Chapter 122. The White-Haired Man’s Man
“Welcome.”
The Blood Night Palace Lord spoke respectfully to the elderly man who appeared while we were drinking tea. When the group turned their heads, they saw an old man at the entrance of the main hall, walking with difficulty while being supported by a young man.
The white-haired old man stopped in his tracks and stared at the Sword Demon with wide eyes.
“Oh… the Left Envoy truly has come to visit.”
The Sword Demon rose from his seat with a startled expression and approached the old man.
“Chief Envoy, it has been a long time.”
The old man lightly patted the back of the young man’s hand as he supported him.
“Yongmyeong, thank you. Wait for a moment.”
“Yes, sir.”
I, too, watched the old man and the Sword Demon with wide eyes. The Sword Demon naturally supported the old man and guided him to the table where we were drinking tea.
Seen up close, the old man looked well over a hundred years old.
The Blood Night Palace Lord personally poured tea for him, then turned the round table.
“Please drink, Elder.”
The old man answered with a bright smile.
“Thank you, Palace Lord. I heard guests had come after so long, so I came out to see. Seeing the Left Envoy’s face again before I die makes me very glad.”
The old man stroked the Sword Demon’s back as if treating him like a grandson. The Sword Demon replied with a smile.
“Elder, I left the Cult after clashing with the Cult Leader. I am no longer the Left Envoy.”
“Ah, is that so? I did not know that much.”
The old man looked over those seated around the table, then added.
“There are fewer and fewer people by the Cult Leader’s side who speak frankly to him, so it is truly worrying. Who are these young companions?”
At the old man’s words, Gyo Yeong introduced us.
“This is Young Master Mong Yeon of the Windcloud Mong Family, and this is I Jaha, the Sect Master of the Hao Sect. They are Uncle Sword Demon’s companions.”
The old man looked at me and that Lust Demon bastard, then introduced himself.
“Young Master Mong, Sect Master I. This old man is called Heo Gyeom.”
Since the other party was so old, both the Lust Demon and I answered politely.
“Elder, I am Mong Yeon. Please speak comfortably.”
“Elder, I am I Jaha.”
If even the Palace Lord spoke respectfully to him and Senior Sword Demon had sprung to his feet, he seemed to be someone treated as a grand elder.
Elder Heo Gyeom asked the Blood Night Palace Lord.
“Palace Lord, what were you discussing? I hope this old man has not interrupted. In truth, I heard the Left Envoy had come, so I deliberately came because I wanted to join the conversation.”
The Blood Night Palace Lord pointed at me.
“The Hao Sect Master here intends to strike an assassin organization called Saryugok, and he is asking our palace for help. Elder, do you know of Saryugok?”
Elder Heo Gyeom abruptly took out an old notebook from his wide sleeve.
“Saryugok, you say? One moment. I do remember. But memory is not as accurate as records, so I will look and tell you.”
Everyone looked at the old notebook in Elder Heo Gyeom’s hand.
When he opened the worn and frayed cover, tiny characters were written densely inside. Elder Heo Gyeom flipped through several pages, then read one section.
“It is briefly summarized under the assassins section. Saryugok is always thick with fog. The renegade Seventh Instructor and his disciples hid there and carried out assassination work, but among them were those who had learned formation techniques, making it difficult to root out the remnants. Many important figures of the Cult died, and many of those sent to suppress them were also killed. Later, they were suppressed by the First Instructor dispatched by the Cult, who beheaded the remnants and burned their dwellings, bringing the matter to an end. However, the Seventh Instructor’s corpse was not found. It seems they have settled down again?”
I stared quietly at Elder Heo Gyeom, then replied.
“I do not know the details. They kept sending assassins after me, and I learned of the place while tracking them.”
Elder Heo Gyeom looked at me and smiled.
“You are young, yet already plagued by assassins. It seems the Sect Master’s activities must have been quite vigorous.”
Feeling something strange from Elder Heo, I replied.
“It happened while I was fighting here and there.”
Judging by how difficult it was for him to walk, he was certainly an old man who had lost his martial arts.
And yet he did not particularly feel weak, and it was strange that he seemed like someone worthy of full courtesy.
It was not an atmosphere formed simply because he was old.
It felt like an aura ingrained in him because, at one time, he had been strong enough to look down upon all under heaven.
Why such a man had grown so frail was not something I could know right away.
In any case, the Blood Night Palace Lord was also showing him full courtesy, and the Sword Demon had sprung up to support him, so Elder Heo before my eyes seemed to have been an important figure even within the Cult.
Gyo Yeong asked.
“Elder, what does Seventh Instructor mean?”
Elder Heo Gyeom replied.
