When he awoke, Seo Daeryong was lighting a campfire beside the parked carriage.
“You’re awake?”
“How long did I sleep?”
“Long enough. No, seriously, how can a martial artist sleep so soundly he wouldn’t know if someone carried him off?”
“I was keeping watch even in my sleep.”
“While snoring like that?”
In truth, I had slept deeply without waking even once.
Of course, Seo Daeryong wouldn’t know. That if I sensed real danger, the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art would wake me.
“You’re hungry, right? Have some of this.”
Seo Daeryong set out the food he had bought in advance at the inn before we left. Meticulously enough, they were all dishes I enjoyed.
“After this meal, we’ll have to hunt for our food.”
Eating the foods I liked after a great battle truly put me in a good mood. It might seem like nothing, but people are moved by such small things. Thanks, Daeryong.
After eating my fill and drinking cool water, the words came out on their own.
“Ah, now I feel alive.”
As I sat basking in the campfire, Seo Daeryong handed me Golden Wound Medicine.
“Then you should treat your injuries now.”
I took off my blood-soaked clothes and the Ghost Tiger Robe. Then I unwound the Supreme Heavenly Silkworm Thread and wrapped it around the hilt of the Black Demon Sword again. Gradually, the Supreme Heavenly Silkworm Thread was soaking in blood and turning red. I thought about washing it, then left it as it was. The hilt of the Black Demon Sword wrapped in bloodstained cloth had its own sort of charm.
I applied the Golden Wound Medicine to the injured places. I had avoided any fatal wounds, but I had been cut and scraped here and there, and there were many places bruised black all over, so my body was a mess.
“You’re still in the prime of youth. What are you going to do with so many scars on your body? If women see them, they’ll all run away.”
“Later, I’ll undergo a complete rebirth and overhaul everything.”
“An opportunity like that… I was about to say it wouldn’t come so easily. But if it’s you, Pavilion Lord, I’m starting to think it might.”
After I finished applying the medicine, I changed into the new martial attire Seo Daeryong had bought.
“It fits perfectly. I like it.”
“You worked hard.”
“Our first mission was a success.”
“Our last mission was a success.”
There are moments when just seeing a certain person puts you in a good mood. For example, when Father sits in the grand chair and looks down at me with a displeased expression, or when the Blood Heaven Saber Demon drives that huge Heaven-Extinguishing Great Saber deep into the ground and leans against it.
With Seo Daeryong, it was when we exchanged pointless jokes like this.
“Truly, while I was waiting in the carriage, I wondered at least ten times whether I should go in.”
“If you had come in, I would have had a hard time rescuing a hostage on top of everything else.”
“Then you would have grown even more. Should I have gone in after all?”
Saying that, Seo Daeryong laughed. I laughed along with him.
After we bantered for a while, Seo Daeryong spoke about what he had felt during this mission.
“I keep dreaming about that martial contest. I hear the cheers I heard on the dueling platform, too. I miss that moment. Seeing that, I suppose rather than being some hidden master, I want to become a martial artist who receives people’s attention.”
“You have to go down that path anyway.”
“Pardon?”
“Because you’ll become the Demon Venerable.”
Since the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had passed on his martial arts to him, for now, the path of successor had been decided.
At that, Seo Daeryong’s expression turned serious.
“Pavilion Lord. Can I become the Demon Venerable? Can I truly bear such a position?”
“Does your master look like the sort of person who would hand over his place so easily?”
“No.”
“Then what are you worried about? If you can’t believe in yourself, believe in your master’s judgment.”
“Still… I can’t believe it. Me, the Demon Venerable.”
Well, that was understandable. A mere investigator of the Hwangcheon Pavilion becoming the Demon Venerable. It would be stranger if it felt real to him so easily.
“I will truly work as if my life depends on it.”
To the burning Seo Daeryong, I spoke calmly.
“Of course you have to work hard, but keep this in mind. They say that when you climb uphill, you can see only the summit, but when you walk downhill, you can see the world. Look back every now and then as you climb.”
Seo Daeryong looked at me with a strange smile.
“You’re ten years younger than me, yet you say things like that so well.”
When I lay down beside the campfire, Seo Daeryong lay down on the opposite side.
Lying there by the fire and looking up at the stars in the night sky felt wonderful.
“Later, I should just travel around like this.”
“Please be sure to take me with you.”
“You should go around receiving applause and attention.”
