Chapter 186. All Was Darkness.

After trying the liquor…

The Sword Demon stopped after five cups, and Master Six Harmonies got drunk after seven.

Master Six Harmonies was asleep on the edge of the wooden platform, and the Sword Demon had gone inside, saying the liquor was getting to him.

Sharing stories once we were drunk, my ass.

There was none of that.

In the end, the Lust Demon and I emptied the rest of the liquor as if we were having a drinking contest.

I had nothing to say to the Lust Demon aside from the usual exchange of curses, so I kept my mouth shut.

The Sword Demon’s residence had grown truly quiet, leaving only the steady sound of Master Six Harmonies’ snoring.

When there was no more liquor left to drink, the Lust Demon climbed onto the wall and stared intently at the darkening surroundings like a sentry standing guard.

“What are you doing?”

The Lust Demon answered in a low voice.

“He normally doesn’t drink as many as five cups. I think he drank a bit much today.”

He meant he was standing guard because his master was drunk.

“Didn’t he drink about that much last time too?”

“Back then, he was just sipping.”

“Was Senior always weak to liquor?”

The Lust Demon, who had been staring into the darkness, looked at me.

“You only build tolerance by drinking. You and I wouldn’t get drunk from this, but people who don’t usually drink are always like this.”

“Couldn’t he drive the drunkenness away with inner energy? That Six Harmonies bastard toppled over right away too.”

The Lust Demon replied.

“It’s liquor shared with guests. There’s no reason to drive it away with inner energy.”

Somehow, only after emptying all the liquor did the Lust Demon and I end up having our longest conversation without insults.

Still staring into the darkness, the Lust Demon asked me.

“You said you met the Cult Leader at the Blood Night Palace. What was he like?”

“Ah, I met him.”

“Did your knees go weak just from looking at him? That’s what the rumors say.”

“As if. He was impressive, though.”

“According to Master, even most people in the cult can’t meet his eyes at all. Not because they’re trying to be respectful, but because it’s more comfortable to lower their heads and talk when they’re in front of the Cult Leader.”

“He’s someone worth fearing.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s a man whose thoughts you can’t know.”

The Lust Demon replied.

“Why wouldn’t you know? He must only be thinking about beating everyone to death and becoming the greatest under heaven.”

“I’m not talking about goals like that. Even in everyday situations or ordinary conversations, you wouldn’t be able to know what he was thinking, nor understand it. That kind of thing is scarier.”

The Lust Demon suddenly said this.

“When I think about it, I was practically born because of the Demonic Cult.”

“Is that so?”

“More or less. If the Demonic Cult hadn’t destroyed Jade Flower Palace, the people of Jade Flower Palace wouldn’t have scattered. And if they hadn’t scattered, there would have been no reason for me to be born. From the start, the Palace Lord of Jade Flower had created that force to care only for women. Because the Demonic Cult smashed such a force apart, I ended up being born. Well, I had no complaints about being born into a good family, but then out of nowhere I had an older brother by a different mother, and I was an illegitimate son. Fine, I can understand even that. But all of this was an environment I never chose.”

“So?”

The Lust Demon turned his head to look at me, but the moonlight was dim that night, so I couldn’t make out his expression well.

“I’m just saying that’s how it is. All of this happened simply because the Cult Leader was strong. Why did he make someone else’s life start off in such a fucked-up way? The more I tried to find out the reason, the more I reached the conclusion that there wasn’t any particular reason. They say most of Jade Flower Palace was killed simply because it had become independent from the Demonic Cult.”

After finishing, the Lust Demon suddenly stared into the darkness, then spoke in a different tone.

“Who the hell are you? All of you, crawl out.”

I sprang up from the wooden platform and stood on the wall near the Lust Demon, watching outside. The thought flashed through my mind that there might be no reason for us to be ambushed at White Eagle Pond. Then again, if they were true experts, there was no particular reason they couldn’t come.

The pitch-black darkness seemed to ripple, and then three or four men slowly walked out. They were all dressed well, so I couldn’t tell where they had come from.

* * *

A man’s voice rang out.

“Is Senior Sword Demon inside?”

The Lust Demon answered.

“I asked where you bastards came from.”

The owner of the voice walked a few more steps forward, then looked at the Lust Demon and me as he replied.

“Tell him the Third Grand Duke has arrived.”

Before the Lust Demon could answer, the Sword Demon’s voice came from inside the residence.

“Come in.”

In the darkness, the subordinates spoke to one man.

“Please go in.”

