Why had Father come?
“Obviously, he came to support me.”
I knew full well he was not that sort of person.
Just as it was not easy to figure out why the Fist Demon had joined the late-night training gathering, it was no simple matter to determine why Father had come here today.
“Do you really think so?”
The Fist Demon acted as if he had some guess about Father’s visit.
As I filled his empty cup, I asked,
“Then why do you think he came?”
The Fist Demon emptied the cup again. He drank without the slightest change in his complexion.
“I think the opposite. He came to tell me to support the Eldest Young Master.”
“Did the two of you exchange voice transmissions or something?”
The Fist Demon shook his head.
“Then how do you know Father’s mind?”
“The very fact that he came here gives the answer. The Cult Leader went out of his way to attend the first drinking party of the gathering I’m in with you. To congratulate us? Is the Cult Leader that kind of person?”
“No.”
“Yes, he is not. Then why did he come? He came to let us know. To let us know that he is watching this situation.”
How could the Fist Demon possibly know everything about Father? Still, he must have sensed something to speak like that.
“So in the end, you’re saying Father is on my brother’s side.”
“That, too, cannot be stated with certainty.”
“Didn’t you just say that?”
“I said he came to tell me to take his side. I never said the Cult Leader was on the Eldest Young Master’s side.”
With those ambiguous words, the Fist Demon rose from his seat.
“I was well welcomed today.”
“I’m glad you joined our gathering, Lord Fist Demon.”
“Glad?”
The Fist Demon’s suspicious gaze shifted from me to Ian and Cheon Sohui.
I spoke on behalf of the two women, whose hearts had frozen stiff.
“Of course those two must find it difficult and uncomfortable, but I’m sure their happiness is just as great.”
The Ian I knew would have wanted to joke, “Not at all!” but she nodded with a resolute expression.
“I’m very glad you joined us, Lord Fist Demon!”
“Of course you are. He is Lord Fist Demon, with such a fine physique.”
At my joke, Ian glared at me again, putting strength into her eyes.
The Fist Demon pretended not to hear. Whether it was a joke or a prank, a woman who could be called the greatest beauty under heaven had said he had a fine physique. At the very least, it would not be something to feel bad about.
In truth, the person most affected by the Fist Demon’s joining was not Ian, but Cheon Sohui.
She said to the Fist Demon in a trembling voice,
“You may not believe me because I’ve made so many mistakes, but… the reason I chose fist arts instead of swordsmanship was because I admired you, Lord Fist Demon. I… want to become like you.”
Perhaps because of the alcohol, or because she was trembling, her face was flushed red. But in her eyes as she looked at the Fist Demon, she was trying to convey her sincerity.
“I am truly glad that you joined our gathering, Lord Fist Demon.”
After gazing at her for a moment, the Fist Demon went down to the first floor without a word.
Cheon Sohui stood there with a face as if she might collapse at any moment. I nodded to tell her she had done well, then called out to the Fist Demon as he left the tavern.
“Next time, you should treat us to drinks, Lord Fist Demon!”
“There will be no next time.”
“There might be a welcome party for my father, you know?”
The Fist Demon stopped at the tavern entrance, then soon snorted and shook his head.
“The Cult Leader? Don’t even dream of it.”
And so the Fist Demon left the tavern.
Now only Ian, Cheon Sohui, and I remained. Ian and Cheon Sohui sank into their seats as if crumbling.
“Aaaah! It’s over.”
Ian let out a sigh of relief and held out her cup.
“Now we can finally drink comfortably. Let’s have a drink, Young Master.”
I clinked cups with her and drank.
Cheon Sohui’s hands were trembling.
“I’ll drink in a little while. I can’t even hold my cup.”
When everyone had been together, she had been swept up in the situation without time to think, but now that the Heavenly Demon and the Fist Demon had actually left, it seemed like she felt she had been dreaming. Then again, she had drunk with the Heavenly Demon, and had personally told the Fist Demon that she admired him. Things she could never have imagined before had all happened in a single day.
“Ah, I was so tense that my whole body feels stiff.”
“What do you think? If I told you to drink with them again, could you?”
At my question, Cheon Sohui gave an answer that did not match the state of her body.
“It was so hard… but that tension wasn’t bad.”
Though she had looked flustered lately after meeting me and getting caught up in various incidents, she was the foremost Iron Fist of the Eastern Fist School, a woman with more grit than anyone.
“It’s not that I could drink. I want to drink.”
