Chapter 155. The Reason We Went to the Seas of Zhejiang

Before leaving the Blood Night Palace, I went alone to Elder Heo’s quarters and met him quietly.

When I appeared, Heo Gyeom, who was seated at the tea table, said,

“Are you leaving? You won’t stay a few more days?”

I sat across from Heo Gyeom at the tea table and replied,

“Thanks to you, I rested well. The people of Blood Night Palace must be exhausted from having me loiter around here. Senior, how was the physician you met yesterday?”

In truth, I had introduced him to a divine physician one could not meet anywhere else under heaven, but who knew whether Heo Gyeom had properly recognized the man?

Heo Gyeom replied in a relaxed tone.

“Strangely enough, my mind has eased a little. Once the anxiety disappeared, even my breathing became easier. I suppose I should behave myself here for a while, drinking plum tea. And you, Sect Leader?”

“I’ll sort out my thoughts on the way back. At the very least, the Cult Leader won’t appear here within the next three years. Before then, I’ll either join forces with Alliance Leader Im or create some variable and strike the cult, so there’s no need for you to concern yourself too much, Senior.”

Heo Gyeom nodded.

“How could I not concern myself? Still, I will endure well.”

“Thanks to you, Senior, I was able to see the Cult Leader with my own two eyes this time and realize the gap between us. The Cult Leader is currently at the stage of cultivating martial arts of extreme yang and extreme yin, just as I am. But even for him, accumulating extreme yin energy will not be easy. Since the Cult Leader’s level is originally high, the amount of extreme yin energy required must be unimaginably vast. Senior, do you understand what that means?”

Heo Gyeom stared at me quietly, then answered.

“The Cult Leader intends to wait until the very end to kill you. Until you have fully grown.”

“As you saw, Senior, the Cult Leader treats me like an insect. That is where my path to survival lies.”

For now, I was the insect I Jaha. That was me.

Because of that, my brief meeting with the Cult Leader had also been a meeting where all manner of psychological warfare had come and gone.

I looked at Heo Gyeom and grinned.

“No matter how much of a mess I make in the gangho, the Cult Leader will have no choice but to leave me be to a certain extent. It will look like the thrashing of a desperate creature. Rather, my worry is that you might miss the amusing spectacle that will unfold later, Senior…… That is what worries me.”

Heo Gyeom laughed, nodding emphatically.

“I, too, will fight well against my own body. Help me up.”

I supported Heo Gyeom and helped him to his feet, then lightly embraced him as though a grandfather and grandson were hugging.

“Senior, stay healthy.”

Heo Gyeom patted my back.

“Send news to the palace from time to time. That way, I’ll have something to laugh about. Even news of you making a mess is fine.”

I grasped Heo Gyeom’s gaunt arms and conveyed my true feelings.

“I will. Senior, we live in the gangho, so every moment may be our last. Let us survive and meet again. If a crisis comes where I might die, I intend to put aside my pride and run first.”

Heo Gyeom nodded.

“Let us survive by any means necessary and meet again.”

* * *

After bidding farewell to Elder Heo and the people of Blood Night Palace, I stopped for a moment at a crossroads.

When I came to a halt in the middle of the road, Moyong Baek asked,

“Sect Leader?”

This was a road I had been on before. If we headed north from here, we would reach the Murim Alliance. I could take Moyong Baek there right now and introduce him to Im Sobak.

On the other hand, if we moved west and then went south, we could return straight to the Black Cat Gang.

I also gazed toward the east.

“…….”

If we went back the way we came, we could go to the Blood Night Palace as well. The reason I stood at the crossroads and fell blankly into thought was that it no longer mattered which path I took.

Why did I feel this way?

Perhaps it was because I had set my will.

Deep in my heart, I had set my will to live a righteous life in order to kill the Demonic Cult Leader, who was living an unrighteous one.

And so, whether I went north or south no longer mattered to me.

Whether I went to the Murim Alliance or returned to the Black Cat Gang, as long as I did not forget my will, it would ultimately be the same road.

I even thought that it would be fine to keep traveling east all the way to the end and look upon the seas off Zhejiang.

What mattered was not the sea before Zhejiang, but the mindset I carried until I arrived there.

So what if I went there and saw a fish as large as a great roc? And so what if I did not? Just like how the Mad Monk, while heading for the seas off Zhejiang, dragged me around and beat to death every madman who got in the way.

The Mad Monk came to mind on his own.

Why had he dragged me around so stubbornly?

The answer to that had been within me from the beginning. Perhaps it was because I had been a useless bastard.

