Chapter 132 - The Drinks Are on Me Today

Jo Chunbae, the owner of the Merry Life Tavern, welcomed me. He was so delighted that I almost felt guilty—as though a dead ancestor of his had returned to life.

“It’s wonderful to have you back. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to see you.”

“Have you been making plenty of money, tavern keeper?”

“Indeed I have. Business has been good, thanks to you, Pavilion Master.”

The Yellow Springs Pavilion local branch, which I had expected to disappear after a short while, had done much to clean up Demon Family Village. In particular, martial artists who caused drunken trouble or left without paying had all but vanished, making business far easier.

“You’d better have plenty of liquor ready today.”

“Of course. It’s your first reunion in quite some time.”

“That’s not why. A new drinker will be joining us today.”

“A drinker?”

“You’ll see when he arrives.”

I went upstairs. Only Seo Daeryong and Jang Ho were there. Jang Ho sprang to his feet to greet me.

“It’s been a long time.”

“Have you been well?”

I clasped his thick hand firmly.

“Now that the Demon Army has settled into place, the work is easier than before. If there’s anything you need me to do, please tell me at any time.”

The look in Jang Ho’s eyes as he regarded me had not changed. It probably wouldn’t change even if I returned after a year—or ten.

Give him one thing, and he would repay you tenfold. Even then, he would believe he had yet to repay you in full. That was the sort of man Jang Ho was.

That was why I would take good care of this noble loyalty. I wanted to nurture him into a towering tree and rest beneath his lush shade. I had no intention whatsoever of sitting on a lone stump, reminiscing about the past.

Once Jang Ho and I had exchanged greetings, Seo Daeryong spoke.

“I told Commander Jang and Martial Artist Yi who would be coming later. She left a little while ago, saying she had something urgent to attend to.”

I knew why she had bowed out without being told. Nothing would happen with me here, but she must have worried about even the remotest possibility. For now, her concern for me still outweighed her desire to enjoy herself. She was probably sweating away at the training grounds by now.

“I also told Commander Jang what happened earlier today.”

I could still feel the heat coming from Seo Daeryong. It burned hotter than before. Unresolved emotions had a way of growing inside the heart.

“You told me to get drunk and make a scene, didn’t you? You should let all your feelings out today, too.”

“What if I die doing it?”

“Then Commander Jang here will become my second-in-command.”

With a faint smile, Jang Ho filled Seo Daeryong’s cup to the brim. I knew how much strength that silent support gave him. The reason he looked to Jang Ho as a role model was probably that these qualities made Jang Ho so compelling.

After we all emptied our cups to celebrate our reunion, I gave Seo Daeryong the advice he needed.

“It’s only natural to be afraid. If you’re frightened, let yourself be frightened. Your instincts work properly when you fear what’s frightening. You need to know exactly what scares you, when and how you react, and where your limits lie.”

As we chatted about this and that, two people entered the tavern: the Drunken Demon and Yeo Bin.

Jo Chunbae was truly astonished when he recognized his guest. And he was happier than he had been at any other Demon Supreme’s visit. His delight went beyond what it meant for a tavern keeper to welcome the Drunken Demon as a customer.

“It is an honor to have you here, Great Drunken Demon, sir!”

He bowed deeply.

When the nearby customers realized the newcomer was the Drunken Demon, they fell silent.

He glanced around and said, “You’re my favorite people in the world. Drink your fill! The drinks are on me today.”

The drinkers cheered at his words. Watching from upstairs, I shouted,

“What a handsome man! The handsomest of all the Demon Supremes!”

The Drunken Demon looked up at me and smiled.

“Give that table twice the liquor and food!”

At that, cries of “Handsome!” poured in from every direction.

“That table, too! And that one! Give them all some!”

Applause erupted, and the drinkers cheered. In an instant, the Drunken Demon bridged the towering gulf between a Demon Supreme and the drinkers of the Merry Life Tavern.

He even stopped at a table on his way to the stairs and poured a drink himself. The drinker’s hands trembled as he accepted it, but he had just gained something to boast about for the rest of his life. Envious exclamations and cheers rose all around.

Watching him blend in with the drinkers so effortlessly, I had to think that he truly was the Drunken Demon.

After sweeping through the first floor, the Drunken Demon came upstairs.

“Second Young Master, here I am.”

“Welcome.”

As promised, he had brought Yeo Bin.

“This is Yeo Bin, my subordinate and one of the Three Great Drunken Warriors of Great Drunken Grove.”

