The Heavenly Demon of the Blue Sky - Chapter 26

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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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Changtian Demonic Qi – Episode 026
The warm comfort of their clasped hands lingered for a long moment.
Then he gently pushed her shoulder back, creating distance between them.
“That’s enough. Step back.”
“Is it not enough?”
He frowned.
At the furrow of his brow, Seol Hwa smiled and bowed lightly at the waist.
“I was only joking, Family Head. Shall we go this way?”
Following Seol Hwa’s guidance, he arrived at a broad expanse of farmland below the mountain’s slope.
Beneath the spring sun, household members were breaking soil, their brows beaded with honest sweat.
She appeared at his side with several thick ledgers clasped to her chest, holding them out one by one.
“I’ve completed the land distribution across the domain, exactly as you requested.”
Examining the ledgers, he found the names of the household members and field divisions arranged in meticulous order.
“Of course, we cannot cultivate such vast tracts all at once—not on the scale that Namgung once commanded.
But as you can see,” Seol Hwa’s gaze swept across the richly overturned earth and the spirited workers moving among the fields, “everyone is brimming with purpose.
Step by step, working the fields steadily, we’ll soon restore the glory of old. Don’t you think?”
There was hope in her eyes—the kind that blooms when one has a goal worth pursuing.
As he turned slowly to survey the orderly fields, he spoke at last.
“Grain to fill bellies is well enough, but I wonder if there might be something special—something found only here.”
The clear climate and vital energy of Cheonju Mountain were not commonplace.
Among all that took root and grew in such soil, surely something worthy existed.
At his words, Seol Hwa’s lips parted as if a memory surfaced.
“There was one fruit that Namgung was known for—the Cheonju Snow Peach.”
Fed by the pure essence and cool winds of Cheonju Mountain, its flesh grew white as snow and firm as jade—a specialty fruit unmatched by common peaches.
Unlike ordinary varieties, it carried a faint spiritual energy that refined the purity of one’s inner strength.
“The Cheonju Snow Peach…”
A distant memory flickered across his mind.
That crystalline sweetness which had once washed away the iron taste of blood with a single taste.
‘Indeed, a fruit rare throughout the land.’
But the war with the Blood Sect had left the Peach Orchard in ash.
He pointed toward an empty stretch of land on the sunlit slope.
“What of building an orchard there? We gather saplings from across Cheonju Mountain and expand bit by bit.”
This was no ordinary harvest—one could not expect immediate yield.
But with time and care, nurturing roots and coaxing branches to spread, within years they could blanket the mountainside in white peach blossoms once more.
At his words, Seol Hwa’s eyes brightened with a smile so radiant it seemed she could taste the fruit already.
“Understood. I’ll set aside space for the orchard in the ledgers. Because of your insight, we’ll taste those peaches again—the ones we’d forgotten! I can hardly wait!”
In her joy, Seol Hwa clenched her fists.
Then she produced another ledger. He scanned it and saw Namgung’s current household accounts laid out with perfect clarity.
“I’ve calculated the stores and materials we’ll need to sustain us until the autumn harvest.”
“Good. But there will be ongoing construction at our outposts. The materials and silver required will be substantial.”
At his question, Seol Hwa flipped through the ledger swiftly, her mind moving as fast as an abacus.
“I’ve accounted for everything—the seized currency from Hangzhou’s nouveau riche, the material goods taken from the Blood Sect’s remnants, and our current baseline expenses to maintain the settlement.”
It was the accounting of a true administrator, swift and precise.
“It will be tight, but we won’t run short. I’ve set aside emergency funds as well.”
Yet optimism seemed premature.
“There is one blind spot, however—one that the numbers cannot ignore.”
Seol Hwa closed the ledger, her expression turning pragmatic.
“It’s manpower. We have resources enough and land ready for cultivation, but we lack the hands to execute it. Once we account for the trainees and skilled workers needed for various construction projects, we have far too few farmers to sow and tend these vast fields.”
Buildings must be raised; crops must be planted for self-sufficiency.
As Seol Hwa pointed out, catching both hares simultaneously demanded far more hands than they possessed.
“True enough. Yet we cannot simply accept anyone who offers.”
At his murmur, Seol Hwa nodded quietly.
The Namgung Clan differed fundamentally from common temples or martial sects.
Temples bound their followers through blind doctrine; sects forged bonds between master and disciple through martial technique.
But the Clan—the Clan’s very center was bloodline and family name.
“If we carelessly let in outsiders with no understanding or commitment to Namgung, chaos would inevitably follow.”
“You see it clearly. Once disloyal outsiders seep in and muddy the waters, factions will emerge.”
Seol Hwa bit her lower lip, concern etched across her face.
To dilute the Clan’s character, to blur its identity—that was to weaken Namgung’s essential strength itself.
One could not sacrifice quality in pursuit of quantity.
“We need hands, but only those who won’t tarnish the Namgung name and can be perfectly controlled.”
Seol Hwa frowned at my words, troubled.
“People like that…. Do they even exist?”
Most of the Namgung people who’d survived were already gathered here.
Without opening the coffins of the dead, it would be difficult to quickly replenish our ranks with truly loyal personnel.
I rested my chin in my palm, exhaling a long plume of smoke from my cigarette, lost in thought.
“Family Head—!!”
A distant cloud of dust rose up, and a booming cry echoed across the distance.
It was my uncle, the financial backbone of the clan and the one entrusted with running the merchant venture.
