Chapter 361. He Said It Was My Fault
As I ran with qinggong, it occurred to me that the pit was far too wide. Since the Right Envoy had been on the opposite side from the start, catching up to him looked difficult.
I stopped the pursuit for a moment and looked at the pit.
“…….”
In the little hell I had made, the remains of the cultists were mixed with clouds of dust and dirt. As I stared into the pit, the question of who was the greater villain was easy to answer.
Me, of course.
So what?
A laugh unlike my usual one slipped out of me. Even as I thought I ought to laugh, not only the laughter but even my expression felt forced.
It seemed the Right Envoy of Light’s words had struck one of my vital points.
For a while, I calmed the feeling of having been stabbed in a vital spot and watched the Lust Demon slaughter Hong Mokhan’s group on the other side of the pit.
He seemed to be fighting far better than when I had seen him before, so there was no need to help.
I sat cross-legged, gazed at the pit, and sent off the dead. I scraped up a handful of dirt and scattered it into the pit.
“……Farewell. Even if someone stepped on a swarm of ants, they wouldn’t vanish as cleanly as you lot did. You were unlucky. When people fight me, it generally ends that way. The Demon Cult is no exception.”
I had turned the hearts of the Sovereigns, the Scholar, and even Cheonak toward places where the light shone rather well, but as though a price had arisen in return, the Right Envoy of Light declared that he would walk the path of the inhuman.
How could I stop that?
In truth, a sword could be blocked, but there was no way to stop a heart from changing.
Just as the Cult Leader could not turn back the Sword Demon’s footsteps.
The Right Envoy of Light blamed me.
If a massacre happened because of that, then I suppose some of the fault would be mine. Since I had massacred the cultists, it was as if I had given them a cause for revenge. More than the Right Envoy of Light’s nonsense, the fact that I had given them that cause was deeply unpleasant.
Still, Im Sobaek and the Murim Alliance were safe.
Scholars were hidden here and there, and the martial world still had its Sovereigns intact. If the greater current continued in the right direction, I steadied my heart with the belief that others would resolve the things I could not stop alone.
There were righteous heroes in this martial world.
Even among those who were not righteous heroes, there were people who tried not to cross the line.
If, even if I possessed the greatest martial arts under heaven right now, I could not stop what would arise from the Right Envoy of Light’s twisted heart……
Then perhaps that was all the more reason I had to raise disciples.
In the end, righteous heroes were the strongest?
That was true.
Because even when something arose that would be difficult for the greatest master under heaven to accomplish, righteous heroes could accomplish it. The righteous hero Giseongja spoke of had not meant just one person after all.
It was not as if Im Sobaek could run around alone until he grew old and died.
I grabbed another handful of dirt and scattered it into the pit.
“Farewell, you bastards who lived as you were ordered……. Pitiful sons of bitches.”
Judging by how long the Lust Demon had been rampaging, Hong Mokhan’s group seemed to have been quite strong as well. But once the Ghost Demon, who had joined at some point, swung his Six Harmonies Sword, the situation was swiftly being settled.
The Sword Demon, who had appeared before I knew it, sat beside me and looked at me.
“……Are you hurt?”
I looked at the Sword Demon, then, not wanting to let out a groan, struck my chest with my hand.
It was a gesture saying I was in the middle of dealing with my heart demon. I did not know how Eldest Brother took it, but after nodding once, he looked into the pit just as I did.
“Who came?”
“The second son, Grand Duke Yang, and the Right Envoy of Light.”
The Sword Demon let out a sigh.
“You held out well. Good job.”
“Was it really a good job?”
The Sword Demon narrowed his brow, looked into my eyes, and said,
“How could you have done any better than this?”
“Mm.”
The Sword Demon looked at the pit and said,
“If you had not used this ultimate technique, it would have been impossible for us to join you. When that disciple fellow said a bolt from the blue had struck, Second said it was far too loud for a thunderbolt.”
I looked at the Sword Demon.
“So?”
The Sword Demon spoke in an even tone.
“The three of us just ran blindly. Without even knowing where we were going.”
Only then did a laugh slip out of me.
“I let the Right Envoy get away. Ah, no. I let Grand Duke Yang and the second son get away too.”
“There is nothing strange about letting them get away. The Right Envoy is a man who has never once shown his bottom. There is no way you would be this dejected simply because he escaped. What did the Right Envoy say?”
For some reason, Eldest Brother seemed to understand the situation more or less. I relayed the Right Envoy’s words to him.
“Maybe he suffered a mental shock from my Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, but he said he would walk the path of the inhuman. Said it was my fault.”
The Sword Demon nodded as he answered.
“So there are times when even the Right Envoy loses his composure. To say such nonsense. But there is no need to concern yourself with it.”
