The next day, when I entered the Hwangcheon Pavilion office, Seo Dae-ryong was waiting for me.
The moment he saw me, he let out a sigh of relief.
“You’re safe.”
“Why? Were you afraid I’d fallen into the Drunken Demon’s wine jar and drowned?”
“You can’t hold your liquor, can you?”
“I can drink just fine. I was only being careful when drinking with you lot.”
“Why?”
“In case my drunken habits came out.”
“You have drunken habits, Pavilion Lord?”
“I do.”
“What kind?”
It was a drunken habit I could not tell Seo Dae-ryong about. My mood would plummet without end, and I would become unbearably depressed. If I had not met Seojin during my days as a wanderer, I would either have become a ruined drunkard, or eventually, in a drunken stupor, gone to kill Hwa Mugi. I would never even have met Hwa Mugi, and would have been killed by those who supported him.
I said the opposite of my real drunken habit.
“I drink, sing, dance. It becomes a whole commotion.”
“I can’t imagine it!”
“And I nag my right-hand man endlessly.”
“That, I don’t want to imagine.”
“Now do you understand why I restrain myself from drinking?”
“No. Drink. Let your drunken habits out, at least in front of us. You need to vent your pent-up anger too, Pavilion Lord. This right-hand man of yours will endure your nagging for half an hour!”
Suddenly, I remembered the moment I first met Seo Dae-ryong. The sight of him entering my room, dragging that gloomy aura with him. He had been the very picture of depression and crookedness, and now he was comforting me like this.
“We’re gathering again tonight. You should come too, Pavilion Lord. Lord Jang will want to see you.”
“Fine. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yes. I’ll just water the flowerpot and go.”
Seo Dae-ryong watered the flowerpot by the window.
“Now that number one has returned, you are number two from now on.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There are sorrows that number one can never know.”
Just then, Seo Dae-ryong, who had been looking out the window absentmindedly, gasped in surprise.
When I went over and looked, someone was entering Hwangcheon Pavilion. Just as the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon had once crossed that training ground, another Demon Supreme was walking in.
Everyone could tell who it was. The wine bottle dangling at his waist revealed its owner.
Astonishingly, the Drunken Demon had entered Hwangcheon Pavilion. A woman followed behind him, and she was none other than Yeo Bin, one of Daechewrim’s Three Great Drunkards, who had given me a ride on the ferry.
At the Drunken Demon’s appearance, the investigators and enforcement warriors passing by held their breath.
Ever since I became the Lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion, Demon Supremes I had truly never seen here before had been appearing far too often.
Seo Dae-ryong looked at me and asked,
“How is it that whenever you go to meet Demon Supremes, they come looking for you here? Just what did you do yesterday?”
“I suppose the alcohol he drank yesterday wasn’t enough.”
“He’s staggering as he walks over here, though?”
Indeed, even from a distance, it was obvious he was drunk. The Drunken Demon truly remained drunk all day long.
“Go greet our guests.”
A little while later, guided by Seo Dae-ryong, the Drunken Demon and Yeo Bin entered.
“Welcome, Lord Drunken Demon.”
“We meet again, our Second Young Master.”
He even used the word our as he greeted me familiarly.
“After drinking together like that yesterday, shouldn’t at least a few days pass before we meet again?”
“Today, I came on official business.”
“Have you come to meet Doho, by any chance?”
“That’s right. He may have caused trouble, but isn’t he still my man? I should see him once before sending him to the dungeon.”
It was a reason for his visit I truly had not expected.
“I won’t be the one meeting him. This person here will.”
“Very well.”
I said to Seo Dae-ryong,
“Guide her to Doho.”
“Yes.”
Seo Dae-ryong took Yeo Bin and left.
When only the two of us remained, I said to the Drunken Demon,
“You seemed very drunk yesterday. Is your stomach all right?”
“It’s not all right. So let’s have a drink to cure the hangover.”
The Drunken Demon lifted his wine bottle and shook it.
“I’m still working, so I can’t.”
“Didn’t I tell you? Everything goes better if you do it after drinking. Drink, then throw them all into the dungeon!”
“Wasn’t it getting carried away like that that made Doho cause trouble? If only he had died, that would have been one thing, but the problem is that he’s perfectly fine while innocent people died.”
“What will happen to Doho?”
“He’ll have to be locked in the dungeon for a very long time. I intend to apply the maximum sentence.”
“It will be hard for him to live without alcohol.”
“Then he shouldn’t have caused trouble. But did you really come here yourself because of Doho?”
“That was just an excuse. Have you forgotten? We agreed to address each other as brothers.”
From yesterday until now, he had used that talk of brotherhood three times. Even the look he gave me now was quite serious. Serious enough that one might believe he truly meant it. But I did not believe the Drunken Demon’s words, nor that look in his eyes.
