〈 Episode 426 〉 Long time no see.
Fortunately, the response to the request I had made to the Poison King was one of permission. It wasn't anything material; I had merely asked to see the famous lake of their household, so there would hardly be any reason to refuse.
Though the Poison King wore a puzzled expression at why I would make such a request, he eventually granted permission. However, since the lake itself was treated as a treasure of the Tang Clan… and given that the lake itself was composed of poisonous water, he added that it could be quite dangerous, so he would assign an attendant to me.
'Danger, my ass. They're just for surveillance.'
I had expected as much. Having eyes on me would be a bit of a nuisance, but this too was within my calculations.
Creak.
As I approached, Dangdeok, who had been sitting against the wall, rose. It was because of the command to stay put and not do anything reckless.
"Sit."
"..."
Receiving the order, Dangdeok quietly slid back down against the wall.
"Nothing strange happened?"
-…No.
"You didn't see any demons?"
-I didn't.
Hearing Dangdeok's curt replies, I let out a slight snort. To think that the demons which had been overflowing during the day were nowhere to be seen at night.
'As I thought, what happened earlier was a peculiar situation.'
Why had such a situation occurred? I still hadn't figured it out.
If I had to hazard a guess…
'As expected, was it because of the red demon?'
The Red Water Serpent that had been in the water back then. The chances were high that it was because of that thing.
"Hmm…"
Anyway, nothing ever goes smoothly whenever I try to do something.
Absolutely shitty.
Suppressing my irritated nerves with effort, I looked at Dangdeok. His eyes were still filled with rage.
Even though he had become a demonic human and fallen to become my slave, it seemed that temper of his hadn't died. Of course, since he was a martial artist of the Transformation Realm, it might be that he hadn't properly fallen.
I remembered that when Dangdeok was the Green King, he couldn't even lift a finger against the Heavenly Demon.
Staring into his eyes, I suddenly burst into a laugh.
"You seem quite aggrieved."
"..."
"See? You should've lived a little more virtuously."
Grind.
Upon hearing my words, Dangdeok bared his teeth and bristled, but in that instant, the controlling force emanating from his body crushed him.
"Kkudeuk…"
Perhaps the pain he felt from his heart was considerable. Dangdeok let out a groan.
Watching him, I thought inwardly.
'In the end, you aren't choosing death.'
Even while suffering through these cruel circumstances, Dangdeok ultimately wasn't choosing death. Did he yearn for revenge that much? Or was he afraid of death?
Whether it was the former or the latter, it wasn't a bad thing for me. If he had rather chosen to die, I would have let him go.
Ah, by letting him go, I meant leaving him to die.
It was true that Dangdeok was a useful force that I might need later. But if he went that far, I had no intention of going out of my way to stop him.
However, looking at him now, it seemed he wasn't thinking of dying easily either. He was probably watching for an opportunity, waiting only for the moment he could escape from me.
From this perspective, he was a man of considerable will.
'This guy is one thing… but I need to set up one more thing before arriving at the Tang Clan.'
The eyes and ears that Dangdeok had sent to the Tang Clan. I had been pondering when to deal with them….
While thinking of him, a useful idea happened to flash through my mind. A good method had just come to mind.
******************
Four days had passed since we began crossing the river. It was a distance we should have arrived at within two days, but because we had taken detours here and there for safe transport, including due to the incident where demons had appeared, it had taken longer than expected.
Had it not been for this, we would have arrived at the Tang Clan with time to spare….
Upon reaching land, we boarded a carriage that the Tang Clan had prepared in advance. From here on, since the carriage from our own family hadn't been separately prepared, the Tang Clan and the Pae Clan had provided carriages.
Could it be because we had properly arrived in the land of Sichuan, a place where the Tang Clan's influence reached? The carriage felt much larger in size. It probably meant we had entered a safe zone. It wasn't a bad thing.
"I wonder if we have about five days left."
Moyong Hui-a, who was riding in the same carriage, spoke while fluttering her fan.
"Probably around there. If it's short, three days will do."
"…You seem familiar with it?"
