“If it had not been truly urgent, I would not have come all the way here.”
I hurriedly spoke to the Poison King.
Since it was the first time one of my subordinates had come looking for him, the Poison King also told Sangseon to bring Seo Daeryong at once.
A short while later, Sangseon brought Seo Daeryong here.
“Master of the Pavilion, it seems you must go at once.”
“What happened, Investigator Seo?”
“A major incident occurred in Maga Village. A martial artist who had been drinking peacefully suddenly swung his sword, killing or injuring dozens of people.”
I was startled and cried out.
“Where?”
“Yanghwa Pavilion.”
Yanghwa Pavilion was one of the many pleasure houses in Maga Village.
“Did he get into a fight while drunk?”
“No. They say blood suddenly began flowing from the eyes and nose of the man who committed the slaughter, and then he went berserk. His martial arts were exceptionally strong, so the damage was even greater.”
The moment I heard those words, I recalled an incident that had taken place before my regression.
I immediately bid farewell to the Poison King.
“Poison King, I will take my leave first today.”
I hurried out of the place with Seo Daeryong.
When I arrived at Yanghwa Pavilion in Maga Village with Seo Daeryong, the enforcement martial artists were keeping control of the surroundings. Even before entering, the stench of blood burned my nose.
One of the onlookers standing nearby caught my eye. A boy who looked to be twelve or thirteen was shouting at the enforcement martial artists.
“My mother and little sister are inside! Please go and check on them! They work in the kitchen! Mother! Suya!”
I left the boy behind and entered with Seo Daeryong.
The inside was a sea of blood. Corpses were scattered everywhere, while the enforcement martial artists checked to see whether any survivors remained.
“Everyone was drunk, so the damage was even worse.”
The dead were not martial artists alone. The courtesans had died, as had even the cooks who prepared the food.
In a corner of the kitchen lay a middle-aged woman, dead while holding a young girl in her arms. The child looked exactly like the boy who had been shouting outside.
I silently gazed down at the bodies of the mother and daughter and let out a sigh. The child must have run about the kitchen, helping her mother.
Seo Daeryong, standing beside me, could not bear to keep looking. He turned his head away and stared elsewhere.
“Where is the bastard?”
“He is on the third floor.”
I moved on again. The entire way there was filled with scenes of carnage.
The man had died leaning against the wall at the end of the third-floor corridor. He was a young man who looked to be in his early thirties. The blood that had flowed from his eyes and nose had reached his chin and dried there. His eyes were rolled back, and the whites had been stained red like blood.
Seo Daeryong, who had followed me, spoke in a trembling voice.
“This is the first time I have ever seen such a horrifying sight.”
I knew what had caused this incident.
‘狂暴—Rampage!’
Rampage was an internal-energy enhancer that temporarily increased one’s inner power when taken.
Depending on the amount consumed, an internal-energy enhancer could temporarily increase one’s inner power from fifteen minutes to roughly an hour. The increase was usually around ten to twenty percent. Of course, once the time passed, it returned to its original state.
The reason Rampage had exploded in popularity was that the amount of inner power it provided was far greater. Rampage increased it by thirty percent, and in some cases as much as fifty percent.
But its side effects were as deadly as its benefits were potent. The result before my eyes was one such side effect.
The people selling Rampage were the Evil Path Alliance. The Dissipating-Strength Poison Black Rain that I had been afflicted with during the Martial Arts Tournament after my regression was also something they sold. Rampage and Black Rain—the two main products of the Evil Path Alliance.
“What is this man’s identity?”
“He is one of the Demon Swords belonging to the Northern Heaven Sword Family. Apparently, he had never caused any trouble before. He was even promoted last year.”
That must have been the problem. He must have secretly taken Rampage in order to earn that promotion.
“Send his corpse to Physician Ma immediately. And take care of the aftermath here.”
“Master of the Pavilion. Regardless of why this happened, I want to uncover the truth.”
The look in Seo Daeryong’s eyes as he gazed at me was the same look he had worn when we first met, when he had been an investigator of the Yellow Springs Pavilion. It was the look of Seo Daeryong, who had been determined to uncover the truth behind his senior’s death.
I looked at Seo Daeryong and nodded once.
“Take good care of that boy who was outside earlier.”
Seo Daeryong nodded vigorously as well.
* * *
I watched Physician Ma examine the corpse.
As he inspected the body from every angle, Physician Ma deduced the cause of death.
“Judging by the way his dantian has swollen and ruptured, it seems a powerful internal-energy enhancer was used. His loss of reason and subsequent rampage were probably side effects.”
Physician Ma had accurately determined the state of the corpse.
“This is not the first corpse like this that I have seen. A corpse in this condition was brought in late last year. That man went berserk alone and died. This time, he committed a massacre.”
