The Heavenly Demon Wants a Quiet Life - Chapter 71

Chapter 71: That Person Might Not Be Suitable

The Hubei Martial Alliance was thrown into chaos once again.

This time, the situation was even more severe than when the Black Iron Workshop fell.

They had nearly lost younger generation warriors from across the entire Hubei region.

The Alliance had urgently contacted each family, ordering them to send at least three times the usual number of escorts to bolster their forces.

As a result of this incident, the Hubei Martial Alliance now had an overwhelming number of matters to address. The Alliance Leader sighed as he looked at the towering stack of documents, which, to exaggerate slightly, seemed to reach the ceiling.

“When will I ever finish all this?”

He couldn’t afford to handle things carelessly. The incidents that had unfolded this time were too sensitive, requiring careful and deliberate attention to every single detail.

Moreover, the General secretary would surely double-check everything meticulously once more. Anything that had been dealt with even slightly poorly would undoubtedly be pointed out, so to minimize the nagging, it was better to do it right from the start.

As the Alliance Leader sighed heavily while examining the documents one by one, the General Secretary rushed into the room.

The General Secretary’s eyes widened at the sight of the pile of papers on the desk.

“Is this all you’ve managed to get through?”

The Alliance Leader stared at him incredulously.

“If your plan was to make my blood boil, you’ve succeeded. Well done.”

The General Secretary approached the desk and casually sifted through the documents the Alliance leader had already processed. He separated two sheets from the pile.

“You’ll need to review these again.”

The Alliance leader stared blankly at him.

“Looking at me like that won’t help. I’ve got plenty of work to do myself. Please, stop taking breaks and pick up the pace.”

Something in the Alliance leader stirred at those words.

Who on earth was taking breaks?

Unbothered by the Alliance leader’s gaze, the General Secretary neatly organized the documents he had reviewed and set them aside.

“This was just something I handled while I was here… Oh, and we’ve received word that Byeok Taesan plans to leave.”

“What? He’s leaving in the middle of all this? Is he out of his mind?”

The General Secretary continued calmly.

“The problem is, if Byeok Taesan leaves, the Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master will leave with him. We still need those two.”

“Of course we do. We haven’t even figured out how to deal with the semi-reanimated corpse yet.”

Technically speaking, it wasn’t as though they had found nothing. They had identified a few characteristics and devised methods to fight more effectively using them.

Additionally, the Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master had further refined those methods, making them even more efficient.

But what the Alliance leader wanted wasn’t just an improved method. He wanted a more fundamental solution.

Something like what Byeok Taesan had achieved.

“Have we learned anything about how Byeok Taesan defeated the semi-reanimated corpses?”

“No. He says he doesn’t know himself, so what can we do?”

There was no choice but to rely on the Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master.

If even those two couldn’t figure it out, there was no way any other physicians could.

“Unless we bring in the Divine Physician, it’s impossible, isn’t it?”

“To be honest, even with the Divine Physician, I can’t guarantee success.”

The Divine Physician and the Needle Master were both considered extraordinary physicians by most.

And here, they also had the Heavenly Divine Healer.

Having personally witnessed the Heavenly Divine Healer’s skills, it was clear he was no less capable than the Divine Physician or the Needle Master.

“We have to keep them here somehow.”

The General Secretary gave a bitter smile.

“That might be difficult.”

The Alliance leader looked at him with eyes that seemed to latch onto a weakness.

“Where’s all that confidence you had when you said you’d recruit Byeok Taesan? Why such weak words now?”

The General Secretary shook his head.

“He’s impossible to deal with. In all my years, I’ve never met anyone as stubborn as him.”

He didn’t dare admit that he had felt so intimidated that he couldn’t even hold a proper conversation with Byeok Taesan.

In truth, he had made several attempts to recruit Byeok Taesan.

Even this morning, he had tried again.

Today was the worst. He had been so intimidated while speaking that he had given up halfway and simply left.

“Anyway, we can’t capture Byeok Taesan through simple means.”

“Then what about speaking to Yeon Harin? Can’t she persuade him?”

The General Secretary gave another bitter smile.

“I already tried that.”

“You did? And it didn’t work? I thought the two of them were fairly close.”

“Yeon Harin is not an easy person either. She wouldn’t even consider it.”

The Alliance leader’s eyes widened.

