Episode 195. Lust Demon 色魔
The Thousand-Li Inn.
At the fateful battleground, six people faced one another. No matter that this was a clash between heterodox fiends and a motley assortment of characters, the ways of the martial world still held sway. The oldest among them, the Fisherman, asked me how I wanted to conduct the duel.
“Sect Leader of the Hao Sect, will you fight us all together, or would you prefer a one-on-one challenge with each of us taking turns? Have it your way.”
The guard of the Third Young Master, who had appeared at the entrance later than anyone else, answered.
“What do you mean, a group battle between allies? Are you saying you intend to bully the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect three against one? I won’t allow it, so fight one-on-one.”
The Fisherman stared at the guard with an incredulous expression.
“Allow?”
I, too, stared at the guard incredulously.
“Allow? Did smelling blood in the kitchen make this bastard lose his mind? Did the beating he took from the Third Young Master split his soul apart with the Phantom Shadow Demon Art? Are you insane? Have you lost it? Do you want to die?”
The guard replied with an awkward expression.
“I apologize.”
The Fisherman said,
“Young Master Mong and Master Yukap. I warned you both politely, yet you still intend to interfere?”
The Lust Demon answered, furrowing his brow.
“Shut up. Please, don’t tell me what to do. I don’t want to hear it. I’ll kill you. Don’t order me around.”
Everyone present stared at the Lust Demon, who had belatedly entered the stormy period of adolescence.
“……”
The Fisherman said,
“So you came here intending to help the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect from the beginning. Fine. Then we’ll proceed by having each person choose an opponent for a one-on-one fight. Sister Pyeon.”
The Red-Clad Horsewoman answered.
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
“You go first.”
As the Red-Clad Horsewoman stepped into the center, the Fisherman and the Woodcutter retreated.
* * *
The Red-Clad Horsewoman spun her whip around and looked at the three men. She first examined the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect’s air and aura, then met his gaze.
“……”
She could not tell whether his eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep or because he was a madman. Either way, a red glint lingered in his gaze, and it was frightening.
‘Did this man really kill the Butcher? If that’s true, it means he’s stronger than me.’
Since she could not gauge his skill, she shifted her gaze to the ugly swordsman standing in the center.
‘Master Yukap…….’
His expression made him look rigid and humorless, but more than that, he was ugly in a frightening way. Moreover, of the three, he was the most taciturn, giving off the impression that he was the strongest.
‘You’re out, too.’
The Red-Clad Horsewoman glared at the young man who was the second son of the Windcloud Mong Family.
The type of man the Red-Clad Horsewoman hated most was, without question……
A bastard who looked like a brothel girl’s big brother.
A bastard who stared shamelessly and looked women up and down.
A bastard who looked like a womanizer.
These were the three types she despised, and the young man from the Windcloud Mong Family possessed an unpleasant air that seemed to combine all three.
The Red-Clad Horsewoman pointed at the Lust Demon with one finger.
“You. Come out.”
At once, the Lust Demon, having been chosen, gave the Red-Clad Horsewoman a faint smile and winked at her.
As he sauntered toward her, the Lust Demon spoke.
“Big sis?”
The Red-Clad Horsewoman frowned.
“Why am I your big sister?”
“Oh, you like speaking informally? I like it too. In your mid-twenties, you’re still at the age when you don’t know anything.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
While the Red-Clad Horsewoman felt that the atmosphere was becoming strange, she noticed the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect watching them and repeatedly stroking his own arm. He seemed to have gooseflesh and was cursing under his breath.
“Hmm……”
As the second son of the Mong Family drew closer, the Red-Clad Horsewoman instinctively felt a chill. She slowly circled around him, maintaining the standoff.
‘Now that I see him up close, he’s no pushover.’
Meanwhile, the bastard called Mong Rang glanced at her whip and said,
“Nice whip. Is that your thing? A good smack-smack? Do you like hitting people somewhere?”
In an instant, the Red-Clad Horsewoman retreated six or seven steps, widening the distance between them.
Crack-crack-crack!
Her spine had instinctively gone cold.
“……”
Mong Rang slowly closed the distance and said,
“That’s a good combination. Freeze them solid, then use the whip? Nice. You have to respect people’s preferences.”
Before the Red-Clad Horsewoman could say anything, the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect shouted angrily.
“You shithead, that’s enough. Before I beat you to death.”
The Red-Clad Horsewoman said,
“As the Sect Leader says, shut your mouth and attack.”
“Did you just give me an order? Me?”
