Others might not believe it if they heard, but we really did bring our sleeping clothes and return.
“Are we allowed to do this?”
“Of course we are!”
“Now that I think about it, there’s some Netherworld Pavilion business I need to handle urgently.”
Having belatedly come to his senses, Seo Daeryong tried to escape from our midnight adventure, but I was not about to let him go so easily.
“When will we ever get to do something like this again? And think about it carefully. He told us to go, but do you think he meant it? He must be wondering, Why aren’t those brats coming? When I play with them, I feel younger, and I’m this happy.”
Would he really? Half convinced and half doubtful, Seo Daeryong moved his feet. There was a reason he, who feared his master so much, was pushing himself today.
“I never dreamed I would have my Ren and Du meridians opened.”
Seo Daeryong was caught up in a feverish excitement. Gratitude toward his master, worry for him, the thrill of having opened his Ren and Du meridians, the joy of seeing me again after so long—all of it was tangled together, leaving him in a state of exhilaration. It felt like if he caused trouble today, he would truly cause it properly.
When we returned to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s residence, he had fallen asleep. This time, he really was asleep. We stood by the window and watched him lying on the bed, sleeping soundly, then quietly left the place.
‘Sleep well, Elder.’
Together with Seo Daeryong, I walked through the inner compound of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“It’s been a long time since I walked like this with you, Young Cult Leader.”
“That’s because our Pavilion Master Seo is so busy.”
“You should at least show your face before saying that.”
I laughed awkwardly, and Seo Daeryong laughed along.
“Time really does pass quickly. Each day feels difficult, but when I turn around, several days have gone by, and before I know it, a month has passed. Is that how it’s supposed to be?”
After asking without thinking, Seo Daeryong shook his head.
“I’m older than you, yet here I am asking the Young Cult Leader about the passage of time.”
I wanted to tell him. Your young years have yet to reach even a quarter of their true speed. They are still only at the third star of Swift Steps. When time reaches Great Accomplishment, it sweeps away every memory and runs far into the distance.
In that sense, shall we spend some precious time?
“Shall we go to our Extreme Evil Soma?”
Seo Daeryong let out a cry of, “Good heavens!”
“You might as well say you hate me. Better yet, challenge me to a duel and beat me senseless!”
“Is Lord Soma that frightening?”
“Then is he not frightening?”
“You lived with him for a while before, didn’t you?”
It was when we dealt with Yaryul Han’s subordinates.
While the Poison King and I carried out our operation, Seo Daeryong had stayed with the Extreme Evil Soma for a short time. He had personally gone to the marketplace to buy side dishes and cooking ingredients, then made meals for the Extreme Evil Soma.
“You got close back then, didn’t you?”
“Close? I couldn’t even meet his eyes! I kept wondering when you would come, Young Cult Leader, when you would come. Do you know how anxious I was?”
“If you talk to him, you’ll realize he’s a good person. If he were that terrifying, would I like him this much?”
I could feel Seo Daeryong’s resolve waver slightly.
“Imagine looking back on today ten years from now. Ah, how enjoyable it would have been if I had gone with the Young Cult Leader to see the Extreme Evil Soma back then. Why did I hesitate so much and get so scared?”
When I finished speaking and looked back, Seo Daeryong was already running far away. Having opened his Ren and Du meridians, he ran faster than before.
Yes, if it were that easy, how could he be the Extreme Evil Soma?
“At least help me move the bed before you go!”
Far away, Seo Daeryong stopped.
“The bed? What bed?”
“You wouldn’t know because you haven’t been there, but there’s nothing in Lord Soma’s residence. If we’re going to sleep there, we need to bring a bed.”
Seo Daeryong blinked.
“So you’re taking a bed to the Valley of Villains?”
“We can’t visit in the middle of the night and ask him to bring out a bed, can we? And we can’t sleep on the bare floor either. I want to sleep comfortably in my own bed.”
“But you’re really taking the bed?”
We really took it.
Seo Daeryong and I carried the bed from my residence. I held the front, and Seo Daeryong held the back.
The demonic practitioners standing guard stared at us in surprise. On top of the bed were neatly folded clean bedding and even sleeping clothes, so it drew even more attention.
“You could move this by yourself, couldn’t you?”
“It’s heavy.”
“Heavy? You’re someone who could float it through the air with Object-Seizing Across the Void. I’ll just carry it myself.”
