Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: That's Right
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The Sword Demon remained prostrate before Byeok Taesan, unable to move for some time.
The answer Byeok Taesan had given him,
"That's right."
That one phrase had done it.
Honestly, from the moment his suspicion arose until just before it was confirmed, he thought he would break down in tears upon verifying his thoughts were correct.
But it wasn't enough to bring him to tears.
Instead, he felt a bit scared.
Of course, being scared didn't mean he disliked Byeok Taesan or felt the need to run away. Not at all.
The moment suspicion turned to certainty, he reaffirmed his unwavering loyalty to the Heavenly Demon.
Time passed as he remained prostrate, lost in a myriad of thoughts.
Byeok Taesan simply looked down at the Sword Demon in silence.
In truth, he could have told him as soon as they met. The Sword Demon probably would have accepted it without much fuss.
But for some reason, he didn't want to. He figured it would be good if the Sword Demon figured it out himself, and if not, so be it.
Yet, impressively, the Sword Demon had found the answer on his own and come all this way.
"Are you planning to stay like that?"
At Byeok Taesan's words, the Sword Demon slowly raised his head.
"I..."
The Sword Demon hesitated, unsure of how to address him.
"Just call me Young Master."
The Sword Demon's expression became incredibly complicated.
Young Master. How could he call the leader of the Heavenly Demonic Cult, the supreme ruler of the world, the Heavenly Demon, "Young Master"?
But faced with Byeok Taesan's cold gaze, the Sword Demon ultimately folded up his thoughts and tucked them away deep in his heart.
"Yes, Young Master. I will serve you with all my heart from now on."
Byeok Taesan spoke, still looking annoyed.
"My maids are good at serving me, so don't worry about that. Just focus on getting stronger."
"Yes. I will take that to heart."
The Sword Demon renewed his desire to become stronger.
"Come closer."
"Pardon?"
For a moment, the Sword Demon thought he had misheard and stared blankly at Byeok Taesan.
The Heavenly Demon never said such things.
If he needed to punish someone, he could do it from any distance without lifting a finger. If he wanted something, he could also retrieve it without lifting a finger.
But to be told to come closer...
Those were words reserved for beautiful women. No, even when embracing beauties, he had no need to say such things. They would approach on their own.
If not, he could simply pull them with his power.
The Sword Demon had once seen a man dozens of yards away flail about as he flew toward the Heavenly Demon.
Of course, that man had vanished without leaving even a trace of blood.
The Sword Demon swallowed dryly.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Demon frowned.
"Did you not hear me?"
Startled, the Sword Demon quickly approached Byeok Taesan.
As the Sword Demon rushed forward, Byeok Taesan placed a hand firmly on the crown of his head.
It looked as if he had seized his head in his hand.
"Kuaaaaaaaargh!"
A desperate scream erupted from the Sword Demon's mouth.
Byeok Taesan clicked his tongue.
"You've killed quite a lot. Look at all the bloodstains on your soul. It'll take more than one session to wipe all this clean."
A slight smile touched Byeok Taesan's lips as he gently roasted the Sword Demon's soul.
Perhaps because it was much more difficult than burning someone else's soul, the "roasting" felt exceptionally satisfying.
The Sword Demon, oblivious to what further torment awaited him, could only scream.
"Uwaaaaaargh!"
He screamed his lungs out, but thanks to the energy barrier he had set up beforehand, the sound didn't immediately leak outside.
However, as his soul burned, his control over his energy weakened, and the barrier slowly began to dissipate.
And so, his screams started to leak out bit by bit.
Byeok Taesan burned the Sword Demon for about two hours before letting him go.
The Sword Demon lay flat on the floor, unconscious.
A moment later, Na Heontak, summoned by Byeok Taesan, entered with members of the Secret Heaven Group and carried the Sword Demon out with a bewildered expression.
* * *
The Treasure Map incident, instigated by the Golden Moon Trading Company and Nameless, ended far too anticlimactically compared to the rumors it generated and the effort invested.
Of course, quite a few people suffered damages.
With so many fights breaking out, people were killed or injured, and there was property damage.
A huge number of martial artists had gathered in Changsha, so brawls erupted in inns and taverns almost daily, most of which escalated into full-blown fights.
It was only natural for the surroundings to be destroyed when martial artists fought. And innocent bystanders would inevitably get caught in the crossfire.
Countless people suffered in this way.
