Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 79

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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 79
“I’m grateful.”
Pyo Guk Ju, who had been offering repeated thanks since earlier, scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression as Yeo Un Ki watched.
“It was only what we had to do.”
“Thanks to Yeo Un Ki and Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa, the Danqing Trading Company’s ships crossed the Yangtze River without a scratch.”
“We were simply fortunate.”
Pyo Guk Ju looked at Yeo Un Ki standing before him and then at Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa, who stood quietly in the corner.
Thanks to the two of them, the merchant vessels had made the crossing safely.
“I will be sure to report this matter to the Alliance.”
In that instant, Yeo Un Ki’s face broke into a broad grin.
This was the result he had been hoping for—far better than mere thanks.
“Ha ha, thank you very much.”
As Yeo Un Ki answered heartily,
“I truly cannot thank you enough. You saved my humble life,” one of the merchants was saying to Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa.
“I will never forget this debt.”
Before Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa stood a throng of merchants and sailors, crowding around her.
Her beauty was dazzling, almost blinding to the eye.
And beyond that, she possessed remarkable martial prowess.
In their eyes now, Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa was the living embodiment of the legendary figure they had only heard of in stories.
“I was only doing what needed to be done.”
Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa felt the weight of their gratitude as merchants and sailors approached her in turn, each offering their thanks.
‘This is always so uncomfortable.’
It had happened more than once or twice, yet she never grew accustomed to it.
The best she could manage was an awkward smile that seemed out of place on her face.
Shortly after, the Danqing Trading Company departed.
“That was exhausting.”
Yeo Un Ki let his shoulders sag.
Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa agreed with him.
She would have preferred an actual fight to this ordeal.
“But where in the world did Cheon Hui go? He was in the middle of the river.”
“Hmph. He’s probably swimming around out there.”
Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa spoke flatly.
She thought little of Cheon Hui.
Fleeing suddenly in the middle of battle—was that how a martial artist behaved?
But Yeo Un Ki saw it differently.
‘He possesses skill superior to mine.’
Cheon Hui’s martial prowess was outstanding.
Though he had never seen him wield a blade, just the brief glimpse of his Movement Technique was enough to tell.
It was then.
Screee—
A hawk suddenly descended from above.
“That’s Bu Dae Ju’s messenger hawk.”
Yeo Un Ki skillfully extended his arm.
The hawk landed gently on his forearm.
“What’s happened? He doesn’t send the hawk without good reason.”
Yeo Un Ki untied the paper fastened to the hawk’s leg, then gave a light wave of his hand.
The messenger hawk immediately soared back into the sky.
As he watched the hawk disappear swiftly into the distance, he unfolded the paper and began to read.
“Wait, Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa! He’s found the location of Suryong Dae!”
He cried out loudly.
“Is that truly so?”
“Yes! And…….”
Yeo Un Ki, who had been speaking with vigor, suddenly went rigid.
“What is it?”
Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa, impatient for an answer, snatched the paper from his hands.
“Location of Suryong Dae confirmed. And…….”
She too fell silent as she reached the final line written on the paper, her expression hardening.
“Annihilation……?”
In that moment, a face flashed through the minds of both Yeo Un Ki and Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa.
“Could it be……!”
“Surely not!”
* * *
Bang!
Seol Geom, absorbed as always in paperwork, looked up at the sudden sound of the door bursting open and flinched without thinking.
The figure who had just entered was someone who had no business being here.
“Cheon Hui, why are you here?”
“The mission’s finished, so I came to report.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
Confronted with Cheon Hui’s blunt words, Seol Geom moved past mere bewilderment into outright exasperation.
“The task I assigned you was clearly to defend against Suryong Dae’s attacks for one month…….”
“There won’t be any attacks from Suryong Dae anymore.”
Cheon Hui cut him off.
“No more attacks?”
“That’s right.”
Seol Geom couldn’t begin to grasp what he was saying.
Was there truly any way to resolve the threat of Suryong Dae?
If there had been, he would have done it long ago.
Yet the solution that filled him with suspicion came tumbling from Cheon Hui’s lips soon enough.
“I eliminated Suryong Dae.”
“What?”
Seol Geom’s mind ground to a halt.
Suryong Dae simply gone? What kind of absurd nonsense was this?
“What are you talking about…….”
“Well. You’re not following.”
Cheon Hui looked at him with an expression of utter pity.
“I wiped them out completely.”
“Suryong Dae, you mean?”
For a moment, Seol Geom’s face went slack with shock.
It was a method he had never once considered.
But as clarity returned, his expression hardened into something cold and sharp.
“That’s an extraordinary claim to believe at face value.”
Seol Geom spoke with glacial precision.
Suryong Dae was among the most formidable of the eighteen Yangtze River pirate bands, and they had never even discovered where their main base was located.
And yet he claimed to have annihilated them.
“Cheon Hui, Suryong Dae’s position has never been revealed to anyone.”
It was a warning wrapped in cold steel—don’t waste time on transparent lies.
And yet.
“It should have been obvious enough.”
Cheon Hui matched his gaze unflinchingly.
More than that, he went further still.
“Who would have guessed they’d made a cave their headquarters?”
“A cave?”
It was a location he had never imagined.
And in that very instant, something clicked into place.
A cave would explain why the Hyeop Wi Dae had searched so many stretches of the Yangtze without finding them.
