Chapter 177 - I Have Returned After Completing My Mission

When I woke, Seo Daeryong was building a campfire beside the parked carriage.

"You're awake?"

"How long was I asleep?"

"You slept plenty. Honestly, how can a martial artist sleep so soundly that someone could carry him off without him noticing?"

"I was keeping watch even in my sleep."

"While snoring like that?"

I really had slept soundly without waking once.

Of course, Seo Daeryong wouldn't know that the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art would wake me if it sensed real danger.

"You must be hungry. Have some of this."

Seo Daeryong brought out food he'd bought at an inn before we set off. Thoughtfully enough, he'd chosen dishes I liked.

"After this meal, we'll have to hunt for our food."

Eating my favorite foods after a major battle felt wonderful. It might not seem like much, but little things like this were what moved people. Thank you, Daeryong.

Once I'd eaten my fill and washed it down with a refreshing drink of water, the words came out on their own.

"Ah, now I feel alive again."

As I sat warming myself by the fire, Seo Daeryong handed me some wound salve.

"Now you should treat your injuries."

I took off my blood-soaked clothes and Ghost-Guard Robe. Then I unwound the supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk and wrapped it around the Black Demon Sword's hilt again. The silk was gradually turning red as it soaked up blood. I considered washing it, but left it alone. The Black Demon Sword's hilt wrapped in bloodstained fabric had a certain charm of its own.

I applied the wound salve to my injuries. I'd avoided fatal wounds, but my body was a mess of cuts, scrapes, and dark bruises.

"You're still so young. What are you going to do with all those scars? Any woman who sees them will run away."

"I'll undergo a complete bodily transformation later and start fresh."

"I was going to ask... whether you thought a miraculous opportunity like that would come easily. But with you, Pavilion Master, who knows?"

Once I'd finished applying the salve, I put on the new martial outfit Seo Daeryong had bought.

"A perfect fit. I like it."

"You've been through a lot."

"Our first mission was a success."

"Our last mission was a success."

There were particular moments when the sight of someone made me happy. Father sitting in his grand chair and looking down at me with a disapproving expression, for instance, or the Blood Heaven Saber Demon driving his enormous Heaven-Destroying Great Saber deep into the ground and leaning against it.

With Seo Daeryong, it was when we traded silly jokes like these.

"While I was waiting in the carriage, I seriously considered going inside at least ten times."

"If you had, I'd have had to go through the trouble of rescuing a hostage again."

"Then you would have grown even stronger. Maybe I should have gone in."

He laughed as he said it, and I laughed with him.

After we'd finished bantering, Seo Daeryong told me what this mission had made him realize.

"I keep dreaming about the matches. Sometimes I hear the cheers I heard up on the tournament platform. I miss that moment. I suppose that means I'd rather be a martial artist people notice than some hidden master."

"That's the path you'll have to take anyway."

"Pardon?"

"Because you're going to be a Demon Supreme."

Now that the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had passed on his martial arts to him, his path as successor was set, at least for the present.

Seo Daeryong's expression turned serious.

"Pavilion Master, can I really become a Demon Supreme? Can I truly shoulder that position?"

"Does your master look like someone who would give up his position lightly?"

"No."

"Then what are you worried about? If you can't trust yourself, trust your master's judgment."

"Still... I can't believe it. Me, a Demon Supreme."

Fair enough. A mere investigator from Yellow Springs Pavilion was going to become a Demon Supreme. It would have been stranger if he'd readily taken it in stride.

"I'll work myself to death. I mean it."

I spoke calmly to the fired-up Seo Daeryong.

"Of course you'll have to work hard, but remember this. They say that when you climb uphill, all you see is the summit, but when you walk downhill, you see the world. Look back every now and then as you climb."

Seo Daeryong looked at me with an odd smile.

"You're ten whole years younger than me, yet you say things like that so easily."

When I lay down beside the campfire, Seo Daeryong lay down on the opposite side.

It felt wonderful to lie beside the fire and gaze at the stars in the night sky.

"Someday, I should just travel around like this."

"Please be sure to take me with you."

"You'll have to be out there basking in applause and attention."

"I can come after I've had my fill of attention."

"No. I'm taking Yi An."

