Chapter 288. We Are Not Pitiful Bastards.

“……Hao Sect Master!”

I had not found so much as a mouthful of water, let alone anything to eat, when someone outside the inn called for me desperately.

Without answering, I looked at the three men in the inn.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

If the hearts of the people were not with us, even drinking a single mouthful of water in Donghu would be difficult.

To be honest, I had not expected this kind of fight. Fighting with skill was important, of course, but now eating, drinking, and sleeping had become part of the contest as well.

It was proof that human conflict was always underpinned by the hearts of the people.

“Hao Sect Master!”

The Lust Demon chuckled and looked at me.

“He sounds desperate. At least answer him.”

When I still refused to answer, the person outside got to the point.

“……I am Gui Long, who spent his childhood with Bigaek. Come out. One-on-one. Unrelated to the Number One of the Evil Path, I request a life-and-death duel to avenge Bigaek, whom you killed. My grievance seems deeper than your act of smashing Heukhyang, which had nothing to do with you in the first place. We will fight one-on-one, without obstruction or interference, so come out.”

I gave the three a rough explanation of the situation.

“I can’t trust that there won’t be an ambush. I feel like some mechanical trap or hidden weapon is going to appear. What do you think?”

The Ghost Demon nodded.

“That may be so. If you do not feel inclined, I will fight first.”

I ended my rest and stood.

“I’m the one who killed Bigaek, so I can’t do that.”

When I went outside, the street was deserted, turning the space before the inn into a broad dueling ground. Even so, from a little distance away and from here and there among the buildings, gleaming eyes were still watching us.

I looked at Gui Long, who stood alone.

He looked to be over thirty, wore a curved blade at his waist, and did not seem weak.

I also examined the surroundings.

Spectators were scattered everywhere, enough that I could not predict where a hidden weapon might come flying from. There was some distance, but to experts, such distance was meaningless anyway.

I sat on a chair in front of the inn and admonished Gui Long while gauging the atmosphere around us.

“It’s true that I killed Bigaek. Before that, he had become a public enemy of murim. It isn’t easy to become one.”

I looked at the Four Great Villains, who had casually sat down beside me just like at Zaha Inn, then continued.

“You have to do every damnable thing under the sun to make it onto that list. Even if it hadn’t been me, he would have been caught and killed by masters of the Murim Alliance. Are you truly Bigaek’s friend? Then I offer my condolences. But does the word ‘friend’ mean that you committed similar evils? If so, I’ll send you to your friend’s side. How about it? Before I kill you, I should at least know what kind of person you are. I came to fight the Number One of the Evil Path, so why have you stepped forward? Is it really for revenge? Your courage is impressive.”

Gui Long stood before me, but I was still contending with the Number One of the Evil Path and the hearts of the people.

“While we’re fighting, an arrow isn’t going to come flying at me, is it? That would be troublesome. You’re not challenging me now because you’re counting on that, are you?”

Gui Long answered.

“Stop spouting nonsense and come out.”

At that moment, the Sword Demon, who had been still until now, opened his mouth.

“See here……”

When Gui Long looked at the Sword Demon, the Sword Demon asked in an even tone.

“Do you intend to die? I would like to hear only yes or no.”

I let out a slight sigh.

‘Good grief.’

Now, even if I wanted to spare him, I could not.

Gui Long drew his curved blade and pointed it at the Sword Demon.

“Stay out of this.”

At Gui Long’s words, the Lust Demon and the Ghost Demon also let out short sighs.

“Tsk.”

Without saying a word, the Sword Demon rose and walked toward Gui Long.

Since our eldest brother had stepped forward, all we could do was watch.

To be honest, I had no sense of just how much the Sword Demon had improved all this time. It felt almost wasteful to reveal his full strength here.

After all, there were many eyes watching.

The Sword Demon simply walked toward Gui Long.

It was only a short time, but Gui Long’s expression changed in a truly colorful array before turning pale.

Still, it seemed he had some courage left.

Gui Long shouted something and fiercely swung his curved blade at the Sword Demon, who had not yet drawn his sword.

I watched with my eyes wide open, and the Sword Demon drew the Radiant Light Sword with perfect naturalness, then, without changing his walking posture, drove it into Gui Long’s abdomen. This was possible because, at the same time, he had accurately caught Gui Long’s blade with his left hand.