Mong Rang suddenly undid the front of his upper garment with one hand, baring his torso. His bare skin was covered in grotesque scars that looked as though he had been tortured.
Mong Rang said,
“I believe I made it clear not to tell me what to do. Say one more word. I’ll take off my pants, then I’ll take off the next thing, too. I’m warning you—don’t provoke me. If you provoke me……”
At that moment, the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect bellowed,
“Shut up! Sister Pyeon, don’t provoke him. That bastard is the notorious Lust Demon.”
“What?”
Was he trying to warn her? Or frighten her?
The Red-Clad Horsewoman swung her whip, which had been modified into a weapon and was thus considerably longer, at the Lust Demon as he charged her.
Whoosh!
The Lust Demon’s movements were truly nimble. Since a chill swept in as soon as the fight began, she prepared for Ice Arts while also paying close attention to her footwork.
The Sect Leader of the Hao Sect’s voice continued to ring out.
“That bastard is the White Path’s Number One Lust in Baek-eung Branch. In short, he’s called First Lust. If he gets his hands on you, you won’t be able to gather your bones—or even the new clothes you’re wearing. Watch out for his Ice Arts. He’s an expert in them. As far as I know, he learned Ice Arts so he could make his opponents completely unable to move. What he does after rendering them helpless, I’ll leave to your imagination. Human imagination is a remarkable thing, after all. Master Yukap, what are you imagining? Your face is turning red. Surely you’re not……?”
Master Yukap suddenly shouted.
“Shut up. Just shut up!”
As the Red-Clad Horsewoman swung her whip, she noticed that every time she met the Lust Demon’s eyes, he gave her a coquettish smile. Then, while unleashing a succession of palm strikes, the Lust Demon suddenly sniffed.
“Ah, the scent of powder……”
At that moment, the Fisherman joined the conversation.
“Junior Sister, are you saying your heart is shaken by such childish talk? I’ll have to tell Martial Uncle so you can undergo some ascetic training. Pull yourself together.”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
In an instant, the Red-Clad Horsewoman’s face turned pale, and her whip technique swiftly regained its composure.
Strangely, I felt as though both friend and foe were harassing me, so I was unable to perform as well as usual.
In the midst of it all, the Lord of Hao Gate continued speaking in a sarcastic tone.
“Ascetic practice, eh? I suppose you’re an expert at torture. Your master must be frightening. What pitiful wretches. Slave bastards. How lamentable. You called him the White-Robed Scholar, did you? The Butcher’s mind was thoroughly broken as well, and you’re no different. The lives of frightened little rats. Hey, look who’s appeared. Isn’t that your master? White-Robed Scholar, welcome.”
The Red-Robed Groom, who had been fighting, unconsciously shifted his head ever so slightly, only to be struck on the shoulder by a palm and driven backward.
Thud!
“Ghk!”
The Fisherman shouted furiously.
“Junior Sister! How could Master possibly come here? Lord of Hao Gate, if you say even one more word, I’ll take it as a declaration that you want a group battle.”
The Lord of Hao Gate replied in a bored tone.
“Confirmed.”
The Gentleman of Six Harmonies, who had remained silent, also opened his mouth in a heavy voice.
“Confirmed.”
The Lust Demon, who had been leaping about in all directions, chuckled and unleashed a palm technique. Yet half of his movements looked more like a playful dance.
“Junior Sister Pyeon, are you wet? Feeling chilly? Is this your first time being struck by ice arts? Cold? Want me to take it off for you?”
Whenever his clipped words spilled out in broken fragments, frigid palm force poured forth, making my mind even more muddled.
“……”
Only then did the Red-Robed Groom feel the chill spreading from his shoulder. Her left arm was gradually growing heavier. In the end, she tried to drive away the cold spreading through her left arm by sending a surge of true qi into it.
The Lust Demon said,
“Didn’t your master torture you with ice arts? What a disappointment. Traditionally, the basics of torture are heat, cold, hunger, and being confined in a narrow place. What comes next? Adding insects to those four basic tortures. Do you like bugs? Snakes? Centipedes? How about frogs? They taste delicious if you put them in your mouth.”
The Fisherman, who had been watching, said,
“We lost the first duel.”
When the Fisherman nodded toward the Woodcutter, the Woodcutter kicked off the ground and leaped up, swinging his hand axe at the Lust Demon without warning.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the Lust Demon caught the blade of the hand axe with a hand wrapped in ice qi and thrust out his right palm.
At the same time, the Woodcutter clenched his fist and struck back against the Lust Demon’s palm force.
