Chapter 190. I've Worked as a Waiter Before, So I Know
Near Sword Demon's quarters, I said to the Third Young Master.
"Wow, the Cult Leader's authority is something else. To think he had someone like this brought all the way here without killing him...."
I smacked the Third Young Master on the head again as he hobbled along, his temper flaring, and spoke.
"Keep in mind that the only reason you're alive is that if you died here, many innocent people would be at risk."
Lust Demon also jeered from the side.
"Stop it. At this rate, he'll kill himself at Baek Eung Pavilion. If he's going to die, he should die somewhere else. Third Young Master, don't you agree?"
The Third Young Master glared at Lust Demon, only to get slapped by him this time.
Lust Demon said.
"Who said you could look at me like that? Have you lost your mind? Act like a defeated general. And don't be so sure you'll survive. If Master's mood changes, today will be your last day."
Lust Demon took the Third Young Master to the courtyard with the wooden platform, struck his shoulder, and forced him to his knees.
Breathing raggedly, the Third Young Master looked at Sword Demon, who was emerging from his quarters.
Teacher Yukhap, who had been sitting cross-legged on the wooden platform, opened his eyes and spoke to the Third Young Master.
"You have returned soon. Welcome."
I looked at Teacher Yukhap.
"Are you drunk?"
Teacher Yukhap answered with a blunt expression.
"It is truly because I am glad."
Lust Demon spoke to Master.
"Master, I captured the Third Young Master, who has been acting insolently, together with the Lord. However, this fellow lured us to a place where that butcher from the Bai family was waiting. The Lord and I nearly fell into danger."
Sword Demon replied in a composed tone.
"Third son, no matter how cornered you are, how could the son of a man with few equals in the martial world conspire with such a base butcher?"
I folded my arms and looked at the Third Young Master.
"Exactly."
For some reason, the atmosphere was so heavy and grave that it wouldn't have been strange if Sword Demon struck him dead right then and there.
The kneeling Third Young Master asked Sword Demon.
"Left Emissary, what exactly is the Demonic Path? I have heard that both the Cult Leader and you do not hesitate to use any means necessary when fighting. Why is it acceptable for you, yet not for me?"
Sword Demon answered calmly.
"Such despicable acts are something the hypocrites hiding in the Orthodox Path can do, and something third-rate riffraff of the Black Path living filthy lives can do. Why would that be called the Demonic Path?"
I nodded at Sword Demon's words.
"Rightly said."
Sword Demon spoke.
"If that butcher had been there, the Lord and my disciple would have struggled considerably. Let us first hear why you were captured."
The Third Young Master sighed.
"I do not know. I was certain the butcher's skill surpassed Lord Hao's, but after the two engaged in a chase... the one who returned alive was Lord Hao."
I interjected in a solemn tone.
"That would be me."
For a moment, the Lust Demon bastard who had been looking at me suppressed a laugh with a strange expression.
Sword Demon continued in a bitter tone.
"Even if briefly, you Young Lords had a time when you learned the sword from me. I am ashamed of you all."
"......"
"If word gets out that you conspired with a man-eating butcher, even if not your father, the other Young Lords would capture you and tear you limb from limb. Since you have even lost the Hwangwija, it is no different from having already lost the succession battle. Do you have a reason to live?"
The Third Young Master stared at the ground with a miserable expression.
"Left Emissary, please give me a chance."
Sword Demon said.
"You should have sought the answer yourself instead of coming to ask me what the Demonic Path is. I am rather more curious that a man who entered here acting so arrogant has become so servile so quickly. Third son, what in the world do you think the Demonic Path is?"
I had been listening without much thought, but my eyes widened on their own.
'Huh?'
In other words, this was Sword Demon's final question. Depending on the answer, the Third Young Master would die here. However, if his answer about the Demonic Path pleased Sword Demon, there was a chance the Third Young Master could walk out alive.
The Sword Demon, as I understood him, was that kind of man.
The Third Young Master didn't seem to be a complete fool, as his face grew increasingly pale while he chose his words.
His answer was delayed, but no one said a word.
Because whether enemy or ally, this was a Life-and-Death Question upon which lives depended.
I sat on the edge of the wooden platform with Lust Demon and watched the Third Young Master agonize over his answer. However, I had long suffered from a chronic affliction of an itchy mouth, so I couldn't help but open my trap.
"Right... just what is the Demonic Path? Failing a murder-for-hire request. Getting all the subordinates you brought completely wiped out. Is that the Demonic Path this fellow speaks of? What do you think?"
