The next day, after finishing my Black Fist training, I followed after the Fist Demon.
“Have a meal with me today.”
The Fist Demon always ate alone. Of course, the other Demon Supremes were no different, but the Fist Demon would not even occasionally share a meal with his subordinates.
“No need.”
“Why not?”
“It’s uncomfortable.”
“If I’m uncomfortable, that’s one thing, but you, Fist Demon, feeling uncomfortable? Who in the world would believe that?”
“You make me uncomfortable.”
The Fist Demon strode off first. Even with his subordinates around, he openly said he was uncomfortable, and I was trailing after such a Fist Demon asking him to eat with me. The Iron Fists stared at us with startled faces.
Of course, giving up was not an option. The next day, I followed after the Fist Demon again.
“Then how about a cup of tea today?”
“I don’t like tea.”
“They say drinking a lot of tea is good for the body.”
The Fist Demon stopped walking.
“Just what are you doing? Do you want to put poison in that tea?”
“Of course not. If I poison you, I won’t be able to learn the next verse, will I?”
“True. You would have to learn it all before poisoning me.”
“You misunderstand.”
Even at my shout, the Fist Demon strode away.
The next day, when training ended, I followed him again.
“Do you happen to know how to play baduk?”
“I do not. What is a manly man supposed to do with those tiny stones? It’s not a little girls’ game of house.”
“My father happens to be deeply obsessed with that game of house these days.”
“……”
The Fist Demon strode away without even looking back. Perhaps because I had mentioned Father, his steps were even quicker than the day before.
The next day, and the day after that, the Fist Demon remained an iron wall.
This was not going to be easy.
I had succeeded in dunking the Fist Demon into a boiling cauldron, but this large, sturdy opponent showed no sign of softening. Even if I wanted to boil him and eat him, he would not cook.
Whenever I felt this stifled, one person came to mind.
I headed straight for the Southern Blade Sect, where the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was.
* * *
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was passing martial arts down to Seo Daeryong.
Now an official disciple, Seo Daeryong was being taught the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s unique martial art, the Annihilating Heaven Demon Blade Form.
So as not to disturb their training, I went to the backyard, quietly closed my eyes, sat cross-legged, and circulated the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art.
The Flying Heaven Sword Art had reached the twelfth-star great completion, and the Wind God Four Steps had also reached great completion. Among the martial arts I had learned, the one that absolutely had to reach great completion was the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art.
After I had been training for some time, Seo Daeryong’s cautious voice came from a distance.
“Training is over.”
He had quietly informed me in case he might disturb my training.
When I opened my eyes, Seo Daeryong, drenched in sweat, plopped down beside me.
“Is it hard?”
“I’m dying.”
Now that he had begun training in earnest, it seemed Seo Daeryong was truly going through one hellish session after another.
“I’ll tell him. Our Inspector Seo is having too hard a time. Please go easy on him.”
“Of course. There are many ways to kill a person, after all.”
I quietly looked at Seo Daeryong’s profile.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’ve changed. Your aura.”
“How?”
“You look strong.”
At that single sentence, Seo Daeryong’s mood brightened at once. He clenched both fists.
“Just you wait!”
“Evil men of the world! No, women of the world! Isn’t that what you mean?”
“Was it that obvious?”
“Hang in there, my right arm! Without these grinding hours, you’ll be killed by villains and rejected by women.”
“What if I get rejected even after grinding myself down?”
Seo Daeryong’s deer-like eyes were hoping for the answer, “That would never happen.”
“In that case, let’s catch at least one more villain. Ah! The villains of the world might go extinct.”
“No! How could you?”
I laughed loudly, and Seo Daeryong laughed along with me.
He rose from his seat and said his farewell.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh, and what you said about me looking strong—please say it again next time too! Whenever I’m having a hard time.”
“Sure.”
After sending him off, I went to the front yard. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was sitting against the Annihilating Heaven Great Blade, wiping away his sweat.
“You must be busy throwing punches, so why have you come? Already sick of it?”
“Yes. I’m sick of it. I deeply regret saying I wanted to learn fist techniques. I should have just gone around having fun with you, Elder.”
“Who said I would have fun with you?”
I went over and sat beside the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“No matter how much I stoke the fire, he shows no sign of cooking.”
“You’re trying to cook a boulder. Do you think it’ll cook?”
“That’s why I came to see you, Elder.”
“You thought you might try adding some old ginger to the boiling water?”
“This is why I like you, Elder. You understand me at once.”
“What is it you want from the Fist Demon? His martial arts? Or his heart?”
“At first, it was his martial arts.”
“And now you want his heart too?”
“He wants to bring down a cliff. At first, I thought that was impressive, so I wanted to bring it down too. But now I’m curious why the Fist Demon wants so desperately to bring that cliff down.”
“If you find out, it will probably be for some insignificant reason.”
“Isn’t everyone like that? Myself included.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked at me as if I were an old man in a young man’s body.
“I’m sorry you came all this way, but I don’t know much about the Fist Demon.”