The drunkards I had experienced were more earnest and sincere than anyone when they were drunk. To the point that I would wonder why they were going so far with what they said.
But once the drinking party ended, I realized those words had not been all that important. There had been many lies, and plenty of bluster. Because their insides were empty, I had often felt that they were adorned with all manner of stories.
Drunken Demon, what about you? Are you the same sort of person as them? Are you truly someone standing precariously at the edge of that hollow emptiness? Are you truly nothing more than the final chief of those drunkards? If not… why are you so drunk?
“Why do you want to become close to me?”
“It is less that I like you, and more that I dislike the First Young Master. He broke my wine bottle and sent it back, so he must pay the price.”
“Why do you think he broke the wine bottle and sent it back? He must have expected that you would be offended like this.”
“How would I know what is in his mind? Perhaps I would if we shared a drink.”
“Do you come to know someone if you drink with them?”
“I do.”
“What kind of person am I?”
He looked at me, but his eyes were drunk, so it was not easy to read his thoughts.
“That judgment has no meaning. You yesterday and you now are different people.”
“How does a person change in a single day? The me then and the me now are the same person.”
“Are you truly certain of that? Does the Second Young Master then look at me with the same heart as the Second Young Master now?”
I could not answer that question. Since I had heard from the Blood Heaven Blade Demon that the Drunken Demon was a sinister fellow, strictly speaking, I could not be looking at him with the same heart.
“That is why I am saying we should drink again today. Another us, drinking on another day. Let us create another history.”
Fine. If fate was pushing me so forcefully into a drinking party with you, then fine. Let’s drink again.
“I’ll be drinking at the Pungryu Tavern this evening. Come there. But several people will gather on my side, so bring the female martial artist who came with you earlier.”
I intended to learn about the Drunken Demon through Yeo Bin. I also meant to keep the Drunken Demon from taking control of the atmosphere alone.
“Good. I shall bring her.”
Once the drinking appointment was set, the Drunken Demon truly looked pleased. Was it the alcohol he liked? Or was it drinking with me? He was impossible to know.
Just then, the door opened, and Seo Dae-ryong and Yeo Bin returned.
The Drunken Demon rose from his seat.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll tell you in advance, there is nowhere to swim at the Pungryu Tavern.”
I was telling him not to act out while drunk, but the Drunken Demon said he would swim even if he had to fall into a wine cup, and left the office while miming swimming.
After the two left, Seo Dae-ryong asked urgently,
“What does that mean?”
“I told him to come to the Pungryu Tavern. And to bring Yeo Bin with him.”
“No, why?”
“He said he wanted to drink.”
“Aren’t you worried about us, Pavilion Lord?”
“Who should I worry about? Lord Ma? The Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s disciple? My guard Ian? Who should I be worried for?”
“When you put it that way… there really isn’t anyone to worry about.”
“Are you scared? If you’re scared, you don’t have to come.”
Seo Dae-ryong sighed.
“As you know, I was someone who would never have fallen for such provocation. If it were the old me, I would have backed up all the way to that door, then waved and told you to have a good trip. My liver was the size of a bean, after all.”
“And now?”
“That bean has swollen up and is sticking out of my belly. Even so, it’s only the size of a walnut, but right now I feel as if I could even sit across from the Drunken Demon and drink with him. When confidence in martial arts gives rise to this kind of clumsy arrogance, that’s exactly the time one is best suited to die, isn’t it?”
“You already know everything, so there is nothing for me to teach you. You may descend the mountain now.”
“The old me would have taken that ‘descend the mountain’ you just mentioned as departing this world. I would have grabbed your trouser leg and said I couldn’t go down. But do you know what I’m thinking now? What’s so special about the martial world? What’s so special about the Drunken Demon? A man just has to face it head-on. Worst case, what more can happen than death? That’s the insane thought that comes to mind first. Please stop me. Have I fallen into qi deviation?”
Though he seemed to be joking, Seo Dae-ryong was guarding himself against his own arrogance. This was why intelligent people survived longer.
“What did Yeo Bin and Doho talk about in the interrogation room?”
“They didn’t say much. The female martial artist asked if she could give Doho a cup of alcohol, so after checking whether it was poisoned, we allowed it.”
Was it a custom of Daechewrim? Or was the liquor of some other significance?
It was at that very moment.
An urgent report came from outside.
“Pavilion Lord, Doho has killed himself.”
Startled, I ran to the interrogation room with Seo Dae-ryong. Doho lay collapsed on the floor, his head smashed.
“He rammed his head into the wall and killed himself.”
At the report from the subordinate who had been guarding the place, Seo Dae-ryong blamed himself.
“Should I have stopped her from giving him the alcohol?”
I shook my head.