Kraaaa-boom!
As the Lust Demon’s body was driven rapidly backward in a reclining position, the Lord of Hao Gate appeared swiftly, caught him by the back, and immediately pulled him upright.
At the same time, the Woodcutter grabbed the half-conscious Red-Robed Groom by the nape and threw her backward. A moment later, there came a ripping sound, and the Woodcutter’s upper garment tore apart on its own. Apparently having trained both external and internal arts, he now exposed veins and muscles so thick they looked grotesque.
The Fisherman swung his hand, sending out his fishing line. It wrapped around the Red-Robed Groom’s waist, and with a light tug, she landed beside him.
The Fisherman scolded the Red-Robed Groom.
“Junior Sister Pyeon, what kind of disgrace is this? You can’t even properly display the skills you possess.”
“I’m sorry, Senior Brother.”
“Regulate your qi and recover behind us.”
“Yes.”
The Lust Demon, who had been knocked away by the Woodcutter’s punch, spoke with an unpleasant expression.
“…What are you doing? I was right in the middle of enjoying myself.”
The Fisherman said,
“Don’t take offense. In any case, if all three of us lose, we’ll be leaving our lives behind here… I acknowledge our defeat in the first match. Who will face Junior Brother Chosu?”
When the Gentleman of Six Harmonies stepped forward, the Lord of Hao Gate grabbed him from behind.
“Wait, hold on. Everyone, stand by.”
* * *
Since the Fisherman had inserted himself into the match and resorted to scheming, I responded in kind.
I met the Gentleman of Six Harmonies’ eyes and spoke in an indifferent tone.
“Six Harmonies, I’ll face the Woodcutter.”
The Gentleman of Six Harmonies, incapable of controlling his expression, was looking at me while showing his back to the enemies.
“Why?”
I looked at the Gentleman of Six Harmonies and the Lust Demon before speaking.
“You’re the strongest among the three of us, so you should face that old fisherman. I should take the center. Let me fight in the grand general battle.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Naturally, I was the strongest among the three of us.
But there was no way those men knew that. In any case, the Gentleman of Six Harmonies looked the most frightening and was also the oldest, so it did seem appropriate for him to face the Fisherman.
In truth, if the Woodcutter’s skill was not much different from the Butcher’s, the Gentleman of Six Harmonies would be in for a very difficult fight. Winning while having his body torn open by a hand axe would hardly be meaningful. No matter how highly I rated the skill of the Ghost Demon from my previous life, the odds of him defeating that Woodcutter while remaining uninjured were not very high.
I forcibly made the Gentleman of Six Harmonies retreat, then stepped into the center while examining the Woodcutter’s physiognomy.
Even so, he appeared more composed than the Red-Robed Groom, and from his sturdy body and expression, I realized he was the sort of person with immense pride and self-esteem.
To shake the Woodcutter’s mental state, I spoke to the Third Young Master’s guard.
“Hey, you guard.”
“Yes, speak.”
“Bring me a butcher’s knife.”
“Yes.”
I asked the Woodcutter, who stood there flaunting his enormous physique, for his patience.
“I’m having a weapon brought over, so stop showing off your muscles and wait.”
The Woodcutter watched me with the gaze one might give an insect, then said,
“Bring it.”
Even as I did so, I checked the Fisherman’s expression and the condition of the Red-Robed Groom, who was regulating her qi. Whether we fought as a group or one-on-one, my goal was to survey the overall situation and always achieve a sweeping victory.
There was a clattering commotion, and the guard returned quickly, holding out a butcher’s knife to me.
“Here it is.”
I accepted the butcher’s knife and said,
“There are several butcher’s knives, yet you deliberately brought the one for slaughtering pigs. As expected…”
The Woodcutter frowned and said,
“Is that Senior Brother Butcher’s knife?”
I waved the butcher’s knife toward the Woodcutter.
“Who knows? Ask him after you’re dead.”
I flashed him a grin, and the Woodcutter charged with his hand axe raised. I was about to unleash the Mad Demon Saber Art, but the Woodcutter’s momentum was so savage that I had no choice but to naturally employ my movement art. Fortunately, the Woodcutter’s movement technique was not fast, thanks to all those muscles.
With the Woodcutter chasing me from behind, I loosened up by running in a large circle in front of the Thousand-Li Inn.
Then I happened to look up at the sky and saw that the moon was especially beautiful tonight.
“Wow… the moonlight. Incredible…”
My mood suddenly lifted, and I found myself laughing.