“It’s all right. I only came because I felt stifled and wanted to see you, Elder.”
Spicy ginger was used not for cooking, but for healing.
“Listen, Second Young Master.”
“Yes, Elder.”
“Are you all right?”
“!”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon asked me.
If I was all right.
If someone else had asked, I would have said I was fine, but I did not want to do that with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“I’m not sure.”
“Saying you don’t know is more dangerous than saying you’re not all right. When you’re tired, rest.”
It was a moment when I once again felt that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was sincerely worried about me. These days, in front of him, I found myself disarmed. I had tried so hard to open his door, but perhaps my own door had been thrown wide open first.
“Then, Elder, may I lean against your blade too?”
“No. Seeing you talk nonsense like that, you’re perfectly fine. Perfectly fine.”
“Just once. I’ve truly wanted to lean on it just once for a long time.”
When I pestered him, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon finally gave in, pretending he had no choice.
“Then just once.”
I leaned against the Annihilating Heaven Great Blade.
“Ah! Now I know why you lean here.”
“It feels like something reliable is protecting you, doesn’t it?”
“No. It’s incredibly cool.”
There was a primal chill within the Annihilating Heaven Great Blade.
“So on those sweltering summer days, you were the only one staying cool!”
Perhaps he had not expected me to accuse him like that, because the Blood Heaven Blade Demon chuckled and said, “Why, you little rascal.”
After joking around with Seo Daeryong and laughing like this with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, much of my frustration eased. And I had obtained a great method of healing as well.
“When I’m tired, I’ll rest.”
“And when it’s hard, come anytime.”
That one word, anytime, pierced my chest.
“Elder, how would I live without you?”
“You’d live just fine, throwing punches with the Fist Demon. Stop saying useless things and go back. You have to do that midnight training or whatever it is.”
“No, seriously. How does the Demonic Cult have no secrets at all?”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon picked up his blade and went into the house as he said,
“Who do you think they take after, having such loose lips?”
* * *
I accepted the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s advice.
The next day, I did not go to Black Fist training. At the time training would have been in full swing, I was in the world inside the Space-Time Transposition Art.
A blue sky and sea resembling my sword aura, a sandy beach beneath blazing sunlight, the shade of broad-leaved trees. Even a cool mat. I lay there in absolute comfort.
Today was a day for slacking off.
Ever since returning from the Martial Alliance, I had gotten entangled with the Fist Demon and had not properly rested for even a moment.
So today, I intended to spend time alone. I decided not to think about anyone else.
With drinks, snacks, and even books to read prepared, it was truly the perfect day of idleness.
I looked at the sky, looked at the sea, and then watched a crab crawling across the sand. I read, dozed off, woke up, and then stared blankly at the sea again.
“Ah! This is nice!”
It was so nice it was almost too much.
And so I lazed around all day.
That afternoon, someone came to my residence. It was Cheon Sohi.
“Senior Brother, Senior Brother.”
It was cute how she called me Second Young Master in front of the Fist Demon, but Senior Brother when it was just the two of us.
“Where did he go?”
I could see her peering into my room through the window. Since I had gone to Black Fist training every single day without fail, it seemed she was worried that I had suddenly not shown up.
After pacing around the yard for a while, she left the residence.
Her visit had been entirely expected. But a little later, someone I had never expected came by. To be precise, it was not a visit, but someone passing by.
Amazingly, it was the Fist Demon. As if he had other business and was merely passing in front of my house, he walked past my residence. As he passed, his eyes subtly turned toward my home. Raising his qi to check whether I was inside, he went by.
The way he pretended not to notice was so funny, and at the same time, it moved me.
Truly, I wanted to dispel the Space-Time Transposition Art and run out. I wanted to ask if he had come because he was worried about me, and to see him flustered. But I did not.
You people, learn how precious I am!
I rolled around until late, then replenished my internal energy through breathing exercises, then rolled around again. It seemed like an uneventful day, but to me, it was a precious time of recharging.
And then it was time for midnight training.
The three of them arrived on time, and as soon as she came, Cheon Sohi asked me,
“Why didn’t you come to Black Fist training today?”
When Ian heard that I had not gone to training, she was startled.
“Young Master! Are you sick? How badly are you hurt?”
“Why are you making such a fuss?”
“There’s no way you would miss training, Young Master. What is it? What happened?”
“I’m human too. There are times when I want to slack off and times when I want to rest.”
As I said that, I looked at the Fist Demon.
“Isn’t that right?”
The Fist Demon looked at me for a moment, then shook his head.
“I have never done that.”
“Really?”
“If I had lived such an indolent life, someone else would be in the position of Fist Demon now.”
“Isn’t it hard?”
“Not at all.”
I know. What truly exhausts a person is not that the work itself is difficult, but that no one recognizes that hardship, and even if they do, they pass over it indifferently.
“If it’s hard, come play with me! I’m always on standby.”
Of course, the Fist Demon did not even pretend to hear.
Around the time training was ending that day—
Whoooosh!
