Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

A quiet hillside not far from the city center. 

There was a house made of rotting wooden planks. 

It was a place where courageous children, as well as adults, were reluctant to enter because of rumors of ghost sightings. 

An old, abandoned and haunted house. 

There were those who used this house as a secret meeting place. 

If other people knew, they would have lauded these people as brave. 

But the people converged here as if there were no ghosts to begin with. 

It was they who built this house, purposely making it look worn and torn, creating rumors to make sure no one would trespass. 

Clearly, the rumors about the place were faked. 

That was why everyone gathered looked relaxed. 

There were a total of four people gathered today. 

Three men and one woman. 

It was the woman who spoke first. Straightening in her seat, she said: “Hmm. We should go meet him, right?”

One of the men sitting across from her replied. He was a man with stubble. “The fact that he spread the drawings of the Five Jade Knife everywhere must mean he’s looking for us.”

“No. To be precise, it means he can’t find us so he’s telling us to come find him.”

It was a younger man who corrected the elder’s words. Or at least, this man looked about ten years younger. 

Even though the younger looking man had corrected him, the older looking one said nothing. The others in the room didn’t care much either. 

That was because the younger looking man was actually the oldest amongst them. 

Of course, seniority had nothing to do with why they were gathered here now. 

Instead, the third man, one with a thin jaw, looked around and said: “Boss. Since he did show up with the Fifth Jade Knife, it’s likely that he’s the new master of the Fifth Jade Knife, which we thought was forgotten. But that doesn’t mean we should go meet him without some plan.”

The woman nodded, agreeing. “That’s right. But before we test him, we need to check if he’s really the master of the Fifth Jade Knife.”

What if he wasn’t actually the owner? That would be bad. 

The young looking man suddenly spoke up once more. “He probably is.”

“Really?”

The young looking man nodded. “When he hung up the drawings, I kept an eye on him while hiding amongst the people. On his waist, he was wearing a curved jade knife. I’m sure that the fifth piece of jade was black.”

A curved jade knife where the fifth jade is colored black.

That was enough as evidence to prove the young man the new owner of the Fifth Jade Knife. 

In addition, the young man had come with the knife and was trying to contact the Justice Blood Sect. He was clearly aware of the knife’s usage. 

“Then he must be the master of the Five Jade Knife!”

“Yes. But there’s still one mystery.”

“I thought you were sure that he’s the new master? What else are you not sure about, Boss?”

The young looking man calmly explained: “The former master of the Fifth Jade Knife was the head of the Spear Master Sect, the Spearmaster Nok Yu-on. But Sect Master Nok Yu-on was killed as a victim of the Martial Alliance’s conspiracy. The Fifth Jade Knife was known to be lost at that time, so how did it appear right now?”

At that, there was a sudden silence. 

None of them had ever met Nok Yu-on before, but they had all heard about the Spear Master Sect. 

Moreover, they all knew that the destruction of the sect stemmed from a conspiracy, so it was difficult for them to speak of the death of such a respected person. 

“So you’re saying that this man might be using the knife for some ulterior motives and is trying to contact us for that reason.”

“Yes. We must not forget that possibility.”

The situation had suddenly become more complex. 

Suddenly, the woman stood up. 

“Either way, we should test him. If he’s really worthy of becoming the master of the Five Jade Knife, he would be able to pass easily.”

The three men nodded in unison.

“If he’s worthy of joining the Justice Blood Sect, that is…”

***

By evening, many people had come into the inn for dinner. 

Even then, Woon-seong was still quietly watching the first floor. 

A drawing went missing about two hours ago… The Justice Blood Sect isn’t making any noticeable moves yet, but there should be some reaction soon. 

But Woon-seong wasn’t nervous at all. 

Maybe tomorrow evening. Tonight, if they move quickly. 

He emptied his cup slowly. 

While Woon-seong was drinking alcohol by himself, other people had also arrived since the afternoon and ordered alcohol themselves. 

Some of them were townsmen, others were merchants passing by. 

Of course, there were even some martial artists. 

If a martial artist with a sword became drunk, there would always be a commotion. 

“Excuse me?!”

On the first floor, a man slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

“Hmph. I’m just stating the facts! What’s wrong with calling a third-rate sect third-rate? The Loyal Light Sect? Never heard of it!”

The other man drew his sword. “You bastard! You think the Sword Body Sect is any better?! I’ll make you pay for insulting our sect!”

