I cannot describe the sound of this wind.
If I had to, I would say it was like the sound of wind blowing through a mysterious valley at the end of the world. It was that cool, that light and buoyant—a sound that seemed as though it could not exist in this world.
The moment I heard the sound made by the Swift Step at Great Accomplishment, I knew it by instinct. I would become addicted to this sound. It was as alluring as that maddening speed itself.
At first, I was faster.
The Swift Step that had truly reached Great Accomplishment was so fast it could not be put into words.
Naturally, it was far faster than the Nine-Star realm. When I first suggested we have a race, I had actually prepared myself to crash into trees, roll across the ground, and show Father a complete spectacle of myself.
I had even prepared myself for Father to laugh at me and for us to cause a grand commotion that way.
But I ran better than expected. My eyesight and body were supporting that incredible speed. It was probably because, while traveling back and forth between our sect and the Murim Alliance, I had completely adapted to the Nine-Star Swift Step.
Thanks to that, though I had only just reached Great Accomplishment, I was able to run at a speed similar to Father’s.
But it required extreme concentration and a great expenditure of mental strength. As I ran, I became so dizzy and exhausted that I slowed down. The moment my speed dropped, Father surged up beside me.
“Not bad!”
“Whose son do you think I am?”
Father looked surprised and impressed. Of course, that did not mean there was any trace of yielding on his face. Whether it was his son or anyone else, once his competitive fire was lit, Father was the sort of man who absolutely refused to lose.
“My son, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
His tone was grave, so I was inwardly tense right then.
Right then.
Bang!
I took my eyes off the path because of Father, slammed into a tree, and went flying to the ground.
“I was going to tell you to be careful!”
I could feel Father’s hearty laughter receding into the distance.
I sprang to my feet and ran after him. Fortunately, my protective astral qi had shielded my body, so I was able to get up without any injury.
“That’s cheating, Father! Cheating!”
I insisted that crashing because I had looked away counted as cheating. Naturally, Father did not even look back and ran even faster.
I ran after Father again.
Once I tried running, I could tell. What would decide this contest was not what kind of martial art we were using. The Swift Step of the Wind God Four Steps and the Heavenly Demon Flying Art were lightness arts of almost the same level.
The problem was eyesight. The eyes could not keep up with the maximum speed the lightness art could produce.
So in the end, once I grew accustomed to it, I would definitely win. Thanks to the Divine Eye Art, I possessed vision that surpassed ordinary limits.
I ran while watching Father’s back far ahead. Just as I had watched Father’s back the first time we went hunting, now I watched Father’s back as I ran.
He had looked lonely then, and he looked lonely now, but one thing had changed. The person looking at that back had changed.
This moment was better than any other time I had ever run in my life. I did not know how Father felt, but at the very least, I could feel the affection I held for him growing greater and greater.
The moment I thought of Father, I fell once more. Even if I lost focus for only the briefest instant, I would inevitably collide with something and fall.
I got up again and chased after him, but in the end, I could not catch Father.
When I arrived at the sect, Father had already gone ahead to the Heavenly Demon Hall.
If it had been me, I would have waited, teased him thoroughly, then left, but Father was someone who could restrain himself even from teasing. He would surely tease me the next time we met.
I bowed my head toward the direction of the Heavenly Demon Hall and gave my thanks once more.
The fact that I had achieved Great Accomplishment in the Wind God Four Steps was entirely thanks to Father. It was not only that the Swift Step had become faster. The Shadow Step had become stealthier, the Flicker Step could now escape from even greater danger, and the Underworld King Step had become the true stride of King Yama.
* * *
That evening, the drinking trio gathered at the Pungryu Tavern.
“It has been a long time since you came, so the drinks are on me today.”
The proprietor, Jo Chunbae, said he would specially treat them to drinks today. It was to celebrate Seo Daeryong’s safe return. Seo Daeryong replied that he would accept the goodwill in spirit only.
“This time, I won the martial arts tournament and brought back the prize money. Today, I’m buying a proper round. So please bring out every delicious dish you have.”
“You won! Congratulations, Inspector.”
“Thank you.”
“Young Master, you’ve been well too, haven’t you?”
“Of course.”
When Jo Chunbae went down to the first floor, Seo Daeryong’s boasting finally began.
“Ah, where should I begin this magnificent adventure tale of a solitary inspector? Kyaa! When I first saw the Murim Alliance’s building, I felt destiny itself…”
Watching Seo Daeryong begin his grand epic, Ian and Jang Ho looked at each other and smiled.
