38 - Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect

Episode 38 "... Sir! Let's go together..." "Where..." Cheonhui furrowed his brows as he ended his meditation session at the commotion outside. "Why is it so noisy?" His expression mixed with annoyance as he unfolded his legs from the lotus position and attempted to stand up. "Master!" Just then, the voice of Jeokgeom reached his ears. "Elder Hyundo has arrived..." Bang! Before Jeokgeom could finish his sentence, the door was forcefully flung open, casting a large shadow across the room. As they say, speak of the tiger, and it appears. Hyundo entered, and his gaze met Cheonhui's. "Cheonhui!" He shouted loudly and started sprinting towards him. "Senior Brother?" With a thundering noise approaching, Cheonhui started to rise from the bed. Thud! Once close, Hyundo grabbed his shoulder and quickly scanned him. "Are you hurt anywhere?" The abrupt concern made Cheonhui crease his brows. "I'm fine." "Phew, that's a relief." Hyundo breathed out, his chest heaving with a smile. But soon his expression changed to a serious one as he lowered his voice and asked cautiously. "Is what was written in the letter sent to the main sect true?" "The letter?" Cheonhui tilted his head at the mention of the 'letter.' Then suddenly, he remembered something he had buried deep in his mind. "Oh! That?" Recalling that Goyeong once mentioned sending a letter to the Mount Hua Sect, he responded. "Probably." The moment he confirmed it— "The White Ghosts...! Damn it, those bastards have shown their claws again!" Hyundo growled with fierce eyes. His face grew even fiercer as he continued to shout in rage, stomping his feet. When his already intimidating face contorted, becoming even more terrifying— "Hm?" There was someone who awkwardly stood at the threshold, drawing Cheonhui's gaze beyond Hyundo. A middle-aged man, dressed not only in the blue and white robe but also wearing a Taoist cap on his head, exuded a neatly polished appearance. Looking as if he had 'I'm a Taoist' written all over him, the sight made even Hyundo's anger-laden eyes clear with reason. Hyundo turned to face Cheonhui, who stared at the person behind him, and asked: "What's wrong?" "Who is that gentleman?" At Cheonhui's inquiry, Hyundo, with a face of sudden realization, introduced the middle-aged man behind him. "Oh, I forgot to introduce him. This is Howoojin, known as the 'Flying Lotus Swordmaster' in the martial world." "Flying Lotus Swordmaster?" As Cheonhui tilted his head in confusion, Hyundo hastily added an explanation. "He's a revered swordsman from the Jongnam Sect, renowned across the martial realm." Hyundo's gaze softened considerably. He shifted his focus from Howoojin back to Cheonhui. "And he was your master's closest and dearest friend." Hyundo focused on Cheonhui. Very few in the martial world were aware of the friendship between Howoojin and Hyun-gang. What kind of reaction would Cheonhui have? Surprise, curiosity, or just indifference? "Aha, is that so?" A completely unexpected reaction came out. For Cheonhui, whether his master had friends or not was irrelevant, especially since he had never even met his master. 'So what am I supposed to do about it?' Seeing Cheonhui's expression of wondering if there was anything more to say, Hyundo was at a loss. "Didn't you know they were friends?" "No." "Then aren't you even a little curious—" "Elder Hyundo." Howoojin interjected into their conversation. He shook his head slightly, speaking softly to Hyundo. "Wouldn't it be better to sit and discuss things calmly first?" Eventually, the three of them—Cheonhui, Hyundo, and Howoojin—sat around the central table. "I am Howoojin of the Jongnam Sect," he stated once more. Cheonhui looked at him again, realizing there was a hidden intention. 'Why is he beating around the bush so much?' From his experiences with the Taoists at Mount Hua Sect, Cheonhui deduced that this introduction was a prompt for him to introduce himself. Slightly irritated, he responded curtly. "I'm Cheonhui." Howoojin's expression relaxed. He looked at Cheonhui with warm eyes and said softly: "Ah, you are indeed Hyun-gang's disciple." His voice carried complex emotions. Though not widely known, Howoojin and Hyun-gang shared a deep friendship that transcended their respective sects, Mount Hua and Jongnam. They were friendly rivals and inseparable comrades. But on the day Hyun-gang passed away, Howoojin couldn't avenge his friend. The elders of the Jongnam Sect, who had fed and sheltered him, stopped him from seeking vengeance against the White Ghosts. Friends were important, but so was his family. Therefore, Howoojin returned to Jongnam, giving up on vengeance, but the burden on his heart remains to this day. As a result, he couldn’t bring himself to revisit the Mount Hua Sect, deliberately avoiding it. 'I never expected to meet the child you took in like this.' His bitter smile grew dim. He recalled Hyun-gang mentioning bringing an orphan from a certain village once. ‘I heard he was six years old at the time; has he grown this much already?’ Time flows mercilessly, it seemed. The six-year-old child was gone, and a formidable young man stood before him. ‘I should have visited sooner…’ While Howoojin was absorbed in his unique emotions— 'Why is he looking at me like that?' Cheonhui didn't appreciate the gaze he was receiving from him. At that moment— Clatter. Hyundo set down his teacup abruptly with a serious expression and spoke: "Is it true that the White Ghosts are behind the Pewang Clan?" "Yes, that's correct." Instantly, Howoojin's eyes widened. "The White Ghosts are backing the Pewang Clan...?" However, without paying him any attention, Hyundo continued the conversation. "I'd like to hear more details about it." "Details?" Hyundo nodded up and down. "Ah, it's a hassle... Fine." Sighing at Hyundo's earnest look, Cheonhui started recounting the ambush he encountered right after joining the Bifeng Merchant Guild. "The day I arrived at Bifeng Merchant Guild..." Hyundo and Howoojin pricked up their ears, soaking in Cheonhui's narrative. And soon, perhaps half a meal's time later, the story reached its climax. "...That's how it happened." As Cheonhui concluded his story with the mention of defeating them, Hyundo clenched his fists, visibly trembling in anger. "How dare they meddle with our sect again." "The audacity of these fools! They must have a death wish!" he exclaimed, uttering words not befitting a Taoist's mouth, punctuating his emotion with heavy breaths. Howoojin, who had been listening alongside, also furrowed his brow in disapproval. "It seems the Pewang Clan was established by the White Ghosts as a front for their nefarious operations." A slight hardness settled into his expression. The White Ghosts had been so quiet recently that both he and the Jongnam Sect had relaxed their vigilance. But it had all been a smokescreen. 'They've been hiding such a vile plan right under our noses.' He trembled at the thought of their cunning. For thirteen years, the White Ghosts had stayed hidden while the Pewang Clan acted as though they were unrelated. They had thoroughly deceived everyone, including himself, making it inconceivable that the two were connected. This realization was evident in what had transpired recently. A few days ago, when he encountered Eunsuchamsal, the latter had shown no signs of any connection to the Pewang Clan. "They were putting on an act even then...!" Howoojin's eyes widened in sudden understanding, resolving a question that had been bothering him for days. "That's why Eunsuchamsal appeared right after the Pewang Clan fell!" "Eunsuchamsal?" Hyundo frowned at the name. Eunsuchamsal was notorious—one of the four chief assassins of the White Ghosts, known for always bringing a storm of bloodshed wherever he went in the martial world. Hyundo questioned Howoojin while looking at him intently. "He came here?" Howoojin nodded. "I encountered him while investigating the destruction of the Pewang Clan." "Sending even Eunsuchamsal! They've decided to settle the score with us!" As Hyundo gritted his teeth— "Elder Hyundo." Howoojin spoke with a firm look. "The Bifeng Merchant Guild is in danger." "What do you mean by danger?" "If the leader of the White Ghosts knows their plan failed and the Pewang Clan was annihilated..." He swallowed hard. "They'll send even stronger forces." "Stronger forces…?" "The Baekgui Three Squadrons might head for the Bifeng Merchant Guild." "The Baekgui Three Squadrons..." Hyundo fell silent, contemplating the weight of such an adversary. In the past, a similar force, the Extermination Squad, led to the mutual destruction of their youngest disciples and the Plum Blossom Swordsmen. "Squadrons…?" It was Cheonhui's interruption. "The ones who came the other day did call themselves some kind of squadron." "What?" "Really?" Hyundo and Howoojin instinctively leaned forward towards Cheonhui. "Do you know who they are?" "What kind of people were they?" "Murder...something, was it? What was it again?" As Cheonhui furrowed his brow, trying to recall, Hyundo and Howoojin grew increasingly anxious with every passing second. "Do your best to remember." "Think slowly and carefully." "Can you give me a moment?" Cheonhui retorted, irritation clear in his voice, prompting them to withdraw their faces sheepishly. "Oh!" A realization dawned on Cheonhui, and both immediately perked up their ears. "Was it the Corpse-Slaughter Squad? Or maybe the Deathbringer Squadron? I can’t remember exactly, but something along those lines." As soon as he spoke, both men leaped to their feet simultaneously. "The Corpse-Slaughter Squad!" "They're saying the Corpse-Slaughter Squad came here!" Cheonhui frowned at their near-deafening outcry. "Though they aren’t widely known, it's said that wherever the Corpse-Slaughter Squad treads, at least one sect meets its end..." Howoojin muttered in a daze. The Corpse-Slaughter Squad was a force not to be underestimated, even formidable against a sect like Jongnam. ‘Did they really visit the Bifeng Merchant Guild?’ He was struck by a thought. If the Corpse-Slaughter Squad had indeed come, the Bifeng Merchant Guild would not be standing intact. "Perhaps they only came for reconnaissance..." But even as he spoke, he felt a sense of discord. His words struck him as illogical. ‘No, it can't be. No one has survived an encounter with the Corpse-Slaughter Squad before...’ His gaze returned to Cheonhui. His indifferent demeanor didn’t suggest he was lying. ‘Then how could it have happened?’ His thoughts grew more intricate. Yet instead of finding answers, his head swirled with confusion. Finally, abandoning his ruminations, he asked Cheonhui directly. "Did you face the Corpse-Slaughter Squad?" "Yes, I did." "So, what became of them..." "I took care of it." "Took care...?" Howoojin was perplexed, not fully grasping Cheonhui’s meaning, prompting Cheonhui to clarify bluntly with a simplicity impossible to confuse. "I killed them."