Namgung Heavenly Demon - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 72

Three days had passed since the duel.

The clash from that day had caused no small ripple within the League.

Hyeolryong Myeongjin’s defeat and Namgung Cheon’s remarkable martial prowess.

The name Namgung Cheon naturally spread among the warriors of the Murim Alliance.

However, the person in question, Namgung Cheon, didn’t pay much attention to this.

Fame wasn’t what mattered.

“Huu.”

Namgung Cheon sat cross-legged and let out a short sigh.

A faint blue energy flowed out between his lips before dispersing into midair.

He had just finished his breathing meditation.

‘Now it’s not far until the mastery of the mental cultivation method.’

Cheonggung Daeyeon Simbeop.

It was a complex mental cultivation method that most people found difficult to master even after dedicating their entire lives to it.

‘Mixing the mysteries of demonic arts into the incantations was quite effective.’

A new attempt that combined the stability of Orthodox Faction mental cultivation with the rapid advancement and explosive power unique to the Demonic Dao.

Thanks to that, his progress was surprisingly fast.

But at the same time, there were problems that arose because of it.

‘Traces remain.’

The nature of the Demonic Dao was essentially to go against the natural order and forcibly accelerate achievement.

Power raised so quickly inevitably left invisible, minute traces.

Of course, this was also growing pains, but these small traces interfered with perfect harmony and blocked the final path to mastery.

‘I need to spend time grinding away these remaining traces.’

In the end, it was a problem that time would solve.

But that process would be quite tedious.

‘Not very appealing.’

Namgung Cheon lightly clenched and unclenched his fist.

‘I’ll have to wait and see for now.’

He organized his thoughts and looked at the tightly closed door.

‘The Young Master… seems to still be busy.’

Right after the duel, Namgung Hwi had disappeared following the Grand Master.

Since then, he only showed his face occasionally before disappearing again, so it seemed he had quite a lot of work.

Even so, seeing Namgung Hwi’s face clearly showing apologetic feelings, he couldn’t bring himself to pressure him.

However.

‘I can’t just stay holed up here forever.’

Namgung Cheon rose from his seat.

Then he took out a small wooden plaque from his chest.

A plaque made of black ebony with the character ‘Meng’ carved in red.

It was what Wunhak had given him after the last duel ended.

―It’s a plaque proving you’re a guest of the League. You won’t need to pay money anywhere in Kaifeng. The League will cover all expenses later.

It was both a pass that could be used anywhere in Kaifeng and essentially a promissory note.

‘I’ll put it to good use.’

Namgung Cheon pocketed the wooden plaque and left the guest room.

As he walked through the corridor toward the main gate of the League, the warriors who had been chatting in small groups all fell silent at once.

Their gazes fixed on Namgung Cheon as if by agreement.

It was probably because the alias “Cheoncheon Sword Hero” had spread widely within the League.

Some tried to greet him with curious eyes, but soon quietly turned their heads away.

It was because of Namgung Cheon’s characteristic expressionless face and cool aura.

Namgung Cheon indifferently accepted the pouring gazes and walked out of the League.

As soon as he exited the main gate of the League, the vitality of Kaifeng rushed toward him.

Countless crowds flowed like waves, and the sounds of merchants calling out to customers mixed with the sound of carriage wheels rolling, creating a tremendous noise.

Namgung Cheon mixed into that crowd and slowly moved his steps.

‘Incredible.’

Even in his previous life, he might have been to nearby Zhengzhou, but he had never come to Kaifeng.

He slowly moved his steps while taking in the unfamiliar scenery.

Streets lined with splendid silk shops, medicinal herb alleys vibrating with the scent of precious herbs, and streets where food aromas caught one’s feet.

Everywhere his feet touched overflowed with vitality.

No matter how much someone might dislike crowded places, who could dislike something like this occasionally?

Namgung Cheon felt the same way.

‘Worth seeing.’

That’s when it happened.

“Come, come! Open your eyes wide and watch carefully!”

A boisterous sound came from a corner.

From that place surrounded by layers of people, a rough voice burst out along with loud drum sounds.

That commotion caught Namgung Cheon’s steps.

When he pushed through the crowd and looked inside, there was a man with a cunning appearance sporting rat whiskers raising his voice, with a leather-covered table between them.

In his hands were three old bamboo tubes.

