Episode 279. How Much Is This?

I listened to the lives of three men.

A tale begun in the dark of night ended once more in the dark of night. It was a story so long that blood could have flowed from my ears, yet I did not miss a single word. Because I had to know their circumstances to understand the true nature of these three. And I had to know their true nature to be sure there would be no problem when I left.

And so, I listened to their stories.

The grand epic of how the ancestor of the Mansang Gate Chief had been a defeated general, and how his path to the military had been blocked, forcing him into the Dark Path.

The magnificent tale of the Byeokryeok Gate, which had once been a sect of merely ten people yet had somehow become a Dark Path force while fighting the Dark Path.

And the sordid tale of the Cheoneung Chamber, which had originally encompassed the entire Makseung underworld, yet had gradually weakened due to internal power struggles…….

I endured that tedious tale until the very end. In the process, the three men also came to learn each other's circumstances, and what thoughts they lived by.

What more could I do for them?

I stated my conclusion.

"……Although the ancestor of the Mansang Gate Chief was a defeated general, Gate Chief Sun Ujin, even while dwelling in the Dark Path, remained conscious that he was the descendant of a martial artist who had received a salary from the state. Thus he refrained from using poison on his opponents or launching despicable ambushes, and seems to have maintained his principles as much as possible. Do the Byeokryeok Gate Chief and the Cheoneung Chamber Chief also agree with this?"

"Hearing of his past deeds and today's story, it seems so."

"I agree. There was no cowardice."

I nodded.

"Then, would you prefer that my direct subordinate, the strongest in the Hawoo Gate, leads the Makseung Dark Path? Or would you prefer that the Mansang Gate Chief unites the three forces and leads them?"

The Byeokryeok Gate Chief and the Cheoneung Chamber Chief glanced at each other and gave the expected answer.

"We will follow the will of the Hawoo Gate Chief. We know we are not in a position to choose."

"I think the same."

"You must have realized through the night what will happen if your words are false, having gauged my temperament?"

"Yes."

I spoke to the three Dark Path men.

"I listened to your three stories throughout the night while suppressing my killing intent, but honestly, it was neither fun, moving, interesting, nor inspiring. I was quite surprised that people could fill their stories with nothing but excuses. You are masters of excuses. But, Mansang Gate Chief."

"Yes."

"I leave you a promise. You are to unite all of the Makseung Dark Path, organize what has happened so far, and report it to the Murim Alliance. Also, request that they find a way for you to survive."

"How should I make the request?"

"In such times, just be honest. Ask them, we are of the Dark Path, how must we live going forward? People are not fools, and there are many smart people in the Murim Alliance. Ask them for a way for your forces to survive without collecting tribute. The four of us are scraping by in the martial world with our lives on the line, so it is fine to ask them at least that much. There must be people in the Murim Alliance far more capable and responsible than us four. Could those military officers truly be so foolish? Will you do as I say?"

The Mansang Gate Chief nodded.

"I will do so."

"This is a promise between men, so I do not ask for anything else. When I learn that the promise has not been kept, I swear that I will come without hesitation to kill the three of you. I have already killed public figures like those of the Murim, guests, and lone wanderers, and annihilated the forces of the Demon Cult. What does that mean?"

I looked at the subordinates of the three who were around us.

"……Coming to kill all of you would not even be a task. If the three of you gather your wealth and flee, I will pay every information organization in the martial world to find my sworn brothers first. Have the Mansang Gate Chief tell you what that means."

The Mansang Gate Chief answered.

"If that happens, the Demon Cult will find us first."

The eyes of the Byeokryeok Gate Chief and the Cheoneung Chamber Chief wavered.

"……!"

"I am already the target of the Demon Cult, so you too will become people living on borrowed time. I hope you do not do that. I wasted two days because of you. However, if I later hear that Makseung has changed, you will realize that the time spent talking through the night was not in vain."

I stood up and tightened the knot of my bundle again.

"I will take the long robe as a gift……know that."

The black long robe of the Mansang Gate suited me quite well. The Mansang Gate Chief sprang to his feet, but the other two could not get up immediately due to their injuries and having sat for too long.

The Mansang Gate Chief asked me in a flustered tone.