“It wasn’t because of the alcohol. Yeo Bin must have sent him a sound transmission telling him to die.”
“Why on earth would she order him to die? He was going to suffer for a long time in the dungeon anyway.”
Suddenly, I remembered what the Drunken Demon had said.
It will be hard for him to live without alcohol.
Did you really kill him for that reason? To lessen your subordinate’s suffering?
“Will you still come tonight?”
Seo Dae-ryong looked angry. It was probably because he felt as if he had guided the Grim Reaper to Doho.
“I’m going. What’s so special about the martial world? What’s so special about the Drunken Demon? Worst case, what more can happen than death? Don’t try to stop me.”
And this was why intelligent people sometimes died sooner.
“I think you’re in qi deviation.”
* * *
Before going to the Pungryu Tavern, I went to see my elder brother.
When I entered his office, he was in the middle of work.
Being of the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline did not mean one could simply laze around and enjoy life. Just as I had taken charge of the duties of the Hwangcheon Pavilion Lord, my brother too was handling work handed down from the Heavenly Demon Hall.
The enormous organization known as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult required countless people to carry out their duties in their respective positions, and my brother was better than anyone at managing and operating an organization.
Even though he knew I had entered the room, Geom Muyang did not lift his head from the heaps of documents piled up before him.
“Have you been well? I assume those documents piled up there don’t say that when someone comes in, you should greet them first?”
Geom Muyang ignored me and focused only on his work.
“Fine. I know you’re someone who can do several things at once, so listen while you work. Why did you reject the Drunken Demon? Even sending him a broken wine bottle?”
For an instant, Geom Muyang’s hand stopped, then began moving again.
“I filled the wine bottle he sent with alcohol and went to see him. He was extremely pleased with me, you know? And very angry with you.”
As I spoke, I carefully observed my brother’s reaction. Using the Divine Eye Art, I watched the responses of his face and body. He probably thought he showed no particular reaction, but there were extremely subtle ones.
“Do you know what the Drunken Demon said about you?”
At that, Geom Muyang raised his head and looked at me.
“So you’re curious about that.”
“What did he say?”
“Meet him yourself and ask. Ah, will he refuse to meet you?”
I saw Geom Muyang’s lips twitch ever so slightly. I realized he had something to say, but was holding it back.
‘There’s no reason for my brother to reject the Drunken Demon. Even if there were a reason, he would have endured it and accepted him anyway. There is definitely something behind this matter.’
Geom Muyang’s reaction made me even more certain.
“Thanks to you, I obtained the Drunken Demon for free. He came looking for me today too. Said he wanted to become close. We even agreed to drink together tonight.”
Geom Muyang’s gaze returned to the documents.
“If you’ve said all you came to say, leave.”
If I had come like this to tease him, my brother would normally have made at least one cold remark. But he held back until the end. As if, should he say even a single word, a wine bottle would fall and shatter.
Just seeing that reaction was enough to accomplish the purpose of today’s visit.
* * *
A short while after Geom Mugeuk left, the Demon Buddha entered.
“I heard the Second Young Master came by.”
“He came to probe me. He wanted to know why we rejected the Drunken Demon.”
“Did he know? About the wine bottle?”
“No, it seemed he did not.”
Then an astonishing statement flowed from the Demon Buddha’s mouth.
“Then the Second Young Master must continue not to know. That it was not we who rejected him, but the Drunken Demon who rejected us.”
The one who had originally sent the broken wine bottle was not Geom Muyang, but the Drunken Demon. The empty wine bottle the Drunken Demon had sent to Geom Muyang had been broken.
Geom Muyang had taken it as a sign of rejection, that the Drunken Demon would not join hands with him.
“Why did the Drunken Demon choose Mugeuk? He could have gone back and forth between Mugeuk and me, weighing us against each other.”
“I cannot know that either.”
“We must uncover the reason and make the Drunken Demon our man.”
“There is no need to hurry.”
The Demon Buddha, rather, considered this an opportunity.
“The Drunken Demon is an unpredictable man. Once he begins stirring things up, even the Second Young Master will not be able to deal with him easily. On top of that, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon dislike each other, but they dislike the Drunken Demon even more. In the end, the Demon Supremes the Second Young Master has gathered with such care will split apart. If he gains the Drunken Demon, he will lose one of the other Demon Supremes. Perhaps he may even lose all three.”
The Demon Buddha’s eyes shone with conviction as bright as his golden body.
“This is, rather, an opportunity to overturn an unfavorable board.”
Geom Muyang held back what he wanted to say.
‘And what will you do if the Drunken Demon simply ends up joining Mugeuk without any trouble?’
But in any case, from the moment he received the broken wine bottle, he had had no choice.
He could only hope that the Drunken Demon’s drunken antics would be even greater than they expected.