‘Shell game?’

A chuckle leaked from the corner of Namgung Cheon’s mouth.

A gambling game where you put dice or coins in one of three tubes, mix them quickly, then guess where they are.

It was simple, but that made it a game where tricks ran rampant.

“Now, watch carefully where this silver coin goes!”

The rat-whiskered man showed the silver coin.

The silver coin glinted in the sunlight.

He put the silver coin into the bamboo tube with exaggerated gestures and began mixing the tubes with dazzling hand movements.

Clack, clatter, clack!

The crisp sound of tubes colliding echoed.

The spectators’ eyes moved busily following the movement of the tubes.

“Where could it be? Left? Right? Or the middle?”

Rat Whiskers asked with a deliberately relaxed expression.

People began taking out money and placing bets.

“It’s the middle! I definitely saw it!”

“No, what are you talking about? It’s the left!”

Loud voices came from here and there.

Among them, some already showed dejected expressions after losing money, while others cheered after luckily guessing correctly.

Of course, most of those cheering people.

‘Must be in cahoots with that Rat Whiskers.’

Namgung Cheon watched the scene with his arms crossed.

And once again, the moment Rat Whiskers mixed the tubes.

The edge of his sleeve moved minutely.

An instant moment that ordinary human eyes could never see.

The silver coin had already disappeared not inside the tube, but into Rat Whiskers’ sleeve without a trace.

‘Crude.’

To Namgung Cheon’s eyes, those hand movements looked infinitely slow.

The angle of the wrist, the minute trembling of fingers, and even the obvious tricks to distract attention.

Not one thing wasn’t sloppy.

Seeing people lose money by falling for such shallow deception made him smile bitterly.

“Now, I’m opening it! Who will luck favor!”

Rat Whiskers lifted the tube.

Naturally, there was no silver coin.

Sighs of disappointment burst from the people.

“Agh, not there again?”

“This is maddening. I was sure it was put there.”

Rat Whiskers smiled slyly and secretly slipped the silver coin hidden in his sleeve under another bowl.

Then he lifted that bowl and shouted.

“Oh my, here it was! What a shame, such a shame!”

It was perfect fraud.

‘Nothing more to see here.’

Namgung Cheon turned around.

There was no reason to waste time on such street ruffians’ games.

That’s when it happened.

“Looks interesting.”

A clear, bright voice cut through the crowd.

Namgung Cheon’s steps stopped.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the owner of the voice.

It was a woman with her face covered by cloth beneath a deeply pulled bamboo hat.

Namgung Cheon’s eyes narrowed.

Because the woman had learned martial arts.

And at quite a high level too.

‘Peak realm? Is she planning to catch the fraud?’

At that moment, the woman pulled out a promissory note from her bosom and placed it on the table with a thud.

“I’ll bet all of this.”

Rat Whiskers’ eyes widened as he checked the note.

“Thirty taels of silver!”

It was a fortune rarely seen in such marketplace gambling dens.

A smile naturally formed on Rat-Whisker Man’s lips as his whiskers shot up high.

“Oho, a big spender has arrived! Excellent, very good!”

Rat Whiskers excitedly took out the silver coin.

This time he seemed intent on mixing the bowls even more dazzlingly and cunningly.

He put the silver coin in a bowl and moved the bowls so fast his hands were barely visible.

Clack, clatter-clack, clack!

Movement much more complex and faster than before.

The spectators forgot to breathe as they were drawn into his hand movements.

But Namgung Cheon’s eyes could not be fooled.

This time was the same.

The moment the bowls crossed, the silver coin had already disappeared into the man’s sleeve.

No matter which one she chose, she could only lose money.

Therefore, there was only one conclusion.

‘She’ll catch the fraud.’

A martial artist who had reached the peak realm couldn’t possibly miss that.

It was an obvious ending.

Namgung Cheon looked at the woman.

But she remained motionless, staring at Rat Whiskers’ hands.

“Now! Place your bet! Which one is it!”

Rat Whiskers stopped mixing the bowls and shouted.

The woman remained silent for a moment, then slowly extended her hand.

And without hesitation, she tapped the left bowl.

“Here.”

“Ah!”

Rat Whiskers let out an exaggerated sigh with a regretful expression.

“Are you really sure about that? I think…”

Rat Whiskers subtly glanced at the middle bowl.