“So even Yeon Harin couldn’t persuade him?”

“That’s right. Which is why I think we need to try a different approach.”

“A different approach?”

“We should go with them.”

“Go with them? Are you suggesting we assign escorts under the pretext of protection?”

The General Secretary shook his head.

“Half-hearted measures won’t work. We need to be upfront and request their cooperation directly. Very politely, of course.”

The Alliance leader nodded.

“Then let’s do that. Come to think of it, I could send my elder brother. He doesn’t have much to do at the family estate anyway, so I’ll tell him to go and build some rapport with Byeok Taesan.”

The General Secretary made a troubled expression at those words.

“Um… Alliance leader, that might not be possible.”

“What? What do you mean by that? Why not?”

—

The Alliance leader looked down at Baek Li Jangcheon, who was lying in bed, with a sympathetic expression.

“Brother, how are you feeling?”

Baek Li Jangcheon forced himself to sit up.

“Please, just stay lying down. Your body isn’t in good condition…”

“No, no. How could I lie down in front of the Alliance leader? Besides, I’m not that unwell. It’s just…”

Baek Li Jangcheon trailed off and quickly straightened himself.

“This old man has already taken up enough of your time. My apologies.”

“What are you saying? Don’t worry about me and focus on recovering quickly.”

Baek Li Jangcheon gave a faint smile, touched by the genuine concern in the Alliance leader’s tone.

“By the way, what exactly happened? I’ve only heard fragments, so it’s hard to piece together the situation.”

“Well… I just drank a bit too much, that’s all.”

“You overdrank?”

The Alliance leader found this hard to believe.

Baek Li Jangcheon was a skilled martial artist. Though not among the top ten in the Baekri Clan, he was certainly within the top twenty.

And yet, such a martial artist had lost consciousness from drinking too much? Who would believe that?

Sensing Baek Li Jangcheon’s reluctance to speak further, the Alliance leader decided to change the subject.

“I heard you fended off the enemy’s ambush but then moved separately. What happened?”

“Oh… that.”

Baek Li Jangcheon seemed about to say something, but then fell silent. It was as if parts of his memory were shrouded in fog.

When he didn’t speak, the Alliance leader added another question.

“I heard the Heavenly Divine Healer, the Needle Master, Byeok Taesan, and even Yeon Harin were with you.”

“That’s right… Oh, yes. We went to track down the remnants.”

“The remnants? This is the first I’ve heard of that.”

The Alliance leader was genuinely surprised.

Of course, he knew there were survivors. There had been reports of some escaping during the ambush.

But that Baek Li Jangcheon had pursued them with Byeok Taesan was news to him.

‘Did Byeok Taesan deliberately withhold this information?’

He should have heard about this from Byeok Taesan or Yeon Harin. But neither had said a word about it.

The Alliance leader gave Baek Li Jangcheon a slightly uneasy look.

Byeok Taesan keeping quiet was one thing, but why hadn’t Baek Li Jangcheon come to him with such important information?

Instead, he had gone drinking. How did that make any sense?

“So, what happened? Were the remnants dealt with?”

“Uh… well…”

“Yes?”

“I remember chasing them, and… Oh! There was a formidable martial artist. I fought him.”

“I see. And what happened to that martial artist?”

“What do you think? Of course, I won.”

The Alliance leader barely managed to swallow the sigh that was about to escape and asked,

“Where exactly is this location? It seems we should send someone to confirm.”

“The location, well… I can’t seem to remember.”

The Alliance leader looked at him with concern and asked,

“Brother, are you truly all right? It seems your memory might have been damaged by some sort of shock. Could it be that you ended up like this after fighting that master?”

Baek Li Jangcheon shook his head.

“No, absolutely not. While fighting that bastard was a bit difficult, I didn’t get hurt. I’m certain about that.”

For Baek Li Jangcheon, it was a maddening situation. He genuinely couldn’t remember.

He vaguely recalled the scene where he stabbed the man in the shoulder and thigh with his sword, and eventually pierced his heart to claim victory.

But then, the next thing he remembered was sitting with two old men, drinking and calling each other brothers.

‘And after that…’

Suddenly, Byeok Taesan’s face flashed through his mind.

Baek Li Jangcheon’s entire body began to tremble.

“Brother? Brother, what’s wrong?”

