Chapter 284. You Know What’s in My Heart.
“What makes me angry is that Yoran was treated the same as elixirs, swords, and auction goods.”
“Yes.”
“I can fully understand how someone feels when their business is disrupted. If an elixir disappears because of me, if they lose money, if they can’t find out where a sword went, of course they’d be angry. I think they have every right to confront me. But to bring up a mixed-blood girl and demand money from me? That’s like some guilty bastard trying to give me grief. And the whole time, he was looking down on me from above. Do I look that easy? Am I that much of a fool? Is he really hiding that well in Dongho? Does he have that much money? I’m going to kill that son of a bitch with my own hands, so wait for the news.”
Murong Bai said,
“Understood. But Sect Leader, if you came to the clinic after getting angry, please stay a little calmer.”
Baek Soa, who had come to Murong Bai’s side, placed a cold wet towel on my forehead.
Baek Soa looked down at me and said,
“Sect Leader.”
“What?”
“Please try taking some deep breaths.”
While I was taking deep breaths, Murong Bai said to Baek Soa,
“Step outside for a moment. Don’t stir up the Sect Leader’s anger.”
“Yes.”
As soon as Baek Soa left, I continued speaking.
“Is this something I should stay calm about?”
“No, it isn’t.”
Murong Bai sat beside the bedding and said to me,
“I’m saying this because your anger illness has flared up.”
“True.”
“If it progresses any further, the risk of falling into qi deviation will become high.”
“Seems that way.”
“If you fall into qi deviation, Dongho’s First Sword will be pleased. Do you think I would be?”
“You’re right. I should be careful.”
“What are you going to do if you collapse before you even reach Dongho?”
I stared up at the ceiling and answered,
“That can’t happen.”
“How do you plan to catch him?”
“What? A strategy?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have one. Catching Dongho’s First Sword isn’t a matter of strategy. Everyone seems frightened because he’s someone even the Murim Alliance couldn’t do anything about, but in truth, this isn’t a matter of money either.”
“Then what kind of matter is it?”
“The problem is that there hasn’t been anyone like me until now.”
“Aha.”
“So I intend to spend the rest of my life in Dongho until I find that idiot bastard. With the resolve that if I can’t catch him, I’ll never return to Ilyang County. I plan to scour every inch of Dongho until I kill him. So even if I never find him and grow old, I’ll definitely still be younger than him, which means Dongho’s First Sword will die before I do, right?”
“I suppose so?”
“Once I hear news that he’s dead and confirm it, then I’ll return. I don’t care if it takes ten years or twenty. Until that bastard dies, Dongho will be my second hometown. So you should live well and without incident in the meantime. I stopped by on purpose to say farewell too.”
Murong Bai gave a hollow laugh, then asked me,
“What is this about you putting up a notice?”
“You’ll know when you read it.”
“Yes.”
“Doctor……”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“If I don’t return, the second Hao Sect Leader is Cha Seongtae. If Cha Seongtae happens to fall too early, then you take over as the third. While the two of you are leading the Hao Sect, pass martial arts down to Yoran, feed her plenty of elixirs, and make her the next Hao Sect Leader. This is my request before I leave for my second hometown.”
Murong Bai stared at me quietly.
“I understand Chief Cha, but why must even I become the Hao Sect Leader?”
I looked at Murong Bai as well.
“Because you know what’s in my heart.”
“……”
“What I think about as I live. You have to convey my heart to Yoran. Yoran is too young right now, so she won’t be able to understand what’s inside me. You have to tell her later. Being the Hao Sect Leader isn’t some grand position. It’s a position you can take on while continuing your work as a physician, just as you are now. It doesn’t need to be held by some incredible expert either. It’s simply a position that should be held by someone who understands my intentions in ordinary times. Is that difficult?”
Murong Bai let out a sigh.
“You aren’t someone who would be defeated easily, Sect Leader. Why are you frightening me like this?”
“I still have to prepare. I’m not someone who gets defeated easily. But those who want to kill me will also come to Dongho. And those who want to save me will come to Dongho as well. If the two sides clash and I’m unlucky, or if my side gets pushed back, then I’ll die. Fighting is cold. It doesn’t care about your side or my side. The stronger side simply wins.”
Murong Bai asked,
“Then this trip to Dongho isn’t just a journey to kill the Number One of the Unorthodox Path?”
