The Heavenly Demon of the Blue Sky - Chapter 9

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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 — Episode 009
With a hefty bounty and silver coins wrested from an uncle tucked safely in my breast, I made for Jeojat Market Street, where the city’s largest trading houses and labor exchange converged.
Thud, thud.
The moment I stepped into the bustling thoroughfare, a cacophony of voices, the savory aroma of freshly steamed dumplings, and the rumble of handcarts washed over me in a single wave.
“Fresh fish, just pulled from the water! Come and see!”
“Finest silk! Premium cloth sent all the way from Sichuan!”
The spirited calls of merchants and the crowds flowing past filled the street.
Taking in the vibrant scene, I paused mid-stride, lost in a strange reverie.
‘A hundred years……’
From the moment I died as the Heavenly Demon of a Departed Heaven until I opened my eyes again—an eternity in which the mountains and rivers had transformed a dozen times over.
I’d thought the world itself must have been turned upside down, yet the way ordinary common folk went about their lives remained strikingly unchanged.
Merchants sweating to earn an extra coin, laborers hauling freight with dust coating their skin—the same fierce yet stubborn vitality of life persisted.
‘How it stirs old memories.’
The landscape of the Murim had shifted, and all the great powers who once commanded the world had crumbled to dust, yet paradoxically, only the indomitable struggles of the weakest—the common people—endured unchanged through the ages.
A faint smile crossed my lips, and I shook my head.
‘Enough of this sentimentality. This is no time to indulge in useless emotion like some doddering old fool.’
Mountains of work awaited if I was to restore Namgung.
My eyes turned cold, and I quickened my pace toward the labor exchange.
“Ah, young master! Please, look at these fellows here. Sturdy frames and strength like oxen, every one!”
Sip Jang, who managed the labor exchange, took one look at my appearance and mistook me for some nobleman’s son.
Rubbing his hands together, he ushered forward a group of burly men.
Certainly, at first glance, they had thick forearms and appeared to possess considerable strength. But their physiques could not deceive my eye.
I had commanded tens of thousands of demon cultists beneath me.
My discernment of people was second to none.
Their muscles were bloated with vanity; their eyes were dull, the faces of men prone to cutting corners and deception.
“Take them away. All show and no substance—cheap imitations.”
“Pardon? But these are the finest we have at the exchange, sir.”
“Enough prattle. Those ones there, huddled in the corner. Those will do.”
My finger pointed to a dark, damp corner of the exchange.
There, about twenty gaunt men crouched like beasts, clad in filthy, stained rags.
At my gesture, Sip Jang jumped up and waved his hands in protest.
“Ah, young master! Those wretches are slaves cast off from the iron mines nearby. Their bones are already half-rotted—you’ll only get a few days’ work from them at best. Why insist on such rubbish when you have fine laborers right here…….”
I turned a cold gaze upon the crouching men.
Though gaunt, their knuckles bore thick calluses like badges of honor, and their breath came steady and even, betraying an unshakable spirit.
Most of all, their eyes—hollow though their frames were, they burned with a fierce will to survive.
‘The mines? Any ordinary laborer would be crushed within days—it’s a living hell that shatters bone and flesh. Any man who survives that ordeal possesses genuine mental fortitude and physical endurance.’
I raised an eyebrow and spoke quietly to Sip Jang.
“I need not know your reasons. Since you’ve called them refuse, sell them to me at refuse prices.”
Sip Jang’s face went pale.
He’d just realized he’d destroyed his own merchandise’s value with his own mouth.
An expression of ‘oh no’ crossed his face, and he scrambled to backpedal frantically.
“No, no! That’s not what I meant! Though they’re from the mines, they’re hardy specimens—still plenty of use left in them. Surely you’ll pay a fair price…….”
Knowing exactly what he’d say, I raised my voice so the entire street could hear.
“A merchant with such a loose tongue is useless!”
Every eye in the exchange snapped toward Sip Jang.
I pressed my advantage, my voice ringing clear for every bystander to witness.
“Moments ago you warned me not to buy these refuse, claiming their bones were already rotting and good for only days. Now you flip your tongue and demand high prices!?”
“Ah, please! Lower your voice, sir! People will misunderstand……!”
As whispers rippled through the merchants and drifters nearby, Sip Jang’s face flushed crimson with mortification.
In a labor exchange where reputation was everything, being seen as someone who cheated his customers meant ruin for business.
I drew out a small purse of silver and flicked it onto his chest.
“No more talk. Take this price, or I’ll spread word through the whole district that you prey on customers.”
“Ugh…….”
Unable to bear the burning stares of the crowd, Sip Jang reluctantly accepted the meager purse with a grimace.
“Fine, fine! I understand! I’ll take it as a loss—a complete clearance sale. Please, just take them with you!”

* * *
Once clear of the labor exchange, I led the men straight to the largest soup house on Jeojat Market Street.
“Owner, bring out meat broth for these men. A large cauldronful.”
Clang, clang!
Steaming hot stone bowls with wisps of vapor rising from them were set before the men.
Yet they trembled like dogs that had been chained their entire lives, unable to easily reach for their spoons.
Watching them, I folded my arms and tilted my lips in a crooked smile.
“Why aren’t you eating? Hurry up before it gets cold. You hear me? From today onward, I am your master.”
“……!”
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll work you until your bones break, so eat your fill now while you can. Understand? If you don’t work properly, you won’t even get broth.”
After delivering the threat with deliberate menace, I added curtly:
“But.”
The men’s breathing stopped.
“So long as you work for me, you will not go hungry. I will see that you stay dry from wind and rain, sleep with your legs stretched out in a proper bed. And if, once your work is done, you wish to leave, I will grant you that freedom.”
What entertainment was there in tormenting helpless men?
I too had lived at the bottom once, as these men did.
Though I would not be warm about it, I intended to treat them fairly in proportion to their labor.
Yet to these men who had spent their lives in the mines treated like beasts, my words seemed to land in an altogether different way.
That I would treat them not as consumables but as human beings, and provide them safe shelter and warm food.
Plip, plip-plip. The men’s thick tears fell onto their bowls.
“Sob, wail……! We’ve lived our whole lives beaten like animals, eating nothing but dirt…… and now such warm meat broth…….”
“You are the first person to treat us with such human kindness…….”
With that, they began shoveling the rice soup into their mouths with abandon.
Uncomfortable with their eyes, wet with tears, gazing up at me, I turned my head away sharply.
“Why are these bastards crying and making a fuss! Ruining my appetite!”
Though I clicked my tongue at the absurdity, I too finished my bowl of soup at the same table, warming my belly with its heat.

