Chapter 346. How Could That Be?

When a person lives with unrelenting pain, their expression becomes monotonous.

If that monotony continues, even the muscles used for smiling atrophy. In short, they become someone incapable of laughing heartily—and the Sword Demon was such a person. Fortunately, as the Sword Demon calmly spoke of his brief reflections, his expression had softened ever so slightly compared to before.

He was not rejoicing in his martial achievements.

If he was rejoicing in the change in his life, then had the Sword Demon grown stronger?

Even I did not know that much.

However, I too had entered the jianghu late and wasted no small amount of time, so I found myself thinking that I was in no position to compare myself to Eldest Brother’s peculiar life. This man had taken quite the long way around. The reason I thought of him as Eldest Brother was not his age, but because he chose his own path and moved along it of his own accord.

And against the Cult Leader, one of the Three Calamities, no less.

Since the rest had each gained something, I felt that the Sword Demon’s words about having achieved nothing would linger in my heart for a long time. In any case, the time had come to shove food into our bellies, so I looked up at Manjang Cliff.

“……Anyway, let’s eat breakfast and lunch outside. Of the five of us, White-Clad should climb best.”

The Ghost Demon asked me.

“What about continuing to train while eating fish?”

I nodded.

“Not bad. But do that on your own. If you’re going to train individually, what matters more is climbing up from here, not coming down. And from what I can see, if you keep eating the same spiritual medicine, the effect will continue to diminish. Next time you need to train or recover from internal injuries, come down, eat the fish, and dig up the fleeceflower root that should be up ahead. Today, let’s train to return to the outside world.”

The White-Clad Scholar looked at the cliff.

“This is my first time seeing a place this high.”

I looked over the Four Great Villains.

“Eldest Brother looks like he’ll climb well enough. Shitpants will probably get up somehow too. I’m worried about Yukhap. For now, watch carefully how White-Clad and I climb.”

“Understood.”

The White-Clad Scholar would be climbing with Tiyunzong. They could not easily imitate Tiyunzong, but there would still be something to gain simply from seeing the simplicity of its movements firsthand. In other words, the climb itself was not what mattered; what mattered more was that the Four Great Villains directly witness the White-Clad Scholar’s Tiyunzong. It was a rare qinggong technique, after all.

“First climber is the Martial Emperor, second is me. The three of you, watch the two of us climb Manjang Cliff and devise strategies suited to yourselves. Third will be Mongrang, fourth Yukhap, and last, Eldest Brother. Especially you, Second Brother. Before you climb, bind the Mo Family dagger to your palm with a strip of cloth. If you fall, stab the dagger into the wall and hang on. Don’t be precious about the dagger here. The edge can always be sharpened again.”

“Fine.”

The Ghost Demon tore a strip from his clothing and, as I had said, wrapped the Mo Family dagger around his palm. It had to be fastened this way for his fingers to remain free. He would climb using his fingers, and only when in danger would he grasp the dagger and strike it into the wall.

This place had not been given the name Manjang for nothing. It would not be strange if someone missed their footing and plunged to their death. After all, none of us could afford to become martial artists who met a miserable end by falling while going out to eat.

The White-Clad Scholar walked toward the cliff with his hands clasped behind his back.

“I’ll go first.”

“Already?”

“I’m oddly hungry.”

The White-Clad Scholar lowered his stance, soared high into the air, and when he reached the apex, he slowly placed his left foot against the cliff and stopped. Watching him like this, it truly was a qinggong technique worthy of being called one of the jianghu’s peerless arts.

The White-Clad Scholar rose again and placed his right foot against the cliff. It was a climbing motion that felt wondrous even as I watched it. Because stillness was mixed into the movement, the climb looked even more extraordinary. It was movement that would force anyone to believe him if he went around claiming to be the Master of the Swift Hall.

I added an explanation.

“……Because balance is more important, he’s climbing slowly. If the height were only about half this, he would’ve climbed quickly, but at this height, going up calmly like that is the right way.”