“That one looks better. Since you’ve bet big money, I’ll give you a special chance to change. Will you switch?”

The surrounding spectators murmured.

“There he goes again with that trick. If you switch, it’s definitely a miss.”

“No, maybe this time it’s real? Look at his expression.”

But the woman didn’t budge.

“No need.”

A firm voice.

The woman tapped the left bowl with her finger once more.

“I like this one.”

Rat Whiskers smiled.

‘What incredible luck.’

Rat Whiskers continued.

“Fine! Don’t regret it!”

He put on a deliberately solemn expression and slowly brought his hand to the bowl.

The spectators gulped nervously.

Rat Whiskers’ hand grasped the bowl.

And lifted it up sharply.

“Ta-da!”

The moment he shouted.

Namgung Cheon’s eyes shook first.

“…Huh?”

At the same time, a dumbfounded sound leaked from Rat Whiskers’ mouth.

The spectators’ eyes widened as if they might pop out.

Under the bowl.

Something silver-white glinting in the sunlight.

“…It’s the silver coin!”

“She got it right!”

Cheers erupted from the spectators.

But Namgung Cheon’s eyes turned cold.

‘I definitely saw it.’

The silver coin going into his sleeve.

So why was it under the bowl?

“Wow! Things like this really happen!”

“He’s ruined, that guy’s ruined, haha.”

Reactions of schadenfreude kept bursting from the surroundings.

But unlike them, the woman was calm.

As if she had known it would turn out this way.

“Now, give me the money.”

There was a strange hint of laughter in the woman’s voice.

“…”

Rat Whiskers stared at the silver coin in a daze, not responding to the woman’s words.

Then the woman urged him.

“What are you doing? Hand over the money.”

At the woman’s urging, Rat Whiskers reluctantly handed over all his money with tears in his eyes.

Rat Whiskers had lost thirty taels of silver in an instant.

And his despair didn’t end there.

“Alright, that’s it for today. Everyone go home.”

A ruffian gang that had appeared from who knows where surrounded Rat Whiskers.

They dragged the dazed Rat Whiskers away and disappeared into the crowd.

The gambling table was cleared up in an instant as if nothing had happened from the beginning.

Meanwhile, the woman who had won big money gathered her earnings and turned around without any lingering attachment.

Thus, everything was settled in an instant.

“….”

However, Namgung Cheon still stood in that spot, lost in thought.

‘What the hell was that?’

Clearly, Rat Whiskers had taken out the silver coin and put it in his sleeve.

Then there was only one remaining possibility.

Namgung Cheon’s gaze subtly turned toward the woman walking away.

‘Did that woman do it?’

But that also didn’t make sense.

The woman had only lightly tapped the container and showed no other particular movements.

‘Unless she’s a master far superior to me….’

Namgung Cheon’s mind raced with complex thoughts.

He had experienced all kinds of strange people and mysterious arts in Gangho, but this was the first time he couldn’t understand the principle despite clearly seeing it happen before his eyes.

It was a strange sensation, as if the laws of the world had momentarily twisted.

That’s when it happened.

The woman who he thought had disappeared into the crowd suddenly approached Namgung Cheon.

Her gaze, hidden beneath the bamboo hat, was directed precisely at Namgung Cheon.

And.

“I made money, so I’ll buy you something delicious.”

The woman suddenly spoke to him in a clear voice.

“…?”

Namgung Cheon looked at her with puzzled eyes.

Before Namgung Cheon could respond to her sudden words, the woman’s hand moved.

Swish―.

The woman slowly untied the knot of her face veil.

The veil fell away as if blown by the wind.

And the face that was revealed.

Namgung Cheon’s pupils momentarily froze.

Deep, dark eyes like ink dropped on pure white paper, with a faint blush spreading beneath them and lips red as if stained with flower petals.

What captured his gaze most of all were her eyes.

They were clear as flawless crystal, yet in their depths, a mysterious blue light gently rippled.

She was an overwhelmingly beautiful woman who could take one’s breath away, but what was even more bewildering was the fact that her face looked familiar.

‘…No way.’

Namgung Cheon’s pupils wavered.

Then, she quietly opened her mouth.

“It’s been a while.”

A beautiful smile filled Namgung Cheon’s vision.

“Our youngest.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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