Chapter 104 - Even If I Look a Little Foolish

I did not stop the Wicked Laughing Demon.

"Do as your heart tells you."

When someone was angry, they needed to express that anger. Unless he was rushing off to kill someone right this instant, there was no reason to stop him now.

In my experience, most mistakes happened when people were in a hurry. This was no different. If I stepped in to stop him when there was no need to rush, that would only mean I was the one being impatient.

At times like this, you simply left them alone until that surging anger subsided. No judging, no trying to persuade them. Just stay quiet.

While Yi An and Blue Face, who had come out a little later, examined the bodies, the mistress of Thousand Flowers Pavilion stood before the Wicked Laughing Demon. Bloodstains still marked her face.

"Sir."

She had changed her form of address from "dear brother" to "sir."

"What is it?"

"Please avenge me properly."

Those were not the words I had expected to hear from her.

"Make it so I can sleep soundly without a worry from now on."

"Very well. I'll show Murim what happens to anyone who lays a hand on the mistress of Thousand Flowers Pavilion."

She bowed. I had known she was no ordinary woman, but I had not realized she was the sort to say something like that in a situation like this.

I did not mean that in a bad way. I was admiring her. It occurred to me that perhaps she, too, was using the best possible method to soothe the Wicked Laughing Demon's anger.

If she stepped forward now and said something that wounded his pride, such as, "I'm worried you'll be put in danger because of me, dear brother," he would only rampage all the more wildly.

These two really were well matched.

Just then, Blue Face found something on the bodies.

"I found these inside their robes."

What he held out was a palm-sized willow-leaf throwing knife.

"These are the daggers used by the Unorthodox Alliance's Guizhou chapter. Look here, and you'll see their distinctive marking."

"You mean these bastards are from the Guizhou chapter?"

"No. With their level of skill, they couldn't have infiltrated this place."

Blue Face looked at me for confirmation.

I nodded in agreement.

"That's right. These men were clearly more skilled than the guards protecting Thousand Flowers Pavilion."

After hearing my answer, Blue Face cautiously offered a theory.

"My guess is that they intended to assassinate the mistress, then leave these willow-leaf throwing knives at the scene."

"To pin it on the Unorthodox Alliance? Do they take me for an idiot? Did they think such a flimsy trick would work?"

With the irritation of being belittled added to his existing anger, the air around us grew even heavier.

"Perhaps that trick might have worked."

The Wicked Laughing Demon's gaze turned cold at my words, but I calmly said what I had to say.

"The mistress isn't dead right now. If you had found this beside her corpse, you would have felt entirely different. Wouldn't you have rushed to the Unorthodox Alliance's Guizhou chapter to find the owner of this knife first?"

He could not refute that.

"They probably had something prepared there as well. The owner of this knife might have said something to provoke you, Laughing Demon, or perhaps they had something else in place."

It only took a moment for someone to fly into a mad rage. You must never underestimate the agitation and fury caused by the death of someone they cherished.

"If they're not from the Unorthodox Alliance, who are they?"

In response to the Wicked Laughing Demon's question, Blue Face asked me one of his own.

"What martial arts did they use?"

Blue Face was known for his intelligence even in Villains' Valley. Quick with figures and calculations, he could read ledgers, of course, but he also knew a great deal about martial artists, martial arts, and the state of affairs in Murim.

"The first one to reveal himself used a dagger."

As I explained, I reproduced the exact motion the first masked man had used to stab at the mistress.

"They were also masters of concealment. I hadn't sensed his presence until he revealed himself to attack her."

That allowed Blue Face to deduce their identities.

"Judging by the posture you demonstrated, Second Young Master, their mastery of concealment, and the fact that there are five of them, these men must be the Five Blood-Hand Shadows."

"The Five Blood-Hand Shadows? I've heard of them, haven't I?"

Blue Face answered the Wicked Laughing Demon's question.

"They are experts from White Night Valley."

