The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 760

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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 760.
Muhon Pavilion, Great Conference Hall.
Bu Eunseol sat across from Dam Yoo Yeon, the military strategist of the Muhon Society.
Neung Bi Hon, Dae Gu Hwi, Bing Han Poong, and others.
The wanderer leaders of the Muhon Society were all devoted to their training.
They had not attended this meeting because its contents were fundamentally separate from their concerns.
“…In the end, Jongnam is feigning madness and launching attacks.”
Dam Yoo Yeon explained the situation with a grave expression.
In the past, Bu Eunseol had seized leverage over Elder Chae Ju Hong, preventing the Hua Shan Sect from interfering with the Muhon Society.
Unaware of this fact, the Jongnam Sect grew greatly alarmed when the Hua Shan Sect remained silent and passive.
But as the Hua Shan Sect continued their taciturn approach, Jongnam too had no choice but to endure the situation by force.
In the meantime, the Muhon Society gradually expanded its influence in Seomseong… and finally, the Jongnam Sect exploded.
―If Hwasan will not act, then our sect shall!
The Jongnam Sect mobilized the networks and forces they had cultivated in Seomseong across generations.
They began pressuring the Muhon Society from all directions.
Of course, if viewed as a simple contest of strength, the Muhon Society could certainly achieve victory.
But the Muhon Society proclaimed itself as righteous and orthodox, and the image of wielding force only for the welfare of Murim ran deep in its roots.
In factional struggles, they could only be passive.
Moreover, if an all-out war erupted?
The Gu Pa Sect or the Murim Alliance might intervene.
From the Muhon Society’s perspective, they were caught between the Jongnam Sect’s provocations, unable to act either way.
“After much deliberation, we proposed a final negotiation at Mi Hon Platform ten days hence….”
Dam Yoo Yeon spoke with uncertainty in her expression.
“But they will surely not negotiate. Instead, they will mobilize their networks to pressure our society, or deliberately provoke us… and create a pretext for all-out war.”
The door clicked open.
Yu Hwa Ryeong, the administrator, entered while wiping sweat from his brow.
“I was delayed handling several matters. My apologies.”
Yu Hwa Ryeong entered the conference hall, clasping his hands together repeatedly, and gazed at Bu Eunseol with warm eyes.
“Ryeong Ju.”
“Yu Administrator.”
Bu Eunseol offered a faint smile.
Yu Hwa Ryeong, the administrator, had become the busiest person in the Muhon Society.
He not only managed the society’s affairs but had taken on and handled more than half of the duties Dam Yoo Yeon oversaw.
In matters of financial accounting and rights and interests, he processed affairs far more skillfully than Dam Yoo Yeon herself.
This had reduced Dam Yoo Yeon’s workload, and thanks to that, she could spend considerable time with Do Cheon Rin…
making him a benefactor who had firmly bound the two together.
“Once the Elder Council is completed, the Jongnam Sect matter will likely resolve itself naturally.”
Bu Eunseol, who had been murmuring softly, asked Yu Hwa Ryeong.
“How progresses the Elder Council?”
“It is being resolved step by step… but I worry that the key figures we need to recruit are not being recruited.”
Bu Eunseol had suppressed the discontent by seizing Hwasan’s weaknesses, but it was merely a temporary measure.
She understood well that it could never be a fundamental solution.
To completely escape the pressure from Hwasan and Jongnam, she needed to possess military strength capable of confronting the entire Gu Pa Sect.
Of course, that was impossible at present.
So she issued orders to appease their grievances and recruit elders capable of negotiation.
“Who are you referring to?”
“So Yo Baek Seon. Or rather, the one called Gwae Ui—Jeung Pyeong.”
So Yo Baek Seon, Jeung Pyeong.
He was a man who possessed medical arts as ethereal as his alias suggested.
Yet as the years accumulated, his temperament had grown increasingly eccentric and disagreeable.
Because of this, the Gangho had gradually ceased calling him So Yo Baek Seon, instead referring to him by the name Gwae Ui—the Eccentric Physician.
