Chapter 327. The Emperor of Evil
“What is your intent in saying you’ll paint me?”
I looked at the White-Robed Scholar.
“Listen, White-Robed Martial Emperor.”
“……”
“You shouldn’t suspect there’s malice hidden in a person’s every word. Listen carefully. I don’t need a description of your features anyway. The Murim Alliance has already seen you, so they could draw you with their eyes closed.”
“I suppose so.”
“He’s an outstanding painter. There won’t be any background in the painting. It’ll be a painting of a scholar dressed neatly in white from head to toe, holding a folding fan, and its title will be White-Robed Martial Emperor. In the blank space, he’ll write the poem I recited. If that’s how it turns out, what would the painting commemorate?”
Only then did the White-Robed Scholar understand my meaning.
“It would be a painting commemorating the defeat of Ximen Wudi.”
“That’s right. The blank space won’t be completely empty. Clouds will be drifting there. Then what would that be?”
“The Cloud Ladder Leap.”
“It should be fine to place just two lines above the clouds. Even if Ximen Wudi gives chase in haste, the Martial Emperor clad in white is also fleeting. It is both a record that can make a moment be remembered forever and a painting. In truth, that is probably the essence of art. Every person has a lifespan and will vanish someday. But art like this is an immortal record. Just like how all of you cling to books.”
The White-Robed Scholar, who had been listening in silence, answered.
“Good. Why do you want to give me this art as a gift?”
I answered in a way suited to the White-Robed Scholar’s inner world.
“You don’t need money.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re someone who can become rich whenever you wish. Amassing money isn’t your interest, nor is it the goal you pursue.”
The White-Robed Scholar tilted his head and looked at me.
“Then do you know what my interest is?”
Why did he have to ask it like that? The answer that came to me at once was martial arts, but seeing how he deliberately asked, I thought it probably wasn’t martial arts.
The White-Robed Scholar poured wine into his cup and asked again.
“You don’t know?”
I looked around the empty, desolate second floor anew, then thought of the answer without much difficulty.
“Of course I knew from before.”
“What is it?”
“Humans.”
The White-Robed Scholar muttered as he drank.
“Humans, you say…… If you were to be more specific?”
I answered with my head tilted crookedly.
“Slaves.”
“I consider myself fairly well-versed in worldly affairs, but I can’t grasp what goes on inside your head. Would you tell me how you inferred that?”
I answered in an even tone.
“There were too many circumstances. But if I tell you the basis for my inference, you’ll be offended.”
“Even if I’m offended, it’s better to satisfy my curiosity.”
I nodded.
“After you fought Senior Singae last time, we had a conversation.”
The White-Robed Scholar nodded.
“Rather than a conversation, I was listening to your threats.”
I looked into the White-Robed Scholar’s eyes and said,
“That was when I found out. It wasn’t only Senior Cheonak who had been a slave. You had been a slave too.”
“……”
“That’s my inference.”
It seemed he had expected it. Even so, the White-Robed Scholar swallowed once, then looked at his wine cup with a bewildered gaze. His silence said many things.
The White-Robed Scholar looked at me and said,
“All of a sudden, I feel like smashing your skull right now, but I’ll try holding back.”
“How should I put it…… There are many people in the world who don’t even know they’re slaves.”
“……”
“For example, the Sword Demon was also a slave until he left the Demonic Cult. The title of Left Envoy is another expression for slave. If I kept working as a waiter all this time and the Black Path stole the money I earned through hardship, that would be slavery too. When one becomes independent on their own from an environment they could hardly escape, whether that independence is mental or physical, they become human. From then on, they are no longer slaves. You became a scholar, and I became the Hao Sect Leader.”
The White-Robed Scholar looked at me and asked,
“And the Sword Demon?”
“He became a swordsman.”
The White-Robed Scholar held his chin with his hand and sank into thought for a moment. He seemed to be recalling old events.
After a short while, the White-Robed Scholar said,
“I did study slaves.”
“And?”
“Where is the end of a slave? Who are those who have seen the end of slavery? I pondered, studied, and researched what no one else cared about. I found out a few things. Those who reached the end of slavery…… Who do you think they are?”
Because the White-Robed Scholar was kindly explaining, I was able to answer.
“The specters of the old Main Headquarters.”
“By my estimation, if those specters join forces, they could kill even a master among the Three Calamities.”
“Surely not?”
“What do you mean, surely not? Neither Cheonak nor the Beggar Gang Leader can handle them all. There is only one being they hold in awe. Who do you think that is?”
“The Cult Leader, I suppose.”
“What I want to say is that it isn’t only the current Cult Leader. It includes the previous Cult Leader, the present Cult Leader, and the next Cult Leader. These specters respect anyone who becomes Cult Leader. Is this the tradition of the Demonic Path? Even if the Cult Leader changes and some brat still wet behind the ears becomes the Cult Leader, the specters will respect him.”