White Night Valley was a sect among the unorthodox factions that had earned considerable notoriety in Murim. They committed every sort of vile deed imaginable, and even killed people for money. The Five Blood-Hand Shadows were their foremost experts.

"They probably accepted the contract without knowing of Thousand Flowers Pavilion's connection to us."

Blue Face had deduced not only their identities, but also how they had dared to do such a thing.

He was exactly right. In my life before the regression, the Five Blood-Hand Shadows had also been closely connected to the Wicked Laughing Demon. They had died at his hands, after all.

But at least they had not attacked the mistress here today.

In other words, the Wicked Laughing Demon's traveling with me had changed their fate. They had not escaped death, but its time and place had changed.

The Wicked Laughing Demon did not hesitate.

"We're going to White Night Valley."

"Yes, sir."

Without another word, Blue Face hurried to prepare for departure.

The Wicked Laughing Demon also saw to the mistress's safety.

"You should travel with me for the time being, too."

Now that she had been targeted once, staying together until this matter was resolved was the sensible choice.

"I'll do as you wish, sir."

She readily complied with his instructions.

She glanced at me. I could sense the feeling conveyed in her eyes: she was leaving it to me to stop the Wicked Laughing Demon.

Once preparations were complete, everyone boarded the carriage. Seeing that I still had not climbed in, the Wicked Laughing Demon asked from inside,

"Aren't you getting in?"

"I was wondering how to get you out of the carriage, Laughing Demon."

"Let's hear your reason for trying to stop me."

"The attack has already happened, and we know who did it. If we storm in now, all that awaits is a fight. If you and I join forces, we may be able to wipe them out. You might even gain a new epithet: the Laughing Demon of Extermination."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No. I despise White Night Valley. They commit every filthy deed under the sun and kill people for money, so they deserve to die. But there is a better way than staining our own hands with blood."

"And what is that?"

"Leave it to someone else."

"Who do you suggest we leave it to?"

"You're so agitated right now that you've forgotten one thing, Laughing Demon. We made an agreement with Bi Sain. If we gave him a lead on the people behind this, they would withdraw from Guizhou and compensate you for the losses of the past two years. We now have that lead."

Even though the advice was for his benefit, the Wicked Laughing Demon mocked me.

"Still working your abacus in a situation like this. Our Second Young Master truly is extraordinary. Extraordinary indeed."

Rather than taking offense, I calmly tried to persuade him.

"If I really am extraordinary, I should be able to stop you somehow. Will you give me a little more time to try?"

"Go ahead."

Looking into eyes that dared me to try if I could, I began my argument.

"No matter how much pressure you put on him, the lord of White Night Valley will never reveal who hired them. No, he cannot reveal it. The moment he names the person behind this, no one will ever pay White Night Valley to do a job again."

The Wicked Laughing Demon would already know that much. He understood villains better than I did.

"Most importantly, wiping out White Night Valley would cause even more trouble than wiping out the Unorthodox Alliance's Guizhou chapter."

"Why is that?"

"Three years ago, the daughter of White Night Valley's lord married the son of the Unorthodox Alliance's deputy leader. The two men are in-laws."

The Wicked Laughing Demon, who had not known this, started in surprise and asked Blue Face,

"Is that true?"

From the driver's seat, Blue Face answered loudly,

"Yes, sir."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I only just remembered it myself."

The Wicked Laughing Demon looked at me in surprise.

"How did you know, Second Young Master?"

"I began wondering why they had hired White Night Valley specifically when there are so many assassin organizations in the martial world, and that marriage came to mind."

He had experienced my sharp mind several times already, so he would not find it strange that I had remembered.

The crucial words that would persuade him were these:

"It's a twofold scheme."

"What do you mean?"

"Whoever plotted this prepared for both outcomes. They could leave the willow-leaf throwing knives behind and pin the blame on the Unorthodox Alliance's Guizhou chapter. Or, if the ambush failed as it has now, they wouldn't mind White Night Valley taking the blame. Either way, their scheme to bring you into conflict with the Unorthodox Alliance succeeds."

