Episode 121. Changing Fate Is This Difficult.

The place the Blood Night Palace Lord guided us to was a high-class estate called Suwolok (水月屋), and I couldn't tell if this place was a restaurant, an inn, or a brothel.

Because I hadn't frequented many luxurious places.

Looking around as I entered, it was a place that did everything. They sold food, they sold alcohol, and there were even detached annexes set up as independent spaces here and there.

It was, in other words, an extravagant inn used by VIPs.

While watching the servers treat the Palace Lord with extreme deference, we settled into the independent space of a detached annex.

Even though we hadn't ordered, light dishes began to come out.

Because everyone was so intimidated by the Palace Lord, I asked whatever came to mind.

"Blood Night Palace Lord, have you ever performed a knife dance here before?"

The Blood Night Palace Lord replied with a bewildered expression.

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Because everyone is treating the Palace Lord with such deference."

The Blood Night Palace Lord replied, shaking her head slightly.

"This place was made with the palace's funds. Since I cannot arbitrarily receive tribute, I entrusted the operations to someone skilled at business, and a portion of the profits returns to the main palace. Effectively, I am the owner."

"Aha."

I looked at the Blood Night Palace Lord again in surprise.

'What an extraordinary woman.'

Sword Demon, Left Advisor, Blood Night Palace Lord, Gyoyeong, and I sat around a round table and began our meal.

In the middle of it, a serving woman came by and poured water; her figure was so outstanding that the entire group was slightly flustered.

Old habits die hard.

Every time the serving woman came, the Left Advisor would gaze at her chest and drink his water.

After he repeated this, Sword Demon let out a deep sigh.

"Disciple."

"Yes, Master."

"You fall in love too easily. To stare so openly at a woman's body. I feel self-loathing at having to nag you like this in such a setting."

The Left Advisor replied in a tone more serious than usual.

"Master, could it be that I am ill? There is a side of me that I cannot control on my own."

Sword Demon said, looking at the Blood Night Palace Lord.

"Senior, this is my disciple. As you know, he is not one of the cult's people. I accepted him without knowing he was in this state. Since you enjoyed evaluating people and reading faces since you were young—how does he look? Let us hear the Blood Fairy's (血仙子) physiognomy talk for the first time in a while."

Blood Fairy seemed to be a byname from the Blood Night Palace Lord's youth.

While Xianzi (仙子) usually refers to a woman of beautiful appearance, in my eyes the Blood Night Palace Lord's beauty was not particularly outstanding. The mental suffering had affected even her face, making it look quite haggard.

The Blood Night Palace Lord's martial prowess was formidable enough to stand alongside Sword Demon, but the target of her vengeance happened to be the Cult Leader; long-standing mental anguish was only to be expected.

The Blood Night Palace Lord, who had been quietly examining the Left Advisor's face, answered.

"It is certainly a physiognomy that reveals lust. How did you fail to correct him by the time he reached this state?"

Sword Demon replied in a troubled tone.

"As you know, my disciple is not one of the cult's people. I took him in without knowing he was in such a state."

The Blood Night Palace Lord examined the Left Advisor's face and spoke.

"Men who are born and pathologically obsess over women are common. Of course, women have such cases too. This itself is not a problem, but the time of birth is important. If your disciple had been born during a great war and become a general, or was a king leading a nation, it would not be a problem. In wartime, if one commands an army and possesses outstanding martial prowess, other flaws are overlooked. But in an age like this…… what did you say your name was?"

The Left Advisor replied.

"It's Mongyeon."

"If you act as you do, you will be branded a lecher, receive criticism and scorn, and be driven out everywhere. But even while being hunted as such, the deep-seated illness cannot be cured. It is an illness of body and mind that will only disappear upon death."

After finishing her explanation, the Blood Night Palace Lord looked at Gyoyeong.

"This man is the number one man you must absolutely never meet. Do you understand?"

Gyoyeong answered.

"I will take it to heart."

"Today he will fall in love while looking at you, tomorrow he will share love with a serving woman, and that evening he will loiter around a brothel. In the morning, on his way home, he will strike up a conversation with a woman he meets on the road."

I grinned while eating.

"Wise words."

The Left Advisor said to the Blood Night Palace Lord with a serious expression.

"Senior, is there no cure?"

"None."

"Why?"

"Because you lack the will to be cured. When actions are repeated, they lead to fate. Live your life aware that someday you will become a lecher. You might die miserably. Diligently training in martial arts might also serve as a method."

