Chapter 192 - The Beauty of Slacking Off

The next day, after finishing training with the Black Fists, I caught up with the Fist Demon.

“Have a meal with me today.”

The Fist Demon always ate alone. The other Demon Supremes were probably much the same, but he never even shared an occasional meal with his subordinates.

“No, thank you.”

“Why not?”

“It makes me uncomfortable.”

“If anyone should be uncomfortable, it’s me. You, uncomfortable? Who in the world would believe that?”

“You make me uncomfortable.”

The Fist Demon strode off ahead of me. Between him declaring his discomfort in front of his subordinates and me following him around asking him to eat with me, the Iron Fists could only stare at us in astonishment.

Of course, giving up was not an option. I caught up with him again the following day.

“Then how about a cup of tea today?”

“I don’t like tea.”

“They say drinking plenty of tea is good for you.”

The Fist Demon stopped walking.

“Why on earth are you doing this? Do you want to poison my tea?”

“Of course not. If I poisoned you, I couldn’t learn the next set of formulas, could I?”

“Quite right. You’ll have to learn everything before you poison me.”

“You misunderstand!”

Despite my protest, he strode away.

When training ended the next day, I followed him again.

“Do you happen to know how to play Go?”

“No. What business does a grown man have fiddling with those tiny stones? It’s no better than little girls playing house.”

“My father has been thoroughly engrossed in that game of house lately.”

“...”

The Fist Demon strode away without looking back. Perhaps because I had mentioned Father, his steps were even faster than the day before.

He remained an impregnable wall the next day, and the day after that.

This approach was getting me nowhere.

I had managed to dunk him in a boiling pot, but this big, sturdy fellow showed no inclination to soften. I wanted to cook him up, but he simply refused to cook.

Whenever I felt this frustrated, one person came to mind.

I headed straight for the Southern Saber Sect, where the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was.

* * *

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was teaching Seo Daeryong martial arts.

Now formally accepted as his disciple, Seo Daeryong was learning his exclusive art, the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Saber Forms.

To avoid disturbing their training, I went to the backyard, quietly closed my eyes, sat cross-legged, and circulated the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art.

I had achieved twelfth-level complete mastery of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art and complete mastery of the Wind God's Four Steps. Of the arts I had learned, the one I absolutely needed to master completely was the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art.

After I had been training for quite some time, Seo Daeryong’s cautious voice reached me from a distance.

“We’re finished training.”

He spoke softly for fear of disturbing my practice.

When I opened my eyes, he sank down beside me, drenched in sweat.

“Having a hard time?”

“I’m dying.”

Now that his training had begun in earnest, it seemed he was enduring one hellish session after another.

“I’ll speak to him. ‘Our Investigator Seo is struggling terribly. Please go a little easier on him.’”

“Certainly. There are all sorts of ways to kill a man.”

I quietly studied his profile.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’ve changed. The impression you give.”

“How?”

“You look strong.”

Those few words instantly lifted his spirits. He clenched both fists.

“Just you wait!”

“You mean ‘Just you wait, ladies!’ rather than ‘Just you wait, villains!’ Right?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Keep at it, my right-hand man! Without these hours of grinding yourself down, villains will kill you and women will reject you.”

“What if they reject me even after all that grinding?”

His doe eyes were hoping for an answer of ‘That would never happen,’ but...

“Then let’s catch one more villain. Ah! We might wipe out every villain in the world.”

“Come on! Is that how you’re going to be?”

I laughed aloud, and Seo Daeryong laughed with me.

He rose to his feet and said goodbye.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Oh, and tell me I look strong again next time! Whenever I’m struggling.”

“Of course.”

After seeing him off, I went to the front yard. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was sitting against the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber, wiping away his sweat.

“You must be busy throwing punches. Why are you here? Sick of it already?”

“Yes, I am. I should have just gone out and enjoyed myself with you. I bitterly regret ever deciding to learn fist arts.”

“Who said I would entertain you?”

I went over and sat beside him.

“No matter how much I stoke the fire, he refuses to cook.”

“You’re trying to cook a boulder. How could it cook?”

“That’s why I came to see you.”

“Thinking of adding some old ginger to the boiling water?”

“This is why I like you, sir. You understand me without a word of explanation.”

“What is it you want from the Fist Demon? His martial arts? Or his heart?”

“At first, it was his martial arts.”

“And now you want his heart as well?”

“He wants to bring down a cliff. At first, I thought that was impressive, so I wanted to bring one down too. But now I’m curious why he wants it so desperately.”

“Once you find out, the reason will probably be nothing special.”

“Isn’t that true of everyone? Me included.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon looked at me as though I were an old man in a youngster’s body.

