Chapter 114 - I Meant to Lure in a Villain

Bi Sain and I arrived at an Unorthodox Alliance safe house not far from its headquarters. The Wicked Laughing Demon and the Thirteen Wolves of the Unorthodox Path were waiting there. First Wolf was as delighted as if someone had returned from the dead.

"Young Master! You're safe!"

"First Wolf, I'm sorry I left without telling you beforehand."

"I was terribly worried. You must never do this again."

"Understood."

The other Wolves were delighted as well. Seeing how warmly they welcomed him, Bi Sain seemed to soften.

"The Wicked Demon Supreme did assure us of your safety, Young Master, but..."

I chuckled, imagining First Wolf agonizing over whether an assurance of safety from the Wicked Laughing Demon actually meant greater danger.

While Bi Sain reunited with the Thirteen Wolves, the Wicked Laughing Demon called me into a room alone. The eyes behind his white mask scrutinized me.

"Bi Sain probably doesn't even know what he's lost. Just what did you gain?"

"I simply tried to win him over."

"That can't be it. You could have done that with me or the Thirteen Wolves around."

After all our time traveling together, the Wicked Laughing Demon understood me far too well.

"Now that I look, your gaze seems deeper, too. Have you made progress in your martial arts?"

"A very little."

In truth, attaining twelfth-level complete mastery of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art was an enormous achievement, but I told him only half the truth. I didn't think I could deceive him completely, nor did I want to.

"If you've grown even stronger, Second Young Master, I'll lose if we fight now."

"I might beat the other Demon Supremes, but not you, Laughing Demon."

"Why not?"

"Because you're the Wicked Laughing Demon."

Recognizing the compliment, he laughed.

That afternoon, Bi Sain came to see me. He had devised a plan, and it was exceedingly dangerous.

"I intend to use myself as bait."

He was staking his life on this.

"I'll leak word that I have evidence proving Seok Gwanchu was behind everything that's happened. If I say I'll report it to the alliance leader soon, Seok Gwanchu is certain to come kill us."

Black Kill's leader was dead, we had visited White Night Valley, and Sixth Wolf had been killed as well. It was entirely plausible that we had evidence.

"He'll need to kill us as quickly as possible, but he won't be able to find an outside master on such short notice. Either he'll come himself, or a master closely connected to him will."

"Do you realize how dangerous this plan is?"

"I do. He'll be sure to send someone capable of killing me. He may even come himself."

"Then why devise such a dangerous plan?"

"Because there's one thing they're overlooking."

"What is it?"

"You, Second Young Master. They'll never imagine that you and the Wicked Laughing Demon would help me."

He asked me, "Will you help me?"

"I will."

My unhesitating answer actually startled him.

"Why aren't you demanding anything in return? This time, I have no choice but to accept whatever terms you set. Even if you asked for everything I own, I'd have to give it to you."

"Because someday, I'd like to share a proper handshake with you."

Bi Sain's eyes wavered. Help received in difficult times always leaves a deep impression. If I won his heart now, it would become a greater source of strength than any elixir or treasure.

After parting with him, I met the Wicked Laughing Demon and told him the plan.

"Stay out of this, Second Young Master."

"Do you mean that?"

"Yes."

"Because you're worried about me?"

"No, because I'm worried about myself. You came away with me. What would that make me if you died on the Unorthodox Alliance's doorstep? I couldn't face the cult leader."

In truth, I had the very same concern. Father had ordered me not to kill any more Demon Supremes. What would that make me if the Wicked Laughing Demon died?

"Let's watch how things develop before deciding."

"Very well."

"This isn't our fight. There's no need to throw ourselves into too much danger."

Instead, my words made his eyes gleam. The stronger his opponent, the more fiercely he burned.

Back in my room, I unwound the supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk from my sword hilt and wrapped it over my heart, around my neck and abdomen, and over the vital areas of my arms and legs. Over that, I put on the Ghost-Guard Robe the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had given me. Then I quietly circulated my qi and regulated my breathing, preparing for the coming battle.

Late that night, I opened my eyes. The Heavenly Demon's Body-Protection Art had awakened me. Never before had it roused me so violently and forcefully. I knew.

'A formidable enemy.'

I had expected a formidable enemy, but this was the first time a master had made the Heavenly Demon's Body-Protection Art react so strongly.

The Wicked Laughing Demon, who had been sleeping in the same room, also snapped his eyes open.

"Did you feel it?"

"Yes."

"Let's go out."

I put on a mask, just like the Wicked Laughing Demon. We headed toward the source of that qi: the building where Bi Sain was staying.

CRACK! CRASH!

Martial artists burst out through the windows and walls. They were Bi Sain and the Thirteen Wolves, and their alarm was plain to see. A moment later, an old man appeared, strolling leisurely out.

Dressed in pure white, he wore a white beard that reached his chest, making him look like an immortal. His face and hands bore wrinkles whose depths gave no measure of his age, but his eyes were as fearsome as a wild beast's. He was dragging someone behind him. The man was already a corpse, leaving a heavy trail of blood.

With a flick, the old man tossed the corpse into the middle of the courtyard, where it rolled across the ground. The dead man was Third Wolf.

The Wolves' faces hardened at their companion's death. Their eyes held murderous vengeance, but none cursed or rushed recklessly forward. They had surely been cowed by the swordsmanship the old man had displayed when killing Third Wolf.

"Who are you?" First Wolf asked the old man, suppressing his anger.

He was not Seok Gwanchu. He was older than that master of the previous generation and possessed a far more intense presence.

"And who might you be?"