“The most crucial figure is missing.”
“Is it truly necessary to bring Gwae Ui into our society?”
Yu Hwa Ryeong shook his head firmly.
“His temperament is far too disagreeable and eccentric. Should we bring such a man into our organization, we would gain nothing but endless calamity.”
“Though he has lost the people’s favor due to his eccentric nature in his later years, in the past he was a man who freely healed countless masters of the Orthodox Sects.”
Bu Eunseol explained calmly.
“Moreover, recruiting him would substantially alleviate the pressure from the Orthodox Sects upon our society.”
“Hmm.”
Yu Hwa Ryeong shook his head.
“I have done everything possible, yet he remains unmoved. Far from being recruited, he later focused on provoking my anger and needling me.”
Yu Hwa Ryeong had left nothing undone in his attempts to recruit Gwae Ui, who had become central to the Elder Council.
He had visited him personally and offered substantial sums of money.
He had even attempted to sway him through various connections he knew.
Yet Gwae Ui not only rejected every proposal but also spread rumors condemning the Muhon Society.
He had even sent multiple letters deliberately designed to provoke him.
“For reference, not only our society but several other factions have attempted to recruit him. All have failed.”
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol stroked her chin with an expression of incomprehension.
There was only one reason recruitment failed despite extraordinary offers.
It occurred only when someone was a recluse who despised appearing before the world.
Yet Gwae Ui lived in the bustling Seong Do, mingling freely with many people.
Why then would he refuse recruitment?
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol swallowed and nodded, speaking.
“I shall handle that matter personally.”
For the Muhon Society to take root stably, a properly organized Elder Council needed to be established as soon as possible.
In the end, Bu Eunseol resolved to recruit Gwae Ui herself.
* * *
Usually, when a martial artist, especially one trained as a physician, enters seclusion.
Most physicians escape the bustling Seong Do to build modest dwellings in the tranquility of the Deep Mountain Valley, where they spend their days tending to an endless stream of patients.
They have lived out their years in such peaceful obscurity.
But Gwae Ui was different.
His residence lay not in some remote sanctuary, but rather in the Market Street itself.
It was a manor situated in a prosperous district where pleasure houses and inns lined every alley.
Yet because his eccentric temperament had driven away every servant he employed, he found himself in a perpetual cycle.
He would hire Si Bi and new servants, only to watch them flee, leaving him to live in solitude once more.
‘This must be the place.’
Bu Eunseol, disguised as Seol So, arrived at the manor where Gwae Ui dwelled.
‘Does he truly leave his doors open to all visitors?’
The entrance to Gwae Ui’s manor stood wide open, as if welcoming any who might pass through.
“Pardon my intrusion.”
Upon stepping inside, I beheld a desolate manor in disrepair.
Weeds sprawled across the courtyard, and the buildings bore the scars of neglect—broken sections exposed like festering wounds.
“Who goes there?”
With a creaking sound, an elderly man emerged from the palace hall at the manor’s far end.
Though dressed in ornate silk robes, he was of diminutive stature with weathered skin.
His eyebrows were unkempt, nose hairs protruded unabashedly, and his disheveled hair was bound in a tight knot.
This was Gwae Ui Jeung Pyeong, once known as So Yo the White Immortal.
“It is an honor to meet you, sir.”
Yet Bu Eunseol bowed respectfully with a cordial expression.
“I am—”
“I have no interest in dark-skinned fellows.”
Gwae Ui cut her off abruptly and retreated back into the palace hall.
‘Hmm.’
I gazed blankly after him as he disappeared.
Not from displeasure, but rather—
from this brief exchange alone, I had discerned exactly what manner of person Gwae Ui was.
‘So that is how it is.’
A subtle smile played at my lips.
‘This will resolve far more quickly than expected.’
Tap, tap, tap.
Shaking my head, I turned and left the manor.
[Simply convey these matters to So Yo.]