The Lust Demon spoke in an absurd tone.

“No, how is he climbing without even using his hands?”

“Don’t try to imitate that part. The Martial Emperor can climb that way because he can adjust the lightness and heaviness of his body. I’m going too. But once White-Clad and I reach the top, then you start.”

I walked slowly, then sprang into the air and chased after the White-Clad Scholar with Tiyunzong. Even after soaring ten times, the height left to climb was still dizzyingly far, so I had no choice but to slow down as well. After that, I used both hands, carefully clinging to the wall, found footholds to step on, then shot upward vertically.

Every time I climbed Manjang Cliff…….

The fact that, even after climbing for so long, there was still so much farther to go; the fact that looking down made everything seem impossibly distant; the fact that I could never quite get used to it; the sense of shame that welled up as I wondered what in the world I was doing—these all came upon me. But if I thought of it as overcoming a crisis in life through climbing, then this too was rather amusing in its own way.

A short while later, White-Clad and I reached the summit at almost the same time and looked down.

I could tell that my qinggong had, at some point, caught up tremendously to the White-Clad Scholar’s, but I did not bother showing that joy.

I gestured for the three men far below to come up. From up here, I could not see their expressions, nor could we converse.

Soon, the Lust Demon moved well away from the cliff, unfolded his qinggong, sprinted forward, and soared high into the air.

In any case, since we had come up first, we naturally kept watch over the surroundings. The scenery as seen from the valley and the impression of looking over rugged terrain from a high place were certainly quite different.

The White-Clad Scholar asked an absurd question.

“May I come here whenever I please?”

“White-Clad, this place isn’t private property. It wouldn’t be bad to come with the Cheonak Scholar either. Just don’t kill all the fish and drive them to extinction.”

“Who would do something that stupid?”

“You know. People are surprisingly stupid…….”

The White-Clad Scholar nodded. A moment later, as he stared blankly at the Lust Demon climbing up, he said.

“……After we eat, I’m leaving.”

“Where to?”

“I was always a busy man.”

I looked at the White-Clad Scholar’s expression. It was not especially good. Something came to mind, but I did not bother asking. I sat down on a rock and watched the Four Great Villains climbing up. For a while, I pondered where this busy man intended to disappear to.

Could the White-Clad Scholar have anything to be busy with?

In my opinion, a loafer like him could have no busy work. After all, his disciples and subordinates handled all the hard and exhausting tasks.

He had gained an achievement in martial arts and now immediately wanted to go somewhere? After a simple deduction, I realized that the White-Clad Scholar was going to meet Cheonak. Since I did not know the reason, I had no choice but to ask him.

“Is there a reason you’re going to see Cheonak as soon as you’ve made progress in martial arts?”

The White-Clad Scholar looked at me and laughed with an expression of utter disbelief.

“You absurd bastard.”

From below the cliff, the Lust Demon shouted.

“……No rope?”

I answered the Lust Demon, who had climbed about halfway.

“None.”

Though I myself was still in the midst of training, strangely enough, traveling with the Four Great Villains made me feel as if I were training them. And that did not refer only to martial arts. Something suddenly occurred to me, so I asked the White-Clad Scholar.

“Surely you’re not going to kill Cheonak, are you?”

In truth, this question was a trap.

The White-Clad Scholar looked at me, letting out a rare laugh.

“Who in the world could so easily kill one of the Three Calamities? I’d be fortunate if I didn’t die myself.”

With that, I became certain the White-Robed Scholar was going to meet Cheonak.

I probed the White-Robed Scholar in passing.

“How about we all go together after we eat?”

“Can you handle it?”

“What would we have to handle? It’s not as if we’re going there to fight.”

The White-Robed Scholar fell into thought, then said to me,

“Cheonak is a man without pleasures. He doesn’t have as many hobbies as I do.”

“He does seem that way.”

“His only pleasure is fighting. But there are no masters capable of enduring a spar with him. Since I’ve made some gains, it would only be right for me to go and take a few hits for him.”

