The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 726

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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 726.
“It’s not simply a matter of connecting strings.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head.
“I created joints at the articulation points so it could move naturally, then reconnected the strings there.”
The Young Boy tilted his head in confusion.
“Then why didn’t you make the puppet like this from the beginning?”
“If you create multiple joints, the movements become complex, and the pressure on the fingers intensifies.”
Bu Eunseol smiled.
“With this design, almost no one can properly control the puppet. That’s why it’s not made this way normally.”
“But it’s so much easier for me to move! It’s truly amazing!”
The Young Boy gasped in wonder.
Now that Bu Eunseol had added joints to the puppet, he could execute movements he had never been able to perform before with complete freedom.
“I can do it! I really can!”
With each movement of the Young Boy’s fingers,
the puppet recreated magnificent techniques flawlessly, as if a living master of the Murim were moving before them.
Bu Eunseol nodded as she observed this.
‘Indeed.’
Controlling a wooden puppet typically involves lifting it, pulling the connected strings, or releasing them to complete movements.
But the Young Boy did more than that.
With his long fingers, he maintained the puppet’s balance with exquisite precision, controlling speed and rhythm with meticulous care.
Every motion flowed seamlessly, as naturally as water streaming downhill.
“How on earth did you…”
The Young Boy turned with a smile and his mouth fell open.
Bu Eunseol, who had been standing before him just moments ago, had vanished.
“A g-ghost?”
But the Young Boy looked down at the wooden puppet clutched in his hands.
The increased number of strings and the intricately redesigned joints proved it was no dream.
“Did a divine spirit come to help me?”
The Young Boy looked around at the surrounding Forest and bowed repeatedly in all directions.
“Th-thank you so much!”
Then, filled with excitement, he began practicing the puppet’s movements again.
* * *
―Waaaaah!
Cheers erupted from Market Street.
The puppet show performed by the bald man Shim Heung and the Young Boy in perfect synchronization was receiving tremendous acclaim.
Especially the Young Boy’s manipulation of the Jeong Cheon Je puppet—it was as if a living, miniature master of the Murim had taken the stage.
Even when Shim Heung’s Ma Cheon Je puppet attacked somewhat loosely,
the Young Boy blocked the techniques with movements so precise that onlookers could scarcely believe their eyes.
As if witnessing a genuine battle between true masters of the Murim, countless spectators
and even trained martial artists of the Murim showered them with cheers and praise.
“Ahahaha!”
After the puppet show ended, Shim Heung burst into laughter at the sight of coins piled high in the basket.
He could hardly believe it.
In the brief time he had stepped away, the Young Boy’s skill had improved by leaps and bounds.
Someone had fitted new joints and strings to the Young Boy’s wooden puppet.
When he asked who could have done such a thing,
―A spirit helped me!
The answer sounded like nonsense, but it hardly mattered.
Not only could the puppet now perform natural movements it had never managed before,
but the Young Boy could manipulate it with greater precision than Shim Heung himself, despite his decades of experience controlling wooden puppets.
“My eyes were not deceived after all!”
Shim Heung cried out with delight.
At this rate, there would be no need to wander about struggling anymore—customers would flock endlessly even if he simply performed puppet shows in one place.
All that remained was to sit upon a mountain of gold.
“Um, Master.”
The Young Boy then approached Shim Heung and spoke.
“Now that I’ve done well… could I perhaps eat something?”
The Young Boy clutched his hungry belly and pleaded.
Whenever the puppet’s movements were unsatisfactory or the earnings meager, Shim Heung would starve the Young Boy.
For failing to manipulate the puppet properly, all he had eaten in the past two days was corn porridge.
“Fine, eat.”
Despite receiving so many coins, Shim Heung tossed the Young Boy a single cold dumpling.
“Thank you!”
The Young Boy accepted the cold dumpling and hastily began devouring it.
But then.
Footsteps echoed softly.
A handsome man slowly approached the alley where they rested.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“Who are you?”
