A sound transmission flew to Bisain as he was eating at an inn.
—Eat a variety of things. You always seem to order only that dish.
At Geom Mugeuk’s sound transmission, Bisain answered with an incredulous look.
—Are you trying to meddle with my tastes now, too?
—I’m looking out for your health. I’ve always been a bit nosy.
—It’s truly fortunate you’re not of the unorthodox faction.
—Don’t worry. Everyone says I seem like someone from the orthodox faction, never the unorthodox.
After exchanging such light jokes, Geom Mugeuk revealed the reason he had come to find him today.
—In two days, it will be the Five Thunder Divine Sword’s birthday. I intend to settle everything that day.
For an instant, Bisain’s chopsticks stopped, and intense emotion flashed across his face. At last, the day that would change his fate was only two days away.
—Is it all right for you to tell me all this?
—At least in this matter, you’re on the same side as me.
—What if I change my mind and tell Yaryulhan everything? Or if I accidentally let it slip to someone?
—I trust myself. I wouldn’t have joined hands with such a fool in the first place.
The corner of Bisain’s mouth twisted slightly. To anyone watching, it might have looked as if he was grimacing because the food tasted bad, but he was smiling.
Bisain said to Geom Mugeuk,
—Let’s meet at the cliff tonight.
—Let’s.
He looked as though he had something to say.
* * *
That night, I arrived at the cliff early and waited.
Once tonight passed, it would be the eve of the decisive battle. This time, even I felt tense and on edge.
“I don’t know why, but whenever I see your back, I want to shove you off.”
At Bisain’s words from behind me, I turned around with a laugh.
“It’s because you’ve built up too much anger.”
“Is there a way to live as the successor of the Evil Dao Alliance without building up anger?”
“At times like that, drinking yourself senseless with the Drunken Demon and swimming around a lake does help a little. Do you have anyone to drink with?”
“I don’t particularly like alcohol.”
“Reading books with the Blade Demon isn’t bad either.”
“I dislike books even more. But the Blade Demon reads?”
“Or you could spar with the Sword Venerable.”
“Do you think there are only one or two people who would use a spar to kill me?”
“How about traveling with the Little Demon?”
“I have no one to travel with.”
“What about late-night martial arts training with the Fist Demon?”
“Listening to you is making me even angrier! Are you bragging that you’re close with the Demon Venerables?”
“You believe me? I thought you’d assume I made it all up.”
Then Bisain replied,
“If it’s you… I feel like you would be close with all of them.”
Surprisingly, he believed everything I had said.
“There is a way for you to relieve your anger.”
I smiled as I spoke to him, who looked curious.
“Come play with me!”
“!”
“After this is over, if your anger piles up so much that you truly can’t stand it anymore, come find me. Let’s go out and have fun.”
Bisain’s eyes trembled slightly. In the past, he would have asked if I was insane before anything else, but he said nothing.
Perhaps Bisain wanted to say, “Let’s!” After all, I had always felt loneliness from him.
“No.”
Bisain refused at once and took several sheets of paper from his robes.
“This is why I asked to see you.”
What he handed me was a secret document related to the Five Thunder Divine Sword.
It contained not only his martial arts, but where he had been born, what sort of growth he had undergone, and with whom, where, and for what reason he had fought.
“I don’t know whether this will help, but read it just in case.”
“Thank you. It will be a great help.”
Bisain stared intently at me.
A look of hesitation flashed across his face, as if he was debating whether to speak, and in the end he said to me,
“When this is over, there may not be time to have conversations like this, so I’ll say it now. Lately… I’ve been thinking about my Evil Dao.”
It seemed my question about what his Evil Dao was had lodged deep in his heart. Perhaps the reason he had asked to meet today was because he had wanted to say those words.
Before hearing my answer, he turned and strode away.
“I’ll look forward to the day I hear about your Evil Dao.”
As Bisain disappeared into the darkness, he answered,
“Just don’t die before then.”
* * *
On the day before the Five Thunder Divine Sword’s birthday, Geom Mugeuk scouted his residence.
It had yet to be determined how many people were inside that manor, or who lived there. To carry out tomorrow’s operation safely, he had to prepare thoroughly. Even with such preparation, variables always arose endlessly.
The manor was small and cozy.
In a straight line, it was located at a distance one could reach from the main headquarters of the Evil Dao Alliance in an instant, but if one were to walk or take a carriage, it was in an exquisite location that required winding through the forest for quite some time.