“For now, that’s the plan. I intend to wash the place clean. It’s a fight between bastards who try to trade people for money and those who say that’s a damn foolish thing to do. Either you get swept up in it and die, or you kill. One of the two.”
“Should I go too? It’s an important fight.”
“Would I tell you to go?”
“Mm.”
“Stay behind and handle things. It’s too much for Cha Seongtae alone. Doctor Murong, you are my secret weapon. My hidden move.”
“Me?”
“Of course. From now on, you’ll become far stronger than you are now. The time and effort you spent researching medicine, studying the body, and devoting yourself to medical arts will shine in martial learning. Trust my words and keep striving.”
“Understood.”
I touched the wet towel on my forehead.
“The fever went down quickly.”
Murong Bai asked,
“Are Senior Sword Demon, Master Liuhe, and Young Master Meng accompanying you?”
“They should.”
“When danger comes, you’re together with them.”
“They’re Yoran’s masters, so they should be together.”
After a brief silence, Murong Bai asked in a cautious tone,
“……You deliberately made those three Yoran’s masters, didn’t you?”
“That was Brother Deuksu’s request.”
“Didn’t you steer things that way, Sect Leader?”
“I did. But those three also know that I deliberately made them Yoran’s masters. It’s something they wouldn’t have done in the past, but after getting swept up with me, they’ve all started living rather loosely. And since that looseness isn’t something wicked, they must be experiencing new feelings they never felt before. We’ll teach her martial arts, but when it comes to living a proper life, Yoran is the master of the four of us.”
Murong Bai muttered in an indifferent tone,
“So Yoran was the master.”
“No one has taught the four of us about the happiness of daily life as clearly as Yoran has. Doctor, don’t think of living alone like us either. Marry a female physician who suits you and have a daughter like Yoran.”
Murong Bai laughed.
“Why specifically a female physician?”
“It’s just a manner of speaking.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow.”
Murong Bai said,
“Then sleep until tomorrow. It seems you haven’t been getting enough sleep these past few days, what with all that anger.”
I closed my eyes.
“Fine. I’m sleeping.”
The moment I shut my eyes, dizziness washed over me, and I heard Murong Bai’s quiet voice from outside the office.
“……Close early. The Sect Leader is sleeping. Move about quietly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Before I knew it, everything around me had fallen silent.
* * *
The next day, I joined up with the Four Great Villains, who had set out from Zaha Inn, and headed for Donghu. I did not exchange any separate farewells with Yoran. The Lust Demon seemed to have lied to her, saying he would go fetch some miraculous medicine, but I figured Yoran was sharp enough not to believe him.
“Is it all right for us to go this slowly?”
I answered the Ghost Demon’s question.
“Let’s go slowly. Like a turtle made of steel.”
“Why? I thought you’d be so angry you’d force-march us there.”
I shook my head.
“No. We have to crawl along like turtles. All we need to do is get to Donghu. Eat good food at every meal, sleep in nice places, fish now and then, hunt, drink, sleep to our hearts’ content, and keep moving east.”
This time, the Lust Demon asked.
“What’s the point of that?”
I looked at the Lust Demon.
“It means we advance happily. The declaration of war needs time to spread. The bastards who want to kill me need to come to Donghu, and the people who want to save me need to come to Donghu too. If they’re all going to gather and make a scene, we have to move slowly.”
The Lust Demon muttered.
“Are we trying to kill the Number One of the Unorthodox Path, or not? Then we’ll have even more enemies.”
“We’ll have more allies too, so it doesn’t matter.”
The Lust Demon said to the Sword Demon.
“Master, this fight is going to get bigger than expected.”
The Sword Demon answered.
“I hope it gets even bigger.”
“Why?”
“Because only then do I think we’ll be able to live quietly.”
“Mm.”
The Ghost Demon asked me again.
“What do you plan to do once we arrive at Donghu? The Number One of the Unorthodox Path has never even shown himself. He won’t be easy to find.”
“I plan to settle down in Donghu until I kill him.”
The Lust Demon started in surprise.
“What?”
“Why are you surprised? We’ll have to live in Donghu until we kill him. Watch ships being built, take over an inn, hire some waiters. Run a business. Kill assassins. If that Unorthodox bastard sends killers, we’ll lose sleep. We’ll beat to death the bastards who worked under him like his hands and feet. Whether it takes one year or ten, we’ll settle in.”
