Chapter 243. We Headed West.

As soon as we left the stir-fried offal restaurant, the Ghost Demon whispered to me.

“But why can’t that mighty Murim Alliance catch a public enemy like this?”

I wanted to tell him that he himself had been extremely hard to catch in my previous life, but I settled for a sigh instead.

“Who knows. Catching them isn’t easy. It’s not like there are only one or two public enemies, and some hide while wearing human-skin masks. Some bury themselves deep in the mountains. Some might be hiding away with their lovers. If you want to hide, there are plenty of ways. So they distribute wanted portraits, wait for reports, and send Alliance members too, but the problem is…”

The Ghost Demon nodded.

“Even if they do find them, they’re masters ordinary Alliance members can’t handle?”

“Right.”

The Lust Demon chimed in as well.

“And it wouldn’t do for the Alliance Leader to go around personally hunting them down and killing them one by one. At this level, should a captain step in? Master, do you know anything about Mureungja?”

The Sword Demon shook his head.

“I do not. He seems to be a master who has only been mentioned recently.”

Truthfully, I didn’t remember the title Mureungja either. Was he someone who hadn’t been on the public enemy list in my previous life? Even if he had been, by the time I ended up on that list, he must have already been dead. I only became interested in Murim public enemies after I became one myself. Before that, I didn’t know much. It had been none of my business.

‘Hm? Wait a minute.’

Only then did I take out the wanted portrait again and check Mureungja’s clothing and appearance.

In other words, he gave off a faintly Daoist air.

Wanted portraits were originally drawn based on victims or eyewitnesses, so they were not accurate.

I searched my memory and felt as if I knew who had killed that Daoist bastard called Mureungja.

‘This is a little absurd. Is he the one who died back then?’

Of course, he hadn’t died by my hand.

I didn’t have the skill for that.

But I still vividly remembered the sight of the Mad Monk beating some Daoist bastard to death. If this fellow was that Daoist, then it seemed he had fought quite fiercely against the Mad Monk too.

That meant Mureungja was not on the level of some neighborhood black path thug. Naturally, he must have been put on the public enemy list precisely because he wasn’t on the level of a neighborhood black path thug.

At the time, I had watched while taking it for granted that the Mad Monk would win.

But Mureungja apparently hadn’t imagined he would lose at all, because in his final expression, bewilderment and confusion had mingled together.

It was the sort of face that seemed to say, ‘I’m dying here?’

Back then, the Mad Monk would be walking down the road or eating a meal, then suddenly beat someone to death the moment he saw them. Weren’t some of the men who died that way Murim public enemies?

At the time, I had thought it was quite insane behavior, but guessing at it like this, it didn’t seem completely insane. Naturally, wanted portraits were often posted everywhere like public notices, so anyone could check them.

The Mad Monk was a man who made no excuses and offered no explanations, so there had been plenty I couldn’t know at the time.

While looking at the Murim public enemy’s wanted portrait, I said to the villains,

“Let’s go for now.”

The Ghost Demon asked,

“Where?”

“West.”

“Will Mureungja appear if we go west?”

“He’s the West Evil, so we should go west. If he were the East Evil, we’d go east.”

I walked slowly down the road with the villains.

The information written below the wanted portrait said he appeared around Juksan, and my memory was similar.

Back then, I had passed Juksan and was heading east with the Mad Monk.

Now, I headed with the villains toward Juksan, which was located west of the Murim Alliance. People of the jianghu often gave titles based on the Murim Alliance as the center, so it seemed that was why he had been given the title West Evil.

Just as my title in the orthodox faction was New Six Dragons of the South.

The Lust Demon, who belonged to the Six Dragons with me, asked the Ghost Demon,

“Is it far from here to Juksan?”

“Fairly far.”

“Master, shall we get a carriage and go?”

The Sword Demon looked at me.

“A carriage?”

I shook my head.

“Let’s walk.”

The Lust Demon was startled out of his skin and said,

“When the hell are we supposed to arrive if we walk?”

I looked at the Lust Demon.

“If it’s slow, then run, you bastard.”

“One should speak only when words can get through. Let’s not talk.”

The Lust Demon sighed and asked the Sword Demon,

“But why does Jaha always give me shit?”

The Sword Demon replied with a serious expression.

“I often want to do the same, but I hold myself back.”

“Mm…… yes.”

Since I knew a way to arrive at Juksan early, I opened my mouth.

“By the way.”

“…….”

“If we competed in qinggong, how would the rankings turn out?”

“…….”