As Bu Eunseol approached, Shim Heung hurriedly concealed the money he had been counting and cried out sharply.
“This is where our business operates. Ordinary people are not permitted to enter here.”
Bu Eunseol, who had reached the realm of serene clarity, appeared to anyone’s eyes as a frail scholar.
Moreover, with the Muk Hon Sword hidden away and a fan in hand, she looked exactly like some wealthy merchant’s son.
“Spirit… spirit?”
The Young Boy was startled.
“How did you come here?”
“Spirit?”
As Shim Heung frowned, the Young Boy spoke.
“This is the person who repaired my puppet.”
Then Bu Eunseol spoke.
“Are you this child’s master?”
“That would be correct.”
“I wish to purchase him.”
“Purchase what?”
Bu Eunseol gestured toward the Young Boy.
“I intend to buy that child.”
“Hehehehe.”
Shim Heung stood dumbfounded for a long moment before breaking into raucous laughter.
Then, abruptly ceasing his mirth, he glared with wide eyes.
“What nonsense is this?”
He gestured toward a wooden puppet standing to one side and let out a derisive snort.
“Listen here. Do you have any idea how much I’ve spent raising that child all these years?”
He bellowed indignantly.
“And how much he’ll earn for me in the future? Such foolish talk….”
Shim Heung fell silent.
A bundle of promissory notes had somehow appeared fanned out in Bu Eunseol’s hand—dozens of them.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol withdrew a single note from the collection.
“A thousand silver taels?”
“Will this suffice?”
Shim Heung reached out with trembling hands to accept the note.
But observing Bu Eunseol’s refined bearing and expensive garments, he hesitated and spoke again.
“Well, a mere thousand taels is hardly enough to take away my disciple….”
He fell silent once more.
The notes before his eyes had somehow doubled in number.
“Two thousand taels?”
“I won’t increase the offer further.”
As Bu Eunseol turned to leave,
“Goodness gracious, the Goddess of Fortune herself has graced us!”
Fearing she might change her mind, Shim Heung hastily snatched the notes from her hands and bowed obsequiously.
“You handle puppets with such skill—you must work in the same trade? Hehehehe.”
Even if one performed puppet theater for thirty years, one could never accumulate such a fortune as two thousand taels.
He quickly shouted toward the Young Boy huddled in the corner.
“You fool! From now on, you must follow this person.”
“Master.”
As the Young Boy hung his head, Bu Eunseol spoke to Shim Heung.
“Is it truly acceptable to take away your disciple?”
“Disciple? Nonsense. I simply brought him along because he seemed to have nimble hands, nothing more.”
Fearing Bu Eunseol might demand the notes back, Shim Heung glared fiercely and shouted.
“Stop your foolish prattling and follow this person at once!”
Even as he shouted harshly, the Young Boy bowed respectfully.
“Be well, Master.”
But Shim Heung seemed devoid of conscience, waving his hand dismissively again and again.
“Master? Nonsense. Go on, get out of here.”
The Young Boy bowed once more with utmost courtesy, then followed Bu Eunseol.
“What is your name?”
Bu Eunseol asked as we emerged from Market Street, and the Young Boy’s expression grew embarrassed.
“Fool, ma’am.”
During the time Shim Heung had kept the Young Boy with him,
he had never given him a proper name, treating him like a dog instead.
“Since we have a long journey ahead, let us fill your belly first.”
Bu Eunseol took the Young Boy to an Inn and ordered food.
What I had ordered was merely egg noodles and vegetables, yet the Young Boy ate with an expression of profound gratitude the entire time.
It seemed clear that under Shim Heung’s care, he had rarely eaten a proper meal.
After eating noodles for a while, when the Young Boy’s eyes met mine, he quickly lowered his head.
“My apologies, my lady.”
The fact that he cowered merely from meeting my gaze suggested he had been exposed to relentless violence all along.
“Eat at your ease.”
Though my expression remained cold, my eyes seemed warm, and the Young Boy gathered courage to ask a question.
“But why did you do that, my lady?”