Seo Daeryong stuck out his lower lip. You fool, if it were that easy, would my father be stuck in Heavenly Demon Hall?

I slept soundly that night, too. The tension and exhaustion that had built up over so long were easing.

* * *

We traveled by carriage until my body had recovered.

As soon as I was well again, I sold the carriage, hoisted Seo Daeryong onto my back, and raced home with Swift Step.

At first, he complained that he was going to die, but eventually he adapted so completely that he even cracked jokes while riding on my back. It gave me a fresh appreciation for human adaptability.

We ran and ran until we reached the Cult.

My first destination was Heavenly Demon Hall.

Far beyond the red carpet, Father sat in his grand chair. Today, I felt profoundly grateful to see him steadfastly holding his place as always.

Emotion welled up the moment my eyes met his as he looked down at me impassively. Afraid I might show too much feeling, I quickly bowed.

"I have executed the leader of the Heavenly Mandate Society and returned after completing my mission."

"You've worked hard. Rise."

When I stood, Chief Strategist Sima Myeong, who was standing beside him, greeted me.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"I hear dealing with the Heavenly Mandate Society was no easy task."

I'd sent messages with updates whenever I had the chance, so Father and Sima Myeong knew how things had unfolded and how they had ended.

Of course, I hadn't been able to include this sort of exaggerated complaining in those messages.

"Don't get me started. I can't tell you how many times I nearly died. That test was far too difficult. No, it was an impossible mission!"

"I acknowledge that. It was my mistake. I had no idea the Heavenly Mandate Society had grown so large."

Sima Myeong readily admitted his fault. After all, Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, which he led, had assigned the mission.

Then Father, who had been watching, suddenly spoke.

"So you were trying to kill my son."

Sima Myeong and I looked at Father in surprise. Of course, we were both startled that he would make a joke in this situation, but something else had surprised me, too.

My son.

I'd never heard Father say that before. Perhaps he'd said it when I was too young to remember, but this was the first time in my memory.

I ought to have answered with a joke, but nothing came to mind.

Sima Myeong smiled and addressed me.

"Well? Can you forgive me now?"

He knew, too. He knew this was the first time I'd heard Father call me "my son," and that I was overwhelmed by it.

"Send me out again. Where will it be this time? The All Under Heaven Society? The Heaven and Earth Society?"

Sima Myeong laughed at my reply.

I was happy. It was only a few words, but they would make this a moment I'd never forget for the rest of my life.

Calming my trembling heart, I asked Sima Myeong a question.

"How did my brother fare?"

"The First Young Master has already completed his assignment successfully and returned safely."

As expected, my brother had finished his task and returned safely, just as he had before my regression. Mine was the fate that had changed. The shadowy organization known as the Heavenly Mandate Society had vanished from Murim, and I'd passed the test.

"Then we've both passed the test."

"That is correct."

"Since my test was far more difficult, shouldn't you count it as my victory? Make me the successor!"

I made my demand boldly.

"You have every reason to ask, but wouldn't that be unfair from the First Young Master's perspective? We must also consider what would have happened had he chosen the more difficult assignment."

As both of you can probably guess, my brother would never have resolved this. Had he gotten deeply involved, he likely would have lost his life. In that respect, it's fortunate that I chose this one.

I couldn't bring myself to say any of that.

"Then isn't that terribly unfair to me?"

"That is why I believe we should give you a reward separate from the results of this test."

It seemed he and Father had already agreed on this.

"Is there anything you would like?"

Without hesitation, I looked at Father in his grand chair and spoke.

"For my reward, go hunting with me again."

Father looked surprised.

"Whenever you receive a reward, you ask me to go hunting with you."

Hunting had also been the wish I'd asked him to grant after winning our match shortly after my regression.

"We have to catch the tiger we missed last time."

"Very well. Let's go."

Father readily accepted my suggestion.

"We leave tomorrow morning."

* * *

After leaving Heavenly Demon Hall, the first place I visited was Yi An's training ground.

I'd expected to find her sweating over her martial training, but to my surprise, she was reading a book.

Her beauty still startled me whenever I saw her, and the sight of her reading had a different charm altogether. Any scholar in the world would fall for her.