Rampage had not yet fully spread throughout the martial world. The side effects that had initially been ignored were beginning to cause serious problems as the number of users increased.
“When he committed the crime, he probably was not in his right mind. You fool, you should have increased your inner power through training. Why were you so greedy?”
After reproaching the corpse, he turned away. This was one of the reasons Rampage continued to spread. They should not have taken it in the first place. Since responsibility would inevitably fall first on the person who had taken the drug, the Evil Path Alliance took advantage of that attitude and continued to make money.
After covering the corpse with a white cloth, Physician Ma washed the blood from his hands. The news that so many innocent people had died had cast a pall over his mood as well.
As if trying to change the atmosphere, Physician Ma asked me,
“What happened with the Poison King?”
“I have been meeting him every day since that day.”
Physician Ma was startled.
“You meet him every day? Really?”
“I am learning about the work of the Heavenly Poison Forest.”
“As expected. You really are different. So, now that you have met him, what do you think of the Poison King?”
“He is a brighter person than I expected.”
Physician Ma nodded. He seemed to have sensed that bright side as well.
“It took me quite some time to realize it, but you noticed it already.”
“These days, we are together almost all day long.”
“Do you really want to win your wager with the Cult Master so badly that you are willing to go this far?”
I looked down at the corpse covered by the cloth and spoke quietly.
“Now I have even more reasons why I must win.”
* * *
My father and Supreme Commander Sima Myeong were waiting for me in the Heavenly Demon Hall.
I strode along the bloodstained path and reported to them.
“Physician Ma has determined that the cause of this incident was the side effects of an internal-energy enhancer.”
Neither of them was surprised by my report. That meant they already knew about the symptoms of the side effects.
“You already knew, didn’t you?”
Sima Myeong answered my question.
“Yes. Several major and minor incidents have been reported in the Central Plains.”
“It was the work of the Evil Path Alliance, wasn’t it?”
“How did you know?”
“During the last Great War of the Divine and Demonic, I was afflicted by a Dissipating-Strength Poison. When I investigated, I learned it was a poison called Black Rain, made by the Evil Path Alliance. I thought this incident might also be their doing.”
“The internal-energy enhancer is called Rampage. It was sold by the Evil Path Alliance.”
As expected, Sima Myeong already knew about Rampage.
I asked him again.
“Who is in charge of manufacturing Rampage for the Evil Path Alliance? You know, don’t you, Supreme Commander?”
Sima Myeong looked toward my father. My father had been watching me for a moment, and then he nodded.
Only then did Sima Myeong reveal who it was.
“Aecha.”
I knew very well who Aecha was.
“The Black Snake.”
“That is correct.”
He was one of Yulhan’s four subordinates. Just as Jisaeng, who had created the Divine Immortal Stronghold, had tattooed a golden pig on his body, Aecha had sworn his loyalty by tattooing a black snake.
This was my chance to speak.
As you can see, Yulhan is behind every evil deed. He is absolute evil.
But I did not say it. If I failed to win the wager by persuading the Poison King and bringing him before my father, then the Black Snake was also beyond my reach.
I remained silent for a moment. Through silence, I displayed my anger, and through silence, I lent strength to my resolve.
“A detailed report concerning the incident will be submitted by this pavilion. If anything else is confirmed, I will report it to you.”
I left the Heavenly Demon Hall by way of the bloodstained path.
It was probably the first time I had met the two of them and left without making even a single lighthearted remark. And so, upon the anger called the Divine Immortal Stronghold, I quietly piled another anger called Rampage.
My father and Sima Myeong silently watched my retreating back.
I was taking to heart the lesson my father had taught me this time.
From someone else’s perspective, my world, too, was a closed one.
Yes, I admitted it. The task of establishing a new demonic path and eliminating absolute evil still existed only within my own world.
* * *
That night, I stood alone before the Fist Demon’s cliff.
Just as the Fist Demon had once looked up at the cliff, I stared at it as well.
I clenched my fist and infused it with inner power.
Whoooosh!
Air currents swirled around my fist, and I heard the sound of storm clouds gathering.
Shiiiiing!
I was about to throw a punch at the cliff when I stopped at the final moment.
Because I knew I could not bring it down yet. In my entire life, there would be only one time when I struck this cliff with a true punch.
Then a welcome voice came from behind me.
“Your hand will only hurt if you hit it with those baby hands of yours.”
I turned around with a smile.
The Fist Demon was walking toward me.
“Master!”
Seeing him after so long filled me with joy. After looking at the Poison King’s youthful face, seeing this frightening face and enormous body made me truly feel that I was in the Demonic Cult.
The Fist Demon’s gaze fell on my tightly clenched fist.
Having read my anger, he spoke calmly.
“Disciple.”
“Yes, Master.”
“When you are truly angry, open the fist you have clenched like this.”