“Why?”
“To say, only now, that he will walk the path of the inhuman is shameless. He is a man who became strong that way long ago. Whenever he disappeared and then reappeared, his aura would have changed before anyone knew it. I knew, and the Cult Leader knew, but we did not bother asking. I know the Right Envoy to some extent. He would have fled with the intention of avoiding reinforcements from the White Eagle Branch, drawn you out at the same time, and then counterattacked in some secluded place. It is better that you did not chase him. He is a wary fellow, so he might well wage a pursuit battle alone. A heart demon comes to everyone. The Right Envoy is no exception.”
“Truthfully, I didn’t have much strength left to follow him anyway. Somehow, it seemed like he had more strength remaining than I did. He endured the aftermath of Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven quite well too.”
The Lust Demon and Ghost Demon approached while steadying their breathing. As soon as the Ghost Demon arrived, he looked at my face and said,
“Are you hurt? Your complexion looks as bad as a sick chicken. Is it because you only eat chicken?”
I laughed alone at the Ghost Demon’s joke.
The Lust Demon held out two Mo Clan daggers, both thickly smeared with blood, toward me.
“Which one is yours? Write ‘Hao Gate Master’ on the handle or something. Or just write ‘madman.’ I can’t tell them apart. You lunatic.”
They were both identical Mo Clan daggers, so how would I know?
“Give me either one.”
The Lust Demon tossed one of the Mo Clan daggers to me. I received the dagger and wiped the blood off the blade on my sleeve. Naturally, if I wanted to leave a signal for the Four Great Villains, the Mo Clan dagger would have been easier to recognize than the Flash Dagger.
For a while, we sat side by side at the edge and looked at the deep pit.
The Lust Demon said to the Sword Demon,
“Master, the Cult really does seem to have plenty of talent. They were quite strong.”
When the Sword Demon only nodded, the Ghost Demon said,
“Why is the pit this huge? I’m looking at it and still can’t believe it. Did a hole get punched in Third’s heart too?”
At the Ghost Demon’s words, the Lust Demon stuck out his head and looked at me.
“Wasn’t there already a hole in it? Or not.”
I nodded.
“There already was. Though it wasn’t as big as this pit.”
I continued, speaking as though asking the three of them for a favor.
“……Let’s rest for just one day.”
The Lust Demon answered.
“You can rest for two days. It’s not as if you have anything to do.”
“Usa said he would walk the path of the inhuman. I don’t know where he’ll cause trouble, but I have to chase after him. Even if I can’t find him, I should at least pretend to look. Even if it’s a wasted trip, I have to make it. It feels like chasing after a formless evil.”
The Lust Demon said,
“Third Brother, you don’t look well.”
The Sword Demon nodded.
“He was never well to begin with, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
“Yes.”
The Ghost Demon held out his hand and pointed somewhere in the pit.
“Whoa, look over there. A person’s hand is sticking up. He’s dead, right? Should we go see?”
As soon as the Ghost Demon finished speaking, the sand shifted as if crumbling, and one arm collapsed limply and rolled downward.
The Sword Demon asked me,
“Why did you return so quickly? I thought you would train for at least a year.”
I shook my head.
“A man can’t eat only chicken. The chickens would get angry. Now Cheonak and I are on terms where we can eat together, drink together, and joke around. That’s enough. If I’d needlessly pushed any further, I might have started spouting nonsense like usual, so I simply withdrew at the right time.”
Only then did I take in a deep breath and let it out. Suddenly, the four of us looked up at the sky at the same time.
The sky flashed. Dark clouds were also rolling in from afar. Then, not Ilwol Gwangcheon but lightning struck somewhere, and raindrops began to fall one by one. There was no reason for the Four Great Villains to get soaked because of my sentimental mood, so I stood first.
“Let’s go.”
We had not even walked a few steps when the rain grew heavier, and before long a downpour was pouring down. As I walked side by side with the Four Great Villains, getting drenched by the falling rain, I steadied my heart anew.
“……That son of a bitch blamed me.”
“…….”
“Then let’s say it’s my fault. I’ll find him and kill him.”
The Lust Demon looked around and said,
“But where are we going? This isn’t the way to Baekeungji.”
I kept walking as I said,
“We have to chase him. We can rest as we go.”
The eldest was the first to agree with my simple plan.
“Good. Let’s go.”
The Lust Demon muttered,
“Master, can we find him by just walking blindly like this?”
I answered in the Sword Demon’s place.
“Even if we can’t find him, we still have to go looking. Just like the three of you found me.”
The Lust Demon muttered,
“Ah, is that how it is?”
After that, we walked through the rain without another word.
...Gwangmyeong Usa walked while being pelted by the pouring rain, looking back more often than usual. Because of the downpour, his five senses felt different from normal. As he walked along the road, he saw an old man selling green straw raincoats and approached him.
