The Heavenly Demon of the Blue Sky - Chapter 56

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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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Azure Sky Heavenly Demon 056
Four characters carved in clean, sweeping strokes upon green paper window.
The moment the name Sichuan Dang Clan was uttered, a heavy silence descended.
It was Jegal Un who broke the stillness first, his expression grave as he caressed the White Feather Fan and opened his lips.
“If we speak of the Sichuan Dang Clan, then surely there is no poison in all the land unknown to them. However…….”
As Jegal Un trailed off, Jang Ho, the branch chief of the Beggar Clan, took up the thread.
“The Dang have always been a ruthless band of interests. They made no distinction between Orthodox and Unorthodox, choosing whichever side favored their own gain.”
Seomun Ho nodded heavily at Jang Ho’s words.
“Though they’ve spent long years now as a pillar of the Orthodox Sects, their nature hasn’t changed. Their very clan culture is hermetic—expecting righteousness or the greater cause from them would be folly.”
The party’s concerns were entirely sound.
Having encountered the Sichuan Dang Clan as Pa Cheon Ma Jon in my former life, I knew their calculating ways better than anyone.
‘They cared for neither blood nor tears—only profit and loss.’
It might seem crude to Orthodox practitioners who treasured righteousness and benevolence, but I rather appreciated their clarity.
There was something familiar, too, in how they repaid both gratitude and grudge tenfold over.
“I understand your concerns well enough. I agree the Dang aren’t the sort to move for justice. But this time, circumstances are rather different, aren’t they?”
At my words, the party’s eyes converged upon me. I tapped the table lightly and continued.
“At the last Yongbong Gathering, the Dang Clan’s younger generation witnessed the Corpse Demons and Blood Cult Sorcery with their own eyes. Unless the Dang are fools, they must have sensed that such creatures posed a mortal threat to their own survival. If so, they’d want to understand the Corpse Demons’ weaknesses and learn to craft countermeasures.”
Moreover, I had one further, far more certain justification.
“Most importantly, if the Dang truly honor their debts of gratitude as they claim, then this venture is worth attempting. At the last gathering, I rendered a not insignificant service to someone of Dang bloodline.”
I recalled carrying—or rather, hauling—Dang So Yeon, who had twisted her leg and collapsed, across my back.
Though I’d treated her as mere baggage at the time, with the proper framing, I could become her noble savior, the giver of life.
“Of course, whether they’ll see it that way is another question.”
At my words, the party exchanged glances and began nodding.
“Now that you mention it, there’s merit to the notion.”
“If the Sichuan Dang Clan could prove our salvation, we should certainly follow the Clan Head’s judgment.”
The challenge lay in making contact with the Sichuan Dang Clan and developing an antidote in time.
It was then that Jegal Un, who had been researching the Corpse Technique, answered as if it posed no difficulty.
“From what I’ve observed, tempering a Corpse Demon requires at least six months of refinement. I cannot say how much the Sichuan Dang Clan will cooperate, but if we research together, we should certainly be able to prepare countermeasures.”
Having secured the party’s agreement, I immediately began laying out the next course of action.
“Sending infected blood to Sichuan is too dangerous—accidents could happen en route, and we’d lose control of the matter. Better to send a formal envoy, summoning them here to the Namgung Territory.”
It was a practical arrangement. To assemble an envoy, I summoned Dang Suk, who oversaw the Namgung commercial operations, to my study.
“You called for me, Clan Head?”
Dang Suk rushed in with some haste, clutching a thick ledger, and bowed deeply.
“Do you know the fastest route from Cheonju Mountain to the headquarters of the Sichuan Dang Clan? I’m thinking of sending an envoy.”
At my question, Dang Suk seemed to trace a map in his mind for a moment, then his eyes brightened as he answered.
“Fortune favors us, it would seem! Recently, while managing the commercial operations, I’ve absorbed trading rights that were held by southern merchants, including—importantly—rights to the Yangtze River route through which Sichuan’s fine silk reaches the southern regions!”
Dang Suk puffed out his chest proudly as he elaborated.
“By way of the Yangtze’s waters, we can bypass the treacherous mountain paths of Shudao and reach the area near Chengdu where the Dang Clan dwells, swiftly and safely.”
“Well, then. You’ve done well.”
“I merely executed what the Clan Head commanded, with all fidelity. Hah-hah.”
Dang Suk beamed with a toad-like grin. Yet there seemed to be something weighing on his mind.
“I would wish to negotiate with the Dang Clan in person, should circumstances allow……. But as you know, the sudden expansion of our commercial ventures and the mountain of supply management here at Namgung have left me with little opportunity to venture forth directly.”