The Alliance leader leaned in to look at Baek Li Jangcheon’s face. Could such an expression—filled with a mix of fear and anger—even be possible?

“Byeok Taesan! It’s Byeok Taesan, that bastard!”

“Yes? What did Byeok Taesan do?”

“That bastard beat me up!”

“What?”

“And not just once! All night long! Do you know how much it hurts? He didn’t just hit me—he made my whole body feel as though it was being shredded by blades. It was unbearable!”

“He shredded your body with blades?”

“Exactly! How else could such pain have been inflicted on me?”

“So… you didn’t see it yourself?”

“Do I have to see it to know? It hurt so much that I couldn’t even open my eyes! But if you check the marks on my body, you’d see I’m right!”

The Alliance leader looked at Baek Liyeon with an expression full of pity.

How on earth did his elder brother end up like this?

Perhaps the story about going to deal with Byeok Taesan’s group and their remnants wasn’t even true.

No, he might not have even moved together with others in the first place. He had heard that Baek Li Jangcheon had gone alone.

“Brother, your body is perfectly fine. There are no sword marks, not even a single bruise. The physicians have thoroughly examined you, and you have neither internal nor external injuries. You’re just a bit weakened, that’s all.”

“How can you trust those physicians?! They must be in cahoots with Byeok Taesan!”

“The physicians who examined you are part of our Hubei Martial Alliance. The Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master were too busy preparing to leave and didn’t even have the chance to examine you.”

Baek Li Jangcheon caught the flicker of emotion in the Alliance leader’s gaze. Flustered, he waved his hands in denial.

“No, no! It’s not what you’re thinking! I haven’t gone mad! I’m completely normal! It’s just my memory… my memory is a bit strange, that’s all!”

“Of course, I believe you, Brother. Naturally, it must be as you say.”

The Alliance leader slowly rose from his seat and spoke politely to Baek Li Jangcheon.

“Then please take care of yourself. I have pressing duties to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. I’ll visit often whenever I have the time. For now, focus solely on your health.”

“Wait! Alliance leader! I’m telling you, it’s not like that! It really isn’t!”

Baek Li Jangcheon called out desperately, but the Alliance leader was already gone.

“Hah! What is this? I’m really living through some disgraceful days in my old age.”

Baek Li Jangcheon muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.

How long had he been sitting there blankly? Footsteps could be heard from outside the door.

“Sir, you have a visitor.”

“A visitor?”

“Yes, they’ve come to check on you… The Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master have arrived with their party.”

Images of the Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master flashed through Baek Li Jangcheon’s mind. And along with them, the face of Byeok Taesan, who was undoubtedly part of their group, appeared as well.

Startled, Baek Li Jangcheon tried to shout that they couldn’t come in and should just be sent away.

But the door had already swung wide open.

Through the open door, the figures of the Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master were revealed.

And standing between them, looking straight at him, was Byeok Taesan. Their eyes met.

Byeok Taesan frowned upon seeing him.

“This won’t do. Let’s just leave.”

“…Excuse me?”

“No, Young Master. We’ve come to visit; shouldn’t we at least step inside—”

The Heavenly Divine Healer’s words trailed off as his expression froze.

Awkwardly, he looked at Baek Li Jangcheon and slowly closed the door.

“Then please take care of yourself. And perhaps… take a bath.”

Click.

The door shut.

Baek Li Jangcheon stared blankly at the scene before letting out a scream.

“This can’t be happening!”

And so, he became the talk of the Hubei Martial Alliance for quite some time.

Byeok Taesan stepped into the Golden Jade Pavilion.

It was time to wrap up loose ends, as he would soon be leaving the place.

Before he even reached the building, the doors flung open, and a group of courtesans rushed out to greet him.

Some, having experienced this before, seemed unfazed.

However, the reactions of those seeing this for the first time, such as Yeon Harin or Byeok Taesan’s subordinates, were completely different.

Even Dan Yeong and Chae Wol, both of whom had once been courtesans themselves, were visibly astonished.

Receiving such treatment from a pleasure house in broad daylight was no ordinary feat.

Everyone cast renewed glances at Byeok Taesan.

His gaze, however, was fixed on the Owner of the Golden Jade Pavilion, who had emerged alongside the courtesans.

When the Owner saw the faint smile on Byeok Taesan’s lips, she couldn’t help but shiver.