The Heavenly Demon Cult’s Strongest Maid - Chapter 340
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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 94
A languid afternoon, in an alley of Luoyang.
Under the warm sunlight, an old beggar leaned against the wall, nodding off drowsily.
His ragged clothes were so stained with grime that their original color was unrecognizable, his hair disheveled, and his gaunt frame naturally evoked pity from onlookers.
Perhaps that was why?
Clink.
Passersby walking through the alley would invariably stop in front of the old beggar and toss coins.
Though they were small amounts, copper coins had soon piled up abundantly in the old beggar’s bowl.
Whether he knew this or not, the old beggar was fast asleep, even snoring.
Swoosh.
It was then that a shadow fell over the beggar’s head.
Clink clink.
The shadow carefully reached toward the bowl and grabbed a handful of coins.
Then the old beggar, who had been sleeping obliviously, opened his eyes wide and shouted.
“What bastard is stealing money from begging!”
The beggar quickly reached out and grabbed the thief’s wrist.
“…Haha, you’re awake?”
The owner of the shadow was Seon-jon Tae-won Jin-in, who had said he was going to meet Geol-jon. He laughed awkwardly and quietly put the coins back in the bowl.
“What a shameless bastard! Is there nothing else to steal that you’d lay hands on a beggar’s earnings?”
The old beggar Yang Chun was outraged and burst into anger.
“You and I are both in begging circumstances, it seems, though our situations are quite different.”
Tae-won Jin-in’s eyes wouldn’t leave Yang Chun’s bowl.
“Tsk!”
Feeling uneasy, Yang Chun instinctively pulled the bowl to his chest.
“Really, what do you take this poor Taoist for!”
“What do I take you for! You look like a thief whose attempt failed!”
“Ahem! If it’s you, you must have known long ago that this poor Taoist came to Luoyang, so why haven’t you visited even once? How disappointing, so disappointing!”
Embarrassed, Tae-won cleared his throat and changed the subject.
“What nonsense would I want to hear?”
Yang Chun snorted and looked Tae-won up and down.
“But haven’t you become too young?”
Geol-jon had heard the news and knew about it, but this was his first time seeing Tae-won’s rejuvenated appearance.
“When you think of this poor Taoist, you think of virtue, and when you think of virtue, you think of this poor Taoist. The Tao Te Ching says: ‘One who contains thick virtue is like a newborn child.’ It means this poor Taoist’s innate nature is that pure. Hahaha! Hahahaha!”
Tae-won put his hands on his hips, looked up at the sky, and laughed heartily.
Yang Chun’s already furrowed brow wrinkled even deeper.
“This is why I didn’t want to meet you. A Taoist from Wudang, instead of being humble, is arrogant and conceited beyond words!”
“If you’re envious, just say you’re envious.”
Even at Yang Chun’s rebuke, Tae-won remained steadfast.
“Let’s go for now.”
“Where?”
“This poor Taoist wouldn’t have come without something to say. The street is a bit awkward.”
“So you want to go to the Martial Arts Alliance Inn? I don’t like it.”
Yang Chun absolutely hated troublesome things.
“Who said to go there?”
“Then?”
Yang Chun stood up and brushed the dirt off his bottom.
“First, let’s go that way. As we go…”
“There’ll be a place selling sweets.”
Being fooled once or twice was enough.
When Yang Chun glared at him, Tae-won turned his head and pretended not to know.
“Ah, there’s also a place selling sweets over there, I see? Since it’s come to this, let’s share some sweets after a long time and have a deep discussion about the situation in Jungwon…”
“Sect Leader!”
Just then, a young beggar came running hurriedly down the alley.
“Right now…”
Before he could even make his report.
Tae-won Jin-in and Yang Chun’s gazes moved in the same direction as if by agreement.
“Finally.”
“They’ve come.”
Raising thick dust, Tae-won and Yang Chun flew up.
Shortly after, they arrived on a rooftop with a clear view of Luoyang’s main road.
The street was already packed with people who had come out to watch. Yet it was so quiet that not a single voice could be heard.
Only the sound of marching echoed through the hushed main road.
“It’s Yeomwangdan.”
Yang Chun’s eyes flashed as he observed the demonic practitioners.
But that was all – the person he wanted to see wasn’t there.
“The key figures are missing.”
“Indeed.”
Tae-won clicked his tongue quietly. This way, they couldn’t tell who would participate in the political conference as Maegyo’s representative.
“I dragged my old body all the way here, and their mystique is truly impressive.”
Yang Chun had been unable to contain his curiosity since birth.
Some said that’s why he became the leader of Gaebang.
“Maegyo is Maegyo after all. They certainly have different aspects. Don’t you think?”
“Are you rubbing salt in the wound now?”
Having waited for this day for several days, Yang Chun’s irritation flared up.
“Calm down. What difference does it make if we know in advance or not? We’ll find out anyway once the conference starts.”
“Just like a Taoist to say such carefree things.”
Though they had somehow remained friends for decades, their personalities were completely different.
“In life, there are bound to be things that don’t go as planned.”
Tae-won tried to put his arm around Yang Chun’s shoulders to comfort him, but realizing his reduced height, he changed to patting his shoulder instead.
“At times like this, something sweet is the best.”