"Are you leaving like this? You should at least have a meal before you go."

"How could I comfortably eat food given by the Dark Path?"

"If I go to Ilyanghyeon, will I be able to see the Gate Chief?"

"Chances are high I'll be busy and not there. Do not come looking before I call."

I looked at the Byeokryeok Gate Chief.

"Byeokryeok Gate Chief."

"Yes."

"I am not very sorry for slapping you. You know the reason."

"Since you intended to kill me from the start, that is only natural."

When I looked at the Cheoneung Chamber Chief, he also slightly bowed his head.

"……Gate Chief-nim, thank you for sparing my life. I should have gone to Suwoljeong sooner."

The Cheoneung Chamber Chief's tone had also changed to honorifics, but I didn't pay it much mind.

I spoke to the three of them.

"After talking through the night, you no longer feel like the strangers I saw yesterday. If you survive and fate allows, let us meet again then. Dark path men……I take my leave. Ah, wait a moment."

I stopped and turned around.

Not only the leaders of the three, but all the Dark Path men were watching me.

I deliberately made this suggestion to the three.

"You said you would report to the Murim Alliance."

"That is correct."

"How about dividing the wealth you collected as tribute among the people of Makseung beforehand, as charity? I don't care if it's for show. The Alliance, too, is where people live. It will help when investigations come, so do that. If I pass through Makseung next time, I will enter an ordinary inn and eat a bowl of noodles instead of beating someone to death. I will verify the results thoroughly then, so I'll see you later. By then I won't be an herb gatherer but something like a pack peddler, so don't bother me."

Slowly looking around at the people who said nothing, I departed. From afar, the Mansang Gate Chief's voice was heard.

"Farewell."

I did not bother to answer.

I thought how truly pathetic I was to have wasted two days on these Dark Path bastards.

Whether it was the right thing.

Whether it was useless meddling.

Whether I had pointlessly saved those who should have died.

Or whether this was originally the proper way of a human being.

Because it was a response different from the life I had lived as the Mad Demon, I too did not know the clear correct answer for this action.

Honestly, I had no expectation that Makseung would suddenly change. I did not think those three would repent and become righteous martial artists. Because people do not change easily. Yet the reason I had handled it this way anyway was because one never knows what will happen with people.

Just like me.

As I became alone again and set out on the road, the sob stories of those three pathetic bastards occasionally came to mind.

Come to think of it, I had not told them much of my story.

Because I hid my own story, they probably think I am some incredible young master, don't they?

Actually, that was for the best. There were times when simply pretending to be a perfectly sound mysterious master would put the other party more at ease.

Suddenly, I felt my steps growing slower and slower, assailed by drowsiness and hunger.

I had no choice but to pull a hundred-year He Shou Wu from my bundle and chew on it.

Even starving as I was, it tasted absolutely awful.

It was one thing to go gather herbs, but if I kept returning like this, I'd end up eating every last one of them myself.

Was this ultimately my gourmet spiritual medicine tour?

Fortunately, after chewing through the hundred-year He Shou Wu, my hunger completely vanished, sleep fled, and my steps quickened.

Then did that mean what I'd taken from my bundle wasn't a hundred-year He Shou Wu, but a three-hundred-year one?

Fucking hell…….

A tingling in my lower abdomen felt like a signal telling me to hole up somewhere and circulate my qi and regulate my breathing, but I ignored it and kept walking. I couldn't return in a single stretch anyway. No matter where it was, I needed to sleep.

A thought suddenly struck me.

The thought that perhaps I hadn't left to gather herbs, but because I'd wanted to spend a few days alone. Only once I was alone did I remember that I hadn't given a proper name to that fucking plague of a combination of Ice Arts and Thunder Qi.

The combination of sun and moon was Riyue Guangtian.

What I had created by combining Bai Zhan Shi Duan Gong with both hands was Leidian Mache.

I wanted to give moon and lightning something simple.

Moonlight extended like a lightning strike and white energy surged forth, so I named it Yueguang Baizhen. Though it was a technique of my own making, the name didn't roll off the tongue, and it felt like one I would soon forget.

'Strange. I really feel like I'm going to forget it.'

