Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Silver Dragon's True Flavor
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Wearing the gray martial robes procured by the merchant leader instead of his Mount Hua Sect uniform, Cheonhwi looked up at the three-story building in front of him.
'Is this the place?'
He glanced at the signboard reading Silver Dragon's True Flavor before quickly looking away.
'Yeah, this is it.'
The building was wrapped in lavish lanterns, and a fragrant aroma wafted out from the wide-open doors, bathed in bright light.
'That's the stuff.'
Drawn by the scent like a moth to a flame, Cheonhwi took a step toward the brightly lit entrance.
"Welcome to Silver Dragon's True Flavor."
The attendant at the door bowed politely in greeting.
"What kind of seat would you like?"
Recalling the merchant leader's words, Cheonhwi replied to the attendant,
"The top floor."
Cheonhwi immediately pulled out some silver taels.
'Whoa! How many is this?!'
The attendant's eyes widened as he counted the taels handed to him.
It was far more than the fee for a top-floor seat.
'Then the remainder...'
The attendant swallowed hard.
He had assumed this plainly dressed man was just an ordinary guest, but clearly, he was anything but.
His eyes sparkled at the sight of the silver.
'Jackpot!'
With utmost courtesy, the attendant bowed to Cheonhwi and led the way.
"Right this way. Not many guests have visited the top floor today, so you'll be able to enjoy it comfortably."
A short while later, Cheonhwi arrived at the third floor—the top level of Silver Dragon's True Flavor.
He sat by the window and scanned the surroundings.
'Nice and quiet.'
As the attendant had said, the third floor was nearly deserted, with scarcely anyone around.
Just one man and woman across the way.
'An unusual pair.'
Cheonhwi's gaze was momentarily captured by them.
He had always been indifferent to everything but martial arts, yet the mismatched duo drew his attention.
What caught his eye first was, naturally, the man.
The man appeared to be in his forties, his gleaming crimson eyes blazing like flames.
'The effect of his internal energy, probably.'
After briefly sizing up the man, Cheonhwi naturally glanced at the woman opposite him.
'A child? No, a young girl?'
Even seated, the girl was tiny—half a head shorter than the middle-aged man's.
But more striking than her petite stature was her attire.
'Eating dressed like that.'
The girl wore a wide-brimmed hat pulled low over her face.
But was it an ordinary hat?
No.
Black silk gauze was densely woven along the brim, completely shrouding her face.
Her eerie habit of lifting the gauze only to eat was utterly bizarre.
'Does food even go down with that?'
At that moment, the attendant approached.
"Any particular dishes you'd like?"
"The house specialties and the best liquor you have."
With those words, Cheonhwi handed over more silver.
The attendant checked it and nodded vigorously with a beaming smile.
"Oh my! Sir!"
He bowed deeply at once.
"How about clear-steamed Wuchang fish? It's the most special among our head chef's signature dishes. And for liquor, Gujing Tribute Wine—it's renowned for its exquisite taste..."
"Surprise me."
"Understood! I'll inform the chef right away and have it prepared as quickly as possible!"
The attendant replied briskly to Cheonhwi's straightforward request and vanished.
Meanwhile, the girl across from Cheonhwi whispered as she swallowed her food.
"...A mysterious one."
Her voice was like grinding metal.
It was a hoarse, low tone impossible to associate with a young girl.
Yet it clearly came from her.
"You mean him?"
"Yes."
The middle-aged man feigned surprise at her words and calmly set down his chopsticks.
He then examined the young man who had ascended the stairs.
Stroking his goatee once as he appraised the youth leaning his chin on his hand, gazing indifferently out the window, the man grunted.
"Hm."
His eyes deepened.
As the girl said, a mysterious figure.
The youth wore commonplace martial robes, but his cold, cynical face exuded a unique aura.
"Hmmm. To think you'd take interest in someone, when you wouldn't even glance at the Jade Qilin..."
Despite his tone of utter incomprehension, a faint smile played on his lips.
It must have pleased him to see the girl show interest in a peer for the first time in her life.
Still, he scrutinized the youth more closely.
'Hm, decent looks. But...'
To gauge the youth's appearance and inner power, he rolled his eyes.
'No martial arts cultivation?'
He frowned and shook his head.
No internal energy emanated from the youth at all.
'A pity. If he had trained in martial arts, I might have told you to meet him.'
As the middle-aged man regretfully couldn't tear his eyes away from the youth.
'What's he staring at?'
Cheonhwi met his gaze.
The man, who hadn't expected their eyes to meet, panicked slightly and awkwardly smiled before turning away.
"Your dishes, sir."
Just then, the food and liquor arrived.
Cheonhwi picked up his chopsticks and took a bite, inhaling the steam rising from the plate.
It lived up to the chef's pride—the clear-steamed Wuchang fish was rich in flavor.
He followed with a sip of the Gujing Tribute Wine.
"Ahh. Now that's the stuff."
Was it because it had been so long since his last drink?
Or because it was a famed vintage?
The liquor was exceptional.
'Meat's best with booze, after all.'
As he drained glass after glass with a satisfied expression, Cheonhwi suddenly frowned.
In one swift motion, he snatched the plates and bottle from the table.
BAM!
A deafening crash shook the restaurant.
"You thought you could escape so easily?!"
Having saved the nearly toppled dishes and bottle, Cheonhwi turned with a grin.
'Perfect drinking snack, too.'