“H-how did you find Suryong Dae?”
“I stowed away on one of their ships.”
It was an answer that caught him off guard.
Yet it was also perfectly sound.
All one had to do was follow them home.
But the reason pursuit had failed all these months was that their counterattacks had been relentless and fierce.
‘To board their ship alone, though.’
It was a feat of extraordinary nerve.
To slip aboard a vessel crawling with enemies and sail to their lair—it was like offering one’s neck to the tiger’s jaw.
“They didn’t attack you?”
“They did.”
“Then how——”
“Were you listening before?”
Cheon Hui raked him with a look of profound disappointment, from head to toe.
“I said I annihilated them.”
Seol Geom swallowed hard.
‘Is this really the truth?’
Watching Cheon Hui’s unshakeable composure, Seol Geom’s gaze wavered slightly.
“Is there a way to verify that what you’re saying is true?”
“What would be the point of a lie so easily exposed?”
Seol Geom found himself at a loss for words.
He was right—if Suryong Dae launched another attack, the deception would unravel instantly.
“Besides, I mentioned the location to Bu Dae Ju of Hyeop Wi Dae. He’ll send word later once he verifies it himself.”
Cheon Hui recalled the middle-aged man he’d encountered at a ferry crossing on the Yangtze River on his way back from crushing Suryong Dae and heading to the Wulin Alliance.
When he saw them wearing the same martial robes as Yeo Un Ki and Hyeol Ryeon Cheong Hwa, he’d thought it wise to mention the location, partly to delegate the task of disposing of the bodies.
“To Bu Dae Ju?”
Seol Geom’s eyes widened.
The moment the name of Hyeop Wi Dae’s leader left his lips, Seol Geom’s suspicion began tipping decisively toward certainty.
‘He really did annihilate Suryong Dae.’
The shock of realizing Cheon Hui’s words were true struck him like a hammer blow to the chest.
Suryong Dae had been infamous throughout the Jianghu.
All its water pirates possessed genuine martial skill, and the leadership was especially impressive in composition.
There was Heuk Ya No, who had once thrown Qinghai City into turmoil, and Hyeol Gwi Bu—originally a bandit chief of the Greenwood before becoming so impressed with Suryong Dae’s master that he’d willingly entered his service.
And commanding them both stood Suryong Dae’s leader.
Jak Ryang—the Little Tiger, Mighty Blade.
Through his remarkable reputation and exceptional skill, he had single-handedly elevated Suryong Dae from obscurity to its current prominence—a true master.
Had he harbored ambition, the common wisdom ran, he would have risen beyond Suryong Dae to become a renowned master throughout Zhongyuan.
‘……And he killed them all.’
If this were genuinely true, Seol Geom would have to completely reassess his understanding of Cheon Hui.
‘Even based on the skill he showed when facing the Gae Bang’s master, I thought he was dangerous…’
He’d thought Cheon Hui noteworthy simply for withstanding the Gae Bang’s master’s momentum, but it seemed he’d actually demonstrated far greater ability.
‘Perhaps even superior to the chief disciples of the Nine Great Sects and Eight Great Factions.’
Occasionally, a martial genius would emerge.
Cheon Hui appeared to be such a prodigy.
‘This could be fortune for me.’
As Seol Geom collected his thoughts, a faint smile traced across his lips.
He had now allied himself with Huashan Sect.
To have such an exceptional talent within Huashan Sect’s ranks was a blessing.
‘And if Huashan Sect’s power continues to grow this way, the balance of the Alliance itself will collapse.’
He suppressed an urge to laugh outright.
To become a strategist, he needed to draw out a strategist in hiding.
And what he needed for that was simple.
Someone to shake the Wulin Alliance to its foundations.
And now, Cheon Hui and Huashan Sect before him fit that role perfectly.
“Then I shall trust your words.”
Seol Geom drew documents from a drawer.
When he turned over the densely written paper, a seal impression appeared on the back.
“You need only affix your signature here.”
Cheon Hui examined the seal.
It was clearly an antique and fine specimen.
“This isn’t the place I want.”
This wasn’t where he intended.
“I’m planning to move to the quarters Huashan Sect used previously.”
“The quarters Huashan Sect used in the past…?”
Seol Geom’s smile twisted awkwardly.
“That’s currently Songnan Sect’s quarters.”
Seol Geom spoke, flustered.
“I was told it was originally Huashan Sect’s.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Which is precisely why I intend to reclaim it.”
Seol Geom hurried to change the subject, still caught off guard.
“Ha ha. Friend, why not consider the eastern pavilion instead? We’ve just had it renovated, and…”
“Oh, that works out nicely then.”
Cheon Hui smiled brightly.
But watching that smile, Seol Geom felt an inexplicable unease settle over him.
And he hadn’t been wrong.
“Why not give that place to the Songnan Sect?”
“I’m sorry…?”
“You said there was a better hall.”
“Well, but that’s….”
“What’s the problem? Were you lying just now?”
Sweat beaded on Seol Geom’s brow.
“No, it’s not that. The newly renovated hall truly is superior, but….”
“Then it’s settled. We actually preferred our old quarters even if they were worn—it all works out nicely, doesn’t it?”
Cheon Hui met Seol Geom’s awkward gaze and twisted his lips into something like a smile.
“Don’t you think?”

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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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