"Just a feeling, what else."
I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. Having traveled here and there so much in my previous life, I roughly knew the geography. At this distance, there shouldn't be many days left.
We might arrive earlier if we hurried, but we probably wouldn't do so. Given the Poison King's personality, no matter how urgent the matter, he seemed to want things handled properly.
Since we were spending spare time that wasn't in the plan anyway, I wasn't particularly rushed, so it was fine.
'…No, honestly, I don't have time. But what can I do?'
I had to at least pretend to be relaxed.
I had closed my eyes to rest a bit, but Moyong Hui-a's voice kept coming.
"Young Master."
"Hmm?"
"How do you think things will go from here?"
"Hmm…"
At those words, I opened my eyes slightly and looked at Moyong Hui-a.
Every so often, Moyong Hui-a would ask me things like this.
The reason was, if she asked other people…
…I don't know.
Who knows?
I have no idea!
It was obvious they would give the same answers, and even the fairly clever Cheoljiseon was the only one who could hold a conversation on Moyong Hui-a's level. However, Moyong Hui-a seemed to keep her distance from Cheoljiseon.
When I had asked her why she kept her distance from him so pitifully, she had said with a rather cold expression:
-"I simply don't like pathetic people very much."
"..."
Those firm words made me feel a little hurt as well.
When I heard this, although Cheoljiseon wasn't nearby, I somehow felt sorry for him and later sought him out to give him something sweet.
When I suddenly gave him food, Cheoljiseon made a disgusted face.
-"Why…? Are you trying to throw me away somewhere again?!"
He spat out those words and then ran away.
Here I went out of my way to give it to him, and this bastard….
'I should tell Pae Ucheol to torment him a bit more.'
It seems he's gotten a taste for living since he hasn't been tormented lately. I needed to straighten his discipline a bit.
Huh? Are we not friends?
Friends normally live while fighting with each other.
'It's just that I'm the one one-sidedly beating him.'
Setting aside personal matters.
Anyway, if Moyong Hui-a looked around for someone to have this kind of conversation with, I was the only one left, which is why she occasionally brought these things up.
Of course….
'…It's not like this kind of conversation is easy for me either.'
Moyong Hui-a was a smart woman. She might not be on the level of Cheon Yurang-a, who was the brain of the Demonic Cult, but in this regard, she was a recognized talent.
Conversing with someone like her was a somewhat difficult part for me.
'If I didn't have my past life's experiences, there would be nothing worth sharing.'
I didn't consider myself ignorant, but my head wasn't enough to hold progressive conversations with such smart people.
Yet the reason I didn't refuse and stopped her as little as possible was….
'How could I stop her when she enjoys it so much?'
The problem was that Moyong Hui-a looked unusually excited whenever she talked about these things.
"From here?"
"Yes."
"…What do you mean?"
"A red demon has appeared. So how do you think things will go from here?"
Moyong Hui-a broached the subject to me with eyes full of interest.
The appearance of a red-grade demon.
Moreover, at a time when the Poison King had sent a letter to the Martial Alliance regarding this.
"Hmm…"
How did I think things would turn out?
"All hell will break loose."
It was the natural course of events. Unlike blue-grade demons, red demons were difficult to hunt. Furthermore, one had to be at the level of a perfected Peak expert to match them in speed or strength.
Of course, if they were skilled individuals, several first-rate martial artists could combine their strength to hunt one, but that was something only possible for those who had been trained to the extreme for demon hunting. Normally, the standard method was for several Peak martial artists to capture it.
'That's exactly the problem.'
From the Peak realm onward, they were commonly called experts. While there were quite a number of them, they weren't common.
In reality, unless it was a place like Hanam, if a Peak martial artist appeared in the county, people would rush from afar just to gawk. For several such individuals to gather for a hunt?
A great change would likely come to the currently established hunting methods. This was similar to the reorganization of the sword troop.
As the need for martial artists, and experts at that, rose sharply, the value they held would change. A change occurring in the framework of the Central Plains that had been maintained for hundreds of years would soon mean….
