The person Father wanted was the Poison King.
At the words “Poison King,” the Demon Supremes’ expressions stiffened slightly, and they looked at one another. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon let out a sigh only I could hear. That was how difficult this matter was.
Indeed, Father seemed certain, just as the Demon Supremes’ reactions suggested, that the Poison King would absolutely not step forward.
“Can you do it?”
“I’ll try.”
The look Father gave me was provocative.
Can you truly manage even this? If you really accomplish even this, I will acknowledge you.
Father’s gaze turned toward the Demon Supremes.
It was a gaze devoid of any emotion, yet I sensed subtle differences within that impassive look.
The way he looked at the Fist Demon was different from the way he looked at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, and the way he looked at the Extreme Evil Young Demon was different again.
If only he knew how deeply the Ilhwa Sword Venerable respected him. How nice it would be if he gave him even the slightest warmth in his gaze.
The last place his gaze came to rest was the Drunken Demon. With eyes calmer than ever, the Drunken Demon received Father’s gaze.
After communing with the Demon Supremes through their eyes like that, Father turned and walked toward the Heavenly Demon Hall.
The Demon Supremes and I bowed our heads in respect.
What is Father thinking right now? Will the day ever come when I sit face-to-face with him and hear him speak frankly about how he felt then, what he was thinking then?
Once Father had left, I bowed my head to the Demon Supremes.
“Thank you, truly.”
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable spoke with an awkward expression.
“You needn’t thank me. I was dragged here by the Drunken Demon against my will.”
“That was a great help as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“If all five of you had pushed him, Father is human too; he might have been greatly angered. But because Brother Drunken Demon and Senior Sword Venerable acted as buffers, his heart must have softened.”
The Drunken Demon put on an unnecessary show of distress.
“I’m ruined. To act drunk in front of the Cult Leader!”
At that, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable snatched the wine bottle hanging at his waist and gulped down a drink.
“I’m the one who said far too many unnecessary things in front of the Cult Leader.”
The Drunken Demon took the bottle back and drank.
“It’s because of this worthless friend of mine.”
“As long as you know.”
I cut into their conversation.
“No, you all gathered because of me, so it’s because of me.”
I bowed politely to the Demon Supremes once more.
“I will repay what happened today again and again. You have no idea how reassured I feel with the five of you here. Thank you, truly. Since we’ve all gathered like this today, allow me to say just one thing… Ah, wait! I’ll keep it brief. I’m not that talkative a person. Let’s all get together and devise a strategy to win over the Poison King…”
The five Demon Supremes had already left the place in five different directions without even looking back.
“You’re all too much!”
Since I did not have five bodies, I launched myself after one of them.
* * *
Of the five Demon Supremes, the one I chased after was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Though he was pleased that I had followed him, he made a show of being spiteful.
“Why didn’t you chase after the Extreme Evil Young Demon?”
“To me, Elder, you are always the best.”
“The best to you seems to be Extreme Evil.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon told me exactly what had happened earlier.
“Earlier, the Extreme Evil Young Demon staked everything he had. The Cult Leader, I, and the Fist Demon as well. None of us thought he would go that far.”
I had not known that the Extreme Evil Young Demon had taken such a strong stance. Senior Young Demon, I received that answer loud and clear.
“I should have been there.”
“That made it all the more remarkable. The fact that he did it even when you weren’t there. That’s not something one can do unless one truly likes someone.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon at this very moment was remarkable as well. He could have been jealous in his heart of my relationship with the Extreme Evil Young Demon, yet he was telling me everything exactly as it was. Saying it was remarkable, truly remarkable. How could I possibly not like this man?
“When on earth did you become that close?”
“I’m not sure either. Somehow, we ended up becoming friends.”
“Friends? With that age difference?”
You can say that again. I’m the one who’s so much older. I had lived even longer than you, Elder.
“Isn’t there such a thing as friendship that transcends age?”
“That grand friendship has made me thirsty. Go bring me some tea from over there.”
I took the teapot from the table beside the bed and poured tea for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Seeing his still gaunt arms pained my heart.
“Have you been eating properly these days?”
“Why are you suddenly going on about meals?”
“To me, Elder, your health is the most important thing. What does the Poison King matter, and what does a mere permission matter?”
“Words you don’t even mean.”
Still, as if he was in a good mood, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon drank his tea with a faint smile.
“You were the first to go to Father today, weren’t you?”
“I’m just short-tempered. Don’t attach meaning to the fact that I went first.”
“I will attach meaning to it. The Elder who ran first for my sake!”
“Fine. To be honest, I was going to make a point of being the first, but today I was utterly defeated by that masked fellow.”
It seemed that masked fellow had moved the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s heart today.
“Though it looks like everyone’s efforts were in vain.”