“I’m sorry you came all this way, but I don’t know much about the Fist Demon.”

“That’s all right. I was just frustrated and came to see you.”

The pungent ginger was used for healing, not cooking.

“Tell me, Second Young Master.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Are you all right?”

!

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was asking me.

Asking whether I was all right.

Had anyone else asked, I would have said yes. But I didn’t want to do that with him.

“I’m not sure.”

“Not knowing is more dangerous than saying you aren’t all right. When you’re tired, stop and rest.”

Once again, I felt how sincerely he cared about me. These days, my defenses fell away in his presence. I had worked so hard to open his door, but perhaps mine had swung wide open first.

“Then may I lean against your saber for a bit too?”

“No. If you can make such absurd requests, you’re perfectly fine.”

“Just once. I’ve wanted to lean against it just once for ages.”

At my pestering, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon finally pretended to give in.

“Just this once, then.”

I leaned against the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber.

“Ah! Now I understand why you’re always leaning against this.”

“It feels reassuring, as though it’s protecting you, doesn’t it?”

“No. It’s wonderfully cool.”

The Heaven-Destroying Great Saber possessed an inherent chill.

“You were keeping cool all by yourself on those hot summer days!”

Apparently not expecting that complaint, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon laughed and said, “Oh, you rascal.”

Joking with Seo Daeryong and laughing like this with the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had eased much of my frustration. I had also found a powerful remedy.

“When I’m tired, I’ll stop and rest.”

“And come whenever things get hard.”

That single word, whenever, pierced my heart.

“How would I live without you, sir?”

“You’d live perfectly well, throwing punches with the Fist Demon. Enough nonsense. Go back. You have that late-night training or whatever it is.”

“Honestly! What kind of Demonic Cult has no secrets?”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon pulled his saber free and headed inside.

“Who do you suppose they take after, with such loose tongues?”

* * *

I took the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s advice.

The next day, I skipped Black Fist training. While their practice would have been in full swing, I was in the world within the Art of Space-Time Transposition.

A blue sky and sea that resembled my sword force, a sun-drenched sandy beach, the shade of a broad-leaved tree. Even a cool mat. I lay there in utter comfort.

Today was a day for slacking off.

Since returning from the Orthodox Martial Alliance and getting involved with the Fist Demon, I hadn’t had a single moment of proper rest.

So today, I intended to spend some time alone. I had decided not to think about anyone else.

With drinks, snacks, and even a book prepared, it was the perfect day of slacking off.

I gazed at the sky, then the sea, then watched a crab crawling over the sand. I read, dozed, and woke to stare blankly at the sea again.

“Ah! This is wonderful!”

It was almost too wonderful.

And so I lounged around all day.

That afternoon, someone came to my quarters. It was Cheon Sohui.

“Senior Brother! Senior Brother!”

It was endearing how she called me Second Young Master in front of the Fist Demon, but Senior Brother when we were alone.

“Where did he go?”

I could see her peering into my room through the window. After I had attended Black Fist training without missing a single day, my sudden absence must have worried her.

She paced around the yard briefly, then left.

Her visit was entirely expected. A little later, however, someone wholly unexpected came to see me. Strictly speaking, he didn’t visit; he merely passed by.

To my surprise, it was the Fist Demon. He walked past my quarters as though he were on his way somewhere else. As he passed, his eyes flicked toward my residence. He raised his qi to check whether I was home, then continued on.

His pretense of indifference was hilarious, but it also moved me.

I truly wanted to release the Art of Space-Time Transposition and run outside. I wanted to ask whether he had come because he was worried about me, and watch him fluster. But I didn’t.

Come on, people. Learn to appreciate me a little!

I lazed about until late, replenished my internal energy with my mental cultivation method, then lazed about some more. It might have seemed an unremarkable day, but to me it was precious time spent recharging.

Eventually, it was time for late-night training.

All three arrived on time, and Cheon Sohui questioned me as soon as she got there.

“Why didn’t you come to Black Fist training today?”

Yi An was startled to hear that I had missed training.

“Young Master! Are you ill? How badly are you hurt?”

“Why all the fuss?”

“You would never skip training! What is it? What happened?”

“I’m human too. Sometimes I want to slack off. Sometimes I want to rest.”

I looked at the Fist Demon.

“Wouldn’t you agree?”

He regarded me for a moment, then shook his head.

“I’ve never felt that way.”

“Really?”

“If I had lived such an idle life, someone else would be the Fist Demon now.”

“Doesn’t it wear you out?”

“Not at all.”

I knew. What truly wore people down was not the difficulty of the work itself, but that no one recognized their struggles—or noticed and passed over them without a care.

