Chapter 381. I Smiled While Gazing into the Darkness.

I swung my sword until I grew hungry, then sat cross-legged at the main gate and kept glaring at the Yunnan Seven Killers. There was one reason I was glaring at them. Aside from glaring, I had nothing in particular to do.

Eldest Brother was still lying down.

After a while, one of the six killers moved the largest wooden platform to the center and began laying out the meal they had prepared, one dish at a time.

I stared at the table and said,

“……Are you suggesting we share a table?”

The faces of the Yunnan Seven Killers stiffened at once.

“…….”

I looked at the Yunnan Seven Killers and said,

“It was a joke. We should eat together. You’re the ones who prepared it.”

I said to Eldest Brother, who was lying down,

“Eldest Brother, let’s eat.”

I thought he was asleep, but Eldest Brother got up immediately and headed for the table. After looking over the food, Eldest Brother said to the Manbak Demon Lord,

“Taste it.”

The Manbak Demon Lord replied,

“We intend to eat it together. Surely you don’t think we put poison in it?”

When Eldest Brother silently stared at him, the Manbak Demon Lord gave a dry cough, then came over, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and tasted a little of each dish. As he tasted them one by one, he added useless remarks.

“This one’s a little salty. Mm, this one’s just right. Bland.”

I headed toward the table as well and said,

“Shut up. Just taste it.”

When the tasting was over, the Manbak Demon Lord said to us,

“There’s no poison.”

Eldest Brother sat on the platform first and said to me,

“Let’s eat.”

The platform was not particularly large, so some had to sit around it while others had to eat standing.

Naturally, I sat beside Eldest Brother and picked up my chopsticks.

“Shall we have a taste of the Yunnan Seven Killers’ cooking? I wonder what poison is in here. Could it be the ultimate colorless, odorless, scentless Three-Nothing Poison? What if the Manbak Demon Lord took the antidote in advance and put in something like Dream-Drunken Powder? What then?”

Eldest Brother replied,

“In that case, you briefly stop your breathing and qi circulation, halt the poison’s progression, and force yourself to vomit up what you ate. If the situation is more urgent, you kill the people involved before the poison spreads further through your body and obtain the antidote. If there is still no antidote, then you have no choice but to quickly find a place to hide alone and regulate your qi and breathing.”

Of course, I knew all that too, but for some reason Eldest Brother seemed to be reciting conduct guidelines he had learned long ago in the Demonic Cult, like they came straight from a manual.

In any case, once Eldest Brother and I began eating, the Yunnan Seven Killers also ate around us.

It seemed there was no poison.

After tasting the savory soy-braised beef, I let out a slight exclamation and then folded my arms.

“……Wow. Who made this?”

A fellow with a rather broad face raised his hand slightly. I asked him,

“Your epithet?”

As if he did not want to speak politely to me, he answered in a stiff tone.

“Jintuan Gui.”

At a glance, he seemed to be the one in charge of cooking for the Yunnan Seven Killers. In truth, I had an illness that made me unable to remember the epithets of people I had no interest in, but Jintuan Gui was a little ambiguous. It was not an epithet one would associate with soy-braised beef.

Even as we ate, I could faintly sense the killing intent of the Yunnan Seven Killers.

It was inevitable killing intent, since we were sitting so close to one another. At least the Manbak Demon Lord, who understood Eldest Brother’s and my level of martial arts better than his younger brothers did, sighed from time to time and sent them looks. They were probably looks telling them to restrain themselves.

Eldest Brother ate without showing much of anything.

Even while eating, I observed the Manbak Demon Lord and the six killers from moment to moment.

“There’s liquor near the ingredients too. Bring it later.”

“…….”

“If you use powdered poison, sprayed poison, poison on weapons, poison needles, or anything else here—not to mention in the rice or liquor—I’ll hold you guilty and kill all seven of you. If one of you runs, I’ll kill the other six and then chase after him and kill him too. If I kill the people here, Eldest Brother will chase. If Eldest Brother stays here, I’ll chase. For your reference, the two of us rank among the top five masters in the martial world when it comes to qinggong.”

I roughly spouted off.

As I kept saying I would kill them while eating rice and side dishes, one fellow must have choked, because he stopped eating and started coughing and hacking. Whether he did or not, I was excited by a proper meal after so long and kept talking.

“You idiots. Why did you attack the Cheongsong Sect and bring all this suffering on yourselves? Come to think of it, you can’t possibly know every small sect that pays tribute to the Demonic Cult. Nor can you know every sect that belongs to the Hao Sect. So try not to harass people if you can help it. Old Man Manbak, you half-bald bastard. Are you one of the top one hundred masters in the martial world?”

Old Man Manbak gave a dry cough, then replied,

“That is the evaluation I receive from the world.”

