The first to speak was the Paradise Enchantress.
She lightly fluttered her pale pink fan and said,
“Handsome little brother over there!”
A seductive gleam flowed through her eyes as she looked at me.
“How about coming out with me, little brother? It looks like things are about to get ugly here.”
I smiled and said to her,
“What should I do? Madam, you’re not my type.”
“Oh my! Madam? I’m not that old. Just call me big sister.”
I asked the Evil Smiling Demon,
“How old would you say she is?”
“She must be well over sixty.”
At that, the Paradise Enchantress burst out shouting.
“Shut up! You ugly demon bastard. I’m still twenty-eight.”
She was not even afraid of the Evil Smiling Demon. She truly was a fearless wicked woman.
“Didn’t you say you were twenty-eight ten years ago too?”
“You remember that?”
“Even then, you looked over forty.”
The Evil Smiling Demon seemed to know full well that such words would offend her the most.
A bewitching energy flowed from the enraged Paradise Enchantress’s body.
“Today, I’ll finally get to see the face behind that mask. If you hadn’t crawled into the Demon Cult, you would have died by my hand long ago.”
Just from their conversation, it was clear the two were not on good terms.
Then the third of the Three Lords of the Blood Road, who was nearby, unexpectedly took the Evil Smiling Demon’s side.
“That old hag’s demonic aura grows more sinister by the day.”
The second, standing beside him, mocked the Paradise Enchantress while pretending to restrain him.
“Little brother, if you run your mouth carelessly, that monster will suck your vital essence dry too.”
When the Paradise Enchantress turned to look at them with a hardened expression, this time the eldest of the Three Lords of the Blood Road spoke.
“Have my younger brothers’ loose tongues only been a problem for a day or two? Think of it as a passing dog barking.”
The Paradise Enchantress snorted and said,
“Why do those sons of bitches bark like that whenever they see a person?”
Even so, she seemed to have some measure of acquaintance with the eldest. At a glance, the one leading the Three Lords of the Blood Road was the calm-natured eldest.
“Next time we come out, I’ll make sure to put muzzles on them.”
At that moment, the third made a show of whispering into someone’s ear. Of course, his voice was still loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Seeing how he always takes her side like that, don’t you think Big Brother might have spent a passionate night with that monster woman?”
“Then we should treat her as our sister-in-law.”
The eldest closed his eyes gently and said to the Paradise Enchantress,
“Please consider them senile.”
On the surface, it looked as if they were exchanging idle nonsense, but they were ready to strike at any moment.
Even the second and third, who ran their mouths like ruffians, each possessed no ordinary bearing. If that had not been the case, they would have already been torn to shreds by the Paradise Enchantress.
I released several strands of energy like a spiderweb and examined their bearing. Just as a spiderweb trembles when prey is caught, I keenly watched how their presences shifted.
They were relaxed. The atmosphere around them said they believed that if they attacked together, they could easily kill the Evil Smiling Demon. The jokes going back and forth reflected that confidence.
At that moment, Divine Lord Yama, who had entered last, opened his mouth.
“If they’re senile, they should die.”
He deliberately distorted his voice, speaking gloomily as though a reaper were talking.
He took a booklet from his robes and opened it. It was the Death Ledger he carried with him.
“You wicked bastards should have fallen into the Eight Scorching Hells long ago. I’ll send you there now.”
Then the youngest and second of the Three Lords of the Blood Road clicked their tongues and said,
“That madman’s illness still shows no sign of improving.”
“Hey, you bastard, you shouldn’t be writing our names. You should be writing the name of that masked fellow over there.”
Realizing that they knew one another well, and even met often, I sent a sound transmission to the Evil Smiling Demon.
—Do you know where these people came from?
—They came from the Valley of Villains.
Within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the place where the Evil Smiling Demon stayed was also called the Valley of Villains. But the Valley of Villains the Evil Smiling Demon had just mentioned was not the place where he resided.
In the Central Plains, there was a true Valley of Villains where evildoers gathered to live.
No one knew when the Valley of Villains had first come into existence. It had formed as criminals who had committed crimes and fled began gathering there one by one. The terrain swarmed with swamps, venomous snakes, and poisonous insects, and all manner of traps had been installed there, so anyone who entered recklessly would lose their life before taking even a few steps inside.