Our eyes met, and Lust Demon continued from my words.
"Exactly. If we let him live and send him off like this, next time he'll take gold and silver treasures and go ask some other unorthodox expert to kill us, won't he? No, rather than that, wouldn't it be better to ask him to kill your father and brothers? Then you might become the next Cult Leader. It seems the Demonic Path this fellow thinks of requires a lot of money first and foremost. What does Teacher Yukhap think?"
The triple combination of the Mad Demon, Lust Demon, and Ghost Demon flowed naturally.
Teacher Yukhap let out a low, suppressed laugh, seeming to still be under the influence of alcohol, and answered.
"Would he have that kind of money? Just how much money would be needed to kill the Cult Leader or the other Young Lords? I wonder if he has ever worked in his life. He must save up money first if he is to kill his father and punish his brothers. Since he likely knows nothing but martial arts, how could he... why not learn to work as a waiter? Third Young Master. Shouldn't you save up even small change for your Demonic Path?"
I nodded with a serious expression and muttered.
"...Penny by penny, to the Demonic Path, is it? I've worked as a waiter before, so I know—money doesn't save up easily."
Lust Demon and Ghost Demon stared elsewhere for a moment.
"......"
Because Sword Demon was listening with a grave expression, Lust Demon and Teacher Yukhap also put on a visible show of trying not to laugh.
The Third Young Master spoke with a pale expression.
"Left Emissary, please kill me."
Sword Demon spoke with a sneer.
"I asked what the Demonic Path is, and you ask me to kill you? I am not asking for a correct answer. It is because people are inherently of different minds. Disciple."
Lust Demon lowered the hand covering his mouth and answered.
"Yes, Master."
"What is the Demonic Path?"
"I do not know the Demonic Path. Nor am I interested."
From the side, I was about to follow up with the question, "What about women?" but barely held back because of the atmosphere. I had the feeling this bastard walked the Path of Lust, not the Demonic Path. I don't even know if such a term exists, but this bastard is certainly like that.
Sword Demon spoke to Teacher Yukhap.
"What does Yukhap think the Demonic Path is?"
Teacher Yukhap answered.
“For the most part, aren’t bastards like the Third Young Master what you’d call the demonic path? Let them live, and most of the time they’re no help at all. They can’t even tell grace from grudge.”
The Sword Demon smiled.
“So he says. What do you think, Clan Master?”
I looked at the Third Young Master.
“That is a difficult question. But one thing is certain: there is no chance a bastard like this will become a proper man of the demonic path. He is merely a demonic path lackey, demonic path small fry, a demonic path minion, a demonic-path moron, a disgrace to the demonic path, a worthless bastard, a man of petty character with no chance whatsoever of becoming a great grandmaster of the demonic path even if we send him off alive, trash. About that much? He is not the true demonic path. What do you think, Senior?”
The Sword Demon replied.
“The gaze of the true righteous path should indeed be turned toward the weak.”
I nodded.
“It should.”
“If it is the true demonic path, then throughout one’s life, one will keep watch on the strong. Even if one devoted one’s entire life wholly to bringing down those stronger than oneself, there would not be enough time.”
The Sword Demon glared at the Third Young Master.
“Your father, too, will live while thinking of the Three Calamities he still has not managed to defeat. As for me, whenever I think of your father, my sleep becomes uneasy. But the Martial Alliance Leader, Im Sobaek, must be losing sleep guarding against madmen like us, myself included. However, while I remain shut away in a hideout like this, Im Sobaek will not suddenly come looking for me, saying he will kill me. Because his gaze lingers more on the weak, his comrades, and his subordinates. That is the difference between the demonic path and the righteous path as I see it.”
The Third Young Master only listened in silence.
The Sword Demon continued.
“One day, your father’s thoughts and resolve changed. Instead of trying to face the strong with the power he had cultivated himself, it seemed he had decided to become the Heavenly Demon even if it meant sacrificing the weak. That is why your father and I fell out.”
The Sword Demon was clearly speaking to the Third Young Master, but the Lust Demon, Master Yukhap, and I were also listening to his words with utmost seriousness.
The Sword Demon said,
“Whatever path one pursues, in the end, if one reaches the summit. One day, those who can no longer find a worthy opponent in the righteous path, the demonic path, or the black path will gather on an empty wasteland, or assemble modestly atop some quiet mountain, and determine who is the greatest under heaven. Their battles will not affect the weak by tormenting or slaughtering them. Whatever path one pursues, the summit as I imagine it is, for the most part, like that.”