However, not everyone suffered losses.
After all, many people had flocked to the city, and most martial artists were not stingy with their money. In fact, most were quite extravagant.
As this vast number of martial artists began to spend lavishly, Changsha's economy boomed.
Naturally, many people profited greatly.
One of them was Byeok Taesan.
Of course, Byeok Taesan himself hadn't done anything.
It wasn't Byeok Taesan, but one of his maids who had done it.
Among Byeok Taesan's maids was a girl named Jahyang, who showed a talent for business. The Underworld Sect and Hwaok stepped in to nurture that talent.
They also helped her gain diverse experience with assistance from the Golden Jade Trading Company.
This Jahyang came to Changsha and started several businesses using the power of the Underworld Sect and the Gakwol Inn.
First, as expected, she sold the wound salves and internal injury medicines prepared by the Heavenly Medicine Hall at a high price.
Although she was profiteering several times over, given the situation and atmosphere, the medicines sold out in an instant.
She even used the Underworld Sect to bring in more medicine from the Heavenly Medicine Hall in Wuhan.
She also ran several other businesses capitalizing on the influx of martial artists, literally sucking up the money circulating in Changsha.
Jahyang used the money she earned to start other investments.
Her goal wasn't just to profit from this one event, but to continuously generate income.
Jahyang anticipated that Byeok Taesan would need a lot of money in the future. She wasn't the only one; the other maids thought so too.
They constantly considered what Byeok Taesan might need and sought to prepare it in advance.
One of those things was money, and Jahyang had successfully sown the seeds.
When someone achieves great success in business like this, it's inevitable that they attract unwanted attention.
Competing shops selling similar goods might try to interfere, or scoundrels who prey on merchants might pay a visit.
That's why large trading companies usually have countermeasures in place to defend against such threats.
They might train their own escort warriors or form contracts with powerful sects.
Jahyang didn't bother with that.
With the protection of the Underworld Sect and the Secret Heaven Group from the start, most troublemakers didn't even dare to cause a stir.
The Underworld Sect may have been weak and pushed around in the past, but now, even mid- to low-tier unorthodox sects couldn't meet their gaze.
With such soaring success, her name naturally became known.
The Underworld Sect initially tried to keep her name from spreading, but it was difficult to protect the identity of a successful merchant.
Thus, people began to keep an eye on Jahyang's shop.
One of them was the Okcheon Trading Company.
The Okcheon Trading Company operated under the protection of the Golden Moon Trading Company, buying and selling goods between Changsha and the nearby counties, dealing mainly in medicinal herbs.
They processed herbs gathered from Mount Heng, located about two hundred li south of Changsha, and sold them as medicinal ingredients.
Naturally, anyone wanting to sell medicine in Changsha had no choice but to purchase ingredients from the Okcheon Trading Company.
This was because they held a near-monopoly on the herbs and medicinal ingredients in the area.
However, since Jahyang sold pre-made pills supplied by the Heavenly Medicine Hall in Wuhan, she had no need to procure their ingredients.
So, it was only natural that the Okcheon Trading Company found her to be a major nuisance.
The owner of the Okcheon Trading Company, Pyeong Daeeon, was a distant relative—something like an eighth cousin—of Pyeong Jarim, the head of the Golden Moon Trading Company.
Right now, he was glaring at the general manager before him with cold, sunken eyes.
"Does it make any sense that you couldn't find out that one thing?"
"I apologize. But they are so elusive..."
"Even so, how am I supposed to understand that you failed to detect such a large quantity of goods being brought in?"
"I am sorry."
The general manager had done all he could.
He had thoroughly investigated every escort agency in Changsha.
Of course, no escort agency would have done it. The agencies operating in Changsha were under the influence of the Golden Moon Trading Company.
So, he had even searched all the small organizations that handled errands and simple tasks, if not the escort agencies.
But he couldn't find any trace of them there either.
"What a mess this is, all because of some bastards doing business without even a company name... Tsk."
Pyeong Daeeon clicked his tongue in displeasure and thought for a moment.
"Have you met the owner of that shop? I hear she's quite a looker."
"She rarely shows herself in public. I haven't met her yet either. Those who have seen her by chance say she's a peerless beauty."
"Is that so? Hmm."
Pyeong Daeeon's thoughts deepened. It seemed there might be many things to gain, one way or another, if he played his cards right.
The general manager spoke cautiously.