“I can receive all the attention I need, then go with you.”
“No. I’m going to take Ian with me.”
Seo Daeryong pouted. You fool, if that were so easy, would our father be trapped in the Heavenly Demon Hall?
I slept deeply that night as well. The tension and fatigue that had built up over a long time were loosening.
* * *
We traveled by carriage until my body recovered.
As soon as I had recovered, I sold the carriage, carried Seo Daeryong on my back, and returned using Swift Steps.
At first, Seo Daeryong acted as if he were dying, but later he adapted completely and even cracked jokes while being carried. It was a moment that made me feel anew the adaptability of human beings.
After running and running like that, we arrived at the main cult.
The first place I headed was the Heavenly Demon Hall.
Beyond the red carpet, far in the distance, Father was seated in the grand chair. Today, I felt especially grateful to Father for remaining steadfastly in his place as always.
The moment my eyes met Father’s as he looked down at me expressionlessly, my heart surged. Afraid I might show too much emotion, I quickly bowed.
“I have executed the leader of the Cheonmyeong Society and returned after completing the mission.”
“You worked hard. Rise.”
When I stood up, Chief Strategist Sama Myeong, who had been standing beside him, greeted me.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“I heard that dealing with the Cheonmyeong Society this time was no easy matter.”
Because I had sent letters from time to time to report the situation, Father and Sama Myeong knew about the process and results.
Of course, I could not include this sort of complaining in the letters.
“Don’t even mention it. I nearly died more times than I can count. This was far too difficult a test. No, it was an impossible mission!”
“I admit it. It was my mistake. I did not realize that an organization called the Cheonmyeong Society had grown to such a scale.”
Sama Myeong readily acknowledged his error. After all, the one that had assigned the mission was the Tongcheon Pavilion, which Sama Myeong led.
At that moment, Father, who had been watching, suddenly spoke.
“So you tried to kill our son.”
Sama Myeong and I both looked at Father in surprise. Of course, both of us were surprised that Father had made such a joke in this situation, but I was surprised for a different reason.
Our son.
It was the first time I had heard those words from Father. I might have heard them when I was very young and did not remember, but as far as my memory was concerned, this was the first time.
I needed to respond with some sort of joke, but nothing came to mind.
Sama Myeong smiled and said to me,
“How is it? Would this be enough for you to forgive me?”
He knew as well. That this was the first time I had heard the words “our son.” That I was moved because of it.
“Please send me again. Where is it this time? The Tianxia Society? The Tiandi Society?”
At my words, Sama Myeong laughed.
I was in a good mood. It had been just one phrase, but for me, it would become a moment I would never forget for the rest of my life.
Calming my trembling heart, I asked Sama Myeong,
“What happened to my brother?”
“The Eldest Young Master has already handled the task he was assigned safely and returned.”
As expected, just as before the regression, my brother had completed it safely and returned. The fate that had changed was on my side. The hidden organization called the Cheonmyeong Society had disappeared from the martial world, and I had passed the test.
“Then both of us passed the test.”
“That is correct.”
“My test was far more difficult, so shouldn’t you declare that I won? Please make me the successor!”
I demanded it confidently.
“It is a request well worth making, but from the Eldest Young Master’s perspective, would it not feel unfair? We must also consider the possibility that the Eldest Young Master might have chosen the more difficult side.”
As the two of you probably expect, my brother never would have solved it. If he had gotten deeply involved, he likely would have lost his life. In that sense, it was fortunate that I chose this side.
But I could not bring myself to say that.
“Then isn’t this far too unfair to me?”
“Therefore, separate from the result of this test, I believe we should give you a reward.”
It seemed he had already discussed this with Father.
“Is there anything you want?”
Without hesitation, I looked at Father in the grand chair and said,
“As my reward, come hunting with me once more.”
Father looked as if this was unexpected.
“Every time you receive a reward, you ask to go hunting with me.”
After my first regression, when I won the martial contest, the wish I asked for had also been a hunt.
“We have to catch the tiger we failed to catch back then.”
“Very well. Let us go.”
Father readily accepted my proposal.
“We depart tomorrow morning.”
* * *
After leaving the Heavenly Demon Hall, the first place I went was Ian’s training ground.
I had thought she would be sweating as she trained in martial arts, but unexpectedly, Ian was reading a book.
So beautiful that she startled me every time I saw her, she gave off yet another charm as she read. It was a sight that would make every scholar in the world fall for her.