“How much?”
The wrinkled old merchant looked at Gwangmyeong Usa and said,
“With the bamboo hat included, it’s three nyang.”
“Three nyang? Why so expensive? Three nyang in standard silver? You’re overcharging because it’s raining.”
The old merchant replied in surprise,
“Pardon? It’s three nyang in iron coins.”
Gwangmyeong Usa rummaged through his money pouch and looked at the old merchant.
“Iron coins?”
“Yes.”
There were no iron coins in his pouch. When he took out a thinly cut piece of standard silver and held it out, the old merchant said with a troubled expression,
“Just take it, please.”
Gwangmyeong Usa tilted his head and replied,
“Why?”
“I don’t have any change.”
Gwangmyeong Usa glared at the old merchant and asked,
“Are you Haomun too?”
“What is Haomun? Just take it. It isn’t something worth receiving silver for.”
Gwangmyeong Usa put the bamboo hat on his head, draped the green straw raincoat over himself, and then looked around once. There were a few merchants watching from under the eaves. Just then, two jianghu men in black came walking along the road and said to the old merchant,
“Old Master Gu, what’s going on?”
The old merchant waved his hand and answered,
“Ah, it’s nothing. This gentleman just doesn’t have small change.”
Without moving his mouth much, the old merchant whispered to Gwangmyeong Usa,
“They’re Black Path scum, so please hurry and go.”
“There are Black Path people here?”
The black-clad man who had come closer looked at Gwangmyeong Usa.
“What are you mumbling about?”
Gwangmyeong Usa lowered his bamboo hat to hide his eyes, looked the black-clad men up and down, and in the end took out a piece of common silver and threw it to the old merchant. The old merchant started in surprise and said,
“Goodness, you don’t have to give me this much. I’ll get your change……”
“It’s fine.”
Gwangmyeong Usa walked through the rain, looking for a place to fill his stomach. He did not see anywhere in particular that he wanted to enter, so when he went into an alley, the voices of the black-clad men who had followed him rang out behind him, just as expected.
“Stop.”
Gwangmyeong Usa turned around, then slightly raised his bamboo hat and looked at the black-clad men.
“What is it?”
One man spat out some nonsense.
“Why are you coming into someone else’s territory and showing off your money? You got that much money? If you do, give us some alms.”
Gwangmyeong Usa said something entirely different.
“……How many people are in your sect altogether?”
“What?”
“Are your ears bad? I asked how many people there are altogether. Lead the way.”
“Is this bastard crazy?”
Gwangmyeong Usa let out a sigh and pointed with his finger. One man’s ear was sliced cleanly off without any particular sound and flew backward. As the blood gushing from his ear mixed with the pouring rain, and just as a scream was about to burst out, Gwangmyeong Usa swung his hand again. This time, the man’s head flew off.
With a thud, his comrade’s head fell, and the black-clad man beside him stared at it with his eyes wide open.
“…….”
Gwangmyeong Usa said,
“Lead the way. Don’t make me say it twice. And I hate noise too. Don’t scream, and keep your mouth shut. Walk in front.”
The black-clad man turned around and walked through the rain.
Gwangmyeong Usa walked beside him and asked,
“How many?”
“Eighty-three…… eighty-two.”
“One just died, so that would be right. Are they all gathered in one place?”
“No.”
“If you call them, they’ll come. Did you follow me because I looked like I had a lot of money?”
“Yes.”
“The Black Path indeed. Most of the Black Path die because of money.”
The man in black asked,
“And who might you be?”
The Bright Right Envoy looked at the man in black.
“I am called the Bright Right Envoy. Have you heard of me?”
The man in black suddenly stopped walking and stared at the Bright Right Envoy, his face pale.
“…….”
The Bright Right Envoy nodded.
“It seems you have. That is the face of a man prepared for death. You don’t intend to guide me? I can simply ask someone else.”
The man in black let out a short sigh, then drew his blade. When the pitch-black blade was halfway out, the man’s arm and the blade fell to the ground at the same time.
The Bright Right Envoy raised his right hand. From his palm, palm force in several strands of red thread shot forth and covered the man in black’s upper body. The man’s upper body vanished as if it had melted away, and the rest of his body fell into the muddy water, soon mixing with the rainwater.
The Bright Right Envoy slowly looked around once more.
“…….”
He moved his foot a few times to submerge the corpse in the muddy water, then realized there were already bodies in the alley as well, and thought it would be unwise to linger here.
For some reason, he felt as though the Hao Sect Master was following him, which left him deeply uneasy. Judging that he could not remain in one place for long, the Bright Right Envoy pulled his bamboo hat low over his head and walked once more into the rain.