“If things get hard, come have fun with me! I’m available anytime.”

Of course, the Fist Demon acted as though he hadn’t heard.

As that night’s training drew to a close...

WHOOOOOSH!

An unfamiliar rush of wind sounded from my fist. It wasn’t thunder, but neither was it the sound my punches had made until now.

“What is that sound?”

The Fist Demon looked at me in surprise.

“The sound of a storm approaching.”

That meant the thunder was not far off.

At my astonishingly rapid progress, fighting spirit rose from the Fist Demon’s entire body. He looked ready to charge at me that very instant.

He instinctively stepped forward, and I backed away. With a fierce battle seemingly about to erupt at any moment, Yi An and Cheon Sohui tensed as well.

I spoke quickly.

“Shall we make a wager?”

“What wager?”

“I don’t want to trade blows, so how about a lightness arts contest? If I win, teach me the second form of the Thunderbolt Asura Fist.”

“And if I win?”

“I’ll fight you to decide the winner.”

A satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

“You must think I’m slow because I’m so big.”

The greatest masters of fist arts invariably possessed superb footwork, and footwork was connected to lightness arts.

“Very well. I accept.”

The Fist Demon brimmed with confidence. He was confident enough in his lightness arts to wager the second form of his exclusive art without hesitation.

“To the entrance of Demon Family Village. How does that sound?”

“That’s no place for a duel. There’s a bamboo grove about ten li beyond the entrance. Let’s race to there.”

In his mind, he had already won.

Yi An drew a line on the ground, and we stood side by side behind it.

“Ready, go!”

We shot forward together like arrows loosed from a bow. I could imagine how startled the two women must have been as we vanished from sight in an instant.

The Fist Demon was truly fast. I was certain he was the fastest of the Demon Supremes. That was why he had accepted the wager, but he could not be faster than my Swift Step.

I matched his speed, keeping the race close. His surprise reached me through his ragged breathing.

I arrived at the bamboo grove a few steps ahead of him. Panting, I pretended to have barely won. The Fist Demon arrived shortly afterward and stared at me in astonishment. He clearly hadn’t imagined I would be faster than him.

“First, teach me the second form. If you feel wronged, we can race again with the third form at stake.”

When his frightening face took on a frightening expression, he was truly terrifying. But frightening was one thing. He was not a man who broke his promises.

“Very well. I’ll teach you the second form here and now.”

Inwardly, I was surprised by his unhesitating decision. He truly was a man’s man.

This martial art was far too precious to surrender over a race. What was the Fist Demon feeling now? Had he truly never considered the possibility of losing? I wondered what he had in mind.

“Are you all right with this?”

“You lure me into a trap, then ask if I’m all right?”

Had he perhaps walked into that trap knowingly?

Second Form: Thunderbolt Asura

Where the first form, Black Cloud Asura, delivered a full-powered strike against a single opponent, Thunderbolt Asura was a move that sent punches flying too fast for the eye to see. It emphasized speed over power, much like Azure Heaven, the swift-sword form of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art.

The Fist Demon taught me the formulas and postures.

I devoted every ounce of mental effort to making every last part of his teaching my own.

And so his second fist became mine as well.

“Thank you, truly. This fist will never be used for wrongdoing.”

I bowed to him. We were not yet master and disciple, but he had taught me his second form.

“Since we’ve come all this way, let’s get some fresh air before heading back.”

The Fist Demon looked at me questioningly.

“It’s been quite a while since you left the Cult grounds, hasn’t it? I skipped training yesterday to have some fun, and it was wonderful. Come slack off with me.”

He snorted as though the idea was absurd and started walking toward the Cult. Looking at his broad, massive back, I spoke.

“You show up every day like that, so no one appreciates how precious you are.”

The Fist Demon stopped dead.

“Your goodwill toward the Cult has continued for far too long.”

I hadn’t called it goodwill toward his subordinates. I didn’t want to belittle either their natural fear of him or his affection for them.

The Fist Demon turned toward me.

Our gazes met in the air. For a long time, neither of us spoke. He was intelligent, and he understood the meaning behind my words.

“You look tired.”

It was the second time I had said that to him. Had the words reached him?

After a pause, the Fist Demon asked,

“Do you have somewhere in mind?”

I smiled broadly.

“The beauty of slacking off is having no plan. Let’s go.”

I started running before he could change his mind, and the Fist Demon ran with me.

We matched our speeds, running almost abreast. On the face of the man beside me, I caught a glimpse of something I had never seen there before: exhilaration.

In an instant, we were far from the Cult. Far from our everyday lives.