“Do what?”
“If you had revealed your martial prowess, there would have been no need to give such a large sum of money.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed.
“You think I have cultivated martial arts?”
“Are you not a member of Murim, my lady?”
Bu Eunseol was somewhat surprised.
I had merely used a knife to cut the puppet’s joints and threaded string through them. I had never displayed any martial prowess.
Even standing atop the Crimson Pavilion, if I did not reveal my martial arts, even masters of Mujik Gyeong would neither perceive nor sense me.
How could this Young Boy have discerned that I possessed martial training?
“Why are you certain that I have cultivated martial arts?”
“I realized it when you threaded the string, my lady.”
The Young Boy lowered his head awkwardly under my piercing gaze.
“If you had not cultivated martial arts, you could not have threaded the string through such a thin hole in a single attempt.”
The Young Boy possessed not only innate delicate sensibility and finger strength,
but also exceptionally keen observational ability.
“The reason is simple.”
Bu Eunseol gazed at the Distant Sky visible beyond the window and spoke calmly.
“Vicious people never know the meaning of satisfaction.”
“I beg your pardon?”
The Young Boy blinked his eyes.
Bu Eunseol couldn’t possibly understand what the Young Boy meant.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol observed the Young Boy’s hollow belly and gaunt cheeks before suddenly rising from her seat.
“That’s enough. Stop eating now.”
The Young Boy couldn’t release his chopsticks and spoke urgently.
“P-please, just a moment longer. I’ll finish quickly.”
More than half of the noodles remained uneaten, and he hadn’t even touched the vegetables yet.
“Put down your chopsticks.”
“B-but…”
At that moment, a cold glint flashed across Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“I despise having to repeat myself.”
Faced with her resolute tone, the Young Boy reluctantly set down his chopsticks.
“My apologies, my lady.”
Yet he couldn’t help but feel regret.
His gaze kept drifting back to the noodles and vegetables still more than half-full on his plate.
But Bu Eunseol paid no mind and led the Young Boy out of Seong Do.
After walking for some time, a steep mountain pass came into view.
The incline was so sharp that the Young Boy’s breathing grew labored, his tongue nearly hanging out.
“Huff… huff…”
The Young Boy watched Bu Eunseol ahead of him.
Though she walked at an extremely leisurely pace, her speed far exceeded that of an ordinary man.
Her stride was also perfectly measured, as if marked by a ruler.
‘If she has that much money, why didn’t she hire a carriage?’
When Bu Eunseol had paid the bill, she’d been holding at least dozens of banknotes in her hand.
She’d spent an astronomical sum of two thousand taels just to purchase a beggar like him.
So why walk without a carriage on such a sweltering day?
‘They say frugality leads to prosperity.’
The Young Boy recalled something he’d heard somewhere and nodded to himself.
‘She must have become wealthy because she developed the habit of saving in her daily life.’
Just as the Young Boy had reasoned this out and continued walking,
“Ahhh!”
He suddenly clutched his belly and cried out.
A sharp pain suddenly twisted through his insides.
“M-my lady.”
The Young Boy’s complexion turned ashen as he staggered.
“P-please, wait a moment. My belly hurts terribly.”
Bu Eunseol nodded in response.
“Stop walking and rest for a moment.”
“Ugh… m-my lady, I think I’m dying.”
The pain in his abdomen had now reached a level as if his entire intestines were being torn out by the roots.
However, Bu Eunseol spoke with an unbothered expression.
“It’s because you consumed fatty foods you don’t normally eat. But since you only took a minimal amount, there shouldn’t be any serious complications.”
‘Ah?’
Only then did the young boy understand.
The reason she had prevented him from eating even half of the noodles
was not to torment him, but because she had already known that he hadn’t eaten properly until now.
She had deliberately restricted him to a small portion to prevent any possible harm.
“Ugh…”
As another wave of stomach pain washed over him, the young boy clutched his aching belly and lowered his head.
Had half a quarter of an hour passed?
The pain in his stomach gradually subsided.