My eyes widened of their own accord.

“……Ah, so because you’ve gotten stronger, you’re going to give him a spar?”

I looked the White-Robed Scholar up and down anew. In any case, it seemed even this sinister bastard considered Cheonak, at least, a friend.

“Then all the more reason there’s no reason we can’t go with you, is there? Taking hits is something we can do too.”

The White-Robed Scholar looked at me.

“Sect Leader, I have a rough idea of what you’re thinking. But Cheonak is someone you cannot befriend, and even if you do become somewhat close, he cannot become a force that can fully aid either the orthodox faction or me.”

“Why not?”

“Because, at times, even he cannot handle himself. Whenever that happens, he locks himself away in a safe house I prepared and does not come outside.”

I looked at the White-Robed Scholar with my arms crossed.

“You can’t force him.”

“…….”

“But don’t you just use Cheonak Scholar like that, either.”

“What?”

By then, the Lust Demon’s hand, having somehow arrived, grabbed the edge of the precipice; he reached us with a pale face and sprawled out on the ground. The first climb was this difficult. Not because he lacked internal energy, but probably because tension had sapped his strength.

While the Lust Demon was panting and catching his breath, the White-Robed Scholar said,

“What do you mean, I use Cheonak?”

“Look, White-Robe.”

“Speak.”

“No matter how outstanding a person’s martial arts are, if he shuts himself in a safe house you prepared, refrains from going out, has no one to meet, no one to talk to, and no one to exchange martial arts with, isn’t it only natural he’d go mad? Why did you leave Cheonak in that state? And then, just because you’re the only one who can talk to Cheonak and you occasionally take his hits, you think you’re his only friend? If you’re a true friend, seek a way for Cheonak Scholar to escape his mental qi deviation.”

“If people start dying because of that, can you take responsibility?”

I laughed at the White-Robed Scholar’s words.

“Surely, no matter how exceptional Cheonak is, he can’t kill all five of us at once. If Cheonak is so outstanding that even the five of us together can’t handle him, then we might as well all die there together. You pathetic bastards…… If that’s the level of skill you have, how do you expect to fight the Cult Leader later?”

After throwing out those words, I looked at the Ghost Demon. Perhaps because he had seen the Lust Demon’s disgraceful display earlier, he was unexpectedly climbing in a more stable posture than the Lust Demon.

I laid into the White-Robed Scholar again.

“I’m not trying to meet Cheonak so I can use him from now on. Last time, when we clashed, I invited him to have a drink, and you dragged him away. I still haven’t heard his answer. Cheonak Scholar should be the one to refuse. You’re not in a position to step in and say this won’t do, that won’t do. If you keep controlling Cheonak that way, in the end, he’s no different from a man trapped in a prison made by the White-Robed Scholar.”

I pointed at the White-Robed Scholar with my finger.

“Especially you. You mustn’t do that.”

“What do you mean?”

I glared at the White-Robed Scholar and said,

“Because you anticipated Junior Sister Jinhyang’s mutual destruction and still did not tell him. You owe Cheonak a debt. Don’t repay that debt in this manner. The way I see it, it’s not that you think of Cheonak as a friend. It seems Cheonak thinks of you as a friend.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Do you think a man like Cheonak couldn’t have found out the circumstances of what happened back then? The fact that he hasn’t smashed the White-Robed Scholar’s skull to pieces by now is proof he thinks of you as a friend.”

“…….”

While the White-Robed Scholar kept his mouth shut for a long while, the Ghost Demon succeeded in the climb. I reached out and grabbed him.

“Good work.”

“Wow, I nearly died.”

The Ghost Demon walked a few steps on legs trembling of their own accord, then sank down and said,

“This is absurd. If I hadn’t taken that elixir, I think I would have fallen halfway.”

“So what if you fell? Eldest Brother would have caught you anyway.”

That was why I had deliberately set the climbing order this way. When I looked down, Eldest Brother was coming up at quite a fast pace. One way or another, aside from the qi deviation related to the Radiant Sword, Eldest Brother was a man who did everything well.