Somehow, Baiye seemed easier to remember than Baizhen, so I corrected it to Yueguang Baiye.

That way, it meant a night turned white by moonlight, so I didn't think I would forget.

Riyue Guangtian, Leidian Mache, Yueguang Baiye, Riyue Guangmu.

Did I possess enough internal energy to freely wield four techniques?

I thought it was still too much to handle.

Immersed in thoughts of martial arts even as I walked and ran, I realized I was on an unfamiliar path.

"……."

It wasn't that I had no sense of direction, but this often happened when walking at night. I was only human, after all, so I gradually turned my steps toward human habitation. Was this why moths dove toward the light?

I became a lone moth, wandering in search of an inn's light.

Come to think of it, I seemed to be someone who had to live in the secular world forever. Someone who missed the mundane world even while alone, and who had to travel alone even while living among others. I didn't understand myself either.

Having gone two nights without sleep, I entered a shabby inn by a quiet roadside and looked around. It was a time when there shouldn't have been any customers, but there were often inns that served meals for laborers starting work before dawn.

When no one appeared to greet me, I was about to leave when a voice came from the kitchen.

"Are you here for a meal?"

It was the voice of a fairly old man.

"Isn't it rather early? Is that all right?"

"Yes. We have noodles and dumplings, and only one kind of wine."

"All three, please."

"Yes."

I sat down and took in the small inn. The tables and chairs looked to be at least twenty years old. Just as I was about to doze off, the innkeeper—who looked to be in his forties—set down noodles and dumplings in large bowls, two side dishes, and wine on the table.

Setting down the food, the innkeeper spoke to me.

"……You look tired."

"I haven't slept in days."

Out of habit, I looked at the innkeeper's face and met his eyes. He wore an exaggerated smile, but his eyes were on the small side, so I couldn't read his gaze.

"Please enjoy your meal."

The innkeeper muttered something unnecessary as he headed back to the kitchen.

"Off to dig herbs from the early dawn, I see."

I thought the innkeeper was unnecessarily nosy, and picked up my chopsticks.

The noodles, dumplings, and side dishes all looked unappetizing. Food had a certain luster to it, but everything here was dull and dreary.

I glanced toward the kitchen, then pierced the center of a dumpling with my chopsticks to split it open. As expected, the filling inside was dreary too. I stirred the noodles to check the broth and the strands, then lifted them out.

And the wine?

Pouring it into my cup, it was an unidentifiable turbid wine.

There was nothing here worth eating.

Dressed as a weary herb gatherer, I looked at the garbage spread across the table. Honestly, I'd planned to eat this and collapse facedown on the table for at least a couple of hours before setting off again. I'd simply confirmed that things often didn't go according to plan.

I called out toward the kitchen.

"……How much?"

A voice came from the kitchen, sounding bewildered.

"Excuse me?"

"I said how much. The bill."

The innkeeper came out of the kitchen, stared fixedly at the table, and only then met my eyes. His small eyes held blatant emotions. His expression hardening, he spoke to me.

"Just go."

"Just go?"

"Yes."

I locked eyes with the innkeeper, then reached into my robes. Instead of my coin purse, I pulled out a flash dagger and stabbed it into the table.

I glared at the innkeeper, then gave a slight nod.

"That won't do. Come out here."

The innkeeper let out a hollow laugh, wiped his hands on his apron, and walked out. He sat across from me and asked,

"Why are you doing this?"

I looked at the innkeeper and said,

"I'll pay the bill, so eat. Noodles, dumplings, wine. One chopstickful, one bite, one drink."

"Why."

"Why?"

"Yes."

Because I had determined one of the three was poisoned. Just as I was about to shove it down his throat, men with swords at their waists entered from the doorway and greeted the innkeeper.

"You're open early today?"

"A bowl of noodles, then."

The three men took a table, then looked at me and the innkeeper facing off and laughed. They seemed to be men who hadn't washed in days; a fishy stench filled the inn.

The innkeeper called for help from the three men.

"He ordered food but won't eat, and suddenly tells me to eat it."

"Oh? Young man, what's the matter?"

I looked over the new guests and answered.

"……Did you come to share the noodles too?"

"……."

I laughed, rolling my shoulders.

"You bastards sure are unlucky today."