Chapter 144 - Better-Looking Even Behind a Mask

“That’s him! That’s the bastard!”

Chu Saeng shouted. The sight of the white mask had left him half out of his mind.

“Run! No, we have to run!”

Perhaps he thought I had frozen in fear, because he screamed as though seized by a fit.

“Even you can’t take him! Let’s get out of here!”

When I still did not move, Chu Saeng grimaced and drew his sword.

“Damn it! Let’s attack him together!”

“You really do belong with the orthodox factions.”

“Are you mad? What nonsense are you spouting at a time like this?”

Now I understood why his father’s dying words had been to trust no one. Even in a situation like this, he was looking out for my safety instead of running away.

By then, the man in the white mask had reached our table. He gazed at us in silence.

Chu Saeng was trembling all over. He had sworn revenge, but now that he faced his enemy, his body apparently refused to obey his will.

I broke the heavy silence hanging over the room.

“Why didn’t you show me this dangerous world before?”

Astonishingly, he was the real Wicked Laughing Demon.

At first sight, I had naturally assumed he was the impostor who had visited the Moon Wind Sect. But as I watched him walk toward us, I realized he was the real thing. Only the Wicked Laughing Demon could possess that qi presence.

“What on earth are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here, Second Young Master?”

Chu Saeng’s eyes widened in astonishment at our exchange.

He must have been confused. Had the real one come, or was I in league with the impostor?

I asked Chu Saeng,

“Take a close look. Is he the man who came that day?”

Trembling, Chu Saeng stared at the Wicked Laughing Demon. After a moment, he cried out.

“Ah! He’s different. Definitely different. His face is better-looking than that fellow’s!”

“He’s wearing a mask, though?”

“Yes. He’s definitely better-looking.”

I smiled at the Wicked Laughing Demon.

“It seems this man can see right through your mask, Laughing Demon.”

“Or perhaps my mask is better-looking.”

I understood what Chu Saeng meant. Putting on a mask did not mean just anyone could convey the same impression as the Wicked Laughing Demon.

His qi presence, the feeling he gave off, his bearing—there was something unique to him. Chu Saeng had expressed that as being better-looking.

“So this is the real Wicked Laughing Demon.”

“Didn’t I tell you that fellow was a fake? Now, introduce yourself. This is the Wicked Laughing Demon, one of the Cult’s Demon Supremes.”

Chu Saeng froze as though struck by lightning. At a loss for words, he looked between me and the Wicked Laughing Demon in shock and fear.

But his real surprises were only beginning.

“I went to Villains’ Valley to see you before leaving the Cult, but you had already departed.”

“I heard someone was going around impersonating me.”

Knowing his temperament, the Wicked Laughing Demon would never let someone like that get away with it.

“But how did you know I would come here?”

“I didn’t know you were coming, Second Young Master.”

Then he gave an astonishing answer.

“I came here today to collect the Coin of Gratitude and Grudges.”

I was stunned—even more so than Chu Saeng.

“You’re the owner of the Coin of Gratitude and Grudges?”

The Wicked Laughing Demon opened his hand, revealing half a coin resting on his palm.

At the sight, Chu Saeng drew out the necklace around his neck.

“Huh? Wh-what?”

The coin dangling from the necklace was drawn toward the Wicked Laughing Demon, dragging Chu Saeng through the air along with it. The Wicked Laughing Demon had pulled him over using object manipulation through the air.

The coin in his palm rose as well and met the half hanging from the necklace in midair. The two halves fitted together perfectly.

Now directly in front of the Wicked Laughing Demon, Chu Saeng looked back and forth between him and the reunited Coin of Gratitude and Grudges in shock. He could never have imagined that the man his father had saved was the Wicked Laughing Demon. Neither could I.

With a casual flick, the Wicked Laughing Demon snapped the necklace cord and retrieved the other half of the coin.

With Chu Saeng still dazed, I spoke instead.

“I never imagined you would be the owner of the Coin of Gratitude and Grudges.”

“It happened a very long time ago.”

It was a revelation to learn that the Wicked Laughing Demon had once been so scrupulous about gratitude and grudges. More surprising still was that he had come here today to honor his promise.

“I’m glad to see you, but I think this meeting is a trap.”

Indeed, all the guests had left before the Wicked Laughing Demon appeared, and even the proprietor had disappeared. There was not so much as a passerby outside the inn.

“I don’t think that man impersonating you was a coincidence, either.”

It occurred to me that the culprit had not impersonated the Wicked Laughing Demon simply because he was a masked man. The entire incident had targeted him from the outset. Wouldn’t that mean the Heavenly Mandate Society was after the Wicked Laughing Demon?