“Good. According to Strategist Gongsun of the Martial Alliance, I’m actually ranked one hundred and first in the martial world. Let’s see you after we eat. I’ll take this chance to become one of the top one hundred masters.”

Eldest Brother, who had been eating with patience until now, looked at me with a pitiful expression.

“Third Brother.”

“What?”

“I think I’m going to get indigestion too. Let’s stop.”

“All right.”

“Good. Finish eating first, then keep talking.”

“That’s better. One should be quiet while eating.”

In any case, Eldest Brother’s digestion was also an extremely important matter, so I shut my mouth. A little while later, the six killers cleared away the platform in the center and secured space for a spar. For some reason, when it was said there would be a match, the younger brothers were more enthusiastic than the Manbak Demon Lord.

* * *

The Yunnan Seven Killers sat on the platform opposite us.

On this side, Eldest Brother and I digested for a moment as we waited for the spar. Eldest Brother, who had been fiddling with the newly carved wooden sword, asked the Manbak Demon Lord,

“Half-bald, are you ready?”

The Manbak Demon Lord nodded.

“I am ready.”

Eldest Brother lightly threw the wooden sword he had carved with a dagger toward the Manbak Demon Lord. It was not very fast, but strangely enough, the wooden sword flew perfectly level. After catching the flying wooden sword, the Manbak Demon Lord said,

“……Must we really use wooden swords?”

With a sneer on his lips, Eldest Brother said,

“Only by using wooden swords will there be even a small chance that your head won’t burst open or your arms and legs won’t break. If anyone intervenes in the spar, I will regard it as a life-and-death duel and join in.”

I grabbed the wooden sword I had carved and walked to the center. Just how skilled was one of the top one hundred masters in the martial world? I did not know exactly either.

In any case, all of this felt like an extension of training.

Fighting, thinking, eating, conversing, tormenting, doubting, drinking, harassing bald men……

The Manbak Demon Lord walked out, his sparse hair fluttering. Seeing him like this, he was clearly a man much stronger than the Great Rakshasa, yet I felt nothing in particular now.

The Manbak Demon Lord lowered his wooden sword to his lower right and said,

“……It is an honor to cross hands with the rumored Hao Sect Master.”

“Good. If I lose, I’ll join the Yunnan Eight Killers as the second brother.”

“And if I lose?”

“For the rest of your life, you’ll be a waiter. Until I let you go.”

Still gripping the wooden sword, I faced Manbak Demon Lord and realized there was far too much contained in the single strike I was about to swing. The sword art I had practiced alone, the sword art influenced by Im Sobaek, the assorted martial arts I had learned—not only those, but even the combination of internal and external arts Cheonak had guided me in were all mixed together.

Unexpectedly, Manbak Demon Lord was smiling.

Had this bastard been afraid of Eldest Brother all this time, but not of me?

In that instant, Manbak Demon Lord’s hair, which stood out especially clearly to my eyes, moved. In the blink of an eye, the wooden sword Manbak Demon Lord swung covered my entire body. Its trajectory was ambiguous to answer with a downward strike, but I answered with a downward strike anyway. Because I expected our wooden swords would meet at the very end.

The moment the wooden swords collided, the two of us retreated.

A brief preliminary exchange—through the wooden swords that clashed for an instant, I gauged his external and internal arts. His speed and footwork also entered my sight. The first exchange was over. I took in the expression, posture, and killing intent of the Six Killers. If I assumed them to be enemies, this was not a situation where dragging out the fight would be advantageous.

To end it in the second exchange, I recalled the spar at Oksu Manor.

I waited with Wooden Rooster infused into my wooden sword and watched Manbak Demon Lord’s hair. I rushed in with a movement suited to forcing a defense and drawing out a counterattack of palm force, then swung the wooden sword while combining Wooden Rooster with external arts. Just as Manbak Demon Lord had done, I trapped his entire body within the path of my sword.

With a thud, Manbak Demon Lord’s wooden sword shattered into pieces.

But before the finely splintered wood could scatter, Manbak Demon Lord’s left palm surged toward my chest. It was not a prepared movement, but a counterattack thrust out instinctively through training.

For this bastard, it might have been instinct, but for me, it was the counterattack I had anticipated.

Since there was also the possibility that Manbak Demon Lord would use Poison Palm, I drew up the qi of the Fighting Rooster for the first time in a while and struck back against the palm force.

Kwoaaaaaaang!

A great gust from the collision of palm forces blew across my face. As my hair whipped back all at once, Manbak Demon Lord’s body shot straight out through the air and smashed through the temporary outer wall of the construction site. Then, from Manbak Demon Lord’s mouth, as he lay on his back, blood spurted into the air. When he finally hit the ground, he rolled over and over before lying motionless like a dead man.