“That can’t be.”
“You still don’t understand.”
“You’re saying the Demonic Path can respect even a man weaker than themselves, or a young Cult Leader?”
“That’s about right.”
“On what grounds?”
“The specters know that they are abnormal. What were they pursuing that left them so broken? The goal they sought while walking the unorthodox and heretical paths. That was not the position of Cult Leader, but the Heavenly Demon. To them, the Cult Leader is the most suitable candidate. Before becoming the Heavenly Demon, the position beneath one man and above ten thousand is the Cult Leader, and the seat of Heavenly Demon is, in a sense, always vacant. The reason they respect the Cult Leader is because there is an underlying expectation that this person may one day become the Heavenly Demon. This is an ancient madness. Most people cannot understand it at all. That is why people die after daring to utter the words Demonic Cult.”
“Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
“Right. They think of themselves as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, so how dare worms somewhere use the words Demonic Cult…… That’s the sort of thing. In any case, this is what I think is the end of slavery. Just how were slaves like this made? To experiment with that, I had left one fellow out to pasture, and you killed him.”
“You mean the Butcher?”
“What I was experimenting on with the Butcher was that the next step would be for him to one day believe, on his own, that he had surpassed me. After actually making him believe that, I intended to treat him as a slave regardless. Could I use someone stronger than me as a slave? Of course, the moment he defied me, even harsher despair would have been waiting. It was my plan to try making a specter of my own…… and you ruined it.”
The man who had transformed in an instant from the White-Robed Martial Emperor into the Evil Emperor was glaring at me.
Clad in the White-Robed Scholar’s killing intent, I answered.
“So I ruined it. What do you want me to do about it? Why are you glaring like that? Want me to pluck your eyes out?”
The White-Robed Scholar cackled.
“Sect Leader, why are you so shameless? You ruined my long-standing experiment. Is that something to act this brazen about?”
I clicked my tongue and replied.
“Maybe I need to cut off your arms and legs one by one before you come to your senses, you bastard.”
“Do not delude yourself. Your skill is still beneath mine. Are you going to make that threat again?”
I tapped my temple with a finger.
“No matter how strong you become, live your life always thinking about why the Blind Scholar died. You never understood his death, either. Since it has been a while, I’ll update you on recent events. Surprisingly, the foremost man of the Heretical Path was stronger than the Blind Scholar. But what do you think happened to him?”
“How did he die?”
“His head was smashed to pieces.”
“He went out in style.”
I nodded.
“You were interested in slaves themselves, so you ended up investigating even the wraiths. Thanks to that, you were tracking their movements, too. White-Robed Strategist, do you have any scheme to set the wraiths and the cult leader against each other? If you do, report it.”
The White-Robed Scholar snickered.
“Strategist Jaha, was that not originally your field?”
“Was it?”
“But it will not be easy. This is not the first time the wraiths have appeared. If they had never appeared before, they would not have been given the name ‘wraiths’ in the first place. Even the Sword God (劍神), who was thought to have no equal, was ultimately grievously wounded in a place where the wraiths were present. Is that all? Whenever they appeared from time to time, experts of the murim would vanish without a trace. The reason we began paying close attention in earnest was because even the Scholar had once fallen victim to a wraith. Of course, the wraith probably did not even know it was the Scholar. But after preparing for several years, we once lured out a wraith, captured it ourselves, and killed it. Who do you think that was?”
“How would I know?”
“Let’s move on.”
“Since you want to move on, I think I know who it was.”
“Who?”
“Your master, I suppose. If not, never mind.”
The White-Robed Scholar continued with a sour expression.
“Listen, Sect Leader. Why do you think I brought up the wraiths? When a wraith appeared in the murim for a time and then disappeared, there were experts who disappeared along with it. Sometimes they were simply powerful experts, and sometimes they were not that strong, but had cultivated internal energy of extreme yin. The Scholar on our side who was taken was that type. He was dragged off by a wraith as if it were hauling away a pig. In the end, the fact that the wraiths are moving means they have a target. I cannot know because I could not ask them, but… what do you think? Who is the one the wraiths are trying to drag away?”
“Ah, damn it. Surely not?”
The White-Robed Scholar saw my expression and suddenly began laughing, even clapping his hands.
“Hahahaha.”
“It can’t be me. I’m skinny.”
“No need to try so hard to deny it.”
“If it is an expert possessing extreme yin internal energy, there happens to be an expert named Mongrang in Baekeungji. They can just drag that bastard off. Anyway, why are you kindly telling me this?”
The White-Robed Scholar tapped the table with his finger.
“If the old main headquarters is here.”
He drew a line with his finger and continued.
