Heavenly Demon of Mount Hua

Chapter 16

—–CROW—– 

The Five Mountains Gathering, which felt both long and short, concluded with a shocking outcome.

Mount Hua’s first defeat.

It was a humiliation Mount Hua Sect had never experienced since the inception of the Five Mountains Gathering.

However, most of those who witnessed the event were talking about the young boy who appeared later and displayed extraordinary skill, rather than Mount Hua’s defeat.

“…They said plum blossoms bloomed with the wind and filled the entire training ground.”

“Yes, it was a truly beautiful sight.”

As the female disciples murmured, their eyes dreamy as they recalled the scene, another female disciple, who hadn’t been able to attend, tilted her head and asked,

“But is that really true?”

At her skeptical question, the two women simultaneously thumped their chests.

“Oh, you should have seen it!”

“Sigh, you missed out.”

Despite their chiding, the female disciple, far from being discouraged, was even more curious.

“But I heard Senior Disciple Cheon-hwi is only fourteen. And I also heard he was always sickly and had been recuperating…”

The two disciples flinched.

Now that she mentioned it, it was true.

They knew about Cheon-hwi, but until they saw him at the Five Mountains Gathering, he was like a mythical creature, a dragon or a kirin, to them.

They had only heard rumors of him recuperating and had rarely seen him.

“Was he not sick?”

“Perhaps the elders hid his illness and trained him in secret as the sect’s secret weapon?”

“A secret weapon?”

“Our sect’s influence and reputation have been declining recently. So they must have been secretly training him to regain our former glory.  It doesn’t make sense otherwise, does it?”

Clap!

They clapped their hands together in agreement.

“That’s possible.”

“As expected of our sect!”

As the distorted rumors about Cheon-hwi spread within Mount Hua Sect.

“…”

A chilling air permeated the Purple Cloud Pavilion, the Sect Leader’s residence.

Hyeon-ryeo was at the center of the coldness.

She was glaring alternately at the Sect Leader and Hyeon-do, who were sitting across and beside her, her eyes as cold as ice.

Sip—

“Ahem, ahem.”

The Sect Leader, meeting her sharp gaze, avoided her eyes and sipped his tea, while Hyeon-do sweated nervously.

As the awkward atmosphere thickened.

“Senior Brother.”

Hyeon-ryeo finally spoke.

At her call, the Sect Leader and Hyeon-do immediately looked at each other and smiled.

“Haha, Junior Sister is calling for you.”

“Hahaha, Senior Brother, you jest.  When Junior Sister calls ‘Senior Brother’ so seriously, it naturally refers to the Sect Leader, our esteemed Senior Brother!”

Seeing them trying to pass the buck, Hyeon-ryeo raised her eyebrows sharply and said,

“Senior. Brothers.”

“Hahaha.”

“Ahem.”

At her clipped tone, the Sect Leader chuckled awkwardly, and Hyeon-do coughed and looked away. Just then.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Cheon-hwi possessed such skill?”

The two, confronted with the question they had been trying to avoid, closed their eyes tightly.

And as they expected, Hyeon-ryeo’s words poured out like a swift sword.

“And that’s not all!  How could you suddenly make him fight a match when he’s still recovering!  What in the world were you thinking…?”

At her sharp voice, which felt like needles piercing their ears, the Sect Leader hurriedly spoke,

“Junior Sister.”

“Yes… go on.”

Hyeon-ryeo stopped talking and narrowed her eyes, waiting for his explanation.

“It was all for Cheon-hwi’s benefit.”

“For Cheon-hwi’s… benefit?”

Hyeon-ryeo’s voice sharpened, but the Sect Leader responded calmly,

“This way, we’ve made Cheon-hwi’s existence known to our sect and the other four sword sects. When would he have another opportunity like this to gain fame?”

It was a nonsensical excuse.

He had hastily called for Cheon-hwi to salvage the worsening situation, not with that intention at all.

But what did it matter?

Regardless of the process, the result was the same.

“But Cheon-hwi has barely recovered.”

At Hyeon-ryeo’s rebuttal, the Sect Leader said in a low voice, with a serious expression,

“Are you saying that after witnessing Cheon-hwi’s skill that day?”

“…”

Hyeon-ryeo fell silent.

As he said, Cheon-hwi’s skill that day was overwhelming.

But still.

She couldn’t help but feel displeased.

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

The Sect Leader glanced at Hyeon-do.

‘You answer this.’

Hyeon-do flinched at his gaze.

Then, as if his throat was parched, he picked up his cold tea and gulped it down in one go.

“Weren’t you very busy with the Five Mountains Gathering, Junior Sister?”

“We were going to tell you after it was over.”

“Is that really true?”

As Hyeon-ryeo looked at them suspiciously, the Sect Leader and Hyeon-do nodded nonchalantly.

“Hahaha, of course.”

“It was something you asked me to do personally, Junior Sister. How could I not tell you?”

As Hyeon-ryeo, tilting her head, seemed to be accepting their explanation, the two sighed in relief.

‘What are they doing?’

Cheon-hwi, the subject of their argument, grimaced at the sudden attention.

Glance—

They kept a distance of about three steps and didn’t approach him any closer, but they were scrutinizing his every move.

Cheon-hwi frowned under their intense gazes, which felt like the scorching sun.