Furthermore, it was hidden deep in the woods, in a place where even someone who passed nearby every day would be surprised and say, “There was a house there?” unless someone told them there was a path and a house in that spot.
Geom Mugeuk climbed a giant tree overlooking the manor.
He flew up to that height and landed on a branch without making even the slightest sound of wind. The thin branch merely swayed lightly and did not break.
There, Geom Mugeuk began emitting his qi.
Several strands of qi crossed over the wall. The qi emission he had learned from his father on his first hunt shone in moments like this. From a distance where the other party could not detect his presence, he could send such thin, long strands of qi out like scouts.
One person was detected in the courtyard of the manor.
Geom Mugeuk used the Divine Eye Art to confirm him. He looked like someone who served the Five Thunder Divine Sword in the manor and handled menial tasks.
Another presence was detected near the kitchen. Judging by the qi and movements he sensed, this person also had not learned martial arts and was elderly. She likely appeared to be an old woman who prepared meals.
Geom Mugeuk’s qi roamed all throughout the manor. Seeing no one else, it seemed those two people were serving the Five Thunder Divine Sword.
Geom Mugeuk’s qi entered the building. When it passed through the corridor and entered the innermost room, he sensed a powerful presence.
‘It’s the Five Thunder Divine Sword!’
Geom Mugeuk did not overreach. For now, it was enough to confirm his presence. He quietly retrieved the qi he had emitted.
At the very moment he collected all his qi,
the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art activated and sensed danger.
The next instant!
Tap.
In the next moment, a man was standing on the branch where Geom Mugeuk had been. The man who had suddenly appeared had cut through the air like an arrow and landed on that thin branch. It was truly a lightness skill that had reached an extraordinary realm. Geom Mugeuk, who had been there, was already beneath the tree.
The man looked around, then peered down below the tree. Geom Mugeuk was on the opposite side of the giant tree, out of his sight.
The man quickly turned and checked beneath the tree behind him as well.
Once again, Geom Mugeuk was standing on the opposite side. Though both had moved quickly, not a sound was made. They were both displaying exquisite movement arts.
The man tilted his head slightly, then lightly launched himself and landed at the distant manor.
Then he entered the building where the Five Thunder Divine Sword was.
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze deepened as he watched.
This man, who had appeared from who knew where and when, had sensed the qi as Geom Mugeuk was retrieving it and flown to this place, the source of that qi. Not only were his senses excellent, his lightness skill was also of a high level.
‘He’s no ordinary expert.’
Unfortunately, he had not seen the man’s face properly. That was how fast the other party’s movements had been.
Geom Mugeuk also quietly disappeared from the place.
* * *
At that time, Yaryulhan was eating alone at a large table in a spacious hall.
Chahwan entered carrying a box.
“The gift for the Five Thunder Divine Sword has arrived.”
Yaryulhan gestured for him to bring it closer. Chahwan approached him with the box. Every movement he made was careful.
He opened the box at a spot a little away from Yaryulhan.
When the box opened, a fragrant scent wafted out.
“It is a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.”
It was the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, said to be difficult to obtain even for a thousand pieces of gold.
In the end, Chahwan could not hold back and spoke what was on his mind.
“This is far too precious to give as a gift.”
Every year on his birthday, they gave the Five Thunder Divine Sword a valuable gift. But this was the first time the gift had been as precious as this Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
Despite his complaint, Yaryulhan did not get angry at all. He kept Chahwan at his side precisely because of this sort of frankness.
“It’s a special birthday, so we should give a special gift.”
“Of course, that is true, but…”
“He is a man worth the money.”
“Yes.”
Unable to voice any further complaints, Chahwan carefully closed the box and placed it on the table.
The words, ‘Then what in the world will you give that old man when he turns a hundred?’ rose all the way to his throat, but he could not spit them out.
“Will you go in person tomorrow?”
Yaryulhan nodded.
“Considering the situation, how about sending only the gift this time?”
After pondering for a moment, Yaryulhan said to Chahwan,
“I should go. If I don’t, I’ll invest a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng only to be cursed for it. Instead, this time I’ll go at a slightly different hour.”
Chahwan bowed respectfully.
“I will make preparations accordingly.”
“And summon the Three Evils as well.”
Chahwan flinched. As always, merely hearing their name chilled a person’s heart.
“Then I can feel at ease.”
After Chahwan left, Yaryulhan opened the box containing the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng again.
