Rebirth of the Heavenly Demon

The man’s name was Cho Byeok.

Originally a wandering expert, he had caught Sima Cheon’s eye and had been his right-hand man for many years after being selected.

I could tell that he had been involved in various illegal activities, including assassinations, but each time he had escaped charges under the protection of the Heavenly Blade Sect.

In other words, this was a passage that showed Sima Cheon and the Heavenly Blade Sect had been closely connected for a long time.

There were various other miscellaneous pieces of information, but the most notable one was this:

There were three swordsmen who had been following Cho Byeok since his wandering days long ago, and they were called the Three Shadows[1] because they followed him like shadows.

I thought that if Cho Byeok was going to handle this matter, he would definitely call them.

I requested information about the Three Shadows from the Heaven’s Net Association again. I said I didn’t need their skills or past, but only wanted to know where they were and their movements.

I asked them to let me know as quickly as possible. To get information faster than the set time, you have to pay double.

But I didn’t spare any money. Because it was related to Baek Pyo, I wouldn’t mind even if I spent all my money.

This matter needs to be handled carefully.

Sima Cheon is at the center of the Martial Righteous Alliance. It’s not something to get entangled with them from the start.

Today too, Baek Pyo welcomed me warmly.

“You’ve come again?”

“Didn’t I say I’d make you rich?”

“Haha. I should open a branch in the marketplace.”

I felt the need to get closer to Baek Pyo, both for this matter and for the future.

I revealed everything about myself to him as it was. That I was the heir of the Byeok Clan Sword Manor in Shandong province and was traveling the martial world to broaden my horizons.

It was groundwork for later, as I might take him to Shandong someday. The most important thing in relationships is trust. If you start with deception, no explanation can erase the uneasy feeling.

This matter was not only about getting him out of danger but also a very important opportunity for him and Byeok Ri-dan to build a friendship.

“Young Master Byeok’s age is the prime of life.”

Baek Pyo seemed to envy this youth.

“Aren’t you still young too, owner?”

“Haha, my youth ended long ago.”

“I think the heart is more important than age.”

“I suppose so?”

“I feel like I’m being tactless, talking about age when I’m so young.”

“Not at all. Young Master Byeok has aspects that don’t seem young.”

“Are you saying I look old?”

Baek Pyo waved his hands in panic.

“That’s not what I meant. How should I put it, Young Master Byeok has something different about you.”

Of course, that’s right. With the feelings I have for you. Baek Pyo! I’m forcibly restraining myself from shouting and running to hug you right now.

“Is that a compliment?”

“Of course.”

“Well, I should have a pleasant drink today too. Come, bring me some alcohol!”

In the evening, several guests came. I watched carefully to see if there were any dangerous individuals, but they were all ordinary customers.

Today too, I drank until late and returned to the inn.

***

The next day, I was able to receive information about the Three Shadows through the Heaven’s Net Association.

The news was that they were coming to Wuhan.

I could tell that my prediction was correct. The fact that they were suddenly coming to Wuhan from other regions meant that Cho Byeok had been assigned this task.

The Three Shadows had even worse records than Cho Byeok. It was natural. They were probably the actual henchmen who carried out the deeds.

I felt anger rising towards Sima Cheon and Cho Byeok.

They’re bringing in such filthy individuals to handle this matter?

But I soon calmed my mind.

The martial world is teeming with scum. What’s important now isn’t anger, but a clean resolution for Baek Pyo’s sake.

The estimated time for them to arrive in Wuhan was five days. It was both long and short, and I had to resolve this issue within that time.

If I fail to do so and they arrive here, I’ll end up having to eliminate them all. While that wouldn’t be difficult, the problem is that Baek Pyo would likely be blamed for it.

After leaving the Heaven’s Net Association branch, I walked through the marketplace, lost in thought.

In my past life, when I had something to ponder, walking like this often led to good ideas and solutions.

How nice it would be if Gal Sa-ryang were here at times like this?

I recalled a conversation I once had with him.

“How are you so smart?”

“You flatter me.”

“No need to be so modest.”

“The more complex and difficult a problem is, the simpler the answer often is.”

“You know what? Such words only mock people like us more. The simple answer you see is completely invisible to our eyes.”

