The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 101

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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 101
The Black Path 2
I spoke to Seo Pil as he bowed in gratitude.
“Please, there’s no need for such words. Meeting disciples who have lived so far apart for the first time—as a Minor Sect Leader, isn’t this the least I should do?”
At those words, not only Seo Pil but many of the villagers around us froze in place.
Even Baek Hyeon and Baek So Cheong, who until then had been uncertain how to react to what was unfolding before their eyes.
“There’s no need to hide before me. Many of the villagers here already know they are disciples of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.”
Peng Ga, who had been watching from a distance, was the first to rush forward and kneel before me.
Seo Pil, who had until then not revealed that he was a disciple of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, followed suit.
Shortly after, about twenty villagers knelt toward me in unison and offered the greetings they had postponed until now.
“O radiant sun and moon that dispels darkness. We humble disciples greet the Minor Sect Leader.”
I too wore a genuine smile on my face for the first time in a long while.
“Brother and sister disciples. I cannot express how delighted I am to meet you all like this.”
These were people who, according to the teachings of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, had not been able to reveal their discipleship to anyone.
As members of the Black Path, as the impoverished, they had endured scorn and persecution while struggling to study and follow the teachings of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
It was difficult for me to imagine what these people felt upon finally meeting face-to-face the Minor Sect Leader of the Sect Headquarters, whom they had only heard of from afar.
It seemed I was not alone in feeling this way.
Baek So Cheong, Baek Hyeon, and Young Ho Bin all watched us and them in silence for a while.
I had thought I was coming to find the stronghold of the Sea Sand Gang, but upon arriving, this place was simply a peaceful village where ordinary, humble people lived with little to their names.
Moreover, exceeding my expectation of finding some disciples here, half the villagers were disciples of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
How was I to interpret this?
The silence of that place—both moving and awkward—was broken by a woman in her mid-twenties.
“Minor Sect Leader. I am deeply grateful that you have personally visited the Sungdo Branch.”
“And you are?”
“I am Yoon So Eun, Branch Master, and I greet the Minor Sect Leader.”
“So you are the Branch Master. Your efforts are much appreciated.”
Unlike the Sect Headquarters of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, which is a military force and nearly a martial faction, the branches composed of the common folk of Kangho operate as strictly secret organizations.
Among the disciples themselves, it is not publicly revealed who is a disciple or how many belong to the branch.
Even the executives of the Sect Headquarters do not maintain separate records of their names.
Just as I had once sensed the existence of disciples who secretly performed their roles in Maehwa Village near the Sect Headquarters long ago.
This was the method by which the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, called the ‘Demonic Cult’ and persecuted, had taken deep root throughout Kangho.
“Yoon So Eun has converted most of the residents of Huam Valley. Of course, I too came to know the Sun and Moon Divine Sect thanks to her.”
“Rather, it is Seo Pil who leads the branch well. Thanks to him, we have overcome several crises where we nearly were discovered by government forces.”
At Seo Pil’s words, Yoon So Eun deflected the praise in embarrassment.
As Seo Pil grasped Yoon So Eun’s hand with a pleased expression, she blushed, and watching the well-matched couple, Baek So Cheong smiled softly.
While the villagers and disciples were spending a joyful and generous time together for the first time in a long while, Baek So Cheong asked me in a voice only I could hear.
“Minor Sect Leader, so… could it be that Seo Pil is…?”
“He is the leader of the Sea Sand Gang. To be precise, the leader of the Seongdo Sea Sand Gang. Most of the able-bodied men of Huam Valley belong to the Sea Sand Gang. So this place is indeed the stronghold of the Sea Sand Gang.”
“As I suspected.”
“Were you surprised?”
“Yes. I didn’t realize that the Heuk-do Bang-pa, one of the Pal Cheon Am Bang organizations, was like this. But for a Heuk-do Bang-pa leader….”
“They look too poor?”
“Exactly.”
I couldn’t fault Baek So Cheong’s astonishment.
Until I spoke with Seo Pil and Peng Ga, I too had never imagined such a thing.
“The government salt in Chengdu is so expensive that ordinary commoners and the poor can’t even afford to buy it. All the profits from selling such high-priced government salt go to salt merchants colluding with officials or fill the coffers of high-ranking bureaucrats. The Haesa Bang brought in salt smuggled from the salt fields and sold it at cheap prices in the night market, earning almost no profit in the process.”
“Such things were happening….”
“It’s not just the Haesa Bang. Among the organizations under the Pal Cheon Am Bang, groups like the Medicine Cauldron Gang that distribute smuggled medicine, or the Wooden Horse Gang made up of stable hands and porters, are more akin to mutual aid societies for the common folk struggling against government tyranny. Of course, the remaining organizations are simply genuine villains.”
As Baek So Cheong and I spoke, Hyeon’s face grew increasingly flushed.
As the master of a major merchant guild, he had lumped them all together as Black Path without understanding their circumstances.
Yet this wasn’t entirely Hyeon Yi’s fault.
Not only the government offices, but the sects of the Righteous Martial Arts Society, and even the Cheong Nan Guest Hall operated by Shaolin and Hye Woon—all viewed the Black Path organizations of the Pal Cheon Am Bang as one unified group.
It was also true that the righteous mutual aid societies, including the Haesa Bang, relied on the strength of the Pal Cheon Am Bang as a shield against government oppression.
And it was also true that the unified strength of the Pal Cheon Am Bang was necessary to counter the Martial Alliance, which was moving to crush the Black Path with the Qingcheng Sect at the forefront.
That was why I had no choice but to release all the Black Path members.
And that was why I had no choice but to do this as well.
“Hyun Ah.”
“Yes, Elder Brother.”
I called out to Hyeon, who had been hanging his head and staring at the ground.
“Do you understand why Seo Pil tried to hide that he was a disciple of the Main Sect?”
“Yes. I think I understand.”
He turned his gaze toward Seo Pil and the disciples.
Their appearance—laughing, chattering, eating and drinking—was more human than any disciples Hyeon had ever witnessed.
“It was to prevent the Il-Wol Divine Sect from being misunderstood as being in league with the Heuk-do Bang-pa.”
He had branded himself a criminal for the sake of the common people, endured countless hardships after being brought to the Cheong Yun Merchant Group where the younger brother of the Il-Wol Divine Sect’s Minor Sect Leader served as master, yet he never revealed his status as a disciple.
Rather, he had feared that his identity as a disciple would be exposed.
He had not tried to claim that he was different from other Black Path members, that the Haesa Bang was different from other Black Path organizations.
He had feared that the stigma of “Black Path” he bore would transfer to the Il-Wol Divine Sect.
“Remember his conduct well.”
“Yes, Elder Brother. I understand completely.”
Hyeon’s gaze remained fixed on Seo Pil and the Black Sword Bandits laughing and chattering around him for a long while.
I didn’t know exactly what Hyeon Yi was thinking at this moment.
But I knew that as the future brother of the Il-Wol Divine Sect’s Sect Leader and as the master of the greatest merchant guild in Kangho, the thoughts he was having now would become an important lesson for him.
Of course, this applied to me as well as to Hyeon.
‘There’s truly no other way.’
As I observed Huam Valley with my own eyes, I solidified my resolve for the path forward.
I had brought food today to fill the bellies of the residents and disciples here, but this was merely a temporary measure.
Even if I couldn’t improve their lives, I had to help them overcome the great crisis looming before them.
That was my duty as Minor Sect Leader.
‘I need to deal with those Qingcheng Sect bastards first.’