* * *
After the meal, we went next to the Lumber Mill and the Stone Quarry.
“Ah, regarding the timber our trading house deals in, it comes from far away at Sung Mountain…….”
The owner of the Lumber Mill, looking down on my youthful appearance, gestured toward a wooden pillar with a glossy surface and wagged his tongue.
I snorted and lightly kicked the middle of the pillar with the tip of my foot. Crack!
“Gasp!”
From that light blow, the hollow pillar split straight down.
“Don’t bring me firewood-grade timber with rotted cores.”
In my past life, I had watched the construction and expansion of a vast fortress in the Demon Palace dozens of times over.
Which wood was strong and which stone was precious, distinguishing fake from genuine—these things I could judge with my eyes closed.
“Bring out the highest-grade Vajra Pine you have hidden in back, along with properly aged oak beams.”
Only then did the merchants realize my eye was no ordinary one, and sweating profusely, they had to retrieve the finest materials from deep within their warehouses.
It was the same when selecting stone.
“You’re asking me to use this crumbly granite for a wall? Bring me proper-hewn, hard Blue Stone. Remove all the inferior brick that doesn’t fit the seams.”
Crushed beneath the weight of my piercing standards, the Stone Quarry merchant had no choice but to supply the finest materials at fair price.
Thus, from quality roof tiles to sturdy stone and thick timber—enough materials to completely rebuild the Namgung main house and have plenty left over were secured.
“Now, load it.”
At the command, twenty workers moved with urgent purpose and perfect coordination.
“Heave! Be careful!”
“Tie those ropes tight!”
Though their frames were gaunt, these were men who had spent their lives hauling heavy stones in the mines.
Skilled and strong, they effortlessly lifted stone and timber that would have made four ordinary laborers strain, tossing them onto the carts.
Soon, when all preparations were complete, a magnificent procession of dozens of enormous carts cut across the heart of the city.
Rumble, clang!
As the great cargo wagons stretched in an unbroken line, the eyes of every pedestrian snapped toward them.
At the head of that procession, I rode atop the Black Horse seized from a rebel commander, my Blue Robe billowing as I opened the way.
“What…… what is all this?”
“Is some major merchant house relocating?”
A rumor that had spread from the magistrate’s office reached the murmuring crowd.
“That young nobleman leading the way is the new Clan Head of Namgung, they say!”
“Namgung? You mean the Namgung clan of Cheonju Mountain?”
“Yes! It’s said that this young Clan Head not only annihilated the Pian Gae Bandit Gang, but is now going to rebuild the clan’s fallen main house!”
As the name Namgung rang out through Jeojat Market Street, the eyes of the common people began to shift as one.
During the terrible invasion of Hyeol Gyo in the past, before the Murim Alliance’s reinforcements arrived, it was none other than the Namgung clan that shed blood as a shield for Cheonju Mountain and this city.
Through their noble sacrifice, the people of this city had been able to preserve their lives and continue their peaceful days until now.
“Ah…… we thought the family had fallen and the line had ended.”
“That young nobleman is going to accomplish great things once more!”
The eyes of the common people reddened all at once.
A pang of guilt—that they had lived safely in the city, eating their fill, while turning away from the ruins of Namgung.
And gratitude, too, for the way it had endured such hardship and risen again.
“Clan Head! Please, we beg you to restore this house to its former glory!”
“Because Namgung stood, we lived! Please, find your strength!”
At someone’s cry, men and women, young and old alike, pressed their palms together as one, offering heartfelt thanks and reverence.
…….
From atop my horse, watching the scene unfold below, I found myself frowning in bewilderment.
“What is this? Such glistening eyes.”
In my past life as the Demon’s Fang, every time I took to the road the people would seize with fear and prostrate themselves flat upon the ground, trembling.
All that dwelt in their eyes was terror and mindless obedience before me.
But the gaze fixed upon me now was different.
Unafraid—genuine wishes for blessing upon my path, pure encouragement.
Was this, then, what Righteousness and Chivalry meant? The virtues that Namgung, as a renowned orthodox house, had guarded all its life?
‘Tch. Foolish creatures.’
A chill ran down my spine, and my tongue clicked softly against my teeth.
I had only meant to use this hollow shell of a clan for my vengeance against Hyeol Gyo—I never expected to be met with such grand acclaim and reverence.
‘Who knew I’d enjoy it?’
Despite what I told myself, my ears burned hot and flushed red. The body speaks its truth: it was delighted.
‘Bah! What do I know!’
Whatever Namgung these fools envision will be something different from before.
Because I, Cheon Ha Jin, the Demon’s Fang, shall grasp the world anew!
“Come now, don’t stop—keep moving!”
Leaving the rush of the people’s cheers behind, I led the long procession of carts announcing Namgung’s restoration.

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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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