“I can’t make the Netherworld Pavilion Master do something like that.”
“This is more embarrassing! In any case, I’ll only move it for you and then leave right away. I made that clear! You can’t say otherwise later.”
When we arrived at the entrance to the Valley of Villains, Seo Daeryong recalled the past.
“Do you remember? When you first came to meet the Extreme Evil Soma, Young Cult Leader, I was waiting here.”
“I remember. You even brought a sword, ready to rush in and save me if anything happened.”
“That was how it was, and now I’m going all the way into Lord Soma’s residence.”
“You brought your sword, right?”
“Please don’t joke like that. My heart feels like it’s about to burst as it is.”
Seo Daeryong took several deep breaths to calm his trembling chest.
“Don’t be nervous. You’re someone who will become a Demon Venerable, aren’t you?”
“When you say things like that, I get even more nervous! The fact that I’m going to become a Demon Venerable is still the most shocking and nerve-racking thing in the world to me. Even now, I sometimes have nightmares. Dreams where I’m living as a Netherworld Pavilion investigator, endlessly gloomy and full of complaints about the cult. Dreams where, when I first went in to meet you, someone else was sitting in front of me.”
“Even then, it would have changed.”
“What?”
“Your fate didn’t change because of me. You changed it yourself.”
Seo Daeryong fell silent, perhaps thinking about something.
At last, we entered the Valley of Villains.
Not only the Faceless Ones guarding the entrance, but even the Faceless Ones passing by looked at us strangely.
—Everyone is looking at us like we’re strange. That yellow-striped mask over there just laughed.
—Should I get rid of him?
—The number of people we need to get rid of keeps increasing.
In that way, we arrived at the Extreme Evil Soma’s residence.
* * *
“Lord Soma, I’ve come to impose on you for the day!”
As he watched Geom Mugeuk enter cheerfully, the Extreme Evil Soma’s eyes smiled from within the hollow openings of his white mask.
Who in the world would come to him and say they wanted to stay the night? Who would come carrying even a bed and sleeping clothes?
“Were you driven out of your home?”
“I’ve caused some major trouble lately, so I’m on the verge of being driven out.”
“You are welcome anytime, Young Cult Leader.”
“If you keep saying that, Lord Soma, you’ll be driven out with me.”
The Extreme Evil Soma laughed aloud. It had been a long time since I had heard his laughter.
“Your mask has changed.”
“As expected! You noticed.”
It seemed that after Cheongmyeon left, a new Faceless One had started making masks.
“Is the mask more comfortable?”
“Please tell Cheongmyeon. Tell him it is far more comfortable than the one he made.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him.”
Because that would be how the Extreme Evil Soma conveyed his longing to Cheongmyeon.
This time, Seo Daeryong greeted him respectfully.
“It has been a long time.”
Seo Daeryong was inwardly surprised. He had heard there was nothing here, but he had not thought there would truly be nothing at all. There was not even a speck of dust. Ah, there was something that caught the eye. Long lines drawn on the wall came into view. Horizontal lines and vertical lines. Why had those been left as they were in this spotless room?
“Your gaze has improved.”
When the Extreme Evil Soma said this with eyes colder than anything, Seo Daeryong was confused.
‘That’s praise, right? This is a compliment, isn’t it?’
He was so frightened of the Extreme Evil Soma that it sounded like, “Your eyes look good, so let’s have a bout.”
“Recently, my master gave me a great teaching. It is thanks to him.”
The Extreme Evil Soma only nodded once in silence.
Geom Mugeuk asked the Extreme Evil Soma.
“Where should we put the bed?”
“Wherever is comfortable for you.”
“Then we’ll put it here.”
We placed the bed against one wall. It was the first moment that furniture was placed in the Extreme Evil Soma’s empty room.
Why had I brought a bed? Because I wanted the Extreme Evil Soma to sleep in one now.
The whiteness of the walls was related to the martial cultivation method he practiced, but there was a different reason why he slept sitting up.
Before my regression, the Extreme Evil Soma had wanted to become friends with me. There was something he had once said.
—How could one who bears the name Extreme Evil sleep comfortably? It is the smallest and only conscience I possess.
At the time, I had thought it was bravado spoken because he wanted to get close to me. I had assumed he surely had a separate, splendid bedchamber somewhere.