“Does anyone come to mind?”

After what seemed a brief moment of consideration, the Wicked Laughing Demon answered with an air of embarrassment.

“How could there be only one? About fifty people just came to mind.”

I laughed in disbelief, and he laughed along with me. Still too astonished to adjust to the situation, Chu Saeng simply listened to our conversation in silence.

“Is there anyone besides you who uses Blood Calamity Finger?”

“!”

I sensed the Wicked Laughing Demon flinch.

“Why do you ask?”

“The marks the impostor left in the Moon Wind Sect’s wall closely resembled your Blood Calamity Finger. The technique was so masterful that I could almost have said you left them yourself.”

After a pause, he answered.

“There is.”

I did not press him. I knew he had only answered because it was me asking.

“Perhaps the enemy we’re about to face is no ordinary opponent.”

The Wicked Laughing Demon nodded. He clearly seemed to have an idea who was behind this.

During a lull in our conversation, Chu Saeng asked me,

“He called you Second Young Master. Surely you aren’t...?”

With a meaningful smile, I answered with a question of my own.

“If not, who else in the world could converse like this with a Demon Supreme at my age?”

“Are you truly the Heavenly Demon’s son?”

“I am.”

“Ah! To think the day would come when I would see the Demonic Cult leader’s son and a Demon Supreme together!”

He was seeing two people at once whom an ordinary martial artist might never glimpse in an entire lifetime.

“I suspected your status was no ordinary one. To be honest, it wouldn’t have surprised me at all if you’d said, ‘I am the Heavenly Demon.’ I would have believed you were the Heavenly Demon restored to youth. You truly are... No, I suppose I must call you Second Young Master now.”

The Wicked Laughing Demon chuckled softly, as though he understood exactly how Chu Saeng felt.

“Don’t stand on ceremony with me. Treat me as casually as you have until now.”

“May I really do that?”

“Of course. If I wanted special treatment, I would have revealed my identity at the outset.”

“As you wish, sir. No—I understand.”

Once we had finished, the Wicked Laughing Demon addressed Chu Saeng.

“Whatever the circumstances, I must repay my old debt. Now, what help do you need? Think carefully before you speak. The Coin of Gratitude and Grudges can only be used once. I’m granting this request for your father’s sake, so choose wisely.”

After a moment’s thought, Chu Saeng glanced at me.

“The Second Young Master will make the request in my stead.”

He had entrusted the use of his Coin of Gratitude and Grudges to me.

“Why leave it to me?”

“From what you two have said, this matter seems to involve more than just my family. Is it something that can be settled simply by asking you to avenge us? Even with my limited understanding, I don’t think so. I don’t know what I should ask of the Laughing Demon right now. That’s why I’m leaving it to you.”

I thought it was a wise decision.

Yes, Chu Saeng. Keep putting that sharp mind to good use as you go through life.

Smiling, I turned to the Wicked Laughing Demon.

“What do you say? Will you accept a request from me on his behalf?”

“I originally stipulated that I would only grant requests from immediate family, but I’ll make an exception for you, Second Young Master.”

“Thank you.”

After considering for a moment, I said,

“Make me the Cult’s successor.”

Startled, Chu Saeng shouted in protest.

“Why are you using my Coin of Gratitude and Grudges to ask for something for yourself?”

“You left it to me, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but even so! I never imagined you would ask for that. You should ask him to avenge my family.”

As Chu Saeng continued protesting, the Wicked Laughing Demon answered.

“Very well. I accept.”

What he had accepted was not the request made through the Coin of Gratitude and Grudges, but my joke.

Chu Saeng, on the other hand, was frantic.

“No! That doesn’t count! It doesn’t count!”

The Wicked Laughing Demon looked at him coldly.

“Who are you?”

Chu Saeng flinched at his attitude, as though their business was already concluded.

“Who are you, and why have you been loitering in front of me all this time?”

Looking back and forth between us, Chu Saeng sighed in self-reproach.

“My hot temper seems to be selective. The bucket of my patience used to overflow at the smallest pebble, yet it won’t overflow in front of this gentleman. I doubt it would overflow even if you poured the sea into it.”

At his self-mocking lament, I smiled.

“You may have lost your Coin of Gratitude and Grudges, but haven’t you gained the future Heavenly Demon in exchange?”

He looked at me in surprise.

“I’m sorry for teasing you. Let me formally introduce myself. I am Geom Mugeuk, Second Young Master of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. On my name, I swear to avenge your family.”

Only then did Chu Saeng realize it had been a joke, and he was deeply moved. He had received a promise more binding than the Coin of Gratitude and Grudges.