Because he told the story so entertainingly, Seo Daeryong’s adventure tale was not boring at all.
“You’re truly amazing. Even if they were formal matches, they were still real combat, weren’t they? You don’t have much actual combat experience, yet you even won.”
Jang Ho had plenty of actual combat experience, but Ian had only trained every day. That was why Seo Daeryong’s achievement seemed so astonishing and enviable.
“Of course, along the way, there was also a fateful and tragic encounter.”
Seo Daeryong spoke of the woman who had cheered him on. He even told them of its sorrowful conclusion.
“…She was a woman sent by the Heavenly Mandate Society.”
Ian jumped up and cursed furiously on his behalf, while Jang Ho consoled him, saying that even that was all experience. The two of them became so heated that Seo Daeryong felt as if all the wounds that had built up inside him were being soothed.
“This is why I looked forward to this drinking gathering the most.”
“We looked forward to it even more.”
“Now, in that spirit, let us toast.”
Seo Daeryong was deeply grateful to the two of them. A woman who could easily be called the most beautiful under heaven, and the commander of the Demon Army, an elite organization of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, had waited for him and were listening to him for his sake. Who was he to deserve that?
“There is something I want to tell you both. I have decided to walk the path of a true martial artist as well.”
The ones who had influenced him directly were Geom Mugeuk and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, but these two had also had an immense effect on him. He had always harbored a desire to become someone he would not be ashamed to stand before them.
Ian and Jang Ho sincerely congratulated him. An inspector of the Yellow Springs Pavilion could also be called a martial artist, but Ian and Jang Ho knew that the martial artist Seo Daeryong spoke of now meant something different.
“This is something worth congratulating me for, right? To be honest, I’m afraid I might die early. Aren’t you two afraid?”
At that, Ian smiled and said,
“I think life and death have already been decided. When I think that when and how I die have all already been determined, my heart feels at ease.”
“So this martial artist is a fatalist.”
“I suppose I am.”
Jang Ho, on the other hand, held a different view.
“I always live in fear of death.”
“Really? I would have thought you, Commander Jang, would be the one who feared death least.”
“No. I wake up several times even while sleeping. I often dream of dying as well.”
It was something neither Ian nor Seo Daeryong had known.
Their conversation about life and death continued. Then Seo Daeryong, stirred by the mood, became excited.
“I nearly died this time too.”
Seo Daeryong sprang to his feet and tore open his upper garment.
“There are four scars on my body left by those orthodox bastards. This scar on my shoulder—I received it in the quarterfinals. You see the two holes? This one was from the finals, and this scar here…”
* * *
I was listening to the three of them talk from beside the counter on the first floor.
At the sight of Seo Daeryong finally tearing open his clothes, Jo Chunbae and I laughed together.
Truly, if the Drunken Demon saw this gathering, he would come running and say he wanted to join at once.
Jo Chunbae spoke with his good-natured face.
“They really are good people. When one of them is missing, the other two come and miss that person.”
There had been times when Ian was absent, and times when Seo Daeryong was absent.
“I should be going now.”
“Did you not come to join them?”
“They’re enjoying themselves so much that I think I should let the three of them be together today.”
“Then please wait just a moment.”
Jo Chunbae went to the kitchen and brought back a bottle of liquor.
“This is liquor I have been saving. Take it with you, have a cup, and sleep. It is a gift to congratulate you on returning safely. Welcome back.”
Jo Chunbae was truly delighted at my return, as though he were family.
“I met an esteemed person in the murim this time. If there is ever a chance to drink together next time, I will introduce you.”
“Then I would be grateful.”
He would never dream that the person was the Murim Alliance Leader. But who knew what could happen in life? Perhaps a day would come when the Murim Alliance Leader tipped back a cup at the Pungryu Tavern.
“Thank you for the liquor.”
After bidding him farewell, I left the tavern.
I returned home while looking at the moonlight. There were others I wanted to see as well. Gowol and Cult Leader Pungcheon. I wanted to run to them immediately with the Swift Step, but the two of them were now far away from our sect.
Because I had returned after being away from the cult for a long time, there were many things I needed to do. So I would have to put off seeing the two of them for a while. I was not worried about them. They were together.
On my way to my residence, I turned my steps toward the Great Drunken Grove. When I thought of someone who would be awake now and drink with me, the Drunken Demon came to mind first.
Sure enough, the Drunken Demon was drinking alone at the Drunken Dream Pavilion.
Yeobin, the drunken guest, took me aboard a small ferry and headed toward the island in the middle of the lake.
“Does the Drunken Demon still drink a lot these days?”