Only then did I look at Moyong Baek.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

As I walked with Moyong Baek, I thought,

‘Why do I always realize things so late? I truly am foolish.’

Looking back, because I had followed the Mad Monk around, I had no choice but to train my lightness skill as though I were experiencing hell. The reason I was most confident in my lightness skill even now was probably because I had desperately chased after the Mad Monk to avoid being beaten, even in situations where I felt like I might die.

If that was the case, then it was likely the same for Giseongja, whom I had only encountered through books, but……

The Mad Monk, too, ultimately counted as my master.

In my previous life, I simply had not realized it.

Otherwise……

Why would he have bothered dragging me along to the seas off Zhejiang, which he could have gone to see alone? If I collapsed along the way, he had to beat me and make me get up. If I said I was hungry, we had to eat. If I was too sleepy to walk, he had to let me sleep. In other words, every last bit of it had been a nuisance.

Because for the Mad Monk, who possessed outstanding martial arts, going alone to sightsee would have been far faster from the start.

When I suddenly let out a sigh, Moyong Baek asked,

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

How could I speak of things from my previous life? In the end, this was how I answered.

“In the seas off Zhejiang……”

“Yes.”

“They say there is a fish as large as a great roc.”

Moyong Baek replied with a puzzled expression.

“Is that so?”

“I just happened to think of those words.”

“You seemed to be hesitating at the fork in the road earlier. Where are we going?”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Do we have options?”

I said with a laugh,

“No. We can go any way we like. Truth be told, I was thinking of taking you to Alliance Leader Im Sobak.”

Moyong Baek replied with an absurd expression.

“Really?”

I nodded with a serious expression.

“Im Sobak is more deeply ill than Senior Heo. He possesses the peak anger sickness of the gangho. You are remarkable as a physician, but even you would not be able to do anything about him right away. His anger sickness is that deep and complicated. As for Elder Heo……”

“Yes.”

“He must have been bewildered this time because he’s an elder who takes such good care of his health. It seems he’s been so robust and well-maintained that he hasn’t even suffered from minor ailments. Compared to his own bewilderment, his actual symptoms are quite mild. Your prescription must have fit perfectly.”

“Is that praise?”

“It is praise. But Im Sobaek is different. He is the Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, no less.”

“I see.”

I pointed at my shoulder.

“The weight of the burden borne upon these shoulders is probably the heaviest in all the martial world. The fire malady stemming from that isn’t something you can easily cure either. And it’s not a problem you can solve alone. So I don’t think there’s any need to meet him now.”

Moyong Baek nodded.

“I roughly understand. I can imagine what is crushing the Alliance Leader’s shoulders. Someone who has risen to the position of Alliance Leader must not be of ordinary temperament, so if even such a man suffers from a fire malady, it certainly cannot be a simple matter.”

“Think about it. His fire malady toward the Cult Leader is no less than Elder Heo’s. But Im Sobaek is a man whose fire malady is compounded by the Martial Arts Alliance’s internal affairs and the martial arts families and sect leaders who are subtly locked in a war of nerves with the Alliance. He must be worried about his subordinates too.”

“It is a troublesome position.”

“Originally, Im Sobaek was the Commander of the Six War Divisions of the Martial Arts Alliance, but at that time, the entire Six War Divisions were annihilated except for Im Sobaek. By the Demonic Cult. You will have to further hone your skills to be able to treat the Alliance Leader.”

“Me?”

I stared at Moyong Baek.

“Using such excellent skill to work as a physician in the neighborhood must have its own meaning and rewards. But if you remain cooped up in the neighborhood like that, who is going to treat the Alliance Leader?”

“Me? So suddenly? The Alliance Leader? Are you saying this Moyong Baek? Don’t they have physicians there?”

I clicked my tongue.

“Hoho… If there were a famous physician, would the Alliance Leader’s fire malady have grown so severe? Speak some sense.”

“My Lord.”

“What?”

“I think I’m developing a fire malady too.”

I suddenly burst into laughter, clutching my stomach for quite a while.

“My apologies.”

“If you’re sorry, why do you look so pleased?”

“Look here, Moyong.”

“Yes.”

“Haven’t you heard the saying—share your blessings, and shoulder your fire maladies together?”

“Yes.”

“If you haven’t heard it, don’t say anything. The truth is, I brought ten thousand taels of Haomun’s funds with me this time. If Elder Heo had truly collapsed, I would have sent the ten thousand taels to the Blood Night Palace and urged them to quickly demolish and relocate the palace. Fortunately, Elder Heo is holding on, and I didn’t know spies were roaming around inside. So the ten thousand taels are frozen, so to speak. You could call it official embezzlement of public funds.”