Seo Daeryong and Jang Ho greeted the Drunken Demon and Yeo Bin. Once the greetings were over, we sat down together.

“I heard your bodyguard has become beautiful, Second Young Master, but I don’t see her today. What a shame. I ought to have shown her this handsome face!”

The Drunken Demon knew a great deal about me. It occurred to me that he might know Seo Daeryong and Jang Ho well, too.

“It seems you really are the very embodiment of preconceived notions, Drunken Demon.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t people usually assume that someone who loves drinking wouldn’t be well informed?”

“I spend so much time drunk that I need to be all the better informed!”

“True enough, but most drinkers don’t live that way.”

A thought suddenly occurred to me. Perhaps, if I peeled away the preconceptions about him one layer at a time, I would finally begin to see the man he really was.

“Do you drink much, Martial Artist Yeo?”

“Yes. I enjoy it.”

Her answer was brief. She was a little more stiff than when she had welcomed me to Great Drunken Grove. She seemed to be watching herself because the Drunken Demon was present.

I stole a look at Seo Daeryong. He was tense, carefully watching the Drunken Demon and Yeo Bin.

I sent him a sound transmission.

—“When are you going to speak up?”

—“Why spoil the mood right at the start?”

—“If you’re going to do it, do it now. If you try it drunk, you really might die.”

—“Please don’t pour liquor over my grave. Just plant the flowers I grow there.”

I couldn’t know whether Seo Daeryong would hold his tongue or bring it up under the influence. Either way, I believed it would be a valuable experience for him.

Just then, Jo Chunbae came upstairs with liquor. It was a bottle I had never seen before.

“I’ve been saving this especially for you, in case you ever visited our tavern, Drunken Demon.”

The Drunken Demon sniffed it, and his eyes widened.

“Phoenix Dong Liquor?”

“Oh! You recognize it by scent alone! That’s truly remarkable.”

“How could I fail to recognize a peerless liquor brewed with over two hundred medicinal ingredients? How did you get hold of something so precious?”

“I once worked at a distillery in Guizhou. The master who taught me there gave it to me as a parting gift.”

“Are you sure you can give me such a precious liquor?”

“I sell liquor on the very doorstep of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Who else would I give it to? I’ve been waiting for this day.”

“Thank you.”

I looked at Jo Chunbae and cried out, pretending to be offended.

“Tavern keeper! I’ve come here so often, and you never offered it to me!”

Jo Chunbae replied with a smile.

“This is liquor for someone who truly understands drink.”

At least this particular liquor, it seemed, he had reserved for the Drunken Demon, hoping their paths would cross someday. Then he thanked me.

“Thanks to you, Pavilion Master, I’ve fulfilled a lifelong wish. Thank you.”

The Drunken Demon opened the Phoenix Dong Liquor and poured each of us a cup. He poured one for Jo Chunbae as well, despite his adamant protests.

“Take what’s left downstairs and give everyone a little.”

At those words, I was moved. I didn’t know what sort of man he was, but at least his willingness to share such precious liquor with the drinkers was admirable.

“Thank you. Everyone will be delighted.”

Sure enough, cheers erupted downstairs a short while later.

“Now, let’s have a drink ourselves!”

The Drunken Demon raised his cup, and everyone in the tavern joined in the toast. Whether it was the fine liquor or the atmosphere, it tasted incredible.

“Thanks to you, we’ve enjoyed some excellent liquor.”

“Thanks to me? It’s thanks to you, Second Young Master.”

“What do you mean?”

“If not for you, I’d never have come to this tavern. So ultimately, we have you to thank.”

He knew how to make people feel good. The reason I rarely used my Divine Art of Flattery on him was that he made me feel good first.

After the Drunken Demon drank three cups in a row, I spoke.

“Have some food.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the chopsticks in front of him floated slightly upward. I had lifted them with object manipulation through the air.

Then they sank back down. This time, the Drunken Demon had used the same technique to lower them.

As the chopsticks rose and fell, our contest of internal energy began.

Seo Daeryong, Jang Ho, and Yeo Bin watched with slightly tense expressions.

The Drunken Demon’s internal energy was stronger than I had expected. Of course, I could have overpowered him, but after a point, I yielded and withdrew.

The chopsticks settled on the table.

“Your internal energy is impressive, Second Young Master.”

“Did you say drinking makes you thirty percent stronger?”