"An upheaval is coming."
It meant a calamity.
From what I had seen in my past life, I could predict that something far from minor would occur.
Hearing my answer, Moyong Hui-a nodded slightly.
"…As expected, it seems the Young Master had predicted as much."
"…Uh, yeah."
Rather than predicting, I had actually seen it before.
But good is good, so….
"You must be busy too."
"Huh?"
"You must have already sent word to the Moyong family."
"..."
Hearing my words, Moyong Hui-a opened her eyes wide for a moment, then soon formed an eye smile. Her gaze was still captivating.
"How did you know?"
"Is there even a question?"
This too was a natural thing. Humans pursued profit. Whether they were merchants or martial artists didn't matter. Everyone was like that.
Even if the appearance of the red demon brought a crisis, there were bound to be people who would first find what profit lay therein. Especially those who stood in high positions.
'Just look at the Poison King right now.'
The Poison King, who was said to have sent a letter to the Martial Alliance. Would it really arrive quickly? It probably wouldn't be late.
The Poison King wouldn't want the world to become a mess either.
However.
'It'll probably be slower than what he sent to his own family.'
This was information. The tremendous information that a red demon had appeared.
Having discovered this information before the Beggars' Sect or the Haomun gave it truly tremendous value. Even if the situation blew up, they could respond first, and through that, they could take profits from the surroundings.
Was the Poison King really the only one who would do that?
Moyong Hui-a was a given, and the Pae Clan would be the same.
I didn't think it was bad.
Wasn't every place where people lived like that?
While thinking that, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.
'Ah, I should have sent one too.'
I knew they would all do this, yet I hadn't sent one myself. If I sent one now, it would already be late… What should I do?
I didn't think Father would be angry.
"Hmmm…"
Just as I was about to furrow my brows at the slightly troubled feeling—
"It seemed the Young Master hadn't sent one. Is that right?"
Moyong Hui-a happened to bring up that very topic.
"…How did you know?"
"I just happened to find out."
"..."
At Moyong Hui-a's answer, I looked at her with narrowed eyes. Just happened?
She should at least spit on her lips before lying. What kind of talk was this? Anyway, she was still a scary woman.
How did she even know I hadn't sent a letter?
As I looked at Moyong Hui-a with dumbfounded eyes, she spoke to me with an eye smile.
"So I sent one in your stead."
"Huh? What?"
"Ah, I sent it under my name to Lady Mi. Is that alright? I thought that would be the fastest."
"Huh?"
I wondered what this meant.
…She sent the information on my behalf?
"Last time, your mother… No, Lady Mi…."
"Hey, what was that form of address just now?"
"She had asked me to contact her separately if anything happened to the Young Master. So I sent it through that network."
"I said, what was that form of address?"
I kept asking because I thought I had heard something strange in the middle, but Moyong Hui-a acted as if she couldn't hear me and kept talking about her own things.
There was no point in continuing since only my mouth would hurt, so I let out a slight sigh and leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes again.
Whatever the situation, it was something to be grateful for, so it should be fine. It wasn't like Moyong Hui-a would have written anything strange in the letter.
"..."
"..."
I sprang up and looked at Moyong Hui-a as I asked.
"…You didn't write anything strange in the letter besides the information, right?"
At the sudden question, Moyong Hui-a flinched for a moment.
What was that reaction? What is it? Why're you making me uneasy?
"You…."
"Oh my, the Young Master seems sleepy. You should get some rest quickly."
"No, what's important right now is…."
"Is the chair too hard? Shall I lend you my lap?"
"..."
Hohoho.
Seeing Moyong Hui-a trying to gloss things over with laughter while covering her mouth with her fan sent a chill down my spine.
…She didn't do something weird again, did she?
I could only hope she hadn't.
******************
Flap flap.
A bird showed its wingbeats in the sky. The bird, which had been lowering its altitude as if gliding smoothly, approached a young man standing still and looking at the sunlight.
When the young man reached out his hand, the bird landed on it.
Soon, as if familiar with it, the young man untied the paper bound to the bird's leg.