The Wicked Laughing Demon added his assurance.

“This matter concerns me, so I intend to deal with it myself. Go home and put your worries to rest.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“I deeply regret that your family became entangled in this because of me. Had I known it would come to this, I would never have given your father the Coin of Gratitude and Grudges.”

He did not say he was sorry, but I could tell he felt it.

“No, how could this possibly be your fault, Laughing Demon?”

“This is no place for you. Go home now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Concerned, I asked,

“Is it safe to send him alone?”

Our enemies were certainly nearby already. I worried something might happen to him on his way home alone.

“There should be no need to worry.”

His answer suggested he knew who had orchestrated this.

Chu Saeng saluted us with fist cupped in palm and turned to leave. At the inn’s doorway, he turned back.

“I’ll say this now, since I doubt we’ll meet again. Once this is over, our sect may join the orthodox factions. With that in mind, if a war ever breaks out between the orthodox factions and the Demonic Cult... please go easy on my family.”

I answered his joke with one of my own.

“Then you’ll have to save me once first. I’ll cut a coin in half for you.”

Chu Saeng beamed.

“I am certain my father sent someone precious to me. Second Young Master, please become a Heavenly Demon who never starts such a war. I look forward to the day we meet again.”

He offered a very respectful farewell and departed.

Once we were alone in the inn, the Wicked Laughing Demon spoke.

“Second Young Master, give up on becoming the Heavenly Demon.”

“What are you saying? I even used the Coin of Gratitude and Grudges for it.”

“Live like this, roaming the Central Plains. Meet people like Chu Saeng and live with a smile on your face. It suits you better.”

I could tell he meant it sincerely.

“Did my brother bribe you? Have you gone over to his side while I wasn’t looking?”

The Wicked Laughing Demon laughed aloud.

As though they had been waiting for Chu Saeng to leave, our enemies began appearing one by one. This meeting had indeed been arranged to lure the Wicked Laughing Demon out.

The first to appear were three old men. They looked to be around the same age and, peculiarly, wore matching red armor. Their attire alone told me who they were.

The Three Warriors of the Bloody Path.

These wandering martial artists had once terrorized Murim, accepting any contract as long as they were paid. They killed children and adults alike, and were reputedly willing to kill even their own parents for money.

Their atrocities had eventually led to their being branded enemies of the entire martial world, after which they vanished from Murim. Now they had appeared here.

They had earned their infamy in middle age, but now they were old. As their muscles had dwindled, an evil seasoned by every hardship had taken their place. They sat down some distance from us.

Next, a middle-aged woman entered the inn, gently waving a pink fan. She wore an ornate court gown and heavy makeup, and her figure was voluptuous enough to strain her clothing.

The Seductress of Supreme Bliss.

She was an infamous villainess who had drained countless men of their vital essence and converted it into internal energy. Her skin and figure, wholly at odds with her age, had been fashioned by stealing the vital essence and lives of countless men. She, too, had once topped the list of enemies of the entire martial world. Rumor had it that she had fallen prey to a notorious sexual fiend who had turned the tables on her, draining her internal energy and killing her. Yet here she was, very much alive.

She perched on a table and crossed her legs, exposing their pale skin.

A middle-aged man entered next. A straight-bladed saber hung at his waist, and his qi presence was like that of a wild beast roaming the wilderness.

The Blood Wolf Saber.

He was a martial artist who had sought out masters throughout the Central Plains solely to grow stronger. He would do anything to win, forcing even unwilling opponents to fight him. Far too many masters had died unjustly at his hands.

Eventually, he too had been branded an enemy of the entire martial world, and many rumors circulated about his end. He had died fighting a senior elder of the Orthodox Martial Alliance. He had died challenging a Demon Supreme. He had been killed by some nameless hidden master. Giving the lie to all those rumors, he gulped down the contents of a kettle near the entrance.

The last to appear was a man dressed entirely in black, from his clothes and shoes to the pitch-black long robe draped over them.

The Divine Lord of Yama.

Though he looked perfectly sane now, he was a mad martial artist who had once gone on a rampage slaughtering the people of Murim. Believing himself an emissary sent by the King of the Underworld, he had considered himself a god presiding over life and death. He too had been branded an enemy of the entire martial world, unleashed a bloody storm, and disappeared.

So many villains who had once shaken Murim had appeared together that it felt unreal. And the mastermind behind the impersonation had not even shown up yet.

This was no time to take things lightly, but I could not resist asking the Wicked Laughing Demon one question.

“What on earth have you been doing out there?”

Looking at the villains radiating killing intent toward him, the Wicked Laughing Demon answered sheepishly.

“I know every one of them.”