After relaying several instructions to So Yo, I purchased a few items from a general store on Market Street.
Creak.
Some time after I departed, the palace hall door creaked open again, and Gwae Ui poked his head out.
“Hmph, this fellow lacks persistence.”
He clicked his tongue and shook his head, when suddenly—
Whoosh.
Bu Eunseol, who had stepped outside, suddenly burst back into the manor.
‘This one moves without a sound.’
Gwae Ui, who had been hastily closing the door, let out an awkward cough as their eyes met.
“What now? Why have you returned?”
“The manor is far too filthy.”
Bu Eunseol’s hands were laden with tools purchased from a general store—implements for repairing and cleaning the manor.
“How predictable.”
Gwae Ui, having discerned Bu Eunseol’s intention to clean and repair the manor, lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Among all those who have come here, do you think any of them have refrained from such work?”
“….”
Regardless of Gwae Ui’s mockery, Bu Eunseol began cleaning the manor and repairing the palace hall.
Thanks to his grandfather Bu Chanyang, he was not only a Yeomsa but proficient in all manner of menial tasks.
He repaired the palace hall far better than any seasoned carpenter, and cleaned with greater skill than any servant who had spent a lifetime in servitude.
With each swift movement of Bu Eunseol’s hands, the manor transformed into pristine orderliness.
‘What is this?’
Gwae Ui’s mouth fell open at the sight.
‘He did not come to serve me, but was sent by some faction to perform menial labor?’
Bu Eunseol worked with such remarkable skill.
Gwae Ui concluded he was a capable servant sent by some power to curry favor.
“At most, ten days—perhaps a month at the longest.”
Gwae Ui regarded Bu Eunseol with cold disdain.
His temperament was so perverse.
Even the most patient and good-natured servant could not endure more than half a month before fleeing in desperation.
―Are servants not plentiful?
Various factions, knowing these facts beforehand,
had continuously sent capable servants to win Gwae Ui’s favor and recruit him.
Yet it was all for naught.
No matter how great the promises of reward, the servants could not endure and ultimately fled.
Swish. Swish.
Bu Eunseol had already organized the filthy flower garden and begun repairing the collapsed palace hall.
With profound inner strength and swift, precise movements, he rapidly filled in the damaged sections.
Thud-thud-thud.
Then he retrieved wooden planks from the warehouse and began fitting them together one by one.
Finally, having completed a rectangular box shape, Bu Eunseol retrieved a bronze mirror from within and extended his hand toward Gwae Ui.
“Lie down here.”
“Lie down?”
Gwae Ui’s mouth fell open in bewilderment.
“Are you speaking thus to No Bu?”
“Is there anyone else in this rotting manor besides an old man?”
At the absurd and cold response, Gwae Ui’s mouth fell open once more in utter disbelief.
“Did you suddenly change your mind? Do you even know who No Bu is?”
As Gwae Ui bellowed, Bu Eunseol exhaled a weary sigh.
“Then do as you wish.”
Bu Eunseol brushed dust from her hands with a shrug.
“If you wish to grow old alone in this manor and die a lonely death.”
In that instant, Gwae Ui’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.
“What did you just say?”
“If you have the energy to complain, then lie down here.”
Gwae Ui regarded the rectangular box with a puzzled expression.
Why did she keep insisting he lie on this crude wooden plank instead of a proper bed?
“Fine.”
Gwae Ui walked over confidently and lay upon the plank.
“I’m lying down. What now?”
A soft metallic whisper.
Bu Eunseol then drew a keen blade from her sleeve.
And pressed it against Gwae Ui’s throat.
“What is this, some petty trick—”
“Say nothing. Keep your mouth closed.”
Bu Eunseol pressed his lips shut, then began carefully scraping away his bristling, unkempt beard with the blade.
She then methodically trimmed his eyebrows, which had grown wild and thick as weeds.
“What are you doing?”
“Creating a human being.”
“What! This woman has lost her mind!”
Gwae Ui began to rise in agitation, but—
A mirror gleamed.