Dang Suk scratched the back of his head ruefully. It was at precisely that moment.
Namgung Gyeong, who had been standing quietly like a folding screen, suddenly stepped forward.
“Clan Head! Grant me this commission, I beseech you!”
Namgung Gyeong’s fists clenched tightly, his eyes alight with fervor.
“I have known the southern waterways since childhood, having followed Father’s footsteps, and I have even ventured into Chengdu myself! Above all, I am confident—bold enough to swear it—that no one but I can convey your profound and noble intentions to the Sichuan Dang Clan without the slightest error!”
I regarded Namgung Gyeong carefully. He was certainly keen-eyed and silver-tongued.
Judged purely by his aptitude as an envoy, no better candidate existed.
Yet why, then……
Meeting those loyal eyes, I felt an inexplicable chill creep down my spine, and a faint sense of foreboding began to writhe within me.
Suppressing the unease, I pointed at him with one finger.
“But mark this well: when you reach Sichuan, you must not exaggerate or speak carelessly about me. Your task is simply to convey our situation accurately to the Dang and to bring back suitable talents who might aid us. Do you understand?”
I laid down firm warnings lest his loose tongue ruin everything.
Namgung Gyeong then placed his hand over his left chest and nodded with resolute determination.
“Have no fear, Clan Head! I swear by the depths of my heart that I shall complete this grave duty you have entrusted to me and return! I shall speak only truth!”
At his solemn vow, I at last exhaled quietly and nodded.
“Very well. Travel with the merchant fleet when it departs.”

* * *
The next morning, at the ferry that crossed through the Namgung Territory.
I stood alongside Dang Suk, seeing off Namgung Gyeong as he departed for Sichuan.
“Take care of yourself on the road, my son.”
“Yes, Father! I’ll return safely!”
Namgung Gyeong bowed with spirited enthusiasm, then sprang nimbly onto the deck.
The boat began to drift slowly away from the ferry, cutting through the water.
I watched the receding vessel with an impassive gaze, my hands clasped behind my back.
Then it happened.
Namgung Gyeong, standing on the deck, suddenly plunged his hand into the inside of his left chest—the very spot where he had laid his hand yesterday as if swearing an oath.
‘What?’
From his robes emerged, without warning, a weighty tome bound with meticulous care in thick leather.
The Azure Sky Clan Leader Records.
Even as the boat drifted farther away, the characters inscribed on the cover blazed with crystalline clarity.
Namgung Gyeong hoisted the dreadful volume high toward the heavens, his voice thundering across the water.
“Clan Head! Have no fear! I shall journey to the very ends of Sichuan, spreading far and wide the legends and words of our magnificent Azure Sky Clan Leader!”
His frenzied cry echoed on the wind.
My ill premonition had not erred by a fraction.
When he had laid his hand upon his chest and sworn that oath, it was not to his heart or some greater cause—it was to the Clan Leader Records he kept treasured in his breast!
“That mad fool……!”
The boat was already far beyond reach, swept along by the current like an arrow loosed from a bow.
I barely managed to restrain myself from collapsing as I pressed my trembling hand to my brow.
“You lunatic! That’s not what I meant! Keep your mouth shut and just come back!”
And so Namgung Gyeong departed.
All that remained was the sigh of the Heavenly Demon, scattered helplessly on the river wind.

* * *
A month and a half passed.
In the southwestern reaches of the Central Plains lay Chengdu in Sichuan, cradled by the treacherous peaks of Shudao.
A colossal fortress, surrounded on all sides by jagged stone formations and thick mist.
Soaring toward the heavens rose a grand hall of deep verdant hue.
This magnificent stronghold was the central seat of the Sichuan Dang Clan—the finest masters of poison and lethal arts under heaven.
Inside the walls, the atmosphere thrummed with far more vitality than the exterior suggested.
Sichuan Dang Clan members clad in elaborate silk robes of mingled green and dark violet moved busily to and fro, while from scattered corners arose the distinctive reek of potent medicinal herbs and the heat of molten metal.
The Sichuan Dang Clan was far more than a mere purveyor of poisons and blades.
From the Mechanical Technique—the precise carving of intricate devices—to the Qi Gate Formation used to repel intruders, and even the Metallurgy required for forging the finest blades, countless craftsmen and scholars labored ceaselessly beneath the clan’s banner, honing their arts and knowledge.
Yet despite possessing such superior skill and learning,
the reason they were regarded with reverence and dread lay elsewhere.
It was their extreme secrecy.
The Sichuan Dang Clan had always prized bloodline above all else.
For the clan’s benefit, external codes and greater causes were cast aside without hesitation.
