On my way back from meeting the Ilhwa Sword Venerable, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was waiting at the crossroads where he always waited.
“What did that fox say?”
His nerves were on edge because of the Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
“She told me to cut ties with you, Elder.”
“I knew it! What did I tell you? I said she would, didn’t I? Did she give a reason?”
“She said you and I have different ideals. That you are far too free-spirited, Elder…”
“What bullshit.”
Cold demonic energy whirled out from his body.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I should, of course, join hands with whoever offers the better conditions.”
“What?”
I deliberately provoked the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“When I can weigh my options, I should. Wouldn’t you do the same, Elder?”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could not get angry. He would have done the same himself.
“For now, you still have the advantage, Elder. Surely she won’t offer something better than the Heaven-Transcending Divine Pill?”
“She might. If it’s to ruin me, she’s the sort who would do anything.”
“Why on earth did you and Senior Ilhwa Sword Venerable fall out?”
After a brief pause, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon said,
“Do you need a reason to hate someone?”
I knew the reason.
They were two people with reasons no one in the world would ever believe. If one called them villains, they were villains, and when it came to lust for power, neither would yield to anyone.
“Would you like a drink? If you go back like this, you’ll only feel needlessly troubled and bitter.”
“What do you take me for?”
“Cold-headedness? I don’t think that’s a virtue. When you’re upset, be upset. When you feel bad, talk and let it out. Come on, let’s go. I’ll buy you a drink today.”
He seemed to ponder for a moment, then the Blood Heaven Blade Demon suddenly shot off and said,
“I’ll be waiting in Magachon.”
In an instant, he had vanished far into the distance.
That old man and his temper.
But he was clearly different from when he first came to me and kept poking me in the ribs.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was waiting for me in front of the Pungryu Tavern run by Jo Chunbae.
“I thought you would be at a pleasure house.”
“I dislike places with women.”
“That’s unexpected.”
“Unexpected? Why? Do I look like a lecher?”
“No, not that. It’s just that your deceased younger brother liked pleasure houses.”
“You’re ruining the taste of the liquor. Drop talk of that bastard.”
“Yes.”
In truth, I had brought it up on purpose. I did not want the wound in his heart to fester inside him. Though for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, it did not seem all that necessary.
As we took seats in the Pungryu Tavern, I asked,
“Why did you choose this tavern of all places?”
“They opened a Hwangcheon Pavilion branch across the street.”
It seemed he had seen it while passing by and stopped here.
“Be careful. If you beat someone up for no reason on the street, you’ll be dragged in by me too, Elder.”
At my joke, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wore an expression of disbelief.
Jo Chunbae greeted us warmly.
“Welcome, Pavilion Master.”
“It’s been a while.”
“It is an honor that you have visited us again.”
“I came because the liquor and food are good.”
After taking our order, Jo Chunbae disappeared toward the kitchen, and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon opened his mouth.
“You’re needlessly kind.”
“What’s wrong with being kind?”
“If you’re swayed by affection, there will inevitably be times when you botch matters. Take that owner just now, for example. Will the food come out better when you’re kind to him like this, or when you tell him you’ll kill him if it tastes bad? In that regard, the Eldest Young Master has an advantage over you.”
“It is certainly easier to live in this world if you’re heartless.”
“It’s not too late.”
“Even so, I won’t climb aboard that carriage of heartlessness.”
“Why?”
“Because I believe the dish coming out now will taste better if it was made joyfully while whistling, rather than while trembling in fear.”
“One day, that man will use your kindness to ask for and demand something greater. If you don’t grant it, he’ll condemn and curse you. That’s what humans are.”
“One day, because of this small kindness I showed him, that man may repay me with something greater. Perhaps it may even save my life. That, too, is what humans are.”
“We shall see.”
We drank together.
“To be honest, Elder, I think you are more emotional than I am.”
“With those eyes of yours, how did you ever block my blade? You have misjudged me, and badly at that.”
I thought I had judged him correctly. Throughout this entire process of becoming entangled with me, he had spent a great deal of emotion. Even now, at this very moment, he was pouring it out while having a conversation he had never had in his life.