Only then did the Third Young Master answer.
“In that case, I am not of the demonic path. I merely stopped at nothing in order to survive.”
It felt as though an honest answer had finally come out.
The Sword Demon said,
“If Hwan Gwija has fallen, then you should run to your mother’s family and take care of matters. It is not as if Hwan Gwija is someone who knows no martial arts. He suffered that fate while trying to kill the Hao Clan Master, so if you want private revenge, recover your martial arts first and then settle matters with the Hao Clan Master. If your method greatly strays from what we discussed today, I will come find you.”
The Third Young Master replied.
“Understood.”
“For various reasons, I do not wish to see you die in Baekeungji. Withdraw.”
The Third Young Master rose with difficulty, then looked at the Sword Demon, the Lust Demon, the Ghost Demon, and me. In the end, he opened his mouth toward the Left Envoy.
“Left Envoy……”
The Sword Demon answered.
“Shut your mouth and disappear.”
I spoke to the Third Young Master as he limped away.
“Third Young Master, somehow you keep surviving. But I don’t want you to die in Baekeungji either. Also, from now on, don’t go looking for the Hao Clan members. Come see my face instead. If you are a human being before you are the Cult Leader’s son, then you should know the shame of walking out alive like this.”
The Third Young Master looked back at me and nodded.
“I will.”
As soon as the Third Young Master disappeared through the door, the Sword Demon said to me,
“Clan Master, I am sorry. I let a man who bears a grudge against you go.”
I nodded and accepted the Sword Demon’s apology.
“Senior.”
“Speak.”
“How many times in your life have you told someone you were sorry?”
The Sword Demon sighed with a troubled expression, then soon answered.
“Not many.”
“You must really be sorry, then. In that case, let me ask you a favor.”
“What is it?”
I looked not only at the Sword Demon, but also at the Lust Demon and the Ghost Demon.
“That Baek bastard, the Butcher, had a master.”
“……”
“They called him the White-Clad Scholar. Have you heard of him?”
The Sword Demon, the Lust Demon, and the Ghost Demon all tilted their heads at the same time. I explained the White-Clad Scholar to them.
“In truth, the White-Clad Scholar is a far greater problem than that idiotic Third Young Master. The Butcher’s body was covered in traces of torture. In other words, not only the Butcher’s martial arts, but also that filthy personality of his may have been the aftereffects of torture. He wouldn’t divulge the White-Clad Scholar’s residence. It probably won’t be easy to find him.”
The Sword Demon replied.
“But it seems there is a way to meet him.”
I nodded.
“Of course there is.”
The Lust Demon asked as if curious.
“How?”
I answered with the most serious expression in the world.
“Cheolli Inn. The inn where that Baek bastard, the Butcher, was the proprietor. This time, whether we spend money or whatever it takes, we spread word of the Butcher’s death so that it reaches the black path and the heretical factions as well. So that it can reach the ears of the White-Clad Scholar, wherever he may be.”
I pointed at the Lust Demon and said,
“As this bastard saw for himself, the Butcher’s skill was by no means below the two of us. The White-Clad Scholar’s skill will be even greater than that.”
I made a proposal to the Sword Demon, the Lust Demon, and the Ghost Demon.
“Let us focus on training until the White-Clad Scholar comes looking for me.”
The Lust Demon asked me with a bewildered expression.
“You’re not saying we should catch him together, but focus on training?”
I answered the Lust Demon’s words in a weighty tone.
“You wretch, what is the demonic path?”
The Lust Demon sighed and replied.
“Here he goes again. Master, the Hao Clan Master occasionally does impressions. It is just a madman having a fit, so please do not take too much offense.”
The Sword Demon said to the Lust Demon,
“What you just said offends me more.”
“I apologize.”
The Sword Demon asked me,
“How strong do you expect the White-Clad Scholar to be?”
Since I had not fought him directly, I could not know either.
“I do not know. However, if he made the Butcher into that, it would not be strange for him to have other disciples. Surely a butcher like the Butcher could not be his only disciple.”
The Ghost Demon asked me,
“Why do you think that?”
I answered like this.
“A scholar is, in the end, someone who studies. Ruining the Butcher’s personality was likely neither his first time nor his last. Those who study often have a cruel side.”
That was the Evil Emperor I knew.