Gyoyeong asked as if curious.

"Then what kind of person should I meet?"

This time, the Blood Night Palace Lord looked at me. Her fierce, snake-like eyes scanned me thoroughly before she spoke.

"This man is also a type you must absolutely never meet. If that Mongyeon is first place, this Hao Gate Lord here is second. From a woman's position, it's fifty steps versus a hundred."

I replied with a nonchalant expression.

"Why is that?"

The Blood Night Palace Lord explained to Gyoyeong.

"Look well at the Hao Gate Lord's eyes and expression. This man has no intention of starting a family. Men who live prepared to die are often like that. Gyoyeong, look at your forehead."

Gyoyeong touched her forehead, which was still swollen.

The Blood Night Palace Lord continued.

"Every time you defy him, you will receive a flick on the forehead. Men who lay their hands on women are never decent."

The Left Advisor looked at me with a pitiful expression.

"Wise words."

I looked around the gathering while eating.

"……Absurd."

Gyoyeong asked the Blood Night Palace Lord.

"But why did no one in the palace use the word 'flick on the forehead'?"

"That is a word used only among friends when playing around. How could those in the palace use such a word to you?"

Gyoyeong asked.

"What if I use it?"

"You intend to flick the servants' foreheads?"

"Yes."

The Blood Night Palace Lord looked at Sword Demon, seemingly at a loss for words.

Sword Demon said to Gyoyeong.

"Gyoyeong, how old are you this year?"

"I'm eighteen."

"You are past the age to beat servants or give them flicks on the forehead, so you must not do so."

Gyoyeong replied.

"Yes, sir."

"A person with martial arts of your caliber could kill a servant by flicking their forehead."

The flow of the conversation was truly beyond chaotic.

I merely snorted while eating my rice, and scoffed while spooning up the soup.

In any case, the food was delicious.

“Your cooking skills are quite something.”

The Sword Demon studied my expression, then asked.

“It seems the Sect Master has something to say as well.”

I nodded, then looked at the Blood Night Palace Lord.

“……Judging by your physiognomy, you do not have long to live.”

The Left Envoy, who had been drinking water, sprayed the water in his mouth.

“Pfft— Ah, my apologies.”

“……!”

The Blood Night Palace Lord set down her chopsticks and looked at me.

“This is the first time I have heard such an ill-omened curse, so I am rather taken aback.”

As the Blood Night Palace Lord showed signs of anger, the Sword Demon said,

“He is not a man who spouts nonsense every time, so hear him out for now.”

“Let us hear it, then.”

I chewed a large piece of sweet-and-sour tenderloin to the very end before speaking.

“Since you exchanged blows with Senior Sword Demon, I will acknowledge that your martial arts are outstanding.”

The Blood Night Palace Lord was about to say something, but after seeing the Sword Demon’s expression, she closed her mouth.

After wetting my throat with water, I opened my trap with a solemn expression.

“It would have been better to have today’s meal at Blood Night Palace. You seem to live shut away, accepting no outsiders, but do you think the Cult Leader will be unable to find you just because you hide like this? With one word from the Cult Leader, his subordinates will spread out, and whether it takes one year or two or three, they will find you in the end. If he says, ‘Kill them,’ his subordinates and Blood Night Palace will clash. Then, on the day the Cult Leader appears in person, Blood Night Palace will vanish. The Palace Lord will die, the girl over there who got flicked on the forehead by me will die, the servants will die, and the higher-ups will die too. The money will be moved to the cult, and only ashes will remain where the palace once stood.”

The Blood Night Palace Lord replied.

“We are not that weak.”

“So are you stronger than the cult? Not a chance.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“And what is with the name Blood Night Palace? A night tinged with blood, or some such? No matter who hears it, it sounds like a demonic faction. Senior Sword Demon, is that not so?”

The Sword Demon answered.

“Blood Night was the sobriquet of the Palace Lord’s grandfather.”

“In any case, using your grandfather’s sobriquet as the name of an organization is laughable too. Start by throwing away the name Blood Night Palace. Even nations change their names when dynasties change, so what is the big deal? From the beginning, the very fact that the Palace Lord dreams of revenge while isolated all alone is an empty thing. I would say you lack a sense of reality. Of course the cult is stronger, so how exactly do you plan to take revenge? Your organization is weak, and your individual might will fall even shorter. If you want to survive, you have no choice but to change. You should know that what you said to that shit-pants applies exactly to you, Palace Lord. When actions repeat, they lead to fate. You do not intend to fix your closed-off nature either, do you? If so, then the day you die will soon approach.”