The Fist Demon spread his enormous palm before me. It was larger than my face.
“And then!”
Clap!
The Fist Demon brought his hands together with a resounding clap.
“Clap once, then clench your fist again. That way, your fist will hurt even more.”
“There would be no need to clench it again. If the enemy were between those clapping hands, it would be no different from being struck by a fist.”
The Fist Demon, of all people, was telling me to open my fist. I engraved this profound and grand lesson in my heart.
And the lighthearted remarks I had been unable to make before my father and Sima Myeong, I made to the Fist Demon instead.
“When Master stood here, I thought you had been standing with the single-minded determination to bring down the cliff.”
“And?”
“Were you not simply standing here whenever you got angry? Am I right?”
Unable to deny it, the Fist Demon laughed.
I greeted him and walked away. I walked with both fists, which had been tightly clenched, spread wide open.
* * *
The next day, I went to the Heavenly Poison Forest as usual.
The Poison King was wandering through the forest near his home, carrying a collection basket.
“Regarding the incident that happened yesterday…”
At that moment, astonishing words flowed from the Poison King’s mouth.
“Rampage, right?”
The Poison King had also heard only about the side effects the previous day, yet he had realized that they were caused by Rampage.
“You knew?”
“Of course I did. As you know, the Poison Children travel throughout the Central Plains in search of poisonous herbs and venomous creatures. The bastards of the Evil Path Alliance also travel around gathering medicinal herbs to make their drugs. That is why we know their movements better than anyone.”
The Poison King slightly knitted his brows.
“I even warned them. I told them not to make such a drug.”
“Do you know who makes it?”
“Of course. There is a fool named the True Poison Hermit.”
The True Poison Hermit. He was a poison arts master famous for his poisons in the Unorthodox Path. The Poison King seemed to dislike even thinking of him, as his face twisted into all manner of grimaces.
“Even poison users have things they refrain from doing, but that bastard is playing around at far too low a level.”
“Many innocent people died because of that low-level game. There was even a woman who died while holding a child. Those facts will not even appear in the report submitted to our cult. ‘Total number of dead: so many.’ The deaths of that mother and daughter will be buried beneath that single line. If their vengeful spirits became ghosts and watched over this world, the child would ask her mother, ‘Why does no one care that we died?’”
The Poison King was staring at a venomous insect clinging to a tree, as though he had not heard me at all. He did not get angry anymore. Just as I was living in my own world, he was living in his.
“What is that venomous insect called?”
I asked about his world, and he answered with mine.
“What meaning would there be in avenging them?”
“I remember it was an ingredient in the Azure-Killing Poison, but I cannot recall its name.”
“It is hypocrisy. The self-satisfaction one gains from helping someone.”
We did not listen to each other’s words. We each spoke only our own.
“Ah, what was it? I feel as though I remember the name, but I cannot quite grasp it.”
“The dead are dead. That is the end of it.”
The Poison King looked at me, and I looked at him. We stared at each other without a word. Since I had met him, this was the longest the Poison King had ever looked at me.
Then we returned to our respective worlds.
“Her name was Su. The little girl who died in her mother’s arms yesterday.”
“That venomous insect is called a White-Spotted Insect. It is not an ingredient in the Azure-Killing Poison, but in Five Poison Incense.”
The Poison King asked me with the most serious expression he had shown since meeting me.
“Tell me. What is the real reason you are acting like this?”
“When I say what I think, everyone asks me the same thing. ‘Are you from the Orthodox Sect? Are you some righteous hero?’ Whenever they do, I end up asking questions too, like that child who became a vengeful spirit. A powerless woman dies, a child dies, young people die one after another—and because we are members of the Demonic Cult, are we supposed to say that we do not care? If that is what those Orthodox Sect bastards think, then what exactly are we supposed to think as we live?”
The Poison King did not answer.
I did not press him any further. I clapped my hands once and spoke energetically.
“Let us go. There are many venomous insects we have to catch today, aren’t there?”
But he did not move. Instead, he sank down right where he stood.
With no other choice, I sat down beside him.
The Poison King watched the venomous ants passing beneath his feet, while I, since I was already seated, continued saying what I wanted whether he listened or not.
“The dead girl had an older brother. Outside that pleasure house, which had become a sea of blood, he was shouting to ask whether his mother and little sister were safe. I want to tell him this: ‘I killed every last one of the people who killed your family and came back. Normally, I would not have been able to kill anyone, but because we are members of the Demonic Cult, I was able to do it.’”
Still keeping his gaze on the ants, the Poison King said,
“You truly are impossible to understand.”
“Never support me. If you are careless, the next Heavenly Demon might be someone like this.”
“I will never support you, even if I die.”
But the person who was truly impossible to understand was the Poison King. Because he added,
“Do I really have to bark five times?”