Chapter 139 - Punishment for the Cowardly Drunk!

The Drunken Demon was sleeping, utterly senseless. He had drunk so much that he did not even realize I had arrived.

"Drunken Demon! Drunken Demon!"

He did not wake no matter how many times I called him. At times like this, he was nothing but a drunkard.

I hoisted him up and hurled him into the lake.

SPLASH!

I waited quite a while, but he did not emerge.

"Honestly, you're going to be the death of me!"

I jumped into the lake too. The Drunken Demon had sunk beneath the water like a corpse. I brought him back up to the surface.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

He opened his eyes and finally recognized me.

"Second Young Master?"

I climbed aboard the boat first. Instead of following, he floated on the water, staring up at the sky.

"Aren't you coming aboard?"

"I'm staying here."

"Are you a rebellious youth now? You're really getting hard to watch. It's only your handsome face that makes you bearable."

"Stop staring at my handsome face and pass me some liquor."

"Now you're going to show me the miraculous feat of drinking while lying on the water? Which of the Drunken Demon's martial techniques is that?"

When I refused to give him any, he held out a hand. The liquor in the rowboat flew to him through object manipulation through the air. He drank it lying down.

"The rumor is true, isn't it?"

He said nothing.

"What on earth happened?"

As though unwilling to answer, he swam away from the boat on his back. I rowed after him.

"I asked you to make peace, and now you're going to duel? That's as good as picking a fight with me! Come out and fight me instead."

"It wasn't my fault. It was that old man's. He poured out the liquor I gave him. Right in his front yard, for everyone to see."

With his sensitive nose, the Drunken Demon had realized the liquor had been thrown away. Things had gone wrong from the start.

"And do you know what that old man said to me afterward?"

The Drunken Demon sat up. He laid the empty bottle on its side and sat on it. Neither he nor the bottle sank.

"He asked if I enjoyed getting drunk and running away from reality. Said I was the most pathetic of all the Demon Supremes. So I told him there was a certain senior who ran away from reality without even being drunk. I asked which of us was more pathetic."

"You're both exactly the same, acting like children. How very mature of you."

"He started it!"

"And then?"

"I was going to leave it at that. But then he had to start comparing me to someone."

"The Wicked Laughing Demon, I take it."

He nodded, imitating the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's voice.

"You're worse than that masked fellow. He only hides his face, not his heart."

His imitation was good enough that, with my eyes closed, I could almost have believed the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was speaking right in front of me.

"How dare he compare me to someone! And to the likes of the Wicked Laughing Demon! I nearly blew my cork."

"And then?"

"What do you mean, 'and then'? I got angry and fired back. Said I was better than a timid man who spent his whole life tormenting himself over one woman."

I shook my head, my expression saying he was hopeless.

"You didn't just touch the dragon's forbidden scale. You ripped it right off."

"So that old man's scales belong to a dragon, and mine belong to some fish? He touched mine first!"

The Drunken Demon plunged into the water with a splash. He must have gone all the way to the bottom, because it took him quite a while to resurface.

With only his head above water, I asked him, "Just go and apologize. Tell him you were wrong. If he insults you, grit your teeth and listen. He won't insist on fighting after you apologize."

"No. If anyone should apologize, it's him."

"Then you'll have to fight."

"I don't want that either!"

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't know."

He swam away again. Rather than chasing him, I rowed in the opposite direction. Then he swam after me.

"You're the reason I don't want to fight the Saber Demon."

"Me?"

Then he said something I had never expected.

"Because if he fights me, that Saber Demon you're so fond of will die."

Leaving him and his serious expression behind, I rowed faster.

"I don't believe drunken talk."

His voice rang out behind me.

"I'm telling you, he'll die!"

"All right, so sober up and wait here. I'm going to see the Saber Demon. If you're still drunk when I get back, I'll kill you myself!"

Leaving the Great Drunken Grove, I went straight to the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was training again today. His moves were rougher and more violent than usual. Judging by the atmosphere alone, it was the eve of a decisive battle.

"Why are you training so hard just to take down one drunkard?"

He put away his saber and sat on a rock in the yard, his entire body drenched in sweat.

"What happens if you break the unwritten rule against fights between Demon Supremes?"

"Nothing."

"You mean there are no sanctions?"

