Demon Buddha did not go to his own quarters, but went to see Geom Muyang again.
After meeting Geom Mugeuk, he found himself wanting to see Geom Muyang once more. He felt he would only be able to sleep after doing so.
“You have come?”
As always, he was upright and courteous.
Since they had met and parted not long ago, normally he should have asked, Why have you come again? But Geom Muyang did not readily reveal personal curiosity or emotion.
So much so that one might even think he had an obsession with behaving that way in order to become the Heavenly Demon.
Never had that sense of distance felt as pronounced as it did today, but Demon Buddha was not someone who would be shaken by such a thing.
“The Second Young Master came to see me.”
“Mugeuk did?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Geom Muyang did not ask what they had spoken about after meeting. He merely nodded once.
“Why do you not ask? Why he came, what we talked about.”
“It is fine. I trust you, Elder.”
Demon Buddha thought he had done well to come see Geom Muyang.
‘Yes, the First Young Master has always been this kind of person. Not delicate, and blunt, but genuine to the core. Yes, I should trust him too. This is how I let it all go.’
Demon Buddha tried to release all the emotions that had piled up within him.
The meeting with the Wind Heaven Cult Leader, the offer to give Blood Heaven Blade Demon the position of First Demon Venerable—he shook them all off.
“Then please rest.”
Demon Buddha rose from his seat. It would have been better if it had ended right there. If only the task of discarding all these remnants of emotion had simply been left to him.
Geom Muyang spoke from behind him.
“The reason I offered the position of First Demon Venerable to Blood Heaven Blade Demon was to win him over.”
Demon Buddha flinched and stopped moving.
‘Why now, of all times? Why now? When I hoped so desperately you would say it, you did not, so why are you saying this after I told you I met Geom Mugeuk?’
Afraid that his sunken inner thoughts would show on his face, Demon Buddha did not turn around right away.
Behind him, Geom Muyang spoke again.
“When I become the Heavenly Demon, the position of First Demon Venerable will naturally be yours, Elder.”
Demon Buddha grew angry.
Until now, he had been treated like a fish already caught, and now that Geom Mugeuk might win him over, Geom Muyang had grown anxious and said this—that was how it felt.
‘Why are you making me think this? You said you trusted me, did you not?’
Even if he tried to understand it as only natural human feeling, being hurt was still being hurt.
‘First Young Master, were you not the one who looked down on your younger brother? Were you not the one who stood proud, saying someone like Mugeuk was nothing?’
But he could not get angry. After all, it was he himself who had tried to show Geom Muyang just how much Geom Mugeuk had changed, even mobilizing the Yunnan Twin Freaks to do it.
That is right. Your younger brother is someone you must be this wary of.
But that did not need to lead to distrust toward him…
Forcing a smile, Demon Buddha turned around.
“I naturally assumed that would be the case.”
“Since I am telling you this after you met my younger brother, I worry you might misunderstand my intentions.”
Ah, he should not have said that either. If he had not, Demon Buddha might have forced himself to think it was mere coincidence, that it was thoughtlessness, that he himself had misunderstood.
“What misunderstanding could I possibly have? I am only grateful that you value me so highly.”
“It is only natural. Please do not say such things.”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Demon Buddha gave a courteous bow and left Geom Muyang’s quarters.
When he returned to his own quarters, walking alone down a dark path with no moonlight tonight, Demon Buddha sorted his thoughts like this.
‘It is because he is still young. If he were as perfect as the Second Young Master, why would he need me? A First Young Master with weaknesses is better than a crafty Second Young Master. I need only look after him well.’
His loyalty to Geom Muyang shone as brightly as the radiance emanating from his body.
* * *
Ilhwa Sword Venerable came to see me in the office of the Yellow Springs Pavilion.
“Here, this is a gift.”
She held out a flowerpot with blossoms in full bloom.
“Thank you. It’s beautiful.”
I placed the flowerpot by the window.
While I was exchanging a few words with her about the flowers, Seo Daeryong entered with tea. Feeling mischievous, I spoke to Seo Daeryong solemnly.