After my regression, as I formed a new relationship with the Extreme Evil Soma, I came to understand that those words had been sincere.
Back then, I had not told him. No, even if I had known he was sincere, I would not have said it. At the time, I had not opened my heart to anyone.
Now it was time to tell him.
‘Sleep comfortably now.’
Because he was living a different life. Because he would continue living a different life from now on.
That was why today’s bed was the first step toward developing my relationship with the Extreme Evil Soma another stage further.
“Could you lend me this side of the wall altogether? I think it’ll be annoying to move it every time.”
The Extreme Evil Soma looked at Geom Mugeuk for a moment. At this sudden request, he readily nodded.
“Do as you wish.”
“Thank you. Next time I come, I’ll bring a tea table to put beside the bed. And here, I’ll put a small wardrobe to store clothes to change into. This wall is mine now.”
Seo Daeryong watched the scene in astonishment.
‘You’re moving your household in entirely? Into Lord Extreme Evil Soma’s room?’
He had originally intended to say farewell and leave, but curiosity arose in him as to why Geom Mugeuk was doing this.
Seo Daeryong said to the Extreme Evil Soma,
“If you feel this is tyranny on the Young Cult Leader’s part, please report it to the Netherworld Pavilion. I will investigate at once.”
It was the joke of Seo Daeryong’s lifetime, one he had put his heart into.
Knowing how much courage he must have mustered, Geom Mugeuk forced himself to hold back his laughter and kept a straight face.
The Extreme Evil Soma silently stared at him, his gaze seeming to say he did not know how to take it.
‘What did I just say? I joked with the Extreme Evil Soma? Seo Daeryong, have you lost your mind?’
Seo Daeryong’s voice transmission flew to Geom Mugeuk.
—Save me! Please smooth this over!
Of course, Geom Mugeuk had no intention of helping him out of this amusing situation.
—It seems opening your Ren and Du meridians made your guts bigger too. Who should we appoint as the next Netherworld Pavilion Master?
Just as Seo Daeryong’s panic reached its peak, the Extreme Evil Soma spoke.
“It should be fine. We will paint all the furniture white as well.”
At his flat reply, Seo Daeryong forced a smile and said,
“I think white suits this room well.”
With those words, he was just about to hurry and say farewell.
The Extreme Evil Soma approached Seo Daeryong.
‘Why is he coming? Was that joke unforgivable after all?’
The Extreme Evil Soma stood beside Seo Daeryong, who flinched.
“Considering the furniture arrangement, I think the wardrobe would be better placed over here.”
“Would it?”
The Extreme Evil Soma was merely standing beside him, yet Seo Daeryong felt like he could not breathe.
‘How was the Young Cult Leader able to become so close with someone this frightening?’
When one looked at the relationship between the Young Cult Leader and the Demon Venerables, it went beyond admiration and became almost awe-inspiring.
Seo Daeryong stealthily took one step to the side. In his heart, he wanted to go all the way to the opposite side, but he did not dare.
‘ I was insane. Why did I come here?’
To be honest, half of it had been curiosity. What would the Extreme Evil Soma’s residence be like? The other half had been filled with bravado and bluster.
I’m the Netherworld Pavilion Master now, and I’ve even opened my Ren and Du meridians, so shouldn’t I be able to come here at least once?
Able, my foot. Why would you walk into hell with your own two feet?
Just as he was looking for an opportunity to say farewell.
The Extreme Evil Soma glanced at Seo Daeryong. The two eyes within the holes of his mask certainly seemed to be smiling, but that made them all the more frightening.
In any case, now that their eyes had met, this was his chance.
‘I will be taking my leave now!’
Just as he was about to say those words, the Extreme Evil Soma spoke first.
“I was greatly indebted to you back then.”
“Pardon?”
At the gaze that seemed to ask, Have you forgotten already? Seo Daeryong’s mind went blank, and he was rendered speechless.
“I mean that you worked hard cooking for me, when I am such a finicky eater.”
It was about the time when he had cooked for him in the past. Seo Daeryong had once joked, when the Extreme Evil Soma was not there, that he seemed to have a small appetite, only to be caught and terrified then as well. You still remember that?
“Not at all. It was only what I ought to have done.”
He even put on a smile and was about to say farewell, but this time Geom Mugeuk began telling him about what had happened while he had been away from the cult.
