Bi Sain was furious.
I knew where that fury came from.
It was probably because of what Sixth Wolf had said earlier.
A life spent flocking around just to protect the First Young Master.
Of course it would have offended him, and he must have felt looked down upon as well.
If it had been only a matter of Sixth Wolf, he might have been able to forget it by killing him.
But this was the problem: the suspicion that the other Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao might think the same way. That suspicion would torment him for a very long time.
Of course, I had no intention of soothing him. Fundamentally, he was my enemy, and I also intended to use their division and Bi Sain’s confused state of mind.
Then First Wolf stepped forward.
“Should we not have kept Sixth Wolf alive and used him as a witness?”
His voice was slightly flushed. He, too, could not help being flustered and agitated in the face of a comrade’s betrayal and death.
Bi Sain gave no answer. I could guess why. Right now, First Wolf’s words must have sounded to him like this.
—He was like a brother to me. How could you kill him like that?
Bi Sain’s gaze turned toward the remaining Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao standing behind First Wolf. They stood there with expressions no different from usual.
But at this moment, Bi Sain would find them unfamiliar.
That was when I stepped in.
“Are you not the witnesses? Even excluding Young Master Bi, are there not six witnesses who saw Sixth Wolf betray you?”
This was what First Wolf was worried about.
“If they accuse all of us of being in league with him, they may not believe us.”
“Are you saying that the testimony of six of the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao, who represent the Evil Dao Alliance, will not hold? If so, do you people have any meaning in living as warriors of the Evil Dao Alliance?”
First Wolf and the rest of the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao said nothing. If one thought about it, it must truly feel wretched.
Then Bi Sain, who had been listening in silence, suddenly shouted.
“Enough of this useless talk!”
It was only natural that he reacted so irritably.
“Who is behind this?”
“I cannot tell you here.”
I poured oil onto the blazing fire.
“Do you really think there is only one traitor?”
The Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao all sent cold gazes at me at once.
This reaction was actually the one Bi Sain should have shown first. But Bi Sain was the slowest to react. It was because he was having the same suspicion.
“Would it not be best to be careful until everything is made clear? Let us discuss that matter alone.”
I was driving Bi Sain into a corner while dividing him from the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao. This was something I had to grab Bi Sain by the collar and drag forward. I had no intention of losing the initiative until the very moment the scheme came to fruition.
Before taking a seat alone with Bi Sain, I briefly spoke with the Extreme Evil Soma through sound transmission.
—I intend to keep Bi Sain apart from the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao for the time being.
—You must have something in mind.
—If I am to move Bi Sain the way I want, I need some time alone with him.
In truth, there was another reason, but it was one I could not tell the Extreme Evil Soma.
The quick-witted Extreme Evil Soma suddenly asked.
—Is that truly the only reason?
—No.
When I answered honestly, the Extreme Evil Soma instead smiled with his eyes.
—As expected, Second Young Master was wearing the same mask as I.
—That is correct. No one believed me when I said I was not such a good person, but as expected, Lord Soma recognizes it. Then I will see you later at the safe house near the main headquarters of the Evil Dao Alliance.
Given the nature of the matter, the Extreme Evil Soma accepted my request. At least when it came to public affairs, he handled things more cleanly than anyone else.
* * *
I stood side by side with Bi Sain on a hill east of Baegya Valley.
“Who is behind this?”
“If I tell you, what will you do for me? Surely you were not thinking of receiving such important information for free?”
Bi Sain’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Damn it! Why is it so hard to hear a single name? Tell me like a man!”
“That is not being manly. That is being a fool who accepts a loss for the sake of a moment’s smugness. I am someone who believes that a transaction must always involve an exchange of proper value. Problems in a deal always arise when one side is dissatisfied. Let us try to balance the scales properly.”
“What do you want?”
There was something I wanted from him. After returning to the past, there were fortuitous encounters I had decided to gather whenever the opportunity arose. What I was about to tell him now was one of them.
“Let me enter the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils.”
The Cave of Ten Thousand Evils.
It was the sacred ground of the Evil Dao Alliance, a place only the alliance leader and his successor could enter.
Three hundred years ago, the absolute ruler of the Evil Dao Alliance, the Patriarch of Ten Thousand Evils, had healed his injuries there after a fierce battle with the Heavenly Demon of that time, and the Evil Dao Alliance had made the place their sacred ground.
Bi Sain was startled.
“Why do you want to enter that place?”