Bu Eunseol produced a bronze mirror she had set beside her and held it before him.
“This is…”
Remarkably, with merely the grooming of his beard and eyebrows,
his skin appeared cleaner and his features far more refined.
“How did you manage this?”
Gwae Ui’s voice trembled.
His repulsive and grotesque appearance had earned him contempt throughout his entire life.
Though he had gained the respect of countless people through his exceptional medical skill, that hideous visage remained beyond remedy.
―Why not employ face-changing techniques?
Eventually, he had mastered face-changing and bone-restructuring arts, even increasing his height.
And he had met a good woman and promised marriage, but…
One cannot live that way forever.
Especially bone-restructuring arts, which move not only bone but also ligaments, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels in concert.
Prolonged use could cause inflammation and severe nerve damage.
Eventually, the bone-restructuring and face-changing arts had suddenly failed, and the woman who saw his true face recoiled in horror and broke the engagement.
After that, he gave up on his appearance altogether and didn’t even touch his face.
Yet simply trimming his beard and eyebrows had transformed his visage so dramatically?
“What in the world was this man doing before?”
“I was with Yeomsa.”
“What?”
Bu Eunseol said only that much.
This time, she used powder and honey—cosmetics favored by women—to work on his face.
“So this sort of thing is….”
Gwae Ui, about to have another outburst,
caught sight of his own face gradually transforming in the mirror and opened his eyes wide.
“What is this? Are you performing a disguise technique?”
“A disguise technique? No, merely concealing dirty skin a little.”
“What? You’re telling No Bu—an old man—to apply cosmetics like women do?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol held up the mirror once more.
There, only half of Gwae Ui’s face—the one that had always displayed his cantankerous nature—remained.
The other half had transformed into the visage of an elderly immortal living at leisure in the world, serene and refined.
“It takes less than a quarter hour.”
Bu Eunseol sighed as she spoke.
“Can’t you endure that much without getting up again?”
It was strange.
Throughout his life, Gwae Ui had let well-meaning advice go in one ear and out the other, treating others’ kindness like refuse.
Yet why? How was it possible?
Whenever he saw that bare-faced young man’s gaze, he felt diminished and couldn’t move an inch.
Why did those ordinary eyes seem to pierce through all things in the world like the gaze of a phoenix? And why did his entire being radiate such intense power and majesty, as though a dragon were soaring through him?
Why did each of his movements carry such overwhelming pressure, as if beholding the grandeur of towering mountains?
“Don’t waste time. Lie down quickly.”
When Bu Eunseol made him lie down again, Gwae Ui, unable to resist, settled back onto the surface.
“Must you do it on this plank?”
“You dislike the plank?”
“It’s not that… but with all these holes, it looks just like a coffin board.”
Habit was terrifying.
When Bu Eunseol fashioned a bed for him to lie on, she had unconsciously crafted it to resemble a coffin.
“It matters little.”
Avoiding his piercing gaze, Bu Eunseol diligently worked on Gwae Ui’s face.
And a quarter hour later, she brushed off her hands and spoke.
“It’s finished.”
She held up the mirror once more.
Gwae Ui gazed into it with an enchanted expression.
For there stood not an eighty-year-old cantankerous old man,
but an elderly sage with dignity in his eyes, standing tall and commanding.
“Is this truly my face?”
“A person’s appearance changes depending on how one maintains it.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“Your natural features are not actually poor. You simply appeared unkempt because you neglected to care for yourself.”
Gwae Ui bristled at Bu Eunseol’s blunt assessment, yet could not bring himself to anger.
The transformation had simply astonished him too greatly.
“Invest only a quarter hour each day.”
“This expensive honey—must I continue using it?”
“Apply it to your skin for the time being.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“Few in this world possess beauty or distinguished features without such cultivation.”
And before he could respond, I continued.
“Most people live their lives grooming and maintaining themselves. You alone allowed your nose hair to grow wild as a broom.”
Gwae Ui, finding nothing to say, changed the subject.