“I suppose Eldest Brother and I would be fighting for the lead, right? Honestly, I think I’d be the fastest at qinggong. Aren’t I number one?”

I had opened my mouth in an idle tone, but oddly enough, no one responded. Startled, I turned back, and everyone was wearing expressions as if what I’d said was absurd.

The corners of the Sword Demon’s mouth rose slightly.

The Ghost Demon looked at me and shook his head.

The Lust Demon was wearing a rotten smile.

I asked the three of them,

“So this is an atmosphere of acknowledgment after all?”

“Not at all.”

The Lust Demon answered with a slight laugh.

“Stop talking bullshit. I’m the fastest at qinggong. Why? Because I’ve never lost in Baengeungji.”

The Ghost Demon replied,

“There must have been only about five young men in Baengeungji who could run properly. You’re saying you were the fastest among them?”

The Sword Demon was the type not to be affected by provocation, so he kept his mouth shut with a calm expression.

I looked at the Sword Demon.

“Senior, since you’re only interested in swordsmanship, surely you’re a bit lacking in qinggong?”

The Sword Demon asked me,

“Sect Leader, are you confident?”

I properly provoked the three of them.

“Well, it was only for a short time, but I did briefly shake off the Heavenly Evil, one of the Three Calamities. I wonder if you’ll even be able to glimpse my backside.”

While I was speaking, the villains walked over and stood side by side next to me.

The Ghost Demon stared ahead and said,

“Good. To be honest, I’m not confident I can take first place. But I have no intention of coming last either. Let’s make it a long match. What should last place do?”

The Lust Demon said,

“Last place……”

While the Lust Demon was thinking up an answer, the Ghost Demon shot forward. The Sword Demon and I reacted at the same time and unleashed our qinggong.

From behind, the Lust Demon came flying through the air, passed the three of us in an instant, and took the lead.

The sound of three people snorting overlapped at once……

Last place or whatever, our speed kept rising. Seeing it like this, surprisingly, the Lust Demon was the nimblest, followed by the Sword Demon, and the Ghost Demon was last.

I ran at the very rear, watching the situation.

This is what I think.

Whether we killed Wulingzi of Xiyue or not was, in truth, none of my concern. To begin with, these villains were men who felt no particular emotion over cutting off one more person’s head.

To me, the journey of taking these villains along to find Wulingzi somewhere out there was more important.

Perhaps that had been how the Mad Monk felt when he took me to the sea off Zhejiang.

The destination was important, but back then I simply hadn’t known that the process mattered more.

Likewise, whether I won or lost in this stupid qinggong contest was none of my concern. It was a contest where only the Lust Demon needed to come in last.

Whether I tripped him, shoulder-checked him, or ambushed him from behind with ice arts, last place belonged to the Lust Demon. So I deliberately ran leisurely at the tail end.

“Once we get onto the main road and run for a while, there’ll be a relay station where escort bureaus stop to rest, so let’s take a break there.”

The Lust Demon and the Ghost Demon answered at the same time.

“Confirmed.”

After half a quarter-hour passed, the Sword Demon shot out into the lead.

The Lust Demon chased after him.

As expected, the Ghost Demon was the slowest, so I ran alongside him and nagged him about his qinggong.

“Aren’t you too slow?”

“Shut up already.”

“You want to be the youngest?”

“No?”

“We decided the one in last place would be the youngest.”

As if by magic, the Ghost Demon’s speed began to rise little by little. I advised him the way the Beggars’ Gang Chief had taught me.

“It doesn’t seem like your internal energy is being fully converted into qinggong.”

While running, the Ghost Demon answered with a puzzled expression.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re putting too much strength into your legs, so your posture is floating. Adjust it. You’re not slow because you lack internal energy. You’re slow because you don’t know how to run properly. Your qinggong is definitely worse than that pants-shitter’s.”

“Damn it.”

I switched to the Tiyunzong, which I could no longer tell apart as my own martial art or the White-Clad Scholar’s, and overtook the Ghost Demon. It seemed the Ghost Demon would come in last in the first contest.

But it didn’t matter.

As long as I wasn’t last.

In an instant, I caught up to the Lust Demon and passed him without a word, then sent him the most hateful sneer in the world. The Lust Demon’s eyes widened when he saw my expression.

The Lust Demon said to me.

“You got a bit faster?”

At this point, the martial learning of the White-Clad Scholar and the Beggars’ Gang Chief had already mingled within the realm of my qinggong. It was not a level some pants-shitter dared follow.