The thought came to me again. I really did have to show Ian to Jin Haryeong at least once.
Wondering what sort of martial arts manual it was, I used the Divine Eye Art and looked closely, but surprisingly, it was a collection of poems and paintings.
As I entered the training ground, I said,
“Are you planning to quit being a martial artist and become a poet?”
At my words, Ian glanced up, then looked back down at her book and said,
“You’re here?”
She acted as if she had seen me just yesterday. No, even if she had seen me yesterday, she would have greeted me more warmly than this. I immediately sensed that she was teasing me.
Pretending not to notice, I sat down beside her.
“Congratulations.”
“Congratulations for what?”
“I heard there will be noodles to eat soon?”
Only then did I understand. Our loose-lipped Seo Daeryong must have come and told her everything about Jin Haryeong.
“I hear the person you’re fated to love is the granddaughter of the Murim Alliance Leader?”
“Not love, meeting. Not daughter, granddaughter.”
“If she’s the foremost beauty of Hubei, she must be incredibly pretty.”
“Not prettier than you.”
“What about her personality? Is it good?”
“She’s decent enough. She wasn’t raised without manners.”
“A perfect spouse, then. Truly, congratulations.”
“Are you done being jealous?”
“I told you, I’m not jealous. I’m congratulating you.”
“Then you should do it while looking at me.”
“I don’t want to.”
Ian looked so adorable being jealous.
“I told her. That when I returned, someone far prettier than her would be waiting for me.”
I saw a smile form at the corners of Ian’s mouth as she lowered her head.
“So what did she say?”
“She didn’t believe me. So I’m going to be sure to show you to her next time. I’m leaving.”
When I rose and began walking away, Ian sprang to her feet.
“Where do you think you’re going! After making someone wait for you like this.”
Ian jumped up and ran to me. She threw herself into my arms.
I could feel her tears falling behind my shoulder. I could tell how much she had worried about me while waiting.
“Just a moment.”
I stood there holding her for a while. Feeling her warm body temperature, my heart grew calm. It felt as if all kinds of complicated thoughts were disappearing. How fortunate was it to have even one person like this in one’s life?
After a while, she pulled away from me. As if she herself thought she had been too bold in running over and embracing me, Ian’s cheeks had turned red. She quickly changed the subject.
“The Blood Heaven Saber Demon lent me this poetry collection.”
“The elder did? Why?”
“I went to see him. There was a rumor that the Demon Venerables had gotten involved in your mission, young master. I asked the Saber Demon whether you were all right.”
I could imagine how much she must have hesitated before going to see the Blood Heaven Saber Demon in person.
“What were you going to do if he said I wasn’t all right?”
“Then I would have gone to find you. No matter what, I would have gone. If I thought you might die because I didn’t go, I wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep. I would have to go, even for my own sake.”
“You worrywart. If you’d come, I would have left you at the Murim Alliance.”
“Then I would have lived without a single worry, running a gukbap shop near the Murim Alliance.”
“If you ran a gukbap shop, not a single day would pass quietly.”
She burst into laughter. Her bright personality had not changed, whether when she had been plump or now. The fact that she was not shaken by any external factor or change was her greatest charm and strength.
“At that time, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon told me not to worry about useless things and lent me a book to read. The book he lent me then was about human life and death. I mean, lending me a book about life and death while telling me not to worry? Anyway, since then, I’ve been borrowing one book at a time and reading them. But isn’t it strange? When I read books, it feels like my martial arts training goes better too.”
“That’s because your martial arts have finally become connected to your life.”
“My life and my martial arts are connected?”
“At first, martial arts improve through talent and effort. Then, once you reach a certain level, martial arts begin to reflect that person’s life. You know how martial artists often hit a wall and can’t overcome it?”
“Most do.”
“The reason is that they can’t change their lives. A person has to change for their perspective on martial arts to change, but if the person remains the same, they can’t get past the wall blocking them.”
“Ah!”
Ian seemed to have found an answer. It was the moment her question was resolved—why reading poems and books about life and death seemed to help her martial arts.
“Let’s talk about it again later. Right now, I have to go meet the master of life and death.”
As I was about to turn away, Ian said spiritedly,
“Young master, I’m so happy you returned safely.”
“It’s good to see you.”
Leaving Ian’s residence like that, this time I headed for the Southern Saber Sect, where the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s residence was located.