“From now on, whenever I’m not here, that flower is Inspector Seo’s responsibility. It’s a gift specially given by the Sword Venerable, so you know what will happen if you let it die, don’t you?”
If it had been just the two of us, all sorts of gloomy yet amusing remarks would have come pouring out, but because Ilhwa Sword Venerable was there, Seo Daeryong obediently answered yes and left.
They had all gone together when we visited the Wind Heaven Cult Leader before, but even so, Ilhwa Sword Venerable was still far too difficult a person for Seo Daeryong to deal with.
“I hope I have not come when you are busy.”
“Not at all. The inspectors do the work. I’m just slacking off.”
There were far too many documents piled on my desk for that to be convincing.
The Yellow Springs Pavilion did have a lot of work.
No matter how many villains we locked up, more kept appearing. I even wondered whether the number of villains had been fixed from the beginning, and whenever one disappeared, the vacant spot was automatically filled.
But no matter how busy I was, the work of the Yellow Springs Pavilion was just as important as becoming successor.
Though I bore the once-in-a-lifetime task of having to kill Hwa Mugi, at the same time, I was living in this era.
“My elder brother came to see you too, didn’t he, Senior?”
I guessed exactly why she had visited today.
“He did. He came to see me.”
“My brother really is diligent.”
“That is why he is so popular.”
I nodded as if acknowledging it. Though he had treated me cruelly and viciously, the image he showed to outsiders was different.
He did not have the arrogance or complacency of thinking, I am the First Young Master, so of course I should become the successor. In one way or another, he used his head a great deal, worried a great deal, and above all, he was a diligent person.
“I know many people like my brother.”
“The First Young Master is someone well suited to our cult. If things are left to him, there is a sense of stability, as if he will somehow lead it well.”
“What about me?”
“You are truly someone who does not suit us at all. You make people uneasy, wondering where on earth you will lead us. And yet, seeing that you are this popular…”
Ilhwa Sword Venerable paused briefly, then continued.
“It makes me think there is hope for us too.”
“What kind of hope?”
“The hope that the new demonic path you spoke of may actually be established.”
“Thank you for seeing me in a good light.”
“But do not forget. There are still many in our cult who dislike change. There are also many who believe evil is our strength and our essence.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“In any case, with the First Young Master moving so quickly, are you just going to sit and watch?”
“Other than Elder Blade Demon and you, Senior, I don’t really know the other Demon Venerables well. I don’t know whom I should draw to our side.”
Because I was curious what Ilhwa Sword Venerable was thinking, I pretended not to know anything.
Then she said something unexpected.
“Do you know who voted for Cheongseon when we were selecting the Soul-Subduing Demon Venerable, aside from me and Blade Demon? The person Blade Demon persuaded, I mean.”
“I don’t. Elder never told me.”
“Shall I tell you?”
Originally, matters and decisions among the Demon Venerables were kept strictly secret from outsiders. She was about to break that principle for my sake.
“Is it all right for you to tell me?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“I am thinking of living while breaking the rules too.”
As she said so, she smiled. How could such a person be said to have only come halfway over?
“In truth, I am a rigid and inflexible person. If there is a set rule, I do not try to break it. If I have an appointment with someone, I must arrive early, and if I am misunderstood, I worry so much that I cannot sleep. I have many worries I need not have, and I am sensitive to the world’s assessment of me. In many ways, I have a tiring personality.”
“Is that not the very weariness that created your current reputation, Senior?”
Ilhwa Sword Venerable smiled bitterly.
“In some respects, perhaps that is true. In any case, I am trying to become a little more flexible now. What of it if I break a rule or two? If it helps you, then that alone gives it value.”
“Is there a reason your heart changed?”
“Perhaps because I am aging, I keep looking back on my life. This was regrettable, that was regrettable—it has been a life full of regrets, but among them, the greatest regret is this.”
Chaang.
She gently drew her sword. Her gaze turned toward the blade.
“I devoted my entire life to ensuring this sword would never be broken by anyone. In exchange, my life became just as hard.”
Lifting her gaze from the sword, she looked at me and said,
“I regret so deeply that I lived my life too rigidly.”