Once again, I thought that I simply had to let Jin Haryeong see Yi An someday.

Wondering what martial arts manual it was, I used the New Eye Procedure to take a closer look. Unexpectedly, it was a collection of poetry and paintings.

I spoke as I entered the training ground.

"Are you planning to quit being a martial artist and become a poet?"

Yi An briefly raised her head at my words, then looked back at her book as she answered.

"You're back?"

She acted as though she'd seen me only yesterday. No, even if she had, she'd have greeted me more warmly than this. I immediately sensed that she was teasing me.

Pretending not to notice, I sat down beside her.

"Congratulations."

"On what?"

"I hear there's a wedding to look forward to."

Only then did I understand. That loose-lipped Seo Daeryong must have come by and told her everything about Jin Haryeong.

"Your fated love is the Martial Alliance Leader's daughter, isn't she?"

"A fated meeting, not love. Granddaughter, not daughter."

"She's Hubei's Greatest Beauty, so she must be stunning."

"Not as beautiful as you."

"What about her personality? Is she nice?"

"I'd say she's fairly decent. She wasn't raised to be spoiled."

"A perfect match, then. Congratulations, truly."

"Are you done being jealous?"

"I told you, I'm congratulating you, not being jealous."

"Then you should look at me while you say it."

"I don't want to."

Yi An was so adorable when she was jealous.

"I told her someone far more beautiful than her was waiting for me back home."

I saw a smile form at the corners of Yi An's mouth as she kept her head lowered.

"What did she say to that?"

"She didn't believe me. So I'm going to show her next time. Well, I'm off."

As I rose and began to walk away, Yi An sprang to her feet.

"Where do you think you're going? After making me wait so long!"

She jumped up and ran toward me, throwing herself into my arms.

I felt her tears fall behind my shoulder. I could tell how much she'd worried about me while she waited.

"Just a moment."

I stood holding her for a while. Feeling the warmth of her body put my heart at ease. It felt as though all my tangled thoughts were disappearing. How fortunate was it to have even one person like this in your life?

After a little while, she pulled away. Her cheeks were flushed, as though she, too, thought she'd been overly bold in running over and embracing me. She quickly changed the subject.

"The Blood Heaven Saber Demon lent me this collection of poetry and paintings."

"He did? Why?"

"I went to see him. There was a rumor that the Demon Supremes had become involved in your mission, Young Master. I asked the Saber Demon whether you were all right."

I could imagine how long she'd hesitated before going to see the Blood Heaven Saber Demon in person.

"What would you have done if he'd said I wasn't?"

"Then I would have gone to find you. No matter what. If I thought you might die because I didn't go, I wouldn't be able to eat or sleep. I'd have to go, even for my own sake."

"You worrywart. If you'd come, I'd have left you at the Orthodox Martial Alliance."

"Then I could have run a soup-and-rice shop near the Alliance and lived without a care."

"If you ran a soup-and-rice shop, you wouldn't have a single uneventful day."

She laughed brightly. Her cheerful nature hadn't changed at all from when she'd been overweight. No outside influence or change could shake it. That was her greatest charm and strength.

"The Blood Heaven Saber Demon lent me a book and told me to stop worrying needlessly and go read it. That first book was about human life and death. Honestly, how could he tell me not to worry while lending me a book about life and death? Anyway, I've been borrowing them one at a time ever since. But here's the strange thing. Reading seems to help my martial training, too."

"That's because your martial arts have finally connected with your life."

"My life and my martial arts are connected?"

"At first, your martial arts improve through talent and effort. But once you reach a certain realm, they begin to reflect your life. You know how people often hit a wall in their martial arts and can't get past it?"

"Most people do."

"That's because they can't change their lives. A person has to change for their view of martial arts to change. If they remain the same, they can't get past the wall blocking them."

"Ah!"

It seemed Yi An had found an answer. She'd finally understood why reading poetry and books about life and death felt as though it helped her martial arts.

"Let's talk more later. Right now, I have to go meet the master of life and death."

As I turned to leave, Yi An spoke brightly.

"Young Master, I'm so happy you've returned safely."

"It's good to see you."

With that, I left Yi An's quarters and headed for the Southern Saber Sect, where the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's residence stood.