All of the Six Killers ran to Manbak Demon Lord.

“Eldest Brother!”

Since there was a chance these bastards might flee, I soared into the air, stepped on the wall, soared again, and turned several somersaults before landing near the fallen Manbak Demon Lord.

One of them was placing a hand beneath Manbak Demon Lord’s nose.

“He’s unconscious.”

I looked around at the Six Killers.

“Take him inside. Two of the rest of you, repair the wall. One of you, brighten the torches.”

None of the Six Killers answered.

I watched them move without answering, then called them to a stop.

“...Hey, boys.”

The Six Killers looked at me.

“....”

I spoke with an impassive expression.

“You came here to kill Eldest Brother and me, and there’s a limit to how much I can treat you like this. I’m doing all this because, in the end, I intend to face the Demonic Cult you’re so afraid of. It seems you’re alive because you came while my mind is still relatively sound, but I have my limits too. I don’t care whether you’re older than me, my seniors, or whether you hate me. If I ask, answer. Otherwise, we can fight six against one right here and now. What do you say?”

One man quickly answered.

“Understood. We’ll answer every time.”

He was a man who had said little so far, but judging from his calm tone and expression, this bastard was the second brother.

“Your epithet?”

The man answered.

“Flying Sword Ghost.”

I waved my hand. The Six Killers carried the unconscious Manbak Demon Lord on their backs and went back inside. I looked up at the slightly darkened sky, then stared outside the inn. From quite a distance away, I could see a procession of torches moving in formation.

“....”

At a glance, they were troops. I could not tell whether they were friend or foe just by the torches, but the route they appeared from was the direction where the enemy was.

I drew in a deep breath, then asked the troops in a voice mixed with internal energy.

“...State your affiliation.”

Perhaps because it took some time for the sound to travel, a moment later one person among the troops answered.

“Jungcheon.”

I did not know them, and since the name overlapped with the Jungcheon Merchant Guild, they were enemies. Taken together, they seemed to be a force belonging to the Demonic Cult’s Outer Hall. In other words, it seemed part of the troops that had intended to use the unburned tents had arrived.

I climbed onto the wall of Jaha Inn and looked at Eldest Brother.

Eldest Brother, sitting on the wooden platform, looked at me and merely gave a light nod. No matter who came, Eldest Brother’s calm remained unchanged.

I looked at Eldest Brother, and then the two of us smiled at the same time.

The vanguard of the flickering torches had already arrived nearby and reached the remains of the tents, where they straightened their ranks. When the enemy arrived, this time Eldest Brother spoke in a tone mixed with internal energy, as though welcoming them.

“...Who has come?”

A man outside answered.

“It is regrettable that things have come to this. I have brought the Golden Tiger Unit.”

The Sword Demon nodded.

“Commander of the Golden Tiger Unit, welcome. I doubt you came alone.”

“When day breaks, Left Envoy Wi will likely arrive as well.”

“Then rest tonight. Tomorrow, I will meet the successor Left Envoy.”

A brief silence passed before the Commander of the Golden Tiger Unit answered.

“Let us do that.”

I walked along the top of the wall, then sat cross-legged and watched the Demonic Cult’s torches increase as though fireflies were gathering. Seeing it like this, it was quite a spectacle. Flames floating on a pitch-black sea settled into place in orderly fashion. Every so often, beneath the flames, the faces and gazes of cultists passing by were faintly visible.

They were truly quiet troops.

Surprisingly, when someone issued an order, the troops who had nearly all arrived began extinguishing their torches one by one. Relying on the moonlight to look, I saw that all of them had sat down on the ground while maintaining their formation. Since there were no tents, it seemed they intended to camp outdoors like that.

Then, once even the rear guard arrived, the lights held by the Demonic Cult disappeared as well.

It seemed they meant to spend the night completely buried in darkness.

I continued watching the troops buried in the dark.

How could one trust the Demonic Cult?

Since a night raid might come, I stood guard in Eldest Brother’s stead.

As I watched the darkness with my eyes wide open, I soon grew accustomed to it. Now the troops of the Demonic Cult sitting in ranks and files came faintly into view all at once.

As I continued staring while sitting cross-legged...

Someone from the center of the troops asked me.

“...Are you the Hao Clan Master?”

I looked at the owner of the voice. I could see only his outline, but after making an effort to meet his eyes as much as possible, I nodded.

“I am.”

After that, everything surrounding Jaha Inn was swept into silence. Emptying my mind, beneath the stars in the night sky, I muttered toward the cultists hidden in the darkness.

“So many of you came swarming here just to catch a waiter from Jaha Inn.”

I laughed while looking into the darkness.