“Stimulating things really are thrilling, aren’t they?”
Cheon Sohui smiled faintly in agreement.
Now my gaze turned to Ian.
“How do you feel?”
“How do you think I feel?”
It was the day she had received martial instruction from none other than the Heavenly Demon.
“It wasn’t simply that I was happy the Cult Leader taught me martial arts.”
“Then?”
“The fact that he taught me martial arts means he formally acknowledged me, doesn’t it?”
Though she could not bring herself to say it, by personally passing on the Flying Heaven Sword Art, Father had acknowledged that she was as close as blood kin. The Flying Heaven Sword Art was a martial art passed down only to blood relatives.
“This will be a day I’ll never forget. Thank you, Young Master.”
“What did I do?”
“You said that to the Cult Leader, didn’t you? That to Father, it might be just one drinking party, but to Ian, it could be a seat that changes her life. If not for those words, it never would have happened.”
Ian remembered exactly what I had said to Father.
“Today, it felt like I was the one being welcomed.”
I smiled brightly and patted her shoulder once. Welcome, Ian.
And so the drinking party at Pungryu Tavern came to an end.
* * *
The welcome party was over, but my day was not.
When I returned to my quarters, someone unexpected was waiting for me.
The person standing in the courtyard of my residence, looking up at the moon in the night sky, was my older brother, Geom Muyang.
“When did you get here?”
“A little while ago.”
Judging by the feeling, he had probably been waiting for quite some time. What had he thought about while he waited?
“I had a drink with Lord Fist Demon. If I’d known this would happen, we could have drunk together.”
Geom Muyang only looked up at the moon in silence.
I stood beside him.
“You look tired.”
At my words, Geom Muyang’s gaze shifted from the moon to me.
“Do I? I’ve had a lot of work lately. What about you?”
He seemed softer than usual. I sensed it. Geom Muyang was making a desperate effort. The more he was driven into a corner, the harder he was trying.
In a way, I felt sorry for him. It was true that his life had become more difficult because I had regressed. This fight had been decided from the start. A young man in his twenties could not possibly stand against me. And after regressing, I had been growing stronger without end.
Still, Brother, we cannot live the same lives as before. If things go as they did, only death awaits us.
“Does it bother you that I’m meeting the Fist Demon?”
“It would be a lie to say it doesn’t.”
“I’ve been completely absorbed in fist arts lately. You won’t believe that, will you?”
“Would you believe it if you were me?”
“You should meet the Demon Supremes comfortably too. Meet the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and talk about books, meet the Drunken Demon and drink with him. I’m fine with it.”
“So you’re confident, is that it? You think they’re already your people? Let me give you one piece of advice as your older brother. Do not take the Demon Supremes lightly. Just because they are smiling in front of you now, if you think they are your people, you are gravely mistaken. In the end, at the final moment, they will choose whatever benefits them.”
I smiled as I looked at him.
“Are you mocking me?”
“No. I was just wondering when the last time was that you gave me advice or counsel. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?”
Geom Muyang turned his head and looked at the wall cast in moon-shadow.
Between us stood a wall several times higher and thicker than that one.
“The Fist Demon said this. That he supports you, Brother. And that Father would want that as well.”
For an instant, Geom Muyang flinched in surprise.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you telling me that?”
“Brother. This is the kind of person I originally am. I’m not someone who throws a wrench in things when the other person comes out kindly.”
I revealed to him what I had not told him for a long time.
“Do you know why I told the Demon Supremes that I would fight you for the succession without shedding blood?”
“Why?”
Geom Muyang looked genuinely curious.
“When we were young, you did things to me you shouldn’t have. You planted fear of the murim in me when I was a child and led me to break down psychologically. Back then, just thinking of the word murim made me shrink back and feel afraid.”
This was the first time I had brought up this matter to him. Geom Muyang’s eyes trembled. It seemed he had thought I did not know. Then again, from his perspective, he had told me all sorts of things while pretending to worry about me.
He did not deny it.
“Then you should take revenge. Why say we shouldn’t shed blood?”
“Because you were only a bad person to that extent.”
“!”
“If you had been a more worthless piece of trash, you would have killed me somehow. You would have destroyed my dantian, or used some other vicious method. But at the very least, you were not someone who wanted to become the successor even at the cost of harming your younger brother. You were bad to a degree I could understand and allow. That’s why. With my generous heart, I decided to forgive and understand up to that point. You were young back then, too.”