Sching—

The man supposedly from the Sword Body Sect also drew out his sword. Since his opponent had drawn a weapon out first, there was nothing wrong with doing the same thing!

Under that atmosphere, the disciple of the Sword Body Sect  shouted loudly, “Those are my words! I’ll cut off your limbs and—!”

It was then. 

Wa-pang—!

Someone flew through the window and into the inn. 

The person — a woman — slammed into the floor. 

Why was it raining glass and people? 

Shards of glass fell to the floor and the woman rolled onto the ground miserably. 

The men, who were seconds away from fighting, immediately retreated in haste. 

The woman crawled into a standing position, holding her sword in hand. “Help!”

“What do you mean?”

“What’s going on?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I am Lim Soo-yeon, an apprentice of the Jewel Sword Sect. I was traveling through Murim but stumbled into a nearby group of the Black Way and got caught in a fight… They’re chasing after me right now.”

“The Jewel Sword Sect… It’s not far from Yichang.”

“Isn’t it quite a famous sect?”

Even from ten years ago, I’ve heard of that name. It must be quite a large sect, Woon-seong thought. 

A disciple of such a sect was being chased by the Black Way. 

Woon-seong should have stepped up and helped her. 

But…

“Where are you running?”

“Do you think anybody will help you, you bitch?”

“If there’s anybody who dares to get in our way, I can guarantee you will die early!”

Three men flew into the inn through the now broken window. All three had weapons in their hands. 

They were obviously powerful too. 

Whenever the swordsman moved his sword, the light seemed to split wherever it touched. 

A big guy who’s a quick swordsman who can perform a spectrum? That’s proof that he’s a first-rate warrior alright, deduced Woon-seong.

“Who dares get in our way?”

“Is it you?”

“N-No. I was simply here before her.”

“Then is it you?”

“No. I’m the same.”

The two squabbling men from earlier retreated. 

Lim Soo-yeon, the supposed disciple of the Jewel Sword Sect, had tears in her eyes as she glanced around the inn. “I-Is nobody going to help me?”

Woon-seong was smiling as if this was all very interesting. Oh, for Heaven’s sake…

Then he coughed and sat down on the railing of the second floor. 

“Enough with this.”

The voice causes the people to raise their heads. 

When they looked up, they saw Woon-seong sitting on the ledge. 

“What did you just say?”

“So it looks like you have a death wish!”

Their voices were still confident. 

Woon-seong sighed deeply. Then he picked up his cup and the bottle of alcohol. 

It looks like I don’t have a choice. 

Woon-seong jumped off of the ledge. 

At that moment, the cup in Woon-seong’s hand flew into the air. 

Pah!

The cup smacked the swordsman’s forehead straight on, causing him to fall down. 

The swordsman had fainted. 

Woon-seong landed softly near him. 

“Y-You bastard!”

“You’ll pay for this!”

The other two men dove towards Woon-seong. 

Woon-seong sighed again and gently drank some of the alcohol, storing it in his mouth. 

And…

Phew!

He spat out the alcohol, the liquor flying through the air like a powerful arrow. 

These droplets of alcohol struck the other two men. 

With a thump, the two men had fallen too. 

“Ugh!”

“Fuck!”

Unlike the swordsman, who fell first, these two men did not faint despite the pain. 

But it was clear… Woon-seong was not someone they could beat. 

Looking around, Woon-seong exchanged glances with Lim Soo-yeon. 

For a moment, Lim Soo-yeon’s cheeks turned red. 

Woon-seong clicked his tongue. Tch, this is annoying…

Without a word, Woon-seong took the bottle of alcohol, paid for his drinks, and stepped out of the inn. 

Lim Soo-yeon chased after him. 

“Sir! I owe you a great debt.”

“…” 

Woon-seong stared at her without any words. 

Without waiting for his answer, she continued,  “If you don’t mind, I would like to buy you a drink.”

The place she led Woon-seong was not far from the noisy inn. 

Lim Soo-yeon ordered an expensive drink then filled a glass for Woon-seong. 

With a grave expression, Woon-seong stared at the cup. 

Lim Soo-yeon handed the bottle over to Woon-seong. “Would you mind filling my glass?”

Instead of taking the bottle from her, he downed the alcohol in his cup. 

“How much longer are you planning to proceed with this ridiculous act?”