‘What are you looking at?’

Cheon-hwi glared at them.

They hurriedly averted their gazes.  However, perhaps because they turned their heads too quickly, some of them buried their faces in their books, while others held their books upside down.

He frowned involuntarily.

At that moment, the female disciples, who had been peeking from behind their books, beamed.

Cheon-hwi looked at their changing expressions with a dumbfounded look.

Do they like it when I frown? Are they crazy?

In the past, when he frowned, most people would flee in terror, their faces pale, or bow their heads in fear.

But to like it?

He shook his head and walked past them.

“Ah…”

Ignoring their disappointed sighs, he strode forward. He quickly descended the stairs, and as the intense gazes disappeared.

“Hwi.”

Hyeon-cheong, who had become close to him due to his daily visits to the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion, called out.

He was looking at Cheon-hwi with a puzzled expression, seemingly wondering about the crowd gathered in the pavilion.

Then he spoke.

“I’ve never seen so many disciples in the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion. Do you know what’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”

Hyeon-cheong tilted his head as he watched Cheon-hwi leave the pavilion after his firm reply.

No matter how he looked at it, Cheon-hwi seemed to be at the center of the current situation.

The gazes and attention of all the disciples in the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion were directed at Cheon-hwi.

‘What’s going on?’

Hyeon-cheong’s eyes were filled with questions.

He scanned the disciples watching from above and closed the book in his hand.

***

After leaving the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion and walking along the narrow mountain path for a while.

“…nior!”

Cheon-hwi’s eyebrow twitched slightly at the faint voice.

‘Is that coming from my hut?’

He quickened his pace.

Step— Step—

“Please teach me martial arts!”

Then he heard a loud shout.

As he got closer to his hut, the shout became louder and clearer.

He could see his hut now.

And a figure in front of it.

The figure, seemingly the source of the loud shouts, was kneeling respectfully in front of his hut with clasped hands.

Then the figure raised its head.

“Senior Disciple!”

Senior Disciple?

He focused his eyes.

The back of the figure’s head looked familiar.

Where had he seen it before…?

He recalled the foolish boy who had frozen in fear during the match.

Ah!  Jeok-geom, or whatever his name was.  That’s him.

Then Jeok-geom shouted again,

“Please teach me martial arts!”

‘Does he think I’m inside?’

Cheon-hwi, watching Jeok-geom’s gaze fixed on the hut, approached him.

He stood behind Jeok-geom and asked,

“What are you doing?”

“Gasp!”

Jeok-geom jumped in surprise at the sudden voice behind him and gasped.

“S-Senior Disciple?”

Flustered, he looked at Cheon-hwi.

Then he quickly glanced at the hut.

He looked at Cheon-hwi, then at the hut.

His face and ears turned bright red as he repeatedly glanced back and forth.

‘He really thought I was inside.’

Cheon-hwi looked at the embarrassed Jeok-geom with a disappointed gaze and was about to step past him and enter the hut when.

Grab!

He felt a rough hand grab his pant leg.

“Senior Disciple!”

Jeok-geom, almost lying on the ground as he reached out, clutched Cheon-hwi’s pant leg with a desperate look in his eyes.

“Could you bestow upon your humble junior disciple a bit of your wisdom?”

Cheon-hwi’s mouth opened as he met Jeok-geom’s gaze.

“Why should I?”

“…Huh?”

Jeok-geom’s voice was deflated at the unexpected question.

Cheon-hwi’s feet moved as he looked at Jeok-geom, speechless.

Sweep—

In a split second, executing the Seven Star Steps, he slipped out of Jeok-geom’s firm grasp and entered the hut.

Jeok-geom, who had been staring blankly as if mesmerized, snapped out of it as Cheon-hwi disappeared into the hut and shouted,

“S-Senior Disciple!”

It was a desperate cry, but Cheon-hwi ignored it and frowned.

‘Is it because of that match?’

He pondered the unusual attention and gazes he was receiving and nodded.

There was no other explanation.

“Well, it won’t last long.”

Cheon-hwi, thinking it was just temporary attention that would naturally fade with time, sat cross-legged.

After about an hour.

“I’ll visit again later.”

A quiet voice reached him.

He sensed Jeok-geom, who had been waiting outside his hut, leaving.

‘I’m busy enough organizing the martial arts manuals in the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion, and he wants me to teach him?’

He stopped circulating his energy.

“Now, let’s focus.”

He smiled, relieved that the annoyance was gone.

“Among the things I saw today…”

As he was enjoying the peace, he recalled the Sweeping Leaves Leg Technique, which he had found quite interesting in the Ten Thousand Classics Pavilion.

But was it a twist of fate?

Cheon-hwi’s peace didn’t last long.

Step— Step—

He heard footsteps from outside, and his face hardened as if sensing something ominous.

Then a voice reached him.

“Senior Disciple.”

This time, it was a woman’s voice.

“It’s your junior disciple, Seol-ran.”

Seol-ran, having politely introduced herself, paused for a moment and then spoke again, her voice laced with internal energy,

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you teach your junior disciple some martial arts?”

At her request, identical to Jeok-geom’s, Cheon-hwi scratched his head and flopped onto his back.

“Oh, dear.”

Today wasn’t his day.

—–CROW—– 

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