“Since the subject has come up, let me say just one thing. From now on, I think you should manage the Blade Ghosts and your disciples. Otherwise, you will continue to clash with Hwangcheon Pavilion.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon slowly raised his head and stared at me coldly.
“You’re growing more arrogant by the day.”
“You’re the arrogant one, Elder.”
“What?”
“Aren’t you looking down on our cult and my father? Because it’s me. Because I am the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. What does it matter what my disciple does? Isn’t that it?”
Crash!
The table shattered, and the liquor bottle and dishes of food fell and broke.
“You are far too insolent. Sometimes, I truly want to beat you half to death.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon glared at me, then shouted at the innocent Jo Chunbae.
“What are you standing there staring for? Bring another table and serve new liquor and food!”
“At times like this, that is not what you do. This is what you do.”
I rose from my seat and moved to the next table.
Then I placed money on the table.
“I’m sorry. This should be enough for the broken things and for the sales you lost today.”
Jo Chunbae waved his hands, saying he would not accept the money.
“It’s all right. It’s truly all right.”
“I am not all right. Please take it, and set us another table. Enough to make the legs bend.”
“Yes!”
Jo Chunbae took the money and hurried off to the kitchen.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon frowned deeply.
“You want me to do such a thing?”
“If you don’t want to, then you shouldn’t smash things.”
“Are you trying to teach good deeds to a Demon Venerable?”
“The demonic path I intend to establish does not smash up an inn just because it is in a bad mood.”
“You, just what—!”
“Stop shouting and come sit here.”
In the end, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sat at the table I had moved to.
“Insolent brat. You really are a madman!”
After glaring at me, he said coldly,
“If you betray me, I’ll kill you.”
Jo Chunbae, who was bringing new liquor, flinched in surprise, then promptly pretended not to have heard and placed down the liquor and cups before returning to the kitchen.
I filled a new cup to the brim and handed it to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“Were those words just now sincere?”
“Yes, they were.”
“Then serve me with sincerity. That threat you made just now is the sort of threat you can make at such a time. When you have served with sincerity, only to be betrayed and discarded—only then can you drive a sword into your master’s heart.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could not refute me.
I filled my own cup and held it out for a toast.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon snorted and drank alone. Though our cups did not clink together, in my heart, I heard the sound of them meeting.
* * *
A man entered the Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s thatched hut.
He was Sa Ujong, her right-hand man.
“The Second Young Master is currently drinking with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.”
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable, who stood with her back turned, said nothing.
“He is an arrogant brat.”
Only then did the Ilhwa Sword Venerable turn around and glare coldly at Sa Ujong. Sa Ujong lowered his head.
“I apologize.”
“Watch your mouth. There is nothing more vulgar than speaking carelessly behind someone’s back.”
“I will keep that in mind from now on.”
Sa Ujong had deliberately cursed Geom Mugeuk even though he knew the Sword Venerable would be angry. He believed he was expressing in her stead the emotions she could not reveal outwardly.
Sa Ujong believed he was a special existence to the Sword Venerable. Though she spoke respectfully even to gatekeepers, only with him did she speak casually. He was special.
“He is not the Second Young Master I knew.”
In the mere few months since the martial competition, the storm Geom Mugeuk had stirred up was growing larger and larger.
“At best, it is a tempest in a teacup.”
Sa Ujong underestimated Geom Mugeuk, but the Ilhwa Sword Venerable thought differently.
“What if that teacup is large enough to contain the entire murim? That greedy old man offered up the Heaven-Transcending Divine Pill. It is no different from offering up everything he has. The Blade Demon must have seen the possibility of a successor in the Second Young Master.”
“Did you also see that possibility in the Second Young Master, Sword Venerable?”
Geom Mugeuk had certainly shown an unexpected side. But even so, he was not to the point of being given a miraculous elixir like the Heaven-Transcending Divine Pill.
That was why she was irritated. She wondered if the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had seen something she had failed to see. That damned old man saw something she did not? Her pride was wounded, and she was annoyed.
“You should rest for today. I have prepared a new person.”
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable looked coldly at Sa Ujong and seemed about to say something. But her lips, which had started to move, ultimately did not utter a word.