When he brought up the Poison King, he sighed. The expressions of the other Demon Supremes had seemed to carry similar feelings.
“Is it that difficult to bring him in?”
“If he had said, ‘Bring all Eight Demon Supremes instead,’ that would have been easier. We could have held a meeting of the Demon Supremes and pushed politically for us to act together. It might have been handled that way. But by naming the Poison King specifically and telling you to bring him, he blocked that method in advance. The Cult Leader is subtly clever, I must say.”
“Do you know anything about the Poison King?”
“I have no personal friendship with him. Just from what I’ve seen, he’s someone with a world of his own firmly established, and his pride is strong. He’s mad about poison. That’s about all I know.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s concern was not merely about such aspects of his personality. It lay here.
“Can you remain yourself even before the Poison King’s poison?”
Could I remain myself before the Poison King’s poison?
I understood what he was worried about. There was a primal fear that poison inspired. The fear that one might die without even being able to fight properly. For that reason, together with the late Soul-Seizing Demon Supreme, the Poison King was the Demon Supreme whom martial artists were most reluctant to face.
“No matter how eloquent you are, and no matter how good you are at flattery, can you really remain unrestrained even before the Poison King, who uses poison? He is someone who could poison you without leaving any sign and make you die of illness years later.”
In truth, he was the one before whom I could be the most unrestrained. As long as poison did not work on me, he was, at least to me, the weakest among the Eight Demon Supremes.
That was precisely what worried me instead.
Because the moment I wounded his pride the wrong way, bringing him before Father would become impossible forever.
When I returned to the cult in my previous life to obtain materials for the Great Rite, the Poison King had already died, and the next Poison King occupied the seat of Demon Supreme.
I know how he died. I know how many people he took with him when he did.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stared at me as I sank briefly into thought.
“Do you have a method in mind?”
“I do. Somehow, I must learn from you, Elder, the secret art of making the Poison King take my side.”
“If you use the methods inside me, even those close to you will grow distant.”
Saying so, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon stared straight at me.
“If I must give you advice, do what you do best.”
“What is that?”
“The Cult Leader called it cheap sentimentality just perfect for getting yourself killed.”
At those words, I burst into laughter. It surprised me that Father and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had had such a conversation. The fact that Father had used that expression with someone else was proof that our relationship had grown one step closer.
“Use that on him, as you did with me and the other Demon Supremes.”
Look straight at the other person, and if there is something to say, do not put it off.
I had treated people with those two convictions. Whether they would work on the Poison King remained to be seen.
“Understood, Elder.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon took something from his robes and held it out to me. It was the highest-grade Poison-Repelling Pearl I had once given him as a birthday gift.
“Take this with you too. I washed it clean, so don’t say it’s dirty.”
For a moment, I silently looked down at the Poison-Repelling Pearl. This was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s heart. These days, that heart kept stirring mine as well.
I took out two Poison-Repelling Pearls from my robes and tucked one into each cheek.
“I’ll go with both cheeks stuffed full like a squirrel! Please keep that one with you, and if I fall to the Poison King, come save me with it in your mouth.”
“No need! I will never set foot in that filthy poison pit.”
Because I knew he would be the first to rush there, I would not let such a thing happen.
“Please rest. I’ll be going now.”
“Don’t overdo it. Right now, it may seem like some grand matter with your fate at stake… but once it passes, none of it amounts to much.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
By the time I left the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s residence, night had already fallen.
When everyone is watching me, waiting to see what path I will take, there are times when the burden of having to do well weighs down on me.
Whenever that happens, there is always one person who comes to mind. Forgetting the Poison King, forgetting Father’s permission, I followed the instinct that led me toward rest and slowly moved my feet.
* * *
Today as well, Ian was burying her efforts into the years.
From the Flying Heaven Sword Art she unfolded at nine-tenths mastery, I could feel the maturity forged by painstaking effort.
Slash.
Before her chest, her sword qi split into two. Her internal energy was still lacking, so she could not divide it further, but she succeeded in executing the Yucheon Form with precision.
Shiiik. Shiiik!
The two strands of sword qi that flew like arrows through the air embedded themselves to the left and right of my face. Her sword on the left, and the sword-shaped sword qi on the right.
She, who had once been so absorbed in training every day that she did not even notice I had arrived, was now launching the Yucheon Form at me.
“I can send you out into the Central Plains without worry now. Descend the mountain, Ian. Try not to go around killing too many people.”
“I refuse, Young Master. I’m going to stick right by your side and live comfortably like this for the rest of my life. Ah! Though that comfort has come to an end now.”
“Congratulations.”
“You heard, right? Senior Blue Mask has finally joined the Ghost Shadow Unit as First Squad Leader.”