* * *
Late into the night, at a manor estate on the outskirts of Chengdu.
Eight martial artists, each radiating an unmistakably crude and violent aura, gathered in an open guest chamber overlooking the darkened garden below.
A giant warrior, his massive frame like a walking mountain of flesh, a broad-bladed executioner’s sword hanging from his waist, surveyed the assembled figures and spoke.
“Has there been any unusual activity these past five days?”
The speaker was Ha Mun Sung, the leader of the Shu Road Gang and supreme commander of the Black Path alliance forces known throughout Sichuan as the Palcheon Secret Chamber.
Wi Seung Gak, a one-eyed man of middle years and leader of the Sword Gate Gang, answered.
“All remains quiet. They suddenly released all the Black Path members they had detained, and I suspect their approach toward us may have shifted.”
“Shifted? If they were the type to change their ways, they would never have attempted such things against us in the first place!”
No Geon Pyeong, leader of the Blood Path Gang, flared with indignation. He was a man bearing an ancient sword scar that ran from beside his left eye, across his nose, to his right ear.
“What is your assessment, Gang Leader No?”
“There must be some scheme at work. They may have tried to turn those released members and extract information about us.”
Ha Mun Sung, leader of the Shu Road Gang, regarded him intently.
“So what do you propose?”
“After suffering such humiliation, how could the members of our Palcheon Secret Chamber hold their heads high within Ha Cheon?”
“Are you suggesting we strike at Cheong Yun Merchant Group?”
“Of course. We must wage war if necessary to demonstrate that the Palcheon Secret Chamber remains strong.”
Shim Yeo Soo, leader of the Mount Le Gang, interjected quietly.
“If this were a matter to be resolved by force, we would not have merely watched until now. Do not forget—the real problem is not Cheong Yun Merchant Group, but the Il-Wol Divine Sect standing behind them.”
“The Il-Wol Divine Sect has already declared they will not interfere in Cheong Yun Merchant Group’s affairs!”
“That declaration is merely hollow. There is already evidence that Il-Wol Divine Sect martial artists are involved in the actual detention and interrogation of Black Path members.”
The four gang leaders, who had been exchanging heated arguments, suddenly realized that the remaining four faction leaders had offered no opinions whatsoever since the meeting began.
The leaders of the merchant gangs—the Sea Sand Gang, Night Brocade Gang, Wooden Horse Gang, and Medicine Cauldron Gang.
Though they belonged to the Palcheon Secret Chamber, they remained passive in these gang affairs.
Particularly Seo Pil, leader of the Sea Sand Gang, was a martial artist whose personal skills were no inferior to those of Ha Mun Sung or No Geon Pyeong, and his passive stance troubled them.
No Geon Pyeong, leader of the Blood Path Gang, fixed his gaze upon Seo Pil and spoke sharply.

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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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