I could feel that she truly regretted it.
As if comforting her, I spoke gently.
“You feel hurt because it seems no one recognizes that life, don’t you? You lived so thoroughly and meticulously, yet it feels like there is no one who truly understands that. Everyone else lives just fine in a half-hearted way, and you wonder if you alone were being foolish, don’t you?”
At that, surprise appeared on Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s face.
“How do you understand my heart so well?”
Because I, too, have felt that at least once.
“It is because I respect you greatly, Senior.”
Ilhwa Sword Venerable smiled brightly and said,
“Yes, I should tell you. When there is someone who understands my heart so well and respects me, what are some trifling rules that I should keep everything hidden? The one who cast the vote in favor was the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon.”
At her words, I was startled.
“Surprising, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Isn’t the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon one of my brother’s people?”
“That is right.”
It was unexpected.
It was unexpected that the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon had taken our side, and even more unexpected that Blood Heaven Blade Demon had persuaded him.
Ilhwa Sword Venerable interpreted that part this way.
“They are both villains, so I suppose they got along well.”
I chuckled, but she was serious.
“If it were someone else, I would not know, but I am telling you because the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon is involved. He is not someone to be taken lightly. It is possible Blade Demon may be harboring other thoughts.”
I asked with a smile,
“Do you hate Elder Blade Demon that much?”
“I do not hate him. To hate someone means there is some intense emotion involved. I simply dislike him a little.”
Forcibly pushing Blade Demon out of her life, she rose from her seat.
“Then I shall go now.”
“Thank you for telling me such important information.”
“Think of it as a gift from your sparring friend.”
As she was about to leave, Seo Daeryong was standing in the hallway holding a water bottle for the flowerpot.
In his own way, it was an effort to look good in front of Ilhwa Sword Venerable, but the problem was that she had become slightly sensitive after mentioning Blade Demon.
To Seo Daeryong, who had gone from an inspector of the Yellow Springs Pavilion to the disciple of the villainous Blade Demon, Ilhwa Sword Venerable spoke coldly.
“That flower is the flower I cherish most. If it dies because of someone’s mistake, I will be very, very sad.”
After she left like that, Seo Daeryong looked ready to cry.
“From now on, I’m the third most important thing in this office. That flower’s name is now Number Two.”
At his self-deprecating joke, I laughed and left the office.
“Where are you going?”
“To meet the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon.”
“Huk! How can you say something so frightening as if you were saying you’re going to eat?”
“Is the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon scary?”
Seo Daeryong opened his eyes wide in astonishment and asked,
“Then you are not scared? Among our cult’s Demon Venerables, I find the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon the scariest.”
“Before, didn’t you say the Soul-Subduing Demon Venerable was the scariest?”
“He is dead now.”
“Why is the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon scary? Because he has the words utterly evil attached to him?”
“Haven’t you heard? They say when the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon gets angry, he is truly terrifying.”
“I’m scary when I get angry too. I think you would be the scariest.”
“Please leave me out of it. I am someone who swallows my anger alone when I get mad. My dream is to live without anything ever making me truly angry. That was the kind of person I was…”
Since he knew and I knew that he had changed quite a bit now, we looked at each other and chuckled.
“Are you really not afraid?”
“Why would I be afraid when I’m going to see someone funny?”
“Funny?”
“He’s a Laughing Demon, isn’t he?”
Because the words Utterly Evil stood before it, people often forgot that he was a Laughing Demon. Seo Daeryong was no different.
“I doubt it means the character for laughter. If you peel off the character for laughter, underneath it there will be characters like burn to death, tear to death, or burst to death. Huk! Surely you are not trying to draw the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon to our side, are you? Please tell me that is not it.”
“Are you afraid of him being our enemy? Or afraid of him being our ally?”
“Of course… Even so, the Utterly Evil Laughing Demon is out of the question!”
Though I left after saying that, I knew better than anyone. The Utterly Evil Laughing Demon was someone who could never become an ally.
Even so, the reason I was going to meet him was to make him not an ally, but not an enemy either.