“Ah, that is merely my own expression. What I have organized is mostly related to the Cult. By Seventh Instructor, I simply mean the seventh instructor who raised assassins in the Cult. You can think of him as roughly the seventh squad leader of an assassin organization. In the days when the Cult’s power was tremendous, there were truly many talented people. As its strength weakened due to succession struggles, there were assassin groups founded by instructors who left the Cult. The instructors who raised assassins were people who had learned and absorbed the worst aspects of the Cult. I think the Palace Lord should also join this Hao Sect Master and clean up the assassins of Saryugok.”
The Blood Night Palace Lord nodded.
“Yes, Elder.”
At this point, their exchange made it hard to tell who the Palace Lord was.
I stared quietly at Elder Heo Gyeom.
In any case, I had no choice but to guess that he was something of a legendary figure even within the Demonic Cult. Naturally, I knew nothing about figures from the previous generation of the Demonic Cult, but judging by the atmosphere and circumstances, that seemed to be the case.
If he was someone who had survived in the demonic path for over a hundred years.
How many battles, betrayals, deaths, and births must this man have witnessed with his own two eyes?
Considering only his age, he was like an immortal, so I sipped my tea while feeling strangely fascinated.
Elder Heo Gyeom actively took part in the conversation as if he cherished the time he had left. Then, suddenly, he said this to the Lust Demon bastard.
“Young Master Mong.”
“Yes.”
“Could you give me your hand? I would like to examine your inner qi.”
The Lust Demon bastard looked slightly flustered, then checked the Sword Demon’s expression before holding out his hand. Elder Heo Gyeom grasped the Lust Demon bastard’s wrist like a physician taking a pulse, then smiled.
“Ah, are you perhaps a survivor of the Jade Flower Palace…”
The Lust Demon nodded slightly.
“Ah, yes. That is correct. On my mother’s side.”
Elder Heo Gyeom stroked the Lust Demon’s hand.
“You have truly grown up well. I knew the lineage of the Jade Flower Palace had not been severed, but this is my first time seeing it in person. I am glad that the line of such excellent martial arts has not been cut off either. Young Master Mong.”
“Yes.”
“You must have suffered a great deal in your training.”
“Ah, no. I met my master and have been receiving good guidance.”
The Sword Demon nodded.
“Elder, he is my disciple.”
Elder Heo Gyeom looked at the Sword Demon with a smile.
“It is surprising that the Left Envoy has taken a disciple. The ice arts of the Jade Flower Palace are formidable when mastered to the end, so please do not transmit the Radiant Sword.”
The Sword Demon nodded.
“That is my intention.”
Suddenly, I straightened my posture and sat properly.
This old man was no ordinary fellow.
He had the air of what a veteran of a hundred battles would become if he retired and survived for another fifty years or so.
Ominously, this time Elder Heo Gyeom looked at me.
I looked back at Elder Heo Gyeom and thought.
‘Ah… let’s not do this.’
Elder Heo Gyeom spoke in a courteous tone.
“Sect Master, this may displease you, but this old man has a nature that cannot endure curiosity… As I did with Young Master Mong, might I examine your internal energy once?”
Though I knew he meant no harm, I answered in a troubled tone.
“Yes, of course. Please instruct me.”
Elder Heo Gyeom lightly placed his fingers on my wrist, then withdrew his hand before long.
All at once, Elder Heo Gyeom’s expression changed completely, and he stared blankly at me.
“…….”
* * *
Gyoyeong rose and brought water.
“Elder, please have some water.”
With the atmosphere turned chilly, the Blood Night Palace Lord, the Sword Demon, and the Lust Demon looked back and forth between Elder Heo Gyeom, who said nothing, and me.
Only after drinking the water did Elder Heo Gyeom’s expression ease somewhat.
“Sect Master, your accomplishments are remarkable for one so young. Might you also be the Left Envoy’s disciple?”
The Sword Demon answered in my stead.
“He is not.”
“Forgive the question, but is he someone the Left Envoy trusts?”
The Sword Demon answered calmly.
“His usual behavior is somewhat extreme, and he lacks courtesy in his words and actions, but I hold the purpose he carries in high regard, irrespective of his age. Elder Heo, the Hao Sect Master is not a bad man. Do not be wary of him. If you have something to say, please speak freely. I will listen with you.”
“Might I know a brief account of his deeds thus far?”
“As far as I know, he has mainly killed, absorbed, and reorganized many of the black path forces in the region where he was born.”
“Has there been no conflict yet with the Alliance or the Cult?”
“No.”
Only then did Elder Heo Gyeom look at me.
“Sect Master, are you perhaps a disciple of the Three Calamities?”
I shook my head.
“No. Of course not.”
