The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 53

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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 53.
Staying long at an inn inevitably meant encountering many people.
Bu Eunseol, who had received three thousand taels as payment for killing Seok Jeong on behalf of the Black Assassins, made her first move by renting a small house situated far from the village.
She intended to continue handling missions for the Ak Yang Branch for some time. During this period, she had created her own sanctuary where she could rest without worry.
“Now I need to fill it.”
Next, Bu Eunseol purchased equipment necessary for her missions.
“There’s no need to use the items stored in the old bookshop’s warehouse.”
The equipment piled in the bookshop’s hidden storage was of poor quality and had received no maintenance whatsoever.
It was likely because no one in the branch felt any sense of belonging to the organization.
“Welcome.”
At the Blacksmith Shop located deep within Market Street, Bu Eunseol purchased a long sword forged from white lotus steel and a water-cutting blade that could be slung across her back.
“Customer.”
The Blacksmith noticed not only that Bu Eunseol had bought the water-cutting blade, but also that her robes were stuffed with receipts, and he smiled wickedly as he whispered.
“Might you have need of hidden weapons or poison needle tubes?”
“Hidden weapons?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed.
Some blacksmith shops did manufacture hidden weapons. However, only shady fence dealers in back alleys sold sinister items like poison needle tubes.
“You have such things here?”
“Of course. Please follow me.”
The Blacksmith led Bu Eunseol to a small private room installed within the shop.
There, throwing hidden weapons like flying blades and flying tokens were stacked densely, along with hidden weapon devices such as extreme-burst poison needle tubes and spiral-burst light projectiles.
“Among our blacksmiths, there is one who crafts hidden weapons extraordinarily well. What do you think?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol picked up a metal wrist guard of sorts.
“Ah, you certainly have a discerning eye.”
The Blacksmith fastened the metal guard onto his own wrist.
Click.
As the Blacksmith flicked his wrist after securing the guard, a spring mechanism appeared with a sharp sound.
“This is a genuine hidden weapon device crafted by Saixiang. You simply load feathered needles into this spring mechanism.”
‘Saixiang….’
Blood-red light surged in Bu Eunseol’s eyes as she stared at the hidden weapon device.
“Do you know where to obtain Saixiang’s hidden weapon devices?”
The Blacksmith recoiled in shock as Bu Eunseol, who had been consistently gentle and composed, suddenly emanated killing intent.
“H-how would we know of such a place?”
“Then how did you obtain this item?”
The Blacksmith trembled as he spoke, seeing the blood-red light streaming from Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“W-we merely purchased it cheaply when it was circulating as stolen goods. The fence dealers didn’t realize it was a hidden weapon and thought it was merely a wrist guard….”
Indeed, it was unlikely that this small blacksmith shop would have dealings with Saixiang, the great organization of hidden weapons.
‘I became too excited.’
Bu Eunseol corrected her expression and reached out her hand.
Click.
I removed the memory device from the Blacksmith’s wrist and fastened it around my own.
“Wait, that’s….”
As the Blacksmith fumbled and reached out his hand, I pressed a bundle of promissory notes into his palm.
Ten notes. I had paid one thousand silver taels for a single memory device.
‘I’ve met the God of Wealth!’
The Blacksmith, counting the notes in his hand,
“Thank you so much!”
bowed deeply toward me as I stepped out the door.
* * *
I stopped in my tracks as I left Market Street and headed back to my hideout.
A savory aroma drifted from somewhere nearby.
Following the scent through a winding alley, I spotted a street vendor selling dumplings at the corner.
‘I should buy some dumplings to take with me.’
My hideout was quite far from the village, so there was little food available nearby.
“How much for one dumpling?”
“Five coppers.”
“Five coppers….”
After asking the vendor the price, I couldn’t help but smile wryly.
Even if I gave the dumpling vendor a hundred-tael note, he wouldn’t be able to make change.
“I’ll come back another time.”
As I turned and was about to leave the alley,
“Young master.”
A young Jeomsoi with a towel draped over his shoulder suddenly appeared before me, clasping his hands together with a bright smile.
“It’s good to see you again.”
Jeomsoi bowed respectfully, smiling as warmly as if greeting an old acquaintance.
I raised one eyebrow, searching my memory.
The young Jeomsoi before me was the one from Gyeong Ha Ru whom I had encountered when I first arrived in Ayang.
‘He recognized me.’
Our encounter back then had been very brief.
Moreover, at that time I had been dressed in fine clothes, disguised as a sightseeing descendant of a noble family.
But now I was wearing a black martial robe, and hadn’t I even altered my face with the Phantom Face Bone Technique?