“Why did you go to such lengths to transform my face?”
“Because you desire it.”
“Desire what?”
Bu Eunseol exhaled deeply.
“I have devoted my entire life to perfecting medicine, and through it earned the name So Yo the Immortal Physician.”
I gazed around the manor grounds as I spoke.
“Yet as time passed, all that remained was a hideous visage and a body withered by age. No one to care for me, no one to nag at my side.”
Bu Eunseol shook my head.
“Now in my twilight years, I need someone to witness my final days—and your anger stems from the inability to find such a person, does it not?”
Had I struck a nerve?
Gwae Ui opened his mouth, unable to speak.
‘How could he possibly know?’
How could this stranger, this young man he’d never met,
speak as though he’d peered into the entirety of his life?
“Are you a fortune teller?”
“Hardly.”
“Then how do you know this? Did you investigate No Bu?”
Bu Eunseol sighed and gestured toward the gate.
“You lack neither wealth nor means, yet you purchased a manor on Market Street where crowds constantly pass. And you keep the gates perpetually open.”
“….”
“Here you can observe people endlessly. You deliberately acquired such a manor for precisely this reason.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with piercing clarity.
“You left the gates open so visitors could enter freely, did you not? Because you were lonely. Hoping each day that people would seek you out.”
As Gwae Ui’s innermost thoughts were laid bare, he felt an indescribable shame.
“Very well. I admit I missed human company.”
He spoke as though making an excuse.
“But you are mistaken about one thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“At this age, why would you need to find a woman to nag at you from your side?”
Gwae Ui tapped the purse in his bosom and pointed toward the Pleasure House with confident laughter.
“With enough money, you can enjoy a whole day of entertainment without worry.”
“Stop rationalizing it.”
“What?”
“Perhaps in the past you lived that way. When meeting people became difficult, you went to the Pleasure House to meet women.”
Bu Eunseol continued speaking calmly.
“At one point, you paid money to bring a courtesan into this manor. And you tried to live together as husband and wife.”
‘Is this man truly a fortune teller?’
Whether Gwae Ui was shocked or not, Bu Eunseol continued.
“But courtesans can cast off their worries and drink wine, yet they cannot manage a household. So you fought again and again, and eventually sent her away. Am I wrong?”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“The traces of women’s clumsy attempts at housekeeping, abandoned halfway, remain scattered throughout this place.”
Gwae Ui’s face flushed crimson with shame.
“So what are you trying to say?”
He thumped his chest as if frustrated.
“That’s it! What No Bu truly desires is not a luxurious life, but merely a warm, simple meal and a wise woman at his side—a companion for life.”
He bit his lip.
“But such a person never existed in my life. So what choice did I have but to visit courtesans?”
“Your desires are quite grand.”
“What did you say?”
“Seeking to meet a young and beautiful woman at your age.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with measured calm.
“If you lowered your expectations, you could certainly find a good woman, but you don’t want someone your own age, do you?”
Gwae Ui felt as though his very organs were being laid bare, and even the corners of his eyes trembled.
‘Can this ghostly man truly see into my heart?’
Just as he said, Gwae Ui still harbored the desire
to meet a young and beautiful woman.
After all, he possessed wealth and status of his own.
But things had not gone as he wished, and by the time he reached seventy, he had continued living alone.
Consequently, his temperament had grown so twisted that he could no longer be approached.
“So what are you getting at? Should I praise you for peering into No Bu’s life like a fortune teller?”
“I have seen much.”
“What?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes grew profound.
“Libertines who in their youth indulged in wine and women, lost in sensual pleasures… in their old age seeking to meet virtuous women.”
“Isn’t that natural? After playing enough, one should meet a pure woman and build a family.”
“Are you mad?”
Had Bu Eunseol given up on recruiting him entirely?
Her words were devastatingly sharp, cutting with a cruelty that seemed to draw tears from the very air.
“If an old fool wishes to throw himself into the abyss, let him do so alone. Why must you drag innocent women down with you?”

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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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