A young man appeared with a composed expression and entered the Sword Demon’s residence without a word. All of his subordinates remained waiting outside.

I sat on the wall with the Lust Demon and looked at the young man.

Since he was called the Third Grand Duke, he seemed to be the Demonic Cult Leader’s third son. With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked around the Sword Demon’s residence and also glanced at Master Six Harmonies, who had just woken up.

Even to my eyes, there was definitely something about him that resembled the Cult Leader.

The Cult Leader looked so unusual that even seeing his son for the first time, it was impossible not to recognize him.

The Sword Demon emerged from inside, having changed into comfortable clothes, and spoke to the Third Grand Duke.

“Welcome.”

The Third Grand Duke nodded and replied.

“Left Envoy, have you been well?”

The Sword Demon stared at the Third Grand Duke.

“I doubt you’ve come here to die. What brings you all the way here?”

“Left Envoy, Elder Hwangwija has passed away.”

“And?”

“Since he had retired, no one will likely step forward for revenge, so I came personally. According to the report, he was killed by the Hao Gate Master. When I asked around, I heard he was a man acquainted with the Left Envoy.”

“We are acquainted.”

The Third Grand Duke nodded.

“Since you are acquainted, I cannot very well enter the Left Envoy’s residence, seize the Hao Gate Master by the hair, and drag him out. I came to see the Left Envoy’s face and ask for your understanding in advance.”

The Sword Demon replied.

“Third, what was Hwangwija’s desire?”

“To make me the Vice Cult Leader, and for his family to survive.”

“If such a Hwangwija has fallen, then it is right for you to realize your luck has run out and restrain yourself. If you act so conspicuously, do you think your father will be pleased? A man contending for succession has come all the way to White Eagle Pond—what is this foolishness?”

The Third Grand Duke replied.

“Even if he finds it displeasing, in private, it was my maternal grandfather who suffered. Would he not understand? If he cannot even understand that, he is no human being.”

“If you rampage outside, your father may use it as a pretext, and fights could break out here and there. Can you handle that? In the end, your brothers’ achievements will only grow greater. Having lost Hwangwija, you will be isolated even within the cult, so this is not the correct response.”

“What would the Left Envoy do in my position?”

“Why am I still the Left Envoy? By now, they should have filled the vacancy.”

The Third Young Master chuckled.

“It is not a seat so easily obtained. Whoever wishes to become the new Left Envoy must first punish the apostate to gain recognition both within and without. Good news will reach you soon as well, Senior.”

“Glad tidings indeed. In any case, if I were you, I would use Hwangwija’s death as an excuse to lie low at my maternal clan and wait for one great storm to pass. But there is no reason you would heed my words.”

The Third Young Master nodded.

“You see clearly. Though I respect you as a martial artist, Senior, I have no need to nod along to an apostate’s teachings. From what I hear, Baekeungji is the central haunt of idlers where the madmen of the White Path gather in twos and threes to do nothing but guzzle wine…… I never thought the Left Envoy would reek of alcohol as well. I do wonder why you are holed up in a place like this, wasting away your years. Why not simply return and bury your head at the Cult Leader’s feet?”

The Sword Demon let out a low laugh.

The Third Young Master continued.

“Left Envoy, the Cult Leader often said he found you utterly pathetic. Many were delighted to hear that you were handling a wooden sword.”

The Lust Demon, who had been listening quietly, cut in.

“You arrogant, crippled son of a bitch…… Is being the Cult Leader’s son some official post? Watch your mouth.”

The Third Young Master looked at the Lust Demon.

“Ah, it’s you. The base bloodline of Okhwa Palace……”

As the Lust Demon quietly rose from the wall, the Sword Demon spoke.

“We are still talking, Mongrang.”

The Lust Demon’s chest heaved once before he answered.

“Yes.”

The Third Young Master looked at the Sword Demon with a smile.

“Senior, there are not many experts in the jianghu whom the Cult Leader wishes to face personally. In other words, there are not many experts he intends to step forward and kill himself. That is why you can rest comfortably in a place like this. You know that, do you not? He wishes for you to grow stronger by any and all means. Whenever it may be, you too must wish to settle matters directly with the Cult Leader. For today, hand over the Hao Clan Master without incident.”

The Sword Demon let out a brief sigh.

“Third, you believe in yourself too much. This will not be an easy fight. I know better than anyone that all of you successors possessed outstanding perception from a young age. But it was both the Cult Leader’s and my shared wish that you step onto the battlefield of killing and being killed only after you had reached a more complete state. Would it not be better to live a little more of life before running wild like an unruly colt?”