Rustle.
Unfolding the neatly folded letter, the young man read down the lines written on the paper.
At most, six or seven lines of text.
Therein were written several things that would surprise the young man.
After slowly reading all the text.
"Haha."
The young man laughed out loud without realizing it. His eyes curved into crescent shapes along with his laughter, and the coldly shining red pupils were soon hidden.
"The flow has truly changed."
The Blood Demon (血魔) laughed in a good mood.
A rift he had longed for no less than dearly had arrived in this manner; how could he hate it?
What had happened?
As the Blood Demon thought so, the face of a certain young man flashed through his mind.
The only person worth recalling was none other than that human.
Ah, I suppose I can no longer call him a human now.
Tsk tsk….
Engaging in useless thoughts, the Blood Demon let out a laugh.
"Is it thanks to you? Or is it your fault?"
A boon?
Or a blame?
The Blood Demon thought either was fine.
"I have high expectations for you."
Please rampage even more.
By doing so, grow greater in size, so that the eyes of the heavens above may reach you.
The Blood Demon truly wished for that to happen.
Only when that came to pass would….
"My apologies for keeping you waiting."
Sensing someone's presence, the Blood Demon folded the letter he held and put it in his bosom. He straightened his clothes slightly and turned around.
When he turned around, the Blood Demon's red eyes had disappeared, and black pupils had taken their place there.
"Not at all. It is an honor to meet you."
"..."
At the Blood Demon's words, the old man took on a slightly wary gaze.
"I would like to hear the main reason why you wished to see me. New Star."
The old man, no.
The Wudang Sword Immortal, the master of Wudang and one of the representative Sword Saints of the Central Plains, looked at Jang Seon-yeon before him and asked.
To that question, Jang Seon-yeon answered with a soft smile.
"There is something I would presumptuously like to propose to the Sect Leader, which is why I have come to see you."
"To me, you say?"
At Jang Seon-yeon's words, the Wudang Sword Immortal let out a hollow laugh.
The Falling Sword had now stepped down from the position of Alliance Leader. The New Star, which had seemed like it would blaze fiercely, was now losing some of its shine.
Yet, not the Falling Sword, but merely his son had something to propose to him?
For the Wudang Sword Immortal, it was hardly an interesting matter.
His head was already aching over the matter of the Hidden Dragon, after all.
"My apologies, but…."
Feeling he had wasted his time on something pointless, he was about to turn away when—
"I have heard that you desire the position of Alliance Leader."
"..."
At Jang Seon-yeon's words, the Wudang Sword Immortal had to momentarily stop his legs from moving.
Having confirmed that reaction, Jang Seon-yeon formed a slightly deeper smile than before and continued.
"I believe I may be able to help you with that matter… Would you care to listen for a moment?"
At Jang Seon-yeon's words, the Wudang Sword Immortal's eyes wavered. How he had found out was not important.
It was something most people implicitly knew—that the Wudang Sword Immortal dreamed of the Alliance Leader's seat.
"New Star… Are you toying with this old man?"
Wrath was contained in the Wudang Sword Immortal's voice.
A mere blood clot who had barely reached adulthood. Moreover, the bloodline of the Falling Sword who had sat in the Alliance Leader's seat.
For such a Jang Seon-yeon to propose such a thing?
It was not something easily understood.
Though the Wudang Sword Immortal expressed his anger, the New Star merely smiled just as he had from the beginning.
"Please, at least hear me out. I believe that punishing me is something the Sect Leader can sufficiently do afterward."
"..."
The Wudang Sword Immortal looked at Jang Seon-yeon for a moment.
What should he do?
His dilemma was not long.
If it was merely listening to what he had to say, it was entirely possible.
Moreover, if it was something as trifling as Jang Seon-yeon said, he could simply hold him responsible for it.
Thinking so, the Wudang Sword Immortal turned his departing step back to his original spot as his answer.
For an instant, a faint red light flickered through Jang Seon-yeon's eyes as he saw this.
But the Wudang Sword Immortal did not notice it.