“…….”

“Let’s use this to buy the most delicious food, and drink the finest liquor on our way back. You have to eat and drink well to face the Demonic Cult properly. Though it’s money I won’t be able to spend entirely before we return.”

“Your eloquence is as splendid and confusing as ever.”

“You too, don’t just stay holed up in the Moyong Medical Hall eating bland food without even proper seasoning prepared by the female physicians. Consider unhealthy foods as experience this time and eat plenty. Spicy, salty, sweet things.”

Moyong Baek sighed and repeated after me.

“Spicy, salty, sweet things. Let’s go.”

I walked with Moyong Baek for quite a while looking for a famous restaurant, then said offhandedly as it came to mind.

“Did I mention that I met the Cult Leader at the Blood Night Palace a few days before you arrived?”

“Yes?”

When Moyong Baek barked out loudly, passersby on the street startled and moved aside.

“The Cult Leader came to visit Elder Heo and returned shortly after.”

“Ah, so that’s why your composure had crumbled so. Since you brought up the Cult Leader, I thought you were speaking of a past connection. How was it seeing him in person?”

A laugh escaped me naturally.

“That bastard is no longer human. And he’s stronger than I imagined. I tried imagining every which way to join forces with the Blood Night Palace troops and the Palace Lord to beat him to death in a short time, but every scenario was blocked.”

I was speaking when I caught a savory scent, sniffing with my nose, and looked toward the inn street.

“Where is this smell coming from? Let’s talk while we eat.”

“Let’s go.”

I looked around the street lined with inns, then barged into the source of the scent and ordered noodles, of course, as well as dumplings, tangchoricheok, and even alcohol. The moment I placed the order, Moyong Baek looked at me with a shocked expression.

“When are we going home?”

“We have to eat our fill before we go.”

“Is it just my imagination that I feel we won’t be able to leave quickly?”

I tilted my head.

“What, would something like that happen? What kind of world is it these days that someone would pick a fight with a person eating at an inn? Rude martial artists or crazy bastards from the dark path might do that sometimes, but ah, not a chance.”

“…….”

Hearing my words, Moyong Baek closed his mouth and looked around at the people in the inn. I too followed Moyong Baek’s gaze and looked around. The guests nearby had been looking at us but were now hurriedly turning their heads away.

“See? It’s a peaceful place.”

“Your expression and armed state are not peaceful, My Lord.”

“Are they?”

I was currently wearing Heukmyoa at my waist, waiting for the food with a wooden sword placed atop the table.

Shortly after, the waiter brought the noodles first and set them down. I rubbed my chopsticks together and asked Moyong Baek,

“There’s no poison, right?”

“There isn’t.”

In three chopstickfuls, I slurped up all the noodles, then gulped down the broth. Only then did the dumplings and tangchoricheok arrive with the alcohol.

I suddenly looked at Moyong Baek, then drew Heukmyoa from my waist and handed it to him.

“Use this for the time being.”

Moyong Baek seemed to have realized that refusal was futile at this point; while eating his noodles, he stood up without a word and strapped Heukmyoa to his waist.

I looked at Moyong Baek wearing the blade.

‘Now you look a bit like a Poison Demon.’

“Keep it for self-defense. It’s a fine blade. I took it after throwing the previous Heukmyo Division Leader against a wall. Its name is Heukmyoa; it’s quite sturdy and sharp.”

Suddenly, sounds of dry coughing were heard here and there in the inn, and a few frightened guests slipped out.

Moyong Baek asked me,

“Will you be alright with a wooden sword, My Lord?”

I looked at the wooden sword on the table and answered.

“This is not a wooden sword.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s the real blade I’ll shove down that Demonic Cult Leader bastard’s throat.”

The moment my words ended, suddenly a clattering sound rang out, and all the guests scrambled to flee outside.

Silence fell in an instant.

When I looked around, the waiter was looking at us with a tearful face, his nostrils twitching.

The moment I met eyes with the waiter, I apologized in a calm tone.

“My apologies.”

The waiter respectfully clasped his hands before him and answered in a troubled tone.

“…No. Please enjoy your meal.”

I looked at Murong Bai.

“Let’s eat.”

“Yes.”

I muttered as I chewed the sweet-and-sour tenderloin.

“It’s nice that the inn is quiet.”

Murong Bai, as if he had half given up on something, glanced around roughly before replying.

“You’re right. It’s nice and quiet.”