The Demonic Supreme Sword Novel - Chapter 71

Chapter 71
## Chapter 71: Ominous Rumors (1)

“The lanterns are visible.”

Raejeon indicated the glimmering rays piercing through the shrubbery and gave a small shout of joy.

“Phew! I was terrified we would be forced to sleep under the stars again, but this is a relief. By the way, are we certain this is actually Hangzhou?”

Cheol Woo shifted his gaze and sought confirmation.

“Provided those traveling traders weren’t lying to us, this ought to be Hangzhou.”

Sima Geon offered a response that carried a trace of doubt.

Two weeks had passed since their departure from Dragon Star Inn. Their journey along the Yangtze and the intersecting canals had been relatively smooth, yet the duration exceeded their initial estimates. Raejeon’s recovery from his wounds was still incomplete, which had caused minor setbacks in their travel speed.

“There don’t seem to be many lanterns for a place like Hangzhou.”

“This is just the outskirts. The true city center will reveal itself once we move further in. Hold on just a little longer, even if you’re flagging. Our destination is nearly reached.”

Sima Geon offered words of encouragement to Raejeon, who looked visibly drained.

The companions increased their speed and reached the heart of Hangzhou after about a shichen. Even though the hour was late, the metropolis was ablaze with light in every direction.

Seeking a quiet environment for recovery, they bypassed the frantic central district and found lodging at the more serene East Wind Inn.

After leaving Raejeon to collapse into a deep slumber on his bed, Sima Geon and Cheol Woo descended to the ground-floor tavern to eat.

While Cheol Woo was aggressively consuming his meal and drink, ordering another round of Shaoxing wine immediately after draining his first, a recognizable voice reached them.

“Brothers!”

Sima Geon and Cheol Woo turned their heads simultaneously. Standing before them with a wide grin was Hahu Yeon, the man who was supposed to be tending the butcher shop back in Shao Xing.

“Eh? What brings you to this place?”

Cheol Woo questioned, his eyes widening in shock.

“Circumstances dictated it. Have you only just returned?”

Hahu Yeon sat down in a vacant chair and intercepted the Shaoxing wine from the server.

“Indeed. We arrived only moments ago.”

“I see. You must be spent.”

Hahu Yeon was aware of the reason for their journey away from Shao Xing. While the specific location was a mystery to him, he was certain they had sought out a remedy for Sima Jin’s ailment.

“Were you successful in obtaining the medicine?”

Hahu Yeon inquired with caution, stealing a glance at Sima Geon.

“Yes. We secured it.”

Hahu Yeon’s expression brightened at Sima Geon’s composed confirmation.

“That is wonderful news. Truly wonderful. Now Jin-mei can certainly be restored to health.”

“That is my hope.”

As Sima Geon gave a small smile, Cheol Woo slammed his empty vessel onto the table and let out a low growl.

“Nonsense. Since when did my sister become your ‘Jin-mei’? And you didn’t answer me. Why on earth are you here?”

“I told you, things happened. I’m already frustrated enough as it is.”

Cheol Woo squinted and cocked his head to the side.

“It’s been a while since our paths crossed, hasn’t it? Perhaps we should test how much your skills have progressed?”

Detecting the underlying menace, Hahu Yeon spoke rapidly.

“It’s not that. A strange report has been circulating.”

“A report?”

Sima Geon, who had been about to take a sip, shifted his attention.

“A claim that the head of the family has passed away.”

“You labeled it ‘strange,’ so I take it the news isn’t factual.”

“Correct. His health has declined compared to his prime, but he remains fairly robust. Even so, given his advanced years, the news gave me quite a fright when I first encountered it.”

“What? That story made it all the way to Shao Xing?”

Cheol Woo asked with astonishment, causing Hahu Yeon to look exasperated.

“The fact that it reached Shao Xing is exactly why I traveled here.”

“If it has spread that far, it’s likely reached every corner of Zhejiang Province.”

Hahu Yeon scowled at Sima Geon’s observation.