"That's right."

"Then why does no one break it?"

"Because we know that one of us is certain to die. There's a high chance of dying in the fight, and even if your opponent doesn't kill you, losing ends your life as a Demon Supreme. Who would follow a leader who lost to another Demon Supreme?"

"And you still intend to duel him, knowing that?"

"Why? Worried I'll be stripped of my position?"

"You've spent your whole life as a Demon Supreme. Living as an ordinary demonic martial artist won't be easy."

Then he said something unexpected.

"Do I look foolish enough to stake my position on that devious bastard?"

"Then why do you want to fight?"

"For your sake."

As it happened, both men claimed they were doing this for me. One refused to fight for my sake, while the other wanted to fight for my sake.

"Naturally, you're the reason he suddenly started being nice to me. You told him to make peace with me, didn't you? Knowing that, I deliberately provoked him."

"He told me he brought up Senior Sword Supreme."

"What of it? Everyone thinks the Sword Supreme is some great weakness of mine, but that's not really true. At my age, you can even put your weaknesses to use."

"So you didn't challenge him in anger. You did it deliberately."

"Yes. I thought you could use this duel. With trouble like this, of course you would intervene. Wouldn't that make it easier for you to use him?"

"You thought that far ahead?"

"Did I misjudge things?"

"No. You did well."

"On this matter, I'll follow your wishes. If you tell me to fight, I'll fight. If you tell me not to, I won't. This isn't my fight. It's yours."

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon had seen straight to the heart of the matter. I was the one who had tried to reconcile them in the first place, and I was the one trying to mediate now. He had understood from the start that, ultimately, this was an issue between the Drunken Demon and me. He had probably even anticipated this visit.

"Don't expect me to make peace with him. But I do understand that you need him. If it were anyone else, I'd oppose it to the bitter end. You, though, might be able to embrace even that devious bastard. I've decided to trust you, not the Drunken Demon. So use this opportunity to bring him under control."

A thought suddenly struck me. I must never lose another fight. How could I lose with a man like this standing beside me for my sake?

So many things came to mind that I wanted to say to him, I swallowed them all instead.

"Thank you. Truly."

I bowed respectfully and turned to leave. Behind me, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon said quietly, "I ought to earn the price of that tonic."

You were earning the price of a miraculous elixir, not a mere tonic.

* * *

"I see you didn't want to die."

In the meantime, the Drunken Demon had sobered up and changed into fresh clothes. He was waiting at the Drunken Dream Pavilion.

"What did that old man say? Of course, you'll take his side."

"What the Saber Demon said isn't important."

"What? Why? Did he insult me again? He did, didn't he?"

"Because this is between you and me. It happened because I asked you to make peace with the Saber Demon, didn't it?"

"I tried."

"This has made one thing very clear to me. Reconciling you two is impossible. This is strictly an issue between us. We have to settle it ourselves."

"And how do you propose we settle it?"

I set the bottle I had brought down in front of him.

He asked in surprise, "Over drinks?"

"Let's drink until we die. Who needs food?"

He stared blankly at me, then burst out laughing. It was the most hearty laugh I had heard from him since we met.

"Good! That's the spirit. This is why I like you, Second Young Master!"

He called for Yeo Bin.

"Bring the liquor. Bring every last bottle I've been saving!"

I began drinking with the Drunken Demon.

The other day, for the first time, I had sparred with Father without any restrictions.

This drinking session was much the same. Until now, I had drunk carefully, trying not to make mistakes. Today, however, I simply drank. I returned to those days as a wandering martial artist when I had drowned myself in liquor.

"You can drink this well, and you've held back all this time?"

"We can't have two Drunken Demons in the Cult, can we?"

He roared with laughter. Now that I was drinking in earnest, he was beside himself with delight.

Drinking in this pavilion had a different charm from drinking in the rowboat.

The Drunken Demon told me all sorts of stories, from his youthful affairs with women to gossip about the other Demon Supremes.

I spoke openly too, sharing everything from the way my brother had tormented me as a child to stories about Father.

And so we grew steadily drunker.

Boldly as I drank, my capacity was no match for his. He had even drunk twice as much as I had.

"Ah, now I understand why you jump in there."

I jumped into the lake too. After swimming a lap and climbing out, I felt somewhat more alive.