Elder Heo Gyeom said,
“At times, there are moments when I am bewildered because I know too much. It happens when I encounter something I cannot understand. This year, my age is one hundred and eleven. Sect Master, you are very young, yet you possess both extreme yang internal energy and extreme yin internal energy, so I could not help but be flustered. In truth, the martial arts the Cult Leader practices are like that. I was briefly alarmed, wondering if the Cult Leader had secretly raised a disciple and sent him here. If you cultivated them on your own, Sect Master, then this old man offers his respect.”
I nodded.
“I see. I understand.”
Naturally, since the Cult Leader had sought to obtain the Heavenly Jade, he must have cultivated martial arts of yin and yang in harmony. It was only natural that an elder who had spent so long in the Cult would be shocked upon examining me.
Elder Heo Gyeom asked me,
“I have never heard of an organization called the Hao Sect. Did you create it, Sect Master?”
“Yes.”
“What is the purpose of founding your sect?”
“I created it with the intent that those who work should be left alone.”
Elder Heo Gyeom laughed with an expression of disbelief.
“My, that is the most fiery answer I have ever heard for the purpose of founding a sect.”
Gyoyeong asked,
“Elder, what part of it is fiery?”
Elder Heo Gyeom said,
“It is always the case that those who work are harassed. If so, then the purpose of his sect’s founding is no different from saying he will fight for the rest of his life. I have heard of the rise and fall of many sects, but this is the first time I have encountered such a case.”
I nodded.
“That is not wrong.”
Elder Heo Gyeom asked me,
“Is the combination of yin and yang going well?”
As soon as the conversation turned to martial arts, I answered carefully.
“Since I am cultivating it alone, it is not smooth. And I am still no different from being at the introductory stage.”
“I see.”
Suddenly, Elder Heo Gyeom fixed his gaze on the Blood Night Palace Lord.
“Palace Lord.”
“Yes.”
“As for striking Saryugok. I would like you, Palace Lord, to actively assist the Hao Sect Master. I apologize for speaking out of turn.”
The Blood Night Palace Lord answered,
“Not at all. I will do so.”
“Will you?”
“Yes.”
This time, Elder Heo Gyeom looked at me with a burdensome gaze.
“Sect Master.”
“Yes.”
“This old man is very advanced in years. Whenever it may be, when I pass on, Sect Master, please help the Blood Night Palace.”
“Pardon?”
As soon as I replied, I took in the expressions of the people around me. As if those words had not been arranged in advance, the Sword Demon, Gyoyeong, and even the Blood Night Palace Lord wore flustered expressions.
The Blood Night Palace Lord said,
“Elder, what do you mean by that? We are not some neighborhood martial hall.”
“Yes, I know.”
Elder Heo Gyeom looked around and said,
“When I die, the Cult Leader will come to the palace. I am asking you to help then. It may sound strange, but he will. Do you think the Cult Leader could possibly be afraid of me? In the old days, I once saved the young Cult Leader, so he must be quietly pretending not to see. At that time, he was not yet the Cult Leader. The Cult Leader is not a man who looks after others or takes circumstances into account, but when it comes to matters of life and death, he distinguishes between favors and grudges. And because I know that, I have remained in the palace all this time.”
Suddenly, Elder Heo Gyeom fixed me with a clear gaze.
“This palace came from the Cult, but after becoming independent, we did not kill the weak who had not learned martial arts. Sect Master, you are a man who helps the weak, so in the future, please aid this palace with a broad heart. Not all who come from the demonic path are the same devils.”
I had never felt the gaze of a man who had lost his internal energy to be so frightening.
It was such an absurd request that I answered vaguely.
“If there is something I can help with….”
Heo Gyeom cut me off.
“Sect Master.”
“Yes.”
“Only when someone reaches out a hand do people emerge from the demonic path, even if only once in a while.”
When an old man who had eaten up a hundred and eleven years started insisting like that, I was bewildered too.
“Elder, there is something I’m curious about……”
“Ask.”
I looked at Heo Gyeom and asked.
“How did you lose your martial arts?”
Heo Gyeom answered.
“There was a time when this old man, too, thought himself strong and grew arrogant. I interfered with the path of a man known far and wide, and this is what became of me.”
“Who was that?”
“That man later became one of the Three Calamities.”
Startled, I checked the expressions of the Sword Demon and the Blood Night Palace Lord. The two of them showed no change in expression, as if they had already known. Only then could I understand the cautious attitude of the Palace Lord and the Sword Demon.
In any case, this old man was someone worthy of respect.
Because there were not many who had crossed blades with the Three Calamities and survived.
Before my eyes, a rare white-haired man’s man (上男子) was looking at me with an aged face.
Perhaps I was too impressed, because I opened my trap in my usual manner.
“Waaah… Old sir, you really were a man’s man.”
“……”
The atmosphere turned chilly.
Humans are bound to repeat the same mistakes, and that saying was made for me.