Just as Bu Eunseol had said, after some time the suffering vanished without any special treatment.
“My lady, I’m fine now.”
But Bu Eunseol stared toward the Distant Sky as if she hadn’t heard anything at all.
After standing there for a while, she murmured softly.
“So you thought this place was suitable.”
“What do you mean by—”
Whoosh.
Just then, the Grass Field in the distance rustled, and dozens of men named Jang Han suddenly emerged into view.
“M-Master?”
Leading the group that emerged from the Grass Field was none other than the young boy’s teacher, Shim Heung.
“Hehehehe. You’re not very surprised, are you?”
Shim Heung didn’t even glance at the young boy, instead fixing his gaze on Bu Eunseol, who stood calmly, and burst into cruel laughter.
“Is it because you’re a wealthy merchant’s son? You certainly have nerves of steel.”
Bu Eunseol looked at the men named Jang Han standing behind Shim Heung and let out a derisive snort.
“So you bought assassins with the money I gave you.”
“Indeed.”
He spoke with a smirk playing across his lips.
“The money in your possession looked to be at least tens of thousands of silver taels. An investment of two thousand taels is absolutely not a waste.”
“Investment?”
Shim Heung raised the corners of his mouth as he spoke.
“Since you’re the kind of person who would pay two thousand taels for this ragged beggar, surely you wouldn’t mind if this old man took all that money, would you?”
“You mean those men?”
“Of course.”
Shim Heung laughed with supreme confidence.
What he had purchased were not ordinary assassins.
He had happened to discover assassins from the Youryeong Gate passing through this village, and immediately brought them here for two thousand taels.
“How foolish.”
Bu Eunseol made a scoffing sound.
“Do you truly believe assassins who butcher people like cattle would be satisfied with a mere two thousand taels?”
Bu Eunseol watched the assassins of the Youryeong Gate and clicked her tongue.
“After you kill me, you’ll eliminate each other to silence the witnesses, then pocket all the money.”
“What?”
Only then did Shim Heung sense the danger and turned to look at the assassins.
The assassins did not refute Bu Eunseol’s words, instead grinning with yellowed teeth bared.
The murderous intent gleaming in their eyes suggested they would do exactly that.
“Masters, surely you don’t intend to follow this wretch’s words. You who shake the Gangho itself.”
As Shim Heung approached with a bow,
Crack!
The leader of the assassins struck Shim Heung’s cheek with full force.
“Ugh!”
Several teeth were knocked loose as Shim Heung writhed on the ground in agony.
“Seems you’ve learned some martial arts.”
The leader’s lips curled upward without even glancing at Shim Heung, who was wailing in pain.
Thud, thud.
He stepped forward slowly, his gaze fixed intently on Bu Eunseol.
“Looks like you learned some worthless techniques from a local martial hall, wasting good money.”
Bu Eunseol stood without a trace of fear in her eyes, and he grinned, displaying his yellowed teeth.
“You think we’re not the real Youryeong Gate, just assassins you can hire for a few coins. That’s because this trash brought us here.”
“….”
“Hehehehe. We are the true assassins of the Youryeong Gate. We simply approached when this fool waved a thousand-tael note at some Black Gang thugs, looking for assassins.”
The leader’s sneer deepened.
“No need for long speeches. Hand over all the money you have. Then I’ll let you live.”
Bu Eunseol’s response was a mysterious smile.
The young boy watching the scene grasped the entire situation and trembled.
‘So that was it.’
The way that young man had proudly displayed the bundle of notes before his master.
Only now did he understand the reason.
‘She was creating justification to slaughter them all….’
The boy now realized that Bu Eunseol’s martial prowess was not merely exceptional.
He understood that she was a master with her own strict code—one who would not raise her hand against common folk or even martial artists of the Murim without just cause.
That was the principle by which she lived.
Therefore, she had used vast wealth to provoke this man’s base greed, drawing him to attempt her murder.
Now she would deliver not heavenly punishment, but human judgment—far more severe.

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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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