She turned sharply and entered the thatched hut.
Sa Ujong’s expression as he watched her from behind was endlessly complicated, but his gaze alone was burning hot.
Once inside the hut, she operated a hidden mechanism, and the floor opened to reveal a secret passage.
She descended into the passage. The farther down she went, the darker it became, as black as pitch, but she moved with familiarity, as though this was far from her first time.
Underground, there was a long corridor. She walked down it and opened the door at the very end.
Inside was a lavishly decorated bedchamber.
A young man sitting on the large bed sprang to his feet.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable walked slowly to a dressing table with a large bronze mirror and sat down. In the reflection, the young man’s eyes were filled with fear.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable spoke gently to the young man in the mirror.
“It’s all right. Take off your clothes first.”
* * *
After my drinking session with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon ended, I stopped by Ian’s training hall on my way back.
Just from the hot energy I felt inside, I could tell how diligently she had been training.
With her heavy body, she roamed the training hall, sweating profusely. It was grueling training that pushed her to her limits, but not a single movement was wasted.
As I watched her, I felt that the time had come to teach her a new martial art.
“Ah! You’re here, Young Master?”
“You seem to be training hard these days.”
“How did you know?”
“You look like you’ve lost a little weight.”
“Really?”
Though she knew it was not true, Ian smiled brightly. Perhaps because the topic of weight had come up, she asked the question she had been saving.
“Young Master. Was what you said before true? That you can cure my side effect.”
Considering Ian’s personality, how much must she have agonized before asking this question? She must have thought and thought again about how she would react if I were to answer, “I was joking.”
Even if the person who had taught her the Full-Body Petrification Art had told her the side effect could never be removed, she still could not help asking this question.
“You really can cure it?”
It was the first time I had ever seen her so tense.
“I can cure it.”
“Really?”
Now it was time to tell her the truth.
“I know a procedure that can remove the side effect of the Full-Body Petrification Art.”
It was a method I had found while wandering all over the Central Plains in search of the materials for the great ritual. With the single-minded resolve that, if I returned, I would surely restore her to her original body. Thinking about it, I realized my past life had not been only a desolate road of revenge.
“What kind of procedure is it?”
“It is a great technique called the Body-Poison Purification Art.”
“…Body-Poison Purification Art?”
She repeated the words several times, then asked again,
“How did you learn it?”
“That’s a secret. You know how it is, don’t you? There are many secrets that must be kept when it comes to martial arts.”
“Yes. I know. I do.”
Her voice trembled throughout the conversation.
“You could perform the procedure now, then.”
“I could.”
“Then why won’t you?”
“It is far too dangerous and difficult a procedure. And I don’t know what variables may arise during it. So I will perform it when my martial ability has risen much higher than it is now.”
“Ah! There really was a cure!”
Joy filled her face.
“You will have to risk your life. I don’t know what might happen during the procedure. Can you still do it?”
“Yes!”
There was not the slightest hesitation in her answer.
“How disappointing.”
“Yes? Did I make some mistake?”
“I thought you would say this: If I were to die, I would no longer be able to protect you, Young Master, so I will not undergo the procedure.”
It had been a joke meant to block that possibility in advance.
“You told me to live my own life, didn’t you? Was I wrong?”
Then she smiled brightly, as if it had been a joke.
Now I knew. That expression just now was her true self.
Her original heart, which had been buried and put to sleep beneath loyalty and responsibility—that natural heart anyone should have—I wanted to help her find it again.
“Ian.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Is there anywhere in the Central Plains you want to visit?”
“No, there isn’t.”
Since she had spent her whole life looking only at me, she likely had never properly enjoyed any place she had gone.
“Later, let’s go traveling through the Central Plains together.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Let’s visit every famous site and see every scenic view. I’ll let you taste every famous dish. I happen to know quite a few places.”
“You promise?”
“You promise too.”
“What?”
“Don’t abandon me then.”
“How could I abandon you, Young Master? Even if heaven and earth were overturned, that would never happen.”
I wonder if you would still say that after becoming the greatest beauty under heaven, with every man in the world worshipping you.
“We shall see.”