The old man's voice cut through the night air. Low and calm, it nonetheless conveyed profound internal energy.

"I am First Wolf, leader of the Thirteen Wolves of the Unorthodox Path."

"Come closer."

Naturally, First Wolf did not approach.

"How does a coward lead the Thirteen Wolves?"

First Wolf's expression hardened, but he did not rise to the provocation. Instead, he spoke quietly to Bi Sain. "We'll handle this. Get away."

The plan to lure their enemies in and catch them had collapsed the instant the old man appeared. Bi Sain had no intention of escaping, but even had he tried, it would not have been easy. Another master had appeared atop the wall on the opposite side.

It was Seok Gwanchu, the mastermind behind it all. He, too, displayed the bearing of a master of the previous generation. His personal appearance meant that he intended to kill everyone and silence all witnesses.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Seok Gwanchu looked up at the night sky and said, "The moonlight was so lovely that I brought my master out for a short stroll."

Everyone was aghast upon learning the old man's identity. Seok Gwanchu's master. The Sword Emperor, Baek Manggi.

A master of swift swordsmanship from two generations past, he was already well over a hundred and thirty years old. He had not appeared in Murim for decades, yet here he was. We had meant to lure in a villain, but drawn out a monster instead.

"Now, Young Master Bi."

Seok Gwanchu was calm and composed. "There is only one way for you to survive."

"What is it?"

"You know what I want, don't you?"

"You mean the evidence I intend to present to the alliance leader? It seems even our Elder Seok is afraid of him."

"Hand it over while I'm asking nicely."

"I'm no fool. Do you think I'd keep it on me? The moment you kill me, the evidence will reach the alliance leader. Then you'll have to answer for killing me as well, Elder Seok."

Just then, Seok Gwanchu's master, Baek Manggi, sprang into the air. He walked slowly through empty space and landed softly before Bi Sain, like a divine warrior descending from the heavens.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

Every sword raised to protect Bi Sain was knocked aside. Baek Manggi's sword was already back in its sheath. In that brief instant, he had drawn it, deflected the Wolves' swords, and sheathed it again. His swift swordsmanship cowed them.

Baek Manggi gazed steadily into Bi Sain's eyes. "Those eyes don't know how to lie."

He looked at Seok Gwanchu and said, "There is no evidence."

"I thought as much."

As though he would believe anything his master said, Seok Gwanchu calmly rebuked Bi Sain. "What on earth gave you the confidence to do this? Did I look foolish enough to walk into your trap and offer you my neck?"

Bi Sain said nothing. The moment Baek Manggi arrived, every plan had fallen apart. The Thirteen Wolves could face Seok Gwanchu together, but Baek Manggi was far beyond their abilities.

Then Baek Manggi turned to look our way. "You must have been relying on those things playing at ghosts over there."

Naturally, both Baek Manggi and Seok Gwanchu had been aware of us from the start. Seok Gwanchu knew exactly who we were.

"That is the Wicked Laughing Demon, one of the Eight Demon Supremes."

"I've heard the Demonic Cult has lackeys who wear ridiculous masks and pretend to be mysterious. But why are they standing there when they know who I am? Do they think I won't kill them for fear of the Heavenly Demon?"

"So it seems."

The Wicked Laughing Demon said to me, "It's still not too late."

"Shall we run for it?"

"Do as you wish, Second Young Master."

Just then, my eyes met Bi Sain's. His expression held resolve rather than fear. It told me that I could leave, that he would not resent me.

"I don't want that to be my last memory of his face. This damned loyalty, pride, and promises. Ah! This is why martial artists' average lifespan keeps plummeting."

"I knew you'd say that."

The Wicked Laughing Demon laughed. If he had to die, he would die fighting like a madman. That was who he was.

But that was not why I had decided to fight. I knew they had no intention of letting us go. They would never allow a secret this big to reach outsiders.

"Hey, old man. Your opponents are over here."

Baek Manggi laughed at the Wicked Laughing Demon's words. Seok Gwanchu laughed as well.

"Did you think I'd give a damn about the Heavenly Demon?"

The instant Baek Manggi finished speaking, he lunged toward us. He was truly fast. By the time I registered his incoming attack, he was right before us, drawing his sword.

SWISH! SWISH!

WHIP! SNAP!

The exchange was over in an instant. Baek Manggi had stepped back from us and was staring at me in astonishment. "You?"

His severed beard drifted through the air between us. He had tried to cut down the Wicked Laughing Demon first, and I had slashed at him. He was fast, but so was I. My sword had nearly taken his head.

The ease vanished from Baek Manggi's face. He could not have experienced such danger in decades. This must have been the first time his heart had lurched like that.

Not only Baek Manggi, but Seok Gwanchu, Bi Sain, and all the Thirteen Wolves stared at me in astonishment.

It happened just then.

RIP.

The Wicked Laughing Demon's mask, struck by Baek Manggi's earlier slash, split from forehead to chin and slid down. He, too, had failed to evade Baek Manggi's attack completely.

As the mask slipped, the Wicked Laughing Demon panicked. Given a choice between death and removing his mask, he would choose death. Just as his face was about to be exposed—

TAP.

A new mask covered his face. I had taken off my own and held it over his.

For an instant, our eyes met. Instead of the humiliation he would have hated more than death, his eyes filled with intense emotion toward me.

"Take off your mask only when you wish to, Laughing Demon."

Leaving the Wicked Laughing Demon with the emotions surging within him, I turned to Baek Manggi. I hadn't known. I hadn't known that the Wicked Laughing Demon's brush with death would make me this angry. I truly hadn't.