Of course, the fact that Father wanted it was also a major reason.
“Crazy bastard. What bullshit.”
A curse he rarely used slipped out. Geom Muyang was flustered. Perhaps, at this very moment, he was being bombarded by questions deep in his heart.
‘If you had not been confident you would become the successor, what would have happened then? Would you still have left your younger brother alone? Wasn’t it because you were confident of becoming the successor that you stopped at that point?’
Just what kind of person was my brother?
In truth, even I did not know that much. It was something that had not happened, and no one could guarantee what choice a desperate person would make in that moment.
“But don’t let your guard down. You and I are still standing on the testing ground. If I say I will fight for the succession without shedding blood and then kill you to become the Cult Leader, not a single Demon Supreme will follow me sincerely. The same goes for you. If you suppress me through some clumsy scheme and ascend to the Cult Leader’s seat, the Demon Supremes will never offer you sincere loyalty. Don’t forget. It may seem like they aren’t watching, but the Demon Supremes are always keeping their eyes on us.”
Geom Muyang, who had been staring at me silently, suddenly said,
“Why have you become so talkative? You weren’t like this when you were young.”
“I guess all my internal energy went to my mouth.”
“That’s not funny at all.”
Had one brick, at least, fallen from the thick wall between him and me because of what I had said for the first time? Hoping that was the case, I nagged him even more. With my brother, I had no choice but to unleash the Divine Art of Nagging.
“Since I’ve become a chatterbox anyway, let me say just one last thing. They say there is no coexistence between brothers in a power struggle? That they will kill each other in the end? Who decided that? Why should we be swayed by the precedent and suspicion of pathetic fools who couldn’t even control their own desires?”
I moved from his side to stand in front of Geom Muyang. Then I looked into his eyes and said,
“So don’t even dream of being swayed. If anxiety that I might kill you starts creeping in, come find me. Once you see me, those thoughts will disappear. Don’t think I looked down on you today! Don’t think you lost. Just think, ‘My younger brother talks a lot and is good with words.’ Think of it that way. Don’t flare up! Don’t decide anything hastily!”
When I finished speaking, Geom Muyang burst out,
“You bastard! I thought my ears were going to bleed. You said you’d say just one thing—was that one thing? If you ever feel like killing me, you come find me too! A young brat lecturing me!”
Geom Muyang strode out with long steps.
Do you know this, Brother? You may find me difficult, but I do too. More than Father, more than the Eight Demon Supremes, you are the one I find most difficult.
For a while, I stood in the courtyard and looked up at the moon he had been looking at. It was a night that brought to mind the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s words: that family can be one’s enemy.
* * *
The next day and the day after that, we trained diligently.
We trained hard during the day, and we trained hard at night. It was truly an unbroken succession of training.
Several days passed like that, and today as well, we were deep in late-night training.
It was when I was practicing forms in the exact same posture as the Fist Demon again today.
Whoooosh!
The Fist Demon’s fist flew toward me.
It looked like a mistake, but it was not one.
Boom!
My fist and the Fist Demon’s fist collided in midair.
At the sound like a drum bursting, Ian and Cheon Sohui looked at us in shock.
We were thrusting our fists out in the same posture, and those fists had met in midair.
“My apologies. My mind wandered for a moment.”
“That can happen.”
“What do you think? Since we have already used our strength like this, shall we have a bout?”
“A fine attempt, but I decline.”
At last, the Fist Demon was beginning to play his little games that were not quite games. He wanted to fight me about ten times more than I wanted to learn his martial arts.
“If you declined, you should turn away. Why are you staring at me like that?”
For him, it was probably an unfamiliar experience. Almost no one would stare at him like this.
Now I intended to truly look at that Fist Demon. I had looked at his fists first, but now I meant to look at him. Straight on, without any prejudice.
“The more I look at your face, Lord Fist Demon, the less frightening you seem.”
The Fist Demon shook his head with an expression of disbelief, then gathered his clothes and put them on as if to say today’s training ended here.
After he left, Ian and Cheon Sohui came to either side of me and said,
“Liar!”
“The more you look, the scarier he gets.”
At their joke, filled with sincerity, I smiled faintly.
My gaze turned to the Fist Demon walking far away. Showing his broad, thick back, the Fist Demon was walking alone into the darkness.
What kept entering my eyes was not his face. In that lonely-looking back, I… saw the image of myself before my regression.