“Gaaaaaaaah!”

A bizarre scream rang out, like a pig falling into a well, and Gui Long, impaled by the Radiant Light Sword, flailed in the air before going limp.

In that instant, the Sword Demon tilted his head to the left.

I saw nothing, but something that glinted faintly lodged itself in the forehead of the already dead Gui Long. The dead man’s head snapped back.

The Sword Demon pulled out the Radiant Light Sword, flung the corpse to the ground, then turned and looked up somewhere at the building to our left with an indifferent expression.

“……”

The Sword Demon’s figure shot into the air like a ray of light, and a moment later, a thunderous roar erupted.

Kwang!

I did not bother getting up to watch.

There came the sound of a building wall being smashed, followed by screams, then the sound of something being cut apart again and again and falling outside. A series of clamorous noises encompassing all of it continued for a while before, at some point, everything became quiet.

A short while later, with a thud, the Sword Demon dropped back to the ground and returned to where we were.

The Ghost Demon said,

“You worked hard.”

The Sword Demon merely nodded slightly. Even in the midst of that, the Lust Demon watched the Sword Demon’s mood, then cleared his throat and said,

“As expected, there were bastards trying to ambush us. I didn’t even see the hidden weapon.”

The Sword Demon answered.

“It was a small poison needle.”

The Sword Demon shook the blood from the Radiant Light Sword, then gazed blankly at the blade and said,

“……If we are hungry, let us go out to Donghu later and do some fishing.”

I nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

There was not much to call an exposure of strength. After all, it had been nothing but the sound of everything being killed in a single stroke. I spoke as though telling those hiding nearby to listen.

“……Listen. Though there are only four of us, the Number One of the Evil Path cannot resolve this situation by sending subordinates, hired wanderers, allied forces, or assorted assassins. He simply cannot. We will jump into Donghu and cook only live fish to eat, so poison will be useless against us. We will secure drinking water then as well. A plan to send assassins all night to disturb our sleep has little meaning either. I have had a sleep disorder from the start, you see. In other words, I could never sleep well to begin with. Above all, I do not wish to beat every one of his subordinates to death. That is because you have not yet escaped a life of living under orders. Since I have come, I hope you will break free of it. This fight ends only when the Number One of the Evil Path dies. Think it over. There is no reason for every last one of you to die as well.”

The area around the inn became gravely silent.

I let out a deep sigh, then spoke in a solemn tone.

“……Who am I even talking to?”

The Lust Demon nodded.

“Exactly. You’re always muttering to yourself. It’s not like anyone answers.”

At that moment, we looked to the right at the same time.

“Hm.”

A man with a large bundle on his back was striding toward us with vigorous steps, glaring straight ahead without looking at us.

His face was close to ocher in color, his build was small, and his gaze was sharp.

His attire and air were truly peculiar.

He looked as if he had spent hundreds of days as a messenger on some ancient battlefield and had only just arrived.

When the man reached us, he suddenly stopped and turned left with crisp precision.

I was inwardly startled, wondering if this man had come here to die as well.

“……!”

But the man standing before us cupped his fist and paid his respects in order to the Sword Demon, the Ghost Demon, me, and the Lust Demon, then tapped his own chest.

Where in the world had this lunatic popped out from?

The man abruptly took out a book and lifted its pitch-black cover to show us.

Written there was this:

「I am Deng Liang. As a sign of alliance, please show me one like mine.」

The man who identified himself as Deng Liang took a black dagger from his robes. I recognized it as a Mojia dagger and took out an identical one from my robes to show him.

Then Deng Liang nodded at me and showed us the next page of the book.

「I have prepared a meal for you all.」

Deng Liang swiftly hid the book and the Mojia dagger inside his robes, strode over, bowed his head slightly toward us, and began rummaging through the bundle beside the table.

“Hm.”

Deng Liang pointed at two tables with his hand and personally joined them together.

Then he kept taking small cloth-wrapped parcels out of the bundle. Some were round, and others were long. Deng Liang gestured for us to unwrap them, then patted the remaining parcels inside the bundle and pointed toward the inn.

It seemed to mean he would store the rest inside, so I answered.

“Do so.”

Deng Liang nodded and went inside to set down the relief supplies, while the Lust Demon and I unwrapped the parcels.