Even if one safely overcame those dangers and made it inside, all kinds of villains awaited within. A child who offered directions would stab your throat with a dagger, and a kindly-looking old woman would put poison in your rice. That was the Valley of Villains.
The Murim Alliance had attempted to subjugate the place several times, but each attempt had failed. There were simply too many villains, and every time, they suffered heavy losses and were forced to turn back.
Even so, there was one reason the Valley of Villains had never become a single force and burst out into the murim.
Because they were villains.
Whenever someone tried to unite them, someone would inevitably betray them. From the moment they opened their eyes, they stole from one another, fought, and killed, making it impossible for them to unite into one faction.
And yet, people from that very Valley of Villains had joined hands for the purpose of killing the Evil Smiling Demon. If the person behind this had moved not ordinary villains, but figures of this caliber, then that alone was enough to guess that the mastermind was truly extraordinary.
—What is our strategy?
At my sound transmission, the Evil Smiling Demon answered without hesitation.
—Sweep them all away.
—Is that possible?
—It is. There is one crucial thing missing from their calculations.
—Me, of course?
—No. They ignored the fact that I do not enjoy falling into traps.
They had properly provoked the Evil Smiling Demon.
You dare set a trap to kill me? And even use the Silver Coin Hall to do it?
The Evil Smiling Demon was currently very angry. Of course, they were not opponents he could deal with purely according to his mood, so he was likely only watching for an opportunity.
Just then, Blood Wolf Saber, who had been sitting alone, abruptly stood and announced,
“Evil Smiling Demon, you and I shall fight to the death.”
Immediately, Divine Lord Yama stepped forward.
“The Evil Smiling Demon’s name is already written in the ledger. I will take him.”
When he opened the Ledger of Life and Death, the Evil Smiling Demon’s name was written there in red characters.
The Paradise Enchantress licked her lips with her tongue, coveting the Evil Smiling Demon.
“He may be damn troublesome, but he looks like he’d be delicious.”
The Three Lords of the Blood Road were the same.
“If those ones kill him, we’ll have to keep listening to them boast for the rest of our lives. Let us take the lead.”
It seemed they all wanted to fight the Evil Smiling Demon. Well, to them, killing the Evil Smiling Demon would be something to brag about for a long time.
Seeing that, I said to the Evil Smiling Demon,
“You’re popular.”
“This is nothing. If I go over to the righteous faction, it becomes a complete uproar. The line of people wanting to kill me stretches for ten li.”
At his joke, I burst out laughing.
Naturally, the villains’ gazes turned toward me. Judging by their reactions, they still did not know who I was.
Blood Wolf Saber asked me,
“Brat, who are you?”
Instead of answering, I said to him,
“I heard you were originally someone who walked his own path. I didn’t expect you to come kill someone at another’s instigation.”
Blood Wolf Saber, struck where it hurt, looked at me coldly. I did not know how he had come to be here, but I did know that he was a man who had lived for nothing but pride.
“I asked who you are.”
“Geom Mugeuk.”
“Geom Mugeuk?”
Then the eldest of the Three Lords of the Blood Road recognized me from behind.
“The Heavenly Demon’s second son.”
His expression, which had been calm until now, instantly twisted.
“Damn it! That damned bastard! He drove us into a place where the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline is present.”
At that, the second took up his words.
“He’ll probably insist he didn’t know he had come together with the Evil Smiling Demon. But it’s not as if we’re in a situation where we can withdraw either, so this is troublesome.”
I did not know the reason, but it seemed they too had been driven into a situation where they absolutely had to kill the Evil Smiling Demon. Well, if not for that, they would not have dared think of killing a Demon Venerable.
On the other hand, Blood Wolf Saber showed no fear at all even after learning my identity.
“You’re running your mouth because you trust your father. Do you think I fear your father?”
This too was the result of his pride being triggered. He was a man who lived by pride and died by pride. But how could that be called pride?
“A person with nothing to protect naturally has nothing to fear.”
At my words, his momentum surged. In a situation where he looked ready to draw his saber at once, I cut off the flow of that momentum and retreated behind the Evil Smiling Demon.
Blood Wolf Saber did not draw his saber recklessly. Since he would not yet know my true ability, he was likely being wary of the Evil Smiling Demon.
I openly asked the Evil Smiling Demon so everyone could hear.
“The person behind this is someone capable of mobilizing people like them, correct?”
“As you can see, yes.”
“Then why did he send them instead of stepping forward himself?”
