The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 100

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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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The Introverted Heavenly Demon Episode 100
Seongdo Branch
“Enough, Chief Administrator Gong!”
“Merchant Guild Master? But do you not realize how day and night our guild’s martial artists have toiled to apprehend these criminals…?”
“The Elder did not issue such orders! Do you mean to defy the command of the Minor Sect Leader of the Sect Headquarters?”
“…I shall obey your command.”
From Baek Hyeon’s tightly sealed lips and trembling voice, I could discern the full measure of his inner turmoil.
Yet despite his private anguish, Baek Hyeon did not defy my orders before the guild’s executives.
After some time had passed, the Black Sword Bandits, realizing they had regained their freedom, began streaming out of the Merchant Guild’s manor estate.
As the manor grew quiet, a gaunt man approached me.
Seo Pil, the leader of the Sea Sand Gang, bowed his head to me and slowly departed the manor.
His face bore the look of one with much to say, yet he left without uttering a word.
And after all the Black Sword Bandits had departed, and even the disappointed executives of the Cheong Yun Merchant Group had returned to their posts.
With only the two of us remaining in the garden, I spoke to Hyeon Yi.
“Hyun Ah. Prepare yourself for a journey.”

* * *
I departed the Sect Headquarters with Baek So Cheong, Young Ho Bin, and Baek Hyeon, heading toward the West Gate of Seongdo.
“Elder. Where are we going? What is all this?”
As we walked, Baek Hyeon seemed curious about the bundle of provisions in Young Ho Bin’s hands.
Instead of answering, I recalled what Jin Seol had reported to me just before we left the Sect Headquarters.
“Minor Sect Leader, when you go to Seongdo, please pay close attention to an organization called the Sea Sand Gang.”
“The Sea Sand Gang? Is there something amiss?”
“We have information that they maintain close contact with the Main Sect’s Seongdo Branch. Since they belong to the Black Path Organizations, I am troubled.”
“And?”
“Should it be necessary, would it not be wise to order the branch to sever all relations with them?”
At that time, I had not regarded the matter as particularly grave.
But now that I had arrived in Seongdo, events were unfolding far more rapidly than I had imagined.
I emerged from my thoughts and spoke to Hyeon Yi and the others.
“Hyun Ah, listen carefully to what I say from now on. And the same applies to you, Sister and Young Ho Bin.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, please speak.”
I synthesized in my mind everything I had heard, witnessed, and considered thus far.
Jin Seol’s report to me, what I had observed during my secret patrol of the Night Market, the conversation I had with Seo Pil on the day the Ho Rim Escort Agency visited, and the accounts given to me by Hye Woon and Peng Ga.
“Our destination is the stronghold of a Black Path organization.”
“Ah… Elder, are we going to assault this Black Path organization?”
“Not yet.”
“Then…?”
“To see with our own eyes the true nature of the situation we face.”
The current state of Seongdo could be called a microcosm of the Kangho Murim.
The two great powers of the Kangho Murim—the Sun and Moon Divine Sect and the Martial Alliance—were engaged in a fierce struggle for dominance beneath the surface, while the Black Path, a third force, desperately fought to survive in the cracks between them.
The Martial Alliance was the first to draw its blade.
As Hye Woon had said, in the not-too-distant future, the Martial Alliance would lead the Qingcheng Sect to subjugate the Pal Cheon Am Bang.
No matter how skilled the Black Path warriors gathered at the Pal Cheon Am Bang were, they could never stand against the Qingcheng Sect.
The Martial Alliance would crush the Black Path organizations like catching fish in a net, ultimately uncovering their connection to the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
And they would redirect the arrows of blame for the Black Path’s harassment of the common people toward the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
When that happened, not only the Sun and Moon Divine Sect but also the Cheong Yun Merchant Group operating in Chengdu could suffer serious damage.
“Then what should we do?”
After listening to my explanation, Baek Hyeon spoke with a grave expression after a moment of contemplation.
“We must sever our ties with the Black Path. And we strike them first!”
“Yes. That would be one approach.”
“Now I understand your actions, older brother. You were planning to pretend to release the Black Path members while actually raiding their headquarters.”
Perhaps Hyeon Yi was right—it might be the only way.
Had this conversation occurred months ago, I would certainly have thought the same.
“Young Ho Martial Artist, the bundle you carry contains weapons for attacking enemies, does it not?”
“…No, Second Young Master.”
And yet.
“No, Hyun Ah.”
“Older brother?”
“Before making hasty judgments, I wish to see with my own eyes first. I too am quite curious about their true nature. Yes, we’re almost there now….”
We exited through the West Gate of Chengdu and continued walking.
We left the Official Road, climbed a hill along a small forest path, and crossed a stream.