What if the answer to this problem is also simple?

The problem is that Sima Cheon wants to get the Asura Bright King Sword. He suspects Baek Pyo has it, and it actually is with Baek Pyo.

The solution to the problem is… to let them know that Baek Pyo doesn’t have the Asura Bright King Sword.

How?

That wasn’t the only problem. Even if we luckily get through this situation, Sima Cheon will again suspect Gal Sa-ryang. The Asura Bright King Sword was too precious for him to simply give up.

Then a thought flashed through my mind.

What if we make them believe that the Asura Bright King Sword disappeared in the first place? What if it’s known that I, the former Alliance Leader, got rid of it before I died?

I stood on the street, lost in thought for a long time.

How long had I been like that?

I started moving again. Not with the troubled steps from earlier, but with strong strides.

***

Ban Seo-jeong[2], the head of the Heaven’s Net Association, was silently looking down at the tea placed in front of her.

The tavern where she was sitting was Bul-ru, the very place where Byeok Ri-dan had come looking for Gal Sa-ryang before.

“Do you have something on your mind?”

An old woman in an apron approached her from the kitchen. The old woman was Elder Bing[3], her personal guard and an elder of the Heaven’s Net Association.

Elder Bing had taken care of Ban Seo-jeong since she was young, so their relationship was closer to that of grandmother and granddaughter rather than association head and elder. She could tell what Ban Seo-jeong was thinking just by looking at her expression.

“I received a message from the Martial Righteous Alliance asking to meet.”

“Ma Bong-gi? What does that ugly old decrepit want?”

Elder Bing knew Ma Bong-gi well. She particularly disliked Ma Bong-gi, who had been involved in all sorts of scandals since his youth.

“It’s not from Ma Bong-gi, but from Sima Cheon. It seems he’s sent separate messages to Ghost Eye Valley and Omniscient Association as well.”

“Is he trying to tame them one by one?”

“It seems so.”

“How insolent. The leader and the commander, birds of a feather flocking together. I’m really worried about the future of this martial world!”

Elder Bing clicked her tongue, looking displeased.

The Heaven’s Net Association, along with Ghost Eye Valley and Omniscient Association, were the three major information organizations of the martial world. In other words, they were among the most powerful organizations holding the information of the martial world.

During Cheon Hajin’s time, they wouldn’t have been summoned to the Martial Righteous Alliance with such a one-sided notification.

They naturally met with the Commander-in-Chief after a long-standing friendship with the Righteous Thought Pavilion. The process was very courteous and respectful.

Compared to that, this one-sided notification now was truly rude behavior.

A hint of nostalgia flashed in Ban Seo-jeong’s eyes as she looked down at the half-filled teacup.

“Have you heard any news about that person?”

Ban Seo-jeong raised her head with an expression asking who she meant. But she knew who Elder Bing was talking about, so she was slightly flustered.

Elder Bing pretended not to notice and said,

“I mean the former Commander-in-Chief.”

“I heard he was demoted to an ordinary soldier.”

She spoke as if that was all she knew, but she knew much more. She knew that he was being harassed by Sima Cheon, and even that Sima Cheon was looking for the Asura Bright King Sword. She was on high alert regarding matters related to the Righteous Thought Pavilion.

“He… will endure well. He’s always been a strong person.”

She had sensed that Gal Sa-ryang liked her for a long time. She didn’t dislike it.

But Gal Sa-ryang had never expressed his feelings. If he had confessed that he liked her, would the current situation be different? She thought that maybe it would.

Elder Bing had noticed that the two had mutual feelings for each other.

‘How frustrating!’

But she couldn’t interfere in the love affairs of grown adults.

At that moment, one of her subordinates entered, disguised as a customer.

The subordinate ordered tea and whispered quietly,

“It seems you need to go to the branch office right away.”

***

About an hour after waiting at the Wuhan branch of the Heaven’s Net Association, a new person appeared behind the drooping curtain.

I could tell who the newcomer was.

It must be the head of the Heaven’s Net Association.

“I heard you came to sell some very valuable information?”

The calm voice from behind was different from usual, disguised, but I could tell she was the head of the Heaven’s Net Association.