“Most likely… because of you, Second Young Master.”
“Because of me?”
“He is hoping that one of them will kill you, Second Young Master. Then the responsibility for killing you will fall on that person.”
“A very cowardly bastard, then.”
I looked at the villains and said,
“Well then, who will be the first to fall for that cowardly intent?”
For a moment, silence flowed. Even if this was the Valley of Villains, there was fear in the name of the Heavenly Demon. If Father truly became enraged, he could attack the Valley of Villains as well. The reason he had left it alone until now was because that place was an even greater burden to the Murim Alliance.
The villains began exchanging sound transmissions among themselves. On the surface, they appeared to be bickering and eager to tear one another apart, but they were villains who had been worn smooth by the jianghu. Because they handled matters where their lives were at stake, they were extremely cautious. It was also the reason they had survived until now despite their countless evil deeds.
After a moment, the Paradise Enchantress stepped forward with a bewitching smile in her eyes.
“Little brother, you truly should come out with me. How could such an esteemed person get tangled up with these filthy villains?”
The instant I saw her eyes, I could feel that she had resolved to kill me. It seemed the mastermind close at hand was more frightening to her now than the Heavenly Demon far away.
The Paradise Enchantress lightly fluttered her fan.
“Little brother, shall we go out?”
The moment a vivid crimson energy flowed from the fan, an aura thick with bewitchment wrapped around me. She had used the Soul-Bewitching Art on me. It was the Soul-Bewitching Art of a woman who had plundered the inner energy of countless martial artists until now.
The instant a crimson light settled in my eyes, the Paradise Enchantress shouted at the Evil Smiling Demon,
“If you move, the Second Young Master dies!”
The Evil Smiling Demon did not budge. In truth, even if she had not warned him, he would not have moved. He was certain that I had killed the Soul-Bewitching Demon Venerable, so how could I fail to handle the Paradise Enchantress’s Soul-Bewitching Art? He must have trusted me that much.
Thinking that I had completely fallen under the Soul-Bewitching Art and lost my reason, the Paradise Enchantress approached me and placed her palm against my dantian.
“Shall I have a taste of my little brother’s fresh inner energy?”
Whoooooong!
The sound of inner energy being drawn from the dantian rang out.
The Paradise Enchantress shouted in a voice full of ecstasy.
“It has been my lifelong wish to suck dry the Heavenly Demon’s vital essence! Since I’m eating his bloodline, I have achieved half that wish now.”
The Paradise Enchantress’s expression changed from moment to moment, containing joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. The Evil Smiling Demon, and all the other villains in the hall, simply watched the sight.
The youngest of the Three Lords of the Blood Road ran his mouth at the Evil Smiling Demon.
“You cold-blooded bastard! Even as the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline suffers, you just stand there watching.”
At that, the Evil Smiling Demon calmly asked them,
“You lot. Can you handle what comes after?”
“We can simply hide in the Valley of Villains. We’ll burn your corpses and throw them away, and no one will know it was our doing. Even if it is revealed, do you think your Demon Cult will truly bear such heavy sacrifices to attack the Valley of Villains?”
At the third’s answer, the Evil Smiling Demon said nothing more and simply watched as the Paradise Enchantress plundered my inner energy.
And a moment later.
Thud.
The Paradise Enchantress collapsed where she stood, crumpling to the floor.
Startled, the eldest of the Three Lords of the Blood Road examined her.
“Old hag, what’s wrong?”
The eldest, after checking her, shouted in shock.
“She’s dead! She died because her inner energy was exhausted!”
At that moment, my eyes flashed open.
“Ah, I’m full! She was damn troublesome, but she was very delicious.”
I had instead absorbed all of her inner energy.
I had deliberately pretended to be caught, but sorcery does not work on me. In particular, arts of the Soul-Bewitching type absolutely do not work.
Recently, I had gained insight into martial learning, and on top of that, I had the Blood-Eye Essence, the Heavenly Demon Body-Protecting Art, and the Heavenly Vein Strengthening Art. From the beginning, it had been impossible for her to take inner energy from my body.
In the end, the Paradise Enchantress met a miserable death by having the very method she had used all her life to plunder men turned back on her.
As I stored the inner energy I had gained from her in my dantian, I looked at Divine Lord Yama with eyes that had deepened further and said,
“What are you staring at? Aren’t you going to write our big sister’s name in your ledger?”