“Then this place would be the current Demon Cult. If the wraiths only went back and forth between here, there would be no problem. The fact that they deviated is why a report reached me as well. Since the report itself takes time, it means they have already traveled a great distance. You should be grateful to me just for telling you such information. This is information even the Murim Alliance would have difficulty obtaining. Is this something you can settle with a drawing?”
“What do you want? Is it because of the Yukjeon Great Sword? That is a martial art whose principles you cannot grasp even by seeing it with your own eyes. Moreover, even if Alliance Leader Im left it behind in a book, later generations would not be able to learn it.”
“Why is that?”
“In my opinion, it lies slightly outside the category of martial arts. It also touches the realm of art.”
“Not martial arts, but art?”
I nodded.
“It is a kind of training. So even if someone knows the method, others cannot unleash it. Because one must invest the effort known as time. Are my words difficult?”
“It sounds like wordplay. Are you saying it cannot be done?”
Like the White-Robed Scholar, I tapped the table with my finger.
“This is the starting point of training.”
I drew a line to the edge of the table.
“…And this is the end of training. Ordinary people cannot even reach this end. But the Yukjeon Great Sword exists outside this domain.”
I twirled my finger in the empty air beside the table.
“It is a martial art located in this space. It is difficult for others to imitate.”
The White-Robed Scholar’s head moved, and he stared at the empty air where my finger was.
“What is in that empty space?”
I stared quietly at the White-Robed Scholar.
“Many things. Subordinates, comrades, the Yukjeon Unit, the former alliance leader, anger, loss, regret, vengeance, tenacity, comprehension, emptiness, insomnia…”
I looked at the flustered White-Robed Scholar, then added the most important thing.
“Responsibility.”
“Are you saying one must imitate all of that to learn it?”
“Even then, it is impossible. The Yukjeon Great Sword is Alliance Leader Im’s martial art. Quit that damned slave play and martial art thievery, and find your own path. If you truly think yourself smarter than Alliance Leader Im, why covet his martial art? Make your own. Don’t take interest in what belongs to others like some thieving bastard.”
The White-Robed Scholar grinned.
“I was unexpectedly baited into fighting Family Head Seomun, but thanks to that, it was entertaining. However, I intend to disappear for a while. You had better survive. If you die to the wraiths, my amusement will vanish, so that would not do. If you die, it is not my fault. If you live, it is thanks to me. Do not forget it. Wraiths, of all things… hiding is also an answer.”
“Surely you are not the one who incited the wraiths.”
“You should not suspect that malice is hidden in a person’s every word.”
My own words were returned to me verbatim.
“There is no one capable of communicating with the wraiths. Because there is no one, they remain at the old main headquarters. Even the cult leader cannot easily summon them. They are wary of each other. The cult leader is unlikely to have mentioned you. Perhaps, since the Four Heavenly Kings who were defeated by you headed to the old main headquarters, the wraiths may have heard it from them. This is why the Demon Cult must not be trifled with lightly. You impudent bastard, I have told you everything there is to tell, so get lost now.”
I stood and gave the White-Robed Scholar a fist-and-palm salute.
“Martial Emperor, thank you. You get lost safely as well.”
“……”
“The wraiths are especially frightening, so dig yourself a cave somewhere and hide. Who knows? The one the Four Heavenly Kings tattled on might be you.”
“That cannot be.”
“Seniors, while we were fighting the Haomun Sect Leader, there was a bastard who only watched and painted. Is that so? What an interesting son of a bitch. It has been a while, so I should go out into the murim and take a look at that ill-mannered bastard’s face. What is his sobriquet? They say he is the White-Robed Scholar. Damn it all, I hate bastards who wear white more than anything in the world.”
After a staring contest with the White-Robed Scholar, we both put on artificial smiles at the same time and looked at each other.
“Comrade, be careful. Wear pitch-black clothes for the time being.”
I headed for the stairs, then stopped for a moment.
“Ah, that will not do. You are the White-Robed Martial Emperor. How humiliating would it be to wear pitch-black clothes?”
The White-Robed Scholar said nothing, so I muttered as I went down the stairs.
“Martial Emperor (武帝), huh… wow, what an impressive sobriquet. But wraiths are scary. So very scary. You slave bastards, have you finished digging the cave? Dig it deeper.”
From above, the White-Clad Scholar’s voice rang out.
“Shut up.”
“Yes, yes.”
He was such a sinister bastard that it was hard to believe everything he’d said to me. But at any rate, it seemed the Wraiths had made their move. They would likely be strong beyond expectation, yet strangely, I didn’t feel afraid at all.
Even I don’t know why.
As I headed for the Murim Alliance, I pondered for a moment and realized what kind of people the Wraiths were. In other words, they were the same sort as the drunkards I’d seen at the inn when I was young. Bastards with poor social skills, who spouted bullshit from beginning to end and were of no help whatsoever to anyone. The only difference between Wraiths and drunkards was whether or not their martial arts were strong.
Analysis complete.