“I have wanted to enter it since long ago.”
“Then you must know. No outsider may ever be allowed into the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils.”
“That is why I am asking now, is it not? With your life as collateral.”
“Do not exaggerate. Even without knowing who was behind this, I have survived until now. So do not act as though you possess something so extraordinary.”
“You were alive, but truly in danger. With a traitor even behind your back, no less. If you had not met me, that traitor would still be eating and sleeping together with you, Young Master Bi.”
Perhaps because he could not refute those words at least, Bi Sain was silent for a moment before asking me.
“Do you know what kind of place the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils is?”
The reason he asked like this was because there was nothing particularly special there.
It was merely a place commemorating where the Patriarch of Ten Thousand Evils had healed his injuries, no different from building a pavilion in a scenic spot.
“I heard that three hundred years ago, the Heavenly Demon and the Patriarch of Ten Thousand Evils fought, and that the details of that event were recorded in the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils. As someone who will become the next Heavenly Demon, I wish to read about that battle in detail. Unfortunately, no such records remain in our cult.”
This was Bi Sain’s concern.
“Letting you into that place is not a major problem. However, if this fact is revealed, it could become a major problem.”
“You need not worry about that. I will never reveal that I entered the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils. And suppose I do reveal it. Then you can simply deny it, can you not? If you say it is not true, who would believe my words?”
In the end, he would accept. Compared to what he would gain, the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils was nothing. Though it had been designated sacred ground, it was no more than a sort of memorial hall.
The secret of the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils would be revealed more than ten years from now. It was something that happened after this Bi Sain before my eyes was already dead.
“If you dislike it, forget it. I do not particularly wish to enter badly enough to beg like this. Let us pretend this never happened.”
“Second Young Master, do not be petty.”
“Young Master Bi, you are the one being petty with your own life.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that even if others may hesitate, you alone must not. There is nothing in this world more important than life. All the more if that life is a precious one that will ascend to the position of Evil Dao Alliance Leader once you get past this crisis. Throw everything else aside and think of just one thing: your life!”
In the end, Bi Sain let out a long breath and accepted the proposal.
“Very well. I will let you enter the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils.”
He was in a situation where, if he could learn who was behind this, he had to learn it no matter the cost.
“Instead, I have two conditions.”
“Speak.”
“First, you must reveal who is behind this beforehand.”
I had expected him to make such a demand.
“I will tell you at the entrance to the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils.”
“Fine.”
For the first condition, we readily accepted each other’s demands.
“Second, you have exactly one double-hour.”
“That is too short. Give me three double-hours.”
“Two double-hours. No more.”
“Fine.”
Bi Sain drew his sword. I also drew the Black Demon Sword and struck blade against blade. Clang! A clear sound rang out as a token of our promise.
“By any chance, is the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils on the way back from here to the main headquarters of the Evil Dao Alliance?”
“It is.”
“Then let the two of us depart immediately.”
Bi Sain was startled by the unexpected proposal.
“Are you saying we should leave the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao behind?”
“That is right. Let us leave the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao behind, and the Extreme Evil Soma as well.”
Bi Sain started to say something, then stopped. He could not bring himself to ask if it would not be dangerous.
Until now, seeing me move alone had wounded his pride. And now he could not possibly bring up the question of danger like a coward.
“Right now, going as a pair will be safest.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you and the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao possess such high martial arts, it is not easy to place surveillance around you. That must be why they recruited Sixth Wolf.”
Bi Sain nodded, agreeing with those words.
“Now that Sixth Wolf is dead, there is a gap in their surveillance. But soon they will learn of Sixth Wolf’s death and send a new expert to watch you. If we are going to leave, it must be right now. Leave for the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils with me now. Leave the Extreme Evil Soma and the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao behind, and let the two of us go. Moving contrary to your opponent’s expectations is the way to defeat them.”
Even so, Bi Sain could not make the decision easily. In the end, he revealed his honest feelings.
“If we die doing that, it will all be for nothing, will it not?”
His conflicted face looked even more distorted. A face unable to convey his feelings properly. Perhaps pity for that was one of the reasons I wanted to spare him.
“Whether having the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao with you will raise your chances of living or your chances of dying is something we cannot know. As I said earlier, can you be certain there is no other spy among the remaining Thirteen Wolves?”
Bi Sain could not answer confidently. There was no guarantee they had not planted spies twofold or threefold. Only First Wolf Baek Cheolgi could be trusted with certainty.