After lightly overtaking the Lust Demon, I chased after the Sword Demon. Out of nowhere, I realized through a qinggong contest with these villains that my martial arts had been improving all this time.

Closing the distance with the Sword Demon was not especially difficult either.

But since I had no particular desire to overtake the Sword Demon, I maintained an appropriate distance and headed for the relay station.

* * *

A relay station was originally a place to change out tired horses, so for escort guards, it was an extremely important place. Naturally, there was plenty to eat, plenty of horses, and one could also maintain carriages. Horses and carriages could be purchased there as well.

The order of arrival was the Sword Demon, me, the Lust Demon, then the Ghost Demon.

The Ghost Demon must have had his pride badly wounded, because he kept his mouth shut, which made him no fun to tease.

Then I simply wouldn’t tease him.

After having a simple meal with the three of them, I bought a used carriage, two horses, and a flag with nothing written on it.

I had acted so much as I pleased all this time that even when I bought a carriage, no one said anything, and when I led the horses over, everyone simply accepted it.

I shoved a pole into the roof of the carriage and looked at the fluttering cloth.

“……What escort bureau should we write on it?”

The Ghost Demon turned around and answered.

“Why are we suddenly pretending to be an escort bureau?”

“Quiet. If we put down too impressive a name, it’ll be boring, so think of something moderate.”

The Lust Demon answered.

“How about Fengyun Escort Bureau?”

I pointed at the Lust Demon with my finger.

“Oh, that’s good. Go to the place that sold the flags and have them write Fengyun Escort Bureau on it.”

I threw the flag to the Lust Demon. When the Lust Demon looked at the Sword Demon, the Sword Demon added a word.

“Hurry back.”

“Yes.”

For a while, we sat in front of the inn with delinquent expressions, waiting for the Lust Demon we had sent on the errand. A short while later, the Lust Demon returned with the flag on which Fengyun Escort Bureau had been written after borrowing brush and ink.

“Master, let’s go.”

As I headed toward the carriage, I assigned roles for the Fengyun Escort Bureau that had just been established.

“Eldest Brother will be the bureau master of Fengyun Escort Bureau.”

“…….”

“Liuhe suits the role of chief head escort. I’ll be the senior escort guard, so keep that in mind.”

Holding the flag in his hand, the Lust Demon looked at me with uneasy eyes.

“What about me?”

“You’re just the coachman, so drive the horses properly. Be the porter too. I’m being generous.”

The Lust Demon made a face as if he were about to spew curses, but when his eyes met his master’s, he climbed onto the coachman’s seat without a word.

The Ghost Demon, whose mood was particularly foul today, sat beside the Lust Demon and said.

“Drive properly.”

Holding the reins, the Lust Demon answered.

“Now, we are departing. Everyone, take your seats quickly. Bound for Xiyue to strike down Wulingzi, the Xiyue-bound Fengyun Escort Bureau carriage is departing.”

I nodded.

“Good. Looks like he’s finally lost his mind. Senior, please ride inside.”

I ushered the Sword Demon into the carriage. The Sword Demon asked.

“What about you?”

“I’m thinking of staying on the roof or following along with qinggong.”

“Is that necessary?”

“When I get a bit tired, let’s switch then, Senior. I need to train my qinggong a little.”

“Understood.”

* * *

After balancing myself on the rattling roof, I clicked my tongue at the Lust Demon, who was handling the horses roughly.

“That pathetic bastard, taking out his anger on those poor hardworking horses.”

The Ghost Demon nodded as well.

“Pathetic bastard.”

While I hadn’t been watching, had the Ghost Demon been living for the fun of tormenting the Lust Demon? He treated the Lust Demon in a most satisfying way.

People are bound to grow little by little like this. Perhaps his mood had finally improved somewhat, for the Ghost Demon would now and then sing some tedious song.

For a moment, I felt strangely.

At some point, the Four Great Villains had stopped raising any particular objection to the things I decided, or to the things I said we should do.

An old carriage with its paint peeling off here and there.

Two horses that looked so far from sturdy that I felt as if I had been swindled.

The Ghost Demon, who occasionally broke into dull old songs.

The Lust Demon, who grumbled even as he flicked the reins.

And inside the carriage, the Sword Demon—the troubled man of the jianghu—once again sunk deep in thought.

As I led them westward, I would often climb down from the roof and unfold my qinggong.

If not now, then when else would I train my qinggong?

I did not bother to distinguish between going to kill the public enemy, traveling with villains, and training to raise the level of my qinggong.

I headed west with the villains.

Just as the Mad Monk had headed east.

Now, east and west no longer mattered to me.