword Blade slowly revealed itself, the sunlight above reflected and struck Heuk Ya No’s eyes.
“Ack! You bitch! Such treachery!”
As Heuk Ya No rubbed his eyes—
“The treachery has always been yours.”
The woman’s cold voice spread forth, and—
Clang!
But instead of the sound of flesh being torn, the clang of steel striking steel rang out.
“Ha! You think I’d collapse from just that?”
Heuk Ya No blocked the strike with his sword and bared his yellowed teeth in a grin.
A viscous energy poured from his body and crept slowly through his entire frame.
“This time, I’ll put you down for good.”
“No. You’re the one who’s dying.”
As Hyeok Ryeon Cheong Hwa spread her own energy, Yeo Un Gi, who had been guarding the Dan Cheong Pyo Guk members at the stern of the vessel, clenched his teeth.
“Damn it! Will you stop showing up!”
Thump! Thump!
He struggled to swat away the Su Jeok that kept appearing with his palms.
He glanced back quickly and spoke.
“If any of you have trained in martial arts, could you lend me a hand?”
The Pyo Sa of Dan Cheong Pyo Guk exchanged uncertain glances before each drew their sword one by one.
With their help, Yeo Un Gi finally found a moment to breathe.
“Phew. Maybe I’ll live after all.”
Perhaps because his mind had eased slightly.
He suddenly remembered someone and shouted toward the sky with a ringing voice.
“Hyeop! Cheon Hui, Hyeop!”
In an instant, a shadow flickered into view.
Crash!
The charging Su Jeok went flying backward.
“What is it?”
Seeing Cheon Hui materialize like a ghost, Yeo Un Gi started in surprise but quickly composed himself and spoke.
“You need to complete your mission!”
“Hmm, true enough, but……”
Cheon Hui stroked his chin.
All the while, he evaded the Su Jeok’s attacks with nothing but a twist of his body.
It was movement bordering on the miraculous.
“Has it always been like this whenever we’ve been attacked?”
A sense of déjà vu washed over him.
‘He’s playing with them.’
The difference in strength was glaringly obvious.
First, they were badly outnumbered.
Two people were hopelessly insufficient to face nearly forty Su Jeok.
Of course, if the two of them were masters who could make the difference in numbers irrelevant, it would be another matter.
‘But they’re not at that level.’
They were not.
And that was not all.
What of the old man Heuk Ya No’s ability?
He possessed enough martial power to defeat the woman before him and still have strength to spare.
In fact, even coming alone without his subordinates, he had the skill to seize the vessel with ease.
Yet he was holding back against them.
‘Why would he do that? Could this attack……’
As Cheon Hui fell into thought.
‘Has it always been this way whenever we’ve been attacked?’
Yeo Un Gi’s eyes darted back and forth.
Surprisingly quick-witted, he sensed instinctively that Cheon Hui had not asked such a question without reason.
“Hyeop. Have you discovered something?”
“Hmm, seems like these attacks have another purpose.”
“Pardon?”
With those words, Cheon Hui vanished.
“……Hyeop?”
Yeo Un Gi stared in bewilderment, but Cheon Hui had already disappeared.
“That bastard’s gone!”
“Now’s our chance! Attack!”
The Su Jeok, who had hesitated momentarily at the display of Cheon Hui’s power, resumed their assault like water pouring through a breach.
“H-Hyeop! Where did you go!”
Yeo Un Gi cried out in desperation, but Cheon Hui, already departed, did not return.
“Blast it all!”
He soon clashed with the Su Jeok once more.
“Arrgh!”
Meanwhile, Cheon Hui had dampened his presence and was studying each of the fighters one by one.
‘I can’t make sense of what they’re trying to accomplish.’
For Su Jeok operatives, their attacks lacked vigor and sharpness.
Then Heuk Ya No’s voice boomed across the deck.
“Everyone, retreat!”
A retreat order, despite clearly holding the advantage.
It made no sense whatsoever.
‘And they’re taking me straight to Su Ryong Chae? Convenient.’
Cheon Hui smiled with satisfaction.
He then slipped among the Su Jeok operatives as they withdrew with the speed of an ebbing tide.
A soft rustle.
Moments later, aboard Su Ryong Chae’s vessel, he ventured deep into the interior until he found a door marked “Wheelhouse.”
‘This will do nicely.’
The moment he pushed the door open—
“We were just about to set sail—”
The Su Jeok operative’s eyes widened in shock as he turned with an annoyed expression.
“Who… who are you—”
But he never finished his question.
Or rather, no sound escaped his lips.
Cheon Hui had already pressed a vital point along his jaw, sealing his mouth shut.
“You’re a Su Jeok operative from Su Ryong Chae, aren’t you?”
Watching the operative nod frantically, his eyes wide with fear, Cheon Hui spoke to him in a commanding tone.
“Now take us to Su Ryong Chae. At once.”

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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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