"Perhaps... we should borrow the power of the Golden Moon Trading Company?"
Pyeong Daeeon frowned.
"Who doesn't know that? The Golden Moon Trading Company is in an uproar right now. Should I go and whine about a trivial matter like this?"
The general manager fell silent again.
There were very few options left.
"Deploy more men."
"More than we already have?"
"Yes. Gather all those small organizations and have them move for five days."
"Even for just five days, mobilizing all of them will cost a considerable amount of money."
"It can't be helped. Have them watch those bastards closely and find out exactly who is approaching them. Then, contact me immediately and tail them."
"Yes. I will arrange it."
"I'll prepare some muscle. We'll rush over as soon as we get the call, so you must be certain. Understand?"
"Yes. Do not worry. I will handle it properly."
"And keep trying to talk to that owner. If possible, arrange a meeting. It would be good for both of us if this can be settled with words."
"Yes. Understood."
As the general manager bowed and left, Pyeong Daeeon pressed a hand to his forehead with a troubled expression.
"This... if the Golden Moon Trading Company doesn't get back on its feet soon, there's going to be big trouble."
The martial artists who had come to Changsha for the Treasure Map incident still remained, not having returned home.
The matter was not yet concluded.
A rumor was currently shaking Changsha: that Bang Durip, the leader of the Martial Alliance's Heavenly Sword Brigade, had taken the Heavenly Demon's treasure from the Heavenly Demon's Secret Grotto and was hiding somewhere.
A small rumor that Bang Durip had left Changsha had circulated briefly, but it died down as quickly as it appeared.
In its place, a more sensational rumor took root.
It was always like this. The rumor that Bang Durip was hiding in Changsha grew and grew until it became an unshakeable, established truth.
Despite so many martial artists roaming about, the Okcheon Trading Company wasn't profiting as much as they had expected.
It was all because of those damned bastards.
With Jahyang's shop operating as it did, other small trading companies that had been watching from the sidelines began to cautiously step forward and become more active.
"I suppose I'll have to visit the Cheongmu Gang. I wonder how much I'll have to bribe them this time..."
It was reassuring to have a card to play when force was needed.
However, it was a bit of a waste since it cost a fortune each time.
Still, what could he do? The problem had to be solved.
Besides, he could only do this much because he was a relative of the Golden Moon Trading Company's head.
There were countless others who couldn't even manage that.
"That's why I have to be thorough when I act."
Pyeong Daeeon's eyes gleamed eerily, a mixture of greed and killing intent.
* * *
The Sword Demon blinked and slowly pushed himself up.
He looked around and saw he was in his own room.
'What... what in the world happened?'
He remembered Byeok Taesan telling him to come closer, and he remembered approaching. But his memory was blank after that.
All that remained was the feeling of immense pain.
'The Young Master didn't beat me up, did he?'
With that thought, the Sword Demon checked his body. There were no bruises or scratches anywhere.
He circulated his energy lightly and found no internal injuries.
No, on the contrary, his body was in excellent condition. His mind was incredibly clear as well.
He couldn't even remember the last time he had felt this good.
Perhaps this was how he felt in the prime of his youth?
"Somehow, right now..."
It felt like he could do anything. Even the things that had recently felt completely blocked, with no path forward, now seemed possible.
As if possessed, the Sword Demon rose to his feet.
He grabbed his sword and went outside.
The Sword Demon went to the rear courtyard and found a spot at a considerable distance so as not to disturb the others training there.
The Sword Demon drew his sword and calmly aimed it forward.
In the distance, he saw a rather large boulder that had been placed there for landscaping.
The Sword Demon focused on the tip of his sword.
He focused and focused again, gathering all his heart and will at the sword's tip.
Then, in a state of selflessness, he lightly lifted the sword and swung it down.
*Swish!*
The boulder split in two.
Snapping back to his senses, the Sword Demon stared blankly at the split boulder.
Ten years ago, when he was in the Heavenly Demonic Cult, he had recreated the very scene that had shocked him so much—the one the Sword Fiend had shown him.
The image of the Sword Fiend appeared in the Sword Demon's mind.
Then, that image dissipated like mist, and Byeok Taesan appeared in its place.
The Sword Demon shook his head to clear his thoughts and aimed his sword again.
Now that he had broken through the wall, all that was left was to train until he mastered it.
A smile appeared on the Sword Demon's lips.