“You know who I am?”
At my question, young Jeomsoi blinked and answered with an unruffled expression.
“Didn’t we meet here not long ago?”
‘He didn’t recognize my face.’
Curiosity stirred within me.
Hundreds of people must pass through Market Street daily. So how could he have recognized someone whose face he couldn’t even remember?
“If you don’t mind….”
“Come.”
I cut off Jeomsoi’s words and nodded.
“I was getting hungry anyway.”
Gyeong Ha Ru.
A premier establishment situated far from Market Street, not where Dongjeong Lake could be seen.
The view from the windows was magnificent, and it was a top-tier establishment serving aged spirits and exquisite cuisine.
“This way, if you please.”
Even after ascending to this floor, Jeomsoi recommended climbing one level higher to Bu Eunseol.
That was where the private rooms were located, where a single seat commanded over a hundred silver taels.
“I’ll take a seat by the window.”
Bu Eunseol pointed to an empty table on the second floor near the window.
“Is that so?”
Jeomsoi ceased his recommendations and guided Bu Eunseol to the window seat.
“Fortunately, a fine table has opened up.”
Jeomsoi spoke with a deferential bow.
“What dishes would you—”
“I have a question first.”
“Please, ask away.”
“How did you recognize me? Our encounter back then was only for a brief moment.”
“Haha. If we couldn’t remember our patrons’ faces, we’d starve, wouldn’t we?”
As Jeomsoi touched his nose with a playful smile, Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed sharply.
‘So it wasn’t by remembering faces after all.’
From that response, Bu Eunseol grasped two truths.
That young Jeomsoi had not recognized her altered appearance.
And the reason why he would not reveal the secret method by which he had identified her.
“I wish to hear the secret method in detail.”
Bu Eunseol produced a banknote and extended it, whereupon Jeomsoi waved both hands in protest.
When I pulled out the receipt and held it out, Jeomsoi waved his hands down with both hands.
“You’re giving me this much silver, you say?”
“I have no change.”
“Then I’ll deduct my share when we settle the bill. Keep it for now.”
“Very well.”
As Bu Eunseol nodded readily, Jeomsoi finally revealed the secret in a hushed voice.
“Even if we cannot remember faces, we must remember voices—that is the nature of our work.”
The voice.
It was something that remained unchanged even if one altered their clothes or transformed their face.
The Gyemyeong Guido technique expressed the essence of disguise through the vague term ‘aura.’ Conversely, the voice was inherently encompassed within that concept of aura.
“The voice… I see.”
Every profession harbors its own secrets.
Even those like Jeomsoi, whom I had thought merely carried dishes and wiped tables, labored diligently in ways unseen.
“That was most helpful.”
I meant it sincerely.
I had learned the most crucial aspects of both the Reversal Bone Technique and the Celestial Compass Method from none other than Jeomsoi himself.
“Oh my, you’re far too kind with your words.”
Jeomsoi spoke with a bright smile.
“What shall I bring for your meal?”
“Hmm.”
Originally, I had intended to dine leisurely while observing the patrons around me.
Yet lingering too long at such a bustling tavern would surely draw unwanted attention.
‘I should order something more substantial.’
“Bring me the three finest dishes this establishment offers… no, make it four.”
“Would you care for spirits as well?”
“Spirits?”
“Our tavern stocks a premium yellow wine brewed from the finest glutinous rice.”
Jeomsoi whispered softly, as though he had divined my true intentions.
“Our establishment profits greatly from spirits, you see. If you order a bottle of our premium yellow wine and drink it leisurely, you’ll be able to sit comfortably without drawing any suspicion.”
This young Jeomsoi possessed not only a sharp intellect but also remarkable perceptiveness.
A soft laugh escaped me.
Bu Eunseol found herself smiling despite her usual composure.
“Very well then. Bring a bottle of wine as well.”
When Bu Eunseol smiled, revealing her teeth, Jeomsoi blinked in surprise.
Though her features were ordinarily plain and unremarkable, when graced with a smile, her countenance seemed to brighten like sunlight dancing upon flowing water.
“Why do you stare so intently?”
“Ah? Yes, yes.”
Jeomsoi, snapping back to his senses, bowed deeply and exclaimed.
“Please wait just a moment!”
Soon the table was laden with an appetizing braised fish, a cold salad of five ingredients, stir-fried beef, and shrimp prepared in delicate fashion.
“Mm.”
Upon seeing the appetizing spread, I felt a hunger I had not known before.
Though I typically paid little mind to the taste of food, the fragrant aroma wafting from the amber wine bottle stirred my appetite.
“Ah.”