Her voice trembled. Aside from matters related to me, this was likely one of the greatest events of her life. The successor who would become the next Extreme Evil Young Demon had become a squad leader in the organization she commanded.
“How do you feel?”
“Nervous.”
“The most important thing is to trust yourself. People know like ghosts. Ah, that person has no confidence in leading us. We’re screwed. We’re going to die like dogs in the end.”
Ian let out a sigh.
“I do trust myself. I’m just worried whether my ability will keep up.”
“If you can’t trust yourself, trust your tail.”
At that, Ian raised her head and grinned.
“That, I can trust a little.”
“Discuss it with Blue Mask and begin organizing the unit in earnest. There is only one principle. Create the finest elite organization in our cult. Look at skill, and look at character as well. Don’t create a pack of butchers who only have ability. Create an elite organization you can trust. Fill it with people like Jang Ho or Investigator Seo. Understand?”
“Yes!”
“From now on, having an eye for people is more important than techniques. That will keep you alive.”
As the leader of an organization, Ian’s life began now.
I talked with her about this and that. Being with her set my heart at ease. The moon, which had looked forlorn when I arrived, was now filling the window and warmly illuminating the world.
When parting from her, I did not forget one last tease. She had endured all those side effects and become beautiful with difficulty, yet all she ever did was train, so at least I had to say something.
“I thought you were the greatest beauty under heaven, but perhaps not.”
For an instant, Ian tensed, wondering what I meant.
“You’ve become even prettier than before you left the cult. If you’re the greatest beauty under heaven, you shouldn’t be getting any prettier, should you?”
Leaving her behind with her face turning red, I departed. Ian, you’re not getting any sleep tonight.
* * *
The next day, on my way to meet the Poison King, I stopped by the Demon Physician.
As it happened, he had no patients and was at leisure. He looked surprised.
“Second Young Master, I’ve been seeing you often these days.”
“When I watch you save people, Divine Physician, it somehow puts me in a good mood.”
How could the Demon Physician not know I had come with business?
“I never know when another patient will come barging in, so state your business quickly.”
“There’s something I’d like to ask you, Divine Physician.”
“Speak.”
“By any chance, do you have any dealings with the Poison King?”
I asked as if I did not know, but I already knew that the only person the Poison King had dealings with was the Demon Physician. It was one of the few pieces of information I knew about the Poison King.
“One of you saves people, and the other kills people with poison, does he not? They say extremes meet, so I thought perhaps the two of you might have struck up a friendship.”
“Why the Poison King?”
“There is something I want from my father, and he set the condition that I persuade the Poison King and bring him back.”
The Demonic Physician shook his head.
“Then it seems the Cult Leader has no intention of losing that wager.”
The Demonic Physician, too, did not think the Poison King would be persuaded by me.
“I know you are an extraordinary man, Second Young Master. But the Poison King will not be easy.”
“Is there anything you can tell me?”
The Demonic Physician held his tongue for a moment. He was likely wondering how much he should say, caught between his friendship with the Poison King and his relationship with me.
“In all my life, I have met many poisoners, but I have never seen anyone as devoted to poison as the Poison King. His pride is just as great. He believes the only person he cannot kill with his poison is the Cult Leader.”
That was also why I could not carelessly reveal that I was immune to all poisons. The moment I mishandled his pride and self-respect, the matter would go awry.
“Wait here a moment.”
The Demonic Physician stepped out briefly, then returned with a small medicine bottle.
“This is the finest antidote I possess. I cannot say with certainty that it can neutralize all of the Poison King’s poisons, but it should be of help.”
I handed the antidote back to him.
“Please use this medicine somewhere else where it will be needed.”
“Why?”
“If the Poison King were to poison me, it would only be when he was risking his life to plot rebellion. At that point, he would use a poison no antidote could cure.”
“You are right.”
The Demonic Physician nodded.
“Then I will come to see you again.”
I had come to the Demonic Physician because he was the person who would be of the greatest help in persuading the Poison King from here on.
‘There will come a time when you will help me. And that matter will not be for my sake, but for yours as well, Demonic Physician.’
I rose from my seat and was about to leave when the Demonic Physician spoke one last time.
“Do you know what the Poison King’s dream is? It is to compile every poison in the world and leave it behind in a book. Even at this very moment, he is silently carrying out his research on poison alone. The key will be getting that man to come out of his laboratory. He is someone who has no interest in the world.”
The Poison King had lied even to the only person he associated with. His dream was not to compile the poisons of the world.
He was a man who dreamed of becoming the Greatest Poison Sovereign Under Heaven (天下第一毒尊), one who would make the martial world kneel at his feet with his poison.
After leaving the medical hall, I headed toward the southwest of the cult. There lay the Thousand Poison Forest, where the Poison King lived.