The Lust Demon said, flustered.
“Ten years? What about Yoran in the meantime?”
“It’s just a figure of speech. And even if it did take ten years, Yoran would only be sixteen. That’s an age where we can start teaching her martial arts in earnest.”
The Lust Demon said with an uneasy expression.
“Didn’t you tell Yoran we’d be right back?”
I stared at the Lust Demon.
“I never said that. That must have been you.”
“Ah, right.”
The Lust Demon said to the Sword Demon.
“Master, if we’re unlucky, we might end up living in Donghu for ten years.”
The Sword Demon nodded.
“There is a certain elegance to living while gazing at the lake morning and evening.”
“That’s true.”
The Lust Demon suddenly let out a hearty laugh, as if he had attained enlightenment.
The ever-gloomy Sword Demon suddenly asked me.
“Did you ask Murong Bai and Cha Seongtae to handle what comes after?”
I nodded.
“I did.”
The Lust Demon, who had been laughing like a madman, asked the Sword Demon in a serious tone.
“Master, are we perhaps going there to die?”
The Sword Demon answered.
“That is not it, but the Sect Leader is the head of Hao Sect, so it is only natural for him to clearly decide what should happen afterward.”
“Yes, Master.”
The Lust Demon looked at the three of us, then asked with an expression that could not suppress his curiosity.
“Murong Bai’s martial arts are weak, so why ask him……”
This time too, the Sword Demon answered.
“Does Murong Bai look weak to you?”
“Yes.”
“A stupid man cannot work as a physician. When it comes to acupoints, he is likely far more learned than you.”
“That’s probably true.”
“If he has the ability to focus and delve deeply into something, his achievements will come quickly even if he learns late. To my eyes, he did not look like a weak man either.”
“I see. I was the only one who didn’t know. Ah, judging from his expression, it seems Second didn’t know either.”
The Ghost Demon looked at the Lust Demon.
“Stop fucking around. I knew.”
The Lust Demon burst into laughter and replied.
“Second’s gotten better at jokes. Hahahaha……”
When no one laughed with him, the Lust Demon soon returned to an expressionless face as well. Perhaps he had suddenly thought of something dark, because he said this.
“What if someone harasses Yoran while we’re gone? Or attacks Hao Sect?”
I looked at the Lust Demon.
“Where is Hao Sect?”
The Lust Demon looked at me as though wondering what kind of bullshit I was spouting.
“Isn’t Zaha Inn Hao Sect?”
“That’s just Zaha Inn. I am Hao Sect, and Hao Sect is me. If they want to strike Hao Sect, they have to strike me.”
The Lust Demon asked me.
“Ah, I see. But why do you make a cool line sound so obnoxious?”
I answered while looking at the Lust Demon.
“You’re just obnoxious, you bastard.”
This time, the Ghost Demon seemed unable to hold back his laughter and laughed by himself. When no one laughed along with him, the Ghost Demon soon returned to an expressionless face as well.
“……”
A moment later, the Lust Demon asked the Sword Demon in a polite tone.
“Master, since it’s been a while since we’ve gone out, what shall we have for lunch? Is there anything you’d like to eat? Chief Steward Cha gave us plenty of travel money, so I’ll pay for lunch.”
After hearing his disciple’s words, the Sword Demon said to me.
“……Chief Steward Cha gave travel money to the three of us as well. We told him it was all right, but he said it was military funds.”
I nodded.
“It’s money we took from the Black Path and piled up. I’m glad he packed plenty. If we run out of money, we can ask around and harass some Black Path bastards along the way as we travel. To replenish the military funds.”
At my words, faint smiles appeared at the corners of the Lust Demon’s, Ghost Demon’s, and Sword Demon’s mouths. When the three madmen suddenly smiled at the same time, goosebumps rose on my arms. It seemed they were in a good mood.
‘Goosebumps…….’
The Sword Demon soon returned to a solemn expression and nodded.
“Not bad.”
The Ghost Demon also muttered with a serious expression.
“A good idea.”
The Lust Demon nodded as if in agreement as well.
“The Black Path is good too.”
Since everyone was serious, I spoke seriously as well.
“Good. I hope we run into bandits, too. Mounted bandits wouldn’t be bad either. Assassins are actually welcome, if only to keep us on edge. So many good things.”
Why had so many good things suddenly appeared?
Of all days, even the weather was nice today.