The table of the dining pair across from him had split in half.
"...What is the meaning of this?"
The middle-aged man set down his chopsticks and glared up at those responsible for the mess.
Four brutish men.
Each with a savage face and murderous glare fixed on the pair.
The largest among them slung a massive axe over his shoulder and snorted.
"Hah, what do you mean? Didn't you kill our little brother?!"
Infused with qi, his gravelly shout rattled the entire establishment.
Yet the pair remained unshaken.
"...So you're the remnants of the Five Fiends of the Western Shore."
A hoarse, raspy voice flowed out.
The veiled girl glanced indifferently at the shattered table before lifting her head.
'Five Fiends of the Western Shore? Ugly thugs always pick the flashiest nicknames.'
Cheonhwi chuckled softly.
But had those dining on the first or second floors heard, they wouldn't have laughed—they'd have fled in terror.
The Five Fiends of the Western Shore were infamous for their brutality, so vicious even the authorities had given up on them.
The middle-aged man rose from his seat.
"Nameless rabble."
"Hah, you're the nameless ones."
The girl's veil twitched as she turned her head at the man's derisive snort.
"No hope of redemption for you, just like that lecher."
"What? Redemption?"
The man sneered.
"This lord will redeem you himself."
"Junior Brother, no need for chit-chat."
At that moment, a short, skinny old man spoke in a thick voice.
"Just kill the old fart. And as for..."
Pointing a bony finger at the girl, the elder licked his lips.
"Handle that one with care—no marks on her."
"Planning to take her again, Eldest Brother? That's not fair."
The man called Junior Brother grumbled but gripped his axe without defying the elder.
"Tch, second dibs it is."
The middle-aged man coldly addressed the pair trading lame banter.
"Delusional fools."
A sword had appeared in his hand unnoticed.
"You'll all die by my blade anyway."
His voice grew as heavy as the thickening tension. Yet the Five Fiends of the Western Shore didn't waver.
"All talk."
"Rush him together."
At the elder's command, two men seized their grotesque sword and axe.
"Die!"
With ferocious glares, they swung their weapons wide.
The savage momentum made even the girl flinch.
CRACK!
The wooden floor split, screams rising from below.
"Kyaaah!"
"W-what's happening?!"
As the restaurant descended into chaos.
"That looks like the Solar Palace martial arts? No, a bit different. The Solar Palace stuff was fiercer, I think?"
Cheonhwi sipped his liquor, enjoying the unfolding brawl.
"Poor bastard."
A shadow fell over him.
He looked up to see a burly bald man looming, greatsword slung over his shoulder, gazing down.
"Tsk tsk. Blame your luck for dining here right now."
Cheonhwi pinched his nose.
"Ugh!"
The bald man's halitosis was nauseatingly foul.
"How dare you interrupt an elder..."
"Shut your stinking mouth?"
The bald man's face flushed crimson.
"You little—!"
His head turned the same shade as he hefted the greatsword—its chain rattling—and swung mightily.
THUD!
A dull impact, and blood erupted from the bald man's seven orifices.
"Second Brother!"
"Second Sis—!"
No sooner had the cries from the Five Fiends clashing with the middle-aged man rung out than the man's body toppled forward slowly.
His expression betrayed utter incomprehension of what had befallen him, but his life was already extinguished.
THUMP!
The massive frame hit the floor with a boom.
"S-second Brother!"
"What the—?"
"How?!"
The remaining three Fiends—now the Three Fiends of the Western Shore—froze, staring at Cheonhwi.
"Gawking in a situation like this."
As the three panicked at his words.
WHOOSH!
A gust of wind, a streak of blue light cleaved the three in half.
"Gah!"
With final gasps, they collapsed.
The notorious Four Fiends—no, all four men—had lost their lives in an instant.
"You..."
Danmok Jin-gang, the middle-aged man who had cut them down, began to speak but faltered.
"...!"
The youth who had been sipping liquor moments ago had vanished like an illusion.
As Danmok Jin-gang faltered in confusion.
"He left a while ago."
The girl said softly.
"You knew he was an expert?"
"No."
Danmok Jin-gang stared at her in astonishment at her firm denial.
Her innate qi sense was extraordinary from birth. She could perceive anyone in the world.
Even the heads of the Eight Great Clans.
"Really?"
"Yes. I felt nothing until he moved."
The girl continued staring at the empty table.
It was unbelievable even to her.
She had thought nothing in the world could escape her qi sense.
Yet that youth just now...
'He was like he wasn't even there.'
His presence was incredibly faint.
So faint she momentarily forgot he existed in the space.
For her, who sensed the surrounding energies daily, it was profoundly mysterious.
'But when he struck...'
Recalling that moment, her skin prickled and her heart raced.
She had seen it.
Not the Fiends.
'His presence devoured the world.'
Her veil trembled faintly.
Beneath it, her eyes shifted from the table to the outside.
Under the moonlit sky, the youth who had engulfed the world flickered like starlight before vanishing.
"Who is he..."
Meanwhile, back at the inn, Cheonhwi expelled all the alcohol qi in one breath.
'Ruined the booze buzz.'
Lying on his bed, he thought of the unfinished dishes and liquor he'd left behind.
'Weird, though.'
As the drunken haze cleared, idle thoughts surfaced.
Recalling the strange yin qi leaking from the girl who had watched him slay the Fiends, he tilted his head.
"How is she still alive with a constitution like that?"