I drank the liquor in front of me, then lifted the chopsticks again.

This time, the Drunken Demon didn’t stop them with his internal energy. As though conceding defeat, he took the chopsticks and ate some food.

“Satisfied now?”

“Yes.”

“You were like this last time, too. Why is a man like you so obsessed with food?”

“This has nothing to do with being a man or a woman. Nor is it a question of being noble-minded or petty. It’s simply for your health.”

“Eating makes me drink less.”

“That’s why I’m telling you to eat. At least have a bite for every three cups.”

At that moment, I saw Yeo Bin dip her head slightly toward me. It was a gesture of thanks. From it, I could feel that she genuinely cared for the Drunken Demon.

The Drunken Demon asked me, “Why are you taking such care of my health?”

After a brief pause, I answered.

“Because I don’t yet know what sort of relationship we’ll have. What if, by some chance, we become close, only for you to die of an illness brought on by drinking?”

“What? Me? Die from drinking?”

He laughed harder than he ever had since meeting me, but I did not laugh.

“You really are a strange man.”

“In what way?”

“You’re the only person in my entire life who’s worried that drinking might make me ill. No one I meet in the future will worry about that, either.”

“There must be others around you besides me. They’re probably just too intimidated to tell you.”

“All right, let’s say there are. What if we become enemies? Wouldn’t it be better if drinking made me ill and I died early?”

“I’d hate to see you use that as an excuse. If you die, it should be by my sword. We’d be enemies, after all.”

My rather aggressive words froze the mood for a moment, but the Drunken Demon wasn’t offended in the slightest. Instead, he smiled and drank. Then he conspicuously ate a bite of food. Satisfied? Yes!

The mood grew even better. After we had drunk a few more cups, Seo Daeryong sent me a sound transmission.

—“From now on, I’ll admit it if you call me a coward. Add ‘coward’ when you introduce me.”

He had decided to hold his tongue. It couldn’t have been easy to speak up and throw cold water on the merriment the Drunken Demon was leading.

—“I keep thinking of reasons not to be brave. The man deserved to die anyway, so I wonder whether it’s worth going this far. And Martial Artist Yeo was only following orders. If I’m going to confront anyone, it ought to be the Drunken Demon, but I think that might get me killed.”

—“Hey, coward.”

Seo Daeryong, who had been staring down at his cup, raised his head to look at me.

I held out my cup. What needed to be said at a time like this? You grew by going through one experience after another.

With a faint smile, he clinked his cup against mine.

Watching us, the Drunken Demon addressed Seo Daeryong.

“You’re the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s disciple, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.”

He wasn’t on good terms with the Blood Heaven Saber Demon. How would he respond? He might make a dig at him or mock Seo Daeryong.

But what he said defied those expectations.

“I get a good feeling from you.”

“Pardon?”

“You give me a good impression as a martial artist. Keep at it.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Seo Daeryong, who had been bracing himself for what the Drunken Demon might say, was taken aback. He hadn’t expected such praise from him. Still, being praised evidently pleased him, and his expression brightened.

He was drinking with a broad grin when our eyes met, and an embarrassed sound transmission came flying my way.

—“Yes, this is the sort of man I am! From now on, the Drunken Demon is my favorite Demon Supreme after my master. That’s the sort of man I am! What am I supposed to do? I like him!”

—“I didn’t say anything.”

We drank again. As ever, drinking with the Drunken Demon put people at ease. Not only Seo Daeryong but Jang Ho, too, was enjoying his drinks, chatting with Yeo Bin about all sorts of things.

I couldn’t forget that the Drunken Demon knew how to change the mood of a drinking party with a single joke or a gesture, and that we were at that very party. I couldn’t forget that he was a man who had built his history through drink.

As we laughed and talked, with the mood at its very best, the Drunken Demon asked me,

“Well? Shall we call each other brothers now?”

At his words, the other three turned their eyes toward us. It was rare to see a Demon Supreme propose treating one of the Heavenly Demon’s own children as a brother.

Drunken Demon, what is in your heart when you do this? Is this a drinker’s fleeting sincerity, destined to vanish once you sober up? Or is it a thoroughly calculated plan?

Just then, the bustling tavern fell quiet.

I looked downstairs and saw someone entering.

Even I hadn’t expected him to come. Radiating a chill, a great saber at his side, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had arrived.

He walked slowly upstairs, sat down between me and the Drunken Demon, and said,

“Pour me a drink, too.”