Inside the cloth wrapping, bamboo leaves appeared again, and within them were dainty rice balls made with great care. There was not only rice, but also dumplings as small as plums, lightly salted meat, and small pieces of fruit.

It was a bamboo-leaf danshi (簞食, packed meal) that showed an artistic touch.

When the Ghost Demon opened a long parcel, several bamboo tubes were filled separately with water and wine.

In all my life, I had never seen delivery food prepared with such care.

Even the Sword Demon seemed slightly impressed, for he said this:

“It is dan si hu jiang (簞食壺漿).”

The Lust Demon asked.

“Master, what does that mean?”

“It means welcoming an army with rice in bamboo vessels and drink in jars. Unexpected supplies from an ally, I see.”

“Yes.”

Deng Liang came out from inside and opened the book again. Written there was this:

「Please enjoy your meal. There is no need to see me off.」

I naturally rose with the intention of seeing him off. At the same time, the Sword Demon said,

“Even if there is no need, our hearts would be uneasy, so accept our farewell. Meng Lang, accompany him to a safe place and then return.”

The Lust Demon stood up.

“Understood. Please eat first. If there’s a surprise attack, you won’t even get to eat this.”

Since I was already standing, I gave Deng Liang a cupped-fist salute.

Deng Liang looked over us once, then grinned. Then he pointed sharply at the table with his hand.

When our gazes turned toward the table,

Deng Liang used his lightness skill and fled in an instant, not even giving the Lust Demon a chance to follow.

A cool gust of wind blew past.

“…….”

Judging by how he had diverted our attention with a hand gesture and then struck and withdrew at such speed, it was not a trick he had used only once or twice.

The Ghost Demon exclaimed in admiration.

“What truly ghostlike movement.”

The slightly startled Lust Demon also stared after Deng Liang.

“He’s rather fast, isn’t he? He got me good.”

As the Lust Demon looked on and gulped down his saliva, the Sword Demon said,

“Let’s eat. He’s gone, so there’s nothing to be done.”

“Yes.”

When we finished unwrapping the parcels, there were even chopsticks made of iron with pointed tips inside.

No, how could they be this meticulous?

I admired the steel chopsticks as I looked at them.

“They even left us hidden weapons. Wow, this is meticulous to an impressive degree.”

The Lust Demon asked me,

“Aren’t they just chopsticks? You’re overinterpreting it.”

“You fool. Why would they send chopsticks made of steel like this for no reason?”

Because Deng Liang had deliberately not uttered a word, I also did not say the word Mojia at all.

Of course, the other members of the Four Great Villains did not let the word Mojia pass their lips either. Instead, we quickly ate the small rice balls and shared the water from the bamboo tubes.

Could such a taste exist in this world?

At times, I worried someone might launch a surprise attack, but……

The corpses of those who had died so horribly and pointlessly earlier had not even cooled yet, so there were no more pitiful fools willing to throw away their lives.

If we fought again here, the ones coming to die would be pitiful, and we who had to rise in the middle of eating would become pitiful too.

We were bad men, not pitiful men.

The Lust Demon picked up a small dumpling with the steel chopsticks and said,

“This is absolutely honey-sweet.”

The Ghost Demon replied,

“There is honey inside.”

“What?”

“I said there’s honey inside. It’s a honey dumpling.”

“Bullshit.”

Since that nonsense seemed oddly off the mark, I checked for myself and found that there really was honey in the center of the dumpling.

Good heavens, dumplings with honey inside.

I happened to meet the Sword Demon’s eyes, but neither of us had anything in particular to say, so we merely nodded at each other.

The Sword Demon also let out a hollow laugh while chewing a dumpling filled with honey.

“What a remarkable ally. The Sect Leader’s travels through the jianghu have borne fruit.”

“You can say that again.”

Once again, the matter of food and survival had been resolved through the ties of fate. Come to think of it, the Mojia were masters of defense. They had not appeared when we were fighting, and when supplies were needed, they had given us exactly what was appropriate and withdrawn.

They did not take part in the killing, but they were helping their allies, so it could truly be called a response worthy of the Mojia.

We polished off the simple meal the Mo family had prepared, then shared the wine in the bamboo flask, each taking a sip as we gazed blankly at the bustling streets of Donghu.

Though we were in the midst of war, there was nothing in the world to envy.

After all, the wine in the bamboo flask was Du Kang wine.