“That’s the part that doesn’t make sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Back in Shao Xing, the news was spreading like a wildfire. But once I moved away, it wasn’t as prevalent as I assumed. According to my father, the only locations where it has truly exploded are Shao Xing and Hangzhou. That is why he came out to personally investigate the matter.”

“With your father?”

“Yes. We reached the city just a short while ago. He is currently upstairs.”

Hahu Yeon gestured toward the upper floor and went on.

“To be honest, I didn’t give the news much credit at first. False reports are common. But the details were so specific that Great-grandfather and I felt we had no choice but to depart Shao Xing and head back to the main house.”

“It stands to reason. If he had truly died, official word would have been sent, right?”

At Cheol Woo’s remark, Hahu Yeon raised his voice slightly.

“Nobody is aware that Great-grandfather and I were staying in Shao Xing. Not the family head, nor even my father. That means they couldn’t have contacted us even if they tried.”

“So that’s why you left Shao Xing, along with the old man?”

Sima Geon inquired.

“Yes. We were nearly at the family estate when we encountered Father on his way to Hangzhou. Great-grandfather realized it was a fabrication, but since we were already traveling, he decided to stop by the house briefly. I accompanied Father here.”

Hahu Yeon checked their surroundings and dropped his voice to a whisper.

“The family is treating this with great gravity. They are conducting their own search, but they have even requested assistance from the Beggars’ Sect.”

“The Beggars’ Sect?”

“Yes. They maintain a branch here in Hangzhou. Even if our own efforts fail, the Beggars’ Sect can identify the exact origin and method of the rumor’s spread. They possess the premier intelligence network on the planet, after all.”

“Aren’t they being dramatic over a lie?”

Cheol Woo seemed to think the Ha Hu Clan was overreacting to the situation.

“I shared that opinion, but the family’s perspective is different. Regardless of its truth, they believe a full inquiry is mandatory.”

“I suppose that’s fair. Caution is rarely a mistake. Whether they choose to waste their time is none of my… Wait, Boss, what is it?”

“Hmm? What?”

“Your expression is incredibly grim.”

“Is it?”

Sima Geon immediately softened his features and looked back at him.

“Whom else would I mean? Am I right?”

Cheol Woo gave Hahu Yeon a nudge.

“Yeah, you looked like you were fuming about something.”

“It wasn’t anything like that…”

Sima Geon’s voice trailed away, then he let out a quiet laugh.

“I suppose I was subconsciously worrying about the state of the butcher shop.”

—

“Haa.”

Looking up at the moon, which was curved like the elegant eyebrow of a beautiful woman, Yong Jung exhaled a heavy sigh.

As he stared at it, he began to see the features of a woman’s face taking shape around the lunar crescent.

“Even the heavens feel my sorrow.”

He sighed once more and smoothed out the parchment in his hand, praying that he had somehow misread the text. However, the message remained unchanged.

“I was aware this command would arrive eventually.”

Yong Jung squeezed the letter into a ball, his face clouded with hesitation.

The instruction to end his watch over the Sima brothers and return to base. How many times had he received orders to return in the past? Yet, he had never despised the word as much as he did now.

“Regardless, the deputy leader showed more patience than I anticipated.”

Given the deputy leader’s prowess—which was enough to hold his own against the Flying Wing Unit Leader—he must have realized how inadequate his reports had been over the last month. Yet he had permitted it to continue, perhaps as a gesture of kindness to Yong Jung, who had been a tireless servant for years.

Furthermore, the letter contained a revelation he had never suspected.

The elderly man slicing meat at the market was actually Sword Ghost Ha Hu Gok of the Ha Hu Clan, and Sima Geon and Cheol Woo were likely the martial artists responsible for destroying the Black Ox Squad. They had probably been aware of his presence for a long time.

“True. It is time to depart. I no longer have a place here. There is no point in lingering now that my cover is blown.”

Casting aside his regrets, Yong Jung didn’t head toward his residence, but toward the woman who held his heart.

“If only I could catch one final glimpse of her.”