He silently looked down at it. For someone who had learned martial arts, how could one endure with a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng before one’s eyes?
Yaryulhan lifted it and opened his mouth wide.
But he only pretended to eat it in one bite, then put the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng back into the box and closed it.
What he would eat was not the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. By enduring and enduring again, he would devour something far greater.
* * *
I returned straight to my quarters.
The Extreme Evil Little Demon, Gowol, and Cult Leader Pungcheon were waiting for me to return from my reconnaissance.
“How was it?”
At Gowol’s question, I let out a light sigh.
“I was nearly discovered.”
At my words, the three of them were startled.
Cult Leader Pungcheon said to me,
“It seems that old villain didn’t simply idle about and eat his way into old age.”
“It wasn’t him.”
“It wasn’t?”
“I’m not certain whether he was a visitor or someone originally guarding the place, but his martial arts were no ordinary matter.”
Cult Leader Pungcheon thought of someone.
“Could it have been Yaryulhan?”
Gowol answered,
“No. Yaryulhan has not taken a single step outside the Evil Dao Alliance at present.”
“Not Yaryulhan? Then the Blood Wheel Calamity?”
At Cult Leader Pungcheon’s question, Gowol shook his head again.
“The Blood Wheel Calamity is known to be on rather poor terms with the Five Thunder Divine Sword. The possibility that the two of them held a private meeting is low.”
I agreed with that opinion as well.
“I couldn’t get a close look, but he wasn’t as old as the Blood Wheel Calamity.”
It was not a good situation. If that expert had visited to celebrate the birthday, then he would be at the manor tomorrow as well. That meant there was one more expert to deal with.
Naturally, worry rose on Gowol’s face.
“Didn’t we anticipate from the beginning that there might be someone else?”
“Yes, that is true, but if someone came today, does that not mean a new expert could come tomorrow as well? To be honest, I am worried.”
“Strategist Go. Strategists devise excellent operations, but unexpected situations like this arise in the field. This, too, will be a good experience for you.”
“I do not want such experience in an operation against Yaryulhan and the Five Thunder Divine Sword. All the more so if the person carrying it out is you, young master. Should we not at least know who that man is?”
I looked at the Extreme Evil Little Demon. He had been listening silently until now, and he spoke indifferently.
“Would knowing who he is change anything?”
This was the very nature of the man known as the Extreme Evil Little Demon. Even if the expert I had discovered today had not been one person but ten, he would have said the same thing.
The Extreme Evil Little Demon’s words neatly settled the current situation.
“You’re right.”
I smiled as I looked at him. What made me smile was the same thing that dwelled in the Extreme Evil Little Demon’s eyes. Deep in my chest, fighting spirit boiled up. Yes. Whoever was there, however many there were, what did it matter?
Wooooong!
The Black Demon Sword, having read my heart, let out a long hum. When the sword rang of its own accord, everyone’s gaze turned toward it. When I grasped the sword hilt, the Black Demon Sword stopped humming.
“We are making the Five Thunder Divine Sword’s birthday into the day of his funeral rites, and on top of that, we are even sending Yaryulhan along on the same boat to the underworld… If this were easy, that would be the strange thing.”
I made the final decision.
“We proceed according to plan.”
* * *
At dawn the next day, before departure, I went to find the Extreme Evil Little Demon.
“What is it?”
Instead of answering his question, I untied the supreme-grade Heavenly Silkworm Silk from my sword hilt and gave him half. The Extreme Evil Little Demon knew very well what it was.
“Wrap it around your heart.”
“I am fine.”
“There will be more than enough left even if both of us wrap it.”
“Then wrap it twice around yourself!”
“My movements will become sluggish, so I can’t. I’ll be wearing the Ghost Tiger Garment over it as well.”
Knowing that I would absolutely not back down, the Extreme Evil Little Demon accepted it.
“I will return it once the fight is over.”
“Of course you should. That’s precious.”
The Extreme Evil Little Demon smiled brightly.
There on the spot, we wrapped the supreme-grade Heavenly Silkworm Silk around our hearts and stomachs.
After finishing all our preparations, I drew the Black Demon Sword.
Then, as if he had been waiting, the Extreme Evil Little Demon lightly flicked the blade of the Black Demon Sword with his finger.
Tiiing!
Listening to that clear sound that always felt good to hear, the sound announcing the beginning of the decisive battle, we quietly left the room.