So extreme was their insularity that any man seeking to marry a daughter of the clan had to abandon his own family and enter as a live-in son-in-law, confined within these walls for life—such was their iron rule.
And this stricture held without exception even for Dang So Yeon, the clan’s legitimate daughter and Clan Head Dang Baek Jin’s sole precious jewel.
“Sigh……”
In the Sichuan Dang Clan Head’s study, Dang Baek Jin—the Clan Head, bearing keen, piercing eyes and an upright bearing—pressed his palm to his brow and exhaled a weary sigh.
At the end of his gaze stood his daughter, Dang So Yeon, arms crossed, her expression one of stubborn resentment.
Born as an only child and raised like a princess, lavished with every affection and hope,
Dang So Yeon’s beauty was spoken of as Sichuan’s finest flower, yet her temperament was notorious for its pride and fiery nature.
Compound this with the condition that marriage meant a lifetime confined within the clan’s walls, and despite his inquiries reaching far and wide in search of a suitable match from prominent families, all suitors had contrived various pretexts to withdraw—the situation had become dire.
“So Yeon. However tightly our Sichuan Dang Clan closes its gates, a family that remains unmixed with the outside world will eventually stagnate and rot.”
Dang Baek Jin remonstrated with his daughter in an deliberately stern voice.
“Is it truly so difficult to merely temper that fiery spirit of yours and attend the gatherings of nearby noble families, sitting quietly and comporting yourself with decorum? Why must you constantly act on whim, invite trouble upon yourself, and ruin perfectly good affairs?”
At her father’s reproach, Dang So Yeon did not blink. Instead, she let out a derisive snort and replied with cutting sharpness.
“These vapid boys who dribble and snivel thrust their conceited, arrogant faces forward, and it turns my stomach! I cannot bear even a moment in the company of such men!”
“You, you audacious girl! Even before your own father, there are words you should not speak……!”
“Everything I’ve said is true!”
Dang So Yeon suddenly drew three sharp flying blades from her robes.
Whisk! Whisk-whisk!
With a flick of her wrist, the blades shot forth like lightning, each embedding itself with flawless precision in the portraits of nearby noble heirs hanging on the study wall.
Each struck dead center between the eyebrows, not a hair’s breadth off.
“My fate belongs to me alone. The man I choose to share my future with is my decision too. Rather than force myself into the company of these mediocre curs who don’t even meet my standards, I’ll live alone!”
Dang So Yeon announced it all so curtly, not even turning to look back, before she yanked open the office door with a bang and stormed out.
“Ah, no, that girl really……!”
Dang Baek Jin seized his own neck and slumped into the chair. The face of his wife, who had left this world first, flickered before his eyes.
“My dear……. What on earth am I to do with this troublesome child.”
Even her father, for all his authority, could not unlock the bolt that his daughter had so firmly fastened in her heart, and he fumbled every time.
‘What man under heaven could possibly find his way into that stubborn, sealed heart of hers. Tsk, tsk.’
Dang Baek Jin clicked his tongue and reached for the teacup that had grown cold, when it happened.
“Clan Head!”
An urgent voice called from beyond the door—one of the guards.
“Come in. What is it?”
“A messenger from the Namgung Clan has arrived!”
“Eh? From the Namgung Clan?”
Dang Baek Jin narrowed his brow.
The Namgung—they had collapsed almost to the point of utter annihilation, but recently, with a young new Clan Head taking the reins, they had managed to rise again.
His daughter had returned from the Yongbong Gathering saying she owed them her life, so he had taken note and sent gifts—but that had been the extent of it.
There had been no further meaningful exchange or contact after that, yet now the Namgung were sending an emissary of their own accord.
‘They sent a messenger all the way from there, out of the blue? What in heaven’s name could this be about…….’
Dang Baek Jin rose from his seat, his mind turning with curiosity, when—
Bang——!!
The very daughter who, moments before, had turned away so coldly, as though indifferent to every man under the sun, came crashing back into the office with a thunderous sound, yanking the door open as if to tear it from its hinges.
“A guest from Namgung?! The Namgung Clan Head sent someone?!”
Her face, which now met his gaze, had flushed bright red with sudden excitement.
Her dark, clear eyes sparkled like stars, alight with anticipation and hope, and her breath came quick and eager.
But what seized Dang Baek Jin’s attention most keenly was the sight of his daughter’s feet as she rushed ahead of him, the Clan Head himself.
In her haste, she had not even paused to slip on her shoes—she came flying in barefoot in white socks, kicking up clouds of dust with each step.
“So Yeon…….”
Dang Baek Jin’s eyebrows shot up, caught between bewilderment and astonishment.

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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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