I had never touched spirits before, nor had I ordered this wine with the intention of drinking it.
Yet when the deep, sweet fragrance tickled my nostrils, I found myself filling the cup to the brim without thinking.
In one gulp.
Bu Eunseol drained the cup in a single draught and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
“How curious.”
This differs somewhat from what I had heard.
I had been told it was bitter and rather potent… yet how could it be so delightfully sweet?
In one gulp.
Before I realized it, cup after cup continued to disappear.
In no time at all, I had emptied three bottles of the yellow wine. Yet rather than becoming intoxicated, my mind seemed to grow clearer with each sip.
“How strange… there’s no more space left.”
At that moment, the Young Scholar who had climbed to the second floor glanced around and clicked his tongue.
Had he only recently come of age?
Though he wore a sword at his waist, his frame and limbs were slender in a way unbefitting a martial artist. Yet his features were remarkably distinct, his eyes large and bright, lending him an air of spirited confidence.
“Oh.”
The Young Scholar, who had been about to turn away with a disappointed expression, let out an exclamation upon spotting Bu Eunseol sitting alone by the window, emptying her cup.
“Well, well! It’s been ages!”
The Young Scholar sat across from Bu Eunseol like an old friend reuniting, waving both hands cheerfully.
“I can’t even remember how long it’s been!”
As Bu Eunseol’s brow furrowed, the Young Scholar launched into an odd observation.
“Three bottles of this potent yellow wine emptied, yet your complexion remains unblemished? I can scarcely recall the last time I witnessed such fortitude!”
At the man’s nonsensical chatter, Bu Eunseol closed her lips.
“Truly, all great men possess impressive alcohol tolerance!”
The Young Scholar, having made another jest, coughed softly and whispered.
“Might you be waiting for someone?”
Bu Eunseol shook her head, and the Young Scholar asked again.
“So you’ve been drinking alone?”
Bu Eunseol nodded, and the Young Scholar slapped the table with a hearty laugh.
“How fortunate! Having encountered such a great spirit as yourself, I cannot simply walk away. You there!”
The Young Scholar called out to Jeomsoi passing by.
“Bring one large drinking cup here, and five more bottles of premium yellow wine! And for appetizers——”
Then, noticing the dishes already laid out on the table, the Young Scholar narrowed his eyes and cried out.
“Appetizers—— one plate of peanuts!”
Thud. Thud.
Upon ordering five bottles of expensive yellow wine, Jeomsoi came rushing over and set down the wine vessels.
As Bu Eunseol regarded him with a bewildered expression, the Young Scholar waved his hand dismissively.
“Ah, worry not! The wine is my treat.”
Taking up a bottle, the Young Scholar filled Bu Eunseol’s cup to the brim.
Then he poured the yellow wine into his own enormous cup—as large as a child’s face—and pressed it down firmly.
“Come now, do drink.”
Glug, glug.
As though possessed by the spirit of one who died unable to drink, the Young Scholar gulped down his cup greedily.
“Ahh, now that’s the taste!”
Wiping his mouth, the Young Scholar grinned widely and asked.
“Do you know why the yellow wine here has such exceptional fragrance?”
Bu Eunseol shook her head, and the Young Scholar filled his large cup again as he spoke.
“Other establishments use aged glutinous rice, but Gyeong Ha Ru uses fresh glutinous rice. The price is somewhat steep, but—— that’s hardly a consideration for true wine enthusiasts, is it? Ha-ha-ha!”
Then, raising his cup once more, he cried out.
“Come, have another drink.”
Bu Eunseol gazed intently at the Young Scholar who had suddenly appeared and thrust a cup toward her.
In times past, she would have either driven him away or excused herself from his presence.
‘A master, then. From the Orthodox Sects…’
Yet Bu Eunseol perceived that the Young Scholar before her was not merely a martial artist, but a formidable master of the Orthodox Sects.
The Clarity of the Orthodox and the Dominion of the Demonic.
The true qi of the Orthodox Sects is pure, while that of the Demonic Path is tyrannical.
When their cups first clinked together, a clear and distinct true qi had wound through the cup and enveloped Bu Eunseol’s meridians. The technique was so subtle that no practitioner of the Demonic Path could possibly detect it, yet Bu Eunseol perceived it instantly.
Swallowing Both the Clear and the Turbid.
A phrase meaning to consume both the clear and the murky alike—it aptly described the reverse-polarity heart method that combined the strengths of both Orthodox and Demonic cultivation techniques.
“It seems you’ve only recently entered the martial world, friend!”
The Young Scholar’s eyes, which had been continuously offering Bu Eunseol cups of wine, narrowed to slits.

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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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