An unfamiliar sound of wind came from my fist. It was not thunder, but neither was it the sound my fists had made until now.
“What was that sound?”
At my question, the Fist Demon looked at me in surprise.
“It is the sound of wind and rain rolling in.”
It meant that the time for thunder was not far off.
At my unbelievably rapid progress, fighting spirit rose from the Fist Demon’s entire body. His expression looked as though he wanted to rush at me right then and there.
He instinctively took a step closer, and I stepped back. At the hair-trigger situation that seemed as though a fierce battle might break out at any moment, Ian and Cheon Sohi also grew tense.
I quickly said to him,
“Shall we make a bet?”
“What bet?”
“I don’t want to fight by exchanging blows, so how about a lightness skill contest? If I win, please teach me the second fist of the Thunderbolt Asura Fist.”
“And if I win?”
“I’ll have a match with you, Fist Demon.”
A satisfied smile appeared at the corners of the Fist Demon’s mouth.
“You must have thought that because my body is this large, I would be slow.”
Masters of fist techniques naturally had astonishing footwork, and footwork was connected to lightness skills.
“Good. I accept that bet.”
The Fist Demon was full of confidence. He was confident enough in his lightness skill to wager the second form of his unique martial art.
“To the entrance of Maga Village. How about it?”
“That place isn’t suitable for a duel. If you go about ten li farther from the entrance, there is a bamboo grove. Let’s make it there.”
In the Fist Demon’s mind, he had already won the bet.
Ian drew a line on the ground, and we stood side by side on it.
“Ready, start!”
The two of us shot forward at the same time like arrows loosed from a bow. I could imagine how surprised the two women must have been at the sight of us vanishing from view in an instant.
The Fist Demon truly was fast. I was certain he was the fastest among the Demon Supremes. That was likely why he had accepted the bet, but he could not be faster than my Rapid Step.
I matched my speed to his and ran by the narrowest margin. The Fist Demon’s astonishment was carried to me through his rough breathing.
I arrived at the bamboo grove a few steps ahead of him. I acted as if I had barely won, panting for breath. The Fist Demon, who arrived soon after, looked at me in surprise. It seemed he had never imagined I would be faster than him.
“First, teach me the Second Fist, and if you feel it’s unfair, we can bet the Third Fist and go again.”
When the Fist Demon’s fearsome face contorted into a fearsome expression, it was truly terrifying. But terrifying was terrifying. He was not one to break his word.
“Very well. I shall teach you the Second Fist right here.”
His decision, made without a moment’s hesitation, genuinely surprised me inwardly. He was truly a man among men.
It was too precious a martial art to give away in a qinggong bet. What could the Fist Demon be thinking right now? Could it be that he truly had not considered from the start that he might lose? I was curious about his true intentions.
“Will you be all right?”
“Are you asking if I’m all right after dragging me into a trap?”
Surely you didn’t fall into that trap on purpose, did you?
Second Fist, Thunderbolt Asura.
If the First Fist, Black Cloud Asura, was about focusing all one’s power onto a single opponent to land a strike, Thunderbolt Asura was a technique that threw punches at a speed invisible to the eye. It emphasized speed over power, similar to the Changcheon Form of the Swift Sword within the Bicheon Swordsmanship.
The Fist Demon imparted its mnemonic formulas and stances to me.
I exhausted all my mental strength to make his teachings entirely my own, leaving nothing out.
And so, the Fist Demon’s second fist became mine as well.
“Thank you truly. This fist shall never be misused.”
I bowed deeply to him. We were not yet in a master-disciple relationship, yet I had received instruction up to the second fist.
“Since you’ve already come all the way out here, get some fresh air before heading back in.”
The Fist Demon looked at me with an expression asking what I was talking about.
“It’s been quite a while since you left the main sect, hasn’t it? I skipped training yesterday and had such a wonderful time. Fist Demon, come slack off with me.”
Snorting as if the very idea were absurd, the Fist Demon turned his steps toward the main sect. Watching his large, broad back, I spoke.
“Because you go out every day like that, no one realizes how precious you are.”
The Fist Demon halted his steps dead.
“Your goodwill toward the main sect has continued for far too long.”
I had not described it as goodwill toward his subordinates. I did not wish to belittle the natural sentiments of the subordinates who feared the Fist Demon, nor the Fist Demon’s affection for them.
The Fist Demon turned to face me.
Our gazes intertwined in the empty air. For a long moment, neither of us spoke. He was an intelligent man, and he understood the hidden meaning in my words.
“You look tired.”
This was the second time I had said it to him. Had those words finally struck home?
After a brief pause, the Fist Demon asked.
“Is there somewhere to go?”
I smiled broadly.
“The beauty of slacking off lies in having no plans. Let’s go.”
Before his mind could change, I began to run, and the Fist Demon ran alongside me.
We matched our speed and ran roughly side by side. On the face of the man running beside me, I caught a fleeting glimpse of something—an exhilaration I had never once seen before.
And so, in an instant, we grew distant from the sect. We grew distant from our daily lives.