“…….”

At my ill-omened words, everyone remained still, holding their breath.

I drank some water and continued.

“As I see it, Senior Sword Demon is also a man with an individualistic temperament. If such a senior said he would visit Blood Night Palace, you should naturally have invited him as an honored guest. What is so difficult about treating him to one meal? Even if word spread, it would be something like this: the Sword Demon has been coming and going from Blood Night Palace…… To the Cult Leader, that would be rather unpleasant news. It would mean troublesome people are interacting. But then, as it turns out, the party also included the second son of the Fengyun Meng Clan of the righteous path, and even the sect master of some pathetic force called Haomun that no one has ever heard of was sniffing around. If that happens, would the Cult Leader not have more people he must deal with?”

I tried to pick up a piece of sweet-and-sour tenderloin with my chopsticks, but the atmosphere seemed to have grown too heavy, so I set them back down.

“Listen, Blood Night Palace Lord. Surviving is no easy thing. If you do not want to die, you must do whatever it takes. If I were in your position, I would first cling to Senior Sword Demon’s trouser leg.”

I tapped the table with my hand and said,

“In any case, what I am saying is that now is not the time to be playing around with Weoldanhwa. Do you understand me? So when I strike the assassins of Saryugok, help me a little more actively, is what I mean.”

The Sword Demon answered with a bewildered expression.

“Does the conversation suddenly develop like that?”

The Blood Night Palace Lord looked at me and said,

“I more or less understand what you are saying, but I am taken aback because I have never seen anyone as insolent as you.”

Suddenly, I noticed that the girl named Gyoyeong was looking at me, so I said briefly,

“What are you looking at?”

“…….”

The Blood Night Palace Lord asked Gyoyeong,

“What do you think?”

“I agree with changing the name.”

“To what?”

“Please hear the elders’ opinions. Or changing it to Sacred Fire Palace, after the Heaven-Destroying Sacred Fire Divine Art Father created, would not be bad either. Would it not be more natural to take the name from a martial art than to follow a sobriquet? In any case, at present, aside from the elders, there is no one who has learned Great-Grandfather’s martial arts.”

The Blood Night Palace Lord nodded.

“I shall keep that in mind.”

At that moment, as a maid with a voluptuous figure entered to clear the dishes, everyone looked at the Left Envoy.

The Left Envoy reflexively turned his head toward the maid, then at the same time slapped his own cheek with his hand, moving his head back, and glared at the empty space in front of him.

At the smack, the maid started in surprise.

“…….”

In a calm tone, I said to those seated,

“This is how difficult it is to change one’s fate.”

The Left Envoy replied with a grave expression.

“I agree. It is no easy thing.”

As soon as he said this, the Left Envoy squeezed his eyes tightly shut. I clicked my tongue and shook my head.

“Give me a damn break. Good grief.”

The Left Envoy’s forcibly closed eyes were trembling.

The Blood Night Palace Lord, who had been lost in thought, looked around at everyone and said,

“……Then I shall serve tea once we enter the palace. Everyone, rise.”

Gyoyeong, who had been watching the Left Envoy’s dogshit antics the entire time, said a word to him.

“You really seem like a madman.”

The Left Envoy opened his eyes and replied,

“Refrain from such wicked words toward your elder brother.”

When the Left Envoy smiled and winked one eye, Gyoyeong recoiled in shock.

I met the Sword Demon’s eyes, and we sighed at the same time. Meanwhile, the Blood Night Palace Lord shielded Gyoyeong and spoke as though avoiding a plague.

“Do not look at him. Let us go.”

“Yes.”

In truth, changing fate is an extremely difficult thing.

It would be so for anyone.

For the Lust Demon, and for me as well.

The normal beauties I had known in my previous life had no connection to me. Even while scolding the Blood Night Palace Lord, tormenting the Left Envoy, and harassing the girl who went around swinging a whip, if I thought carefully about it……

I had a feeling it would be the same in this life too.

At this point, I discovered one secret about regression.

I more or less know the futures of others.

But as for my own future, I still cannot know it.

However, there is also a fact that remains unchanged, both then and now.

I am a man who changes fate, one way or another.

If I were not, the errand boy of Ilyang County would never have come to be called the Mad Demon.

From errand boy to Mad Demon.

And from the Mad Demon, what shall I become next?

That is the task of my regression.