“I don’t know where I should begin.”
Earlier, he had told the story while sitting on the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s bed, but now he spoke while sitting on the bed he had brought himself.
How he had killed the one who had infiltrated the Sado Alliance, how he had come to invite the Sado Alliance Leader, and how he had even come to invite the Murim Alliance Leader as well.
Seo Dae-ryong had heard some of it earlier, while there were parts he had not caught in detail because he had been warming the medicine. As he listened, he found it so interesting that he forgot he was supposed to leave and became absorbed in Geom Mugeuk’s story.
When there was a brief lull in the conversation, Seo Dae-ryong sent a sound transmission and asked.
—But why are you telling him everything in such detail?
He had asked because he thought there must be a reason, and there truly was.
—That way, if some situation arises later, he’ll be able to deal with it on his own. Information is power.
He was not telling the Blood Heaven Blade Demon or Geugak Soma in such detail because he wanted to chatter. He was laying it all out like this in preparation for the one-in-ten-thousand chance of what might happen in the future.
At any rate, he had heard the story well enough. Now that he had heard it twice, there was absolutely no need to hear it again.
“I’ll be…”
Just as he was about to say he would take his leave, this time Geugak Soma brought up the subject of martial arts first.
When that conversation ended, Geom Mugeuk asked after the mistress of Cheonhwa Pavilion.
The story of how Yeo Jeong, the woman who loved Geugak Soma, was expanding her courtesan-house business throughout the Central Plains was so interesting that Seo Dae-ryong feared someone might say, “You may leave now.”
Then they also discussed the state of affairs in murim.
Seo Dae-ryong learned something for the first time. Geugak Soma possessed far broader knowledge in various fields than he had expected, and he was someone who enjoyed conversation.
In the end, when the topic of the masks from the Valley of Villains came up again, Seo Dae-ryong could not hold himself back. Had he not been trained by Geom Mugeuk’s glibness? His head and heart held out, but his mouth did not.
“I may not look it, but my head and face are rather small, so masks suit me well.”
Geugak Soma stared at him silently. Beside him, Geom Mugeuk put on an unnecessarily startled expression, creating an atmosphere of terror.
“No, I don’t mean that your face is large, Lord Soma.”
That’s not it! Geom Mugeuk looked even more shocked.
Geugak Soma sprang to his feet and approached Seo Dae-ryong.
‘I should have left earlier.’
Seo Dae-ryong squeezed his eyes shut.
Geugak Soma passed by Seo Dae-ryong, went outside, and soon came back in.
In his hand was a white mask. It was a newly made, brand-new mask.
“Try it on.”
Seo Dae-ryong’s heart pounded like mad.
If the mask doesn’t fit, I’ll tear off everything that sticks out from it with these hands! Is that what this is?
Fortunately, the mask fit. It was a little tight, but he forced himself to act as though it fit perfectly.
“It fits exactly!”
“It is a gift.”
“Thank you.”
Seo Dae-ryong was bewildered. He truly had not expected Geugak Soma to give him a mask as a gift.
After listening to the two of them talk until dawn, Seo Dae-ryong dozed off.
He had thought there was no way he would ever sleep in Geugak Soma’s room. And yet he had dozed off while sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the bed.
When he woke, Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma were standing side by side by the window, gazing at the faintly brightening dawn.
They were not even conversing through sound transmission. They were simply standing together in silence.
More than the sight of the two of them talking earlier, the sight of their backs as they stood looking silently in the same direction remained etched in Seo Dae-ryong’s heart.
Then Geugak Soma turned around.
Startled, Seo Dae-ryong closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
‘I have to go. Please, I have to go.’
As he lay there pretending to sleep, Seo Dae-ryong actually fell asleep.
When he opened his eyes, the sun was high in the sky.
Before him, Geugak Soma was looking down at him. He was so startled he nearly screamed. Desperately holding back his cry, he looked around and saw that Geom Mugeuk had already left.
Yes, that man was a devil.
A devil who would leave him behind in hell for the sake of amusement. Yes, in the first place, who had dragged him into this white hell?
Geugak Soma asked bluntly.
“When exactly are you going to leave?”
Clutching the mask he had received as a gift, Seo Dae-ryong finally uttered the words he had wanted to say all night.
“I’ll be taking my leave now.”