"That lake is my drinking snack."

"I'm going to drink slowly from now on."

"Stop drinking. You've already had plenty."

"You know what? The best thing about you is that you don't force people to drink."

"What am I to do if that's the best thing about me?"

"What do you mean, 'that's'? Do you know how admirable that is? It's especially admirable because you're the Drunken Demon, not just anyone. Ah, I'm drunk."

I flopped onto my back.

He did not scold me for my rudeness. He kept drinking, and I lay there listening to his stories. Some people might have found it unbearable, considering how much he bragged about himself. But his boasting did not bother me much. Honestly, it was entertaining.

As we drank, I made a suggestion.

"Shall we arm-wrestle?"

"Arm-wrestle? With internal energy?"

"Without it, of course. A contest between men. What do you say?"

"Fine. But it won't be any fun without stakes. Let's wager on it. The loser grants the winner a wish."

"A whole wish over a mere arm-wrestling match?"

"This is a real contest. Imagine our cult leader, the Martial Alliance Leader, and the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance gathering to compete. An arm-wrestling match with the fate of Murim at stake! People in Murim would find that more entertaining, wouldn't they?"

"All right. Then take a dip in the water first. Don't make excuses later about losing because you were drunk."

"I'm fine. Against the likes of you!"

We cleared the drinking table and began arm-wrestling. How could he beat my youthful strength? But as I pushed his arm down, I felt him secretly drawing on his internal energy.

"I knew you'd do that! You damned drunk!"

I began using my internal energy too.

Then the Drunken Demon began using his in earnest. Had every drop of liquor he had ever drunk turned into internal energy? His power was far fiercer than I had expected. It made clear that his claim about killing the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was not mere bluster.

But he could not overcome my internal energy. Today, I concealed neither my capacity for drink nor my power.

CRASH!

The table shattered, and the contest was decided.

"Punishment for the cowardly drunk! I win!"

I sprang to my feet and bounced up and down like a child.

"That doesn't count. You started pushing first! And I've had more to drink than you, haven't I? I'll take a dip, and then we'll have a proper match!"

There was no chance his unreasonable protests would work when he had used internal energy first.

Ignoring his words, I leaned against the railing. The sunset had only just begun, staining the entire world red. After gazing at it for a moment, I told him what was in my heart. I could not say it while looking at him, so I spoke with my eyes on the reddened lake.

"Everyone says you're devious and suspicious, but I've enjoyed drinking with you."

"!"

"You know how there's sometimes a person everyone else dislikes, but you like them? That's who you are to me. I liked your showing off, your bluster, even the empty look that sometimes came into your eyes. That's why I felt anxious too. What could your purpose be in approaching me? Honestly, I thought I wouldn't mind even if your intentions were less than honorable. Who doesn't have secrets? Who doesn't have selfish plans? I thought all of that was fine. I only hoped for this: please let it be something I can understand. Please don't let it be something that means we can't be drinking companions."

His eyes wavered as he sensed that I meant every word.

"Our Second Young Master has a serious drinking habit. Once you're drunk, you say everything in your heart."

Only then did I look at him.

"Brother."

His eyes went wide. He looked genuinely astonished.

"Let's call each other brothers from today onward. That's my wish."

"But you won. Why?"

"Because I wanted it too."

There is a shock and an intensity of emotion that come from being unexpectedly moved. All of it showed on his face.

"You... really are a madman."

"Now I've heard that from you too, Drunken Demon—no, Brother. If all the Demon Supremes say it, I suppose I really must be mad."

"That madness of yours is subtle, which makes it all the more frightening."

He adjusted his posture, fetched a cup, and poured me a drink.

"Here, little brother. Have a drink."

"Thank you, Brother."

I drank what he had poured me. Then I poured for him, and he drank too.

"Don't be too moved. It's true that I'm drawn to you, but I'm also doing this because I need you if I'm to become the successor. So only half my motives are pure. As for the other half, well, let's fill it with liquor. I'll take my leave for today."

Feeling awkward for no particular reason, I was about to rise first when he suddenly spoke.

"It was because of me."

Something I had never imagined came from his lips.

"I'm the reason things went sour between the Saber Demon and the Sword Supreme."

Looking at my startled face, he confessed something even more shocking.

"I drove a wedge between them."