“He has reduced it greatly compared to before. He is only drinking one bottle today as well.”
“That’s a relief.”
“It is thanks to you, Second Young Master.”
“How could that be thanks to me? It is thanks to Martial Artist Yeo looking after him and worrying about him.”
Because I knew Yeobin liked the Drunken Demon, I spoke kindly. I thought it would be good if a woman like this stayed by the Drunken Demon’s side and took care of him. Though if her words were to have proper effect, she would have to become his wife rather than his subordinate.
If it were up to me, I would have liked to step in and bring them together, but I had no intention of interfering carelessly. If I inserted myself wrongly for no reason, I might ruin a relationship that could have gone well.
From the railing of the Drunken Dream Pavilion, the Drunken Demon looked this way and waved.
I called out to him loudly.
“Brother.”
Since it was a place for just the two of us, I comfortably called him brother. The Drunken Demon showed with his expression just how happy a single form of address could make someone.
“My little brother is here?”
“I came because I thought my poor fourth-ranked brother would be drinking alone.”
“Being fourth among the Eight Demon Venerables is no small thing. Even staying in the middle is not easy.”
The boat arrived at the island like that, and I went up to the Drunken Dream Pavilion.
“What brings you here all of a sudden?”
“I wanted a drink.”
“You came well.”
I drank with the Drunken Demon, just the two of us. We said nothing and quietly drank.
Because the Drunken Demon knew liquor well, he also knew those who drank it. He knew whether the other person wanted to drink while conversing, or whether, like now, he wanted to drink quietly with the moon floating over the lake as his side dish.
“I went hunting with Father.”
“It seemed you were gone for quite a while this time. Impressive. How did you spend such a long time alone with the Cult Leader? I would go mad.”
“It might unexpectedly be so fun it drives you mad.”
The Drunken Demon shook his head vehemently as if to say there was no way.
He should see Father cooking. It was only a pity that I could not bring myself to tell him.
“I learned this while talking with Father, but it seems Father holds the Poison King and the Fist Demon in high regard.”
“If the Cult Leader holds someone in high regard, it would be the Fist Demon.”
The Drunken Demon spoke as though it were certain.
“Not the Poison King?”
“The Cult Leader has never liked the use of poison. He has never said it openly, but everyone knows. The Poison King knows too, but pretends not to.”
“Then why does he hold the Fist Demon in high regard?”
I had said I would investigate the Demon Venerables, but after returning to the past and meeting them, I felt it anew. To say you knew a person, you had to meet them directly, talk with them, and experience them. Even then, people were hard to know. What I had known was their deeds, not them. The Fist Demon was the same.
“I once drank with the Fist Demon, just the two of us.”
“How was it?”
The Drunken Demon lowered his gaze to his cup for a moment, recalling that time, then took a sip.
“Unless one had extraordinary resolve, it would not be easy to defeat this man. He made me think that.”
It was the first time I had heard the Drunken Demon speak highly of another Demon Venerable.
“But why the Fist Demon?”
“I was thinking of making you a fifth-ranked brother behind you.”
Because that meant I intended to draw the Fist Demon to our side, the Drunken Demon asked worriedly,
“If you touch the Fist Demon in the current situation, the Eldest Young Master won’t stay still, will he?”
“That is why. So he won’t stay still.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is about time I settled things with my brother too, isn’t it?”
It meant the full-fledged battle over the succession was about to begin, so the Drunken Demon’s gaze also grew intense.
“Are you confident?”
“I’m going forward trusting you, brother.”
At the words that I would trust my brother in order to face my brother, the Drunken Demon smiled and shook the empty bottle.
“Hearing that makes me want to drink one more bottle.”
I poured the last of my liquor into his cup.
“Endure it. From now on, you will need to spend more time sober.”
* * *
The next afternoon, I headed to the Eastern Fist Gate, where the Unbeatable Fist Demon resided.
“I have come to see the Fist Demon.”
The Iron Fists guarding the entrance looked at me in surprise. That was because there was an open rumor that their leader, the Fist Demon, had sided with the Eldest Young Master.
“Please follow me.”
One of the Iron Fists guided me.
The gazes of the Iron Fists moving in and out of the Eastern Fist Gate focused on me. White martial uniforms, blue martial uniforms, red martial uniforms, black martial uniforms. Their uniform colors differed according to their respective ranks. Their gender, age, and physical abilities differed as well. But they had one thing in common.
They were barehanded, without a single piece of metal on their bodies.
Through the Iron Fists who had staked their lives on nothing but their bare fists, I slowly walked forward.