But she didn’t recognize me. I had changed not only my face with a new human skin mask but also my voice.

“That’s right.”

Information organizations mostly sell information, but they also buy it. Of course, this was limited to very large and important information.

“You say it’s a writing left by the former Alliance Leader?”

“That’s right. It’s a writing that hasn’t been revealed anywhere.”

That was the reason she had appeared here in person.

I took out a piece of paper.

“It’s a writing left by the former Alliance Leader, Cheon Hajin.”

“How do you know it’s Cheon Hajin’s?”

“You should be able to recognize the handwriting.”

“Can you let us verify it?”

“Of course.”

Then an old man entered.

I folded the paper to show only the first few lines.

The old man compared the handwriting of my paper with a letter he had brought, using a magnifying glass.

After examining it for a while, the old man looked towards the curtain and nodded once. It meant it was Cheon Hajin’s handwriting.

Of course it was. The writing on the paper was something I had written myself and brought. I had even paid attention to the paper and ink to make it look like it wasn’t freshly written.

“I need to see it myself to determine how valuable it is. Would that be alright?”

“Fine. I trust the reputation of the Heaven’s Net Association. Surely, the Heaven’s Net Association wouldn’t steal a client’s information.”

“You don’t need to worry.”

I gave the paper to the old man. He received it and passed it through the curtain.

I could sense the woman behind the curtain being startled.

I had written a few things about martial arts on the paper. It wasn’t particularly important content, but I had written just a bit about the Soul-Chasing Asura Sword Technique that only I would know, to make it clear that I had written this.

The crucial part was this:

…I have not reached the state of Realm of the Mind Sword, which has been the goal of my life. Now, I am going to try to challenge the Realm of the Mind Sword anew by getting rid of the Asura Bright King Sword, which has been my unique weapon and lifelong friend. I only hope that this challenge of mine will bear fruit. The reason I’m leaving this writing is that today will be a turning point in my martial arts life…

I had written that I had gotten rid of the Asura Bright King Sword.

I knew that Gal Sa-ryang had feelings for her. That’s why I had visited the tavern she ran last time.

I hoped there was more emotional exchange than I thought. If so, she would also know that Gal Sa-ryang was under suspicion because of the Asura Bright King Sword.

The head of the Heaven’s Net Association would know that much information. Moreover, if it’s about someone she’s interested in, even more certainly.

If so, this information could save Gal Sa-ryang from danger.

What if she leaks this information to Sima Cheon?

The head of the Heaven’s Net Association will handle how and where this was discovered. Once the information entered their hands, it was now the Heaven’s Net Association’s information.

Even if she doesn’t move as I want, it doesn’t matter.

I plan to leak this information directly to Sima Cheon’s side after waiting for a day or two. I’ll say that information related to the sword has entered the Heaven’s Net Association. Then Sima Cheon will move personally to find out about this information.

“How much will you buy this information for?”

As if there was a set price, the answer came quickly.

“Let’s buy it for 10,000 nyang.”

She didn’t ask where I got this. That was like an unwritten rule among those who deal in information.

Honestly, I didn’t want to receive money from her. Rather, it was something I would have paid to do. But I couldn’t raise suspicion here.

“Give me 15,000 nyang.”

“The value of this information is 10,000 nyang.”

I tried to raise the price several times, but was repeatedly refused.

Finally, I backed down with a reluctant expression.

“Fine. I’ll sell it for 10,000 nyang.”

“Thank you for compromising.”

A moment later, a man came and handed me the money. Like the transactions at the Black Market, the transaction here was also done with untraceable small-denomination notes.

The woman behind the curtain had already disappeared.

I didn’t know what she would do. I just hoped that content would flow to Sima Cheon.

From Sima Cheon’s perspective, he might be suspicious if this information comes in at this time.

But as long as what’s written there is in the Alliance Leader’s own handwriting, he’ll have to accept the fact that the Asura Bright King Sword no longer exists in this world.

If that happens, Sima Cheon will give up on the sword, and Baek Pyo will no longer be troubled by this matter.

There could be unforeseen loopholes, and the result was uncertain, but this was the best method I could think of. I just hoped luck would be on my side.

Although heaven’s net is wide and loose, I hope it doesn’t miss anything.