“Damn it! You’re probably the only person in the world who begs from a beggar!”
There was nothing more to see.
Despite his harsh words, Yang Chun reluctantly followed Tae-won.
“Grandma!”
The place Tae-won brought Yang Chun to was Muk-mul’s favorite store.
“Oh my, who is this? Isn’t it the Young Taoist? But why did you come alone today?”
“Grandma, close up shop today!”
“You’ve been hanging around with Muk-mul and ate something wrong. Close what?”
“This poor Taoist has brought a customer.”
“A Taoist brother?”
As Tae-won answered proudly, Muk-mul suddenly appeared before him.
The small fellow looked at Tae-won as if impressed.
“Muk-mul, you’re here? Perfect timing. Since you’re here, you should have one too. This side will pay.”
“Ooh! Thank you, I’ll gladly eat…!”
Muk-mul, who had been delighted, finally noticed Yang Chun standing behind Tae-won and froze solid.
Despite his young age, the boy was a disciple of Hao Clan, smart enough to be called one of Luoyang’s power brokers.
He couldn’t fail to recognize Yang Chun, the leader of Gaebang.
“Cra, crazy…!”
Muk-mul looked at Tae-won incredulously, then ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.
“Hehe, do you have urgent business?”
“Young Taoist, are you really a monk?”
Just as Tae-won was about to answer the Stall Ajumma’s question.
Thwack!
Yang Chun smacked the back of Tae-won’s head and shouted.
“What monk, you crazy bastard!”
“Ugh.”
Tae-won, who couldn’t dodge Yang Chun’s surprise attack in time, crouched down and endured the pain.
Yang Chun looked down at him pathetically and asked the shop owner.
“Listen here, grandma. What do I look like to you?”
“You look shabby, clearly a beggar.”
“Right?”
Yang Chun nodded and placed his order.
“Just give me one tanghulu.”
“But there are two of you?”
“We can share it.”
Yang Chun took out a copper coin from his gourd and handed it over. His hand trembled terribly as if struck by palsy.
“Why are you shaking so much?”
“Have you ever seen a beggar buy tanghulu with money?”
“Come to think of it, this seems like the first time…”
“That’s why.”
Yang Chun acted out the wretchedness he had cultivated his whole life, making a wistful expression.
But reality was harsh.
The tanghulu ajumma snatched the coin from Yang Chun like a pickpocket.
Naturally, all he got in return was one stick of tanghulu.
“A beggar with plenty of money acting so stingy.”
Remembering the coins piled high in the gourd, Tae-won felt his anger rise.
What made him angriest was that the shared tanghulu was incredibly sweet.
“A guy mooching off a beggar shouldn’t complain.”
“After eating this, I’m cutting ties with you!”
“Do whatever you want.”
Yang Chun listened with half an ear and brought up what he’d been wanting to say.
“More importantly, about that child.”
“Child?”
“Tak Seolha from Cheon-sin-mun, or should I call her Cheonsin Bosal? You often get tanghulu from her, don’t you?”
“…So what?”
“The more I look at it, the stranger it gets. Since I barely made it to the bottom of the Ten Masters, maybe my insight is as poor as yours or Gak-yeon’s? That Demon-Buddha energy is really odd.”
Yang Chun scratched his chin and frowned.
“To my eyes, it looks like Buddha energy layered over demonic energy. What do you think?”
“Ahem!”
Tae-won, who knew the true nature of the Demon-Buddha energy, felt quite guilty for a moment but pretended nothing was wrong.
“Shouldn’t we focus on the ‘Buddha’ part of Demon-Buddha energy?”
“Why leave out the ‘Demon’? Could it be that you…”
“Uh, huh?”
“Are you taking her side just because you got some tanghulu?”
“That’s not it. You know about the special connection between Shaolin and that child, right?”
“I know it well.”
If he didn’t know that, he couldn’t call himself the leader of Gaebang.
“That child’s Buddha energy, I mean her Buddhist power. Gak-yeon got his hands on it.”
“…What do you mean? How?”
“He decided to take her as his granddaughter. You should see how affectionately he dotes on her already.”
“Ha! Granddaughter? Has that monk Gak-yeon finally lost his mind?”
What else could explain a monk having a granddaughter?
“I’m considering taking Doe as my granddaughter too.”
“Why would you do that too?”
First the monk, now the Taoist…
Yang Chun’s head was starting to throb.
“That child is the only one who buys tanghulu for Doe.”
“What about me? What about all the tanghulu I’ve bought so far?”
“Those were ones Doe took from you.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Yang Chun had never once voluntarily bought tanghulu.
“Want to meet her once? Since we’re both lonely, you could take her as your granddaughter too!”
The Purple Subtlety Star that would make the Heavenly Mandate Star live.
To draw that light to the Righteous Martial Arts World, two was better than one, three better than two.
“Why would I take a granddaughter?”
“It’s all for Gangho.”
“Suddenly?”
“Just make the sacrifice! Then I’ll cancel cutting ties with you.”
“What nonsense.”
“You won’t regret it. The kid is really good, you know? Everything she does is adorable.”
At Tae-won’s insistence that he take Seolha as his granddaughter, Yang Chun was genuinely worried about his friend.
Has this bastard gone senile after his rejuvenation?
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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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