Recently, she had been residing at Clear Heart Clinic to study the medical arts. However, today was a day of ancestral remembrance at her family home. Even at this hour, it might be possible to see her.

His path led him there instinctively.

As he walked with a heavy heart, Yong Jung came to a sudden halt and looked to his left. The western horizon was glowing as if the sun were setting. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was fire leaping upward, accompanied by thick plumes of smoke.

‘That is the location of Clear Heart Clinic. It can’t be… the clinic?’

A sharp pang of dread pierced through him—a premonition born not from martial skill, but from years spent as a professional observer.

As Yong Jung dove into the shadows to hide, a collection of figures appeared in the spot he had just occupied.

There were roughly thirty men, all of them exuding a lethal intent.

“Move quickly. Locate the girl within a shichen and bring this to a close.”

The squad accelerated at the leader’s command.

At that moment, a man of middle age at the back of the group cast a glance toward the thicket where Yong Jung was concealed.

The man paused, scanned the foliage, and then continued on his way.

Once they had moved past, Yong Jung came out of hiding, his forehead soaked in a cold sweat.

‘What terrifying eyes those were.’

In that brief moment, he had struggled with the choice to stand his ground or run for his life. The sheer weight of that man’s presence was crushing.

‘G… girl?’

Wiping the perspiration from his face, Yong Jung paused again. It might be a leap of logic, but he feared they were targeting Sima Jin, the woman he loved. The blaze at what appeared to be Clear Heart Clinic and the group’s trajectory toward her family home aligned perfectly.

As he began to move, he stopped. His body was still shaking from the middle-aged man’s gaze.

His racing pulse told him to rush forward, but his rational mind warned him that such a path led to certain death.

“You coward! Since when did you become so concerned with safety?!”

Snarling at his own fear, Yong Jung broke into a sprint.

He didn’t follow the group directly; instead, he took a shorter path he knew. His expression no longer showed the terror of a victim, but the grim determination of a man who had accepted his fate.

—

“Shao Xing.”

Cheol Woo gave a shout of relief as the city appeared through the gathering twilight.

Following their encounter with Hahu Yeon the previous evening, Sima Geon had been gripped by a persistent sense of dread and had barely closed his eyes. They had started their journey before the sun rose and reached their destination exactly six shichen later.

Without a single pause, they had pushed their movement techniques to their absolute limits—a brutal pace that was unlike anything they had done before. Carrying Raejeon, who was unable to match their speed, had drained even Cheol Woo’s legendary endurance.

“To Clear Heart Clinic first?”

Cheol Woo asked between ragged breaths.

The answer was already clear. Having learned from Hahu Yeon that Sima Jin was at Clear Heart Clinic learning the healing arts, Sima Geon was already racing in that direction.

“Something feels wrong.”

Raejeon’s voice shook slightly from his position on Cheol Woo’s back.

“I haven’t seen that expression in the division leader’s eyes in a very long time.”

“I agree. A terrible premonition.”

Cheol Woo nodded solemnly.

Their fears were quickly confirmed. Clear Heart Clinic, which should have been a place of warmth and welcome, no longer existed.

“What in the world…”

Sima Geon and Cheol Woo gazed at the smoldering remains in horrified silence.

Raejeon slid down from Cheol Woo’s back and began a silent inspection of the wreckage.

There were signs that the site had been partially cleared, which was expected.

After touching the soot on the exterior walls and looking at the half-consumed pillars and beams, Raejeon spoke.

“This occurred recently. The blaze happened within the last twenty-four to forty-eight hours. But this was no accident. The presence of multiple starting points suggests someone ignited it deliberately and all at once. They attempted to tidy the scene, but there must have been many deaths…”

Raejeon’s voice trailed off as he looked at Sima Geon.

Sima Geon, who had been scanning the ruins with eyes as cold as ice, turned away.

“Let us move.”

While Cheol Woo quickly hoisted Raejeon back onto his shoulders, Sima Geon’s silhouette was already fading into the distance.