“After I kill the Hao Clan Master, I will restrain myself somewhat. Well, at any rate, I knew from the moment I came that you would refuse, Senior. That does not mean I have no method.”

The Third Young Master looked at the Sword Demon, then nodded several times.

“Left Envoy, it was good to see your face after so long. I hope you live peacefully, drinking yourself merry with the White Path bastards. You too have suffered much, Left Envoy, so think of this as a reward vacation granted before you are killed. Let us meet again.”

The Third Young Master turned around and strode out of the residence. I spoke to the Third Young Master’s back.

“That moron’s leaving without looking at me to the very end. Unbelievable.”

I pondered the Third Young Master’s words, then looked at the Sword Demon.

“……In any case, Senior, let us meet again as well. I should get going. You drank too much, so there is no need to see me off.”

The Sword Demon called me to a stop.

“Clan Master, do not be hasty.”

“Is this not a situation where I should be hasty?”

Master Yukhap, who still had not sobered up, cut in.

“What in the world is going on?”

The Sword Demon explained the sudden appearance and disappearance of the Third Young Master.

“He did not come to find me. He came to provoke the Hao Clan Master. If he leaves Baekeungji like this, he will go find the Hao Clan and harass them. So that the Clan Master comes to him on his own……”

Only then did Master Yukhap understand the situation.

“Ah.”

“The problem is that we do not know what sort of people the Third Young Master is with. Do not get worked up.”

My understanding was the same.

At a glance, it seemed as though the Third Young Master had argued with the Sword Demon, but his true meaning was in the words, “That does not mean I have no method.” With that, he had drawn me out of here.

Moreover, even to my eyes, the Sword Demon was a man positioned to clash with the Cult Leader, so chasing after such an immature bastard did not suit him. You could say the Third Young Master had visited after weighing all manner of things.

After thinking for a moment, the Sword Demon said to me.

“It is an overt provocation, but I find it deeply unpleasant that you are being dragged along like this, Clan Master.”

I answered in an indifferent tone.

“It cannot be helped. There are times when one must knowingly fall for an enemy’s scheme. Yukgap, you are not sober yet, so stay here.”

As though telling me to hear him out until the end, the Sword Demon held out his hand.

“Clan Master, do not let your guard down. And the circumstances of the chase may also turn the other way around.”

“I know.”

“Also…… whatever else may be true, the son of the Demonic Cult Leader symbolizes something. What I mean is that there is no need for you to be the one to kill him. Even if you merely capture him and hand him over, he will die at the hands of the other successor candidates. The outcome will be very different from you killing him, so keep that in mind as well.”

“I will keep it in mind.”

I shook my head hard once at the wall. Of all times, I had drunk far too much.

“Ah, damn it……”

I had no intention whatsoever of asking Master Yukhap, the Sword Demon, or the Lust Demon for help, so I headed straight into the darkness where the Third Young Master had disappeared.

Perhaps because it was dark on all sides, the alcohol kept rising in me.

While I stood there for a moment, first regulating my breathing, I heard the Lust Demon’s voice.

“Master……”

Though the Lust Demon did not say anything in particular, the Sword Demon’s reply came.

“Go. Act prudently.”

“Yes, understood.”

As soon as I had regulated my breathing, I first drove out the drunkenness with my internal energy. If I deployed lightness arts immediately in this state, there was a risk I would vomit everything I had eaten while running.

This time, Master Yukhap’s voice came from the residence.

“Senior Sword Demon, let us meet again.”

Without fail, the Sword Demon’s voice followed.

“Do not make a fool of yourself. Stay still. Join them later after you sober up.”

After circulating my true qi once through my body, I expelled the intoxication from all that wine I had guzzled through the tip of my index finger in the same manner as resolving symptoms of poisoning. It was not a perfect method, but it cleared the drunkenness to some extent.

As I stared into the darkness, the Lust Demon approached and stood beside me.

I looked at the Lust Demon and said.

“What’s this drunken bed-wetting bastard doing here?”

The Lust Demon narrowed his brow and retorted.

“This body is the filthy bloodline of Okhwa Palace, so do not mind me. You country bumpkin who cannot even drink.”

“You should have bought a reasonable amount of wine.”

I yawned, then walked into the darkness together with the Lust Demon. Since we were not entering the bustling district, the road was pitch-black.

I could not tell whether I was the one chasing, or the one being chased.

Nor could I tell for the moment whether he truly intended to storm into the Hao Clan like this, or whether he would wait nearby to face me.

All around, there was only darkness.