And the place we arrived at was a small village called Huam Valley.
“Older brother.”
“….”
“This is the Black Path’s base?”
Baek Hyeon stood speechless, staring blankly at the scene before us.
“Kyahahaha.”
Children, appearing to be around four or five years old and nearly naked, ran barefoot in every direction.
A Giant Warrior, hearing the laughter of the children as they played, smiled while walking with an armful of firewood on his shoulders.
A mother in a worn, faded jacket hurried homeward with a small child strapped to her back.
Dozens of houses built from wooden planks and logs, so small they seemed ready to collapse at any moment, were topped with thatched roofs.
The streets lined with these dwellings were dark and weathered, yet not filthy.
The village women and elders were still sweeping fallen leaves and dust from the streets with their brooms.
“Yes. This is the Sea Sand Gang’s base.”
Baek Hyeon appeared to be in profound shock.
It was only natural—this was utterly different from the image of the Black Path he had held until now.
“Where are you travelers from?”
An elder, who had placed a small wooden chair at the village entrance and sat with his back perfectly straight, looked at us and asked.
I bowed respectfully and addressed the elder.
“Elder, might I ask you something? Is it true that a man named Seo Pil lives in this village?”
“Ah, so you’re a friend of Pil’s, are you?”
“Yes. We met as juniors in Kangho.”
“Pil has made many fine friends, but you all seem particularly distinguished. Your eyes are remarkably clear.”
“You are too kind.”
Not only Baek Hyeon, but both Baek So Cheong and Young Ho Bin were visibly astonished as I conversed with this unnamed village elder from the countryside.
“If I’m not mistaken, Senior Seo must have recently returned to the village.”
“Go straight ahead. You’ll see a large ginkgo tree.”
“Is Senior Seo’s home near there?”
“No. His house is much further on. But Pil is certainly there right now.”
“…?”
“Didn’t you say he’d just returned? The whole village is gathered there holding a celebration.”
“Ah….”
“What are you waiting for? Go on. He’ll be delighted to see visitors.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
We continued walking deeper into the village streets.
The residents of Huam Valley we encountered along the way regarded us with curious expressions and called out to us.
Each time, Baek So Cheong responded with a warm smile.
Then the large ginkgo tree the elder had mentioned came into view.
Beneath it stood a large table, around which nearly twenty villagers were seated.
They were mostly men in their thirties and forties, with a few women of similar age scattered among them.
Seated in their midst with his back turned was Seo Pil.
Yet unexpectedly, it was someone else who recognized us first.
“Ahhh!”
Peng Ga, who had returned to the village half a day before Seo Pil, let out a shriek that seemed to split his eardrums as he stared at my face.
Startled by the sound, Seo Pil and the villagers turned around in unison to look at us.
Uncertain what expression to wear, I simply walked toward them with an impassive face.
I knew better than anyone how fierce my countenance appeared when expressionless.
Yet Seo Pil seemed unbothered.
“Minor Sect Leader. Thank you for visiting us from such a distance.”
At the words “Minor Sect Leader” from Seo Pil’s lips, as much as at Peng Ga’s reaction, the people seemed greatly startled, though none dared speak first.
They recognized him as Seo Pil’s guest and maintained their courtesy.
“I apologize for arriving without prior notice.”
“What are you saying? The honor of your visit alone is something we shall never forget.”
Only then did I smile and gaze upon the table where the people were seated.
Though meager in their circumstances, they had arranged what they could—rice porridge, several vegetable side dishes, and tea in cups.
“A cherished friend returns after so long, yet the fare seems rather sparse. There’s no meat.”
While Seo Pil looked embarrassed at my words, I gestured to Young Ho Bin.
“I anticipated as much and made some preparations.”
As Young Ho Bin set down the pack he had been carrying on his shoulder and began removing its contents, Seo Pil and all the gathered villagers’ eyes widened in amazement.
Before long, mapo tofu, iron plate beef, and kung pao chicken—along with countless other dishes—filled the entire table to overflowing.
Before our eyes lay a feast far more abundant than the spread I had shared with Hye Woon not long before.
“Surely this is enough to satisfy all the villagers, is it not?”
“Of course, Minor Sect Leader.”
Seo Pil flashed a radiant smile—one I had never seen from him before—and gestured to the villagers.
“Gather the people together.”
“Yes!”
The modest feast soon descended into jubilant chaos as children and village women crowded around until there was scarcely room to sit.
The adults gathered nearby watched with warm contentment as the children eagerly devoured the sumptuous dishes they had never laid eyes upon in their entire lives.
“I am already grateful beyond measure that you have released me, yet you show such consideration—I scarcely know how to repay such kindness.”

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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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