“Besides, if you are to let me into the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils, should the two of us not move alone? Would it be all right if they knew? That you let me into the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils? Not only them, but even the Extreme Evil Soma would learn of it.”
Those words were decisive.
“Fine. Let the two of us go.”
“You have thought well.”
Resolve filled Bi Sain’s face.
Originally, this was not a decision he should have made. He should not have moved according to the other party’s intentions so easily. If the other party had been a villain, he would already have been ruined.
But Bi Sain, this time, you did well.
I do not know how your fate will flow, but joining hands with me may be the only way to change the direction of the wheel of your tragic destiny. Pull the reins harder so that you can change that direction.
“I will help you become the leader of the Evil Dao Alliance.”
“The people of the world will laugh. If I become the leader of the Evil Dao Alliance with your help.”
“The people of the world will never know that fact. Someday, when I become the Heavenly Demon and you become the leader of the Evil Dao Alliance, and we meet, let us recall this moment and shake hands once.”
Bi Sain stared at me as if piercing through me. How could I know a person’s heart? Whether this moment disgusted him so much that he would try to kill me, or whether he would truly be grateful for this day and take my hand.
“Let us go.”
I began running first, and he ran after me.
We left Baegya Valley in an instant.
* * *
More than ten days later, we had run only along deserted roads and at last arrived atop a cliff. Since he knew there had been no surveillance or pursuit at all on the way here, Bi Sain acknowledged that my judgment had been correct.
Shwaaaaaaak.
Looking down at the pouring waterfall, Bi Sain asked.
“Can you swim?”
“I can even eat a meal underwater while dealing with the Changjiang Water Ghosts.”
“Then follow me.”
Bi Sain leapt down beneath the waterfall first, and I jumped after him.
The entrance to the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils was in a place that could never be found unless one knew its location. We swam in through a narrow entrance beneath the waterfall.
It was in a place where the current was strong, so it was difficult to see in the first place, and it was a narrow hole that looked as though one would get stuck and never come out if one entered.
We passed through that entrance and swam along the narrow passage. Only after going so deep that fear seized us that we might drown if we went any farther were we able to emerge from the water.
The waterway was connected to a pond, and that pond was inside a cave.
“They say the Patriarch of Ten Thousand Evils, injured in his battle with the Heavenly Demon, drifted into this place.”
“For that narrow passage to lead here, heaven must have saved him.”
“That is why we made this place our sacred ground.”
We stood side by side before the cave. Originally, it had been a cave that continued straight inward, but they had blocked the entrance and made a door.
“This door can only be opened by infusing inner energy in a set method. If one tries to force it open, this place will collapse. Now, tell me. Who is behind this?”
I immediately revealed the mastermind to him.
“Grand Elder Seok Gwanchu of the Evil Dao Alliance.”
Bi Sain was shocked. It was truly a name he had never expected.
“That cannot be. Elder Seok withdrew long ago and entered the Council of Elders. Do you have proof that it is him?”
“Heuksalju confessed.”
“Where is he now?”
“Dead.”
Bi Sain’s expression stiffened.
“Are you saying Elder Seok is behind this without any proof?”
“Why is there no proof? I, the second son of the Heavenly Demon, am speaking as a witness.”
“!”
“If you do not trust me, then you should not have been standing here in the first place. What exactly are you doing?”
At my rebuke, Bi Sain let out a deep sigh and said.
“No. I trust you. I came because I trust you. It is only that I cannot believe it is Elder Seok.”
That was how much respect Seok Gwanchu received from the warriors of the Evil Dao Alliance.
“Elder Seok is trying to make his grandson the successor.”
Only then did Bi Sain understand the situation.
“Ah! So that was it. Elder Seok was extremely proud of his grandson. He boasted about him several times in front of me. Back then… I thought his affection for his grandson was excessive, but thinking about it now, it seems that was not all there was to it.”
A cold murderous intent flashed through Bi Sain’s eyes. Seok Gwanchu, his grandson, and the various words and events he had casually overlooked until now must be taking on new meaning and freezing his heart cold.
“Now, it is your turn to keep your promise.”
Bi Sain kept his promise like a man. When he placed his palm against the wall and infused his inner energy, the door opened.
“The fact that you entered this place remains a secret until death. And you have exactly two double-hours. If you do not come out by then, I will go in.”
Leaving him behind, I slowly walked into the Cave of Ten Thousand Evils.