I said to the White-Robed Scholar,

“White-Robe, let’s go together and at least ask. I’m not throwing a tantrum at random. I’m not going there just to get beaten to a pulp by Cheonak for no reason, either. What I want is simple. One day, guests come to visit Cheonak and ask him to have a drink; what does he think? Let him be asked that much. If you’re Cheonak Scholar’s only friend, you can do at least that much, can’t you? If Cheonak Scholar says he doesn’t want to, we’ll leave without regret. It’s not as if we’d threaten Cheonak. Don’t keep misunderstanding me. I’m not someone who intends to die early. I plan to live long, even if modestly, and teach disciples too…… Anyway, did you understand what I said?”

The Lust Demon, who had been collapsed on the ground, stiffly raised only his head and looked at me.

“Wait a moment, who are we going to see? Did I hear wrong? Cheon, what? Who?”

The Ghost Demon answered in his stead.

“Cheonak.”

The Lust Demon sat up and looked at me.

“Are you insane?”

I met the Lust Demon’s eyes, then nodded slightly.

“It’s been a while since I went insane.”

The Lust Demon laughed with an incredulous expression, then said to the White-Robed Scholar,

“Muje, there’s no need to go. Let’s ignore him. Of all the people to meet, you want to meet one of the Three Calamities? Are we trying to die while drinking? Who cares whether the liquor goes down our throats or up our noses? Why the hell would you want to drink with a man, what kind of damn nonsense…… Ah, my life. You frustrating humans, you sentient beings, why do you live like this? I just don’t understand.”

The White-Robed Scholar replied,

“Let’s eat first.”

The Lust Demon kept muttering like a man drunk at noon.

“Think about it. No, why not just go to the Demon Cult and call out that bastard Cult Leader instead? If the Cult Leader is startled and asks why we’ve come, just say we felt like having a drink. What’s the difference between that and going to find Cheonak right now? It’s the same thing. Let’s go down, eat a good meal, and calmly think it over again. All right?”

The Lust Demon, who had been talking to himself, went to the cliff and looked at Eldest Brother, who was climbing. We too stopped talking for a moment and watched Eldest Brother coming up at high speed. At one point, the Sword Demon sprang upward and landed lightly where we were.

Because he had climbed up with such outstanding skill, no particular words of congratulations came to mind, so we remained silent.

The Lust Demon asked,

“Master, why are you so adept at climbing up here?”

“I originally trained in this kind of environment. From the very beginning.”

“I see.”

I also asked Eldest Brother for his opinion.

“Eldest Brother, it seems White-Robe is going to meet Cheonak. What do you think about us going together?”

The Sword Demon looked at the White-Robed Scholar.

“……If Baegui permits it, and if Cheonak agrees to see us when we go, there’s no reason we can’t.”

I waited for the White-Clad Scholar’s answer.

“So he says.”

The White-Clad Scholar asked Eldest Brother.

“Do you want to see Cheonak as well?”

The Sword Demon answered.

“Cheonak is an expert stronger than we are. He has no reason to fear our visit. Though he may well find it bothersome. Still, because of the reputation of Cheonak and the Three Calamities, I wonder whether anyone has ever actually gone looking for him. Wouldn’t he be rather bored?”

The White-Clad Scholar shook his head.

“What I mean is, if you go there, you may die.”

The Sword Demon looked at the White-Clad Scholar.

“Baegui, you would know better than I. But the four of us are not men who die so easily. Even if our opponent is Cheonak, even if there is another scholar there. If you allow it, going together would not be a bad idea. For now, let’s go eat.”

For the time being, without having heard the White-Clad Scholar’s answer, we descended Manjang Cliff.

As we went down the mountain path, the Sword Demon spoke to the Lust Demon.

“Disciple.”

“Yes.”

“Are you afraid of Cheonak?”

“How could that possibly be?”

We all looked at the Lust Demon at the same time.

“…….”

No particular words came to mind.