The Wicked Laughing Demon's gaze settled into a cold stillness. The disappearance of mirth from his eyes meant his anger had subsided to some extent.

"Is there any need to play into their hands? Leave this matter to me."

The mistress beside him, and Yi An and Blue Face on the driver's seat, had all been listening to our conversation in silence.

Fortunately, the Wicked Laughing Demon was not foolish enough to cling stubbornly to a decision merely because others were watching.

"But then I'll look utterly foolish, won't I? I acted as though I would show you my world awash in blood."

His words already signaled that he was willing to yield. I smiled as I answered.

"No one will think you foolish. But even if they do, what's wrong with looking a little foolish?"

He laughed. This time, his habitual laughter carried a genuine flicker of amusement.

"I don't think anyone here wants to see a sea of blood, myself included. Especially our mistress, who has already been drenched in a bucketful of it."

The Wicked Laughing Demon looked at her.

As though she had been waiting for her cue, she said,

"Avenge me! Go and kill them all!"

He laughed again.

"You don't mean a word of that."

Only then did she reveal her true feelings.

"No, you're right. I'm tired today, and I just want to rest. Beside you, dear brother."

She was calling him "dear brother" again. She, too, had sensed that his anger had completely subsided.

The Wicked Laughing Demon did not deliberate for long.

He told Blue Face,

"Go tell Bi Sain I want to meet him."

"Yes, sir."

Blue Face jumped down from the carriage, then darted away and vanished.

The Wicked Laughing Demon and the mistress got out of the carriage.

I told her,

"You must be tired, but stay right by the Laughing Demon's side until this is resolved. It's the safest place in the world."

I had tended both to her safety and to his mood, but he did not let it pass without comment.

"Your Divine Art of Flattery seems to be the greatest of all time, Second Young Master."

It was a compliment that was not quite a compliment, half mockery and half genuine admiration.

"It's the most powerful move I've been using lately. But it isn't ordinary flattery. It's a Divine Art of Flattery that requires persistence, an effort to understand the other person, and even putting my life on the line. Besides, when it's you I'm dealing with, what's wrong with a little flattery?"

Hearing my unabashed response, the mistress could not hold back her laughter.

"I'm sorry for laughing. At this point, I think it really does deserve to be called a divine technique."

Her eyes held more than gratitude as she looked at me; they held goodwill.

The woman I knew was clear about repaying both kindness and wrongs. I was certain that saving her today would be a great help on the road ahead.

Once the two of them went inside, Yi An, who had been sitting on the driver's seat as still as stone, released the sigh she had been holding back.

"How on earth do you withstand that kind of pressure?"

Now she was asking the same question Seo Daeryong had asked before.

"What else can I do? I promised to take responsibility for every bit of trouble the Wicked Laughing Demon caused before we left, remember?"

"Having to persuade him when he's absolutely furious? I would have run without looking back."

"You would have persuaded him better than I did."

"You overestimate me."

"I'm not the one doing the overestimating."

"Who, then?"

"The mistress said you look like someone who will do great things."

"Are you sure she didn't mean cause great trouble? She probably just said it to please you, Young Master."

"If she wanted to please me, she should have said I was the one who would do those great things."

"That's true."

Yi An climbed down from the carriage.

"You could use a drink, couldn't you?"

"Yes."

"Let's go inside and have another. We can ask for that song we were going to hear earlier, too."

"They've all left. Do you think those women would still be waiting?"

"I suppose you're right."

"... Shall I sing for you instead?"

"No, thank you. I've had a hard enough time already."

"I'm a good singer. You've never even heard me sing, have you?"

"You don't have to wait for someone to draw their sword to judge their skill."

"There you go, failing to recognize a hidden master again. Just don't be shocked when you hear me later."

As I was about to follow Yi An into the building, I suddenly looked up at the night sky.

Gazing at the countless stars, I found myself missing my people back at the Cult. I wanted to use the Art of Space-Time Transposition to lie alone on a beach and bask in the warm sunlight. I wanted to hear Yi An sing.