He dismounted from his horse and drew in labored breaths.
“Huff, huff…. I’ve returned after safely completing the duties you assigned!”
His face, which resembled a toad’s, was caked in dust. Yet his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
“Just as you predicted, Family Head! The nouveaux riches were dragged off by the Martial Alliance, and as the trade routes and commercial chokepoints they’d monopolized were released, merchant houses throughout the Gangnam Region began fighting tooth and nail to seize the openings.”
How my uncle had maneuvered during that chaos was the crucial question.
“I seized that opportunity to announce the Namgung revival throughout the Gangnam Region. Then I sought out each merchant house and faction, securing passage permits and distribution rights to key chokepoints so our Namgung merchant operation could move freely in the future!”
He eagerly produced several documents and authority tablets from his robes and presented them.
“That’s not all. I’ve also secured cooperation agreements with Escort Bureaus of like mind to guard our shipments, and with several sturdy Money Exchanges to provide silver and financial instruments. Beyond that, I’ve built connections with the finest inns and shop owners linking the region, so we’re ready at any time to buy and sell quality goods!”
Seol Hwa’s eyes widened as she listened to my uncle’s report.
“Well done.”
I, too, was satisfied, and nodded slowly.
The Namgung was only just beginning its reconstruction from ash.
We had nothing—no specialty goods to sell, no merchant operation of renown to present to the world.
To demonstrate such acumen under these circumstances was no small feat.
‘His martial talent may be negligible, but his gift for persuasion and his skill at running a merchant house are genuinely exceptional.’
Once he’d shed that shabby intention to auction off the household members, he proved to be a genuinely useful talent.
I’d merely told him that being dismissed as a mere merchant was undeserved—and the suppressed brilliance of a merchant magnate had blossomed completely.
“You’ve worked hard. Now the path for the Namgung to flourish has opened.”
My casual praise made my uncle’s shoulders tremble with emotion.
“It’s all thanks to you, Family Head! Those I’ve made connections with asked me to convey their gratitude.”
“Gratitude? To me?”
“Yes! Because you’ve destroyed the arrogant nouveaux riches who’ve been lording it over everyone, and you’ve even routed out the remnant forces of the Blood Sect hiding in the region. With them gone, merchants and commoners alike welcome the Namgung’s revival with open arms. Your reputation alone has already earned great expectations and support for the Namgung from the surrounding lands!”
I’d simply swept away the troublesome insects for revenge and the clan’s profit.
Apparently, it had come as an enormous blessing to the people of the region.
‘Not bad at all.’
I stroked my chin and issued my uncle a new order.
“I’m planning to establish a branch office at the village entrance. Have you manage it. Receive the merchant houses that come, and outfit carriages on our end so we can begin conducting trade.”
“You’re entrusting me with the representative merchant operation that will represent the Namgung to the outside world!”
My uncle’s eyes glistened with emotion.
“I was born into the Namgung but was met only with scorn for preferring coin to the sword….”
“I told you before. Does the sword feed a faction? Money matters too. Do what you do well.”
“Sob! They say a true man will give his life for one who recognizes him! I’ll repay your kindness, Family Head!”
“I don’t need your life—just bring back plenty of money.”
My uncle broke into a goofy grin at my blunt reply.
But soon a deep shadow fell across his face.
“However, Family Head….”
“What. Is there a problem?”
“The conditions for the merchant operation are ready, but we lack the actual people to lead the carriages outside.”
From my uncle’s lips came the same grievance I’d heard from Seol Hwa.
“We could give out silver and recruit anyone from outside to form a merchant company. But given the nature of merchant operations—carrying the clan’s precious specialty goods and vast wealth across dangerous, distant roads—using unreliable drifters risks theft or disaster. We need people we can trust absolutely, those willing to give their lives for the Namgung alone.”
A shortage of personnel, as I’d suspected.
“I share that concern.”
I was just crossing my arms, pondering how to resolve it.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—!
Beyond the ridge leading to the village, an enormous cloud of dust began to rise.
It was far more than a few carts passing through.
A dark column of people marching with enough force to make the earth tremor faintly.
At a glance, easily over a thousand individuals.
“Wh-what is that!”
My uncle stumbled backward in shock. Seol Hwa, too, stepped close behind me, her expression taut with tension.
‘…. Enemies?’
Her eyes narrowed to sharp slits as she drew the Changtian Demonic Qi up from her lower dantian.
At the first sign of trouble, she was prepared to unsheathe the Qinghai High Moon hanging at her waist.
Yu Hwa and the other disciples gathered as one, falling into formation for combat.
Namgung had only just been revived. She could not allow it to crumble again.
Then it happened.
The moment she glimpsed the approaching group, bewilderment flooded through her, and she withdrew her killing intent.
“……What?”
They were not armed enemies.
Men and women of all ages shuffled forward carrying worn bundles and farm implements, mixed together in chaotic disarray.
Nothing but ordinary villagers and displaced refugees.
And what seized her attention above all else was the figure standing at the head of the long procession.
“Family… Family Head……!”
A young man astride a painfully gaunt horse, his face deathly pale as though he might collapse at any moment, his voice streaming toward her.
It was Namgung Kyung, Uncle’s son, whom she had sent out to scout the surrounding area.
She stared in turn at Namgung Kyung rushing toward her like a man possessed, and the thousands of refugees trailing behind him.
Then, at a loss for words, she muttered softly to herself.
“……What in the world is that fool bringing back with him?”

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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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